Lando was up in the crow's nest, looking for any signs of Imperial ships when he spotted it: a grand blue and white boat just up ahead. He grabbed the nearest rope and swung down to speak with his fellow crewmembers about it.

"There's a ship not to far ahead!" He announced as he landed on the deck. "Looks fancy."

"Is it Imperial?" Han asked from his place behind the wheel.

"I couldn't get a good look at the sails, but I don't believe so."

"We should be able to sail on by then, unless the Old Man has any problems with it."

Han sent glare at Ben, who was currently helping Cody adjust the sails for the change in wind. Ben, who had become accustomed to his nickname throughout the week, smiled innocently at Han.

"By all means, Captain, sail away."

Lando chuckled. Han always had an issue with older sailors trying to help or give guidance, but Ben really seemed to get on his nerves. He had this serene air around him that drove Han nuts, and he especially didn't like the whole magical pirate shtick. Not only that, but due to experience, Ben was a better sailor than him, and Han hated when people were better at sailing than him.

He suddenly heard growling and turned to see Luke playing with Chewie by engaging in a game of tug-of-war with the dog's toy rope - Chewie's growl was playful, obviously. The large dog had always liked Luke - definitely because he would always sneak him food at the tavern - and was especially overjoyed that Luke would be sailing with them for a while. Immediately, Luke seemed to form a bond with the dog, feeding him his scraps, playing with him, giving him attention that Han and Lando couldn't give because they were busy manning the Falcon. Lando was glad to see Luke find some fun after the tragedy that just happened.

Chewie suddenly let the rope go, making Luke fall back and hit the deck. "Hey!" The boy exclaimed as he sat up. Chewie bounded towards him, making him fall back again as he licked his face.

Luke laughed. "Ah! Attack of the dog!"

Lando smiled. He was sure going to miss the Kid once they arrived to Alderaan - Han would too, even if he didn't want to admit that he cared for the Kid. Luke brought a kind of joy to the crew that they hadn't had before.

Artoo suddenly swooped down and landed on the gunwale near Luke. "Ship ahead! Ship ahead!" The bird squaked. "Princess!"

Lando knit his brows in confusion. Princess?

"What's that bird going on about now?" Han asked in exasperation.

Luke suddenly pushed Chewie off him to quickly stand up and look at the bird with wide eyes. "Princess!? As in Princess Leia!?"

Ben and Cody turned their attention towards the bird.

Artoo flapped his wings. "Princess Leia! Ship ahead!"

Ben turned to Lando. "That ship you saw, did you manage to get a look at the sails."

Lando shook his head and took out his telescope as he rushed to the forecastle deck. He looked through the telescope at the ship and looked at the sails, spotting an insignia on the big white one.

He turned to see that Ben had followed him. "There's an insignia on the top sail," he said as he handed the telescope to the older sailor.

Ben took it and looked through. "That's the Royal insignia of Alderaan," he said as he lowered the telescope.

Lando took it back to look at the ship again. "There's no one on the ship," he noted.

"The Empire must have intercepted them," Ben said grimly. "I imagine Vader took the princess captive and killed the crew."

Lando frowned as he lowered the telescope; dying on the sea is not a fate he wished on anyone considering what the Emperor does to the poor souls. He closed the telescope and returned it to his pocket as he rushed off the forecastle deck and went to the quarter deck.

"The ship ahead is an Alderaanian vessel," he informed Han. "It was intercepted by the Empire and looks to be abandoned."

Han thought for a moment. "How much food do you think they have in storage?"

"A ship that size? I imagine it's filled with all kinds of food, as well as treasure."

"Then it wouldn't hurt to board the ship and see what we can scavenge."

"Probably not much. It's been sitting there for at least a week; I imagine someone's already had their share."

"Still, we should take a look. Prepare to board."

Lando nodded and turned to give their crew their orders.

Leia had been a captive of the Empire for a week now, but what was strange was that she had only had one visit from Vader to demand to know where the map to the Darksaber was. Vader was known for his ruthlessness in all areas, including torture. She had been prepared to handle whatever he had to throw at her... but he hadn't even tried anything besides threatening her. Something was going on.

She heard the door to the brig open and knew that it was lunch time - she had studied the schedule of the guards and the meals. She sat up just as Biggs came into view.

Biggs was a rookie in the Imperial navy, which meant he got stuck with the mundane tasks like feeding the prisoner, but he was also her only ally on Vader's ship; he had informed her when she was first imprisoned that he was planning on joining the Rebellion when they stopped at Bestine Port, and she knew he was genuine.

Leia smiled, happy to see her friend, then frowned when she noticed the forlorn look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked as she stood and approached the bars.

"I just got a letter from my mother," he replied as he slipped her tray of food through the slot. "Remember when I told you we stopped at Tatooine Bay? My home."

Leia pursed her lips and nodded as her heart dropped. What had Vader done?

"My friend's home was burned down, and his guardians were killed - Vader's orders."

"I'm so sorry, Biggs," she said as she reached through the bars to touch his arm.

Biggs shook his head. "It's not your fault. We stopped there because of someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Leia pulled her hand back in shock. "Captain Kenobi?"

"You know him?"

"I know of him," she replied. "I was on my way to deliver something to him."

"The Darksaber map?"

Leia nodded. "I sent a letter ahead to warn him and his charge."

"His charge?"

"My father told me he was protecting someone very important - the only person who could defeat the Empire. He said his name was Luke Skywalker."

Biggs's eyes widened in shock. "Luke Skywalker!? He's my friend! The one whose home was a burned down!"

Leia's heart dropped once again. "Then... is he..."

Biggs shook his head. "No. No one found his body, and my mother says that people saw him running from the Imperials."

Leia sighed in relief. "Then he must be with Kenobi on his way to Alderaan."

Biggs frowned. "We're on our way to Alderaan - Vader is attempting to beat them there; apparently he has an old score to settle with Kenobi."

Her heart dropped once again. "This is bad. If he gets his hands on Luke... I don't even want to think of what he would do."

Biggs was silent, and Leia could tell he was thinking about something, possibly coming up with a plan.

"I can help you escape once we arrive at Alderaan," he suddenly said. "I know we'll make it there before them - the Devastator is the fastest ship in the Imperial navy. If you can manage to get back home and warn your father, then maybe they have a chance of escaping."

"What about you?" Leia asked with concern. "If you get caught-"

"I'll be fine," he reassured with a smile. "This fight is more important than me."

Leia smiled softly. "You're a true Rebel at heart, Biggs."

His smile widened a bit. "Eat, Your Highness. You're going to need your strength."

Leia nodded and picked up her tray of food before going back to her bed as Biggs walked away.

Cody looked around at the abandoned ship uneasily. It seemed strange that the Empire would just leave a ship drifting like this, especially if it belonged to "traitors."

"Why would Vader leave this vessel drifting like this?" He asked no one in particular as Han and Lando stepped onto the deck.

"Who cares?" Han replied. "As long as we can get supplies."

The smuggler was acting non-chalant, but Cody saw him glancing around uneasily and spotted his hand subtly going to his gun. The former sailor knew the Captain was smarter than he led on - perhaps it was an act that he couldn't let go of.

Cody turned to Luke as the boy stepped onto the deck. "Stay close to me and don't go wandering off."

Luke nodded as he looked around with a mixture of awe and unease. "Yes, sir."

Cody glanced back at Obi-Wan, who was staying on the Falcon to look out for any approaching ships, and could tell Obi-Wan had the same uneasy feeling - the last time they had boarded a seemingly deserted ship, it had been a trap by the Separatists.

Han and Lando had already managed to get into the captain's quarters and started going through whatever was in there, so Cody went with Luke to the lower decks to look for supplies - the soldier kept a hand on his sword as his eyes flickered around, taking in every possible ambush point. They found the storage door and opened it to surprisingly find a full room.

"I guess no one's been here yet," Luke said. He went to take a step forward, but Cody stopped him.

"Let me look around first."

Cody unholstered his gun as he stepped into the room. He looked around, the sight of a full storage room giving him an uneasy feeling. There was a sudden thud and he whipped around with his pistol at the ready... only to see an orange cat looking up at him.

"A cat!" Luke exclaimed before rushing into the room to approach the cat.

"Luke-"

Luke picked up the cat and Cody sighed as he holstered his gun.

"He must've been in here by himself for at least a week!"

Cody looked around. "Well, he had plenty of food and water... which is strange. Why hasn't anyone scavenged this ship yet?"

"Maybe people's fear of the Emperor is greater than their greed," Luke guessed. "I heard that sailors fear dying on the sea above everything else because of what the Emperor might do with their souls."

"Maybe." Cody turned. "Let's go inform Captain Solo about the storage room... and bring the cat, I guess."

Luke grinned as he followed Cody out of the room with the orange cat in his arms. They climbed the stairs to the upper deck and entered the captain's quarters where Han and Lando were currently filling a trunk with treasures they found.

"The storage is completely full," Cody said. "No one's been here to scavenge anything."

"Yeah, this cabin is full of gold," Lando said as he tossed a bag of gold coins into the chest.

"Well, that just means more for us, then," Han said before turning to Cody. "We'll go take a look at the storage. Kid, you help Lando with whatever he needs."

Han began walking out, but stopped when he noticed the cat in Luke's arms. "What's this?"

"A cat," Luke replied innocently.

Cody smirked a little in amusement as Han rolled his eyes. "I know what it is! I mean where did you get it."

"We found him in the storage room. He's probably been alone for a while."

"And I suppose you want to keep it."

Luke smiled lightly and nodded.

Han sighed. "Fine."

He turned and walked out of the room, Cody following.