As the shock of the bounty hunter's explosive entrance wore off, Lando leapt to his feet, refusing to allow himself to be threatened in his own city.
"Fett! What are you doing here?!" he demanded.
"I'm afraid that my employers have some unfinished business with your friends." the bounty hunter replied, "It'd be in your best interest to cooperate."
"You're wasting your time, Fett! Jabba is dead!" Han shouted.
"Jabba wasn't my only employer, Solo. You're still worth a lot to me." corrected Fett.
"You've got some nerve, Fett!" Lando took a threatening step forward, "Barging into my city like this and threatening my guests! As administrator of this facility, I suggest you leave before..."
Boba leveled his blaster at Lando, "I don't think you understand. You don't have a choice. My employers are on their way here right now, and it would be most unfortunate for you if they were forced to land a garrison here."
At this, Lando seemed to freeze, his anger giving way to fear, suddenly having an inkling of just who Fett's employers were. He quickly held up his hands in a placatory gesture.
"Well, uh, when you put it that way..." he chuckled nervously, "It makes a...a lot more sense. I'm always happy to help out a man holding a blaster to my head."
Han could only glare at Lando while Chewbacca let out an angry growl at the words.
Boba Fett handed Lando a pair of binders, "Put these on both of them. Nice and easy."
Lando did as he was told, and clasped the binders around Han and Chewie's wrists.
"Now, you will escort us to the east platform." Fett instructed, "My ship will be waiting for us there."
"All right." Lando conceded, before turning back to face Han, "I'm sorry, Han."
"I'm sorry to." Han coldly replied.
But then, Lando gave Han and Chewie a knowing wink, and discreetly pressed a few buttons on his wrist link. Suddenly, it was all Han could not to grin as he finally realized his friend's intentions.
"Don't get any ideas, or all three of you are dead." warned Fett as he directed them out into the hallways.
Lando, Han, and Chewie did as they were ordered, allowing the bounty hunter to lead them through the corridors of Cloud City, which now seemed noticeably deserted.
At last, the group reached an intersection where Lando's aide, Lobot, and a dozen of Lando's guards stood at attention. The guards immediately aimed their weapons at the startled bounty hunter.
"Give it up, Fett." Lando said as Lobot removed the binders from Han and Chewie's wrists, "This is over. Now!"
"Drop your weapon!" one of the guards ordered.
Taking in the scene before him, Fett seemed to get the message that the game was up, and carefully placed his blaster on the floor. Now, Han couldn't help but grin.
"Well played, Calrissian." Fett said as he stood back up, "Well played."
But then everybody froze in alarm when they saw that he was holding a thermal detonator.
"But not well enough."
Everybody scattered as the detonator exploded. It was only a smoke detonator, but within seconds, hallways were engulfed in a black, billowing cloud, leaving the entire group blinded, choking, and disorientated.
As Han struggled to get his bearings, there suddenly came the sound of blaster fire, confused shouting, and then what sounded like the rocket boosters on a jetpack igniting.
"Chewie!" the smuggler barely managed to shout just before someone slammed into him.
And suddenly, he was flying backwards through the air, vaguely aware that someone had a hold of him from the front, and it wasn't that hard to guess who. Then, the two of them soared out of the smoke, and Han found himself slammed back up against a wall staring right into the visor of Boba Fett's helmet.
"You're...coming...with me!" Fett growled as he fought to subdue his target.
Han grappled with his assailant, trying to wrestle Fett's blaster away from his face, "Get off...get off..."
But then, there came a loud roar as Chewbacca suddenly appeared out of the smoke directly behind Fett, and locked him in a chokehold. The bounty hunter struggled against Chewie's grip, but was ultimately no match for the wookie's raw strength. Dragging the bounty hunter away from his friend, Chewbacca then hoisted Fett over his head with two massive hands, and threw him through a nearby window.
As the bounty hunter fell out of sight to the streets below, Chewbacca quickly turned his attention back to Han, and lifted his friend back to his feet.
"Thanks, pal." Han gasped out.
"Are you all right?" asked Lando as he made his way over to them.
"Yeah." Han replied, "Wonderful."
Relieved, Lando nodded; two of his guards lay dead nearby, shot down by Boba Fett's blaster in the confusion of the smokescreen, but there was little time to dwell on that.
"C'mon, we better get to the security tower fast. He might-" Lando started to say before he was suddenly cut off by the piercing blare of an alarm.
"Baron Calrissian!" one of the guards shouted, "Our scanners have just detected an Imperial Star Destroyer entering the system!"
Lando let out a low groan, "I was REALLY hoping that Fett was bluffing about that..."
Without another word, Lando quickly ran over to a control panel, and immediately connected up to the Cloud City intercom.
"Attention! This is Lando Calrissian." he announced, "Cloud City has been compromised. I advise everyone to evacuate immediately before Imperial forces arrive."
Hearing this, Han ran over to his friend, "Lando, it's me and Chewie the Imperials are after. You get your people out of here; we'll try to lead them away on the Falcon. It's the least we can do after more or less leading them to you."
"Mind if I join you?" Lando asked at last.
Han blinked, "What?"
"These people are my responsibility, Han. The LEAST you can do is let me help keep them safe. Besides, I've been itching to take a few shots at the Empire."
After a brief moment, a grin spread across Han's face, "You and me? Just like old times?"
"You got that right." Lando smirked.
Leaving Lobot in charge of the evacuation, Han, Chewie, and Lando quickly made their way to the Millennium Falcon as all around them, panicked Cloud City residents were scrambling to get out of the city.
Upon reaching the ship, Chewbacca took his place in the cockpit while Han and Lando headed for the two gunner positions.
"Is my ship ready to go?" Han asked.
"They weren't able to finish all of the repairs, but the hyperdrive's as good as new." replied Lando.
"Perfect." Settling into his gunner seat, Han put on his communications headset, and tapped into Chewbacca in the cockpit, "Chewie, punch it."
Within moments, the Falcon lifted off the landing platform, and soared off towards the horizon. As it flew overhead, the citizens of Cloud City were gathering on rooftops and landing platforms to board the evacuation transports, a few of which were already preparing to take off. But they needed more time, and it was up to the crew of the Falcon to give them that.
"All right, this is it." Han said as they ascended through the clouds, "The Star Destroyer has a complement of seventy two TIE Fighters. Hopefully, they haven't launched all of them at once."
But naturally, Han had spoken too soon, for no sooner had the ship exited Bespin's atmosphere, that they found themselves flying right into a massive swarm of TIEs, with the massive Star Destroyer looming just in the background.
"You just HAD to say it!" an exasperated Lando said as he began targeting the oncoming TIEs.
"Chewie, evasive maneuvers!" Han shouted into his headset as he did the same.
What followed stunning display of maneuvering as Chewbacca weaved the ship in and out of the Imperial formation while Han and Lando proceeded to blast multiple TIEs into the ether. Their gambit appeared to be working as the Imperials seemed to be concentrating entirely on them, leaving the evacuation of Cloud City almost completely unhindered.
But not even the Millennium Falcon, the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy", could evade so many enemies at once, nor could Han and Lando fight them all off, and before long, the ship inevitably began to take damage.
"Lando, we really need your people down there to hurry." Han said as he again squeezed the trigger of his turret, shooting down another TIE, "I don't know how long we can keep this up."
"Hang in there, Han. We gotta give them just a little more time." Lando asserted.
But then, the Falcon rocked violently as it took another hit, almost jostled both Han and Lando out of their gunner seats, while in the cockpit, Chewbacca fought to remain in control of the ship.
"Hold together, baby. Just hold together..." Han willed his ship.
But then, much to their surprise, the TIEs all suddenly ceased their attack, and began to retreat.
"They're backing off!" Lando exclaimed in surprised.
Needless to say, Han was confused as well, "But why?"
Suddenly, almost on cue, Chewbacca let out a howl of alarm from up in the cockpit and sent the Falcon in a deep dive without any warning, slammed Han and Lando against their seats. But before either of them could wonder what had happened, something exploded above the ship in concussive waves of brilliant blue light.
"Ion pulse bomb!" Lando shouted, "That was an ion pulse bomb!"
Had they been in the blast radius, the Falcon would've been disabled, and they would've been sitting ducks.
Then, they saw it as it soared overhead: the ship known as the Slave I. The ship of Boba Fett. Barely a moment later, the Falcon's communications crackled with static, and then the bounty hunter's voice burst through.
"Did you really think you'd get rid of me that easily, Solo?
Han groaned in exasperation, "You just don't take a hint, do you, Fett?"
Coming back around for another pass, Boba Fett proceeded to line up the Millennium Falcon in his sights and squeezed the trigger of his ship's blaster cannons. Within seconds, the Falcon violently buffeted by the enveloping flak as Chewbacca frantically tried to maneuver the ship out of the Slave I's line of fire. At the same time, Han and Lando returned fire in their turrets, but the rocking and weaving of the ship made aiming almost impossible.
Finally, Han managed to get a lucky hit on the Slave I's port wing, forcing Fett to break off his attack. But the damage may have already been done, for it was then that an alarm began to blare throughout the ship, warning that the main rear deflector shield was about to fail.
And then, Han noticed the huge shadow of the Star Destroyer looming over the ship, as the TIE fighter squadron began to converge on them again.
"We've given your people all the time we can, Lando." Han said apologetically, "We need to go NOW."
"Yes, I agree..." Lando ultimately replied.
"Chewie, get us outta here!" Han ordered his friend up in the cockpit.
The wookie promptly barked a question back at Han.
"ANYWHERE!" shouted the smuggler in exasperation, "Just get us outta here!"
But even as Chewbacca began to make the calculations for the jump to light speed, Han and Lando watched with dismay as the Slave I suddenly reappeared on their tail.
"It's over, Solo. Give yourself up already." Boba Fett's voice came through the ship's communications.
"Ain't gonna happen, Fett!" Han shouted back.
"You want to do this the hard way?" the bounty hunter replied, "Fine by me."
Time then seemed to slow down as the Slave I fired another ion pulse bomb at the Millennium Falcon.
"Chewie!" Lando shouted as he could almost imagine the bomb arming.
Chewbacca roared in agitation as he all but pounded on the hyperspace throttle. Han and Lando saw the stars outside turn to blinding streaks of light just as the ion pulse bomb exploded. In a flash of brightness, the Millennium Falcon jumped into hyperspace just ahead of the wave of disabling energy.
Han and Lando could only slump back into their gunners and let out huge sighs of relief. Once again, the crew of the Millennium Falcon had made a narrow escape by the skin of their teeth. But Han could only wonder just how much longer their luck would last...
Han and Chewie waited anxiously for Lando to emerge from his gunner position. The now former administrator of Cloud City seemed to be taking his time in contacting Lobot for word on whether his people were safe. At last, Lando climbed out of the turret to meet them in the main hold.
"Did your people make it?" asked Han.
"According to Lobot…" Lando answered, "The good news is that we gave everybody just enough time to complete the evacuation. The bad news, however, is that now we're all refugees."
"I'm sorry, Lando. We led the Empire right to you." Han sighed regretfully.
Chewie let out a low howl in agreement.
Lando gave a dismissive wave his hand, "To be honest, Han. It was probably going to happen sooner or later. You know how much the Empire doesn't like independent operations like mine. Besides, I kinda took a gamble in not handing you two over. Guess I gambled wrong this time."
"Maybe so..." Han nodded slowly, "But still, I'm really sorry. If it makes you feel any better, you can punch me in the..."
Han never got a chance to finish the sentence as Lando's fist connected with his jaw, sending him staggering backwards. Outraged, Chewie roared and took a threatening step towards Lando…
"Chewie, stop!" Han yelled, rubbing his jaw, "I kinda deserved that, though I didn't expect him to take it so literally."
Lando smirked, "Consider us even."
Ultimately, Chewbacca stood down, while the wookie understood where Lando was coming from, that didn't mean he had to like it.
"So what now?" asked Han.
"Well, considering that I just aided in the escape of two known Rebel fugitives..." Lando said, "I guess we're all probably stuck in the same boat now."
"Yeah, looks like it." Han smiled grimly.
"I don't suppose you got room on this rust bucket for one more?" asked Lando.
Han shrugged, "Why not? If nothing else, we'll have all the time in the galaxy to catch up."
"Just like old times, huh?" Lando smiled, "Got any idea about where we're gonna head now?"
Chewie gave an inquiring bark; the wookie clearly also wanted to know what Han's plan was now.
Han thought for a long moment, "Well actually, now that you mention it, there is someplace... and someone I think it's about time I paid a visit..."
"And just where, and more to the point, who, would that be?" Lando inquired.
Han turned to Chewbacca, "Chewie, set a course for Dagobah."
"This is most disappointing..." Darth Vader said to the holographic projection of Boba Fett, who had just reported back to inform Vader of Han Solo's escape.
The Dark Lord had been growing restless in recent days, for he could still feel a great disturbance in the Force. The power of the Light Side seemed to be growing in spite of his son's excellent progress. At the same time, Imperial spies had reported something quite strange; Princess Leia had not been sighted anywhere within the ranks of the Rebellion since the Battle Of Hoth. Since Vader had captured Luke...
Needless to say, the Dark Lord didn't believe in coincidences; he was sure that the disturbance had something to do with the Princess. And so, Vader had acquired the services of Boba Fett to track Princess Leia down, or failing that, Han Solo in the hopes that the smuggler would lead Vader to her.
"I would've had him if it weren't for Calrissian." replied Fett, "I still can't believe he took a risk like that with his city compromised, but then again, he is gambler."
Luke stood off to the side, out of view of the holo-projector. He was a bit uneasy, for despite his commitment to Dark Side, the fact that his father was hunting for his friends unnerved him. Of course, he wished to destroy the Emperor, and bring peace back to the galaxy, but he still hoped to keep his friends out of harm's way.
But right now, he knew that the only thing he could do was hope for the best.
"Is the tracker you placed on he Millennium Falcon still functioning?" Vader asked the bounty hunter.
"Yes..." Fett replied, "It seems Solo is making his way out of the Anoat sector. If his course doesn't change, it will take him into the Dagobah system."
Luke suddenly looked up at the bounty hunter's words.
The Dagobah system... Why did those words seem so familiar to him?
Then, he remembered.
It was back on Hoth, when he'd collapsed in the blizzard after his escape from the wampa cave. He had seen a vison of Obi-Wan Kenobi...
"You will go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me..."
"Ben... Dagobah system..." Luke mused aloud, "Yoda..."
Upon hearing Luke's words, Vader suddenly turned sharply in his direction, and for a long moment, the Dark Lord only stared in silence at his son, who could actually feel the burning glare of his father's gaze.
"Should I pursue them?" Boba Fett asked.
"No..." Vader replied at last, "That will not be necessary."
"As you wish." Fett replied, clearly noticing the change in the Dark Lord's demeanor.
Switching off the holo-projector, Vader walked intently towards his son, and Luke already knew what he was going to ask. Taking a deep breath, he met his father's gaze.
"What do you know, my son?" the Dark Lord asked simply.
Outside Yoda's hut, Leia sat in deep meditation, now dressed in a white and blue Jedi tunic, her old outfit having been discarded.
Quieting her mind, and allowing the Force to flow through her, she soon began to levitate off the ground, and a moment later, a circle of rocks began to levitate in the air around her as well. Nearby, C-3PO and R2-D2 could only watch in awe as Yoda sat observing his apprentice with a growing sense of pride.
"Calm your mind is." Yoda commended, "Like a river the Force flows through you. Learned much you have, and more quickly than any student I have taught before. Pleased I am."
Leia lowered herself back to the ground, "Thank you, Master. But still, I am troubled; those visions keep coming back to me, and now they're growing even stronger."
"The Force calls to you, my apprentice." explained Yoda, "Nearly complete your training is. Time it is for you to return to the cave."
Taking a moment to collect herself, Leia finally nodded. At her consent, R2 gave a series of anxious beeps and whistles.
"Oh, Mistress Leia, must you?" C-3PO asked in concern.
"Yes, 3PO. I must." Leia replied.
With that, she and Yoda began to make their way out into the forest. And before long, Leia found herself once again standing before the large dead tree, staring into the cave's sinister black opening.
"This place..." Leia shivered, "It still disturbs me."
Yoda nodded, "As it does me. No less has the passage of time diminished the power of the Dark Side."
Remembering what had occurred during her previous venture into the cave, Leia took out her lightsaber, and offered it to Yoda.
"Would you take care of this for me?" she asked.
Taking the lightsaber, Yoda looked her intently, "Remember, Leia; a lightsaber is not a Jedi's only weapon. You must leave them all behind. On this everything depends."
Leia took a deep breath, "I won't fail you, Master."
Steeling herself against the dark aura emitting from the tree cave, Leia once again stepped inside. Just as before, the darkness pressed up against her until she could almost taste it in her mouth, but in spite of her fears, she pressed forward. Finally, Leia reached the chamber where she had dueled the apparition of Luke in Darth Vader's armor.
For a long moment, she just stood there in the darkness, silently listening, and waiting for the dark specter to appear as it had before. Then, she heard it: the loud, mechanical breathing of Darth Vader. But this time, the sound wasn't coming from somewhere up ahead, it was coming from directly behind her. And with that startling realization, came another sound: an igniting lightsaber.
Leia ducked just as the crimson red blade swung at her, allowing it to harmlessly pass over her head. Rolling forward, Leia scrambled to her feet, and spun around to face her assailant.
Darth Vader, or Luke in the Dark Lord's armor, loomed before her. Raising the lightsaber, he lunged at her again in a downward swing. Dodging to the side, Leia was shocked when her attacker then suddenly disappeared, seeming to just merge into the shadows of the chamber. Leia's eyes darted about, wondering if this was some kind of trick.
Then, from out of the darkness, came voices. Faintly at first, but they quickly grew louder. And with the voices, then came the visions...
A loving mother on Tatooine bid farewell to her young son.
"Now, be brave and don't look back. Don't look back."
A Jedi Master stood before the Jedi Council inside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
"I have encountered a vergence in the Force."
A terrifying old man in a dark hooded robe loomed over a young man in a destroyed office room.
"The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become."
A pregnant young woman pleaded with the man she loved on the fiery planet of Mustafar.
"Stop! Stop now! Come back! I love you!"
A younger, grief-stricken Obi-Wan Kenobi looked down at the dismembered young man lying on the slope of a lava bank.
"You were my brother, Anakin!"
The same dismembered young man cursed his former master as the flames began to engulf him.
"I hate you!"
Darth Vader loomed over someone like a giant wraith from a child's nightmare.
"I am your father."
Luke's face contorted into a mask of horrified rage.
"NO!"
A somber Master Yoda spoke to the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Dagobah.
"There is another."
And then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the visions stopped. Leia found herself back in the cave her forehead, and tunic soaked with sweat. For a long moment, she stood frozen to the spot, her mind a rush of emotions. Taking a shuddering breath, Leia wiped the sweat from her brow, and slowly began to make her way back towards the cave entrance.
Fighting through the disorientation, she struggled to make sense of the things she had been shown. Just what could it all have been about? Lost in thought, Leia knew that she'd have to speak with Master Yoda about this once her head had cleared a bit, because right now, she just couldn't...
"Excuse me, miss..." said a voice.
Startled, Leia looked up, and to her utter shock, saw none other than a grinning Han Solo standing just outside the cave entrance.
"But have you seen a certain princess around here?"
"Han!" Leia practically flew into his arms.
She couldn't believe it was him, and for a moment, she almost wondered if he was just another vision from the cave. But no. He was real. To her joy, he was indeed real. At last, Han broke the embrace, and looked down at her.
"Yeah, I'll admit I missed you to, sweetheart." he said before taking in her Jedi tunic, "I gotta say, I kinda like the new look."
Leia looked down at herself, somewhat flustered, "I can't say that I ever imagined wearing this. But I knew you'd come back."
"Of course I did, Leia. I couldn't let your life get boring now, could I?" Han asked jokingly.
Leia almost giggled, "True, but really, it's so good to see you, Han."
"Same here, princess." Han replied, "Now, if you're finished here, what do you say we head back and find something to eat? I'm starved. And besides, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
A short time later, everybody had gathered just outside Yoda's hut near a fire over which the Jedi Master was preparing a large pot of stew. Nearby, the Millennium Falcon rested next to the swamp, having thankfully landed on solid ground this time. Old friends came forward to greet one another, but the reunion began to get slightly awkward when Han introduced Leia to Lando.
Lando began to laugh, "You never told me you were cozied up to the Princess Of Alderaan!"
Han sighed, slightly embarrassed, "Lando..."
"Who is training to be a Jedi, no less? Ha-Ha-Ha! This is too much!" his friend continued.
"This isn't a joke." Leia said forcefully, "A good friend paid the ultimate sacrifice to give us this opportunity, and it may well decide the fate of the galaxy!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, really." Lando apologized, "It's just that if you knew Han like I do, you'd find all of this a little hard to swallow."
Softening her demeanor, Leia glanced at Han and grinned, "Yes, I guess that's kind of understandable."
"Honestly, it's a real pleasure to meet you, Leia." Lando took her hand and kissed it.
"All right, all right, you old smoothie..." Han said, rolling his eyes.
Taking Leia by the hand, Han guided her to her seat over by the fire. At which point, C-3PO made his way toward Lando to in order to introduce himself.
"Hello, sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your..."
But before the droid could even finish his self-introduction, Lando had already turned to follow Han and Leia.
All the while, Yoda sat silently stirring the stew pot as though nothing at all were out of the ordinary. Before long, everybody had settled down for dinner, and soon, they all began to swap stories of their exploits since last seeing one another.
But eventually, Leia's expression turned somber as she was inevitably reminded of Luke, and what she feared had become of him.
"Han, have you... Have you heard anything about Luke?" she asked.
Han shook his head in a subdued manner, "No, there's been nothing."
Chewbacca let out a low, saddened howl, and R2-D2 gave a mournful series of beeps and whistles.
"Wait. Who's Luke?" asked Lando.
"Our friend. The one we lost on Hoth." Leia explained before turning back to Han, "Han, there's something I need to tell you..."
"What? About Luke?" the smuggler asked inquisitively.
Leia nodded slowly, trying to find the correct words.
"I'm... I'm not sure how to say this..."
"Just tell it straight up." Han pressed.
Leia took a deep breath, "I think something awful is happening to Luke. I think he may be... cooperating with Darth Vader."
For a heartbeat, both Han and Chewbacca just stared at her, disbelieving. At last, Han found his voice.
"No, that's absurd." he said firmly, "No offense, princess, but I think you've been on this planet for far too long."
"I don't want to believe either, Han, but..." Leia started to say.
"Think about what you're saying, Leia!" Han insisted, "This is Luke we're talking about! Vader killed his father! Do you seriously think that Luke would ever even consider working with him?!"
Chewie barked his disbelief as well.
"Not of his own free will, of that, I'm sure." Leia conceded, "But Luke is in very dark place, Han. I know it."
"How?!" Han asked, "You haven't left this planet since we dropped you off here!"
"As my training progressed, I began to receive visions..." Leia tried to explain.
"Visions?!" Han asked incredulously.
Leia sighed, "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I'm completely serious. I can't feel him, Han. I can feel him slipping further and further into the darkness."
"Let's just SUPPOSE that you're right about this..." Han said, clearly still skeptical, "What do you propose we do?"
"At the very least..." Leia replied, "I'm certain that he is probably being held inside Fortress Vader on Mustafar. We have to get him out of there."
Han almost laughed, "Look, I care about Luke as much as the next guy, but just waltzing directly into Darth Vader's personal fortress sounds like a ridiculously bad idea!"
"I think that's kinda putting it lightly!" Lando put in.
Chewbacca let out an angry roar at the two of them.
"Take it easy, Chewie!" Han said, "Since when did you become suicidal?!"
"Han, we can not and WILL NOT just leave Luke to rot!" Leia asserted.
"Right your friend is." Yoda suddenly interrupted, "Not ready for this are you."
"What?" Leia protested, "But Master, I passed the trial in the cave. Isn't my training complete?"
Yoda looked at her intently, "No. One last task there is. But first, things there are that tell you I must. Difficult things. And start shall I with the truth."
Leia blinked, "The truth...?"
The Jedi Master paused for a long moment as he felt the weight of distant memories weighing down on him.
"Told Luke did Obi-Wan that his father was a powerful Jedi. True that was. Also told Luke did Obi-Wan that Darth Vader murdered Luke's father. True that was not."
"What... What are you saying?" Leia asked.
"Murder Luke's father Darth Vader did not." Yoda looked his apprentice in the eye, "Luke's father Darth Vader IS."
END OF PART 5