Leia Organa had felt this scared only once before: when Tarkin had threatened to destroy Alderaan if she did not tell him where the alliance's outpost was located. She had been scared that day, not for herself but for her father and planet.
It was the same today. As she and Chewbacca were marched along the corridors of Cloud City toward Vader's ship by a group of Stormtroopers, her heart was constricted by the fear she felt for poor Han, Luke and Obi-Wan.
When Lando had informed them Vader was using her and Han as bait for the two Jedi, Leia had hoped the two men would not come in their rescue.
She had almost caused Obi-Wan's death once and she did not want to put him, or Luke, in danger another time.
Her hopes had been dashed when Vader had announced Obi-Wan and Luke were travelling to Bespin, just a short while before poor Han had been put in the carbonite.
If only there was a way to alert them it was a trap!
The little group reached an intersection when a dozen of Calrissian's guards appeared in the corridor, fully armed and made a quick work of disarming the Imperial soldiers.
As a sergeant took away the Stormtroopers, Lando freed both Leia and Chewbacca from their binders.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm coming over to your side, that's what," the man answered, handing her a blaster.
"And when do you betray us again?"
Lando had no time to reply because Chewbacca attacked him and started strangling him.
Leia watched impassively as the man tried in vain to free himself. She had no love for traitors and he deserved it. However, when the man started making confused noises, she tensed her ears.
"It seems he is trying saying "Han"," Threepio—or at least what remained of him commented.
Leia glanced at Chewbacca and the Wookiee loosened his hold.
"Han…" panted Calrissian, "we can still save him…Boba Fett's ship is on East Landing Platform."
Leia gripped her blaster more tightly, "Show us the way!"
They all started running in the indicated direction and a few minutes later they burst outdoors.
The bounty hunter's ship was parked at the other side of the platform and he was giving orders to the two men who where pushing Han's frozen form inside his ship
"We need to do something to stop him!" Leia ordered to Lando, before she aimed her blaster and fired against Boba Fett.
The armoured warrior easily avoided the shots and boarded his ship. The hind ramp started closing and in a minute or two the strange vessel would take off with Han.
It was in that moment, when Leia thought everything was lost, that a brown robed figure brandishing a blue lightsabre burst into the picture.
Obi-Wan!
He quickly dispatched the Stormtroopers on guard before he used his lightsabre to destroy the controls of the ship hind ramp, effectively preventing it from closing. The alarms went on as the take off procedure was aborted.
"Yes!" Leia grinned as she prepared to leave her cover and step on the platform.
"Stay where you are, Leia!" Obi-Wan commanded, a moment before the bounty hunter stepped out of his ship and started firing with his two blasters.
The Jedi used his 'sabre to deflect the bolts and send them back against his attacker, just like Leia had seen him do during that long past training session.
Boba Fett used the rockets of his armour to fly over Obi-Wan and attack him from a better position, but it was useless, the Jedi was too quick for him.
A few minutes later Chewbacca barked happily when one of the deflected bolts hit the bounty hunter's rockets, causing him to fall rather loudly on the platform.
Boba Fett recovered fast and scrambling to his feet he kept on firing his blasters, but Obi-Wan was implacable, whirling his lightsabre with such speed Leia could barely keep her eyes on it.
He closed on the bounty hunter until the moment one of the deflected bolts hit his opponent near his neck where, apparently the armour was not as thick as the rest of his body.
The bounty hunter crumbled to the ground near Obi-Wan's feet, his helmet rolling away.
The Jedi Master powered off his lightsabre, and stared with a strange expression at the fallen man's face. Then he turned around and ran toward Leia, Chewbacca and Lando.
Leia stepped out on the platform and met him midway, her eyes bright with happiness.
"Thank you for coming to save us, Obi-Wan!" she exclaimed, looking deeply into his blue-grey eyes, and barely refraining from hugging him. "Force only knows where that bounty hunter was going to take Han!" She smiled broadly, but her grin died when Obi-Wan tensed and a cloud seemed to fall on his face.
"You love him," he said, very lowly.
"Yes, I do. He is-" my friend. Leia could not complete the line, because Obi-Wan interrupted her.
"I understand. It's only natural; he is much closer to your age and quite charming. I am sure he will make you happy."
"What?!" Leia exclaimed, not understanding the meaning of his words. And then she looked into his sad eyes and realized what had happened.
He thought she had fallen in love with Han!
Shaking her head with a mixture of fondness and exasperation, Leia pulled his head down for a quick yet deep kiss.
"I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are not going to get rid of me so easily!"
Obi-Wan grinned and he was about to say something when a look of absolute horror flashed on his face.
"Stars' end, Luke!" he muttered, "I had told you to stay on the ship!" Obi-Wan lowered his face to look at Leia. "Luke is in danger…wounded…he is hanging from the bottom of an exhaust pipe. We need a ship—quickly!"
A few minutes later the Millennium Falcon departed from the East landing Platform carrying Obi-Wan, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca, Threepio, Artoo and Han's frozen form.
Lando and Chewbacca were piloting, while Obi-Wan instructed them where to go and Leia tried hard not to pace.
The Falcon was flying underneath Cloud City, skimming closely to the metallic structures, when Lando announced grimly, "Three patrol ships are heading our way."
Obi-Wan ignored him, and simply said. "Over there, on your right."
"Someone's falling," commented Lando as he piloted the ship in the indicated direction.
"It's Luke," answered Obi-Wan. "Get under him. Slow down. Easy Chewbacca. Line up your tracking system. Lando, open the hatch."
Obi-Wan left the cockpit closely followed by Leia and reached out from the open hatch to help Luke.
"Easy young one," he murmured as he pulled Luke inside the ship and helped him to recline on the floor.
Leia gasped in horror as she saw the younger man was missing a hand, as Obi-Wan checked his pulse.
"He is in shock," he answered to her unspoken question. "Now go to Lando and tell him to close the hatch and take us away from here as fast as he can. I will move Luke into one of the cabins."
Leia nodded and turned around to carry out his orders. As she walked toward the cockpit, she thanked their fortune because they had once again made it—but she could not help but wonder what would happen should luck decide to turn its back on them.
Obi-Wan was pacing back and forth the corridor in front of the sick bay, waiting for the droids to complete the surgery to implant Luke's new hand.
It was the second time he was forced to wait as one of his Padawans was made whole again after losing a limb to a Sith Lord. Both times impatience and impulsivity had been the cause of the young men's misfortune, but Obi-Wan hoped Luke would learn the lesson better than Anakin had done.
However he was not as worried about Luke's physical condition as he was for his emotional one.
The boy's last words, before he had put him to sleep on the Falcon had been a pained "Why Ben? Why did you not tell me?"
The anguish and inner torment pouring out of Luke had left no doubts about what he was referring to. Obi-Wan had spent the rest of their trip preparing for the moment he would have to tell the truth to both Luke and Leia.
Leia—it had been good to see her again after so many months, to feel her vibrant Force signature brush against his own and feel her lips under his own. He had found her well and not scarred or wounded by her recent ordeal.
In that moment, one of the doors slid open and Leia stepped into the corridor, and her eyes lit up as soon as he spotted him. She walked closer and Obi-Wan did not resist the impulse of wrapping an arm around her back and pulled her against him.
Leia rested her head on his chest, as her arms surrounded his waist, and she sighed deeply, with contentment.
"Han is doing fine," she said softly. "He did not suffer any damage by being trapped in the carbonite."
"I am happy to hear it," Obi-Wan commented, his lips speaking against her hair. "He is a good man, no matter how much he likes to play the scoundrel role."
Leia nodded. "Yes, he is. I just hope one day he will find someone to be happy with. I just had to tell him he has no chance with me."
"I see." Obi-Wan swallowed hard, then shifted his position and used his hands to cup and raise Leia's face. "I know it isn't the most romantic place to say this but…I love you, Leia. I loved you from the first moment I saw you again."
"I love you too," Leia whispered, her brown eyes bright with happiness, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down for a long, meaningful kiss.
After a while Leia stepped back, a frown marring her smooth brow. "From the first moment you saw me again? What does it mean?"
Obi-Wan sighed. Of course she had caught that slip of his tongue! Oh well, it was not that bad since he had already decided it was time to reveal the twins the truth about their birth and parents.
"When I met you on the Falcon, it was not the first time I had seen you, Leia. I was near you a long time ago."
"When?" Leia enquired. "I cannot remember meeting you before."
"As I said, it was a long time ago. You were far too young to remember me. But do not fret over this now. I promise I will soon tell you everything."
"All right." Leia was clearly eager to know what he had to say, but willing to wait.
Obi-Wan pulled her head back against his chest, and posed his chin over her scented hair, closing his eyes and enjoying that moment of simple perfection.