[Legacy Of The Force] - 02(44)

“Not as worn out as you.”

“Things have been a little tense around here. Thrackan’s put out a contract on us. You, too.”

“It’ll be fascinating to see him try.” Jacen’s frown seemed permanent now. “But you-“

“Hey, I might be ancient to you, but I can take Thrackan, thanks.”

“My actions on Centerpoint provoked him. I feel responsible for your safety. What’s the point of having a Jedi for a son if he can’t look out for his dad?”

“You leave me to worry about Thrackan,” said Han. Yeah, you attacked Corellia, and you’re my son, and I’m not sure how I deal with that. “It won’t be the first time. Just wait. He’ll send Fett. I can handle Fett.”

Leia gave a small snort of amusement. “You can brandish walking sticks at each other. He’s not getting any younger, either. Why would Thrackan hire him?”

“Because he thinks Fett will psych me out.”

“He thinks right, then …”

Han took it as making light of her fears, but Jacen didn’t seem amused.

“Come back to my apartment, Dad.” His tone was almost pleading. “Just in case someone’s got your apartment here under observation.”

“Wouldn’t you know about that already?” said Han. Jacen’s Force-senses seemed to beat scanners these days. He watched his son’s face fall for a second.

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know what kind of Force stuff you picked up while you were away all those years, but it sure comes in useful.”

“Ah,” said Jacen. He seemed reassured. Han wasn’t sure what had rattled him. “Might as well take every precaution we can. Threepio’s making a very convincing job of telling people he has no idea where you’ve gone, even the Noghri. He sounds positively annoyed about it-“

Jacen stopped and looked around. Something had distracted him-something Han couldn’t see or hear, as usual. Then Han caught a flash of orange out the corner of his eye and turned to see a Galactic Alliance pilot walking between laid-up vessels on the apron of the landing strip. For an illogical moment his stomach churned, and then he focused on long brown hair pulled back in a tail and the fact that the pilot had an astromech droid keeping pace beside her.

Jaina. In a pilot’s uniform.

“So when did she get that out of the wardrobe?” said Han. “She didn’t tell us she was going back on active service-“

“No fighting,” Leia said firmly.

Han was dismayed at how fast he moved from being glad to be alive to challenging his daughter’s choices. He was still relieved to see her. She just reached out and squeezed his hand, oddly formal, and then did the same to Leia. She simply nodded at Jacen, which didn’t bode well.

Han supposed that a Galactic Alliance pilot hugging people in public might have drawn some attention. He wished she would patch things up with Jacen, though.

“I’m not going to ask any obvious questions.” Jaina patted R2’s dome. “But I thought you could use some help with repairs.”

“Thanks.” Han ignored Leia’s warning and the comment was out of his mouth before he could think too hard. “And why are you decked out in an orange flight suit?”

“Because I’m doing my job, Dad.”

“Did Zekk get you back into this?”

Jaina could become her mother in an instant. She had that same look of sad patience. “Dad, I’m thirty-one, I make my own decisions, and you forget what I am sometimes.”

“I never forget you’re a Jedi. But that doesn’t mean you should get dragged into the Alliance’s wars against Corellia-“

“Dad,” said Jaina softly. “I meant that I’m a fighter pilot. That’s what you forget. I volunteered for active duty because this is my job.”

R2-D2 trundled across to the Falcon and disappeared under her belly. Han heard a series of disapproving whistles and the occasional clank of metal as the droid examined her. Jaina stood her ground in front of her father, still sad-eyed, still looking as if she was searching his face for comprehension.

“You can’t seriously believe that the Alliance is right, sweetheart,” said Han.

“Dad, maybe I do and maybe I don’t, but that’s not the issue. I’m in uniform and that means I front up and earn it regardless of my personal views. That’s what service is about.”

Han took it as a rebuke. It wasn’t, of course; but he knew deep down that he tended to emotion in wartime rather than cool professionalism. Yes, Jaina was a fighter pilot. He owed her the respect due to a professional warrior.