Jaina Solo

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Star Wars character
Jaina Solo
Jaina Solo
Position Jedi Knight
Homeworld Coruscant
Species Human
Gender Female
Height 1.49 meters (4'11")
Affiliation Jedi, New Republic, Rogue Squadron, Twin Suns Squadron, Galactic Alliance, Joiner, The Colony
Portrayed by None

Jaina Solo II (b. 9 ABY), is a fictional character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the eldest child of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. She is also the elder twin of Jacen by five minutes and the sister of Anakin.

Even before she and her brother were born, their uncle Luke Skywalker could sense their strong presence in the Force and the two, with their brown hair and eyes, share an almost inseparable bond. Jaina is a brilliant pilot with a fiery personality, and inherits her father's mechanical aptitude from a very young age.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Childhood

The older Solo twin was born near the end of the Thrawn crisis on Coruscant, five minutes before her younger brother Jacen. She was named after Han's mother. The twins, and eventually their younger brother Anakin, were sent to live at various safe havens for their first few years, under the protection of Winter. A majority of their time was spent on New Alderaan and Anoth.

The twins returned to Coruscant at age three and had many (mis)adventures there. They once became lost in the underworld of Imperial City with C-3PO but were quickly rescued and returned to their mother, the Chief of State of the New Republic. Jaina even once helped her brother defend their unconscious uncle from the dark spirit of Exar Kun, the only people able to see the long-dead fallen Jedi that was attacking the Jedi Master. During the Empire Reborn movement of 14 ABY, Jaina was kidnapped by Lord Hethrir, the Imperial Procurator of Justice, and used along with her siblings in a fiendish plot to take advantage of their Force powers. Though Luke Skywalker and Han and Leia Solo eventually arrived to rescue them, it wasn't long before Jaina was again kidnapped, this time by Corellian insurrectionist Thrackan Sal-Solo, her father's evil (and nearly identical) cousin. Jaina led the escape this time, and managed to free herself and her siblings from their cells before Thracken could barter with his hostages.

[edit] Jedi Academy Years (21-22 ABY – 24 ABY)

A young Jaina Solo.
A young Jaina Solo.

When she was old enough, Jaina travelled to Yavin 4 with her brother to begin her Jedi training. Jaina was an exceptional pilot and enjoyed building things, especially working on ships. She and her brother befriended Lowbacca the Wookiee and the warrior princess Tenel Ka, learning Jedi techniques quickly and going through many trials even as young teens.

In their exploration of the jungle near Luke's Jedi academy, Jacen and Jaina discovered a crashed TIE Fighter from the Battle of Yavin. Jaina decided to fix the ship and install a hyperdrive which had been given to her as a gift by her father, a new machine to tinker with. She began working on the damaged fighter with help from Jacen, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka. The TIE's original pilot, Qorl, was still alive, however, and had lived the last twenty-three years in Yavin 4's jungles. Kidnapping the twins, Qorl forced her and Jacen to finish repairing his ship so he could escape his exile at long last. The twins eventually escaped, but so did Qorl, leaving the jungle moon behind and searching for any remnants of the Empire.

Qorl would discover the Shadow Academy, a training ground for Dark Jedi under the command of one of Luke Skywalker's fallen students, Brakiss, and the remains of the Dathomiri Nightsisters. These elements of the so-called Second Imperium managed to kidnap Jaina, but she, Jacen, and Lowbacca proved resistant to the temptations of the dark side and were rescued by Luke Skywalker and Tenel Ka.

The friends returned to Coruscant for a short vacation, and were reunited with the twins' childhood friend, Zekk. They were happy to see the young man, but the boy was soon recruited by the Shadow Academy, who discovered before the twins did that the boy had Force potential. Zekk would be forced to fight Jacen and Jaina several times, and Jaina was the most worried about the young man she considered more than just a friend. She constantly tried to bring Zekk to the light side, but was initially unable to succeed. Jaina and her friends finally progressed far enough to be tasked with building their first lightsabers.

Not long afterward, the Jedi trainees and the Shadow Academy would have their final confrontation on Yavin 4. Jaina and Jacen, with the help of their peers at the Jedi Academy, Luke, and Zekk, would bring down the Shadow Academy and the Second Imperium forever.

Jacen and Jaina continued their Jedi training on Yavin 4, meeting new friends like Raynar Thul. They could not convince Zekk to stay at the academy with them, but Jacen and Jaina remained friends with him. With his and Raynar's help, they ran into their first discovery of a new threat to the New Republic, the Diversity Alliance.

The all-alien anti-human group was building up massive support among peoples that had been oppressed by the Empire. They were led by a Twi'lek Nolaa Tarkona, the sister of Oola, Jabba the Hutt's murdered dancing slave. She was very unattractive for a Twi'lek female, with only one lekku and sharpened teeth that she kept perfectly filed.

When Lowbacca misguidedly joined the Diversity Alliance, Jaina was kidnapped and held captive along with her friends on the planet Ryloth, though they all eventually managed to escape to its harsh surface.

Finally getting to the bottom of a plot they had suspected all along, the Jedi trainees caught up with Raynar's father Bornan Thul to race the Diversity Alliance fleet to an Imperial storehouse hidden in the Deep Core. There was hidden a supply of deadly diseases created by General Evir Derricote almost two decades ago. Tarkona wished to unleash a plague against humans and wipe them all out, but was stopped by Jaina and her fellow Jedi, as well as traitorous members of the Diversity Alliance. In the end, the plague was destroyed, and Tarkona herself eventually succumbed to one of the diseases on a faraway planet.

[edit] Yuuzhan Vong War (25 ABY – 30 ABY)

"I name you the Sword of the Jedi...Yours is a restless life, and never shall you know peace, though you shall be blessed for the peace that you bring to others. Take comfort in the fact that, though you stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow you cast." —Luke Skywalker

Once their training at the Academy was more or less complete, Jaina finally began to have a separate life from her twin brother, and became Mara Jade Skywalker's apprentice. Jaina grew very close to Mara, and sometimes even made her mother wish that they had spent more time together while Jaina was still young. Jaina progressed quickly as a Jedi and a pilot, travelling on missions with her aunt and even being given opportunities to fly Mara's prized possession, the starship Jade Sabre.

Jaina in flight suit.
Jaina in flight suit.

Her skills behind the controls of an X-wing fighter earned her a position in Rogue Squadron during the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Flying as Rogue Eleven, Jaina went by the nickname "Sticks." While at Ithor, Jaina met a fellow pilot named Jagged Fel, an ally of the New Republic flying with the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. The young woman felt something stir within her, and she found herself admiring Jagged Fel for his piloting skill and icy cool demeanor.

Though Jaina did not always agree with her twin, thinking his temporary abandonment of his active Force talents was a mistake, she tended to be the balance between Jacen and their younger brother, Anakin. Their mother considered Jaina the most pragmatic of her children, not being crippled with indecision like Jacen or plunging rashly into action like Anakin. This served her well during the Yuuzhan Vong War, helping her survive and escape the Jedi strike team mission to Myrkr, something neither of her brothers was able to accomplish, as Anakin was killed and Jacen was captured.

Jaina briefly turned to the Dark Side after the disastrous Myrkr mission and became the apprentice of Kyp Durron. Though she was attracted to the older Jedi Master, she did not agree with his methods and left his tutelage and her unstarted relationship with him for Jedi Knighthood and Jag Fel. She and Kyp nevertheless continued to remain very close friends.

In escaping the botched Jedi mission that claimed her brother's life, Jaina stole a Yuuzhan Vong vessel, the Ksstarr. With their Coruscant home conquered by the Yuuzhan Vong, she led the remnants of the Jedi strike force to the Hapes Cluster. On Hapes, Jaina became embroiled in court intrigue, as the scheming former Queen Mother Ta'a Chume tried to orchestrate a marriage between her son, Prince Isolder, and Jaina, in a failed bid to replace the current Queen Mother Teneniel Djo. Jaina was pleased with the outcome of the situation, however, when her friend Tenel Ka became the new Queen Mother.

By closely examining the Ksstarr, Jaina realized a fundamental underpinning of Yuuzhan Vong spacefaring technology: bodies in space are recognized by their unique gravitic signature. She began exploring plans to use that knowledge against the Yuuzhan Vong. Her risky tests prove successful. Her deceptive tactics wreaked havoc with the Yuuzhan Vong's ability to identify friends and foes, prompting her to rename the vessel Trickster. Jaina's reputation began to grow thanks to crafty disinformation spread by New Republic agents. The Yuuzhan Vong began to associate Jaina with their trickster goddess, something New Republic commanders wholeheartedly encouraged by referring to her as "Goddess," "Great One," and similar mockingly grandiose nicknames. This image was helped along by members of Wraith Squadron, including Voort "Piggy" saBinring and Sharr Latt.

Jaina fought tirelessly through campaigns at Borleias, Obroa-skai and Ebaq 9, flying alongside Jag Fel. The two tentatively explored their feelings for one another, risking love against a backdrop of war. She achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was assigned flying escort for her parents' mission of reuniting the fragments of the former New Republic under the new banner of the Galactic Alliance.

While her uncle, aunt, and brother mounted a search for the legendary living planet of Zonama Sekot, Jaina traveled with her parents to various regions of the galaxy that had lost contact with the Core as a result of the war. She was present on Bakura during the surprise resurgence of the Ssi-ruuk Imperium, where she was kidnapped by the treacherous Bakuran Deputy Prime Minister Blaine Harris. She eventually escaped, and was instrumental in foiling Ssi-ruuk's attempt to conquer the planet.

Jaina later flew under the command of Wedge Antilles during his disastrous campaign to retake the Bilbringi shipyards from the Yuuzhan Vong. During the battle, Jaina's squadron discovered a cloaked battle station manned by pirates who survived the Yuuzhan Vong's initial assault on the system. The pirates kidnapped Jaina and held her hostage as they planned their escape, but she was able to use the Force to trick them into fleeing in the wrong direction: into the thick of the battle itself. Jaina was eventually rescued when Han Solo boarded the station and freed her.

Jaina also played a key role during the final battle of the Yuuzhan Vong War as the Galactic Alliance fought to retake Coruscant. She, Jacen, and Luke laid siege to Supreme Overlord Shimrra's citadel, breaching its defense and cutting their way through the legions of Yuuzhan Vong warriors in their way. Though Jaina found herself outmatched by Shimrra's elite "slayers" when she and her fellow Jedi reached the Supreme Overlord's throne room, it was she who first realized the hidden threat posed by Onimi, Shimrra's unassuming court jester. As her brother and uncle battled Shimrra and his guards, she pursued the crippled clown, only to find herself paralyzed and kidnapped as Onimi turned the tables on her and revealed himself to be the true Supreme Overlord. Holding Jaina hostage in the citadel's escape ship, Supreme Overlord Onimi was on the verge of fleeing when Jacen Solo appeared and, using the power of the Force in a way no one had before him, was able to defeat Onimi and rescue his sister. After the deaths of Onimi and Shimrra, the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong force at Coruscant surrendered to the Galactic Alliance, bringing the war to an end. Despite Jag's admission of his love for her, Jaina decided that it was not yet time for her to settle down. She told Jag that she had to ensure that the galaxy would be a better place for future generations, especially her own children. They shared one final, passionate kiss before going their separate ways.

[edit] Dark Nest Crisis (35 ABY – 36 ABY)

Five years following the end of the war, she, along with her brother and a group of Jedi, returned to the Unknown Regions after being called by the Force. There they discovered that Raynar Thul had survived, and had been joined to a Killik hive. Jaina and Zekk also joined the Killiks and became Joiners — non-Killiks who had been absorbed into the Killik hive mind. Their actions during the Battle of Qoribu led them to be expelled from the Taat nest. A year later, Jaina and Zekk — still Joined with each other — were tricked by Jacen into attacking a Chiss base to cause a war between the Chiss and the Killiks. Jaina was furious, and vowed that she would never fly with Jacen again.

By the end of the Swarm War, she and Zekk were finally un-Joined.

[edit] Legacy of the Force 40 ABY+

Jaina fought in the beginning of the Legacy of the Force series at Corellia. She and Zekk have become an excellent team, and complement each other well. Jaina still gets exasperated by her father not thinking anyone's good enough for his daughter, and calls Zekk a 'young bantha' who keeps chasing his girl across the galaxy. This is brought on by the fact that Zekk and Jaina still haven't openly acknowledged their feelings, though in the novel Tempest Jaina ends Zekk's hopes of a potential relationship; though Exile and the remaining Legacy novels will undoubtedly reveal more concerning Jaina and Zekk, the reappearance of Jagged "Jag" Fel as a bounty hunter in Tempest suggests a possible rekindling of their previous relationship. Also, in the Legacy of the Force comic series, the daughter of the Emperor of the Fel Dynasty bears a striking resemblance to Leia Organa Solo, suggesting an eventual marriage and/or liaison between Jaina and Jagged. Jaina fought on Corellia with several other Jedi, trying to capture Thrackan Sal-Solo and Aidel Saxan. The attempt failed, and Jaina later fought in the Battle of Tralus, where she was pitted against her father, who retreated without her knowledge. Wedge Antilles said it would be a poor show if Han was shot down by his daughter.

A few days thereafter when her brother Jacen was given command of her wing during the blockade of Corellia he ordered her to fire on a transport that had tried to break the blockade and had fired upon them. Jaina refused to destroy the frigate saying that the vessel was crippled and no longer posed a threat while her brother continued to order her to finish the job to make an example for the Corellians. She refused again and Jacen destroyed the vessel himself, then stripping Jaina of her rank had her thrown out of the Galactic Alliance Navy.

After this incident she confided in her father saying that while Jacen had been slipping further and further away from his family she could feel darkness though their force bond and that Jacen had begun to cut off contact with her even through that.

[edit] Trivia

  • Despite her strong affinity with the Force, Jaina Solo frequently plays the role of the damsel in distress, and is often kidnapped by enemy forces. This has become something of a running gag in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

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