Borleias, Friday Fandom time
When Jaina tried to get through the senior personnel hallway, she hadn't expected to be held up by a crowd. Wedge and his wife Iella were there with their two daughters, Luke and Mara had Ben, Jedi Masters Kam and Tionne Solusar, and Han, Leia and Threepio were making it difficult to get through, so Jaina hung back, watching out of curiosity even if she quickly decided this may be too private for her.
"Hey, kid," Han said, finally noticing her. "You here to see us off? Or are you running interference?"
"Uh... I didn't even know you were going," Jaina admitted. "I'm part of the main task force."
Wedge let go of Syal and Myri in order to stand. "Jaina, this is the first mission to take the Jedi students, and some of the civilian children, such as mine, to the new safe zone. Han, I've got Nevil and Corran running interference for you."
"Well, blast. Thought I was going to be able to give my daughter some much-needed flying lessons," Han teased.
Jaina didn't much feel in a teasing mood. "Some other time, maybe."
The group began to disperse, Mara very obviously having a hard time saying goodbye to little Ben before leaving him with Luke and heading off quickly. "Come on, Junior Corellians," Han said, following it up with,"Who wants a ride to the Millennium Falcon?"
"Me!" said Myri quickly, using Han's stooped position to take the opportunity to hop onto his back.
"Come on, Goldenrod," Han said, nodding at Threepio like he should know what to do.
"I am as ready to depart as I was at the beginning of this discussion, four minutes and thirty-eight seconds ago," Threepio insisted.
"No, you pile of parts, I mean, do what I'm doing."
It wasn't long before Threepio had a Syal on his back, which Jaina sort of thought couldn't be comfortable for either of them. She didn't think she'd considered that at any point in her own childhood, though to be fair, she'd had Chewbacca, who could have carried all three of them in a pinch.
"Syal, don't be afraid to use the whip," Han advised, "he's willful and skittish."
Threepio was still protesting that direction when he and Han took the Antilles girls to the Falcon. Then Luke took Ben with him as he headed off with Kam and Tionne, and Leia left with Wedge and Iella to talk shop, and Jaina was left alone. And she felt strange about it, which she didn't like at all. She decided to find Mara, having noticed that she had taken saying goodbye to Ben hard and wanting to check up on her.
Upon Mara's okay to come in, Jaina stepped into the Skywalker living quarters, jerking her thumb back towards the hallway. "I didn't know all that was going on," she started, a little apologetically.
"That's all right," Mara told her. "They're taking the Jedi academy students to a new hiding place. Somewhere they'll be safe while the Errant Venture is on station here. Ben is going with them, and Wedge's kids, and that boy Tarc."
"Are you all right?"
"I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me. I just can't seem to find my breath."
Jaina had thought she'd seen Mara at her most vulnerable when she'd been sick, but this was new and unnerving. There wasn't anything she could say, either. She couldn't relate. The only thing that came close was seeing Jordin and Jaryd off, but they were just going back where they belonged after she knew them for a weekend. It wasn't even close to the same. She couldn't even reassure her that everything would be all right because she knew Ben. "You could go with him."
"Don't think I haven't considered it. Don't think I won't be considering it until the moment your parents blast off. Or even after," Mara confessed. "But my work here, and this mission to Coruscant, is more important than my feelings. If I'm not here to do something I'm supposed to do, the Yuuzhan Vong could take another few strides toward victory. Down the line, when it counts, that might be the difference for us. It might be the difference between Ben having a galaxy he can grow up in... or not having one. If I just do what I want to, and go running after your father, Ben could end up dying. Or becoming a slave of the Yuuzhan Vong. I can't do that."
Jaina had been fairly good about lowering her personal shields here, knowing that she couldn't keep Kyp blocked out, at the very least. The problem was that it meant that she could feel Mara's anguish vividly, enough that it was almost physically painful.
Mara was off in her own little world, but Jaina decided against trying to comfort her. It would just be futile and possibly patronizing, and beyond that, Mara had to deal with her own immediate family. So Jaina backed off, left the room, and went back to work.
[NFI, NFB, OOC okay. Dialogue from Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston.]
"Hey, kid," Han said, finally noticing her. "You here to see us off? Or are you running interference?"
"Uh... I didn't even know you were going," Jaina admitted. "I'm part of the main task force."
Wedge let go of Syal and Myri in order to stand. "Jaina, this is the first mission to take the Jedi students, and some of the civilian children, such as mine, to the new safe zone. Han, I've got Nevil and Corran running interference for you."
"Well, blast. Thought I was going to be able to give my daughter some much-needed flying lessons," Han teased.
Jaina didn't much feel in a teasing mood. "Some other time, maybe."
The group began to disperse, Mara very obviously having a hard time saying goodbye to little Ben before leaving him with Luke and heading off quickly. "Come on, Junior Corellians," Han said, following it up with,"Who wants a ride to the Millennium Falcon?"
"Me!" said Myri quickly, using Han's stooped position to take the opportunity to hop onto his back.
"Come on, Goldenrod," Han said, nodding at Threepio like he should know what to do.
"I am as ready to depart as I was at the beginning of this discussion, four minutes and thirty-eight seconds ago," Threepio insisted.
"No, you pile of parts, I mean, do what I'm doing."
It wasn't long before Threepio had a Syal on his back, which Jaina sort of thought couldn't be comfortable for either of them. She didn't think she'd considered that at any point in her own childhood, though to be fair, she'd had Chewbacca, who could have carried all three of them in a pinch.
"Syal, don't be afraid to use the whip," Han advised, "he's willful and skittish."
Threepio was still protesting that direction when he and Han took the Antilles girls to the Falcon. Then Luke took Ben with him as he headed off with Kam and Tionne, and Leia left with Wedge and Iella to talk shop, and Jaina was left alone. And she felt strange about it, which she didn't like at all. She decided to find Mara, having noticed that she had taken saying goodbye to Ben hard and wanting to check up on her.
Upon Mara's okay to come in, Jaina stepped into the Skywalker living quarters, jerking her thumb back towards the hallway. "I didn't know all that was going on," she started, a little apologetically.
"That's all right," Mara told her. "They're taking the Jedi academy students to a new hiding place. Somewhere they'll be safe while the Errant Venture is on station here. Ben is going with them, and Wedge's kids, and that boy Tarc."
"Are you all right?"
"I feel like I've had the wind knocked out of me. I just can't seem to find my breath."
Jaina had thought she'd seen Mara at her most vulnerable when she'd been sick, but this was new and unnerving. There wasn't anything she could say, either. She couldn't relate. The only thing that came close was seeing Jordin and Jaryd off, but they were just going back where they belonged after she knew them for a weekend. It wasn't even close to the same. She couldn't even reassure her that everything would be all right because she knew Ben. "You could go with him."
"Don't think I haven't considered it. Don't think I won't be considering it until the moment your parents blast off. Or even after," Mara confessed. "But my work here, and this mission to Coruscant, is more important than my feelings. If I'm not here to do something I'm supposed to do, the Yuuzhan Vong could take another few strides toward victory. Down the line, when it counts, that might be the difference for us. It might be the difference between Ben having a galaxy he can grow up in... or not having one. If I just do what I want to, and go running after your father, Ben could end up dying. Or becoming a slave of the Yuuzhan Vong. I can't do that."
Jaina had been fairly good about lowering her personal shields here, knowing that she couldn't keep Kyp blocked out, at the very least. The problem was that it meant that she could feel Mara's anguish vividly, enough that it was almost physically painful.
Mara was off in her own little world, but Jaina decided against trying to comfort her. It would just be futile and possibly patronizing, and beyond that, Mara had to deal with her own immediate family. So Jaina backed off, left the room, and went back to work.
[NFI, NFB, OOC okay. Dialogue from Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston.]