Star Wars - All Media Types+2
The Once and Future Sword
by Kamil_the_Awesome
It is a time of rebuilding for the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order. The Sith Lord DARTH CAEDUS, once Jacen Solo, is dead. His twin sister, JAINA SOLO, has secluded herself in the aftermath of the fateful duel with her brother. She is currently a guest of the IMPERIAL REMNANT, both to separate herself from the recent trauma of the Second Galactic Civil War and to aid her close friend, former lover, and the new Head of State, Jagged Fel.Imperial sensors have detected a mysterious anomaly in Imperial Space responsible for interrupting communications and threatening hyperspace lanes, especially with Imperial allies in the Unknown Regions. With few options and fewer resources, Head of State Fel has deployed Jaina to investigate. Armed with only her fighter, her abilities, and the Force, the SWORD OF THE JEDI hopes for a routine trip.Or, Jaina Solo accidentally time travels and has to deal with the Jedi Council, grandparents, and the fate of the galaxy. Good thing she's the Sword of the Jedi. 1. i. shii cho **Two months after the Death of Darth Caedus, 40 ABY** **Seventeen standard hours from Bastion to Csilla** **Within the Imperial Remnant** A StealthX dropped out of hyperspace, nearly invisible against the dark map of stars. Shaped panels of dark grey, matte black, and white blended against space as the sublight engines remained at half burn. The snub fighter moved away from its entry vector, banking left by solar south, and proceeded towards the large pool of white, dense enough to disturb space in the locality. There was little need for acceleration on her mission, though the pilot was worried this brief foray into unknown space could end poorly. Something about the light pressed at her, both inviting and repulsive. Before she could worry further about whatever disturbance was before her, the comm pinged. _Right on time._ With a tap, a communication line spanning the short jump she just made connected. “Twin Suns Leader.” There was a short, breathy snort of remembrance from the other side. “I assume you’ve arrived?” “I can see it.” Jaina Solo paused. She reached out through the Force, then flinched back. Biting her lip, she said, “It’s worse that you feared, Jag. I’m surprised Imperials were able to detect an anomaly like this. It’s a wound in the Force.” “A wound?” Jaina thought back to her training as a teenager on Yavin IV, searching for a way to describe what she had come upon. It was painful to reflect on those days before the war, training as Jedi. Nearly every memory she had of the forested moon was tarnished and haunted by the presence of her twin, her close brother, Jacen. Darth Caedus. The twin she had slain. And of those either dead or irrevocably changed: Anakin Solo, their other brother, one of six dead on the Mission to Myrkr. Tahiri Veila, twisted first by the Yuuzhan Vong and then Caedus. Zekk, lost in battle as she boarded Caedus’ Star Destroyer, the _Anakin Solo_. Raynar Thul, transformed by the Killiks into someone…else. It was bittersweet how those who survived those seemingly carefree days were still tied to the recent tragedy. Tenel Ka, whose daughter—Jaina’s niece—was believed dead by almost the entire galaxy—including the Hapes Consortium which Tenel ruled—due to the plotting of Imperial Moffs and her own people. Even Lowbacca, their Wookie friend and companion for so long, had suffered, though less than when his father Chewbacca perished at Sernpidal. The _Anakin Solo_ —Caedus’ Star Destroyer—had fired upon his homeworld of Kashyyyk _._ Green turbolaser blasts fell from the sky and burned the ancient Wroshyr trees. For it was there at Kashyyyk that Jacen had showed the entire galaxy how far he had fallen. _He became Caedus when he killed Mara. Or perhaps even before, and I just didn’t want to admit it until it was too late._ Jaina drew upon those first lessons on the nature of the Force as she began, “A wound is a place where the very fabric of life has been disturbed, like when the Death Star destroyed Alderaan, or the Destruction of Sernpidal early into the Vong War. While these wounds are often associated with places of great tragedy and death, they can emerge when necessary and have even been isolated to a single point. The Jedi before the Empire had records of an ancient Exile who was herself a wound in the Force. She carried such an anomaly within her for many years.” “She _was_ one?” Jag was flabbergasted. “How do you even close one? I’m concerned about its effects, for I suspect it’s responsible for interference during my comms with the Ascendancy. Keeping a stable comlink between Bastion and Csilla has grown progressively more difficult in the past few days, and I do not want to see what it may do to ships traveling via hyperspace. The proximity to Bastion alone—” “Could threaten the Remnant.” She sighed. “I understand, Jag. I don’t exactly know how to close it, but I believe the Force will guide me. I doubt even Uncle Luke knows an exact method. And you should be thankful the Chiss are speaking to you,” Jaina added. She hesitated, fully aware it was her fault he had first fallen out of favor with them. “I assume you’ve heard from your family?” “They’ll be visiting in a few standard months, or so Wyn told me. A diplomatic mission, just like the one where the _Millennium Falcon_ spent a few nights in my private hangar.” Jaina faintly smiled at the familiar sensations she could feel from Jag. Even this far away, he felt like a blazing spot in the Force. _Perhaps it’s the comm, or the fact we’ve reconciled from what happened between us after the Vong War and during the Killik Crisis. I don’t know if we’ll ever return to how we were when I had thought to marry him, but as Master Yoda told Uncle Luke, ‘Always in motion is the future’._ She was eternally grateful it had been he who had found her with her brother’s body, tired in ways beyond just physical fatigue. While her parents were busy helping ‘Amelia’ Solo get situated on Coruscant, Jag had invited her to join him in the Imperial Remnant for as much time as she needed. It was nice to be in a place where it was difficult to be reminded of her brother and of the monster he had become—all under the guise of keeping the Moffs in line. That was the story Jag gave the new GA Chief of State, Natasi Daala, when she’d tried to protest Jaina traveling across galactic borders. Jaina also secretly hoped to find a way to aid Boba Fett and Mirta Gev to return to their home of Mandalore. She had yet to determine which of the Moffs were responsible for the nanovirus. “Will I still be around when they arrive?” she asked. “Or am I to be shipped back off to Coruscant like a good little Jedi?” “Finish out there and make it back to Bastion,” Jag said, kidding on the square as he only did with her, “and I might introduce you to my mother. She’ll enjoy stories about Uncle Wedge and may even tell you some from her holo days.” “And I’ll get some of him from his youth to tell the retired Rogues. They’ll love it.” She paused and found herself smiling fondly. “I should be back in a couple days, Jag. May the Force be with you.”