Notes:

My apologies for getting this chapter up so late today!

Today I just wanted to send a special shout-out to all my guest readers, particularly those who have left reviews (special shout-out to my binge-reader over the past few days; you've made my week!)! I wish I could reply to your reviews, but just know that I appreciate your encouragement so much and you're part of what keeps me posting!

I will be taking a break next week while I travel for the holidays, but Chapter 23 will be up the following week. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Chapter 22

In the end, they had taken him away as unceremoniously as they had locked him in carbonite. At a hand signal from Fett, the Ugnaughts activated the repulsors on the carbonite casing. Within a minute, he was gone, and Fett with him.

Leia felt hollow.

Lando approached them, a strange, almost regretful look on his face. He reached out to grab Leia's arm again, then thought better of it. "Come on," he said.

Four stormtroopers and an officer flanked them as they followed Calrissian out of the room. Several paces down the hall, they were corralled into a turbolift, which took them back to the gleaming upper levels. The corridors were eerily empty, entirely devoid of the bustle of people that had been there earlier that day (she supposed it was still that day, though she wasn't altogether sure). Clearly, the Imperial presence in the city had its people spooked.

She glanced at Chewbacca. If they were to break free, it would have to be soon. She wasn't sure where Vader's ship was docked, but she doubted it was far. Thankfully, her strength had returned. She was tired and weary and weighed down by grief, but her body at least seemed to have recovered well enough.

She heard a soft, distant series of beeps, and she frowned, her heart leaping into her throat. Was that…?

The sound of blaster fire crackled through the air, followed by more beeps.

Luke!

He was here, with Artoo. She had to find him, had to let him know—

She was saved the trouble of trying. Apparently, they were still being used as bait. The officer nodded abruptly to Lando and the troopers, and they turned back the way they had come. The blaster fire grew closer. All of a sudden, the officer grabbed her and held her in front of him as a shield, pulling her toward a dark maintenance hallway along with the others. Leia's heart pounded; surely that was Luke, surely—

There! There he was, peeking out from behind a wall. "Luke!" she screamed. They were pulling her towards the door; she grabbed onto the frame. "Luke, don't; it's a trap!" The officer tugged her inside; she struggled, broke free, and managed to grab the doorframe once more before he got hold of her again. "It's a trap!"

Roughly, her captor pulled her inside. They were forced into a run down the corridor; moments later, they turned swiftly into another one that led back out to the main halls, slowing once they reached the light again.

Luke knows, she thought, her heart comforted. He might still come after them, but at least he'd be prepared. Now, she and Chewie had to figure out how to get to Han.

They approached an intersection, and she heard footsteps. She barely had time to blink before they were surrounded by Cloud City security guards. Lando shoved the officer towards one of the guards and began collecting blasters from the stormtroopers as Leia looked around in astonishment.

"Well done," Lando said to his cyborg aide, handing him two of the blasters. "Hold them in the security tower, and keep it quiet," he murmured. "Move."

Within a few seconds, Lando, Leia, Chewie, and Threepio were alone in the hallway. To her surprise, Lando handed her two more blasters he was holding and went to work on Chewbacca's cuffs. A sudden rush of anger flowed through her. After all he'd done, was he going to try to play the hero now?

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"We're getting out of here."

"I knew all along; it had to be a mistake!" exclaimed Threepio.

"Do you think after what you did to Han we're going to trust you?"

With a snarl and a curse that Leia could not quite translate, Chewie escaped his bounds, his paws immediately latching onto Lando's throat. The man's eyes widened. Futilely, he reached up his hands to try to pull the Wookiee's off. "I had no choice," he croaked.

"What are you doing? Trust him! Trust him!" Threepio urged.

But all Leia could see was red-hot rage. This was the man who had betrayed them to the Empire. This was the man who had led them straight to Vader, bringing her nightmares back to life again. This was the man who had done nothing while they spent hours in torment. This was the man who had stolen Han Solo from her. They had trusted him once; they would not do so again. Nor would he be forgiven.

"Oh, we understand, don't we, Chewie? He had no choice!" Spite and sarcasm dripped off her tongue.

«Liar!» growled Chewie. He shook the man, sending him to his knees.

"I'm just trying to help!" Lando's voice came out in a wheeze.

"We don't need any of your help," she replied imperiously.

"Haaah… haaaaaaah…." He could no longer form words, apparently. Good, she thought. He would pay for what he'd done.

He continued croaking the same syllable, and suddenly, she frowned. "What?" she demanded.

"It sounds like Han!" Threepio declared.

Chewie must have lightened his grip slightly, because Lando managed to get out a full sentence. "There's still a chance to save Han!" He struggled, choking out the words. "At the east… platform!"

Leia froze, uncertainty flooding through her. She blinked back her fury.

What were they doing? They were better than this. This kind of revenge, this kind of mercilessness…. She swallowed.

Whatever the case, Lando knew things that could help them find Han. "Chewie!" she pled, her voice urgent. Without waiting for a reply, she sprinted off in a general easterly direction. Whatever strange temper that had come over her was quickly fading, replaced by a deadly focus: to find and save Han. In a moment, she heard Chewie's footfalls behind her.

"I'm terribly sorry about all this!" the droid called out behind them. "After all, he's only a Wookiee!"

"Wait!" cried Lando. "You're going the wrong way to get to the platform!"

Leia turned, hands on hips, an eyebrow raised. Lando coughed as he rose to his feet. "We've got to go this way, then curve around! I'll show you."

Without a word, she followed.

They ran.

Lando led them down a number of passageways she didn't recall seeing before. While she was unable to let go of the thick resentment she felt for him, Leia was admittedly grateful for his presence now. They could have wandered for hours around Cloud City before finding the right platform.

As they ran, she caught glimpses of color through the windows. When they emerged from the tower they were in, running alongside it on an outdoor walkway, she got a full view. It was sunset, and the whole sky was ablaze with rose and violet. It seemed to mock them with its beauty; wholly apathetic to their terror and tragedy, and yet somehow at the same time emblematic of the hope Leia still dared to cradle in her heart.

Could they make it on time? Could Han still be saved?

Losing him now would be catastrophic. Boba Fett would likely deliver him straight to Jabba, and she had no doubt that Han would not be treated mercifully by the Hutt. If they didn't rescue him before then… she forced herself not to think about it, instead counting her steps, focusing on breathing evenly as she ran.

She thought of their time together these past few weeks; how rare and precious it had been, how far they'd come together. The healing conversations they'd had, the kisses they'd shared. How much she loved him. Han might have been a scoundrel, but he was her scoundrel, the scoundrel she needed, the scoundrel with a hero's heart. He was brave and foolhardy and compassionate and ridiculous, and she loved him. She thought of his sideways smile, how it lit her up, and his hazel eyes, so honest and vulnerable even when he was trying his damnedest not to be. She thought of how he always cared, no matter how much he claimed otherwise. She thought of him coming back, always coming back—for her, for Luke, for his friends, for what was right.

Now she was coming back for him.

They rounded a corner, and she heard a series of beeps as they ran under an archway back into the tower.

"Artoo, Artoo! Where have you been?" Threepio cried from behind her, and Chewie let out a roar of greeting. She barely paid attention, so focused was she on running after Lando. Surely the platform couldn't be much farther.

They hurried along another corridor lined with windows looking out onto the deepening dusk, and finally they reached a security door. Lando typed something into the controls, and it opened. As soon as the door had risen high enough, she raced out onto the platform, heart pounding... and stopped short. A small ship was already lifting off. Raising the blaster rifle Lando had given her, she fired on it relentlessly. Chewie, beside her, did the same.

It was too late.

Heart constricting, she watched, powerless, as the ship flew off into the twilight, carrying Han far away. It dwindled down to nothingness and was gone.

He was gone.

"Chewie, they're behind you!" cried Threepio in alarm. Blaster bolts rang out from the hall. Cursing the Empire, she turned and ran to one side of the door for cover. After a moment, Lando ran around the door and into a side hall, and the rest of them followed, dodging enemy fire. Artoo, who had been rolling around and beeping with both excitement and confusion, zipped along after them. She could hear the stormtroopers' heavy footfalls close behind.

"This way," Lando called.

Thankfully, the corridor wound enough that the troopers could get no clear shot at them. A few seconds later, they came upon an intersection; to the right and up a short flight of stairs was a turbolift. Leia halted. The troopers were too close; they wouldn't make it... quickly she leaned back around the corner and fired off a shot, downing one of them. Hopefully that would delay them for the split second they needed. Chewie growled worriedly at her to hurry, and she ran up the stairs to join the others in the lift. Lando punched the controls. The door swept shut just as a few more troopers began to run up the stairs after them.

They let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Where to now?" she asked Lando as the turbolift dropped downward.

"Back to the Falcon and out of here," he replied. "We're not far."

Leia's heart sank, but she nodded. Luke would be fine, she told herself. He was fully capable of taking care of himself, and he had brought his X-wing. Meanwhile, they had an entire detachment of stormtroopers on their tail. If they were caught, that would be the end; there would be no chance of rescuing Han, and likely no chance for them to escape again, either.

Han.

She forced back a fresh wave of tears.

They sprang out of the lift when it opened, Lando leading the way down the hall and around a corner. He stopped at another door, pounding at the controls. It didn't open. "The security code has been changed," he griped as Chewie came up and banged on the door.

"Artoo, you can tell the computer to override the security systems!" Threepio suggested.

Artoo beeped cheerfully and approached the console. Leia's eyes followed Lando, meanwhile, as he walked over to another one. After entering another code, he took out a comlink. "Attention," he announced, his voice carrying over the building's speakers. "This is Lando Calrissian. The Empire has taken control of this city and I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."

Leia's brows knit. That was… surprisingly noble of him. She would have done the same.

Without warning Artoo began to spark, smoke pouring off of him as he cried out in mechanical distress. Chewie pulled him away from the terminal, and Leia frowned in consternation. Fortunately, the little droid seemed to recover quickly.

"This way," interjected Lando, running off down another hallway, and the rest of them followed.

"Well, don't blame me," she heard Threepio say. "I'm an interpreter; I'm not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal!"

Turning into a main corridor, they found themselves in the middle of a mass of panicked people running this way and that, carrying various belongings. Winding their way through them, they ducked out of the passageway and made for another security door. A blaster bolt sounded behind them; Chewie, guarding the rear, fired back. Leia turned around to join him as Artoo made for the second door's console. Stormtroopers were swarming into the hall now; she and Chewie dropped them to the ground, one by one.

Artoo beeped in triumph. Leia heard the sound of the door opening, but she kept on firing. Anger and grief surged through her. She watched as if in a dream as more and more stormtoopers fell to her blaster bolts. Lando's hands gripped her shoulders, pulling her away. She shook him off but backed down the hall after him, still shooting at the ones who had been complicit in so much pain. Finally, she slipped out of the doorway and ran for the Falcon. When she reached the ramp, she turned again to provide covering fire for the others. More troopers fell. Others came up to take their place; they dropped, too.

Justice.

There would be justice for what they had done. Tears stung her eyes.

"Leia!" Lando yelled from the other side of the ramp. "Go!"

She shook herself out of her trance. This won't help Han, she realized. It wouldn't help any of them right now.

Reluctantly, she turned and ran into the ship.