IV

ataru


500 Republica
Republic City, Coruscant
The residence of Senator Padmé Amidala


Jaina stepped out of the enclosed speeder taxi and onto the balcony platform of 500 Republica. From this perch, she could easily turn towards the Jedi Temple and the place where her family's future residence would be raised. Instead, she glanced at the Rodian driver, watching her expectantly. "Charge the Temple. Don't wait for me. I'm here for more than a quick meet and greet."

He replied with a few choice swears, focused around her being a Jedi, before speeding off. She huffed, shaking her head. Anti-Jedi sentiment wasn't something new for Jaina Solo, but she hadn't thought it existed before the Empire. It seemed not many had lamented the loss of the Jedi, or perhaps had thought little of the Order until its destruction.

She drew her thick brown robe close to her body as she stared at the large clari-crystalline panels before her. That she had been able to retrieve her lightsaber before departing the temple was a small miracle, though her blaster remained in the possession of the Temple Guard. See-Threepio, familiar and gold-platted, waited for her, his yellow photoreceptors staring blankly. Jaina crossed the short distance between them, mixing her father's Corellian swagger and her mother's indomitable will.

"Welcome, Master Jedi," Threepio said, just as he would in fifty years' time. "Mistress Padmé has guests, so she hopes you are willing to be patient."

"A Jedi is always patient," Jaina replied. "Though I wouldn't mind stepping inside. There's a bit of a breeze up here and these robes aren't as warm as they might look."

She was overstating how cold the wind actually was. It was comfortable, more so than the Coruscant of her time. What she wanted was a glimpse of the people her grandmother was meeting with. Little was known of her grandmother, and Jaina hoped to gleam that missing knowledge during her strange time in the past. The Force wasn't clear about what it wanted of her, even if she suspected her purpose. It was a purpose she had executed only a few months prior aboard a Star Destroyer christened the Anakin Solo.

Threepio considered her request for a few seconds before replying, "Well, I don't think it would hurt to allow you inside the apartment. Captain Typho may be away, but he has met you."

He then turned away, shuffling as he always did, and she followed him into the residence of Senator Amidala. Jaina drew her robe tighter around her body, trying to ignore the strange chill that passed through her. She feared it was connected to Palpatine and whatever plots the Sith Lord was working. She knew who his target was, yet she knew next to nothing about what turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

Worse, Jaina wasn't certain if she could do anything to stop his fall to the dark side. Was she doomed to fail her grandfather, just as she had failed Jacen? Could she change his fate, or must her past, the future of this era, pass in the manner she knew.

Perhaps this is another time, she considered. Grandfather and Ben Kenobi never traveled to Zonama Sekot. There was never a Vergere who belonged to the Jedi Order. If two events of my time do not exist here, then perhaps changing this future will leave me unaffected.

If that's the truth, then is that why the Force brought me here? Was a wound created to facilitate my arrival to save Anakin Skywalker?

Her thoughts wouldn't serve her well in the moment. Thinking of the future and considering what must be done was of importance, but so was remaining in the moment. She focused herself as she followed Threepio into the apartment.

It was well furnished, though didn't have the lived-in feel that the old family apartment had. She wondered how much had been prepared to depart for Naboo, for where else would a Senator wish to have her children? If there had still been an Alderaan and the galaxy in a state of peace, Jaina was certain her mother would've returned instead of giving birth on Coruscant.

She allowed her brandy brown eyes to wander the chamber, taking in the blue and silver color scheme. It was simple, yet regal. In fact, Jaina could imagine her own mother selecting them, and considered suggesting it, once back home.

She approached a low couch, split into two even as it followed the circular wall of the room. Another balcony stood before her, though it didn't extend far enough for a craft on repulsorlifts to reach with ease. Some kind of security had to be set around it, though Jaina couldn't guess what. This was the Old Republic. It was a different era from the New Republic she had known, untainted by the Empire's decades long reign over the galaxy.

"Excuse me," Threepio said before heading away towards where she could hear faint voices. Jaina watched the familiar protocol droid head to the far side of the apartment. She could barely see those gathered when she strained her neck to peer at them. So she closed her eyes and reached out with the Force, allowing it to fill her awareness.

There were five others with her grandmother. Only one of them felt familiar, even if Jaina had been a great deal younger the last time they met. Mon Mothma had been integral to the Rebellion Alliance, and later to the New Republic, serving as its first Chief of State. The other four were unknown to her, though all of them were human. One, a man, was certainly old enough to have died long before her birth. The other three, most likely, had run afoul of the Empire in the decades between this present and her own time.

Jaina waited patiently as Threepio interrupted their meeting. She could feel their anxiety and concern, especially after being informed a Jedi was waiting upon Senator Amidala. Her grandmother seemed to have a sense of who had arrived, for she remained calm and certain. Something was said that pacified the others, and shortly after, Threepio returned.

"Mistress Padmé and her guests shall see you now, Master Jedi. They are curious about you."

Jaina raised an eyebrow, but Threepio was moving before she had a chance to question him. He waddled with every step as she followed him with long strides. She released her grasp upon the thick outer robe she wore and allowed it to flow around her.

The protocol droid led her into a spacious sitting room. The six meeting remained in their seats until she reached the head of the table between them. Her grandmother, smiling at the sight of Jaina, rose to her feet. She wore a simple headpiece with vertical cuts and had her hair braided behind each ear.

"It's good to see you again, Knight Solo."

"You as well, Senator Amidala."

Padmé held a hand towards the three senators to Jaina's left. "These are Senator Giddean Danu of Kuat, Senator Terr Taneel of the Senex sector, and Senator Fang Zar of the Sern sector."

She nodded to the three. Senator Giddean was a dark-skinned man who wore a white doublet with light grey piping across the right side of his body and a piece the same color over the left shoulder. The presence of a Kuati senator reminded Jaina of Viqi Shesh, and she hoped this man wasn't capable of the same treachery. Senator Terr wore a large black headpiece that covered her hair and had black from neck to foot, which contrasted with her pale skin. All of her clothing shimmered with faint curving patterns. Senator Fang was the oldest, with a thick white beard and his grey hair pulled up into a topknot. His blue robes flowed over his body, yet had eddies and whorls like any river.

"And besides me are Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila and Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan."

Mon Mothma was shockingly young, but then Jaina had to remind herself that the New Republic wouldn't be established for another twenty-five years. There was more jewelry adorning her now than there would be in the future, but this was the age of the Old Republic. It had been a gaudier age, a decadent one despite the efforts to glamorize and immortalize it. Her white dress and red hair was the same as always, though.

But it was the sight of Bail Organa that sent a shock of surprise through Jaina. She knew that name, for he had raised her mother. Yet she had never known her adoptive grandfather, for he had perished when the first Death Star destroyed Alderaan. His skin was darker than she remembered from the holos, though the black hair atop his head and around his jaw was as she remembered. He wore the traditional clothes of Alderaan, almost unchanged after four thousand years.

"Senators," she said, bowing slightly. Jaina turned to Padmé. "Would it be possible to speak with you alone?"

Padmé glanced back at the others. Bail Organa sighed, rising to his feet. "If the Master Jedi wishes to speak with you in private, then I believe we'll all take our leave. I hate to admit it, but this meeting reached the end of its usefulness. I will speak with you later, Padmé." He glanced at the others, who nodded as they stood. Mon Mothma was the last of them to depart, laying a brief hand upon Padmé's arm.

Once the senators had departed, Jaina took a seat. Threepio hobbled up with a tray. He handed over a cup of tea. "Milk? Sugar?"

"No thanks," Jaina replied. She waited until the protocol droid was out of sight before saying to her grandmother, "I'm afraid I developed a taste for caff."

Padmé raised an eyebrow. "Care to share the story?"

Jaina hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "It's a long story, and an unpleasant one. There's a lot I would need to explain, and I don't know how much I should actually say."

"Why not?"

"Because…" Jaina began, her gut turning inwards. She took a moment, closing her eyes, and reached out into the Force. A warm sensation, one of reassurance passed over her. It took Jaina a few seconds to make sense of it, but once she did, she opened her eyes and met her grandmother's gaze. "I will start with the fact I come from the future, though it is one where certain events that transpired never occurred. I know for certain that a mission by Master Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker went on never occurred here, and that another Jedi involved is unknown to Master Yoda."

"How curious," Padmé muttered, brows furrowed slightly. "How did you come to be here then?"

"There was a wound in the Force that I investigated for a…close friend." Her grandmother gave her a look that brought a girly blush to Jaina's face. Regardless, she continued on. "Passing through it brought me here, somehow. Nobody knows the full extent of its mysteries, even if my brother tried to learn all he could about the Force following the Vong War."

Jaina nearly bit down on her tongue after that. Neither was a topic of conversation she was comfortable with, even if the woman before her was her grandmother. She looked down at her cup of tea, wishing she could recognize the aroma. There were familiar hints, but nothing revealing enough for her to pinpoint what it was. It almost reminded her of those times in her childhood when her family had been whole, brought together in a way that would never be.

"It's an Alderaanian blend," Padmé said, drawing Jaina's gaze back to her. "It was a gift from Bail, one that his family has apparently drunk since the days before Ruusan."

"Before the Republic," Jaina whispered, her gaze falling back to the tea. She closed her eyes as she took a sip, allowing the warmth and hints of subtle bitterness to flow through her. It was familiar, yet not. Whatever made this tea unique had been lost with Alderaan. This was something the Empire had stolen from the galaxy.

"You're crying."

Jaina opened her eyes and rubbed a cheek. Her hand came back wet and she rubbed the other one. She found the same thing, wet tears streaking down her face. They had come unbridled, brought about by a planet she only knew from stories and holos.

"Just remembering a tragedy," she whispered. "Alderaan… In my time, it no longer exists. The people live on, as best they can, but their world is no more."

Her grandmother covered her mouth with her free hand, even as she said, "How could such a thing happen? Where were the Jedi? The Senate?"

"Destroyed. Both of them."

"By the Sith Lord? The one that Obi-Wan said Count Dooku claimed to be manipulating both sides of the conflict?"

Jaina nodded. She opened her mouth, but had no chance to speak. Her grandmother had risen to her feet and was already halfway from the room. "We need to speak with the Chancellor. If anyone would know what to do, it would be him."

"No!" Jaina shouted, rising from the seat she had chosen. Padmé stopped, watching her warily. "I…I cannot allow you to speak with Palpatine. He cannot be trusted."

The dawning realization came with a face of abject horror and despair. Tears welled up in familiar brandy brown eyes as Padmé tried to swallow her sobs. Jaina stared, shaken by how quickly the woman before her had dissolved. There had been so few times in her own life when she'd seen the strongest she knew, brought to tears so. All of those cases had followed death, not upon learning of a betrayal so serious it cast doubt upon the world around her.

"He…he couldn't be," Padmé said, wiping away the tears in her eyes. "He's…he's been my…my mentor. He was my senator when I was queen! A good friend to both myself and to Anakin."

"He played everyone for fools."

"And…Anakin?"

She could almost feel the pressure the Force placed upon her as she considered how to answer that question. It was all too tempting for Jaina to tell the same lie that Ben Kenobi had given her uncle. Yet she knew in her gut that was not the right choice. Even so, she didn't have the heart to tell the truth.

"I can't tell you. You…you shouldn't—"

"I understand," her grandmother said, tears streaking down her face. "What happened to him must be worse than anything I could imagine." Her hands lowered further, to her pregnant belly. "What of my child?"

"Twins," Jaina corrected without thought. She slapped a hand over her mouth a moment later, even as Padmé Amidala smiled brightly.

"Twins? We're having twins?" Her sorrow was replaced by joy. "I must tell Anakin. He'll be overjoyed to hear about it."

Jaina tensed, doubt seeking to cloud her judgment. She was dearly tempted to try and stop her grandmother, just as she had right before allowing the revelation about Palpatine's true nature out. It would be so easy to convince her to say nothing, but that her grandmother had to learn this way and not from a medical droid was surprising. Her mother had known of twins coming, even as Thrawn's net threatened to capture her so close to term.

"Why not wait for him to come home?" Jaina suggested. "That is if he sleeps here."

Her grandmother seemed to pick up on an implication buried in Jaina's words, for she frowned and asked, "Are Jedi allowed to be married in the future?"

"Both my mother and my uncle are—were—are married."

Padmé frowned pensively, but held back what had to be a number of pressing questions. Her expression slowly turned thoughtful, and Jaina suspected her grandmother was trying to piece together everything she had been told.

"The twins, my children," she began, "they help restore the Jedi Order."

"Well—"

Jaina was saved from having to answer that question. The door she had entered through hissed open and they could both hear Threepio saying, "Master Anakin! Mistress Padmé has a Jedi visitor. Perhaps you know her?"