Star Nomad Cast (starnomadnpc) wrote in starnomad, @ 2015-10-11 23:14:00 |
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Jacen made his way quietly down the steps towards the kitchen. Eventually touch and quiet talk had given way to sleep, and it was earlier than he should have been awake probably, but he'd had the extra boost of the Force to help him make the most of the few hours he'd been able to actually asleep. Lyric, on the other hand, did not, and so Jacen found himself in the kitchen after a cup of caf for himself, and probably one that he could take back upstairs to Lyric. Unsurprisingly Anakin was not awake, and neither was his father. Additionally unsurprisingly, his mother was and she looked up at him over a datapad, a smile crossing her face as she greeted him. "Good morning, Jacen." "Morning, mom." He crossed to the counter and pulled out two mugs, yawning despite himself as he reached for the pot of caf. Jacen knew that he and Lyric should have slept more last night. But at the time it had felt a bit as if the night might go on forever. A moment captured away from everything else and so they'd just stayed in that moment, even though it had been an illusion. There was a smile on his face as he filled his mug up, leaving Lyric's for a moment, and taking a sip. Leia had her own caf, and she put the datapad down as she watched her son. Part of her had wanted to insist on the two boys staying in separate rooms last night, but she'd kept her tongue. That ship had left the docking bay months ago and she knew it even if she wasn't quite ready to see Jacen quite so grown-up just yet. But what she was ready to see, and was glad to see, was that small smile on his face that she suspected he didn't even know was there at the moment. And Lyric had proven his value multiple times even if she could tell that Han was loathe to admit it. The boy might not have had the traditional schooling and the background that they might have thought of for Jacen, but Jacen had good senses. Lyric was resourceful and good with people, perhaps not so good with datapads and complex reading, but Leia had decided that she might slip him some basic reading here and there in the context of missions - he had enough to get by, but struggled with anything complex. But that was something practice could help, and despite the war he might have some time to work with that. It wasn't something that she needed for Jacen, but if Lyric was going to be in Jacen's world - it might just make Lyric's life a little simpler. "What are you looking at?" Jacen asked as he turned back around and closed the distance between the caf machine and the small counter island where his mother was currently sitting. Mind back on the task at hand, Leia held the datapad up. "I've been reviewing basic Senate documents and voting that I've got the access to. Senator Omas sent me some things and I've been looking at what we're up against with Fey'lya. The opinion of the Jedi is still split heavily, and there are tensions across the senate. You've got the anti-human sentiment that feels worlds like Coruscant and Corellia are getting superior treatment because they are primarily human populations. That crosses paths with the Core versus the rim segments - because the further out you get, the more likely they are to be taken by the Yuuzhan Vong, and those on the rim - even the rim furthest from the Yuuzhan Vong - are not unaware of the fact that the NRDC has been pulled back to protect the core and the shipping yards. You've got the shipping yards, you've got a select group of senators that despite the fact that they say they are working for their populations and protecting them, you can't help but feel are likely only in it for their own political gain... " Leia stopped and put the datapad down, reaching for her caf. "And then Fey'lya and the Bothans are doing nothing to help the situation, because he is supposed to be seen as impartial, but in reality…" Jacen leaned his elbows on the counter across from her and considered this. "Do you ever wish we were dealing with Kre'fey instead?" "He's more reasonable," Leia admitted. "But he's also military and he thinks that way. Not that it would be all bad to have a military minded Chief of State right now - but it would create its own set of challenges no doubt. I think I'm sometimes just afraid the system is so broken we can't work from within it right now." This statement did cause Jacen to look up. While his mother had been a leader in the rebellion against the empire, she had been fighting for a republic - for democracy. And the New Republic had been what was born of that. For all its imperfections, it was still a republic, and Jacen had watched his mother give her whole life to building up this system. And yes, there were times when they complained about the pieces in it, but this had a different edge to it. "What are you saying?" Leia looked up at her expression shifted from something more mild as she took another sip of her caf. "Nothing at the moment, Jacen. Right now we have been given the opportunity to speak with Fey'lya, and that's what we're going to do. We have the opportunity to allow the Jedi to be seen saving refugees and protecting - that's what we're meant to do. So we work with what we have in the system at this moment even if it is imperfect." Leia hesitated and then she tilted her head to her son. "Jacen, I've seen government that only takes from its citizens and does not protect. I fought against that. But a government that neglects its citizens to protect its own is not much better than the latter. We're up against a force we have never seen before, and it's difficult to predict what will work and what will not, but I have seen very little that counts as an attempt from the Senate. I have seen ignorance, neglect, and now a sort of circling the station to keep the core safe. I believe we can do better and I believe we will. And I'm hoping Fey'lya will prove me right today." Jacen nodded. If the New Republic had listened earlier on - sent more against the Yuuzhan Vong would it have worked, or would it have left less to protect the core? But they were coming in from one point - one star at Sernpidal, versus many points - if you could stop the flow in one place that was simpler than stopping many. Assuming they would have kept to it… He lifted the caf up to his lips and took a sip, and then looked at his mom. "So what do you think Fey'lya is going to say?" "I'm hopeful that if we can convince him he has something to gain regardless of the outcome we'll be able to convince him to support us. It's not an exactly altruistic angle, but I think it's the one that will play best to him at the moment," Leia sighed. She was quiet a moment and then glanced up to Jacen. "Lyric's coming?" "Yeah, I talked to him last night and he's planning on coming with us," Jacen responded as calmly as he could. He still wasn't entirely used to the idea that his parents knew. And he certainly wasn't used to the idea that Lyric had stayed in his bedroom last night, with his parents knowledge, and the only thing his mother was asking him about was whether or not Lyric would be accompanying them on their assignments today. "He reads people well - and it's an angle that comes from someone not a Jedi. Maybe it'll be the edge we need." "Either way, it's someone new, which will give Fey'lya pause about how he speaks at least initially," Leia smirked slightly. "And yes, taking him off guard is an angle I am completely prepared to use." Jacen grinned over at his mom. "Whatever works I guess." Leia nodded. "Did you get sleep last night, Jacen?" Jacen glanced down at his cup, his cheeks heating a little. "Yeah, I'm good." Leia watched him for a moment, the lines of his shoulders had tensed slightly, and she didn't want to make his life difficult -- more than it already was in the middle of a war. She didn't want him unhappy, because she'd seen, even from far away and completely distracted, she'd seen what he looked like unhappy. She could see the difference in him from what he had been on Duro. He was more confident and certain than he had been at that point, and he was more prone to action - whatever Lyric had done, it was as if he'd given Jacen a purpose and direction he hadn't had before. Leia didn't know if it was good or bad, that purpose. Mostly it didn't seem to run counter to anything he'd been raised to respect, but he was also a Solo still. Whether she liked it or not - and there were moments if she wondered whether or not Bail Organa had ever regretted the weight he'd had to place on Leia's shoulders - that meant she had to remind him that he was. And that now, particularly now, when the galaxy was hurting, that meant he had responsibilities outside of his own desires. "Good," she said softly. "Because this is an important meeting and the galaxy needs you at your best." Jacen could feel the rebuke whether or not it was intended to be one. Or maybe it was just that he'd already told himself that he probably should have slept longer… or at least have let Lyric sleep longer. He looked down at the caf - he'd drunk about half of it already - and silently wished for a galaxy where he wasn't Jacen Solo. "I know," he said out loud finally. "I know that Mom." Leia reached a hand across to put it on her son's and smiled. "I know you do, Jacen. I'm very proud of you." Jacen looked up and met her eyes cautiously, but there was no rebuke in them at the moment, only the warmth that Leia Organa Solo could offer if she wanted to. His lips twitched up in a half smile. "Thanks, I want you to be." Leia nodded and pulled her hand back, and got herself to her feet with the datapad under her arm and the mug of caf in the other. She headed to the door,but paused, placing her empty hand on a stack of clothing at the end of the counter. "I need to go get ready, but if you'll take these up to Lyric, that would be good. I used the measurements Threepio had from the jumpsuit so I'm hoping they'll fit. We don't have time to get them altered if they don't." "Clothes?" "We're spending the day in the Republic government halls. The flightsuit is good for much of what he's been helping us with, but this will be better if he's going to be accompanying you with any frequency. And it's more versatile overall," Leia turned her gaze back to Jacen. "He's more than earned this." Jacen nodded. He knew that, and he hoped Lyric would see it similarly. So far as Jacen was concerned Lyric had earned this five or ten times over. "Thanks, mom. I'll take them up then." He watched his mother leave and then leaving his own caf cup on the counter he went to inspect them. A plain ivory shirt, not unlike those his father frequently wore, but rather than Corellian in cut, this shirt was Coruscant in cut and design. A soft, durable fabric that spoke quality, but was completely practical and the ivory would be less likely to show dust and dirt than a pure white might have. The trousers likewise had a weight that spoke quality, dark in color, a wool from bantha fur unless Jacen was really mistaken, which meant they would breathe, but would add extra warmth in space. Again the cut, while simple and classic, was Coruscant. The final item in the pile was where Jacen paused. The jacket had most certainly been the most expensive of the three items, but it was once again a classic, practical design with pockets and loops. It would not look out of place in the Galactic Senate Committee report or a Coruscant shopping plaza, but would look equally at home in an outer rim cantina. The only place it might not work would be somewhere that called for Galactic Black Tie. Nice, but not fancy, the jacket echoed the well worn clothes Lyric had called his own, but this would fit him, and it was the sort of jacket that cared for would last a couple of decades or longer. It would add both warmth, and practical ways to carry things on missions. Jacen folded the pants and the shirt back on top of the jacket and left the pile as he went to refill the rest of his mug and to pour some for Lyric as well. His mom had good taste. And somehow he knew that despite her chiding him to give the galaxy his best, even if it meant not as much time with Lyric, that last night she'd made calls, and possibly called in favours considering the hour of the night they'd arrived, to be certain Lyric had these this morning. She'd picked them out, considering quality, and versatility, and Lyric's own potential preferences and she had done so around her own sleep, her own research, and her plans for what needed to happen today. Maybe she hadn't always been there when Jacen had needed her, but she still tried, and there was a warmth in this, because this had been for Lyric, not even for Jacen himself. "Thanks, Mom," he said softly as he sat the mugs down, gathered the clothes up under his arm, and then added the filled mugs back one in each hand as he climbed the stairs back to his bedroom - and to Lyric. |