The Cronos Stone
"Han, this is all your fault!" Leia accused from where she was chained to the damp stone wall. Thick iron manacles gripped her wrist and her arms ached from being held over her head for so long. "Look at us! We've been trapped in this dungeon for who knows how long and we'll never get out of here, not with that crazy Discord around!"
"Well, I'm sorry Princess! How the heck was I supposed to know there was more of them people like Strife? I thought there was just him! I bet my plan would have worked if it was just him."
"Oh please!" Leia rolled her brown eyes. "Your plans never work!"
"Would you two please stop arguing? It's not going to help us get out of here." Luke pleaded to his two friends. "We should keep a positive outlook. I'm sure we've been in worse spots than this."
"Yeah? When?" Han grumbled. He twisted his head so he could look at Luke, who was chained next to him. "Kid, I hate to do this but it's time to face the facts. If HE can't get out of here how are we supposed to?"
Luke stared at his father, Darth Vader. When Vader had first told him the truth about his parentage Luke had dearly wanted to believe it was a twisted lie, but deep in his heart he knew otherwise. For whatever reason his father Anakin Skywalker had become Darth Vader, the second most feared man in the galaxy. Being older and more fully trained, Vader had more skills with the Force, even if it was of the Dark Side. At the moment the Rebels would even gladly accept help from a Sith Lord to escape this place. They had been able to open the restraints around their wrists but then Discord showed up and had done something. Now no matter what they tried the things just wouldn't open. "Han, you can't loose faith. The Force works in mysterious ways and I'm sure something will happen that will allow us to leave this place."
"Ha! You're even more delusional than I am!" Han retorted as he tried to stretch his arm muscles just a bit to relieve some of the aches. "So, any ideas what these people are? I mean, are they super-powerful Jedi or what?"
"Father? Any ideas?" Luke asked, curious as to what Vader would say.
Since Discord had left, Darth Vader had been meditating on that very question. It had been a long time since he had meditated. It had been a favorite pastime of his old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi had wasted hours upon hours pondering the most bizarre things, like the sun rising and dew on the grass. Anakin had just thought it all very boring and a big waste of time. Why should he be meditating when he could be flying in the garbage pit races, surviving on sheer reflexes alone? Of course, he had almost got kicked out of the Jedi Order for that illegal hobby. But even back then the spineless Council hadn't the nerve to throw out the Chosen One. Which brings around the biggest question of all: do gods really exist?
"I have never heard of Jedi with such powers." Vader finally replied. "If the Jedi Council knew of such beings they never mentioned it to me, but perhaps the information was classified. Perhaps they really are gods as they claim.'
"Yeah, right!" Han snorted. "Like gods are going to have dungeons, hold people captive and make us all rainbow colors! They're more like spoiled brats if you ask me."
"Han is right. Gods should be wise." Luke tilted his head sideways, listening. "Quite! I think I hear something."
A few moments later a man they had never seen before appeared. He wore a pale green tunic and a brown leather vest with matching brown leather gauntlets around both wrists. The brown hair on his head was short and he sported a thick mustache along with a tiny goatee just under his bottom lip. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He strolled into the middle of the dungeon and glanced around. "Er, you're the strangest bunch of people I've ever seen. Well, guess I'll be going now."
"Wait!" Luke cried as he saw the man starting to leave. "You got to help free us!"
"And get Ares mad at me?" the man asked, laughing. "Boy, have you got the wrong man! I just snuck down here because I heard rumors that he had some rare stuff I could steal. But I didn't know it was people."
"You're a thief?" Leia asked, shocked. "How did you get down here with those strange and powerful people around? Like that Discord?"
"Discord? Ha! I could beat her butt any day!" He bragged, a wide grin on his face. "You should have seen the time I turned her into a chicken! Of course, Ares got his revenge on me later… but that's all water under the bridge."
"YOU WILL FREE US." Vader said with his most forceful voice, putting all his Dark Side powers into the command.
Still taking his good-natured time, the man strolled until he stood in front of Darth Vader. "Well, well, well, what do we got here? You're a big one, aren't you? A warlord I'm guessing from all that black armor. But warlords rarely faze me. Well, there's this one and when she has that look in her eyes…" He shivered from the memory.
Vader would have sighed if his breathing apparatus had allowed it. The man was obviously not weak-minded.
"Look, you want rare stuff? I got plenty!" Han smiled his most crooked grin. "You get us out of here and I'll give you all you want! Stuff you never saw before. Magic stuff!"
"Magic stuff, huh? Guess I could always use a few more magic items." Bending low from the waist with a theatrical bow, he introduced himself. "I'm Autolycus the King of Thieves at your service."
"Can you get the keys?" Leia asked, eager to get out of the dungeon and breath fresh air once again.
"Keys?" Autolycus laughed. "My dear lady, I don't need keys! Keys are for amateurs. I assure you I'm a professional and I have earned my title."
"Oh great." Leia muttered quietly. "We're in the company of a professional thief."
"Leia, he can help us." Luke reminded his sister. Stretching out the Force towards Autolycus, the Jedi took a reading of him. Although he was a thief, Luke got a strong sense of goodness from him. So he was a bit of a rogue, like Han.
Reaching into his belt, Autolycus pulled out a set of lock picks. His hands flew around the manacles with amazing speed and within seconds they were all free.
"Wow! You did that really fast!" Luke commented as he tried to rub some life into his arms and hands. "We're very grateful for your help."
"Yeah, now if you can get us home I'll give you that magic stuff." Han grinned.
Leia grabbed Han's arm and pulled him on the side. "Han, what are you doing? We don't have any magic stuff! You're just going to get us into more trouble!"
"Relax, sweetheart. I know what I'm doing. Really!" Han promised as he held Leia in his arms to comfort her. "Look, these are primitive people. I'll just give him a few high tech items. He'll think it's magic. Then we'll be back home safe and sound and things will return to normal."
Leia pulled away from Han slightly, gazing into his brown eyes while her own eyes flashed. "You had better know what you're doing! Because every time you say that things get worse!"
"They can't get any worse than they are." Han assured her, still grinning. Leia had such a fiery temper and she called him all those little pet names like 'nerf herder', but how she loved him! He didn't know why she worried so much. Now that he was free things didn't look so bleak anymore and his cocky attitude was back full strength. Besides, this new guy was one of his kinds of people and that he knew how to deal with.
"I suggest we get out of here quickly before Discord returns." Luke kept an eye on the stone staircase that led out of the dungeon, an ear listening for the slightest sound.
"Yes, I need to return to the Empire. Now that Palpatine is gone it's imperative that I return to run things." Vader held out a black-gloved hand to his son. "Come with me, Luke. We could rule the galaxy together, put an end to this war."
"What Empire? You mean Rome?" Autolycus asked, confused. "Where you guys from anyway?"
"How are we going to get off this planet?" Luke asked, the thought first now accurring to him. "They don't have any spaceports or advanced technology. The first time we had the Falcon…"
"Which is still parked in the hangar bay of the Executor." Vader finished, the full weight of the problem falling on his shoulders. There had to be a way off this miserable planet! His gaze shifted off Luke onto the thief. "I don't suppose you have any powers?"
"Well, I got this little green stone." Autolycus reached into his clothing and pulled out a chunk of green crystal. He held it in his palm so they could all see it. The size of a chicken egg, the stone glowed a soft mossy green color.
"Oh great!" Leia muttered sarcastically. "How's that going to help us get home?"
"Wait, I sense incredible powers emanating from it." Luke closed his eyes and concentrated on the stone. "The powers are off the scale! I never felt anything like it before!"
Doing the same as his son, Vader also concentrated on the stone. The flux and flow of Force powers around the stone was boggling to the mind. The lines of power were all tangled and collapsing in on itself, like a black hole. He was sure that with this stone in his possession he could become a god, presuming the stone didn't kill him first. "Luke is right. And I believe this stone may be even more powerful than those god-like beings, if that's possible."
Han's mouth dropped open in shock. "That little stone? It just looks like some old rock."
"Ah, but this is the Cronos Stone!" Autolycus grinned as he closed his fist around it. "And don't any of you even think of swiping it from me! I got great heists planned for this baby. Now tell me where you want to go and I'll take you there so I can collect the magic items you promised me. See, legend says this stone is part of the famous Cronos Stone, created by Cronos himself! Of course, that was way back before man existed and the Titans ruled the Earth. Cronos himself was a Titan. They were giants of sort but they had great powers. Cronos was the ruler of the whole Earth back in those days. He had a wife and every time she had a child old Cronos would eat it."
"That's disgusting!" Leia twisted her face up, sick from the thought of a father actually eating his own child.
"Why would he do such a thing?" Luke asked.
"Because there was a prophecy." Autolycus explained. "It said that one day a son of Cronos would kill him and take his throne. So Cronos wasn't going to take any chances. One day his wife bore another son but she was tired of all her children getting eaten by their father. So she wrapped a rock in baby's clothing and Cronos swallowed it whole, never checking. The real baby she smuggled down to Earth's surface where other's brought it up in secret. When the baby grew to a full size man, he came back and killed his father. Upon Cronos' death all the other children he had eaten sprung forth from his dead body full grown and alive once more. That baby became Zeus, King of the Gods. During the War between the Gods and the Titans the Cronos Stone was broken and this is one of the fragments."
"That's an incredible story." Luke replied calmly, his mind contemplating the fact that all of it just might be true. The idea was staggering!
"Can the Stone take us to Coruscant?" Darth Vader asked.
"Well, I guess so. It time travels, you know." Autolycus explained. "That's its power: control over time. I don't see why it can't go to this Coryscanty…"
"Coruscant." Vader repeated. "It's one of the Core Worlds."
"Yeah, whatever." Autolycus held the stone ready in one fist as his mind went over the directions he had studied for using the stone. Actually, it was quite simple but he wasn't going to tell these guys that. If he wasn't mistaken, Big Black Warlord already wanted the Stone for himself! "Now everyone hang onto each other and then we can go."
They all gathered around Autolycus and gripped either his arms or put a hand on his shoulder. There was a bright flash of light and then the dungeon was empty. They were on their way, but to where was anyone's guess.
******
Meanwhile on Coruscant an important meeting was going on in the Supreme Chancellor's office. Palpatine sat behind his huge desk made of rare wood while the others attending had recently arrived. Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padme Amidala.
"Against this threat, upon the Jedi Knights falls this duty to lead the newly formed Army of the Republic." Yoda said about the recently started Clone Wars.
"Yes, I agree." Chancellor Palpatine smiled at the little green alien that was simply called Yoda. The more Jedi that were in the front of the battles, the more Jedi would be killed. All was going as he had foreseen and no one suspected him at all.
"Disturbance in the Force, sense I." Yoda suddenly said. "Ominous, growing closer it does."
"What is it?" Mace asked his long time friend.
"Difficult to tell, it is." Yoda replied as he closed his eyes to better focus on the disturbance. "Swirling, it is. Growing nearer, it does."
Suddenly a bright flash of light filled the Supreme Chancellor's office. Mace and Obi-Wan flung arms up to shield their eyes from the light while Palpatine ducked behind his desk. Anakin stepped boldly in front of his new wife to shield her from this unknown threat, if it was a threat. Wind tugged at hair and clothing as it blew outward from the strange phenomena that now filled the center of the room. When the light faded, everyone was shocked to see a group of people standing where no people had stood before.
"Well, here we are. Coruscant." Autolycus said as he glanced around with interest. "I'll collect my reward and then I'll be on my way."
Han only needed a moment to realize they were in the wrong time period. The gaggle of Jedi in robes standing near by was evidence enough. He turned to Autolycus. "You idiot! You brought us to the wrong time period!"
"You wanted Coruscant, this is Coruscant. Now stop yakking and give me my magic items and they better be good ones, too!" Autolycus turned his back on Han and started strolling around the room, taking in the plush red carpets on the floor, the huge windows behind Palpatine's desk with the breathtaking views of the city's skyscrapers, the expensive furniture. "Hmmm, I could get used to a place like this."
Palpatine slowly poked his head above the desk again, shock clear on his pale face. This wasn't supposed to happen! Why hadn't he foreseen such a major event? Rising to his feet, Palpatine cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Excuse me, but who exactly are you people?"
Darth Vader was too busy staring at his younger self to even hear Palpatine's voice. And was that Padme hiding behind … himself? This was getting way too bizarre! How could he be in two places at once?
Approaching the group of Jedi, Autolycus stopped in front of Yoda. Bending down with a big grin on his face, he reached out a finger to tickle his chin. "Aahh, look at the itty bitty green baby! Choochy-choochy-coo!"
"A baby, I not!" Yoda whacked Autolycus on the head with his gimmer stick. "Jedi Master, I be."
"Well, excuse me!" Autolycus brushed past Anakin and used the distraction to pickpocket the lightsaber off his belt. He paused for a moment in front of Palpatine's desk, the lightsaber in his hands. "Hmm, I wonder what this thing is?"
"My lightsaber!" Anakin cried spotting his weapon in the stranger's hands. "Give me that back, you thief!"
"That's King of Thieves to you!" Autolycus twisted his body sideways so Anakin couldn't snatch the weapon back.
"Master, he stole my lightsaber!" Anakin complained to Obi-Wan.
"Now you listen here, you give that lightsaber here!" Mace demanded. The last thing they needed was some unknown maniac running around with a lightsaber.
Anakin dashed at Autolycus, his arms stretched out to tackle him to get his weapon back. The fact that the guy had stolen it off his belt without him even knowing it burned.
"Ally-opp!" Autolycus flipped right over all the Jedi's heads. Landing on his feet, he ran full speed towards the far wall. Anakin skidded to a halt, turned around and chased after the thief. But his mouth dropped open when Autolycus ran right up the wall, pulled a grappling hook from somewhere inside his clothing, flung the hook so it caught around the chandelier and then swung on the attached rope. Before anyone could blink he had shimmied up the rope and was resting atop the chandelier.
And he still had the lightsaber!
"What…?" Anakin gaped open-mouthed at the thief up on the ceiling. "Master, how did he do that?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Mace said, his chocolate eyes staring up at the newcomer. "You come down from there right now!"
Autolycus brought the lightsaber to his mouth and tasted it. Frowning, he sighed. "Worthless! All right, Baldy. You want it, here it comes!"
The lightsaber fell through the air and landed right on Mace's baldhead. The Jedi Master saw an entire nebula of stars before he passed out. Obi-Wan managed to catch him before he hit the floor and he lowered him down gently.
"I demand to know what is going on here!" Supreme Chancellor Palpatine almost screamed. That got everyone's attention and they turned to look at him, all except for Mace who was snoozing on the plush red carpet with a bump on his head.
Autolycus leaped down from the ceiling to land easily on Palpatine's desk. "I am Autolycus the King of Thieves and I'm from the planet Earth!"
To be continued….
Author's Note: I wrote the original story in 2001 (chapter 1) and I decided to write a sequel, "The Cronos Stone". Instead of posting it as a separate story, I just decided to add it here as another chapter so you have the opportunity to read both.
Footnote: Vader's memory of flying in the illegal garbage pit races is from the novel "Rogue Planet", my favorite prequel SW novel.
