jacen solo (jacen) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-03-20 20:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !locale: naboo, jacen solo, leia organa (canon) |
Who: General Leia Organa and Jacen Solo
When: Sometime this month, wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Where: Naboo, General Organa's offices.
What: Jacen meets his 'Mother' from this universe.
Rating: Low
Status: COMPLETE.
General Leia Organa was standing in the small office she occupied in a nondescript building on Naboo. They didn’t want to advertise where they were since the First Order had eyes everywhere but they weren’t completely hidden either. Her face wasn’t unfamiliar to the locals but if you’d asked one of them what she did, most of them would have had not a clue which suited Leia fine. If they were interested in the Resistance, they would find her. Or Poe would find them and bring them to her. She was looking out at the window at this particular moment, the lake sparkling in the distance. It had been years since she’d been here but she’d always thought it was beautiful. Her mother’s family had come from Naboo but she’d never met any of them and discreet inquiries had told her that there weren’t any of Naberriere family living here now. The view was beautiful and she had to turn away because the sheer beauty of it made her think of happier times, of being here with Han and Ben. Now Han was gone, killed by his own son and Ben? Well Leia wasn’t sure who he was anymore. Yes, he called himself Kylo Ren but Ben Solo was still in there, she knew he was. She knew it as sure as Luke had known that Anakin Skywalker was still inside Darth Vader and he’d proven himself right. Leia was going to do the same. Somehow. Right now though, she had an appointment. She sat down and looked at the name on the data pad in front of her. Jacen Solo. Poe had told her that there were members of her family here who apparently came from another timeline, this young man was her son there. Leia was curious to meet him, to hear what he had to say. He was waiting just outside her door, she could tell that, she’d already reached out with the Force and felt him. She’d also felt him reach back. Not that that surprised her, she’d fully expected it but there were many questions to ask him but to do that, she needed to invite him in. “Here goes nothin’” she said softly, quoting Han without even realizing it. “Come in,” she called out. “The door’s open.” Jacen stepped in through the door, taking a breath to calm himself as he did so. The woman inside looked… well, a lot like his mother, although not young like the woman who he knew was his mother from home was here. This woman looked more like the mother that he remembered, and yet somehow older and sadder too. He supposed based upon what he had learned about the family he might have had here this made a good deal of sense. He closed the door behind him and he met her gaze knowing that she would have seen his name and probably had some idea of who he was. And that was assuming that Rey or Poe or one of the other Resistance fighters he'd stumbled across hadn't already explained the situation to her. Well, that he might be about to find out. "Hello," he offered her a smile. For a moment he wasn't certain what else to say and then he realized perhaps it was best to simply acknowledge the strange situation that they both found themselves in. "I guess it will come as no surprise to you when I say, you look a lot like my mother." She returned his smile and shook her head. “No it’s not a surprise at all. A surprise that there is more than one of me in the universe, yes. I wasn’t exactly prepared for that when I returned.” Leia waved to the chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat please. I would offer you some caf but I haven’t made any yet this morning. I’ve been away for a couple of weeks and I’m trying to get through some of these piles.” She took her seat and folded her hands on the papers in front of her. “It’s hard work trying to pretend to be working in a legitimate business when you’re trying to start a revolution. Although that seems to be what I’m good at since I’ve been doing it my entire life.” Leia studied the young man before her, he looked a great deal like her or like she had looked when she was younger. He had her brown eyes and Han’s hair which seemed to be falling in his eyes and she had to squelch the desire to push it out of the way. This was not her son for all that she could certainly believe that he was just from looking at him but sadly her son was on a different path. “I’ve spoken to Poe Dameron and he’s told me a bit about you and your sister. I have yet to meet your parents and honestly I’m not sure I’m ready to meet my other self just yet. What has Poe told you?” It was impossible to not catalog the similarities and differences with which the woman in front of him moved, spoke, worked - and there were more similarities to what Jacen was used to than there were differences. But Jacen suspected there were differences as well, and maybe more than were immediately apparent. He took a seat as offered and was quiet as he watched her. For a moment he waited, gathering his thoughts and considering what to tell her between what Poe Dameron had said to him and Jaina and what Rey had told him as well. There were lots of bits and pieces, some of which he wasn't certain he wanted to bring up here, others of which - well, it would be essential to hold any conversation with the General. "He's told me a bit about the First Order. I've also spoken to a girl named Rey, who said she knew you and Luke as well. I did some reading when I first got here. My understanding thus far has been that the First Order has grown out of whatever remnant there was left to the Empire, but that it has a fanatical edge to it. That it's not without some support among certain politicians and planets within the galaxy, but that the sort of control they're wishing will leave more of the galaxy in pain than is currently without that order…" he faltered a bit. "There are a lot of people saying there will be a war, a lot of others who would avoid it at any cost," he frowned. "Having finally found peace at home, I admit I can find sympathy in that desire. But I do not believe the Resistance is the war-mongering group that some propaganda would have the world believe." "I know there aren't a lot of Jedi here, and I know the First Order has some force users among its rank." Did she know that Jacen was a Jedi? He realized he didn't know, and so he reached for the lightsaber under his cloak and unconnected it, pulling it out and laying it on the desk in front of her. "You have a few more Jedi now," he said calmly, even if he remained uncertain of how honest it was to apply that term to himself. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw the lightsaber. Even if she hadn’t already felt that she could, the fact that he was willing to tell her that he was a Jedi would have been reason enough. “Sadly after all that happened at the Jedi Academy combined with the tales the First Order spread, well suffice it to say that anyone who is the least bit Force sensitive keeps it quiet. Many people in the Resistance don’t even know that I’ve had some training as a Jedi or who my family is. Poe does of course, his parents fought with us during the Rebellion, I’ve known him since he was born which makes me feel very old,” Leia gave a little laugh and shook her head. “People have been told that the Force isn’t real, that all the tales about the Rebellion, the Empire...well it’s spun a completely different way. The Jedi and the Rebellion destroyed the peaceful way of life that the Empire promoted so the last Jedi went into hiding. You know that none of that is true of course and I have never believed that Luke was the last Jedi. There were several students at the Academy who died that night, yes, but I’ve always sensed there were more who simply shut themselves down to keep themselves safe.” Luke had certainly shut himself down, she thought. For the last fifteen years, she’d had no real idea where he was, he’d contacted her through the Force from time to time but he never told her his exact location. As it turned out, she’d had the key all along, sitting inside Artoo Detoo which was to say the least, appropriate. Why it hadn’t occurred to her, she would never know. “Forgive me, I tend to ramble these days. It’s been a rough few months,” Leia sighed. “All you’ve said about the First Order is true. They are a great deal like the Empire but even more militaristic and fanatical. They serve a man called Supreme Leader Snoke but no one has ever seen him. Unlike the Emperor who did occasionally appear on Holo. As far as we can tell, the only people who have contact with him are General Hux and Kylo Ren.” She felt the familiar twist of pain when she spoke his name and as always wondered where had she gone wrong, what had she done, why had he chosen this path? “You may already know this but I feel that I should be completely honest with you. Kylo Ren is my son although he cut himself off from us fifteen years ago when he took the name. His real name is Ben but he wouldn’t answer to it if anyone used it of course. I haven’t actually seen him since the night he and the Knights of Ren destroyed the Academy. They came to our house, thinking that Han and I knew where Luke was or were hiding him.” For a minute a ghost of a smile crossed her face. “Turns out I’m better at hiding things in the Force than I ever knew I was and that Luke and I shared a stronger twin bond than we’d ever practiced. He was in my bedroom closet, we’d cloaked his presence and the man who searched the closet never knew that he was about two inches away from Luke Skywalker. Ren was so angry that he wasn’t in control of the Force. If he had been, I’m sure he would have realized where his uncle was. That’s the one weakness that he has, he’s not good at keeping his emotions in check. Neither was my father, neither is my brother although he’s much better than he was many years ago.” Jacen listened without interrupting. In many ways it made sense that there might be more Force sensitives out there besides those that had come through the rift, or whatever it was. His Uncle had found students back when it had been, or so he thought, just him. That there would be others in the galaxy that could be found did not seem out of the ordinary at all. But there was some difference between Force sensitive and trained, and Force sensitive and Jedi - there was a lot of difference there. Jacen had of course knew about Kylo Ren, if not the other bits, and he didn't really know how to offer any condolence to the woman in front of him. Perhaps she didn't want it, or need it, he wasn't certain his own mother would have, so instead he simply nodded. "Sith tend to draw strength from their emotions. He doesn't seem to have taken the name or convention, but perhaps he is trying to emulate them somehow." For a moment he was quiet, then he leaned forward. "I've spent most of the past five years of my life at war, and I'm not particularly interested in jumping back in, but I've seen enough to understand that the First Order must be stopped, and perhaps more importantly, if there are dark side users at the head of the First Order -" Jacen stopped. He couldn't exactly say that Kylo Ren should be killed, but he did need to be stopped for the good of the galaxy. "Well…" “From what little I know about the Knights of Ren, they seem to have a few things in common with the Sith but what you’ve pointed out is very true. What they did that night, I can’t even begin to tell you what it was like. I wasn’t there but Luke has told me, there was no control, it was just a massacre,” Leia shook her head. “I believe they’re aligned with the Dark Side in some way but exactly how I don’t know. I can tell you that Ben was always interested in knowing things about his grandfather. We tried to discourage him but it didn’t do much good. I’m sure Snoke told him a lot of what he knows and I’m sure he painted a very different picture from the truth of who Darth Vader was.” It had taken her many years to reconcile Darth Vader with Anakin Skywalker. They were two very different people and she still had nightmares about some of the things Vader had done. “I don’t have to tell you what growing up with Vader as a relative is like,” she said. Clearly this young man could understand better than anyone. “But you are correct, the First Order needs to be stopped. We need more people to join the Resistance but they’re reluctant. The New Republic doesn’t officially support us although they did help us behind the scenes, at least until the Hosnian system was destroyed.” Starkiller Base had effectively wiped out a large portion of the government although there were still a few remnants scattered about. “Things are disorganized right now but I’m hoping that we can recruit more help. I understand not wanting to be involved in a war after having just been through one but I would very much appreciate the help of a Jedi, however you wish to give it. Your sister too if she’s willing.” Leia knew she could trust them. Even if they weren’t her children in this world, she still felt connected to them and she had a feeling that her counterpart wasn’t a great deal different from her. Jacen knew very well what it was like to grow up with Vader as a relative. He knew that his brother and sister as well had both struggled with the Dark side. It was a struggle he'd largely come to grips with during the war. It hadn't been an easy struggle, nor had he quite been certain how to approach the Force always. He still knew there was so much that he wanted to learn, but this served as a powerful reminder of considering as best as one could the source of one's information. He was quiet, thoughtful as he considered what the woman who wasn't entirely his mother, and yet who was much like her, was telling him. Part of Jacen wondered what she would say if she knew he'd been looking for answers that might not have been the Jedi… but it wasn't the Dark Side either. That really was the important thing. The Force was so much larger than all of that - larger than he could truly comprehend - and he did believe, and perhaps this group with their alliances, but non-Sith philosophy, proved as well as anyone, that it mattered what you did. "I suspect that my entire family will want to help in some way," he said, pressing his lips together as he considered. "If you have good people in your Resistance, a few can do a lot... " he shrugged. "That's probably not something I have to tell you if your Rebellion against the Empire is anything like the one my mother told me about." “From what little I’ve been able to put together, it was the same, apparently things deviated after the Empire was defeated. I know that a few of my people in the Resistance have spoken to some people from your world, Poe has told me he’s talked with your sister, and it’s quite interesting how the whole process of rebuilding the government differed. Of course rebuilding after a way is never easy.” Leia sighed. “The fact that the Empire emerged after the Clone Wars is a good example of that.” She sat and considered Jacen for a moment and couldn’t help but wonder if this was the type of man that Ben would have become if he hadn’t been influenced by Snoke. Would he have continued down the Jedi path? Thinking this way wouldn’ help anything, it would only make her feel worse so she mentally shook herself and spoke again. “I would like to meet your family. It might be a little strange meeting your parents but we need all the help we can get. The Resistance isn’t going to turn down anyone who sincerely wishes to help.” "I believe they'd be willing to meet you," Jacen said with a nod. He knew his parents and Jaina had both seemed interested, as had his Aunt Mara. They all knew what it was like to be facing a dangerous enemy and for all Jacen might want peace - finally - he could look at the First Order and see that what they were offering as peace would have too high a cost. Once again he was finding himself back facing questions about how to proceed. "If you'd like I could bring them here, or… just simply arrange the introduction? But I do think they would be willing to meet you." “Arranging an introduction would be best. Even though I’m certain the First Order knows I’m on Naboo, they don’t know what this place really is as best as my people can tell. I prefer to keep as many people safe as I can.” She smiled. “But yes, I’d be happy to meet them.” |