Heritage-Chapter 25

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Anakin Solo had never been known for his patience, and situations like the one his parents were currently in didn’t help any. He couldn’t keep still, couldn’t focus on anything. His mind was all over the place, and he just couldn’t muster the concentration he needed to go meditate, like Uncle Luke had suggested. So, instead, he decided to go pester Jacen. He could always claim he was hoping his brother could help him ease into a relaxing trance.

It took five knocks on his brother’s door before it slid open for him to enter. Jacen was seated at a small table on the right side of the one-room apartment, his lightsaber on top. It was in pieces, as if he had been in the middle of deconstructing it. “Hey, Jace. What are you doing?”

His older brother glanced up at him, then carefully pulled the focusing crystal of his sabre out of its housing. “Fixing my lightsaber.”

“I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it,” Anakin took a seat beside him.

“There’s not,” Jacen laid the crystal aside and pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket. He looked at Anakin slyly from beneath hooded brows. “Do you want something?”

“Well,” Anakin unconsciously began to fiddle with the hilt of his own weapon, “I was hoping you might meditate with me. I can’t seem to clear my mind. All this stuff with Mom…it’s too much. I want to be able to think clearly when I go see her.” His words trailed off as Jacen produced a new crystal from the pouch, a sapphire that radiated Force energy. “What the kriff is that? And where did you get it?”

Jacen turned the gem over lovingly in his hand. “An Ankarres Sapphire. Padmé gave it to me for my birthday.”

Anakin leaned over the table in wonder. “Wow. Jaina gets a ship, you get a Force saturated focusing crystal…what does it do?”

“It enhances my ability to heal,” Jacen explained, and carefully slipped it into the housing where his old crystal used to be. “It might be able to help me in battle too, I don’t know, Padmé just said it was supposed to heal. I’ll have to ask Uncle Luke if he knows anything about it.”

“Where did she get it?” Anakin breathed.

“Our grandfather, apparently,” Jacen shrugged. “He found it somewhere, gave it to her for safekeeping, something…” he flushed. “I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention. I was just so mesmerized by the thing.”

Anakin nodded, understanding the feeling. He would be jealous, but he knew that Padmé would never shortchange him. He would get something just as grand when his turn came.

Jacen pieced the lightsaber together delicately, then snapped his new weapon to life. It glowed a deep blue, instead of green. He stood up, swung it around experimentally, and then closed it down. “Now. You want to meditate?”

Anakin sighed, flustered. “I don’t know. I probably should, but I just want to talk this out with someone. What do you think about everything? About Mom, and this new baby?”

Jacen shrugged, noncommittal, and sat down across from his brother. “This baby is going to be our sibling too, first of all, whether we like it or not. And Mom…she can’t help what happened to her, Ani.”

“I know,” he glanced at the floor, fighting back feelings of anger that seeped through when he thought of what Cale Wilos had done to his mother. It was a constant battle to remember that vengeance was not a tool of a Jedi. Justice, simply justice. “What do we do now, especially if Dad—well, if they can’t find a solution.”

“People get divorced all the time,” Jacen said calmly, and if their bond as brothers had not been there to reveal his own inner struggle, Anakin would have thought him the picture of tranquility. “We’ll figure it out as we go. We just have to remember to give Mom the support she needs without making it look like we’re neglecting Dad.”

“He’s not taking this well at all,” Anakin mused aloud.

“What man would?”

“True. I just wish they could work it out, and quickly, for Mom’s sake. She’s got a much bigger fight to worry about,” he let her skirmish with the dark side remain tacit.

“We just have to let her know how much we still love her,” Jacen said. He hefted his lightsaber hilt once again, staring at it intensely. “I wonder…do you think this thing could help her? Physically, anyways? She’s such a mess.”

Anakin had no idea. “I couldn’t tell you. It might be worth a try. Do you want to go see her?”

“Let’s,” Jacen rose from the table and clipped his lightsaber onto his belt. “It’s far past time we went to talk this out with her, anyways.”

• * *

“So what we really need here is your input; we need to know of the different tactics people have used against you and other Jedi when fighting, and what works,” Wedge explained to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, one of his oldest and dearest friends. They were in the Antilles apartment on the Pillory, an informal setting for a very important meeting. Iella sat across from them both with a datapad, ready to take notes.

Luke shook his head slowly, looking weary. “I trust you with this information, Wedge, but I cringe at the thought that now all of the galaxy will know the Jedi’s most vulnerable points.”

Antilles nodded, understanding. “I know, Luke. But whatever works against Jedi should be even more effective against the Baci. They don’t even have lightsabers. This might be our only chance at hand to hand. We did all right in space, but on the whole, ground troops didn’t fare nearly as well. The reaction time of a Force-user is just too much of an advantage. We need something else.”

“All right,” Luke nodded, wiping a hand down his face. “Sonic rifles are hard to deflect or dodge. On the same note, sonic screamers and grenades are even better. A very skilled Jedi might be able to protect themselves, but so far we have seen no evidence that the Baci have developed their skills to the level of a, well, even a padawan. They are very carnal in its use.”

Wedge nodded slowly, and Iella typed away on her datapad. “What else?”

“Loose planning. We can sense motives very easily. Opponents who make things up as they go are harder to read, and our danger sense is less effective. A well thought out plan will be easily exploited, I think.”

Wedge squirmed uncomfortably. Asking his friend and comrade to reveal the weaknesses of those under his charge was not easy. He could only pray this didn’t backfire later on. “Okay. Anything else?”

“Gas attacks, especially one that works on skin contact. But that could easily hurt our own troops as well, it would have to be used carefully. Old fashioned scatterguns are hard to block with a lightsaber, and sometimes the slugs will only melt, not vaporize. Without lightsabers, the Baci would be hard pressed to dodge something like this. Unless, of course, he or she was very capable.” Luke looked from Wedge to Iella and back again. “None of these things are foolproof when used against a Jedi. I could escape all, most likely. It depends on the Jedi, and the situation. Or in this case, Baci. But overall, I think it could be valuable.”

“That’s good to know,” Wedge told him. “And I thank you. I’ll take these notes to Ackbar. I’m guessing Airen Cracken could get us a large supply of all these items.”

“And Booster,” Iella reminded her husband.

“Yes, him too,” Wedge acknowledged her. “Let me know if you think of anything else, Luke.”

“I’ll ask Mara,” Luke stood to leave. “She probably encountered some techniques while working for the Emperor. You might want to check with the Chiss, too. The maser technology in their charrics could prove difficult.” He stopped at the door, glanced back. “And Wedge, I trust that you will keep all of this as private as possible?”

“Of course. The troops won’t even be told, just given orders.”

“Thank you.”

• * *

Jaina took a very deep breath, stretched out to the Force for an elusive sense of peace, and knocked on Jag Fel’s door. Even if they had not recently crossed a very big line in their relationship, Jaina would be nervous right then. She was in the portion of the Pillory given to Fel’s Spike Squadron, and the blue-skinned aliens roaming the corridors and shooting her venomous looks made Jaina’s skin crawl.

The door opened. She stood there staring at Jag like an idiot, forgetting exactly what she had planned to say. He was wearing a standard Chiss jumpsuit, black with red trim, and looked as if he had just been prepared to leave. His jade eyes were surprised to see her, but other than that, she could get no emotion from his face. After a length of awkward silence, he moved wordlessly aside so she could enter.

Jaina stepped inside, taking in his immaculate quarters. Apparently, Jag Fel was the only male in the galaxy who knew how to pick up after himself. She imagined his face if he were to see the littered mess of her own room. After a moment of mental preparation, she turned to face him. He was looking at her quizzically, one scarred eyebrow raised faintly. “Well,” is all he said.

She had to fight off a blush for no reason. “Well,” she agreed. “I guess we should probably talk about what happened earlier.”

He nodded, and motioned for her to take a seat at the table taking up the most space in his room, besides the bed. “I was actually just coming to see you.”

Her heart leaped into her throat at his words. “You were?” She sat down, and he sat across from her.

“Yes. Great minds think alike, I suppose,” a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Jaina returned the smile. “That they do.” She paused, then plunged ahead. “Listen, I’m not very eloquent when it comes to stuff like this, so I’m just going to say it, okay? I don’t know what happened to us this afternoon, but that was the best five minutes I’ve had in a very long time. Now that aside, I cannot see any way that this can possibly turn out all right. It’s stupid, and it’s ridiculous, and both of us are only going to get hurt if we don’t put an end to it right now.”

He stared at her for ten heartbeats, and Jaina had to fight back the urge to read his mind. Finally he said, “I agree.”

For some very ambiguous reason, Jaina was a little disappointed. She guessed maybe she had hoped he would fight her on it, disagree, make her see that it could work. She should have known he would be far too sensible for that. “Good,” she pasted a shallow grin on her face.

“But,” he held up a hand, “I do see a few integral flaws in your thinking.”

She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Do tell.”

“Well,” he began, and she noted the faintly amused aura coming off of him, no doubt because they were treating something very personal like an X-wing maneuver. “First of all, you are assuming that we have adequate control over our actions to prevent another circumstance like the one that took place earlier today.”

Now it was Jaina’s turn to arch a brow. “You have a very high opinion of yourself, Fel, if you are suggesting I can’t keep my hands off you.”

He shrugged, noncommittal. “I was just saying that you were making an assumption we have no way of knowing will work. I certainly didn’t come to see you with the intentions of ending up in your bed, and look what happened. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?”

Jaina started to throw up another protest, but he plodded ahead. “Secondly, not all relationships are meant to last indefinitely. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to run their course. And third, not all relationships have to be handled in a haphazard manner that will leave both parties hurt at the end. If two people can be open with each other, and keep in mind the lack of serious intent, there is no reason each of them can’t walk away unscathed after it is over.”

He was talking like a lawyer on judgment day, and Jaina was highly amused. She could not quite keep a smile from growing across her face. Slowly she stood, hands on hips, and stared down at him. “I don’t know, Colonel Fel. I think I’m going to need something a little more convincing than that.”

Jag leisurely came to his feet as well. He was very close to her then, and Jaina wanted to back away, but something prevented her. When he spoke, his voice was very low, husky. “Is that so?”

She swallowed, trying to remember why she had been arguing with him. He was so close to her she could feel the heat of his body. “Yes,” she whispered, the word holding a double meaning.

There was that phantom grin again, and then he kissed her, a feather of a touch against her lips. She would have none of that. Her hands wound around his neck, into his hair, pulling him closer. It was a deep kiss, slow and passionate. She could feel the beat of his heart against hers as he held her to him, his hands caressing her back tenderly. Eventually she pulled away, met his cool gaze in silence. There was nothing to say.

At last he said, “I can’t make you any promises, Jaina.”

She backed away to arms length, his hands held in hers. Her smile was gentle. “I know.” Then she gave him a peck on the cheek in farewell, and left.

• * *

“Mara, where’s Luke?”

Mara Jade Skywalker glanced at her mother-in-law, who had just emerged from her room after a short nap. The older woman had been overwhelmed of late at all the happenings, and from the looks of her Mara assumed rest was also intangible. “He’s with Wedge. Do you need something, Padmé? We can go to the mess, get some dinner while he’s gone.”

She shook her head no, brow furrowing. “No, thank you.” She eased herself down at the kitchen table, hands folded in her lap. Her appearance was of someone with something on their mind they didn’t know how to say, so Mara let her work through it. Wordlessly she fixed them both a mug of caf, then sat next down across from her. Padmé took the cup with a smile, and gave it a test sip. “Thank you, dear.”

“You’re sure you don’t need anything else?”

“No, I’m quite all right. It’s just that…” she trailed off, eyes unfocused. Finally she snapped back to the present and fixed Mara with a hard look. “Mara, I have waited much too long to see my daughter as it is. Waiting like this, while she is in pain just three decks above me, is unbearable. I have to see her.” The former senator was almost breathless.

Mara extended a wary hand to Luke’s mother, and took her own wrinkled one gently. “I understand. Luke is just trying to make sure that Leia is mentally able to handle something like this before you meet her. For her good as well as yours.”

Padmé scoffed at that. “I am her mother. This is when she needs me the most. Don’t you understand? She needs me.”

“Padmé,” Mara had no appropriate words. There was no reason that would satisfy her. In fact, Mara was beginning to doubt the wisdom of keeping Padmé from Leia, herself. Leia needed something, anything to pull her from the pit of despair into which she had descended. Meeting her mother might just do the trick. So instead of arguing, Mara rose from the table and grabbed her cloak. “I’m going to get dinner in the mess. You were asleep when I left.”

Padmé stared at her blankly for a second, then her eyes filled with unshed tears. “Thank you, Mara. And thank the Force my son was lucky enough to find someone like you.”

With a parting smile, Mara abandoned her to her own devices.

[edit] Behind the Scenes

• Part of the Star Wars fanfiction Heritage

Heritage Chapter 20| Chapter 21| Chapter 22| Chapter 23| Chapter 24| Chapter 25| Chapter 26| Chapter 27| Chapter 28| Chapter 29