The Adventures of the Crimson Hawk, Part 30

“So,” Henry started as Leia dragged her, Charles, and Wicket to the second floor landing, “where did you stash the Crown Jewels?”

“Why, with Mother, of course.” The duchess came to a screeching halt by a long row of portraits, each depicting the Amidala royal family. The most recent painting showed a beautiful young woman in a rich crimson and gold court gown with puffed sleeves and a long train of azure silk under the same ermine cape Palpatine had worn earlier. The tiara Leia stole was nestled in her flowing brown curls. A diamond necklace with a topaz pendent the size of a goose egg rested on her creamy bosom. “Mother, meet Henry, Charles, and Wicket. Boys, meet my birth mother, Queen Padme Anastasia Marie Amidala Nabarrie.”

Henry admired the picture, his eyes roving over the Queen's elaborate outfit and serene expression through her heavy white and red makeup. “I can see where both of you got your good looks.” He gave her a grin as she lifted the portrait and set it on the ground. “She kind of almost looks more like Luke, though. She seems sorta peaceful. You never look that calm, at least not since I've known you.”

“Uncle Bail always said I took after Mother in looks, but I got Father's temperament.” Slender fingers in white silk gloves pressed a piece of golden leaf trim in the wall. A panel opened, revealing a cubbyhole...one wide enough to hold a tiara, crown, and scepter.

Wicket chattered excitedly. He'd never seen such fancy baubles before! Charles and Henry exchanged looks of surprise. “How did you know about this?” Henry asked, scratching the back of his head.

“Ahsoka told me weeks ago, when we were on our way to Lothal to see Luke in the hospital.” Leia dropped the jewelry in a velvet purse. “She and Mother were good friends. Evidently, the two of them, Sir Kenton, Father, and their army squadrons found most of the hiding places and secret passages in the Palace during the Alliance Wars. She said they came in handy for stashing loot and quick get-aways.”

Charles nodded. “That makes sense. Wouldn't be surprised if they built a few of them. I worked with some Alliance armies before I ended up being sold off as slave material. They could be very inventive, those soldiers. Too bad the grunts they have now ain't nothin' like them.”

“Let's get out of here and get to the Aurora Belle, before Vader does further damage to Luke...or worse, talks him into joining Palpatine.” As the White Swan slung the purse over her shoulder, she took Henry's hand. “There's just one thing I want to know. How long have you boys known about Luke being the true king?”

“Three years ago.” Henry shrugged. “He and Kenton originally hired Charles – Chewbacca is his native name - and me to take them to the mainland. They were already planning on trying to put Luke back on the throne and stop Vader and Palpatine from causin' more trouble in Naboo. I didn't want anything to do with it at first...until a week after I dropped them at Dantoonie Village. We lost our shipment when Vader and the Naboo Navy sank the Falcon. One of Vader's boys put that bullet in my knee to keep me from escaping. Good thing Chewie was able to carry me to a lifeboat.”

Charles put an arm around his closest friend. “Kenton used what money he had left, along with our money from a previous shipment, to pay for the surgery on Henry's knee and to raise and begin repairs on the poor Falcon. The remaining money was put into Solo Shipping.”

“Ben wanted Luke on the throne and the Jedi back in power. Luke wanted to avenge his aunt and uncle and parents, whom we thought had been killed by Vader and his boys.” The famous smirk returned, in full leering splendor. “The answer was to keep right on doing what I'd always done...but legitimately. Solo Shipping wasn't just a cover for our Crimson Hawk activities. It gave us the low down on exactly when expensive goods would be moving through the Alliance. I figured we'd make enough money through both to eventually pay off Huttman and get out of town after the kid was on the throne.”

“What about this?” Leia reached into her blouse, pulling out a gold pendant. “You dropped it the night of Mon Mothma's party.”

“You have that? I wondered what happened to it.” Henry ran a finger down the knotted leather cord that held the golden hawk. “Luke insisted that every member of the League of the Crimson Hawk should wear something that would identify us to each other that no one else knew about. Wedge and his buddies all have one. Charlie and Rusty do, too, and Kenton did.” Charles pulled out his gold hawk pendant. The gleaming bird looked tiny on Charles' mountainous breast.

“This is yours.” Leia's small fingers started to untie the cord. “I've been wanting to give it back, but I haven't had the time.”

“Keep it.” Henry's gloved fingers wrapped around hers. “It looks better on you, and as a member of the League of the Crimson Hawk, you should have one.”

They were about to lean in for a kiss when Cedric tapped his arm. “Captain, I'm afraid this isn't the time for that. We have a few problems.”

Leia winced as she was poked in the side by a long dueling sword. Hux, his eyes wild and his fine suit covered in the remains of the refreshment table, pointed his uniform dueling sword at her back. Boba Fettson grabbed her gun and Henry's.“I knew it! I knew if we followed you, we'd find the Crown Jewels. Palpatine will be most pleased.”

“He won't if you never get to him.” She dove right at him, swinging her weapon with all the finesse of a veteran swordsman. “Henry, go! Take the jewels!”

She tossed the velvet bag to Henry, who tossed them to Cedric, who nearly dropped them but managed to get them to Charles at the last second. “Come on, mates! This party's getting too hot for us!” The towering Wookie native swung Wicket onto his shoulders, letting him jab at soldier's heads and necks with his spear as they rushed out.

Leia glared at the ginger-haired general as they found themselves with swords crossed, eye to eye. Boba Fettson held his gun on Henry's chest. “Forget it, Hux. I'm still not going to become your bride. Now tell your tame bounty hunter to drop that gun, before this winds up in the empty spot in your chest where your heart should be.”

Hux sneered. “Can't blame a man for trying.” He pushed her off, trying to disarm her. Henry watched as they clashed, their swords and legs going so fast, they were a blur in the brightly painted hall.

The general may have been trained at the finest military academy in the Alliance, but Leia was the better fighter. She was mad as a hornet, her eyes flashing like burning stars. The angry duchess finally managed to shove him over a footstool that lay along the landing. The second he lost his sword, it flew into her small grasp.

“Fettson will release Henry Solo,” she snarled, “and then our people will lock you two in the dungeons bellow this castle until the Queen and King of Naboo decide your fate.” Chief Chirpa and six of his Ewoks chattered up behind her, their spears and knives raised.

Boba Fettson was having none of this. “You can keep this skinny little sap.” He took off down the hall. “I have other jobs in other kingdoms I could be doing.”

“Not this time!” He tugged the shoulder of one of the Ewoks. “Can I borrow this?” The little warrior turned over his knife and bola, even though he didn't quite understand what Henry had in mind.

Henry rushed after him. He swung the bola around as well as he could, getting it around Fettson's feet just as he made it to the ballroom stairs. They brought him and his green armor clattering to the ground. He used the knife to cut a tapestry, which tangled Fettson before he could escape. The Ewoks and several of the former dancers from Jenkins' Palace rolled him up like a cigar, then came upstairs and did the same to Hux.

Cedric and Rusty brought several Ewoks upstairs as Henry rushed to Leia, kissing her as hard as he could. “You were amazing, Sweetheart. I couldn't be prouder of my Queen.”

“Thank you.” Leia kissed him hard down his neck and chest. “There was no way I was going to rule a kingdom without my scoundrel.”

“Hey you two.” Rusty smirked knowingly as the Ewoks oohed and ahhed. “Not that this isn't better than a romance novel, but we really have to get going.”

Cedric nodded. “Mr. Bacca told me that the Aurora Belle is ready to depart. We're just awaiting the two of you, Rusty, and me.”

Leia nodded, frowning as she pulled away from Henry. “I can feel Luke. He's even angrier than I was, moments ago. Vader must have gotten his dander up over something.”

Henry took her hand as they walked out, dodging Ewoks jabbing at soldiers. “Let's go save your brother from himself again.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sabers sizzled and crashed as Luke and Vader fought all around the bridge. Vader was starting to think the boy was much better at fighting than previously believed. He'd gained a great deal of confidence in the weeks since they last confronted each other.

He finally pulled away as the boy leaped onto the upper deck by the captain's chair. “Your thoughts betray you, Father,” he insisted. “I can feel the good in you. The conflict.”

Vader's hiss was more pronounced. “There is no conflict.”

“You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, at Bespin or on the first Death Star. You won't do it now.” Luke tugged at his pack, switching off his saber. He pulled into the darkness, trying to stay away from Vader's saber and his maniacally cackling teacher. “I will not fight you. I can't fight family.”

“Family.” Vader slowly sauntered up the stairs, moving closer to the dark corner where Luke hid himself. “Your mother thought she could bring me back. She, Kenton, and that cranky old fool Yoda tried to hide you from me. They failed. You will fail.” He pressed closer. “With the dark side, you can save your guardian, your lover...” There was a knowing bubble in his voice as he ground out, “your sister. Yes. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. I should have known Padme would trust her daughter with Bail Organa. He was her dear friend for years.” The red blade edged closer to Luke, giving a coppery glow to his golden hair. “If you will not turn to the dark side, perhaps she will.”

“NEVER!!” Luke leaped from the shadows, landing nearly on Vader. It took all the mechanical man's skill to roll away from the distraught youth. He was seriously starting to regret having even so much as mentioned the Duchess Organa. The boy flung himself into the battle, swinging harder and harder with every slash. They overturned chairs and made splinters of an easel holding the plans to invade Alderaan.

Vader couldn't hold him off much longer. Luke threw everything he had into the sword, parrying and thrusting with a fury more commonly seen in typhoons. A final series of slashes brought Vader to his knees. With an angry scream, Luke swung his saber against Vader's hand, hacking it off with one blow.

“Good, good.” Palpatine was grinning ear to ear, his eyes glistening with unbridled delight. “Now, eliminate him, and you can take your father's place at my side.”

That woke Luke out of his angry stupor. His sapphire eyes glanced down at the smoking tangle of wires where Vader's hand had been. They then moved to his own black-gloved appendage, the one that now held the sizzling blue weapon. Part of him was mechanical. Part of him was like his father. He, too, was a mechanical man.

But not all of him.

“No, Prime Minister.” Luke slid out of his pack, dropping it on the navigator's chair. “You've failed. I'm a Jedi Guard, like my father before me....and a member of the Naboo Royal Family, like my mother.”

Palpatine's own blue eyes narrowed. “So be it, Your Majesty.”

Even as Palpatine moved forward, an explosion rocked the entire ship from stern to aft, sending him and Luke to their knees with Vader.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Langdon grinned as fire shot out of one of the rooms on the Death Star Airship like a roaring cannon. “See?” He nudged Niem. “I told you they'd do it!”

The blast ripped apart the guns hanging under that room, as well as any shields or deflectors it may have had. The Falcon had no trouble flying right in, shooting hard and fast.

“We will need more firepower, Mayor Croydon.” Laurence and members of Maz Kantana's pirate crews manned the cannons, shooting anything under or near them that moved. “We have all guns working as it is, but the Falcon is still taking damage.”

“Keep firing! Get as close to the Naval warships as you can.” Even with four cannons missing, the Death Star was still three times their size, with more guns than even many regular battle ships had.

“At that range,” the Admiral insisted, “we won't last long against the Coruscant Navy.”

“We'll last longer than we will against that Death Star!” Langdon turned the ship around, closer to the massive silver airship. “And we might just take a few of them with us!”

Niem let out a long, loud stream of gibberish as one of the Death Star's cannons took off the Falcon's back fin and railing, running to Langdon to report the damage. “That was too close. Henry's going to kill me when he sees his ship.”

As he swooped underneath the Death Star's undercarriage, most of the guns changed their focus. Niem pointed to the river below them. His gibberish became higher and faster. There was a big grin somewhere under that hang-dog upper lip of his.

Langdon looked over his shoulder...and let out a cheer of his own. “The cavalry has arrived!” He grabbed a spyglass from under the ship's wheel and gazed down at the churning river waters. Four battle steam ships...five...or was it six? Six battleships flying the Alderaanian mountain and hawk banner exchanged fire with the Naboo Naval vessels. One had already been sunk, even as the crew of the Falcon watched.

Niem was practically jumping up and down now. A familiar luxury yacht charged through the river, barely managing to wedge between two boats before cutting the largest Naboo cruiser off from the Admiral. While the Aurora Belle had no guns, he clearly saw exchange of rapid fire khyber crystal beams coming from Henry, Leia, Charles, and Rusty's brass pistols.

Another ship followed the Aurora Belle. Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra shot more of her colored smoke balls from their cannons. The air around the Ghost was filled with yellow, pink, blue, green, and lavender fog. Kanan fought with Naboo army

Niem was doing a wild jig on the deck that was popular in his native Sullustia. Langdon slapped him on the back. “Ok buddy, you take the wheel. I'm going to take out that flying menace once and for all!”