Two days later
Seth paced the floor in his room, fully dressed. He had been pacing for well over an hour, trying to put off what he knew he would need to do eventually. He had talked himself out of it the previous day by convincing himself that Master Skywalker would be tired after the trip back from Coruscant and wouldn't want to see anyone. Today there was no excuse. He had to talk to him, because it would undoubtedly drive him mad eventually.
There's something about her. I have to find out what it is.
He gathered himself and rushed out of the room before he could convince himself not to. He smiled and nodded at the students he passed as he walked through the hallways at a brisk pace. He walked up to the door to Master Skywalker's quarters and the door opened before he could knock or announce himself.
"Come in," Master Skywalker called from inside.
Seth walked in and found the Jedi Master sitting on a raised cushion identical to the one Seth usually occupied when he visited his quarters, and he had clearly been meditating. Seth took his usual cushion nearby. The room was dimly lit, as it always was.
"I was starting to wonder when you'd come," Master Skywalker said casually.
"You knew?" Seth asked as he adjusted his position on the cushion, but he could hardly be surprised after knowing the Jedi Master for so long.
"You don't hide your emotions well," he smiled. "I'm sure even the students could feel it without even trying."
"Well, you got me," Seth shrugged his shoulders. "There's something we have to talk about. I've tried working it out myself, but," he paused, "I can't."
"What's bothering you?" the ever-perceptive Jedi Master already knew, of course.
"It's Jaina. I don't know what it is. When we saw each other at the banquet, something happened. It was almost like some sort of attachment formed, or made itself known for the first time, even though we'd never even seen each other before. I've been attracted to women before, but this is different. She is different."
"I can understand that," Luke replied. "Something similar happened to me when I first met Mara. She used to work for a smuggler who was a friend of Han's named Talon Karrde. We just happened to be at the same place at the same time on Coruscant. Han introduced us the next day and we were married less than a year later..." his voice trailed off.
"Would Jaina have felt it too?" Seth tried to impose a slight change of subject.
"Maybe. She knows about the Force, but she's never actually been trained. She may have felt it without realizing it, or maybe she felt it and didn't know what it was."
"I've read a bit about Force bonds between people, but can it happen between a Jedi and a non-Jedi?"
"Jedi aren't the only people who know about the Force, and it's certainly not required," Luke replied matter-of-factly. "Mara didn't know anything about her potential in the Force when we first met. It took a long time for her to even come to terms with her abilities, not to mention start her formal training."
"Do you think that's what this is?"
Luke shrugged his shoulders. "It's a pretty good guess."
"Would it even work?" Seth pushed a hand through his hair. "We lead such different lives. I'm a Jedi and she's… not."
"Then you're in luck," Luke smiled. "She's actually coming to the Academy. You wanna be the one who goes to Coruscant to pick her up?"
Seth's heart skipped a beat. "What? Really?"
"Really," the smile didn't fade from his face. "I managed to convince Han at the banquet to let her come. He wanted to bring her himself, but I told him I'd send someone to come to get her. It should be easier for everyone that way. It also gives him less time to change his mind," he added.
"This seems a little too convenient."
Luke shrugged his shoulders, the same smile on his face. "Do you want to go or not? I can go myself or send Ben in your place."
"I'll do it," Seth replied after a short pause, not sure if he should be excited or nervous.
"Good," Luke nodded. "If you leave now you should be able to make it there and back today. Take the Shadow."
"What?"
"Go," Luke waved him away, "before Han changes his mind."
Seth jumped up and walked over to the door. It opened before he had reached it, as it often did. The more he thought about it, the more nervousness began to overtake excitement.
"Don't be so nervous," Luke called after him as he walked out into the hallway.
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Absolutely," the smile returned to Luke's face. "If it makes you feel any better, she asked me to introduce you. I was going to anyway if she didn't, of course. Did you really think I made you come to the banquet because I thought you'd enjoy it?"
"Jade Shadow requesting landing clearance," Seth said into the comm as he approached Coruscant.
"The usual place?" a voice came over the comm in response.
"The usual place," Seth nodded, even though no one could actually see him.
"Cleared for landing, Jade Shadow. Control out," the officer cut the comm.
Seth guided the Shadow into Coruscant's atmosphere and felt a small shudder. Seth knew this was completely normal, but it put him on edge nonetheless. He had flown more than his fair share of ships before he met Master Skywalker, but those had always been with experienced pilots who could see his mistakes before he knew he'd even made one. Now he was on his own in a ship owned by the late Mara Jade Skywalker, wife to legendary Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and mother to their only child.
He guided the Shadow down toward a landing pad attached to the building that held the apartment the Solo family called home. He lowered the landing gear and brought it safely down onto the landing pad. He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up and walked back into the depths of the ship. He lowered the entry ramp and walked down it onto the landing pad into the brisk Coruscant air. Before departing Yavin IV he had changed into a set of black robes, and he wore those underneath a black cloak with the hood pulled down, so he was certainly grateful for a cool breeze. He had left his lightsaber in the cockpit.
He looked up the path that connected the landing pad to the tall apartment building and saw Jaina walking toward him carrying a cloak and a small back, flanked by her parents. He had expected her to be ready, but not waiting for him like this. He had assumed that he would be staying for a fairly long time due to Jaina's reluctance to leave her parents and her childhood home behind, but she seemed almost eager, much like he himself had been when he was first presented with the opportunity to train under Master Skywalker five years earlier.
Good thing the ship's still hot so it won't take too long to start her back up.
The trio stopped a good distance away from him. Jaina briefly hugged both of her parents and walked toward Seth and the Shadow. As she got closer to him, he began to get a stronger sense of her emotions.
Sadness, reluctance, fear of the unknown.
She wasn't eager, she wanted to leave before she could change her mind.
He held up a hand to stop her as she walked up to him, drawing a questioning look from her as she came to a stop a meter in front of him. Without saying a word, he reached out and took the bag and cloak from her. He draped the cloak over the arm holding the small bag and raised his empty hand to wave to Han and Leia.
"Take your time," he nodded toward her parents. "I'm not in a hurry and who knows when you'll see them again." He turned and walked up the ramp into the ship to allow the Solos to say their goodbyes in private, or as private as it could be on a landing pad in the heart of Coruscant.
After several minutes, Seth was joined by Jaina in the cockpit just as he was finishing the pre-flight checks.
"Ready?" he glanced over at her as he powered up the ship.
"As I'll ever be," she settled into the copilot seat beside him.
"Leaving is the hardest part, but you've got family on Yavin IV. It's scary at first, but you won't regret it," he slowly raised the ship into the air and began to head toward the atmosphere and outer space beyond.
"How long have you been training with my uncle?" she asked after about thirty seconds of silence.
"About five years now."
"So I guess at this point you don't even miss your family all that much."
"I didn't really have a family growing up, actually," Seth replied as he guided the Shadow out of the atmosphere and began the calculations for the jump to hyperspace. "I was raised by Maz Kanata on Takodana amid smugglers and felons from all corners of the galaxy. When I was a teenager Maz heard that Master Skywalker was starting a new Jedi Academy, so she sent me off to learn the ways of the Force."
"So you never knew your birth parents?"
"No, but Maz told me a bit about my mother over the years," the ship shuddered as it entered hyperspace. "She was a Nightsister from the planet Dathomir. On Dathomir, men are only used for manual labor and reproduction, and they hated Jedi. When my mother realized I was Force sensitive a year or two after I was born, she sent me to live with Maz because she knew I'd be killed if she kept me there and that I would be safe with Maz since she's Force sensitive herself. I've never heard anything about my father, but I've never had a huge desire to."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jaina replied thoughtfully as she stared out at the blue tunnel of hyperspace.
No smart remarks or witty responses? She must really be down about leaving.
"How're you feeling about joining the Academy?" Seth offered a welcome change of subject.
"Pretty excited," she smiled, seemingly grateful for the change. "My dad's kept me close for my entire life. I'm twenty years old, and I need to get out on my own and make my own way in the galaxy. He knows that, but it's still hard on him to watch me go. I don't think he really likes the thought of me training to be a Jedi, but I think part of him is happy to see me get out on my own and find my own identity since I've always been just the daughter of two heroes of the Rebellion. I've never been Jaina Solo."
"Understandable," Seth smiled and leaned back in his seat.
"Will you be the one who trains me?" Jaina gave him a sidelong glance and smiled.
"I could be," he shrugged his shoulders, "but that's up to Master Skywalker. He generally prefers the students to explore the Force on their own and to discover their unique talents at their own pace. Of course, I could always train you myself until you're ready to branch off on your own," he glanced over and returned her smile.
"How long until we get to Yavin IV?"
Seth looked at a few readings on a screen to the left of the control yoke. "About twelve hours."
"Really?"
"If we would've taken the more frequently used hyperspace lanes then it'll take five at most, but I took the liberty of plotting a longer course."
"So I guess you had something in mind?" Jaina swiveled to face him and crossed her right knee over her left, her right foot dangling next to her left ankle.
"After what happened on Coruscant I thought I'd return the favor, except this time we have more than half an hour."
"How thoughtful," she smiled and stood up and grabbed his left hand, which was resting on the armrest of the seat, and pulled him to his feet. "There are plenty of guest quarters here. Let's go find one."
They found one. Quickly.
Jaina pulled her tongue out of Seth's mouth just long enough to push him onto the bed and quickly began pulling her shirt off. Seth quickly followed suit, standing up next to her to take his robes off. As soon as he had thrown his tunic on the floor next to the bed, he grabbed Jaina's bare shoulders and pushed her onto the bed.
"At least I don't have to make the first move every time," Jaina laughed as Seth climbed on top of her and quickly kissed her on the jaw.
"Rest assured, you'll never have to again," he laughed and kissed her once more as they melted into each other.
Seth opened his eyes several hours later and found himself staring at the ceiling of the guest quarters they had commandeered on the Jade Shadow. He had no idea when he and Jaina had fallen asleep, but they had certainly had no trouble doing so. He sat up slightly and looked at the clock on the wall, which displayed the time for Yavin IV.
Half an hour until real space.
He slowly turned to Jaina and found himself staring at her bare upper back and shoulders. Her brunette hair was gathered messily underneath her head. The rest of her bare body was covered by the comforter that covered both of them.
Even from the back she looks amazing.
He reached out and lightly placed a hand on her bare shoulder.
"Thirty minutes to real space," he said softly.
She stirred lightly, rolled over, and slowly sat up. She crossed her legs underneath her and let the blanket fall to her lap.
"Already?" she pushed a hand through her tousled hair and stretched, raising her arms high above her head and clasping her hands behind her back.
Wow.
"Hey," Jaina laughed and reached out and shoved him when he didn't respond.
"Yeah, already," Seth replied as he reached out and shoved her in return before adjusting his position to lean against the bed's headboard.
"It was fun while it lasted," she said as she adjusted herself to face him. "Really fun, actually. Fantastic."
"It really was," Seth smiled and reached out and put his right hand on her left knee. "One more before we get to the Academy?"
"No," she smiled and put her hand over his. "If we leave wanting more then that'll make next time even better."
"I don't think I follow your reasoning."
"You don't have to, you just have to deal with it," she smiled teasingly.
"Fair enough," he returned her smile.
Ask her now. There's no point in waiting.
"I have a question for you," he said after a brief silence. "About when we met on Coruscant at the banquet."
Jaina looked at him and nodded for him to continue.
"When we met, did you," he paused for a couple of seconds, trying to find the words to describe the feeling and quickly abandoning the effort, "feel something? I can't really describe it."
She considered this for a few seconds. "I did," she said slowly, almost as if she were searching for a word to describe it as well. "I was hoping to talk to my uncle about it when we got to the Academy, but you seem to have already done that."
"I talked to him about it a bit after the banquet and earlier this morning. He said it sounded like what happened between Mara and him when they first met," his voice trailed off.
He looked over and saw her chewing on her lip and staring at the wall, obviously deep in thought. He sensed no surprise in her, though. He quickly gathered that she most likely knew more than she was letting on about the situation and how she felt, but he didn't pursue it.
"I guess it makes sense," she finally said, shrugging her shoulders. "We're both young and single, and there's no way he invited you to a banquet in honor of someone you've never met because he thought you'd enjoy it."
"Well, when you put it like that it makes perfect sense."
"But in all seriousness," she continued, "I did feel something that night. It's like I knew there was something different about you, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. I guess it's nice to know that you feel the same way."
"So are we a couple now?" Seth cringed internally with his entire being and regretted his phrasing as soon as the words had left his mouth.
"You really know how to flatter a girl," she smiled, "but I'll forgive you this time," she kicked the comforter off of her lap and crawled over to him and kissed him on the lips. "I'd say we are."
"Yeah, I probably could've worded it better," he smiled and reached out and put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her over to kiss her on the lips in return, but with much more force than she had initially.
She pulled away after several seconds that felt like an eternity and sat up straight, gathered her hair in one of her hands, and let it fall over her left shoulder, ""You could have, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm a straightforward woman. It's refreshing to get that in return."
"You definitely are that."
"Now, get up and get dressed," she slid off of the bed and began to gather her clothes from the floor. "I'd like this room to look at least somewhat like it did when we got here."
"I doubt Master Skywalker would be too surprised."
"You don't think he'll be mad that you broke your vow of celibacy?" she smiled as she began to slip on her underwear.
"I think he'd be happy, honestly," Seth said, his voice slightly muffled as he pulled his tunic over his head. "You saw how happy he was with Mara. I'm sure if he didn't want any of this to happen then he would've either not sent me at all or at least sent someone with me."
"How do you think Ben will take it?" Jaina sat down on the side of the bed opposite him and began to slip on her boots.
"Just another reason to hate me," Seth replied casually as he did the same. "We already almost came to blows the night of the banquet over it, so I doubt he'll be too happy when he finds out we've been alone on a fairly large ship for almost thirteen hours."
"He's always been overprotective," she said, a slight tone of bitterness in her voice. "He's my brother and I love him, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little glad when he left to train with Uncle Luke."
"I think I'd feel the same way," Seth smiled as they both stood up and began making up their respective sides of the bed.
Once they had finished, Jaina walked over to the door and pressed the button to open it. She turned around and looked back at the room. "It'll do. It's not like the guest quarters ever get used anyways."
Seth followed her out of the room and into the hallway in the direction of the cockpit.
"I guess it's the middle of the night on Yavin IV by now?" Jaina asked as she settled into the copilot seat and crossed her right leg over her left knee as she had done earlier.
"Something like that," he sat in the pilot seat next to her.
"When were they expecting us back?"
"I think Master Skywalker is the only one who knows I went in the first place."
The ship shuddered as it exited hyperspace over the fourth moon of the gas giant Yavin. Seth took control and guided the ship toward the moon.
"Is it normal to be a bit nervous about all of this?"
"Of course," Seth nodded. "Training to be a Jedi isn't a task to be taken on lightly. Give it some time. Like I said earlier, you won't regret it," he guided the ship into the atmosphere and felt another expected shudder that still put him ever-so-slightly on edge.
He guided the ship down toward the Jedi Praxeum and the landing pad in silence. He glanced over at Jaina as he brought the Shadow down over the treetops and saw that her eyes were transfixed out of the viewport and on the treetops illuminated by the dim light cast by the system's star reflected off of the gas giant Yavin. Having spent the vast majority of her life on Coruscant, the sight of the moon covered with trees and lit by a sky full of natural stars must have been as foreign to her as Coruscant was to him.
He brought the ship gently down onto the landing pad and started the shutdown procedures that the ship would finish automatically. Seth stood up, grabbed his lightsaber that had been sitting on the console next to his seat, clipped it to his belt, and swung his black cloak over his shoulders.
"Ready?" he walked over to the exit of the cockpit.
"Yep," she smiled and grabbed her bag and cloak and followed him out of the cockpit and into the depths of the ship to the exit ramp.
He pressed the button to lower the ramp and gesture toward it.
"After you," he smiled.
She returned his smile and walked down the ramp. Seth followed her out onto the landing pad and saw a figure standing a fair distance away, a silver lightsaber on his belt reflecting the dim light cast from the stars overhead.
Great, Seth rolled his eyes and pressed the button to close the ramp.
"What now, Ben?" he called as he turned away from the ship to face the young man.
"I just got off the comm with Coruscant customs. They said the Jade Shadow left Coruscant space thirteen hours ago. The most direct route from Coruscant to the Yavin system takes no more than five or six."
"Your point?"
"I told you to stay away from my sister," Ben pointed at him.
"Ben, I'm twenty years old," Jaina snapped and took a couple of steps forward to face her older brother before Seth could respond to him. "I don't need your protection, or whatever you call this sad attempt to intimidate the man I'm interested in."
The yelling had obviously attracted the attention of the students, as they began to pour out of the temple to stand at the edge of the landing pad. They gathered in as close as they dared, desperate to hear everything that was being said.
"You don't want this slime, Jaina," Ben spat in return. "You should've seen him when we found him on Takodana. The epitome of scum. How would it look if the daughter of two heroes of the Rebellion and the niece of Luke Skywalker chose to spend her life with a person like him?"
A sudden spark of anger flared up inside of Seth in response to the accusation, but he quickly stifled it as much as he could manage.
"You think I care about that?" she shot back harshly.
"He's no good for you, Jaina," Ben said with a calm tone that was very obviously forced. "I'm warning you."
"Judging from the past twelve hours, you're definitely wrong about that," Jaina said mockingly with a snide smile.
Seth felt a white-hot anger flare up in Ben and Jaina was suddenly shoved out of the way. Ben glared at Seth, fire in his eyes.
"I warned you on Coruscant," he said coldly as he pulled his lightsaber off of his belt.
He could feel the unease in the students, who weren't sure if they should leave or stay to watch. Seth just stared at Ben, not moving despite the anger threatening to break free inside of him.
Don't feed into it. You're better than that. He's just trying to hurt you.
"I won't fight you, Ben," Seth said simply.
"Coward."
"You could say that."
With no warning, Ben suddenly ignited his lightsaber and lunged at Seth, who narrowly dodged under the bright blue blade. He came up on his feet behind Ben and held out his hand, calling his own lightsaber off of his belt obediently into it. He stared at Ben and ignited it, the bright orange glow illuminating the landing pad in contrast to the blue glow coming from Ben's. The students stumbled back from the landing pad even farther after this unexpected development.
"Do what you feel like you need to do to prove yourself, Ben," Seth raised his lightsaber in a fighting stance.
Ben indulged him and immediately lunged at him with an overhead strike, which Seth easily blocked. He broke off from the clash and brought his lightsaber in from Ben's left side, which he narrowly blocked before jumping back a couple of meters. He advanced again, unleashing a flurry of blows that Seth blocked with relative ease, though he could see himself being overcome eventually by Ben's brute force attacks.
Seth blocked the final blow and lunged with his own lightsaber, coming so close to hitting Ben's shoulder that it lightly singed his cloak. He batted the lightsaber aside with such force that it nearly knocked the lightsaber from Seth's hands and kicked him in the stomach. Seth hit the ground and rolled onto his stomach, his lightsaber flying out of his hands and skidding across the landing pad. He struggled to catch his breath as Ben advanced on him, his lightsaber still ignited at his side.
As Ben closed the distance and stood over him, Seth lashed out with his foot and kicked Ben in the side of his left knee as hard as he could manage, taking him to the ground. Seth then hauled himself to his feet as quickly as he could manage and called his lightsaber to his hand just as Ben was struggling to his feet. He ignited his own lightsaber and raised it to strike at Ben's once more, this blow knocking him to the ground.
As he brought his lightsaber up to strike again, he found himself unable to move. He looked around in the direction of the temple and saw Luke Skywalker standing at the main doorway. He held both of his strongest students completely still with such strength that Seth couldn't even move his finger to deactivate his lightsaber, but the Jedi Master appeared to be exerting no effort whatsoever. He simply stood still, staring at the pair.
Master Skywalker released them and walked in their direction. Seth deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt as he watched Master Skywalker walk over to Ben and hold out a hand, which Ben took and pulled himself to his feet.
"As hot-headed as your father," he said calmly.
"He-"
Master Skywalker held up a hand, not saying a word.
"Show your sister to her quarters. We'll discuss this later," he said. His voice was calm, but it carried an air of authority that no one could deny.
Jaina walked over to the group carrying her bag and cloak, threw Seth a wink for Ben's benefit, hugged her uncle, and followed Ben into the temple.
"There's nothing more to see here," he said loud enough for the students to hear. It was a simple statement, but it carried an unspoken command. The students obediently dispersed.
When they were alone, Master Skywalker turned to him.
"Now," he said somewhat wearily, "what happened?"
"Just a continuation of our argument on Coruscant, which I'm sure you know about. He doesn't like that I'm romantically involved with his sister, so he attacked me when I didn't back down from his threats to leave her alone."
"Hot-headed like his father," he repeated with a sigh.
"Do you think he'll accept this eventually?"
"In time I'm sure he will, but it's hard to say for sure. Ben's been moody and unpredictable ever since he was born. Maybe he'll come around eventually once he sees how happy you make her. Assuming you do, that is," he added with a smile.
"Of course," Seth returned his smile.
"One thing I do have to say," Master Skywalker's expression turned serious. "Mind your feelings. You reacted in self defense today, but be careful in the future. There's nothing wrong with being in love. In fact, it's the greatest thing in the galaxy and is a big part of what makes life worth living, but it can lead you to do dangerous things."
"Noted."
"And don't read too much into your relationship with Ben. You could cleanse the galaxy of the Dark Side for all of eternity and he'd still hate you. I'm sure he'll come to terms with everything in time."
"No arguments with that one."
"That being said…"
Oh, no.
"You need to talk to him and put this situation behind you. If you don't then you'll only grow more resentful over time and your next big confrontation may not end as well as this one did."
"If you say so," Seth replied, dreading the thought of having a conversation with Ben about this particular subject.
"I do," Master Skywalker nodded. "Now go cool down and get some sleep. I've got a couple more fires to put out before I head to bed myself."
"How do you think that'll go?"
Master Skywalker shrugged his shoulders, seeming to age by decades in that moment.
"Like I said, he's as hot-headed and stubborn as his father."
"Good luck with that," Seth smiled.
"Thanks," Master Skywalker forced a half-smile in return. "I'll need it." He turned and walked back into the temple.
Seth stood still for about thirty more seconds, looking up at the stars filling the sky, trying to clear his mind of everything that had happened, but finding little success. He gave up on his endeavor and walked back into the temple.
Seth stood in his bedroom a short while later after showering and changing out of his robes, pacing the floor as he frequently did.
You goaded him. Don't lie to yourself. You wanted him to attack you.
No, I didn't. I acted in self defense with no ulterior motive.
Seth did his best to assure himself of this, but he had little success. He knew that some part of him had enjoyed the fight with Ben and the chance to vent his anger and frustration, and he feared that his relationship with Jaina would only make things worse.
Don't fear it. It will make things worse. A lot worse, and Master Skywalker may not be there to stop it next time.
