Tales of the Gold Wookie, Part 3

She met her brother, Harry, and Charel at the plane. Artie and Clarence were talking next to the cars. Ben Kenobi was nowhere to be seen. Luke saw her first, waving wildly. “Hi, sis!” His face was smudged with grease and his fingernails were black, but Leia had rarely seen him happier. “She's almost ready!”

“I hope.” Leia still wasn't convinced the pile of scrap its captain generously called a plane was air-worthy. Charel was loading hers and Luke's luggage into the main door. Leia pulled the envelope with the notebooks and map out of the Packard's glove compartment and shoved it under her arm.

“She's just about done,” Harry told her. “Two or three more tweaks, and she should be in great shape.”

“May I remind you,” Leia started, “that Vader's goons are still after us?”

Ben came in through a side door in the hangar. “Charel, thank you for letting me use your office. Luke, I just called our editor. Miss Tano says she'll give us leave and enough money for expenses, but not much else...and we have to get something on Vader from this trip. She wants to prove he's selling the US out to our enemies in Europe and Asia and is a threat to national security.”

“Well, we know he is, after what we saw back at the factory.” Luke sighed. “I wish I hadn't lost my camera. Vader has those pictures I took.”

Leia dug in her purse, her fingers reaching for the black leather-covered square at the bottom. “Here. Tarkin took the film, so we still don't have proof, but I did save the camera. I lost my statues, too. I smashed one over Vader's head and left the other in the storage room.”

Luke took the camera from his sister, checking it all over to make sure it hadn't been shot at or hurt. “It's ok!” He gave Leia one of his huge hugs. “Thanks! I can always get more film. It'll leave us more shots for Coruscant, anyway.”

She was hugging him back when they heard the blast. The duo jumped apart just in time for a bullet to lodge in the blue patch over the silver hull between them. “Damn it!” Harry grabbed Leia by her arm. “Looks like we're still hot. Everyone get on board now!”

Leia wished she still had her gun. Harry and Charel covered her and Luke while they ducked into the fairly roomy cabin. She wondered if the Falcon had been intended for commercial flights at one point. Most of the seating in the very back had been removed in favor of a hastily-constructed door and metal wall that was probably where the cargo was held. Leia dove into the nearest seat and strapped herself in as fast as she could, resting the envelope on her lap.

Luke took the seat next to her. He was still grinning. “Isn't this exciting? It's better than a Warner Brothers gangster movie!”

“Luke, are you crazy?” Leia winced as bullets lodged into the Silver Falcon's already-damaged fuselage. “We're not James Cagney and Priscilla Lane. We'll be lucky if we aren't killed before we make it to Coruscant!”

Artie yanked Clarence in next. “Aw, come on, Goldie. I already called Mrs. Organa and told her we'd be on vacation for a couple of weeks. You could use a good vacation. There's no one at the house right now, anyway. Besides, they're gonna need a translator and a bodyguard.” He sat down by a window.

“But I have those articles to write, and notes to organize! Please, Arthur, I'm no good in the field! And what about our bags? This isn't a vacation. It's suicide!” Clarence groaned as he settled in the seat behind Artie. “I'm going to regret this. I hate air travel!”

Benton came in next, carrying a small brown satchel. Harry and Charel were on their heels, both still shooting at the last of the goons. “Everyone strap themselves in. We're takin' off!” He grabbed his radio. “Control tower, this is Solomon. Silver Falcon is taking off for Palpatine Imperial Airport.”

Luke said at least once a day that Harry was a great pilot. Leia never really believed it until she saw how he effortlessly dodged the men and the cars on the ground. Vader and Tarkin, now riding in a less-conspicuous maroon Mercury, arrived at the hangar just in time to see the Falcon ride past them.

Charel grunted and pointed a long, hairy arm at the entrance. “They're closing the doors!” Leia shouted in horror. Four men were starting to shut the opening, the creak of the rusty metal obvious even over the roar of the Falcon's engines.

“Don't worry,” Harry reassured them. “I know a few tricks. We'll lose 'em.”

The small plane somehow picked up speed, going far faster than any normal plane it's size should have been able to. It made it out of the hanger just before the doors closed, literally leaving Tarkin and Vader in the dust. Leia closed her eyes as her ears popped and her stomach dropped. She didn't mind flying, but take-offs could be shaky.

When she finally opened her eyes, the oval windows were surrounded by a sea of pale blue and white fluff. Clarence had a death grip on Artie's arm. His smaller friend was trying to explain that they were off the ground and were fine. Luke and Benton chatted softly in the last two seats near the metal wall, probably discussing their writing assignment. Charel passed them, growling over his shoulder as he headed for the door in the back wall.

Leia put the envelope under her seat and took Charel's place in the co-pilot's chair. Harry was leaning back in his chair, one hand steering, the other pushing his cap back. “Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh, princess? You know, sometimes, I amaze even myself.”

Leia sighed. “That doesn't sound too hard. They let us go. That's the only way we got out of the factory as easily as we did.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “You call that easy?”

“I think we're being tracked somehow.”

Harry patted the control panel. “Not this plane, doll.”

She leaned on her elbow. “At least we got the envelope out of here safe and sound.”

“What's in that envelope that's so important, Vader and the Empire want to kidnap college students to get it?”

“My godfather's research and maps to the lost kingdom of Alderaan.” She drew her finger down to indicate a sword. “Vader has one of the three Swords of the Guardians. One is lost somewhere – we don't know where – and a third is in Alderaan. As soon as we get the sword from Vader, we'll need to get to Guatemala to the ruins my godfather was working on before he died and look for the second one. This isn't over yet.”

“It is for me, doll.” Harry waved a finger in her face. “I'm not chasing fairy tales with you and the kid and the old guy. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money.” He leaned back, thoughtful. “You know, if you agree to pay Char and me oh, ten percent of whatever you're getting from your boss at UCLA for that treasure, I might even consider taking you to Guatemala if I'm in a good mood.”

She'd had just about enough of his bragging and wheedling. “You needn't worry about your reward,” she hissed, standing as well as she could in the cramped cockpit. “If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive.” She nearly ran into her brother on the way out. “Your friend is quite a mercenary, Luke. I wonder if he really cares about anything. Or anybody.”

She ignored his “I care, sis!” and made her way in the back to Benton Kenobi. The older man was reading today's copy of the Daily Star. She settled down next to him. “Hello, Leia,” he said with a warm smile as he put the newspaper aside. “It's been a full day, hasn't it? I haven't been on a plane in years. Not since right after the war.”

“Mr. Kenobi,” she said, “I want to know about the Jedi. How were you able to do what you did at the gates?”

“With the Force.” He turned quietly to the young woman. “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. The Alderaanians worshiped it. It's a kind of energy field. It surrounds us, penetrates us. It binds us all together.”

“Sounds a bit hard to believe.” She leaned back. “I wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't seen you open the gate.”

Ben tapped the envelope in her lap. “Didn't your godfather ever tell you about the Guardians and the Force?”

“He told me about the Guardians, and the Jedi.” She opened the envelope, pulling out the notebooks. “I wish he'd been more organized...” She flipped through them, finally settling on a battered book with a blue cover. “Here it is! The Guardians.” She opened it and read from it, or at least as well as she could interpret Papa Bail's spidery handwriting. “The Guardians were able to use the Force with the Khyber crystals built into their swords. The Force allowed them to heal minor wounds, read and manipulate minds, transfer matter from one place to another, and dissolve matter, among other properties. The Jedi were the elite group of warriors who protected the Guardians...”

Luke sat down behind them. “Ben,” he started, excited, “are you really Superman, or a superhero, or something?”

“In a way.” His voice dropped to nearly a whisper. “I was once a Jedi, the same as your father.”

“You told me you knew him.” Luke looked surprised. “You never mentioned he was a superhero!”

His sister looked unconvinced. “Uncle Owen told me he was an archaeologist, not some magical knight.”

“He was.” Ben settled back. “For almost three hundred years after the demise of the original group, some Jedi always remained to protect the Swords and their legacy. Your parents and I joined when we were on a dig in Guatemala right before the United States entered the Great War.” Ben rolled up the cream-colored sleeve of his cotton shirt, revealing a bird and a sword drawn in red ink his upper arm. “The Alderaan Condor and the Sword, the two symbols of the Jedi. All Jedi have these. They were part of a ritual that involved tattoos and a great deal of chanting.”

“But why you?” Leia was studying the notebooks. “You're not Alderaanian.”

“The Swords always choose their successors.” Ben gathered the newspaper again. “It's a part of the Force. The Force always knows whom would be best to wield which powers.” He nodded at the darkening sky. “It's getting late, and we more than likely won't be in Coruscant for a few days. Why don't you two get some rest?”

Luke shook his head. “I'm too excited to sleep. I want to hear more about the Jedi.”

“I need to go over that research.” Leia frowned. “And we need to figure out how we're going to get into Coruscant without being seen.”

“I'm way ahead of you there, young lady.” Ben chuckled. “Our editor Miss Tano was an ambulance driver during the war. She still has contacts with quite a few members of the Coruscant Underground. Have you ever heard of Galton Erson?”

The twins exchanged looks, shrugging. Luke looked confused. “The British engineer? What does he have to do with this?”

“About a decade ago, Erson was among those conscripted to create new, larger military weapons and vehicles for what was then known as the Naboo Army. When Erson designed the Coruscant Armory, he built it so it would have points where it could be entered and breached.” Ben gave her his small, knowing smile. “Erson's daughter, Jeanne, is a member of the Coruscant Underground. She'll be your contact. We'll meet her outside of Coruscant, near the village of Scarif.”

Luke frowned. “Ben...how did Father die? No one will talk about it. Uncle Owen said he was an archaeologist, but he won't tell us much else.”

Ben stroked his beard. “A young archaeologist from UCLA named Derek Vader, a former intern of my own mentor Quinton Jinn, helped hunt down and drain the remaining Jedi of their power.” He looked right at the twins. “He betrayed Andrew Skylark and murdered him.”

Leia shuddered. “Drained them?”

“One of the ability the Force grants is being able to absorb its power and transfer it from one being to another.” Ben sighed. “Done properly, it can heal those who are tired or weakened from battle.” He frowned. “Dark Jedi, or Sith, will do it without consent, or draw too much. If you draw too much power from a Jedi, you can kill him, turn him to dust. Vader was seduced by the Force's dark side.”

Luke raised his chin. “Ben, do you think we could become Jedi? I want to learn more about the Force, like our father did.”

“Us?” Leia raised an eyebrow. “As nice as it would be, I doubt we have that kind of power. Besides, we both have jobs to do. We're not Superman.”

“If you're Andrew's children, you likely do have some Force power.” He patted Luke's hand. “We'll work on it when we arrive in Coruscant.”

Leia called up front. “When are we going to be in Coruscant?”

“It'll probably take at least two or three days. I'm going to have to stop at a hanger a friend of mine in Duluth owns for refueling.” Harry leaned out of the cockpit, his smirk on in full. “In the meantime, enjoy the view, lean back, try to forget we're going to a military zone. It might even be fun.”

Leia turned her back on him, and on Ben and Luke. She stomped over to the seat in front of Artie and Clarence. Clarence was now reading by the fading light of day. Artie was snoring, his head lulling on Clarence's tweed-clad shoulder. Charel and Harry remained in the cockpit, checking dials and wires.

She decided she would throw herself into her research. Everyone told her she couldn't be an archaeologist. Women weren't archaeologists. She didn't have the skills. They weren't capable of anything but sitting in a kitchen, listening to soap operas. She was too small, too slender, too pretty, not pretty enough. She never seemed to be enough of anything.

She was determined to prove to everyone that she did have what it took. She would find those the Swords, all three of them. Maybe she could convince UCLA to fund digs into Alderaan history. She wasn't going to let people's opinions stop her. She knew she had what it took. She was determined. She was smart. She knew South American history and culture inside and out.

She'd been studying it in some way since Papa Bail gave her a Britannica Encyclopedia set when she was 12. He was the only one who understood how much history meant to her. While Luke was making pretend interviews and writing stories, she was digging in the dusty backyard in Arizona. She'd kept some of those childhood finds – a few animal bones, some arrowheads. She thought she found dinosaur bones, but she now knew they were likely the bones of far more recent small desert animals.

She worked as hard as she could, studying in high school and college when other girls were out at dances or with their beaus. She was going to make something of herself, even if she was a woman, even if she was small, even if she was different. She was going to prove that she could be what she wanted to be.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They stayed overnight in Duluth. It took longer for Harry to fuel up than he planned. Something about a fuel gasket that wasn't aligned properly, or something. She spent the time talking to Luke and Ben, asking them more about the Jedi and the Force.

“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power.” Ben swung his arms around. “It binds us, penetrates us. It ties the world around us together.”

Harry snorted from the airplane engine. “Sounds like a lot of hocus-pocus to me.” He held up the gun that was usually in the holster on his hip. “This is the only magic I believe in.”

Luke looked up from the engine. “You don't really buy any of this, do you?”

Harry shrugged. “Kid, I've been from one side of the country to the other. I've seen a lot of strange shit. But I've never seen anything to make me believe in laser-powered swords and Force magic. That's comic book stuff.”

Leia sighed. “I wouldn't believe it either, if I hadn't seen Ben open that gate with nothing but his mind.”

Harry snorted from inside the plane. “Simple tricks and nonsense.”

“Luke,” Ben said, “I want you to try what I did back at the factory.” He waved his hand at a rusted gate surrounding the hanger. “Open that gate with your mind. You too, Leia.”

The twins exchanged looks and shrugged, closing their eyes. Luke focused as hard as he could, but his mind kept wandering. Leia pictured the gate opening...and felt a surprising push, a tug from some unknown corner of her mind.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Harry looking over at the gate as well, his eyes focusing. “You're crazy, old man.” He was just about to duck his head back in when there was a small blue light around the gate. It opened slightly, creaking loudly.

Luke grinned. “I did it! I think I did it!”

“Let me help.” Leia raised her hand. A slightly brighter blue light opened the gate a bit more. “You didn't open it all the way.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Neither did you!”

Harry smirked. “See? It's just talk.” The moment he lifted the hand with the wrench, there was another blue light...and the fence swung completely open.

The twins raised their eyebrows. Ben just smirked back. “You were saying, Mr. Solomon?”

“That wasn't me!” Harry waved his hand. “I can't do magic! I'm a pilot, not a magician.” Charel shook his head, pointing to the fence. “I swear, I didn't do it!” The big, furry man let out a stream of what they believed was cursing in Russian. “No, that's not how we got out of that tight spot with the Japanese bombers! It was luck!”

“In my experience,” Ben said as he started back towards the plane, “there's no such thing as 'luck.'”

“Well, magic against some fence is one thing.” Harry gave them the lazy grin. “Good against real people is somethin' else.”

“You know,” said Luke as they started towards the Silver Falcon, “I think I could almost see the fence, even with my eyes closed.”

“Me too.” Leia nodded. “It was like I could control it.”

“Good.” Ben put his arms around the twins' shoulders. “When we get to Europe, I may see if we can look up my old friend Professor Yoda Chiang. He used to be one of the foremost authorities on the Jedi and the Guardians of Alderaan, Leia.” His grin grew even wider. “He was also a Jedi himself for many years, one of the heads of the order. He and Quinton Jinn, my mentor at the Star, taught me everything I know. He may be able to help both of you.”

Luke frowned. “Do you know where he is now?”

“Last I heard, he was retired and was living in San Francisco.” Ben sighed. “He was adamant that he didn't want to return to teaching or excavation after what happened with...well, after Vader turned on us. I think he might be willing to talk to Andrew Skylark's children, once I explain things.” He nodded at the plane. “Come on. Clarence and Arthur are waiting for us at the hotel, and you know how worried Clarence can get.”

Luke looked over his shoulder. “Are you coming with us, Harry?”

“I'll be along in a little while.” Harry banged at the engine again. “This thing's been making noise for hours. I want to see if there's anything stuck in there.”

Benton shrugged. “Suit yourself, Solomon.”

As soon as the others left, Henry went back to the door of the fence. “That's crazy,” he muttered. “I couldn't...” He shook his head. “Nahh. I ain't no wizard.” The fingers went up again as he concentrated on the door, trying to see it in his mind, the way the old man was talking about. “This is crazy. I can't...”

That's when he heard the creak. His eyes flew open, just in time to see the blue light and the door to the fence open even wider. “I can't...it's not me.” He shrugged. “Must have been the wind.”

Even as he returned to the engine, leaning over to check the lug nuts, he knew he was lying. There was no wind today. Not even a breeze ruffled the endless acres of waving wheat and sunshine-gold corn.