Jaina Solo Fel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
solo_sword) wrote2025-05-07 11:19 pm
solo_sword) wrote2025-05-07 11:19 pm
Muunilinst- late Wednesday/early Thursday Fandom time
Landing on Bastion was out of the question, so they changed course for a nearby safehouse where they could regroup. Dax and Daniel were alarmingly calm about the situation but at least they were sleeping safely while the others had a debriefing.
Nuras, the Chiss head of Jag's security team, started by saying, "Since you took your new position, small cells have begun operating on several planets."
"We knew about that," Jag said from where he was sitting on a hard, brutalist-looking sofa.
Jaina looked over at him, frowning. She had not known about that. She didn't like not knowing about that.
Nuras nodded. "We've been monitoring it for some time. Aside from a few skirmishes, it hasn't been much of a movement. Chatter has picked up in the last few months, and I believe a cell on either Iridonia or Palanhi has escalated matters."
"The last few months," Jag repeated. "Around the time that more planets came under Imperial rule."
"That seems to have been a factor, yes."
"They asked for that," Jaina pointed out, arms crossed over her chest. "We didn't force them."
"But to others, all they see is the Empire gaining strength," Jag said thoughtfully.
"One of the assailants did survive," Nuras went on. "He's being questioned now."
Jag frowned. "Only one?"
Nuras' gaze briefly flicked up towards Jaina.
"If you try to kill my family, you don't get an apology," Jaina said simply.
"And they shouldn't," Jag said, but there was a certain note to how he said it that she was going to question later. "We'll have to take a look at our people."
That was going to bother him, Jaina knew. The people around them were very, very good, and were all people they trusted deeply. If there was a traitor, or even just a leak, it was going to be both a problem and an insult.
"I don't think they were very organized," Kestra said. Jaina had considered keeping her out of this, but her training mission was apparently being extended. This was part of it. "They seemed like amateurs."
"You're not wrong about that," Jaina agreed. "It was so easy it almost made me feel bad."
"And they couldn't have known that we'd be there," Kestra added. "Or if they did and came anyway, they're stupid."
Despite herself, Jaina had to try not to smile. She was raising her trainees well.
The last of the debriefing wasn't very informative. They had things covered, they were making sure no one in Jag's inner circle knew anything, they'd have more information in the morning. After about half an hour Jag finally dismissed them, leaving him and Jaina alone to regroup.
"Well, we got a few good years of peace there," Jaina sighed.
"We couldn't ask for more, honestly," Jag said with a shake of his head.
"Why didn't you tell me that there were rebel cells?"
"It wasn't of any pressing concern, and all it would have done is get into your head," he explained, and he wasn't wrong. "In a galaxy this large, with the positions we are in, we were always going to upset people. The optics are not what I would call great."
She raised an eyebrow. "You mean you marrying a Jedi and taking over half a galaxy as Emperor?"
"Me marrying Darth Vader's granddaughter, whose brother led the Galactic Alliance and murdered a lot of people including at least one royal," he corrected.
"My uncle is Luke Skywalker and my mother is Princess Leia. Why does no one ever compare me to them?" Jaina complained.
He nodded in agreement, but continued. "Our parents fought in a war and still saw a new emperor take power on their lifetimes. We had children immediately, securing a line of succession after what looked like a coup. We had a Jedi school and they became Imperial Knights."
"None of that is fair," she argued. "I was already pregnant when the Sith tried to overthrow the government. I was the last person to agree on splitting from the Jedi." She still had complicated feelings on both of those things.
"The public doesn't know any of that. Most of politics is optics," Jag told her.
"And we have people after us because we don't look like we overturned our lives trying to keep everyone safe." Jaina shook her head. "This isn't right."
"It's not," he said, and waved a hand to beckon her over. She perched herself on his knee, and he slid his arm around her back to pull her in closer.
"So what do we do?" she asked.
Jag sighed heavily. "I think the best course of action is to play it down as much as possible and show strength while our people find out more and ramp up security. Publicly denouncing the attack and drawing attention to it would probably backfire. Let the PR machine work while I continue to act non-threatening."
"And what do I do?"
"You're incapable of acting non-threatening," he said with a weak smile. "I don't suppose pairing up with the Jedi is an option."
Jaina winced. "They haven't been my biggest fans since our Jedi students refused to be called Jedi anymore. Okay, you're right about this looking terrible. I can maybe reach out to Ben or Kyp, see if we can do something… I don't know, fluffy. Have I mentioned I hate this part? Give me something to shoot, it's much easier than plastering on fake smiles for the holonet so we can say 'we're nice, please don't assassinate us.'"
"You've made it known," he said. "And I appreciate that you've stuck with me regardless."
She gave him a light kiss. "You're worth it. Also there's that sense of duty to not let the galaxy spiral into darkness again."
"Mustn't forget that."
Nuras, the Chiss head of Jag's security team, started by saying, "Since you took your new position, small cells have begun operating on several planets."
"We knew about that," Jag said from where he was sitting on a hard, brutalist-looking sofa.
Jaina looked over at him, frowning. She had not known about that. She didn't like not knowing about that.
Nuras nodded. "We've been monitoring it for some time. Aside from a few skirmishes, it hasn't been much of a movement. Chatter has picked up in the last few months, and I believe a cell on either Iridonia or Palanhi has escalated matters."
"The last few months," Jag repeated. "Around the time that more planets came under Imperial rule."
"That seems to have been a factor, yes."
"They asked for that," Jaina pointed out, arms crossed over her chest. "We didn't force them."
"But to others, all they see is the Empire gaining strength," Jag said thoughtfully.
"One of the assailants did survive," Nuras went on. "He's being questioned now."
Jag frowned. "Only one?"
Nuras' gaze briefly flicked up towards Jaina.
"If you try to kill my family, you don't get an apology," Jaina said simply.
"And they shouldn't," Jag said, but there was a certain note to how he said it that she was going to question later. "We'll have to take a look at our people."
That was going to bother him, Jaina knew. The people around them were very, very good, and were all people they trusted deeply. If there was a traitor, or even just a leak, it was going to be both a problem and an insult.
"I don't think they were very organized," Kestra said. Jaina had considered keeping her out of this, but her training mission was apparently being extended. This was part of it. "They seemed like amateurs."
"You're not wrong about that," Jaina agreed. "It was so easy it almost made me feel bad."
"And they couldn't have known that we'd be there," Kestra added. "Or if they did and came anyway, they're stupid."
Despite herself, Jaina had to try not to smile. She was raising her trainees well.
The last of the debriefing wasn't very informative. They had things covered, they were making sure no one in Jag's inner circle knew anything, they'd have more information in the morning. After about half an hour Jag finally dismissed them, leaving him and Jaina alone to regroup.
"Well, we got a few good years of peace there," Jaina sighed.
"We couldn't ask for more, honestly," Jag said with a shake of his head.
"Why didn't you tell me that there were rebel cells?"
"It wasn't of any pressing concern, and all it would have done is get into your head," he explained, and he wasn't wrong. "In a galaxy this large, with the positions we are in, we were always going to upset people. The optics are not what I would call great."
She raised an eyebrow. "You mean you marrying a Jedi and taking over half a galaxy as Emperor?"
"Me marrying Darth Vader's granddaughter, whose brother led the Galactic Alliance and murdered a lot of people including at least one royal," he corrected.
"My uncle is Luke Skywalker and my mother is Princess Leia. Why does no one ever compare me to them?" Jaina complained.
He nodded in agreement, but continued. "Our parents fought in a war and still saw a new emperor take power on their lifetimes. We had children immediately, securing a line of succession after what looked like a coup. We had a Jedi school and they became Imperial Knights."
"None of that is fair," she argued. "I was already pregnant when the Sith tried to overthrow the government. I was the last person to agree on splitting from the Jedi." She still had complicated feelings on both of those things.
"The public doesn't know any of that. Most of politics is optics," Jag told her.
"And we have people after us because we don't look like we overturned our lives trying to keep everyone safe." Jaina shook her head. "This isn't right."
"It's not," he said, and waved a hand to beckon her over. She perched herself on his knee, and he slid his arm around her back to pull her in closer.
"So what do we do?" she asked.
Jag sighed heavily. "I think the best course of action is to play it down as much as possible and show strength while our people find out more and ramp up security. Publicly denouncing the attack and drawing attention to it would probably backfire. Let the PR machine work while I continue to act non-threatening."
"And what do I do?"
"You're incapable of acting non-threatening," he said with a weak smile. "I don't suppose pairing up with the Jedi is an option."
Jaina winced. "They haven't been my biggest fans since our Jedi students refused to be called Jedi anymore. Okay, you're right about this looking terrible. I can maybe reach out to Ben or Kyp, see if we can do something… I don't know, fluffy. Have I mentioned I hate this part? Give me something to shoot, it's much easier than plastering on fake smiles for the holonet so we can say 'we're nice, please don't assassinate us.'"
"You've made it known," he said. "And I appreciate that you've stuck with me regardless."
She gave him a light kiss. "You're worth it. Also there's that sense of duty to not let the galaxy spiral into darkness again."
"Mustn't forget that."