Six Imperial stormtroopers guarded Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca as they marched through the inner corridor of Cloud City. They reached an intersection when twelve of Lando's guards, and his aide, arrived to block their path.
"Code Force Seven," Lando commanded as he stopped in front of his aide.
At that moment the twelve guards aimed their laser weapons at the startled stormtroopers, and Lando's aide calmly took the six troopers' weapons from them. He handed one of the guns to Leia and one to Lando, then waited for the next order.
"Hold them in the security tower," the Cloud City administrator said. "Quietly! No one must know."
The guards and Lando's aide, carrying the extra weapons, marched the stormtroopers away to the tower.
Leia had watched this rapid turn of events in confusion. But her confusion turned to astonishment when Lando, the man who had betrayed Han Solo, began removing Chewbacca's bonds.
"Come, on," he urged. "We're getting out of here."
The Wookiee's giant hands were freed at last. Not caring to wait for explanations, Chewbacca turned toward the man who had freed him, and with a blood-curdling roar, lunged at Lando and began to throttle him.
"After what you did to Han," Leia said, "I wouldn't trust you to¡ª"
Lando, desperately trying to free himself from Chewbacca's ferocious grip, tried to explain. "I had no choice," he began¡ªbut the Wookiee interrupted him with an angry bark.
"There's still a chance to save Han," Lando gasped. "They're at the East Platform."
"Chewie," Leia said at last, "let's go!"
Still fuming, Chewbacca released Lando and glared at him as Calrissian fought to regain his breath.
"Keep your eyes on him, Chewie," Leia cautioned as the Wookiee growled threateningly.
"I have a feeling," Lando muttered under his breath, "that I'm making another big mistake."
The stout little R2 unit meandered up and down the corridor, sending his scanners in every possible direction as he tried to detect some sign of his master¡ªor of any kind of life. He realized he was dreadfully turned around and had lost track of how many meters he had traveled.
As Artoo-Detoo turned a corner he spotted a number of forms moving up the corridor. Beeping and whistling droid greetings, he hoped that these were friendly sorts.
His tooting was detected by one of the creatures, who began to call out to him.
"Artoo¡Artoo¡" It was Threepio!
Chewbacca, still carrying the semiassembled See-Threepio, quickly turned around to see the stubby R2 droid rolling their way. But as the Wookiee turned, Threepio was spun out of sight of his friend.
"Wait!" the aggravated Threepio demanded. "Turn around, you woolly¡Artoo, hurry! We're trying to save Han from the bounty hunter."
Artoo scooted forward, beeping all the way, and Threepio patiently replied to his frantic questions.
"I know. But Master Luke can take care of himself." At least that was what See-Threepio kept telling himself as the group continued its search for Han.
On the East Landing Platform of Cloud City, two guards shoved the frozen body of Han Solo through a side hatchway of the Slave 1. Boba Fett climbed up a ladder next to the opening and boarded his ship, ordering it sealed as soon as he entered the cockpit.
Fett ignited his ship's engines and the craft began rolling across the platform for takeoff.
Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca raced onto the platform in time only to see the Slave 1 lifting off and soaring into the orange and purple of the Cloud City sunset. Raising his blaster, Chewbacca howled and fired the weapon at the departing spaceship.
"It's no use," Lando told him. "They're out of range."
All but Threepio gazed at the departing craft. Still strapped to Chewbacca's back, he saw something that the others had not yet noticed.
"Oh, my, no!" he exclaimed.
Charging the group was a squad of Imperial stormtroopers, blasts already issuing from their drawn blasters. The first bolt narrowly missed Princess Leia. Lando responded quickly in returning the enemy fire, and the air was ablaze with a brilliant criss-cross of red and green bolts.
Artoo scooted over to the platform's elevator and hid inside, peeking out to see the fury of the battle from a safe distance.
Lando shouted above the sounds of the blasters. "Come on, let's move!" he called, breaking for the open elevator and blasting at the stormtroopers as he ran.
But Leia and Chewbacca did not move. They stood their ground and kept up a steady fire against the assault of the stormtroopers. Troopers groaned and dropped as their chests, arms, and stomachs erupted under the fatally accurate aim of this one female human and one male Wookiee.
Lando, sticking his head out of the elevator, tried to get their attention, motioning them to run. But the two seemed possessed as they blasted away, getting retaliation for all of their anger and captivity and the loss of one they both loved. They were determined to extinguish the lives of these minions of the Galactic Empire.
Threepio would gladly have been anywhere else. Unable to get away, all he could do was frantically yell for help. "Artoo, help me!" he screamed. "How did I get into this? What a fate worse than death it is to be strapped to the back of a Wookiee!"
"Get in here!" Lando shouted again. "Hurry up! Hurry up!"
Leia and Chewbacca began to move toward him, evading the erupting rain of laser fire as they rushed inside the waiting elevator. As the elevator door closed, they glimpsed the remaining troopers racing at them.
Lightsaber clashed in Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's battle on the platform above the carbon-freezing chamber.
Luke felt the shaking platform shudder with every blow and parry and thrust of their weapons. But he was undaunted, for with every thrust of his sword he drove the evil Darth Vader back.
Vader, using his lightsaber to ward off Luke's aggressive lunges, spoke calmly as they fought. "The fear does not reach you. You have learned more than I anticipated."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises," the confident youth retorted, threatening Vader with yet another thrust.
"And I, too," was the calm, portentous reply.
With two graceful moves, the Dark Lord hooked Luke's weapon out of his hands and sent it flying away. A slash of Vader's energy blade at Luke's feet made the youth jump back in an effort to protect himself. But he stumbled backward, and tumbled down the stairs.
Sprawled on the platform, Luke gazed up and saw the ominous dark figure looming above him at the top of the stairs. Then the figure flew right at him, its sable cloak billowing out in the air like the wings of a monstrous bat.
Quickly Luke rolled to one side, not taking his eyes off Vader, as the vast black figure landed soundlessly next to him.
"Your future lies with me, Skywalker," Vader hissed, looming over the crouching youth. "Now you will embrace the dark side. Obi-wan knew this to be true."
"No!" Luke yelled, trying to fight off the evil presence.
"There is much Obi-wan did not tell you," Vader continued. "Come, I will complete your training."
Vader's influence was incredibly strong; it seemed to Luke like a thing alive.
Don't listen to him, Luke told himself. He is trying to trick me, to lead me astray, to lead me to the dark side of the Force, just like Ben warned me!
Luke began to back away from the advancing Sith Lord. Behind the youth, the hydraulic elevator cover silently opened, ready to receive him.
"I'll die first," Luke proclaimed.
"That won't be necessary." The Dark Lord suddenly lunged at Luke with his lightsaber, so forcefully that the youth lost his balance and tumbled into the gaping opening.
Vader turned away from the freezing-pit and casually deactivated his lightsaber. "All too easy," he shrugged. "Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought."
As he spoke, molten metal began to pour into the opening behind him. And, while his back was still turned, something rose in a blur upward.
"Time will tell," Luke quietly replied to Vader's remark.
The Dark Lord spun around. At this point in the freezing process, the subject certainly shouldn't be able to speak! Vader glanced around the room and then turned his helmeted head up toward the ceiling.
Hanging from some hoses draped across the ceiling, Luke was suspended, having leaped some five meters into the air to escape the carbonite.
"Impressive," Vader admitted, "your agility is impressive."
Luke dropped back to the platform on the other side of the steaming pit. He reached his hand out and his sword, lying on another part of the platform, flew back into his grip. Immediately the lightsaber ignited.
Vader's sword sprang to life at the very same moment. "Ben has taught you well. You have controlled your fear. Now release your anger. I destroyed your family. Take your revenge."
But this time Luke was cautious and more controlled. If he could subdue his anger, as he had finally controlled his fear, he would not be swayed.
Remember the training, Luke cautioned himself. Remember what Yoda taught! Cast out all hatred and anger and receive the Force!
Gaining control over his negative feelings, Luke began to advance, ignoring Vader's goading. He lunged at Vader and, after a quick exchange, began to force him back.
"Your hatred can give you the power to destroy me," Vader tempted. "Use it."
Luke began to realize just how awesomely powerful his dark enemy was, and softly told himself, "I will not become a slave to the dark side of the Force," and moved cautiously toward Vader.
As Luke approached, Vader slowly moved backward in retreat. Luke lunged at him with a powerful swing. But when Vader blocked it, he lost his balance and fell into the outer rim of steaming pipes.
Luke's knee nearly buckled with the exhaustion of battling his fearsome opponent. He gathered his strength and cautiously moved to the edge and looked down. But he saw no sign of Vader. Switching off his lightsaber and hooking it into his belt, Luke lowered himself into the pit.
He dropped to the floor of the pit and found himself in a large control and maintenance room that overlooked the reactor powering the entire city. Looking around the chamber, he noticed a large window; standing silhouetted in front of it was the unmoving figure of Darth Vader.
Luke slowly moved closer to the window and reignited his lightsaber.
But Vader did not light his own sword, nor did he make any effort to defend himself as Luke drew nearer. The Dark Lord's only weapon, in fact, was his tempting voice. "Attack," he goaded the young Jedi. "Destroy me."
Confused by Vader's ploy, Luke hesitated.
"Only by taking your revenge can you save yourself¡"
Luke stood locked in place. Should he act on Vader's words and thus used the Force as a tool of revenge? Or should he step away from this battle now, hoping for another chance to fight Vader when he had gained better control?
No, how could he delay the opportunity to destroy this evil being? Here was his chance, now, and he must not delay¡
There might never again be such an opportunity!
Luke grasped his deadly lightsaber in both hands, tightly gripping the smooth handle like an ancient broadsword and raising the weapon to deliver the blow that would slay this masked horror.
But before he could swing, a large piece of machinery detached itself from the wall behind him and came hurtling at his back. Turning instantly, Luke flashed his lightsaber and cut the thing in half, and the two massive pieces crashed to the floor.
A second piece of machinery sped toward the youth, and he again used the Force to deflect it. The weighty object bounced away as if it had struck an unseen shield. Then a large pipe came tumbling toward him through the air. But even as Luke repelled that enormous object, tools and pieces of machinery came flying at him from all directions. Then wires, that pulled themselves out of the walls, came twisting and sparking and whipping at him.
Bombarded on all sides, Luke did what he could to deflect the assault; but he was beginning to get bloodied and bruised in the attempt.
Another large piece of machinery glanced off Luke's body and crashed out the large window, letting in the screaming wind. Suddenly everything in the room was blown about, and the fierce wind lashed Luke's body and filled the room with a bansheelike howl.
And in the very center of the room, standing still and triumphant, was Darth Vader.
"You are beaten," the Dark Lord of the Sith gloated. "It is useless to resist. You will join me or you will join Obi-wan in death!"
As Vader spoke those words, a final piece of heavy machinery soared through the air, striking the young Jedi and knocking him through the broken window. Everything became a great blur as the wind carried him, tossing and rolling, until he managed to grab hold of a beam with one hand.
When the wind subsided a bit and his vision cleared, Luke realized that he was hanging from the gantry of the reactor shaft outside the control room. When he gazed down he saw what appeared to be an endless abyss. A wave of dizziness swept over him and he squeezed his eyes closed in an effort to keep from panicking.
Compared to the podlike reactor from which he hung, Luke was no more than a speck of squirming matter, while the pod itself¡ªjust one of many jutting from the circular, light-dotted inner wall¡ªwas no more than a speck itself in comparison with the rest of the immense chamber.
Grasping the beam firmly with only one hand, Luke managed to hook his lightsaber on to his belt and then grab the beam with both hands. Hoisting on it, just in time to see Darth Vader walking toward him down the shaft.
As Vader approached Luke, the public address system began to blare, echoing through the cavernous rooms: "Fugitives heading toward Platform 327. Secure all transports. All security forces on alert."
Walking menacingly toward Luke, Vader predicted, "Your friends will never escape and neither will you."
Vader took another step, and Luke immediately raised his sword, ready to renew the battle.
"You are beaten," Vader stated with horrifying certainty and finality. "It is useless to resist."
But Luke did resist. He lunged at the Dark Lord with a vicious blow, bringing his sizzling laser blade to crash onto Vader's armor and sear through to the flesh. Vader staggered from the blow, and it seemed to Luke that he was in pain. But only for a moment. Then, once again, Vader began to move toward him.
Taking another step, the Dark Lord warned, "Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-wan was."
Luke was breathing hard, cold sweat dropping from his forehead. But the sound of Ben's name instilled a sudden resolve in him.
"Calm¡ª" he reminded himself. "Be calm."
But the grimly cloaked specter stalked toward him along the narrow gentry, and it seemed he wanted the young Jedi's life.
Or worse, his fragile soul.
Lando, Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids hurried down a corridor. They turned a corner and saw the door to the landing platform standing open. Through it they glimpsed the Millennium Falcon waiting for their escape. But suddenly the door slammed shut. Ducking into an alcove, the group saw a squad of stormtroopers charging them, their laser guns blasting as they ran. Chunks of wall and floor shattered and flew into the air with the impact of the ricocheting energy beams.
Chewbacca growled, returning the stormtroopers' fire with savage Wookiee rage. He covered Leia, who punched desperately at the door's control panel. But the door failed to budge.
"Artoo!" Threepio called. "The control panel. You can override the alert system."
Threepio gestured at the panel, urging the little robot to hurry, and pointing out a computer socket on the control board.
Artoo-Detoo scooted toward the control panel, beeping and whistling as he scurried to help.
Twisting his body to avoid the burning laser bolts, Lando feverishly worked to connect this comlink to the panel's intercom.
"This is Calrissian," he broadcast over the system. "The Empire is taking control of the city. I advise you to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."
He switched off the communicator. Lando knew that he had done what he could to warn his people; his job now was to get his friends safely off the planet.
Meanwhile, Artoo removed a connector cover and inserted an extended computer arm into the waiting socket. The droid issued a short beep that suddenly turned into a wild robot scream. He began to quiver, his circuits lighting up in a mad display of flashing brilliance, and every orifice in his hull spewing smoke. Lando quickly pulled Artoo away from the power socket. As the droid began to cool off, he directed a few wilted beeps Threepio's way.
"Well, next time you pay more attention," Threepio replied defensively. "I'm not supposed to know power sockets from computer feeds. I'm an interpreter¡ª"
"Anybody else got any ideas?" Leia shouted as she stood firing at the attacking stormtroopers.
"Come on," Lando answered over the din of the battle, "we'll try another way."
The wind that shrieked through the reactor shaft entirely absorbed the sounds of the clashing lightsabers.
Luke moved agilely across the gantry and took refuge beneath a huge instrument panel to evade his pursuing foe. But Vader was there in an instant, his lightsaber thrashing down like a pulsating guillotine blade, cutting the instrument complex loose. the complex began to fall, but was abruptly caught by the wind and blown upward.
An instant of distraction was all Vader needed. As the instrument panel floated away, Luke involuntarily glanced at it. At that second, the Dark Lord's laser blade came slashing down across Luke's hand, cutting it, and sending the youth's lightsaber flying.
The pain was excruciating. Luke smelled the terrible odor of his own seared flesh and squeezed his forearm beneath his armpit to try to stop the agony. He stepped backward along the gantry until he reached its extreme end, stalked all the while by the black-garbed apparition.
Abruptly, ominously, the wind subsided. And Luke realized he had nowhere else to go.
"There is no escape," the Dark Lord of the Sith warned, looming over Luke like a black angel of death. "Don't make me destroy you. You are strong with the Force. Now you must learn to use the dark side. Join me and together we will be more powerful than the Emperor. Come, I will complete your training and we will rule the galaxy together."
Luke refused to give in to Vader's taunts. "I will never join you!"
"If you only knew the power of the dark side," Vader continued. "Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father, did he?"
mention of his father aroused Luke's anger. "He told me enough!" he yelled. "He told me you killed him."
"No," Vader replied calmly. "I am your father."
Stunned, Luke stared with disbelief at the black-clad warrior and then pulled away at this revelation. The two warriors stood staring at one another, father and son.
"No, no! That's not true¡" Luke said, refusing to believe what he had just heard. "That's impossible."
"Search your feelings," Vader said, sounding like an evil version of Yoda, "you know it to be true."
Then Vader turned off the blade of his lightsaber and extended a steady and inviting hand.
Bewildered and horror-stricken at Vader's words, Luke shouted, "No! No!"
Vader continued persuasively. "Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way."
Luke's mind whirled with those words. Everything was finally beginning to coalesce in his brain. Or was it? He wondered if Vader were telling him the truth¡ªif the training of Yoda, the teaching of saintly old Ben, his own strivings for good and his abhorrence of evil, if everything he had fought for were no more than a lie.
He didn't want to believe Vader, tried convincing himself that it was Vader who lied to him¡ªbut somehow he could feel the truth in the Dark Lord's words. But, if Darth Vader did speak the truth, why, he wondered, had Ben Kenobi lied to him? Why? His mind screamed louder than any wind the Dark Lord could ever summon against him.
The answers no longer seemed to matter.
His Father.
With the calmness that Ben himself and Yoda, the Jedi Master, had taught him, Luke Skywalker made, perhaps, what might be his final decision of all. "Never," Luke shouted as he stepped out into the empty abyss beneath him. For all its unperceived depth, Luke might have been falling to another galaxy.
Darth Vader moved to the end of the gantry to watch as Luke tumbled away. A strong wind began to blow, billowing Vader's black cloak out behind him as he stood looking over the edge.
Skywalker's body quickly plunged downward. Toppling head over foot, the wounded Jedi desperately reached out to grab at something to stop his fall.
The Dark Lord watched until he saw the youth's body sucked into a large exhaust pipe in the side of the reactor shaft. When Luke vanished, Vader quickly turned and hurried off the platform.
Luke sped through the exhaust shaft trying to grab the sides to slow his fall. But the smooth, shiny sides of the pipe had no hand-holes or ridges for Luke to grasp.
At last he came to the end of the tunnellike pipe, his feet striking hard against a circular grill. The grill, which opened over an apparently bottomless drop, was knocked out by the impact of Luke's momentum, and he felt his body starts to slide out through the opening. Frantically clawing at the smooth interior of the pipe, Luke began to call out for assistance.
"Ben¡Ben, help me," he pleaded desperately.
Even as he called out, he felt his fingers slip along the inside of the pipe, while his body inched ever closer to the yawning opening.
Cloud City was in chaos.
As soon as Lando Calrissian's broadcast was heard throughout the city, its residents began to panic. Some of them packed a few belongings, others just rushed out into the streets seeking escape. Soon the streets were filled with running humans and aliens, rushing chaotically through the city. Imperial stormtroopers charged after the fleeing inhabitants, exchanging laser fire with them in a raging, clamorous battle.
In one of the city's central corridors, Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca held off a squad of stormtroopers by blasting heavy rounds of laser bolts at the Imperial warriors. It was urgent that Lando and the others hold their ground, for they had come upon another entrance that would lead them to the landing platform. If only Artoo succeeded in opening the door.
Artoo was trying to remove the plate from this door's control panel. But because of the noise and distraction of the laser fire blasting around him, it was difficult for the little droid to concentrate on his work. He beeped to himself as he worked, sounding a bit befuddled to Threepio.
"What are you talking about?" Threepio called to him. "We're not interested in the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon. It's fixed. Just tell the computer to open the door."
Then, as Lando, Leia, and the Wookiee edged toward the door, dodging heavy Imperial laser fire, Artoo beeped triumphantly and the door snapped open.
"Artoo, you did it!" Threepio exclaimed. The droid would have applauded had his other arm been attached. "I never doubted you for a second."
"Hurry," Lando shouted, "or we'll never make it."
The helpful R2 unit came through once again. As the others dashed through the entrance, the stout robot sprayed out a thick fog¡ªas dense as the clouds surrounding this world¡ªthat obscured his friends from the encroaching stormtroopers. Before the cloud had cleared, Lando and the others were racing toward Platform 327.
The stormtroopers followed, blasting at the small band of fugitive bolting toward the Millennium Falcon. Chewbacca and the robots boarded the freighter while Lando and Leia covered them with their blasters, cutting down still more of the Emperor's warriors.
When the low-pitched roar of the Falcon's engines started and then rose to an ear-battering whine, Lando and Leia discharged a few more bolts of brilliant energy. Then they sprinted up the ramp. They entered the pirate ship and the main hatchway closed behind them. And as the ship began to move, they heard a barrage of Imperial laser fire that sounded as if the entire planet were splitting apart at its foundations.
Luke could no longer slow his inexorable slide out the exhaust pipe.
He slid the final few centimeters and then dropped through the cloudy atmosphere, his body spinning and his arms flailing to grip on to something solid.
After what seemed like forever, he caught hold of an electronic weather vane that jutted out from the bowllike underside of Cloud City. Winds buffeted him and clouds swirled around him as he held on tightly to the weather vane. But his strength was beginning to fail; he didn't think he could hang like this¡ªsuspended above the gaseous surface¡ªfor very much longer.
All was very quiet in the Millennium Falcon cockpit.
Leia, just catching her breath from their close escape, sat in Han Solo's chair. Thoughts of him rushed to her mind, but she tried not to worry about him, tried not to miss him.
Behind the princess, looking over her shoulder out the front windscreen, stood a silent and exhausted Lando Calrissian.
Slowly the ship began to move, picking up speed as it coursed along the landing platform.
The giant Wookiee, in his old copilot's chair, threw a series of switches that brought a dancing array of lights across the ship's main control panel. Pulling the throttle, Chewbacca began to guide the ship upward, to freedom.
Clouds rushed by the cockpit windows and everyone finally breathed with relief as the Millennium Falcon soared into a red-orange twilight sky.
Luke managed to hook one of his legs over the electronic weather vane, which continued to support his weight. But air from the exhaust pipe rushed at him, making it difficult for him to keep from slipping off the vane.
"Ben¡" he moaned in agony. "¡Ben."
Darth Vader strode onto the empty landing platform and watched the speck that was the Millennium Falcon disappears in the far distance.
He turned to his two aides. "Bring my ship in!" he commanded. And then he left, black robes flowing behind him, to prepare for his journey.
Somewhere near the supporting stalk of Cloud City, Luke spoke again. Concentrating his mind on one whom he thought cared for him and might somehow come to his aid, he called, "Leia, hear me." Pitifully he cried out once again. "Leia."
Just then, a large piece of the weather vane broke off and went hurtling off into the clouds far below. Luke tightened his grip on what remained of the vane, and strained to hold on in the blast of air rushing at him from the pipe above.
"It looks like three fighters," Lando said to Chewbacca as they watched the computer-screen configurations. "We can outdistance them easily," he added, knowing the capabilities of the freighter as well as Han Solo did. Looking at Leia, he mourned the passing of his administratorship. "I know that setup was too good to last," he moaned. "I'm going to miss it."
But Leia seemed to be in a daze. She didn't acknowledge Lando's comments, but stared straight ahead of her as if transfixed. Then, out of her dreamlike trance, she spoke. "Luke?" she said, as if responding to something she heard.
"What?" Lando asked.
"We've got to go back," she said urgently. "Chewie, head for the bottom of the city."
Lando looked at her in astonishment. "Wait a minute. We're not going back there!"
The Wookiee barked, for once in agreement with Lando.
"No argument," Leia said firmly, assuming the dignity of one accustomed to having her orders obeyed. "Just do it! That's a command!"
"What about those fighters?" Lando argued as he pointed to three TIE fighters closing in on them. He looked to Chewbacca for support.
But, growling menacingly, Chewbacca conveyed that he knew who was in command now.
"Okay, okay," Lando quietly acquiesced.
With all the grace and speed for which the Millennium Falcon was famed, the ship banked through the clouds and turned back toward the city. And, as the freighter continued on what could become a suicide run, the three pursuing TIE fighters matched its turn.
Luke Skywalker was unaware of the Millennium Falcon's approach. Barely conscious, he somehow maintained his hold on the creaking and swaying weather vane. The device bent under the weight of his body, then completely broke off from its foundation, and sent Luke tumbling helplessly through the sky. And this time, he knew, there would be nothing for him to cling to as he fell.
"Look!" Lando exclaimed, indicating a figure plunging in the distance. "Someone's falling¡"
Leia managed to remain calm; she knew that panic would doom them all. "Get under him, Chewie," she told the pilot. "It's Luke."
Chewbacca immediately responded and carefully eased the Millennium Falcon on a descent trajectory.
"Lando," Leia called, turning to him, "open the top hatch."
As he rushed out of the cockpit, Lando thought it a strategy worthy of Solo himself.
Chewbacca and Leia could see Luke's plunging body more clearly, and the Wookiee guided the ship toward him. As Chewie retarded the ship's speed drastically, the plummeting form skimmed the windscreen and then landed with a thud against the outer hull.
Lando opened the upper hatch. In the distance he glimpsed the three TIE fighters approaching the Falcon, their laser guns brightening the twilight sky with streaks of hot destruction. Lando stretched his body out of the hatch and reached to grasp the battered warrior and pull him inside the ship. Just then Falcon lurched as a bolt exploded near it, and almost threw Luke's body overboard. But Lando caught his hand and held on tightly.
The Millennium Falcon veered away from Cloud City and soared through the thick billowing cloud cover. Swerving to avoid the blinding flak from the TIE fighters, Princess Leia and the Wookiee pilot struggled to keep their ship skyborne. But explosions burst all around the cockpit, the din competing with Chewbacca's howl as he frantically worked the controls.
Leia switched on the intercom. "Lando, is he all right?" she shouted over the noise in the cockpit. "Lando, do you hear me?"
From the rear of the cockpit, she heard a voice that wasn't Lando's. "He'll survive," Luke replied faintly.
Leia and Chewbacca turned to see Luke, bettered and bloodied and wrapped in a blanket, being helped into the cockpit by Lando. The princess jumped up from her chair and hugged him ecstatically. Chewbacca, still trying to guide the ship out of the TIE fighter' range of fire, threw back his head and barked in jubilation.
Behind the Millennium Falcon, the planet of clouds was receding farther in the distance. But the TIE fighters kept up their close pursuit, firing their laser weapons and rocking the pirate craft with each on-target hit.
Working diligently in the Falcon's hold, Artoo-Detoo struggled against the constant lunging and tossing to reassemble his golden friend. Meticulously trying to undo the mistakes of the well-intentioned Wookiee, the little droid beeped as he performed the intricate task.
"Very good," the protocol droid praised. His head was on properly and his second arm was nearly completely reattached. "Good as new."
Artoo beeped apprehensively.
"No, Artoo, don't worry. I'm sure we'll make it this time."
But in the cockpit, Lando was not so optimistic. He saw the warning lights on the control panel begin to flash; suddenly alarms all over the ship went on. "The deflector shields are going," he reported to Leia and Chewbacca.
Leia looked over Lando's shoulder and noticed another blip, ominously large, that had appeared on radarscope. "There's another ship," she said, "much bigger, trying to cut us off."
Luke quietly gazed out the cockpit window toward the starry void. Almost to himself, he said, "It's Vader."
Admiral Piett approached Vader, who stood on the bridge of this, the greatest of all Imperial Star Destroyers, and stared out the windows.
"They'll be in range of the tractor beam in moments," the admiral reported confidently.
"And their hyperdrive has been deactivated?" Vader asked.
"Right after they were captured, sir."
"Good," the giant black-robed figure said. "Prepare for the boarding and set your weapons for stun."
The Millennium Falcon so far had managed to evade its TIE fighter pursuers. But could it escape attack from the ominous Star Destroyer that pressed toward it, ever closer?
"We don't have any room for mistakes," Leia said tensely, watching the large blip on the monitors.
"If my men said they fixed this baby, they fixed it," Lando assured her. "We've got nothing to worry about."
"Sounds familiar," Leia mused to herself.
The ship was rocked again by the concussion of another laser explosion, but at that moment a green light began flashing on the control panel.
"The coordinates are set, Chewie," Leia said. "It's now or never."
The Wookiee barked in agreement. He was ready for the hyperdrive escape.
"Punch it!" Lando yelled.
Chewbacca shrugged as if to say it was worth a try. He pulled back on the light-speed throttle, suddenly altering the sound of the ion engines. All on board were praying in human and droid fashion that the system would work; they had no other hope of escape. But abruptly the sound choked and died and Chewbacca roared a howl of desperate frustration.
Again the hyperdrive system had failed them.
And still the Millennium Falcon lurched with the TIE fighters' fire.
From his Imperial Star Destroyer, Darth Vader watched in fascination as the Tie fighters relentlessly fired at the Millennium Falcon. Vader's ship was closing in on the fleeing Falcon¡ªit would not be long before the Dark Lord had Skywalker completely in his power.
And Luke sensed it, too. Quietly he gazed out, knowing that Vader was near, that his victory over the weakened Jedi would soon be complete. His body was battered, was exhausted; his spirit was prepared to succumb to his fate. There was no reason to fight any more¡ªthere was nothing left to believe in.
"Ben," he whispered in utter despair, "why didn't you tell me?"
Lando tried to adjust some controls, and Chewbacca leaped from his chair to race the hold. Leia took Chewbacca's seat and helped Lando as they flew the Falcon through the exploding flak.
As the Wookiee ran into the hold, he passed Artoo, who was still working on Threepio. The R2 unit began to beep in great consternation as he scanned the Wookiee frantically trying to fix the hyperdrive system.
"I said we're doomed!" the panicked Threepio told Artoo. "The light-speed engines are malfunctioning again."
Artoo beeped as he connected a leg.
"How could you know what's wrong?" the golden droid scoffed. "Ouch! Mind my foot! And stop chattering on so."
Lando's voice sounded in the hold through the intercom. "Chewie, check the secondary deviation controls."
Chewbacca dropped into the hold's pit. He fought to loosen a section of the paneling with an enormous wrench. But it failed to budge. Roaring in frustration, he gripped the tool like a club and bashed the panel with all his strength.
Suddenly the cockpit control panel sprayed Lando and the princess with a shower of sparks. They jumped back in their seats in surprise, but Luke didn't seemed to notice anything happening around him. His head hung in discouragement and deep pain.
"I won't be able to resist him," he muttered softly.
Again Lando banked the Millennium Falcon, trying to shed the pursuers. But the distance between the freighter and TIE fighters was narrowing by the moment.
In the Millennium Falcon's hold, Artoo raced to a control panel, leaving an outraged Threepio to stand sputtering in place on his one attached leg. Artoo worked swiftly, relying only on mechanical instinct to reprogram the circuit board. Lights flashed brightly with each of Artoo's adjustments, when suddenly, from deep within the Falcon's hyperspeed engines, a new and powerful hum resonated throughout the ship.
The freighter tilted suddenly, sending the whistling R2 droid rolling across the floor into the pit to land on the startled Chewbacca.
Lando, who had been standing near the control panel, tumbled back against the cockpit wall. But as he fell back, he saw the stars outside become blinding, infinite streaks of light.
"We did it!" Lando yelled triumphantly.
The Millennium Falcon had shot victoriously into hyperdrive.
Darth Vader stood silently. He gazed at the black void where, a moment before, the Millennium Falcon had been. His deep, black silence brought terror to the two men standing near him. Admiral Piett and his captain waited, chills of fear coursing through their bodies, and wondered how soon they would feel the invisible, viselike talons around their throats.
But the Dark Lord did not move. He stood, silently contemplative, with his hands behind his back. Then he turned and slowly walked off the bridge, his ebon cloak billowing behind him.
Òà·²¹«ÒæͼÊé¹Ý(shuku.net)