Kashyyyk- late Friday Fandom time
Being as how it had been Chewbacca's homeworld, Jaina felt as if she'd spent a quarter of her childhood on Kashyyyk sometimes. Her parents had been involved in some political crisis or another all the time when she was growing up, and when the Solo kids needed to be out of the way for their own safety, it was time for Chewie to take them on a visit home.
That made it so much harder to see the planet burning on Jacen's orders when she arrived.
She wasn't sure entirely what had happened, having come straight from Ossus, except that apparently this was what happened when you went up against Jacen. She could see the smoke from orbit, and when her StealthX dropped down into the atmosphere, she had to fly by instruments because she couldn't actually see anything out the viewport. She didn't spot any flames, though, which she took to mean she wasn't in any immediate danger.
She was directed to landed in the hangar, where a crew of Wookiees set to taking care of her ship for her. She asked after Luke, and then had to make her way through the mass of smoke and hoversleds and technicians and pillots in order to get to him. She was just in time, too. He was standing beside his StealthX, with R2-D2 being lowered into the droid socket.
"Hello, Jaina. I hope everything is under control at the academy," Luke said calmly.
She nodded. "Jag and Zekk are looking after things until we can get some more Jedi Knights there. Most of the GAG troopers were pretty appalled at Serpa's orders, and the rest aren't exactly spoiling for a fight, especially after we returned everyone's lightsabers."
"Good." He seemed distracted, as though his mind was anywhere but on the coming fight. "Still, Serpa's battalion isn't all we have to worry about. If Jacen is willing to do this..." he said, waving his hand around vaguely.
"You wanted to know what we learned," she said, "and I wanted to tell you in person." And see how he was doing, after hearing about things like Kuat and Kashyyyk being on fire and the GAG trying to arrest Han and Leia at Mara's funeral... "Is Ben here?"
Luke shook his head. "He's supposed to be on his way from Coruscant."
Jaina noted the careful choice of words. She'd learned to do that when talking about Ben. "Supposed to be? Ben is overdue?"
"Not exactly. I sent a message to him after we left Kuat. But I can't tell where he is. Ben is shutting himself off from the Force again." He didn't sound right, but Jaina couldn't place why. "Your parents left last night," he added. "They have a plan."
"They always have a plan," she said. "Uncle Luke, are you feeling all right? You seem kind of, well, distracted."
"We're going after your brother," Luke pointed out. "I don't like doing it."
"He's the one who started this," she said simply. "But if you're hesitant because he's your nephew..."
"I'm not."
Artoo whistled, a cue to get a move on.
"I'll be right there," Luke told him, then turned back to Jaina. "What did you need to tell me?"
It occurred to Jaina that all things considered, this might be horrible timing. "Uh, maybe now isn't a good time. It looks like you've got enough on your mind."
"I'm the Jedi Grand Master, Jaina," Luke said. "I know how to keep my concentration."
She knew that tone. It was the I'm not yelling, but you're going to tell me right now tone she'd heard a lot when she got into trouble in her Academy days.
Jaina had wanted to come here and be blunt about the situation, to tell him what they did know of Alema and that if they really looked at what was going on in the galaxy at the moment, the logical thing would be to refocus their efforts elsewhere: on Jacen. Like Fandom's Ben had told her, she couldn't lose sight of what was really important.
But she hadn't known there was an assault being planned when she got here. There was no way that after seeing Luke after Mara's death and him killing the wrong person out of revenge that she could tell him that and then let him go after Jacen. So she chickened out and decided to lie because she had zero intention of dealing with a Sith brother and an uncle going dark. Honesty could wait till there was time to think straight.
"It's about Alema," Jaina said reluctantly, and proceeded to give him the rundown of where Alema had been, which would put her in the area of Mara's murder around the right time and all the people she'd killed for no reason that they could figure out. "The circumstantial evidence is there."
He took all this in and slowly nodded. "Thank you, Jaina. I'm sure you'll bring her to justice."
Jaina frowned, watching him climb up into the X-wing. "Don't you mean we?"
"After my mistake with Lumiya?" Luke shook his head as he buckled in. "It's better for someone else to handle this. Talk to the Council Masters if you need additional resources."
This sounded wrong. All wrong. Look, she was fine taking this all on herself and ridding the galaxy of bad guys so others didn't have to, but no one ever just handed her something like that. "The Masters? What aren't you telling me about this mission?"
"I haven't told you anything yet, as I recall."
"Then it's time to change that," Jaina decided, and pulled herself up the ladder so she could see her uncle eye to eye. "I'm not letting you go until I know why you're acting this way."
"It's nothing special," said Luke calmly. "A standard assault mission- we're going to soften up the Fifth Fleet so the Wookiees have a fighting chance to stop Jacen's pyromania."
"And?"
Luke sighed. "And I'm going to use the assault as a diversion to make a run at the Anakin Solo. Lowie managed to drop a shadow bomb near the bridge, and we might drive it off with another hit. Maybe even take it out."
Jaina dropped off the ladder. "I'm coming."
"Great. Tahiri seems to have disappeared. You can take her place in the Night Blades."
Not that that wasn't foreboding or anything, but she couldn't acknowledge it right now. "With you."
"Jaina, I don't need-"
"The hell you don't," Jaina cut him off. "And don't even think about trying to lose me. I'll blow out your droid socket faster than you can say sideslip."
The last thing she heard before stalking off to her own StealthX was Artoo squealing in protest.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Dialogue taken from Inferno by Troy Denning and tweaked to make it work within character-knows-more-than-she-does-in-canon context.]
That made it so much harder to see the planet burning on Jacen's orders when she arrived.
She wasn't sure entirely what had happened, having come straight from Ossus, except that apparently this was what happened when you went up against Jacen. She could see the smoke from orbit, and when her StealthX dropped down into the atmosphere, she had to fly by instruments because she couldn't actually see anything out the viewport. She didn't spot any flames, though, which she took to mean she wasn't in any immediate danger.
She was directed to landed in the hangar, where a crew of Wookiees set to taking care of her ship for her. She asked after Luke, and then had to make her way through the mass of smoke and hoversleds and technicians and pillots in order to get to him. She was just in time, too. He was standing beside his StealthX, with R2-D2 being lowered into the droid socket.
"Hello, Jaina. I hope everything is under control at the academy," Luke said calmly.
She nodded. "Jag and Zekk are looking after things until we can get some more Jedi Knights there. Most of the GAG troopers were pretty appalled at Serpa's orders, and the rest aren't exactly spoiling for a fight, especially after we returned everyone's lightsabers."
"Good." He seemed distracted, as though his mind was anywhere but on the coming fight. "Still, Serpa's battalion isn't all we have to worry about. If Jacen is willing to do this..." he said, waving his hand around vaguely.
"You wanted to know what we learned," she said, "and I wanted to tell you in person." And see how he was doing, after hearing about things like Kuat and Kashyyyk being on fire and the GAG trying to arrest Han and Leia at Mara's funeral... "Is Ben here?"
Luke shook his head. "He's supposed to be on his way from Coruscant."
Jaina noted the careful choice of words. She'd learned to do that when talking about Ben. "Supposed to be? Ben is overdue?"
"Not exactly. I sent a message to him after we left Kuat. But I can't tell where he is. Ben is shutting himself off from the Force again." He didn't sound right, but Jaina couldn't place why. "Your parents left last night," he added. "They have a plan."
"They always have a plan," she said. "Uncle Luke, are you feeling all right? You seem kind of, well, distracted."
"We're going after your brother," Luke pointed out. "I don't like doing it."
"He's the one who started this," she said simply. "But if you're hesitant because he's your nephew..."
"I'm not."
Artoo whistled, a cue to get a move on.
"I'll be right there," Luke told him, then turned back to Jaina. "What did you need to tell me?"
It occurred to Jaina that all things considered, this might be horrible timing. "Uh, maybe now isn't a good time. It looks like you've got enough on your mind."
"I'm the Jedi Grand Master, Jaina," Luke said. "I know how to keep my concentration."
She knew that tone. It was the I'm not yelling, but you're going to tell me right now tone she'd heard a lot when she got into trouble in her Academy days.
Jaina had wanted to come here and be blunt about the situation, to tell him what they did know of Alema and that if they really looked at what was going on in the galaxy at the moment, the logical thing would be to refocus their efforts elsewhere: on Jacen. Like Fandom's Ben had told her, she couldn't lose sight of what was really important.
But she hadn't known there was an assault being planned when she got here. There was no way that after seeing Luke after Mara's death and him killing the wrong person out of revenge that she could tell him that and then let him go after Jacen. So she chickened out and decided to lie because she had zero intention of dealing with a Sith brother and an uncle going dark. Honesty could wait till there was time to think straight.
"It's about Alema," Jaina said reluctantly, and proceeded to give him the rundown of where Alema had been, which would put her in the area of Mara's murder around the right time and all the people she'd killed for no reason that they could figure out. "The circumstantial evidence is there."
He took all this in and slowly nodded. "Thank you, Jaina. I'm sure you'll bring her to justice."
Jaina frowned, watching him climb up into the X-wing. "Don't you mean we?"
"After my mistake with Lumiya?" Luke shook his head as he buckled in. "It's better for someone else to handle this. Talk to the Council Masters if you need additional resources."
This sounded wrong. All wrong. Look, she was fine taking this all on herself and ridding the galaxy of bad guys so others didn't have to, but no one ever just handed her something like that. "The Masters? What aren't you telling me about this mission?"
"I haven't told you anything yet, as I recall."
"Then it's time to change that," Jaina decided, and pulled herself up the ladder so she could see her uncle eye to eye. "I'm not letting you go until I know why you're acting this way."
"It's nothing special," said Luke calmly. "A standard assault mission- we're going to soften up the Fifth Fleet so the Wookiees have a fighting chance to stop Jacen's pyromania."
"And?"
Luke sighed. "And I'm going to use the assault as a diversion to make a run at the Anakin Solo. Lowie managed to drop a shadow bomb near the bridge, and we might drive it off with another hit. Maybe even take it out."
Jaina dropped off the ladder. "I'm coming."
"Great. Tahiri seems to have disappeared. You can take her place in the Night Blades."
Not that that wasn't foreboding or anything, but she couldn't acknowledge it right now. "With you."
"Jaina, I don't need-"
"The hell you don't," Jaina cut him off. "And don't even think about trying to lose me. I'll blow out your droid socket faster than you can say sideslip."
The last thing she heard before stalking off to her own StealthX was Artoo squealing in protest.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Dialogue taken from Inferno by Troy Denning and tweaked to make it work within character-knows-more-than-she-does-in-canon context.]