daddy daughter field trips [for organa]

[morally_cryptic]

True to his word, Anakin brought Leia along on his next mission. The Outer Rim Sieges were aptly named so the trip wasn't exactly a short one, even if military ships tended to have faster hyperdrives than civilian transport. Not to mention they had priority in the spacelanes...but the rules of physics still applied and interstellar space is vast and the planet they're headed for is quite far out on the Rim.

So he had also promised a sparring session, to test her skills. He'd intended for it to happen before they left Coruscant but of course things never work out exactly the way one intends.

While the Resolute was a large ship, she was also full of troops and varying ships and other war materiel. That meant there were few spaces large enough to properly accommodate Jedi lightsaber sparring sessions save one of the hangars. Which all but guaranteed they'd end up with an audience but there wasn't much that could be done about that.

"You still up for this?"

Comments

[organa]

( ooc | oh man. i've never seen sea glass on our gulf beaches. )

In all honesty, Leia wouldn't have made so much of an effort to adhere to tradition if she weren't bound determined to blend in. She needed to be as inconspicuous as possible, especially while on Coruscant and within the Emperor's reach. But now that they were away from Palpatine and the unspoken dangers that came with remaining on the capital, maybe she could step away from aspects of the Jedi look for a while.

Once inside the somewhat sanctity of the officers' mess, Leia lets her hair down. Literally. One of the loops she'd twisted into had begun to unravel during their fight, and it was easier to shake her hair out and pull it up into something else than to try and repin it without a mirror. It gives her father a rare glance at how long his daughter's hair actually is, and by the time she sits down, she's got one long braid plaited over one shoulder.

"So, what does a ship like this even have to offer in terms of cold drinks?"

Was it even possible to be undignified in front of your daughter at this point, Anakin?

[morally_cryptic]

And now he's speculating on whether Leia can put her hair into some of the more ridiculous constructions he's seen Padme wear. Certainly her hair is rather long as well, but more than a few had required extensions, especially--he found out later--the ones she'd worn as Queen.

"Haven't you ever been on a military cruiser before? Not much in the way of alcohol," he suspected Yularen kept a flask on him for those times when Anakin did something particularly outrageous in the midst of battle but as a general rule it wasn't something served, "but water of course and various other beverages. I am getting a ruby bliel."

Which may or may not have been stocked precisely because someone discovered Anakin had a taste for them.

[organa]

It's possible, though would likely require assistance from Padmé's handmaidens in order to get all the strands in their proper places. Leia was good with her own hair, but it's been quite some time since she's had it up in anything too elaborate. There was never time or resources for that sort of thing during the war that waged in her own time. Even her wardrobe then was made up only a handful of gowns that were constantly altered and mended to appear different and new.

But she could, if necessary, probably pretend to be her mother. Probably far better in some areas than her best handmaiden with Leia's own political savvy. It's a thought that's crossed her mind, but one that she's been hesitant to voice out of fear (or certainty) that it would be shot down by all parties involved.

"I practically lived on them and had rooms like this to myself," she reminds him. Though the quip about having a room to herself was a lie, as even the high ranking and royal had to share. "But we weren't even close to having the resources you have at your disposal. Even on large ships like this, we'd often be reduced to rations and have to portion off our food to make sure the reserves stayed stocked until we were able to resupply."

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: it just occurred to me that in one of the un-aired episodes of Clone Wars Obi-Wan and Anakin go to try and prevent the Separatists from taking control of a rather large focusing crystal. You know. The sort that might be used for a moon-sized superweapon...that's probably not this mission though.]

"Then consider this a luxury cruise with a lot of soldiers," he quips right back before pulling a smallish holovid device out and resting it on the table in order to project the image of the planet they're heading for. "Akiva wouldn't really be that important except that the Separatists have a large droid factory there." He flicks a button and the hologram turns from an image of the planet to partial map of the underground facility in question. "It's under ground which is...awkward. And we don't know just how big it actually is." Republic Intelligence had been able to do only so much. "I have a feeling this might turn into a longer mission than you were really interested in."

Of note, Leia might know the planet as the first Outer Rim planet to swear allegiance to the New Republic following the battle of Endor.

[organa]

( ooc | future mission, perhaps? after anakin learns padmé's got a bun in the oven? )

Perhaps she would have, had she not been dispatched almost immediately following the battle to Bakura. The temporal divergence which brought her here plucked her from the middle of her trip back to Endor, preventing her from being briefed on anything that transpired while she was away and considerably out of range of standard communications. Things that she needed to be informed of, but were best not to trouble her with while she wasn't in any position to do anything about them.

But the name is familiar, even if doesn't ring bells for the reasons it ought to.

"I've heard of that world," she says, leaning over the table to peer closer at the map.

And she can't help the momentary pang of regret that surges through her when he mentions how long they're likely to be out here. It's not that she doesn't want to be here so much as it's just now hitting her how long she's going to be away from Han. She can reach out and touch Luke at any time, no matter the distance between them, but Han is another story.

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: seems like good timing :)]

He cocks his head, watching her reaction and trying to parse it. "Heard of it good or bad?"

And then he sighs and takes a sip of his recently arrived drink. "If Intel is right about this part at least, they don't have any major ships defending the planet itself." Just, you know, a lot of ground forces that they can keep reproducing. At least until their raw material runs out but he has no more interest in a long, drawn-out siege than she does.

[organa]

A shrug. She's heard both good and bad things, but having not been there herself, she can't say one way or the other whether the planet was good or bad. But as a presently Separatist controlled world and one that allied itself with the Empire in her time, the gist isn't necessarily bright. Especially if they're mass manufacturing battle droids.

"If they don't have a lot of traffic, that means their resources must come from the planet itself."

Like the asteroids that were hollowed out clean, leaving behind empty skeleton-like shells.

[morally_cryptic]

"That'd be just great."

Not.

"We might just have to go in and deal with them directly."

And by we he means himself and Rex and a couple commandos.

[organa]

She gets what he means, which is why she's planting her hands on her hips and fixing him with a borderline outraged look.

"And what, leave me up here on the ship to handle things from above?"

[morally_cryptic]

He gives her a completely guileless look. "The thought had crossed my mind."

It wasn't that he doubted her ability to look after herself, it was more that he doubted his ability to just let her do it.

[organa]

"Oh, I'm sure it did. Multiple times."

She doesn't approve. Yes, she's perfectly capable of running things from orbit, but she doesn't prefer it. Leia wants to get her hands dirty, needs to hit something before she implodes. She's been itching for a fight for months, and she's not going to satisfy that craving by ordering around a bunch of officers unaccustomed to being under her command while he wrangles all the battle droids on the ground.

[morally_cryptic]

"But then I decided," he looks at her pointedly, "that you'd go whether I liked it or not so I might as well keep you where I can see you."

She reminded him of himself Ahsoka that way.

[organa]

"I don't need to be watched."

And yet, time and time again, she's done things to prove that she does. Reckless things — dangerous things that could have very well gotten her killed if people like Han weren't constantly watching her back, regardless of whether she wants them to or not.

[morally_cryptic]

He snorts, expressively. "Right. Of course. Forgive my assumption."

Sarcasm is strong with this family.

"You're still going to be watched. Just be glad I didn't give you your very own pair of troops."

Though if she's very very good maybe one day she'll get her own squad to lead.

[organa]

It is, and she'd say it's an inherited trait from both sides of the fence. Bail Organa was sarcastic at times, but he was nowhere near as acerbic as his adoptive daughter could be.

"You mean my own entourage? Because I've had several of those, and let me tell you, I was very good at losing them."

[morally_cryptic]

"You haven't met our ARC troopers."

That at least might be entertaining to watch but they all have better uses of their time.

"Either way. We can make better arrangements. I wouldn't mind the backup."

[organa]

"No, but I've had plenty of experience with what they become."

Entertaining for as long as they managed to survive her wrath. The armor the clones donned was unsettling enough as it is. She hadn't spent near as much time around them as Luke had. Certainly not enough to forget that they were the stormtroopers' predecessors.

Leia folded her arms. "From me or them?"

[morally_cryptic]

He flashes a scowl at her for the comment. Considering they're his men, no matter what they become, he doesn't exactly appreciate the reminder. Maybe he just identifies with their situation a little too much.

"I meant you could be my backup." There, olive branch extended.

[organa]

They may be his men now, men that are hardwired to be loyal to the Republic and the Jedi they answer to, but she fears that may not always be so. Something happened to make them turn against the Jedi, to support the formation of the Empire. And after observing how dutiful the clones are, she can't help but wonder what exactly that something was. (Or if it's destined to happen again.)

She doesn't voice her concerns, though, opting to take that proverbial olive branch. Leia knows a pointless argument when she sees one, and the last thing this ship needs is two hotheaded Skywalkers shouting at one another when there were other, more pressing matters to attend to.

"I'd still like to carry a blaster when we go down there. If anything, they won't expect a woman in Jedi robes to have one."

Or to have vibroknives hidden in both her boots.

hahaha oops, he and han did do the fives thing, technically they know about the brain!chips

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: i just now don't remember if anything else really happened with that after that]

"That's because I can't think of any Jedi I've ever met who preferred to carry a blaster alongside a lightsaber." He's not saying it shouldn't be done, more just agreeing that it'd be unusual. He would definitely agree with the knife thing though.

"And we've got some time to kill still before we get there. You should get in some more practice. With remotes this time."

[organa]

( ooc | ...i totally forgot about that too, oops. i don't think anything else happened beyond that, though? )

"Precisely why the element of surprise would be working in our favor," she points out.

Running through more drills, though, she's less enthusiastic about in spite of agreeing with their necessity. Naturally skilled or not, she's still a novice, and will benefit from any sort of practice she's able to get in before engaging in her first official fight with a lightsaber.

"As long as you're not shouting critique from the sidelines."

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: i don't think anything was explicitly said. maybe rex and fives are off quietly de-chipping clones as they get the opportunity]

He couldn't resist a small laugh at that. "I'll whisper the critique from the sidelines. It'll make it more of a challenge for you to figure out what you're doing wrong."

Standing, he holds his hand out to her, mischief in his eyes. "Of course, I'd be happy to demonstrate the best way first, if you think you can keep from swooning.""

[organa]

( ooc | let's roll with that. sounds like something they'd do. and I'M FREE! summer workshops aside, no more work until august! \o/ )

The princess rolls her eyes at that swoon comment, but takes his hand anyway, shaking her head.

"I won't argue that I need the practice, but you do realize this isn't my first battle," she reminds him. "It's just my first battle with a lightsaber, is all. If I can't handle it, well then, I'll just have to improvise."

A humble shrug of her shoulders. She'd gotten herself out of stickier situations before, and while she might not have Han to watch her back, there was no doubt in her mind that her father would be watching it in his place. Regardless of whether he could actually see her or not. Leia would certainly be doing the same for him, even if he didn't really need his quasi-trained daughter keeping an eye out for him.

[morally_cryptic]

He gives her hand a gentle squeeze and offers up a smile as they head back toward the hangar. "Nothing against improvisation. Sometimes it's even better than planning."

Everyone knew plans fell apart once you actually started fighting anyway.