Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 38- Bespin
(November 15, 2015)
Kelly watches as they descend into the skies of Bespin, with the reddish-orange clouds surrounding them. At the same time, she glances out of the side of the cockpit, seeing the two speeders that have intercepted them.
Han is trying to talk to the security guys in the speeders. "No, I don't have a landing permit. I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian-" he says. However, he is cut off by a laser blast exploding next to the ship.
"Whoa, whoa, let me explain!" Han says urgently over the radio.
"You will not deviate from your present course," one of the security guys in the speeders says over the radio.
"Geez. They're sensitive about visitors," Kelly points out.
"I thought you knew this person," Leia says.
"Well, that was a long time ago. I'm sure he's forgotten about that," Han says.
"Oh, really, Han? You couldn't think to tell us that before?" Kelly demands. Han just glances back at her before refocusing back on the controls.
They keep flying for a few more moments, then the security guys on the speeders come back on the radio and say, "Permission granted to land on Platform 3-2-7."
"Thank you," Han replies over the radio. Then, to his passengers, he says, "Nothing to worry about. We go way back, Lando and me."
"Who's worried?" Leia asks sarcastically.
Han flies past another bank of clouds, and Cloud City comes into view up ahead. Han follows the speeders towards the city, and quickly locates the designated landing pad, setting the Falcon gently down on the landing pad.
Han lowers the boarding ramp, and they all make their way back and walk down the ramp. As they get to the bottom of the ramp, and see that the platform is deserted, 3PO points out, "Oh, no one to meet us."
"I don't like this," Leia and Kelly say simultaneously.
"Well, what would you like?" Han asks.
"They did let us land," 3PO points out.
"Look, everything's gonna be fine. Trust me," Han says to try and soothe their nervousness.
Right at that moment, they hear a hissing noise. All of them turn and look down the platform towards the building it's attached to, and see a door opening and a group of people walking out onto the platform.
"See? My friend," Han says before he turns and starts walking to greet the incoming people.
As Han walks towards them, Kelly follows him a bit, and she gets her first look at Lando. A middle aged black man with a mustache and short hair. He's wearing rather nice clothes, which she guesses signifies him as the owner of the mining colony.
After Han calls out to greet him, Lando says back to him, "Why you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler. You've got a lot of guts coming here after what you pulled."
Han looks surprised and points to himself as if to ask "me?" Kelly's hand moves down to her lightsaber, ready to bust it out if Lando or his party makes a move she doesn't like.
Lando takes a few, slow steps towards Han, then suddenly reaches forward quickly to grab Han, and then pulls him into a hug as he starts laughing. After a few seconds, he pulls away and says, "How you doin', you old pirate? So good to see you! I thought I'd never see you again! Where've you been?"
Kelly moves her hand away from her lightsaber as she hears 3PO say, "Well, he seems very friendly."
"Yes, very friendly," Leia says as she slowly walks towards Lando. As she passes Kelly, the two women exchange a wary look.
"What are you doing here?" Lando asks.
"Ah, repairs. I thought you could help me out," Han replies.
"What have you done to my ship?" Lando demands.
"Your ship? Hey, you lost her to me, fair and square," Han replies.
"And how you doin' Chewbacca? You still hanging around with this loser?" Lando says as he looks back behind Han. Chewie answers with a few growls.
Kelly then comes into view. Lando looks at her and asks, "And who are you?"
"I'm a Terran," she says.
"A Terran? I've never met a Terran before. Welcome to Cloud City," Lando says respectfully.
"Thank you," Kelly says equally respectfully.
Then, Leia comes out from behind Chewbacca. Lando looks right at her and says, "Hello, what have we here? Welcome. I'm Lando Calrissian. I'm the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?"
"Leia," Leia responds.
"Welcome, Leia," Lando says as he takes her hand and raises it to his lips, kissing it.
Han steps in at this point and says, "All right, all right, you old smoothie." He then takes Leia's hand from Lando and leads her towards the building, Kelly and Chewbacca following close behind.
"What's wrong with the Falcon?" Lando asks.
"Hyperdrive," Han replies.
"I'll get my people to work on her," Lando says.
"Good," Han replies.
"You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times. She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy," Lando brags a bit to his quests.
As they enter the building, Han asks, "How's the gas mine? Still paying off for you?"
"Not as well as I'd like. We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. I've had supply problems of every kind. I've had labor difficulties," Lando explains.
Han then starts to laugh. Lando looks at him and asks, "What's so funny?"
"You. Listen to you. You sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?" Han says.
"You know, seeing you brings back a few things," Lando says.
"Yeah," Han says, pausing long enough to grab and shake Lando's shoulder a bit.
"Yeah, I'm responsible these days," Lando says as they start walking again, "It's the price you pay for being successful."
He continues leading them off towards their quarters. As they follow Lando, Kelly keeps looking around, feeling a bit impressed by Cloud City. Perhaps, if Lando can indeed help them, maybe the Alliance could reward him with tech and equipment to help his mining operation.
(Dagobah)
Luke climbs over the back of his X-Wing, checking that everything on his fighter has been properly cleaned and repaired.
Below the X-Wing, Yoda is waiting and watching Luke. As Luke climbs past R2 and onto the ladder on the side of the X-Wing, Yoda says, "Luke, you must complete the training."
"I can't get the vision out of my head. They're my friends, and Kelly is the one I love. I can't just leave them to suffer. I have to help them," Luke replies curtly.
"You must not go," Yoda says.
"But Han and Leia will die if I don't, and I'll lose the girl I love more than anything," Luke says.
"You don't know that," a voice says. A moment later, the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi appears beside Yoda. He looks at Luke and says, "Even Yoda cannot see your fate."
"But I can help them. I can feel the Force," Luke says.
"But you cannot control it. This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force," Obi Wan says.
"Yes! Yes! To Obi-Wan, you listen. The cave. Remember your failure at the cave," Yoda implores his student.
"But I've learned so much since then. Master Yoda, I promise I'll train with the Terran Jedi when I leave, and I'll return here and finish what I've begun. You have my word," Luke says.
"It is you and your abilities the emperor wants. Even the Terrans may not be enough to protect you from him, so great is his desire for you. That is why your friends are made to suffer," Obi Wan says.
"That's why I have to go," Luke says, making a last minute fix on one of the X-Wing's parts.
"Luke, I don't want to lose you to the emperor the way I lost Vader," Obi Wan says.
"You won't," Luke assures Obi Wan.
"Stopped, they must be. On this, all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil. Protect you from that, your love and the Terrans cannot," Yoda says.
"Patience!" Obi-Wan implores Luke.
"And sacrifice Han, Leia, and Kelly?!" Luke demands.
"If you honor what they fight for…yes. Leave their safety to the Terrans," Yoda says.
"If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot help you, nor can I guarantee help will come from the Terrans," Obi Wan says.
"I understand," Luke says.
Yoda's expression softens a bit at these words. Luke looks back at Yoda and Obi-Wan before climbing up the ladder as he says, "R2, fire up the converters."
"Luke! Don't give in to hate. That leads to the dark side," Obi-Wan says.
"Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can!" Yoda says.
"I will. And I promise I will return," Luke says.
"Luke…if you survive this, go to Terra. Seek out Ahsoka Tano and Samuel Adams. They will help to teach you what you must know until you can return here. And tell them it is time for you to know the truth," Obi Wan says.
"I will," Luke says before he closes the canopy and lifts the X-Wing into the sky.
(November 16, 2015, Cloud City)
Kelly looks out the window over Cloud City. It's been a day since she and the others arrived in the city. She and Leia are currently relaxing in their quarters given to them by Lando. Well, Kelly is, at least. Leia has been restless most of the day.
The door suddenly open and Han comes walking in. "Ship's almost finished. Just two or three more things and we're in great shape," he says.
"The sooner the better. Something is wrong here. No one has seen or knows anything about 3PO. He's been gone too long to have gotten lost," Leia says.
Han reaches out to try and calm her down, kissing her forehead. "Relax. I'll talk to Lando and see what I can find out," he says calmly.
"I don't trust Lando," Leia says as she takes a seat on a couch.
"Well, I don't trust him either. But he is my friend. Besides…we'll soon be gone," Han says.
"Then you're as good as gone, aren't you?" Leia asks.
Han bows his head a bit, sighing. At this point, Kelly steps into the conversation from her chair and says, "I've already told you, Han. The Terran Alliance is willing to pay off all your debts to Jabba and free you from him. All you have to do is say the word and your debts will be cleared in no time."
"Jabba and my debt to him is my problem. I can fix it on my own," Han says.
"Yeah, but the thing is…you don't have to," Kelly says.
Han looks back at her, not sure how to respond. Then, suddenly, the door opens and Chewie walks in, carrying a box full of parts and growling. A second later, the three humans realize that it's 3PO in pieces.
"What happened?" Leia asks.
Chewie growls a few times. "Where?" Han asks.
Chewie growls and howls a few more times. "Found him in a junk pile?" Han asks in confusion.
"Oh, what a mess. Chewie, you think you can repair him?" Leia asks.
Chewie shrugs and growls. Kelly stands up and walks over, saying, "I can help. I've been repairing droids since I was 7."
Right then, Lando comes walking in. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asks.
"Not really," Leia says.
Lando stands there for a moment, looking at Leia, before he starts smiling. "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds," he says.
"Thank you," Leia says.
"Would you join me for a little refreshment?" he asks. He then looks around and says, "Everyone's invited, of course."
Everyone starts heading for the door. That's when Lando notices 3PO. "Having trouble with your droid?" he asks.
"No, no trouble," Han says dismissively before escorting Leia out. Everyone else walks out after them.
As they walk through the halls, Lando starts explaining more about his mining operation. "You see, since we're a small operation, we don't fall into the jurisdiction of the Empire."
"So, you're part of the Mining Guild, then?" Leia asks.
"No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed. Which is advantageous for everybody, since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves," Lando explains.
"Aren't your afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation, shut you down?" Han asks curiously.
"It's always been a danger that looms like a shadow over everything we've built here. But things have developed that'll ensure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever," Lando says. He then stops at a doorway before reaching out to open it, shooting them a sideways glance.
The door opens. Kelly's attention is immediately grabbed by a hissing breath. She looks into the room, and is horrified to see Darth Vader standing at the other end of a dining table.
Chewie roars. Han quickly draws his blaster and fires, but Vader deflects the bolts off his hand before using the Force to yank the blaster away from Han.
Kelly reaches down and whips her lightsaber off her belt, igniting the shining green blade and leaping across the room towards Vader. However, her focus is so fixed on Vader that she doesn't realize he's not the only one in the room until a stun ray flies out from the side and hits her. She instantly passes out, and Vader uses the Force to restrain her in midair.
Han and Leia look in shock at Kelly hanging in the air, unconscious, her lightsaber humming. Then, Boba Fett steps out from the side of the room, his blaster in hand, still pointed towards Kelly.
"We would be honored if you would join us," Vader says as he uses the Force to move Kelly off to the side and let her fall to the ground.
Right then, stormtroopers come swarming in behind them. Han and Leia look back before looking at Lando as Lando says, "I'm sorry. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Han says before they all walk into the room, the door closing behind them, unsure of what is about to happen to them.
And, I'll end there. Hope you like this one.
I decided I had to include at least one scene from Dagobah, so I decided Luke leaving was the most appropriate. Obviously, Luke is going to have a serious discussion with Ahsoka and Adams once he gets to Terra.
So, next chapter is going to only be partially set on Bespin. The first part of it will be set on Earth. It'll be up soon. Until then, leave a review, and stay tuned!