SHORE LEAVE
Chapter 1
(Jaina)
I've got six months to go till my tour is up.
And then, I'm not sure.
I was planning to be career military. But now, I'm not so sure.
Don't get me wrong, training in the Navy was great. I learned from some of the best (although not as good as my dad, but then again, having him as a flight instructor would not have been cool, because he'd have been even harder on me than the ones here at Carida were).
I graduated, like my father before me, at the top of my class a year and a half ago. I was proud of that. My parents were, too. Fortunately, Mom's mostly retired from public service so the tabloids don't chase us down, and it was a great day. All my brothers and Tenel Ka and Allana were there along with Aunt Mara and Uncle Luke and Ben and Lilith, and don't forget Chewie. I miss the giant fuzzball a lot. Never realized how important he was to me. I spent a lot of my growing up time with him.
Then I began my tour of service. You have to serve two years to work off your expenses for training. They don't let you sign up for more than that right after your training. Then it's up to you. But there's the fine print that says they can call you up for up to two years after your tour's over.
I figured I'd be a lifer, but lately, there's lots that makes me wonder if I really am.
The galaxy's been pretty quiet over the last five years. We went on a couple humanitarian missions but nothing big time. The military's a whole bunch of hurry up and wait. We do drills and such, but it's not a lot of fun. And so many stupid regulations.
The good part is that we get some free time and during that, Jag and me are friends again. Maybe someday we'll be better than friends.
I completed my Jedi training before joining the Navy. Uncle Luke wanted me to be a Jedi knight, but that didn't appeal to me much. I'm glad I did it. It's given me an edge I like a lot. But I still can't meditate to save my life.
Now I'm not sure what to do. I have a lot of friends here in the Navy. We've had some good times. But the bureaucratic bullshit is getting to me. I'm bored and I don't know what I'll do next.
But I've got shore leave coming up. Two weeks of it. Usually I go back to Coruscant and see the family, but I mostly hook up with my friends and we hang out. But this time, I don't feel like seeing them.
I'm homesick as hells and I miss my parents. I know what you're thinking. I'm 22 years old and I still need my mommy and daddy.
You bet I do.
Jag's in my room while I pack my things to take with me.
"I could see if I could change my leave, maybe we can go somewhere," he says to me.
"I really need to see my parents," I tell him.
"Any particular reason why?"
"Trying to figure out what to do next."
Jag laughs a little. "I always figured you were in for twenty years."
"Right now I'm not sure about anything," I tell him.
"You think talking to your parents is gonna help that?"
"I'm willing to give it a go."
"Well...I hope you have a good trip. Let me carry some of that."
"If you want to." I let him.
"Let me walk you to your transport." He takes my duffel filled with laundry. I know it's petty, but I hate waiting for the valets at the base. You have to line up and wait forever.
"Thanks," I say, not sure what to think. Jag confuses me. One minute he wants to be just buddies, the next he acts like we have this great romance going on.
"See you in two weeks," he says as we get to the transport, and kisses me on the cheek.
I think it's obvious that we've got nothing figured out. I'm hoping being with my parents is gonna change some of that, least as far as
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I must've been tired, because I slept the entire way to Coruscant. I'm still sort of groggy when I head out to where Daddy has promised to pick me up. He monitors the incoming transports and he knows which one I'm on so I find him right away.
"Hey sweetie," he says, stepping out of the speeder to hug me. I feel like I'm three years old and the universe is safe. I like that feeling right now. "Let's see how much laundry you brought this time." He tosses both duffels in to the back seat. My parents claim that the only reason they'd ever see Jacen or Anakin or me when we left home was to do our laundry.
"How are you?" Daddy asks me as we leave the transport station. Traffic on Coruscant sucks even more than usual this time of day.
"Tired."
"I'm sure that'll be over once your pals start comm'g you," he teases me.
"I haven't told anyone I'm coming."
"That has to be a first."
"Can we just go home?" I ask him. I know I'm whining, but I just want to be in our apartment, on the sofa, watching smashball with my father. He and I kid around a lot, but right now, I just want him to tell me that everything's gonna be fine.
"Jacen'll want to see you," he tells me.
"I wanna see him, too. Just not tonight."
"You know Tenel Ka's back on Hapes for now."
"I've known that for six months. I do talk to you and Mom and even to Jace sometimes."
"We'll be home shortly. Mom had to make an emergency trip to Hapes a couple days ago but she comm'd me and said she'll be home tomorrow night and she can't wait to see you."
"I thought she was done doing the diplomat thing and just teaching."
"Tenel Ka asked her to help with negotiating and some babysitting."
I'd heard rumors about some skirmishes in Hapes but we've been told it's nothing their own security detail can't handle. I suspect Mom really just wanted to see Allana and since Tenel Ka's the Queen Mother she probably needs the help.
"Where's Jarik?" I'm kind of surprised he didn't come but then again, he is thirteen and totally into racing.
"Working on his racer, what else?" Han said, shaking his head. "He's got the itch."
"Something you know nothing about," I tease him back.
"Speak for yourself, honey," he kids me but this time it doesn't annoy me. "You're really gonna stay home for two weeks with Mom and me and Jarik?"
"You got it. How tall's the little twerp these days?"
"I.75 meters."
"Gods, what're you feeding him?"
"Everything we can afford and can't. When his friends are there, we go to a supermarket in another district and clean them out."
"He might get taller than you. Then what're you gonna do?"
"Remind him who pays his freight."
It's so nice to be in Daddy's speeder. He's nearby and once again, I'm a little kid, and I fall asleep on the way home.
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"I'm afraid you're stuck with my cooking," Daddy says as he serves up medium rare nerfsteaks with fried tubers and greens. My favorite meal.
My mom finally learned to cook when I was fifteen and she's pretty good, but I was away for most of the time after that. Daddy's cooking is comfort food. Daddy's grumbling about Jarik being late, but it's like the boy can smell dinner ten kilometers away.
"Hey twerp!" I greet him with a hug.
"Hey sis, how goes it?" I've got a soft spot for my youngest brother, brat that he is.
"Jarik remains late for everything except dinner," Daddy says, giving Jarik the evil eye. "I'm surprised you left your buddies behind."
"You said Jaina's coming, so I left 'em to deal on their own."
"Those guys still living here? Don't they have parents?" I ask.
"There's a rumor going around they do, but in view of our foodshopping expenses, I'm going with no." Daddy sets everything down and it's delicious.
"All I know is that this is delicious," I tell my father. "I haven't had anything this good since...the last time I came home for leave." And stuck around long enough for a homecooked dinner.
"I suspect Navy chow has improved since the war," Daddy says.
"It's not terrible. It's just not...home."
"Don't tell me my adventurous offspring is homesick," Daddy says, but he's smiling.
"Yeah, actually, I am."
Jarik has to know every detail of every craft I've trained on. He's way into mechanics, not the way Anakin is, but he tells me he and Anakin are working closely designing racers. Anakin's got a ways to go in engineering school but he's totally gifted that way. I can do repairs, but Anakin feels like machinery talks to him via the Force.
I'm wondering right now if I shouldn't have gone to university. But I love flying too much to think of doing anything else. There's a rush I always get when I start moving off the ground. Never fails.
"I think we should play some sabacc," Daddy says after we finish the dinner dishes. I'm tired, but it'll be so much fun to play cards with people that know how. We play at the base, but not many great players. Yeah, I win a lot, but no one's got a lot of money so it's pennyante stuff. Daddy clobbers us, of course.
Smashball's on, and I lie down on one end of the L-shaped sofa. Before the first toss, I'm out like a light.