Long
staircases twisted and turned around and around, sometimes going off
into seemingly nowhere. Occasionally, she'd see boulders or axes
lodged in walls, or walls with very modern bullets in them. She
gasped as the light from the Sword of Wisdom picked up two bodies
that had been stabbed to death by falling spears, their eyes wide in
frozen horror. A skeleton further down was missing his head, crushed
under another boulder.
“Ok,”
she muttered to herself, “I can see we don't want to upset these
people.”
She
was just starting to wonder if the staircase would never end when the
eerie green beam showed a light at the very top of the tunnel. Her
fingers traced along the walls. “It all points to here,” she
whispered. “Oh Papa Bail, this is it. I knew I'd find it. This is
where they were keeping the weapon.” She wiped the back of her
forehead. Her cotton jacket and dark blouse were wet with
perspiration. “Whew! It's hot in here. Even more than it is
outside, I think. This place must be built on hot springs or
something.”
As
she walked under the arches, she heard a familiar voice, screaming in
terror. “Leia! Please, help us! Leia!”
“Luke!”
She'd never run so fast in her life. Pebbles scattered under her feet
as she hurried up the crumbling embankment. She barely even noticed
the glowing bridge. “Luke, I'm coming!”
She
stopped in her tracks when she found the light, staring at the scene
before her in horror. “Leia!” Luke and Harry were bound hand and
foot together with thick vines, in front of a metal pedestal. Molten
metal steamed and bubbled around in the pit just below their feet.
Her brother's normally tan face was Snow White-pale. “Leia,
careful!”
“Sweetheart!”
Harry wriggled behind her brother. “Use that giant glowing butter
knife of yours and get us down from here!” Both men screamed as the
vine began unraveling. “It's not gonna hold much longer!”
Leia
closed her eyes, trying to focus. “Hold on, boys. I just need to
focus on the vine...”
“Sis,
hurry!” Her brother's voice had gone up six octaves. “Watch out
for Vader!”
“Vader?”
Leia's eyes flew open...just in time to see the beam of sizzling ruby
red light coming in her direction. She just barely managed to leap
and roll out of it's way.
“Hello,
daughter.” Vader stepped in front of the massive metal statues
along the wall. “I've been waiting for you. I thought you'd come
running if you knew your lover and brother were in danger.”
“Father,”
Leia growled, “get out of my way! I have to save them!”
“Join
me, daughter.” Vader put out his hand. “Join me, and we can bring
order to this world gone mad.”
“Knock
it the hell off!” Leia slashed at him with her sword, sending a
blue light in his direction. It bounced off his gloved palm
harmlessly. “I'm not going to join you and that fruitcake you call
a chancellor, so you can just get that out of your head right now!”
Harry
winced as the vine dropped an inch. “Uh, Leia?” His booted toes
were dangling precariously close to the molten metal. “Could you
stop messing around with your pop and maybe start thinking about
getting us down?”
“I'll
be the one who brings you down. You've done your job.” She
shouldn't have been surprised when Palpatine emerged from behind one
of the statues. “Good girl. Use your hatred. Release your anger.
Only your hatred can destroy us.”
“Stop
it! Just stop!” Leia lunged for the Chancellor, sword drawn...but
to her surprise, her sizzling blue glow was met by an equally jagged
red blade.
“Leia,”
Vader rasped, “I can't let you kill him. He's done so much for me.
He can do more for you, too. Ben and Ahsoka never wanted to hear
that. Neither did Bail. I offered to let them and your mother in on
the ground floor in Empire Industries. They all turned me down.”
“Because
they all knew you'd gone insane!” Leia slashed hard at her father,
harder than she ever had in her life. She'd never used a sword
before, but it fit in her hand like a glove. “Father, is it worth
all this? Hurting people? Killing innocent workers, including
children? Killing the Jedi, who had lives and families? Ordering Papa
Bail and his staff killed? Over what?” She had to jump onto the
pedestal to stare into his empty dark eyes, but it was worth it.
“Some ancient weapon?”
“Power,
child.” Vader clenched his gloved fist. “No one at UCLA listened
to me. I've known about the Alderaanian experiments with weapons and
the power of the sun since after the Great War, but they refused to
offer me tenure at the archaeology department. Wouldn't even give me
a chair. I was an assistant professor, and I would always be an
assistant professor.”
Palpatine
cackled, looking and sounding like a traditional witch in his long
dark coat. “That's why I helped him. After all, his wife had little
ones coming. If he found the weapon for me, I'd show him how to keep
her alive.”
“But
you didn't!” She turned her blazing blue blade on the elder man.
“You didn't help him! Mother died! You killed her!”
“Of
course I didn't, child. I wasn't anywhere near her when she died. I
was in Coruscant.” His dry laughter was getting on her nerves.
“Your father killed her.”
“You
WHAT?!” Luke and Leia screamed at the same time so loudly that
their voices echoed in the cavernous room. Harry's deep hazel eyes
were wide. For once, he couldn't think of a single thing to say.
“Father,
how could you?” Luke wailed. “I thought you loved Mother!”
“You're
not only a liar, a swindler, and a bastard,” Leia shrieked, “you're
a murderer! You killed you own damn wife! We never knew our mother,
because of you! No wonder none of our relatives ever wanted to talk
about her!”
“The
Organas and the Skylarks are mealy-mouthed cowards who never could
handle the truth.” Vader's pockmarked face dropped, as if he could
actually be haunted by the terrible things he'd done.
“I
never meant to harm your mother. We wanted you two more than anything
in the world. She just...she was just like everyone else. She
followed me to the pit outside this room. The metal flows here, the
molten gold. It always has, since ancient times. Padme...she said she
couldn't follow me anymore. I told her I wanted the world for her.”
His
hiss became more of a choke. “She said she didn't want the world.
She wanted me to come home. She didn't care about the power, or that
the Sword of Wisdom chose her. She said she was happy with her
family.”
Leia
circled him. “Why the hell didn't you? Papa Bail told me that
Mother loved you until the day she died! Lord only knows why!”
To
her surprise, he reached out and touched her cheek tenderly. His
black glove was surprisingly warm. “You look so much like her,
Leia. She was tiny, too. Tiny, but strong. Tough. I could drag her
through the jungles, follow her into dusty temples and muddy pits,
and she'd always come out looking like she'd just spent a day in a
tea room in San Francisco.”
“Then
why?” Leia shoved him away. “Why did you kill her?”
“I
didn't mean to.” Vader's hiss was softer. Almost...human. “I
just...I got angry. I wanted to show her the ways of the Force. I
thought she'd understand. I did everything I did for her!”
Leia
held the sword at his chest. “Does that include killing off the
other Jedi?”
“They
had to go. Besides knowing too much, they all laughed at me.” Vader
held up his own sword. “You don't know how to handle that, girl.
You've had no practice.”
His
daughter sniffed. “And you're a rusty old machine.”
Luke
and Harry let out another screech as another vine snapped. “Damn
it!” Harry's voice called out, taking on a tinge of hysteria. “This
is a bad time for a family reunion!”
Palpatine's
cackle dislodged loose stones from the ceiling, sending them crashing
down into the liquid gold. “On the contrary, Captain.” He
smirked. “I think it's a splendid time.” He raised his hand...and
to Leia's shock, the Sword of Wisdom's flat hilt flew into it.
“Enough of this foolishness. Vader, bring her to me. We'll need
their magic to make this work.”
“No.”
Leia stepped back towards the bridge and the cliff just outside the
room. “I won't do it. You've failed, Chancellor. You can't control
us, like you did Vader. I am an explorer, a historian, and an
archaeologist!”
“Yeah!”
Harry called from the vines. “We're not your stooges!”
“We're
Jedi,” Luke added, “like Father, Mother, Yoda, and Ben before
us!”
“If
you will not turn, girl,” the Chancellor hissed, “you will be
forced! I need your magic! Only the Guardians can unleash the
Weapon!” His cackling echoed around the room as the lightning
blasted from his fingertips.
Leia
struggled, but it circled her, singing her hair and clothes. She
screamed as the lightning lifted her off the ground and dragged her
across the threshold to the pedestal. Her fingers itched to hold the
Sword, though she fought it with all her might.
Vader
lifted the two men right before they snapped and dropped them next to
Leia. “Take the hilts of your swords.” The red and purple lights
forced their fingers open, ignoring their angry cries. “Concentrate.
Throw all your focus into the weapon.”
“No...”
Luke sobbed, tears running down his cheeks as the burning light
coursed around the trio. “Father, please!”
As
Vader watched dispassionately, the sun passed over the swords on
their way beneath the horizon. The sun's last rays reflected off the
polished shields, hitting the khyber crystals all around the room.
The crystal the sword was in slowly rumbled to life, consuming the
light from the gems as they glowed in a rainbow of blue, green, and
gold.
Leia
tried to pull her fingers away, but they remained attached to the
hilt of the sword, a permanent part of them. “Father, stop!” Her
gasp was barely heard over the roar of the beam. “Stop this
madness!” Tears ran down her brother's dirt-streaked face, and even
Harry sweated and cursed profusely.
“Oh
dear.” Palpatine turned his light on the statues...which, as one,
turned on discs inset in the floor. The brilliant beams were now
aimed at the airplanes overhead. Leia recognized one as Wally's
bi-plane. The other could be none other than the flying junk pile the
Silver Falcon. “I'm afraid the weapon is now quite operational.”
He sneered at the helpless trio on the dais. “Witness the fire
power of this weapon. It's like none that's ever been seen before on
this planet! In this universe!”
The
beam turned itself on the remaining temples and the former City of
Aldra. It blasted the Imperial camp site, obliterating all within
shouting distance. There was barely dust and scattered debris left.
“Don't
you dare!” Harry growled as the beam returned to the silvery
vehicles in the air. “You are not going to hurt my baby!”
Golden
light fell on Harry's hands, allowing him to pry his fingers off the
Sword's hilt. Luke and Leia fell back as he lunged for Palpatine.
Even his raging face had taken on a red-gold hue.
“Don't
you even think about hurting that ship, or the people in it!” He
grabbed Palpatine and shook him like a rag doll. “Don't you even
imagine it, Bela Lugosi!”
“We
have to destroy the weapon!” Leia drew out her sword. “Focus on
the statues!”
Luke
nodded. “Good idea, sis!” He yanked his sword out and
concentrated. The statues began to turn around, pointing the sun into
the room itself, bouncing off the swords and slicing through the
crystal in the room.
“No!”
Palpatine turned his light on Luke and Leia...but it never got near
him. A Russian curse joined the sounds of cracking crystal and
stones. Charel slammed into the Chancellor, sending them both
tumbling. Palpatine's light wound up carving a chunk out of one of
the statues instead.
“No
way!” Artie leaped onto Vader's back, wrapping his arm around his
neck. “Sorry to do this to you, Andy, but I ain't gonna let you
hurt these kids no more. I promised the Organas and Ben I'd look
after 'em...and more to the point, I promised Padme.”
“Artie?”
Vader was so surprised, he didn't try to fight him. “What the hell
are you doing here?”
“Followed
your trail.” Clarence stepped around the mess. “There's broken
vines and dislodged crystal scattered from here to the entrance.”
He grabbed Vader's arm. “I'm sorry, sir, but we really can't let
you continue to cause all this harm. We saw that beam of light from
one of the windows. Completely insane!”
He
shook Clarence away. “Get off me, you skinny fool! You always were
a fastidious idiot.”
“You...”
The man in the sweat-stained gold suit squinted. “You're
familiar...I know I've seen you before...”
Artie
reached around Vader's shoulder to smack him in the back of his
narrow head. “Gee whiz Clarence, you've got Swiss cheese for
brains. It's Andy Skylark! Remember Dr. Andy? We were in the war with
him!”
“Dr.
Skylark?” His eyes widened. “My word! What are you doing
consulting with insane dictators in this god-forsaken place?”
Vader
pried at Artie's hands. “I'm starting to wonder the same thing.
Could you let me go, Arthur? I promise, I'm not going to hurt you or
the kids.”
Artie
smacked the back of his head. “Promise, Andy?”
He
sighed and put up a hand. “Jedi's honor, Arthur.”
“All
right, then.” The little chauffeur somehow managed to shimmy back
down his older friend's back. “Now we've just gotta keep that
so-called Chancellor from makin' more trouble.”
Vader
gave his friend the first smile that had graced his heavily burned
face in many years. “Leave that to me, old friend.”
Meanwhile,
Leia and Luke had managed to get two of the shields the statues held
turned so they faced the sides of the building, rather than the sky.
They were already cutting through the crystal and rock walls, making
the whole building shake like a bowl of Jello.
“Come
on!” Harry ran over to the statues, Charel on his heels. “Help me
out here, buddy!” His hands were blazing with gold fire. “We need
to get the rest of these turned around.” Charel stared at his
hands, letting out a stream of concerned Russian. “It doesn't hurt!
We'll talk about this later. We need to get these turned around NOW,
before the Falcon gets blasted to bits!”
In
the dark recesses near the back of the room, Palpatine had managed to
draw himself to his feet. He walked fast now, with no trace of a
limp. “You silly fools!” He reached for the Sword of Strength. “I
will not let you destroy this source of power! We could create a new
world order, with Coruscant as the dominating force!”
Leia
just gave him her nastiest glare. “Oh, go blow it out your ear.
We're not interested.”
“Then
you're of no use to me.” Palpatine unleashed his purple lightning.
It sizzled over Luke and Leia, throwing them to the edge of the
bubbling molten gold. “It's too bad. You have such strong powers,
young ones! But now,” he gave them another shot, “you have to
die.” Leia just barely managed to keep her brother from going over
the edge.
Harry,
Charel, and Artie all ran at Palpatine at the same time, but Vader
got their first. He easily lifted the skeletal ruler over his head
like a basket of fruit, even as the lightning continued to fly all
over the room. He finally threw his former boss into the hot,
steaming metal! The others watched as he slowly sank into the
steaming yellow liquid, his screeching subsumed by sizzle of boiling
metal.
“Oh,
my god.” Artie and Charel grabbed the trio away from the pits as
the purple light churned the metal into a glowing froth that melted
everything around it. “I think it's time we got out of here!”
Even
as Artie spoke, the last rays of the setting sun reflected off the
metal and the swords in the weapon and their hands...and onto the
Temple itself. The very walls began to crack and dissolve, breaking
apart and shattering around their heads.
“Uh,
yeah.” Harry grabbed Leia's arm. “Everyone out! NOW!”
“Wait!”
Leia reached for the pedestal as Artie directed the other three
towards the door. She barely had the time to yank the Sword of Wisdom
out of the crystal before one of the statues toppled to the ground
with a crash that could be heard for miles, smashing the pedestal to
bits. “Here!” She breathlessly thrust it into Harry's hand. “I'm
not leaving without what I came for.”
“Great,
sweetheart.” Harry made a face. “You almost got us killed! What
if that thing fell on us?”
“No
time for that now!” Leia shoved him ahead as another chunk of rock
almost took the back of her head off. “We'll argue about it later!”
“Father?”
Luke frowned at Vader. “Aren't you coming with us?” Leia looked
over her shoulder, hurrying over to her brother's side.
“It's...too
late for me...son.” Vader lay on the ground, the lightning still
burning up his skin and frying his circuits. “You two...go on.
Leave me here.”
His
son shook his head, tears spilling over and falling onto Andrew
Skylark's pitted nose. “No, Father. We have to save you!”
“You
already have.” Vader coughed, looking up at his daughter. “You
both did. Leia...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything.” He gave his
son a push. “Go now. Live your lives.” The smile that crossed his
scarred lips was the only real smile he'd given anyone in twenty
years. Luke thought it was beautiful. It made him look like the hero
he must have been once. “I'm going to be with Padme again, son. I'm
going home.”
“Father!”
Luke tried to hold onto him, but it was no use. The floor under him
melted, sending his lifeless body rolling into the hot metal with the
remains of his mad ruler. Leia dragged him away, holding him as he
sobbed in her arms.
“Hurry
up!” Artie darted through the entrance first. “The walls are
collapsing!”
Harry
was the last one through. He had just enough time to grab his Army
Air Corps cap before a boulder dropped in front of the door, blocking
the way to the weapon room forever.
“Watch
out!” Clarence gasped as the sparkling Force bridge began to fade
out. “The bridge is breaking!”
“It's
not breaking.” Leia frowned. “The Force magic in this temple is
fading. It was destroyed with the weapons, and we have no time to
concentrate and make it stay!”
They
all managed to get across, but it was nearly gone by the time Harry
made it there. His usual luck held. When the bridge finally faded all
together, he managed to grab a vine and swing across, landing on
something soft.
Charel
pushed his partner off his back as they both jumped to their feet.
“Sorry I landed on you, buddy,” his co-pilot insisted as he
dusted himself off. “Hey, at least I made it. I could have gotten
killed back there!” Charel took his arm, pointing at the widening
cracks in the ceiling. “Thank you, Mr. Interior Decorator. Yes, I'm
aware that this place could fall out from under our feet at any
minute.”
Leia
held her sword in the air and concentrated. The crystal blades glowed
a soft green. “Follow me.” Luke and Harry did the same with
theirs, allowing the emerald-green and gold glow to illuminate the
increasingly shaky hallways. “Everyone stay together,” she said,
ducking away as more crystal broke around her. “And be careful!
Khyber crystal is pretty heavy, as crystal go, but it can cut you if
you get too close to the broken pieces.”
“Now
you tell me.” Clarence groaned as a large rock sliced through the
back of his mustard-yellow field jacket, barely missing his spine. “I
just bought this coat last week!”
“We'll
get you a new one when we get back.” Artie grabbed his hand. “Stay
with me, buddy. This is hardly the place to be running off.”
“I
don't think there's anywhere left I can run off to!” Clarence
pointed at a pinprick of light ahead of them. “Oh, thank heavens!
There's the exit!”
“Right,
Goldie.” Artie grinned and pushed ahead. “CHARGE!”
All
Leia wanted to do at this point was get out. The light grew larger,
and larger...but she did think it was odd to see the tops of trees,
rather than their trunks. All she could see was endless cerulean blue
sky and the occasional ruffles of rich forest green.
It
didn't occur to her why this was so until she emerged on the second
ledge under the top tier of the temple, directly in the center. The
entire temple was shaking now, the very earth splitting under their
feet. “Oh no!” Clarence's wail could be heard even over the
destruction. “It'll take us hours to climb down from here. We're
doomed!”
Harry
laughed and waved his cap in the air as the sound of a familiar
wheezing engine and the sight of a slightly rusted silver plane broke
through the noise. “Didn't I tell you, Goldenrod? Never say never!”
The
Silver Falcon stopped, tossing out a grappling hook onto one of the
larger pieces of stone. “Hey there, folks.” Laurence Carlyle
leaned out the cockpit door, his Ipana grin gleaming in the hot
jungle sun. His friend Niem Numiez waved from inside the cockpit.
“Need a lift?”
Leia
let out a sigh of relief. “Like you wouldn't believe.”
Charel
helped everyone jump into the Falcon's door, then jumped in himself.
The plane dipped precariously when he landed, nearly flinging them
all back out. He got in just in time. The rock that held the landing
hook broke, releasing them into the air.
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