Note: Before anyone says anything about Wedge being Rogue Leader at this time, when he's supposed to be a general: I'm taking my cue from Timothy Zahn, who has him and Corran and Janson all in Rogue Squadron in 19 ABY. Just to clear that up!
Rogues At Heart
(Set in 18 ABY.)
Military bases had the potential to be endless amounts of fun. By the second day, Jacen Solo and his siblings had scared the mess staff with a ranat that Jacen had found, reprogrammed one of the service droids in the hangar bay to spray everyone with water, used the briefing room to play "don't touch the ground", and caused a lot of laugher by stealing someone's discarded uniform out of the locker room.
By the third day, their mother had decided against bring them on her second tour of the facilities which was to be followed by meetings and dinner with the brass, and their father had roped in a babysitter.
"Just take them outside as much as you can," Leia said now. "Let them run around and burn off some energy."
The twins looked at each other. They were crouching down by the kitchen door, eavesdropping on the "briefing" to see what the plan was and to try and determine how their babysitter felt about his job. The plan sounded okay so far, Jacen thought. Going outside was absolutely fine by him.
"Right." Kyp Durron's voice sounded confident, and he wasn't even asking about what to do if the kids caused trouble, which was disappointing. But then again, he probably knew that they were eavesdropping and was smart enough not to let his discomfort show. If he felt any.
"Thanks, Kyp." Jacen could hear his mother's smile. Then she raised her voice. "Why don't you two come out and say hi to Kyp?"
Of course she'd known that they were listening. Actually, she probably hadn't even needed the Force for that. Jacen started feeling guilty, and a bit embarrassed at being caught, but Jaina just got up and walked into the hall, acting as if it was the norm for them to eavesdrop. In a way, Jacen supposed, it really was. He followed her.
"Hi Kyp," Jaina said, smiling her friendly smile.
"Hi, Kyp," Jacen echoed. He looked up at the Jedi knight. Kyp Durron was a quintessential Jedi, even though he wasn't as well-known as Uncle Luke. He did everything that a Jedi ought to—chased after criminals, fought the bad guys, said clever philosophical things, and he was really good with a lightsaber as well. He was dressed in the tan and dark brown robes of a Jedi, with a dark green belt from which hung his lightsaber and some other equipment that Jacen couldn't identify. His hair was dark and tousled like Jacen's always was, and he gave the twins a smile that lit up his green eyes and crinkled their corners.
"Hey kids," he said. "Doing all right?"
"Fine," Jacen said, and then Leia ruined his efforts at being sullen by ruffling his hair. Jacen never understood why she did that—she always wanted him to comb it and brush it so that it was neat, and then she ruffled it so it got tangled again. He didn't much care what his hair looked like, but it really didn't make any sense.
"All right," Leia said. "Kyp's in charge of you guys for the day, so behave yourselves. Remember he's a Jedi, so no tricks. He'll be onto them."
"No tricks," Jaina said. She liked Kyp; well, in truth, so did Jacen. Kyp visited them occasionally, and he was usually quite fun. Jacen was just being negative about the whole babysitter thing.
Jaina vehemently agreed with that thought.
Leia left them all in the small living area—base accommodation was never very spacious, but Jacen quite liked it that way—and went to get changed.
Kyp laughed at the chaos that reigned in the living area. "Did you set off a thermal in here?"
It did look pretty bad when you didn't know what was going on, Jacen realised. Their toys were everywhere—but it wasn't as bad as it looked. The room was just small, so their mess wasn't as spread-out as it usually was.
He grinned. "Yep."
"Imagine if thermals did that," Jaina said. "Explode toys everywhere."
That would be pretty cool, Jacen thought. As long as they didn't explode with fire, of course. Most toys weren't really fireproof, although Jacen's Dad always swore that he was going to write to the toy companies and request it.
"We'd have loads around here," Jacen said. "The base must have a lot of thermals."
"Be nice, wouldn't it?" Kyp surveyed the room. "Is there anywhere I can sit, or d'you need all that stuff on the couch?"
They'd used the two couches as boats the day before, and they'd hit reefs and floated around derelict while clambering over to visit each other and try to repair the boats, fighting off pirates and krakana, and scavenging for food in the sea. Anakin had captained the armchair and had, for reasons best known to himself, needed to bring along the night light from the kids' room.
"We'll move it," Jacen said. By unspoken agreement, the twins left Anakin's boat alone—you never knew when you disturbed something important and caused a tantrum—and moved their equipment off the couches, or at least to the side.
"You wanna play a board game?" Jaina asked.
Kyp sat down on her boat and nodded. "Sure. Pick one."
"Nah," Jacen said while Jaina retrieved their travel game box. "You're the guest, you get to pick." That was good manners. Jacen didn't use them all that often, but he did have them, and Threepio wasn't around so he wouldn't be praised for it.
Kyp gave in when Jaina insisted along with Jacen, and managed to pick their current favourite. That earned him points, Jacen figured. They were engrossed in the game by the time Han and Anakin showed up.
"Who's winning?" Han asked. "Hey, Kyp."
Jaina made a face. "Jacen."
"Hey Han," Kyp said. "They're both beating me, I think."
Anakin glanced at the game. "Jaina's gonna win. But I helped Dad get ready." He sounded proud, even though usually, Anakin couldn't care less about getting ready or helping someone else get ready. Jacen took it in stride. Anakin picked strange things to take pride in sometimes.
"Yep, you sure did." Han ruffled Anakin's hair, which, unlike Jacen's, never got very tousled. Jacen grinned. His Dad looked uncomfortable in his dress uniform—black pants and jacket with red and gold trim, a white shirt, and insignia on his chest—but Jacen thought that he looked way more respectable that way.
Jaina grinned, too. "You're all dressed up," she said. "D'you still hate the collar?"
Han tugged at it. "Yep, still hate the collar. I think maybe it was made by a Sith lord."
Jacen and Jaina laughed. Anakin frowned.
"Sith lords don't make collars," he said.
"I don't know," Han said. "Maybe next time you're on Yavin 4, Tionne will sing you the ballad of Darth Seamstress."
Kyp laughed. Anakin looked unsure. Jaina rolled her eyes. "You're just making that up."
Jacen was pretty sure that she was right. And even if his Dad was telling the truth, it sounded like a really boring story.
Leia came to join them then, smiling. Her hair was twisted and braided into an elaborate style, and she wore a white skirt and blouse under a short black and red jacket. It wasn't quite a uniform, but Jacen thought that it looked pretty military. His Mom could fit in anywhere. She was good at dressing up.
"Ready, Han?" she asked.
"I'm always ready," Han replied. It was true. Leia never had to wait for Han, it was always the other way around. Jacen guessed that it was probably because his Mom needed more time to do her hair. Getting changed couldn't really take that long.
Leia smiled when Han tugged at his clothes again, and took his hand. She, at least, liked it when Jacen's Dad dressed up. "All right," she said. "Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, you be good for Kyp. Do what he says, okay?"
Jacen and his siblings nodded.
"There's food in the kitchen," Leia added in Kyp's direction, "but it's probably easier to just go to the mess. We'll be back after dinner."
"Right." Kyp nodded just like the kids had before him. "No worries. Have a good time."
"Oh, yeah," Han said, looking like he didn't mean it at all. "See you later, kids!"
They chorused their goodbyes, and with that, Han and Leia were gone.
"Okay," Kyp said, "whose turn was it?"
Anakin perched on the arm rest beside Jacen as they continued their game. Eventually, Jaina won—which didn't surprise Jacen much, after Anakin's prediction—and their little brother joined in for the next game. Which he promptly won, of course.
Afterwards, Jacen looked at Kyp. "Can we go outside?"
Kyp nodded. "Sure. But no running off. Don't want to get in the way of those military types, do we?"
"Nope." Jacen jumped up off the couch. "Can we go now?"
"Do we need coats?" Jaina asked.
"I don't want a coat," Anakin said, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and would probably start complaining about the cold the minute he set foot outside. It wasn't really cold outside, and the weather announcer had said that the sun was shining, but it wasn't warm enough for short sleeves either.
Kyp smirked. "You'll want at least a jumper," he said. He rose from the couch and looked around. "Uhm. Where d'you guys keep those?"
"I'll do it," Jaina said. She tugged at Anakin's hand. "C'mon."
* * *
The base was big, and brand-new, and had some kind of new-fangled defence technology that Anakin had got all excited about when they'd been given the tour. Jacen and his siblings spent the next few hours playing Safe House with Kyp, designating a comms tower as the safe house, where you were invulnerable for a count of ten.
It was Jaina's turn, and she was close to catching Anakin, when Anakin stopped running and crossed his arms. "Time out!"
Jaina grabbed him. "Gotcha!"
"I said time out!" Anakin shouted. "It doesn't count!"
"You can't just call time out," Jaina said. "That's what the safe house is for."
Anakin stuck out his bottom lip. "But I'm hungry."
Kyp stepped in before Jacen's brother and sister could start a proper argument. "Why don't we all go and get some lunch, then?"
"Fine," Jaina said. "But Anakin's it, afterwards."
"No I'm not!" Anakin yelled. "It didn't count!"
Jacen sighed, uncomfortable. He didn't like it when Jaina and Anakin fought. For one thing, they both got far too stubborn about it, and for another, he couldn't take sides or even try to resolve it because then they'd both turn on him.
But Kyp held up his hands. "Okay, okay, whoah," he said. "Let's go eat, and then I'll be it. All right?"
"Okay," Anakin said. Jaina said nothing.
"Jaina?" Kyp asked. "Is that all right?"
The look on Jaina's face was almost the same as the one Anakin had had just a few seconds earlier. But she nodded. "Fine."
It was as good as Kyp was going to get, but by the time they got to the mess, Jaina had forgotten about the whole thing. She never sulked for long.
The mess was a huge hall filled with long tables and benches and soldiers. Jacen and Jaina had run ahead of Kyp and Anakin, and came to a stop at the entrance. It was after lunchtime, so Jacen guessed the hall didn't count as full, but there were still a lot of people.
"Big place," Jaina commented.
"Yeah." Jacen looked around and found the line of food dispensers at the far side of the hall. At least there was no queue. He could feel his stomach starting to growl at him when the smell of the food reached him.
"Well, come on, guys," Kyp said from behind them. He walked past, Anakin by his side, and started meandering past the tables.
When they were standing in line with Kyp, Jacen nudged his sister. "Hey, isn't that the Rogues?"
He didn't need to point; Jaina always knew where he meant. "Oh, yeah!" She grinned and tugged at Kyp's sleeve. "Hey, Kyp, you know the Rogues?"
"Some of them." Kyp waved over at Wes Janson, who had noticed them now.
"Can we sit with them?" Jaina's eyes were bright. She loved space ships and pilots and everything to do with flying. Jacen didn't share her enthusiasm, at least not to that degree, but he'd met the Rogues a few times—they'd accompanied the Solos on the way to this base, too—and liked them.
Kyp grinned. "If they've got space for us."
When they'd all picked their food and drinks and Kyp was balancing two trays, one in each hand, two other pilots had joined Wes Janson in waving at them and Jaina was beaming from ear to ear. She bounced ahead of the others to greet everyone.
"Hi Wes! Wedge! Can we sit with you guys?"
Wedge Antilles was smiling when Jacen joined his sister. "Hi Jaina. Hello Jacen. Sure, make yourselves comfortable."
The twins shook hands before they sat down. Anakin did not; he bowed at the waist and took his seat with a solemn air. Jacen and Jaina exchanged a glance. Sometimes, Anakin really acted weird.
Kyp set down their trays, using the Force to keep them from tipping over, and sat down beside Anakin after exchanging his own greetings.
Jacen seized his plate of tuber slices and vegetables, and dug in. It wasn't great, but he wasn't about to admit that or throw a childish strop over how he didn't like his food at this table. It was mess food. Dad always said that mess food was supposed to be bad. Jacen didn't really see why, but then, he wasn't a general like his Dad.
Wedge cleared his throat. "So," he said. "I hear you're the ones responsible for Janson's most recent escapade?"
Jacen and Jaina looked up from their food at the same time and gave him what Jacen suspected was an identical look of innocence. Someone laughed, but Wedge looked almost stern.
"What escapade?" Jaina asked.
Wes Janson answered. "Well, the other day, I was having a shower, and someone made off with—"
"Oh stang," Jaina said.
Jacen turned to his sister. "Jaina!"
"What?" She tried to look defiant. "Dad says it!"
"So I take it you're guilty?" Kyp asked. He was grinning.
Jacen nodded. "Yeah." There really was no point in lying about it.
"Good for you," Wedge said. He was grinning now, too. "Usually it's Janson who pulls these pranks on other people. Couldn't have hit a better target."
Janson looked offended. "That's slander."
"It's not slander when I say it to your face," Wedge said. "Then it's just an insult."
"It's also slander to accuse your commanding officer of slander," Hobbie said.
Jacen didn't know what "slander" meant, but he could guess. He and Jaina grinned at each other.
"You're not mad?" Jacen asked.
"Nope," Wedge said.
"Absolutely not," Tycho Celchu added. Jacen knew Tycho quite well; he was married to Winter, Jacen's nanny and Leia's best friend, and came by occasionally.
Janson looked hurt, but Jacen suspected that he was playacting. "But—"
"More like grateful," Hobbie said. "This way I don't have to do it and get in trouble."
Jaina giggled. "Why would you have to do it?"
"To get him back for all the pranks he pulls on me," Hobbie explained.
Jacen glanced at Janson. This could be interesting. "What pranks?"
Tycho smiled. "Why don't you ask Wedge if he'll tell you the Ewok story?"
Jacen could feel his siblings join him in turning wide eyes on the commander of Rogue Squadron.
Wedge sighed. "Well, a few years ago, I was in charge of a bunch of crazies called Wraith Squadron…"
* * *
Lunch was the most fun Jacen had ever had while eating. When Wedge finished his story, Janson made them all laugh with a great impression of Wedge talking in an Ewok voice, and then Corran Horn told them about his son Valin, who was younger than Jacen and always asked really silly questions.
It took Jacen and Jaina a lot longer than usual to finish their food. Anakin was finished far quicker, having no problem with listening and shovelling food into his mouth.
"Right then," Wedge said, pushing back his plate. "Thanks for keeping us company, guys."
"What're you gonna do now?" Jaina asked.
"Well, until tomorrow, we don't really have much to do. We're just here as escort for your parents," Wedge explained. "So I guess it's simm time. Gotta stay in practice."
Jaina's eyes grew wide. "Oooh. Can't we come along?"
"Jaina," Jacen whispered, even though he was hoping for the same thing. But you weren't supposed to ask people that kind of thing when they were working. He would've asked Kyp, and then Kyp could've asked. It was always better to get an adult to ask.
But the same thing that had worked for Jaina in the past worked for her now. Wedge and the others only grinned at her forwardness.
"Well," Wedge said, "I'd say that's up to your babysitter."
On that cue, Jacen joined his siblings in turning pleading eyes on Kyp.
"Oh, Kyp, can we?" Jaina asked.
"Please?" Anakin added.
Kyp held up his hands. "Hey, if the Rogues don't mind, I'm not going to say no."
"Yes!" Jacen said, in unison with his sister.
Wedge laughed. "Come on, then."
Jacen spent the next few minutes trying to be a model child, trotting along the base corridors with the others with a serious expression. He wasn't crazy about flying the way Jaina was, but he'd been in a simm room before, and it was wicked fun to climb around the simulators with his siblings and pretend that they were flying.
"I'm not going to run a proper simm for you guys," Wedge said. Jacen nodded; he had to grow another bit before he could reach the pedals properly, and besides, his parents would never allow it anyway. Wedge continued, "but we can call up a target practice program if you like? You can shoot some target drones."
"Oooh," Jaina said.
"Yes," Anakin said.
"Yes yes yes," Jacen said. They'd never got to do that before.
Wedge grinned. "All right then. Give me a second."
"I can set it up," Kyp said. "If you guys want to get started on yours."
Wedge nodded. "Thanks. Hey, if you wanna join us…"
Kyp hesitated. Jacen and Jaina exchanged a glance. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Kyp was reluctant.
"We won't wander off if we finish first," Jacen said.
"Besides, you can keep tabs on us with the Force anyway," Jaina added.
Kyp cocked an eyebrow. "I have your word?"
"Promise," Jacen said, and Jaina nodded.
"Cross my heart," Anakin said.
Kyp nodded. "Right. I'm going to trust you to keep your word, because Jedi always keep theirs. And I think you're old enough to keep your promises like proper Jedi do."
They all nodded. And Jacen, at least, meant it. It wasn't every day that you got to prove to Kyp Durron that you could be a proper Jedi.
He and Jaina bounced on their heels while Kyp prepped the simulators that Wedge had pointed out to him. Janson winked at them as he walked past and hoisted himself up the ladder and into the simulator. Corran and Tycho gave them a cheerful wave before their disappeared into their own pretend cockpits. Jacen could feel Jaina sharing his excitement at this new challenge. He nudged her. She gave him a delighted grin and nudged him back.
"This is gonna be fun," Anakin said.
Jacen felt Kyp's watchful eyes on him as he clambered up the ladder. If he'd slipped, he knew, he wouldn't have fallen far. Kyp was ready to catch him and his siblings with the Force. He supposed that he couldn't really blame the guy; he was in charge, after all.
Jacen settled into his chair and pressed the control to lower the canopy. The screens came to life and showed a background of stars. His control board lit up, a menu screen flickered to life in front of him, and a computer voice began telling him what buttons to touch in order to get started.
He tried to keep from bouncing in his seat as he gripped the control yoke. His ship wasn't moving; the computer painted a target right in front of him, and he just squeezed the trigger. The drone exploded and he grinned.
"To eliminate the next target, rotate 12 degrees to starboard," the computer voice told him. Jacen had no idea how to tell what 12 degrees were, but he knew what starboard was, so he gripped the control yoke and tilted it to the right. Outside, the stars moved, and a drone flashed past the screen.
"Whoops," he muttered. "Too much." He tilted the stick back to the left, more gently this time, until the drone came back into view. It took a little longer before he could squeeze the trigger again, but then the red light flashed from the side of his canopy and the drone exploded.
Then it got harder, because the drones started moving, and he had to initiate the engine—not properly, but Kyp had programmed it to start with a button, and stay at a constant speed without Jacen having to use the pedals—and give chase.
When he'd shot down all twelve drones, the computer shut down the simulation and Jacen popped the canopy, a wide grin on his face. Jaina was just clambering down the ladder of her simulator; she looked up at him, clearly delighted that she'd beaten him. Jacen gave a mental shrug. Like that was a surprise.
Anakin had just joined them when one of the other simulators popped open and Wes Janson vaulted out of it and down the ladder. He pulled off his helmet as he came over to them, his eyes sparkling with an expression that Jacen knew well. He'd seen it on Jaina's face countless times.
"Hey, kids." Wes' voice was hushed. "Wanna help me with something?"
Jacen looked up at him. "What?"
"Just a little surprise I have planned." Wes grinned. "Hobbie just shot me down, and I still need to get him back for something anyway."
"What're you going to do?" Jaina asked. Anakin stood beside her, attentive and serious.
"Come on. I'm pretty sure I saw a basin lying around back there. I can fill it with water and then we'll put it at the bottom of Hobbie's ladder."
Jaina laughed. "Won't he see it?"
Wes tapped the side of his nose. "Not if we distract him. Come on."
They followed Wes into the prep room adjoining the simm area. Jacen figured that it didn't really count as wandering off, and besides, they had an adult with them.
Wes rummaged around in a locker and eventually came up triumphant, holding a large basin. "Right on target."
"How're you gonna fill it with water?" Jacen asked.
Wes weaved his way back through the simulators towards the one where Hobbie sat. "There's a hose over by the wall. I'll show you." He put the basin down at the bottom of the ladder and then went to retrieve a hose that was coiled up against the wall.
"Isn't that for safety?" Jaina asked.
"Yes," Wes said. "And you should never, ever use it for anything else." He winked. Jacen laughed.
"Okay," Wes went on. "Jacen, will you turn this lever to get it going when I tell you?"
Jacen nodded and moved closer. "Sure."
They had the basin filled within two minutes, and Wes filled them in on the rest of his plan. "Right, so we need to distract Hobbie so he doesn't notice the sabotage," Wes said. "So what I need you to do is sit over here, with me, and then just call over to him and wave when he pops the canopy. Ask him if he really shot me down or something, that should get him bragging."
Jaina grinned. "We can do that."
Wes entertained them with more stories and jokes while they waited. Eventually, Hobbie's canopy hissed open, and Hobbie's helmeted head came into view.
"Hey, Hobbie!" Jaina called, and waved. Jacen joined her.
Hobbie looked over, one foot already on the ladder, and waved back. A familiar thrill of excitement ran through Jacen's stomach, the kind that always came with a prank about to hit.
"Did you really shoot down Wes?" he called to Hobbie.
"Sure did!" Hobbie sounded well-pleased with himself at that. "But Wes is pretty easy to shoot down, really."
"Hey," Wes muttered. But at that moment, Hobbie's feet left the ladder in what was supposed to be a small hop down to the ground. There was a splash as he landed with both feet square in the water. Jacen and Jaina and Anakin burst out laughing as Hobbie started cursing.
"Hobbie's pretty easy to prank," Wes said loudly, and then he, too, broke into laughter.
Hobbie stepped out of the basin. The bottoms of his pants were dripping. "I'll get you back, Wes," he swore.
Jacen turned to say something to his siblings, and suddenly noticed that Anakin had disappeared. In the meantime, Hobbie looked around, and found the hose that Wes had left on the ground. He picked it up, but it only dribbled a few drops.
"They should have the lever for that thing a bit closer—" he started, but then, suddenly, water sprayed out of the hose in the direction where Wes, Jacen and Jaina sat.
"Aha!" Hobbie yelled. Jaina shrieked and Jacen pulled her out of the way of the water. But it was Wes that Hobbie targeted, anyway. Wes jumped up, yelling something, but Hobbie advanced towards him, hose in hand.
Jacen pulled Jaina in the other direction and they both turned to watch Wes get drenched. A few seconds later, the water stopped again. Jacen peered past the simulators towards the wall, and saw Anakin let go of the lever that turned the water on and off. He sighed. He should have expected that. Anakin had an odd sense of justice at times, and he was usually happy to help someone get revenge for a prank that he himself had helped to plan.
"Hobbie!" Wes shook himself off. He was dripping wet.
Jacen looked down at himself. His shirt was damp at the front, and so was Jaina's, but they had avoided the worst. Anakin joined them, dry as Tatooine sand, a satisfied smile on his face. "Pretty easy to prank," he said.
One by one, the Rogues emerged from the simulators, with Wedge and Kyp being the last ones out. Wedge took one look at Wes and Hobbie, standing there surrounded by the others, and sought out Jacen and his siblings. His mouth quirked. "Report," he said.
Jacen took the lead this time, but Jaina joined him in telling the story. When they finished, Wedge looked stern for a few seconds more, then his face broke into a grin and he shook his head. "Kids." He looked at Jacen and his brother and sister. "And I don't mean you three."
Kyp narrowed his eyes at them. "I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?"
"We didn't wander off," Jacen said.
"And it was Janson's idea," Jaina said.
"We were just doing like we were told," Jacen added.
"Good kids always do what the adults say," Anakin said, and even Jacen couldn't tell whether or not his kid brother was being sarcastic or sincere.
Kyp shook his head and gave them a wry look. "Okay. Just for future reference, Janson does not count as an adult."
"Hey!" Janson protested.
"Major Janson, Major Klivian, go get changed," Wedge cut in. "And then you get to clean up this mess."
"It's just water," Hobbie said. "It'll dry on its own."
"And you're going to help it do that," Wedge said. "Orders, gents. Scat."
Jacen grinned as Hobbie and Janson left the simm room. It wasn't every day that he got to stand by and watch others get punished for a prank, either.
* * *
"How'd it go?" Han Solo asked a few hours later, when he'd seen Kyp to the door.
Jacen, lying sprawled across the arm chair with his head resting on one arm rest and his feet dangling over the other, tilted his head so he could look at his Dad. "It was great," he said. His voice sounded funny from the odd angle that his neck was at.
"We got to hang out with the Rogues," Jaina said.
"Everyone got splashed but me," Anakin said. He was nestled beside Leia, leaning against her side, feet up on the sofa.
Han sat down beside Jaina on the other sofa. "Splashed?"
Jacen hesitated for an instant. But Anakin had already spilled the beans now, and besides, they hadn't got in trouble for it earlier, had they?
Jaina answered for him. "Janson showed us a prank."
They explained it in turns again, like they had to Wedge. Afterwards, Han's mouth quirked into a lop-sided grin. "Ah," was all he said. He wouldn't admit it, but Jacen always got the feeling that some part of his Dad was dead chuffed that his kids were troublemakers. Well, at least when they weren't actively making trouble for him.
Leia nodded, a faint smile on her face. "How nice of Janson to show you a new prank. I must thank him for that sometime."
Jacen gave her a doubtful look. His mother had a way of phrasing threats sometimes that his Dad called "diplomatic", but he thought that "extra-threatening" was a better word for it. Somehow, he got the distinct impression that thanking wasn't at all the right word for what Leia really meant.