Like
most of the ancient civilizations of Central America, the
Alderaanians built stone temples as shrines to their gods and their
warriors. Unlike the more aggressive Aztecs or Mayans, the temples
had been built with an eye for working harmoniously with the
landscape. Many of the temples blended in with the cliffs, or were
even built into them. Others were carved with reliefs and statues of
trees, animals, and birds interacting with the gods. The workmanship
on them was incredible. Just the nose on Shermala, the sun goddess,
was etched so perfectly that Leia wouldn't have been surprised to see
the nostrils sniffing out the tiny men underneath her carved feet.
“Nice
job, monkey breath.” Harry grinned. “This shouldn't be too hard.”
Leia
glared at him. “It only takes one to sound the alarm.”
Harry
gave her another smirk. “Then we'll do it real quiet-like.”
She
rolled her eyes. “You wouldn't know quiet it if it bit you in the
rear.”
“Guys,”
Luke groaned softly, “this is a bad time to argue.”
“Um,
Miss Leia,” Clarence tugged at her arm and pointed towards the back
of the temple. “I think one of our furry companions has done
something rather rash.”
“Oh
no.” Leia's eyes widened as one of the monkeys scampered over to
the motorcycle and climbed onto the seat. “Can't someone get him
off?”
Harry
made a face. “There goes our surprise attack.”
The
monkey was fascinated by the controls. His fleshy face screwed up in
concentration as he pushed at one of the levers. One of the men had
left the keys in the ignition. He turned them...and suddenly, the
vehicle took off into the woods like a shot, with the little fellow
hanging on for dear life! The remaining motorcycle officers heard
them and followed them into the undergrowth.
“Oh
dear,” Clarence fussed. “I hope he's all right.”
Yoda
pulled out a set of binoculars. “Fine, he is. Swung into a tree, he
did. Intelligent creatures, monkeys are. Left the officers following
an empty vehicle, he did.”
“You're
right, Ancient One.” Harry smirked. “Not bad for a furball.
There's only two left.”
Charel
grinned and waved at a couple of the monkeys. He plowed into one of
the officers before he could even think about pulling out his gun,
knocking him into the side of the stone temple. Monkeys scampered
onto the other one, grabbing at his legs and hair. One pried the
insignia off his jacket, inspecting it and trying to wear it as a
hat. Another stole his hat and looked into it, wondering how the
human could fit in that small bowl.
“Nice
work, Char.” Harry handed him two coils of rope. “Help me get
these two tied up, before they raise the alarm.”
Luke
pushed hard at the rocky cliff that melded into the entrance. “How
are we going to get in here?”
“According
to Papa Bail's notes,” Leia began, “there should be a secret
entrance cut into the rock, intended only for Jedi, the Guardians,
and their attendants.”
“Everyone,”
Yoda insisted, “feel around side of stone. There may be one stone
that is loose, or out of place. Pull any stone you can, but be
careful. Loose stones may fall on heads. Want to be in hospital with
fractured skulls, we do not.”
“Thanks
for the warning, old man.” Artie rolled his eyes as they all ran
their hands along the moss-covered rocks. “This is crazy. If we
were in the movies, we'd just be able to pull one of those rocks, and
the door would open.”
“We
are not in the movies, Arthur.” Clarence sighed in frustration.
“However, he does have a point. That back entrance seems to be lost
to time, I'm afraid.” He leaned against one of the rocks in the
cliff. “It's been thousands of years. Face it. We'll never...oh!”
They
all turned around as Clarence seemingly disappeared into the rock!
“Buddy!” Artie dashed over first. “What happened?” He peered
into the opening, his dark skin mingling with the inky blackness.
“Hey, I think Goldie found the entrance!”
“I'm
so glad,” Clarence moaned. “Now, could someone please help me
stand? I think I landed on a knife of some kind. It's cutting me
through one of my best shirts!”
“It's
not a knife.” Leia inspected the ground under him as the others
helped him to his feet. Luke used the Sword of Light to cut away at
the entrance. “It's a crystal.” The sharp shard of blue rock
glittered dully in her palm. “I think it's a khyber crystal.”
Luke
nodded. “I wonder if there's more around here?”
“I
wouldn't be surprised if there is.” Harry pulled a flashlight out
of the worn leather satchel he carried, shining it into the darkness.
“We need to get in there.” His voice was oddly strangled.
“It...well, we just gotta.”
Clarence
pulled away. “There's no way I'm walking around in that death trap.
It's not in my job description. I'm a secretary, not an explorer”
He grabbed the back of Artie's collar. “Since when were you an
explorer?”
Artie
glared at him “I ain't lettin' the kids walk off on their own! Who
knows what's out there?”
“Why
don't you two and Charel stay here?” Leia pulled out the notebook.
“Someone will need to meet Laurence and Wedge when they arrive and
keep an eye out for Vader and Palpatine and their boys.”
Charel
growls and waved his arms, but Harry shook his head. “I kinda agree
with Her Worship. The others will be around soon. If you see anythin'
wrong, even a little bit, come after us, ok?” His friend nodded,
but he still looked concerned.
“Come
with you, I will.” Yoda leaned on his walking stick. “Translate,
I can. Take care of myself, I can.”
“I'm
not sure I like that,” Leia sighed, “but we do need another
translator.”
The
Sword of Light glowed blue in Luke's hands. “I'm ready.”
Leia
raised the Sword of Wisdom as it glowed pale blue. “So am I. Let's
go.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
The
moment they stepped in, Harry knew he had to be here. He couldn't
explain it. Something wanted him here. He could hear it calling him.
It was strange. He thought all this Force talk was nonsense when they
first started out. Now, especially after he saw Leia turn Yasmin into
dust, he...well, he didn't exactly believe, but there was no other
way he could explain what happened with Yasmin, or with Luke and the
Empire's weapon in Coruscant, or Ben vanishing like he did.
He
stumbled over roots as he followed Leia, Luke, and Yoda down the
corridor. “Stay close, everyone.” Leia was paying more attention
to the notes than to the stone in front of her. “We're coming up on
those booby traps Papa Bail mentioned.”
Harry
winced, rubbing his head. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”
Yoda
looked up as a rumbling was heard from over their heads. “Young
ones, duck!”
Harry
barely managed to drop to his stomach as iron blades whizzed over
their heads. “That was a close one,” he panted as they got to
their feet.
As
usual, the elderly Asian professor was completely unruffled. “Good,
good. Good Guardians, you are. Now...jump!”
“Look,
old man,” Harry began, “I'm not...” He never got to finish the
sentiment. Iron spikes burst from the ground beneath their feet. He
barely managed to leap before one stabbed him in the foot.
Leia
landed behind him, grinning slightly. “Is anyone having as much fun
as I am?”
“No!”
Luke landed on his rear next to his sister. “Ouch! What next?”
“Look
out for rocks and boulders,” Yoda explained as, to Harry's
surprise, he nimbly hopped over the spikes. “There will be many,
but you cannot outrun them. Outsmart them, you must.”
“Could
you speak English, old codger?” Harry made a face. “How can we
outsmart rocks?”
Luke
gulped as more rumbles were heard over their heads. “I think we're
about to find out.”
Three
massive blue, green, and yellow crystal boulders ran on wood and
stone platforms over their heads. “Don't just stand there!” Leia
started running the moment the green one hit the ground. “Get
moving!”
“Shit!”
Harry took off as the yellow boulder rolled down the hall, following
him over narrow fissures and across deep chasms. He was glad for the
mossy vines that hung down from the ceilings and allowed him to swing
across. Maybe it was time he considered bringing a whip or something
along. Sure, it made him sound like a lion tamer, but it would be a
hell of a lot easier to get across rivers and gorges than with rope.
“Wait...”
He could hear the other three yelling and the echoing of the boulders
as they bumped down the hall. “They're all going in the same
direction.” He ran as hard as he could to the end of a hallway. It
was blocked by a seemingly bare wall and more vines. “Leia! Luke!
Old guy! When you get to the end, grab those vines!”
Leia
sounded agitated, even for her. “Are you crazy?”
“Know
what he intends, I do.” He saw a flash across a gaping pit ahead of
him of Yoda hopping up and taking a vine.
“What
do you...ahh!” Luke nearly fell headlong into the pit before
stumbling off and grabbing for the vine at the last minute. Harry saw
Leia in another cave over him jump up and snatch a vine, just as the
crystal boulder bumped beneath her.
All
three boulders went flying into the ravine at the same time. They
slammed into each other with a deafening impact that shook every
stone in the temple. Jagged blue, green, and yellow shards flew
everywhere as the remaining halves of the boulders tumbled into the
ravine below.
“Whew!”
Luke jumped down. “That was close.”
“Kid!”
Harry was still swinging on his vine. “Hold on! I'm comin' over!”
“No,
Captain, come, you should not.” Yoda dropped down easily from his
vine. “Too far, it is. Even with Force, you could not swing over.”
Harry
frowned. “Maybe not in your direction...” He swung, not ahead,
but to the side, landing face-first on the side of the wall. “Ok,
maybe that wasn't such a great idea.” The call of...well, whatever
weird Force thing it was seemed stronger the further up he went.
Gasps went up behind him as he took a hand-hold and climbed up the
wall.
Leia
had jumped off her vine in the cave under him just in time to let out
a screech. “Harry, watch out! They're coming!”
“What?”
Bullets sent pebbles raining down on him overhead. “Shit!” He
tried to climb quicker, but almost lost his footing when it was shot
out from under him. “How did Vader and his boys find us?”
Leia
grabbed his hands. “We'll discuss my Vader's uncanny knack for
following us later.” She managed to haul him onto the ledge, just
another shower of bullets dislodged pebbles over their heads. “But
right now, we have to get out of here.”
Harry
dusted his US Army Air Corps jacket off and set the cap at a jaunty
angle. “Come on, sweetheart. Something is here, either the sword or
your big weapon. Well...this is going to sound strange, but it's
callin' me. I can hear it. I'm it's Guardian, or somethin'.” He
shrugged. “I think it has the wrong guy, but who am I to argue with
a Force and a sword covered in crystals that could probably cut me in
half?”
“No
kidding.” Leia peered briefly across the chasm. “Luke and Yoda
are gone. I'd call to them, but I don't want to give away our
presence to Vader and his goons.”
“Good
thinking. We'll meet the kid and the old guy later.” Harry pulled
out his flashlight. “Come on. The call is feelin' strongest...”
He turned to his right, leading her down a wider hall strewn with
thick cobwebs and strange pictures and writing on the walls. “This
way.”
Harry
felt like he followed that call for hours. The only light they saw
were the low yellow beams of their flashlights and the occasional
sunlight emerging from a break in the crumbling ceilings.
“Sweetheart, I don't read ancient gibberish,” he grumbled when
they stopped yet again so she could get her fill of the wall. “What
does it say?”
“It
says...” Leia pushed him against the wall, “move!”
A
thin crystal with a blade like steel dropped down from over their
heads. It just barely missed them as it slammed into the floor,
slicing clean through and shattering on the next level. “Those
Guardians,” Harry grumbled, breathing hard, “had a really sick
sense of humor.”
“Well,
if you're going to keep people out,” Leia pointed out with a shaky
smile, “why not use what you know?”
Harry
turned his flashlight to the wall beyond the crystal blade. “Hey.”
A series of crystal blocks were set in a wide square in the wall.
“What's all this?” He took out a block and move it around. “It's
like a puzzle.”
Leia
flashed her light on the writing along the wall. “According to
this, those who solve the puzzle will have the strength to find what
calls to them.”
Harry
nodded. “It's stronger here. Whatever that...it...is, it's calling
me. It wants me.” He rolled his eyes as he started moving around
the gems. “I have no idea why it needs me, but it does.”
“What
does it say?” Leia pulled a shiny sky-blue piece to the top of the
rock, where it clicked into place. “Hey, this is a puzzle! Every
piece has a place where it fits.”
“Yeah.”
Harry barely heard her. He was too busy trying to sort out all the
pieces. “The yellow ones go in a triangle. Like a pyramid...”
“It's
the Temple!” Leia pushed several smaller pink crystal pieces next
to it. “And these are the Jedi.” She arranged more pieces, until
they bore blocky resemblances to warriors in the elaborate feathered
and beaded Jedi robes.
“And
this is...” Harry frowned as he tried to organize several pieces,
“is not working.”
“This
is the sun.” Leia pulled the remaining yellow pieces into place.
“And sunbeams,” she added as yellow pieces snapped into a line
under the round crystals. “But that...”
Harry
pulled the gray and green crystals into place over the Temple. “Looks
like one of the swords.”
“It
does.” Leia did the second. “You did the Sword of Wisdom. Here's
the Sword of Light.”
“Then
this,” Harry finished with gray-and-yellow pieces, “is the Sword
of Strength.”
Leia
ran her fingers over the yellow stripes coming from the sword. “What
are they doing?”
“Drawing light from the sun?” Harry pushed more brilliantly colored stones around it. “The swords are all supposed to be in here...”
The
moment he clicked the stones into place, the crystal Temple mural lit
up from within, glowing like the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles on
Friday night. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Harry muttered.
The
wall rumbled. Tiles and pieces of the ceiling crumbled and crashed to
the ground around them as the mural slid away, revealing a larger
chamber. “Oh my god.” Leia stepped in first, her flashlight
glowing gold on the debris scattered around the floor. “I think we
found it.”
“Yeah,”
Harry muttered as he followed her. “I think we did.”
Leia
had never seen anything like the amazing statues that lined the
walls. Each one was perfect likeness of a Jedi warrior, carved in
blue, green, and yellow khyber crystal. They looked exactly like the
artwork of the Guardians of the Swords seen in Papa Bail's
sketchbook. “This is it,” she breathed as her fingertips ran
along the empty hand of one of the statues. It was curved as if it
still held a handle. “All the Swords were here, once.” Her eyes
flitted across the notebook, and then the writing on the wall over
the statues. “Only the keepers of the Swords can unlock and control
the weapon.”
“Damn
it, it's here!” Harry ignored her, trying to pull at some of the
broken crystal on the wall opposite. “I can feel the thing! It
needs me! Ow!” One of the broken crystal shards had stuck him,
cutting him on his finger. He sucked at it. “There has to be some
puzzle...” He tried pushing pieces of crystal around the wall, but
he just ended up with cut fingers. “Shit. This is stupid.” Leia
had come to the opposite wall to join him. “Hey sweetheart, mind if
I borrow your jacket?”
“What
about yours?” She tugged the khaki jacket further over her
shoulders, clad in a blue button-down blouse.
“Leia,
this is a good jacket! It's leather! Not to mention, I don't have
much left from my Air Corps days.” His eyes widened. “I need
this. The Sword needs this.”
“Fine.”
The moment she slid out of the jacket, Harry wrapped it around his
right fist. He felt for an indentation in the wall, where the crystal
seemed to be a little thinner. “Here. It's right here.”
He
put his hand through the crystal wall. To Leia's surprise, instead of
cracking, it left a round hole. “I think I saw this in the book.”
She flung open the notebook as he leaned in, trying to feel around.
“You should be able to open the wall easily now, like we did with
the door in here when we finished the puzzle.”
Harry
nodded and pulled at the wall. There was a rumble and a crack, and it
once again slid across the floor, vanishing into the back of the
room. “Well, that worked. Now what?”
The
smaller room had two cobweb-strewn statues standing on either side.
Unlike the ones in the main room, these were carved entirely in a
pale yellow crystal. “I wonder why no one ever found this room?”
Leia studied the statues. “They look like the carvings in the book,
but they're not holding anything.” She studied the writing over
their heads. “You have to give them a helping hand.”
“How
can I do that for crystal?” Harry studied their hands. “You know,
Your Worship, they kind of look like they want to shake our hands and
thank us for managing to get this far.” He gave her that little
smirk. “At least hunks of crystal know how to be respectful.”
“That's
it.” She grinned at Harry. “I think that's it. Why don't you
shake their hands?”
Harry
nodded. “Why not? I have to get back there somehow, and it's not
weirder than anything else we've run into on this trip.”
His
fingers laced with the soft canary yellow crystal ones. As he shook
it, the statues seemed to move out of the wall, sliding in much the
same way as the door. “That's it!” Leia grinned. “We did it!
That's the Sword of Strength!”
“Come
to Papa, baby.” Harry gently tugged the long, flat blade studded
with softly glowing golden-yellow gems out of the stone alcove where
it was hidden for so long. “Yeah, you wanted me, didn't you?”
Leia
shuddered. “I'm glad you found that thing, but I think it's time we
got out of here. Vader and his creeps are still after us.”
“Yeah,
I know.” Harry swished the sword around. “Hey, not bad.” He
looked up as Leia moved out of his way. “You know, Sweetheart, you
still have your toothpick, too. Maybe we could go back there,
overpower Vader's goons, and get the hell out of here.”
“I
don't know.” Leia rubbed her forehead. “I have a bad feeling
about this. I feel like...like we're being watched...”
They
heard the sound of footsteps too late. “Hello, daughter.” Vader
strode in last as his men and the Coruscant officers surrounded them.
“Thank you for leaving me the maps. Between the map and following
you, it took us right to the location of the final sword.” He
glared at Harry under that wide-brimmed fedora. “I can't believe
that the Sword of Strength chose you as Benton Kenobi's successor.
You're nothing like him, Solomon. You're just a common thief.”
“Maybe
I ain't like him, Ugly.” Harry gave him that lazy smirk. “But I
can do somethin' a gentleman like him wouldn't do.” His fist
started to glow with yellow light. “I can hit pretty damn hard.”
His
fist went right into what remained of Vader's scarred and pockmarked
nose. The big man flew across the room, right into the arms of one of
the statues. “Get out of here, Leia!” Harry slashed at another
one with the sword, then smacked a third on the rear with it. “Go
find Char and the others! Tell 'em Vader knows we're here!”
Leia
jumped in front of him, swinging her sword so hard, it went through
two men at once. She concentrated on two more, telling to them to
turn around and forget why they came. To her surprise, after the
green light dissipated from their heads, they swung around on their
heels and marched right out of the room.
“Harry,
I don't want to leave you. You don't know where the exit is. You'll
get lost” She managed to duck away from another man and lean over
and give Harry a kiss, before they swung around and, as one, stabbed
two officers with their swords.
“One
of us has to sound the alarm, Sweetheart.” Harry almost shoved her
out the door. “Go! I'll be behind you in a few minutes!” He gave
her that grin. “I love you, Sweetheart.”
Leia
grinned right back. “I know.”
“This
is sickening.” Vader tried to block the exit across from the larger
warrior statues. “You can't run from me, daughter. I know your
weakness, how you operate. No matter where you hide, I'll find you.”
“And
no matter how much you talk, I'll still be able to do this!” Leia
brought up her knee into her father's groin. She gave him an evil
grin as he groaned loudly and collapsed. “I just found one part
that wasn't replaced with metal.”
Harry
cheered wildly as she darted out the door. “Nice work, Leia! Good
girl! I'll be there in a minute!”
He
was beginning to really like this Force business. His glowing fist
flung goons all over the room. One even landed on the head of one of
the two-story statues in the main room, looking like part of his
feathered headdress.
“You
know, I've really been enjoying this little party.” Harry turned
his smirk on the two remaining guys. “But I promised my girlfriend
that I'd follow her. It's not a good idea to upset the woman you're
hoping to marry.” He rubbed his head and made a face. “Besides, I
feel something nasty coming. Were any of you guys ever Jedi, or...”
A
black-gloved hand slammed across the back of Harry's head. The pilot
slumped to the stone floor as the Sword of Strength clattered to the
ground. He gasped as Vader's dark red light hefted him into the air
like one of the small Alderaanian toy warriors he'd seen in Yasmin's
collection.
“The
Guardian of Strength.” Harry struggled to breathe, trying to pry
Vader's thick fingers from his neck. “I don't understand why the
Sword chose you,” the big man snarled, “but you will in handy.
Very handy.” Harry struggled, but he couldn't stay awake much
longer. Vader had a firm hold on his windpipe. He let out one more
desperate gasp before sagging, out cold.
Vader
swept the Sword into his grasp as the remaining men swarmed over
Harry. “Tie him up and bring him to the Weapon Room. I
have...plans...for my daughter's rascal of a lover.” The larger
officer wound rope around Harry's wrists and ankles and managed to
haul him over his shoulder before they made their way out.
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