driftfleet | all aboard the ss royalty

I did.

[There's a smile in her voice as she pauses braiding so Jaina can move her head. She can imagine Luke telling Jaina what she's saying now; it's a testament to his work that she's able to explain it to someone else.]

So we'd need to find you the right chemicals, and you could grow a new one. [Heat, she doubts will be a problem. There must be plenty of heat sources available to them on the Starlight; they can purchase one and keep it for when they're ready to use it.] Depending on what they are, that might not be so difficult after all.

I might not keep to a decent bedtime the night that I do it.

[A joke, since Leia's being respectful and not imposing many controls. Besides, no one gave her any trouble for it last time she stayed up through the night to do this. Whatever Jaina feels about lightsabers, she's proud of the work she's done, and proud of the fact that she went above and beyond in making hers. They each had to find the crystal that was 'right' for them, to build a device that could be a symbolic extension of themselves. What fit Jaina better than this?]

Something purple, if we can. If credits are an issue, we could probably make a few extra to sell.

We probably won't be going anywhere important in the morning.

[There's a joke in return. Their lives here are more idle than not; if staying up through the night leads to something of actual value, who is Leia to say no to it?

(Besides, considering that Jaina is tolerating the fact that her not-yet-mother has switched ships to keep an eye on her, Leia's not sure she can really demand that much more of her.)]

Purple, huh? We might as well take a look on the station while we're here. [And then, dryly:] Oh, don't worry. Credits are not an issue.

[Her mother going out of her way to live with Jaina feels a little like a reversal of things -- usually, with training at the Academy, it's the twins who need to go out of their way to spend time with Leia. But they make it work.

Credits not being an issue is a bit odd.]

Not because our family's savings accounts are valid here. It's because things are a bit of a mess, isn't it?

[She laughs, shifting Jaina's hair to one hand so she can pat the girl's shoulder with the other.]

The Atroma pay you based on how dramatic your life aboard ship is--and they've brought in three very different generations of our family. Calling it a mess is putting it politely.

[She tries imagining what it'd be like to have a kid of her own show up, but it's hard to even picture herself married. Way too early to think about that, so she's just going to have to take it from the lens of her surprise about Padme.]

When you put it that way, it's a surprise we don't have Dad's family showing up, or some of his old business partners.

[What amps up the drama more than, say, a xenophobic would-be dictator cousin? Jaina's glad it's just intergenerational drama.]

They seem more interested in my lineage than his. So far, anyway.

[There's no denying that there's a heavy Skywalker influx, comparatively speaking. And to be honest, Leia's not sure how much family Han has to kidnap. He doesn't speak of them, whoever and however many they are.]

Between us, I think Dad has a little more pride tied up in his home system. Just wait for him to teach us about Correlian heritage when he takes us there for the first time. Not that anything will ever beat out the Falcon.

[Said in that of course, we all know tone of voice.]

[Another laugh. Jacen might be The One Who Tells Jokes, but Jaina has a sense of humor herself. (And there's still something strange and amazing in the idea that this girl is her own scheming, feeling person.)]

We've never gone to Corellia together. Not yet, anyway.

[They've been a little busy with the war.]

Sounds like I'll have something to look forward to.

[Jaina chews absently on her lip while she tries organizing some information in her head. It feels like it's important to say something a bit more thoughtful than 'that's where Dad came from,' especially since she doesn't want to cause any disappointment. She and Jacen were really little for that trip, and it was only a learning experience because Leia insisted on a tutor.]

It'll be exciting, sometimes.

I think it'll be a few years before the Empire loses direct control over the system. Even then, Corellia's got a pretty independent culture. It sounded like for a long time the only policy the New Republic could manage with the system was leaving it alone.

I'll keep that in mind.

[There's always temptation to ask just how long this and that will take, once they've won the war--but while Leia's willing to pass the future on to her forebears, she finds she's not sure she wants to know it as regards herself. Knowing it seems brighter than the past feels like enough.

After a moment, she's at the ends of Jaina's hair. It's something relatively simple compared to what Leia wears herself, but it should keep Jaina's hair off her face and out of her way when she's poking around the ship. That, Leia suspects, is likely to be more of a concern than complexity.]

There you are. Go take a look.

Just don't get too frustrated with them. I like some of the ships they've been developing.

[Priorities.

Jaina's going to go look in the mirror, eyebrows raised and bringing a hand up to feel the braid over her head. It's simpler than Jaina makes these tasks out to be in her head, and she has to admit that it looks nice. She doesn't spare a thought to whether or not it will help the next time she opens up a bulkhead.]

It's great, Mom. Thanks for taking the time.

You're your father's daughter, all right.

[While Jaina goes over to the mirror, Leia gathers together her things, watching the girl from the corner of her eye.]

Any time. With some practice, you'll be able to braid it yourself, you know.

[She fiddlds with the tail of the braid, grinning. If she's her father's daughter, she should get to boast a little bit.]

I got a Hapan shuttle through a scrape with Boba Fett. How hard could it be to get one braid down?

[She didn't win the scrape, but for a kid in a civilian ship, it feels like a great big feather in her cap. And, well, maybe she should start practicing a braid once in a while. She'd like to be able to do this with her mom again.]

Speaking of practice, let's find a way to get the materials for some crystals. I'll show you how it's done.

[Uh. Actually, mom's an important person with things to do, and it takes a while.]

But you don't have to stick around for the whole thing.

Boba Fett? [W H Y. Her brows lift.] What were you doing, tangling with bounty hunters?

[She stands as she speaks, sizing Jaina up. Her father's daughter, all right.]

If I'm going to create a crystal, I'm going to do it the right way. Even if it takes a while.

[Mom's not nearly as important here in the Fleet--and if she's going to undergo training, she's going to do it without cutting corners.]

He ambushed us. He was trying to get to another student's parents through us.

[She may be just short of one of Han or Lando's 'It's not my fault!' Jaina's going to lean on a wall and watch Leia -- she'd offer to help put things up, but surely Leia has opinions on how things should be organized. Jaina would, if it were her tools.]

Then I'll start working on a list of what we'll need for the project. Can you help me find them?

And you ran, I hope. [Please don't tell her you decided to fight the bounty hunter.]

Of course. [Leia suspects she has more credits to her name than Jaina at this point; it would be silly not to help.] Once you have a list together, we can take a look around the Starlight for materials.

You can't just jump to hyperspace without some calculations. Especially when you're in a debris field.

[Leia also has the advantage of having more familiarity with where to shop around for these things. She's willing to defer on this.]

It shouldn't be too complex. We'll have it together in no time.

What did I think of that when it happened?

[Does she know about it? She's curious how many of Jaina's adventures actually get back to her.]

I think we'll all benefit from that.

[That feels like such a parental trap, and Jaina's trying to think how to answer without turning anyone's mood sour.]

You were happy we all got back in one piece, and with the present we got you. You'll have to wait for your birthday for it.

[There, totally navigated that without giving anything away.]

You think so? I think I was the only person in my class to use a synthetic crystal.

I'll keep that in mind, twenty years from now.

[They have a ways to go to get to that point. Hopefully by then, she'll be better at parental traps, because Jaina really did walk neatly out of that one.]

We don't exactly have access to the natural crystals at the moment. [Frankly, she has no idea where they come from.] But we have several Jedi who could use lightsabers.

You already have the date. Just mention it to Threepio and he'll never let you forget.

[Tapping a finger while she considers that information. Luke had encouraged them to get crystals the way that felt right. For Jacen, it was the corusca gem he'd fished out of Yavin. For Lowie...]

Finding gems for ourselves on Yavin 4 was part of our challenge. Some were in a volcano, but Lowie found some by scavenging some tech leftover from the Rebel Alliance days. You'd be surprised where something might turn up.

[But she knows Uncle Luke gave Leia another saber after she'd built her own, and Luke had used someone else's at first. She won't say anyone can't use crystals she's made. Well, probably.]

Who knows if I'll remember it by the time I see him again?

[A little smile. YOU MIGHT BE SAFE FROM FUTURE RETRIBUTION, DAUGHTER.]

There's no harm in keeping an eye out--but making more crystals is probably good practice. [Especially if it ends up being practice for Leia as well.] Are you doing anything else today?

I don't have too many things lined up just yet.

[Just pulling some panels open and studying the ship's wiring. Little unimportant things that aren't at all complex and hard work.]

Did you have something you need help with?

Nothing in particular.

[All this idle time is a little grating, to be entirely honest, but it's hers.]

Maybe we can have dinner together later.

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two_jedi_sticks - 2016-03-04 17:52 (UTC) - Expand