CHAPTER 3:
Lando Calrissian was an occasional smuggler and gambler who had a taste for the finer things of life. He wasn't just a gambler but a professional gambler, and his winnings bought him the great pleasures and luxuries in life. And it also brought him respect from his shady peers and from the relatively legitimate businessmen for whom he smuggled less-than-legal cargo. Land was charming and charmed. He lived a carefree and adventurous life that impressed the ladies, which were plentiful. It was rare that he didn't have some exotic beauty on his arm and a deal in the works. Everything he did, he did with finesse.
But this life that worked in and out of the shadows lost its appeal. He longed for something more. Maybe a female who wasn't with him because of his riches; maybe he wanted a relationship. Maybe he wanted to have a legitimate business and leave his life on the edge of crime behind.
Then he won a city in a Sabaac game, Cloud City, to be exact on the planet Bespin. The timing was right, and although Lando could have made so much more money with this asset in his pocket, he gave into his newly found yearnings and decided to keep the tibanna gas mining city's deed. He gave up his illegal dealings, made himself Baron of the city, and became a respectable man based on his legitimate status in life. He found it easy to fall into this new-found way of living, and grew comfortable in his new role. No longer did he have to watch his back or worry about some pirate or being he had screwed over to show up and kill him. No one would come looking for him here at Cloud City.
Until someone did. Han Solo showed up. The smuggler was the last person Lando expected to see after Solo and his girlfriend screwed him and some fellow smugglers at the Battle of Ylesia. Han's girlfriend, Bria Tharen, was a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel commander, and with the help of Solo, they convinced Lando and some other smugglers to join the rebels at the Battle of Ylesia, enticing Lando and the smugglers with half of the spice they would commandeer if they won. And they did win, and Bria and the rebels kept all the spice, giving Lando and the smugglers nothing. Lando held Han responsible, and his grudge against his former friend lay deep in his being. Han Solo was the last person Lando ever wanted to see again.
But before Solo landed Lando's former ship, the Millennium Falcon—the ship he lost to Han in a Sabaac game—Darth Vader and his storm troopers showed up at Calrissian's door. It was just like Han to get mixed up with the rebels again because of a woman—a princess, no less—who was of a higher rank that Commander Tharen. Han Solo betrayed Lando once, and then he brought the Empire, who had left Calrissian's little piece of heaven alone, to Cloud City.
Lando did his best to appease the Dark Lord who was intent on capturing the rebels. Vader promised he and the Imperials would collect their quarry and leave Cloud City untouched, as long as Lando helped him out. Despite his grudge against Solo, Lando felt queasy about helping out the Empire for whom he had no love. But he had a city to think of, innocent civilians to think about, and a whole population of millions who feared the Empire. Cloud City wasn't just a haven for Lando but a haven for these people who relied on Calrissian to keep the city safe.
But Darth Vader altered the deal, first by torturing Han and then handing him over to the notorious bounty hunter, Boba Fett. Lando thought he could at least keep the princess and Chewbacca safe. After all, the Dark Lord promised they would stay on Cloud City, though Vader was going to leave a garrison in the city, breaking another part of the deal. Calrissian kept quiet about this change in the plan, but when Vader demanded that the princess and Chewie be brought to his ship, he spoke up only to feel the invisible hand of the Sith Lord around his neck.
Lando, however, had eluded the Empire before in his less legitimate days, so he had no qualms about changing the altered deal himself. Lando had inconspicuously contacted Lobot, his chief administration aide, and his Bespin Wing Guards ambushed the Imperial officer, Sheckil, and his storm troopers, and helped the princess and Chewbacca escape.
Lando, however, felt that he had more wrongs to right, and this was the reason he was in his current position. He was no longer a Baron or respectable man in polite society, but Tamtel Skreej, a guard at Jabba the Hutt's palace. To earn the notorious Hutt's trust and infiltrate his domain, Lando, pushed the real Skreej into Rancor chow and stole Tamtel's identity. As Skreej, Lando participated in the crime lord's demolitions where participants and their vehicles faced off against each other until one participant died. Lando was a survivor.
It took a while to ferment Jabba's trust in Lando, but once he was accepted into the Hutt's circle, he was given the job as a guard in crime lord's audience chamber of his palace, right where Luke needed him.
And finally his ambition paid off. When Han and Leia were discovered by Jabba, Lando rushed in. When two other guards grabbed Solo and dragged him away, Lando managed to grab one of Leia's arms—a Gamorrean guard took the other—and started to follow the guards who took Han away. Lando was determine to remove the princess from the anteroom and into the cell in the dungeon with Han, but Jabba had different plans for Leia.
Lando's stomach dropped when Jabba demanded that the Princess Leia be brought to him. Calrissian hesitated, his mind racing to find a way out of this situation, but the Gamorrean guard pushed him out of the way and shoved Leia toward Jabba until she was inches away from the grotesque crime lord. The Hutt spoke to the princess, but Lando didn't think she understood him.
"We have powerful friends," Leia told the grotesque Hutt. "You're gonna regret this."
Jabba responded to her threat with his tongue. Leia turned away as he ran his tongue up the side of her face.
"Oh, I can't bear to watch!" Threepio threw his hands in the air and turned away.
Jabba barked out another command. The Gamorrean guard salivated
Lando stepped forward and pushed the Gamorrean guard out of the way. He looked into Leia's large brown eyes that were at first filled with defeat but gained some hope when she recognized him. Lando proceeded to remove Leia's bandolier with gentle care. The Gamorrean guard held out the princess' arms, and Calrissian then patted her, running his hands along her arms, down her sides, and legs, as respectfully as he could. He removed a thermal detonator, two shock grenade discs, and a hold-out blaster in her right boot. Lando wanted to leave her with her hold-out blaster, but it would be dangerous for her—and him—if she were caught with any weapons on her.
Jabba the Hutt waved a hand and made another demand. Lando's face dropped behind his mask, and Leia's hope diminished. She knew there was nothing Lando could do to help her, not without revealing himself and being killed. She pressed her lips together and gave Calrissian a warning look.
A ruthless bounty hunter with one prosthetic arm named Ponda Baba and the once a genius but now insane surgeon, Dr. Evezan, stepped out of the shadows. Lando's chest constricted. He tried to hide his dread, but Leia caught it. She inhaled and exhaled, preparing herself for the worse. Jabba chuckled and clapped his hands together, and Leia knew whatever was to come was going to be worse than she thought. The Gamorrean guard forcefully pushed Lando out of the way and forced the princess to her knees. Ponda Baba grabbed her hair, pulled back her head, and then used his prosthetic hand to squeeze her cheeks until her mouth opened as he called her derogatory names in his in Huttese. Leia tried to struggle against the bounty hunter, but to no avail. His grip on her was iron tight. Dr. Evazan grinned, and the scar on the right side of his face morphed into something more sinister than before. The doctor held up the fizzing cup and poured it down Leia's throat. She tried to spit it out and cough it up, but Ponda Baba held her mouth closed and pinched her nose. After a few seconds of resisting, the princess swallowed the potion.
Lando bit the inside of his cheek as he watched them force the drink down Leia's throat while he helplessly stood by. He wanted to cut Jabba's throat (if he had one) to wipe away the pleasure on the hideous being's face. He wanted to blast away Ponda Baba and Dr. Evezan, to gut the Gamorrean guard who salivated over Leia's suffering, but it would all be futile. There was nothing he could do.
Once The princess swallowed every ounce of the potion, Dr. Evezan stepped back and Ponda Baba released her. Leia reached into her mouth with her gloved hand, intending to force herself to vomit, but Ponda Baba grabbed her hand and twisted it. She yelped in pain. Once he released her, Leia unsteadily climbed to her feet and tried to blink the blurriness out of her vision. She started to fall back to the ground, but Lando caught her. His dark worried eyes were the last thing she saw before her world went black.
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"I'm alright," Han Solo reassured his best friend.
Chewbacca wereened and cooed.
"I just feel, I dunno…" Han ran his hand through his wet hair. "Confused. Everything's distorted. It's like yesterday I was in Cloud City, and now I'm in Jabba's dungeon." He shook his head. "How long was I out of it?"
The Wookie hesitated.
"How long?"
Chewbacca answered him, and Han let out a breath. "Six months?"
Chewie explained the delay.
"Two months to find me?" he expelled an exasperated breath. "Where'd you think Fett was taking me? Why didn't you just come straight to Tatooine?"
Chewie garrawfed and harffed and garrawfed again.
"Yeah, I guess if you found me before Fett reached Tatooine we wouldn't be where we are now."
Han's best friend brayed and woorooned.
"Lando's here? He helped you search for me? He must feel real guilty." His ire was crystal clear. "If I get the chance, I'm gonna kill 'im."
Chewbacca growled, whoofed, and rurawed.
"He helped you and Leia escape Vader? Really?" Han's brow furrowed. Six months had passed. Six months. Lando, his former friend, helped out the two most important beings in Solo's life, and now had come here to rescue him. And Chewie believed Luke was a Jedi.
"How's Leia? Vader never got to her after I…?"
Chewie shook his head and growled, and Han breathed a sigh of relief. But now Leia was in Jabba's clutches. Jabba would want nothing more than to defile the princess just to punish Han. He clenched his teeth together as he thought up ways he would get revenge on that nasty Hutt.
The Wookie gurrawfed, harungued, and rowered.
"What?
Chewie repeated himself.
She left the Alliance?" Han ran his hand through his hair. "She'd never do that."
Chewie groaned.
"Yeah, yeah," Han grumbled. "She's here." And that thought just made him angrier.
Chewbacca lowed and grunted.
"She really gave up her rank and position in the High Command?" For me…
Han pressed his lips together, and he suddenly felt dizzy. The girl who dedicated her life to the Alliance, who would lay down her life for the cause, who would never let anyone get in the way of her duties to the Alliance, walked away from of all that for him.
I love you.
Solo knew Leia loved him even if she had never told him. They're time together on the Falcon when the ship limped its way to Bespin left him with no doubt that she loved him. But to give up all that was important to her, all that she lived for, for him? He would have never expected Leia to choose him over the Alliance. It took his breath away.
It took Han a moment to get it back. Leia left the Alliance only to get captured by Jabba the Hutt because she loved him.
"Where is she?" Han asked. Then he thought she might be somewhere in the dungeon not too far away. "Leia? Leia?"
Chewbacca moaned, informing Han that she was never brought down here.
"If Jabba lays a hand on her…" What? What could he do for her trapped in this dank cell with Chewbacca? He had no control over her fate. And he knew it wouldn't be a pleasant one. If only he could see.
"Have you tried breakin' through the bars?" Han asked.
Chewie's reply was that of irritation.
"How's ya' gonna rescue me and now Leia from behind these bars?"
Chewbacca brayed and gurrawfed.
"Oh, Luke has it all figured out," Han said mockingly. Luke, the starry-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears kid that Han had to rescue on Hoth. Solo shook his head. "Luke should have never sent her here." Han's lips curled. "What was Luke thinking?"
Chewie defended Luke, reminding his best friend that the kid was now a Jedi.
Han didn't even believe in the Force, but there was no sense in saying anything because Chewbacca knew this. Chewbacca never shared his opinion about the Force, though Han knew he had fought alongside the Jedi on the Wookie's home planet, Kashyyyk. Did Han's best friend—the one who was rational and level-headed in their relationship—believe in the mystic ways of the Force?
"I've only been gone sixth months."
The Wookie whined.
"You don't have to tell me six months is a long time." He jutted out his chin. "You coulda stopped her."
Chewie laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. She is willful, but I don't care if she would've come anyway. Someone—you—shoulda explained the dangers of being Jabba's captive to her."
Chewie's growl was defensive.
"You did?" Han shook his head. "Well, you should've forced her to stay behind, tied her up if you had to."
The Wookie explained that her part was only to release Han from the carbonite block and then fade into the background as Boushh, but Leia had her mind made up: she was going to get Han out of Jabba's palace no matter what.
"Stubborn as ever." Han clenched his teeth together. "I'm worried about her," he softly said.
Chewbacca grumbled.
Han felt sick to his stomach imagining what Leia was going through. Han had seen Jabba's brutality and treatment of females first hand. How many had he dropped into the Rancor's pit just for pleasure? Han's heart clenched. Would he do that to Leia?
"Do you think…?"
Chewie warrooed.
Chewbacca was right; dying at the mouth of a Rancor would probably be much better than what Jabba the Hut would do to Leia. The crime lord heard Leia tell Han she loved him. Jabba no longer had Han as his favorite piece of art hanging on the wall. What better way to punish Han more than to degrade and defile the princess? And all because she loved him. Solo suddenly felt sick to his stomach. With his hands on his knees, he bent over and began to wretch.
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Princess Leia Organa slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times as she tried to clear her vision, but it remained blurry, and she couldn't focus her eyes no matter how hard she tried. Her head felt hazy, light as if it was a feather being carried away on the wind. Her body, however, felt just the opposite. It was heavy, weighted down as if she was sinking into the gritty floor.
Leia fought to remember how she got here. The last thing she remembered was standing inches from Jabba the Hutt, his tongue snaking out of his gargantuan mouth, and it running up the side of her face as she turned away. Then Lando disarming her, his dark eyes sympathetic to her plight. And there was that purple fizzy drink that she was forced to drink. It was syrupy-sweet with a bitter aftertaste, something laced with spice. After that, she remembered nothing and assumed that she must have blacked out.
Where was she now? Leia's face was turned toward the right side of the room. She squinted, and through her hazy vision, she could see dark shadowed curves beyond the natural light under which she lay. The princess tried to turn her head to get a better sense of her surroundings, but her head wouldn't budge. It didn't feel as if it was tied down; her head just failed to obey. She tried to move her arms and legs, to push herself into a seated position, but just like her head, her limbs wouldn't budge and they weren't tied down. Only her eyes remained under her control, but even they really weren't because she couldn't focus them. Leia's respiration sped up and panic set in as she began fully understanding that she was now at the mercy of her captor.
The princess could hear voices in the far distance, floating above her as if they were in a different plane than where she lay. She attuned her ears and closed her eyes to focus on the bodiless voices, to distinguish the speakers, but the voices were too unfamiliar, too far away, and she couldn't make out the words, let alone how many there was. Then she heard it, the laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha."
I know that laugh.
Leia opened her large brown eyes and saw Han standing next to her, his form crisp and clear though the rest of her surroundings remained blurry. She tried to call out to him, but her voice wouldn't work. Han's hazel eyes glared at something to her left, and she assumed it was Jabba that Han was looking at. Leia could smell Jabba, but she was unable to look herself. It didn't matter; Han was here, and she knew he'd rescue her.
Solo looked down at Leia.
Wonderful girl. Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm beginning to like her.
Leia blinked, and when she opened her eyes—they were just closed for a second—Han was lying on the ground. Again, she tried to call out to him, but she couldn't get her voice to work. She wanted to go to him, to pick him up off of the ground and escape Jabba's palace unseen, but she couldn't move a muscle. Frustration and anger zipped through her spine as she found herself helpless and of no use to Han.
Then, without the help of anyone, Han rose from the floor with eyes closed, and fell up. Leia blinked her eyes several times, confused. Han curled up on himself before returning to the pose he was frozen in for the last six months as red light surrounded his face and body. The carbonite grew over his body until Han was once again encased in carbonite.
Han hung on the wall as he had before she freed him, as if she never freed him in the first place. Leia blinked, and Solo was no longer there. Her chest rose and fell; her heart was pierced by a strong sense of loss.
Was she dreaming? Was her vision just another nightmare? Wake up. Wake up!
The cool sensation of the dull side of a knife pressed against her stomach. This was no dream. Leia felt the knife move up her body and heard the distinct sound of fabric ripping. A light draft drifted over her skin. Distant voices, laughter—not just from Jabba—floated over her again, yet there was no one in her line of vision. Though the knife felt real, the disembodied voices didn't seem real to her; Han was real to her. But the way he left her…was that real? Was he just an apparition and the voices authentic? The princess tried to wake herself up, to gain control of her body, to at least turn her head, but she remained paralyzed where she was.
Then Leia felt hands upon her, pulling her, adjusting her, hurting her. Like the voices, these hands were distant, too, yet the pain she felt was distinct, sharp, real.
Leia closed her eyes and exhaled, fatigued from fighting her paralysis. When she them again, Luke walked out of the shadows just as sharp and clear as Han was moments before. Luke wore all black, and on his right hand, he wore a black glove that held the hilt of a light saber. He tapped the hilt on his left hand.
My sister has it…
My sister has it? His words were a cypher and she knew one day she would understand. At the moment she didn't care. Relief flooded through her; Luke would free Han from the carbonite; he would rescue her.
Not yet…
Luke's somber face gave her a small apologetic smile, and his large blue eyes carried a sadness that ran deep. Those eyes also held in a secret, one that weighed heavily upon him, one that he wanted to tell her but couldn't.
This time Leia kept her large brown eyes open, refusing blink, but Luke still faded away. A bolt of pain ran through her body. Then she heard someone howl, not distant or fuzzy like the voices that floated over her, but close and familiar. Chewbacca stood in her peripheral vision. He expelled a heart-wrenching whine and rested his head on the support pole of an X-Wing in need of repair. A sickness came over her, the sickness she felt when she and Chewie were on Hoth waiting for the shield doors to shut while Han and Luke were still out there in the cold
The deep sadness in the Wookie's steely blue eyes melted away the hope she had when Luke appeared.
And something pressed on her, stealing her breath and bringing more pain. And there was Jabba's laugh again. Chewbacca disappeared, and there were the hands again pulling and grabbing and shoving her body every which way. Leia closed her eyes against the onslaught of these hands that she could not see.
I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess.
Han…Leia opened her eyes. Han was squatting across from her, close enough that if she could move her hand she could touch his boot. Han removed his gloves, flashed a cocky grin, and winked at her. He disappeared as a sharp pain pierces her body. Again, her eyes squeeze shut.
I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you.
Leia slowly opened her eyes, and there he was, Luke standing in front of her dressed as a storm trooper, his bright blue eyes full of hope and optimism, not like the eyes of the Luke she saw earlier. Although her pain increased, relief flooded through her blood. That was until the Luke Skywalker Leia saw earlier, the one in black with sad secretive eyes took young Luke's place.
Not yet.
Jabba's laugh fought through the voices, and Luke faded away. The room filled with a familiar sinister respiration rhythm, in…out…in…out. Out of the shadows Darth Vader appeared. Was she on the Death Star? Was all this Vader's torture? But she didn't know Luke, Han, or Chewie then. Not until after….
Tell me where the Skywalker is.
Her mind immediately braced itself from the inevitable onslaught of Vader's torture. He wouldn't get any information out of her. She must be on the Death Star…but Luke and Han rescued her…The pain…the pain she felt now was physical, rough, and careless, not like on the Death Star.
Darth Vader walked back into the shadows, and Han is there again. The pain she endured was worsening, and again, something was pressing down on her chest jostling her around. She tried to escape her body like she did on the Death Star by focusing her attention on Han.
That's not it. Come on…You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me.
Solo pointed his finger at her. He leaned down low until his hazel eyes were mere centimeters from hers. Why couldn't she admit she needed him then? So much wasted time.
You can tell Luke. Is that it? Eh!
Leia's heart cracked as she watched Han turn away from her. Her back scraped against the gritty ground. She was confused, tired, and unsure of how long she could take this torture. A disembodied hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back while another hand grabbed her throat. Leia tried to suck in a breath, but between the hand on her throat and the weight upon her chest, it seemed impossible.
Embrace your anger. Remember it. Use it.
It was Darth Vader who gave her this advice. He stood over her, hands on his hips, and for the first time since her experience as his prisoner on the Death Star she was not afraid of him. The bodiless hands tearing at her hair and squeezing her neck released her, and the weight on chest eased. Her head once again fell to the side. Darth Vader knelt down beside her and took her hand in his. She stared at his gloved hand and then raised her eyes to peer into his monstrous face.
It wasn't Vader, but Luke. It was Luke's black-gloved hand that held hers, his clothes as black as Vader's. Kneeling beside her, he pushed the hair out of her eyes. She felt her hair brush against her skin as he tucked it behind her ear. She could feel her hand in hers, though she couldn't close her fingers around his. He was real, as real as the pain she was enduring. He smiled down at her, apologetic and loving. Leia squeezed her eyes shut tight as the pain heightened; Luke squeezed her hand.
You're strong. You've always been strong.
This time Luke didn't leave her.