Solo, Jaina

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Coruscant

• Species:
  Human

• Gender:
  Female

• Size:
  1.49 meters

• Weapon:
  Lightsaber

• Vehicle:
  X-wing fighter, Trickster

• Affiliation:
  Jedi, Rogue Squadron

• 

From the Expanded Universe

Jaina Solo is the eldest of the Solo children by five minutes. She and her twin brother Jacen were born on Coruscant, during the final days of Grand Admiral Thrawn's attempt to retake the Galactic Core. During these times of strife, Leia and Han sequestered their children on various safeworlds, keeping them out of harm's way. After a number of attempts to capture the Solo children, the parents eventually decided to keep the family together.

On Coruscant, the twins were raised by Winter and C-3PO. As Leia was Chief of State of the New Republic, she rarely had time to devote to family, though she made every possible effort. As she grew older, Jaina began to notice Leia's distance more and more, a distance she would later come to resent.

Headstrong Jaina showed a mechanical aptitude that made her father proud. At nine years of age, she was already flying the Millennium Falcon, and knew enough to help her father with simple repairs.

By the time she was 14, Jaina was already a capable pilot. She attended her Uncle Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4, honing her impressive talents in the Force, and making new and long-lasting friends, such as Lowbacca, Tenel Ka and Zekk. Surviving run-ins with the Second Imperium, the Diversity Alliance and other foes, Jaina then apprenticed herself to Mara Jade. The two bonded, and Jaina grew both as a Jedi, and as a pilot.

Her skills behind the controls of an X-wing fighter earned her a position in Rogue Squadron during the Yuuzhan Vong crisis. 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 a Chiss defense force. The young woman felt something stir within her, and she definitely admired Jagged Fel for his piloting skill and icy cool demeanor.

The Yuuzhan Vong crisis has been a trial of character for young Jaina, who was forced into the hardships of war before even reaching adulthood. In her carefree days of adventure as a teen, she had been spared lessons in mortality. With the death of Chewbacca, and the subsequent straining of family bonds among the Solos, Jaina has learned indelible lessons that are shaping her character.

Leia believes her daughter to be the most pragmatic of her children. Whereas contemplative Jacen is often crippled with indecision, and impetuous Anakin would often plunge into action heedless of the consequences, Jaina would measure her actions and suit them to the moment. She is not without a temper, as her stubbornness will often lead her to arguments. Jaina has, on occasion, lambasted her brother for his passivity and her mother for her distance.

With the trying times of war, Jaina's temper came close to being her undoing. After the death of her youngest brother and disapperance of her twin, Jaina was enraged and touched the dark side of the Force. Her pragmatism dangerously eclipsed her compassion and faith in her uncle's Jedi teachings, and she found herself allied to Kyp Durron, a strong-minded Jedi seeking more proactive reform in the order.

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.

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 foe, 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.

Jaina fought tirelessly through campaigns at Borelias, 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 achived the rank of lieutenant colonel, and is now flying escort for her parents' mission of reuiniting the fragments of the former New Republic under the new banner of the Galactic Alliance.

Behind the Scenes

Jaina and her twin brother Jacen were born in the pages of The Last Command, the final book of Timothy Zahn's landmark Thrawn Trilogy. Though Jaina was born first, her character was actually named second by Zahn. The name Jacen came easily, but Zahn had to play around with a number of names before settling on one. He knew he wanted the names to be alliterative, much like Luke and Leia.

Though Jaina and Jacen were minor players in Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy, they were full supporting characters with chapters dedicated to them in The Crystal Star, Vonda McIntyre's tale of kidnapping and intrigue that saw the twins captured by the evil Lord Hethrir.

The twins would appear in later books, but it was not until 1995's publishing of Heirs to the Force by Berkley Books that they became the main characters. The Young Jedi Knights series, that eventually numbered 14 books, chronicled the adventures of the twins and their fellow Jedi students at Luke Skywalker's academy.

The twins had a turbulent entry into adulthood in the pages of The New Jedi Order series of books from Del Rey. They continue to be featured players in the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.