Star Wars

RI 2000-2003

Disclaimer: Characters are © to their respective people and ultimately, George Lucas. I own nothing and there is no profit involved.

Notes: Rough Draft. Ignore errors.

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Jaina's boot heels clicked softly on the metal flooring, the only sound in the eerily silent corridor. She was deep in the bowels of the Mon Mothma, walking through a little-used hallway. Despite being lighted as well as a frequently used hallway, there was an abandoned feeling to it. She wondered why Jag would be down in this area. She glanced at the little map carefully sketched on a piece of flimsy to make certain she was still going in the right direction.

Despite Jag's cryptic behavior and her curiosity, her mind wandered. After speaking with her aunt that morning Jaina had returned to the hangar given to Twin Suns. Several Twin Suns pilots were working on their fighters, Twin Suns Eight among them. Jaina's plans instantly changed and she spent some time in the hanger observing her pilot. He went through the motions and made nice enough with the rest of the unit, but something was off about Twin Suns Eight. The tall human had been part of an elite X-wing unit until the defense of Coruscant; after it, he was all that was left of that unit. He'd been with Twin Suns since Luke Skywalker had put the squad together and had never failed an objective or a squadronmate.

No, it wasn't his performance that concerned Jaina. It was something else, a subtle prodding through the Force that prompted her to watch him closely. She wished she could catch up with her uncle to speak with him about the pilot.

Jaina snapped back to reality when she realized she'd missed a turn somewhere. She grunted a wookie curse to herself. Was getting her lost in the guts of a ship some weird assertion of Jag's strange side? Painstakingly she backtracked to her point of misdirection and chose the correct path this time. according to the map, she should be close to whatever the circled X on the little map represented.

The hallway she turned down was dark but someone had placed glowrods along the edges of the walls to lead her. Jaina moved carefully, using her Jedi senses until her eyes adjusted to the dark. The fingers of one hand trailed along the wall at elbow height as she walked, creating a quiet rasp. It was inky dark but surprisingly not oppressive in the very long hallway. Jaina was comfortable once her eyes adjusted.

Very soon she felt Jag's strong presence in the Force. He was still and calm, as always. More and more often Jaina found herself touching the steady burn of his nova-bright presence in the Force. It calmed her when she was upset and steadied her when she couldn't shake her mental disquiet.

Alone at night it was reassurance that *someone* was still there. Not everyone she loved was lost to her.

Jaina's feet were beginning to hurt from the extended walking. She made a face. Tenel Ka would tell her that she needed to do more physical exercise. Which was true. Since the beginning of the war she hadn't had much time for the kind of intense physical training she'd kept up at the academy, and then Rogue Squadron now her own command prevented her from training entirely.

She felt a small measure of triumph when she reached a slightly ajar door that seemed to coincide with the X on the map. Jag's presence on the other side confirmed it. She folded the piece of flimsy deftly between her fingers and tucked it into her pants, then pushed the door in. The room beyond was faintly lit by a few more glowrods tossed down at strategic locations and Jaina noted thick pallet made of blankets and pillows on the floor.

Jag was sitting with his back to the wall, his legs drawn up and his toned arms folded over his knees. He watched Jaina evenly as she stood in the doorway surveying the room. In the half-darkness his pale green eyes glowed frostily. "It took you quite a while to get here," he said while rising.

Jaina smiled and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "I'm not used to wandering around the darkened guts of a Star Destroyer," she answered dryly. Her hand came up to clasp his as he drew close, her other falling to rest on his workout-hardened abdomen. Jag kept in top physical shape. She curled her fingers around the material of his flight suit and pulled his body flush against hers. "It is a good hiding place, though," she admitted as his head bent to gently nuzzle her neck. "No one would find us down here. How long did it take you to find this place?"

Jag's lips curved into a subtle smile as he moved to Jaina's mouth and gave her a light kiss. "Two days before I stopped getting lost," he said.

Her soft laugh bounced off the bare metal walls. She rose high on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and return his whisper kiss with more energy. Desire and something sweeter coursed through her veins as a familiar tide of thrilling heat shivered up her spine. It happened every time she was in Jag's embrace.

Jag's hands drifted low on her back and she caught a sudden strong impression from him, one that had nothing to do with honorable or innocent intentions. The strength of his desire caught her momentarily by surprise. Something like fear and anticipation raced across her nerves. She was certain he could feel her trembling. Jaina loved this black-haired pilot; she knew that if he wanted something she wouldn't refuse.

But with effort Jag brought himself back under control. Her touched her face lightly and drew back from her very gently, looking down at her lovely face as he looked at no one else. A tremulous smile touched Jaina's lips as she watched him with her dark eyes. Jag knew that she had felt his momentary lapse in control. In that moment he wanted to take her down to the pile of blankets on the floor. He was still half-tempted, but his self-discipline was back. If their relationship progressed that far--if neither of them died--there would be a time and a place for it.

With great care he disentangled himself from her embrace and courteously handed her down onto the soft seat he had made on the floor. Jaina pressed close to his side when he settled cross-legged next to her. 'So what are we doing down here?" her voice was soft and low.

Jag leaned around her and reached behind a short tarp covered storage container. He produced a container of food that had a wonderful smell, and a delicate set of fine dinnerware. Jaina took the dishes and silverware and set them up while Jag lit a pair of slender white candle in elegant silver holders. The room was filled with the faint sound of touching crystal as Jag sat two elegant stemmed glasses down and filled them with a rose-colored wine. There was also a bottle of Corellian whiskey off to one side. He faced her, his handsome face thrown into mysterious shadow and light by the flickering candlelight. "This is dinner," he said quietly.

Jaina impulsively cradled his jaw in one hand and brushed her lips across his. "It's beautiful," she whispered to him. Then she pulled back and grinned impishly. "And I'm starving."

Jag grinned at her in return. He stretched one leg out and began pointing out the various dishes with his fork, explaining, "This isn't from a synth unit, either."

"Jagged Fel, are you telling me you cooked this?!" Jaina stared at him in disbelief.

Jag felt himself blush. "My mother thought it was a skill we should have. All of us know how to cook, even elaborate dishes for formal meals."

"I thought I was doing good to be able to do my own laundry," Jaina muttered. She speared a small bite of marinated meat and almost moaned in delight when she chewed. After weeks of the bland food served to the pilots, the decadent food was almost too much. Jaina ate slowly and enjoyed every delicious bite, taking small sips of the wine as she ate. Jag apparently knew wine as well as he knew food because the delicate flavor of the blush wine perfectly complimented the food.

Jag watched her through dinner with quiet pleasure. A part of him noted the way she ate and drank, balancing food and drink in just the proper fashion. It was purely unconscious on her part, something only a person extensively trained in the fine points of a formal dinner could do. Jag supposed it came from innumerable diplomatic dinners she had undoubtedly attended in her life. He had only seen her in two such situations but he recalled her perfect deportment even then. The snug black shirt and black pants were a far cry from her Jedi robes or the low-cut Hapan gown but he thought she looked just as beautiful.

After they finished dinner Jag produced a second surprise--a ryshcate. He said the traditional words and sliced two pieces off, then poured small shots of the whiskey for them. Jaina was less reserved, tossing back the first shot in one businesslike gulp and nibbling on the crumbly sweet cake. The light conversation they had shared over dinner trailed off Jaina's body leaned against him, soft and warm. she soberly ate her ryshcate while focusing her attention somewhere inside her thoughts.

Jag was quietly enjoying the brown sugar flavor of the ryshcate and the precious time alone with Jaina. Their relationship had rapidly jumped through a half dozen phases in a relatively short time, and had come at the very worst time in her life. Under such stressful circumstances, it sometimes amazed him that they had a relationship at all.

His thoughts moved back to the diplomatic reception on Ithor. He had very deliberately sought her out, initially intrigued by who she was and by her skill. Few in the Republic had presented themselves as difficult a kill as this daughter of the Princess of Alderaan.

Meeting her face to face was a moment that would stay with him. It had been reasonable to assume she would be attractive; Leia Organa was a lovely woman and Jag had overheard many speak of the resemblance between mother and daughter. He hadn't expected her to be so striking.

He *really* hadn't expected her to affect *him. *

Women of all ages had sought his attention since he was fourteen years old but he'd always viewed them rather distantly, even the most beautiful. But Jaina Solo seemed to sparkle with some internal glow that glittered enigmatically in her eyes and lurked on her lips when she smiled. Jag hadn't been prepared to deal with the sudden onslaught of new feelings that she provoked.

On sight, no less, before any words passed between them.

He enjoyed her company but did not let her distract from his duties. Later, back under his father's command though, he found it difficult to sweep his thoughts of her aside. For months he kept remembering her laugh, her eyes, her light touches so freely given. Then came the scouting mission to Hapes that led to their second meeting. After that, Borleias.

"What are you thinking about over there?" Jaina licked the last crumbs from her fingertips.

"Can't you tell with your Jedi insights?"

Jaina blew out her breath. "I don't read minds, Jag."

Probably a good thing, he thought. "I was thinking about the past year." He hoped she wouldn't press for details. She didn't, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "I try not to," she said shortly.

"Understandable."

Her face changed; she frowned and her brow furrowed. Jag didn't want her to slip too far into grim thoughts of her brothers. He tucked a strand of shining dark hair back and told her gently, "Stay here." He got up and crossed the room to a sack sitting atop a crate. He searched around inside for a moment and withdrew an object no larger than his palm. Striding back to the center of the room her crouch down and placed the object on the floor, tapping the sides in a pattern sequence.

Jaina watched him curiously, distracted from thoughts of her brothers by Jag's actions. She thought perhaps that was deliberate on his part. She frowned as he set a holocube on the floor and entered a code. Then he gathered up the few glowrods scattered about and threw them beneath the edge of one of the tarps to douse the light. He returned to her side on the pallet. Jaina caught a faint sense of uncertainty from him. She was about to ask him what was going on when the Holocube sprang to life. Jag quickly blew out the candles and Jaina turned away from him to look around.

The little room was filled with stars. The ceiling, walls and floor and the air around them were filled with hundreds of lightpoints.

It was holoprojection of a system's stars, a very detailed and finely digitized starmap. With the slight chill to the air in the room, it was like actually being in space to Jaina. Then she realized that she recognized the constellations and understood what she was looking at.

Yavin system's stars. Specifically, the view from the top of the Great Temple on Yavin 4.

Jaina could only look around in shock. Her throat closed on her breath, partially choking her. She wasn't aware of the stinging tears rapidly filling her eyes as her gaze darted about the room. Her voice broke when she whispered weakly, "How?"

Jag was truly concerned that he had made a serious mistake in doing this. "I spent some time digging through star maps on the ship's computer."

'I'm surprised you found them."

"I didn't." Jag sighed. He hesitated, then said, "Your aunt helped me. She pulled the maps from the memory banks of Artoo and your father's ship."

Jaina looked at him then. There was barely enough light to make out her features but he could clearly see the brittle glitter of tears in her eyes. Her pale face seemed to be frozen in a numbly stunned expression. A muscle in one smooth cheek flinched.

Jag made up his mind then that it had been a disgusting misjudgment on his part and started to rise to turn off the holocube and apologize. Jaina grabbed his arm with surprising speed and pulled him back down. "No…leave it." Her voice was soft and pleading in the darkness. Jag had only heard that degree of vulnerability from her once before.

He felt the blankets beneath him move a little. Jaina was suddenly pressed very close to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her head resting on his chest. He felt slight tremors in her slender frame and knew she was crying, though she made no sound. He slipped one hand behind her back and held her close. With his other hand he stroked her hair and occasionally caressed her cheek, wiping away tears.

She only allowed herself to cry for a few moments. She stayed in his arms, sniffling, for much longer. Finally she pulled back until she could see him. He was caught off guard to see the smile on her face. It was very small, sad and wistful, but a definite smile. She wiggled around in his grasp and pushed herself to press her mouth to his. Jag responded automatically, meeting her tender lips in a sweet, firm kiss. When she pulled back her smile had changed to something more intimate and less readily identifiable. A strange shiver thrilled down his spine at her look.

"Thank you," she whispered huskily.

He blinked. "I thought I made a mistake," he answered uncertainly.

She only shook her head, the strange little enigmatic smile still in place. Abruptly she twisted around so that she was reclining comfortably against him and threw one arm up to encircle his neck. "Do you want to hear about some of these constellations?"

Jag settled his arms around her waist, his fingers resting lightly on her ribs and his. He dropped his head low over her shoulder and placed a tiny kiss on the hinge of her jaw. 'Tell me," he murmured in her ear.

Jaina smiled to herself and pointed with her free hand to a more obvious constellation floating a meter to their right. "That one is called Galaen. He's a Massassian legend. He was fabled to be the guardian beast of a gateway leading to the birthplace of the stars…"

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End part five

*Waves hand before you* Review….review…review…

And yes I DO think I'm a Jedi, waving my hand around like that.

Author's Notes, added September 29: I am NOT getting enough reviews for this story. I write for your amusement and mine, and I need encouragement to keep writing. Otherwise I lose interest and inspiration. If you read this fic, please leave a review for me. If one or two of you would even drop me an e-mail (even--or especially-- to offer *constructive* criticism) that would be really great.

Second Note for September 29: I'm going to proofread this chapter and make minor draft changes later tonight, instead of doing my schoolwork. =D Also, I hope to be back by the end of next week with a new and fully proof-read chapter, and a *really* explanation for my horribly long absence.

Hasta la Vista, Resh