Chapter 3

Jaina came alive in her training sessions with Mara. She'd been given the basics of hand-to-hand combat and was trained on a blaster, but Mara had had so much more to teach her. The last four years had been a blur. She tended to favor a Soresu-based style, but her personal variant added plenty of Makashi and Djem So. Ataru was her least favorite style, although Mara favored it heavily. It seemed like just yesterday she'd been learning basic blocks and parries, and now she was very near mastering her chosen form.

Mara smiled, noting Jaina's single-minded focus as she started her way through the new kata. Footwork was Jaina's greatest strength. She had been trained in a variety of dance styles from the time she'd learned to walk, body awareness and solid footwork were the happy side effects. This particular kata required precision footwork, followed by an arching double-twisting layout flip.

She was breathing hard when she landed, holding the final blade position for a moment before walking over to return the wooden pole to its place on the wall. Soon, the time would come for Jaina to build her own saber. Jaina had grown quickly over the last few years. Even though she remained petite, the child had melted away to reveal a very beautiful young woman. Mara knew her parents would be proud if they could see her now. Perhaps they'd get that chance, and soon.

As she'd spent time on Nirauan, she'd come to see why Thrawn was so worried, what Jaina was being prepared for. There was something out there, something that had slowly been testing Chiss borders. Clawcraft squadrons were destroyed in minutes. Battle groups went missing without a word. She learned this morning that Soontir Fel's oldest son, Davin, had been killed in action last week. The Fel family was grieving, and Jaina's flight practice had been canceled accordingly.

"Master, I think I'd like to go the hangar for a bit. Is there anything before I go?" The hangar was Jaina's favorite place to meditate, usually with her hands buried in the parts of one of the fighters. The mechanics were well used to her presence, and had been all too happy to show her how to run repairs. It became standard practice to leave one fighter for Thrawn's protégé to repair. As she nodded her consent, Jaina took off at a run. No amount of drilling by Thrawn had changed her rebellious nature.

"Jagged?" Jaina's voice was soft, and the last thing he wanted to hear right now. Of course she'd known he'd be in the hangar. It had always been a peaceful haven for them both. Right now, he wanted to be alone. He wanted to hurt someone, something. This was a pain he didn't know how to handle. The final comm from Davin to the command center had been deceptively peaceful. Davin had known he was dead. In between issuing orders, he made sure the data on the attackers was submitted back to his father, giving the Empire of the Hand their best look at the invaders yet. None of that mattered. None of it would bring Davin back. And right now, that's all Jagged Fel wanted from the universe.

As Jaina wrapped her slender arms around him, his first instinct was to push her away. After a moment, he simply dropped to the hangar floor, Jaina landing in his lap. She quickly scooted off his lap, sliding her arms around him again. She held him close, letting him grieve. He would never cry in public, that she knew. Jaina settled herself into a state of meditation, quietly sending soothing thoughts to her best friend. From looking at him, she knew he hadn't slept all week, and was exhausted. It wasn't long before he was quietly sleeping, head resting on her shoulder. She simply held him, doing her best to keep the nightmares away.

Jagged woke first, quick to take in their surroundings and realize that both had slept in the hangar. Jaina was still sleeping, curled quietly against his side. He'd appreciated her presence more than she knew. She didn't feel the need to talk, to tell him it was the will of the Force; she just held him and let the storm pass. Unluckily, it was Thrawn who found them. An arched eyebrow was all Jagged needed to know this was bad.

"Leave her there. I'll have Mara retrieve her."

Jagged carefully moved Jaina so her arms were no longer tangled around him, and fought the urge to plant a kiss on her head. Such an action would not be forgiven. As it was, he had more than a little explaining to do. The walk to Thrawn's office seemed to last years. When the door to Thrawn's office slid shut, he struggled to hide his apprehension.

"Captain Fel, explain." Thrawn's voice was cold as ice, and Jagged wasn't entirely sure how he'd address this. How did you explain a serious breach of protocol to a Grand Admiral? The situation alone was bad, but the simple fact that Jaina was Thrawn's adopted daughter made the task that much more daunting.

"Uncle, stop." As Jaina tore into the room, planting herself between Jagged and the Grand Admiral, Jagged had the sinking feeling that her participation would only make matters worse. "It's my fault, not his. I should have known better than to try using the Force to help him sleep when he hasn't slept in a week. I fell asleep while meditating. This is my doing, not Captain Fel's, and was caused by my own lack of foresight. He doesn't deserve the punishment, I do." At that moment, despite the circumstances, he couldn't help realizing just how beautiful his best friend was. Fiery brown eyes challenged the Grand Admiral in a way no Chiss would dare, and she radiated power despite the hair falling limply around her face, the grease smudge on her nose, and wrinkled clothing. His second realization was how badly he was blushing.

He'd never thought of Jaina that way, and his mind was frantically backpedaling, trying to reject the thoughts swimming in his mind. Thrawn's calculating gaze turned to him, and he knew his blush was a dead giveaway. He took a deep breath, quickly gathering his thoughts and pushing any thoughts of Jaina as more than a friend to the back of his mind.

"Miss Solo was worried about my reaction to Davin's death and came to see me, Sir. She was operating as a human concerned for a friend, nothing more." But could it have been?

"I trust that this will not happen again. You both are well aware of the potential severity of the situation had you been found by anyone else?" Thrawn's eyes blazed with a fury unlike any he'd ever seen.

Jagged nodded. The Chiss, unlike humans, did not see physical contact as innocent. Had it been anyone else, he would be marrying Jaina right now, and very possibly losing command of the squadron he'd fought so hard to command. Jaina, from the look on her face, had reached the same conclusion. His father had emphasized over and over the importance of Jaina in Thrawn's defensive strategy. She was everything, and he'd very nearly compromised her in the worst possible way. After such a scandal, no Chiss would follow her in battle.

"I apologize, Sir. It won't happen again."

He was sure his father had heard of the incident. As he wound his way to his parent's house, Jagged knew the Grand Admiral's questioning wasn't the only questioning he would face today. Soontir had cautioned him several times about keeping his distance from Jaina, but something about her always drew him in. He couldn't resist talking with her, and she'd come a long way in the 4 years he'd known her. Nothing he could tell himself about the consequences would remove his thoughts from the way her brown eyes flashed while addressing Thrawn.

Focus! Distraction means swift death, even in a speeder. The punching bag would be seeing some good use that night. No matter how Chiss society viewed it, he wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss her. Jaina had been there every time he needed someone to talk to, from a rough day at the academy to Davin's death. He knew she still ached to head into known space, to meet the parents she only knew through stories. She'd never tell Thrawn, but Jagged knew her eyes were turned to Coruscant when no one was looking. Jaina was only waiting on opportunity.

It had taken time for him to understand why his father and hero had taken to orchestrating a kidnapping. To accept that they'd had the best interest of the galaxy at heart. Parck had been Jaina's favorite, he'd never hesitated to play games with her or soothe her when she was upset. His wife had served as an adopted grandmother. After the heart attack that took Parck's life, Thrawn stepped into a paternal role. Jaina softened, eventually calling him Uncle. She would never accord the title of father to anyone but Han Solo.

The relationship she had with Soontir was an entirely different story. Soontir had advocated time and time again for Jaina. His father could disarm her temper fairly quickly, perhaps the only feat that eluded Thrawn. Soontir would often joke about how she'd had a temper even as an infant, and made her opinions known well before she could talk.

He was so lost in thought he barely registered that he'd arrived home, parked the speeder, and was halfway to the house. There had been no time to tell her his squadron had received new orders. She'd know of it soon enough, but some part of him wanted to be the one that would tell her. Jagged made his way to the bedroom that had been his sanctuary for the last several years, and began carefully packing his pilot's bag. He didn't know when, or if, he'd see his friend again.