milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

"Oh," murmurs Jacen Solo as he steps through the door. "Milliways, isn't it?"

He was expecting the corridor outside his apartment, and he almost walks right back out -- he needs to catch Admiral Niathal before she's tied up in meetings for the day. But of course, time stops here, and it occurs to him that he hasn't had any caf yet this morning.

So he finds a booth and calls a waitrat over; he talks to it for a moment, smiling a little despite himself, before actually ordering his drink.

His smile remains as he sips it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When Winter walks in through the door, she's walking away from the Solo children when they are just that: children.

She pushes white hair out of her face as she shuffles past Jacen's booth, barely glancing at him. Though, it sort of clicks when she's ordering a drink from Bar...that the guy she just passed looks like a cross between Han Solo and Leia Organa.

But that hurts her head. More than when she saw Jaina here, for some reason. So she just stays at the Bar for now.

Ack, goes Jacen's brain. That's Winter and she's young but he's not flow-walking in time. This is one of the reasons he doesn't come to Milliways very often.

But it would be impolite to ignore her, and Jacen Solo may be many things but he is never impolite. He picks up his caf and walks over and (politely) says, "Good morning, Lady Winter."

"Lady." Winter smiles over her own cup of caf. "Now I feel old. Or like I should be in a Senate meeting."

She gives him a quick look, taking in every detail and committing it to memory. "My, Jacen. How you've grown."

"It happens," he says, with a mild apologetic tone. "It's been a long time for me since you were my babysitter -- since I've seen you, even. What year is it, for you?"

"It's 10 ABY. You're four years old, Mr. Solo." Winter sets the caff cup down, and folds her hands calmly.

"Four years old," he echoes thoughtfully. That is a long time ago.

His grip tightens on his mug slightly as he thinks of another four year old.

"I'm afraid I'm much older than that now," he says with a wan smile, putting all thoughts of Allana out of his mind. "But so is everyone, of course."

"That happens." Winter ducks her head in a nod. "People age. Nothing stays ageless."

Not in war, at least.

He shakes his head.

"Nothing stays the same," he agrees. "It changes, as it should. I suppose I shouldn't say much, for fear of ... changing something."

This is so much more complicated than flow-walking.

"Of course." Winter ducks her head in another nod. "I would not want to know what happens."

Her Jacen seems so different in the future. Of course. But she prefers the four year old.

And Dooku is also in the Bar when Jacen comes in. Now, to be fair, he doesn't know Jacen personally...but a decently-strong Force signature, albeit an unfamiliar one, does tend to attract notice from those who can pick up on one.

As a result, Dooku slides over a few seats. "Good afternoon."

Jacen's mildly startled at the presence (it seems familiar somehow in a way that it shouldn't), but hides it quickly in the Force. At the greeting, he nods and returns, "Good afternoon. Though it's morning, where I am."

He studies Dooku, trying to work out why he seems familiar.

"Oh?" Pause, with a polite nod. "Where are you from, might I ask?" Dooku is trying to place the accent, but Jacen's is bland enough that it could be just about anywhere in the Core. "And have we met before?"

"Coruscant," Jacen answers, which is true enough.

"And I don't think so -- I don't remember seeing you around the Temple, or the Academy before that, and I'm sure I would." He tilts his head a little and adds, "But people come from many times, here."

He remembers when he first came, and Jaina was from his future. That seems a lot more than fourteen years ago.

Dooku blinks. "The Academy?" Pause. "I suspect you are from a different time than I am..." And a small smile. "My name is Dooku, Jedi Master." Not Tyrannus.

"Ah -- of course," Jacen says with sudden recognition.

He nods, taking note of how Dooku introduced himself. He'll remember who this is, though; keep it in his mental Milliways file for future reference.

"There are entries mentioning you in the archives," he explains. "We don't have all of them -- there have been ... a few large conflicts since your time -- but a lot has been salvaged. It's an honor to actually meet you, Master Dooku."

Given what he knows...it being an honor to be met by somebody from the future does come across as a bit of a surprise. Especially by a Jedi. "To what do I...owe the honor?"

For some reason, he has a nagging feeling that it is not his dueling ability.

"You're a great Jedi Master," Jacen says smoothly, with a reassuring smile that's been well-learnt from his mother (and isn't the cocky grin from his father).

"It's always an honour to meet someone with more experience than myself. You were Qui-Gon Jinn's master, weren't you? And he taught Obi-Wan, who taught my uncle, who--" Here's a flash of the Solo grin, a wry flicker. "--taught me."

"Ah...that would be Anakin Skywalker, would it not?" Alright. This is...definitely interesting, considering what I've heard through the grapevine.

"No," Jacen says ruefully, "though of course, Obi-Wan taught him as well. Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather -- his son, Luke, is my uncle."

Beat.

"I don't suppose he's had children in your time, though," he adds carefully.

"No...in my time, he's still nine years old. Caused quite the fit for the Council on the way in, too..."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only