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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends Stranded (re-post / edited) - Jag, Kyp, Jacen, and Zekk crash on Tenupe - update 25. August

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Iverna, Feb 9, 2014.

  1. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    makl - thank you! And yep, absolutely, I'll go do that as soon as I finish this post and get the next update up!

    Nyota's Heart - nah, there'll probably be a good bit of teasing to come. Would YOU let them off easy? *grins*

    Tarsier - thank you, I'll do my best!

    serendipityaey - thank you, hopefully you'll enjoy this next update as well! :)
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  2. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Tags: @Durroness, @Falcon


    * * *​


    Chapter 4


    To Kyp’s complete lack of surprise, it turned out that there wasn’t much to do on Tenupe. The first day passed without much incident; a routine began to settle over the camp, with frequent jumps into the pool below. They stopped bothering to dry off afterwards or getting changed beforehand; shoes and shirts and pants hung around the edges of their camp to dry, leaving them clad in their shorts. It was like living in a swimming resort.

    They stayed close to the camp, though. No one wanted to tempt fate by venturing too far away from the camp, since they couldn’t be sure what lurked in the jungle, and in any case the heat made it difficult to summon up much enthusiasm for anything other than swimming.

    Aside from Jacen, of course. The young man was on his feet at sunrise on the second day, too, exploring the underbrush and climbing two of the bigger trees beside the camp and waking Kyp by throwing some sort of fruit at his head from ten meters above.

    Breakfast, ostensibly.

    Kyp had thanked him by sending a Force-shove up at his damned branch and dislodging him like another piece of ripe fruit. But the kid had reacted quickly and managed to land with some measure of grace and a lot of cheerfulness, and had gone off to examine some kind of moss that grew under Zekk’s sleeping pad.

    The brat.

    Still, a part of Kyp had to admit that it was handy to have Jacen along. He kept them in good spirits, and instinctively knew his way around the place.

    So when the humming started just after noon, it was once again Jacen who took notice. He emerged from the underbrush, covered in mud and bits of tree, staring over at Zekk, who had just returned to the camp.

    “What did you do?”

    Zekk frowned. “Me? Nothing—”

    “Never mind,” Jacen cut him off. “Get in the water, now!”

    Jag looked up at him, shaking his head. “What—”

    “Wasbers,” Jacen shouted, and tugging at Jag’s arm. “Come on.”

    Kyp was already on his feet. The humming was growing louder at a rate that suddenly seemed alarming. He’d never heard of wasbers before, but he trusted Jacen’s judgement.

    They jumped over the edge and into the pool.

    Kyp felt Jacen’s touch on his mind, tugging him and Zekk into a battle meld, and he understood. They had to stay under water, where the insects would not be able to reach them. That wasn’t a problem for Kyp, but less than a metre away, Jag was already drifting back towards the surface, buoyed by the air in his lungs and the relative lightness of his body. Kyp reached out to hold him in place.

    He felt Jacen’s distraction as the kid reached out to the insects above them, trying to persuade them to give up the attack. Kyp couldn’t help with that.

    But he had another problem. Even Jedi couldn’t function without air for long, and between the headlong rush and the struggle to stay underwater, much of the oxygen in his blood was already depleted. He had another thirty seconds, maybe, before things would start getting critical.

    And if he was having problems...

    Jag wasn’t struggling against Kyp’s Force grip, but his eyes were wide in mute appeal. A curse echoed through Kyp’s brain. Not good. Not good at all.

    Theoretically, he could create a Force bubble to repel the insects and let them breathe, but the problem was that a simple bubble would also keep the water in and the air out if he did it now, under water. It was also possible to fine-tune it so that it would allow water and air through but not the insects, but that took time and concentration. And he knew that he didn’t have enough of either right now.

    So fine. They couldn’t get up to the air. But the air could come down to them.

    He reached out, far above where the insects were buzzing over the pool, gathered the Force to him, and tugged. There was a splash, and pockets of air landed in the water around him, hovering there as if gravity held no meaning for them.

    Kyp leaned in and took a breath even as he tugged another pocket around Jag’s head. The younger man was bucking by now, fighting Kyp’s grip in the primal need for air, but when he felt it around him he relaxed.

    Kyp maintained his grip. Even with Zekk helping him, it was difficult to keep hold of so many things at once, especially since he had to battle the planet’s gravity in order to do so.

    He gritted his teeth and clung to control.

    And then he felt Jacen’s relief and all-clear, and with one last push, brought himself and Jag up to the surface.

    And relaxed.

    “Thanks,” Jag told him, in between fits of coughing and gulping breaths.

    “Sure.” He’d been striving for a casual tone, but even to his ears, he just sounded tired.

    “So what were those things?” Zekk asked Jacen when they’d pulled themselves out of the pool and sat at the edge, with their shins and feet in the water.

    “Wasbers. I read about them,” Jacen said. “Very poisonous. They sting you, you’re dead. I’m guessing we disturbed a hive or something. They were out for blood.”

    “But they’re not coming back, right?”

    “Nah.” Jacen shook his head. “I persuaded them we’re not a threat.”

    “Good,” Kyp said. “That’s good. Hey, any chance Jaina will have some kind of file on this place, so we’ll at least know what to watch out for?”

    Jag raised an eyebrow; he’d recovered his breath by now. “You intend to stick around once she arrives?”

    Kyp grimaced. “Good point.”

    “Oh, it’s not so bad, is it?” Jacen asked. “I mean, look at it, it’s like being on holidays.”

    Kyp cocked an eyebrow at him. “We crashed, we got attacked, and now we got attacked again. What kind of holidays are you used to?”

    “The Solo kind,” Zekk said, and he had a point.

    Jacen grinned. “Yeah. Well,” he shot Jag a sidelong glance, “except that we usually didn’t arrive via crash...”

    Jag’s lip quirked. “That’s right, you always land safely in whatever disaster you’ve headed into.”

    “And by disaster, I guess you mean holiday,” Zekk said.

    I generally don’t,” Jag said. “But it would explain a lot if that was the Solo definition.”

    Jacen glared at him, but his expression quickly cracked into a grin. “Well played.”

    And then he looked up towards the sky as if someone had called his name, and nodded. “Jaina,” he said.

    That lifted Kyp’s spirits a great deal, and he felt some of his energy return.

    Until about ten minutes later, when Jacen gasped and said, “I think they’re under attack.”


    * * *​

    “Anakin!” Jaina yelled. “I said shoot them!”

    “I’m trying!” her little brother’s voice sounded over the comm. “Targeting computer’s acting up. Keep her steady!”

    “Can’t keep her steady when I’m evasive!” Jaina shouted. In the co-pilot’s chair, Lowbacca growled a warning.

    “What?” Jaina frowned. “But the scope’s not showing—”

    Lowbacca snarled as the ship was rocked by another hit.

    “That didn’t come from port!” Jaina exclaimed. “What’s going on?”

    She glanced at her scopes again, frowned, and cursed. Random lights flashed and nonsense numbers cycled occasionally, but none of it told her anything. Lowie growled insistently.

    “The planet?” Jaina looked out at Tenupe, looming ever closer in the viewport.

    “I think he’s right!” Anakin called over the comm. “The planet’s interfering with the instruments. My targeting computer’s completely scrambled.”

    Jaina bit her lip as she threw the ship into another evasive manoeuvre. That explained how Jag had managed to crash a ship. If the scopes and displays weren’t working, there was no way to know what systems were even still operational.

    Another hit rocked the ship, and she winced as she wrestled with the controls. This was not good. She was not going to crash this ship. She was not, not, not, absolutely not going to crash this ship.

    The displays might be dead, but she still had Anakin.

    “Anakin, get Tahiri to take over for you!” she called. “Get back there and keep an eye on my engines and the shields. You too, Lowie. We’ll handle the flying and the shooting.”

    There was a click from the comm, and Lowie left the cockpit at a run. Ahead, the planet grew closer, and Jaina tried, with the bit of concentration she could spare, to find her brother. But reaching Jacen was more like reaching a part of herself, and she felt his touch on her mind before she’d even made a conscious effort.

    “All right then,” she muttered. “Guide me in, Jace.”

    “Got one!” Tahiri crowed over the comm. And then, moments later, “They’re falling back!”

    Jaina nodded, even though the other woman wouldn’t see it. They’d almost hit atmosphere. With the ship bucking and fighting beneath them and their scopes entirely flatlined, their pursuers were apparently satisfied that they would crash.

    Let them think it.

    “Engines are failing,” Anakin reported.

    Jaina was getting that from the way the ship was fighting her on every manoeuvre. But Anakin continued, “Number two will blow out in another minute or so. We’ll have to cut power.”

    “Tell me when,” Jaina gritted. “I need it for as long as possible.”

    “Stand by.”

    She concentrated on Jacen’s presence and on persuading the ship to fly towards it. The engine was limping badly, she could tell, and if Anakin hadn’t been down there she would have shut it down by now to prevent an explosion. But she knew that her little brother would know exactly how far he could push it.

    “Cut now.”

    She slapped the switch and felt the ship try to go into a spin. “Repulsors?”

    “Operational,” Anakin called back. “But be careful with number three.”

    Well, she didn’t need that one right now, anyway. She fired number five, felt the ship steady itself slightly, spin averted. With any luck, she’d be able to use the repulsors to shed enough speed to avoid a full-on crash, even with half her engine out of commission.

    The ground was coming closer now, along with Jacen’s presence. She gripped the control yokes and willed the ship to stay in the air, stay steady, let her land it with some semblance of control.


    * * *​


    “Their engine’s out,” Zekk said, watching through his macrobinoculars as the spaceship approached. Ever since Jacen had felt his siblings’ approach and subsequent stress as they came under attack, they’d been keeping a lookout for the incoming ship. “Looks like she’s flying half-blind.”

    “Let’s hope she doesn’t crash, too,” Kyp muttered.

    “She won’t,” Jag said, his voice calmly confident as he kept his binoculars trained on the ship. “Repulsors are operational. That means it can be landed, so she’ll land it.”

    They watched from their vantage point as the ship came close enough to be seen with the naked eye, trailing a faint plume of smoke. It was an odd feeling, watching the ship with your siblings and friends aboard go down, seemingly out of control and trailing smoke, and at the same time feeling your sister’s utter confidence that she would land it.

    It struck Jacen that for once, Jaina and Jag’s presences felt almost identical in their calm assurance.

    “Sithspit, that doesn’t look good,” Zekk said as the ship lurched briefly downwards.

    “Can’t do much for them now,” Kyp said tersely.

    “She’ll land it,” Jag repeated.

    He was right. As they watched it, Jaina fired the repulsors, one by one, then again, and then all together, to bring the ship to a jarring, but steady, stop. It ploughed over a few bushes and smaller trees, but the descent into the foliage and out of sight was remarkably smooth. Jacen saw the small plumes of smoke as the hydraulics vented steam and the ship’s systems powered down.

    The noises of the jungle returned to Jacen’s ears, as if the world had started breathing again. He let out the breath he’d been holding, heard Kyp do the same.

    Jag’s tense countenance mellowed into a smile, his voice soft as he looked out towards where the ship had sunk out of sight. “Told you.”


    * * *​

    “That was not a crash,” Jaina said, more to herself than to everyone else. “Wow.” She shook her head. “Everyone okay back there?”

    “Fine,” Tahiri reported, and Jaina heard the click as the young woman turned off her headset to clamber out of the gun turret.

    “I think Lowie hit his head, but we’re good,” Anakin said.

    “Good,” Jaina said a little weakly, forcing her fingers to peel away from the control yokes. “That’s good.” She sank back into her seat, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay.”

    She heaved herself out of her seat and made her way out of the cockpit. The others met her in the ship’s lounge, and Anakin reached out to put a hand around her shoulders.

    “You okay?”

    She nodded. “Yeah. How’re we doing?”

    He grimaced. “Engine’s cooked. We’ll need some repairs before we can take off again.”

    Lowie growled a suggestion, and Jaina nodded. “Should be able to salvage something,” she said. “If Jag didn’t fry their engines completely.”

    “Well, if he did, we’ll just do it without spare parts,” Anakin said, shrugging. “Might take a bit longer, but it’s fixable.”

    “Then we’ll fix it.” Jaina squared her shoulders and let out a breath. “One problem at a time.”

    Anakin nodded. “Glad you got us down,” he said. “Come on. I can feel Jacen nearby.”

    She could too, at that; her twin was nearby, his usual cheerful self, and heading towards them already if she wasn’t mistaken. “Pretty accurate, weren’t we?”

    Her brother grinned. “Matter of pride, isn’t it?”

    “Of course.” Jaina laughed and led the way to the boarding ramp.

    The first thing that hit her, almost like a physical wall, was the heat. It was a heavy, humid heat, much like the climate on Yavin 4 but much, much hotter.

    “Whew,” Tahiri said. “Guess I can leave my coat in the ship.”

    “And then some,” Anakin agreed, shrugging out of his jacket and, after a moment’s hesitation, also his shirt. In his baggy cargo pants and sleeveless undershirt, he immediately looked the part as he stepped out into the verdant jungle.

    Jaina climbed out of her jumpsuit. Underneath, she wore a short-sleeved shirt and close-fitting shorts, which ought to be plenty.

    Tahiri watched them with some amazement, then shook her head. “It’s so weird,” she said. “On Tatooine you wear layers and layers to protect yourself from the sun, and here it’s almost as hot, but you can take everything off.”

    Anakin shrugged. “Humidity. Although I think I’d almost prefer Tatooine.”

    “I wouldn’t!” Tahiri exclaimed vehemently. The young woman, customarily barefoot, discarded her Jedi robes and jacket, leaving her clad in a similar outfit to Jaina’s. She smiled as she stepped out to join Anakin. “This is amazing. It’s like a vacation spot. It’s like Yavin 4, but prettier, and bigger...”

    She spun around and looked up towards the treetop, her green eyes sparkling. Anakin watched her, a smile on his face. “Well, we have one satisfied customer.”

    Tahiri laughed and spun into his arms. “Yeah. I like it here. Which is good, since I’m guessing we’re probably going to be here for a few days, right?”

    Anakin shrugged and gave her an apologetic look. “Nothing to be done about that.”

    “Oh, don’t worry.” Tahiri pecked his cheek, still smiling. “I’m bad with repairs. That means I get a tropical vacation while you guys work.”

    Jaina laughed. Leave it to Tahiri to find the bright side to everything. “Well, let’s go see how that’s been working out for the guys.”

    It was harder than she’d expected. She was used to walking through jungles, of course, ever since her years at the praxeum on Yavin IV, but this one was wilder and a lot warmer. Their path sloped gently but constantly upwards, and the heat seemed to press down on her. Still, she’d endured far worse.

    It took less than half an hour to find Jacen. All of a sudden he was there, striding towards them through the jungle with his casual swagger.

    Jaina felt her eyebrows rise as she took in his appearance. He wore nothing but a pair of black shorts, untamed dark curls tickling at his bare shoulders, grass stains on his knees. His hair was wet, and a strip of fabric tied around his head lent him an almost piratical air.

    His grin was delighted and pure Jacen. “Hey guys. Welcome to our little vacation spot.”

    When he hugged her, she realised that it wasn’t just his hair that was wet. Moisture from his chest and arms seeped into her shirt.

    She pulled away. “Hey! You’re soaking!”

    “Oh, relax, it’ll cool you down,” he said dismissively. “It’s too hot to towel off after every swim.”

    “Swim?” Tahiri asked. “You’ve been swimming?”

    Jacen’s grin broadened as he greeted the others and gestured back along the way he’d come. “Not much else to do while we were waiting,” he said. “It’s been fun, but I’ll be honest, I’ll be glad when we can get out of here.”

    “Uh, about that,” Jaina said.

    Jacen sighed. “So it was a crash.”

    “I didn’t crash,” she insisted.”But the engine’s a bit damaged. We’ll need some repairs before we can take off.”

    Jacen ducked to avoid a dangling vine and glanced back at her as he led the way further up the incline. His expression was more persuasive than worried. “But you can do them, right?”

    “Yeah,” Anakin called from behind them. “Might just take a day or so.”

    “And it depends on how badly you crashed your ship,” Jaina said.

    The grin was back on his face. “I didn’t crash it. Fel crashed it.”

    A tiny flutter of anticipation stirred in Jaina’s stomach at the mention of Jag’s name. She hadn’t seen him in two months. And she even had something to goad him about.

    “I’m sure he had able help,” she commented as the path widened, allowing her to walk beside Jacen.

    Her twin laughed. “Sure he did. And you should have seen their faces when I told them you were coming to pick us up.”

    The familiar glint of mischievous delight in his eyes sparked Jaina’s own, and the jungle heat suddenly seemed less oppressive. Shortly afterwards, she heard the sound of splashing water, and shortly after that, several voices. A man yelled something.

    She looked at Jacen. “Swimming?”

    “The best kind,” he said cheerfully, and then they were there.

    Jaina couldn’t help it; she stared. The pool, the waterfall, the plants surrounding it... it looked like a vacation spot, right enough. The two men lounging around in the water only served to accentuate that impression. Jaina’s gaze found Jag immediately. He was floating on his back, looking serene. And making her breath catch, because while he looked good in a uniform, she’d always held that he looked even better out of it, and right now he only wore a pair of Imperial-grey shorts which exposed a sunlit, muscular chest and broad shoulders and those arms of his...

    A meter or two away was Kyp Durron, equally sunlit and shirtless, who was grinning at her because he’d caught her staring at Jag. As Jaina battled the blush that she felt rising to her cheeks, he reached over to nudge the dark-haired pilot.

    “Wow!” came a voice from behind her, and Tahiri pushed past to stare, awed, at the scene before her. “That’s amazing. Talk about getting lucky. Hey, I’m going for a swim, are you guys coming?”

    Lowie responded with an enthusiastic roar and a mighty splash as he launched himself into the water. Across the pool, Jag turned and stood as he looked across at Jaina. She grinned and waved at him, and bent to take her boots off. Tahiri and Jacen had already splashed into the pool by the time she’d managed, and she was aware of Anakin following close behind her.

    The water was little more than lukewarm, a pleasant contrast to the hot air, and quickly got too deep for Jaina to stand.

    “Hey there, crash tester,” she called as she swam towards Jag, aware that she had a stupid grin on her face but not quite able to care.

    “I wouldn’t call it a test,” Kyp called back from behind Jag, still grinning. “It was a pretty full-on crash.”

    Jag sighed. “You’re not helping, Durron.”

    “Not my job, kid.”

    Jaina reached Jag and tried to stand, but her feet wouldn’t reach the bottom here, either. Jag watched her attempts and an insufferable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Hey there, short stuff.”

    She glared at him. His smile grew wider.

    “Okay, fine, so we both have our strengths,” she said, eyes narrowed. “Mine’s landing ships, yours is being tall enough to stand up in a stupid pool.”

    “I can land ships.”

    “I’m not short.”

    “Just a... little.”

    “You crashed.”

    “Only so you’d have to come rescue me.”

    She finally caved, laughing. “Mhmm, okay, that was good.”

    He chuckled and reached out his arms. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in for a kiss. His arms went around her middle, holding her up, his lips brushing hers.

    Then he pulled back. “See, if I were to let go now...”

    She shoved him away, laughing, falling back into the water.

    There was a shout and a splash somewhere behind Jag, and Jaina glanced over just in time to see Zekk landing in the water. Someone yelled—Tahiri, sounding delighted. Zekk shook his head, sending water and hair flying around his face, smiling widely.

    Jaina grinned. “Haven’t you crashed enough yet?”

    Zekk’s smile widened as he sent a pointed glance at Jag. “Well, I wasn’t really involved in the last one, so...”

    “You should have said something,” Jag said. “If I’d known that you’re into that kind of thing, I would have relinquished the controls. Or rather, what was left of them.”

    Jaina chuckled and slung her arm around Jag’s shoulders. “Oh, I’m holding you all accountable. Three of the best pilots I know on one ship, and none of them manages a decent landing.”

    Jag twisted his head to give her a resigned look. “I’m so glad you’re here, love.”

    She laughed. “Oh, I know.”
     
    AzureAngel2 and mulberry like this.
  3. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    Okay, so how much do I have to pay you to get a sentence-long description of Jaina's bod? And a t-shirt? You couldn't even give her a tank top to wear? Blatant sexism, says I. ;)

    I think that Jag's pretty much off of the hook…Jaina's 'landing' was only marginally better, and I would argue that any landing you can walk away from isn't too bad a landing.

    'What kind of holiday are you used to?' 'The Solo kind.' Classic banter! I agree with Jace…well played.

    So now that the rescuers need rescuing…is the next call to the Fountain Palace? Pretty please? I mean, two of the Solo kids have their significant others…
     
  4. mulberry

    mulberry Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2009
    Love this, you clearly understand all these characters well.
     
  5. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Iverna! You gave me some superb J/J yumness, great banter & some Kyp-style =P~ ... :* :* !!!!
     
  6. Master_Jaina1011

    Master_Jaina1011 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 20, 2002
    Awwww.... you made me realize how much I love some J/J. My ultimate ship, the ship I was go under for. You just reminded me of that!

    Thanks for slowing bringing me back.
     
  7. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    For that alone, Iverna deserves a [:D] [:D] and I have to add a buya! [face_love]
     
  8. serendipityaey

    serendipityaey Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2004
    So cute at the end, great!
     
  9. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    You'll get your descriptions, don't worry. But since this was written from Jaina's POV, I highly doubt she'd describe herself, right? That's better left to the guys. :p

    Glad you liked the banter! And we will see a certain Queen Mother before the end of this, that's a promise.

    Thanks, that's a hell of a compliment!

    I'm glad you enjoyed it! [:D]

    That's so cool! J/J are an awesome couple and it's great that you're coming back to them! Yay!

    They can be adorable when they're not sniping at each other... heh.


    New update will be up in just a bit!
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  10. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Tags: @Durroness, @Falcon


    * * *​


    Chapter 5


    The others were all for joining in the fun in the water, but Jaina had had enough excitement during the landing. She retreated to the pool edge and stripped off her now-soaked shirt, forgotten in her eagerness to get into the water. Legs dangling in the water, she studied the ship’s readouts on her datapad. It was the next best thing to actually doing repairs when it came to taking some time out, and she reflected that as places to be stuck went, this was far from the worst. It felt almost like a vacation.

    “Doesn’t look so bad,” Zekk commented. He sat beside her, leaning close. His hair tickled her shoulder. “The actuator’s fried, but that’s easy enough to replace.”

    “If we have another one,” Jaina said. “Which depends on how badly you crashed your ship.”

    “I didn’t—anyway, we have a spare.” He grinned. “Some of us know how to run a ship, complete with spare parts locker, you know?”

    “Some of us know how to land one,” she shot back, grinning.

    He narrowed his eyes. “It’ll get old eventually.”

    “Yeah, but until then, I’m going to have fun.”

    Zekk shook his head pointed at another item on the readout. “What about the ignition coil?”

    “Anakin said it should still work. Computer just thinks it’s damaged because he had to override the safeties on the cooling.”

    “He overrode the—?” Zekk sounded incredulous, but checked himself. Anakin Solo was allowed to override safeties. “So I guess the cooling will need some work.”

    “Yeah.” She pointed at the display. “Might have a leak, but Anakin sealed it off so we won’t know until we go back in.”

    “Right.” Zekk blew out a breath. “Here, what about that flux coup—?” He broke off as a yell sounded over the laughter and conversation that mixed in with the rushing water.

    Jaina looked up to see Jacen drop into the water right beside Jag, splashing a wave of water over the pilot. Jag swiped water from his eyes, waited for Jacen to emerge, and threw himself forward, pushing the younger man back down. Jacen thrashed back to the surface, sputtering and glaring between laughter, and launched himself back at Jag.

    Jaina laughed as they wrestled, trying to dunk each other. She laughed even harder when Kyp plucked them both out of the water in a Force grip and sent them flying towards opposite ends of the pool, before jumping down from the ledge himself.

    Jag and Jacen got back to their feet, looked across at each other, nodded, and swam over towards their common enemy.

    “Boys,” Zekk said, watching the display with a mournful expression.

    “You’re a boy,” Jaina said, pronouncing it like an insult.

    He gasped in feigned outrage and pouted like a child. “No, you.”

    “No, no, I’m a girl.” She made her voice a mix of patronising and disdainful. “Don’t you know anything?”

    “Oh, that’s right.” He grinned. “Sucks to be you, then. Boys get to play and be immature.” He pushed off the ledge into the water, making sure to splash her generously in the process.

    Shrieking, Jaina put down the datapad and jumped after him.


    * * *​


    Jacen and Lowie volunteered to go back to Jaina’s ship for supplies, and Kyp went along saying that he wanted to sleep in a real bed for a change. But he came trudging back with the others an hour later.

    “What’s the matter?” Jaina asked. “Need your lullaby?”

    He raised his eyebrows. “Why, you volunteering?”

    “Careful,” Zekk said. “You don’t know what her definition of lullaby is.”

    Jaina gave him an innocent look. “Something that puts people to sleep as quickly as possible.” She balled her fist demonstratively.

    “That’s what I thought.” Zekk shook his head sadly.

    Kyp snorted and dropped down to the ground. “I’m too old for a lullaby.”

    “Much too old,” Jacen agreed, and Kyp aimed a swipe at him, which Jacen dodged.

    Sitting cross-legged beside Jaina, Jag watched the exchange with his usual wry calm. “Yes. But you can hardly blame Jaina for not noticing that, given how you act most of the time.” On Jaina’s other side, Lowie urfed a soft laugh that had Kyp sending a glare at him.

    “Why did you come back?” Anakin asked, getting them back on track.

    Kyp made a face. “Life support’s not running. It’s hotter in there than out here by now.”

    “Please don’t tell me that’s broken too?” Jag looked a little worried now.

    Jaina shook her head. “Should work fine, but of course it’s not running while we’re on the ground. Anyway, we wanted to check all the systems before we power anything back up.”

    Jag nodded. “So what do you need to get airborne again?”

    Jaina exchanged a glance with Anakin. “Should be just an actuator for the engine,” she said. “And a flux coupling for the hyperdrive, but we should be able to cobble something together if we can’t find a spare. Have to check the cooling system, too. That should do it.”

    Kyp lay back and shut his eyes. The position made his voice sound thicker and deeper than usual when he spoke. “So I guess you kids will mount an expedition tomorrow?”

    “Us?” Jaina asked.

    “Well, I’m not going. I’d only get in the way.”

    Jaina glared at him, but his eyes were still shut, and he did have a point. He might be a good pilot, but the only use he’d be in ship repairs was handing her the tools.

    “I’ll go,” Jacen said, much as Jaina had expected him to. Her brother looked entirely at ease, lounging in the grass with his bandana and his mud-stained hands and legs. He grinned, teeth bright against his tanned, stubble-covered skin. “We can bring a picnic.”

    “Picnic on a crashed ship,” Jag said, nodding. “Sounds good. Count me in.”

    Jaina raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn’t any better at ship repairs than Kyp was, and he didn’t share Jacen’s enthusiasm for Tenupe’s jungle wildlife, either.

    He noticed her doubts, of course. “I crashed it,” he said, half-shrugging. “It’s my fault we’re here, so I ought to help get us out.”

    “Not entirely your fault,” Anakin said. “Something’s up with the planet. It screws with the sensors, maybe even with the electronics altogether.”

    “Ah.” The look that Jag shot at Kyp and Zekk, the barest hint of a smirk on his lips, was more than a little smug. “That explains it.”

    “Explains what, Fel?” Kyp asked. His eyes were still closed, but he’d apparently caught Jag’s look anyway. “You’re not the type for excuses.”

    “No, I’m the type for reasons,” Jag agreed, still smirking.

    Jaina smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think that none of you brilliant flyboys were aboard when that ship crashed.”

    “You had Anakin,” Kyp pointed out. “That’s hardly fair.”

    “Planning ahead,” Jaina said, shrugging. “Not my fault I’m better at it than you guys.”

    Tahiri groaned. “I was gonna volunteer to come along tomorrow, but I think I’ll stay here with Kyp. Where it’s quiet, and peaceful, and non-confrontational.”

    That had everyone laughing. Lowie grabbed a ration bar and chuffed his agreement, and Anakin nodded. “Me, too.”

    Zekk sighed. “I’ll come along. I need a break from Durron.”

    “Aww.” Kyp finally opened his eyes to give Zekk a beseeching look. “How can you say that? I was even gonna sleep on the couch for you to give you space!”

    Jaina buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry that I interrupted the honeymoon.”


    * * *​


    The next day was as slow to start as the rest of them had been. Jacen had been the first to wake up ever since they’d set up their camp, and today, he was only beaten by Lowbacca. The Wookiee was already in the water, cooling off, by the time Jacen had found a ration bar for breakfast. He took one of Jaina’s, for variation, but unfortunately it was exactly the same brand.

    He looked around their impromptu camp while he ate, perched on a low tree limb with his legs swinging. Jaina had rolled halfway off her sleeping mat and lay sprawled on her stomach. Beside her, Jag was lying on his back, one hand flung up. The stubble on his cheeks and chin looked out of place, but they’d all felt so ridiculous shaving in the jungle that they’d quickly given up on the idea.

    Kyp and Zekk lay at opposite ends of the camp, just because. Over in another corner lay Anakin and Tahiri, the young woman nestled into Anakin’s chest. Jacen smirked. No conflict or ambiguity there. But then, there never really was.

    He finished his breakfast, looked around the peaceful camp once more, and took a flying leap into the water, yelling as he went. By the time he resurfaced below, the curses from the camp above hadn’t quite subsided yet.

    Jacen smiled and winked at Lowie, who was floating serenely in the water and listening to the shouts above with soft chuffs of laughter.

    The others joined him for a swim before leaving. Even relatively early in the morning, the jungle was already stifling, and promising to get hotter as the day wore on.

    Jaina splashed water at Jacen when she reached him. “You woke us up.”

    “Your fault for sleeping so long.”

    “Jerk.”

    “Sleepyhead.”

    “Where do you get the energy in this heat?” Zekk asked, swimming up to join them. “Why are you never tired?”

    “He runs on annoyance,” Jaina said. “Every person he irritates is just another bit of fuel.”

    Jag looked enlightened. “You know, that actually makes sense.” Jacen just smiled.

    Jaina heaved a sigh. “Well, now that we’re up, we might as well get going. I don’t suppose it’s likely to get any cooler.”

    “More like hotter,” Zekk assured her, and she grimaced.

    They packed supplies, mostly water, into their backpacks, and set off.

    Jacen didn’t like the heat any more than the others did, but everything else made up for it. Walking through the jungle and feeling its life teeming around him was wonderful. It reminded him of Yavin 4, although that had been cooler and less alive, in a way. The forest here was never quiet. Water dripped constantly, one rain shower chasing the next. Beneath the thick canopy of leaves and vines, the air was thick and laden with moisture and a dozen different smells.

    He led the way back to their crashed ship, pointing out animals to the others. It was an easier hike this way around, most of the way sloping gently downwards or not at all. The way back was going to be fun. But there’d be less water to carry by then, and he could always pretend interest in some animal or other to give Jaina and especially Jag short breaks.

    “There’s the tree where we called for help,” he said eventually, pointing it out to Jaina.

    “Nearly there, then,” Zekk added.

    “Any sign of those creatures?” Jag asked.

    Jacen shook his head, feeling droplets of water fly from the tips of his hair onto his face and shoulders. “I doubt they come through the same place very often.”

    Jaina looked up at the tree. “What creatures?”

    Jag told her the story as they continued their hike. After that, Jacen told her how the guys had tried to set up camp, and then the conversation turned into another predictable bantering argument between Jaina, Jag, and Zekk, this time about tents and instruction manuals.

    And then, before Jacen even realised it, they were at the ship. Or rather, at what remained of the ship.

    “Wow,” Jaina said as she stepped up beside Jacen. “You really did a number on it. Cockpit’s crunched up good.”

    Her tone was casual, but Jacen could see the realisation in her face and read it in her sense. Jag, at the very least, had been lucky to survive that crash.

    “Probably filling with water, too,” she went on. “Doesn’t look very steady.”

    “It’s not,” Jag said. “The ground’s very soft. Good for landing, but it’s already sunk down a good bit.”

    “We could probably pull it out...” Jacen suggested, half-heartedly. His uncle Luke preached that size did not matter, but his uncle Luke had learned that phrase while failing to pull an X-Wing out of the water. And this was different again. The ship wasn’t just submerged, it was all but embedded in the ground by now.

    “Maybe we should’ve brought Kyp after all,” Jaina said. “Look, it should be okay. You and Zekk just hold it steady, and I’ll go in.”

    “I’ll go,” Jag said. “I can’t do anything out here, and you can.”

    “I’m lighter than you,” Jaina argued. “And I know what I’m looking for.”

    Jag shook his head. “It’s in the spare parts locker. Not much to find.”

    “Oh for—” Jacen rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you both go? Me and Zekk can handle things out here, and you don’t know what it’s like in there.”

    They both wanted to argue against that idea, he could tell. But he was right, and they knew it. The first rule of entering any unknown space was to go in pairs.

    “Fine,” Jaina said, eyes flashing. “But I’m going in first.”

    “By all means.” Jag gestured at the ship wreck, his chin still set in that stubborn Fel way. “After you.”

    “Children,” Zekk muttered, and Jacen felt the other Jedi’s presence reaching out to him and then towards the unstable ship in the swamp.


    * * *​


    Jag wasn’t entirely happy with the arrangement, but that was his feelings for Jaina talking. Tactically, it made perfect sense for the two of them to go. It also made sense for her to go in first.

    But he didn’t have to like it.

    They climbed onto the ship—the ramp was down and the side hatch open, but it was around the other side and in the swamp, and it made a lot more sense to go in from the top anyway. The ship rocked slightly as they climbed up, but it stayed more or less steady. Jaina led the way, and for a moment, Jag allowed himself the luxury of watching her. She looked almost as at home in the jungle as Jacen did, damp hair tucked out of her face, clad in the black shorts and exercise bra she usually wore on missions; Jag was intimately familiar with both. Despite the oppressive heat, her movements were athletic and graceful as always. Slender and deceptively small, she had that same aura of danger that Jedi did so well, but on her it looked good.

    Really good.

    She looked over her shoulder, and he caught the gleam in her eyes. "Focus, flyboy."

    That was the trouble with Jedi: too perceptive by half. Years ago, he might have blushed, or at least felt embarrassed, but all the time spent around the Solo family had cured him of that. Instead, he only raised his eyebrows. "I am."

    "On the mission," she clarified, but she was smiling.

    He gestured towards the top of the ship, giving her an innocent look that, years ago, would have been completely alien to him. Another scoundrel lesson, that one. "I'm right behind you."

    She shook her head and turned her attention back to the climb. She had the top access hatch open almost before Jag joined her. “Ready,” she said. “Keep an eye out.”

    “I’ll join you,” he said, just to be clear.

    She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She swung her legs into the hatch and dropped down.

    Just as she did so, Jag heard a shout from Jacen, and the ship swayed slightly as the Jedi’s concentration seemed to slip. Before his brain could even process the sound to make sense of it, a snarl sounded from below, mixing with Jaina’s startled yell.

    Jag’s hand reached for his blaster before he’d made a conscious effort, tracking down the hatch. He caught sight of something furry boiling past below. Off to his right, he heard the tell-tale hum of lightsabers.

    But not below.

    He cursed and dropped down through the hatch.

    He landed hard and the ship moved in response, tilting ponderously forward. But Jag didn’t have time to worry about that now. Two huge, fur-covered beasts took up most of the space in the compartment, one of them already turning towards him.

    Jag lifted the blaster, but the beast jumped before he had a chance to aim. It slammed into him and knocked the weapon from his grip. Jag fell backwards, his shoulder hitting a bulkhead, and kicked blindly at the creature bearing down on him. Sharp fangs snapped towards him, but he had a second to react and threw himself to the side, one fist punching upwards. He hit something soft. The animal snarled, then yelped as it was flung backwards across the compartment. Its companion followed, propelled by the Force.

    Which meant Jaina was still alive and capable.

    “Come on!” she yelled from somewhere. Jag stumbled towards her voice. She caught his hand and pulled him through a doorway. She palmed the release, but nothing happened; the machinery had given out.

    Cursing, she tugged at his hand and kept going. The beasts were still on the hunt behind them; he could hear them bounding across the deck. The ship tilted again as he hurried after Jaina along the narrow corridor that led to the side ramp.

    A crash sounded behind them. Jaina stopped and held out her lightsaber. Her abdomen was smeared with blood—the animal’s, Jag hoped. “I’ll get the actuator. You hold them off.”

    For a brief instant, he just stared at her. Jaina Solo, parting with her lightsaber? But then the tactical part of his brain caught up again and he took the weapon from her. “Be careful.”

    He’d never used a lightsaber in his life, but the basics weren’t particularly difficult. And jungle beasts did not, as a rule, come equipped with duelling skills.

    They came at him, though, loping down the corridor with a complete disregard for the ship’s instability. He gripped the lightsaber and yelled a challenge at them, hoping to distract them. They didn’t even slow.

    When the first one came within reach, he swung the lightsaber at it, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. The purple blade slashed past the animal’s front legs, singing fur. The creature yelped and drew up short, snarling. Its companion came to a stop, too, and then the two of them glared at Jag with intense orange eyes.

    He stood his ground and glared back. They didn’t dare come closer, though. Apparently, they were at least intelligent enough to learn quickly that they should stay clear of lightsabers.

    They continued their standoff until Jaina yelled “Okay!” and Jag began retreating along the corridor towards the side hatch. The animals followed him, carefully keeping the safe distance but making it clear that they still meant business. The ship groaned beneath them, but either it had steadied, or Zekk and Jacen had their concentration back, because it only tilted once again, and only slightly.

    Jag had expected another fight once he and Jaina got to the side hatch, but when they’d made it out of the ship, the creatures didn’t show any interest in following them.

    “Probably protecting their territory,” Jaina gasped when Jag dropped from the ramp onto the squelching ground beside her. “Come on, keep moving. Ground’s not steady.” She reached out a hand to brace herself against him.

    He reached back reflexively, and saw the pain tightening her features. There was more blood on her belly now, smearing along her arm as well, bright red against her pale skin. Not the animal’s, then. Jag grabbed her knees and swung her into his arms. “It’s not the ground, love.”

    “I’m fine,” she said, the token protest.

    “Noted,” he told her, slogging through the mud around the ship. Zekk and Jacen were heading towards them, wearing identical expressions of worry.

    Jaina shifted in his arms. “It’s just a cut. I can walk.”

    “The ground’s unsteady,” Jag told the others.

    Zekk made a face, and Jacen shook his head. “Uh-huh. Jaina?”

    “Jag’s hurt, too,” she said.

    Now that she said it, his shoulder throbbed back into his consciousness again, and Jag could feel his arms shaking with the after-effects of adrenaline. He shook his head at Jacen’s questioning look, but handed Jaina over to Zekk.

    “Jag?” Jacen insisted, as they made their way back to firmer ground.

    He shook his head again. “I’ve hurt myself worse running into the ‘fresher door at night.” He gestured with his chin at Jaina, ahead of them in Zekk’s arms. “She’s just trying to distract you.”

    Jacen rolled his eyes. “You’re as bad as each other.”

    They patched Jaina up with the emergency medkit from one of the backpacks, and Jacen sent her into a healing trance. Afterwards, when they’d retreated a ways into the jungle and sat eating ration bars, they filled each other in on what had happened.

    “Three of them attacked us from the jungle,” Jacen said. “I almost didn’t get them in time, but I managed to convince them we weren’t a threat. They were protecting something. I’m guessing there’s a litter in the ship. Did you see anything?”

    “I was a bit busy trying not to get killed,” Jag said wryly.

    “And you’re not going back to have a look,” Zekk added.

    Jacen held up his hands, the picture of innocence. “I wasn’t gonna!”

    “Good. Half an injured team is bad enough,” Zekk said.

    “I’m not injured,” Jag insisted, just as Jacen said, “I wouldn’t get hurt!”

    Zekk laughed at them.

    Jag looked over at Jaina. She lay prone on the ground, her head in Jacen’s lap and her hand in his. The bandage from the medkit was already beginning to stain with blood, the white and red stark against her smooth, creamy skin. The creature had swiped two claws across her ribs, not deep enough to do any serious damage but enough to require stitches. At least, a non-Jedi would have required stitches.

    Her chest rose and fell unnaturally slowly, but Jag had seen enough healing trances to be used to it. What he wasn’t used to was seeing her look so pale.

    But she was fine. Her injuries weren’t that serious, and she and Jacen could handle far worse, in any case. It was just those damned feelings again.

    “She’s fine,” Jacen said, probably responding to Jag, but at least pretending not to have noticed. “We should start heading back.”

    “Yeah.” Zekk hesitated another moment, then sighed and pushed to his feet. “Figures she’d find a way out of hiking all the way back.”

    Jacen chuckled. “We’ll take turns and I’ll go first, okay?”

    “Yeah, yeah.” Zekk waved the issue away. “We should’ve brought Lowie along.”

    “He’d thank you,” Jacen commented, lifting Jaina up. “Drag him all the way in this heat, then use him as a pack animal.”

    Jag shouldered his pack and swung Jaina’s over his unhurt shoulder. He cocked an eyebrow at Zekk. “Remind me again of all those advantages of being a Jedi?”

    Zekk sent a glare at him. “Remind me again of all your brilliant piloting skills?”

    “No, no.” Jag shook his head and smiled. “You have your excuses on Myrkr. I have mine here. Anakin said so.”

    Jacen groaned. “Both of you shut up, or I tell Jaina that you didn’t want to help carry her.”
     
  11. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    There was a shout and a splash somewhere behind Jag, and Jaina glanced over just in time to see Zekk landing in the water. Someone yelled—Tahiri, sounding delighted. Zekk shook his head, sending water and hair flying around his face, smiling widely.

    Jaina grinned. “Haven’t you crashed enough yet?”

    Zekk’s smile widened as he sent a pointed glance at Jag. “Well, I wasn’t really involved in the last one, so...”

    “You should have said something,” Jag said. “If I’d known that you’re into that kind of thing, I would have relinquished the controls. Or rather, what was left of them.”

    Jaina chuckled and slung her arm around Jag’s shoulders. “Oh, I’m holding you all accountable. Three of the best pilots I know on one ship, and none of them manages a decent landing.”

    Jag twisted his head to give her a resigned look. “I’m so glad you’re here, love.”

    She laughed.

    You know how to write fun characters & fun stuff.
     
  12. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    :eek: on the injuries but terrific J/J-ness all the way through. :)
     
    SiouxFan likes this.
  13. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    '...he runs on annoyance...' :) Truly, I've forgotten how fun this story is!

    I still think the interaction between Jacen and Jag is the best...they seem pretty comfortable with their almost-brother-in-law relationship. Good stuff!
     
    Nyota's Heart likes this.
  14. snowduchess

    snowduchess Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2011
    Aw. There aren't enough Jacen and Jaina moments like this in the world.
     
    Nyota's Heart likes this.
  15. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Thank you! More fun is ahead, I promise!

    Don't worry about Jaina, the boys will take care of her! I'm glad you enjoyed J/J here. :)

    This is actually the story that made me realise how much I enjoy writing Jacen and Jag. They're so different, so they make for an interesting dynamic. And Jacen is just fun in general. :D

    So true. I really wish we'd gotten a bit more of that in canon. Still, I guess that's what fanfic is for! I'm glad you liked it!
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  16. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Tags: @Durroness, @Falcon

    Let me know if you want to be tagged!


    * * *​


    Kyp knew that something had gone wrong before the others returned. He’d always had a bond with the Solo kids, and in the brief time that Jaina had been his apprentice, that bond had grown a lot stronger. And now she’d been hurt.

    The others knew it, too. Lowie was one of Jaina’s best friends, and Anakin was her brother. And everything Anakin sensed, Tahiri picked up right away.

    But the boys were with her. She’d be fine.

    Even so, when the small group came trudging back through the undergrowth and he saw Jaina lying limp in her brother’s arms, his heart gave a little tug. Lowie growled softly.

    “What happened?” Kyp asked.

    “Ran into some locals.” Jacen laid Jaina down on her bed mat. Her eyes were shut, her expression serene, and her chest was rising and falling regularly in the healing trance. “Some kind of predator. Big claws.”

    “Is she okay?” Tahiri asked, doing the talking for Anakin as usual. The youngest Solo was quiet, focused on his sister.

    Jacen took his sister’s hand. “She’ll be fine.”

    Kyp could sense Jacen’s efforts, directed towards his sister. He’d always had that talent for healing. Kyp caught his eye. “How bad is it?”

    “Not as bad as it was,” Jacen said. “Just a few gashes. It bled a lot, but that’s stopped, and it seems to be healing fine. She should be okay in the morning.”

    “Let’s hope so,” Kyp said.

    Lowie grunted an agreement, then a question.

    Jacen shook his head. “I don’t see how she’d be any better-off in the ship than here. It’s got to be hot as ninth hell in there by now, and no air conditioning until it’s fixed, remember?” He looked around. “We could do with some fresh bandages, though. Don’t suppose we’ve got any bandages?”

    “A basic one.” Tahiri jumped up and started rooting around in the equipment they’d brought from the ship. She and Jacen exchanged Jaina’s bloody bandage—the basic kind from the emergency kit, Kyp thought—for some bacta patches.

    And that, as Jacen informed them, was that. They couldn’t do anything else for her until the morning.

    They all slept a bit closer that night. And no one argued.

    Amazing. Kyp drifted off to sleep reflecting that it was a pity Jaina wasn’t conscious for it, because she’d never believe it.


    * * *​


    “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

    Jacen’s voice penetrated through the heavy silk darkness in Jaina’s mind, touching something beneath it. The darkness got lighter, lifting. She tried to hold onto it. Lying here, breathing deeply, with nothing to worry about, felt good.

    But Jacen’s voice took it away, and bit by bit, her thoughts shuffled into order. She could feel Jacen now, nearby, brimming with energy as usual. Another familiar presence hovered beside her, a bright, strong one that shone in the Force like the embers of a fire that never went out. Jag.

    Warmth surrounded her like a blanket, but she could feel air on her skin. Air, and something else, something cooler. Rain? She couldn’t tell. All around, foliage rustled and strange animals called to each other, drowning out any sound that rain might have made.

    Memory stirred. She was on Tenupe, and some animal had attacked her, and Jacen had put her into a trance.

    With the memory came full alertness.

    Sleepyhead?

    “Jerk,” she muttered, and blinked her eyes open. She felt rather than saw Jag smile.

    “Hey. How’re you feeling?”

    “Cramped,” she said, stretching. “Hungry.”

    “Better,” Jacen said. He helped her sit up and handed her a ration bar. “Good morning.”

    She scowled at the bar, but her stomach growled and put all thoughts of being choosy out of her mind. “How long?”

    “Just overnight,” Jacen said. “About sixteen hours.”

    Jaina looked around. A few meters to her right, Tahiri seemed to be in the process of waking Anakin. Kyp sat nearby, flashing her a smile when she looked at him. Zekk was hunched on the ground further to her left, a datapad in his hands. He lifted a hand when he saw her looking.

    “Welcome back.”

    “Thanks. How’s the ship?” The question brought another to mind, and she turned to look at Jag. “How’s the shoulder?”

    Zekk laughed. “Good to see you have your priorities straight.”

    Jaina glared at him, furiously fighting the blush that threatened to colour her cheeks. “I’d like to see you come out of a trance with all your thoughts in perfect order.”

    “Please, no more trances,” Kyp cut in. “We’ve had enough injuries, don’t you think?”

    Jacen whistled. “Wow, you almost sounded responsible there.”

    Someone has to be.”

    Jaina rolled her eyes at the exchange, but kept her eyes on Jag, still questioning.

    He shrugged, and it didn’t seem to hurt. “I’m in far better shape than the ship. It’s just a bruise.”

    Jaina nodded. “Zekk?”

    “We haven’t had a look yet,” he said. “But the actuator from the shuttle works, Anakin checked it out. Just have to replace it.”

    “We should get going then. Where’s Lowie?”

    “In the water,” Jacen said.

    Jaina could sympathise. Even now, in the morning, the temperatures were already—or still—at the edge of uncomfortable. Lowbacca had to be roasting in his thick pelt.

    “Let’s leave him there,” she said. “It’s all mechanics for now anyway. He can talk to the computers once we’ve got life support back.”

    “Fine by me.” Zekk ran a hand through his damp hair. “You know, me and Anakin can just—”

    “Uh-uh.” Jaina levelled a finger at him. “My ship. Forget it.”

    They wanted to argue. She could see it, feel it, almost hear their voices saying the words. But they didn’t.

    Jaina smiled and got to her feet. Her wound was healed, with only slight pinches and a barely-there, dull ache to remind her to be careful. “Let’s pack up and go.”

    Anakin snagged the actuator and the pack that she’d reached for, and grinned. “Lead on.”

    “Anakin—”

    “That’s my name.”

    She gave up. So he wanted to carry it. It wasn’t a big deal. Unless she chose to make it one, but from the way Zekk and Anakin were standing there, she wasn’t going to win without kicking up a major fuss.

    Which would be both childish and ridiculous.

    “Okay. Got everything?”

    Nods. She did her best not to see them as triumphant, and realised to her mild surprise that they actually weren’t.

    “Then let’s go.”


    * * *​


    The Divine Trickster was a modified freighter, much like the Millennium Falcon. Unlike the Falcon, however, her insides were neatly arranged and accessible. The lack of labels still tended to confuse spaceport tech crews, but Jaina knew her ship inside out.

    “Take at least today and tomorrow,” she said, squinting into the compartment that housed, amongst other things, the partially slagged actuator for the sublight engines. “First thing is to get the actuator out.”

    “Hold on,” Zekk said. “I’ll do it.”

    “You don’t fit.”

    “I can.”

    “It’s my ship.” She climbed in past the tangle of wires and jutting machinery. It wasn’t comfortable, especially in the sweltering heat, but Jaina didn’t care. This was repair work. Damned if she was going to let Zekk do it. Besides which, he’d be a million times more uncomfortable, and she’d have to listen to the complaints.

    She heard him sigh behind her. “Hasn’t Fel taught you how to be sensible yet?”

    “I’d be more inclined to listen if he practiced what he preached.”

    “You always were too smart for your own good.”

    “My own good, or other people’s?”

    Zekk chuckled. “That, too.”

    She held out a hand. “Flow meter.”

    “Power’s off,” Anakin said from somewhere behind Zekk.

    Jaina eyed the machinery in front of her. The cable that supplied the engines with power was thicker than her arm. “You’ll understand if I check. Zekk?”

    “Of course,” Zekk said blandly, pressing the meter into her hand. “It’s your ship.”

    “Are you insulting my ship?”

    “Just saying you’re in charge.”

    She grinned into the gloom. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

    They worked together, Zekk handing Jaina the tools and passing on the readouts and instructions that Anakin was getting from the computers. Jaina fell into the flow of it, her world narrowing down to wires and machinery and performance stats. The smell of engine grease and lubricant filled her senses. She smiled as she worked. This was home.

    The actuator, when she got to it, made her whistle. “Oh, wow.”

    “Wow what?”

    “We really did a number on this thing.” It was badly burned, the wires and cables around it singed and partly broken. “Looks like something exploded.”

    “Yep. The pressure coil,” Zekk said after a brief pause. “Whatever that is. I’ve never looked inside an actuator before.”

    “You’ll get the chance now,” Jaina said. “It looks like Jacen’s first attempt at Hapan stew.”

    Zekk’s chuckle told her that he remembered that particular disaster. “No wonder the ship crashed.”

    “Uh-uh,” Jaina said. “Zekk, dear, that wasn’t this ship. That was your ship. Must’ve been a hell of a crash if you can’t even remember that.”

    “What can I say, Fel is a hell of a crasher.”

    “If it’s all his fault, what were you doing?” Jaina challenged. “Bolt cutter. I guess you were reading the new issue of Galactic Gossip?”

    “Wow, I didn’t know you knew when the new issue came out.”

    Jaina felt the bold cutter press into her hand and turned back to the actuator. “It’s a monthly publication. It doesn’t take a genius.”

    “Didn’t you know you knew it was monthly.”

    “Don’t try to change the subject. Were you trying out the styling tips or reading up on Sharila Venner’s love life?”

    “Hey, that new volume shampoo looks absolutely amazing, I’ll have you know. Encourages the curl.”

    “I’m sure that it cheered the guys up no end when you crawled out of the wreckage with amazing hair and a guilty expression.”

    “Oh hey, there’s no need to be jealous, I hear straight hair and grease smears are the coming thing.”

    The last bolt popped free, and Jaina wrenched the actuator free of its place in the engine. It hit the metal deck plates with a clang.

    “Jaina?”

    “Got it,” she called, and tugged it out of the compartment.

    Zekk was kneeling on the deck outside, tools spread around him. He raised his eyebrows when he saw the actuator. “Whoah.”

    “Yeah.”

    “No fixing that,” Anakin said, coming to join them. “The pressure coil gave out anyway. You’ll have to replace a few of the cables, too.”

    “I saw.”

    Anakin nodded. “I’ve reset the cooling safeties. The ignition coil is fine, but there’s a loose wire in there somewhere. And we have a leak, too, so I haven’t powered it up yet.”

    “Do you know where?”

    “Not exactly, but I can find it.”

    “Okay.” Jaina tugged at Zekk’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s get this thing installed.”

    “Hold up.” Zekk scooted across the deck plates and seized the backpack he’d deposited there. “Food first?”

    “Food first,” Anakin agreed.

    Jaina opened her mouth to argue, but once again, her stomach got there first. She sighed. “Food first.”


    * * *​


    “Reach out further,” Jacen called, clearly struggling to keep a straight face while he reeled off instructions. “Arms straight! And the rest of you! Your legs are drowning!”

    Tahiri shrieked, her arms flailing wildly for a moment before she managed to get her feet back under her, and stood up. She glared at Jacen. “All of me is drowning with this stupid technique!”

    “That’s because you’re doing it wrong,” Jacen said easily.

    Jag chuckled. “The students reflect on the teacher.”

    Jacen scowled at him. “So I guess Hobbie Klivian taught you how to fly, then?”

    “You should thank me for crashing. At least this way you’ve got some ammunition for a change.”

    “Boys,” Tahiri interrupted. “Jaina’s not here. Tenel Ka’s not here. Stop with the posturing.”

    Jacen splashed water at her. “Fine. Back to the lesson.”

    “Nuh-uh. I’m done with your lesson, Jacen Solo. I don’t want to drown, and that’s the only thing that’s going to happen. What kind of idiot came up with the idea of swimming on your back?”

    “Actually, it’s a good technique,” Jag said. “It’s fast, and you can breathe better than if you—“

    “Speak for yourself. I can’t breathe at all because I keep shovelling water into my face, and I can’t even go in a straight line because I can’t see where I’m going.” Even as she ranted, Tahiri’s green eyes sparkled with amusement—mostly at herself, Jag thought—and giggles kept interrupting her tirade.

    “This is why you shouldn’t drink beforehand,” Jacen said helpfully.

    Tahiri groaned, a loud noise of wordless displeasure. “Are you sure you don’t work for the Sith? Because you could probably drive even Yoda to the Dark Side with your— your—” She waved a hand. “You know what I mean.”

    “Annoying behaviour?” Jag suggested.

    “Devastating good looks,” Jacen said, grinning.

    “Oh, good grief.” Tahiri sighed. “I give up.”

    Jag took pity on her. “He’s right about stretching your arms out further,” he said. “You have to keep your strokes even, that way you’ll stay on course. And keep your back straight.”

    “All at once?” Tahiri demanded with a despairing sort of giggle. “Ugh.”

    Jag pushed off and was at her side in one smooth motion. “Here, lie back. I’ll hold you up.”

    “You better.”

    “Back straight,” Jag reminded her while he steadied her. “Okay. Now stretch your arms out—slowly, I’ve got you.”

    For someone who’d grown up on Tatooine, Tahiri was remarkably confident in the water. Maybe it was a Jedi thing, Jag thought. And she’d clearly done this technique before, because her arms moved right, as long as he held her up and she didn’t have to worry about sinking.

    “Now you just kick your legs,” Jag said. “And keep your back straight!”

    When she started kicking, Jag let go and stood back. This time, she got halfway across the pool before something went wrong and she fought, spluttering and coughing, to get back to her feet.

    “Better, right?”

    “Better!” Jag said.

    “You’re no fun, Fel,” Jacen said, shaking his head sadly. “No fun at all.”

    “You mean I don’t take advantage of people for my own amusement,” Jag said.

    Jacen flashed a grin. “Sure, that’s what I said.”

    “That went way better!” Tahiri called as she swam back over. “Thank you, Jag.” She shot Jacen a dirty look.

    She tried it a few more times, improving as she went. Jag nodded his approval when she’d got her feet back on the ground after the last attempt, having narrowly avoided ploughing into him. “You know, there’s a trick to knowing where you’re going.”

    “Really?”

    “Yeah. On the back stroke, you can crane your neck and look over your shoulder. You know, when your arm is out of the way.”

    “That’s not—” Jacen began, but fell silent when Jag arched an eyebrow at him.

    “They didn’t teach you that trick, Solo?”

    Jacen inclined his head. “I bow to your superior knowledge.”

    “I just look?” Tahiri asked. “I’ll lose my balance.”

    “That’s why you do it on the back stroke,” Jag said, keeping a straight face. “When your arm isn’t in the way.”

    She let out a breath. “Okay, here goes.”

    He watched as she found her rhythm before trying it, one stroke, two...

    She tried, she really did. But the timing was entirely wrong, as it had to be after what he’d told her, and she overbalanced. Rhythm gone, she splashed and spluttered in the water before she finally managed to right herself.

    Jacen burst out laughing, and Jag allowed himself a small smirk. “You were saying, Solo?”

    “Well played, Fel.”

    “I’m done with you two!” Tahiri yelled when she drew closer again. She started furiously shovelling water towards them. “Done! Jag, I trusted you!”

    “A little bit too much,” Jag told her. “A little skepticism is always healthy.”

    “You are such a jerk, you…crash dummy!”

    “It’s that Corellian blood,” Jacen said, still laughing. “Sometimes it shows.”

    The air moved, and something knocked Jag backwards, flinging him into the water. When he’d flung out his arms and got his balance back, coughing and swiping at his eyes, it was to find that Jacen had fared much the same. Tahiri was still where she had been, a triumphant smirk on her face.

    “Not fair,” Jag managed in between coughing fits.

    “Don’t even start talking about fair,” Tahiri shot back, still smirking. “You’ll lose that one.”

    She launched herself towards the shore and pulled herself out of the water. “I’m hungry. You guys coming?”

    Lowbacca, who had been floating over near the waterfall in apparent oblivion to everything else that was going on, gave a bellow of approval and started towards the rock wall and the climb back to the camp. Jag and Jacen exchanged a look and turned to follow the other two.

    “You done drowning the poor woman?” Kyp asked, pointing at Tahiri with a half-eaten ration bar. He and Lowie sat beside each other, apparently playing some kind of game on Jaina’s datapad while eating their dinner.

    “We didn’t drown anyone.” Jacen was all innocence as he helped himself to a ration bar and flung himself onto the ground beside Tahiri, who gave him a shove.

    “Sure you didn’t. I heard the screams from up here.”

    Jacen waved that away. “Tahiri’s just loud.”

    That earned him another shove. Jag chuckled and sat down at a safe distance from the others to start on his own dinner. The rations tasted as bland as ever. He was used to them, but for once, he found himself wishing for an actual meal, preferably something hot and spicy and Corellian. It was the jungle, he reasoned. It felt unnatural to sit here, surrounded by its vibrancy and beauty, and eat something so undeniably boring.

    “Where are the others?” he asked, to distract himself. “It’s going to be dark pretty soon.”

    “Knee-deep in ship guts,” Jacen said. “You know how they are when you give them something to repair.”

    “Good for us,” Kyp said, lifting his water bottle in a silent toast.

    “Yeah, but they’ve been at it all day,” Tahiri said. Lowie rumbled something, sounding concerned.

    Jacen nodded at him. “Yeah. She should go back in a trance for tonight.”

    “She did agree to it,” Jag added.

    Kyp scoffed. “As if that means anything.”

    “It does if you hold her to it.” Jag crumpled up his ration wrapper and stood. “I’ll call them.”

    No one answered, but Jag persevered. He was used to it. Jaina never answered the comm straight away when she was repairing something, and when she did, she was usually annoyed. Jag understood, but did it anyway.

    This time, it was useless. After five minutes of continuous hailing, he shut off the connection and shrugged. “Not answering. I’m going down to get them.”

    For once, no one argued for calling the wayward Jedi with the Force. They all knew what Jag did: if the repair crew wasn’t answering the comlink, then none of them were likely to respond to a Force summons, either.

    We’re going to have a look,” Tahiri said, pushing to her feet with a sigh. “Anakin’s probably dead to the world in whatever machinery he’s gotten into. Besides, it’s not a good idea to run around this place alone.”

    “Or in the dark,” Jacen added, looking at the sky with a thoughtful expression. “We’ve got maybe an hour until that happens.”

    “Point.” Jag seized a backpack, checked the contents, and shoved a few more things into it.

    Tahiri threw him a water bottle and gave him an expectant look. “Come on then. But you better not try to drown me again or I’ll hang you from a tree.”

    “Noted,” Jag said, carefully hiding a smirk. “After you.”


    * * *​


    The Trickster had survived her rough landing rather well, at least on the outside. Jag made out a few new carbon marks, but that was cosmetic damage. Unlike the shuttle that had brought him and the others here, Jaina’s ship was above the ground in its entirety, neatly settled on its landing skids.

    Its insides, of course, were another matter.

    Curses drifted from the aft section of the ship as Jag and Tahiri made their way up the ramp. Without a word, they both headed that way.

    The first to meet them was Zekk, his hands black and his bare chest and legs smeared with engine grease. He grinned at them. “Missing your darlings?”

    “Shut up or I’ll tell Jaina what you just called her,” Tahiri shot back. “Actually, we’re here to get you all back to camp. Why aren’t you answering the comm? You took it for a reason, didn’t you?”

    Before Zekk could answer, Jag joined in, trying for a doleful expression. “You never call, you never write, you won’t reply to anything… did I do something wrong?”

    Zekk flung up his hands. “I don’t have it. Anakin does.”

    “Figures,” Tahiri scoffed. “We have to get back. Jaina’s due for another healing trance and the rest of you have to sleep, too.”

    Zekk sighed. “Yeah. Well. I’ve tried to tear them loose, but you know how it is.”

    “Ah.” Jag raised an eyebrow. “And you’re different, I suppose.”

    “For your information, I wanted to head back an hour ago, but Anakin’s ignoring me and Jaina just told me to ‘get in there already, you little rodder’.” Zekk paused, reflecting. “Actually, I don’t think she was talking to me.”

    “Well, keep hold of those tools and start packing up,” Tahiri told him. “I’ll go get Anakin.”

    A loud clang sounded from the engine compartment, accompanied by a woman’s voice yelling curses in Corellian and Basic. Zekk looked at Jag. “I’ve got my job. You go get her.”

    “Thanks.”

    Zekk smiled.

    Jaina was holed up in the engine compartment, too far away for Jag to see when he first walked in. He blinked, his eyes slow to adjust to the gloom within, and followed the sounds as much as his vision. The compartment was cramped, and his bare torso and legs made him move more gingerly than usual. In situations such as this, he thought darkly, one really began to appreciate the benefits of clothing. It didn’t offer much protection, but amidst the engine compartments jutting machinery and heated metal, you really noticed when that protection was gone. Heat notwithstanding, he suddenly wished he’d thought to put on a coverall.

    Luckily, the compartment wasn’t all that big, so he found Jaina a few moments later. She was crouched on the deck, hydrospanner in hand, frowning at the machinery in front of her. A portable glow panel illuminated her work area and played silver highlights over her hair.

    She looked up as he approached. “What are you doing here?”

    “Taking you back to the camp.”

    “You’re not taking me anywhere.” She turned back to her work, muttering another curse as something fell to the ground with a metallic tinkle.

    Jag watched as she contorted herself in the small space, trying to reach whatever she’d dropped. She wasn’t wearing a coverall, either, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her any. The bacta patch on the side of her waist was creased and smeared with some kind of lubricant.

    That brought Jag back to the reason for his presence. “It’s going to be dark soon. You need to eat and get back into a trance for the night.”

    Jaina righted herself with a grunt. “In a bit.”

    Jag knew that one. “We don’t have that much time.”

    “Don’t start with me, Fel! Kriff!” She yanked at something he couldn’t see. Nothing happened, which seemed to be wrong. “Stupid little—”

    “Jaina, take a break.”

    “Oh, leave me alone!”

    A few years ago, Jag would have stayed with the reasonable approach, remaining calm and irritating her even more with that calmness until he eventually got through to her. But it was difficult, staying serene and calm while she yelled and flashed those fiery, brown-eyed glares at him. And besides, there was a quicker way.

    He raised his voice. “Jaina, you need to stop. If I have to make you, I will!”

    She glared at the machinery in front of her. “You can’t make me do anything.”

    “I’m not your engine, you know. I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”

    She turned her glare on him. “I know that!”

    He glared back. “So what did I do?”

    “You are so—” She took another deep breath and expelled it with a voiceless sound of frustration as she stood up, throwing the hydrospanner to the deck.

    For a moment, they were both silent. Then Jaina turned back towards Jag.

    “What time is it?”

    “Almost 2100.”

    “Oh. No wonder I’m hungry.”

    “Let’s get some food, then.”

    She bent to retrieve the hydrospanner. When she looked at him again, a self-deprecating smile was blossoming on her features, which turned full-wattage when he smiled back.

    “Sorry.”

    He shook his head. “No problem. Ready to go?”

    She nodded, but caught onto him before he could turn back the way he’d come. Reaching one of her hands around his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. He reached back on autopilot, his arm going around her waist—carefully avoiding pressure on her bandage.

    “Not just yet,” she whispered.

    “Mhmm.” He leaned back in, running a hand lightly down her back while he brushed his lips over hers. He felt them part and deepened the kiss. Jaina sighed softly, wrapping both of her arms around his neck and pressing closer.

    For a few seconds, Jag lost himself in the moment. The world narrowed down to Jaina’s lips on his, their breath mingling, her hands caressing his skin...

    But then, gently, he let the kiss end and shifted his hands to her hip bones. Jaina looked up at him, a smile playing over her features. “Sure you don’t want to stay?” Her tone was teasing.

    “Not at all. But we should get back.”

    “Yeah.” Jaina tugged at his hand. “Come on. It was your idea, you know.”

    “I know. I’ll keep this in mind for next time.”

    “I’ll hold you to that.”

    When they got back to the main hold, Zekk was slouched in one of the chairs, idly tossing his lightsaber from one hand into the other. He looked bored, but brightened when he saw Jag and Jaina.

    “That was quick.”

    “Right man for the job,” Jaina said with a smirk, and Jag’s heart skipped a beat despite his best efforts. “Where’s Anakin?”

    “Tahiri’s gone to get him.”

    Jaina chuckled. “I see you’ve been co-ordinating the rescue efforts.”

    “Tahiri co-ordinates herself,” Zekk said.

    Jag thought back to the pool and had to suppress a grin. “Sometimes badly,” he said. At their questioning looks, he added, “Don’t worry, you’ll hear all about it on the way home.”

    After another few minutes, they heard Tahiri’s voice approaching, followed in short order by Tahiri herself. She had Anakin’s hand in hers and was almost tugging him along. “—the others and I’ll tell you all about this so-called swimming lesson. I swear sometimes I think you guys are never going to grow up. Are you back in the real world yet?”

    Anakin nodded, looking only slightly confused. “Yeah, sure. Yeah.”

    Tahiri laughed. “Maybe once we’ve walked a bit you’ll manage more than those two words.”

    That seemed to penetrate the fog that Anakin always seemed to disappear into during repair work. “I can...”

    “Oh, two different ones, look at that.” Tahiri’s eyes were sparkling.

    Anakin narrowed his eyes at her, then flashed a lop-sided grin. “I love you.”

    She grinned back and squeezed his hand. “Welcome back.”

    Jag exchanged an amused glance with Jaina, and Zekk got up from the chair and hooked his lightsaber back on his belt. “Great. That mean we can go now?”

    Tahiri gestured towards the ramp. “Lead on.” She shot Jag a dirty look. “Wait till I tell you guys about my swimming lesson.”

    She spent the trek back telling Anakin and Zekk about Jacen and Jag’s efforts, after which the conversation degenerated into taunts and banter. Jag didn’t mind. He and Jaina stayed behind them, holding hands as they walked through the night falling over the jungle, occasionally joining in the others’ conversation but mostly talking quietly.

    It was not, Jag thought, such a bad planet after all. It did have its moments.
     
    AzureAngel2 likes this.
  17. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    SQUEEEEEE! on the J/J and the A/T. Zekk and Kyp are fun too, teasing and snarking. :D
     
    Iverna likes this.
  18. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Anakin narrowed his eyes at her, then flashed a lop-sided grin. “I love you.”

    She grinned back and squeezed his hand. “Welcome back.”

    Can´t help loving scenes like that a lot! :D
     
  19. Tarsier

    Tarsier Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2005
    Still loving this story!

    I like all the different character combinations - like Tahiri, Jag, Jacen - you don't see them together too often. :)
     
    Iverna likes this.
  20. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Aren't they all just the cutest? :D



    Me too, I love writing these two!


    Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying this! I really like that this story let me pair the guys up in all these different ways. It's a lot of fun to write and it's great to hear that it's fun to read too!
     
  21. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Tags: @Durroness, @Falcon

    Let me know if you want to be tagged!


    * * *​


    “This planet,” Jaina said with clenched teeth, “is going to drive me insane.”

    “This ship is going to drive me insane,” Zekk replied, earning himself a dirty look.

    “It’s not the ship’s fault that this planet sucks.”

    “Sure. Just like it’s not your or Jag’s fault that you crashed.”

    “I didn’t—”

    Jaina’s objection was cut short when Zekk dropped his hydrospanner with a loud clang and snatched his finger to his mouth, grimacing in pain. “Son of a—”

    Jaina smirked. “She’s a vengeful one.”

    “No surprise there.”

    It had been two days since Jaina’s trek to the boys’ downed ship. She’d spent half the day on the Trickster yesterday, taking turns with Anakin, Lowie and Zekk as they worked on the repairs. This morning, the four of them were all together, putting in the so-called finishing touches which always took several hours, at least.

    Jaina finished soldering the wire she was holding back to the flux coupling, glanced over at Zekk, and leaned back to shout around the doorway. “Lowie?”

    An acknowledgement roared through the access hatch.

    “Coupling’s back in! Give it a try!”

    Lowbacca barked another acknowledgement. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a small plume of smoke rose from the coupling, tainting the air with the sweet smell of oiled metal.

    “Looks great!” Jaina called, waving to disperse the smoke. “Go on and shut her down!”

    Zekk sat back on the deck plate, twirling the hydrospanner. “So now what? The ignition coil?”

    “Can’t do the final connection until we’ve got the cooling system back online,” Jaina said. “And we can’t do that until Anakin and Lowie fix the computers. Shouldn’t take long once that’s done, though.” She thought it over. Neither she nor Zekk were nearly as good with computers as the other two, but she knew that computer issues on a ship never stayed purely computer issues. “Let’s go help them. I bet there’s more than one fuse we blew out during the... landing.”

    “Well, you must have spare parts for those,” Zekk commented. “If the ship’s anything like her owner, she blows fuses on a regular basis.”

    Jaina glared at him.

    He grinned and got to his feet, where he promptly banged his head against a thick pipe running along the ceiling. His grin disappeared and he glared at the bulkhead. “Oh, come on. That’s just petty.”

    Jaina smiled.


    * * *​


    “This isn’t so bad,” Tahiri said, swinging her legs in the water and taking another bite of her ration bar. “I’m almost sorry we’re leaving soon.”

    In the water ahead of her, Kyp Durron glowered. He was good at it. “I’m not. Sooner the better.”

    Tahiri grinned. On the face of it, a crash landing didn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. But if you put the right spin on it, it became just that. After all, right now, she was sitting by a pool in the middle of the jungle, accompanied by three very handsome men, none of whom were wearing a whole lot, paddling in the water with her feet while having a snack.

    Granted, none of the men were Anakin, and so not all that interesting. And granted, her snack was a ration bar. But Tahiri had long since learned that it was all in how you looked at it.

    She splashed some water at Kyp. “Don’t be such a grouch.”

    “Think about it this way,” Jacen said. “The longer we stay here, the longer until you have to face everyone back home and explain to them how you crashed and Jaina had to rescue you.”

    “Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine,” Kyp growled. “Anyway, you were on the ship too.”

    Jacen grinned. “Yeah, but I’m not a pilot. I don’t have an ego to protect.”

    “A Solo without an ego?” Tahiri laughed. “Sorry, I don’t believe you.”

    Jag burst out of the water nearby. He got his feet under him, water running in rivulets down his bare chest and spraying onto Jacen as he shook his head and wiped at his eyes. Jacen immediately shovelled water back at him.

    “Damn it, Fel, where did you come from?”

    Jag was breathing hard from the dive and water still ran down his face, but he managed to look calmly superior anyway. “Never tell me that I just snuck up on a Jedi?”

    As an answer, Jacen hit the water with both hands, spraying it at Jag. Jag gave as good as he got, and with a shout that was half-challenge and half-laugh, Jacen threw himself forward. They went under together, splashing water over the others.

    Kyp cursed.

    “Oh, lighten up,” Tahiri said, giggling as she watched Jag and Jacen wrestle and dunk each other. They’d been slow to get used to each other, mostly because they’d never spent that much time together, but over the past two years, the whole Solo family had come to accept Jag.

    Han was still dragging his feet, of course. Or at least, he was making a show of dragging his feet. Leia said that it was some weird pride thing because he was Jaina’s father.

    A part of Tahiri—the same part that had delighted in the various pranks she and Anakin had pulled over the years, an impish, slightly treasonous part—was hoping that Han would be wherever they wound up after getting off this planet. A Fel, a Solo and a flying mishap were a dozen punch lines waiting to happen.

    She was busy coming up with a thirteenth one when she felt it—a flutter at the edge of her awareness, an odd note in the Force that made her brow furrow. She looked over at Kyp, but he was busy shoving water towards Jag and Jacen and swatting them down if they got too close to him, like a nexu watching the cubs play.

    Jacen came up for air, sputtering and waving his hands as he backed away from Jag. “Wait, whoah, whoah, hang on...” He swiped at his eyes and brushed his hair out of his face. “You guys feel that?”

    “I think so,” Tahiri said. “I just don’t know what it is.”

    Kyp frowned. “What are you—oh.” He broke off as Jacen nudged him in the Force. “That’s not—”

    “Doesn’t feel good,” Jacen agreed. “I’m getting intent. Hostile intent. Like a predator...”

    “Someone’s looking for us?” Jag asked. He’d come back to his feet, too, every trace of playfulness gone now as he looked from one Jedi or the other.

    “Yeah,” Jacen said slowly. “If I had to bet, I’d say that whoever shot at us is coming to finish the job.”

    Tahiri was already clambering to her feet. “We should get going.”

    Jag reached for the comlink he’d left by the water. “Jaina? Zekk? Do you copy?”

    Jaina’s voice came back unusually quickly, considering that she was doing repairs. “We’ve got company,” she said. “Looks like a search team, coming from northwest. Still can’t get any steady readings, but Anakin says four vessels, plus hover bikes and ground troops.”

    “Northwest means they’ll come across our crash site first,” Jag said. “That might delay them. How is the ship?”

    “Not ready,” Jaina said. “Still need to—it’ll be about an hour, maybe a little less. We can do the rest in the air if we have to, but we’ll be limping a bit.”

    “We’ll have to delay them,” Jacen said. “Draw off the scouts, at least. Maybe we can figure out what they want.”

    “Jacen, you’re not going to have a chat with—”

    “I meant we’ll know more when we actually see them,” Jacen cut off his sister. “Look, focus on the ship. We’ll draw them off, keep ‘em busy until you can come and pick us up. If they find the Trickster before you can get her off the ground, our odds go way down.”

    “Got it.” She hesitated. “Be careful. May the Force be with you.”

    Jag’s jaw clenched ever so slightly. “You, too.”


    * * *​


    The first ship passed overhead less than an hour later.

    “Scout ship,” Jacen said. He was perched in a tree, eyes almost shut as he reached out with the Force. “Crew of two. Can’t tell if—nope, haven’t seen us.”

    Jag hunkered on the ground below, feeling mostly useless. Surrounded by Jedi and stuck on the ground, there wasn’t much he could do, and nothing that the others couldn’t do better. He didn’t even have any instruments or sensors that might be helpful. All he had was a blaster, a pack containing water bottles and a few explosives, and his shorts. It wasn’t much.

    Still, it was something, and occasionally, even Jedi needed help.

    Seeing the ship did make him miss his fighter, though. Even a speeder would’ve been nice.

    Jacen landed on the ground next to him. “Let’s keep going. We’re not too far from that hill now, and—”

    He broke off, head snapping around towards the west. He grabbed Jag’s arm. “Come on, move.”

    They broke into a run, the others apparently catching onto whatever Jacen had noticed. Jag kept stride with Jacen, wishing for the tenth time that he had some kind of working sensor equipment to tell him what was going on.

    But then he heard it: a high-pitched whine, growing louder over the sound of the jungle around them. It was accompanied by animal squawks as the speeder bike drew closer.

    Jacen pushed Jag behind a thicket of large-leafed plants, and dropped down beside him, lightsaber in one hand. Tahiri and Kyp seemed to have disappeared.

    The whine of repulsorlifts grew louder, and then Jag saw the bike shooting through the jungle nearby. A bulky figure in camo gear was hunched atop it, face hidden behind a helmet.

    “Don’t move,” Jacen breathed in Jag’s ear.

    The speeder bike moved past them and vanished into the jungle ahead, and Jacen relaxed his hold on Jag’s shoulder.

    “Good thing Anakin taught us that sensor trick,” he said.

    “What, theirs work?” Jag asked.

    Jacen nodded. “Seems so. He’s headed around south in a circle. Come on.”

    They kept moving, picking up their pace in an effort to stay ahead of the troops following behind the scouting parties. The speeder pilots seemed to be running escort, moving ahead and circling back in a pattern that would warn the main body of troops of any ambush.

    Having Jedi around to fool with the bike’s sensors was a definite advantage.

    “Why do their ships not have any problems?” Tahiri demanded. “I thought this planet messed with the sensors.”

    “Sure, that’s what the pilots told you,” Kyp said.

    Jag fought to keep from rolling his eyes. “Would you mind—”

    “They came prepared,” Jacen cut him off. “Probably some kind of shielding. I’m guessing they’ve been here before. In fact,” he brushed past another of the large-leafed plants, holding a branch aside for Tahiri, “I think they were counting on it.”

    “For the attack?” Jag asked.

    “Yeah. Drive us towards the planet, and it would do the rest. Probably wasn’t until Jaina showed up that they figured we might’ve survived and called for help, so they organised a search team.”

    Jag nodded. “Question being, who are they and why would they want to shoot us down in the first place. If you’re right.”

    “If I’m right,” Jacen agreed. “Let’s just stay ahead of them for now. We can figure the rest out la—down!”

    He grabbed Jag again and dove for cover. Moments later, Jag heard the familiar sound of a ship’s engine, larger than the one from earlier. It passed so close overhead that the efflux made the trees rustle.

    And in its wake, he heard the whine of repulsors, heading towards them.

    “Stang,” Jacen cursed. “Stay here.”

    He moved away, his lightsaber snap-hissing to life and casting a green glow over the foliage. Jag tightened his grip on his blaster and moved into the spot Jacen had left, trying to peer past the leaves.

    He saw a brief movement in the jungle ahead, and the engine sound grew louder. There were two of them this time, and Jag understood Jacen’s curse. Between them and the ship circling overhead, there was no way to go unnoticed this time. Even Jedi powers couldn’t hide a group of people so completely and so suddenly.

    The screech of blaster cannons made him jerk back. Something purple flashed ahead, followed by the telltale snap of a ricocheting blaster bolt.

    Jag eased himself forward to look past the bush.

    The scouts were in the process of splitting up, forming up to circle around the group. Jacen stretched out a hand and sent one of them veering off course towards the trees around, the pilot flailing as he flew through the air.

    Jag didn’t wait to watch, because the other bike was heading for him. Kyp was already running up to intercept it, lightsaber at the ready.

    Speeder bikes, Jaina had explained to him once, had one fatal weakness when confronted by Jedi. A simple slash through the manoeuvring vanes, and they were as good as derelict. It wasn’t a weakness most people worried about, since Jedi were still rare and no one else was foolhardy enough to wait for an attacking speeder bike to come close enough. But it was clearly a weakness that Kyp was about to exploit.

    Except that there was a better way.

    Jag got to his feet. The bike scout saw him immediately and opened fire, but Jag was already moving. He tucked into a roll and came up beside a tree, blaster ready. The scout was still moving, but Jag had marked his course.

    He fired.

    The man toppled from the bike just before Kyp reached it. The man’s reflexes were good; halfway through the motion, he turned off his lightsaber and jumped.

    The bike was still moving faster than was healthy for an unmanned bike in a jungle, but Kyp dropped into the seat with almost casual ease. He brought it to a stop less than a meter away from Jag, hopped down, and glared.

    “What the hell was that?”

    “We’ve procured a speeder bike.”

    “You killed him!”

    That uncharacteristic concern for enemies brought Jag up short. “He was attacking us, didn’t you notice?”

    “Yeah, but now we can’t question him!”

    “No need,” Jacen called, jogging up with Tahiri close behind. “They’re bandits. Same pirates that’ve been causing all the trouble along the Rago Run.”

    Kyp glanced over towards where the other speeder pilot had fallen. “What happened to—”

    “Dead,” Tahiri said. “We need to move.”

    “They know where we are now,” Jacen agreed. “Come on.”

    Jag reached for the speeder bike, ignoring Kyp’s renewed glare.

    Kyp, true to form, wasn’t to be ignored. “What do you think you’re doing?”

    “Flying,” Jag said. “What else?”

    “Remember that crash?”

    “You can squabble over who gets to keep it later,” Jacen said impatiently, tugging at Kyp’s arm. “Jag flying makes sense. Come on.”


    * * *​


    “They’ve been spotted,” Anakin called. “Jacen?” That last was addressed towards the com pickup. The ship’s system was finally back online—at least, in theory.

    “Spotted, I know,” Jacen’s voice came back. Jaina’s satisfaction at the com’s apparent working order was crowded aside by worry. “Still on our way uphill. Looks like pirates, by the way, and I’m real interested in finding out who hired them for this. Two of their scouts are down, and Jag’s airborne now.”

    “I don’t believe it,” Zekk said. “What is it with that guy?”

    “Shut up and hold this,” Jaina said, handing him the patch kit. They’d discovered the coolant leak ten minutes ago, but she and Anakin had managed to track it down. Now she and Zekk were squeezed into yet another service compartment, wearing breath masks and trying to hurry without moving.

    “Pretty close,” Jacen reported in response to whatever Anakin had said. “I’d say maybe five, ten minutes behind us. They’ve got air support, though. We’re gonna need pickup soon.”

    “Draw them off as long as you can,” Jaina called. “We’re working on it!”

    They wouldn’t make it off the ground yet. With the coolant lines leaking, there was no way to even start up the engines, and one of the stabilisers was still playing up, too. Jaina was less worried about that one; if necessary, they could fix it in the air.

    “This is it,” she said, pointing a gloved finger into the gloom. Anakin had shut off the system so most of the coolant gas was sealed off from this section, but a wisp of white gas was still hissing steadily from the pipe. Zekk opened the kit and took out one of the heavy-duty patches.

    “Under fire!” Jag’s voice broke through the tense silence. He sounded calm, but that meant very little. He always sounded calm. “Repeat, we are under fire.”

    “Copy,” Anakin called back. He did sound worried, and Jaina could almost feel her little brother’s muscles gearing up for action, even though there was exactly nothing he could do.

    “Plan working,” Jacen cut in tersely. “Drew them off. Jag, do something about those scouts?”

    “Copy.”

    Jaina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to drown out the calls and occasional sounds of battle. She was not much better than Anakin at sitting by while her brother and friends were out there fighting.

    “Jaina,” Zekk said. “Patch. Come on, we’ll get this done and refilled, then we’ll go get them.”

    “Gotcha.” She nodded and reached for a corner of the patch. And tried hard not think about Jag, or pirates, or speeder bikes, or the ships that would stand between her and any rescue she might attempt.
     
  22. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    In the water ahead of her, Kyp Durron glowered. He was good at it.

    And you are good at keeping your readers laughing and interested in all the banter, fun, drama & action going on.

    ^:)^
     
  23. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    'A Solo without an ego..' How I miss cheeky Tahiri! I'm not sure Anakin would be okay with knowing she's checking out his brother though! ;)

    I've said it before, but you've given us a great template to base a Jacen/Jag relationship off of. (No, not THAT way...)
     
  24. Darkwriter

    Darkwriter Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2006
    Love this! Jaina's occasional slip-ups are great--him instead of them. I love how everyone is saying that she's never going to live it down, but from Jaina we get mostly her single-mindedness. Can't wait to see what happens when she catches up with them.
     
  25. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    I'm glad to hear it, thank you!

    I miss her too! I really love writing/reading her. Was she checking out Jacen, though? I don't think acknowledging that a handsome guy is handsome really counts as "checking out". Anakin probably couldn't care less anyway, given their Force bond and all. :p

    As for the template, hey.... do itttt! I'd love to read more Jacen/Jag stories. Although I'd agree, not THAT way, that'd be weird, given Jag's history with Jacen's sister and all. Then again that would be a hell of a love triangle... [face_laugh]

    Yeah, it's almost like she's a little focused on a particular him, isn't it? *grins*