Ben lead them through the twisting
corridors of the former Mufasar Iron Works. He seemed to know where
he was going, and it was a good thing. Luke was sure they would have
never figured that place out on their own. The halls had more rooms
than the Timely Building at Coruscant University. At least the halls
were mostly in better shape than the outside, with modern computer
equipment, polished wood flooring, and repaired ceiling tiles. If
anyone asked Rusty, he claimed he was a health inspector, and
Chewbacca was his attack dog. Chewie growled and tried his best to
look mean.
“How do they deal with this on a
daily basis?” Luke complained. “This uniform is too tight, and I
can't see a thing in the helmet!”
“I agree,” Charlie whined as he
nearly stumbled into the wall. “They could have designed these
better. No wonder the Shadow Men are notoriously poor shots. They
can't see where they're shooting!”
“If this is what it's like to be a
super villain, they can have it,” Harris grumbled as he shot the
lock on the door at the end of the hall. “No wonder Superman always
beats the pants off Lex Luthor. He can't move in his gadgets.”
Everyone followed him as he stormed into a large room filled with
rows of blinking green-lined computer panels. “If I ever became a
superhero, I'd make armor that was more flexible. More like what
Batman wears, but not blue tights.”
Luke made a face as he pulled off his
helmet. “Could we talk fashion later? Between the dog's howling and
your blasting everything, it's a wonder no one's tried arresting us
yet.”
“You think I'm enjoying this?” The
older man swiped at a computer console. “I prefer a straight fight
to sneaking around.”
Rudy sat down at one of the consoles
and started plugging away. Charlie leaned over his shoulder. “Do be
careful,” he warned his shorter friend. “This is a more advanced
system than you've ever dealt with. If they know you've been fiddling
with it...”
“Ehh, this is a piece of cake.” The
shorter man snickered as he tapped away at the shiny keyboard.
“Anything you guys want to see? I could call up Hollywood
Squares re-runs.”
Ben leaned over him. “What I want to
see is the area where the main electrical switch is. There has to be
something that will shut down the power.”
The others were silent as Rudy clicked.
“Looks like the main generator is downstairs, Level A, Room 15,
just off the main room.”
“I'd better go alone.” Ben patted
his own sword by his side. “I'll be able to do this easier on my
own.”
“Whatever.” Harris was looking out
the door. “I've had enough excitement to last me ten years. I'm not
going anywhere.” Chewbacca barked in agreement before sniffing
around, making sure none of those bad men in white were nearby.
Luke wasn't as convinced. “I want to
go with you.”
“No, Luke. I want you to stay here.”
The older man leaned in and added softly. “If I don't get out, I
want you to find Yoda Yamoda, my old mentor. Tell him the Negotiator
sent you. He lives in Dagobah, near the Troma Marsh Reserve.” He
put a hand on Luke's shoulder. “Remember, your powers chose you and
your family to do great things. Those powers will be with you.
Always.”
“Do be careful, Mr. MacKenner,”
Charlie fretted. “Watch out for guards and loose floorboards. Who
knows what might be lurking around the corners in a place like this?”
Rudy continued to click away on the
computer. “Yeah, Benny. Don't do anything Tony would do.”
“Oh, don't worry.” The older man
chuckled. “I won't.”
Chewie let out a bark that sounded
distinctly derogatory as the older man left. “You said it, boy.”
His owner scratched him between the ears. “Where did you dig up
that relic?”
“Ben is a great man!” Luke shot
back. “He was in World War II, you know!”
“And I was in Vietnam.” Harris made
a face. “He's crazy if he thinks we're just going to sit around and
wait for everyone to get off lunch. I say we get out of here, before
there's more trouble.”
Charlie watched nervously as the two
men glared at each other. “Who do you think you are?” The younger
one shot back.
Harris crossed his arms and smirked.
“Someone with a lot more common sense than the rest of you.”
“Would you two shove it?” Rudy
looked over his shoulder at them, a grin spreading across his face.
“Guys, I found her! She's here!” He bounced around in his seat
like a child. “She's here!”
Luke sprinted over first. “Who's
here?”
“Force Girl!” The little man's grin
fell as he tapped away. “She's right along this hall, in room 6!”
Luke gasped. “Oh no! We can't let
that happen! We have to rescue her!”
“Are you crazy?” Harris plopped
down next to Rudy and somehow managed to lift his long legs onto the
console despite the jumpsuit. “I'm not throwing my neck or Chewie's
into the fire.” The big furry mutt barked at his name.
“They could be killing her right
now!” That was when Luke turned to him with a small grin of his
own. “You know, she's rich. Her father was one of the most powerful
men in town. If you rescue her, the reward would be...astronomical!
More than you can imagine!”
“I can imagine a lot.” Harris
crossed his arms and stuck out his lip, looking even grumpier than
usual. “I don't play Batman for nothin', you know.”
“You'll get any reward you want. I
swear!” Luke looked up as voices were heard in the hall. “Could
you and Charlie handle those men? I'll go get her!” He threw his
helmet on and dashed down the hall, ignoring Charlie's wails and
Harris' snarls of protest.
It was easy to find Room 6. Water was
leaking out of it like that old pipe in the sink in Uncle Owen's
workshop. His feet slipped on the puddle at the bottom. “Have to be
careful,” he muttered as he concentrated on getting his sword to
work. Once the light sizzled, he brought it down on the knob with one
whack, then cut through the rest of the iron door.
Whoosh! A small tsunami of brownish
liquid sent him tumbling into the wall. A sopping wet, coughing
figure in a chair flowed right into him. Big brown eyes stared right
at his as the chair nearly squashed his knee.
“You're a bit short for a Shadow Man,
aren't you?” the girl managed to get out between hacking up water.
His mouth worked, but nothing came out.
Even dripping wet, she was gorgeous. Tendrils of brown hair escaped
from the two buns on either side of her head and curled around her
porcelain neck. Full red lips spoke in a voice that sounded like
honey on the honeycomb. It took Luke a few minutes to shake off this
vision of beauty – not to mention shake the water out of his hair
and ears - and remember where he was and what they were doing.
“Oh! Um, yeah. The uniform.” He
tugged the helmet off and threw it aside. “I'm Luke Skylander. My
friends and I are here to rescue you.” He started tugging at the
ropes around her wrist. The water had made them expand and cling
together.
The girl – Force Girl – just
blinked. “You're whom? Don't I know you from somewhere?”
“I'm here with Rusty and Charlie,
from the Rebel League.” He hurried down the hall as soon as she was
free. “They've got the plans. I'm here with Ben...the
Negotiator...sorry we took so long...”
“The Negotiator!” She was already
pushing her buns under a white hood and red mask. “Let's go! I need
to talk to him.”
They were dodging bullets, even before
they waded through the mess the water left in the halls and returned
to the slightly damp computer room. “What were they doing to you in
there, anyway?”
“Trying to drown me.” Leia ducked
under the hail of bullets, raising her hands in front of her chest.
To Luke's surprise, fire shot out of them, making two men run down
the hall and melting three consoles. “Oh, damn! I wanted to burn
them. Now they're going to sound the alarm.”
“Nice going, doll.” Harris pulled a
gun out of his armor. “Good thing I always bring my own.” He
tossed a gun to Luke, then to Leia. “You know how to handle these,
sweetheart?”
Leia raised an eyebrow. “I think I
have the general idea.” Instead of bullets, a hail of sticky goo
rained out of her gun. The man was so covered in brownish gunk, he
could barely move. She smirked and shot three more in succession,
then shot around the floor in front of them. Thee more Men running in
the door were stuck up to their ankles in thick goo.
“Nice work, Your Force-ship.”
Harris pulled a smaller gun out of his boot. “Here, kid. See what
you can do with this.”
“Groovy!” Luke raised the gun,
making “pow!” sound effects. Small pellets shot out, exploding
when they hit a man and flung them against the wall. Chewie leaped on
several men, knocking them over.
“What is all this?” The girl in the
white and red jumpsuit glared at Harris. “I'm assuming lunchtime is
over?”
Harris shrugged, a little sheepishly.
“Ok, so I had a hard time convincing these guys over the intercom
that I was one of them. I was never really good with authority.”
“So I see.” She tossed her weapon
to Rudy, then aimed her fire up at a small grate in the wall. It
burned the grate, revealing an opening. She shot another man, heating
up his weapon and burning his fingers, before turning her flashing
dark eyes under their mask to Harris. “Into the air duct, Batman!
Charlie, help me remove the rest of the grate!”
“This may work for you,” Charlie
fussed as he awkwardly tugged the burnt pieces out, blowing on his
fingers, “but what about the rest of us? I'm not climbing around in
there!”
Her head popped out of the grate. “You
and Rudy cover us. We'll meet you back at the front gate.”
“Sounds good to me.” Rudy grinned
and shot two more men, who stuck together and couldn't take a step
forward without falling into each other. “You boys need to learn a
little bit about teamwork!” He grabbed Charlie. “Come on! We'll
storm the gate! We'll take no prisoners!”
His taller friend groaned. “I'm going
to regret this!”
Harris helped Luke into the grate, then
shoved Chewie in behind him. “Get in there, you goof!” A whimper
echoed from inside the grate. “I don't care what you smell! Follow
the kid and the girl!” He took a few last shots with his own gun,
grabbed a chair, and just managed to shimmy into the grate himself.
“Where are we?” he muttered as he
crawled down a damp, narrow tunnel. “Where are we going? I have a
crick in my neck the size of Chewie.” His pet barked at the mention
of his name.
“Oh, stop complaining.” Leia turned
a corner. “I got us out of there, didn't I?”
Luke wiped his brow. “Is it me, or is
it hot in here?”
“Wait.” Leia used her heat to burn
the bars on another grate and make them disintegrate. “This is our
stop, boys.”
They crawled out behind the biggest
furnace Luke had ever seen. Rubber and clear plastic hoses directed
energy from a giant metal oven in the center of the room. Glowing
green rocks were loaded in piles on one side of the wall. The light
from the oven was a sickly pale, flickering green.
“Whew!” Harris wiped his forehead.
Chewie whimpered. “No kidding. You would lead us into literal hell,
Your Worship. It's not going to take them long to figure out what's
going on in here.”
Leia shrugged. She actually seemed a
bit perkier, her pink cheeks almost as radiant as the oven. “Feels
fine in here to me. Besides, it could be worse.”
Harris picked up one of the rocks.
“Please tell me this isn't kryptonite.”
“No, it's not.” Leia swept one into
her hand before Chewbacca could eat it. “It's khyber crystal.
According to the comics, the Jedi used to use it to amplify their
powers. After they were killed off, what little remained was sent off
to be mined into ore for lasers and hush-hush weapons.”
That was when a rumble under their feet
nearly sent all of them to the floor. Chewbacca let out a howl that
nearly matched his owner's. “What the hell was that?” Harris shot
at the wall, but the bullet barely made a dent.
“This used to be an iron factory!”
Luke wailed. “Even a bullet couldn't get through that!”
“Maybe not a bullet.” Leia held up
her hand and closed her eyes, focusing on the wall. A stream of fire
shot from her fingers, burning a small hole. “Don't just stand
there! You,” she pointed the finger that wasn't shooting fire at
Harris, “see if you can find something to brace the walls with.”
“Don't order me around, Your
Worship!” Harris grumbled, even as he managed to wrench a metal
tube from the wall. Chewbacca got on his hind legs and shoved his big
paws as hard as he could. “I was gonna do that anyway.”
Luke backed into a sunlit window that
hadn't been covered by the moving wall. He lifted his sword, then let
loose with a stream of his own light. He felt warm down to his toes,
and it wasn't just from the furnace and the adrenaline.
“You're a light power Leaguer?”
Leia opened one very surprised brown eye. “Why didn't you say so
upstairs?”
He shrugged. “I never had the
chance.”
The wall kept grinding along, crushing
crystal in loud crackling sounds. They all had to move away from the
shattered crystal to avoid getting badly cut. Chewbacca howled when
he stepped on one and moved next to Harris, who was now shooting at
the wall with his ice gun, trying to make it shrink and crack. The
heat melted the ice before it could do much damage.
“Wait!” Luke pushed past Harris to
a small box on a wall. “The intercom!” He pressed the button and
practically screamed into it. “Hello? Anyone? We're trapped in the
furnace room!”
“Luke?” Charlie's voice came across
in a burst of screechy static. “Where are you? We managed to get
back to the main control room. We've had the worst time with the
guards...”
He didn't give him a chance to
complain. “Tell Rudy to shut down the furnace room! NOW!”
Rudy's low voice could be heard in the
background, a weird echo as he asked his buddy what was going on.
“Don't ask me silly questions!” Charlie wailed. “Just shut it
down! Hurry!”
No sooner was it done than the wall
ground to a halt, inches from the furnace. The wall in front of Leia
chose the same time to fall forward, revealing a dark, dingy hallway.
Leia unthinkingly threw herself into Harris' arms, while Chewbacca
howled happily behind him.
“Oh no!” Charlie was sobbing in the
background. “They're dying, Rudy! I wasn't fast enough!”
Luke managed to stop cheering and
jumping around long enough to respond. “We're all right! It's ok!
We're alive! Where are we, anyway?”
The intercom crackled and spit as
Charlie's prim British accent came over the airwaves. “You're on
the ground floor, Level 0, building 1. It seems to be used primarily
by maintenance workers, mechanics, and janitors who repair the
machinery and deliver the khyber crystal and cleaning supplies here.”
“Thanks, Charlie!” Luke leaned on
the intercom. “We'll meet you upstairs as soon as we can. You're a
real peach!” He switched off the intercom, cutting off Rudy's
laughter and Charlie's protest that he wasn't a fruit, he was a human
being.
By the time he'd turned back to the
others, Leia had finished burning a hole through the wall large
enough for all of them to make it through. “Ok, so I hugged you
when the wall stopped,” she snapped testily. “I was happy to be
alive and not thinking.”
Harris smirked as he stripped off his
armor, revealing the black bodysuit underneath. “Sure, that's what
they all say.”
Chewbacca sniffed at Leia as she pulled
off her hood and twisted her sagging hair back into buns. “Enough,
Batman. If we all want to get out of here, from now on, you do as I
tell you, ok? I'm the only one who knows my way around in here, or
how to deal with Vader and the Shadow Men.”
“Look, fire princess, let's get one
thing straight,” Harris snapped. “I take orders from one person,
and one person only – me. I'm my own boss.”
“It's a wonder you're still alive.”
Leia shoved Chewbacca away from her rear as she yanked her hood back
on. “Would you get your giant walking carpet out of my way?”
“Chewie, come here!” His owner
grabbed his collar as Leia stormed past them. “No reward is worth
this abuse!” he grumbled as Luke followed him.
The younger man sighed. “She does
have a point. We have no idea where we're going. She does. She's been
here at least a little longer than we have.”
“Fine,” Harris muttered. “I'll
follow her. But I'm not taking any more orders. I'm not some pretty
boy from her college classes she can order around.”
“That's all I ask.” Luke sighed.
“Just...try to get along with her, ok?”
Harris made a face. “I'm not making
any promises, kid.”
Mufasar Iron Works was the twistiest,
blackest maze Luke had ever seen. Even the industrial lighting
couldn't make the metal walls much brighter. He couldn't take his
eyes off Leia as she lead them up three flights of stairs, waving at
them to hide around corners whenever they saw troops of Shadow Men or
Empire officers. Harris shot at two of them, knocking them into the
wall; Chewie ran under the legs of another, sending him crashing
downstairs.
They finally stopped to catch their
breaths at the catwalk over the main entrance and garage. The Falcon
was parked to one side, not looking too different from the delivery
vans that made up the rest of the row. Shadow Men and men in gray
jumpsuits bustled around, bringing packages of crystal to a loading
dock.
“That's how we're getting out of
here.” Harris pointed to his prized vehicle. “Meet my baby, Fire
Princess.”
“You came in that thing?” Leia
wrinkled her nose. “You're braver than I thought.”
Harris rolled his eyes. “Funny.” He
flipped on the nearest intercom. “Hey Goldenrod, you and the short
guy there?”
“Mr. Arietta?” Charlie's British
accent piped over the box. “I'm so glad to hear from you. We had a
few, er, problems with the Shadow Men and had to abandon our post.
We're in what appears to be Dr. Tarkin's office, just off the main
lobby and garage.”
Luke was leaning over the edge near
Harris. “I think we're right above them.”
They'd just started down the hall
towards the nearest set of metal stairs when they ran almost head-on
into a pack of Shadow Men. Harris drew his gun and shot at them
almost immediately. “Get out of here!” he hollered over his
shoulder. “Get to the ship!” Chewbacca leaped on one of the men,
knocking him to the ground, before taking off after his master.
Leia's eyes were shining. “I have to
give your friend credit. He's an idiot, but he certainly has
courage.”
“What good is it going to do if he
gets killed?” Luke muttered. He pushed Leia in the opposite
direction before the soldier got to his feet.
The Mufasar Iron Works gave the
impression of not having had much work done on it before the Empire
took over The machinery was up-to-date, but a lot of the catwalks and
rooms without computer equipment in them were unfinished and falling
apart. It was more likely that Vader had just moved in when he
realized it was empty and available.
“Whoa!” Luke nearly ran straight
off one of the unfinished catwalks. It looked like the other part had
rusted away. “I think we took a wrong turn.”
He ducked as more shooting could be
heard from the other side of the hall. Leia just stood at the edge of
the catwalk and closed her eyes. “What are you doing?” Luke shot
gunk at two of the men. “We have to get out of here!”
“We will.” She patted her back.
“Get on. I'm going to get us out of here. Or at least, down to the
surface.”
“How?” He dug at the utility belt
he'd swiped from the Shadow Man they'd attacked earlier. “I don't
exactly have any rope on me!”
Even as he spoke, a soft flame was
building under Leia's booted feet. “Grab my back.”
“Well, all right.” He threw his
arms around Leia's neck. “But what if we fall down and break
something? My aunt doesn't have health insurance, and I really can't
afford...”
“We'll be fine.” Her arms went out
to her sides, like an airplane. Fire spread all up and down her arms
and lower legs, giving her the look of a tiny winged phoenix. “All
right. Hold on. I'm taking off!”
Luke's eyes widened. He'd barely gotten
out a sputtered “Wait, what?” before she leaped off the catwalk!
He shut his eyes as tight as possible
and waited for them to go splat on the ground. It was a few minutes
before he realized that, not only were his bones not broken in sixty
million places, but he felt...air? Air and heat rushed across his
polyester-clad arms and legs.
When he did finally crack his eyes
open, he realized he was staring at the ceiling fixtures. “All
right!” The loud whoop could be heard all through the main Iron
Works garage. “We're flying! You can fly! Why didn't you tell me
you could fly?”
“Never got the chance.” She grinned
down at him. “You know, with your powers, you ought to join the
Rebel League.”
Luke turned redder than the flame that
propelled them across the room. “Thanks. I'm still learning. Ben
told me he and some friend of his would teach me how to handle my
powers better. I only just found out about them today!”
“You handled them pretty well, for a
newbie.” Leia sighed as she floated down towards the row of vans.
“I've been learning about since I was ten, but fire is one of the
hardest elements to deal with. I still have a hard time making sure
my flame only damages what I want it to damage and doesn't burn
everything in sight.”
He smiled dreamily at her. She was so
pretty, and really nice when she wasn't arguing with Harris. “If
you help me learn more about my powers, I'll see if I can help you
with yours.”
“I like that.” Her sweet smile lit
up her face even more than her fire did. “I'll hold you to that,
Luke.” She winced as a gunshot just barely missed her side. “I
think it's time we came in for a landing.”
They landed as close to the Falcon as
they possibly could, given it was surrounded by Shadow Men and Empire
officers. Harris and Chewbacca dashed next to them, ducking away from
a hail of bullets.
“What kept ya?” The carpenter's
eyes were more on his adored vehicle than the others.
Leia rolled her eyes. “Let's say we
ran into some old friends and went flying. How's the hunk of junk?”
“It's fine,” he grumbled, “if we
could just get to it.”
Suddenly, everyone turned their heads.
Ben had emerged on one side of the room, his own green khyber crystal
sword at the ready. Vader was on the other. He had no problems
striding over to Ben, his hand raised.
“Negotiator. I knew you'd come back.”
Vader put out his hand. “You thought I was still a student when I
left. I'm the master now, you old coward!”
Ben leaped away as a flame nearly
singed him. “Only the master of evil, Ant...Vader.” He threw out
his hand, raising Vader and slamming him into the wall.
“What's going on over there?” Luke
started to rush over, but Harris grabbed his arm.
“He's giving us the distraction we
need.” He managed to shove the younger man towards the Falcon, then
open the passenger side for Chewie. “Come on, folks. All ashore
who's goin' ashore!”
Luke gulped, his eyes riveted to the
two older men shooting beams of light across the room. “Do you
think he'll be ok?”
“I think he will.” Leia smiled at
him. “He's the Negotiator. Uncle Bail told me he was a great war
hero. He can handle himself.”
Almost everyone in the room, including
the Shadow Men, raced over as Vader shot another bolt of fire right
in Ben's direction. He managed to deflect it with his green sword.
“Your powers are weak, Negotiator.” Vader's hiss seemed more like
a cannon boom in the now-quiet room. “They were never as strong as
mine. You were always jealous. You and...her.”
“You can't win, Father of Death.”
The older man's voice was soft and cold. “If you strike me down,
I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Barely
anyone breathed. It was so quiet, Luke easily heard Ben's soft voice.
“I've passed on my legacy, Ant...Vader. What legacy will you pass
on?”
Something between a hiss and a growl
escaped from the grill that blocked Vader's mouth. Everything seemed
to run in slow motion. He swung both hands across his chest, letting
loose with a fire that burned everything in its path. Everyone else
went flying to avoid the roaring flame, but Ben stood firm. When the
fire blasted through the wall on the other side, there was nothing
left of the former Negotiator but a blackened metal tube and a pile
of ashes.
“NO!” Luke wasn't sure what
happened next, but he was pretty sure he screamed that. With barely a
thought, he raised his sword over his head to a shaft of light coming
from the tall windows in the front facade. The light blasted into the
crowd, incinerating half the machinery in the room and several unwary
Shadow Men. Vader barely managed to avoid it, stumbling back behind
the door to the main facility.
Harris was already in the driver's
side. “Blast the side door, kid!”
Even as Harris spoke, Luke was already
turning with the sunbeam. The bolt of gold-blue light smashed the key
pad on the garage door, slamming it on Vader's face. He swore he
heard Ben's voice say “Run Luke, run!” as he dashed for the van.
Leia and Rudy barely got him in before it went barreling through the
remains of the vans and Imperial employees.
“Yeeeehaaw!” Harris grinned as the
Falcon went flying through the open gate and onto Khyber Drive. “I
got to hand it to that old guy.” He grinned. “It may have gotten
him killed in the end, but at least he kept his word.”
Everyone else was sitting around the
small table in the back. Luke traced patterns in the scarred
checkerboard table. Chewie whimpered at his feet. Charlie and Rudy
sat on the trunk, both looking at him sadly. He barely noticed when
Leia brought him an old quilt she'd found on the trunk. “I can't
believe he's gone,” he whispered sadly. “He was going to tell me
more about the Jedi, and my father, and my powers, and now...”
Leia stroked the back of his head as
the big mutt licked his foot. “There wasn't anything you or anyone
else could have done. It all happened too fast.”
He was wiping at his eyes when
something ramming into the side of the van nearly sent them all to
the ground. “We're not out of this yet, kid!” Harris called over
his shoulder. “I think it's time we went for a flight.” They were
already sprinting along Siegal Expressway, no less than five white
and black Stingrays on their tail. “If you're not using the guns,
strap yourselves in! We're taking off!”
Charlie groaned loudly and Luke cheered
as silvery, badly patched wings popped out of the sides of the
Falcon. Even as it roared into the sky, the Stingrays shot upwards,
trying to clip their underside. Three black and white single-seat
jets streaked straight at them.
“This is where I get off.” Leia
shoved the side door open. “I can handle the ones in the air. You
boys deal with the assholes on the ground.”
“Your worship, I don't think...”
Harris didn't get a chance to finish before she took off, shooting
fire at two of the jet pack-clad Shadow Men. “Ok, so she knows what
she's doin'. Kid, you man the back cannons. I'll see if we can
out-fly 'em.”
Chewie was already tugging at the
handle of the trunk with his teeth. Charlie and Rudy took either side
of the trunk from him, moving it to under the table. Rudy pushed
aside a panel in the back wall that the big dog nudged with his nose,
revealing a whole wall of blinking, booping computer hardware. An old
chair was installed in front of what looked to Luke like one of those
new Space Wars and Starship 1 games that were turning
up in bars and arcades.
Luke flipped a few switches as he sat
down at the controls. “This is amazing!”
“Ain't it?” Harris grinned from his
own controller. “Hey shorty, come up here and take the passenger's
side gun.”
“Really?” Rudy managed to climb
into the chair and, as per Harris' instructions, pulled out what
looked like a Telstar Pong controller. He pushed a few
buttons, shooting rainbow light bullets at the Stingrays on the
ground. A bullet hit one, disintegrating the car completely, leaving
its drivers sitting dazed on the ground. “This is great! We've got
to talk computers and electronics after this is all over.”
Harris chuckled at the delight on the
small man's face. “Sure, short stuff.” He barely managed to get
the Falcon past a hail of bullets from three of the Shadow Men. “Hey
kid,” he called to Luke, “they're goin' your way!”
“I got 'em!” Luke was already
maneuvering his Pong controls. “This is better than Space Wars!”
He let out a whoop of joy as he shot the jet packs of two Shadow Men
in a row, sending them crashing into trees. “I got 'em!”
“Great, kid!” Harris made a face.
“Don't get cocky!” He couldn't help laughing himself as he did a
loop around another one, sending him right into Leia's blazing
flames.
“I have the rest!” Leia burned the
jet packs of the remaining two flying Shadow Men, who went careening
into tree tops. Her fire melted the tires on the last Stingray. She
soared back into the Falcon as they shook their fists at her
backside. Chewie gave her a happy bark when she threw her arms around
him. “We did it, boy!”
“Help!” Charlie had fallen against
the wall and now had a pile of dirty clothes, dishes, and canned
goods on him. “I'm trapped! I'm sure this is your fault, Rudolph!”
“Duty calls.” Rudy tossed the
controller back into the dashboard. “I'm gonna hold you to
revealing your building secrets to me. You tell me yours, and I'll
tell you mine.”
The carpenter behind the wheel
chuckled. “Sure, short stuff. Someday.”
Leia replaced Rudy in the passenger
seat as Harris gave her a smirk. “Not a bad bit of rescuin', huh
doll? You know sometimes, I amaze even myself.”
“That doesn't seem too hard.” Leia
rolled her eyes. “They let us go. It's the only reason we got out
of there so easily.”
“You call that easy?” Harris
pointed back towards the Mimban district. “We got shot at, flooded,
nearly crushed, and lost a perfectly nice old guy, and you call it
easy?”
She frowned. “They're tracking us.
There's probably some radar on this van somewhere.”
Harris gave her that little grin. “Not
this van, sister.”
“At least the tapes are still
intact.” She leaned back into the tattered plaid blanket on the
back of the seat. “Rudy told me he put them in the trunk on the way
to the Iron Works.”
Harris started to turn the van back
around towards Yavin. “What's he carrying that's so important,
anyway?”
“The blueprints and technical
readouts for that gun at the Iron Works.” She sighed and tucked her
legs under the seat. “I only hope that they can find a weakness in
that gun, or more homes will go up the way Aldera Hills did. It's not
over yet.”
“It is for me, doll.” Harris shook
a finger at her nose. “I'm not in this for your Rebel League. I
don't read comics, and I don't give a flaming hell what Vader's doing
with that gun. I'm in this for the money. I have people I need to pay
off, and they shoot real bullets, not fire and sunlight.”
“You needed worry about your reward.”
Leia's hiss didn't sound that far from Vader's. “If money is all
that you love, then that's what you'll receive.” She turned angrily
to Luke as he came up from the back. “Your friend is quite the
mercenary. Ask him if he actually cares about something besides this
rust pile and the mountain of fur back there.”
“I care!” Luke tried to call, but
she'd already laid down on the bench, her back to them. He returned
to Harris. “What do you think of her?” he said to the carpenter
in a soft tone. “I think she's kind of cute.”
“She's got a lot of spunk, I'll give
her that.” Harris couldn't help grinning at the tinge of red on the
kid's cheeks. He was really gone about this girl. “I don't know.
You think a rich chick like that and a guy like me...”
“No!” Luke turned away from him,
but he'd gotten the reaction he wanted. The truth was, though...he
was kind of starting to like the fire bitch himself. He meant what he
said about her spunk. He'd never seen a woman with balls like that.
Not that he'd admit it to Luke, or even really to himself. Besides,
he'd be leaving once he dropped the kids and the nerds off at Yavin
Park. He'd probably never see them again.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Tarkin watched the battle from the wide
windows in the suite on the third floor of the Mufasar Iron Works.
“Are you sure the homing beacon is secure aboard that van? I'm
taking an awful risk, Vader.”
“Absolutely.” Vader had already
changed back into the expensive Italian spring suit he had custom
made larger to fit over his breathing apparatus. He pulled the
wide-brimmed fedora low over his damaged face. “I have to go to
City Hall to meet the press and talk to the Phantom. By the time I
return, we should have a line on the rebels.”
The Doctor of Death never left the
window. “Watch what you say to the press. We don't need work
leaking about this place.” He raised an eyebrow. “And please
don't choke any of them to death, like you almost did with Motti this
morning.”
Vader made a face that looked
distinctly like Leia's. “He was annoying me.”
“He can be annoying, but we may need
him in the future.” Tarkin finally looked over his shoulder, his
icy blue eyes steady on him. “I know how you feel about the laser,
but the Phantom is adamant that it's the best way for him to bring
Coruscant to its knees.”
A briefcase resting on the desk soared
into Vader's hands. “Very well. I'll leave him alone, for today,
anyway.” He shook a glove-clad finger. “But so help me, if he
ever makes fun of my abilities ever again, I'll...”
“He won't. He learned his lesson.”
Vader wasn't so sure. He wished he
could choke almost every one of his subordinates in the Empire, but
the Phantom wouldn't let him. He never got to have any fun!
Mara Jadeson was the first person there
when he drove up to City Hall. “Chief Vedder!” The tall redhead
shoved her Channel 11 microphone under his nose. “How do you
explain the green light that destroyed Aldera Hills this afternoon,
including District Attorney Bail Ortega and his wife Breha?” She
turned to her cameraman. “We're coming in live at City Hall, with
Coruscant's Chief of Police, Darren Vedder.”
Vedder remained stony-faced. “The
Coruscant Police Force is looking into the blast.”
The younger woman kept shoving herself
into Vader's face. “What about the Rebel League? There's rumors
flying around all over the city about how they've saved dozens of
people from the Father of Death and his Empire. What can you tell us
about them? Or Vader?”
“The Empire is working with the city
to insure the safety of its residents.” His blue eyes narrowed.
“There is no such thing as the Rebel League. There's only groups of
meddlers who refuse to allow companies to do their jobs. Now, if
you'd excuse me, I have a conference with Mayor Palpatine.”
“But Chief Vedder...” The door
slammed on Mara's face before she could get anymore out of him.
