Groundwork
(3 ABY)
The fleet of Star Destroyers had broken up, jumping to hyperspace toward several of the destinations computed from the Millennium Falcon's last known trajectory. Finally, the space around the freighter was empty except for the garbage the huge ships had left behind.
As the Falcon ignited its ion engines to head for the Bespin system, Boba Fett, the most notorious and dreaded bounty hunter in the galaxy, turned his small ship to begin his pursuit. He didn't know yet where they were heading - so far, they had not jumped to hyperspace yet and the bounty hunter was getting the impression that their main hyperdrive might be malfunctioning - but Fett was not about to lose the price on its pilot's head. He would inform Lord Vader as soon as he could be absolutely certain of their destination.
The only sounds to be heard on the bridge of the mammoth Imperial Star Destroyer came from the ship's control boards and the dark towering figure facing the huge bridge window. The ship had reverted to realspace outside one of the systems the computations had listed as a possible destination for the Millennium Falcon. One of the smaller ships accompanying it had been sent out to investigate, but so far, no sign of the freighter had been found.
They had been conducting their search operation now for close to a month already and Vader knew it was like trying to find a certain Hawkbat in the depth of Imperial City, but he was still counting on one of the bounty hunters he had sent out to pick up the smuggler's trail. He turned away from the endless array of stars to face Admiral Piett and one of his captains, who had approached him from behind.
"Lord Vader," Piett started with a slight tremble in his voice, "we have searched the whole system. There is no sign of the Millennium Falcon to be found. The sensor readings from the small outpost on the second planet indicate that there hasn't been any traffic at all for the past three weeks. Should we proceed to the next location?"
Before the Dark Lord could reply, a young communications officer rushed up to the small group. "Lord Vader, we have just received a transmission from one of the bounty hunters. According to Boba Fett, the Millennium Falcon is heading toward the Bespin system. They have been traveling in small jumps, using only a backup hyperdrive, and should be there about three days from now according to his calculation."
"Admiral. Set a course immediately for the Bespin system. Calculate the time of our arrival, then locate the StarLady for me and establish a subspace connection to its captain. I will be in my private chamber."
When he turned to leave the bridge, a noticeable wave of relief went through the crew members. The sound level picked up as everybody prepared to follow the orders of their powerful leader.
Wilth, the young communications officer who had informed the Sith Lord of Fett's transmission, was ordered to establish a subspace link to the captain of the StarLady. He was much surprised when a young woman, perhaps in her early thirties, answered his call.
"This is the Executor. Lord Vader orders your captain to contact him immediately."
"Well, then put me through to him, but quickly. You don't want to keep Lord Vader waiting, now do you?"
The flippant answer stunned the young officer for a moment, then he contacted the Dark Lord in his private chamber. "Lord Vader, we have established contact to the StarLady. The ship is currently in the Kaal system. The captain is standing by for your transmission."
After switching the connection through to the Dark Lord's chamber, Wilth turned to his fellow officer with a questioning look on his face. "Wow, what kind of woman was that? She didn't seem in the least bit afraid of Lord Vader. Has she ever met him in person?"
The other officer leaned over to look at whom he might be talking about. "Oh, the StarLady. That's Lady Serina's ship. You are still new here, no wonder that you don't know her. I can assure you she knows Lord Vader quite well, better than anybody else on board." He lowered his voice to a barely understandable whisper. "Some even say, she is his mistress, but nobody knows for sure. Officially, she is head of his team of aides."
Wilth looked at him incredulously. "But she is so young and..." he hesitated shortly, "quite beautiful." He couldn't imagine how somebody like that could be drawn to the menacing Sith Lord. True, nobody knew what was behind the mask and body armor, but he had heard quite some strange rumors about it.
"You will get a chance to meet her shortly, I'm sure. She is quite frequently on board, but, if I recall correctly, she left for some mission about a week before you were transferred to this station. Wait with your judgment until you've seen her in person. You might be quite surprised." The young man turned back to his own terminal and left Wilth wondering about what other surprises this strange woman might have in store.
Serina was still smiling about the stunned look on the young officer's face when the Sith Lord became visible on the small screen of her comm unit.
"Master," she addressed him with a slight tilt of her head.
"How long will it take you to reach the Bespin system," he asked her without preamble.
After a short calculation, Serina replied, "About 12 standard hours including landing procedures, Master."
"Good. You will be heading there immediately. The Millennium Falcon is on its way there, but it will take about three more days since its hyperdrive is malfunctioning. Once on Bespin, you are to establish contact with the bounty hunter Boba Fett as soon as he arrives. I also expect some information on the administrator of Cloud City, a certain Lando Calrissian." Vader hesitated as he saw the expression of Serina's face change. "You know him?"
Serina nodded. "Yes, I met him once." With a calculating smile, she continued, "So, he is the administrator there now. I guess he did win that Sabacc match after all. I don't know him that well, but I know a bit about him. He is a gambler and a con artist. I am sure he doesn't care for any interference from the Empire in his operations. You should be careful in your dealings with him. He can't be trusted."
"That's why you are going there. I plan on using Han Solo as a trap to attract young Skywalker. If he senses his friends in danger he will come. Find out how Calrissian will react to my plans, if he will go along with them or if he will have to be eliminated before we start. Everything should look normal when the Falcon arrives. The fleet will arrive in two and a half days but will stay hidden just outside of the system. That should give you enough time for your evaluation of Calrissian. Now I don't want to get the Falcon or Skywalker suspicious. This trap has to work!"
"Yes, Master. I will get started immediately."
The image faded away and the comscreen was dark again. Calrissian! If she remembered correctly, he and Solo went back quite a way. Hadn't the Millennium Falcon once belonged to Calrissian?
As she programmed the new destination into her navigational console, her thoughts turned to the plan Vader had revealed to her. He was going to trick young Luke into facing him. She was convinced it would work. Though she would never tell her Dark Lord, she was convinced that Luke was currently on Dagobah, being trained by the old Jedi Master Yoda. It was the only explanation why she hadn't found any sign of him during the past weeks since the evacuation of Hoth. She could only hope that Luke had learned enough to stand up to the powerful Sith Lord. He probably didn't even know yet that the person he hated so much was his own father. Would Vader tell him? Serina didn't know, but she was sure her dark master would use everything imaginable to draw the young Jedi to the dark side.
Her ship picked up speed and quickly the stars turned to streaks of light as the StarLady jumped into hyperspace. She could only hope that Luke would be strong enough to withstand the temptation he would soon have to face. She did not want to think about what would happen if he didn't.
Cloud City was quite a sight to behold. It was shortly before noon at the glamorous metropolis when Serina landed her sleek ship, now registered again as Nighthawk, on the landing pad she had been assigned to. Once again, she had assumed the role of a representative of a large company on Taanab out on a search for new suppliers. She remembered quite well the role Lando Calrissian had played shortly after the destruction of the Death Star in freeing Taanab of the recurring raids by the Norulac pirates. Of course, she had been on various missions for the Empire during that time, and she had heard of it only through reports on the holonet since she hadn't been back on Taanab since leaving her homeplanet more than sixteen years prior. But she knew enough about the events to dare ask for an appointment with the Baron Administrator. Hearing that she was from Taanab, Lando had gladly agreed, and now she was looking forward to meeting him.
Serina stepped down the ramp and headed for the large gates leading into the administrative building. A small group was already waiting for her. She recognized Calrissian immediately. He hadn't changed much since the Sabacc match she had watched a couple of years back. He was accompanied by a bald cyborg and a few guards.
"You must be Lando Calrissian," Serina addressed him, "I still remember seeing your picture on the holonet after the battle with those pirates. You haven't changed at all. I am so glad to make your acquaintance."
The expression on Lando's face showed how pleased he was. Turning on his whole natural charm, he shook her hand and then offered her his arm. "Well, thank you. And you must be Marisa Wanders. I am very pleased to meet you as well. May I show you around my facility before we talk about business?"
"I would appreciate that very much," she replied and took his proffered arm. Together, they walked through the gate. "Should I check in with the hotel before we do so?"
Lando assured her that his aide would take care of that for her and directed her to one of the turbolifts leading to the building's upper levels.
The days on Bespin were very short since it took the gaseous planet only twelve hours to rotate once. When evening was turning the clouds into sheets of orange, the administrator invited Serina to an extensive dinner in one of his private dining chambers. Serina gladly accepted. This was even easier than she had expected. Perhaps she could send her report to Lord Vader already ahead of schedule.
Hours later, Serina was escorted by Calrissian to her rooms in the Yerith Bespin, Cloud City's finest hotel. The dinner had been very enjoyable, giving her a good chance to get to know Lando. Using the Force to make him feel extremely comfortable in her company, she had gotten him to talk about his plans for Cloud City and his standing in regard to the rebellion. Touching on the subject of Imperial interference, she had been able to confirm her impression that Calrissian had no love for the Empire. He would be willing to go to great length to ensure Cloud City's independence but, should Vader attempt to take over his operations, he would just as quickly turn and take up the fight, if not for the rebellion, then at least for his own freedom.
No matter how Vader was going to deal with him, Lando Calrissian was not to be underestimated. His connections in the city were quite powerful and he could cause trouble for Vader's plan if he was not dealt with properly.
"Will you join me for lunch tomorrow?" Lando asked her as she stepped into the suite that had been reserved for her.
"Gladly," Serina smiled at him, "but tomorrow we will have to talk about establishing a business relationship. My employer will expect a report shortly and I don't want to disappoint him."
Raising her hand to his lips, Lando assured her, "I am sure we can work out a good deal between our companies. Your employer will be pleased to hear about all we can offer him. Should I pick you up around noon at, let's say, 600 local time?"
"Yes, I look forward to it. Have a good night." When the door closed behind her, Serina let out a sigh of relief glad to be able to give up the mask of interest she had employed throughout the long evening with Calrissian. Now a nice hot bath and some hours of solid sleep. It would still be early enough to send her report the next evening since Vader would take at least another thirty hours to get to Bespin. She would have to keep up her farce until that time.
The nights on Bespin were short and soon Lando was standing at her door waiting to pick her up for lunch. He had determined to do less talking and more listening this time, since he had realized, after bringing this strange woman to her hotel room, that he had found out hardly anything about her while he had told her nearly his whole life story. He enjoyed spending time with her but at the same time, a weird feeling had taken hold of him. Something about that lady didn't feel quite right but he just couldn't figure out what it might be.
"Did you sleep well?" he greeted her when she opened the door. His admiring gaze swept over her. She had chosen a red combination, blouse and pants emphasizing her lithe figure. A sheer glittering cape completed the outfit. Small golden strands were woven into her short-cropped hair giving her a dashing appearance.
"Yes, quite well, just not long enough," she replied with a sheepish smile as she took his proffered arm. "So, what are you going to show me today?"
"I was thinking about taking you out for a trip to some of the attractions of Bespin in my skimmer if it would please you. I can also show you some of the refineries and perhaps if we have time enough, the abandoned city of Tibannopolis. We can talk about business on the trip."
"Oh, I would really enjoy that. I have always been interested in history and I heard that Tibannopolis must be quite remarkable. Will we be back before nightfall? My employer expects my report by tonight and I prefer not to keep him waiting."
"That should not be a problem at all. Will you need to use our subspace transmitter?"
"No, thank you, the one on my ship is strong enough. I will contact him from there."
"All right, now let's have a small lunch before we get started."
He led her to one of the small luncheon areas in Kerros Tower providing a gorgeous view of all of Cloud City. It was one of the quieter seasons, no storms had been announced by the weather-watching systems and the day promised to turn out quite pleasant. Serina allowed herself to relax. It was a pity that Vader's plan involved this place. She would have enjoyed visiting it again some other time, but it would hardly be worth it after the upcoming events. Once the Empire got a hold on a place like this one, it was not about to let go again.
It was already long past midnight when Serina returned to her suite in the Yerith Bespin. She had managed to send her report to Vader, covering the transmission by sending a second, easily interceptable report in the direction of Taanab. She had again used the special code agreed upon with her Dark Lord. It was a combination of rebel and smuggler codes, avoiding any connection with the Empire. Only Vader would be able to access the information contained therein.
Should Calrissian, perchance, intercept this transmission as well, he would only arrive at the conclusion that she might be involved with the rebellion or some smugglers, but he would not be able to figure out the content of the message. That might be just the best thing anyways, Serina thought. She had noticed the suspicious looks Lando had given her throughout the day. A connection with the rebellion would give his suspicion a basis, but of course the wrong one.
Now, the next step was to get access to the main computer system. If Boba Fett had arrived already, she would have to find him and inform him of Vader's plans. For Serina, bounty hunters were the most repulsive creatures in the galaxy. Vader did not care for them much either, Serina knew, but to follow the Emperor's orders and get a hold of young Skywalker, he had been willing to use even the most loathsome of them all. And the result had proved his tactic right so far. At least, it's Fett and not one of the others! Serina still remembered the notorious bounty hunter from the events on Dantooine four years prior. He had been useful then and, there was no doubt in her mind, he would be again this time also. I just wonder what his payment will be this time around?
Slipping into her more habitual black outfit and wrapping herself into her black hooded robe, Serina moved out of the luxurious room toward the administrative building in the center of the city. Nobody noticed her approach to one of the smaller terminal rooms near the main offices. It was nighttime, and the building appeared quite deserted. Although the short days caused most citizens used to much longer days to work through one night and sleep the next, the official business was conducted during the daytime hours. Serina had watched Lando closely during the previous two days and so it was fairly easy for her to hack into the system. Since Boba Fett had not arrived yet, she set up a special program to inform her in her suite as soon as he did. After eliminating all evidence of her tampering, she turned the terminal back off and returned to her hotel room. All that was left to do now was to wait. And this was a virtue she had perfected during her years at Vader's side.