Imperial Palace- Bastion

[solo_sword]

Jaina had had a while now to actually start picking up on this whole empress thing, so she was glad to have a break for something more normal. Also, she was maybe a little self-conscious (this was rare) because no one from Fandom had actually seen her since everything had happened, and she remembered how different Tenel Ka had seemed after being put in a similar position. As far as Jaina was aware the only thing different about her was that she actually looked pregnant these days, but still. She wondered.

And anyway, she still went out to meet Tahiri when she heard she was here, since she figured no one should have to show up and get greeted by a team of Imperials.

[For Tahiri yay!]

Comments

[weetuskenraider]

"True." Tahiri leaned over to nudge Jaina with her shoulder. "Which puts us up one on a lot of people, huh?"

[solo_sword]

"Like half this planet," Jaina agreed. "Which is probably bad to say?"

Only if anyone heard her.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri put a hand over her mouth to muffle a snicker, even if there was nobody else around in this turbolift (as far as she knew).

"I heard nothing," she promised. "To be fair, we're probably hogging their share of it, so it's probably not their fault. Maybe."

[solo_sword]

"Or it's some weird diabolical fun," Jaina said as the turbolift stopped. "Could be worse. It could be Hapes."

Sure, Hapes was probably more fun, but that was a whole other level of intrigue.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri made a strangled sort of noise that defied transcription.

"Yeah, I'll never envy Tenel Ka that." In part because the areas of her brain that still thought like a Yuuzhan Vong were actually fascinated by that sort of intrigue, so the whole concept was a headache on multiple levels.

"Still. You look good, so clearly this all agrees with you in some ways, even if it's got you wanting to climb the walls for a few other reasons."

[solo_sword]

"Thanks," Jaina said, leading the way out of the turbolift. "I have to admit, it could be worse. And there's a lot of stuff about all this that's actually really interesting, so there's that."

[weetuskenraider]

"And I definitely trust you and Jag in this position more than I'd trust a lot of people," Tahiri added. "Both of you are magnets for . . . interesting things happening, anyway, so no danger of being too bored. Although -- does the HoloNet still breathe down your necks all the time?"

[solo_sword]

"Yeah, but in a different way," Jaina said thoughtfully. "It'a harder to get close to us with a security team in place, and people still wonder what having a real Empire again means, so there's worries about crossing a line with us. So right now it's more like we put out a statement, and then everyone goes nuts for a few days trying to figure out what we're really saying. Also I still scare everyone."

[weetuskenraider]

"Hey, you earned that reputation," Tahiri said, grinning, and was it wrong that she was kind of proud of Jaina for that?

[solo_sword]

"If it was about my reputation, that'd be fine. But I don't have that here," Jaina said dryly. "Mostly they know me as a Jedi from a family that the Empire fought for forever, and also my brother set a bad precedent, and too many people don't know the difference between Sith and Jedi, so me being in this position brings on comparisons to Palpatine."

[weetuskenraider]

"Oh." Tahiri winced. "Right. I'd almost forgotten about that."

She didn't hear much news of what was going on in the Order outside Zonama Sekot, and she kept a wary eye out for any news regarding Jacen (she didn't really get any), but from her point in the timeline that was different.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Sorry. So . . . do I get the grand tour?"

[solo_sword]

"Yep," Jaina said, and gestured down the hall. "This is the floor where none of the intrigue happens, but where my you, me and Jag all bitch about it when no one else is looking."

[weetuskenraider]

"A very important floor, then," Tahiri laughed. "Probably ranks about the same as the gym, if I were to guess."

[solo_sword]

"More, actually, because this is where my bed is and I'm currently appreciating sleep," Jaina said honestly, gesturing to a door. "Jag and I have our quarters in there, and the other you is across the hall. You're going to be right down here, since you're important enough to be on the good floor."

[weetuskenraider]

Maybe she'd go talk to her other self later, Tahiri thought, if it didn't turn out to be too weird.

"I'm honored," she said, "not to mention a little more excited than I thought I'd be about staying somewhere with actual technology again."

[solo_sword]

"Does it ever get easier, getting used to that?" Jaina wondered. "Even after all this time?"

[weetuskenraider]

"Sure," Tahiri said. "I've gotten pretty good at making the mental adjustment, but for the first day or so it always feels kind of like jumping into a freezing cold lake. Where you know it's going to be freezing cold as soon as you hit the water, but it's still not the temperature you've been used to."

She fiddled absently with a stray lock of hair. "They're coming around on the idea, some faster than others."

[solo_sword]

"Hopefully they'll get there sooner or later," Jaina said. "If only to keep you from the technological culture shock. Literally."

[weetuskenraider]

"I'll be okay, honest," Tahiri told her. "It's not like I have to jump back and forth every week or anything like that, because I'm pretty sure that would be a lot worse. Or at least a lot more annoying. So is there anything around here I'm not allowed to touch, or breathe on, or look at funny?"

She was kidding. Mostly.

[solo_sword]

"Just my bodyguard, but you don't even have to look at him funny for him to get weird," Jaina said, hitting the controls to open the door to Tahiri's room, which was ridiculously upscale. "Hopefully this'll work for you."