III

soresu


16:5:21 GrS
Lower Level Cells
Jedi Temple
The City of Spires, Coruscant


Jaina Solo woke at 0545. She had adopted the habit from Jag, who had acquired it during his time in the Chiss military. Despite his years on deadly Tenupe and his time as a bounty hunter, he had retained the habit. Not even his appointment as the Head of State for the Imperial Remnant had convinced him to wake at another time, though it did seem to have the benefit of preventing the Moffs from waking him.

Better him than me, she thought, rising from the uncomfortable cot she had slept on. She had yet to change out of her black and gold flight suit, though a clone had come in the night to take away her helmet and flight gear.

The absence of her lightsaber and blaster left Jaina feeling undressed, though the lack of Force-suppressing manacles was a relief. The cell's composition still blocked her from the Force. The stun cuffs had been on her so quickly that she hadn't noticed their failure to cut her off from the Force.

Jaina waited over three hours for a pair of clone troopers to enter her cell, struggling to meditate without the Force. They said nothing as she rose to her feet, merely slapping another pair of cuffs around her wrists and escorting her out of the cell. Her connection to the Force returned as they climbed back up to the light filled halls and corridors of the temple. She rejoiced in the warmth of the Jedi around her, even if what she felt also induced despair.

They were closed off in a manner unfamiliar to her.

In this era, before the Empire, the Jedi had forbid relationships—dating, marriage, even having children. Jaina couldn't help how bitter she felt; knowing those relationships that defined the Jedi Order of her time didn't exist. Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara and Ben, Corran Horn and Mirax and their children, not even her own family, with her parents and her brothers could exist.

How dreadful, Jaina thought. If that pushed grandfather towards the dark side, towards becoming Darth Vader, then the Jedi merely dug their own graves.

The clones brought her to a small room with a second door. There was a bed in the center, a set of tan and brown Jedi robes set upon the plain sheets. There was even a pair of nerf leather boots, hopefully molded to her size. There had to be enough cameras in the cell for a master cobbler to craft boots perfect for her in a night.

"Freshen up, then dress in the robes," one of the clones commanded. His armor had the same red coloration those at the administrative building possessed. "The Council will send someone to escort you to them."

With that, they departed. She sighed, dearly tempted to slump on to the bed and allow her lingering exhaustion draw her into a pleasant nap. Yet if the Council of this time was half as stern as the Council of her own, they would not appreciate being kept waiting.

She stripped off the flight suit and headed for the fresher, just beyond the second door. Water, pumped straight from the Western Sea and purified, poured over her in steaming streams, washing away everything uncomfortable that lingered. Jaina scrubbed hard, removing the grime from her body and the sweat caked into her thick mane of hair. By the time she was finished and had toweled dry, she could feel a bored presence beyond the door.

Jaina dressed quickly, surprised by how simple the robes of the old Jedi Order were. She was swinging around the dark brown cloak when the presence outside the room projected his boredom at her.

A young boy, somewhere around nine years old, was waiting outside. He fidgeted, rolling from his heels to the balls of his feet. He turned as she stepped out and bowed.

"Hello Master Jedi," he said, grinning widely. A tooth was missing, having fallen out and not grown back in. "I'm Sors Bandeam. Masters Windu and Fisto asked me to es-cort you to the Council chambers."

She smiled, amused that he struggled more with escort than with chambers, though she imagined she might've been similar as a kid. Jaina had grown up more on the Falcon than anywhere else, with Winter and Threepio, Chewbacca and Jacen. Thinking of the latter two brought pain to her heart, so she stuffed it away as she did with many of her other emotions.

"Then lead on, Sors."

The boy beamed as though he were complimented by the Master Yoda. He turned and started down the corridor. She followed leisurely, her gaze wandering as she kept Sors just within view. Jaina relaxed, allowing her self to be felt in the Force. The warmth of the temple and the countless Jedi within soaked into her, going deep to her bones. It was unlike anything she had ever felt, not even before the Yuuzhan Vong War when the Order was a few hundred strong, spread across the galaxy with only a few fixed locations.

This is a Jedi Order at its height, Jaina realized. She took in a deep breath before thinking; I should bring back holo images from this time. Uncle Luke would love to see what the Temple looked like before the Empire. What it looked like when Grandfather was still a Jedi.

Very little had remained of the old Jedi Temple by the time the New Republic finally seized Coruscant, two years after Endor. Her uncle had gotten aid from the Senate to construct a new temple, a sign of unity between the Order and the Senate. It had been rebuilt following the Yuuzhan Vong War as part of the reclamation process. While she missed the great crystalline pyramids of transparisteel, the ancient marble and sandstone structure was unlike the modern incarnation. This place was rich in the Force, warm from being devoid of the dark side.

I have never felt a nexus like this, she thought. They followed a raised pathway as it crossed over an expansive chamber. Down below, Jedi of all ages sat in meditation, either upon their knees or cross-legged. Jaina peered down at them, taking in plethora of beings from more species than she'd ever seen gathered.

"How long have you been with the Order?" Jaina found herself asking Sors.

The boy turned to her, a surprised tilt to his head and face. He said, "Since I was two." Sors then frowned. "Why do you ask, Master Jedi?"

"Passing curiosity," Jaina said, feeling a touch alarmed. She might have been separated from her parents often at such an age, but there was always the expectation that she would rejoin them. "Do most Jedi come to the Temple at such a young age?"

"Most are a little younger," the boy replied. "Though Master Skywalker was nine! I heard it was con-tro-ver-shi-al when he became a Jedi."

What could be wrong about waiting until nine? Jaina wondered, frowning. Jacen and I were twelve when Uncle Luke started our training as Jedi on Yavin IV, though Mom and Aunt Mara passed on a thing here and there as we grew up.

"Is nine abnormal?"

"Yes?" Sors said, confused. "Everyone knows Jedi are recruited as small children. Master Yoda says attachments lead to the dark side. Fear of loss has destroyed Jedi in the past."

And they might in your own time, Jaina thought, struck by realization. With a pregnant wife close to term, Anakin Skywalker was likely open to manipulations, worried about the fate of his wife and unborn children.

Another question came to mind.

"How close is Anakin Skywalker to the Chancellor?"

Sors frowned at her. He nearly stumbled over his feet, and he had to stand still as he answered her. "I hear they're friends. Apparently the Chancellor has watched out for Master Skywalker since he became a Jedi."

Jaina struggled not to release a shaky breath. Growing up, Jacen and her had speculated how their grandfather had been twisted to the dark side. She had nearly pondered on those old conversations following Jacen's death, though now she couldn't help but do so. The battle over Coruscant she had participated in had come days before the destruction of the Jedi Order and the establishment of the Galactic Empire. Clearly the Emperor had been busy, working the threads that would turn her grandfather into Darth Vader.

"Anyone else outside the Order?"

Sors nodded as they continued on. "He's sometimes seen with a Senator from…Naboo? Oh, and he's friends with a number of clones." There was a moment before the boy straightened and turned back to her. "I heard his old Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, is helping fight the war on Mandalore. She left the Order, though I dunno know why."

Never heard of an 'Ahsoka Tano,' though she must've died following the Clone Wars, Jaina reflected. If she had survived long enough, she definitively would've sought out Uncle Luke. He was known to a most of the galaxy following the Battle of Yavin, and established the praxeum years after Endor.

They approached a turbolift bay. Several Jedi from various humanoid species lingered nearby, including a familiar looking Nautolan.

"Ah! Knight Solo!" announced Master Fisto, approaching her. "I was informed by Master Windu of your achievements in the battle over Coruscant. Very impressive, though I wonder if you could've done as well with one of our interceptors."

"My fighter has extensive modifications," she began, glancing at the others present. "And most are suited for Jedi pilots."

"Indeed?" Master Fisto asked. "I'm afraid I'm not the most technically minded Jedi. Knight Skywalker would know the most, given all of the modifications he put into his old blue and white Aethersprite-class interceptor. Though he did give it to Master Plo Koon when the Eta-2s came off Kuat's production lines."

Jaina nodded, filing away what she was told to share once back in her own time. It seemed that she had gotten her mechanical tendencies from more than just her father. She wondered if either her mother or Uncle Luke were aware of what their father had been like as a Jedi, or if too much was dominated by the memory of Darth Vader.

The doors of a turbolift opened with a hiss. Master Fisto turned to Jaina and held out his arm towards it. "I am a sitting member of the Council, so I shall escort you up." He turned to Sors and added, "Thank you, youngling, for escorting Knight Solo."

"Of course, Master Jedi," the boy replied. He smiled at Jaina, followed it up with a nervous wave, and then scurried off for whatever lessons he should have been in.

"Come along now, Knight Solo."

She followed Master Fisto into the turbolift. The door closed behind her and the pod began rising a few moments later.

"We had a sample of your blood run through a battery of tests," the Jedi Master began. "A few discoveries have disturbed the High Council. Chief among them is the apparent genetic relation to Knight Anakin Skywalker and a close friend of his, Senator Padmé Amidala." He turned to her, large black eyes watching her closely. "And there is the issue of your midi-chlorian count."

Jaina frowned, uncertain if she should recognize the term or not. Clearly he wished to fish for information, and she had the option to provide whatever she wished to. After a few seconds, she asked, "I'm afraid I forgot what those are."

Master Fisto gave her a doubtful look. "Does the Jedi Order not conduct blood tests to select candidates?"

Her mouth fell open and a rush of embarrassment raced through her. She turned aside, cheeks burning pink. "Yes. I don't pay enough attention to matters like that, so I forgot what they're called." She shrugged before turning back to him. "I've always known I was Force-sensitive."

"Jedi parents?"

Jaina hummed, uncertain what an honest answer would tell the Jedi Master. She'd prefer if he could outright explain what the Jedi of this time knew of her lineage right now, though she suspected it would have to wait until she was before the Jedi Council. However many would be present, she didn't know. Unlike in her time, not every member of the Council was bound to be on Coruscant and at the Temple.

"Not Dad," she ended up saying, hoping she wasn't revealing too much. No names could be uttered until she knew more of what her presence in this time might cause. "Apparently he once didn't think the Force was real, but time around my uncle and mom changed his mind." Jaina shrugged, even as she smiled fondly. "Raising three future Jedi isn't easy, especially for someone as dense when it comes to the Force as he is."

"I am surprised the Order allowed a Jedi to raise her children in the presence of their father," Master Fisto replied, searching both for information and to make sense of the future. "Does the Grandmaster approve?"

"Uncle Luke?" Jaina laughed. "He was in his twenties when he sought out Master Yoda for training on Dagobah. Mom had all three of us before she took her Jedi studies seriously, and that was after she stepped down from the Senate."

She froze a moment later, realizing all she had willingly given. Jaina grimaced, glancing at Master Fisto. He looked quite pleased with everything he had drawn from her, though she could only hope he was more interested in information about the future of the Jedi Order and not about her family. That she had also slipped about her mother's political life might expose the truth about the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala.

The only sign she had that the turbolift was rising was behind her. Through the transparisteel, Jaina got a fantastic view of Coruscant in the morning. The clouds were few, though there appeared to be a sign they would increase in number. Weather Control would be working through the aerosol debris from the recent battle, and the clouds would make it easier to eliminate some of the more noxious elements.

Soon enough they reached the top of the tower, the Jedi Master drawing back from questioning her. The door before them hissed open and Master Fisto stepped off first. He waited for Jaina to follow before crossing through the small waiting chamber and into what she assumed was the High Council Chamber. She waited several seconds after the doors closed, gathering her thoughts, and then followed him into the room.

The first thing she noticed was the windows around them. They were wide, allowing large gulps of natural light into the chamber. She could almost envision how it would look at night, bathed in soft lights of its own as the beauty of Coruscant's nightlife passed by.

Next, Jaina took in those gathered around her as she strolled to the center of the room. Not all of the Masters were present, though only a single seat meant for a human was left empty. Chief among those before her was Master Windu, who she had met the day before, and Master Yoda. She knew him by sight, having heard enough stories from her uncle to create a clear image of the diminutive Jedi Master.

Also present was a male human in his forties with auburn hair and a short beard. Some grey was coming in, but most of the color remained. Jaina recognized him, not by sight but through the Force. He was Master Kenobi, the same Ben who had taught Uncle Luke his first lessons on the Force. He was the one who had trained her grandfather before he fell and became Darth Vader.

A few of the Masters were only holo projections, shaded blue and sat upon the seat they would otherwise occupy physically.

"Welcome, Knight Solo," Master Yoda began. "Curious about you we have been. Questions of ours to answer, you will."

"I will do my best."

Master Yoda frowned at her response. She expected him to repeat the adage he had told her uncle, but instead turned to Master Windu.

"We ran tests on the blood sample taken after you arrived at the Temple. Among them was a full genome check. Two individuals in our system were flagged, including a Jedi Knight."

Jaina tensed. She had known this question was coming since Master Fisto mentioned the tests and what they had discovered coming up. She had entered soon enough after him that only a few things could've been mentioned about their ride. As she considered what she might say to avoid telling the full truth, the door behind her opened.

A surprised, yet troubled Anakin Skywalker passed across the threshold. He stood there, staring at her with familiar blue eyes.

"You're the pilot," he said, grinning. "From yesterday. The Trickster's Sword."

Jaina nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart hammered furiously, now that she was face to face with her grandfather. Where meeting Padmé had a strange feeling of coming home, Anakin Skywalker was an inferno in the Force. That she hadn't noticed him coming up to the Council chamber was a reflection of how distracted she had been.

He looked past her to the Council. "I come with business, though if I need to return later—"

"Speak with Knight Skywalker now, we shall," Master Yoda stated, his wise green eyes turning to Jaina. "The question of you, Knight Solo, to be solved after." She gave the diminutive Jedi a small bow, swallowing her worries, and moved to stand near the door. Anakin shot her a reluctant look before stepping forward to the chamber's center.

"Masters," Anakin said, his sky blue eyes scanning those gathered in person and reporting in from other systems. "I have come from speaking with Chancellor Palpatine. He has requested that the Jedi Council recognize his desire to have me appointed as his personal representative in this body. Given his position as Chancellor, I would also serve as the representative of the Senate on the Council.

"I understand that the Council appoints its own members, but from what I have learned during the course of this war, there is a greater need for the Jedi and the Republic at large to work together in order to ensure peace. Once Chancellor Palpatine steps down from office, I am willing to step down from the Council unless his successor in office wishes for me to persist in the appointment."

Master Yoda frowned, thoughtful as he considered Anakin Skywalker's words. He turned to Master Windu and a silent conversation passed between them in a matter of seconds. Jaina struggled to hold back her alarm at what her grandfather had told the Council.

They must not know he's a Sith Lord yet, but is the Council willing to allow the Chancellor to choose one of their members?

"Allow this appointment lightly, the Council does not," Yoda began. "Disturbing is this move by Chancellor Palpatine. Gathering power for many years he has been, though a point about relations with the Republic you have, Skywalker."

Anakin nodded. "I understand. If you're not—"

Master Windu interrupted him. "You are on this Council, Skywalker, but we do not grant you the rank of Master."

A long moment of confusion lingered within Anakin before he said with great outrage, "What?"

Jaina could feel his simmering anger, the frustration and resentment that rippled from her grandfather in waves. She couldn't blame him for his reaction, for she would likely feel the same way as well. Her uncle had initially avoided the trap of having only Masters upon the Council, but that had changed in the decade since it was reestablished during the Vong War.

Anakin waited a bare second for a response to his outrage before continuing. "How can you do this? It is outrageous! It is unfair! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?"

"Take a seat, young Skywalker," Master Windu demanded. He gestured towards a seat on the far side of the chamber, close to where Jaina stood.

A long, tense moment stretched within the Council Chamber before Anakin said, "Forgive me, Master Windu."

And with that, he went to the empty seat, giving Jaina a frustrated look, and sat down with the grace of an insulted child. She couldn't deny she might have acted the same, were she as mistreated as Anakin Skywalker was. Through the Force, she had a feeling that the smoldering resentment she felt from her grandfather wasn't new.

Jaina stepped forward before they could become caught up with the business of the Clone Wars. She knew it was important that they continue working towards bringing the conflict to an end, but she had been summoned for a reason. Better to leave once their curiosity was satisfied enough than risk running into trouble by slipping out.

"I believe you had questions for me, Master Yoda," she said, seeking to set aside any thought of her grandfather and his troubling emotions. Jaina wished it wasn't so easy to feel them, though he could certain feel her anxiety in return.

"Yes," Master Yoda said, bobbing his head. "The truth about your relation to Knight Skywalker, this Council wishes to know."

She felt her grandfather tense, even as Master Kenobi and the rest focused their attentions upon her. Force probes touched her, poking at her mind, as she considered how to answer the question. Master Fisto hadn't pressed her on the topic of her relation to Anakin Skywalker, for he had known this moment was coming.

"I'm afraid I will not tell you, Master Yoda."

Several members of the Council glanced back and forth, perhaps astonished by her daring to deny the Grand Master's order. Jaina clenched her hands, suddenly wishing she were close enough to her X-wing to climb into the cockpit and take off. Flying would beat facing down the Council and weaving around their questions.

"Will not?" asked Master Windu, hidden accusations within how he spoke two words.

"Yes," Jaina stated. She considered her options for a few seconds, and then decided upon a course that was honest, and honestly deceptive. "I have no idea about what I say or do here will affect the future from which I came from. That I survived passing through a wound in the Force may be a miracle in its own right."

She watched uncomfortably as the members of the High Council shared concerned looks. Master Yoda in particular appeared disturbed, something that went against everything she knew about the wizened Jedi Master. He rubbed his face thoughtfully, even as he stared at her with his wide green eyes.

"Certainly you can confirm that you are related to Knight Skywalker," suggested the Cerean Jedi, projected via hologram from wherever in the galaxy he was. His tall, conical head, stretched up a fair meter as he shifted in his relaxed seating. "We know for certain that a relation exists and only seek a name to place upon it."

"I will not answer your question, Master. Why would I change my answer for you when I told the Grand Master that I wouldn't answer him?"

Master Windu sighed loudly. "Then what are you willing to tell us?"

She glanced around the chamber, considering her future and what could be in motion during the time of the Clone Wars. Only one danger stood out, a danger she could tell them of without, hopefully, risking her future. "There is a threat to the galaxy approaching. They won't attack for some forty years, but their forward operations may be seeding themselves in preparation for their invasion. I know that before the Clone Wars, two Jedi missions were sent to find Zonama Sekot, a living planet. With Sekot's aid, it's possible to defeat these invaders, the Yuuzhan Vong, before they carve a bloody path across the galaxy."

The masters of the Council frowned. Ben Kenobi was the one to speak. "I'm afraid none of us have heard of this 'Zonama Sekot' you speak of."

Jaina gaped. She might have not stepped onto the living world until it came into the Coruscant system, but she knew Kenobi had stepped foot on it. Uncle Luke and Jacen had spoken with the planet's conscious in the guise of a young Anakin Skywalker. She glanced back at her grandfather, who appeared just as confused as the rest.

"That… That can't be," she whispered, looking between Anakin and Ben. "The two of you went there, searching for Vergere…"

"Vergere…this name, unknown to the council it is," Master Yoda said, drawing her attention back to him. "Curious we are about the history you know."

She hesitated for several long seconds. Stories and histories, drummed into her mind over a lifetime, swirled as she considered what to say. Jaina had warned them of the Yuuzhan Vong, though if Zonama Sekot didn't exist, perhaps they didn't as well. Not in this strange galaxy she found herself in.

There was only one other threat she could warn them of.

With a swallow, she said, "In the coming days, the Dark Lord of the Sith will seize control of the Republic and transform it into the Galactic Empire. His apprentice, Darth Vader, will kill many Jedi. The first of whom will be Anakin Skywalker."

She stiffened under her grandfather's gaze upon her back. Even so, she continued. "My uncle was raised in secret, and then trained by Masters Kenobi and Yoda. He was able to defeat Darth Vader and his Sith master, and has since worked to restore the Jedi."

"Your uncle. Of relation to Anakin Skywalker is he?" asked Yoda. Many members of the Council shifted, interested in her answer.

"I will not say," she repeated. "I cannot say."

Master Yoda hummed before pointing out, "A difference between will not and cannot there is. Choose one you must, Knight Solo."

"…Cannot, then, Master Yoda."

He stared at her for a long while, rubbing his face. Eventually, Master Yoda turned to Master Windu and said, "Speak with Knight Solo later, we must. Deal with the war instead, this council will."

Master Windu nodded. He turned to Jaina. "You are dismissed. We will summon you later. For now, meditate on what has been discussed here, and determine how you can get around your inability to tell us the truth."

Jaina bowed. She departed the chamber as they began to discuss the Clone Wars. Their words fell upon deaf ears, for there was another she had in mind. One who the Sword of the Jedi hoped might provide her with guidance. Her mom and Uncle Luke had researched the woman after learning of their relation, and some of the remaining materials about her suggested she was wise and perceptive. She had helped gather the leaders of the Rebel Alliance in the last days of the Republic and had fought to preserve it and its values throughout the Clone Wars.

She needed to speak with Padmé Amidala.