Jaina had been more than a little frustrated that she didn't know the coordinates her parents had left for her on Coruscant. She understood the need for secrecy and all at times like this, but she didn't like thinking that applied to her. At least with John there for the trip she didn't have much time to get sulky.

It wasn't till they'd landed on the planet and followed the instructions to a cave mouth that she got a real feel for who was around, and then it clicked. "So I'm guessing this is the Jedi base," she said, not stepping inside just yet, but reaching for her comlink instead. All right, maybe she should have given warning that she wasn't coming alone.

John	"Somehow I'm thinking no one's gonna come knocking on the front door," John commented, looking around.
Jaina	"They might know I'm here," she said, and when she didn't get an answer on the comlink, she reached out to sort of poke at her mother. "Someone will be here in a minute," Jaina said.
John	"Did you try the bell?" John teased.
Jaina	"Have I told you lately you're sort of a brat?" she asked, but she was smiling. "You'd think they would have given the codes to get in, too."
John	"Maybe they found out we were coming and went out the back way," John offered. "Or, you know, realized you weren't alone." He was playing up the brat card since she mentioned it.
Jaina	Jaina had gotten as far as "Well, if they'd told me we'd be coming here..." before there was a sound from inside the cave, which she recognized as a door sliding open. "Who needs a bell?" she asked, stepping inside in order to find the door.
John	"Not your family," John replied as he followed, unsure how this was going to go, and slightly anxious to make a good impression no matter how hard he tried to hide it.
Leia	At the open door stood Leia, looking a little surprised to see their guest, but she covered it well. "You brought a friend," she greeted them.
John	John smiled genuinely and extended a hand to Leia. "John Sheppard. You must be Jaina's mom." The resemblance was incredible.
Leia	Leia reached out to shake his hand, saying, "Leia. I've heard quite a bit about you." Granted, little if any came from Jaina herself. Jaina wasn't even offering much more than a smile in greeting, but sadly, Leia was used to that. She inclined her head towards the door and said, "For now, we should be getting inside."
John	"Only good things, I hope." John really had no idea what she might've heard, so he smiled, and gestured that he'd follow them through the door. It wasn't like he knew where he was going.
Leia	Most of the base had been laser cut out of solid rock, though the patching that had been done to seal the cracks made it brighter than it normally would have been. It also helped to trap heat just a little too well, which everyone on the base appreciated wholly. Really. "You'll have to understand a lot of it was spoken through the dad filter," Leia explained, stepping inside and starting to lead the way down the cavernous hallways once the door had slid closed. "But I let you in, didn't I?"
Jaina	"And thanks for that, Mom. If I'd known we were coming here, I would have given a heads up," said Jaina. "Surprise."
Leia	"We'll live," Leia said. "I doubt this is going to be much of a security breach, right?" If Jaina thought he could be here, she'd trust her judgment.
John	"Don't look at me, I'm from a galaxy far, far away," John reminded them. "Not like I have anyone to tell about this, either."
Jaina	"See, we're clear," said Jaina, trying to memorize the way as they walked. "Is everyone here?"
Leia	"It seems like it sometimes, but no," Leia said, turning a corner into a corridor lined with doors. "Your brothers are here, and most of the trained Jedi, but the students are still on the move till things get more settled."
John	John was thankful all these trained Jedi were not in contact with Anakin. "Sounds like you guys are pretty busy here."
Leia	"There's always a lot to do when setting up a new operation like this," Leia agreed. "Besides just the missions and reconnaissance, there's a lot of basic things that go into setting up a new operation like this. Since this isn't exactly government-sanctioned, at least it cuts out a lot of the administrative woork." She gave him a small smile. "This is the little stuff that doesn't make it into the history records."
John	"At least not until you succeed at something big and the government decides to claim you as always being in their plans," John offered.
Leia	Leia looked suitably impressed. "Either you've dealt with politicians or you listen well."
John	"I read a lot of Russian literature," John said. "And I've caught the news from time to time."
Leia	She'd have to ask about Russian literature later, but for now she was stopping at one of the doors, waving her palm over the pad in order to slide it open. "The boys are in here," she said, gesturing for them to go inside. And yes, she counted her husband in that statement.
John	Not knowing exactly who was included in 'the boys,' John entered the room anticipating meeting the brothers he'd heard about. He wondered if it was hot in there, or if it was just him.
Han	Han stood, expecting to greet his daughter, but he was a little thrown off by seeing John there. "You're still around, huh?" he asked, but there was no malice in it. Which was probably a good thing as otherwise Jaina would have hit him when he went to hug her.
Jaina	"Be nice, you can yell at me later," Jaina told him as she pulled out of the hug. And she knew she wasn't going to get yelled at. "All right, so you know my dad, and then this is Jacen, and Anakin," she said, pointing out each of the boys starting to stand from their places on the small sofa- not near each other, Jaina noted. "And this is John."
John	John was still there, and even smiling at Han while he greeted Jaina. "Good to meet you," John said amiably, moving forward to shake their hands. "I blame anything odd you've heard about me on Fandom weirdness."
Jacen	Jacen shot a look at his sister, who'd sworn him to secrecy on that alternate universe children thing in front of their parents. "I've heard a few odd things, all right," he admitted. "Good to meet you."
John	"I don't think I'm going to ask," John replied, glancing at Jaina and wondering what she'd told any of them about him.
Jaina	"I haven't said anything embarrassing, don't worry," Jaina said.
Jacen	Which just prompted Jacen to ask interestedly, "There's embarrassing?"
John	"Mostly for her," John grinned. "And if you're nice, I might send you a copy of the holo."
Anakin	"What holo's that?" Anakin asked, the last of his words drowned out by Jaina's "Don't ask!"
John	"We'll talk later," John promised quietly.
Han	"So, you made it here," Han said, not sure he wanted to know. "Guess that means you can help with all the work, huh?"
John	John hadn't realized this would be a working trip, so excuse the worry in his eyes as he responded. "Sure! I'm your guy for anything you need done that doesn't require the Force."
Leia	Han hadn't expected him to say yes. So he might have looked pleasantly surprised right up until Leia cut him off with, "He's not working, Han." And to John, she said, "You're a guest here. No manual labor needed."
John	"Manual labor's the least I can do for all your hospitality." He was possibly still impressed by the whole Palace thing.
Han	"I take back everything I ever said about you, kid," Han told him, and paused. "Mostly." Yeah, he hadn't had much bad to say, which had just bothered him.
John	That sounded suspiciously like praise to John. "Thank you, sir." Even if he had no idea what Han might've been telling people.
Leia	"Before anyone gets put to work, we should get you two settled in. It'll be easy enough to get additional quarters," Leia said, because no matter what Jaina thought she was still the mother here. "Have you eaten yet?"
Jaina	"Not yet," Jaina answered. "I sort of figured someone here would ask that question."
Jacen	Jacen offered, "It's not mealtime, but I can show you down to the kitchen area. We'll just have to fend for ourselves."
John	"That'll work," John replied. "Just tell me you cook better than your sister?"
Anakin	"We have machines for that," Anakin said, looking mildly confused as he started to the door. No, he wasn't planning on letting them go without him. "Jaina cooked?"
John	"It was an attempt," John replied, following Anakin. "How do these machines work? Is it a replicator like on Galaxy Quest?" No, he hadn't paid attention to where the food on the ship had come from. He was a little busy with the whole flying in space thing.
Anakin	"I have no idea what that is, so let's assume not," said Anakin, and being another mechanical type, he launched into a simple explanation of how the machines worked.
Jacen	"Did you understand any of that, or did you eyes glaze over?" Jacen asked John, getting elbowed by his sister for it just because she could.
John	John might look dumb, but he was able to come back with a succinct yet accurate comparison of the technology in very simple terms. "Think I got the gist?"
Jaina	Jaina smiled a little proudly. "I keep him around for a reason," she said as they reached the kitchen. It wasn't a particularly large room, and empty at the moment, so Jaina picked a table where they could all sit together while Jacen went to set up the food processor. And then over dinner, Jaina took the chance to ask a few questions about what had been going on so far, leading to a easy exchange between the three siblings about what had been happening with the war recently (this was a big longer and more detailed), how Mara was recovering (she wasn't a hundred percent, but she was much better), how Tahiri was doing (better, and she was here if Jaina wanted to see her later) and the like. Finally Jaina looked over at John, asking, "Not leaving you out too much, are we?"
John	John had been listening intently as the conversation moved quickly between the siblings while he ate. "Nope, just enough that I'll bug you later for the who's who."
Jacen	"How strange is it, coming out to a galaxy you've only ever heard of?" Jacen wondered. They did so much traveling, he really didn't think something like that would even faze him, so he was curious how someone else would deal with it.
John	"It would've been stranger a year ago," John replied. "Now the Palace was kinda mind blowing and all the aliens, that was sorta new. Back home I thought the talking felt frog was a strange being."
Jacen	"...Talking felt frog?"
John	"You should visit Fandom sometime. We'll introduce you."
Jacen	"Maybe for that Parents Weekend," Jacen considered. "Couldn't hurt to see the crazy Jaina's been talking about and make sure there's been no mental break." This was followed by an "Ow!" when Jaina kicked him under the table.
John	John laughed, at that. "She's generally just witness to the crazy Luke and Gavin bring to the table." He was leaving out his part in any of this, yes.
Anakin	"I really don't want to know, do I?" Anakin asked.
Jaina	Jaina shook her head. "No. But I do have the holos for blackmail purposes," she said. "Which kind of makes me wonder about what else Artoo's been recording and whether any of us could ever run for public office." She knew she couldn't. Good thing that had never been an ambition.
John	"Such good blackmail, too. You know, one person I'm disappointed that I won't get to meet is your Gavin," John remarked. "Just to be able to go back to school and give him a hard time about being old."
Jaina	"I think this one would handle sand in the bed a lot less well," Jaina said, considering.
John	"Yeah, oh well," John shrugged. "So guys, any good stories to share about Jaina?"
Jacen	Jacen paused. "I don't think there are any stories that aren't bad for me, too. Maybe we should be asking you that question. Stop kicking me, Jaina."
John	"Did she tell you about being a newt?" John asked, wondering which other stories he could tell that didn't involve him in some way.
Anakin	"You were a newt?" Anakin asked, looking at Jaina as if he was checking for signs of it. "Like a reptile?" And if Jacen corrected him that it was an amphibian or something, he'd be the next person to start kicking under the table.
Jaina	"Just for a minute, and I got better," she protested, sitting back in her chair with a little glare at John that she didn't mean.
John	John thought she was cute when she was annoyed, which was possibly why he kept talking. "Only because it was detention. I'm still sorry I missed that one."
Jaina	"Yeah, well, if it hadn't just been detention, guess who would have been stuck taking care of me," Jaina shot back. "And I would have made it annoying."
John	"Now I'd just stick you in a tank with Yoda and we'd see who was crankier," he teased. He'd never make her share a tank.
Jacen	Jacen turned to Anakin, and asked, "Do you get the feeling we're missing something here?"
Anakin	Anakin, not quite sure he was back on speaking terms with his brother at the moment, was still thinking along the same lines. "Why is Yoda there, and why does he need a tank?"
John	"You know Yoda?" John was understandably surprised. He'd thought Luke's turtle was just a Fandom thing.
Jacen	"We've heard of him," Jacen said. "I'm sure most of the people here can quote his lectures back verbatim." Jaina wasn't saying a word.
John	John looked at Jaina. "And you said it was futile to teach him to sit!"
Jaina	Jaina was trying really hard not to laugh, and finally decided she had to explain. "The original Yoda was a Jedi Master. He was responsible for the bulk of Uncle Luke's training," she explained.
John	John blinked. "So, not a turtle then?"
Anakin	"Unless Uncle Luke is very bad at explaining things, no," Anakin said. "If you tell Aunt Mara about that, she might laugh for a day or two."
John	"I bet I could tell her enough stories about your uncle to keep her in laughter for the next few years," John said. He looked at Jaina, "Not that I would."
Jaina	"Good. I call dibs," Jaina replied. "Where is she, anyway? Still here?"
Jacen	"Taking care of Ben, usually," said Jacen. "Don't be too shocked if you end up babysitting so she can get things done."
John	John just smiled a rather evil smile. He wasn't saying a word.
Jaina	"Great," Jaina said. "John can help."

[NFB for distance, NFI, OOC okay. Preplayed with the wonderful ltcolkirk, and much thanks to sith_happened for finding the PB's!]