driftfleet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Jaina
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: There's a new engineer joining the Bishop.
When: She might manage to wait five minutes after the latest shuffling.

The layout of these controls don't make any kind of sense. Not by any scheme I've seen on a ship, anyway.

[Yep, there is a teenager with her device propped on a nearby console, leaning elbows on another while she peers at it, intent. As she goes, she nearly taps buttons and levers, behaving enough not to actually muck with anything.]

It's not like snubfighter controls. Believe me, I know. But if this were anything like a Corellian YT-series I'd expect this to handle pitch, and...that should be yaw. Are the thrusters strictly forward? Maybe there's a z-axis control.

[These are all incorrect, and she seems to understand that. She chews her bottom lip, distracted with thought, before she finally turns her head to look directly into the camera again.]

How universal are the designs on these ships? I'm on Bishop, and there's a few things I can peg as customizations, but not too much. I've got a feeling I should try to learn as much as I can. Especially if I'm going to have to open a few of these panels up after a while to make sure it keeps working correctly.

[Admittedly, part of that feeling is the simple fact that regardless of the circumstances surrounding her presence in this fleet, she is stoked about learning the intricacies of a new style of ship.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You're not wrong. We were celebrating a victory on Endor when they kidnapped me.

[The New Republic isn't anything at all, really--they've only just managed to chop off the head of the serpent. Time is ticking away with every day Leia's here, and meeting a child half her age really isn't doing wonders for that sense of urgency.

But the frown on her daughter's face is enough to remind her that her own feelings on the matter aren't the most important concern here. This girl is fourteen, and she expected to speak with someone who recognizes her. Who loves her, takes care of her--someone, Leia hopes, who can be relied on. She speaks as gently as she can.]

What's your name?

Jaina.

[Her tone is a touch down, because it's not fun needing to reintroduce herself to her own mother. But...what's she going to do about it? She can't make Leia jump into the future or anything. She's going to have to make the best of the situation.]

Jacen would probably have loved to be there. Plenty of animals for him to round up.

It's a nice name.

[The same thing, essentially, that Padme had said to her. There really isn't a good answer to how to do this, she's realizing--and though she feels bad for how awkward that first talk must have been for her own mother, she's not sure there was a better option.

Who's Jacen? is her next question, naturally. Just how many kids do Han and I have? But she can't just sit here and grill Jaina for information--it's not fair for the girl, and it's not likely to be a satisfying conversation.

What would I want? If she were fourteen, if her mother didn't recognize her--admittedly, that wouldn't have been surprising, in her case, but Jaina seems to have expected her to know her face. Reassurance is what she'd need, she guesses, that even if things weren't right, her mother would still be willing to be...well, something. Some kind of mother.

It's probably a long, awkward pause--by Leia's standards, anyway--as she sorts this out. Poor Jaina.]

You said you're on the Bishop, right? Why don't you meet me on the Starlight? That's the station we're docked at.

[Jaina should probably offer the same consideration that Leia is attempting. It can't be easy to have someone pop out of nowhere and change your life. But...that's not really on her mind. Shes mostly just glad Leia is stepping up and taking charge -- as Leia would.]

We should. Are there any procedures we need to go through before we'll be able to head over?

[Jaina's fourteen years old. She shouldn't have to do anything except trust in her parents and put her best effort into her education. And that means that the next steps are all on Leia's plate--but considering that Leia's her mother and has almost ten years on her anyway, she's pretty sure that's how it should be.

Besides, she can hold it together for a few hours before she gets hold of Han and asks the inevitable what are we going to do? A teenage girl can't be harder to handle than fighting the Empire...right?]

We went through that rigmarole before you arrived. [And Leia's made some credits since that point, so they should be fine for cash. This entire mess will certainly bring in plenty more, once their accounts are unfrozen.] If you wait near where your ship is docked, I'll come and find you.

[Jaina alone is easier to handle than both twins...but the Yuuzhan Vong will come to worship her as a trickster goddess. That says something. Jaina smiles for Leia's offer, and nods.]

I can do that. Sorry I don't have any reunion gifts for you.

[Cash doesn't even occur to her yet. Jaina's used to not needing to worry about a budget, a blind spot born from the privilege of being the Chief of State's daughter.]

Don't worry about it. I'll be there in about ten minutes.

[It's a good thing Jaina's one of the latest descendants of the Skywalker lineage. With the way things have been going, she won't have to worry about money in the Fleet, either.

As promised, Leia shows up near the Bishop's docking port a few minutes later. The station is busy, as it usually is, but there aren't that many people loitering over here--and of them, most aren't chestnut-haired teenagers. Summoning every ounce of grit she has, Leia goes over to the girl as though this is completely normal and expected and not one of the strangest things that's happened to her since she was kidnapped here in the first place.]

Jaina?

[Jaina does her best not to pace. It's hard not to, when she doesn't have anything to divert her attention. There's just waiting and feeling for her mother in the Force. It's one familiar presence in an altogether strange place.

When she sees Leia, her face brightens and she practically rushes over to her, stopping short of bulling into her for a hug. There's a gap between them that needs to be bridged before she can do that.]

Mom! Blaster bolts, it's good to see you in person. Thanks for making time for me.

It's good to see you, too.

[Seeing Jaina dash over to her and then stop is a strange mix of uncanny and guilt-inducing. In person, Leia can appreciate the hints of her and Han in Jaina's features--the pointed nose, that sharp chin, those full cheeks. It's a little eerie, a sort of concrete proof that Jaina Solo is exactly who she says she is...and that makes her Leia's.

At least she doesn't have to lie. If her daughter from the future has to be here in the Fleet, Leia's grateful that she seems to be all right.]

Are you hungry? The food out here is better than what you'll find on the ship. [Some of it isn't even protein blocks.]

I hadn't tried prepping anything. Got a little distracted with the ship itself.

[Priorities. But now that Leia mentions it, food seems like an excellent idea. Probably best not to get into any Force-assisted food fights when mom's around, but lunch at the academy was always a great time for connect with the other students.]

What are we waiting for? Let's see what we can get.

I wonder if they make the same sort of dishes around here. Obviously they're not going to call it Corellian or that sort of thing, but any culture's going to discover spices and the like.

You're not missing much. [Unless you're a fan of food-flavored gel, anyway. And Leia would like to believe she raises her children better than that.]

There's a decent restaurant nearby. [C'mon, future-daughter, let's go get something to eat.] The flavours aren't quite what you'd expect, but it's edible. A lot of noodle dishes.

[Depends on the flavor. She's not about to turn the offer down, though, giving an enthusiastic nod before gesturing for her mother to lead the way.]

'It's edible.' High praise, Mom.

Sounds like you've been eating out a few times. It's got to be good.

The galleys in the Fleet have meat-flavoured gel. "Edible" means a little more around here.

[She still hasn't decided if protein bricks are better or worse than rations.]

One thing you'll figure out quickly is that the food planetside is worth spending some credits on. And you're bound to make plenty.

[Meat-flavored. Jaina's expression twists and she is clearly thinking why would you.]

If it's gel, they could have done fruit-flavored. That would make it taste more like a decent snack.

[She's barely spent any time in the fleet and she already wants to reprogram and rebuild everything.]

There are fruit-flavored options as well. Those aren't so bad.

[The restaurant she's thinking of is just around the corner, and it doesn't take much time long for them to be shown to a table.

Once they're sitting, Leia folds her hands on the tabletop and leans forward a little. She's going off what I would want at that age and hoping it doesn't end too badly.]

I know this probably isn't what you expected, Jaina, but I want you to know. [This is harder to find the words for than she expected.] Just because we're from different times doesn't change who you are to me. If you ever--need anything, or if something's wrong--

[When they sit down, Jaina spends most of the time fidgeting in her seat. It's a weird combination of going out with family and also a stranger -- and it's hard to do something casual like lean elbows on the table, which she would like to do very much.

Also, what Leia says is quite emotionally charged. How do you talk to your mom about this?]

I'm glad. I mean -- let me start over.

Mom, I'm a young jedi knight. We can already do so much, even when people thought we should stay out of the way. But -- that is -- [Ah, she wishes she were making a holorecording so she could pause and reset it.] That does matter to me, too.

I'm sure you're capable. When I was your age, I was passing ships along to the Rebel Alliance.

[Which Jaina probably knows, she realizes suddenly--the things she did as a teenager might have become the stuff of childhood stories for her daughter. She knows so little about any of this, and while she has memories of her own mother to draw upon, she's not sure she can be the same kind of parent Breha was. She was a good woman, a good mother, someone Leia loved fiercely, but they were vastly different people.

Still, asking herself what would my mother say doesn't seem like a bad place to draw inspiration. She hopes this gets easier.]

But this is...it's not where any of us should be, and I know that can be hard. I don't want you to feel like you're alone here. [And then she can't help smiling a little.] There are a lot of people from our galaxy in the Fleet, actually. I'm sure you'll hear from them.

As long as I know Jacen's out there, I can't be alone.

[There's one thing Jaina can always be confident of, not that the girl has many confidence problems. She finally drops her hands in her lap, and stares across the table at Leia. Maybe she should have seen the age difference sooner, but it's easier now that she knows to look.]

It's not flying around with a star destroyer barreling down on us, but it's not the first time I've ended up in a strange place. We handled the Shadow Academy, so we can handle this. We just have to figure out how.

[Leia may be different, but Jaina appears certain that Leia will eventually have a way to act on the problem.]

Jacen?

[They have time and some semblance of privacy, sitting here together; it seems a better time to ask.]

I have a few ideas. [Dryly enough, though she's serious and sarcasm-free a moment later.] What I've tried hasn't worked so far, but something will. If there's a way to get us here, there has to be a way to get us back.

Jacen's my twin. Then Anakin's the little brother.

[It feels so weird to explain these things. So she's glad when Leia throws around a bit of dry wit and a confident statement. Mom saved and runs the galaxy; of course she's got this.]

Well, if there's anything I can do, count me in. I should know my way around the fleet in no time.

[Leia's ready to nod and smile at the thought of Jacen and Jaina. Twins--and twins who can grow up together. If only Luke was here to see it.

But then she mentions that she has a little brother, and a chill settles at the base of Leia's ribs. A little boy called Bail, she would understand. But to name a child after her first father...]

Anakin?

[A child named Anakin. She doesn't know where to begin to deal with that.]

[The whole rigamarole with Centerpoint Station aside, Anakin probably causes half as much trouble as the twins. Jaina decides it'd be better not to get into that right now.]

He's got a great mind for puzzles. We're all working on rebuilding the Great Temple, and he's been a pretty big help with figuring out what goes back where.

I see.

[She can hardly confide her own concerns--what in the world was she thinking, naming a son Anakin?--to a fourteen-year-old girl. Even if she wasn't directly responsible for Jaina, Leia doesn't think it should be her job to manage those concerns.]

He sounds...very bright. [Time to change the subject.] What does Jacen like to do?

[Jaina rolls her eyes, letting herself flop back against the chair. What does Jacen do? Only the most ridiculous things. There's a fondness to her exasperation at least.]

He finds the strangest animals and tells the worst jokes in the galaxy.

He's a big part of me. We have a bond.

[Leia grins at that. He sounds a little like Luke, if she's entirely honest.]

I'm glad you have each other. [And a little jealous, in a strange sort of way. What she wouldn't have given to have a twin--or rather, to know she had a twin--at that age.

They're interrupted briefly to order their food, but besides that, talking to Jaina is starting to go a little smoother.]

I should tell you--we do have other family here as well. [Her expression grows a little more serious.] Your...grandparents. Anakin and Padme.