Title: Perfect Strangers
Author: JadaSkye
Comments VERY APPRECIATED at: PG-13
Setting: About 19 years after "The Last Command"
Category: Schmaltzy Romance/Drama
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Lucasfilm, Ltd. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.
Author Notes: No flames about the lack of Jagged Fel please. I started this story before he even existed. This is my first fic and it's really sappy so be forewarned. Jaina's character may be off from the NJO series, but that's because I didn't start reading them until I finished this fic! But it's still good, keep reading!
Shout outs to Cast & Crew- There are a lot of people responsible for the completion of this story. Without their suggestions, inspirational personalities and continued encouragement I would have abandoned this project long ago. I love you guys!
PERFECT STRANGERS: Part I
DAY ONE
(friday)
102123-400
Solitude is a beautiful thing. This personal vacation is long past due. This is the first time I've really had some time to myself since my 19th b.day!) My baby brother is 16! Speaking of Anakin, he's away at the moment and Jacen took Tenel out for their whatever-year anniversary. I could get used to this only child thing. But I won't be here much longer anyway. It's been—uneventful around here lately, which is nice, but I'm ready to go home to the Academy. By the way, I met a guy today. Gasp I know! Knows his way around electricity—but not so much around women...
Jaina Solo despised medication. Granted, most people who had endured a life like hers had every right to have some kind of dependence on medication. No one would have blamed her for being on a pill to induce peace or happiness. But Jaina didn't believe problems could be solved by bottles filled with anything. That's what grease and wires and power tools were for.
Jaina entered the hangar, toolbox in hand, and approached her pride and joy; the Solo Gemini. The old freighter was ancient and beautiful and Jaina imagined that no matter how famous she became or how many ships she acquired, a slice of her heart would always belong to this seasoned hunk of metal. She and Jacen had recovered the ship one summer on Yavin IV and though Jacen wasn't nearly as mechanically minded, he too got excited at the idea of restoring the ship. However, the idea was not novel for long and Jacen finally left his sister with the giant project. She was a better pilot than she was a mechanic, but she'd kept at it, and sure enough, with a bit of her father's help, the freighter had shaped up into a gorgeous old bucket.
Her free time was slim since her Jedi training schedule had intensified, but when she made it back to Coruscant, Jaina spent every moment she could at the hangar. This afternoon was one of those coveted moments.
About an hour later, Jaina was up to her elbows in hyperdrive motivator when the garage door to the right of her opened, revealing a sleek and beautiful light freighter. It was about the size of her aunt's ship, Jade's Sabre, but the owner had obviously spent a lot of time on it. She peeked at it a few times from behind the Gemini, but curiosity finally got the best of her and she slid down from her repulsorlift chair. She crossed the garage floor and making sure there was no one around, she began to explore. She circled the ship, running her fingers across the cool metal exterior and examining the control panel.
"So do I have your approval?" Rounding the starboard edge, Jaina suddenly came face to face with the ship's owner.
"Sith! Don't sneak up on people like that!" She'd been so enthralled that she hadn't even sensed the boy walking up. She met his eyes briefly, confirming that he was hardly a boy, but rather a young man, a couple of years her senior.
"Sorry," he said, eyeing her critically. "Didn't mean to scare ya."
"You didn't scare me," she responded smartly, "You startled me." The young mechanic rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me." he replied sardonically. "Why're you messin' with my ship anyway?"
"I wasn't messing with it." Jaina answered as she walked around him toward her own vessel. "I was just working on my own ship when the door went up. I was simply admiring this-- lovely bucket you've got here."
"Thanks," he commented, pride evident in his voice. Then his tone turned indignant. "What exactly do you mean by 'bucket'?"
Jaina flashed him the legendary Solo lopsided grin. "It's just a term. You know, like a nickname? Don't get all defensive." She started back to the Gemini without another word.
A few minutes later, she was welding wordlessly when the young man called out to her.
"Hey Sparks!" he yelled. "Can I borrow your torch?"
Jaina deactivated the torch and pulled up her visor realizing it was she who was being called. She eyed him, one eyebrow raised. "What did you call me?"
He started in her direction. "Sparks. And I asked if I could borrow that torch when you're done with it."
She stared up at him, slightly annoyed.
"Please?" he asked again, and then smiled at her.
It was Jaina's turn to roll her eyes. "Give me a couple minutes," she finally answered. "And my name is not Sparks."
He nodded an affirmative and shot her a smirk. "It's just a term," he said mockingly. "You know, like a nickname. Don't get all defensive." He winked at her and walked back to his ship. Jaina shot an icy glare at the strangers' back.
LATER...
Jaina pushed stray hairs out of her face as she wrestled with the molecular transmitter within the engine of her vessel. Wires had been crossed somewhere, and she was getting terrible static interference in her holovid transmissions. However, if she spliced the wrong wires, she could override, or possibly shut down one or more important systems. It wasn't supposed to be a difficult thing to fix, but Jaina was having a bit more trouble than she'd planned.
She was leaning over the engine puzzled, when she sensed someone coming up behind her. "Need some help, Sparks?" came the voice just as she turned around.
"You again! No thanks, I think I can-- stangit!" she yelped putting her injured finger in her mouth. The young man stifled his laugh. "Are you sure? I'm not too bad with electricity myself." he said walking towards her. He grabbed a rag off the ground and wiped the engine grease off of his hands.
"How did you know I was--" she turned and stopped in midsentence seeing him up close for the first time. He smiled at her and began looking at her engine. "What seems to be the trouble?" he asked politely.
"I've got it under control." She muttered. "I just have to decide which wires to cross. I don't need your help for that."
He half smiled at her. "So you're just gonna pick one?"
Does he know who I am? Jaina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I am."
"And if you pick the wrong one?"
"I'll learn from my mistake." she shot back.
He chuckled softly to himself. "That could be one expensive mistake. One that could possibly be avoided too."
Jaina exhaled loudly. "I didn't ask for a second opinion..."
The young man pretended not to hear her. "I mean shouldn't you exhaust your resources before you resort to eeeny meeny miny moe?" he continued.
She glared at him. Once again he pretended not to notice and simply looked into her eyes. "That would be the smart thing to do. I'm no master mech, but, I'm not totally incompetent when it comes to late model K6 freighters."
Jaina was thoroughly annoyed and it was obvious in her voice. How dare he throw terminology at her like she was some kind of amateur.
"Look, I didn't ask for your help so why don't you--"
"Listen," he cut her off. "I'm not picking a fight—it's just that I've seen this before and I wanted to let you know that if you do by chance cross the wrong wire, you're either gonna have a major system shutdown or you're gonna get a nice buzz from head to toe. And it would really be a shame for a-- brilliant mech such as yourself to get fried, and frankly, I don't want to watch it happen or have to clean up the mess--"
"If I let you do it, will you leave me alone?" She cut him off angrily.
He shrugged. "Sure."
Jaina thrust the tangle of wires into his hands. "Fine. Splice away, Super Mech." Jaina Solo did not lose arguments well. Sulking a little, she turned to leave him. He saw her and laughed to himself.
"Look, I didn't want to piss you off. C'mere." He extended his hand. She stopped and turned around, glaring at him. He smiled softly.
"Why don't you come look at this, make sure it's to your liking?"
She waited a moment, then, with her arms still crossed, she slowly walked back to him.
"That's better. Now, what seems to be the problem?" Jaina looked at him warily. "Interference on my holovid." She said, her voice much softer. He studied her engine for a moment, a variety of multicolored wiring in both of his hands. After a moment he went off into a detailed description of the problem using very technical terms. Jaina began to think maybe he was a master mechanic. She'd always thought she was pretty advanced at ship repair. All of her friends always asked her to help them with their own ships. But this guy seemed to know everything. And Jaina suddenly felt a little annoyed, a little jealous-- and maybe, just slightly intimidated. When he finished talking, she looked at him and forced a smile.
"So it's either, the blue one, the green one, or the orange one."
He nodded. "Where's your central computer?"
She showed him and he ran a few tests. After about fifteen minutes, he was back around in the front of the ship splicing wires and mechanisms and humming to himself. Jaina tried to seem as bored and impatient as possible as he worked.
"That should do it!" he said finishing up a little while later. The whole process had only taken about fifteen minutes. It would have taken Jaina at least an hour to do alone. She felt slightly guilty about snapping at him, but not bad enough to apologize.
He closed the panel and wiped his hands on ripped trousers.
"Alright, you fire everything up and I'll be right back." He started jogging toward his ship, then stopped and turned around. "Hey, whaddya call this bucket anyway?"
"Gemini."
He nodded the acknowledgment and started jogging again. She climbed up into the cockpit and started her engines. Everything seemed to be online and running smoothly. The holovid transmitter took a moment to warm up.
Super-mech re-emerged. "Everything okay?"
"Looks that way."
"And it looks like you've got a message." he said pointing to the flashing green indicator on the transmitter. She pressed a button and his face appeared instantly, static free. His mock-serious voice came through the speaker clear as a bell;
Gemini, this is the Captain of Shadow Mist confirming the accuracy of the selection of the orange wire. Also confirming that said Captain is not in fact a prowler, but rather a regular old mech attempting to be chivalrous. Thanks for the opportunity. Mitchell, out.
Jaina gave him a mocking round of applause. "Well done, Captain Mitchell."
He caught her hand and shook it firmly. "My name is Brock. Or Mitch. No formality necessary. And you are…?"
Jaina's eyes widened. He really didn't know? Well, she wasn't about to ruin this. He'd find out soon enough. "To tell you the truth-- Sparks is starting to grow on me." She offered. "Why don't you stick to that?"
He shrugged. "I suppose a little mystery never hurt anyone."
"We prowlers like our anonymity, you know." She teased. "Good to know you're not one of us."
"Well, I could see you were worried," He retorted, moving out of the cockpit. "Maybe it won't take you quite as long to trust me next time."
Jaina raised her eyebrows. "Next time?"
He jumped down onto solid ground. "You'll be here tomorrow—so will I. I'm sure I can think of something else to bother you about."
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Why not just leave all your tools at home tomorrow?"
He grinned. "I might. Later, Sparks."
DAY THREE
(monday)
102523-403
I have got to quit being such a spaz! I made a stupid mistake today that turned out much better than expected, even though I got a bit more than I bargained for. ;-) I got the tour of the Mist (Brock's ship) today—it's vaping gorgeous! He showed me everything. On his ship I mean. But while we're on the subject, I guess it's worth a mention that he is—rather well put together… too bad he's not my type at all…
"So when can I see the inside of this thing?"
Jaina was sitting on a hoverboard beside the Shadow Mist, while Captain Mitchell was sprawled on his back beneath the ship.
"I'm not sure you wanna venture there, it's quite the bachelor pad. Hold this for me, will ya?" he said handing her a cap to the oil tank. She put the cap in her pocket.
This was the third afternoon Jaina had spent at the garage with Brock. In their first meeting, he had come across as rather obnoxious. Then again, she hadn't made the best first impression herself. Cockiness was not a virtue by any means—confidence on the other hand, was intriguing. And Brock had more than enough to be mildly interesting.
"I have brothers; I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle." she asked.
"Well then, I guess we could take a quick tour when I finish this," came his muffled answer from under the ship. Jaina heard a clatter of metal on the ground, and then his voice again.
"Hey, come under here, I want you to look at this tank."
Jaina paused for a minute. "That's a line if I've ever heard one." She mumbled. But that didn't stop her from sliding onto the hoverboard and pulling herself under the ship.
It was a lot warmer in the tight space and Brock nearly bit through his tongue as her brandy gaze bore into his eyes. "It was totally a line—and you took it." He grinned.
Jaina shoved him as much as she could with one hand but he caught her hand and pulled her over to look at the tank.
He showed her his work but was forced to trim back the explanation when her presence beside him became a distraction and a speech impediment.
"Okay, Sparks," he began, after she approved of his work. "Would you go get that black bottle from behind my toolbox and pour the rest of it in the tank?"
"I suppose." Jaina answered, favoring him with a brief smile. She slid out from beneath the ship.
Brock closed his eyes briefly to refocus. Then he finished up his work while his mind wandered shamelessly. He had moved about eight inches to his right to reach his toolbox and he almost smacked his head on the engine when he heard Jaina yelp, "Oh stangit, wait!"
Too late.
Dark blue liquid covered Brock's chest. Luckily, Jaina was enlightened before she poured out the whole bottle. "Vaping moffs!" he cursed, and shoved himself out from under the vessel. Jaina felt ridiculous, but she still fought a giggle at the sight of his greasy blue form. She shrugged sheepishly. "I completely forgot about this," she mumbled, pulling the cap from her pocket. "I'm so sorry!"
Brock was smiling in spite of himself. He stood up and tried to wipe some of the oil off his chest. Jaina grabbed a rag and handed it to him.
"It's okay. I should've realized anyway, I was the one under the hood."
"Yeah, but still," she argued. "I wasted your good oil and messed up your—nice shirt."
Brock glared at her and then at his old cutoff shirt. "I think I can spare one. Excuse me." He said throwing the rag on the ground. He pulled the oily shirt off, leaving streaks of blue in his dark blonde hair. Jaina tried to keep her eyes averted as he wiped the rest of the oil from his chest with his shirt, but found it more difficult than she imagined. She had already seen his arms, but his chest was nicely built as well. And his shoulders were--
"Oh stop!" she caught herself. This guy was a mech and a pilot; i.e. a scoundrel and a roughneck. Dad would hate him. But Mom would like him, perhaps for those reasons alone.
Why am I even thinking about this? she mentally scolded herself. There was no way she wanted anything romantic to between her and this-- stranger. Besides, they were both stubborn as banthas. They'd probably argue constantly and drive each other crazy.
The old Jedi Code raced though her head. "There is no passion, there is-- just a very slight physical attraction. Hardly an attraction! More like-- an appreciation..."
"Well, you wanted a tour." Brock said, interrupting her thoughts and starting toward the entrance ramp. "Come on—but you have to hold this." He threw the soiled shirt in her direction and she caught it with disgust. Brock grinned at her expression. Glaring back up at him, Jaina pushed the ancient mantra from her head and chased the bare-chested mechanic into his spacecraft.
DAY SIX(wednesday)
112723-406
Wow. I don't think I'll ever complain about anything ever again. I can't believe some of the things I heard from Brock tonight. And I feel really awful about keeping so many things from him. But I'll tell him soon, I swear I will. I have to! I'm not sure I can go another day looking into his eyes and not telling him the truth. Those fascinating, sparkly, green eyes...
"Wake up, Sparks." Jaina heard Brock whisper softly. Her eyelids fluttered open and Brock glanced at her with a smile. She had fallen asleep on top of his toolbox. It was only 2200, but Jaina could barely keep her eyes open. After a moment, she sat up and looked at Brock. She shivered and folded her arms across her chest. "It got cold."
"Just a little."
Jaina pulled her knees up to her chest and sat curled up in a ball.
"How long was I out?" she yawned.
"About half an hour."
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"You needed the rest." he smiled again.
She yawned again. "I need to stay up. I've still got stuff to do."
Brock picked up his screwdriver and kneeled down to put his tools away. "What you need is a break. You've been running like crazy since the day I met you and you've spent all your free time in this garage." He snapped the toolbox shut and looked into her sleepy eyes. "But, if you're gonna stay up, then I'll stay up with you." He stood and picked up the toolbox. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
He ran and put the toolbox in his ship and changed out of his greasy white shirt into a long sleeved navy one. He started to run back out, but stopped and went back to his closet. He grabbed a hooded sweater and returned to Jaina, sneaking up behind her to grab her hand.
"Let's go!"
"Go where?" Jaina asked surprised.
"Out."
"Not in this! I'll freeze!" she said indicating her sleeveless top and ripped jeans. Brock produced the shirt from behind his back. "Do you really think I'm that big of a jerk, that I'd let you freeze?" he smiled. Jaina playfully raised an eyebrow at him and took the sweater.
Brock then realized he was still holding her hand and quickly released it. Jaina didn't notice the abruptness because she had released his hand at the same time to put on the shirt. Brock watched, grinning to himself, as the oversized shirt swamped her petite form. That sweater had never looked better.
"Ready?" he asked as normally as possibly.
"Yeah," Jaina answered noticing the wonderful smell of cologne infused into the fabric. "Let's go."
Six floors up was home to Astraglo, Jaina's favorite caffeine dispenser. During the day, the place was buzzing with business people, but at night, the pace mellowed and the ambiance was downright peaceful. Jaina had spent numerous hours after dark in the warmly lit, conversation-inducing atmosphere of the café. Brock held the door for her as they entered and stood just close enough to her at the counter to make her wish she were at liberty to lean against his shoulder. She quickly cleared her head, ordered drinks for both of them. Then, to her dismay, Brock paid for them.
"You weren't sposed to do that." Jaina said as they sat down in a booth by a window.
"What? Be a gentleman?" he teased. "You make it sound like I spent all this money. It's just a cup of coffee." Jaina shrugged.
Brock took a sip of coffee and looked up at her. "You embarrassed to be seen with me?"
"No! Of course not. I just--"
"Don't want people to think we're on a date." he interrupted, still teasing. "I understand. No problem. It'll never happen again. I apologize for not listening."
"Not listening to what?"
"To you, when you said you just wanted to be friends."
"I never said that!"
"Oh, you didn't?" Brock grinned. "Sweet."
Jaina paused, hoping to glare at him hard enough to make the blush unnoticeable. "Of course I just want to be friends." she recovered. "I barely know you!"
"Oh, well if that's all." He grinned. "I've got all night—what do you wanna know?"
Jaina forcibly steadied her heartbeat— his confidence was becoming even more attractive than his smile. Well, almost.
"Where are you from—and what are you doing on Coruscant?"
Brock thought for a moment. "Flying. And fixing stuff. I've been here almost a year now. I'm originally from Mantessa—Outer Rim. I've spent the past seven years flying and doing mech work in the Dagonian, Sebanese and Teklin systems. I was Captain of Royal Squadron Two on Dagon, but it was getting old. I heard the Planet of All Planets was actually in need of my assistance—so I took a chance and transferred out here. The money's better, the opportunities are better—and the company is infinitely better."
Jaina narrowed her eyes at him. "If you've been here almost a year, how have I never met you?"
"You've never bothered to come out and play with Echo Squad, I guess. How long have you been here on Coruscant?"
Jaina's anonymity was still a source of delight to her. She felt a little bad keeping the truth from him, but she was not about to ruin the evening by divulging her last name.
"Awhile," she finally answered. "I was raised on Anoth but I've spent a decent part of my life flying between here and—everywhere else."
He nodded. "Ah, the nomadic life."
"Speaking of, how'd you wind up so far away from home?"
Brock shrugged. "Home is a strong word. A better question would be 'why don't you live on Mantessa anymore?'" Jaina's face was puzzled, so he continued.
"Me and my brother Gavin left Mantessa when I was twelve. I'm the youngest of four boys. Cole is-- thirty one, I think, Dylan's twenty-nine and Gavin's twenty-five. I'm twenty-three." He paused, realizing that relaying this story meant re-opening a raw place in his heart. He cleared his throat. "You really don't wanna hear this story."
Jaina's brow furrowed. "Yes, I do. Tell me."
"It's not a good story."
"Life is not always a good story," she answered. "You don't have to tell me. But I wish you would."
Brock looked at her for a long moment and wondered why he felt so comfortable spilling his past to a woman who he still only knew by a nickname. Something about her was so authentic, so genuine—that for whatever reason he felt safe. He took a deep breath.
"I lived with my mom and dad and my brothers in a settlement called Soromar. The summer I turned twelve—life just sorta fell apart. Cole, my oldest brother was away at flight school, and Dylan, the next oldest was on his way out. Dyl and I were never really close, until that summer; he taught me to fly. I mean, taught me everything he knew. He was—an incredible pilot. He's the reason I went to the Academy." Brock paused a moment and his internal guilt and grief suddenly flared so strong that Jaina wanted to recoil. He'd had lots of practice hiding those emotions.
"Stang, I haven't talked about this in a long time." he mumbled.
"What happened to Dylan," Jaina asked quietly. Brock caught her gaze and found such intense concern that he continued the story.
"Dad drank—a lot. He and Mom screamed at each other a lot. He was always mad. He hit us and stuff. He beat Dylan up pretty bad a couple times because Dyl tried to protect Mom. One night—it just got to be too much."
Brock was suddenly silent, clearly anguished by his vivid memories. Jaina was in agony, needing to know what happened, but not wanting to push him. She gave him a moment to steady his breathing, then reached across their table, took the last two fingers on his left hand and brushed over them with her thumb. "What happened?" she whispered.
Brock shut his eyes briefly. When he opened them, his gaze became focused on the point of contact she had made with him. Such a small gesture—yet his soul settled almost instantly.
"My brother shot my dad," he mumbled. "And killed him."
Jaina's heart skipped a beat.
"I'd never seen my brother cry before. He apologized to us over and over. He said he loved us and told Gavin to look out for me. And he said for us to get off Mantessa as soon as we could. Mom was unconscious. The medics came and took her and Dad to the hospital. Then the rangers took Dylan... I haven't seen him since. He gave me this." He showed Jaina a silver medallion on a chain with the rough outline of the Republic's seal carved out of the middle.
Jaina fingered the light medallion. "It's beautiful. But what's this?" she asked indicating a triangular piece of metal that hung from the chain. It was about a centimeter thick and in tiny letters across the middle it read, BAM. He smiled briefly. "Memories of better days. After that night, Gavin and I got split up and sent to foster homes. They reunited us once, to visit Mom in the hospital. She told us to leave Mantessa. She gave us permission to take the ship, so we did. That was the last time we saw her. Gavin and I had to go our separate ways to lessen the chances of us being caught. We found out later that she died too. I think that because of her death, Dylan's sentence was lessened—since he was protecting her and us, you know?"
Jaina nodded.
"Anyway, Dylan disappeared. I'm not sure when he got out or where he is. Gavin—we stayed together a few years, living like little vagabond kids. But when he turned seventeen, he decided he needed to get out and try to do something with his life. I was still determined to get into flight school, so I told him to keep the ship and drop me on Chandrila. I learned everything I could, bumming around those shipyards. Finally got a job, which helped me get my hands on an early Academy application. I got in at fifteen. The rest is history." He sighed deeply. "As for the necklace—it's the bottom right half of a heart with my initials, Brock Arren Mitchell. I've had it since I was about five. Dad worked metal and made connecting pieces in the shape of a heart for us four boys. Mom's necklace was a frame that held them all together. Gavin and I promised her we'd all find each other again eventually. And I imagine we will-- put Mom's heart back together. Someday."
The conversation went on for another hour. Jaina's was amazed by Brock's life story. He'd been through a lot of awful things, yet he wasn't bitter. She thought very highly of him, but she didn't say so. Actually, she didn't say much of anything. After his story, she started to feel really guilty about her secret. But she knew that the moment he figured out she was Jaina Solo, things would never be the same. Even though she wasn't interested in a relationship with him, her father had the ability to scare off almost anyone, and she didn't want to change the way things were going.
"I WILL tell him," she promised herself. "Just not tonight."
Their table grew silent after a while and Jaina glanced at her watch. "Oh shoot. It's almost 0245. We should go…"
"Easy, Cinderella." Brock said finishing his now cold cappuchino. He smiled at her as he stood up. "I'll get you home." Jaina eyed him. "Just like dad."
"What is it with you and your nicknames?"
As they left the coffee shop, Jaina suddenly realized that she couldn't go home. It would divulge everything she'd been hiding. She hated deceiving him after he'd been so honest, but she had no choice. She decided to head for her best friend Tenel Ka's house. The walk took five minutes and Brock walked her all the way to Tenel's door.
"Well," Jaina said concealing her nervousness with a smile, "It's been fun."
"Yeah." Brock agreed, grinning back. "It was. And you were right about Astraglo. We'll have to-- go back there sometime."
Jaina smiled coyly. "Sure-- yeah."
He smiled at her and Jaina felt her face warming. She turned and rang the bell before he could see. She sensed Tenel's surprise as she got up to answer the door. Jaina sent her a quick mental message explaining her situation and breathed a sigh of relief when Tenel answered the door with a smile.
"Forget your keys again?"
Jaina grinned. "Goodnight, Brock." she said turning around. "'Night, Sparks." he said with a wink. Then he turned and walked down the hall. Jaina shut the door and gave Tenel a huge hug.
"You're my hero."
Tenel smiled. "And you've got some explaining to do."
END PART ONE