Jedi Temple- Coruscant- Tuesday afternoon
Jaina could take apart just about anything someone gave her and put it back together again, but this cleaning droid was something else. The table she was working on was covered in cleaning devices and mechanical parts that almost seemed like they wouldn't all fit inside it, and she'd only barely found the tiny parasite droid spliced into the control systems. Whoever made this thing actually deserved some applause for it. That, of course, was another problem, because the scans she ran to figure out where its components came from told her that it was probably Imperial, and she figured it was probably traceable back to a Moff named Lecersen.
The five seconds it took for Jag to pick up his comm was enough to make Jaina even madder, and he answered with, "Nice to hear from you. This will have to be fast. We're on our way to-"
"Cancel it," Jaina interrupted. "We need to talk."
"Jaina, I can't. Chief Daala is expecting me."
"I don't care if the Emperor himself has been resurrected to meet you," she insisted. "You need to hear this, and you need to hear it now."
Jag went quiet. "What's wrong?"
"When you get here." She had to be vague, since she had no idea now who was listening. "I'll have an apprentice meet you in the east hangar."
She clicked off, then arranged the escort, and tried to calm herself down. The Moffs had never wanted Jag in charge; they'd only accepted it because Luke had put him in the position and because they were in for some serious charges for deploying the same nanovirus that had supposedly killed Allana. They'd been a pain to Jag ever since, and it made sense that they'd try to use Jaina and the Jedi to get back at him, probably trying to take all of them out at once.
The calming down thing had worked just slightly when she heard the lab door slide open. "Wow, that was fast," she said, expecting Jag. "You must have been right on top of the..."
When she looked over, she saw it was actually her parents standing there, and neither one of them were radiating anything good. Jaina tried to surreptitiously set the parasite droid back on the table without either one of them noticing.
"What's that?" Leia said, looking over the mess on the table. "This looks like your room when you were twelve."
"Was it really this tidy?" Jaina said, but neither Han nor Leia looked amused by that. Okay, fine, she'd tell them something. She'd just do it carefully, without tipping her mother off that she was holding back. "I think I found out how Javis Tyrr has been getting his images from inside the Temple. You remember the cleaning unit that was working near the hangar door when Bazel and Yaqeel went around the bend?" Jaina picked up the parasite droid and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. "I found this little guy hidden inside it."
Neither one of them seemed to care much about that, which was worrying. "What is it?" Jaina finally asked.
Han came over to her side. "Sweetheart, there's no easy way to tell you this," he said.
And then he didn't tell her. While she was still worried, Jaina knew that she'd have felt it if someone died, and she knew her parents' preference for hugs when that happened. She knew from a lot of experience. So she turned to Leia. "Did Ben go? I know Cilghal thinks it's the students who were at Shelter that are at risk."
"Ben's fine, as far as we know," Leia said. "This is about Jag."
"No, I just talked to Jag. Unless there's been an assassination attempt in the last..." She checked her chrono "... ten minutes, he's perfectly well."
"He won't be after you hear this," Han said. "Brace yourself, kid."
Jaina frowned. "For what?"
"Sweetheart, there's something Jag has been keeping from you," Leia said. "Your father and I thought you should hear it from us first."
There weren't many things that would upset her more than they were worrying her now. "What? You're going to tell me Jag's been seeing someone else?" she said lightly, because that would never ever happen.
"Worse," Han said seriously. "He's been holding out on you."
"I seriously doubt that, Dad. Jedi, remember?"
"So's your mother," he countered. "And she only knows half my secrets."
By the look on Leia's face, that was definitely not true, but she turned her attention to her daughter. "Jaina, you can't know about this-"
"Because if you did, we wouldn't have had to hear about it from a spy," Han said. "Jaina, Chief Daala is sending for Mandalorians."
Sithspit. Her parents had found out about the thing she and Jag weren't able to tell them, which was good because the Jedi should know. But they seemed so betrayed that Jag hadn't said anything that there was no way this was going to go well. She had no idea how to maneuver around this.
"This is good information," Leia told her. "It comes right from the top."
"So?" Jaina said, trying to play dumb. "First, who cares'? Unless Boba Fett is coming himself, we can handle a company of Mandos without getting our robes dirty."
"But there will still be a battle. And in that kind of fight, everyone loses something."
"Yeah," Han agreed. "And right now the last thing the Jedi need showing up on the holonews is a bunch of dead Mandalorians on the Temple doorsteps."
"Point taken," Jaina conceded. "But I don't see what all this has to do with Jag," Jaina continued. "Unless those Mandalorian companies are arriving on Imperial transport?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Han snorted.
"Well, it would me," Jaina shot back. "The Moffs made it death for Boba Fett to return to Mandalore forever. I don't see the Mandalorians asking anyone in the Empire for a ride."
"True," Leia said. "But you're a smart girl, Jaina. You know what we mean."
Jaina sighed and looked down to try and sneak a look at her chrono again. Jag would be here at any time, and this would be terrible for him to walk into. "Okay," she said. "Let's say Jag did know the Mandalorians were coming. So what? That doesn't mean he should tell us."
That wasn't what Han wanted to hear. "What are you, going bugbent again? We're the closest thing he's got to family right now! And Luke's the one who gave him that gig."
"And that gig comes with a long list of duties and obligations," Jaina retorted. "None of which includes being a Jedi! He's having enough trouble keeping the Moffs in line without getting into the middle of our problems with Daala."
Her parents went silent, and Jaina knew she'd said too much. Great.
"You knew," Leia said finally. "And you didn't tell anyone."
"Mom, there's a lot at stake-"
"Wait a minute," Han said, looking to Leia while pointing at Jaina. "She knew about the bucketheads?"
"Yes, Han. Jaina knew about the Mandos, and she knew Jag wasn't telling us. That's why she's defending him," Leia said.
"I'm defending him because he was keeping the oath he swore to always act in the Empire's best interests," Jaina replied. "The oath that he swore because Uncle Luke pushed him into becoming their Head of State."
"What about the oaths you swore?" Han demanded. "Don't they count, now that you're about to become High Lady Fel?"
Jaina prepared herself for more, but Han shook his head in disgust and stormed off towards the door instead, which was actually worse than being yelled at. And considering Han could hold grudges that would last for years, there was a hole in Jaina's stomach at the thought that he might have one against her.
"Mom, you need to understand," Jaina pleaded.
Leia held up a hand to stop her. "Jaina, we'll talk about this later. Right now, I'd better make sure Han doesn't hurt someone."
And unfortunately Leia wasn't really kidding, because that was when the door opened and Jag came through, so Han actually ran into him. "Oh, Captain Solo, my apologies," he said. "Jaina didn't say you would-"
"Out of my way, sleemo!" Han snapped, pushing past him. "Don't think I won't blast you just because it might start a war."
Han disappeared through the doorway, leaving Jag shocked and Jaina mortified. "Uh, Princess Leia," Jag said, a little cautiously, "I'm not sure what that was about-"
"Sure you are," Leia said coolly, glaring up at him. "My daughter seems to think you had a good reason for keeping quiet, and maybe you did. But this should probably be the last time we see you inside the Jedi Temple for a while."
Jag managed to look angry, guilty and embarrassed at the same time, but nodded. "Of course. I understand. Would it be acceptable for me to have a few words with Jaina before I go?"
"I think you'd better. You two definitely have some things to discuss."
If she'd said no, Jaina probably would have also walked out of the Temple and not come back. Instead, she found a seat on a nearby stool and hated everything.
"I know better than to think you told them," Jag said, coming over to her.
And that just made this so much better, really. "I don't know how they found out," she sighed. "They mentioned a spy, but they weren't in a mood to talk about it."
"I don't suppose it matters, at least not at this stage," he said. "But it is going to complicate things."
Jaina snorted. Yeah, when this was going to seriously endanger the Empire joining the Galactic Alliance, when it was going to damage relations between the Empire and the Jedi, when the Jedi now had reason to distrust the GA, when it was going to damage her reputation within the Jedi even more, when her parents seemed to hate her and her fiance now, yeah, it complicated things. "You don't know the half of it."
"I'm sure I don't," Jag said, reaching for her hands. "But we'll get through it, I promise. When your parents realize how important this secret was to the unification talks, they'll understand the impossible position I put you in."
"Yeah, well don't expect them to forgive you for that," Jaina said, but she had to try and get past that. She pulled her hands free to reach for the parasite droid. "But that's not what I meant. Do you recognize this?"
"I'm afraid I do," Jag said, looking over all the parts strewn over the table. "From inside the cleaning droid?"
Jaina nodded. "Afraid so," she said. "Lecersen?"
"Probably. I'll know for sure once I access its memory."
"How do you know I haven't done that already?" Jaina asked.
"Because it's still in one piece, and you still have all your fingers."
Jag reached for the parasite droid, but Jaina quickly pulled it away. "Not so fast," Jaina said, pulling it away. "The Jedi need to get something out of this mess."
Jag didn't look pleased about that, but he didn't argue. He probably didn't know how screwed Jaina was by all that had just happened, but he didn't need those details to agree. "Okay," he said. "You can have it back when we've removed the self-destruct charge and copied its memory."
"Deal." She let him have the droid, then reached up to give him a kiss. "But I think there's one other thing you're going to need it for. Show it to Daala. It might do us all some good."
[Welcome to the only book where I have ever actively disliked Han and Leia! NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Dialogue from Abyss by Troy Denning.]
The five seconds it took for Jag to pick up his comm was enough to make Jaina even madder, and he answered with, "Nice to hear from you. This will have to be fast. We're on our way to-"
"Cancel it," Jaina interrupted. "We need to talk."
"Jaina, I can't. Chief Daala is expecting me."
"I don't care if the Emperor himself has been resurrected to meet you," she insisted. "You need to hear this, and you need to hear it now."
Jag went quiet. "What's wrong?"
"When you get here." She had to be vague, since she had no idea now who was listening. "I'll have an apprentice meet you in the east hangar."
She clicked off, then arranged the escort, and tried to calm herself down. The Moffs had never wanted Jag in charge; they'd only accepted it because Luke had put him in the position and because they were in for some serious charges for deploying the same nanovirus that had supposedly killed Allana. They'd been a pain to Jag ever since, and it made sense that they'd try to use Jaina and the Jedi to get back at him, probably trying to take all of them out at once.
The calming down thing had worked just slightly when she heard the lab door slide open. "Wow, that was fast," she said, expecting Jag. "You must have been right on top of the..."
When she looked over, she saw it was actually her parents standing there, and neither one of them were radiating anything good. Jaina tried to surreptitiously set the parasite droid back on the table without either one of them noticing.
"What's that?" Leia said, looking over the mess on the table. "This looks like your room when you were twelve."
"Was it really this tidy?" Jaina said, but neither Han nor Leia looked amused by that. Okay, fine, she'd tell them something. She'd just do it carefully, without tipping her mother off that she was holding back. "I think I found out how Javis Tyrr has been getting his images from inside the Temple. You remember the cleaning unit that was working near the hangar door when Bazel and Yaqeel went around the bend?" Jaina picked up the parasite droid and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. "I found this little guy hidden inside it."
Neither one of them seemed to care much about that, which was worrying. "What is it?" Jaina finally asked.
Han came over to her side. "Sweetheart, there's no easy way to tell you this," he said.
And then he didn't tell her. While she was still worried, Jaina knew that she'd have felt it if someone died, and she knew her parents' preference for hugs when that happened. She knew from a lot of experience. So she turned to Leia. "Did Ben go? I know Cilghal thinks it's the students who were at Shelter that are at risk."
"Ben's fine, as far as we know," Leia said. "This is about Jag."
"No, I just talked to Jag. Unless there's been an assassination attempt in the last..." She checked her chrono "... ten minutes, he's perfectly well."
"He won't be after you hear this," Han said. "Brace yourself, kid."
Jaina frowned. "For what?"
"Sweetheart, there's something Jag has been keeping from you," Leia said. "Your father and I thought you should hear it from us first."
There weren't many things that would upset her more than they were worrying her now. "What? You're going to tell me Jag's been seeing someone else?" she said lightly, because that would never ever happen.
"Worse," Han said seriously. "He's been holding out on you."
"I seriously doubt that, Dad. Jedi, remember?"
"So's your mother," he countered. "And she only knows half my secrets."
By the look on Leia's face, that was definitely not true, but she turned her attention to her daughter. "Jaina, you can't know about this-"
"Because if you did, we wouldn't have had to hear about it from a spy," Han said. "Jaina, Chief Daala is sending for Mandalorians."
Sithspit. Her parents had found out about the thing she and Jag weren't able to tell them, which was good because the Jedi should know. But they seemed so betrayed that Jag hadn't said anything that there was no way this was going to go well. She had no idea how to maneuver around this.
"This is good information," Leia told her. "It comes right from the top."
"So?" Jaina said, trying to play dumb. "First, who cares'? Unless Boba Fett is coming himself, we can handle a company of Mandos without getting our robes dirty."
"But there will still be a battle. And in that kind of fight, everyone loses something."
"Yeah," Han agreed. "And right now the last thing the Jedi need showing up on the holonews is a bunch of dead Mandalorians on the Temple doorsteps."
"Point taken," Jaina conceded. "But I don't see what all this has to do with Jag," Jaina continued. "Unless those Mandalorian companies are arriving on Imperial transport?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Han snorted.
"Well, it would me," Jaina shot back. "The Moffs made it death for Boba Fett to return to Mandalore forever. I don't see the Mandalorians asking anyone in the Empire for a ride."
"True," Leia said. "But you're a smart girl, Jaina. You know what we mean."
Jaina sighed and looked down to try and sneak a look at her chrono again. Jag would be here at any time, and this would be terrible for him to walk into. "Okay," she said. "Let's say Jag did know the Mandalorians were coming. So what? That doesn't mean he should tell us."
That wasn't what Han wanted to hear. "What are you, going bugbent again? We're the closest thing he's got to family right now! And Luke's the one who gave him that gig."
"And that gig comes with a long list of duties and obligations," Jaina retorted. "None of which includes being a Jedi! He's having enough trouble keeping the Moffs in line without getting into the middle of our problems with Daala."
Her parents went silent, and Jaina knew she'd said too much. Great.
"You knew," Leia said finally. "And you didn't tell anyone."
"Mom, there's a lot at stake-"
"Wait a minute," Han said, looking to Leia while pointing at Jaina. "She knew about the bucketheads?"
"Yes, Han. Jaina knew about the Mandos, and she knew Jag wasn't telling us. That's why she's defending him," Leia said.
"I'm defending him because he was keeping the oath he swore to always act in the Empire's best interests," Jaina replied. "The oath that he swore because Uncle Luke pushed him into becoming their Head of State."
"What about the oaths you swore?" Han demanded. "Don't they count, now that you're about to become High Lady Fel?"
Jaina prepared herself for more, but Han shook his head in disgust and stormed off towards the door instead, which was actually worse than being yelled at. And considering Han could hold grudges that would last for years, there was a hole in Jaina's stomach at the thought that he might have one against her.
"Mom, you need to understand," Jaina pleaded.
Leia held up a hand to stop her. "Jaina, we'll talk about this later. Right now, I'd better make sure Han doesn't hurt someone."
And unfortunately Leia wasn't really kidding, because that was when the door opened and Jag came through, so Han actually ran into him. "Oh, Captain Solo, my apologies," he said. "Jaina didn't say you would-"
"Out of my way, sleemo!" Han snapped, pushing past him. "Don't think I won't blast you just because it might start a war."
Han disappeared through the doorway, leaving Jag shocked and Jaina mortified. "Uh, Princess Leia," Jag said, a little cautiously, "I'm not sure what that was about-"
"Sure you are," Leia said coolly, glaring up at him. "My daughter seems to think you had a good reason for keeping quiet, and maybe you did. But this should probably be the last time we see you inside the Jedi Temple for a while."
Jag managed to look angry, guilty and embarrassed at the same time, but nodded. "Of course. I understand. Would it be acceptable for me to have a few words with Jaina before I go?"
"I think you'd better. You two definitely have some things to discuss."
If she'd said no, Jaina probably would have also walked out of the Temple and not come back. Instead, she found a seat on a nearby stool and hated everything.
"I know better than to think you told them," Jag said, coming over to her.
And that just made this so much better, really. "I don't know how they found out," she sighed. "They mentioned a spy, but they weren't in a mood to talk about it."
"I don't suppose it matters, at least not at this stage," he said. "But it is going to complicate things."
Jaina snorted. Yeah, when this was going to seriously endanger the Empire joining the Galactic Alliance, when it was going to damage relations between the Empire and the Jedi, when the Jedi now had reason to distrust the GA, when it was going to damage her reputation within the Jedi even more, when her parents seemed to hate her and her fiance now, yeah, it complicated things. "You don't know the half of it."
"I'm sure I don't," Jag said, reaching for her hands. "But we'll get through it, I promise. When your parents realize how important this secret was to the unification talks, they'll understand the impossible position I put you in."
"Yeah, well don't expect them to forgive you for that," Jaina said, but she had to try and get past that. She pulled her hands free to reach for the parasite droid. "But that's not what I meant. Do you recognize this?"
"I'm afraid I do," Jag said, looking over all the parts strewn over the table. "From inside the cleaning droid?"
Jaina nodded. "Afraid so," she said. "Lecersen?"
"Probably. I'll know for sure once I access its memory."
"How do you know I haven't done that already?" Jaina asked.
"Because it's still in one piece, and you still have all your fingers."
Jag reached for the parasite droid, but Jaina quickly pulled it away. "Not so fast," Jaina said, pulling it away. "The Jedi need to get something out of this mess."
Jag didn't look pleased about that, but he didn't argue. He probably didn't know how screwed Jaina was by all that had just happened, but he didn't need those details to agree. "Okay," he said. "You can have it back when we've removed the self-destruct charge and copied its memory."
"Deal." She let him have the droid, then reached up to give him a kiss. "But I think there's one other thing you're going to need it for. Show it to Daala. It might do us all some good."
[Welcome to the only book where I have ever actively disliked Han and Leia! NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Dialogue from Abyss by Troy Denning.]