AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! Obviously, another movie night chapter. I know I had a few requests for what the movie nights would be, one of those to be going with The Hobbit, reasoning being that Drack would enjoy Dragons. Giant monsters that spew flame? Or even the Balrog in Fellowship? Yeah, he'd love that. So, as you may also be able to tell with the name of this chapter, it's staying Star Wars. Sorry, when it came to writing this chapter I just felt in a Star Wars mood. What I will say, is that if a movie I wish to include, like more Star Wars movies, or Lord of the Rings movies don't get included within the story proper, I'm strongly considering doing smaller chapters after this is done of other movie nights, other movies. However, the story for the Mass Effect Trilogy will take precedence over that. One more thing, annoyed with the bullshit discord links not working here, so here's a simpler idea. Get a discord, and friend me. MakoGT#5797 and I'll get you into my server. Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter!

I was sat down in my quarters. Everyone was gradually getting ready for bed, but none were asleep quite yet. The Tempest seemed to have a generally positive mood as well. You know what? Fuck it. I typed a quick message to Vetra. "Get the popcorn and Graxen," and began moving a couch to the same spot as last time. With that, I grabbed a tray and plenty of beers out of the fridge, with some Ryncol for Drack, setting that down by the couch. Then I keyed the intercom.

"Attention crew, how about another movie night? My quarters," I stated, and waited. As I had already let her know, Vetra arrived first with the remaining two bags of popcorn, and half a bag of Graxen for herself. I was silently pleased that she had not taken the far side of the couch with the other armrest, and had instead sat with just a bit less than a person's space between us.

"So, what movie?" she asked as Drack stepped in.

"Waiting to see if anyone has any requests. If not, the sequel to the last one," I answered.

"More explosions?" Drack questioned.

"Plenty more than the last one," I smiled, and Drack grinned.

"Just don't pull the same shit with the opening sequence dipshit," Vetra chuckled.

"Awwww, but where's the fun in thaaaaaat?" I teased, earning a punch in the shoulder. Huh, funny, as more people joined, I noticed that the same seating arrangement had been formed. Vetra had scooted closer to allow more room, Peebee next to her, Jaal next to Peebee, then Gil, Drack, Lexi, Suvi, Kallo, Liam, and Cora. Whether or not people were actively planning that out, or if it was just subconsciously, I couldn't say. Either way, I couldn't complain about my piece of it. Though I'd just need to resist putting my arm around her shoulders like a cheesy romance movie. With everyone here, I stood to get the movie sorted. Everyone had a drink in hand, Vetra having made a stop in the mess for her own stash, and were waiting for the movie to begin with the popcorn.

"Hello there everyone. Was just sitting in my quarters here, bored, when I thought, fuck it, let's have a movie night. I already have one in mind, but as per the rules I described last time, anyone have any requests?" I asked, clasping my hands together. No one spoke up, and they glanced amongst each other, shrugging. "Then in that case, we'll be watching the sequel to the movie we watched last time. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back!" I revealed dramatically, raising a fist up at head level like a cheesy movie villain cursing the protagonist, and with a tone to match. That earned a chuckle or two, and some smirks as I loaded the movie, SAM skipping through the legal bits, trailers, and the main menu, getting straight to the movie. This time, I left my mischievous nature aside, and didn't crank up the volume for the opening like I did last time. When the opening crawl began, it did not leave anyone deaf this time around and the others curiously read the brief summary that fills in some of the gaps since episode four.

"Another remote ice world? After Voeld I thought we were done with those," Vetra muttered.

"Thousands of probes into a galaxy to search for rebels? I think millions or billions would be better," Peebee remarked.

"I'm curious as to why Darth Vader is described as obsessed with finding Luke," Jaal spoke. I think all the humans, except maybe Cora, had a knowing grin on their faces with that. I'm curious to see how that reveal is taken. I still wish I could go back and enter theaters across the world for the first showing of Empire Strikes Back, see how everyone reacted to that. Everyone went silent again as the opening crawl ended and once more, we were presented with a Star Destroyer, launching probes from the hangar in its underbelly. One of those probes landed, mimicking a meteorite in the snows of Hoth, and hovered into the air, searching for the rebel base. Followed by a figure riding on the back of a two-legged animal, a Tauntaun. Of course, that figure was Luke, who saw the landing. He radioed Han that he'd check it out as the Tauntaun began to panic.

"Something's coming, but wh-" Drack began. He was cut off by the roar and head of a large hairy, toothy creature jumping out at Luke, the Wampa. Suvi let out a small 'eeep' in response at the minor jump scare, and the Wampa knocked out Luke and killed the Tauntaun. "I think I know what scared that thing Luke was riding," Drack chuckled.

'I'd just as soon kiss a Wookie.'

'I can arrange that. He could use a good kiss!'

"I suppose all Humans have trouble dealing with their feelings," Jaal murmured. I couldn't help but feel that was a slight nudge in my direction, as he suspected where the relationship with Han and Leia was eventually going, and his suspicions were right, of course. Either way, Jaal will be disappointed, I ain't making a move anytime soon. Much less during the movie. It continued, Han taking a Tauntaun out to search for Luke, ignoring that it was almost night on the ice planet, meaning the temperature was about to drop considerably, then Luke dangling from his feet in the ice cave, and the Wampa enjoying a meal, and Luke's lightsaber on the ground, out of reach, and gained the Wampa's attention trying, but managed to pull the saber to him with the force.

"Oh, so it's just like biotics then," Cora remarked as Luke sliced off the Wampa's arm, then ran out of the cave.

"Should have finished it off and then stayed in the cave, like we did," Vetra chuckled. "Not like it would have been hard to finish the job with a weapon like that." Luke collapsed out in the snow, soon presented with both a voice and a vision. Obi-Wan, calling out to him as a force ghost, telling him to venture to Dagobah, train from Yoda.

"So, he's dead, but not really?" Peebee questioned.

"Force ghost," I shrugged, as Han found Luke, his own Tauntaun collapsing, dead. Han, being crafty, used Luke's lightsaber to split open its belly, and stuffed Luke inside as he worked on a shelter.

"Really, really glad we didn't have to cut open the Wraith or Destined in that cave and shove ourselves inside," Vetra shuddered.

To spite Han, Leia bent down and kissed Luke, fully. Liam, Gil, Suvi and I all giggled or chuckled, knowing what the truth was.

"What has you all laughing?" Vetra chuckled, brow plate raised.

"Oh nothing, don't worry about it Vetra," Gil smirked. Vetra obviously didn't buy it, but shrugged, figuring she'd learn sooner or later.

"A big metal probe making a lot of noise? Good work evil empire," Cora murmured.

"Why even try to destroy it? The Empire may see you or hear the gunfire, or will see that one of their probes have gone offline. Either will draw suspicion to the base," Vetra questioned.

"Agreed. They should have begun leaving immediately. A resistance movement can never be too careful," Jaal supported. Still, the general on Hoth ordered evacuations to begin, and the scene shifted to an Imperial fleet, several Star Destroyers in view. And of course, the glorious Imperial March theme. I began tapping my foot to its rhythm, even enjoying the sounds of the TIE fighters flying around. A moment later, we were presented with a view of the Executor, the massive Star Destroyer and flagship of the Imperial fleet.

"That's a big one," Vetra whistled.

"Imagine the explosion it would make when destroyed," Drack chuckled. I smirked at that. The view shifted to inside the starship, behind Vader's helmet, his heavy mechanical breathing filling our ears.

"Figures that's his," Peebee murmured. An Admiral's attention was drawn by a Captain, informing him that a probe droid went down in the Hoth system, had seen buildings, and even sentient life forms. They had a lead. The Admiral was dismissive, like an idiot, stating he wanted proof, not leads. Vader's attention was then drawn by the conversation. Vader was convinced, and yet the Admiral nervously attempted to argue that it may be a wild goose chase. However, the Admiral's fate was not yet sealed.

"That Admiral's an idiot. Remote system, destroyed probe droid, constructions hidden in the snow, it needs to be investigated when you're hunting down a rebellion," Drack remarked. Few scenes later, General Veers arrived at Vader's meditation pod to debrief him on the situation. The rebels had a shield strong enough to deflect their bombardment, and the Admiral had brought the fleet out of hyperspace close to Hoth, and the Rebels knew the Empire was here. Vader was not pleased with the Admiral's performance. They had been forced into a ground assault. Veers left Vader, and with a vid-screen, Vader contacted Admiral Ozzin. He began to debrief Vader himself, after General Veers had done so, but was stopped as a low noise vibrated through the speakers, and the Admiral seemed to have trouble breathing.

'You have failed me for the last time, Admiral," Vader stated in a tone both calm, annoyed, and angry. Vader seems to do a good job of conveying all those emotions in a single sentence and tone. As Admiral Ozzin was grasping at his throat, Vader called for Captain Guyet to step forward, who did so calmly, attentively, and almost unfazed. Admiral Ozzin fell to the floor, dead, as Vader gave the Captain a promotion, ordering to spread out the fleet to prevent Rebel escape, and to prepare the placement of ground forces.

"This is a good villain," Drack chuckled, nodding his head.

The Rebels lined up against their trenches in the snow as they saw several large shapes moving their way in the distance. An officer used a pair of binoculars to get a closer view. First, he saw a large, round, metal 'foot' and a leg above it, another leg behind that. He raised the binoculars to reveal one of my favorite vehicles in the Star Wars Universe. The AT-AT. The ground shook as they marched along, dislodging a clump of snow onto R2 inside the base, and squads of Snow speeders launched from the base's hangar to engage. Their blasters weren't making a dent, while the walkers kept moving and firing. Damn I love the sound of the blasters on the walkers. Big, heavy, Pew-Pews. Soon, one of the Snow speeders launched their harpoon, onto the legs of an AT-AT, beginning to do circles around the walker.

"That's not gonna work," Drack mumbled. The cables were wrapped tightly around the legs, and it unbalanced the walker, and it collapsed forward, it's threat neutralized. "It fucking worked?" Drack threw his hands into the air, surprised that the Empire would have such powerful vehicles with such an exploitable weakness. The Snow speeders that followed up must have hit a weak spot as the entire thing exploded. Drack's reaction was a mix of pleasure at the boom, and confusion at what made it explode so violently and entirely. Still, the rebel lines were being shattered by the walkers, and Luke's Snow speeder crashed just in front of a Walker, and he narrowly escaped with an explosion before it was crushed. Inside the base, Han was convincing Leia to escape with him on the Falcon, and Imperial troops had infiltrated the base, and the Rebels on the ground running from the walkers. Luke used a rappel gun to lift himself on the underside of an AT-AT, his lightsaber to cut an opening, and tossed the explosive inside, detached, and fell into the snow. Another Walker was destroyed. Another explosion to make Drack happy. Followed by another from a destroyed Snow speeder, and yet another from the shield generator being destroyed. Inside the base, the Dark Lord of the Sith had arrived, Han, Leia, Chewie, and 3PO entering the Falcon for a narrow escape, Imperial troops failing to stop them.

"An impressive evacuation. All transports away," Jaal nodded approvingly. Luke managed to return to the transports, entering his fighter to break off towards the Dagobah system, and the Falcon was having a less than clean escape, entering an asteroid field to attempt to break off pursuit. I looked over the others, once again, Jaal had the popcorn, but was being considerably more careful with how much he was eating, and Vetra had just popped another Graxen into her mouth. I waved at Jaal for him to pass the popcorn, and he nodded, grabbing one last piece and handing it over so I could enjoy a bit.

"After piloting through the Scourge, an asteroid field would be a vacation," Kallo joked.

"I think I'll take nice, open space, thank you," I chuckled in reply. A moment after I finished, one of the pursuing TIE fighters was smashed by an asteroid. "Guess he was stuck between a rock and a hard place," I joked, swallowing the bit of popcorn I just began to eat. Vetra shook her head, chuckling, as did Suvi, Liam, and Gil, while the others groaned or just smirked. At that moment, another TIE fighter got his wing clipped, sending him spinning into another one. "And he just needed to wing it," I continued. Vetra snorted and punched me on the shoulder and a few others burst into minor laughter with the one-two PUNch.

Han flew the Falcon towards a large asteroid, more like a small planetoid, leading the remaining two pursuing TIE fighters into a narrow valley, which housed a gap that the Falcon narrowly fit through, and the fighters couldn't. Using the break, he located within the planetoid that they could descend into, and hide from the Imperials.

"Back in my smuggling days I'd sometimes do the same thing. One time I even stumbled upon a stash out there. Creds, fuel, equipment, all kinds of things I was able to sell for even more than what I was payed for that trip. Kept Sid and I fed for a year," Vetra explained. I would imagine that she never had the kind of problem they were about to have in this cave.

"Looks like old burn scars. Among other kinds, that is," Lexi remarked. We had our first look at the man behind the mask, Vader in his meditation chamber as his helmet was being placed back on his head. She was right, of course.

Luke had set up camp in Dagobah, having a meal, and there was a snake sliding over some of his supplies.

"Wait, that's an Earth snake. Doesn't look alien at all," Cora remarked.

'I feel like…'

'Like what?' a new voice in the movie questioned. Luke turned, blaster in hand at the small green creature, with long ears and thin, wiry gray hair on his head, old grey robes covering his small body, as he raised his hands over his face. The others watched curiously at this odd new character.

'Looking for someone? Found someone, you have, I would say. Hmm?' the character spoke in the familiar, broken pattern, and that familiar chuckle.

"That's coming through my translator pretty weird. Grammar is off. That on purpose?" Vetra questioned.

"Yeah, his grammar is supposed to be off," I answered. The little green man began exploring Luke's camp, nibbling at his food, while Luke struggled to keep him from touching anything. Well, it has been a long time since he has seen any real technology. And I'd think he's pretending to be a crazy, goofy old man in the jungle. He had a sense of humor before, sure, but this is also different to how he once was. Exasperated, Luke followed the little green creature to his hut, as he had offered food before he helped Luke find Yoda.

Just how many people is she going to kiss?" Peebee questioned jokingly, as Han and Leia had their little moment. Only to be interrupted by 3PO, much to the displeasure of Han.

"Guessing there's going to be a big fight between Han and Luke as to who gets Leia, but Leia will just choose one of them," Vetra remarked.

"You'll see," I chuckled. A few scenes later, Vader kneeled to contact the Emperor, and we had our first good look at the villain. His wrinkly old face, orange eyes, and black hood. Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

"And people look at a face like that and think he's not evil," Cora muttered aloud. Palpatine stated his certainty that Luke is the son of Anakin, to which Vader wasn't sure of the possibility. Palpatine's response? To search his feelings. I noticed some of the aliens raise a brow or shrug at that, wondering why the murderer of Anakin would need to search his feelings to know that Luke was the son of Anakin. What also surprised them, was that Vader suddenly seemed to be suggesting, pushing for, even, that Luke lives, and be turned to the Dark Side rather than destroyed. Little did they know why Vader would be determined for Luke to live. Palpatine liked the idea, and allowed Vader to try.

Inside the hut of the small green creature, Luke was both impatient, and not exactly enjoying the food. And somehow, the creature claimed to know who Luke's father was, without even knowing Luke's name. His first hint as to who he is. The creature's shoulders fell.

'I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.'

'He will learn patience,' a distant voice answered. This clearly gained Luke's attention and the others put the pieces together. This, was Yoda. And eventually, he agreed to train Luke.

Leia was sitting inside the Falcon's cockpit, listening to the sound of bombers hitting all the asteroids in an attempt to draw them out, as a winged creature flew by.

"The fuck…" Vetra muttered. Leia slowly moved to investigate, and with a shriek, it latched onto the glass. Again, like with the Wampa, Suvi let out a small little yelp of fear at the jump scare. The cave was filled with a mist, moisture, and the ground didn't feel like rock to the others. The entire cave shook with a rumbling. "None of the caves I ever hid in had this issue," Vetra remarked, confused at what the hell was going on. The Falcon lifted off, and there were teeth as they escaped. A giant white worm attempted to bite down on them, sticking its head out of the field, but missed.

"How would that even survive? It's in a vacuum," Lexi questioned. We had no answer for her.

Luke ventured into the cave, and out stepped Vader.

"How the hell?" Drack asked, surprised to see him here. Vader and Luke activated their sabers. A small fight, and then in an explosion of sparks, Vader's head was chopped off, his body collapsing to the ground, head rolling away. The helmet exploded, revealing a face within. Unscarred and human. Luke's face. "What the hell?" Drack continued. In the next scene, Vader was standing in front of several bounty hunters. Only some of which I could name. The one with white robes over his head, Dengar. Next to him, a droid, IG-88. Next, in the green and yellow Mandalorian armor, Boba Fett. The Trandnoshan, Bossk, and the last bounty hunter I could not place a name to. Vader wanted Han, Chewie, and Leia alive. And was willing to pay a hefty sum.

"Didn't we see the green and red helmet one in the last movie?" Jaal asked.

"We did. He's a rather iconic bounty hunter," I answered.

'Size matters not,' Yoda encouraged Luke. Vetra snorted.

"An old boyfriend told me that size doesn't matter. Thing was, he didn't know how to use it either," she chuckled. I had been taking a sip of my beer and nearly spit it out laughing. Suvi began coughing on her drink and almost everyone began laughing. "That wasn't even what ended things. Ironically, he was just so damn cocky about it," she continued, laughing. The little pun she snuck in there was the final straw, leading me to spit out the beer and just laugh.

"Guess he was a bit of a dick huh?" I joked. Vetra chuckled lightly, making a show of her shrug in response as the laughter slowed. SAM had been kind enough to pause the movie for that, and had since resumed it. After more denial from Luke, Yoda got tired of his shit and decided to give him a demonstration. Easily using the force to lift Luke's X-Wing out of the marsh and onto land.

"Just how much like Biotics is the force?" Cora questioned.

"Well it can do everything about manipulating matter. Telekinesis and all that, but it also goes farther. Like mind tricks and foresight," I answered. Cora shrugged, and the scene changed again. The Falcon was hiding on the back of a Star Destroyer's command tower.

"You're kidding. They can't detect that?" Kallo exclaimed. Moments later, the Star Destroyer dumped its trash, and the Falcon drifted away with it. But they had a tail. Boba Fett, in Slave 1.

They blasted 3P0 to bits, the unknown hostiles, scattering parts of him throughout the room, and Chewbacca was this close to seeing them.

"Well, shit, there goes comic relief," Peebee murmured.

'I just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever,' Lando answered.

"Run, it's a trap, it's a trap," Vetra exclaimed, knowing that's never a phrase you'd want to hear. It was too late, the door was open, and Vader stood, greeting his 'dinner guests.' Han drew his DL-44 blaster and fired, and Vader simply raised a hand, using the force to block each and every round, and then pulled the pistol away. Boba Fett stepped from around the corner, and Stormtroopers blocked their escape.

'I had no choice, they arrived right before you did,' Lando defended.

"They're not following through with that deal," Vetra remarked. Of course, an evil Empire wouldn't remain true to their word.

"So, is it going to be like cryo?" Peebee asked. Han was being prepared for the carbonite freeze.

"In a way. Lot less comfortable though," I remarked as he descended. And then he was frozen. What was plucked from the freeze, was a block of carbonite, most of Han's features sticking out. Head, chest, arms and hands, waist, and legs. He was alive.

They arrived at the landing pad too late to save Han, Slave 1 taking off, the destination: Jabba's Palace.

"Well that's a plot point for the next one," Vetra remarked. Right once more. Scenes later, as the lightsaber fight between Vader and Luke continued, in the room with a window looking out over the large shaft downwards, Drack spoke up.

"The saber fights have at least improved. Not fantastic but a lot better than the one in the last one."

"Just wait till episode 3. Damn good saber fights in that one," Liam stated. A vacuum pulled Luke out of the room and into the now broken window, barely managing to catch and climb up onto a catwalk below. Several more scenes passed, including the escape of Leia, Chewie, R2, 3P0, and Lando, when Vader encountered Luke once more, stepping out in a surprise attack. His breathing was faster, and he was pushing Luke back. Luke landed a glancing blow on his shoulder, and in retaliation, after several more swings, pushing Luke back off the catwalk and onto some narrow beams supporting equipment, Luke's hand, and lightsaber, were lost, and he cried out in pain.

"Need a hand there buddy?" I joked, eliciting more laughs and groans.

'If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father…' Vader trailed off.

'He told me enough. He told me you killed him,' Luke growled, holding on at the end of the equipment single handedly.

'No… I, am your father.'

"PFFFT! WHAT?!" Jaal exclaimed, clearly surprised and shocked, trying not to cough on the popcorn he almost choked on. I, and the others who knew were grinning. Vetra's mandibles flared in surprise.

"Daaaaaaaamn…" Peebee trailed off.

"An unexpected plot twist," Kallo remarked.

"Well, that explains a number of jokes I've heard from other humans," Cora stated thoughtfully. Still, Luke did not accept his father's deal, and let go, falling through Cloud City's structures, then safely sliding along maintenance shafts, and unsafely dropped out the bottom of cloud city, barely holding on to an antenna at the bottom.

"Come on, Luke, get your head out of the clouds," I joked. More groans, more laughs. The Falcon arrived, and they all escaped. The movie ended amongst a rebel fleet hiding outside the confines of the Galaxy, Luke gaining a cybernetic hand, and the Falcon, with Chewie and Lando, off to find Han. The credits rolled.

"That was a helluva reveal," Peebee remarked, standing, as did many others.

"To this day, I wish I could go back in time and watch how theaters around Earth reacted. Pretty sure it made newspapers," I chuckled.

"Must have been a big deal back on Earth," Jaal prodded.

"It was, even before we left. They weren't making movies anymore, but it's not a series that the world could just forget," I answered.

"We can't just leave this on a cliffhanger and then watch other shit. I say we finish it next time," Vetra suggested. The others all seemed to agree.

"I'll be more than happy to oblige. But another night. I'm tired, and I think you all are too. So, I want to get some shut eye. Shoo," I chuckled, waving at them with my hands teasingly. Like last time, Vetra and Jaal helped moved everything back in place, and I gave them my thanks before I left. Stripping down into my boxers, I collapsed into my bed, and slept.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed. Shorter chapter, I know, but I think it's just better off to keep movie night chapters shorter as to not have a bunch of stuff unrelated to the chapter happen. It feels and flows better, that kind of thing. Anyways, see you guys next time!