Just an idea that came to me after replaying Jedi Survivor and remembering THAT SCENE from Mandolarian season 2. Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for help with the title.
I apologize in advance if this sucks, not entirely satisfied with it but changing something as perfect as Empire Strikes back is tricky. Hope you all enjoy it anyway.
Bespin
Lando Calrissian was walking with Leia, Chewie and their Imperial escort when they rounded a corner to see a young woman with dark hair and eyes. Lando practically breathed a sigh of relief.
"What took you so long?" Lando asked, confusing the others.
"It's a long way from Tenalorr," the woman said simply.
"Halt! Hands in the air!" One of the Stormtroopers ordered as the Imperial officers took aim at the woman.
But she merely pulled out a device that was familiar to Leia, Chewie and 3PO before activating it, a green energy blade emerging from the device. The Stormtroopers shot at the woman but she used her lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts back at them.
While this was going on, Lando struck the Imperial Officer next to him, knocking them out before searching him, grabbing the keys to Leia and Chewie's handcuffs.
"What are you doing?" Leia asked as he began uncuffing Chewie.
"I don't have time to explain, but we need to move now or Fett will get away with Han," Lando said hurriedly.
"We're already handling Solo," the woman said, extinguishing her lightsaber once the all the Imperials were dead. "Where is Vader?"
Elsewhere, in the freezing chamber, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were trading blows with their lightsabers when Vader managed to disarm Luke, sending his lightsaber flying. Luke rolled, falling down the steps in order to avoid a strike from Vader's blade. Undeterred, Vader jumped, landing in front of Luke.
But then, inexplicably, one of the pipes from the machine wrapped itself around Vader, to the confusion of all of them.
"What?" Vader exclaimed in surprise before Luke's lightsaber flew into the air, igniting and cutting the pipe in half.
The gas hit Vader in the mask and he grunted in pain before a red haired man jumped onto the platform. The man sent a kick to Vader's abdomen, sending him flying off the platform before tossing Luke's lightsaber to him. Luke instinctively caught his lightsaber, staring at the mysterious figure in shock.
"Who-"
"No time to explain," the man said, cutting off Luke's questions. "That won't keep him down for long. We need to go, now. My friends are helping yours. We need to get out of here."
Barely had the words left the man's mouth before he whirled around, igniting a lightsaber as Vader leapt back onto his the platform, red and blue blades meeting in a stalemate.
"Cal Kestis. The Emperor thought you had died. Whatever hole you've been hiding in, you should have stayed there," Vader noted as Luke stared at Cal in disbelief, realizing he was a Jedi.
Cal grunted before breaking the stalemate, dodging Vader's strike before bringing down his lightsaber on Vader's armor. Vader grunted in pain but his armor withstood the blow. Vader then held out his hand and Cal was rendered immobile, gasping for breath.
"Your head will make an excellent prize for the Emperor," Vader taunted.
Luke snapped out of his daze and rushed Vader, igniting his lightsaber and attacking. But Vader merely raised his other hand, using The Force to send Luke flying back.
"You still have much to learn, young one," Vader told Luke.
So focused on Luke and Cal, Vader didn't notice as a tiny droid had climbed onto his suit before it began slicing away. At his suit began to fail, Vader lost focus, having to use the Force to send the droid flying.
That moment of distraction freed Cal and he reached towards the ceiling, grunting in effort as he used The Force. There was a load crash before, to Luke's shock; Cal brought down the entire ceiling onto Vader. Luke merely started in shock, not even noticing as the droid climbed onto Cal's shoulders.
"Thanks, BD," Cal sad before turning to Luke. "We need to go, that won't hold him for long."
Boba Fell was walking with the Imperials that were carrying Han's frozen form to where his ship was parked when there was an explosion, Boba hardly able to believe his eyes as his ship- his father's ship – blew up.
Boba wasn't sure how long they stood standing there when the doors behind them burst open and Leia, Chewie, Lando and the woman who rescued them emerged, Leia, Han and Lando immediately opening fire. The Stormtroopers were immediately killed, dropping Han's frozen form to the ground as Boba ducked, returning fire. The woman ignited her lightsaber, deflecting Boba's blaster bolts.
"A Jedi," Boba noted in surprise.
In a flash of green light, a woman with pale skin and silver-blond hair appeared behind Fett, whirling a spear. She attempted to strike him but Fett took off into the air before fleeing, realizing he could not defeat them all on his own.
"Merrin," the female Jedi called out and Merrin looked over at her.
"Kata. You did well," Merrin said.
"Would someone like to explain what's going on?" Leia demanded.
"They're part of the Hidden Path, an underground resistance against The Empire that protect those who use The Force. I ran into them a few years back when I was just starting out. I sent an encoded message to them after Vader arrived. I've been trying to stall for time ever since," Lando explained before glancing at Merrin. "What about Skywalker?"
"Cal is with him now; they are heading to the Mantis. We will meet them later, but we must depart now," Merrin said firmly.
Luke was following Cal down the hallway, still in disbelief that there was another Jedi out there when a flying object came flying at them. Cal immediately ignited his lightsaber and cut the object in half before Vader stepped into view, igniting his own lightsaber.
"Cere Junda has taught you well," Vader noted and felt the flash of anger surge through Cal.
"Do not say her name. You have no right," Cal said, his voice giving away nothing of his feelings on the matter.
"She was a worthy opponent. Out of respect for her, I will make this quick," Vader told him.
With surprising speed, Vader lunged for Cal. Cal brought up his blue lightsaber, blocking Vader's strike. Vader followed up with a few more parries that Cal found it difficult to block before Vader sent Cal flying with a Force Push. Cal hit a wall, hard before falling to the floor, seemingly out cold. Vader then turned, meeting Luke's blade with his own as the Padawan rushed him.
"It is useless to resist," Vader taunted as he and Luke parried. "Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did."
With more ferocity, Luke met Vader's blade with his own, parrying the Sith Lord back. But Vader was far more skilled and experienced, meeting all of Luke's thrusts of his lightsaber with ease. Then, when Luke tried to strike him, Vader swung his lightsaber, taking off Luke's saber hand. Luke cried out in pain, clutching the stump where his hand had been as his lightsaber extinguished, dropping to the floor.
"There is no escape, don't make me destroy you," Vader warned him as he lowered his lightsaber. "Luke, you've only began to understand your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. Join me, and with our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
"I'll never join you!" Luke declared, his body trembling with pain and shock at the loss of his hand.
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father," Vader taunted.
"He told me enough. He told me you killed him," Luke sneered.
"No. I am your father," Vader revealed and Luke stared in horror at the armored figure.
"No. That's not true, that's impossible!" Luke denied, anguish on his face and in his voice.
"Search your feelings, you know it to be true," Vader told him.
It was at that moment that Vader heard the ground cracking beneath him but, before he could do anything, the floor beneath his burst open and he fell through the gap with a surprised 'oof!'
Luke stared at the spot when Vader had vanished before looking up as Cal approached him.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Cal said before helping Luke stand, slinging Luke's wounded arm over his shoulder.
Fatigue and shock taking over, Luke said nothing as Cal led him down the hall and towards a landing pad. A ramp lowered as they approached and Cal dragged Luke up and into the ship. As they entered, a Latero was waiting until he jumped up.
"Cal, BD, thank the Force you're back. Oh," the Latero said as he spotted Luke's served hand. "Med-Bay?"
"First, get us out of here, Greez. Vader won't be far behind," Cal warned him and Greez nodded.
"Yeah, let's get out of here. Last thing we want is that monster coming in my ship," Greez said before heading to the cockpit.
As Cal headed with Luke to the med-bay, Greez began flying into the air and, once they were high enough, entered hyperspace, leaving Bespin behind.
Once Lando had issued an alert to the rest of Bespin to evacuate, he had led the others to the Falcon. They were currently in the air, about to jump into Hyperspace. Only, to the disbelief of everyone, nothing happened.
"They told me they fixed it! I trusted them!" Lando said angrily.
"I will buy you some time," Merrin said, pulling out what looked like half a glass orb.
Lando was about to ask what she meant when they noticed the orb glowing with green energy that quickly surrounded them all.
On a nearby Star Destroyer, the Imperials stared in disbelief as the Millennium Falcon disappeared from view, and from their scanners.
"We are now invisible to Imperial eyes and scanners. That will buy you the time you need to repair the Hyper Drive," Merrin told them.
Lando and Chewie immediately jumped up, departing for the back, Leia stepping up to the controls, none of them noticing as R2-D2 headed to a panel, plugging in. After a second, the Falcon gave a sudden lurch as it launched into Light Speed, leaving behind the Imperials.
A planet far from Bespin
Later
The Mantis and the Falcon had met up on a medical station, one that wasn't part of the Empire. After Han was unfrozen and was treated for Carbonite freezing sickness, they all stood in Luke's room as he was treated for his wounded hand and was fitted with a replacement.
"It was about six months after I started running Bespin. I met Cal and the others after they helped me out of a scrap. They gave me a way to contact them in case I ever needed help. Never thought I'd actually need it," Lando mused, looking over at Han. "I had to stall for as long as I could. I'm sorry, Han."
Han grumbled but didn't say another word on the subject. Lando winced but knew he'd have to earn Han's trust back in time.
"Cal Kestis. I've heard of you. You were a real thorn in The Empire's side ten years ago, then you just vanished," Han noted as he glanced at the red haired Jedi.
"I realized I wasn't accomplishing anything going about fighting the Empire the way I was," Cal admitted with a sigh. "I fought the symptoms of the disease, not making any real progress in beating it. Then, we learned about Tenalorr."
"Wait, Tenalorr? I thought that was just a myth," Han said in disbelief.
"So did I buddy, but it's real," Lando told him.
"What's Tenalorr?" Luke asked, wincing as the medical-droid poked his new fingers "Ow. Ow."
"It's a planet on the edge of the Kobah Abyss, thought it was just a myth," Han said in disbelief.
"It's not," Merrin said simply.
"During the High Republic, a Jedi figured out a way to navigate the Abyss, reach Tenalorr. But there was an invasion, and the Jedi had to withdraw. It was forgotten, until I found a droid, who told me the story. Now we use it as a base to protect those persecuted by the Empire. But it's a big galaxy, and there are many we can't help," Cal said regretfully.
"Why didn't you come to the Alliance? It would have been a great help," Leia pointed out.
"The Alliance didn't exist ten years ago," Merrin added.
"And when we found out, we weren't sure it could be trusted. The last time we let someone into the beginning of a rebellion…" Cal trailed off, pained eyes revealing all. "With Tenalorr, we weren't taking any chances."
"So we'd appreciate it if you kept this quiet," Greez pointed out.
"Secret's safe with me," Han shrugged and Chewie growled his agreement.
Luke nodded, as did Leia, although they could see she didn't entirely agree.
"What now?" Luke asked and Cal looked at him for a long moment.
"You've been trained in the art off The Force, I can sense it. Who trained you?" Cal inquired.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, at first. Then, for the last few weeks, Yoda," Luke said and Cal nodded.
"So Master Yoda is still alive. Where is he?" Cal inquired.
"On a planet called Dagobah, far beyond the Empire's reach," Luke said and Cal took a moment to process this news.
"I can't imagine he liked you going off to confront Vader," Cal noted.
"He didn't. He told me I should let my friends die," Luke admitted, still having a hard time believing that a Jedi could say such things.
"I'm not surprised. The Jedi of my time believed in no attachment to anything, save the Jedi themselves," Cal said.
"You don't sound like you believe that," Han noted and Cal chuckled.
"Well, I've had a lot of time to think. I was still a child when I was sent off to the Clone Wars. Jedi were supposed to be keepers of the peace, yet we became soldiers. The people we were supposed to protect became expendable when it was convenient. Next time you see him, ask Master Yoda about what happened to a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano," Cal told Luke, who merely watched him.
"So you're not going to Dagobah to seek him out."
"The Jedi of the past are gone. It's time to leave them behind. They came to ruin because of their arrogance and inability to change, to detach themselves from the Order and Jedi Code. I'm not going to make the same mistakes they did," Cal said and it was silent for a moment, save the Medical droid wandering off once Luke was fitted with his robotic hand. "Can I speak to Luke alone for a minute? Privately?"
Han, Leia and Chewie looked at Luke, who merely nodded. Reluctantly, they all left, Merrin giving Cal a quick kiss, saying something the rest of them couldn't hear before following the others out of the room.
"This is about Vader," Luke said, knowing Cal had heard what he said.
"Do you believe him?" Cal asked.
"I don't know. Do you?" Luke inquired.
"Not sure. I sensed no lie from him but…I met Anakin Skywalker once. It's hard to imagine he could become…that," Cal said and a beat passed.
"Ben, Obi-Wan. He knew. So did Yoda. How could they not tell me?" Luke wondered outload, still shaken by the revelation.
"The Jedi aren't perfect, Luke. I can't speculate as to their reasons, but I don't want to talk about them right now. I want to talk about you. What do you plan to do next?" Cal asked and Luke was silent.
"I don't know. Vader will never stop looking for me. I need to complete my training. But…I don't know how I can go back to Yoda with what I know," Luke sighed.
"Then don't," Cal offered and Luke looked at him in surprise. "Come with me, Merrin, Greez and Kata to Tenalorr. I can complete your training, Luke. And then, once you are ready, we will return and face Vader together."
"Cal…" Luke trailed off, uncertain.
While Cal's offer made sense, the idea of abandoning his friends and the Rebellion left a bad taste in his mouth.
"You don't have to answer right now. We're departing in the morning. Think about it, and then give me your answer. I should let you get some rest. You've…been through a lot," Cal gave Luke a pained smile. "May The Force be with you."
Cal then turned and walked out of the room, leaving Luke alone with his thoughts to consider Cal's offer.
The next morning, Luke stood outside The Mantis, saying goodbye to his friends.
"Luke, are you sure about this?" Leia asked uncertainly.
"No," Luke said honestly. "But I know I will face Vader again. I have to be ready. Cal seems like the best option. I can't go back to Yoda. I…learned something that makes me think I can't trust him. And something tells me that I have to go."
"I get it, kid. Do what you gotta do," Han said and Luke nodded.
"So, what's next for you, Han? Jabba won't stop coming for you," Luke pointed out and Han grimaced.
"I know. But I think I'm gonna stick around for a while. Let Jabba do his worst," Han said confidently, pleasing Leia, although she tried not to let it show on her face.
"Then I guess I'll see you when I get back. Take care," Luke said before turning to Chewie. "Try and keep Han out of trouble, huh Chewie?"
Chewie let out a growl of a laugh before pulling the surprised Luke into a hug. Luke chuckled before letting go and turning to Leia.
"Try not to worry. I'll be back," Luke promised and she smiled tightly.
"I hope so," Leia said before pulling him into a huge. "Take care."
"You too," Luke said, returning the hug. "Look after R2 while I'm gone."
"Of course. R2 will still be waiting when you get back," Leia said as she pulled back.
Luke nodded, taking one last look at his friends before turning and walking up the ramp. Upon entering the ship, he found the rest of the crew waiting for him.
"About time. Grab some seat, Luke. We're about to take off," Greez called back.
Luke merely nodded, sitting down as he buckled up. Whatever would happen next, he had made his choice.
Outside, Leia, Han, and Chewie watched as the Mantis rose up into the air until it vanished from their view.
"You think he'll be alright?" Leia asked.
"I don't know. I hope so. But right now, all we can do is hope Luke knows what he's doing," Han sighed, hoping Luke hadn't made a mistake and they hadn't made one by letting him leave.
Star Destroyer
Same time
Vader knelt before the holographic form of his Master, The Emperor Palpatine.
"So, Cal Krstis has returned," Palpatine noted.
"Wherever he is, he has taken my son with him," Vader said confidently.
"I agree, my Apprentice. But worry not; I have foreseen that Young Skywalker will come to you, eventually. And regardless of whether he turns…he will tell us where Kestis has been hiding," Palpatine said with matching confidence.
And that's that. I left it open ended in case I ever decide to come back to it (I doubt it but who knows) with my own version of ROTJ.
Kata would be played by Alexa Vega. Thank you to Bl4ckHunter for the suggestion.
Hope you all enjoyed it.
Until next time.