Flying through the vast regions of space, the Millennium Falcon along with its passengers quickly find themselves approaching the outlines of large clouds. The clouds part to reveal a full view of a magnificent city as it bobbed in and out of the cloud surface. The cloud cars and the Falcon head for the gleaming white metropolis. With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Falcon lands on one of the Cloud City’s platforms. Han and Leia stood at the open door, armed. Behind them, Chewie (also armed) surveyed the scene warily.
“Oh! No one to meet us,” 3PO observed.
“I don’t like this,” Leia looked around.
“You’re not alone Princess,” Starkiller remarked. “Something doesn’t seem right.”
“Well, what would you like?” Han asked.
“Well, they did let us land,” 3PO replied.
“Look, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine. Trust me.”
“The day I trust my life to a scoundrel is the day Emperor Palpatine plays the fiddle and sings a catchy musical number,” Starkiller grumbled, under his breath.
<>
(Skip to 3:45)
<>
All of a sudden, Lando Calrissian, a suave, dashing black man in his thirties, lead a group of aides (And some Cloud City guard) rapidly toward the landing platform. The group, like the other citizens of the city, were a motley collection of aliens, droids, and humans of all descriptions. Lando had a grim expression on his face as he moved onto the landing platform.
“See? My friend,” Han gestured, facing Chewie. “Keep your eyes open, okay?”
Chewie growled as Han walked down the ramp. Lando and his men head across the bridge to meet the space pirate. Lando stopped a mere ten feet from Han. The two men eyed each other carefully, and Lando shook his head.
“Why, you slimy, doubly-crossing, no-good swindler!” Lando frowned. “You’ve got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled.”
Han pointed to himself innocently, mouthing, ‘Me?’. Marek slowly leaned toward Leia’s side.
“What do you think he did to make him so mad?” Marek asked.
“I don’t want to know…” Leia muttered, through her teeth.
Suddenly, Lando moved threateningly toward Han. Marek nearly reached for his saber… when the man threw his arms around his startled, long-lost friend with an embrace. Even Marek was surprised by the gesture.
“How you doing, you old pirate?” Lando chuckled. “So good to see you! I never thought I’d catch up with you again. Where you been?”
The two old friends embrace, laughing and chuckling.
“Well, he seems very friendly,” 3PO observed.
“Yes… ‘very’ friendly,” Leia agreed warily.
“A bit too friendly,” Starkiller nodded, slowly.
“What are you doing here?” Lando asked.
“Ahh… repairs,” Han gestured, toward the Falcon. “I thought you could help me out.”
“What have you done to my ship?” Lando asked, with mock panic.
“Your ship? Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square.”
Chewie growled a reserved greeting. Lando suddenly noticed the princess and smiled.
“Hello. What have we here? Welcome. I’m Lando Calrissian. I’m the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?”
Starkiller stepped forward first, offering his hand rather wearily.
“Galen Marek,” He spoke.
“Ah yes, I’ve heard of you,” Lando responded. “You’re Vader’s rogue apprentice, right? Since when’d you start smuggling stray Sith, Han?”
Marek glared intensely toward Lando, growling lowly as he drew his hand back. Leia was next to approach, walking up to greet Lando.
“Leia,” She introduced herself.
“Welcome, Leia,” Lando smiled.
Lando bowed before Leia, kissing her hand.
“All right, all right, you old smoothie,” Han stepped in.
Han took Leia by the hand, steering her away from Lando.
“Hello, sir,” 3PO greeted. “I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your…”
Before the droid could finish his self-introduction, Lando turned to follow Han and Leia, who walked toward the city.
“Well, really!” 3PO cried out, offended.
“You really need to keep your introductions short goldie,” Marek replied, walking ahead.
Lando, along with his aid, Lobot, and Han lead the way across the bridge followed by 3PO, Chewie, Leia, and Marek, the latter looking around as if expecting an ambush.
“What’s wrong with the Falcon?” Lando questioned.
“Hyperdrive,” Han answered simply.
“I’ll get my people to work on it.”
“Good.”
Lando soon turned toward Leia.
“You know that ship saved my life quite a few times,” Lando replied. “She’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.”
The group soon crossed the narrow bridge and entered the city. They walked down the lovely ‘Art Deco’ passageway, rounding several corners and passed many small plazas. 3PO lagged a bit behind.
“How’s the gas mine?” Han asked. “Is it paying off for you?”
“Oh, not as well as I’d like,” Lando sighed. “We’re a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. And I’ve had supply problems of every kind. I’ve had labor difficulties…”
Lando paused upon seeing Han grinning at him.
“What’s so funny?”
“You,” Han smirked. “Listen to you—you sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who’d have thought that, huh?”
Lando was reflective as he looked at Han for a moment.
“You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things,” Lando reflected.
“Yeah,” Han nodded in agreement.
“Yeah,” Lando shook his head. “I’m responsible these days. It’s the price you pay for being successful.”
Han and Lando laughed together, as the group moved through the corridor. Along the way, Galen Marek was so busy searching the area he bumped into a stranger in his path.
“Sorry,” The figure apologized.
But Marek didn’t answer and just kept going. He failed to noticed that 3PO was lagging behind him. The gold robot soon passed a 3PO-type silver droid emerging from a dooy.
“Oh! Nice to see a familiar face.”
“E-chu-ta!” The silver 3PO mumbled.
“How rude!” 3PO gasped.
3PO stopped, watching the silver droid move away. He hard the muffled beeping and whistling of an R2 unit coming from within the room. Curious, 3PO entered the room to investigate.
“That sounds like an R2 unit in there,” 3PO pondered. “I wonder if…”
3PO soon walked through the doorway to the main room and peeked inside.
“Hello? How interesting. Oh, my.”
“Who are you?” A man’s voice called, from within.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” 3PO apologized, frightened. “I didn’t mean to intrude. No, no, please don’t get up. No!”
*BAM!*
A laser bolt toward 3PO’s chest sent him flying in twenty directions. Smoldering mechanical arms and legs bounced off the walls as the door whooshed shut behind him. Meanwhile, Lando, Han, Leia, and Marek continued down the corridor unaware of 3PO’s dreadful accident. Chewbacca glanced around, sniffing the air, but shrugged his shoulders and followed the group.
<>
Meanwhile, back in the swamps of Dagobah, Luke Skywalker, along with Spike, Storm, and the girls were frantically working on Luke’s fighter trying to get it back into flying shape so they could make their way off Dagobah. It was merely a day or so ago when they were introduced to the ghosts of Satele Shan, Darth Marr, and Ashara Zavros. During that time, the girls constructed their own lightsabers. Speaking of which, Rainbow swung her twin lightsaber around with complete adoration.
“This… is… so… AWESOME!!!” Rainbow squealed, with glee.
Normally Rainbow isn’t the type to showcase her excitement and giddiness in such a childish manner. But given the circumstances, they decided to let her have it. Storm watched her swing her dual saber around with a smile on his face.
“Feels good doesn’t it?” He asked.
Eventually Rainbow stopped spinning the saber around and clicked the button shutting the crystal off. Now she stood there, looking upon it with the happiest of smiles.
“Uh huh,” She nodded.
Storm chuckled as he grabbed his saber pike from his back and swung it around a bit.
“I know exactly how you feel,” He said. “I felt the same way when I first held this pike in my hands.”
Hearing Storm talk, Twilight Sparkle paused from her share of the repairs and walked alongside him.
“You know Storm, you haven’t really spoken much of your first experience here in this universe,” Twilight implied curiously. “You seem to know so much about this place, and all it only adds to how much I know very little of you.”
Storm paused briefly as a look of ‘almost’ sadness crossed his face. He quickly shook his head and placed the pike behind him.
“It’s not really a time I like to talk about much,” He replied simply.
“Why not?” Twilight asked.
“Just trust me!” Storm snipped. “It’s not a pretty story.”
Twilight Sparkle was slightly taken aback by the sudden change of demeanor, but instead decided not to press the issue all that much. Storm continued his way back to helping the others work on the fighter as Twilight looked on.
“Why is Storm so hesitant to talk about his past here?” Twilight thought. “What could have possibly happened that was so bad?”
In the bright lights of the fighter, Luke loaded a heavy case into the belly of the ship. Storm and the rest of the girls help him load the supplies aboard as well. R2-D2 sat on top of the X-ring, settling down into his cubbyhole. Yoda stood nearby on a log with the ghosts of his former Jedi brethren and the Sith Lord beside him.
“Luke! You must complete the training,” Yoda insisted.
“As must all of you,” Satele added. “Though you have constructed your new weapons, they alone are not nearly enough to face the empire.”
“The Emperor is far too powerful and growing stronger by the day,” Marr concurred. “You will be walking into a slaughter if you charge in without further knowledge of the force.”
“And we will finish the training,” Twilight promised. “We just have one thing we got to do first!”
“I can’t keep the vision out of my head,” Luke added. “They’re our friends; we’ve got to help them.”
“Luke’s right,” Applejack spoke up. “We may not know much ‘bout this here Force stuff, but there’s one thing ah do know how tah do. Lay down a good ole fashioned woopin’, Apple style!”
“Now that’s a girl talking my language,” Rainbow smirked, teasingly.
“You must not go!” Yoda argued.
“But Han and Lei will die if I don’t,” Luke countered.
“You don’t know that.”
Luke and the group turned toward the voice in amazement. Ben Kenobi a.k.a. ‘Obi-Wan’ Kenobi has materialized as a real, ‘slightly’ shimmering image near Yoda. The power of his presence stopped the group.
“Even Yoda cannot see their fate,” Ben concluded.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi!” Pinkie gasped. “You’re a… you’re… a ‘ghost’ guy like your friends!”
“Calm yourself Pinkie,” Ben replied calmly. “There is nothing to be nervous about. I have merely become one with the Force, the makings of what defines a true Jedi Knight. And you still have a long way to go before becoming ‘true’ Jedi.”
“But we can help them!” Luke insisted. “I feel the Force!”
“But you cannot control it,” Ben pointed out. “This is a dangerous time for you when you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force.”
“Yes, yes,” Yoda agreed. “To Obi-Wan you listen. The cave. Remember your failure at the cave!”
“Please don’t bring up the cave…” Fluttershy shuddered. “I still have nightmares of my own trip in there…”
“Yeah, and the only way any pony’s actually going to believe that is if a certain ‘friend’ of ours adds some flashbacks of our trips which we’re not talking about,” Pinkie added, facing the screen.
“But we’ve learned so much since then,” Luke argued. “Master Yoda, we promise to return and finish what we’ve begun.”
“You have our word,” Spike added. “And when my friends make a promise, we keep it!”
“It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants,” Ben informed. “That is why your friends are made to suffer.”
“Which is why we have to go!” Twilight insisted. “The Emperor already took one of our friends; I’m not losing another!”
“Luke, Twilight, I don’t want to lose either of you to the Emperor the way I lost Vader,” Ben insisted.
“They won’t be lost,” Storm declared. “Because I’m going to keep them safe, every step of the way. I’ve prepared for this day for years and I’m ready.”
“Stopped they must be,” Yoda spoke up. “On this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the Force as his ally will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.”
“Patience,” Ben added.
“And sacrifice Han and Leia?” Luke confronted.
“If you honor what they fight for… yes!” Yoda nodded.
The group turned toward Luke, and they could see the hint of great anguish upon his face. They can feel him struggle with the dilemma, a battle raging in his mind.
“If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone,” Satele warned. “Not a single one of us can interfere.”
“Even… if we wanted to,” Ashara added.
“We understand,” Luke nodded. “R2, fire up the converters.”
R2 whistled a happy reply.
“Luke don’t give in to hate,” Ben warned. “That leads to the dark side.”
“Strong is Vader,” Yoda warned. “Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.”
“If we’re lucky, we won’t have to fight Vader or his crew,” Rarity hoped. “As far as we’re concerned, this is a rescue mission, and the fate of our friends depends on it.”
“Thank you for everything Master Yoda, all of you,” Twilight thanked. “And don’t worry, we will return here. We promise.”
“Cross our hearts, hope to fly—” Pinkie began, with the gestures.
“Stick a cupcake in our eyes!” The group concluded, in unison.
R2 sealed the cockpit to Luke’s ship, while Storm, Spike, and the girls climbed back into his own starship. Ben, Yoda, and the others stood watch as the roar of the engines and the wind engulfed them.
“Told you, I did,” Yoda sighed. “Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.”
“That very same recklessness has been the downfall of many other ‘fools’ trying to match the power of the dark side,” Marr added disappointed.
“We at least must hope they will succeed where ‘we’ have failed,” Ashara pointed out.
“That boy and his friends are our last hope,” Ben spoke.
“No,” Yoda looked up. “There is another.”
“Indeed…” Satele nodded.
Luke’s tiny X-wing rocketed away from the green planet of Dagobah, off into the darkest of space. Storm’s own ship followed closely behind.
<>
Within the quarters assigned to her on Cloud City, Leia paced in agitation. She has changed from her cold-weather pants and jacket to a lovely dress. Her hair was down, tied back with ribbons. She moved from a large, open window and turned toward Marek and Han, who entered through the doorway.
“The ship is almost finished,” Han informed. “Two or three more things and we’re in great shape.”
“The sooner we get out of here, the better,” Marek sighed.
“Something’s wrong here,” Leia spoke, uncomfortable. “No one has seen or knows anything about 3PO. He’s been gone too long to have gotten lost.”
“Not a wise thing to do especially in a place like this,” Marek agreed. “A city’s a terrible place where one can easily get lost, for all we know some shady character probably took him in exchange for parts.”
Han and Leia turned toward Galen Marek on the matter, their looks suggesting otherwise. Marek merely glanced back in annoyance.
“Shut up…” Marek muttered.
As Marek strolled toward the side, Han took Leia by the shoulders and gently kissed her forehead.
“Relax. I’ll talk to Lando and see what I can find out.”
“I don’t trust Lando,” Leia spoke illy.
“Neither do I,” Marek added. “He’s up to something… I can feel it.”
“But he is my friend,” Han insisted. “Besides, we’ll soon be gone.”
“And then you’re as good as gone, aren’t you?” Leia asked.
Not speaking, Han considered her words and gazed at her troubled face.
“If it’s any consolation,” Marek spoke up. “I have no reason to stick around either. I’ve already lost someone very important to me, someone who changed my life… what good am I without… her.”
For a brief moment Leia turned toward Marek, and for the first time she could see the sadness on his cold demeanor. True the entire time he’s been a brooding figure, someone latching onto their trip like a leech and more often they wondered why he’s around. But the more Leia took the time to learn from him, she can feel that this man, even for a Stih lord, was still a troubled teen haunted by sadness and pain. Initially she distrusted his presence, except now… she feels sympathetic.
<>
Inside a junk room, the room was piled high with broken, discard machine parts. Four Ugnaughts, small hoglike creatures, separate the junk and throw some pieces onto a conveyer belt which moved briskly toward a pit of molten metal. Pieces of 3PO’s golden body moved down the belt to be melted down.
Just then, Chewie entered the room and spotted an Ugnaught picking up and inspecting 3PO’s head. The Wookie barked a command, startling the Ugnaught, then reached to grab the head. But the Ugnaught tossed it away from him to another Ugnaught. This game of keep-away went on till 3PO’s head fell from their grip and bounced with a clang onto the ground.
<>
The door zapped open causing the three humans to turn. Chewbacca walked in, carrying a packing case of 3PO, arms and legs hung over the edge.
“3PO?” Marek questioned, approaching.
“What happened?” Leia asked.
Chewie set the case on a table, grunting, and groaning an explanation.
“Where? Found him in a hunk pile?” Han translated.
“What a mess,” Marek shook his head. “I knew it! I knew this wasn’t right!”
“Chewie, do you think you can repair him?” Leia asked.
The giant Wookiee studied the array of robot parts. He looked at the princess and shrugged sadly.
“Lando’s got people who can fix him,” Han suggested.
“No, thanks,” Leia shook.
“And how do we know your friend has nothing to do with this?” Marek asked. “For all we know, Lando—”
*BUZZ!*
The group turned as the door slid open, revealing Lando.
“I’m sorry,” Lando apologized. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Not really,” Leia answered.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” Lando admired. “You truly belong here with us among the clouds.”
“Thank you,” Leia answered coolly.
“Will you join me for a little refreshment?”
Han and Marek looked at Lando suspiciously, but Chewie barked at the mention of food and licked his lips.
“Everyone’s invited, of course,” Lando insisted.
Leia took Lando’s proposed arm, and the group turned to go. Lando spotted 3PO’s remains.
“Having trouble with your droid?” Lando asked.
Han, Leia, and Marek exchanged a quick glance.
“No,” Han shook. “No problem. Why?”
Han and Leia moved arm-in-arm through the door, followed by Lando and Chewie. Galen Marek lagged behind, keeping a special watch on Lando. Eventually, the door slid closed behind them.
<>
Leia walked between Han and Lando, while Chewie and Marek followed a short distance behind. Long shafts of light poured across the corridor between tall, pure-white columns. Galen Marek, dressed completely dark, clearly stood out in this overly bright environment.
“So you see, since we’re a small operation, we don’t fall into the…” Lando paused, thinking. “Uh… jurisdiction of the Empire.”
“So you’re part of the mining guild then?” Leia inquired.
“No, not actually,” Lando corrected. “Our operation is small enough not to be noticed… which is advantageous for everybody since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves.”
The group walked into another corridor, heading for the huge doorway at the far end.
“Aren’t you afraid the Empire’s going to find out about this little operation?” Marek asked curiously. “If word of this got out, they’d shut you down entirely.”
“That’s always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything we’ve built here,” Lando answered. “But things have developed that will ensure security. I’ve just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever.”
The mighty doors to the dining room slid open and the group entered the dining room. Marek looked ahead and his eyes widened with shock. At the far end of a huge banquet table sat Darth Vader himself. Standing by his side, slightly behind him, were Seraphina, Boba Fett, Grievous, the Dazzlings, and Demitria.
Faster than the wink of an eye, Han drew his blaster and popped off a couple shots directly at Vader. The Dark Lord quickly rose his hand, deflecting the bolts into one of the side walls, where they explode harmlessly. Marek reached for his lightsaber and attempted to ignite it. But just as quickly, Han’s and Marek’s weapons zipped into Vader’s hands. The evil presence placed the gun on the table in front of him.
“We would be honored if you would join us,” Vader offered.
“We have much to discuss,” Seraphina said sinisterly.
Han gave Lando a mean look.
“I had no choice,” Lando defended. “They arrived right before you did. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” Han answered, with dread.
The whole time Marek glared across the table where the Sith sat ahead. Specifically he faced Darth Seraphina, unable to read her face but he can feel her staring back at him.
“Is this who I think it is?” Seraphina asked.
“You didn’t think killing me would be easy, did you?” Marek answered, with a question.
“You know, for a second there… yes, I did.”
“You’ve proven to be a very persistent apprentice, Marek,” Vader spoke.
“Only learned from the best… master.”
<>
Luke’s X-wing, along with Storm’s ship, raced through thick clouds toward Cloud City. In his own ship, Luke was grim-faced as he piloted his course toward Bespin’s shining city. R2’s beeps and whistles transmitted onto the scope.
“No, 3PO’s with them,” Luke answered, into commlink.
R2 whistled another worried inquiry.
“Just hang on. We’re almost there.”
Inside Storm’s ship, Twilight Sparkle sat beside Storm Shield who locked his focus on their destination. A look of sheer determination retained on his face, which dropped slightly as he acknowledged Twilight looking at him. His face softened when he saw the worry in her eyes.
“I hope we’re not too late,” Twilight spoke worriedly.
“Don’t worry,” Storm assured. “As long as we work together, we can handle whomever the Empire sends in. We will get our friends back… allof them.”