Beyond - Legends Wingman (post-Invincible, J/J) *Invincible Spoilers* Complete 12/6

Good morning!

The post has been reworked to fit my expectations. Don't yammer at Lex though because he's in the middle of exams and I grateful for what time he does give my stories. Expect it later tonight.

This scene - what was before and what follows tonight - is dedicated to my mother, who finally got to ride on an airplane after her battle with breast cancer. I saw her for the first time two nights ago since her surgery. Chemo and radiation haven't knocked her down yet. For all those who carry on despite life's endless barrage...

Lex: I just loved this description to set the tone of the scene. It?s introspection, yet it?s a great ?visual? of her emotions. You always have so much going on, even in the ?slow? scenes.
My thoughts tend to run much this same way so I just express them visually.

Awesome. So much with so few words, and lyrical to boot.
Lyrical to boot

but Jacen got the other side of fixing things ? fixing injustice and suffering. No surprise that it led him down the dark path when he failed to control his emotions?
So alike yet so different these two.

Such a wonderful, creative idea. This seems like exactly the sort of thing Soontir would have built ? a memorial to his loss, and what he perceives to be his own failings. And yet keeping it secret from everyone but his wife. Your characterization of Soontir never ceases to amaze me.
Well he's fun because we've got very little to go by so I create him in a manner that fits what we know and works based on lot we know about Jag.

And that?s what makes her another Ultimate Jedi, just like Obi-Wan.
I knew there was a reason I liked Jaina

Voz: I loved this. Beautiful comparison.
Thanks for noticing that. It was a little touch I felt really worked with the scene...

And because I'm so late in getting here, I don't have to wait long for the next one.
And you'll see what I mean even more so with the rest of the scene posted today.

angry_bendu1: Excellent post, glad to see Jaina starting to pick up the pieces.
Or at least moshing them around to begin sorting them out.

And Jag... ! I so love the way you write him in this story. I WANT ONE!
Ah, I love that

Scrubs: Tomorrow?
I'm weak.
Sorry

Teaser in the Cantina!

Thanks again for all the great response, mostly just for reading.

 

*****

Jag blinked, a rare occurrence for him even when confronting an uncomfortable conversation. And there was something unsaid, churning at the tip of his tongue. He wasn?t ready to say it; Jaina could tell.

?How about,? she said, waving her hand in the general direction of the disassembled form of his old fighter, ?we fix something.?

Jag?s eyes followed. ?I?d like that.?

?Okay?? She crossed to a darkened recess. It concealed a mobile mechanic?s chest, complete with work bench, numerous drawers and cabinets holding a veritable multitude of tools.

Still studying the starfighter, Jag stripped off his parka. His inspection of her handiwork so far was intensely focused; Jaina decided not to interrupt. Instead she slipped deeper into the shadows, tugged off her Nubian cotton top and pants, then shimmied into the old jumpsuit she had left draped over the mechanic?s chest after her last late-night repair session.

?You?ve done a lot of frame restoration, and ? ? His gaze drifted back her way. ?You, uh? changed.?

Jaina placed the folded shirt in a drawer. ?These clothes your mother gives me are too nice. I happened across one of your old jumpsuits in the basement storage room. I figured you wouldn?t mind.?

He scanned her over, appraising the black garment and its red piping at the collar and waist. ?Are you sure that?s ??

?Not Cherith?s? Yes. I would never. It?s yours; I know.? She unrolled the sleeve to its full length ? it more than emphasized the truth. ?Wouldn?t fit you any more, I don?t think. Probably from your scrawny teenage years or something. But it?s definitely yours.?

?Sometimes I forget the odd things you can pick up with your Jedi senses.?

?Not this time, actually.? She buried her chin in the collar and sniffed. ?It just smells like you.?

He raised an arm toward his face and inhaled deeply. ?Well, I don?t care if this outfit gets dirty. I?m throwing everything from today in the furnace the first chance I get.?

?Jag, I?m sorry.? She crossed to him. ?I?ve ruined your whole holiday.?

?You haven?t.?

?You?re going to have to forgive your father someday, you know.? Jaina scooped up a hydrospanner, then stepped under the fuselage. She didn?t need to see his face to know his jaw was flexing and his green eyes blazing. Jaina dogged down a console she had missed previously.

?We still have tomorrow. Let?s have our own holiday ? just you and I.?

?I promised your mother I?d go with her to the conservatory. She volunteers in the mornings once a week. ?

?Still, after all these years.? A wistful countenance washed across his features. ?You should go. I do have a few reports to sign off on, anyway. Then they?ll be out of the way, and we?ll have the rest of the day to ourselves.?

?Sounds like a plan.? Pondering what would be an appropriate project for her current state of mind, she strolled around the fighter. ?So you have tomorrow completely free as well??

?We don?t expect the Fist to arrive any sooner than the day after tomorrow.? Jag eyed a contorted support beam jutting out from where the lower starboard wing should have been. He tugged it with his bare hands.

Looking away, she fiddled with an injection hose supplying the laser coolant system. ?The arrival ceremony has been scheduled, then??

?Tentatively.?

?I don?t think there?s even a word for ?tentatively? in the entire Chiss language, Jag.?

He grunted, trying harder to loosen the support. ?You got me. It will be two nights from now, at nineteen hundred.?

?Convenient. That?ll give you plenty of time to sneak back aboard the Fist. Think you?ll need any Jedi assistance??

?I think this time we?ve got it covered.? With a muttered curse, Jag finally gave up. She wasn?t surprised it had taken him this long to concede that muscle alone wasn?t going to bend durasteel. Even when it was weakened. He picked up a uniwrench and proceeded to beat the torqued metal.

As the rhythm of his effort increased, Jaina worried what would break first. She left her task

 

Love Jaina reforming the superheated metal. Perfect.

Very enigmatic, your comment about next week's post: ...Everything changes for Jag. I've got a whole week to speculate (and probably be wrong).

In the meantime you've given us another thoughtful, wonderful chapter.

oldj

 

Ahhhh....it's always hard to get past the past.

 

Awesome post! I loved how they were getting a little dirty fixing up a fighter. And that little talk at the end.. I'm glad they finally discussed things a little. I can't wait until next Friday!

 

?How about,? she said, waving her hand in the general direction of the disassembled form of his old fighter, ?we fix something.?
Deep.

An intrigued accomplice to a precision maneuver, Jag traded tools with her.
Wingman! I like this clever weave-in. There's more cleverness too with the fixing of the super-heated metal and building a new foundation.

Also... do a lot of metalwork, TKL?

 

Awwww, they're cute when they fix stuff together. Another excellent post! Have I mentioned lately that I adore this story and don't want it to end?

 

wonderful as always!

 

amazing. simply wonderful. and i loved the trick with the blowtorch. very cool

Dana

 

This chapter could have gone meny diffrent ways. I like the one you chose. I really liked this chapter and the interaction with Jag and Jaina.

 

More later, but I really like where you're going (not so much happy ending J/J floating around) and in a thoughtful and believable way.

 

Great post.
Jaina is defending Tir! But I do like the part were she was talking to Jag and right in the middle of it he kisses her.
I can't wait till next post!

 

tugged off her Nubian cotton top and pants
Weehoo!

?You?ve done a lot of frame restoration, and ? ? His gaze drifted back her way. ?You, uh? changed.?
Typical guy. The sexy clothes are replaced by a boring jumpsuit? That?ll always break the train of thought.

?I don?t think there?s even a word for ?tentatively? in the entire Chiss language, Jag.?
Great line!

As the rhythm of his effort increased, Jaina worried what would break first.
Yeah, Jag may keep the braver face, but his emotions are nearly as tenuous as Jaina?s right now. Especially thanks to Soontir.

Although knowing Jag, I?d wager on either of the two metal objects breaking before he does.

The application of the white hot flame wasn?t a skill she had used recently, but it quickly returned from some hidden alcove in her memory, pushing away newer, raw remembrances with relative ease.
This is really great. It says so much in so few words.

Jag stopped in his tracks, if only for the span of a heartbeat. Just as quickly he continued as if it never happened.
Nice try, bub. You?re not fooling anyone.

?So are a lot of other things ? Myrkr, Hapes, Bolis Island, Tenupe, Shedu Maad. It?d be nice to jettison them and use them for target practice. But that?s about as practical as firing on your own fighter. It?s our past. We can?t run from it. So let?s deal with it ? once and for all.?
What a great big of dialogue. It?s so in character for Jaina ? cutting to the power cables (she gets that from her mother) and using a space combat metaphor to do it (she gets that from her father). And it?s very wise, too ? as befits a great Jedi Knight.

Everything else she would have said was lost in the swirling vortex of the perfect kiss.
Go Jag!


Another fantastic post, EP! Can?t wait for the next one!

 

Don't know why but "Nice" is the word I would use to sum up last post

 

Good afternoon!

Whew! The family is gone back to Cali and real life is looking less like DRL

Jag4Me: *uploading brownies for TKeira_Lea*
Brownies fix everything!
It?s true. Thanks! *nibbles away at brownie-deliciousness*

Scrubs: Love Jaina reforming the superheated metal. Perfect.
It?s all in the same vein of personal versus incidental actions but I liked the parallel.

Very enigmatic, your comment about next week's post: ...Everything changes for Jag. I've got a whole week to speculate (and probably be wrong).
Yeah well, I hope it?s not what you think

Auntie: Ahhhh....it's always hard to get past the past.
Even for an old downed fighter

Jaina_and_Jag: Awesome post! I loved how they were getting a little dirty fixing up a fighter. And that little talk at the end.. I'm glad they finally discussed things a little.
Incremental steps. I don?t intend the whole recovery but some of the bigger steps that start down the yellow brick road?


Jag4Me: You made a ship repair come to life on the screen.
Yeah! *woot*

Another one of those moments where I am sitting here pumping my fist in the air. YES!
Oh I love when I get that reaction from a book so I?m glad that?s your reaction. I did some fist pumping last week to Traviss? Ally (her own scifi series). I literally shouted out and pumped my fists.

Happy Birthday to Mr. TKeira_Lea!
He says, thanks! I?m officially married to an old man now

Solo_and_Fel: Wingman! I like this clever weave-in. There's more cleverness too with the fixing of the super-heated metal and building a new foundation.
Ah, yes her wingman helping her fix metal.

Also... do a lot of metalwork, TKL?
Not myself but I?m not sure there isn?t a shoeing on my horses I haven?t sat thru in 17years of horse ownership, and before that I had to hold horses for the lesson barn to pay for my lessons. My good friend?s husband is a blacksmith and some of my pals are. I?ve held horses for major hoof/shoe reconstruction by some highly regarded blacksmiths, and I pay attention. Honestly I may not have the whole terminology spot on but I was going more for visuals.

Sticks: Awwww, they're cute when they fix stuff together.
They?re a good team and cute to boot.

Another excellent post! Have I mentioned lately that I adore this story and don't want it to end?
I?ll take the mention any time you want to say it

JAGSGURL15: wonderful as always!
Thanks!


Jedimaster_JainaSolo: amazing. simply wonderful. and i loved the trick with the blowtorch. very cool
I?m honored you liked it!

TheOnlyJediPrincess: This chapter could have gone meny diffrent ways. I like the one you chose.
Then I?m glad I chose this way

carr3107: More later, but I really like where you're going (not so much happy ending J/J floating around) and in a thoughtful and believable way.
Yeah sadly it?s not about happily ever after but more like together with each other fighting side by side ever after. Fighting past demons and new real dangers.

Jainasolo101: Jaina is defending Tir!
Strange I know!

But I do like the part were she was talking to Jag and right in the middle of it he kisses her.
He?s slick that way.

Lex: Yeah, Jag may keep the braver face, but his emotions are nearly as tenuous as Jaina?s right now. Especially thanks to Soontir.
Agreed. He?s definitely a little stressed out?

Nice try, bub. You?re not fooling anyone.
You got to let the guy think he has though.

What a great big of dialogue. It?s so in character for Jaina ? cutting to the power cables (she gets that from her mother) and using a space combat metaphor to do it (she gets that from her father). And it?s very wise, too ? as befits a great Jedi Knight.
Well Jaina is very Obi-Wan a

 

So I, uh, have been reading for a couple of months but never made it as far as the Post Reply button. Sorry. *offers cookies to make up for it*

Anyway, I love it. Jaina and Jag are perfect for each other, and your writing is magnificent. Can't wait till Friday.

 

Been a lurker for a while and finally just signed up. I LOVE your stories!!! They keep my hope for Jag and Jaina alive! =)
I'm gonna keep reading!

 

Good afternoon!

DarthXan318: So I, uh, have been reading for a couple of months but never made it as far as the Post Reply button. Sorry. *offers cookies to make up for it*
*takes cookies*

No worries. Lurkers are still reading. And I tend to lurk alot too.

Anyway, I love it. Jaina and Jag are perfect for each other, and your writing is magnificent.
Why thanks! They do seem perfect for each other in an imperfect sort of way

jaina1415: Been a lurker for a while and finally just signed up.
More deLURKING! Wahoo!

I LOVE your stories!!! They keep my hope for Jag and Jaina alive! =)
I'm gonna keep reading!
Okay I LOVE the enthusiasm. I'm trying to stay positive on the J/J Love Boat. It's the best ship in town IMO.

Thanks again for all those reading and replying

I'll be posting tonight. Spoiler teaser in the Cantina shortly...

 

PART SEVEN
the day after the Solstice Holiday?

Left foot crossing right, Jag carefully skirted the edge of the practice mat. He held his arms in a practiced Janarak defensive posture, wary of his opponent?s size and speed.

He dodged right, avoiding a high jab, then ducked when the feint was followed by a wicked left hook. He glimpsed an opening and dove. Arms wrapped around his opponent?s legs, they both tumbled to the ground. Jag lost his grip and rolled away from the impending attack to his exposed kidneys. Two thuds proclaimed the near-misses. Using his momentum, he sprang to his feet, back to the guarded stance.

?You?re getting slow, big brother,? Cem said, not a bit breathless from a half hour of sparring. He bounded to his feet with remarkable ease for such a large man.

Jag shook his head. ?Not slower.? He wiped the sweat from his brow. ?Just testing your skills. You are, after all, in charge of my protection detail.?

Cem rolled his head to the left, cracking vertebrae. ?Not sure how much longer that?ll be my job, but while you?ve got me, my life is your life.? He bowed in mock respect.

?What does that mean??

?No need for a big lug once you have a Jedi by your side.?

?Jaina?s not my bodyguard.? Jag lunged.

Cem sidestepped away. ?Not officially. Yet.?

Jag whipped his leg back and around, aiming for Cem?s midsection. ?Yet??

With a perfectly timed grab, Cem snatched Jag?s foot from midair. His leg torqued, and an instant later he was prone on the mat. The heel of a palm whizzed towards Jag?s face, stopping millimeters from raising a new bruise. A tattooed face leered down. ?You are going to marry her soon, aren?t you??

?Look, I?m not pushing the subject. That didn?t turn out well for me last time.?

?You?re telling me. We were halfway to Bolis Island when we had to turn around. And I was already all dressed up.?

Jag batted Cem?s hand out of the way. ?Can we not go there??

The burly brother stood and offered Jag a hand. His brow wrinkled in genuine concern. ?Is there something wrong between you and Jaina??

Jag accepted the help, then walked toward the water chiller. Silently.

?Are you angry with her??

Deliberately Jag drew himself a drink and sipped it slowly. When he was finished, he said, ?Jaina and I are going to be fine. Some day, yes, I think we?ll be married. But there?s a lot of important things to do at the present time. For both of us.?

?Good.? Shoving him aside, Cem guzzled a drink. ?So she?ll be around.?

?Not to be my bodyguard,? Jag growled.

Cem held his palms up defensively. ?Hey, all I?m saying is if the poodoo hits the turbine ? which is inevitable where the Moff Council is concerned ? I?m staying out of the way of any twirling glowy swords that can slice me clean in half. Official protection or not, I?m pretty confident she surpasses IPS standards.?

The flimsicup crinkled under Jag?s tightening grip. He shut his eyes in an attempt to force back the barrage of maddening thoughts that ricocheted from the depths of his mind. Unbidden, an image exploded ? he in a black dress uniform; Jaina in red armor, hair slicked back, the bland palette of the Imperial court highlighting her features, drawing her lightsaber and igniting it in a crossing guard while stepping forward into a defensive posture in front of him.

?No.?

The flimsicup splattered against the wall. This wasn?t the life he wanted for Jaina. He didn?t want her to be the Sword of the Jedi, but neither did he want her to replace that destiny by becoming nothing more than his shield.

A hand gripped his shoulder. ?You all right, Jag??

?I?m just tired. Jaina didn?t sleep well.? He didn?t say the rest; neither had he. Yesterday had been difficult at best, and even after working on the Blue Flame until blisters formed on both their hands, they had found sleep elusive. Hungry, yet unable to eat. Emotionally leveled, yet unable to cry. Exhausted, yet unable to rest. They had lain in bed, finding comfort in each other. E

 

First?!

Or not.

Poor Jag is getting the smackdown from all the Fels.

 

When it rains it pours. You can't just have issues with the woman you love, you have to deal with the emotional baggage of your entire family. That's what I love about your writing - it's realistic without getting out of SW character. Just because Jaina and Jag decided not to ignore the past doesn't mean they're ready to try the aisle. You're realistic about what it's going to take to heal this relationship.

I just hope you do it before the end of the story.

Another excellent update.

 

That was a delightful read. Jag's having a very interesting vision there.