Beyond - Legends Slang [Jag, Kyrn, NJO-era]

Summary: Kyrn think Jag is a crutch. Jag thinks Kyrn doesn?t understand humans. Kyrn thinks he?s an idiot ? but he?s still her friend, even if he has gone stupid about Major Solo.
Notes: ?Fic written to celebrate the opening of The Foreigners and done for the first challenge at ?They?re not from around here??.

[Additional notes: This entire conversation, save the italicized words, is spoken in Cheunh, the main language of the Chiss. Only the bold words are in basic. SEt during the Alston Duology of the NJO.]

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The office allocated to the Chiss Colonel is small and badly lit, and the furniture consists of old ejector seats from Y-wings and a battered desk from the basement. Jag gets the feeling that the décor in this base has been unchanged since the Rebels took it some twenty years ago.

Kyrn is standing before him, ramrod straight, and he tells her to be at ease. They haven?t needed to stand on ceremony around each other in many years, but there are still the niceties of military courtesy to observe. He wonders what she wants to speak to him about. He's pretty sure he knows already.

?Colonel, permission to speak freely??

?Yes, of course.?

?I want to speak to you about your relationship with Major Solo.?

And really, he?d been expecting this. In some ways, Kyrn was so very predictable. She was an excellent fighter-pilot who regularly executed the most daring aerial displays and destroyed the enemy with abandon, but she waited until she was absolutely sure that her commanding officer and friend was involved with another person before speaking of it.

Well, she can?t be more sure after walking in on us yesterday, he thought ruefully, and wondered how long Kyrn?s scold (Scold # 64: ?Involvement With Your Commander is a Bad Idea, You Idiot?) was going to last.

?Yes??

?I don?t think your personal relationship with Major Solo is a good idea, Jag.?

?Even though she?s nominally my superior, we?re from different militaries, so there are no regulations against our involvement, and-? he says, trying to find an argument ? any argument! ? that will hold off the tone of consternation Kyrn takes on so easily when dealing with her strange human friend.

?That?s not what I?m worried about, Jag, although I must say your counter-argument wouldn?t hold up in military court and you know it. I?m more worried about the?emotional ramifications of your choice.?

Jag raises an eyebrow. ?Emotional ramifications??

Kyrn hesitates uncharacteristically, then rushes the next sentence out as if she?s embarrassed to even say it. ?You?re her crutch.?

He raises and eyebrow in disbelief. ?Since I?m not an inanimate object made of wood, metal, or plastic used to aid people unable to use a leg, I fail to see the comparison.?

Kyrn gives him an exasperated look. ?Instead of spending so much time in this office or the sims, you should perhaps spend more time observing the Rebel pilots. Crutch is their term for a very stupid man who doesn?t notice he?s being used by his girlfriend.?

Jag grins slightly. ?And you think I?m being used.?

?No, Jag ? I know it,? she says with complete seriousness. ?I don?t pretend to understand the complexities of alien thought like Thrawn did, but I think I have learned enough about humans to understand them. She does not love you, and in some ways ? many ways ? she dislikes you. You are not compatible-? and Jag thinks that is very, very Chiss, because compatibility is the primary reason people to become involved. It?s all about making a little more room in your life for the other person, and unspoken affection, but not?passion. Not as humans feel it.

?It?s not about compatibility-?

?But it is. She?s using you, Jag, because you won?t die. She depends on you for that, because she is grieving and needs

 

I really liked this! You captured both characters quite well and it flowed so easily from one word to the next!

Well, she can?t be more sure after walking in on us yesterday, he thought ruefully, and wondered how long Kyrn?s scold (Scold # 64: ?Involvement With Your Commander is a Bad Idea, You Idiot?) was going to last.

That made me laugh!

Great work!

 

This story just makes me happy on so many levels. I love friendship fics, and this is a great example of how two people can be friends without any drinking, emotional displays, or fighting involved.


There is this intimacy about their relationship that's not romantic, but I like that. People misunderstand intimacy to be paired with romance, and while you need the former for the latter, you don't need the latter for the former. Throughout the entire fic, it's apparant that Shawnkyr and Jag know each other so well. He says she's predictable, Shawnkyr thinks he's obvious. And I love how he's numbered her scolds.

Jag acknowledges that he is her "strange human friend," and she acknowledges that she doesn't get humans as well as Thrawn, but she gets him. It's like it almost doesn't matter that he's human and she's Chiss - they're the same kind of people.

I like the fact that they're speaking in Cheunh (the Chiss language) in this piece. I always imagined that Jag would be more comfortable speaking it, and Basic is what he uses to speak with non-Ascendancy people. (and here's a thought - would Jag have an accent when speaking in Basic?) Shawnkyr picking up random words made me chuckle. It's something we do so often - travel to a new place, pick of new words, and then try to incorporate it into our vocabulary.

Beyond the language, I liked the point Shawnkyr made, and I agree. I'm especially thinking about the scene in one of the Allston books, where Jaina disobeys a direct order, rescues Jag, then breaks down and admits that she didn't want him to die. There is an unhealthy level of dependence, on both their sides, and sometimes, it takes an outsider to see it.


and Jag thinks that is very, very Chiss, because compatibility is the primary reason people to become involved. It?s all about making a little more room in your life for the other person, and unspoken affection, but not?passion. Not as humans feel it.

Great insight into the Chiss!


?She?s hurt ? damaged ? but she can be fixed-?

Jag, she's not an engine that can be repaired...


The nicest thing is that through it all, Shawnkyr is genuinely trying to be a good friend, and in her own way, she's trying to protect him from Jaina and from himself. She isn't trying to hurt him, or rub in his human tendencies. And then she acknowledges that he might have to learn from his mistake.

Elena, I'm so inspired at the moment, and all the tiny little story ideas that I ignored are now bothering me in full force. Thanks so much for this.

 

Aw, two of my fave authors in one thread!

Iagree with what Inara said, having no way to say it any better, and add my sadness that shawnie thinks Jaina is using Jag so callously.


Or maybe it's that shawnie (or fine, kyrn) can't see love? ....


I must think on this. Thanks for writing, I love it when you do that!

 

I absolutely loved this!

It's fantastic to see another J/S author - there's too few of us.

Shawnkyr's words to Jag were very true - too bad he doesn't realize it and will ultimately have to understand it on his own. And when she started tossing in random Basic words -

Jag as a hunk...I wonder when she'll learn "babe."

-Mel