I don't own Star Wars or its characters, but only Nadia Aomori, Lisa Naberrie and my other OCs.


The New Jedi Order

Chapter 4: A New Family Member

In Yavin 4…

Jaina smiled proudly as she finished fixing one of the newly tidied stacks of electronic components in her room.

"There."Jaina remarked with a satisfied nod, mentally relaxing her hold on a large mass of tangled wires and cables. "That should do it."

"Does that mean we can go to morning meal now?"Jacen asked. "You've been at this half the night."

"I want Dad to be impressed."Jaina admitted.

Jacen laughed. "He never stacks his tools this neatly!"

"Guess I did get a little carried away."Jaina replied, matching her brother's grin. "We've still got a few hours before they get here."

Jacen snorted and stood up from the floor, where he'd been sitting next to his sister while they worked.

He brushed the dust off his jumpsuit and ran long fingers through his dark brown curls.

"Well, how do I look?"Jaina asked.

Jaina raised a critical eyebrow at him. "Like someone who's been up all night."

Jacen hurried over to peer anxiously into the small mirror that Jaina had hung above her cistern.

Jaina smirked, realising that her brother was just as nervous and excited about seeing their father again as she was.

"It's actually not too bad."Jaina assured. "I think raking the twigs and leaves from your hair really helped. Here, put this on."

The brunette pulled a fresh jumpsuit from a chest by her bed.

"You'll look more presentable."Jaina complemented.

When Jacen went into the next room to change, Jaina took his place at the mirror. She wasn't vain, but, as with her room, she preferred to keep her personal appearance neat and clean.

The young girl ran a comb through her straight brown hair and stared at her reflection. Then, with a quick peek over her shoulder to be sure her brother wasn't looking, she pulled back a handful of strands and worked them into a braid.

Jaina would never have gone to this much trouble for an ambassador or some silly dignitary, but her father was worth the effort. She hoped Jacen wouldn't notice or comment on it.

Finished, she stepped through her doorway and poked her head into Jacen's room.

"All the animals fed?"Jaina asked.

"I took care of that hours ago."Jacen answered, emerging in his clean, fresh robe and heaved a long-suffering sigh. "At least someone's had their morning meal."

Jaina gnawed her lip, anxiously scanning the sky for any glimmer that might herald the arrival of the Millennium Falcon.

She and Jacen stood at the edge of the wide clearing in front of the Jedi academy, where the hideous monster had appeared the day before.

The area's short grasses had been trampled down by frequent takeoffs and landings.

Jaina smelled the rich green dampness of the early morning in the jungle that surrounded the clearing.

The foliage rustled and sighed in a light breeze that also carried the trills, twitters, and chirps that reminded her of the wide profusion of animal life that inhabited the jungle moon.

Beside her, Jacen shifted impatiently from one foot to the other, a frown of concentration etched across his forehead.

Jaina sighed.

Why did it seem like everything took forever when you were looking forward to it, and things that you didn't want to happen arrived too soon?

As if sensing her tension, Jacen suddenly turned to her with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Hey, Jaina."Jacen sneered. "You know why TIE fighters scream in space?"

"Sure, their twin ion engines set up a shock front from the exhaust-"Jaina started.

"No!"Jacen remarked and waved his hand in dismissal. "Because they miss their mothership!"

As was expected of her, Jaina groaned, grateful for a chance to get her mind off waiting, even if only for a moment.

Then a comforting hum built and resonated around them, as if the sound of their mounting excitement had suddenly become audible.

"Look."Jaina said, pointing at a silver-white speck that had just appeared high above the treetops.

The glimmer disappeared for a few moments and then, with a rush of exhaled breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Jaina saw the Millennium Falcon swoop across the sky toward the clearing.

The familiar blunt-nosed oval of their father's ship hovered tantalizingly above their heads for a moment that seemed to stretch to eternity. Then, with a burst of its repulsor-lifts, it settled gently onto the ground in front of them.

The Millennium Falcon's cooling hull buzzed and ticked as the engines died down to a low drone.

The scent of ozone tickled Jaina's nostrils.

Jaina knew the shutdown procedures for the Corellian light freighter, but she wished that just for today there was some way to speed things up. When she thought she could wait no longer, the landing ramp of the Falcon lowered with a whine-thump.

And then their father bounded down the ramp, gathering the twins into his arms, ruffling their hair, and trying to hug both of them at once, as he had done when they were small children.

Han Solo stepped back to take a good look at his children.

"Well!"Han spoke up at last, with one of those lopsided grins for which he was so famous. "Except for your mother, I'd say this is the finest welcoming committee I've ever had."

"Dad."Jacen said, rolling his eyes, "We are not a committee."

As her father laughed, Jaina took a moment to study him, and was relieved to note that he had not changed in the month that they had been gone from home.

Han wore soft black trousers and boots that fitted him snugly, an open-necked white shirt and a dark vest. A comfortable, serviceable set of clothes that he sometimes jokingly referred to as his 'working uniform'.

The battered, familiar shape of the Millennium Falcon was unchanged as well.

"How do we look, Dad?"Jaina asked. "Any different?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."Han started, turning his gaze to each of them in turn. "Jacen, you've grown again. Bet you even caught up with your sister."

Han looked at his daughter.

"And Jaina."Han said with a wicked grin. "If I didn't think you'd throw a hydrospanner at me for saying so, I'd tell you that you're even prettier than you were a month ago."

Jaina blushed and gave an unladylike snort to demonstrate what she thought of such compliments, but secretly she was pleased.

A loud, echoing roar from inside the ship saved her the embarrassment of having to come up with a response.

A large form thundered down the boarding ramp.

Huge heavily furred arms reached out to grab Jaina and threw her high into the air.

"Chewie!"Jaina shrieked, laughing as the giant Wookiee caught her again on the way down. "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

After Chewbacca had repeated this greeting ritual with her brother, Jaina finally said what she and Jacen were thinking.

"It's good to see you, Dad."Jaina replied. "But what brings you to the Jedi academy?"

"Yeah."Jacen added. "Mum didn't send you to check if we had enough clean underwear, did she?"

"Nah, nothing like that," their father assured them with a laugh. "Actually, Chewie and I needed to come out this direction to help my old friend Lando Calrissian open up a new operation."

Jaina had always had a great fondness for Lando, her father's dark and dashing friend, but she also knew him well enough to realize that her adopted 'uncle' Lando was always involved in some crackpot moneymaking scheme or another. She held up a hand to stop her father.

"Wait, let me guess."Jaina instructed. "He's…he's starting a new casino on his space station and he needed you to bring him a shipload of sabacc cards."

"No, no, I've got it!"Jacen answered. "He's opening a new Nerf ranch and he wants you to help him build a corral."

At this Chewbacca threw back his head and bleated with Wookiee laughter.

"Not even close."Han sneered, shaking his head. "Corusca gem mining deep in the atmosphere of the gas giant."

The former smuggler pointed up to the great orange ball of the planet Yavin in the sky overhead.

"He asked us to come and help him set up the operation."Han admitted.

"Oh, blaster bolts!"Jacen retorted, snapping his fingers. "That was going to be my next guess."

Another faint Wookiee-sounding bellow came from inside the Millennium Falcon.

Chewbacca turned and strode back up the ramp.

"What was that?"Jaina asked.

"Oh, I forgot to mention."Han added. "When Luke found out we had to come here anyway, he asked us to stop by Chewie's homeworld of Kashyyyk and pick up a new Jedi candidate. He's going to be your fellow student."

As Han spoke, Chewbacca thumped back down the ramp, closely followed by a smaller Wookiee, who was still taller than Jacen or Jaina.

The younger Wookiee had thick swirls of ginger-colored fur, with a remarkable swirling black streak as wide as Jaina's hand that ran from just above his left eye up over his head and down to the middle of his back. He wore only a belt woven of some glossy fiber that Jaina could not identify.

"Kids, I'd like you to meet Chewie's nephew Lowbacca."Han introduced. "Lowbacca, my kids Jacen and Jaina."

Lowbacca nodded his head and growled a Wookiee greeting.

He was thin and lanky, even for a Wookiee, with gangly fur-covered arms and legs.

The young Wookiee fidgeted.

Chewbacca barked a question to Han and waved one massive arm in the direction of the temple.

"Sure."Han answered. "Go ahead-take him to Luke for now. The kids can get to know each other later."

As the two Wookiees headed off to find Luke, Han looked at his children.

"Wait here, I have something for you."Han instructed.

Han ducked back into the Falcon.

He returned in a few moments, his arms laden with a strange assortment of packages and greenery.

"First."Han responded, tossing each of the twins a small message disk. "Your mother recorded these personal holo letters for you. There's another one from your little brother, Anakin. He can't wait to come here himself."

Jaina looked at the glittering message disks, anxious to play them. But she slipped them into one of the pockets of her jumpsuit.

"And now..."Han started.

Han grinned and held up a large bouquet of green fronds sprinkled with purple and white star-shaped blossoms.

"Oh, Dad, you remembered!"Jacen remarked and ran forward ecstatically before gratefully taking the leafy bundle. "My stump lizard's favourite food. I'll feed 'em to her right away. See you later, Dad."

Jason then ran off in the direction of the Great Temple.

Jaina stood alone with her father, looking expectantly at the last bulky package he held in his arms.

He set it on the weedy ground of the landing clearing and stepped back so that Jaina could pull aside the rags that covered it.

"Great wrapping job, Dad."Jaina complemented with a smile.

Han smirked. "Hey, it works."

Jaina gasped as she removed the coverings, then looked up at her father, who grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

"A hyperdrive unit!"Jaina shrieked in delight.

"It's not in working condition, you understand."Han exclaimed. "And it's pretty old. I got it off an old Imperial Delta-class shuttle they were dismantling on Coruscant."

Jaina remembered fondly the times she had helped her father tinker with the Falcon's subsystems to keep it running in peak condition or as close as they could get.

"Oh, Dad, you couldn't have picked a better present!"Jaina remarked.

Jaina jumped up and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his dark vest. She could tell that her father was pleased and maybe even a little embarrassed-by her enthusiasm.

Her father looked down at her and raised one eyebrow.

"You know, there's a couple more components on the ship."Han stated. "If you wanted to help me bring 'em out here, your dad could show you how they all go together."

Jaina ran after her father into the ship.


Luke was in his private chamber, meditating with his eyes closed.

The Jedi Master felt at peace as he connected himself to the Force.

He suddenly felt that someone was in utter pain and knew immediately who it was.

It was Lisa.


In Naboo…

At the Varykino Villa, Lisa had gone into labor and several ladies that were her handmaidens during her time as Queen of Naboo hovered around her as she screamed in pain.

Her ladies were encouraging her to be strong and bare the pain.

"Hold on."Miré instructed. "Hold on."

One lady wipes Lisa's forehead with a cool cloth as she continued to pant and yell.

"Here it comes."Dalné murmured as she holds her friend's hand. "It's here, Lisa. It's here."

Lisa's legs are pulled up as she pushed and she screamed as gives one last push.

"Push, push."Yané encouraged.

"AHHHHH!"Lisa cried out in agony.

The baby emerged from between Lisa's legs and a midwife takes the infant to be cleaned.

Lisa panted as she collapsed on her bed while giving a weak smile.

"Congratulations, Mrs Bridger."the midwife declared as she wrapped the newborn infant in a silver coloured blanket. "You have given birth to a very healthy baby girl."

The midwife brought the crying infant in Lisa's arms.

The blonde haired woman smiled with tears of joy and gave her newborn daughter a kiss on the forehead.


A Week Later…

There various people including family members were visiting the Bridgers, congratulating them of the birth of their new family member.

Lisa wore a regal yellow and white dress that had long sleeves that were white and had a neck frill around her neck and golden-yellow heeled shoes. Her blonde hair was trimmed slightly to make her look more regal and was now braided into a bun with a golden flower to keep it in place. In her arms was her newborn daughter.

Hanneli was an adorable infant with lapis blue eyes, rosy cheeks and dark golden blonde hair. The clothing she wore was a white frilly dress with a bow behind it.

Jacen, Jaina, Ben, Claire and Anakin gathered around to look at their newborn cousin.

"This one's quite pretty for an infant."Claire complemented as she gently stroked Hanneli's cheek. "Better than the last one, anyway."

Arren glared at Claire.

"Hey!"Arren scowled. "I'm standing right here!"

Luke lightly chuckled as he placed his arms around Claire.

"Claire means to say you will grow up into a fine young man one day."Luke assured.

Claire glanced at Luke.

"That's not what I meant, daddy."Claire commented.

Ben snorted his laughter as Arren folded his arms while frowning a bit.

"Don't worry, Arren."Lisa giggled lightly. "You are still my cutest little boy."

Kento frowned. "Hey."

Jobal quietly snickered at her brothers' little squabble.

"I'm glad you're not dead, Aunt Lisa."Jacen remarked.

Han let out a fake cough while Leia frowned and cleared her throat causing Jacen and Jaina to greet their relatives properly.

"Dear Uncle Ezra and Aunt Lisa."Jacen and Jaina said in unison. "We've come to welcome our new baby cousin."

Jacen gives a bow while Jaina did a curtsy causing Ezra and Lisa to smile at them.

"What is her name?"Anakin asked.

"Hanneli."Lisa responded. "Hanneli Bridger."

Ferus and Nadia then walked over to congratulate Ezra and Lisa.

"Congratulations, you two."Nadia commented. "She's a lovely child."

"She's as beautiful as her mother and older sister."Ferus added.

Gwen brought forward with a deep blue cloth that had beautiful brooches on them.

"One, rubies set in circlets of gold. A second, a precious stone upon a bed of gold and pearl."Nadia exclaimed. "Third, small and large drops of pearl, with gold and purple. And lastly, feathers of silver, gold and amber. Fit for a little princess."

Lisa smiled at the gifts her sister-in-law gave her.

"Gosh. They're beautiful, Gwen. Thank you."Lisa remarked and notice Jobal looking at them. "I'll make sure to give two to Jobal. So that she and her sister can share."

Jobal smiled. "Thank you, mummy."

"Would you like to hold her, Ferus?"Ezra suggested.

"Alright."Ferus responded.

Lisa carefully placed Hanneli in Ferus' arms as the infant girl quietly gurgled.

Ferus smiled at his newborn great-niece as she stared at him with her lapis blue eyes.

Hanneli and Kento both inherited Ezra's eyes while Arren had Lisa's deep brown eyes.

Ben, Jobal and Anakin were the only ones that inherited the blue eyes of their late grandfather.

Anakin Skywalker.

But the last time he saw Anakin's eyes light blue was before fell to the-

No.

There was no point remembering the past.

You could only learn from it.

But Ferus hoped neither of Anakin and Padmé's grandchildren would fall to the Dark Side.

He never wanted history to repeat itself.