TITLE: Danyon's Destiny
AUTHOR: Kate Davis
EMAIL: Drama, with a hint of romance
RATING: G
ARCHIVE: Please email me for permission before archiving.
DISCLAIMER: All recognised characters are the property of George Lucas and company. This piece of fan fiction was created purely for entertainment purposes and no one made any money from it. No infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended.
SUMMARY: This is the first chapter of a story about Danyon Solo, grandson of Jacen Solo, great grandchild of Leia and Han Solo. Danyon has tried to train as a Jedi for many years, but does not have the Force gift. This causes many problems between Danyon and his family, and within himself. But when an enemy attacks the Jedi Academy he is forced to face his flaws to save his family and his honour...

Chapter 1

Danyon placed the small round object on the table in front of him. For the millionth time he relaxed, drew in breath and focused his entire being on it, searching desperately within himself for the power to make it move, even a little. He gripped the edge of the chair, his muscles tightened and after a few agonising moments he allowed himself to slump back and close his eyes, utterly defeated.

"Danyon?" His father's voice startled him, which angered him further because by all accounts he should have sensed him approaching much earlier.

He shifted uneasily in his chair and sat up.

"The transport's all set to go. Grandfather's waiting for you", said Rukar.

"I'm not going back", Danyon whispered.

"What? Why not?"

"I don't have it, father. It's just not in me. I'm tired of training to be something I'm not."

"Since when do the Solos give up?"

"Give up? I've tried every day for the past nineteen years! I'm not going back. It's embarrassing."

"Danyon, I thought we discussed this."

"No, father. You discussed it. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment!" He stood up and his hand quivered over the button that would hurl the doors closed in his father's face.

"Danyon you are not a…"

"Let Rhianne know I said goodbye!" And against his better judgement he slammed his fist into the button, muffling his father's voice.

Moments later he heard the sound of the transport's engines roar past the building, and for the first time in his life Danyon Solo was not inside it as it sped towards Yavin.

He didn't know how long he lay curled up on his bed before his mother gently rapped on the doors.

"Dan?"

He rolled over, pretending to be asleep, but he knew his mother would sense he was still awake. Alinna Treloar was one of the most highly respected female Jedi's in history even before she married into the galaxy's most respected family. Though she had never worried about her son pursuing a life as a Jedi, Danyon felt that he had let her down most of all. He had heard enough of the talk in the streets of Coruscant and at the Jedi Academy - let alone conversations between his parents - to know that his lack of ability was a heavily debated topic. How could a son of Alinna Treloar and Rukar Solo be so completely inept when it came to the Force? It surely wasn't through lack of study or trying - Danyon had completed two years preparatory training and fourteen years making trips between Coruscant and the Jedi Academy on Yavin. He had failed the entrance exam three times, but since it was his grandfather Jacen's Academy, they started him the year Rhianne, his younger sister, had been selected. Keller, his older brother by barely a year was already well into training. Danyon should have been released from training years ago, and everyone knew it. Though he was an A-grade pilot, a talented engineer and could effectively wield a lightsabre, he had never had any sort of experience with the Force. He didn't have premonitions, nor could he sense feelings or move objects with his mind. And he certainly couldn't communicate without the use of words.

Danyon hated his father for sending him there anyway. He had been completely out of his depth and tried to cover it up to please his father. He worked twice as hard as Keller and saw little results for his efforts. Rukar found it hard to accept that his son didn't fit in with the family and their adventurous lifestyle, and certainly didn't hold back his disappointment. But Danyon could never hate his mother. She had a calm, beautiful soul that shone through everything she did.

"Yes mother, come in if you want," he eventually managed.

He heard the swishes of her clothes and felt the dipping of the bed as she sat down on it and began stroking his hair like she did when he was little.

"I'm sorry, mother", Danyon whispered.

"Sorry? For what?"

"For being such a failure. For ruining your family. For being… me."

"Oh Dan you must never apologise for that! You are a wonderfully talented young man, and though your destiny differs from Keller and Rhianne's it doesn't mean it's wrong or any less important."

"It is to father. If I'm not a Jedi, I'm nobody to him. If Keller's in the room he doesn't even see me. I know he'd prefer it if I left and never returned. At least then I couldn't embarrass him."

"He loves you."

"Maybe he should show it."

Tactfully, Alinna chose to leave that comment alone and proceeded to tell him a story he'd heard a thousand times before. "You know Danyon, your great grandfather wasn't a Jedi either, and he was still a great man and played vital roles in the Rebel attacks on the Empire. Han Solo had…"

Danyon closed his eyes and tried to block out her voice. He knew how this story ended. It was different for Han. Nobody had expected him to have the capabilities of a Jedi. He hadn't failed in the tasks set before him. And he didn't have Rukar for a father.

When he woke later and the artificial light of Coruscant poured in through the window, he had nothing to do but ponder his failures. Ever since he could remember he hadn't successfully completed anything he'd attempted, and knew there was always someone more talented than himself in the room. When he was younger, around ten or eleven, it had been hard for him to understand why he was so different from everyone around him, especially because his brother and sister were so gifted.

Danyon closed his eyes and swallowed hard when he recalled the places they'd been as a family and people thought they were being polite by inquiring how their training was going. Keller was always the first to respond confidently about the most recent level he had achieved or how he had nearly beaten his Master. Rhianne was quick to chime in, saying that she was scoring better than girls twice her age on any test of ability. When it came to Danyon… his eyes would fall to the floor and he'd fold his arms and muffle something about enjoying flying.

Rhianne and Keller were always reluctantly watching out for him, rescuing him from some predicament he'd trapped himself in. He'd always suspected there was something different about Rhianne, then he overheard a conversation between his parents about her. Obi-Wan Kenobi had appeared to Alinna in a vision when Rhianne was two, prophesying a significant role in history for her, and informing her that it was Rhianne more than any other descendant who carried the spirit of her great great grandmother. This was particularly unusual, for no one in their family even knew the name of Leia's mother, but Danyon thought that if she were even half as beautiful, moral and courageous as Rhianne, she must have been very special.

He rolled over, but the action did not improve his comfort a great deal. Rhianne this, Rhianne that. His younger sister had overshadowed him his entire life, and Keller didn't like to associate himself with his bumbling little brother and had hardly spoke more than the odd word to him for years.

Danyon knew there must be more to his existence than being frequently embarrassed by a girl three years his junior and feeling rejected by his father and brother. But if there was something more, it definitely wasn't in this room or this building. And he was beginning to doubt whether it was even on Coruscant.