I do not own any of the Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.
Luke meditated in his guest room that was provided by Queen Audrey at her royal mansion. It has been days since the second attempt on her life. Kaznia entered a state of emergency afterward and Audrey was heavily suggested by General Olanic and Prime Minster Zebic to stay at her mansion, where she can be easily protected. Audrey doesn't like it, thinking that she can't stay cooped up in her mansion when her country is dancing the line between peace and civil war. But she conformed to her two advisors and did her best to attend the Parliaments on the phone.
Kaznia got deeper into civil unrest after the bombing. Protests sparked across the country, from village to city, especially in the North. Most of the protests consisted of Northern Kaznians wanting to leave the country, saying that since they weren't welcomed in the country, they would be happy to leave. There were counter-protests however, objecting that North Kaznia is rightfully Kaznia and the Northerners were traitors. It didn't take long for both sides to engage in violent street brawls.
The Kaznian National Guard was dispatched to quell the riots in the cities. General Olanic however wanted to go a step further. Olanic wants to declare martial law across the country and look for the NKLF in the north. He suggested that they should systemically search house to house in Northern Kaznia, arresting anyone affiliated or suspected of being NKLF.
Queen Audrey was thankfully horrified by the idea and told Olanic that they would do no such thing. Olanic of course obeyed his Queen, but Luke can tell that she was the only thing holding Olanic back from carrying out his plan.
Audrey continued attending the Parliament meeting on the phone. Her voice had no power already back when she attended the meetings physically, now she was on a phone while the argument and accusations between the delegates seemed to get worse and worse. Nothing was being achieved at this rate.
Luke wants to do something, he wants to attend the Parliament meetings himself and state his opinions to argue for both sides. But Audrey and Olanic wanted Luke to protect the Queen, not get involved with their issues. Yes, Luke understands that they want to fix it themselves, that they need a precedent of them fixing their own problems without outside involvement.
But he also knows what's at stake, the country can erupt into a civil war anytime with just one simple spark. Thousands or even more could perish during the fighting, including civilians. Millions would be displaced and will be refugees. The country's stability and economy would be damaged for decades to come. All he wants is to explain to the Kaznian leaders his third-party perspective and how they could co-exist with one another.
He knew that it wasn't Audrey's fault for not wanting Luke to attend the meetings, she was the Queen and needed to keep a persona and image within her people. He was an outsider and it would just show her people that they needed outsiders and help while dealing with their problems if he did. But Luke deeply wanted to tell her his feelings towards the situation.
Luke's meditation was stopped when his comlink buzzed to life. "Skywalker, here," he answered.
"It's Batman," the dark crusader replied, "Heard about the bombing."
Luke's raises his eyebrow, "Just now?"
"No" Batman stated, "Been dealing with the mobs in Gotham, heard about it when it happened but didn't get the chance to drop in."
Luke sighed, pitching his nose, "Well, the good news is that I stopped the bombing from killing the Queen and any civilians."
"And the bad news?" Batman inquired.
"The entire country is about to go to war with itself and the government is not letting me talk with them during the negotiations."
There was a short pause before Batman answered with, "Guess you're not having a good time."
"No…I'm not."
Batman continued, "So they're not letting you talk?"
The Jedi replied, "No, Queen Audrey and some in the government think I shouldn't interfere with their politics, will give a bad image since I'm an outsider."
"Mmh," Batman muffled and then only said two words after that, "Not surprising."
Luke huffed with frustration, "Anything happening that I should know about?"
"Other than what's happening in Kaznia, multiple villains broke out of Stryker's Prison, two days ago." Luke's attention peeked, and Batman continued, "The escapees were copperhead, cheater, KGBeast, Volcana, and Blockbuster."
Luke heard Claire Selton's villain name and took note of their escape.
"They've gone into hiding since the breakout," Batman stated.
"But they're criminals, they'll hide and do something major when the coast is clear," Luke mentioned.
"Right," Batman replied.
Luke rubbed the back of his head, "Well, we're gonna have to deal with them eventually, I'm about to talk with Queen Audrey soon, I'll see later, Batman."
Luke was about to turn off the comlink before Batman said his final words, "A little tip, some people find it hard to ask for help. Audrey and the others might want help, they just don't know it."
Luke gave Batman's words some thought, "Right," Luke said, "See you later."
Luke turned off the comlink to let Batman's words in his mind. Luke knows that Queen Audrey wasn't some Royality that needed to be saved and Kaznia was not some backward country that couldn't fix its own problems. Queen Audrey was a competent leader to her people who managed to help her country mostly recover from its past problems, the current crisis coming to be was out of her control. All she wants is to set precedence for future generations for problems like this if they come to be.
Luke got up from his meditation pose and left his lavish guest room. He walked through Audrey's mansion, passing servants who bowed when he passed and guards who stood like statues. He was making his way to Queen Audrey's office, it was the afternoon and she should be done with the parliament meetings on the phone. He wanted to talk with her about the crisis, he knew she didn't want him to interfere with the talks, but she also couldn't say no to a third opinion.
The Jedi was now outside of her office, where two guards in high-tailored suits stood there on both sides of the door.
"I would like to speak with the Queen," Luke politely asked.
Both of them looked at each other before one replied to Luke's request, "One moment," he spoke in a heavy Kaznian accent.
He opened the door and shut it, leaving Luke and the other guard in awkward silence. Moments passed before the guard came back and told his answer to Luke, "You may come in."
Luke bowed in respect and went into Audrey's office. There were two other guards inside the office. Both like the ones outside stood guard on either side of the room. Audrey was on the phone, arguing with the person on the other side, she was sitting at her desk while tapping her fingers on the wooden top. The voice was faint from Luke's distance to her, but he safely guessed it was Olanic. He guessed it was him due to Audrey's frustrations from the conversation.
"Look General, if we just roll the Army in North Kaznia, it gives NKLF to strike back, we just need to let the North calm down for a while." She argued with General Olanic.
He heard the vague, but gruff voice speak on the other side. She listened to the voice, rolling her eyes, shook her head in annoyance, and pitched the bridge of her nose. She looks up and notices that Luke got into the room, she smiles and waves at him. But her smile disappeared when Olanic's voice continued, no doubt talking about his view on what to do.
She gritted her teeth in annoyance then told the General what she felt, "General! I am the Queen of Kaznia and I will not let my decisions create bloodshed within my people! If you have a problem with my authority, you can happily resign your position and take back the oath you sworn to me!"
There was a pregnant pause between her and General Olanic. Luke thought Olanic hung up since there was just a long time of silence between the two. But Olanic finally replied, probably submitting to the blonde short Queen.
Audrey nodded to the General's submission to her royal authority, "Good, now if you don't mind I have a hero to attend to." Audrey hung up the phone and placed it in one of the drawers on her desk.
She lets out a frustrated groan before turning her attention to Luke. She then gestured with her hand to the two guards in her office, "You two can go now."
They looked back at each other and were going to protest about leaving their Queen alone with the Jedi, but Audrey took note of this and rolled her eyes, "Oh Please, he saved me from blowing up and got the man who tried to kill me, if anything he's well enough to keep me save." She argued.
The two guards reluctantly nodded and proceeded to leave the room. Luke didn't think the guards needed to leave, feeling that his talk with Audrey wouldn't be that secretive. "I don't think they needed to leave the room for us to talk, Your Highness."
The Kaznian Queen shrugged, "I figured they would give you looks while we chit-chat, they mean well but they can be real sticks in the mud sometimes."
Luke stated, "They only want your total protection, I don't blame them during these times."
Audrey gave a sigh, thinking about the last attempt on her life. She went to a cabinet that housed various liquors and alcohol. She got out a bottle of brown liquid and two smaller glasses. She poured one for herself and the other for Luke. She offered the one to Luke and gave a small grin, "Care for some libations, Sir Knight?" She jokingly said.
Luke smiled back, "I don't think the Queen of Kaznia should be intoxicated to the point where she can't perform her Queenly duties."
She went over to him, with both glasses in her hands. Extending her arm to offer him a glass, "Well, I think that this Queen of Kaznia deserves a little treat from all of this hard work, and her little protecting Knight, who saved her, should too." She lifts her glass, "Besides this is nothing compared to my party days."
Thinking that nothing bad would come out of this, Luke took the gesture of good faith from Audrey's hands. She raised her glass to make a toast, "To Peace."
Luke did the same, "To Peace." The two glasses tinked and both of them took a sip of the alcohol, Audrey was drinking more of it than Luke.
While Audrey looked unfazed at the drink, Luke thought the alcohol was pretty strong to the other drinks he had in the past. Luke breathed in afterward because on how he thought it was too strong for him. He wasn't a drinker, but he did at some points in his life have some alcoholic drinks. He jokingly thought that it was so strong that it could be used to fuel starships. He did however think it had a good taste at the same time.
Audrey took note of the Jedi's reaction to the intoxicating elixir and wanted to make fun of him for it, "What's the matter? Don't tell me a Justice League member is getting his ass kicked by a drink?"
Luke chuckled at her observational question, "No, I just don't drink that much."
"Well let's take a sit before my Knight gets defeated by something as small as a drink." She giggled as she led him to two fancy armchairs that were beside the entrance to the balcony of the office.
Luke follows and takes a sit with her. He notes the balcony's view of the estate and the countryside. It overlooked the mansion gardens, hedge walls, patio, and a large pool. Some of the guards were patrolling the sidewalks outside or standing as sentries. The estate's caretakers and maids were also walking, performing their duties.
Audrey crosses her legs and puts her glass on a small drink table. She slightly leans towards Luke with interest in why he wants to talk to her. "So," she said, "Is there something on your mind that you want to talk about since you came to me?"
Luke puts his drinks on the table too. Luke politely asks, "If I can, Your Highness, I want to talk about the current crisis, if I may."
Luke can tell from her looks and sense from her feelings that she was disappointed in his actual answer. She leans back to the chair. "Oh..well," she lets a sigh, "If you insist."
"I know you don't want me to interfere directly unless it comes for your protection, but please, I would you to hear my opinion on it," Luke stated to Audrey.
Audrey smirked, "The Queen awaits."
Luke smiled a little then explained his thoughts to her, "I can tell that you deeply care for your people and it breaks your heart that they resorted to such conflict."
Audrey's smirk went away when listening to Luke, she looked down on her hands and played with them. He can sense she was thinking about herself and how he was right. Her confidence as a Queen and a leader faded when his words reminded the Queen of her past self that seemed like a long time ago, yet wasn't even a year. She wasn't always compassionate and caring to her people, he sensed that was what she was thinking. She might've had them deep inside of her, but all of that was buried under reckless partying and being a hedon.
She went up from her chair and leaned towards the railing on the balcony, looking down over the estate and into the countryside. She sounded like she wasn't proud of herself when she answered Luke, "I wasn't like this you know. I only carried for myself when my father was King." She looked down in disappointment at her past self, "I was reckless and naive about what I wanted."
She took a long pause before continuing, "I thought I could be a little pampered Princess forever, not really expecting what's gonna happen when my father is gone."
Luke can tell that she didn't miss her being a Princess and not having responsibilities. Sure, he could tell that she somewhat missed traveling all over and going into nightclubs amongst other things. But he sensed that she felt empty during those times. That all of those times that she thought she could be young forever, she never really enjoyed or had any happiness in it. Being a Queen might be stressful, but she got a sense of happiness and joy seeing her people improve under her rule, despite how short it was.
Luke got up from his chair and went beside her, leaning against the railing too. Luke wanted to be honest with Audrey as well, "Believe it or not, I wasn't always a Jedi Knight."
Audrey turned her head to Luke, and he kept on with his backstory, "I grew up on a farm, raised by my Aunt and Uncle. Never really wanted anything but just to go someplace far away."
He stopped and thought about the events that happened during those days when he and Uncle Owen bought Artoo and Threepio from the Jawas to blowing up the Death Star days later.
"Never thought I would have a greater purpose, but it more or less found me when I least expected. I was reckless and naive about the world too, but we all have to grow up," he looked to her, "Don't we?"
Audrey was silent, and Luke decided to speak what he thought, "We all have our own destinies we can follow, but in the end, we have the ultimate choice to follow them."
He then wanted to try to tell her about his opinion on the crisis, "When I studied your people's history, all I saw was inspiration and the spirit to be free."
Audrey was surprised by his words, he didn't let up, "Despite all the times your people being beaten down and oppressed, you all continued to fight against all odds that weighed over you. Despite your differences, you all fought for what was your country. I feel that your people have forgotten that friendship and understanding with one another, but it's never too late for them to get that level of thinking back to them and I think you can do that."
Luke confessed his opinion, Audrey slightly blushed to the words of encouragement but then frowned at her subjects not listening to her. "I doing all that I can, but every time I ask them to calm down they just do the opposite." She looks away from Luke and lends down on the metal railing, thinking about how she failed them and Kaznia would not be saved. "They just won't listen. I'm their Queen and they won't listen or even try to care. I tried my best but,"
Luke cuts off Audrey by putting his hand gently on her shoulder. Luke got tired of this young woman doubting herself when he could tell she could be better than that. "There is no tries, Your Highness. If you already think that you aren't doing your best, then you already set yourself with failure."
Audrey looks up to him, Luke remembers what Yoda told him and goes further, "When my mentor told me that, I didn't understand, But I learned the hard way what it actually means. We can do some much with ourselves if we just let go of all of that doubt we have in our thoughts. You can be the greatest Monarch in Kaznia's history if you just let yourself be that."
Audrey blushed at Luke's words of encouragement. She slightly looked away and gave some thought to what he said. Luke was frustrated at how many people he met recently who could do so much good but was held down by their own thoughts. First Shayera, now with Audrey. Both have so much potential to do incredible things, they just have to believe in themselves.
Audrey placed her hand on top of Luke's hand that was still on her shoulder, finally finished thinking about what he said and why. "Thank you, Luke. I think I really needed that." She said warmly.
"It's what I do, Your Highness," Luke replies.
Both drop their hands and look forwards to the view, offered by the mansion's balcony. Both looked in the distance, not talking for a long pause. Audrey then said something that led to Luke's embarrassment.
Queen Audrey turned, "I never properly thanked you for saving me, Luke."
"You don't have to thank me, you did that already a couple of times after it happened and you gave me a drink I'll sure remember."
She giggles and steps closer, "Well, the Queen says that wasn't a proper token of my gratitude." She gets even closer and puts her hand on Luke's that was on the railing.
Luke's face turned slightly red, from her hand onto his and her thoughts that he sensed. "Oh well…," He coughs, "That's okay, I'm fine, I really don't need anything, honestly," Luke said nervously.
Audrey then got a devilish grin and was face to face with the Jedi. Luke felt the heat from her body and sensed what she was going to do, "Well…as Queen of Kaznia, I say that my shining Knight in armor will get a little token of gratitude for his bravery."
She leaned to him and was going to gift Luke a kiss, He didn't move out of the way or use his hand to stop her. He didn't know if he should stop her or not. Their lips were just about to connect before Prime Minister Zebic abruptly opened the door. Both of them quickly went away from each other. Turning away from either, blushing.
"Your Majesty, I-," Zebic was about to explain why he entered the Queen's office without permission, oblivious to what the two blondes were about to do.
Audrey got mad at the man barging in and stopped his sentence, "What is it Zebic?! Don't you know nothing of knocking?!"
Zebic realized his Queen's frustration and bowed in apology, "A thousand apologies, My Queen, but there have been multiple Northern delegates from Parliament that have been causing a stir recently."
Audrey crossed her arms. Luke realizing that he will not be needed, decides to take his leave. He turns to Queen Audrey, "I believe it's best if I leave it to you, Your Highness." He bows and then exits the office.
He could tell that she wanted to stop him but she didn't, he could feel that she needed to take care of the developing situation. He made his way to the provided quarters, closing the door behind him. Luke was unsure if he shouldn't have stopped Audrey when she was about to kiss him. Sure she was just showing appreciation, but he only hoped it was only that. He didn't bother searching deeper into her feelings if it was really that.
Audrey signed the paperwork and did her duties on her desk. She has been either taking calls, attending Parliament meetings, or talking with Kaznian officials personally in her office. She has been doing this all day with no long break. It was in the evening, the sun was about to set and her maids were just about to prepare dinner.
As she did her work, her mind wandered off. She thought about what happened yesterday, between her and Luke Skywalker. Luke went to her office to talk about his opinion on the crisis and had a motivating talk with her. What he said about her and her people was so sweet and wise. Audrey did want to reward her bodyguard with something that fitted well with him saving her. She thought a little kiss would be appropriate, she didn't think no problems would come out of it.
Maybe it was the liquor talking, making her want to give a kiss to Luke, then again she had more alcohol tolerance thanks to her partying days. They were both young, he was a man and she was a woman, she wanted to give him a small gift of appreciation, and of course, also wanted to tease the apparently raised farm boy. The entire time, she could tell Luke was slightly getting nervous, which boosted Audrey's girlish ego.
But then Zebic of all people busted into the room with not even a knock and interrupted them. She had obviously gotten frustrated with the Prime Minister but also didn't want to show that they were about to kiss. Sure there were other guys out there that she teased and did things with. Men who were supermodels, young businessmen, and some sports athletes, but all of that weren't exactly serious. The same thing can be said about Luke, yet to her it was something more. He was always polite and looked like he always listened to her, instead of some guys who pretended and acted like they would listen when she talked. He was humble and acted so caring to the people around him in the short span of time she knew him.
She thought it was a little attraction to what can be described as a good man. If anything it would just be a fling and nothing more. The only thing that might come out of it is her flirting with him some more and a good kiss afterward. And speaking of the devil, Luke comes into her office. Thankfully, she ordered her two guards to wait outside earlier when she was talking on the phone.
"Luke," she says as the Queen stands up, "I haven't seen you all day."
He bows to her and straightens himself, "Apologizes, I wasn't too far, I've been meditating in my room and talked with the Justice League for a while."
She nodded to his explanation, and then the thought of what happened yesterday came to her, "Luke," she softly said. She didn't feel bad for trying, it's not like he was expressing that he didn't want it. If anything right now, she just wanted to confess how she felt for him, "Listen I-"
Audrey noticed Luke wasn't paying attention when she was about to talk about what happened yesterday. He looked at the window that showed the office the wider estate.
He puts his hand up for her to stop and to keep her thoughts to herself for a moment, "Wait," he cautions. "Something is not right."
Audrey notices Luke's suspicions and doesn't go further on what she wants to talk about. She then gets concerned about what he thinks could happen, "What's wrong?"
He slightly shakes his head, "I'm not too sure, but something is going to happen." Audrey remembers that one of Luke's powers that he told her was to ability to sense danger before it happens. He explained to her how he was able to save her from the bomb before it actually detonated.
Luke then looks over to the Queen, "Call your guards, I think we're gonna be attacked," He raises his hand to her, "Stay here, I'm going to have to check where it could be."
Audrey nods and calls her guards to come in. As two of the royal guards come in, Luke hastily exits, "Be careful, Luke!" She warns the Justice League member. She starts to tell the two guards what is going on. Though she didn't notice this detail, the water in her glass started to slightly shake as something big in the distance was coming up.
The mansion's doorbell rang, and one of the guards stationed at the front door answered it. They were expecting more guards that were supposed to be here hours ago.
He opens the door, several guards in suits and holding briefcases were coming out of Kaznian government-issued black sedans parked at the mansion's driveway.
"You're late" the annoyed Kaznian guard states.
One of the new guards tried to explain and shrugged, "Sorry, we were held up in traffic, and one of our cars broke down."
The guard didn't think the excuse was good enough, "Save your sorries for your Queen, the Justice League member has a hunch that there might be an attack, we're gonna need you all to be ready now."
The new guards looked at each other with surprise and concern, some on the back of the group talked with one another in hushed voices. The guard couldn't tell what they were talking about but didn't think it was too weird.
"Well," the guard tells them, "What're you waiting for? Get in here!"
The new guards' attention went back to the old guard, "Oh, r-right."
The new guards as a group started to enter through the entrance. As they came in, the guard caught some details about the new guards. Some of them looked somewhat nervous, looking and observing the inside of the mansion than they should be. They also had mismatched briefcases and a mixture of baggage. If anything, they should have standardized equipment for uniformity. Then there was them being late, they came up from the capital to rotate out the guard shift here, yet if they were late, they shouldn't have called in. Something didn't add up.
"Hey," he stopped one of them by grabbing their arm, "Don't you all have your standard-issued equipment to carry your things?"
The new guard looked unsure as to what to say, "Well…uh."
The old guard continued, "And how come none of you reported that you would be late?"
The new guard and the others with him didn't say anything, trying to come up with something to say.
The old guard had enough of these dumbasses, he's not gonna risk the Queen's life with guys who looked like they couldn't tell from their left to their right. "Okay, that's all I need, where's your ID, I want to know who's your superior officer."
Before any of the new guards could fork over an ID, one of them quickly pulled out a 9mm Makarov from the inside of his tailored suit and sent a round through the old guard's head. The old guard dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes as blood gushed from the newly formed holes in his head. The other new guards then pulled out their various firearms and started to shoot at the old guards. Loud screeches of gunfire and whizzing bullets sounded off in the mansion's inner entrance hallway as a firefight started.
The disguised NKLF members took out most of the Queen's guard within moments. They took them by surprise and overpowered the guards with extreme prejudice. The guards who were at the main lobby of the mansion were either dead or retreated further into the manor, the maids and servants fled the area as well. Gunfire could be heard from the outside the NKLF members outside with the cars started to engage with the guards outside too.
With the guards taken care of the moment, disguised NKLF then took out their primary weapons from their suitcases and luggage. They couldn't take any large weapons due to them being less stealthy but they managed to take several break-apart rifles and submachine guns with them. 9mm Uzis, MP5Ks, and M4s were their main arsenal. It wasn't enough to take on the Kaznian Army head-on, but with the NKLF's intel, the Queen's guard would have handguns on them for the time being. But they also know that they could get more firepower if they waste any more time.
Thanks to that asshole guard, they will have to ditch Plan A and do Plan B. They will have to blitz their way through the mansion, fight the Queen's guards, and retreat with Szekeres's team that should capture the Queen soon.
"Okay!," The NKLF squad leader announced, "Szekeres' team should be here now, we gotta reach the Queen and cover them. Move!"
The NKLF fighters rushed through the mansion's lobby. While they were planning to head to the Queen's living quarters and help Szekeres capture her, they were stopped by an unexpected visitor. They were in the middle of the lobby, heading towards the various hallways of the mansion when their weapons flew out of their hands. The weapons moved out of their grips as if they had minds of their own, some of the men even tried to get them back, but the weapons flew too fast and whatever pulled them was too strong.
The weapons quickly went to the center of the room, far from the reach of the fighters, and made themselves into a pile. Then they were crushed in a few seconds, parts of the diverse weapons busted open, collapsed, and smushed into themselves. They were nothing more than worthless lumps of metal.
While all of the fighters in that room gawked at their now useless weapons, they heard a pair of boots land behind them. A large booming voice got their attention.
"I will give you a chance!" The fighters shook and turned around to see who was talking since his voice was amplified like a megaphone. It was that new Justice Leaguer who saved Queen Audrey days ago from their last attempt to kill her. They watched the video of him saving her at the capital and they originally thought that he would be a problem. But Szekeres told them during their brief before the operation that he would take care of him with his special weapon if he got in the way. All of them got nervous when they realized that the hero had done all of that to their weapons.
The blonde hero in black pulled out a silver cylinder attached to his belt, and he then activated it, making a green light emitted from the hilt. It hummed with energy and whoosh as he went into a defense stance. He continued with his booming words, "You can either surrender now and end this pointless fight, or face the consequences, it's your choice."
Luke gave the intruders a warning and a choice to stop their violent actions right now. Though It was more than a warning, it was a promise. He'll make sure they'll get fair treatment under the Kaznian Government if they give up, but if they don't surrender they will regret it soon. They had already shot multiple guards, and most of them were already dead when Luke got there. But he will be generous to offer them to give up despite them taking the lives of the guards.
The intruders looked at each other, hesitant to pull their secondary firearms at the Jedi. He can feel that they don't want to get onto his bad side. But after a few seconds, they unanimously agreed in silence and tried to pull their smaller pistols and fire at the Jedi. Luke rolled his eyes and pushed all of them with the power of the Force. They all yelled in surprise and were thrown hard into the walls. All of them were either knocked out cold or stunned by the sheer force they were thrown into the mansion's wooden walls.
Luke noted that there was gunfire outside of the mansion, he was about to go and help Audrey's guards but was stopped when he sensed something. It was Audrey and the Force warned Luke that she was in distress and needed help. Realizing he couldn't waste any time, he used the Force to speed across the mansion to the last place he saw Audrey.
Audrey's heart pounded to the walls of her chest like a beating drum when she heard ringing gunfire and screaming that sounded like it was coming inside the mansion itself. She kneeled behind her desk as cover when the gunfire started outside as well. The guards obviously took note of this and pulled out handguns and went over to Audrey. She realized that they would have to make it to the safe room or have Luke come and get her.
"Your Majesty, it's the NKLF," one of the guards pressed to her, "We're going to have to move you ou-," He didn't finish his sentence when he gasped and looked at something out in the office's window. Audrey turned around to see what he was looking at and her eyes widened as she saw a large mechanical hand burst through the office's windows.
The glass shattered into millions of pieces as the hand guided towards Audrey. The guards opened fire on it but stopped when the hand wrapped its claws around Audrey's body. The cold hard metal got Audrey in a tight uncomfortable grip. She did her best to move, squirm, and wiggle her way out of its steel grip, but to no avail.
The hand then moved out of the window and outside, taking the Kaznian Queen with it. As the hand took Audrey out, it revealed what connected to the cold mechanical limb. Audrey saw it as a large mechanical suit. But from her days of being a Princess knowing somewhat of the affairs of Kaznia and what involved the country before the Royal family took over, she recognized it as a Lexo-Skel Suit Type 5000.
She remembered the time when the Regent was still in power before the coup that overthrew him. She remembered that there was some scandal between the Regent and the businessman, Lex Luthor, that involved the combat suit. Luthor was supposed to sell the suit to the Regent under the guise of theft due to the U.S. putting a trade embargo on Kaznia. Superman intervened and destroyed the suit before it even reached any docks that could go to Kaznia.
The suit itself was tall, the same general size as a three-story building. The whole design of the suit looked like came out of a cheezy 60's Sci-Fi movie. It had no actual head, other than the stretched black view window that was the cockpit. The cockpit was slightly above the main torso of the suit. The torso was angled outwards, protruding needlessly like the front of a boat. The limbs were close to the torso and looked like they should be clumsy like an action figure toy.
There were three of them, including the one that was holding her hostage. They were side by side with each other, the one in the middle was holding Audrey. The one holding her was actually different compared to the other two. Instead of having slight army green coloring around its body like the other two, it had a silver coating.
Audrey also noticed the gunfire that was happening outside. Her bodyguards were shooting at intruders who looked exactly like how her guard would dress, though some of their weapons were different. She should have known that the NKLF would pull a stunt like this. First, it was the bombings, now it was trying to kill her guards, destroying her mansion, and putting all of her maids and servants in danger.
The sliver mech brought Audrey close to its viewport. The mech spoke, using some sort of speaker built into the suit, it was the pilot that held her talking, "Having fun, your Highness?" The gruff voice mockingly said she noted that he had a slight Hungarian accent while doing so.
"Let me go!" She demanded, she tried again to move around the mech's claw-like finger and to escape. But it was useless, she might as well have been in a steel cage.
"I'm afraid not," the exterior megaphone of the suit projected the pilot's voice, "We have a scheduled appointment for your presence." He paused, "I hope you like flying."
Then what sounded like a jet engine sound started to develop under all of the suits' feet. Smoke erupted and the extreme sound of jet engines roared as the mechs started to move up. All of the suits then made flight slowly above the ground. After what it looked like they were 3 trees above the ground, they started to pick up the pace.
Audrey was panicking. Panicking on what the NKLF could do to her. She's been kidnapped before but they were all stopped. Now it was different, no she was in trouble.
Then what felt like they hit a hard brick wall, the mech that held Audrey stopped mid-air. The mech rocked as she did as well. The sounds of rockets from the bottom of the mech's feet could be heard overworking to move, but Audrey noticed they were at the same place for several moments. The two other mechs didn't stop and shot up in the air.
"What?!" The pilot howled in his suit's speaker.
Audrey was puzzled too, they were frozen in the air for several moments before they started to come back down slowly to the ground. She could feel from the shaking of the suit that the rockets were doing their best to go up but were doing absolutely nothing. She looked around, to see if anything was stopping the mech midair until she realized that Luke was outside, with his hands extended in their direction.
Luke kept using the Force to pull the large mechanized suit that held Queen Audrey in its metallic grip. He assumed that it was a droid in actuality, but was proven wrong when the suit speaker cracked into the air in a loud noise.
The mech's body slightly looked down to see who was pulling them down. "Varga! Laszlo! Get over here!"
Luke then noticed the two slightly different-looking mechs appeared from the sky and landed close to where Luke was. They crushed the estate's lavish garden and walkways around them under their full weight and momentum from their landings. Both of them turned their attention to Luke and raised their right arms towards him. The sound of a heavy guns cocked and fired two large shells towards Luke.
He did manifest a protective barrier with his left arm to protect himself from the two incoming projectiles. He also did his best to keep his concentration on holding the mech that had Audrey in place with his right arm reaching out to them. He wouldn't be able to keep pulling them down due to him needing to handle the two shells coming to him, they would be in the air for a little bit. The two massive rounds impacted the barrier, making them go off in an explosion of shrapnel and fire.
When the dust and smoke cleared, Luke was still holding down the mech in the air with his right hand while had his left straight towards the grounded mechs to project the barrier. The two mechs looked at each other, not understanding what happened. Luke got the opportunity to strike, he activated his lightsaber and used his powers to throw it towards the mech to his left.
The lightsaber boomeranged in a light of green energy that swirled like a vortex. Its target was one of the mechs. The mech on the right turned to Luke from the noise of the lightsaber and warned his partner, "Laszlo look out!"
It was too late, the lightsaber made contact with the right thigh of the mech. The saber cuts the metal like butter and seared the metal. From the contact, both ends of the right leg get disconnected making the mech unbalanced. The mech tries to use its arms to catch itself but the front side of the mech eats the ground.
The lightsaber returns back to its owner as if it's alive and landed in Luke's left hand. While the mech that was amputated struggled to get back up, the intact one engaged its rockets in its feet and boosted in the air towards Luke. The massive mech suit had an arch of trajectory to Luke and raised one of its legs in an attempt to squash him during the impact. Not thinking he will be able to move out of the way, if doing so he might lose concentration on holding the mech and Audrey in the air. With available thought in his working mind, he waved his hand to the coming mech that was planning to stomp in from the air.
The mech while coming dangerously close to him, was knocked out of the air as if something big rammed it and crashed onto the ground. Luke's hand that was holding the escaping mech was shaking, the mech was doing its best to rocket out of Luke's invisible grip but was still in place in the sky. Luke then received a warning from the Force about the intruders coming to him from his side. Multiple NKLF members with rifles and submachine guns were outside of the mansion during an attack, appeared around the estate's corners, and aimed their weapons at Luke.
Luke uses his free hand to push the attackers away before firing. All of the attackers were pushed back as if they were hit by a car. Some went into hedge plants, straight to the ground, or concrete benches. Luke's hand that held the mech was starting to lose control. Luke can multitask with the Force, but not while being constantly attacked and pressured. He did his best to resume putting down the mech closer to the ground. The mech was coming to the ground, the rockets started to overhear. Each engine within its legs glows hot red due to overworking itself.
The mech that Luke waved off then got back up and aimed its cannon arm at him. Using the Force, he concentrated on only the arm and used his free arm to move the cannon away from Luke and into a safe direction. The arm quickly groaned inward and pulled away to the mech's left side. This didn't stop the cannon from firing and a large bronze shell erupted from the gun. The shell then made a B line toward the amputated mech that just now managed to get up. It did its best to use its arms as a brace while the last leg was kneeling to keep balance.
The mech that shot at Luke realized this and screamed at his comrade, "LASZLO!"
The shell then penetrated the head of the amputated mech and destroyed most of the suit. Parts and mechanics of the suit erupted from the cloud of fire and smoke. Components were scattered across the garden and what was left that was the mech at its original place was the leg that was dismembered earlier.
In a rage, the man in the mech yelled in anger with his suit's speaker and fired again with the arm cannon. Luke deflected the shell in another direction but did not realize where it could actually go. The shell was pointed in a direction where maids, servants, and some guards were running towards safety from the onslaught. Luke realized this in a few seconds and used his free hand to hold down the shell. The group didn't have time to find cover and realized that the last thing they'd see was a large artillery round coming towards him, instead, it was held in thin air. The group continued to run away from the carnage that used to be the estate.
Luke was now using two hands to hold two separate objects in place. Beads of sweat rolled down his face from the energy needed to do so. However, that was the least of his worries. The mech cycled the empty canister out of its cannon and reloaded a new one to fire at Luke. Knowing what it would do, Luke used the hand that held the round and manipulated it to aim it at the mech with incredible speed.
The round went backward to where it was shot from. It impacted the left leg of the mech that was just about to fire at the Jedi. The round exploded, sending debris and chaos around the mech. A piece of concrete that was thrown from the blast grazed Luke's extended arm that held the mech in the air. Luke yelled in pain and his concentration was broken. The grip he had on the mech was gone. As if it were a bird that had just been freed from an iron cage, the mech soared again into the air. It got further and further away from Luke as he could hear Audrey screaming to be helped. Then they disappeared into the sky.
Luke was holding the area of his right arm that was slit open with the piece of debris. It cut through the fabric of his black suit and exposed some flesh. Blood was pouring out and his arm felt weak. Luke then breathed in and out slowly to get back concentration, then put his left hand on the wound.
He concentrated in his mind to feel the exposed wound and muscle. He let the Force flow through him and did his best to apply it around the wound. The wound then was slowly closed back up, skin that was torn apart reconnecting, and damaged muscles were healing at a fast rate. By the time Luke fully healed his arm, the wound was no more. Though the area of the wound was tender and sour, Luke wouldn't need to worry himself about it anytime soon.
He looked around to see the aftermath of the attack. The sun was about to set and night was coming. The garden and the estate itself were a mess. The mansion where Audrey's office was had a huge gaping hole where the window was. The NKLF men who tried to shoot at Luke were either knocked out or unable to move. Plants, sidewalks, fountains, benches, and everything that made up the garden were destroyed or torn apart from the fight.
Luke heard police sirens and moving vehicles coming up to the estate's main road. A convoy of black SUVs, Kaznian police cars, and military trucks pulled up to the estate. Soldiers of the Kaznian military, Kaznian police offices, and the Kaznian royal guard poured out of the vehicles. They started to secure the now badly damaged estate. A good portion started to round up the disguised NKLF members and detain them. In one of the black SUVs, General Olanic and Prime Minister Zebic got out of the car with some guards around them. Luke realizing that a rescue will have to be mounted for the Queen went to the Kaznian officials.
Both of them stopped a few paces away from Luke as the Kaznian forces made their way around the estate to look for any more NKLF and to clean up the mess.
"Well, where's the Queen," Olanic demanded to Luke.
Luke sighed at what he had done. He failed his mission. He was supposed to protect Queen Audrey with his life and he did, not dying, but was willing to do so. Now she was captured by the NKLF, who had proven now and earlier that they were more than fine harming or even killing her.
Now she is gone, The South will undoubtedly retaliate with full force. With what Olanic had intended in mind, the South might go through the North and do everything in their power to crush the Separatists. All of that will inevitably cause a civil war, a civil war that he could have stopped if he was good enough to save Audrey if he was good enough to be a Jedi.
Luke metaphorically and literally had the Queen in his grasp, but he was knocked out of balance due to the mechs trying to kill him and the fleeing civilians. Maybe in another timeline, he found another way of saving those civilians while saving Audrey at the same time. Maybe if he let the civilians die Audrey could have been saved and war might not have happened.
But that would not have been the Jedi way, that wouldn't have been the way of the Force. He did his duty as a Jedi to protect all life to the best of his ability. If they wanted kill Audrey, they would of done it with those mech suits. They wanted to capture her, probably for a bargaining chip against the South. That gave a new ray of hope for Luke that he didn't totally fail the mission.
He failed to keep her from harm's way, but he won't fail to protect her life with every fiber of his being. With the strength of the Force, he will protect the peace and people in this country, even if it looks desperate. It might be too late to stop a conflict soon, but it's never too late to end it either.
Despite the look of the situation, Luke's resolve as a Jedi held him together. He replied back to Olanic in a calm voice, hoping that he would understand that he wouldn't stop till Audrey was saved. "General, I'm sorry, but the Queen was captured," Olanic's and Zebic's eyes widened in shock, Olanic's shock then twisted into a look of anger, and a vein popped out of his head.
Luke continued, "I know that I failed, but I will do anything in my," He was cut off by an angry Olanic who stepped closer to Luke.
"YOU'RE SORRY!?" The General screamed at Luke's face. "YOU LET OUR QUEEN GET TAKEN AND YOU'RE JUST SORRY!?"
Luke knew the blame should be on him and knew the General's anger was justified, "I know that it's my fault, you should blame me for all of this." He gestured to the mess of the battle. "But I feel that we still have a chance of resolving this conflict if we just sa-."
Luke was cut off by a held-up hand that came from the General. "I think we had enough of you Skywalker." He looks at Zebic, "I told you we should've not trusted these Westerners."
Luke lets the comment slide through him, and he pleads to the General, he could sense that Olanic was planning on how to counterattack the North as a whole instead of the NKLF in general. "Please, General," Luke pleaded, "I know that you are angry at the NKLF, but we can't let anger get the best of us, we have to rescue the Queen before anything else happens."
"Save your excuses, "Hero", we Kaznians had enough of you getting into our problems," Olanic shook his head, "I told Queen Audrey to not involve your League into our situation, but even she was naive."
Luke realizes that they will not need him despite that he will admit his failure and do everything to get Audrey back. He looked to Zebic who was level-headed compared to Olanic and pleaded with him. "Mister Prime Minister, please, I know that I failed, but let me help you all get back the Queen."
The old Zebic looked down with his eyes closed, then let a disappointed sigh before answering the Jedi. "I'm sorry, Skywalker, I don't think we could afford your help anymore."
Luke didn't know what to say. The General finished with his conversation with Luke, "Get out of my sight before I send you to that little rat prison with Savage." He then coldly turned away from Luke going to the convoy. He was no doubt planning on how to attack the North. Zebic followed him closely.
Both of them left Luke alone in his own thoughts. Despite them not letting him help them further, he will not let them stop him from saving Queen Audrey himself. It was his fault that he let her go and he will do everything in his power to make sure it wasn't his nor anyone's fault to lead to her death.
Luke looked around when he saw the badly damaged suit that he had taken out earlier. The main body was still intact but was bruised and damaged from the explosion by the round that Luke sent back. He went over to the suit, Luke remembered sensing that the suit was pilot earlier during the fight. When he reached the body, he could still sense that there was someone in there, still alive.
With that knowledge. Luke used the Force to tear apart the armor of the suit to reveal the pilot inside the cockpit. The man wore a pilot's jumpsuit and was injured caused by the explosion. He was still conscious and looked terrified at the Jedi. Luke went over to him and grabbed the man by the front of his suit. With the Force and his robotic right hand giving him strength, he hoisted the man up from the ground, above Luke's head. Luke wasn't afraid of intimidating the enemy, he knew how to show compassion and when to draw the line when attacking or getting his way. He will get information on where they were taking Audrey, one way or the other.
"I'm gonna give you the privilege of choice, either tell me where they are taking her, or I will find out myself."
Notes
There's probably gonna be some spelling errors, I know already. Just go ahead and tell me then, I'll just just throw myself in a pit of hungry boars. Anyway, wanna know how you guys feel about me writing these stories that aren't part of the canon. Yeah, I guess I can skip to the original episodes, but I feel like that takes away the whole thing of crossovers that change the timeline and all. Also if you feel that Audrey's dialogue hurts to read, I'm a guy so I wouldn't have much experience in guessing women talking and how they would feel. The next chapter should be the end of this arc