The Adventures of the Crimson Hawk, Part 1

The Adventures of the Crimson Hawk

Rating: PG-13 (violence, language, smoking)

Franchise: Star Wars (Original Trilogy)

Pairings: Han/Leia, Bail/Breha, Luke/Wedge, Chewbacca/Maz, Jyn/Cassian

Disclaimer: The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company.

Imperial Road, Naboo, May 1877

Leia Organa leaned back in the carriage, between her Aunt Breha and her trunk. “When are we going to arrive at the inn?”

“Within the hour. There should be someone waiting for us when we arrive. Some envoy from Miss Mothma's household.” Her aunt shivered, looking out the rain-spattered window. “I hope this spring rain ends soon. It may delay our crossing.” Duchess Breha Organa was a handsome woman, with her silver-streaked dark hair, sharp brown eyes, and pursed red mouth. “I don't know if staying in Naboo was a good idea, either. Mon Mothma is a good friend, but Naboo's not always known for its hospitality, especially right now.”

Bail Organa looked up from his newspaper. His suit was an elegant but simple cut. The emerald-green cravat was perfectly tied and his pearl cufflinks were straight as pins. “It'll be worth it. Coruscant's Diamond Jubilee is supposed to be the biggest event in the country's history. The Royal Regatta, the Diamond Gala Ball before the coronation, the Lothal Art Festival and Exhibition...you'll love it.”

His eyes went up to Leia. “They just opened the new Naboo Khyber Works factory, too, the first of its kind to process khyber crystals anywhere. The old Jedi Guards always processed them by hand, before they were disbanded.” He sighed. “We need this vacation, what with everything going on. I'm glad we managed to escape for the whole summer.”

“So am I.” Breha sighed, wistfully leaning back in her seat. “A full month of nothing to do but have picnics, watch horse races, buy jams at fairs, and attend the occasional ball. It sounds like heaven.”

Leia's dark eyes glittered. “There's so much unrest in Naboo and Coruscant these days. I can't believe they're even wasting money on a Diamond Jubilee Celebration or a coronation! If the Jedi Guards were still alive, surely they wouldn't allow this.” She took the paper from her uncle. “This is all propaganda. Palpatine calls himself 'prime minister,' but he's really a dictator. The real royal family died when Coruscant invaded Naboo.”

She may have been tiny and slender, in her white traveling suit and veiled hat with its dashing ecru feather, but Leia Shimi Organa was as tough and feisty as any man or woman alive. She held her matching white parasol with the ruffled trim and steel shaft on her knees.

“He's also the only ruler Naboo has at the moment. When he's crowned, it'll unify Coruscant and Naboo.” Bail patted his niece's knee and gathered the paper. “You'll like staying with Mon Mothma. Chalindria Court is big enough to fit two of Aldra Castle, with a vast library and many fine gardens.”

“Senator Mothma?” She nodded eagerly. “Oh yes. I've read about her. She's very influential in political circles. I've wanted to talk to her for years about the situation in the Naboo Empire.”

His lips fell in a grim line. “There's a blurb on the front page about a fire at the Erso Shipyards in Scarif. Everyone there was killed, including the owner. Galen Erso was a friend of mine and of Senator Mothma's. The Shipyard was one of Coruscant's major suppliers of battle cruisers other military vehicles.” He stopped at one page. “Including experimental flying craft. It would seem Erso designed a fleet of flying battle cruisers. They're calling them airships. There was a fire that started while they were testing it, and it got out of control.”

“I think it's ridiculous.” Leia made a face as she read over her father's shoulder. “Everyone knows Baron Vader is just the prime minister's lap dog, and he stole his title from the previous consort. Palpatine and Tarkin are the ones who made the rules. They censor everything – the press, artwork, every aspect of day-to-day living. People are starving or losing their homes or their lives, and they want to crown him king!”

Breha shuddered. “I heard they're even using slave labor from Kashyyak, Naboo's protectorate in Africa, and are forcing them to work with the khyber crystals. No local will do it. Khyber crystals are unstable if they're not handled properly.”

Her husband nodded. “I agree. I've been arguing against these atrocities for years. I intend to talk to Tarkin and Mon Mothma and find a way to put an end to them while we're here.”

“I hope the driver hurries.” Breha shivered. “I've heard there's bandits on these roads. The Crimson Hawk and his men. They'll steal from any cart that passes through their territory.”

Bail wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. “The Crimson Hawk is just a Naboo myth. These are more than likely just desperate men who think they have no other recourse but to steal.”

Leia's fingers tightened around the parasol. “I'm ready for them.”

“I don't think anyone can be ready for them, my Lelita.” Bail folded his newspaper neatly as the sun began to break through the clouds. “I've heard of them, too. They catch you by surprise, then take your valuables.”

Leia was just beginning to doze off when the carriage jolted to a stop. She and her aunt tumbled to the floor, a mass of arms and legs in stiff cotton suits. The door had been flung open, giving Leia a quick glimpse of feet in shiny knee-length boots and tight black breeches. The sound of guns firing and swords clashing clanged in her ears.

“Everyone out!” The carriage was surrounded by men on horseback. Each one wore a white blouse with a black vest trimmed with brass buttons that shown as they caught the emerging late afternoon sunlight. Red bands encircled each right arm. Their heads were covered by black masks that completely obscured their faces and hair and thick, dusty goggles that covered their eyes. Three held guns or swords on their drivers. Another two held swords on their valet's throats. The goggles and the muscles bulging under some of their shirts gave them a rather sinister air.

One small fellow with wisps of black hair under his hood whipped open a burlap bag. “Start handing over your valuables, people. Make it snappy.” He nodded at one burly fellow who had to be over 7 feet. Leia could see thick hair sticking out of his mask. “Or our friend here will start removing arms from sockets.”

“This is an outrage!” Bail stepped out first. “I am Duke Bail Organa of Alderaan, and I demand to know what this is all about!”

Two more men galloped out of the shadows, as if they'd simply emerged from them. The taller of the two sported a bright red blouse with a red sash under the black vest and rode a proud black stallion. The smaller rider's blouse was gold, his sash black, his horse a white and gold palomino. Both men carried finely etched guns. The shorter thief had a long, thin scabbard on one hip and a strange contraptions of wires and pipes on his back. The taller one had a knife in a scabbard on his leg.

The taller of the two gave them a lazy smirk. “Well then,” he said in a long drawl, “since you're obviously so well-off, why don't you give the Crimson Hawk a donation to our little charity fund? Say, all the money in your purse?”

“Uncle Bail, no!” Leia grabbed his arm. “Don't give in to him!” She turned angrily toward the man on horseback. “You're nothing more than a thief and a scoundrel. Preying on innocent travelers! You could be hung for this!”

The men around her all laughed. The Crimson Hawk was about to reach for her, but she smacked his hand with the sharp end of her parasol and slapped it away. “You'll not harm me,” she hissed, “or my aunt and uncle. If you do, you'll be missing fingers.”

Ignoring her anger, he took her unoccupied hand and kissed it. “You're beautiful, my lady,” he whispered. His thumb ran softly over her knuckle. “What do they call you and that temper of yours?”

“Duchess Leia Organa.” She glared down at her hand. “Stop that.”

The Crimson Hawk barely noticed. “Stop what?”

“Stop that.” She nodded at him rubbing her hand. “My hands are dirty.”

“And mine are in gloves.” He raised her chin. “What are you afraid of?”

“Afraid?” She pulled away. “I'm not afraid of anything.”

Bail coughed, and the smaller man on horseback tapped his shoulder. “Uh, Crimson Hawk,” the man said in an odd, high, crackling voice, “we really need to get going. The Lady Pirate is expecting us.”

The Crimson Hawk blinked, as if coming out of a dream. “Oh. Oh, yeah.” He put out his hands. “All I ask is a tribute, and you can be on your way.”

Bail finally pulled a wad of money from his wallet. “This is all I have on me, but it's yours.” He placed it firmly in the man's palm. “As long as it goes to people in need, not in your pockets or to some gambling house.”

“Don't worry.” The smaller rider gave them a sunny grin, one too sweet and gentle for a highwayman. “We'll make sure it goes to good people.”

“Mr. Hawk.” The very tall man tapped the Crimson Hawk on the shoulder. “The Rogues and I saw twenty of Palpatine's men on the road further back. We really have to go.”

“Right, Rogue Three.” He grinned at Leia, winking at her. “Maybe we'll meet again sometime, Your Highnessness.”

“And maybe you'll rot in the seven pits of hell.” Leia glared at him as he and his men took off into the woods.

Bail turned to his wife. “Breha, do you still have the emergency savings in your...er...special place?”

His wife sighed and turned around. Her slender fingers dug into her maroon traveling suit, between her corset and her bosom. She emerged with a matching purse. “You know I never travel without my pin money. You don't know what you'll run into. This should be enough for a meal at the nearest inn.”

“Good.” Her husband put his hands over hers. “I suspect we should get back into the vehicle now. The bandits may still be watching us. And if they aren't, there may be others who are far less easy-going patrolling the roads.”

Leia was still fuming. “Uncle Bail, he tried to flirt with me! A wanted criminal, and he treated me like some bar maid!”

Breha's husband offered her a hand as she gathered her skirts and stepped back into the carriage. The older woman sniffed. “I thought he was far too forceful, even if his manners weren't as terrible as you'd assume a bandit's would be.”

“I wouldn't worry about him, dear.” Bail helped his niece into the carriage. “We'll probably never see him again.”

They were about to start again when six men on horseback surrounded them. Unlike the bandits, these men wore the shiny white and black uniforms of the Naboo army. Leia shuddered at their heavy muskets and the narrow swords. Each man wore a thick white metal helmet and goggles that protected their heads, but made their faces no more visible than that of the bandits.

Their leader sent a chill into her heart. Vader was the most imposing man in the Coruscant Empire. It was rumored that he wasn't a man at all, but a half-man, half-machine hybrid. His black Naboo uniform with its shiny red and silver braid trim barely fit over the full body armor. A hard rubber mask with one large green lens and one smaller black one and a breathing apparatus covered in thick tubes extended down to panel of nobs and levers on his chest. His long jacket billowed around him like a cape. Leia wondered if he used the steam from his apparatus to make it flare out for dramatic effect.

“Your Grace.” He gave them a small bow. “I wasn't expecting to see you on the road at this time of the year. I thought you'd be in Alderaan, attending the spring galas there.”

Bail gave him a small smile, but it was quite stiff it was. “My family is on its way to visit Senator Mothma for the summer. We're meeting her envoy at the Takodana Inn. We've heard it's going to be quite a party.”

Vader snorted. “I would have preferred doing without all this pomp and frivolity, but our leader insists it's good for the country and to show our might to the rest of the Alliance.” His hiss grew more pronounced. “We have my new airship projects for that. The only reason I agreed to it was to introduce the public to the new Naboo airship fleet. No one will dare oppose Naboo now.”

“If,” Leia pointed out, “you ever get them off the ground. We heard about the fire.”

“An unfortunate accident, but not a major one. The Death Star fleet will be off the ground in time for the coronation.” Vader waved it off. “Two of my soldiers saw men in masks here a few moments ago. Would you have any idea where they went? They're the notorious Crimson Hawk and Golden Eagle gang.”

Leia opened her mouth, but Bail shook his head. “I'm afraid we were all too traumatized to see where they went. They stole almost all the money we had on us.” Bail gave Leia a sharp nudge to her ankle. “Thankfully my wife had some hidden.”

“Oh, yes.” Breha fanned herself. “It was so frightening! The way those ruffians behaved!”

“We'll escort you to your destination.” Vader's hiss now sounded more like a growl. “But if your keeping anything about the attack from us, you will be arrested for withholding information. These bandits have been nothing but a menace. Nobles who pass through here have reported having everything from jewelry to their purses stolen. Other times, they've released prisoners that were being taken to Theed for trial.”

Bail only gathered his newspaper. “We'll do anything in our power to aid you.”

“Uncle,” Leia whispered, leaning against him as the carriage jolted to life again, “why didn't you tell him the truth?”

“I don't trust Vader. Why would he care about an ordinary bandit? He's after something.” Bail put his arm around his niece. “Stay close to your aunt and me, and watch what you say. It's rumored that Vader has the power to read men's minds, some trick he picked up from ancient Jedi texts.”

Leia only nodded as her aunt curled up on his other side. “I'm ready for anything.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Why did you let 'em off easy, mate?” Chewbacca shook the Crimson Hawk's shoulder as they dashed through the forest. “You could 'ave taken them for a lot more than just'a few gold coins.”

“It's the lass, isn't it?” Another man with blue eyes and thick black hair and a mustache peeking under his hood snickered. “Admit it, mate, you fell for the girl.”

“I can't say I blame him.” A taller man gave them a toothy grin. “She was mouthy, that one.”

“You know me. Can't resist a good-looking lady.” The Crimson Hawk showed off his lazy grin. “And the aunt wasn't bad lookin', either.”

The younger man with the golden hair sticking out of his hood held up the bag. “This is more money than we can gather in a week! Do you know how many mouths we could feed with this?”

“Not to mention,” the tallest man added in his strange accent, “we need to start working on releasing the slaves at Nabarrie Palace and the airship grounds.” He growled. “If they've harmed my son and father, I'll...”

“I have connections, Chewie. Last time I checked with them, they were tired and hungry, but still alive.” The Hawk held up one of the coins in his hand. “Some of it has to go into my 'special fund,' too. We'll pay off Jenkins yet.”

The Crimson Hawk patted the younger man on the shoulder. “And there's our secret weapon. Just needs a few more tweaks, and she'll be ready for operation. In the meantime, we need to work on our plans for for the Lothal Arts Festival, an' the kid an' Kenton need to finish updating his old man's light sword.”

He turned to his men. “I'll see you boys at Lady Mothma's party tomorrow night. She's honoring some rich dignitaries coming from up north.” His grin grew nearly feral. “Tarkin and Vader are going to be there. So will a lot of other rich people. Shouldn't be hard to swipe a few thousand credits' worth of trinkets off that fancy crowd. Maybe we'll even make enough money to take the Falcon and get out of this mud hole.”

The man on horseback tilted his head thoughtfully. “Han, that girl...there was something about her. And not just her being pretty. I felt like I knew her.”

The Crimson Hawk's lips curled into a sneer. “A grand duchess? Girl like her wouldn't have time for working stiffs like us. You probably just saw her face in the newspaper when they did articles on Alderaan.”

“I need to get going.” The Golden Eagle looked at his pocket watch, a large gold piece with the insignia of a crown and a star engraved on the cover. “I told Lady Mothma Ben and I would meet those dignitaries for her. Ben went on ahead to talk to Maz.”

“Great, kid. I'd join you, but I'm due for a chat with Governor Tarkin about delivering crystals to the new factory.” The Crimson Hawk turned his black stallion in the opposite direction. “I'll meet you back at Chalindria Court. Our parlor is still bein' repaired. Mothma offered hers.”

“You be careful.” Chewbacca patted the Crimson Hawk's shoulder. “Huttman's out for blood because you lost that shipment of opium. You don't need Palpatine and Vader on your tail, too.”

“Don't remind me. It'll be better this time.” He flashed his friend a wide smile. “Trust me.”