Chapter 52
Admiral Piett watched as the body of Captain Needa was carried off of the bridge, the latest victim of Darth Ferreus.
"Where are they, Piett?" Ferreus asked petulantly as he approached the admiral. "How could they just …disappear?"
"Perhaps they were able to repair their hyperdrive," Piett suggested.
Ferreus nodded. "I suppose so," he frowned.
"If so, they could be on the other side of the galaxy by now," Piett told him. "Finding them will be like finding a needle in a haystack, sir."
Ferreus did not understand the analogy, having never seen neither a haystack nor a needle. But he understood enough to get the gist of what Piett was telling him.
"My lord, the bounty hunters have arrived," Captain Jonas informed Ferreus. "They are being shown to the bridge right now."
"Perfect timing," Ferreus said. He turned back to Piett. "They won't fail me," he said. "Money is very motivating."
"Indeed it is," Piett replied, inwardly disgusted at the thought of bounty hunters. We don't need that scum, he reflected angrily. But if it keeps him out of my hair, so much the better.
Piett and Ferreus turned to watch as a motley group of creatures walked on to the bridge, some droids, some human, and some alien. Ferreus approached the group as they lined up around the perimeter of the bridge, looking at the crew of the Executor with undisguised hostility.
"Your job is a simple one," Ferreus told the group. "Find the Millennium Falcon," he said. "I want the Princess; I don't care about the rest. Kill them if you want, all I want is the girl. Your reward will be better than anything you've ever earned in your pathetic lives," he continued, unable to resist the opportunity to demean them.
Piett watched the exchange, unable to deny a growing feeing of dread. This is getting out of hand…I have to stop him; someone has to stop him…
Millennium Falcon
"Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far!"
Chewbacca growled irately.
"No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca," Threepio whined. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me?"
"The fleet is beginning to break up," Han told Chewbacca. "Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw."
Chewie barked and then climbed out of his seat. He headed to the back of the Falcon as Threepio continued to voice his disapproval.
"I really don't see how that is going to help!" Threepio wailed. "Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough..."
Han looked back and gave Threepio a withering look. Leia took the hint and reached over and shut the droid off mid-sentence.
"Thank you," Han sighed.
"What did you have in mind for your next move?" Leia asked him.
"Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump
their garbage before they go to light-speed, then we just float away," Han said.
"With the rest of the garbage," Leia quipped. "Then what?"
"Then we've got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Got any ideas?" Han asked her.
"No. Where are we?" Leia asked.
"The Anoat system," Han said, looking at the navi-computer.
"Anoat system….there's not much there," Leia said thoughtfully.
"No," Han said, only half listening. "Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando."
"Lando system?" Leia asked, getting out of her seat to look at the map.
Han looked up at her briefly. "Lando's not a system, he's a man," he explained. "Lando Calrissian. He's this….card player, gambler, scoundrel…you'd like him."
Leia chuckled. "Thanks," she said.
"Bespin, it's pretty far but I think we can make it," Han said.
"A mining colony?" Leia asked.
"Yeah, a tibanna gas mine," Han told her. "Lando conned somebody out of it. We go way back, Lando and me."
"Can you trust him?" Leia asked him pointedly.
"No," Han replied immediately. "He's got no love for the Empire, I can tell you that," he said.
Chewbacca barked over the intercom, informing Han of the deployment of the fleet.
"Stand by Chewie," Han told his copilot. "Detach."
Leia smiled and looked at Han. "You have your moments," she told him. "Not many of them, but you do have them." She bent over and gave him a kiss.
Han simply smiled as the Falcon drifted free of the hull of the Avenger along with the refuse the star destroyer had just jettisoned. The Falcon's engines ignited and it raced off into the distance. Amidst the slowly drifting junk, a ship appeared and moved after the Falcon.
Dagobah
The air was thick with moisture, or perhaps it was fog. It was everywhere, nebulous and multi-colored as the sun penetrated its translucence.
A figure in black appeared, tall and cloaked, a Sith…he wore an expression of lewd mockery…just then from the shadows he pulled a small figure, a young woman clad in white…the woman was crying, her clothes were torn, she was terrified, and the monstrous thing who held her tightly by her slender wrist laughed, jerking her roughly by the arm again, making the girl cry out in pain…the black clad monster took his other hand and struck her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor….the girl tried to get away only to have the monster reach out with the Force and pin her to the floor…she screamed as he advanced upon her menacingly…
Padmé woke up as her husband thrashed about in the small bed beside her. She turned to him, the look on his face telling her that he was in the throes of a nightmare. Padmé reached her hand out to him and shook his shoulder gently.
"Anakin, wake up," she said. "Wake up."
Anakin opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. He was disoriented for a moment, not expecting to wake up in his wife's bed.
"Padmé?" he said.
"You were having a nightmare," she told him, stroking his face gently. "Are you okay?"
Anakin sat up in the bed, his heart still pounding from the terrifying apparitions of his dream. "Leia…"he said simply. "Leia's in trouble."
Padmé frowned. "You dreamed about Leia?"
Anakin nodded. "But it wasn't just a dream, Padmé," he said, turning to her. "It was a vision – I was seeing the future, I'm certain of it."
Padmé felt a chill run down her spine. "Ani," she said softly. "Where is she? What is going to happen to her?"
"Nothing will happen to her, I promise you," he said, getting out of bed. "I will make sure of it."
"But where is she? How will you know where to go?" she asked, getting out of the bed too.
"A city surrounded by clouds," he said, remembering his dream.
Padmé thought for a moment. "Bespin?" she suggested.
"Yes, that is it," he said. "I have to go to her, Padmé. I have to help her!"
Padmé nodded. "I'm coming with you."
"Padmé, no," Anakin told her, starting to get dressed. "This will be dangerous, I'm certain of it. I won't put you in that position."
"Ani, I haven't seen Leia since she was a baby," Padmé told him. "I need to go with you; I need to ensure that she's okay."
Anakin considered her words. "I don't like this," he grumbled as he sat down on the bed and pulled on his boots.
"Too bad," she told him as she buttoned her tunic. "I'm coming."
Anakin and Padmé found Luke and Yoda sitting near the camp site. Luke looked up when he saw his parents approaching. It was clear from his face that he was upset.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" Anakin asked his son, knowing the reason that Luke was so distraught.
Luke nodded. "I saw a city in the clouds," he told his parents. "Leia and Han were there… they were in pain."
"I had a similar vision," Anakin told his son. "We need to get to her before this vision comes true, Luke. We must go to Bespin."
Yoda listened quietly to the conversation, keeping his opinion to himself. He had been having visions of a new Sith apprentice for weeks now, and was beginning to wonder if it was more than mere old age making him paranoid. Was there a connection between this vision and the one shared by Anakin and his son?
"There's something else," Anakin said, turning to Yoda as though he knew what the old Jedi master had been pondering. "I saw a Sith, Master Yoda. I believe Sidious has found a new apprentice."
Yoda nodded. "Correct you are, Anakin, in your interpretation of this vision," he said. "Foreseen this new apprentice I have. Confront him you must, destroy him you will."
If he lays a finger on my daughter he's as good as dead already, Anakin thought angrily. "It will be done," he said. "This Sith monster will rue the day he was born if he dares to harm my child, I swear it."
Cloud City
The air was thick with moisture, or perhaps it was fog. It was everywhere, nebulous and multi-colored as the sun penetrated its translucence. Surrounded by spectacular shades of pink, red and orange, the Millennium Falcon made its final approach to Cloud City.
Twin-pod cloud cars drew up alongside the Falcon, making the occupants in the cockpit more than a little nervous, particularly when one of them opened fire on the Falcon, its flak rocking the small ship.
"No, I don't have a landing permit," Han did his best to explain into the comm.. "I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian."
The immediate reply to his explanation was more flak bursts outside the cockpit window.
"Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain!" Han exclaimed.
"You will not deviate from your present course," the voice on the comm. ordered.
"Rather touchy, aren't they?" Threepio declared.
Leia began to grow concerned, that same nagging feeling coming back. "I thought you knew this person?" she said to Han.
Leia's question heralded a long series of barks and growls from Chewbacca, making Leia even more uneasy.
"Well, that was a long time ago," Han replied to his copilot. "I'm sure he's forgotten about that."
"Forgotten about what??" Leia demanded. But Han did not have a chance to reply before the voice returned on the comm..
"Permission granted to land on Platform Three-two-seven."
"Thank you," Han replied, an edge of sarcasm in his voice. Han snapped off the intercom. He then turned back to Leia, whose face betrayed her worry. "There's nothing to worry about," he assured her. "We go way back, Lando and me."
"Who's worried?" Leia asked, the fear blooming within her.
The clouds parted to reveal a full view of the city. With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Falcon approached the gleaming metropolis and then landed on one of the Cloud City's platforms.
Having lowering the ramp, Han and Leia made their way to the platform, blasters at the ready. Chewbacca followed, equally warily.
"Oh. No one to meet us," Threepio observed.
Leia shook her head, unable to shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. "I don't like this," she said at last, stopping in her tracks. "This is a mistake, Han."
"We don't have a choice, sweetheart," Han replied. "No hyperdrive means our options are limited. And if the Empire is after us, we won't get far with a lame ship. They let us land, after all," he pointed out.
Leia was not consoled by his words. "Yes, they did," she conceded. "I just can't shake the feeling that…"
She stopped as an assorted group of men and aliens approached them on the landing platform. The leader of the group, a suave looking man in his thirties, bore a grim expression on his face as he headed towards them.
Han looked back at Leia. "Nothing to worry about, Sweetheart," he told her. "Here comes my friend right now."
Leia simply nodded, not taking her eyes from the approaching band.
"Keep your eyes open," Han said quietly to Chewie, who heartily agreed with Han's precaution.
Lando stopped two meters from Han, hands on his hips, eying Han carefully. Lando shook his head. "Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled."
Great, Leia thought. With friend like this…
Han was stunned, and could only point to himself innocently, mouthing, "Me?"
Lando moved threateningly toward Han, who prepared himself for the worst. Suddenly, Lando threw his arms around Han and embraced him, laughing heartily.
"How you doing, you old pirate?" Lando exclaimed all smiles all of a sudden. "So good to see you! I never thought I'd catch up with you again. Where you been?"
Leia watched as the two old friends embraced, laughing and chuckling. Despite his outward appearance of affability, Leia still did not trust the suave administrator, and folded her arms over her chest as she did her best to get a read on him.
"What are you doin' here?" Lando asked.
"Ah, repairs," Han said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the Falcon. "Thought you could help me out."
"What have you done to my ship?" Lando asked in mock horror.
"Your ship?" Han replied. "Hey, remember; you lost her to me fair and square."
Lando merely chuckled in response and turned to Chewbacca. "And how are you doing, Chewbacca? Still hanging around with this loser?" He then caught sight of Leia, and the suave smile returned to his face. "Hello, what have we here?" he purred, pushing past Chewbacca. "I'm Lando Calrissian, the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?"
"Leia," she replied simply, not impressed by Lando's efforts to be charming.
"Welcome Leia," Lando said, taking her hand and kissing it gallantly.
"Alright, alright," Han said, taking Leia's hand from him. "You old smoothie."
Leia couldn't help but laugh at Han's obvious jealousy, and allowed him to lead her toward the entrance of the city.
"What's wrong with the Falcon?" Lando asked as they walked along.
"What else? Hyperdrive," Han replied.
"I'll get my people to work on it," Lando offered. He turned to Leia. "You know that ship has saved my life quite a few times," he told her, "it's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!"
Leia merely nodded, doing her best to appear cordial, while inside her mistrust only grew. You're hiding something, Lando, she thought to herself. What is it? She felt certain that soon enough they would find out for themselves.