Beyond - Legends Solo Moments - complete 24. December - prologue, thanks, and more!

Oooh, more Solo antics. Lovely.

Loved the beginning with Mara! It's nice to see that she's... somewhat... adjusting to things.

 

"Nope," Anakin said. "Dad says there's a difference between fear and respect." He peered over at her. "He's right, you know." Daddy knows best! Anakin really picks up on things.

I liked Mara's portrayal here, and her interaction with the kids was great! I can't wait to see what trouble the kids are going to get into....

 

very cute

 

This is perfect Iverna! I love it. The Solo children before the death and dysfunction took over their lives. They are so pure and innocent.

Please PM with updates! Please!

 

MJR - yay, glad you're enjoying it!

Jaina_Solo_Goddess - ah yes, but it's still Mara's ship!

RK_Striker - well, I kind of figured it wasn't her usual area of expertise!

Fel_Freak - glad you seem to like it so far!

Idrelle - well, it's a big change for her, isn't it? Glad you're enjoying it!

dm1 - well, Han knows Mara pretty well, I think! And thanks, I'm glad you liked it so far!

JediKaren - thank you!

Pied_Piper - thank you! I'm very glad you approve so far. Very encouraging; thank you! Welcome to the PM list!

Thanks for reading and commenting, everyone! Part 2 will be up soon!

 

Getting The Job Done (part II)

(set in 20 ABY.)


The voyage went well, overall. Jacen spilled half of his food down his shirt on the second day, in the middle of an animated conversation. Jaina managed to lock herself into the escape pod bay and Mara had to rescue her using the small fusion cutter from the engine room. Anakin confused the food processing unit to the extent that it stopped working altogether; Mara still hadn't figured out how he'd managed that, but at least the ship was well-stocked with ration bars and other victuals.

On the last day before reversion, the twins helped Mara clear the table before asking permission to play hide-and-seek. She'd cobbled together a passable dinner from ration bars and tinned fruit, and it had even tasted good enough for Jacen to devour two helpings. Overall, she felt, she'd done a pretty good job with it.

"Hide and seek?" Mara asked. "Does that even work when you've got the Force?"

Anakin scowled at that, but Jacen shook his head. "Nah, we just play it differently, Uncle Luke taught us."

"Please can we?" Jaina asked. "We promise not to get too wild and break anything."

The fact that Jaina had anticipated that, and phrased it in a way that sounded a lot like her mother, told Mara volumes about previous such games. It also explained why Luke had declared his own quarters and the archive room out of bounds for that game.

She nodded anyway. "But no trying to squeeze into places that you shouldn't be squeezing into, okay?"

There were nods all around, then Jacen closed his eyes and began counting loudly. Mara settled on the small couch, took her datapad, and called up the book she'd been reading. Occasionally, there were shouts as the kids discovered each other, and there were changing shifts of counting in the hold, but she didn't really mind the noise. Space travel was never entirely quiet, and Mara had found over the last few days that she actually enjoyed being surrounded by life like this.

She'd also found out one big secret to looking after children: it helped to treat them as equals. It seemed to make it unnecessary for them to rebel ? and really, it should come as no surprise that Leia and Han Solo's children had a penchant for rebelling ? and it made things easier for her because she was better at talking to equals than to, well, children.

"You can't do that!" Anakin called out. "That's cheating!"

Mara looked up. Anakin was sitting sullenly on the deck and Jaina was on her way over to the couch. As she watched, Jaina turned around and looked at Anakin. "Well, I don't know where he is! Now hush!"

"I'm not playing anymore," Anakin announced. He got up and trotted out of the small living area - not in the direction of the cockpit, Mara was relieved to see.

"Aunt Mara," Jaina said in hushed tones. "I can't find Jacen."

She looked at her niece with raised eyebrows. "And you want me to help you?"

"Yeah!" Jaina said. "I think he might be somewhere he shouldn't be, but," she gave Mara a significant look. "I'm not gonna go after him and get in trouble too!"

"Let's have a look." Mara rose and followed Jaina out of the living area.

She reached out with the Force and found Jacen, trying hard to blur his own presence in the Force the way that Luke had taught him. She'd been meaning to locate him and then pretend to keep looking, but when she realised that he was in the engine room, she raised one eyebrow and put a hand on Jaina's shoulder. Jaina looked up at her. Mara showed her a wicked grin and led the way.

She saw him straight away, hunched down in a corner. "Jacen," she said, and he jumped. "Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

He turned around, guilt flashing in his brown eyes. "I'm -"

"Jaina," Mara said, "please go and check where Anakin disappeared to, will you?"

Jaina looked at her twin, looked at Mara, made a decision, and ran off. Mara turned her attention to Jacen.

"Now," she said. "Jacen. Where are we right now?"

"The engine room," he said, quietly, managing to meet her

 

*first*

 

Awwww that was so sweet Iverna!! I completely adored the Mara\Anakin part. That's how I always pictured Anakin as a little kid. And the awkwardness on Mara's part was so perfect, and completely understandable.

Very good! My favorite so far!

 

Aww.. That conversation Mara had with Anakin put a big grin on my face. <see?

Mara, you did good. Nice job with Jacen, too. I think Mara's ready for a Skycrawler of her own.

 

Really loved the interaction between Mara and Anakin. I think she'd be a great aunt (or mother). No nonsense, but understanding in a way that perhaps other adults are not.

Nicely done!

 

These are great little vignettes! You really have a handle on the Solo kids at all ages.

Keep up the great work!

 

Wow, Mara did a great job, especially with Jacen breaking the rules and talking to Anakin. Parents can say all the right things, even mean them, but they're, you know, parents!

 

Loved the Mara/Anakin talk!!!

It's the truth, what was said about parents. They always say the right things, it's just that kids don't always want to here those things from their mom and dad.

Great job with Mara!!!

MJR

 

Fel_Freak - I'm so glad you liked it! I thought it was the kind of interaction that suited Mara and Anakin - glad it seems authentic! Thanks very much for your kind words!

RK_Striker - aww, that's really cool! I'm glad you think I did a good job with Jacen and Mara, and I totally agree with you - she's totally ready to be a mammy!

VaderLVR - yeah, that's how I figured Mara to be. She hasn't really learned how to deal with kids, but she is a pretty pragmatic person. Thanks very much, I'm glad you liked it!

Jaina - thanks so much! Very gkas I've never really written about kids, so that means a lot.

PointGiven - well, you never know, I'd say she admonished him at some point... you never know!

dm1 - see I figured she'd probably be pretty good at gaining the kids' respect. And yeah, actually, that bit of the conversation is pretty much personal experience!

MJR - thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, parents can sometimes say whatever they want but if someone else says it, it sometimes means more. Glad you think I did a good job with Mara, I've never written Mara before so I'm very happy to hear that you approve!


Thanks for reading, everyone! I'll hopefully have a new post up soon!

 

Finally, here's the next installment. This one was inspired by a drawing I did, actually, so I'm including it here in case you'd like to see it and are too lazy to wander over to my fan art thread. You'll know which part of the drawing I mean when you've read the story.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/bria_lt/StarWars/Jaina.jpg]

PM list:
VaderLVR64
mara_jade_rox
Fel_Freak228
dm1
RK_Striker_JK_5
THE_PIED_PIPER

Let me know if you want to be added! And now, on with the show.


Rough Diamonds

(set in 17 ABY.)

"I ? don't - wanna ? go!"

Jaina Solo was an exceptionally cute eight-year-old, small and slim and pretty, but along with her mother's looks, she had also inherited a remarkable stubbornness. Han loved that about both of them, he really did, but there were definitely times when he wished that that particular trait were not quite that pronounced.

He sighed as his wife tried, once again, to cajole their daughter.

"But Jaina," Leia said. "It'll be fun. Remember how much you liked seeing the old machinery the last time?"

Jaina obstinately shook her head, chin tilted up, her rosy mouth making a stubborn line, her dark hair flying around her face. "Not this time."

"But everyone's going!" Jacen looked at his sister, trying to make her see reason.

Jaina shook her head again. "Dad isn't!"

"But sweetie ?"

"Not going if Dad's not!" Jaina shouted, crossing her arms. It was an adult gesture, and one that Han swore she had picked up from her mother. There was no way that anything she got from him could look that adorable.

He was touched, despite himself. He had had to pull out of the planned outing today due to the fact that the Millennium Falcon was, again, throwing a fit and it needed to be back in shape before their flight back home ? tomorrow. The trip was one they'd made before, about a year ago, to a derelict space cruiser from the Clone Wars era, in a stable orbit around Breduna. The cruiser had been transformed into a museum and offered breathtaking views of the nearby G'Densk nebula.

The two boys were rearing to go, Jacen because of the nebula, Anakin because of the exhibits of Clone Wars technology. Jaina had been eager, too, until Han had broken the news that he was not coming.

Han hunkered down in front of his daughter. "Sweetie, you'll enjoy it. I can't come, so you go and have enough fun for the two of us, okay?"

Jaina looked at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. "But Jacen and Anakin can do that," she reasoned, her tone pleading. "I wanna stay here with you!"

"But Daddy needs to fix the Falcon, honey," Leia broke in.

Jaina turned a teary face up at her mother. Han could see the gaps where she had recently lost teeth - it was a competition between the twins at the moment, which fortunately meant that they reacted to a lost tooth with pride rather than tears. "I can help him fix it," she said. "I brought my multitool."

They were not going to convince her. Jaina was single-minded when she wanted something, and this was clearly not just a passing fancy, born from an impulse to throw a tantrum about something. She genuinely wanted to stay with him and the ship. Of course, she'd get in the way. At the very least, it would take him and Chewie a lot longer. At worst, she'd manage to press the wrong buttons or cross the wrong wires and it would take them even longer.

But maybe Jaina needed some time with her father. He hadn't been around that much lately, busy with one trader's meeting after the other, especially on Breduna.

Han quirked an eyebrow at Leia. She raised her eyebrows, surprised, and Han felt that odd surge of warmth that always wafted through him when she understood him without a word. He just shrugged and kept the same look on his face. She smiled. Then she nodded as if to say, "well, up to you."

"All right then, sweetie," Han said. "I'll make you a deal, okay?"

Jaina looked at him with the mixture of expectation and suspicion that she always wore when he ? or one of the Rog

 

<me in RL

Awesome post, Iverna! Loved Jaina helping out Han, there. Yes, Han. You're getting soft. It's a good thing, here, lol.

And wow. You drew that pic? I am so jealous... in a good way, mind you.

Daddy's little girl. I love it. This has to be canon!

 

That was absolutely ravishing!

Please put me on the PM list in case you sprout more of these...

 

That was awesome!! I just loved the Han/Jaina bonding time. And Han should've expected she'd be helpful, she is a mini-him after all.

 

Iverna, this is just perfect. The dynamic between Han/Leia and their children. And the Jaina/Han in this chapter was just.......I can't say enough.

Thank you..

~Piper

 

Awww, Han and Jaina are so cute together! I loved this one, it shows Han's softer side (well, except for all those Corellian expletives...).

Nicely done!

 

Absolutely PERFECT!

The two boys were rearing to go, Jacen because of the nebula, Anakin because of the exhibits of Clone Wars technology. Jaina had been eager, too, until Han had broken the news that he was not coming.

Han hunkered down in front of his daughter. "Sweetie, you'll enjoy it. I can't come, so you go and have enough fun for the two of us, okay?"

Jaina looked at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. "But Jacen and Anakin can do that," she reasoned, her tone pleading. "I wanna stay here with you!"

"But Daddy needs to fix the Falcon, honey," Leia broke in.

Jaina turned a teary face up at her mother. Han could see the gaps where she had recently lost teeth - it was a competition between the twins at the moment, which fortunately meant that they reacted to a lost tooth with pride rather than tears. "I can help him fix it," she said. "I brought my multitool."

 

Wonderful update!
Nice look at Han and Jaina's relationship.

 

RK_Striker - eeeep, glad you enjoyed it! I just thought there has to be at least one moment like that from Jaina's childhood. And yep, I drew it. Thanks very much!

Golden_Jedi - yay, thank you! You're on the list - there will be more!

Jaina_and_Jag - thanks! Yeah, they are very alike, aren't they? But I think that might be what he's afraid of... *lol* Thanks for the comment!

Pied_Piper - "perfect"? Wow! Thanks very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

dm1 - well, we can't have him getting too soft, can we? Thanks!

Vader - again, "perfect"? Thanks a million!

ccp - yay, thanks! Glad you liked it!

Big to everyone who's reading!

 

Awww, these continue to be perfect, Iverna! I really love them. I would love to be on your PM list, if that's not too much trouble!