Epilogue: Of Plans and Hopes
Despite the fact that he had told his fellow Jedi not to worry about the situation with Luke, the Doctor still felt guilty about it. The more he thought about it, the more he hated himself for helping to cause the whole thing.
He had almost sent Luke to his death. Vader might not have killed him right then and there on Bespin after he defeated Luke, but if he had succeeded in turning Luke to the Dark Side, the Doctor, Jennara, Obi-Wan, or even Leia might have been forced to kill him. If the Doctor had just gone with Luke to Bespin in the first place, a lot of what had happened might have been avoided. Except the Doctor didn't go with Luke. All of what had happened on Bespin had resulted because the Doctor hadn't gone with Luke to confront Vader, a mistake he regretted very deeply.
While in the cockpit, the Doctor had learned the intricacies of Han's capture. The Empire had arrived right before Han and the crew of the Millenium Falcon, with the help of bounty hunter Boba Fett. Darth Vader himself had arrived on Bespin and forced Lando into a deal: betray Han to Vader or be destroyed.
Originally, Leia and Chewbacca would be set free, but Vader then altered the deal to say that Leia and Chewbacca would have to spend the rest of their lives in Cloud City. He then altered it again so that he would take Leia and Chewbacca prisoner for the Empire. Lando, of course, resented Vader for his outright shameful tactics in negotiation, but such was the way of the Empire.
The point of Han's capture was two-fold. Boba Fett could collect on the bounty that notorious Hutt gangster Jabba Desilijic Tiure had put on Han's head, and Vader would know whether or not he could safely use the same method of imprisoning Han to do the same to Luke.
Han had been frozen in carbonite. The Doctor realized that this was the source of the dark energy he had felt when he walked into the carbon-freezing chamber. Han had survived the process; there had been some doubt as to whether he would or would not live through that. Obi-Wan had pointed out that, during the Clone War, he had partaken in a secretive mission that required him to be frozen in carbonite. It made sense, then, that Han would have survived.
Vader had put this whole plan together just so he could capture Luke and bring him before Darth Sidious. Fortunately, the plan had failed in that respect, though Han had still been captured. Their main objective was now to rescue Han. Apparently, Lando already had a plan.
Before Lando could divulge his plan, however, the Millenium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace into a cluster of Rebel ships. These ships, which were mostly comprised of a few fighter squads and some frigates, made up part of the Rebel Fleet. The rest of the fleet was scattered across space in various systems that were spread far apart. This particular segment of the fleet was literally hiding on the edge of the galaxy.
The Millenium Falcon docked with a Nebulon-B medical frigate, and Luke was immediately taken aboard and taken to the surgical room. It was in this room that Lando told them his plan.
"Alright," he said. "Here it is. We know that Han was taken by Boba Fett to collect on a bounty set by Jabba the Hutt, so we can safely assume that Fett took Han to Tatooine, which is where Jabba's main palace is located. Han was frozen in carbonite, so, knowing Jabba's sick sense of humor, that gross old Hutt's probably mounting Han onto a wall as we speak. What we do is we infiltrate Jabba's palace, then either force him to give up or steal him back from Jabba."
"Okay," said the Doctor. "I assume that the more fine details of this plan will be worked out as the plan in coming to fruition?"
"As only the best plans do," said Lando with a charming smile.
"Good man," said Jennara, patting Lando on the back, to which everyone, even Obi-Wan laughed. Even amidst the dark times they were now in, it was nice to know that they could still share a laugh once in a while.
"Chewie and I will go to Tatooine, and I'll pose as a palace guard," said Lando. "I'll contact you when Han is ready for extraction."
"It can't be too long, though," suggested Obi-Wan. "Hibernation sickness will be a factor in the timing of our rescue of Captain Solo."
"That's right," said the Doctor. "If he stays frozen for too long, he'll start to lose his primary senses, starting with his eyesight."
"Okay," said Lando with some finality. "Are we all agreed?"
"Definitely," said Leia. "We need to bring Han back safe. Please promise me that we can do that."
"Leia, I will do everything in my power to make sure that Han is back and kicking Imperials down hard as soon as he can be," said Lando.
"And so will I," growled Chewbacca. Everyone laughed again, and a T1-B medical droid came in, telling them that Luke was recovered and is ready for his cybernetic hand. The group filed into the hospital room, where Luke was sitting on a small chair, awaiting his new hand.
"Luke, you're okay," said Leia.
"Never better, or I will be as soon as I get my new hand," joked Luke. "Hey, Doctor, Jennara, Ben."
The three Jedi smiled at Luke, and the Doctor was glad that they were now on speaking terms again. The guilt was starting to wear off the Doctor, just a little bit. Soon, it would be gone, but once he had explained the truth behind Vader's words.
"Chewie and I will prep the Falcon," said Lando as he and the big Wookiee exited the hospital.
"Go on ahead," said Leia, who then turned to Luke and said, "He has a plan for rescuing Han."
"Great!" said Luke excitedly as the T1-B began to attach the new hand. "What's it involve?"
"Well, for one thing, sand. A lot of sand," said the Doctor jokingly. Luke laughed, for he knew what this meant.
"Oh, please tell me I'm not going back to Tatooine," he said fake-exasperatedly.
"Sorry Luke, but them's the rules," said Jennara, an expression of fake apology on her face.
"Oh well, you can't get everything you want," said Luke as Leia's communicator went off. She answered it, and Lando's voice came through the speaker.
"We're ready," he said. "When I'm well-established with Jabba the Hutt, Chewie and I will contact you."
"Good luck, Lando," said Leia. "We'll meet you on Tatooine."
"We'll get Han back," said Lando seriously. "I promise."
"We'll be waiting for your signal, Chewbacca," said the Doctor. "Take care, you two. And may the Force be with you."
All of a sudden, Chewbacca's voice came through the communicator, saying a very long and drawn-out, yet humorous goodbye to his friends. Chewbacca would stay with Lando on Tatooine and signal the others to begin their imminent rescue of Han. Everyone smiled at Chewbacca's silly nature, and Obi-Wan, 3PO, R2, and Leia moved to the window in the hospital room, which had a beautiful view of the space around the fleet.
The Doctor and Jennara stayed with Luke for a few moments longer as the finishing touches on Luke's new hand were made. A few tests of the nerves to make sure the hand had been put on right later, Luke smiled at the Doctor and Jennara, then moved over to the window beside Leia. The Doctor and Jennara stayed where they were, looking at their best friends with compassion in their collective three hearts.
As the Millenium Falcon flew off toward Tatooine, the Doctor and Jennara held hands, and the Doctor felt warmth and hope in her hand. He could sense in the back of his mind that Luke would eventually want an explanation of how Darth Vader could possibly be his father when the Jedi had told him the contradictory story that Anakin Skywalker had died. The Doctor promised himself that once Han had been rescued, he would tell Luke the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Until then, however, the Doctor held hope that the darkest hour for him and his friends had finally passed. He held hope that Han would be found soon. He held hope that he would finally be able to acknowledge his feelings for Jennara Oswin.
And, grasping Jennara's hand tightly, the Doctor allowed himself to hope that the Sith would finally be defeated at last.
So, I definitely forgot to post last night. *hides behind computer* I'm sorry. But here it is, the end to Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back! Hope you enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun to write!
Next up: Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode VI: Return of the Jedi! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! The end is near, friends! For the main saga, at least. There are still some other stories that I want to tell in this universe!
Because I have a very big thing to do this Friday, I will be posting the prologue and first chapter to RotJ on Thursday instead of Friday. Hopefully that will make up for not posting last night!
Still excited for Series 9 and Episode VII. Nothing's changed there!
As always, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews these stories! It truly is an indescribable feeling, having your work being appreciated by other people! So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much, everyone! It really means a lot!
Thursday: The Return of the Jedi begins.
And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next volume, my friends!
blade0627