Escape from Cloud City
Thanks to Free War for favouring this story
Luke cautiously made his way through a deserted corridor. He'd landed without incident and had so far encountered no resistance. As he reached the end of the corridor, he heard footsteps nearby so he stopped and peered round the corner to see Boba Fett walk down a nearby hallway, followed by two Bespin guards pushing Han's carbonite block and two Stormtroopers. Once the coast was clear, Luke drew his blaster pistol and crept out of hiding to peer round the corner into the hallway Fett and the others had gone down. Artoo suddenly came up behind Luke, beeping loudly. Luke made a hand signal for the droid to keep quiet then he peered back round the corner just in time to see Fett fire his carbine rifle at him. Luke promptly swung back just in time to avoid the blast, which impacted on the wall next to him.
~8~
The sounds of Fett's blaster fire could be heard in a nearby corridor, where Lando and the captive Rebels were heading down. Malia and Leia turned round to see what was happening but were rudely shoved away by the Stormtroopers. Lando meanwhile subtly pressed a button on his wrist comlink, sending a signal to Lobot.
~8~
Once the blaster fire had ceased, Luke came out of hiding to see that Fett had gone, so he set off in pursuit. He sped into a side corridor just in time see his captive friends being escorted away. Upon spotting him, the Stormtroopers opened fire with their blaster rifles, causing Luke to take cover and return fire with his pistol, managing to down one trooper. Malia managed to get free of the officer trying to hustle her away. "Luke, no! Get outta here!" she warned. "It's a trap! Save yourself! Just go!" she managed to get out before the officer grabbed her and shoved her away down the corridor with the others, while the remaining Stormtroopers fired a few more shots at Luke to force him to hide while they escaped with their prisoners.
When the fire ceased, Luke came out of hiding to find that his friends had gone. He cautiously scrambled down the corridor to try and see where they'd gone. His instincts led him to a darkened room and the door slid shut behind him, separating him from Artoo.
Luke found himself in the carbon freezing chamber. As he began to explore the chamber, the lights came on and Luke turned to see Vader standing on top of the stairs. "The Force is with you, young Skywalker," the Sith Lord said, "but you are not a Jedi yet."
Luke strode determinedly up the stairs towards Vader and unclipped his lightsabre from his belt. Then he ignited the blade and he stood at the ready. Vader ignited his own lightsabre and Luke lunged at him, the blue blade clashing against Vader's red blade as the Sith Lord effortlessly blocked Luke's attacks. Undeterred, Luke tried again, the lightsabre blades cracking as they clashed. Vader then pushed Luke back with such force that Luke lost his footing and fell onto his back. He quickly recovered and got to his feet, ready to continue the fight. With an angry growl, he made another lunge at Vader, who effortlessly blocked every swing then made a few swings of his own, Luke only just managing to block them.
~8~
Lando and the Imperials escorted Malia, Leia and Chewbacca down a corridor until they met Lobot and several Bespin guards who all promptly aimed their blasters at the Imperials. Lando then snatched the Stormtroopers' weapons from them. "Well done." he said to Lobot. "Hold them in the security tower and keep it quiet."
Lobot nodded and he and the guards led the Imperials away. Lando then handed the confiscated blasters to Malia and Leia then began to undo Chewbacca's binders. "What do you think you're doing?!" Leia demanded
"We're getting outta here." Lando answered
Threepio suddenly perked up. "I knew all along, had to be a mistake." he said
But Leia wasn't so forgiving. "You think that after what you did to Han, we're going to trust you?!" she spat, while Chewbacca promptly wrapped his strong arms around Lando's neck and began to throttle him.
"I had no choice." Lando choked out
"Pfft, spare us that." Malia scoffed, ignoring Threepio's calls to trust Lando.
"Oh, yeah, we understand, don't we, Chewie?" Leia agreed. "He had no choice."
"Just trying to help." Lando wheezed
"We don't need any help from you!" Malia spat
"H-a-a...!" Lando gasped out
"What?" Leia blinked
"It sounds like Han." Threepio observed
"There's still a chance to save Han." Lando wheezed. "At the east... platform."
Both Leia and Malia shared a look, realising this golden opportunity. "Chewie." Leia ordered, and the Wookie let Lando go and the trio hurried away.
"I'm terribly sorry about all this." Threepio called to Lando, who was on his knees panting for breath. "After all, he's only a Wookie."
~8~
"Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold." Fett ordered the guards, who pushed the carbonite block into Slave 1.
~8~
Lando, Leia, Malia and Chewbacca sped round a corner to find Artoo wandering aimlessly down the corridor. "Artoo! Where have you been?!" Threepio gasped in relief
"Artoo, are you a sight for sore eyes." Malia said. "C'mon, we're trying to save Han from the bounty hunter." And so Artoo hurried after his friends.
"Well, at least you're still in one piece." Threepio commented. "Look what happened to me!"
The group raced to the east platform just in time to see Slave 1 speeding away. Chewbacca gave a howl of anguish and fired in vain at the departing ship, while Malia punched a wall in frustration and Leia could only watch helplessly as the man she loved was taken away.
"Oh, no! They're behind us!" Threepio cried, pulling the Rebels out of their grief and they turned to see two Stormtroopers standing behind them.
A furious Malia promptly gunned the troopers down and hurried over to their bodies to snatch their concussion grenades.
"Come on! Lando urged her as he, Leia and Chewbacca hurried off back down the corridor towards the lift. Malia grabbed the grenades and she and Artoo hurried after them.
~8~
Luke and Vader were still duelling in the carbon freezing chamber, their lightsabre blades clashing and crackling. Luke had learned a fair few skills during his training on Dagobah, but Vader was a formidable swordsman and was forcing Luke back towards the stairs. "You have learned much, young one." Vader observed
"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Luke growled, and made a furious lunge at Vader, who blocked it and made two swift strikes of his own that were able to knock Luke's lightsabre out of his hand and it landed on the floor of the main platform.
Vader then swiped at Luke, who dived down the stairs to avoid it. Vader then jumped down the stairs after him and forced him back towards the freezing pit. "Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker." Vader said. "Obi-Wan knew this to be true."
"No." Luke growled, before losing his balance and falling into the pit.
"All too easy." Vader said, and used the Force to activate the carbon freezing process. A cloud of steam erupted from the pit. "Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought." Vader commented, then he heard a clang and looked up to see Luke hanging onto the pipework above the pit, having Force-jumped out of it. "Impressive." Vader remarked, then slashed a pipe with his lightsabre. "Most impressive." Luke leapt down from his high spot and aimed the severed pipe at Vader, spraying him with steam and stunning him long enough for Luke to use the Force to retrieve his own lightsabre. He then swung at Vader, who recovered from the steam and blocked Luke's attack. "Obi-Wan has taught you well." Vader observed. "You have controlled your fear." He swung at Luke, who blocked his attack. "Now... release your anger." Vader goaded. "Only your hatred can destroy me." He then made several swipes at Luke, who managed to block them all and athletically jumped over Vader then made several attacks of his own, forcing Vader back to the edge of the platform and with one good push, Luke was able to knock Vader off the edge.
Satisfied that he was in the clear for now, Luke deactivated his lightsabre and made his way down the stairs on the side of the platform. A hatch opened and Luke made his way down a tunnel which brought him to a maintenance room in the underbelly of the city. As he was looking around, he suddenly heard a familiar mechanical breathing sound and turned to see Vader marching ominously towards him with his lightsabre active. Luke swiftly ignited his own lightsabre and readied himself to continue the fight. But instead of attack with the lightsabre, Vader just used the Force to wrench a large pipe from the wall behind Luke, who swung round just in time and cut up the pipe with his lightsabre before it had a chance to harm him. Vader then swung a lightsabre blow at Luke, who deflected it and made several blows of his own, which Vader blocked and used the Force to send a tool crate at Luke, which hit him in the shoulder and knocked him off-balance. Vader then sent more crates flying at Luke, who used his lightsabre to deflect them away. Vader then sent another large pipe at him. This time, Luke was too slow to stop it and the pipe smashed a large window behind him, creating an explosive decompression. Vader grabbed onto a wall fixing and stayed put, but Luke wasn't so lucky and was pulled out of the shattered window. The next thing the young Jedi knew, he was lying on a maintenance walkway overlooking a vast reactor shaft.
~8~
Lando and the Rebels hurried into a lift, Leia shooting a pursuing Stormtrooper before joining the others in the lift. The lift took the group down to the level where platform 327 was located. Lando hurried to the door leading to a direct corridor and punched a code into a control panel, but the door remained shut. "The security code's been changed." he groaned
"I thought this was your city." Malia grunted, standing guard with her blaster at the ready.
"Artoo, you can tell the computer to override the security system." Threepio prompted Artoo, who rolled forward and extended his data link into a socket underneath the control panel.
Lando meanwhile went over to an intercom panel and grabbed a microphone. "Attention: this is Lando Calrissian. Attention: the Empire is taking control of the city." he announced. "I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops."
Electricity suddenly began to feed back in Artoo, causing him to squeal in pain. "Chewie, get him away from there." Malia urged Chewbacca, who pulled Artoo back to safety.
"This way." Lando told the group, and led the way down another corridor.
Artoo sent some angry beeps at Threepio as they followed.
"Don't blame ME!" Threepio retorted. "I'm an interpreter. I'm not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal."
The group hurried past Cloud City residents who were clamouring to evacuate the city. A group of Stormtroopers soon caught up with the Rebels just as they reached the door to platform 327. Artoo hurried over to the computer terminal and got to work with his data link while Leia and Malia stood guard in the corridor, shooting any Stormtroopers who approached them. Chewbacca was standing close to the door, picking off any troopers who tried to ambush them that way. Artoo beeped something to Threepio.
"Ah! We're not interested in the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon, it's fixed!" Threepio told him impatiently as a laser blast impacted the wall right next to him.
Artoo beeped something else, persisting about the hyperdrive.
"Just open the door, you stupid lump!" Threepio demanded. Artoo got to work and the door slid open to reveal the Millennium Falcon waiting on the other side. "I never doubted you for a second. Wonderful!" Threepio praised
With the door open, Lando hurried over to where the women were standing their ground. He had to admit, Leia and Malia were outstanding shots. "Come on!" he urged, taking Leia's arm and leading her away towards the door. "You too, Malia!"
"Yeah, coming." Malia waved him off, taking one of the grenades she'd stolen earlier. She primed the fuse and chucked it at the Stormtroopers. The grenade exploded, stunning the troopers and giving Malia time to run after her friends. "Artoo, cover us!" she ordered Artoo, who used his fire extinguisher to create a smoke screen to blind the Imperials, then he and Malia ran out onto the platform with the others.
Lando and Leia took positions either side of the Falcon's boarding ramp to hold off the relentless Stormtroopers while Chewbacca began to make his way inside the ship, having considerable trouble due to Threepio being on his back. "Oh! Ooh, ow! That hurts! Bend down, you thoughtless..." the droid complained before Chewbacca was finally able to get aboard the ship.
Artoo trundled up the ramp after them while Malia crouched down next to Leia and took out the second grenade. She primed the fuse and threw it at three Stormtroopers who had followed them out. The grenade landed right between the troopers and exploded, sending one flying back into wall and knocking him out, while the other two were sent flying off the sides of the walkway and tumbled to their doom in the abyss below.
"You're brilliant, Malia." Lando praised. "Now go! You too, Leia."
"What about Luke?" Malia protested
"He'll be fine." Leia told her, taking her arm. "Come on!" And she led her friend up the ramp into the ship. Lando followed them and the ramp closed behind them.
"I thought that hairy beast would be the end of me." Threepio moaned as Artoo towed him towards the passenger compartment.
Artoo beeped a witty comment about Threepio's appearance.
"Of course I've looked better!" the Protocol droid retorted indignantly
The Falcon's engines powered up and the ship sped away from Cloud City.
Author's notes: And here's another chapter done. Malia's grenade trick was based on something that was fun to do in Star Wars Battlefront 2004. On the Bespin platforms level, it was fun to use thermal detonators or concussion grenades to knock enemy troops off the platforms and send them tumbling to their doom, so I had Malia do that here! That moment was something I had planned ever since I first thought about doing a story with a Star Wars OC. Bit of a short chapter this time, but we all know what's coming next. See ya then!