The Millennium Falcon, Hyperspace:
Chewbacca and L3 are playing a game of Dejarik while Solo is checking data on a computer-station. Lando enters the lounge and goes to pour himself a drink.
"Well, we've left the Imperials and the Cloud Riders far behind" Lando says. "Now we need to figure out what to do next. If there are no objections, I'm going to Takodana to lay low for a while."
"You sure they're not tracking us?" Solo asks.
"Not this ship, brother" Lando says as he sits down with his drink.
Solo turns his attention back at the computer, clearly upset.
"Relax, Han" Lando says. "We got away. That's all that matters in the end. And I owe you, brother, for sticking your neck out to rescue me and L3."
"I did it cos I needed your ship" Solo says. "She double-crossed us" he then says. "Pushed me into the dirt. I don't like being pushed around."
"It's over" Lando says. "She's lightyears away by now. All we can do is find a quiet place and stay low until all of this blows over."
"No" Solo says. "She tried to push me down, and I'm gonna push back. And I need the Falcon to do it."
Chewbacca growls in agreement. Lando glances at the Wookie and then at Solo.
"What do you have in mind?"
Planet of Kaleval:
A luxurious establishment with hundreds of VIP guests. The main attraction is a Pod-Race. By one of the tables, several prominent guests have gathered; an Imperial admiral, a governor, a Moff and two executives for independent companies, plus a senator. And one more person; Dryden Vos! Vos is an alien, a feline reptilian almost. Vos and his guests discuss the political situation in the Empire, including the annoying rebellion. An adjutant walks up and whispers in Vos's ear and he excuses himself and leaves the table. He walks further and further down into the innards of the establishment, followed by a number of guards, until he enters a room where two roughed up humans are held prisoner; it is Solo and Lando, hands tied behind their backs and on their knees, bruised and bleeding.
"Well, what is this?" Dryden Vos asks. "My men tell me you claim to be the ones that hijacked my shipment on Vandor One. But how can that be? Why would you willingly come to me to be killed for your transgression?"
Solo glances at Lando. "Go ahead."
Lando looks up at Dryden Vos. "Our employer double-crossed us. We got a score to settle. We can help you steal your laser-sword back."
"It's a lightsaber" Dryden Vos corrects Lando. "And I'm afraid there is little you can do to help me. You see, the lightsaber is already in the hands of the Zygerrian, and he has made a deal with a woman called Fulcrum to provide her with weapons, medical supplies and fuel to keep a small army going for the next five or ten years. Supplies I wanted. I doubt he would be so polite as to buy it back after I steal it from him. It is gone, and it is gone for good."
Solo glances at Lando. "Told ya, didn't I?"
Dryden Vos growls. "It is time for you to face the consequences of your errors."
"Hold it!" Solo calls out. "Wait! Wait a minute! I can offer you a much better deal."
Dryden Vos inspects Solo. "And what would that be?"
"I know who took it from you" Solo says.
"So do I" Dryden Vos growls. "You think I'm a fool? I know it was Kara Guld! She took it from me so that I would be unable to make a move against Tanaab. A smart choice. She will gain much favor with the Pyke Syndicate."
"So why not really hurt her?" Solo asks.
Dryden Vos leans down to Solo. "How?"
Solo looks up at Dryden. "Take away the source of her power. Take away the reason why she has any influence at all… the Kessel Run."
Dryden Vos takes a step back, interested to hear the rest. "Go on."
Solo grins. "We got the fastest ship in the galaxy and the best pilot in a thousand years. Plus, I know every patrol-route around Kessel. The Hutt's and Kara Guld pay good money to keep the patrols as they are so their smugglers can operate freely. Three years ago, I memorized those patrols as I handed them over to Kara Guld."
Dryden Vos is intrigued. "You know her secret route through the nebula?"
Solo grins, he knows he has Vos hooked. "Here's the deal. You help us prepare for this mission and we will hand over to you, Kara Guld's astromech-droid, the navigator-unit that has the secret route stored in its memory-banks. With it, you can take over her entire Kessel operation."
"And what do you get out of it?" Dryden asks.
Solo's response is simple. "Payback." Dryden considers his options. "Shutting down her smuggling-operation would put her out of business for good" Solo adds.
Dryden eyes Solo, impressed by his brazen nature. "Very well… Get me that droid."
XXX XXX
Lando and Solo watch as the luxury-section is detached from the Falcon in a docking-bay, Chewbacca and L3 overseeing the separation. Lando is not happy.
"Relax" Solo tells him. "When we're done, you can put it back."
Lando sighs as a large and bulky cargo-section is attached to the Falcon in its stead. "It just feels wrong. The Falcon is a dancer, not a bulk-freighter."
Solo grins and puts an arm around Lando. "She's a Corellian. She was built to surprise. To fly at the speed of light, carrying more cargo than her appearance allows, taking tight turns around stars and diving headlong into rough atmosphere. This is what she was built to do. What she was born to do."
Lando glances at Solo. "Sounds like you're in love."
Solo grins. "It's hard not to fall in love with a Corellian ship."
Lando smiles and nods. "I know what you mean."
The cargo-section is put in place and Chewbacca growls and howls. L3 gives Solo and Lando the thumbs up from atop the Falcon.
"We're good to go!" L3 calls down.
Solo slaps Lando over the shoulder and laughs with excitement as he heads on over to the Falcon. Lando sighs and shakes his head and then follows Solo.
The Falcon leaves the planet and as soon as it is in space, it shoots off to hyperspace.
The Millennium Falcon, Hyperspace:
Lando and Solo are playing a game of Dejarik.
"So how did you end up in this business?" Lando asks. "Me personally, I like to gamble, and gambling led me to get involved with questionable acquaintances. One thing led to another and all of a sudden, I found out I had a natural talent for smuggling. And, hey, the pay is good, despite the inherent dangers and risks involved."
"I was a dockworker back on Corellia" Solo says. "Flew swoop-races when ever I could. Won some of them and got noticed by a recruitment-officer. Mom had died a couple of years before and dad, well, the Empire was paying salary in Spice whenever they were short of cash, so dad was a hollow shell of a man, addicted to Spice and weighed down by the loss of mom. One day, I had enough and went to the closest recruitment-office and applied to the Academy. Punched an officer in the face, got demoted and transferred to running cargo, started moving contraband within the Empire, doing favors for officers and politicians. Then, I ran into Chewie." Solo smiles and shakes his head. "And here we are."
Lando nods. "Well, a better story than mine, at least. A drink?"
"Yeah" Solo nods. "A big one."
Lando returns with the drinks. "So… Kara Guld. Qi'ra. You knew her from before."
Solo nods. "Sure do. Crossed paths on occasion, business partners at times."
"How close of a partner?" Lando asks with a smile.
"Physical, now and then, but not emotional" Solo admits. "Well… that has changed. There is a lot of emotion involved between us right now. A lot of angry emotions."
"If we pull this off, she'll come for us" Lando says.
"Let her" Solo says angrily. "Let her try and push me down."
Lando makes a move in the game and wins. "Just don't let emotions get the better of you. It's the surest way to get your ass handed to you by a girl. Don't let her get under your skin, keep your cool. Take it from someone who knows."
"Really?" Solo says. "Now that sounds like a story I would like to hear."
Lando grins. "Well, brother, it all started when I ran into a girl over on Gamorr…"
Kessel:
The Millennium Falcon exits hyperspace and flies towards a giant gas-cloud in space; the Kessel Nebula. The crew of the Falcon are all gathered in the cockpit.
"Kessel nebula, dead ahead" L3 says. "We'll reach Kessel in eight days flying through it."
The Falcon passes a Star Destroyer and a handful of light-cruisers on its approach to the nebula. Four TIE Fighters flies up alongside the Falcon.
The Empire opens a channel to the Falcon. "YT-thirteen-hundred, Broken Bell, this is Kessel security-fleet, stay on course while we check out your flight-clearance."
"Broken Bell here; understood" Lando says and cuts transmission.
Solo looks out at the TIE Fighters. "Get ready to power up the hyperdrive."
"Don't worry" Lando says. "This'll work. The clearance Vos got us is legit. We're here on legitimate business. Nothing to worry about."
"Broken Bell" the Empire says over the radio. "Prepare to be boarded for inspection."
Solo is not pleased. "You were saying?"
An Imperial light-cruiser flies in and docks with the Falcon. The airlock opens and two officers and eight stormtroopers enter the Falcon, greeted by Lando.
"Welcome aboard, gentlemen" Lando says with his most charming smile.
The officer eyes Lando with arrogance. "Ships manifest and access to your cargo-hold."
"Off course" Lando says and hands over a data-pad to the officer.
The officer takes the pad and then gives the others a signal with his hand; the second officer and six of the troopers head for the cargo. As they pass through the main lounge, they find Solo and Chewie doing some repairs to the Falcons interior, having removed the floor-plating; the troops walk past, not knowing that Solo and Chewie have their blasters close by among the pipes and wiring. The commanding officer goes through the manifest while Lando waits. The other Imperials enter the cargo-section and open crates, finding spare-parts for droids. In the cockpit, L3 pushes some buttons and flips a couple of switches; by remote, she is turning the turrets to face the cruiser. Solo sticks his head out of the floor, blaster ready. Lando waits patiently as the officer checks out the manifest. The other officer and the troops go through the various crates.
In the end, the second officer picks up a communicator. "Lieutenant, everything checks out. No signs of any contraband."
The lieutenant picks up his own communicator. "Very good, sergeant. You can come back." He then hands Lando the data-pad. "So, you're heading for Port Ardena?"
"Sure am" Lando says. "Bringing in droid-parts for the mining-operation."
"And what are you bringing with you when you leave?"
"Spice" Lando says confidently. "Spice that the company wants shipped to Ord Mantell. Six crates according to the contract."
"Be sure that you do" the officer says. "I'll be checking your cargo-holds on your way out of here. And if I find anything that I don't like, I'll make sure you get shipped back to Kessel and get chained to the wall in the deepest spice-mine."
"Sounds fair enough, lieutenant" Lando says.
The other Imperials return and the inspection is over and the Imperials leaves the Falcon. The two ships detach and the cruiser moves on and the Falcon continues towards Kessel.
Lando walks past Solo and Chewbacca. "Nothing to it, baby" he grins and heads for the cockpit.
To be continued…
