Chapter 5

Leia agitatedly paced back and forth in her assigned quarters on Cloud City, her previous white and beige Hoth fatigues having been replaced by a long, burgundy, silken dress accompanied by a puffy white shawl with intricate Bespin designs resting on her shoulders and flowing to her feet that had been donned with small black flats. Her hair had also been redone into two circular braids behind her hair, tied back with ribbons and framing the petite, lovely features on her face. Not only had the people of Bespin picked out their most lavish clothes for her, but they had also dolled up her face with their most exquisite makeup, making Leia feel more fussed over than she had been while growing up as a princess on Alderaan.

However, despite all the fuss over her appearance, Leia's mind was far away, her concerns and suspicions rising as the moments passed. Her brown eyes stared out the large window before her and watched several speeders zooming through the city towards their destinations. She sighed and suddenly thought about Luke...was he ok? Did he even make it off of Hoth?

Somehow, despite all her worries about her friend, she had a small voice nudging her at the back of her mind that continued to reassure her that Luke was safe for the time being. Safe and alive.

However, that same voice also warned her about Lando Calrissian and his expressive kindness. Surely it couldn't be that easy to store fugitives of the Empire onto a planet that was gambling a lot with its mining project. Besides, what really worried her was the sudden disappearance of their protocol droid, See-Threepio. It hadn't taken her long to notice that the consistently jabbering, accented voice behind her was missing. And no one knew where he had gone...

"Leia?" A voice startled Leia to turn around, the door opening and revealing Han, the only new things about his appearance being that his hair was much neater than the ruffled mess he had acquired from darting back and forth on the Hoth base and the Falcon. Leia smiled at him minutely and ran a hand over herself to brush off non-existent dust. Han simply smiled radiantly at her and her new outfit, the expression molding his handsome features even further. "The ship is almost finished. Two or three more things and we're in great shape."

Leia let loose a sigh of relief, not noticing how stiff her shoulders had been. She marched towards Han with a determined scowl set on her face. "The sooner the better. Something's wrong here." She moved back towards the topic she had worrying a bit about a few moments ago, "No one has seen or knows anything about Threepio. He's been gone too long to have gotten lost."

Han smiled down at her, his height besting her by at least a foot, and placed his large hands on her tiny shoulders. He leaned forward and brushed his lips over her forehead, the fluttery affection making Leia sigh slowly. Han pulled back and brushed his hand down her face, trying to get her to stop being so tense. He knew the main reason she was worried, and he was worried too. Neither of them had any idea if Luke was alright. They had practically left him in the medbay right before they were attacked by the Empire after all.

"Relax. I'll talk to Lando and see what I can find out." Han explained. Next to Luke, he also shared his concerns about the missing goldenrod.

However, Leia simply scowled at him, pulling suddenly out of Han's gentle grasp. "I don't trust Lando." She snapped, her chocolate brown eyes ablaze.

Han sighed, "Well, I don't trust him, either. But he is my friend." Leia rolled her eyes and looked up as Han grabbed her shoulders again, his fingers absently tracing the hem on the silk shawl she was wearing. "Besides, we'll soon be gone."

Leia watched Han's conflicted hazel eyes and how they refused to meet her gaze, his face resembling that of a lost puppy. Leia knew exactly what he was thinking, "And then you're as good as gone, aren't you?"

Han said nothing, looking up at the princess with a troubled expression. After a while Leia simply shook her head in exasperation and pulled away from Han, moving to begin pacing again.

***

Down in Cloud City's junk room, broken and discarded machine parts were stacked and piled hither and thither in complete disorganization. Four small, hoglike creatures, Ugnaughts, were busy separating the junk and throwing the useless pieces onto a conveyor belt that moved briskly towards a pit of molten metal. Unbeknownst to the aliens, parts of Threepio's golden body slid down the belt and towards the glowing melting pit.

Chewbacca walked in at that moment, sifting through all the parts until his eyes caught Threepio's pieces on the conveyor. He howled in panic and anger and moved towards one of the Ugnaughts curiously inspecting Threepio's head. Once the Wookiee began to bark out a demand to return the pieces to him, the Ugnaught simply startled backwards and tossed it to another one of his friends.

Chewie roared angrily and scooped up Threepio's parts off the conveyor belt in dismay, struggling to hold them all in his massive, hairy arms. The Ugnaughts continued to play keep-away with Threepio's head until one of them dropped it and watched it bounce with a clang onto the ground. Before any of them could stoop to pick it up, Chewie bared his teeth in a rumbling growl and picked it up to add to his pile. Then the lumbering Wookiee left the Ugnaughts to their business and grabbed a box on his way out to carry Threepio's wires and parts.

He didn't have to walk far to reach the living quarters him, Han, and Leia had been given, and he simply howled to let Leia and Han acknowledge his presence. Both of the humans had their backs to him but whirled around when they heard him growl, hazel and brown eyes widening at the sight of the box filled with machinery. Threepio's mechanical arms and legs were hanging out of the sides of the box and the golden head with the normally glowing eyes sat on top of the scrap.

"What happened?" Leia exclaimed, moving towards Chewie and moving a hand through the droid parts in concern. Chewie simply grunted his response and set the box on the table, only Han able to understand him with Leia's Shyriiwook still a bit rusty.

"Where?" Han asked incredulously, making Leia look to him for a translation. Chewie rumbled out the words again, watching Han blink in confusion and surprise. "Found him in a junk pile?"

Leia sighed in worry, biting her lip and not taking her eyes off the robot pieces. "Oh, what a mess. Chewie, do you think you can repair him?"

Chewie moved his large, hairy paws through the parts and looked up sadly at the small human princess. He shrugged sadly and watched Leia's face crumple in concern.

"Lando's got people who can fix him." Han quipped after seeing Chewie's unsure response.

Leia whirled on Han, her eyes narrowed in annoyance, "No thanks."

As if on cue, the door to the room slid open and revealed Lando, his expression moving from suave to confused as he looked around at his three guests. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?"

Leia grumbled under her breath and sent a glare towards Lando. "Not really." She gritted sarcastically.

Lando blinked and then studied the princess in the getup his people had put her in. He smiled in an attempt to get her to smile back. He tried not to wince as her cold brown irises simply stared at him with wariness and untrustworthiness. He went back to his skill of flattery instead, "You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the clouds."

Lando barely noticed Han glaring at him as Leia coolly responded with an emotionless, "Thank you."

"Will you join me for a little refreshment?" Lando asked, startling both Han and Leia. Han's glare got even more steely and he narrowed his hazel eyes, his hand under his chin curling into a small fist. However, he didn't get to protest much when Chewie barked at the mention of food and jumped to his feet.

Lando noticed Han's tense shoulders and almost laughed. "Everyone's invited, of course." The man held out his arm to the princess and Leia hesitantly took it with a wary expression. Han stood to leave and follow them when Lando finally caught sight of the box Chewie had been looking over.

"Having trouble with your droid?" He asked, confused at seeing the protocol droid he had seen earlier in several wires and parts.

Han and Leia caught each others gazes and had a silent conversation through expression. Han spoke first and moved between Lando and Leia while his old friend was distracted. Leia linked arms with Han more comfortably and tried not to roll her eyes as Han spoke, "No. No problem. Why?"

Lando blinked at the sudden loss of the princess on his arm and watched incredulously as Han and Leia walked out the door arm-in-arm. Lando chuckled and followed them with Chewie right behind him.

After walking though the corridors of the city for a while, Han and Leia had finally unlocked arms, the princess now standing independently between the two men and not failing to notice how much taller the both of them were compared to her. For a moment, she wished Luke was with her so that she could at least talk to someone without having to raise her head so far up. Han seemingly noticed her frustration and casted her a smile, the long shafts of light that poured across the hallway reflecting on his features.

Lando's words took a few moments to register in Leia's ears and she again looked up at the man as he spoke about his project on Bespin. "So you see, since we're a small operation, we don't fall into the...uh...jurisdiction of the Empire."

Leia blinked at that, now feeling a bit better about her previous worries. "So you're part of the mining guild then?" She questioned curiously.

"No, not actually." Lando responded, glad to have piqued her interest. "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 finally approached another corridor and headed towards a large doorway at the far end which led to the dining room. Lando's expression faltered for the briefest of seconds, his smile returning when he heard Han speaking.

"Aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation and shut you down?" The Corellian asked, his eyebrows raised in actual concern and curiosity.    

Lando in that moment wanted to shout for his friend and his companions to run, but he knew he had to do what was right for his people and his business. 'I'm very afraid my old friend. And you should be too. Why couldn't you have just stuck to smuggling, Han?' Lando thought with a tight swallow.

"That's always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything we've built here," Lando explained, trying to hint at what exactly was behind the dining room's grand door. "But things have developed that will insure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever."   

Han, Leia, and Chewie all looked at him quizzically right before Lando pressed the release to allow the dining room doors to slide open. The group barely got to react before their eyes widened and they stared horror-struck at Darth Vader rising calmly and menacingly from his seat at the end of the huge banquet table. From the corner of the room, the infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett, stepped in with his blaster cocked and ready to fire if needed.

Faster than anyone could blink, Chewie roared in fury and Han pulled a startled and shrieking Leia behind him as he yanked out his blaster. His finger pulled back on the trigger quickly and unhesitatingly, the blaster bolts firing right towards the Dark Lord.

Vader raised his hand without concern and deflected the blasts into the walls, the shots exploding harmlessly against the plaster yet still startling everyone else. Han began to fire again right as he yelped in surprise. His blaster had been ripped out of his hand by an invisible force and zipped straight into the palm of the Sith. Vader simply and calmly set the blaster onto the table and raised his masked head in almost amusement.

"We would be honored if you would join us." Vader said darkly, his baritone voice echoing deeply.

The group turned around, hoping to run away, when troopers suddenly filed into the corridor and on the steps, their blaster poised and ready to fire if there was any attempt at escape from the rebels. 

Han narrowed his eyes and then turned to Lando, his glare fierce, but nothing compared to Leia's death stare or Chewie's slowly baring teeth.

Lando winced and wrung his hands in sudden nervousness. "I had no choice. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry."

Han's eye twitched, the betrayal practically leaking off of him. There was no forgiveness in his eyes as he listened to his old friend's pitiful attempt at apologizing. "Well I'm sorry too." Han said simply, grasping Leia's hand in a firm grip and then turning back towards Vader. The duo walked inside with determined auras, neither of them refusing to be intimidated. Chewie stalked behind them, his presence tense and ready to pounce on anyone who moved to harm Han or Leia, specifically Vader and Boba Fett.

Lando bit his lip and sighed, closing the door behind him as he moved inside and prepared for whatever Vader had planned for the rebels. He just hoped that one day he could be forgiven.

***

In the midst of hyperspace, Luke Skywalker jerked with a sudden prick of fear racing through his heart. However, it wasn't his fear...

Han. Leia. Chewie.

He swallowed tightly and glanced back at Padmé, who seemed to have fallen asleep. His face melded into a grim expression and he began to fiddle with a few of his controls. Worried beeping came from his commlink and he smiled lightly as Artoo's beeps and whistles were transmitted onto the scope.

He read the scrawling text and was instantly able to sense concern in the astromech's mechanical words. "No, Threepio's with them."

Artoo whistled another worried inquiry and Luke sighed as he read it. "Just hang on. We're almost there."

Padmé suddenly stirred from behind his seat and he glanced back at her for the umpteenth time. Her eyelids began to flutter and she yawned, slowly beginning to return to consciousness. Luke studied her features, still not getting over the fact that she looked so much like Leia. Her grey-streaked brown curls and her chocolate brown eyes all resembling an older version of the Alderaanian princess. "Mm, Ani? What time is it?" Padmé suddenly muttered, startling the boy.

Luke blinked, not recognizing the name. Cautiously, he leaned back to shake Padmé's shoulder, trying to snap her out of her half-conscious daze. "Padmé?"   

The woman groaned before her fuzzy eyes focused hazily on Luke's features. A small smile graced her features and Luke wondered if he had snapped her out of her dream or not. "Oh Ani. I missed you." Her hand stroked Luke's face and the boy blushed, wondering exactly what the older woman was doing.

"Uh, Padmé. It's me, Luke." Luke explained. He couldn't exactly maneuver his position very well with his crash-webbing buckled against him and keeping him in his seat, so he strained his shoulders while turning to face Padmé.

"Very funny sweetheart. I hope you made sure Obi-Wan doesn't know where you are." Padmé whispered almost seductively, moving forward to press a kiss to Luke's cheek. Luke let loose an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak and ducked out of Padmé's grasp and into his seat. He vaguely heard Artoo beeping confusedly as to what as happening through the commlink, but Luke ignored his droid for the time being.

"Padmé!" Luke cried, fighting a small giggle. Padmé's eyes blinked feverishly once again and she rubbed her eyes, finally focusing on Luke.

"Luke? Dear...why are you shouting?" She muttered, her voice thick with sleep.

Luke just began to chuckle, his curiosity peaking at the woman's strange behavior. Who exactly was Ani and why did Padmé think he was that person? It sounded a bit like a pet name, but Luke couldn't be sure. And whoever it was, they knew Obi-Wan just like Padmé did.

"You were trying to kiss me." Luke explained, bursting into laughter when Padmé's brown eyes shot open and she paled.

"O-Oh." She said, a small smile grazing her face but a blush present all the same.

"It's alright. You were asleep." Luke said, glad he could smile despite the constant worry and fear at the back of his thoughts. He leaned more comfortably back into his seat and had a sudden urge to stretch his stiff legs. He had so many questions for Padmé, but he didn't even know where to begin.

He decided to start simply, "So who's Ani?"

Padmé startled back, a gasp leaving her throat. Luke suddenly panicked that he had sent her back into one of her panic-attacks and whirled around to make sure she was alright. He let loose a sigh of relief when he saw her simply grasping her heart and her brown eyes clouded with a deep emotion Luke couldn't pinpoint. All he knew was that the woman had definitely seen some things that had scarred her permanently.

"I'm alright dear. You just startled me with that name, that's all." She looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "Where did you hear that name?"

"You kept calling me Ani in your sleep. I was just curious, that's all." Luke said slowly.

Padmé bit her lip, knowing she couldn't just drop the whole Vader bomb on the boy yet. Nor could she just outright tell him she was his mother, no matter how much she wanted to. "Ani was my husband back during the Clone Wars. He died after the Empire took control...and Obi-Wan was one of his good friends, hence why I knew him when he materialized as a ghost." Padmé said, trying to stretch the truth just enough so Luke couldn't put the puzzle pieces together.

"So if you knew Obi-Wan...then you knew his apprentice, Vader. Right?" Luke asked, his blue eyes wide.

"Y-Yes. I knew Vader before he fell to the dark side." Padmé said, her voice thick with emotion, making guilt resonate in Luke for asking in the first place. "I used to be a senator in the Galactic Republic, Padmé Amidala of Naboo. That's why the Empire is out for me. My belief in the Jedi is strong enough for me to be deemed a traitor. Yoda took me in for protection during the Empire's rising."

"Padmé Amidala...that's where I've heard that name before. You were a very famous senator...but I thought you were dead."

Padmé laughed lightly, "That's how I wanted it to look."

"Hmm. At school they talked about how you died and how your child died with you. Was that true? I don't mean to pry or anything."

Padmé hesitated on the question..."The child was a ploy." She lied quickly, unable to look Luke in the eye as the memories of the Polis Massa medcenter came zooming back to her.

"Oh." Luke hesitated on his next words. "I'm sorry about your husband. I...I lost my aunt and uncle. And my best friend. And Obi-Wan as you obviously saw." Padmé laughed again, making Luke smile.

"Well I'll make sure you won't lose any more friends. And we won't have to confront Vader...not yet."

Luke hesitated, "Yeah...I hope so." Watery blue eyes looked up at the woman, a question on his lips. "I...if you knew Obi-Wan...and you knew Vader...did you happen to...to know my father? Anakin Skywalker?"

Padmé blinked, pain blossoming around her heart. "I knew Anakin...but I would prefer not to talk about him."

Luke's face crumpled in disappointment, but he nodded, turning silently back towards his controls. Padmé sighed, placing her hands on her son's shoulders and wanting desperately to tell him everything. There was a long silence before Padmé finally spoke again. 

"Enough about me. Your mind is still on your friends." She noted. Luke sighed, fumbling with the fabric on his pilot's uniform. "They'll be fine dear. That's why I came with you. To help. Besides, I can't wait to meet this Han and Leia you won't stop talking about."

Luke smiled despite himself, "You'll love them. In fact, the first thing I thought when I met you was that you looked like Leia. Weird right?"

Padmé chuckled nervously, "Yeah, weird. So, how much longer until we reach Bespin?"

Luke blinked at her nervous tone, but brushed it off as her previous jitteriness at talking about her troubled past. "Soon. Once we get closer I can try to hail the Falcon's comm, but they may already be in the city. I just hope my vision was only my paranoia."

Padmé sighed, reaching forward and grabbing Luke's hand in a caring gesture. "Force visions may be misleading, but they do hold some truth to them. Leaving Dagobah was still not the best idea, but your caring heart is a good trait to have. It shows the light in your soul."

Luke blushed, "Thank you, Padmé." A small beep suddenly sent their attention to the hyperdrive, making Luke let loose a sigh of relief. "Alright, we'll be there soon. Hope you're comfy back there."

Padmé laughed, "I've been in more uncomfortable situations than a cramped X-wing dear, I'll be fine."

Luke smirked, "Was one of those situations almost kissing me?"

Padmé burst into laughter, glad she could laugh so easily with her son despite both of their troubles. "Yes, I do think that was one of the situations."

Luke grinned and leaned back into his chair, looking down at Padmé's rested hand by his side. He sighed and allowed himself to remain happy for the time being.

Han, Chewie, and Leia were perfectly fine...

***

A/N

ugh, life

lol, i apologize again for the lengthy wait, but you are all so patient and awesome and I love you all.

Anyways, I HIT 100K READS ON REDEMPTION.

AHHHHHHHHHHH

so yeah, that was crazy exciting.

thank you all so much, and I'm thinking maybe like 3 or 4 more chapters and then I can post the trailer for this book? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I also made a second trailer for Redemption cause I felt like the original one wasn't trailer-y enough XD, so I can post that later too if you guys want.

So yeah, excitement's happening, Padmé's trying to subtly tell her baby boy the truth, and Leia, Han, and Chewie are in a bit of a dilemma. However, I think I've hit the part where the film is going to start diverting away from canon and more towards the plot I have planned.

so don't assume you know what's going to happen because you've seen ESB before. XD

*space kisses*

PS - gaps between chapters will be very common at least until I finish finals and other school and life stuff I have in the next two months. I get out of school in late May so hopefully I can find more writing time then. Love you all.


May the Force be with You,

- lucky_ducky_123

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