This was prompted by a comment which FalconFan made in reply to me, on one of her pieces of SW art (go check it out, if you haven't--she's amazing!). Basically, we talked about what a pity it was that Jacen, Tenel Ka and the others couldn't be there when Han and Leia found out about Allana. So, this is a story where exactly that does happen.

Backstory:

39 ABY: Allana is kidnapped by the president of a renegade star system who's engaging in more than a few bad dealings and wants to pressure Tenel Ka into a political alliance, preferably via marriage. Needless to say, Tenel Ka doesn't like that idea. What's worse, she can no longer feel Allana in the Force, since the ysalamiri trick is no longer a little-known one. Unable to trust her staff entirely, since they allowed Allana's kidnapping, Tenel Ka turns to the Jedi for help; the Solos, along with Jagged Fel, immediately agree to help her, and use the opportunity to expose the president as a bad guy.

The prologue is before the Bad happens; after that, I'm dumping you right into the action.

I'd like to dedicate this to FalconFan and everyone who's been disappointed by the pit of Darkness and Emo that the Star Wars EU seems to have become!

Prologue

Jacen Solo ran a hand through his hair and sighed when his fingers got stuck in its tangles. "I just feel bad about not telling them."

Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo, Queen Mother of Hapes and ruler of sixty-three worlds, mother of the most perfect little girl that Jacen had ever known, sat barefoot on the ground in a secluded little park that almost managed to look like it wasn't under high-security guard at all times. She nodded that she understood. "I know, Jacen. But I can't take that risk."

"Yeah." He worked on extracting his fingers from his dark curls without ripping too many of them out. His mother had tried to tame his hair for years; lately, she'd started pressing "products" on him, but she'd stopped that when he'd threatened to cut it off.

Sometimes, Jacen almost felt sorry for her. Raised as a princess and always meticulously elegant (even when she didn't seem to be trying), and saddled with a husband who didn't care what he looked like as long as he was comfortable, two sons who weren't overly bothered about appearances either, and a daughter who—well, the closest thing Jaina ever came to makeup was engine grease on her face. Poor Leia.

She'd love Allana. The thought was unbidden, but inevitable. His little girl was never far from his thoughts, and she was currently in a phase where she adored anything purple and had to have three different hair styles every day. Leia would've loved braiding and styling the coppery-red tresses, and he was pretty sure that Allana would love it as well.

"Jacen." Tenel Ka reached out and placed a hand over his. "We will tell them. We'll tell all of them. But I want to keep her safe first."

He nodded. "I know. I want that, too. I just wish there was another way, that's all." There really was no point in dwelling on that, though. He regarded his daughter, quietly sleeping on the grass nearby, brightened, and grinned at Tenel Ka. "But I'd rather have you both in secret than not at all."

She smiled at that. "I know. And I'm glad."

"You're the only woman I know who thinks like that," Jacen told her. "Who insists that I don't show you any affection in public, or tell my friends and family about you…" He didn't add that he admired her for it. For doing it all on her own, at least on the outside. For being strong enough to stand entirely on her own. He had a funny feeling that she knew it, anyway.

Her smile widened. "We do things backwards, where I'm from."

"Clearly," Jacen nodded. "Kids before marriage and everything."

"Just kids, in fact," Tenel Ka pointed out.

Which was just as well. He'd never really liked the idea of marriage. Of any kind of commitment, in fact. It was different with Allana—she wasn't a commitment, she was love. And the bond he shared with Tenel Ka was—well, they'd experienced so much together, he didn't think it would ever break. They were friends, they were lovers, but those words didn't really come close to conveying the truth behind it all.

He feigned sadness. "Stop ruining my points."

"It's what I do."

"I know." He heaved a dramatic sigh. "You make my life difficult."

"And occasionally pleasant," she agreed.

He leaned over for a kiss. "Occasionally. Maybe."

Part 1: Plans

Missions with a Solo never went as planned. That was the plain and simple truth. There was no point in even trying to get around it. It didn't matter how well you planned, it didn't matter what you planned, it could be something as innocent as a lunch and it wouldn't go as planned.

Not that this was anything like having lunch. Jagged Fel kept a firm grip on his blaster and focussed all his attention on the corridor that he was watching. Behind him, Anakin was busy slicing into the outpost's systems while Jaina, judging by the tapping sounds, was impatient as usual.

"Oh, kriff." Anakin's remark told Jag all he needed to know. This mission was about to deviate from the plan. He kept his attention on the corridor. He didn't sigh. He didn't even ask what had warranted that remark. Jaina would do that for him.

"What?" she demanded, unwittingly proving Jag right. "What, Anakin?"

"She's here," Anakin said, which was rather unhelpful. "Jaina, she's here. Allana Djo."

"What?" Jaina repeated, but this time in a voice that suggested that she'd understood perfectly and just didn't like it. "But Dad and Jacen are—"

Han and Jacen Solo were the other half of the strike team, the half that was supposed to rescue the Hapan princess from the orbital station while Jag, Jaina and Anakin rooted through the president's files in his ground complex and took care of that side of business.

"Reus lied to Karrde," Anakin pressed out. "Sith, I knew this was a bad idea."

Reus was the informant that had given them the plans of the complex. Apparently, he'd made sure that they were just accurate enough to be accepted by Karrde. Jag cursed inwardly. This was exactly why he hated dealing with smugglers and criminals. Too many middle men. Too many—well, smugglers and criminals.

"Where is she?" Jaina asked, and Anakin called up the location. Jag glanced at it. Not too far off.

"Great," Jaina said. "So what do we do? We can't leave her here."

"We split up," Jag said. "You don't need me once we're done here. I'll go get Allana, you two get on with the mission. Anakin, can you get into the surveillance?"

"Sure," the youngest Solo said, brashly confident. "Want me to loop the past ten minutes from that hallway and her room?"

Fast on the uptake, as usual. Jag almost smiled. "Yes."

"That's a bad idea," Jaina said. "What if something happened over the past ten minutes?"

"That's the best we're going to get," Anakin said, tapping away at the controls. "I can't go through all the footage first. We're running low on time, Jaya, we have to move."

Jag cast a glance at his chrono. Eight minutes and fourteen seconds until Leia Solo and Tenel Ka would leave the president's office. Eight minutes and thirty-four seconds until Han and Jacen broke into Allana's cell. Eight minutes and forty-four seconds until Anakin set off the intruder alerts at the other end of the complex. Nine minutes and four seconds until Jag, Jaina and Anakin broke out of the complex in one of the president's speeders.

They couldn't afford to throw off the timing. Lose the timing, you lose the mission.

Jaina sighed. "Are you done?"

"Almost," Anakin replied. Then, eleven seconds later—Jag was still watching the chrono—he said "Right, let's go" and Jag heard them move to join him.

"You have a plan?" Jaina asked softly.

He nodded. "Enough of one to get on with. I'll meet you in the speeder bay at minus-thirty."

She nodded back, and then she stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Good luck. I hope you're better at rescuing princesses than Dad is."

Anakin chuckled. "Won't take much. Come on."