Escape from Cloud City

Luke and R2 carefully made their way along a deserted corridor. They'd landed without incident and had so far encountered no resistance. As they reached the end of the corridor, Luke 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. R2 chose that moment to let out a series of beeps and whistles, so 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 swung back just in time to avoid the blast, which impacted on the wall next to him.

The sounds of Fett's blaster fire could be heard in a nearby corridor, where Lando and the captive Rebels were heading down. Kali 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.

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, so Luke took cover and returned fire with his own pistol, managing to down one trooper. Kali managed to get free of the officer trying to hustle her away. "Luke! Luke, don't! Get outta here!" she managed to get out before the officer grabbed her and shoved her away down the corridor.

"It's a trap!" Leia managed to shout before she too was hustled away, 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. "Luke, over here!" a voice whispered from somewhere behind him, and he turned to see Juno hiding in an alcove, so he hurried over to her.

"Juno, what happened?" he asked.

"We were led into a trap by Vader." Juno told him. "I sensed something was wrong, so I hid. You shouldn't have come here, Luke." she warned. "Vader wants you."

"Yes, I know." Luke replied. "Well, if he wants me, he can have me."

"Luke, no!" Juno warned. "You don't stand a chance. Don't forget, Vader was once a Jedi, and the Force is strong with him. We have to avoid him."

"I can handle him, Juno." Luke brushed her off. "I've been with Yoda, and I've learned so much. Take R2 and help the others. I'll see ya later." And he hurried off down the corridor. His instincts led him to a darkened anteroom and the door slid shut behind him, separating him from Juno and R2.

"Men." Juno muttered to herself. "C'mon, R2, let's find the others." And she and R2 set off together.

~8~

Luke cautiously walked forward among hissing pipes and steam. Seeing an opening above him, he stopped to look up. As he did so, the platform he was standing on began to move. The rising platform took Luke to the carbon freezing chamber, which was deathly quiet. As he began to explore the chamber, the lights came on and Luke turned to see Vader standing at the top of the stairs. shrouded in steam and looking very much a harbinger of doom. "The Force is with you, young Skywalker." the Sith Lord said. "But you are not a Jedi yet."

Luke holstered his blaster and walked up the stairs towards Vader, eager to confront his opponent. He unclipped his lightsabre from his belt, ignited it's blue blade and stood at the ready, feeling confident. In an instance, Vader's own red-bladed lightsabre was lit. Luke lunged, but Vader repelled the blow. Again, Luke attacked, and the lightsabres of the two combatants clashed in battle. 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 which Luke only just managed to block.

~8~

Lando and the Imperials escorted Kali, Leia and Chewbacca through the corridors until they reached an intersection where Lobot and several Bespin guards were standing at attention. The guards immediately aimed their weapons at the startled Imperials and Lando 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 handed the confiscated blasters to Kali and Leia, then he began to undo Chewbacca's binders. "What do you think you're doing?!" Leia demanded.

"We're getting outta here." Lando answered.

3PO, still on Chewbacca's back, 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 as Chewbacca wrapped his strong arms around Lando's neck and began to throttle him.

"I had no choice." Lando choked out, trying to free himself from the Wookie's iron grip.

Leia snorted and looked at her friends. "Oh, we understand, don't we? He had no choice."

"There's always a choice." Kali told Lando, unimpressed. "You made the wrong one."

"Just trying to help." Lando wheezed.

"I think you've done enough." Kali said coldly.

"H-a-a...!" Lando gasped out.

"What?" Leia blinked.

"It sounds like Han." 3PO observed.

"There's still a chance to save Han..." Lando wheezed, "at the east... platform."

Both Leia and Kali 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." 3PO 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, Kali and Chewbacca sped round a corner to find Juno and R2 coming the other way. "R2, where have you been?" 3PO exclaimed.

"Juno! Are you a sight for sore eyes!" Leia breathed in relief.

"Where's Luke?" Kali asked the Jedi.

"Went to face Vader." Juno answered. Then she saw Lando. "What's he doing here?"

"It's alright, he's helping us. I think." Leia answered. "Hurry! We've gotta save Han from the bounty hunter. And so the group hurried off again.

"Well, at least you're still in one piece." 3PO commented to R2. "Look what happened to me!"

The group raced to the east platform just in time to see Slave 1 speeding away into the sunset. Chewbacca gave a howl of anguish and fired in vain at the departing ship, while Kali 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!" 3PO cried, pulling the Rebels out of their grief and they turned to see a squad of Stormtroopers running towards them from behind. With lightning fast reflexes, Juno ignited her lightsabre and began deflecting the Stormtrooper's fire, while her friends returned fire with their blasters. Laser bolts flew in all directions, but the Rebels remained unscathed. Once the ambush had been dealt with, the group hurried off back down the corridor towards the lift.

~8~

Down in the carbon freezing chamber, Luke and Vader were locked in combat, 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. Another lighting move at Luke's feet forced him to jump back to protect himself. Losing his balance, he rolled down the stairs to the main platform. There he sprawled on the floor, surprised. Just in time he looked up to see Vader flying straight at him like a giant black bird. Luke rolled away as Vader landed. Crouching, he kept his gaze steadily on his enemy.

"Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker." Vader said. "Obi-Wan knew this to be true."

"No!" Luke growled, backing away from the Sith Lord. Behind him, the freezing pit had opened noiselessly and he was backing straight towards the opening.

Suddenly, Vader attacked so forcefully that Luke lost his balance and fell in 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 on the carbonite outlet, having jumped out of the pit in the nick of time. "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 jump down and use the Force to retrieve his own lightsabre. The duel resumed, with Luke swinging several strikes at Vader, which the Sith Lord blocked with no effort at all. "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."

Breathing hard, Luke jumped in the air, turning a somersault over Vader. He landed on the floor and slashed at Vader as the room continued to fill with steam. Vader retreated before Luke's swordsmanship, blocking the attacks, but he lost his balance and fell into the outer rim of pipes. The energy Luke had used to stop Vader had brought him to the point of collapse. Panting heavily, he moved to the edge and looked down, but saw no sign of Vader. 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 reactor control 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 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.

"Leave it to me." Juno told him, stepping forward with her lightsabre at the ready. She plunged the purple blade into the door and began cutting through the steel like a knife through butter.

"Ya know, Juno, there are times when I envy you and Luke." Kali remarked as she, Leia and Chewbacca stood guard with their blasters at the ready.

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."

Juno soon finished cutting through the door. "Stand back." she warned the others, and kicked in the panel she'd cut.

"This way." Lando told the group, and led the way through the opening Juno had created.

The group hurried down the corridor, 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. R2 hurried over to the computer terminal and got to work with his data link, while Leia and Kali stood guard in the corridor, shooting any Stormtroopers who approached them and Juno deflected the Imperials' fire with her lightsabre. Chewbacca was standing close to the door, picking off any troopers who tried to ambush them that way. R2 beeped something to 3PO.

"Ah! We're not interested in the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon, it's fixed!" 3PO told him impatiently as a laser blast impacted the wall right next to him.

R2 beeped something else, persisting about the hyperdrive.

"Just open the door, you stupid lump!" 3PO demanded.

With a triumphant beep from R2, the door slid open to reveal the Millennium Falcon waiting on the other side.

"I never doubted you for a second. Wonderful!" 3PO praised.

With the door open, Lando hurried over to where the women were standing their ground. He had to admit, Leia and Kali were outstanding shots, while Juno handled her lightsabre with effortless ease. "Come on!" he urged, taking Leia's arm and leading her away towards the door. "You two as well!"

"Yeah, coming." Kali waved him off, bending down to snatch a concussion grenade off a dead Stormtrooper, then she and Juno fell back to join the others. "R2, cover us!" she ordered R2 as they passed him, and the droid used his fire extinguisher to create a smoke screen to blind the Imperials, then he, Juno and Kali 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 3PO 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.

R2 trundled up the ramp after them, while Kali and Juno joined Leia and Lando. Kali then primed the fuse on the grenade 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, Kali." Lando praised. "Now go! You girls too." he told Juno and Leia.

"What about Luke?" Kali asked as they began to retreat up the ramp into the ship.

"I'm afraid he'll have to find his own way off the planet." Leia told her grimly.

Once everyone was aboard, Chewbacca started up the engines, ready to make their escape. R2 meanwhile was towing the partially reassembled 3PO towards the passenger compartment. "I thought that hairy beast would be the end of me." the Protocol droid moaned.

R2 beeped a witty remark about his counterpart's appearance.

"Of course I've looked better!" 3PO retorted.

In the cockpit, Chewbacca worked the controls as Lando and the women joined him. Juno took Han's seat and pulled back on the throttles. The Millennium Falcon lifted off gracefully from Cloud City and roared away into the twilight sky.

Author's notes: And so Luke begins his confrontation with Vader. As you can see, I decided to have him face Vader alone and have Juno join the others. This choice was determined by me being unable to figure out a way to make the duel play out with Juno being there too. Instead, she gets to put her lightsabre to use in the escape attempt. Kali meanwhile gets to do a Battlefront 2004 and use a grenade to knock Stormtroopers to their death. That was a good strategy on the Bespin platforms level in that game. Next time we get Vader's earthshattering revelation. See you then!