ALL THE PRINCESSES WILL KICK YOUR ASS
Chapter 10
The weekend had arrived. Anakin came in again to stay, and Jaina had been there for a few days. Jarik was delighted that his siblings were all there, and he was turning into a doting uncle, which amused Han and Leia no end.
"Sometimes I think he knows better what she needs than we do," Jacen commented.
Leia and Han were enjoying the full house, and although Leia was glad to see them come, she'd be equally glad to see them go. The place looked as if it had been bombed, and 3PO fussed about it as he attempted cleanup. It was bad enough since Jacen and Tenel Ka had moved in, but Leia'd seen attacked planets in better shape. She explained to 3PO that trying to keep the apartment tidy was an exercise in futility.
And there was the noise. The Solos lived life at the tops of their lungs. It was just the way it was.
I must be getting old, Leia told herself.
It was the last night everyone would be home, and they enjoyed a friendly if ruthless game of sabacc, Anakin clobbering Han this time around.
"Losing your touch, Dad," Anakin taunted him.
"Next time you're here, I'll get even with you," Han warned. Anakin and everyone else laughed.
The apartment was now quiet. It was nearly 0200 and everyone had at long last crashed out. Only Leia was awake, and her eyes were feeling heavy. She could hear the sounds of her husband and two older sons snoring (something they all denied, of course) and the occasional fuss from Allana, but all in all, it was as close to silence as it ever did in the Solo home.
She suddenly had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Go to bed, she told herself. It's been a wild two weeks. It'll calm down soon. Jaina and Anakin would be leaving when they woke up. Jacen had only two and a half more months to go. Things would settle down. She'd be back at work in another week. Routines would once again make operations easier or at least more predictable.
She'd washed her face, brushed her teeth and gotten into one of Han's Max Rebo touring T shirts. Max played the occasional gig with Han's band, complementing his wildly popular solo career that he'd accomplished after Jabba the Hutt, his former employer, met with the Big Hutt in Hell. That made Leia smile; getting rid of that reptiloid creature had been one of her finest moments.
Han instinctively moved over torwards Leia and draped his arm over her. Leia usually found comfort but something was not letting her relax. Her mind wouldn't focus, a rare thing for her.
She swore she heard the front door.
That's ridiculous, she told herself. No one but the family has the codes.
Leia shot bolt upright. Something was wrong. She stepped silently as she could out of bed and towards the living room.
She saw nothing.
And then there was the cry of a baby and screams from her parents, and the buzz of lightsabers coming to life.
She ran back to the bedroom. "Han, get up now! Bring your blaster!"
"Huh..."
"Now! Ta'a Chume's here!"
"What?!"
"Just move it!" She grabbed her blaster pistol from her night table. Han came behind her.
"I'll die before I let you take her!" Jacen screamed.
"Yes, you will," the old woman's voice was cruel and sinister.
"Get out! Allana is MINE!" Tenel Ka shouted.
"Let me get the baby," Han said. He and Leia opened the door to find Ta'a Chume clutching Allana in one arm and holding a pistol in the other hand.
"I don't want to kill you, but I will!" Jacen shouted, trying to take a stab at her and not hurt his daughter.
"Go ahead and try it!"
Han fired his blaster towards Ta'a Chume's feet, which knocked her off balance, but she wouldn't release the baby.
Tenel Ka was trying like Jacen to harm Ta'a Chume and not hurt the baby. Leia slid along the floor and grabbed Allana. Despite being disabled, Ta'a Chume fought back harder. She and Jacen were both trying to grab Allana. Ta'a Chume fired a shot at them but completely missed.
"You can't win, Grandma," Tenel Ka told her, her voice frozen. "I'll kill you to protect my daughter!"
"None of this would have happened if you took your rightful role on Hapes!" Ta'a Chume snarled at her. "Now I have to take your granddaughter so there will be a queen mother when I'm gone!"
"Looks like that's gonna happen real soon!" Jaina and Anakin had come in with their lightsabers. Jaina slashed at Ta'a Chume's arm that had the pistol in its hand, and whacked off half of her forearm. The blood splatted everywhere.
"You will not get away with this!" Ta'a Chume was weakened, but still clutching Allana. Leia saw the opening and at last grabbed the baby, who was now crying hysterically. She whooshed the tiny girl away from the scene.
"And now, you're going to die!" Tenel Ka shrieked, bringing down her lightsaber on Ta'a Chume's neck. Jacen was trying to help her, but stumbled and in that moment, accidentally whacked off Tenel Ka's hand. When he realized what he'd done, he burst into tears.
"Oh my gods, Tenel Ka, I'm so sorry!"
"It'll be worth losing a hand to make sure you never get near my baby!" Tenel Ka screamed at her grandmother.
Leia had notified the NRSF that Ta'a Chume was in their home and was attempting to kidnap her granddaughter. They were there in less than three minutes. Jacen was holding pressure with a towel on Tenel Ka's arm. Anakin was doing the same on Ta'a Chume's.
"I'm only doing this because I wanna see you rot in prison," Anakin said, his eyes taking on a malice that was so rarely seen in him, it might well have been cause for a national holiday.
"Ta'a Chume, you are under arrest for attempted kidnapping of Allana Leia Solo, murder of your daughter in law, attempted murder of Tenel Ka Djo and Jacen Solo, violation of a retention order. You are to be remanded immediately to the inmate medical center on Hapes."
"I'm the Queen Mother! How dare you!" Ta'a Chume hissed at them.
"Get her out of here," Leia ordered them.
"We need statements from all of you," another officer reminded the family. "Please do not leave the premises."
Jarik suddenly appeared, rubbing his eyes. "Did I miss something?"
"Yeah, you did, kiddo," Jacen said sadly.
"Is that Tenel Ka's grandma?" Jarik asked, pointing to the woman, now in restraints, and being removed from the premises.
"How'd you guess?" Han asked him. "How's about you go back to sleep while we get this sorted out.
"Did she take the baby?" Jarik asked fearfully.
"No. She tried, but the baby is in our room," Han assured him.
Medical assistance then arrived for Tenel Ka.
"Let me get the baby," Leia said. "Jacen, you're with her."
"Of course," Jacen said, his head hung in shame. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. The litter came to take Tenel Ka away, and he walked alongside it.
"I'm so sorry, I was just trying to save our baby," he wept openly.
"I know," Tenel Ka said. "Don't feel bad about it."
"Whaddya mean, don't feel bad about it? I chopped off your hand!"
"It helped save Allana. That's what matters."
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The NRSF questioned each family member separately. Everyone was exhausted by then. Each of them had more questions, but right now, they weren't the ones doing the asking.
Jaina and Anakin were permitted to leave for their respective studies, with the understanding that they'd make themselves available for questions.
Leia cuddled baby Allana close. "It's okay, sweetie. We'll see Mommy soon." Han rummaged through the kitchen cupboards to see if there were any feeding bottles left from Jarik. He managed to find one. Jarik was sent to the local bodega to get a package of infant formula, which, with Leia's detailed instructions, he was able to accomplish.
Allana balked at first, no doubt preferring her mother's breast, but hunger won out and the little one accepted the substitute feeding. She took a couple of ounces and then fell asleep again. Han lifted the baby and snuggled her as he'd done so many times with baby Jaina. It melted Leia's heart watching them.
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"I don't want a prosthetic hand!" Tenel Ka snapped at the medical droids caring for her in emergency medicine.
"It's a standard procedure," the one droid informed her.
"Not for me it isn't!" Even in her weakened condition, Tenel Ka fought on. "Jacen, for gods' sakes, please stop it!" Jacen was trying not to cry, but he was horribly ashamed. "If you wanna help me, man up!"
Jacen grabbed a tissue and wiped his face. "I'm...I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry."
"Once was plenty. You helped save . Now stop beating up on yourself and think about our daughter!"
"Do you want me to bring her later to be fed?"
"I'd like that, yes."
"Anything else you'd like?"
She looked sadly at Jacen. "Can you tell your family that I appreciate everything they've done for us, but the only people I want around right now are you and Allana."
"They'll understand that. Jaina and Ani already took off."
"I need time, Jacen. I need to figure out how the rest of my life is going to go."
"What're you saying?"
"I'm saying...I don't know what's going to happen next."
"Do we ever?"
"Ms. Djo, we need to take you to surgery now," a droid with a gentle voice told her.
"I better wake up without a fake hand!" she said angrily.
"I promise you that your wishes will be honored."
"Good. While you're at it, wish for my grandmother to rot in hell."
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Jarik had gone to bed early; the combination of a houseful of siblings and Ta'a Chume's attempted kidnapping had worn him out.
Han and Leia went outside on the balcony, the night air slightly cool and pleasant. Han had just fed Allana and put her in the cradle, which they moved to their room for now.
Tenel Ka was in stable condition but too exhausted to feed Allana at this point. They'd see how she was tomorrow. Jacen would be staying with Tenel Ka for the time being at the medcenter.
"He's devastated," Han said. "I know he wasn't trying to hurt Tenel Ka."
"Of course he wasn't. And Jacen takes things hard."
"Yeah, he does."
"I suspect they've got a lot of talking to do once she's less tired," Leia said, some sadness in her voice.
"Do you know what the four scariest words that a woman can say are?"
"No."
"We have to talk."
"I've said it to you."
"And I was terrified each and every time."
"You seem to have lived through it," Leia said, standing on tiptoes to kiss him. "I know that they'll both be good parents to Allana, but I sense that that will be the extent of their relationship at some point. I don't think they're in love with each other."
"We'll see what happens. I'll say one thing, there's never a dull moment in the House of Solo."
"I could use a little less excitement about now."
"I could use a good night's sleep."
"That, too."
Han pulled her close to him, as close as he could, and gave her a soft kiss. "We don't have to go to sleep right away, do we?"
"I think we could manage that."
FINIS