The Adventures of the Crimson Hawk, Part 13

Leia was getting worried. “Where are we going?”

“Where Vader and his goons aren't.” The tallest man was tossing people left and right, trying to clear the way for his friend and leader. The Crimson Hawk was gritting his teeth. “Nothing's going right today. This wasn't supposed to happen.”

“Oh yeah?” Leia glared at him. “And what was supposed to happen?”

“We were going to free a couple of indentured Wookie servants in the club and Bast Manor.” The Crimson Hawk patted a small velvet purse. “And relieve a few rich people of their unnecessary valuables.” Long gloved fingers tugged at the gun on his hip. “We'll talk about it after we drop you off and rendezvous at...at our usual spot.”

“Oh no.” Leia planted her feet firmly besides him. “I'm coming with you. You know I can keep a secret. Whatever you're doing, I won't tell Vader or Palpatine or anyone else.”

The Hawk faced her down, shaking his head. “It'll be safer for all involved if you're at home with your aunt and the Senator, where you belong. There's enough people who either know who I am or suspect as it is.”

He'd just stomped into the parking lot when she said softly “Henry, I can help you. We can help you, if you'll let us.”

The long jaw nearly hit the dirt. “How did you...”

Cedric's long legs allowed him to keep pace with them. He opened his mouth before the Hawk could continue. “Pardon me for saying so, Mr. Hawk, sir, but we have far worse problems. Baron Vader not only incarcerated your men, but he revealed one to be Captain Wedge Antilles. I was shocked! I thought he was a such a good man! Vader's on his way here now to arrest the rest of you.”

“That's it. We're getting outta here.” Henry grabbed Leia around her torso and deposited her in the back of the first carriage he could find. It was an ancient, splintering red brougham driven by slightly sleepy-looking brown and white mares. Charles picked up the squawking Cedric by his collar, dropped him next to Leia, and got in the driver's seat alongside his employer.

“I've seen toy carriages in better shape than this!” Leia poked her head out the battered window. “Would it help if I got out and pushed?”

Henry may have glared back at her. It was hard to tell through those green lenses. “It might!” It took several moments of shaking the reins, but the two mares finally awoke enough to send them flying down the dirt road along the river.

The horse careened around a corner, sending the occupants bouncing into each other. “Oh, this is suicide!” Cedric wailed, rubbing his rear. “How did people of our quality get caught up in this mess?”

Three black and gray Coruscant carriages thundered down the road behind them. They were the most unusual carriages she'd ever seen. Each one had two pipes on either side, filled with bubbling red liquid. She screamed and ducked as one of the pipes fired, sending a beam of scarlet light over their heads.

“Henry,” Leia called to the back, “where are we going?”

He took a bend in the road so fast, they were almost on two wheels. “The Junk Pickers' yard near Lothal. We'll need a better ride than this if we're gonna make it to Bespin. I have a buddy there who might be able to help us.” His black-gloved hand tossed her a gleaming brass gun, with its curved red and black pieces and bubbling blue liquid. “Here. Keep them busy while I navigate through town.”

Leia took the gun in her fingers. Despite the brass, it was lighter than the pistols she was used to, and warmer. She leaned out the window and fired at the buggy behind them, burning three men and distracting the driver enough for him to go rolling into the cliffs below them. There was less of a kickback, too. The blast of an ordinary gun was replaced by the crackle of electricity all around them as the firing continued.

Cedric wailed as an ordinary bullet flew under his long nose. “Oh, do be careful! Someone could be grievously injured, and I really don't want it to be me!”

“Wish this was the Falcon.” Henry cracked the reins as hard as he could. “These nags are barely running. The Falcon can take speeds up to 100 miles per hour.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “When the bloody engine's working, mate.” He shot off his own gun, knocking three more into the river.

“It just needs a few more tweaks, and it'll be perfect.” Henry swung the horses off the river road and onto a narrower, rock-strewn road. “Right now, it's the only way we're gonna outrun these jerks.”

“We'll never outrun them,” Cedric wailed, clutching the sides of the running board. “Mr. Hawk, I'm sure our chances of survival are approximately three hundred and seventy five to one!”

Henry didn't even look at him. “Never tell me the odds!”

There was only one cart left, the largest belonging to Vader. This one was more angular and elaborate, with larger tubes and steel-tipped ends. They came up close enough for their end to jab into the cart, smashing part of the back.

“Henry, faster!” Leia shot two more officers, but Vader only knocked her beams away. “They're gaining on us!”

“They're going as fast as they were made to, sweet...owww!” Vader's last shot had been knocked off its course by one of the yawning holes in the road. He'd intended to shoot Henry in the back. The sudden jolt knocked his arm slightly to the side, sending the beam bouncing into Henry's right shoulder. Henry clutched his badly burnt arm, the red fabric of his shirt actually smoking.

“Bastard!” Charles screamed over his shoulder. “You're gonna pay for that!”

Leia quickly shimmied into the front seat. “Charles, get him in the back with Cedric. He's in no condition to drive.”

“It's ok, Leia. Really.” Henry pulled his gloved fingers away from his right arm...revealing dark red stains on the thick leather. “I've dealt with worse injuries.”

“Her Grace is right, Han. You can't drive like that.” Charles took the reins as Leia helped gently push Henry into Cedric's thin, gold-clad arms. The big man effortlessly spurred the animals along, barking something in his own, growling language.

“When will we be in Lothal?” Leia held onto her hat as they went wildly around another corner. She looked over her shoulder. “At least we seem to have lost Vader and his boys for the time being.”

“Within twenty minutes, Your Grace.” Charles called over his shoulder. “Golden boy, see if you can find a blanket or a clean sheet or something to cover that injury until we get to the junk yard. There's a first aid kit on the Falcon.”

“There's a woven blanket, but it's terribly frayed and tattered.” Cedric wound the blanket as tight as he could around Henry's damaged shoulder. “There. That should work for now, Mr. Hawk.”

“Great,” Henry muttered. “Now I can't feel my arm.”

“Well,” sniffed Cedric, “of all the ungrateful people! I suppose I shouldn't expect more from an ill-mannered desperado.”

“Goldenrod, it's me!” Henry pulled off his goggles. “Henry Solo. Don't ask me what we're doing here. It's a long story.”

“Goodness gracious!” Cedric was flabbergasted. “Who would have ever guessed?”

“I did.” Leia smirked. “I guessed over a month ago, when you rescued me. I just didn't have proof.”

They finally pulled into the junk yard around dusk. Charles slapped the flanks of the two horses as soon as they were all out. “You return to your masters, old girls. And thanks for the lift.”

“Must we come here?” Cedric wrinkled his long nose. “Why couldn't you have kept the Falcon in a location that smelled better?”

“'Cause this is the last place anyone would look for it.” Henry's burned arm was now in a make-shift sling. “Charlie, you get down to the ship. I'll take them through the workshop.”

Charles nodded, gathering Henry's goggles and their velvet pouches. “Right, mate.” He headed for the trash heap in the back of the shack as Henry took them through the corrugated metal door.

The last thing Leia expected was to find a full-blown chemical laboratory and metal workshop within the shack's rusted walls. While not as elaborate as the one in the small house at Corellia Manor, there were still plenty of tubes with bubbling blue liquid dripping into dully glittering glass beakers. Piles of junk were stacked by what appeared to be the mock-up engine Leia saw at the fair. Tattered maps of Naboo, Coruscant, and the Alliance were hung on hooks on the wall.

“I can't believe you managed to get this all in here.” Leia picked up a box that was similar to the one Luke and Henry held on the Death Star. She nearly dropped it when it crackled to life, revealing Luke's voice.

“Crimson Hawk? Henry?” The young man sounded far-away, as if he were straining to call over great distances. “Rusty and I are on our way to Dagobah. Are you all right?”

Henry swept the box into his good hand. “Hey, kid. We're at the shack for the moment. Charlie's getting the Falcon ready for take-off. Leia and Goldenrod are here, too. We're gonna spend a few days in the Bespin Mountains.”

“Leia and Gol...Cedric?” Luke's voice rose several decibels, causing the box to crackle and sputter. “What are they doing there? How did they...”

“We figured out what was going on,” Leia called. “Don't worry. We won't tell.”

“What would we tell?” Cedric added, scratching his head. “I don't understand any of this!”

“Kid, I think we'd better clear the waves. Vader may try following us.” His voice became less gruff and a bit warmer. “May the Force be with you, Junior.” Anything else Luke might have said was drowned out in a burst of static.

Cedric was peering out the window. “Sir, it might be my imagination, but I think we're being watched.”

“What?” Henry leaned over the man in the gold suit. “Damn it to hell! He's here!”

“He who?” Leia's eyes followed him. She just barely caught sight of the man who had chased them in Ord Mantell before Henry was ushering her to the back wall. “Wait, my purse!” She managed to grab that as he pushed at what appeared to be a rustier-than-usual patch of metal. “What are you doing?”'

“I knew we should have abandoned the carriage earlier.” Henry tore several maps off the walls, then gathered a stack of paper in his one good arm. “Cedric, grab the engine. If Fettson's found us, it's a good bet Vader's not far behind. He'll tattle to anyone who'll pay him.”

“I'm not handling that...oomph!” Cedric's whining was cut off when Leia shoved half the engine in his arms.

“I'll help you.” She draped her purse on her wrist and took the other side. “Let's go. Oh, and when we're on the ship, how about explaining a few dozen things to me, Solo? Like you lying about your injuries, and why you're really doing this?”

“I'll tell you everything when we're on the ship.” Henry stepped back as the rusty panel slid in, revealing a set of shiny glass buttons. His gloved fingers tapped out a code over the glass. A taller panel in the swung opened like an ordinary door. A set of metal stairs lit with eerie green gas lamps lead down into the bowels of the Earth under the junk yard.

Henry stepped into the darkness first. “All clear,” he assured them. “Follow me.”

The steps were narrow and seemed to go on forever. It felt like hours before they emerged in what appeared to be a wide metal garage. Engines, wheels, mechanical parts, and shelves filled with tools lined the shiny walls. The Falcon, only looking slightly less patched than she had a month and a half before, rose majestically in the center of the chaos.

Charles dropped the gang plank. “She's ship-shape and ready to go, Captain,” he insisted, saluting Henry.

“Good.” Henry nodded at Leia and Cedric. “Goldenrod, bring the engine. Charles, get the boosters fired up. Leia, help Cedric. I'll open the roof.”

He darted over to a small box attached to a tube on the wall as Charles pushed several buttons and a lever in the same panel as the ship's wheel. Leia and Cedric had just dropped the engine on the deck when the gyro near the center mast began turning. The blue liquid in the smoke stack boiled rapidly, until it glowed like a priceless sapphire.

Henry swung open the door to the box and pushed two brass levers. Leia's eyes flew up as the curved aluminum ceiling above their heads began opening. Bits and pieces of trash and metal hung precariously over the edges.

“You turned a trash heap into a hangar?” Leia grinned. “I take back most of what I said about you, Mr. Solo. You're slightly brilliant.”

“Thank you.” Henry lead Leia and Cedric in the main galley. “Ok, everyone, strap yourselves in. Next stop, Cloud City!”

Vader looked up just in time to see the Falcon blast through a one of the junk piles and into the hazy summer sky, leaving a trail of blue energy in its wake. He adjusted the green glass lens to stare at the man in the green suit next to him. “Are you sure they'll be going to Bespin?”

“Oh yeah.” A sharp-toothed sneer tugged on Fettson's swarthy face. “Old buddy of Solo's lives there. He's pretty in the money now. It's the first place he'd look.”

“We must get there ahead of them.” Vader narrowed his eyes. “And are you certain that Luke Skywalker wasn't among them?”

Fettson shook his head. “He took off in Antilles' ship after the Regatta. He and Solo's handyman are missin'. None of my boys can find them anywhere, an' my boys are the best.”

“I know how to draw him out.” Vader was already striving across the junk yard. “We'll have to take the Death Star to Bespin. It's the only way to catch up with them.”

“But sir,” a tall, gaunt Imperial officer protested, “it's not quite...”

He was gasping before he could even move. “I need that ship, Piett, not excuses. You'll order your men to prepare the Death Star for me.” The green glass eye returned to observing Fettson. “You'll follow me in your carriage. I may still have some work for you.”

“Good. My boss is getting tired of waiting for his shipment.” Fettson fingered a long, black pistol in his coat pocket. “He wants Solo's head on a silver platter, and he wants it yesterday.”

“He'll get it.” Vader moved his emerald monocle to stare mechanically into the now-empty sky. “I think I have a way of giving us both what we want.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke couldn't have had a worse couple of days. First of all, they got lost. He had to stop by a pier and ask a fisherman where Dagobah was. When he did ask, the fisherman gave him the strangest look he ever seen, though he did give him the directions. They had to stay as close to the shores as they dared in order to avoid Imperial steam ships and ran into at least three sand bars.

After the third time they hit the sand bar, Rusty fell overboard. He'd gone to check the damage and ended up swimming after a wave hit the side of the ship. At least, Luke thought it was a wave. To his horror, it was the biggest fish he'd ever seen, a behemoth with massive teeth and scales. He couldn't attack him with his electrical sword – he'd either electrocute himself or short it out. He jabbed at the creature with a boat pole until it spat Rusty onto the shore.

“You're lucky you don't taste very good,” Luke joked when he finally managed to lead the boat onto the marshy banks and rush to Rusty's side. “Anything broken?”

“Nahh, kid, I'm fine.” The shorter man let his young friend help him to his feet. “Takes a lot more than some river monster to put me out of commission.” His eyes roved to the tangle of ancient trees and vines that lined the shore. “I told you this was a bad idea. Where the hell is this, the Amazon?”

Luke sighed. “I'm beginning to agree with you.” He started back towards the boat. “We'll stay here for tonight, then start out looking for Yoda in the morning.”

As it turned out, they didn't have to look for Yoda. He found them two hours later. Rusty set up a fire to cook a can of beans for their dinner while Luke munched on an old carrot.

“Rusty,” Luke began, “there's something strange about this place.”

The short handyman snorted. “That's putting it mildly.”

Luke's eyes roved to the woods. “I don't know. I have this feeling like...like...”

“Feel like what?”

The boy had been taught to shoot by Han Solo, one of the greatest quick-draws to ever live. The light gun was out of his holster in a second. “Like we're being watched.”

“Away with your weapon. I mean you no harm.” Stick-like arms moved from a withered, slightly greenish face, revealing an elderly Asian man in a tattered robe. “I am wondering, what bring you here?”

Luke decided that this little fellow couldn't do any harm. “I'm looking for someone.”

His new friend showed a grin with a few sharp teeth left. “Looking? Found someone you have, I say.” The tiny being shuffled over to the crates of parts Luke brought to the shore when they ran aground. “Help you get your ship off sand, I will!

“Hey!” Tools and parts flew in every direction. “Don't play with those! They aren't toys!”

“Yoda, would you knock it off?” Rusty emerged from the water with two trout nearly the same size as him. “Quit pickin' on the kid. He's had a rough couple of days. So have I, for that matter. Neither of us are in the mood for your idea of funny.” He snatched an electrical torch out of the little man's wizened hands.

“Grouchy, you always were.” Luke's eyes widened as the tiny man poked a wizened claw into Rusty's arm. “No fun, you were. Wanted to test the boy, I did. Just as troublesome during the Alliance Wars.”

“Some of us aren't in the mood to argue with masters.” Rusty pulled out a knife and threw the fish against a towel he lay on a log. “Luke Skywalker, meet Liang Yoda, the oldest surviving member of the Jedi Guards.”

“Liang Yoda.” Luke sat down hard. “If you're a Jedi, you know why I'm here.”

“Yes, I do.” Yoda poked his gnarled walking stick at the boy. “Wish to become Jedi, like Baron Skywalker. He was too old when Quenton Jinn brought him to us, and you are too old.”

Sir Benjamin Kenton's disembodied voice seemed to float in from the tree tops. “But you ended up assigning me to mentor him anyway. That too-old child saved the entire country when he shot out the front line of soldiers blockading Theed Town in 1844.”

“Marlin Windu's idea, it was. Not mine.” Yoda poked Luke with the stick again. “You are like him, too reckless. Always looking to the future, the horizon. Never your minds on where you were, what you were doing. Always crave adventure, you do.”

“So did I, as a young learner, if you remember.” Ben's voice echoed among the trees. “So did Quenton, and he was one of the best masters the Guards ever had.”

Yoda seemed to be talking to the air. “Will he finish what he begins?”

“I will.” Luke saluted him. “I won't fail you, Master. I'm not afraid.”

“Good,” Yoda said gruffly. “You will be, boy.” Rusty snorted, but said nothing.