Private Home Alone

[Jade Lesan]

Jade was giddy.

Absolutely freaking giddy. After all, there was a very, very good reason to be excited: the parents were leaving for the weekend. It was the first time the Lesan twins would have the run of the house and Naboo and the galaxy. Well, Jade knew they wouldn’t actually make it off-world without their parents knowing. But the thrill of freedom was there… tempting her.

She had played it cool all day, being exceptionally helpful around the house. And she didn’t even need to make an effort to not act like a teenager that was about to sneak out of the house. Because, well…

She wouldn’t even need to sneak out this time!

Jade would walk right out the front door. And Jace would, too. Even if he didn’t know it yet. Jade laughed, she couldn’t help it. Of course, she’d agreed that they’d spend the night in and cook pizza and watch a holo. Or she promised to do those things while Jace did whatever it was that he did in his room. She didn’t want to think about it. Her brother was content sitting still, learning about starfighting and being a complete nerd.

It was her job to make sure that he didn’t waste this opportunity. Jade went down the stairs and into the living space, where their mother was worried that she hadn't packed enough for two days away.

“I’ve left contact information, you know, for emergencies,” her mother said. “You’re both sure you’ll be alright?”

“Don't worry, we’ll be fine!” Jade smiled. And she angled a glance at Jacen Lesan as if to say… right?

 

[Jacen Lesan]

Tag: Jade Lesan

Jacen had heard maybe half of what their mother had said.

That was probably generous.

He was sprawled across one end of the sofa with one boot hooked over the other, a holomagazine hovering above his lap while diagrams rotated slowly across the display. The newest issue had an entire feature dedicated to the next series of Jedi starfighters being assembled on Naboo, including a detailed breakdown of the proposed engine refit. Which, as far as Jacen was concerned, was considerably more interesting than whatever Jade had been doing all afternoon.

He dragged two fingers across the page and enlarged the engine schematic until the glowing assembly filled most of the display.

“No way.”

Jacen leaned forward.

The engineers had changed the intake geometry.

He read the specifications again, convinced he had missed something the first time. The modification looked minor until he reached the projected performance numbers. The new configuration would increase thrust efficiency without pushing the reactor output any harder, which meant they had somehow managed to squeeze more acceleration out of the same power plant without cooking half the systems behind the cockpit.

That was clever.

It was also infuriating because the article refused to explain exactly how they had solved the heat dispersion problem.

Jacen flicked farther down.

Nothing.

“You cannot show me the engine and then skip the most important part!!”

His complaint was directed entirely at the holomagazine.

Somewhere beyond the glowing display, his mother was still talking about contact information, emergencies, and whether the twins were capable of surviving two days without parental supervision. Jacen vaguely registered the question. Then he noticed the cutaway showing the revised cooling manifold.

“Oh, there it is.”

He zoomed in again.

A few seconds passed before the uncomfortable sensation of being watched finally managed to penetrate his concentration. Jacen looked up and found Jade staring at him with an expression that made it obvious he had missed something.

He blinked.

“What?”

Their mother was looking at him too.

Jacen replayed the last few words he remembered hearing and managed to reconstruct enough of the conversation to understand what was expected of him.

“Oh. Yeah.”

He lowered the holomagazine slightly.

“We’ll be fine.”

That seemed like a complete enough answer.

His gaze immediately dropped back toward the schematic.

Their parents were leaving for two days. Jacen understood why Jade thought that was exciting, at least in theory, but he had already made plans for the weekend. The new fighter prototypes were being tested outside Theed, and someone had apparently uploaded enough technical material to keep him occupied for hours. There was also a partially disassembled guidance module sitting on the workbench in his room that he had been meaning to put back together.

He had absolutely no intention of getting dragged into whatever his sister considered fun.

Jacen glanced toward Jade again. She was still smiling. His eyes narrowed slightly. He knew that smile. It was the same smile she wore immediately before making a decision that somehow became his problem.

“No.”

Jade had not said anything yet.

Jacen pointed at her anyway.

“Whatever you’re thinking, no.”

He returned his attention to the magazine, satisfied that he had successfully prevented whatever disaster she had been planning. The article transitioned into a comparison between the standard fighter engine and the prototype.

Jacen forgot about Jade almost immediately.