Fate, So Beautifully
A Star Wars Romance
Written by: Nehru_Amidala
Inspirations: the myth of Hades and Persephone, Sailor Moon, Edward Scissorhands, The Nutcracker, The Thrawn Trilogy, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Downton Abbey
Pairings: Thrawn/Jaina (Main!), Luke/Mara, Han/Leia, Jacen/Tenel Ka, Anakin/Tahiri, Ar'alani/Paelleon, Thooraki/Thurfian, Eli/Vah'nya
Author's note: Please do not nitpick with the ideas presented here. I will not change my stories to make you happy.
Tropes used in this story and trigger warnings: time travel, true love conquers all, earning a happy ending, grey vs gray morality, miscarriage, premature birth, abandonment, redemption, rising to meet your fate, to see with eyes unclouded
Timeline: Mix of Legends and Canon
Voice cast list: Thrawn- Benedict Cumberbatch, Jaina- Anne Hathaway, Luke- Mark Hamill, Mara- Karen Gillam, Han- Harrison Ford, Leia- Carrie Fisher, Jacen- Elijah Wood, Tenel Ka- Renee Felice Smith, Ar'alani- Angie Harmon, Paelleon- Joe Spano, Thooraki- Hugh Bonneville, Thurfian- Elizabeth McGovern, Eli- David Tennant, Vah'nya- Stephanie Sheh
Author's note: I claim nothing, except this is probably the VERY FIRST fan fiction is Star Wars fandom history to pair Thrawn with Jaina Solo. Having read all the Legends books, I can say for certainty that everyone will be in character. Any naysayers will be fed to Moro no Kimi.
(A Maiden's Policy)
Stave 1: Otome No Policy
Thrawn slept very little that night, even for a Chiss. The egg chair was passable for a bed of last resort, and at first, he thought he had been dreaming, but the young woman sleeping in the bed was real and as lovely as anything. Pulling himself together, Thrawn vowed to take it slowly. After all, she may not even know who he was. Above all, Thrawn was the poster boy for being an officer and a gentleman. This, of course, led to many discussions about his sexuality, which for Chiss a private topic. Humans just did not understand.
Jaina was vaguely aware she was lying in a warm bed, and hells! How her head ached, the last thing she recalled was Fett clipping Uncle Luke's X-Wing and the rattling pylon short circuited (thanks to Dad's infamous short cuts) and jumping into hyperspace to early. She flinched when she heard lights cut on, and a cool, accented voice softly asking if she was quite all right. Who was calling her? She slowly opened her eyes…oh no! Oh no!
Yelping in fright, she jumped back and was pinned to the plain wooden headboard in sheer terror. "Stay away from me," she yelled. There was a wild, panicked looked to her lovely hazel eyes, and this confused Thrawn. He knew she would react badly waking up in strange room out of time and space (anyone who was sane would), however he could also read the fear and anger in her body. Her shoulders were hunched, the wideness of her eyes, the increased rate in her pulse. Her knuckles were white as chalk she was grabbing the sheets.
Thrawn knew he was going to have to talk her down, and that was not going to be a simple task. Sighing and composing himself, he spoke cautiously, "You are safe now, Jaina…" WHOOMPH! He not expecting a pillow thrown full force at his face. Now, that was quite uncalled for. "I am not going to hurt you," he told her firmly. Jaina was fuming, but the bump on her head was aching and she realized she was not going anywhere. Goody.
"I know who you are, my parents told me all about you," Jaina groused sourly. Thrawn's curiosity was piqued, why was she so afraid of him anyway? Thrawn nodded, "So you have heard of me in the future. Why are you so frightened? I'm surprised you are not frightened of Lord Vader."
Jaina could only balk at the audacity of Thrawn's word, was he serious? Now that she was seeing him in person for the first, she grudgingly admitted to herself he was seriously good looking. Locking her traitorous thoughts away, she retorted, "I am not frightened of Lord Vader, I am more frightened of you." Thrawn hid a ghost of a smile, she had spirit. He was however, wondering why she was so afraid of him, so he asked.
Jaina was incredulous at the question, did he really not know? "You kidnap me and my brother when we are infants to the dark Jedi, Joruus C'baoth, you send Noghri assassins after my mother, father and uncle, and you try to overthrow the government my mother was elected to run."
Now that he had the answers he was looking for, Thrawn was shocked at the revelation, but his stoic expression belied nothing to the young woman sitting no more than four feet in front of him. He was a fascist, that was true. Was he a loyal Imperial officer? Of course! However, the very idea of handing over helpless infants to a crazed Force wielder was beyond the pale. Considering how much he still ached over the disappearance of his sister, Al'iastov because she had Second Sight. Did she not know that? From the way she was reacting, she did not.
He sighed sadly, "Did your parents tell you this?" Jaina nodded, and Thrawn collected his thoughts. Of course, Rebel parents would tell their children such horror stories, especially in peace time. If he did do these things in the future, he must have had some reason, but dealing with an insane Jedi? After dealing with the Bendu, he shuddered. That was something he did not to relive. Being a Chiss, he could sense through her nonverbal body language she was being completely honest with him.
Thrawn nodded, "I give you my word as a pilot, that I am a man of honor and would not abduct infants or deal with insane Jedi. Are you familiar with the battle of Atollon?" He shared his memories with her, and Jaina saw firsthand Thrawn's confusion and fear. She also peaked into his early days as an Imperial officer, his brotherly friendship with Eli Vanto. Her fears of him not being a gentleman and officer were assuaged. However, she was still a little bit leary.
"You are an honorable person, but I myself am unsure of your trustworthiness. I wish to see for myself," she told him finally. Thrawn agreed with her, considering the quarter century and two years she had jumped backwards, an Imperial fleet was a dangerous place for a young woman who also happened to be strong in the Force.
A compromise was needed, they both knew this. "Jaina, would you care to be my aide? You would be close to me and do anything I ask. I apologize in advance if you find it demeaning, but you are strong with the Force, and nobody besides myself and Lord Vader know your identity. You would have to shield yourself," Thrawn informed her.
Jaina mulled her options, she had been hoping to be a pilot, but from what she had heard about the TIE Fighter Corp from Wedge, it was highly disciplined and regimented to the Nth degree. Her piloting talents were sure to lead to gossip, and it was best to stay close to Thrawn for right now. Stashing the lightsaber in her bag, Thrawn led her back to his quarters, there was a spare bedroom she could use. It was small and utilitarian, but it would work. Jaina noticed there were uniforms for female officers. Poking her head out the door, she caught Thrawn before he made his way into his office.
"Thank you!"
Thrawn nodded in response. He was pleased to see she was settling in well and was wondering how the rest of the day would go. Jaina stowed her lightsaber and took a quick shower and dressed herself in the outfit of a first lieutenant. It fit her well, and she considered using the Force to tie her hair up but caught herself. Instead, she used a hairbrush, and an army of bobby pins she brought with her (they were stashed in her trouser pockets). Thrawn had sent away for toiletries, and some make up, so Jaina felt more pulled together. She looked like any other female Imperial officer.
A few minutes later, she was walking alongside Thrawn towards the officer's mess hall. Thrawn was meeting with Admiral Konstantin about the results of yesterday's sloppy battle maneuvers. "We will of course, have to run them again, and when I ask your opinion, you are to give them, Jaina," Thrawn told her. Jaina nodded, and in they entered.
To her surprise, there were some other female officers were there, taking breakfast together. They glanced at Jaina and went back to eating. Thrawn's new aide was unusual, who was she? Sitting down together, they were passed trays of food and today's menu included: oatmeal, nuna sausage links, toast, caf, and citrus juice. Thrawn and Jaina were sitting and eating in a comfortable silence.
It was about here Konstantin entered at sat down. He was a few years older than Thrawn, a month and a bit past his 40th life day. His skin was pasty, and his black hair and moustache appeared to have faded during the course of the Galactic Civil War. He was sitting in a hover chair because of the injuries he had sustained during the Siege of Lothal a few years ago. He glanced over at Jaina. "Your new aide is a girl?"
Thrawn shut his eyes as swallowed his café, "My aide is a maiden, I believe the term otome no policy applies here. This is Jaina Antilles, of Corellia." Jaina nodded her head and greeted him with a crisp good morning, sir. She was well aware the philosophy of "the maiden's policy", an old way of conducting oneself as a twenty something from Mygeeto. It involved braving the pit and never giving up. Lovers invoked the blessings of St. Mamoru and St. Usagi under a full moon.
Konstantin turned to Jaina, "Well, Miss Antilles, I am guessing Thrawn has informed you of our battle maneuvers yesterday. I was running the simulations laid down by Admiral Ozzel." At the mention of Ozzel's name, Jaina tried not to choke. Ozzel was as sloppy as they came. Konstantin continued to say he was pleased by Lord Vader's visit and was disappointed that the Sith Lord had to leave.
"I spoke to Lord Vader this morning; he was less than impressed with how the practice run went. He felt as I did, you led a sloppy campaign and demands that we run the scenario again, only this time we use the battle plans obtained from Republic archives dating back the Battle of Geonosis, which kicked off the Clone Wars," Thrawn told him. Jaina pulled up the message on her datapad and showed it to Konstantin.
Konstantin's brown eyes widened with shame and a flush rose to his cheeks, "Well… well! Of course it was sloppy, the pilots weren't ready." Thrawn cut him off, "The pilots were not sloppy, they were following substandard procedures that are unworthy of being carried out by the Seventh Fleet. We shall practice again until things are up to snuff."
Konstantin balked, "Practice again? We need to be securing the trade lanes…" Jaina cut in, "You have direct orders from Lord Vader, who as I recall, is the Emperor's right hand, and would you risk the wrath of both Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader?" Konstantin growled and lunged forward to smack Jaina across the table, he was not about to be told of by some little aide of a higher-ranking officer. However, he was unable to get very far as his hover chair had gotten wedged under the table.
A ghost of a smiled crossed Thrawn's face, Jaina certainly had spirit. Interacting with the higher ups would keep on her toes, and he was beginning to enjoy her companionship. However, there were many more days ahead, and this was only the beginning, but he was confident Jaina would find her legs, so to speak.
As they walked down the corridor to the bridge to relay the orders, Jaina asked if she had been out of line speaking to him like that, but he was missing the larger picture. Thrawn told her she had been correct, but she also needed to be aware of the hierarchy that was observed on board. Jaina blushed slightly, Thrawn was pleasant company to keep. She agreed and kept close to him as they entered onto the main bridge.
Meanwhile and back in the future, the search for Jaina continued with frustrating results. Traces of her X-Wing had been found, but there was slight hyperspace anomaly that caused navi-computers to go haywire so getting any information was difficult. When Luke and Mara went up there, they realized they could no longer sense Jaina through the Force!
Utterly heartbroken, the Jade Sabre turned around and returned to the hangar. When the ramp descended, Luke and Mara were greeted by a crowd of fellow Rogue Squadron pilots, fellow Jedi, and Han and Leia. Jacen and Anakin were also there. Their eyes were red from crying and lack of sleep, but their body language cried out for some semblance of hope, that their little girl was safe!
Leia broke free from Han and into her twin brother's arms, "Where's Jaina? Did you find her?" Luke looked down, holding back tears, "I'm so sorry Leia… there was no sign of her. Jaina's gone."
Leia sank to the floor and shrieked in anger and sadness. Han knelt and hushed her, "It's all right, Leia. We will keep looking. Hey, look at me, Worshipfullness. We will never stop looking, we will find our little girl and bring her home. I don't know how, but we will." Overcome with grief, Jacen and Anakin joined their parents as did Luke and Mara. The other Jedi stood vigil and also mourned.
Dismissed, Rogue Squadron returned to Coruscant with the bitter news. Lando, Bel Iblis and all of the dear family friends were heartbroken, they would also help in anyway they could. Jaina Solo would be found, one way or another.