The Urgency of Both Sides

Up in the security room, Han and the other "stormtroopers" waited in front of the elevator door, blasters in defense position. There was only one entrance to the security room, and Han knew what happened last time when his only escape route was blocked off. He was going to stand his ground and blast those clone soldiers out of their minds!

Over at the computer, R2-D2 was turning his plug around in the panel, scanning the video cameras for any approaching stormtroopers.

"Beeporop!" beeped R2.

Han turned to the droid who quickly posted up the video camera's image on one of the computer's screen. The screen showed a dozen stormtroopers getting into their elevator and closing the door.

Han turned to R2.

"R2, shut down all the elevators!"

R2 beeped a small sigh and worked franticly with his plug. Soon enough, a message on the computer's screen flared up saying "All elevators have been deactivated."

"Good," said Han, "Now keep an eye on them."

"Beep Beep!"

Han sighed and went over to the other stormtroopers and waited in front of the elevator. All that he had to do was to stall the Imperials long enough to let Luke and Lando free the Rebel battalion from their cells and lead on the attack.

And that was where the fun part began.

"Sir!" said the Imperial employee, "All of the elevators had been shut down!"

Commander Cartim turned to the employee and looked at his computer screen. The screen showed a warning of all the elevators having been shut down, just as the employee had said.

"Captain Ganda must be behind this!" said Commander Cartim angrily and slammed his fist down on the desk, trying to store away his anger and replace it with common sense.

"Try to fix it now!"

"But sir…"

"Do it!"

The silent employee immediately followed his order and left Commander Cartim alone with his thoughts as he moved back to the window.

"First the security cameras and now the elevators," murmured Cartim, "What else is that fool going to do next?"

"Luke, the elevator is shutting down!"

Hearing urgency in Lando's voice, Luke studied the elevator buttons just as the elevator stopped. Luke pressed the emergency button, but nothing happened.

Luke quickly turned to Lando.

"What prison level are we on?"

Lando quickly checked the computer and looked back at Luke.

"Between prison level C8 and C9."

Luke nodded at Lando's answer and pressed the emergency button again. Still nothing happened.

"Do you have your communicator?" Luke asked Lando.

"Yes, but most likely the Imperials will be able to hack in with our conversation. We dare not risk contacting Han or R2."

Luke took in Lando's answer and looked at the elevator's ceiling.

"Look's like we have to do this the hard way."

Before Lando could reply, Luke activated his lightsaber and started cutting the ceiling into one giant circle. The soft metal gave way to Luke's lightsaber's beam and soon enough, Lando backed off just as the circular piece of ceiling dropped down to the elevator's floor.

Luke deactivated his lightsaber and grabbed Lando's arm.

"Hang on."

Sensing the Force around his body, Luke quickly Force-leaped out the hole he had made with Lando hanging on to him and landed on the roof of the elevator. Lando quickly let go of Luke, but when he looked down the elevator chute they were in, he quickly grabbed hold of Luke's arm.

Not paying attention to Lando, Luke looked down the elevator shaft and saw the entrance to prison level C9. Using the Force to clear his mind from distractions, Luke sensed the clone troopers guarding the prison level area, all ready for any emergency. This was going to harder than Luke thought, but it was the only way to do it.

"Lando, hang on tightly," Luke said to Lando, but there was no need to because Lando was already holding on to Luke as tight as he could. Though he had braved many dangers in his lifetime, Lando was never comfortable about hanging high above the ground without a ship or jetpack.

Taking a deep breath, Luke (along with a frightened Lando hugging tightly to his body) jumped off the elevator and fell into the elevator shaft.

Gaining speed from the force of gravity, Luke nonetheless stayed calm, keeping his mind focused on the task at hand.

As Luke and Lando flew past the entrance to prison level C9, Luke quickly grabbed a hook out of his belt and tossed it up above his head. The hook latched on to a small pipe in the elevator chute, and instinctively, Luke and Lando recoiled back up the chute and into the entry way.

While Lando was trying to recover his breath, Luke sensed danger and quickly activated his lightsaber. The stormtroopers, who were now just getting over the sight they had just seen, approached the two men and started firing their blasters. Instinctively, Lando rolled away from Luke and pulled out his pistol, but never fired a shot. Using the Force as a guide, Luke had easily deflected all of the enemy's laser blasts back at their owners, killing all the stormtroopers quickly with their own weapons.

Lando gently put his pistol back in his holster and went over to Luke, who was still holding his initiated lightsaber.

"You could have at least saved one of those troopers for me," teased Lando.

"By the time you would have blasted them, your whole body would have been blasted to pieces," replied Luke with a small smile on his face.

Lando stood silently as he watched Luke stroll across the prison hallway, his lightsaber still in his hands.

"With the elevator shut down, how are we going to get to level C10?" asked Lando.

Luke turned to Lando and grinned.

"By using an old Jedi method."

"What is taking you so long to fix the elevators?" commanded Commander Cartim.

"There appears to be something jamming our digital commands," said the employee.

"I do not want excuses! I want facts! What is jamming our system?"

"It seems that a R2 unit had hacked into the security system and is shutting down all of our defenses along with the elevators."

Commander Cartim stared angrily at the employee.

"You mean that our guns are no longer operational?'

"If the computer is right, then yes, I am afraid so."

Commander Cartim quickly walked away from the employee and stormed across the room to another employee.

"Had Lieutenant Bouners reached the security level yet?"

"No, sir," said the employee, "They are stuck inside elevator 440."

Unsatisfied with the news from his employee, Cartim turned to the other employee with glaring eyes.

"Get elevator 440 operational again!"

"Yes, sir!" said the employee and went immediately back to work with Commander Cartim by his side, lost in his anger and his thoughts of his own misdoings.

Han Solo was getting anxious waiting for the stormtroopers to arrive when a sharp beep echoed across the room. Han looked behind him, and to his horror, he saw R2 jolt back from the electric outlet he was plugged into and bang into one of the desks inside the room. The little blue droid quickly got up again and went back to the computer outlet, but before he could do so, a small door closed around the outlet, making it impenetrable for R2 to replug himself back in the computer outlet.

"Beeoop!" beeped R2 angrily.

"Great!" said Han but before he could say anything more, the elevator door opened revealing a dozen stormtroopers and a Imperial officer holding a pistol in front of Han's chest.

"Drop your weapons or I will shoot him," the officer said to the other "stormtroopers" in the room.

One by one, each of the "stormtroopers" dropped their blasters to the ground and held their hands in the air. Han did the same.

"Take off your helmets," the officer said to the "stormtroopers" again.

Each of the "stormtroopers took off their helmet, revealing not the faces of a cloned man, but the faces of a dozen different Rebel soldiers.

"Just as I suspected," said the officer with a smile on his face.

Han gave a nervous smile back at the officer as he put his hands behind his back.

"You know," said Han in his friendly voice, "I went to an Imperial Academy for five years and have seen many types of computer security systems, but none have compared to your own. What type is it?"

"It is none of your business, you Rebel scum!"

"Oh, I do not think you are talking to the right fellow here. I am not the one interested in your technology," Hans said and stood closer to the officer to block his view as R2-D2 made his way slowly over to the unsuspecting officer.

"Really, then who is," the officer asked skeptically.

"He is," Han said and at that moment, R2 pulled out his little electric plug and shocked the officer in the leg. The officer quickly dropped his pistol and rubbed his leg as Han grabbed the injured officer, pulled out the little grenade he had in his back belt, and placed it on the officer's chest.

"Never underestimate an astro droid," advised Han, and he quickly flung the officer into the elevator and into the stormtrooper's arms.

"R2, now!"

Before the stormtroopers could react, R2 plugged into the elevator and closed the elevator door. A moment later, a muffled explosion was heard and the elevator blew open, revealing the dead bodies of the officer and his stormtroopers.

Han grabbed his blaster and went over to the desk. Another message was waiting to be answered from the communication room, and, without hesitation, Han quickly deleted it. There would be no use trying to explain everything to Commander Cartim.

"As soon as we get the signal from Lando, we will join him at the prison levels," Han said to the other Rebels.

Down in prison level C10, five clone guards stood guard over the elevator entrance, silently talking to one another about the laser blasts that were heard earlier just one floor above them. If there was an enemy Rebel on the loose and wanted to get to level C10, the clone guards would be expecting him.

Suddenly a loud humming noise broke their quiet conversation. The guards looked up at the ceiling and to their horror; the ceiling was being cut into one large circle by a bright green light. Before they could move to safety, the green light finished making the circle and the ceiling tile fell on top of the guards, knocking them out instantly.

As soon as the hole was made, Luke Skywalker jumped down through the hole and onto prison level C10. Lando Calrissian was standing by the whole in the floor, waiting for Luke's orders.

"Lando, take this and hook it up to one of the prison doors," Luke said and quickly took out his hook and threw it up thru the hole. Lando caught the hook and hooked it to one of the doors and then climbed down the thin rope into prison level C10.

"What is the code combination to the prison cells," asked Luke.

"IMP-351."

Losing no time, Luke went over to the nearest cell and tried out the lock combination. Immediately the cell door opened, revealing a surprised Rebel prisoner lying on his bed. The Rebel looked oddly at his rescuer, but he immediately got out of his bed and joined Luke and Lando as they entered the lock combination into all the other prison doors. Soon enough, the prison level was filled with over a hundred freed Rebel soldiers, some human, and some alien.

Luke looked at Lando and nodded his head.

"Signal Han that the prisoners had been freed."

Lando nodded in agreement and took out his communicator.

'What's that?" asked Han as he spoke into his communicator.

"Luke and I have succeeded in freeing the prisoners," said Lando's voice in the communicator, "Meet us at prison level A1. Tell Leia that she can begin her attack."

"I hear you, old buddy," replied Han and turned off his communicator.

"Let's go!" he said to the other Rebels and went inside the elevator. The other Rebel soldiers joined him, but R2 stayed where he was, unsure of what to do.

"Stay here in case we need your assistance," Han said and tossed his communicator on the desk.

R2 beeped a reply just as the elevator closed between the small band of Rebels and the astro droid.