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, Eli/Vah'nya, established Kallus/Zeb
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, Aleksandr Kallus- Sean Bean, Lando Calrissian- Billy Dee Williams, Hera Syndulla- Vanessa Marshall, Dai Bendu- Tom Baker, Yiv the Benevolent/SkekUng- Alan Rickan
Author's notes: The next story arc contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the films Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, as well as The Dark Crystal.
(Prologue from Beauty and the Beast- Alan Menken)
Stave 20: All Roads lead back to Atollon, Part 1
Jaina's fingers ran over the holographic diagram, taking in the sleek design, the sharp lines. It was a lean, mean flying machine and she was going to pilot one of these bad boys. "Growing up, Dad and Hera always bickered about who had the better ship, and occasionally Uncle Luke would say he was the best pilot," Jaina told Thrawn as they ran over a racecourse. Thrawn nodded, he had seen footage of Solo and Skywalker engaging in dogfights against Vader's forces, and both men were great pilots, in their own ways. For sheer ingenuity and quick thinking, Solo (and Hera) were tops. However, when it came to elegance and overall reliability in battle, Skywalker was the top ace. The way he piloted was otherworldly, and Thrawn suspected this was because Luke augmented his piloting skills with the Force, or the Force aided his piloting skills. He wasn't sure, and Jaina admitted it was most likely both. Any accomplished pilot was the best at something, but not everything. Thrawn kissed her forehead gently, "Having been trained under your father and Uncle, you have mastered both styles into your own." Jaina could only blush as Thrawn drafted something. Jaina asked what he had written as they headed for Paelleon's office. Thrawn explained it was a seizure warrant, and he was seizing anything illegal on board the Ghost, and conditions for release. From what she had heard from Wedge and other defectors, usually this involved a stiff fine and a release into house arrest. "Captain Syndulla has a young son at home, so she would be better of there," he explained. Jaina said Lando and Kallus would limp back to wherever the Rebel base was.
The door whooshed open, and Paelleon nodded to them and signed the warrant, before joining them on the walk back to the detention area, on the other side of the ship. "So, what did you have in mind?" Thrawn said it was simple enough race around the scraps floating three clicks outside the Sluis Van shipyards. Jaina was completely stoked, and Thrawn had a ghost of a smile cross his face.
Hera, Lando and Kallus had been trying to plot some sort of escape, and hoped they weren't facing execution, as there was really nothing they could be held on. "If Hera gets house arrest, she's got a rebuilt mansion, her dad and baby boy to go home to, we've got nothing," Calrissian was complaining. Kallus snorted, "I am going traveling with Zeb for our wedding, so you're up a creek without a paddle, Lando." Hera raised her hand when she heard someone order troopers away, and who should walk in but Thrawn, Jaina, and some older officer.
Hera turned her head towards her captors in an imperious manner, "Well Thrawn? Have you come to gloat? You've got your wish, you've finally captured the leader of Phoenix Squadron." The last part of her retort had taken on an angry, sarcastic tone. Thrawn tilted his head in an ironic manner, "That was my wish eight years ago, but priorities change and you of all people should know that Mrs. Dume, or is it Madame Syndulla-Jarrus?" he replied, throwing her veiled insult at him right back. Hera could only glower at his returned insult about her late husband, her dearest compatriot, and the only one to ever truly hold her heart in his roughened hands. Hera could not think of any sort of comeback, Thrawn had them all trapped, seizure warrants in hand, but she could not help but think there was something else planned.
They walked back to the docking bay, where the Ghost had gravity breaks under it as a security measure, and Chopper frantically rolled over to them. The astromech was waving his mechanical arms around wildly, complaining how stormtroopers had boarded the ship, taken measurements, raided the fridge, and deactivated him! Kallus and Lando snickered at this last part, served him right for the years of trouble he had given them. Hopping impatiently from one foot to the other, Hera finally demanded why Thrawn had them all there.
He knew this and finally spoke, "You are of course well aware I have signed seizure warrants for you, Agent Kallus and Calrissian. However, one thing remains for your return to your family on Ryloth, a race."
"A race? Against whom exactly, you?"
"No, my fiancée, Jaina Antilles. She will pilot my TIE Defender against the Ghost, a set course near the Sluis Van shipyards. If you win, you leave with your freedom. If you lose, I impound the Ghost, Kallus is exiled to the true Lasat homeworld with Garazeb Orrelios, you return to your father and young son, and as for Calsrissian,.. I imagine he rejoins Skywalker and Princess Leia on whatever you were doing for the Rebellion."
All three exchanged a look, a race around the asteroids sitting outside the shipyards? All of the hair-raising pin turns and corkscrew curls, for their freedom? Jaina watched them intently, and it was for the first time Hera Syndulla could see how much Thrawn's intended looked like Han Solo, it was uncanny. Were they related, his sister perhaps? She knew Thrawn would keep his word, and this was their only shot, so she agreed.
As part of the race, Thrawn was to be Jaina's co-pilot, while Lando and Kallus were allowed to be her crew, as was Chopper. The starting point would be the defunct fueling depot a kilometer away from the guard towers out front, allowing plenty of room to rev the engines and a quick start. The pre-determined course had been downloaded into the navicomputers of both ships and had been agreed to by both parties.
Before boarding the TIE Defender, Thrawn gave Jaina a soft kiss, and asked if she was ready. Jaina nodded, she was looking forward to what was going to happen next. Slipping on her helmet, the shuttle they were on made the hyperspace jump and within the hour they had arrived at the shipyards.
The race had been all set up, the mining droids set to record the race for official records (everything having been signed off on already) and with not a moment too soon the signal lit up and they were off!
(Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra)
The race was on, and Hera's knuckles were quickly turning white with every hairpin turn, and for every hundred meters she seemed to gain, that damned TIE Defender was keeping pace. Whoever Thrawn's fiancée was, she was a piloting ace. She was keeping up and halfway through the second lap, Hera was starting to fall behind. Zeb was worried, "Who is this girl, anyway? Han Solo and Qi'ra's?" Hera bit her lip, Jaina's piloting style was a dead ringer for Solo's. Han was always boasting about how he made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, and it annoyed Hera to no end he used parsec as a measure of time, not distance. No self-respecting pilot would make such an amateur mistake…at least in her opinion.
There was no time to wonder about such things, she had a race to win. The finish line was in sight, and just as soon as she was sure she had the race in the bag… the TIE came screeching ahead and had to make a series of U-turns to lose it's excess energy. Once again, Thrawn had won.
Sullen, she switched her comm on and glowered at Thrawn, "Well, you won. What do you want?" From where he was sitting behind Jaina, Thrawn considered their options and merely stated to head back to the Chimaera, and from there back to their families. Hera agreed, but Lando hotly debated he had nowhere to go. "Bully for you, eh? Serves ya right, throwin' Skywalker and Leia under the speeder," Zeb jeered. Hera told them both to can it.
As they piloted back, Jaina let out a gasp as she watched the sun rise over Sluis Van's planetary surface. Having been in space before plenty of times, she had never witnessed the rising sun come into view over a planet's surface before. She was in awe of the sight, before Thrawn shouted, "JAINA!" Snapping out of her dreamlike wonder, she kicked into high gear as a school of purrgill suddenly wandered into their path.
CRUNCH! Tentacles ensnared both ships before jumping to parts unknown.