Luke was tired. He never knew how hard training to become a Jedi was. The little green creature he had found, or rather, who had found him, was indeed the Jedi Master he was looking for.
Artoo wasn't too happy about staying on Dagobah for very long, but there was no way off the planet for him without Luke. And Luke was doing what Obi-Wan had commanded of him to do. Whistling forlornly, Artoo watched the X-wing that was Luke's transportation, as well as his, sink further out of sight.
Luke, having a small rest before continuing on with his training, moved to stand behind Artoo. "Oh, no! Now we'll never get it out!"
"Always think on the impossible, you do. Learn, you must, to rely on the Force."
"Okay," Luke said, dejected. "I'll give it a try."
"No! Do, or do not. There is no try."
Luke nodded and looked back out over the swamp. Stretching out his arm, he closed his eyes and tried to move the X-wing. He couldn't. Panting, he went and slumped before Yoda. "I can't. It's too big."
"Judge me by my size, do you? Always with you what cannot be done."
Luke stood and looked down upon Yoda. "You ask the impossible." He walked away.
Yoda was disappointed in Luke's reaction. Sighing, he turned and closed his eyes. Drawing on the Force around him, he focused on the X-wing. The X-wing moved steadily up until all of it was out of the swamp and then flew to a firmer patch of ground. Luke had seen that the X-wing was moving. He couldn't believe it.
Once it was settled back on the ground, Luke stammered, "I don't believe it." He looked over to Yoda. "I don't believe it!" he repeated.
"That is why you fail."
c d
Beth had scoured the ship for any traces of the minocks chewing on the power cables before heading back into the ship. She told Han about the moisture outside in the cave and told him to get out of there.
"Why?"
"Because we're in a space worm and if we don't move, we'll be its lunch, that's why," Beth replied.
"Not good," Han commented dryly. "Chewie, we've got to get out of here!"
Han and Chewie made their way to the cockpit and left Beth and Leia in the common room.
"Your ankle?" Leia asked.
"It's fine. I've done this type of thing before. I can cope. Let's just hope Solo fixed that hyperdrive or this will be one short ride."
c d
Vader paced the bridge of the Executor. "I want them alive. No disintegrations," he looked the bounty hunters in the eye as he said that. Fett in particular.
Piett mumbled something under his breath about not needing the help of the bounty hunters, when one of the officers came up to Darth Vader and said, "Lord Vader, we have them."
c d
Rear shields failing.
"I know! I know!" Han told Chewie. "We'll lose them." Leia came into the cockpit as Han tried to go into light speed. She saw his face fall when it didn't work. Han flicked a few switches, a plan forming in his mind. "Chewie, turn the ship around."
"You're not thinking of attacking them?" Leia asked, her eyes widening with fear.
"Captain Solo, the odds against—"
"Shut him up or shut him down."
Leia leaned over and flipped the switch at the back of Threepio's neck.
Forward shields are up at maximum.
"Good."
c d
Piett ducked involuntary as the Falcon flew remarkably close to the view port. "Track it!"
"Sir, it is no longer on our scopes."
"No ship that small has a cloaking device. They must have jumped to light speed."
"They must be half way across the galaxy by now," Piett's second officer said. "I will inform Lord Vader of the escape and apologise."
c d
Han sat in the silent cockpit of the Falcon. Beth had joined them when Chewie went up back. Leia looked around the quiet cockpit and asked, "What now?"
"Common Imperial procedure is to dump their garbage into space just before going to light speed," Beth whispered the reply. "And we'll just float off into space."
"Then what?" The Falcon was attached to the outside of the bridge without the Imperials ever knowing it was there.
"Then we'll find somewhere around here where we can land to fix the hyperdrive," Han said. He then said, "This is interesting."
"Were can we go to fix the ship? Any decent civilisations?"
"Lando," he said to himself.
"Lando system?" came Leia's inquisitive question.
"Lando's not a system, he's a man. Old friend of mine. We go way back. Scoundrel. You'll like him."
Beth, like her niece, shook her head in disgust. Han raised his eyebrows in mock horror and said over the com, "Chewie, get ready to detach." Han waited for the right moment before saying, "Detach."
The ship shuddered as it joined the rest of the garbage from the Super Star Destroyer.
c d
A light presence touched him briefly before the Executor pulled into light speed. Something didn't make sense, and didn't add up. Alone in his meditative chamber, Vader mused over the recent events.
The Force was strangely quiet to him as he tried to use it to follow the trail of Skywalker. Why hadn't Obi-Wan told him about his child? There had to be some reason behind him not knowing about Luke, and he couldn't figure out what that was.
And then, there was the strong Force signature aboard the Falcon, the one he no longer could sense. The Jedi had paid the price for standing against the new order, but was that merely enough for Vader?
Young Skywalker was never to become a Jedi, Vader swore. He would make sure of it.
c d
Beth couldn't help thinking back to her life before she had met her husband. If she had known better, she wouldn't have married. She wished that her master was still alive to help her through the troubling times.
Many things would change in her life, if she could go back and change them. But would she change them if she could?
Thinking about it, she realised that she would change only one thing, and that was with her daughter, Myrrha. Firmus hadn't even seen their child. Tears made their way down her cheeks. She knew that she had to face her past and live for her future, at least for Myrrha's sake, anyway. It was hard for her when she still loved the man she had left.
One thing that Beth was sure about though, was that she had to face Vader sooner or later.
Chewie broke her musings by telling her that they were coming up on Bespin. She turned and smiled at him "Thank you, Chewie," she told him. For most of the trip since Hoth, she had been left alone to her own devices, of which she was thankful for.
A chilling foreboding crept into the ship's atmosphere as she heard the tail end of a conversation Han had had with the planet's control.
Beth had to watch herself even more carefully now, to make sure nothing gave her away. Looking down at the jump suit she was wearing, she couldn't help but thank the Force she wasn't in her Jedi robes. People would realise what they were and point her out to the authorities, which in turn would tell the Empire.
Han was finally allowed to land and was given a platform number to go to. Threepio's comment on the ship summed up what Beth was feeling on the inside. Her growing unease was stronger than it had been when they entered the system.
"Oh. No one to greet us," Threepio said as they strode out of the ship and towards the city, before the doors at the far end of the platform was opened. A group of men came striding out to greet them.
"Solo, you have a lot of nerve to return here after what you pulled. You no good…" the dark man said with a scowl on his face. He looked to Beth ready to knock Han out. Han raised his hands to defend himself, when his 'old buddy' began to laugh and then embraced him. "Han old buddy! Glad to see you. How've you been?" Han smiled and returned the embrace. "How are you, Chewie? You still hanging around with this loser?"
Chewie growled deep in his throat. Lando turned his attention to the other two human passengers that were aboard the Falcon.
"Hello. What have we here?"
"That's Leia," Beth introduced. "I'm Bethia."
Lando took Leia's hand in his own and brought it to his lips. "Leia," he said affectionately. Han stepped in and pried them apart.
Beth's view of Han instantly changed. He truly liked or perhaps loved Leia. Being deprived of greeting Leia, Lando turned his attentions to Beth.
She smiled sweetly at him. "You wouldn't want to mess with me. I'm already taken."
"Really? By whom?" Lando asked.
"My daughter." Beth left no room for argument and Lando showed the way indoors.
"What's wrong with the Falcon?" Lando asked.
"The hyperdrive."
"I'll get my men to work on it. You know, that ship saved my life a number of times. It's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy."
c d
His respirator vibrated with each intake of air, filling the room with an eerie sound. One part of his plan had worked. All he had to do now was to lure Skywalker into taking the bait. He was sure that it would work.
Turning, he commanded his shuttle to be prepared.
c d
Leia and Han followed close behind Lando as he showed them through Cloud City, discussing his prospects along the way.
Chewie followed close behind them with Threepio following and Beth bringing up the rear. She was generally wary of Lando, except she had no choice but to be there. She stopped when Threepio did, seeing another protocol droid come out into the passageway.
"It's so good to see a familiar face," Threepio exclaimed.
The other one snapped, "Intruder."
Threepio turned without saying anything and an astromech whistled within the chamber that the other protocol droid had come out of. "That sounds like an Artoo unit in there," Threepio said, walking into the room. Beth followed him, keeping out of sight. Threepio stumbled into a group of stormtroopers. Beth saw them too, but they didn't see her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude…" Threepio managed to say before the stormtroopers raised their blasters and blasted the protocol droid away.
Beth closed her eyes and before any of the stormtroopers could do anything with the droid's body parts, she slowly stretched out with the Force and influenced the troopers to leave. She sighed with relief and pushed herself away from the wall. Gathering Threepio in a container, she made her way out of the room. Stormtroopers here on Cloud City meant only one thing, and Beth knew the truth. Vader had found them and had come.
Why hadn't she sensed his presence when they had entered the system? She then remembered that she had guarded herself from any outside Force sensitive person, particularly after she had healed her arm and ankle.
I must tell the others.
c d
Luke was exhausted each night after the day's training and he returned to Yoda's hut. He was surprised to find that there was a young three-year-old child living with Yoda on the planet, but after a while, he just accepted it. He knew that he wouldn't get an answer from Yoda.
He had learnt that the child's name was Myrrha, and that she was strong in the Force.
"Lukie! Play!"
"No, it's time for bed."
"I wanna play!"
Luke just ignored her. She was getting on his nerves.
c d
"Guys! We've got ourselves a problem!" Beth called as she entered the room where she had sensed Leia's presence.
"What?" Leia asked as she saw Beth enter with Threepio piled in a carry box. "Oh no. What happened?"
Han and Chewie looked at the box with grim faces, waiting for Beth's reply.
"Our problem is Vader. He's here, or is aware of our presence here. Threepio was blasted by his stormtroopers."
"What?"
"I think we were followed." Beth couldn't explain any more because Lando entered.
His eyes lit up when he saw Leia. "Truly you belong here amongst the clouds." His eyes landed on the box of droid parts. "Having trouble with your droid?"
"No," Beth intervened, drawing Lando's attention from the droid and her niece.
"I would like to ask you to join me for dinner."
"Thank you," Beth replied. "But I don't mean to go. Not if it's going to be dinner with Vader."
"And what makes you so sure that Darth Vader will come here?"
"Because he wants Skywalker. And we're the bait. What did you give him?"
"Nothing. He's not here. Now, if you'll join me?"
Beth nodded, picking up on Lando's lie. "I must have been mistaken then." She turned to look at Leia, whispering, "Watch your step."
Beth followed after Lando with Han, Leia and Chewie close on her heels. She had to face Vader sooner or later and she really didn't want Hand or Leia involved. There was no other option in the matter, though. They were there and he was there for them.
She just wished that Luke wouldn't come to Bespin. It wouldn't help him just at the present to know the truth. It wouldn't help anybody just then but herself.
"I'm sorry," Lando said as he opened the door to the dining room. "They arrived just before you did."
Han grabbed his blaster and levelled it at Vader to fire. Vader stopped the blaster fire with his hand without causing him any pain and called the weapon to him.
Beth held her breath. Now was the crucial time for all of them. And she made sure that she wasn't shining strongly in the Force.
"I would be honoured if you joined me."
Beth moved forward, her steely grey eyes bored into her brother's dark mask.
Vader masked his surprise of how little fear rolled off Beth as she approached him. The four others let their fear show, even as the door hissed closed behind them. He waited for them to join him at the table before sitting again.
Beth, now beside Vader, held her head high. She wasn't afraid of him. She just didn't like what he had become. Without saying a word, Beth looked back at Han, Leia, Chewie and Lando, the braid at her ear swinging a little due to her head movement. Vader's eyes were drawn to the braid.
Leia didn't fully comprehend what was going on and Beth's actions confused her. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but no words came out. She felt that Beth had betrayed them all.
That is, until Vader spat the word 'Padawan' out. Even then, she didn't know what that meant. Pushing the thought aside, Leia walked as calmly as she could to stand opposite Beth. With her movement came the movement of the three remaining at the door.
Beth remained silent through the entire meal. She could sense the unease growing in Han and Chewie, but the worst one was Leia. Vader didn't speak, but sat watching them, his respirator thundering in their ears. Han and Lando exchanged glances and the former grunted a few times.
Han, after stealing a few glances at Beth and Vader, could no longer keep his anger in check and he erupted.
Beth was expecting it, but she couldn't do anything unless she wanted to give her position as a Knight away, which she thought wouldn't be wise at that particular time. Han's outburst started the others to erupt and they all spoke over one another.
Vader was silent, having studied them all closely over the meal. All but Beth. He reached out to her with the Force and touched her mind.
He knew that she had had some Jedi training due to the braid he saw hanging from just above her left ear, so he was expecting mental shield to be placed around her mind. He bombarded her shields with so many attacks; it would have been hard for a padawan to defend.
Beth could feel him toying with the idea of trying to get into her mind to see her thoughts and memories. She prepared herself as much as she could for the mental bombardment.
She recoiled noticeably enough for the three humans and the wookiee to turn to her. She struggled to fight back and she did before yelling, "Get out of my mind!" The name she was going to say died on her lips before she said it. While saying that, Beth pushed Vader back with the Force. It wasn't as powerful as she would have liked or as strong as she could have made it, but it did its purpose.
If Vader hadn't been wearing a mask, Beth would have sworn that his eyes were chips of ice.
c d
Luke sighed and looked towards Yoda and Myrrha. He had to do his training if he wanted to help the Rebellion.
Closing his eyes, Luke reached out with the Force. Myrrha. Overwhelming concern filled him. His eyes flew open and he ran to Myrrha, who had by now started to cry. Yoda, being the teacher, taught Luke healing techniques on Myrrha to heal her cuts.
Luke's mind was suddenly filled with images of Han, Leia and Chewie. "Leia!" he called. "Han!"
"Concentrate!" Yoda commanded. "You must concentrate."
"They are in pain," Luke said, temporarily forgetting about the young girl in front of him. "I must go and help them."
"Finish your training, you must."
Luke stopped to think about that, and then considered his friends. He closed his eyes again. The images flooded his mind again. "I have to go. They're my friends and I can't let them die."
"How know you this?"
Luke couldn't thing of any comeback to that. Myrrha took his attention. "They're in danger."
Yoda sighed and closed his eyes, trying to sort through the future. "If go you do, must take Myrrha with you."
Luke nodded. "I have to help them."