Chewbacca howled in misery as he sat inside one of the prison cells inside Cloud City. The stark room was flooded with hot light and made the Wookiee's fur sticky with sweat. To add to the creature's misery, a high-pitched whistle screeched loudly around the room, slowly making Chewie go mad. His mind went back to his imprisonment amongst his other Wookiee friends and family during the Imperial enslavement of the people of Kashyyyk, and he hit the wall with his giant furry fists. Roars left his throat and he began to pace in agitation, hating the fact that he didn't know what was happening to his cubs, Han and Leia. The upper lights went off abruptly and Chewie looked up, rubbing his eyes and listening for movement.

Sighing in defeat and hating the feeling of helplessness, Chewie moaned and moved to a platform where Threepio's disassembled parts still laid in their box. Trying to distract himself, Chewie picked up the golden droid's head and began thinking heavily on how he was going to fix it. With a shrug, he slammed the head onto the metal torso and began adjusting the wires and circuits.

It didn't take long for the lights in Threepio's eyes to spark to life as Chewie touched the connectors together. A garble of the droid's instantly recognizable voice came out near unintelligible, making Chewie grumble in frustration.

He tugged on a few more loose chords and barked as the protocol droid began to speak coherently. "Oh, my. Uh, I uh—take this off! I, uh, don't mean to intrude here. I, don't, no, no, no...Please don't get up. No!" The droid was caught up in his last memories and Chewie looked at him in bewilderment, scratching his furry head. Who exactly had been responsible for Threepio coming apart? Now they knew the Empire was here, he had a good suspicion that it was—

"Stormtroopers? Here? We're in danger! I must tell the others." Threepio blabbered, still not noticing how his head was screwed on backwards or that he was much too late to warn anyone of the Empire's presence. Chewie adjusted some more connections and Threepio jerked violently. "Oh, no! I've been shot!"

***

Darth Vader strode through the room and watched calmly as two stormtroopers prepared one of their more elaborate torture mechanisms. Captain Han Solo had been strapped to the rack, his hazel eyes wide in panic, but his chin raised in determination as the machine tilted him towards the pain-emitting device. Ignoring the intense bursts of fear radiating from Solo's Force signature, Vader activated the torture machine and watched as sparks began to emit, several of them striking Han's face.

The ex-smuggler began to cry out, fighting tears as the agony steadily got worse and worse. Vader pushed the pain deeper into the man's body with the Force, taking sadistic pleasure out of the action when hoarse screams began to project from the Corellian's throat. The cries echoed all the way outside to where Lando was wincing in sympathy. It wasn't long until the screams suddenly got louder in pitch, them cutting off abruptly and then fading out completely, indicating Han's unconsciousness.

Despite this, Lando knew how Imperial procedure worked. They would feed a stimulant into his veins and keep him awake in order to continue torturing him once he awoke. Since Lando was willingly giving the Dark Lord all the information he needed, the man didn't exactly know what the torture was needed for. However, he soon figured out that the Sith was only doing it for revenge. The rebel Vader was after—Skywalker or other—must've been so important to the Sith that he was willing to torture all the rebels that had been the reason he still didn't have the young man in his possession.

Now Vader was using Han, Leia, and Chewie as bait for this Skywalker even though Lando didn't know how the boy would know that his rebel partners were in trouble in the first place. A ransom message through a hologram perhaps? Or maybe that weird Force religion that Vader seemed to believe in...

Lando didn't know why, but he sincerely hoped Skywalker wasn't a close friend of Han or Leia. That would explain why the mystery fugitive would come to rescue Han, Leia, and Chewie in such unlikely conditions that he would be successful, but he could also just have a severely stubborn martyr streak.

Or maybe he was their friend and had a self-sacrificial air to him.

The door to the torture room suddenly sliding open startled Lando to look up jerkily and blanch heavily at the towering Dark Lord before him. He had already been tense enough at having the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, standing beside him, but Vader's presence made his twisting gut clench even further.

"Lord Vader." Lando said, surprising himself when his voice didn't waver, yet blinking in shock when the Sith blatantly ignored him and turned to Fett instead.

"You make take Captain Solo to Jabba the Hutt after I have Skywalker." The deep vocoder said flatly.

Han's screams and pleas for mercy began to echo from the torture room once again, indicating his consciousness being returned through stimulants and the torture process being restarted. Boba growled lightly underneath his helmet at the sound and walked, undaunted, before Vader. "He's no good to me dead."

Vader almost sounded annoyed when he responded, "He will not be permanently damaged."

Lando, finally fed up with being ignored, stepped forward, though not nearly as brave as Fett had, and said, "Lord Vader, what about Leia and the Wookiee?" He tried not to flinch when Vader looked down at him, almost glaring through his red-tinted ocular lenses.

"They must never again leave this city." Vader growled, making Lando's eyes widen in horror and anger.

"That was never a condition of our agreement, nor was giving Han to this bounty hunter!" Lando exclaimed. He knew about Han's debt to Jabba and that Boba would want to be collecting the Corellian for a bounty, but he didn't think that Vader would actually give him to him! That definitely wasn't a part of their deal. At least he had the comfort that the bounty for his old friend was wanted alive and not dead...

Lando looked up as he noticed Vader striding away from him, his tense form showing his steaming anger at the man behind him. Vader had only walked a short distance when he saw the considerably shorter man struggling to keep up with his ground-eating stride. With his leather gloves curled into tight fists, the Sith whirled on the man who was getting in his way. "Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly?" He asked, taking pleasure in watching Lando tremble before him.

"I...no." Lando said determinedly, adjusting his cape on his shoulders and trying not to let the sudden sweat breaking out on his neck to show.

"Good. It would be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here." Vader growled, not in the mood for anymore failures. He needed to get his son and nothing would stop him. Once Fett had reported that he had tracked down the Millennium Falcon, he had held the hope that his son had been on board. However, once he had landed on Bespin with his crew, he knew the Force had been playing with him. Luke was not on board the ship...but the friends he cared so much about were.

And that's when the idea of luring the boy had come to mind.

He didn't know his son well since he had only just discovered his existence, but if he was anything like his father, then it would would pose no surprise if the boy risked his own life to confront Vader and attempt to save his friends. However, the boy's lightsaber abilities were abysmal, and Vader was determined to take his newfound son alive and train him in the Dark Side. Once his training was complete...he would overthrow Palpatine and control the galaxy with his boy...his and Padmé's child.

He reached out through the Force for Luke's Force signature and tried not to strangle Lando right there when he felt several heavy Force blocks surrounding the boy's mind, all of them placed there by a trained Jedi Master...Obi-Wan or...someone else who survived the Purges? No, his Inquisitors had taken care of the Jedi Purge survivors...or so he thought.

If there was another Jedi out there who was training his son...corrupting him...

A low, predatory growl garbled from out of Vader's vocoder and the only thing stopping Vader from killing the closest person to him—Lando—was the fact that the rational part of his mind knew that wherever Luke was, he was too far away to be reached through the Force even if the blocks around his Force presence weren't there.

As long as he was alive...

The fact that Padmé had survived long enough to birth a child, and the fact that the Emperor had lied to him for 22 years about how his wife died and how his son had survived childbirth, kept Vader's anger consistently elevated. Luke was the only living thing he had left of his beloved angel.

Her bright, infectious smile and curly light chocolate locks tumbling down her shoulders, her brown eyes staring directly into his soul as she leaned in to kiss him.

And while studying the holograms they had of the pilot that blew up the Death Star, a title that filled the Sith with a strange feeling of pride, Vader couldn't help but notice the similar features the boy had to his mother. His nose, his dimples, his stature...

A long breath through Vader's respirator made Lando tense further, his dark brown eyes watching cautiously as Vader unfroze and swept silently into the elevator with Fett by his side.

Once the doors closed, Lando let loose a sigh of relief and turned down the corridor while muttering to himself, "This deal's getting worse all the time."

***

Chewie growled in relief when he realized he had a little more of Threepio back together properly. One arm was securely fastened, but the protocol droid's legs still had yet to be attached as he sat as no more than a torso in the Wookiee's lap. "Oh, yes, that's very good. I like that. Oh!"

Threepio's commentary was not heavily appreciated, yet his exclaim of surprise let Chewie know he had hooked something together wrong. In fact, now that he inspected the droid closer, he realized he had made one large error. Threepio's eyes were dim of their normal light and while his head was facing away from Chewbacca, it was not facing the correct direction. "Something's not right because now I can't see. Wait. Wait! Oh, my! What have you done? I'm backwards, you stupid furball. Only an overgrown mophead like you would be stupid enough—"

Annoyed, Chewie angrily deactivated one of the loose circuits and let the droid fall limp as he shut down. Sighing with a mournful howl, Chewie suddenly perked up as a familiar scent registered in his nostrils. Quickly putting Threepio down, Chewie barked in worry as the door suddenly flew open and a limp figure was tossed carelessly in, the small human collapsing to the ground without enough energy to rise to his feet.

The scent Chewie had smelt was none other than the scent of his cub, Han. Instantly concerned, Chewbacca dropped to his knees and pulled Han up into his lap, noticing how his clothes were ragged and torn, and his hair was cascaded and several directions. Chewie petted the small mop of fur on his young charge and wrapped the man in his large hairy arms. Han, only half-coherent, stared up with clouded hazel eyes, his skin pallid and sweaty and dark circles lining underneath his eyelids.

Han knew it was his Wookiee friend above him and he hesitantly allowed himself to be fussed over for a moment. Normally he would protest the overprotection from Chewie, but after the imperial torture, he would accept every stroke of the Wookiee's soft paws. "I feel terrible." Han whispered, his voice hoarse from the screams.

Roaring out his worries, Chewie helped Han stand on his shaky legs and set him down easily onto one of the platforms in the room. A cry of pain left the Corellian as his back hit the hard metal and he curled into himself, trying to make the pain dissolve into the back of his mind. Both him and Chewie looked over when the door opened once more, this time Leia being shoved in without any regard to her well being. The dress she had previously been wearing had been replaced with her previous white suit, this time without the warmth of her vest. Her hair was cascaded and several places and her eyes were sunken, but she didn't look to be too injured, much to Han's relief.

It took Leia a second to get over glaring at the troopers who had pushed her inside until she noticed that she wasn't alone in what seemed like the millionth location she had been moved to, each time her demands to know where her friends were being left unanswered. Until now of course.

"Han!" Leia cried in relief, darting forward and kneeling beside the platform he was on, her annoyed face instantly melted into one of worry. Her small hands trembled as she reached up and brushed Han's sweat-stuck brown locks out of his face, her brown eyes soft in sympathy. "Why are they doing this?" she whispered, leaning forward to press a reassuring peck on his forehead.

Han sighed gratefully at the princess' gentleness, trying not to groan as he shifted in place. "They never even asked me any questions." Han admitted, his hazel eyes dull.

Leia blinked in shock, knowing from her own personal torture session with Darth Vader three years ago on the Death Star that all they ever did was ask you questions. And they never stopped until they got the information they wanted.

They didn't even have the mercy to let you die.

Death was the easy way out when it came to the Empire. The ones who died were the lucky ones.

She was about to ask Han what had exactly happened, hating to press on his painful memories so soon but knowing they were running out of time, when the door yet again slid open behind them.

Chewie, Leia, and Han all turned in surprise to see Lando and two of his guards follow him into the room. Chewie let loose a ear-rupturing growl, startling Calrissian back a few feet before he straightened himself out. Leia and Han glared at the man, both of them radiating nothing but hatred for the traitor in their midst.

"Lando." Leia spat out bitterly, pleased when she saw the man's face wilt in intimidation.

"Get out of here Lando." Han snarled, struggling to rise to a sitting position and brushing off Leia's attempts to help him.

Lando sighed at the sight of his old friend and cautiously took a step away from the Wookiee before he let himself speak. "Would both of you just shut up and listen? Vader has agreed to turn Leia and Chewie over to me."

"Over to you?" Han asked skeptically, his hand instinctively going towards Leia in a need to protect her even though he knew she was perfectly capable of handling herself.

Lando sighed, still shifting nervously and looking towards the door as if somebody was listening in from the other side. "Look, they'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe?"

Leia noticed the hesitance in Lando's eyes from years of working with her adoptive father in the Senate. One could always see someone's true intentions through his or her eyes, which was what made Vader such an enigma to her. His eyes were covered by those awful red lenses in his mask and she never knew what he was feeling; especially with his monotone voice echoing blandly through his vocoder.

So, without a mask like Vader, Leia was easily able to pick out the fact that Lando was hiding an important piece of information. She instantly pressed him, "What about Han?"

Lando seemed startled by the question and bit his lip. His next words came out without the normal suave confidence he had previously had when showing them around the city, "I—Vader's giving him to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett."

Leia resisted the urge to stalk forward and punch the man in the face. Boba had been after Han for a long time, trying to collect his plentiful bounty placed there by Jabba the Hutt. And not only that, but the Mandalorian would also be getting an extra bounty for catching the Millennium Falcon and its crew. Her arms curled protectively around Han, much like he was doing to her, and she glared daggers at Lando. "Vader wants us all dead."

Lando wanted to explain that giving Han to Fett was never a part of the deal, but he knew both Han and Leia were too furious to forgive him, let alone believe him. However, he did know Vader's true wish and he hope for a moment that he could reassure the two rebels. "He doesn't want you at all. He's after somebody called...Skywalker."

Hazel and brown eyes widened in identical horror, Chewie even letting loose a wail of despair. Han's previous weakness dissipated in milliseconds as he sat ramrod straight, his heart beating faster as he thought about the kid facing down that monster..."Luke!?"

Lando blinked at their tenseness and swallowed down a dry throat. So they did know this guy...Luke as Han called him. "Lord Vader has set a trap for him."

Leia blinked and then gasped, catching Han's attention. "And we're the bait." Han went red in the face as his mind clicked together what the princess was saying.

"Well, he's already on his way." Lando said sadly, blinking in shock as Han shot to his feet, his teeth bared back in a snarl and his fists clenched in death grips at his sides.

Leia tried to hold him back but could do nothing as Han began to scream, startling everyone in the room. "Perfect! You fixed us all pretty good, didn't you?" Han scoffed, "My friend!"

In a split second, Han's arm was swinging back in a fist and Lando was crying out as pain blossomed on his face and he hit the floor violently. He grasped at his bleeding nose and ducked out of the way as Han jumped down and attacked him in a full on frantic fist-fight. Lando's guards snapped out of their shock and pulled out their blaster rifles, one of them hitting Han hard over the head with the butt of the weapon.

Han let loose a cry of pain, his body still raw from his torture session, and collapsed to the ground, Leia instantly at his side and her eyes full of rage. Chewie also started forward to attack the guards for hurting his cub when both of them pointed their blasters at the Wookiee and the princess, both Leia and Chewie looking ready to pounce in order to defend Han.

"Stop!" Lando cried, hurriedly rising to his feet and ushering his aides back, not wanting to start anything more. He straightened his cape once again and looked down at Han and Leia on the floor. "I've done all I can. I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but I have my own problems."

"Yeah, you're a real hero." Han spat, his eyes narrowed into small slits and his head still pounding from the blaster to the back of his head.

Lando shook his head in pity and regret and gestured for his guards to follow him out of the room. Once the door slid shut, Han fell bonelessly in Leia's arm and moaned as blood dripped from his chin and onto his palm.

"Chewie, help me with him." Leia said, even though Chewie was already stooping down to put his paws under Han's arms.

Once they had Han back on the platform, Leia used her sleeve to dab at Han's wounds, not caring at the blood that stained her ivory clothes. "You certainly have a way with people." She teased, smiling tightly when she saw a hint of amusement in Han's tired hazel eyes.

She continued to stroke his cheek, a bad feeling gnawing at her gut as she watched Han's eyes flutter close into a light slumber. Closing her eyes as well, Leia reached out for something and hoped against everything that she, Chewie, Han, and Luke would all get out of this alright...

What felt like a mental reassuring squeeze startled her eyes open and she looked around, seeing Chewie across the room and back to tinkering with Threepio silently. Leia sighed and curled up next to Han, smiling when his arm sleepily curled around her.

They could pray for mercy, but anyone who knew Vader knew that that was never going to happen.

A/N

All this waiting time for a literal carbon copy (no pun intended) of ESB scenes, I know. I'm so sorry. But I promise, it's picking up. The big fight soon! And then we begin diverting away from canon. Yay!

Anywho, gonna apologize again for the wait because I have been so busy it's ridiculous. I've had my birthday, WAY too much testing, and i literally almost broke my arm two days ago (I sprained it when I fell off a very high metal platform and onto concrete. See how coordinated I am? This is why I will totally be an awesome Jedi. XD Luke would be so proud). I have one more day left of school and then three weeks of other busy stuff, but I should be good after that...so, let's hope for the best here peeps.

Also, I've noticed as I reread Redemption, Sacrifice, and Ghost that I have a lot of typos in my spelling and my grammar (all my computer's fault, autocorrect hates me), so just...I'll get to those eventually. Bare with me guys. XD And thanks for the corrections! Constructive criticism is the best so...

Ok, uh, I think that's all from me. Love you guys!

PS - this book might have less chapters than my previous two books, but the chapters are much lengthier than the ones in Redemption and Sacrifice so it should still be about the same length. I've got a really awesome plot planned out for this story so hopefully it all goes down right. :)

*space kisses*

May the Force be with You,

- lucky_ducky_123