EPISODE

V

STAR WARSR:

The Empire Strikes BackR

by Donald F. Glut

Based on a story by George Lucas

= I =

'NOW this is what I call cold!' Luke

Skywalker's voice broke the silence he had

observed since leaving the newly

established Rebel base hours earlier. He

was astride a Tauntaun, the only other

living being as far as the eye could see.

He felt tired and alone, and the sound of

his own voice startled him.

Luke as well as his fellow members of the

Rebel Alliance took turns exploring the

white wastelands of Hoth, gathering

information about their new home. They all

returned to base with mixed feelings of

comfort and loneliness. There was nothing

to contradict their earliest findings that

no intelligent lifeforms existed on this

cold planet. All that Luke had seen on his

solitary expeditions were barren white

plains and ranges of blue-tinged mountains

that seemed to vanish in the mists of the

distant horizons.

Luke smiled behind the masklike gray

bandana that protected him against Hoth's

frigid winds. Peering out at the icy

wastes through his goggles, he pulled his

fur-lined cap down more snugly about his

head.

One corner of his mouth curled upward as

he tried to visualize the official

researchers in the service of the Imperial

government. 'The galaxy is peppered with

settlements of colonizers who care little

about the affairs of the Empire or its

opposition, the Rebel Alliance,' he

thought. 'But a settler would have to be

crazy to stake his claims on Hoth. This

planet doesn't have a thing to offer

anyone - except us.'

The Rebel Alliance had established an

outpost on the ice world little more than

a month before. Luke was well-known on the

base and, although barely twenty-three

years old, he was addressed as Commander

Skywalker by other Rebel warriors. The

title made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, he was already in the

position of giving orders to a band of

seasoned soldiers. So much had happened to

Luke and he had changed a great deal.

Luke, himself, found it hard to believe

that only three years ago he was a wide-

eyed farm boy on his home world of

Tatooine.

The youthful commander spurred his

Tauntaun. 'Come on, girl,' he urged.

The snow-lizard's gray body was insulated

from the cold by a covering of thick fur.

It galloped on muscular hind legs, its

tridactyl feet terminating in large hooked

claws that dug up great plumes of snow.

The Tauntaun's llamalike head thrust

forward and its serpentine tail coiled out

behind as the beast ran up the ice slope.

The animal's horned head turned from side

to side buffeting the winds that assaulted

its shaggy muzzle.

Luke wished his mission were finished.

His body felt nearly frozen in spite of

his heavily padded Rebel-issue clothing.

But he knew that it was his choice to be

there; he had volunteered to ride across

the ice fields looking for other

lifeforms. He shivered as he looked at the

long shadow he and the beast cast on the

snow. 'The winds are picking up,' he

thought. 'And these chilling winds bring

unendurable temperatures to the plains

after nightfall.' He was tempted to return

to the base a little early, but he knew

the importance of establishing the

certainty that the Rebels were alone on

Hoth.

The Tauntaun quickly turned to the right,

almost throwing Luke off-balance. He was

still getting used to riding the

unpredictable creatures. 'No offense,' he

said to his mount, 'but I'd feel a lot

more at ease in the cockpit of my old

reliable landspeeder.' But for this

mission, a Tauntaun - despite its

disadvantages - was the most efficient and

practical form of transportation available

on Hoth.

When the beast reached the top of another

ice slope, Luke brought the animal to

halt. He pulled off his dark-lensed

goggles and squinted for a few moments,

just long enough for his eyes to adjust to

the blinding glare of the snow.

Suddenly his attention was diverted by

the appearance of an object streaking

across the sky, leaving behind a lingering

trail of smoke as it dipped toward the

misty horizon. Luke flashed his gloved

hand to his utility belt and clutched his

pair of electrobinoculars. Apprehensive,

he felt a chill that competed with the

coldness of the Hoth atmosphere. What he

had seen could have been man-made, perhaps

even something launched by the Empire. The

young commander, still focused on the

object, followed its fiery course and

watched intently as it crashed on the

white ground and was consumed in its own

explosive brilliance.

At the sound of the explosion, Luke's

Tauntaun shuddered. A fearful growl

escaped its muzzle and it began to claw

nervously at the snow. Luke patted the

animal's head, trying to reassure the

beast. He found it difficult to hear

himself over the blustering wind. 'Easy,

girl, it's just another meteorite!' he

shouted. The animal calmed and Luke

brought the communicator to his mouth.

'Echo Three to Echo Seven. Han ol' buddy,

do you read me?'

Static crackled from the receiver. Then a

familiar voice cut through the

interference. 'Is that you, kid? What's

up?'

The voice sounded a little older and

somewhat sharper than Luke's. For a moment

Luke fondly recalled first meeting the

Corellian space smuggler in that dark,

alien-packed cantina at a spaceport on

Tatooine. And now he was one of Luke's

only friends who was not an official

member of the Rebel Alliance.

'I've finished my circle and I haven't

picked up any life readings,' Luke spoke

into his comlink, pressing his mouth close

to the transmitter.

'There isn't enough life on this ice cube

to fill a space cruiser,' Han answered,

fighting to make his voice heard above the

whistling winds. 'My sentry markers are

placed. I'm heading back to base.'

'See you shortly,' Luke replied. He still

had his eye on the twisting column of dark

smoke rising from a black spot in the

distance. 'A meteorite just hit the ground

near here and I want to check it out. I

won't be long.'

Clicking off his comlink, Luke turned his

attention to his Tauntaun. The reptilian

creature was pacing, shifting its weight

from one foot to the other. It gave out a

deep-throated roar that seemed to signal

fear.

'Whoa, girl!' he said, patting the

Tauntaun's head. 'What's the matter ...

you smell something? There's nothing out

there.'

But Luke, too, was beginning to feel

uneasy, for the first time since he had

set out from the hidden Rebel base. If he

knew anything about these snowlizards, it

was that their senses were keen. Without

question the animal was trying to tell

Luke that something, some danger, was

near.

Not wasting a moment, Luke removed a

small object from his utility belt and

adjusted its miniature controls. The

device was sensitive enough to zero in on

even the most minute life readings by

detecting body temperature and internal

life systems. But as Luke began to scan

the readings, he realized there was no

need -or time - to continue.

A shadow crossed over him, towering above

by a good meter and a half. Luke spun

around and suddenly it seemed as if the

terrain itself had come to life. A great

white-furred bulk, perfectly camouflaged

against the sprawling mounds of snow,

rushed savagely at him.

'Son of a jumpin'..."

Luke's hand blaster never cleared its

holster. The huge claw of the Wampa Ice

Creature struck him hard and flat against

his face, knocking him off the Tauntaun

and into the freezing snow.

Unconsciousness came swiftly to Luke, so

swiftly that he never even heard the

pitiful screams of the Tauntaun nor the

abrupt silence following the sound of a

snapping neck. And he never felt his own

ankle savagely gripped by his giant, hairy

attacker, or felt his body dragged like a

lifeless doll across the snow-covered

plain.

Black smoke was still rising from the

depression in the hillside where the air-

borne thing had fallen. The smoky clouds

had thinned considerably since the object

had crashed to the ground and formed a

smoldering crater, the dark fumes being

dispersed over the plains by the icy Hoth

winds.

Something stirred within the crater.

First there was only a sound, a droning

mechanical sound swelling in intensity as

if to compete with the howling wind. Then

the thing moved - something that glinted

in the bright afternoon light as it slowly

began to rise from the crater.

The object appeared to be some form of

alien organic life, its head a multiorbed,

skull-like horror, its dark-lensed blister

eyes training their cold gaze across the

even colder reaches of wilderness. But as

the thing rose higher from the crater, its

form showed it clearly to be a machine of

some sort, possessing a large cylindrical

'body' connected to a circular head, and

equipped with cameras, sensors, and metal

appendages, some of which terminated in

crablike grasping pincers.

The machine hovered over the smoking

crater and extended its appendages in

various directions. Then a signal was set

off within its internal mechanical

systems, and the machine began to float

across the icy plain.

The dark probe droid soon vanished over

the distant horizon.

Another rider, bundled in winter clothing

and mounted on a spotted gray Tauntaun,

raced across the slopes of Hoth toward the

Rebel base of operations.

The man's eyes, like points of cold

metal, glanced without interest at the

domes of dull gray, the myriad gun turrets

and the colossal power generators that

were the only indications of civilized

life on this world. Han Solo gradually

slowed his snow-lizard, guiding the reins

so the creature trotted through the

entrance of the enormous ice cave.

Han welcomed the relative warmth of the

vast complex of caverns, warmed by Rebel

heating units that obtained their power

from the huge generators outside. This

subterranean base was both a natural ice

cave and a maze of angular tunnels blasted

from a solid mountain of ice by Rebel

lasers. The Corellian had been in more

desolate hell-holes in the galaxy, but for

the moment he couldn't remember the exact

location of any one of them.

He dismounted his Tauntaun, then glanced

around to watch the activity taking place

inside the mammoth cave. Wherever he

looked he saw things being carried,

assembled, or repaired. Rebels in gray

uniforms rushed to unload supplies and

adjust equipment. And there were robots,

mostly R2 units and power droids, that

seemed to be everywhere, rolling or

walking through the ice corridors,

efficiently performing their innumerable

tasks.

Han was beginning to wonder if he were

mellowing with age. At first he had had no

personal interest in or loyalty to this

whole Rebel affair. His ultimate

involvement in the conflict between Empire

and Rebel Alliance began as a mere

business transaction, selling his services

and the use of his ship, the Millennium

Falcon. The job had seemed simple enough:

Just pilot Ben Kenobi, plus young Luke and

two droids, to the Alderaan system. How

could Han have known at the time that he

would also be called on to rescue a

princess from the Empire's most feared

battle station, the Death Star?

Princess Leia Organa ...

The more Solo thought about her, the more

he realized how much trouble he eventually

bought himself by accepting Ben Kenobi's

money. All Han had wanted originally was

to collect his fee and rocket off to pay

back some bad debts that hung over his

head like a meteor ready to fall. Never

had he intended to become a hero.

And yet, something had kept him around to

join Luke and his crazy Rebel friends as

they launched the now-legendary space

attack on the Death Star. Something. For

the present, Han couldn't decide just what

that something was.

Now, long after the Death Star's

destruction, Han was still with the Rebel

Alliance, lending his assistance to

establish this base on Hoth, probably the

bleakest of all planets in the galaxy. But

all that was about to change, he told

himself. As far as he was concerned, Han

Solo and the Rebels were about to blast

off on divergent courses.

He walked rapidly through the underground

hangar deck where several Rebel fighter

ships were docked and being serviced by

men in gray assisted by droids of various

designs. Of greatest concern to Han was

the saucer-shaped freighter ship resting

on its newly installed landing pods. This,

the largest ship in the hangar, had

garnered a few new dents in its metal hull

since Han first hooked up with Skywalker

and Kenobi. Yet the Millennium Falcon was

famous not for its outward appearance but

for its speed: This freighter was still

the fastest ship ever to make the Kessel

Run or to outrun an Imperial TIE fighter.

Much of the Falcon's success could be

attributed to its maintenance, now

entrusted to the shaggy hands of a two-

meter-tall mountain of brown hair, whose

face was at the moment hidden behind a

welder's mask.

Chewbacca, Han Solo's giant Wookiee

copilot, was repairing the Millennium

Falcon's central lifter when he noticed

Solo approaching. The Wookiee stopped his

work and raised his face shield, exposing

his furry countenance. A growl that few

non-Wookiees in the universe could

translate roared from his toothy mouth.

Han Solo was one of those few. 'Cold

isn't the word for it, Chewie,' the

Corellian replied. 'I'll take a good fight

any day over all this hiding and

freezing!' He noticed the smoky wisps

rising from the newly welded section of

metal. 'How are you coming with those

lifters?'

Chewbacca replied with a typical Wookiee

grumble.

'All right,' Han said, fully agreeing

with his friend's desire to return to

space, to some other planet - anywhere but

Hoth. 'I'll go report. Then I'll give you

a hand. Soon as those lifters are fixed,

we're out of here.'

The Wookiee barked, a joyful chuckle, and

returned to his work as Han continued

through the artificial ice cavern.

The command center was alive with

electronic equipment and monitoring

devices reaching toward the icy ceiling.

As in the hangar, Rebel personnel filled

the command center. The room was full of

controllers, troopers, maintenance men -

along with droids of varying models and

sizes, all of whom were diligently

involved in converting the chamber into a

workable base to replace the one on Yavin.

The man Han Solo had come to see was

busily engaged behind a great console, his

attention riveted to a computer screen

flashing brilliantly colored readouts.

Rieekan, wearing the uniform of a Rebel

general, straightened his tall frame to

face Solo as he approached.

'General, there isn't a hint of life in

the area,' Han reported. 'But all the

perimeter markings are set, so you'll know

if anyone comes calling.'

As usual, General Rieekan did not smile

at Solo's flippancy. But he admired the

young man's taking a kind of unofficial

membership in the Rebellion. So impressed

was Rieekan by Solo's qualities that he

often considered giving him an honorary

officer's commission.

'Has Commander Skywalker reported in

yet?' the general inquired.

'He's checking out a meteorite that hit

near him,' Han answered. 'He'll be in

soon.'

Rieekan quickly glanced at a newly

installed radar screen and studied the

flashing images. 'With all the meteor

activity in this system, it's going to be

difficult to spot approaching ships.'

'General, I ...' Han hesitated. 'I think

it's time for me to move on.'

Han's attention was drawn from General

Rieekan to a steadily approaching figure.

Her walk was both graceful and determined,

and somehow the young woman's feminine

features seemed incongruous with her white

combat uniform. Even at this distance, Han

could tell Princess Leia was upset.

'You're good in a fight,' the general

remarked to Han, adding, 'I hate to lose

you.'

'Thank you, General. But there's a price

on my head. If I don't pay off Jabba the

Hutt, I'm a walking dead man.'

'A death mark is not an easy thing to

live with ... ' the officer began as Han

turned to Princess Leia. Solo was not a

sentimental sort, but he was aware that he

was very emotional now. 'I guess this is

it, Your Highness.' He paused, not knowing

what response to expect from the princess.

'That's right,' Leia replied coldly. Her

sudden aloofness was quickly evolving into

genuine anger.

Han shook his head. Long ago he had told

himself that females - mammalian,

reptilian, or some biological class yet to

be discovered - were beyond his meager

powers of comprehension. Better leave them

to mystery, he'd often advised himself.

But for a while, at least, Han had begun

to believe that there was at least one

female in all the cosmos that he was

beginning to understand. And yet, he had

been wrong before.

'Well,' Han said, 'don't go all mushy on

me. So long, Princess.'

Abruptly turning his back to her, Han

strode into the quiet corridor that

connected with the command center. His

destination was the hangar deck, where a

giant Wookiee and a smuggler's freighter -

two realities he did understand - were

waiting for him. He was not about to stop

walking.

'Han!' Leia was rushing after him,

slightly out of breath.

Coolly, he stopped and turned toward her.

'Yes, Your Highness?'

'I thought you had decided to stay.'

There seemed to be real concern in Leia's

voice, but Han could not be certain.

'That bounty hunter we ran into on Ord

Mantell changed my mind.'

'Does Luke know?' she asked.

'He'll know when he gets back,' Han

replied gruffly.

Princess Leia's eyes narrowed, her gaze

judging him with a look he knew well. For

a moment Han felt like one of the icicles

on the surface of the planet.

'Don't give me that look,' he said

sternly. 'Every day more bounty hunters

are searching for me. I'm going to pay off

Jabba before he sends any more of his

remotes, Gank killers, and who knows what

else. I've got to get this price off my

head while I still have a head.'

Leia was obviously affected by his words,

and Han could see that she was concerned

for him as well as, perhaps, feeling

something more.

'But we still need you,' she said.

'We?' he asked.

'Yes.'

'What about you?' Han was careful to

emphasize the last word, but really wasn't

certain why. Maybe it was something he had

for some time wanted to say but had lacked

the courage - no, he amended, the

stupidity - to expose his feelings. At the

moment there seemed to be little to lose,

and he was ready for whatever she might

say.

'Me?' she said bluntly. 'I don't know

what you mean.'

Incredulous, Han Solo shook his head.

'No, you probably don't.'

'And what precisely am I supposed to

know?' Anger was growing in her voice

again, probably because, Han thought, she

was finally beginning to understand.

He smiled. 'You want me to stay because

of the way you feel about me.'

Again the princess mellowed. 'Well, yes,

you've been a great help,' she said,

pausing before going on,'... to us. You're

a natural leader-'

But Han refused to let her finish,

cutting her off in midsentence. 'No, Your

Worship. That's not it.'

Suddenly Leia was staring directly into

Han's face, with eyes that were, at last,

fully understanding. She started to laugh.

'You're imagining things.'

'Am I? I think you were afraid I was

going to leave you without even a...'

Han's eyes focused on her lips,'... kiss.'

She began to laugh harder now. 'I'd just

as soon kiss a Wookiee.'

'I can arrange that.' He moved closer to

her, and she looked radiant even in the

cold light of the ice chamber. 'Believe

me, you could use a good kiss. You've been

so busy giving orders, you've forgotten

how to be a woman. If you'd have let go

for a moment, I could have helped you. But

it's too late now, sweetheart. Your big

opportunity is flying out of here.'

'I think I can survive,' she said,

obviously irked.

'Good luck!'

'You don't even care if the-'

He knew what she was going to say and

didn't let her finish. 'Spare me, please!'

he interrupted. 'Don't tell me about the

Rebellion again. It's all you think about.

You're as cold as this planet.'

'And you think you're the one to apply

some heat?'

'Sure, if I were interested. But I don't

think it'd be much fun.' With that, Han

stepped back and looked at her again,

appraising her coolly. 'We'll meet again,'

he said. 'Maybe by then you'll have warmed

up a little.' Her expression had changed

again. Han had seen killers with kinder

eyes.

'You have all the breeding of a Bantha,'

she snarled, 'but not as much class. Enjoy

your trip, hot shot!' Princess Leia

quickly turned away from Han and hurried

down the corridor.

= II =

THE temperature on the surface of Hoth

had dropped. But despite the frigid air,

the Imperial Probe Droid continued its

leisurely drift above the snow-swept

fields and hills, its extended sensors

still reaching in all directions for life

signs.

The robot's heat sensors suddenly

reacted. It had found a heat source in the

vicinity, and warmth was a good indication

of life. The head swiveled on its axis,

the sensitive eyelike blisters noting the

direction from which the heat source

originated. Automatically the probe robot

adjusted its speed and began to move at

maximum velocity over the icy fields.

The insectlike machine slowed only when

it neared a mound of snow bigger than the

probe droid itself. The robot's scanners

made note of the mound's size - nearly one-

point-eight meters in height and an

enormous six meters long. But the mound's

size was of only secondary importance.

What was truly astounding, if a

surveillance machine could ever be

astounded, was the amount of heat

radiating from beneath the mound. The

creature under that snowy hill must surely

be well protected against the cold.

A thin blue-white beam of light shot from

one of the probe robot's appendages, its

intense heat boring into the white mound

and scattering gleaming snow flecks in all

directions.

The mound began to shiver, then to quake.

Whatever existed beneath it was deeply

irritated by the robot's probing laser

beam.

Snow began to fall away from the mound in

sizable clumps when, at one end, two eyes

showed through the mass of white.

Huge yellow eyes peered like twin points

of fire at the mechanical creature that

continued to blast away with its painful

beams. The eyes burned with primeval

hatred for the thing that had interrupted

its slumber.

The mound shook again, with a roar that

nearly destroyed the probe droid's

auditory sensors. It zoomed back several

meters, widening the space between it and

the creature. The droid had never before

encountered a Wampa Ice Creature; its

computers advised that the beast be dealt

with expeditiously.

The droid made an internal adjustment to

regulate the potency of its laser beam.

Less than a moment later the beam was at

maximum intensity. The machine aimed the

laser at the creature, enveloping it in a

great flaming and smoking cloud. Seconds

later the few remaining particles of the

Wampa were swept away by the icy winds.

The smoke disappeared, leaving behind no

physical evidence -save for a large

depression in the snow - that an Ice

Creature had ever been there.

But its existence had been properly

recorded in the memory of the probe droid,

which was already continuing on its

programmed mission.

The roars of another Wampa Ice Creature

finally awakened the battered young Rebel

commander.

Luke's head was spinning, aching, perhaps

exploding for all he could tell. With

painstaking effort he brought his vision

into focus, discerning that he was in an

ice gorge, its jagged walls reflecting the

fading twilight.

He suddenly realized he was hanging

upside down, arms dangling and fingertips

some thirty centimeters from the snowy

floor. His ankles were numb. He craned his

neck and saw that his feet were frozen in

ice hanging from the ceiling and that the

ice was forming on his legs like

stalactites. He could feel the frozen mask

of his own blood caked on his face where

the Wampa Ice Creature had viciously

slashed him.

Again Luke heard the bestial moans,

louder now as they resounded through the

deep and narrow passageway of ice. The

roars of the monster were deafening. He

wondered which would kill him first, the

cold or the fangs and claws of the thing

that inhabited the gorge.

I've got to free myself, he thought, get

free of this ice. His strength had not yet

returned fully, but with a determined

effort, he pulled himself up and reached

for the confining bonds. Still too weak,

Luke could not break the ice and fell back

into his hanging position, the white floor

rushing up at him.

'Relax,' he said to himself. 'Relax.'

The ice walls creaked with the ever-

louder bellows of the approaching

creature. Its feet crunched on the frigid

ground, coming frighteningly nearer. It

would not be long before the shaggy white

horror would be back and possibly warming

the cold young warrior in the darkness of

its belly.

Luke's eyes darted about the gorge,

finally spotting the pile of gear he had

brought with him on his mission, now lying

in a useless, crumpled heap on the floor.

The equipment was nearly a full,

unattainable meter beyond his grasp. And

with that gear was a device that entirely

captured his attention - a stout handgrip

unit with a pair of small switches and a

surmounting metal disk. The object had

once belonged to his father, a former Jedi

Knight who had been betrayed and murdered

by the young Darth Vader. But now it was

Luke's, given him by Ben Kenobi to be

wielded with honor against Imperial

tyranny.

In desperation Luke tried twisting his

aching body, just enough to reach the

discarded lightsaber. But the freezing

cold coursing through his body slowed him

down and weakened him. Luke was beginning

to resign himself to his fate as he heard

the snarling Wampa Ice Creature

approaching. His last feelings of hope

were nearly gone when he sensed the

presence.

But it was not the presence of the white

giant that dominated this gorge.

Rather, it was that soothing spiritual

presence which occasionally visited Luke

in moments of stress or danger. The

presence that had first come to him only

after old Ben, once again in his Jedi role

of Obi-Wan Kenobi, vanished into a crumple

of his own dark robes after being cut down

by Darth Vader's lightsaber. The presence

that was sometimes like a familiar voice,

an almost silent whisper that spoke

directly to Luke's mind.

'Luke.' The whisper was there again,

hauntingly. 'Think of the lightsaber in

your hand.'

The words made Luke's already aching head

throb. Then he felt a sudden resurgence of

strength, a feeling of confidence that

urged him to continue fighting despite his

apparently hopeless situation. His eyes

fixed upon the lightsaber. His hand

reached out painfully, the freezing in his

limbs already taking its toll. He squeezed

his eyes shut in concentration. But the

weapon was still beyond his reach. He knew

that the lightsaber would require more

than just struggling to reach.

'Gotta relax,' Luke told himself, 'relax

...'

Luke's mind whirled as he heard the words

of his disembodied guardian. 'Let the

Force flow, Luke.'

The Force!

Luke saw the inverted gorillalike image

of the Wampa Ice Creature looming, its

raised arms ending in enormous gleaming

claws. He could see the apish face for the

first time now, and shivered at the sight

of the beast's ramlike horns, the

quivering lower jaw with its protruding

fangs.

But then the warrior divorced the

creature from his thoughts. He stopped

struggling for his weapon, his body

relaxed and went limp, allowing his spirit

to be receptive to his teacher's

suggestion. Already he could feel coursing

through him that energy field generated by

all living beings, that bound the very

universe together.

As Kenobi had taught him, the Force was

within Luke to use as he saw fit.

The Wampa Ice Creature spread its black,

hooked claws and lumbered toward the

hanging youth. Suddenly the lightsaber, as

if by magic, sprang to Luke's hand.

Instantly, he depressed a colored button

on the weapon, releasing a bladelike beam

that quickly severed his icy bonds.

As Luke, weapon in hand, dropped to the

floor, the monstrous figure towering over

him took a cautious step backward. The

beast's sulfurous eyes blinked

incredulously at the humming lightshaft, a

sight baffling to its primitive brain.

Though it was difficult to move, Luke

jumped to his feet and waved his

lightsaber at the snow-white mass of

muscle and hair, forcing it back a step,

another step. Bringing the weapon down,

Luke cut through the monster's hide with

the blade of light. The Wampa Ice Creature

shrieked, its hideous roar of agony

shaking the gorge walls. It turned and

hastily lumbered out of the gorge, its

white bulk blending with the distant

terrain.

The sky was already noticeably darker,

and with the encroaching darkness came the

colder winds. The Force was with Luke, but

even that mysterious power could not warm

him now. Every step he took as he stumbled

out of the gorge was more difficult than

the last. Finally, his vision dimming as

rapidly as the daylight, Luke stumbled

down an embankment of snow and was

unconscious before he even reached the

bottom.

In the subsurface main hangar dock,

Chewie was getting the Millennium Falcon

ready for takeoff. He looked up from his

work to see a rather curious pair of

figures that had just appeared from around

a nearby corner to mingle with the usual

Rebel activity in the hangar.

Neither of these figures was human,

although one of them had a humanoid shape

and gave the impression of a man in

knightly golden armor. His movements were

precise, almost too precise to be human,

as he clanked stiffly through the

corridor. His companion required no

manlike legs for locomotion, for he was

doing quite well rolling his shorter,

barrel-like body along on miniature

wheels.

The shorter of the two droids was beeping

and whistling excitedly.

'It is not my fault, you malfunctioning

tin can,' the tall, anthropomorphic droid

stated, gesturing with a metallic hand. 'I

did not ask you to turn on the thermal

heater. I merely commented that it was

freezing in her chamber. But it's supposed

to be freezing. How are we going to get

all her things dried out?... Ah! Here we

are.'

See Threepio, the golden droid in human

shape, paused to focus his optical sensors

on the docked Millennium Falcon.

The other robot, Artoo Detoo, retracted

his wheels and frontal leg, and rested his

stout metal body on the ground. The

smaller droid's sensors were reading the

familiar figures of Han Solo and his

Wookiee companion as those two continued

the work of replacing the freighter's

central lifters.

'Master Solo, sir,' Threepio called, the

only one of the robotic twosome equipped

with an imitation human voice. 'Might I

have a word with you?'

Han was not particularly in a mood to be

disturbed, especially by this fastidious

droid. 'What is it?'

'Mistress Leia has been trying to reach

you on the communicator,' Threepio

informed him. 'It must be malfunctioning.'

But Han knew that it was not. 'I shut it

off,' he said sharply as he continued to

work on his ship. 'What does her royal

holiness want?'

Threepio's auditory sensors identified

the disdain in Han's voice but did not

understand it. The robot mimicked a human

gesture as he added, 'She is looking for

Master Luke and assumed he would be here

with you. No one seems to know-

'Luke's not back yet?' Immediately Han

became concerned. He could see that the

sky beyond the ice cavern entrance had

grown considerably darker since he and

Chewbacca had begun to repair the

Millennium Falcon. Han knew just how

severely the temperatures dropped on the

surface after nightfall and how deadly the

winds could be.

In a flash he jumped off the Falcon's

lift, not even looking back toward the

Wookiee. 'Bolt it down, Chewie. Officer of

the Deck!' Han yelled, then brought his

comlink to his mouth and asked, 'Security

Control, has Commander Skywalker reported

in yet?' A negative reply brought a scowl

to Han's face.

The deck sergeant and his aide hurried up

to Solo in response to his summons.

'Is Commander Skywalker back yet?' Han

asked, tension in his voice.

'I haven't seen him,' the deck sergeant

replied. 'It's possible he came in through

the south entrance.'

'Check on it!' Solo snapped, though he

was not in an official position to give

commands. 'It's urgent.'

As the deck sergeant and his aide turned

and rushed down the corridor, Artoo

emitted a concerned whistle that rose

inquiringly in pitch.

'I don't know, Artoo,' Threepio answered,

stiffly turning his upper torso and head

in Han's direction. 'Sir, might I inquire

what's going on?'

Anger welled up inside Han as he grunted

back at the robot, 'Go tell your precious

princess that Luke is dead unless he shows

up soon.'

Artoo began to whistle hysterically at

Solo's grim prediction and his now-

frightened golden partner exclaimed, 'Oh,

no!'

The main tunnel was filled with activity

when Han Solo rushed in. He saw a pair of

Rebel troopers employing all their

physical strength to restrain a nervous

Tauntaun that was trying to break free.

From the opposite end, the deck officer

rushed into the corridor, his eyes darting

around the chamber until he had spotted

Han. 'Sir,' he said frantically,

'Commander Skywalker hasn't come through

the south entrance. He might have

forgotten to check in.'

'Not likely,' Han snapped. 'Are the

speeders ready?'

'Not yet,' the deck officer answered.

'Adapting them to the cold is proving

difficult. Maybe by morning-

Han cut him off. There wasn't any time to

waste on machines that could and probably

would break down. 'We'll have to go out on

Tauntauns. I'll take sector four.'

'The temperature is falling too rapidly.'

'You bet it is,' Han growled, 'and Luke's

out in it.'

The other officer volunteered, 'I'll

cover sector twelve. Have control set

screen alpha.'

But Han knew there was not time for

control to get its surveillance cameras

operating, not with Luke probably dying

somewhere on the desolate plains above. He

pushed his way through the assemblage of

Rebel troops and took the reins of one of

the trained Tauntauns, leaping onto the

creature's back.

'The night storms will start before any

of you can reach the first marker,' the

deck officer warned.

'Then I'll see you in hell,' grunted Han,

tugging the reins of his mount and

maneuvering the animal out of the cave.

Snow was falling heavily as Han Solo

raced his Tauntaun through the wilderness.

Night was near and the winds were howling

fiercely, piercing his heavy clothes. He

knew that he would be as useless as an

icicle to Luke unless he found the young

warrior soon.

The Tauntaun was already feeling the

effects of the temperature drop. Not even

its layers of insulating fat or the matted

gray fur could protect it from the

elements after nightfall. Already the

beast was wheezing, its breathing becoming

increasingly labored.

Han prayed that the snow-lizard wouldn't

drop, at least not until he had located

Luke.

He drove his mount harder, forcing it on

across the icy plains.

Another figure was moving across the

snow, its metal body hovering above the

frozen ground.

The Imperial Probe Droid paused briefly

in midflight, its sensors twitching.

Then, satisfied with its findings, the

robot gently lowered itself, coming to

rest on the ground. Like spider legs,

several probes separated from the metal

hull, dislodging some of the snow that had

settled there.

Something began to take shape around the

robot, a pulsating glow that gradually

covered the machine as if with a

transparent dome. Quickly this force field

solidified, repelling the blowing snow

that brushed over the droid's hull.

After a moment the glow faded, and the

blowing snow soon formed a perfect dome of

white, completely concealing the droid and

its protective force field.

The Tauntaun was racing at maximum speed,

certainly too fast considering the

distance it had traveled and the

unbearable frigid air. No longer wheezing,

it had begun moaning pitifully, and its

legs were becoming more and more unsteady.

Han felt sorry about the Tauntaun's pain,

but at present the creature's life was

only secondary to that of his friend Luke.

It was becoming difficult for Han to see

through the thickening snowfall.

Desperate, he searched for some

interruption in the eternal plains, some

distant spot that might actually be Luke.

But there was nothing to see other than

the darkening expanses of snow and ice.

Yet there was a sound.

Han drew the reins in, bringing the

Tauntaun to an abrupt halt on the plain.

Solo could not be certain, but there

seemed to be some sound other than the

howling of the winds that whipped past

him. He strained to look in the direction

of the sound.

Then he spurred his Tauntaun, forcing it

to gallop across the snow-swept field.

Luke could have been a corpse, food for

the scavengers, by the time the light of

dawn returned. But somehow he was still

alive, though barely, and struggling to

stay that way even with the night storms

violently assaulting him. Luke painfully

pulled himself upright from the snow, only

to be blasted back down by the freezing

gale. As he fell he considered the irony

of it all - a farm boy from Tatooine

maturing to battle the Death Star, now

perishing alone in a frozen alien

wasteland.

It took all of Luke's remaining strength

to drag himself a half meter before

finally collapsing, sinking into the ever-

deepening drifts. 'I can't...' he said,

though no one could hear his words.

But someone, though still unseen, had

heard.

'You must.' The words vibrated in Luke's

mind. 'Luke, look at me!'

Luke could not ignore that command; the

power of those softly spoken words was too

great.

With a great effort, Luke lifted his head

and saw what he thought was a

hallucination. In front of him, apparently

unaffected by the cold and still clad only

in the shabby robes he had worn in the hot

desert of Tatooine, stood Ben Kenobi.

Luke wanted to call out to him, but he

was speechless.

The apparition spoke with the same gentle

authority Ben had always used with the

young man. 'You must survive, Luke.'

The young commander found the strength to

move his lips again. 'I'm cold... so cold

...'

'You must go to the Dagobah system,' the

spectral figure of Ben Kenobi instructed.

'You will learn from Yoda, the Jedi

Master, the one who taught me.'

Luke listened, then reached to touch the

ghostly figure. 'Ben ... Ben..." he

groaned.

The figure remained unmoved by Luke's

efforts to reach it. 'Luke,' it spoke

again, 'you're our only hope.'

Our only hope.

Luke was confused. Yet before he could

gather the strength to ask for an

explanation, the figure began to fade. And

when every trace of the apparition had

passed from his sight, Luke thought he saw

the approach of a Tauntaun with a human

rider on its back. The snow-lizard was

approaching, its gait unsteady. The rider

was still too far away, too obscured by

the storm for identification.

In desperation the young Rebel commander

called out, 'Ben?!' before again dropping

off into unconsciousness.

The snow-lizard was barely able to stand

on its saurian hind legs when Han Solo

reined it to a stop and dismounted.

Han looked with horror at the snow-

covered, almost frozen form lying as if

dead at his feet.

'Come on, buddy,' he appealed to Luke's

inert figure, immediately forgetting his

own nearly frozen body, 'you aren't dead

yet. Give me a signal here.'

Han could detect no sign of life, and

noticed that Luke's face, nearly covered

with snow, was savagely torn. He rubbed at

the youth's face, being careful not to

touch the drying wounds. 'Don't do this,

Luke. It's not your time.'

Finally a slight response. A low moan,

barely audible over the winds, was strong

enough to send a warm glow through Han's

own shivering body. He grinned with

relief. 'I knew you wouldn't leave me out

here all alone! We've got to get you out

of here.'

Knowing that Luke's salvation - and his

own - lay in the speed of the Tauntaun,

Han moved toward the beast, carrying the

young warrior limply in his arms. But

before he could drape the unconscious form

over the animal's back, the snow-lizard

gave an agonized roar, then fell into a

shaggy gray heap on the snow. Laying his

companion down, Han rushed to the side of

the fallen creature. The Tauntaun made one

final sound, not a roar or bellow but only

a sickly rasp. Then the beast was silent.

Solo gripped the Tauntaun's hide, his

numbed fingers searching for even the

slightest indication of life. 'Deader than

a Triton moon,' he said, knowing that Luke

did not hear a word. 'We haven't got much

time.'

Resting Luke's motionless form against

the belly of the dead snow-lizard, Han

proceeded to work. It might be something

of a sacrilege, he mused, using a Jedi

Knight's favorite weapon like this, but

right now Luke's lightsaber was the most

efficient and precise tool to cut through

the thick skin of a Tauntaun.

At first the weapon felt strange in his

hand, but momentarily he was cutting the

animal's carcass from hairy head to scaly

hind paws. Han winced at the foul odor

that rose from the steaming incision.

There were few things he could remember

that stank like a snow-lizard's innards.

Without deliberation he tossed the

slippery entrails into the snow.

When the animal's corpse had been

entirely eviscerated, Han shoved his

friend inside the warm, hair-covered skin.

'I know this doesn't smell so good, Luke,

but it'll keep you from freezing. I'm sure

this Tauntaun wouldn't hesitate if it were

the other way around.'

From the body of the snow-lizard, another

blast of entrail-stench rose out of the

disemboweled cavity. 'Whew!' Han almost

gagged. 'It's just as well you're out

cold, pal.'

There wasn't much time left to do what

had to be done. Han's freezing hands went

to the supply pack strapped to the

Tauntaun's back and rummaged through the

Rebel-issue items until he located the

shelter container.

Before unpacking it, he spoke into his

comlink. 'Echo Base, do you copy?'

No response.

'This comlink is useless!'

The sky had darkened ominously and the

winds blew violently, making even

breathing close to impossible. Han fought

to open the shelter container and stiffly

began to construct the one piece of Rebel

equipment that might protect them both -

if only for a short while longer.

'If I don't get this shelter up fast,' he

grumbled to himself, 'Jabba won't need

those bounty hunters.'

= III =

ARTOO DETOO stood just outside the

entrance to the secret Rebel ice hangar,

dusted with a layer of snow that had

settled over his plug-shaped body. His

inner timing mechanisms knew he had waited

here a long time and his optical sensors

told him that the sky was dark.

But the R2 unit was concerned only with

his built-in probe-sensors that were still

sending signals across the ice fields. His

long and earnest sensorsearch for the

missing Luke Skywalker and Han Solo had

not turned up a thing.

The stout droid began beeping nervously

when Threepio approached him, plodding

stiffly through the snow.

'Artoo,' the gold-colored robot inclined

the upper half of his form at the hip

joints, 'there's nothing more you can do.

You must come inside.' Threepio

straightened to his full height again,

simulating a human shiver as the night

winds howled past his gleaming hull.

'Artoo, my joints are freezing up. Will

you hurry ... please?...' But before he

could finish his own sentence, Threepio

was hurrying back toward the hangar

entrance.

Hoth's sky was then entirely black with

night, and Princess Leia Organa stood

inside the Rebel base entrance,

maintaining a worried vigil. She shivered

in the night wind as she tried to see into

the Hoth darkness. Waiting near a deeply

concerned Major Derlin, her mind was

somewhere out on the ice fields.

The giant Wookiee sat nearby, his maned

head lifting quickly from his hairy hands

as the two droids Threepio and Artoo

reentered the hangar.

Threepio was humanly distraught. 'Artoo

has not been able to pick up any signals,'

he reported, fretting, 'although he feels

his range is probably too limited to cause

us to give up hope.' Still, very little

confidence could be detected in Threepio's

artificial voice.

Leia gave the taller droid a nod of

acknowledgment, but did not speak. Her

thoughts were occupied with the pair of

missing heroes. Most disturbing to her was

that she found her mind focused on one of

the two: a dark-haired Corellian whose

words were not always to be taken

literally.

As the princess kept watch, Major Derlin

turned to acknowledge a Rebel lieutenant

reporting in. 'All patrols are now in

except Solo and Skywalker, sir.'

The major looked over at Princess Leia.

'Your Highness,' he said, his voice

weighty with regret, 'nothing more can be

done tonight. The temperature is dropping

fast. The shield doors must be closed. I'm

sorry.' Derlin waited a moment then

addressed the lieutenant. 'Close the

doors.'

The Rebel officer turned to carry out

Derlin's order and immediately the chamber

of ice seemed to drop even more in

temperature as the mournful Wookiee howled

his grief.

'The speeders should be ready in the

morning,' the major said to Leia. 'They'll

make the search easier.'

Not really expecting an affirmative

reply, Leia asked, 'Is there any chance of

their surviving until morning?'

'Slim,' Major Derlin answered with grim

honesty. 'But yes, there's a chance.'

In response to the major's words, Artoo

began to operate the miniature computers

inside his barrellike metal body, taking

only moments to juggle numerous sets of

mathematical computations, and climaxing

his figurings with a series of triumphant

beeps.

'Ma'am,' Threepio interpreted, 'Artoo

says the chances against survival are

seven hundred twenty-five to one.' Then,

tilting toward the shorter robot, the

protocol droid grumbled, 'Actually, I

don't think we needed to know that.'

No one responded to Threepio's

translation. For several prolonged moments

there was a solemn silence, broken only by

the echoing clang of metal slamming

against metal: the huge doors of the Rebel

base were closed for the night. It was as

if some heartless deity had officially

severed the assembled group from the two

men out on the ice plains and had, with a

metallic bang, announced their deaths.

Chewbacca let out another suffering howl.

And a silent prayer, often spoken on an

erstwhile world called Alderaan, crept

into Leia's thoughts.

The sun that was creeping over Hoth's

northern horizon was relatively dim, but

its light was enough to shed some warmth

on the planet's icy surface. The light

crawled across the rolling hills of snow,

fought to reach the darker recesses of the

icy gorges, then finally came to rest on

what must have been the only perfect white

mound on the entire world.

So perfect was the snow-covered mound

that it must have owed its existence to

some power other than Nature. Then, as the

sky grew steadily brighter, this mound

began to hum. Anyone observing the mound

now would have been startled as the snow

dome seemed to erupt, sending its snowy

outer covering skyward in a great burst of

white particles. A droning machine began

pulling back its retractable sensor arms,

and its awesome bulk slowly rose from its

frozen white bed.

The probe robot paused briefly in the

windy air, then continued on its morning

mission across the snow-covered plains.

Something else had invaded the morning

air of the ice world - a relatively small,

snub-nosed craft, with dark cockpit

windows and laser guns mounted on each

side. The Rebel snowspeeder was heavily

armored and designed for warfare near the

planet's surface. But this morning the

small craft was on a reconnaissance

mission, racing above the expansive white

landscape and arcing over the contours of

the snowdrifts.

Although the snowspeeder was designed for

a two-man crew, Zev was the ship's only

occupant. His eyes took in a panoramic

scan of the desolate stretches below, and

he prayed that he would find the objects

of his search before he went snowblind.

Presently he heard a low beeping signal.

'Echo Base,' he shouted jubilantly into

his cockpit comlink, 'I've got something!

Not much, but it could be a sign of life.

Sector four-six-one-four by eight-eight-

two. I'm closing in.'

Frantically working the controls of his

ship, Zev reduced its speed slightly and

banked the craft over a snowdrift. He

welcomed the sudden G-force pressing him

against his seat and headed the

snowspeeder in the direction of the faint

signal.

As the white infinity of Hoth's terrain

streaked under him, the Rebel pilot

switched his comlink to a new frequency.

'Echo Three, this is Rogue Two. Do you

copy? Commander Skywalker, this is Rogue

Two.'

The only reply that came through his

comlink receiver was static.

But then he heard a voice, a very distant-

sounding voice, fighting its way through

the crackling noise. 'Nice of you guys to

drop by. Hope we didn't get you up too

early.'

Zev welcomed the characteristic cynicism

in Han Solo's voice. He switched his

transmitter back to the hidden Rebel base.

'Echo Base, this is Rogue Two,' he

reported, his voice suddenly rising in

pitch. 'I found them. Repeat...'

As he spoke, the pilot pulled in a fine-

tune fix on the signals winking on his

cockpit monitor screens. Then he further

reduced the speed of his craft, bringing

it down close enough to the planet's

surface so that he could better see a

small object standing out against the

fleecy plains.

The object, a portable Rebel-issue

shelter, sat atop a snowdrift. On the

shelter's windward side was a hard-packed

layer of white. And resting gingerly

against the upper part of the snowdrift

was a makeshift radio antenna.

But a more welcome sight than any of this

was the familiar human figure standing in

front of the snow shelter, frantically

waving his arms at the snowspeeder.

As Zev dipped his craft for a landing, he

felt overwhelmingly grateful that at least

one of the warriors he had been sent out

to find was still alive.

Only a thick glass window separated the

battered, near-frozen body of Luke

Skywalker from five of his watchful

friends.

Han Solo, who appreciated the relative

warmth of the Rebel medical center, was

standing beside Leia, his Wookiee copilot,

Artoo Detoo, and See Threepio. Han exhaled

with relief. He knew that, despite the

grim atmosphere of the chamber enclosing

him, the young commander was finally out

of danger and in the best of mechanical

hands.

Clad only in white shorts, Luke hung in a

vertical position inside a transparent

cylinder with a combination breath mask

and microphone covering his nose and

mouth. The surgeon droid, Too-Onebee, was

attending to the youth with the skill of

the finest humanoid doctors. He was aided

by his medical assistant droid, FX-7,

which looked like nothing more than a

metal-capped set of cylinders, wires, and

appendages. Gracefully, the surgeon droid

worked a switch that brought a gelatinous

red fluid pouring down over his human

patient. This bacta, Han knew, could work

miracles, even with patients in such dire

shape as Luke.

As the bubbling slime encapsulated his

body, Luke began to thrash about and rave

deliriously. 'Watch out,' he moaned, snow

creatures. Dangerous ... Yoda ... go to

Yoda ... only hope.'

Han had not the slightest idea what his

friend was raving about. Chewbacca, also

perplexed by the youth's babbling,

expressed himself with an interrogative

Wookiee bark.

'He doesn't make sense to me either,

Chewie,' Han replied.

Threepio commented hopefully, 'I do hope

he's all there, if you take my meaning. It

would be most unfortunate if Master Luke

were to develop a short circuit.'

The kid ran into something,' Han observed

matter-of-factly, 'and it wasn't just the

cold.'

'It's those creatures he keeps talking

about,' Leia said, looking at the grimly

staring Solo. 'We've doubled the security,

Han,' she began, tentatively trying to

thank him, 'I don't know how-

'Forget it,' he said brusquely. Right now

he was concerned only with his friend in

the red bacta fluid.

Luke's body sloshed through the brightly

colored substance, the bacta's healing

properties by now taking effect. For a

while it appeared as if Luke were trying

to resist the curative flow of the

translucent muck. Then, at last, he gave

up his mumbling and relaxed, succumbing to

the bacta's powers.

Too-Onebee turned away from the human who

had been entrusted to his care. He angled

his skull-shaped head to gaze at Han and

the others through the window. 'Commander

Skywalker has been in dormo-shock but is

responding well to the bacta,' the robot

announced, his commanding, authoritative

voice heard distinctly through the glass.

'He is now out of danger.'

The surgeon robot's words immediately

wiped away the tension that had seized the

group on the other side of the window.

Leia sighed in relief, and Chewbacca

grunted his approval of Too-Onebee's

treatment.

Luke had no way of estimating how long he

had been delirious. But now he was in full

command of his mind and senses. He sat up

on his bed in the Rebel medical center.

What a relief, he thought, to be breathing

real air again, however cold it might be.

A medical droid was removing the

protective pad from his healing face. His

eyes were uncovered and he was beginning

to perceive the face of someone standing

by his bed. Gradually the smiling image of

Princess Leia came into focus. She

gracefully moved toward him and gently

brushed his hair out of his eyes.

'The bacta are growing well,' she said as

she looked at his healing wounds. 'The

scars should be gone in a day or so. Does

it still hurt you?'

Across the room, the door banged open.

Artoo beeped a cheerful greeting as he

rolled toward Luke, and Threepio clanked

noisily toward Luke's bed. 'Master Luke,

it's good to see you functional again.'

Thanks, Threepio.'

Artoo emitted a series of happy beeps and

whistles.

'Artoo expresses his relief also,'

Threepio translated helpfully.

Luke was certainly grateful for the

robots' concern. But before he could reply

to either of the droids, he met with yet

another interruption.

'Hi, kid,' Han Solo greeted him

boisterously as he and Chewbacca burst

into the medical center.

The Wookiee growled a friendly greeting.

'You look strong enough to wrestle a

Gundark,' Han observed.

Luke felt that strong, and felt grateful

to his friend. Thanks to you.'

That's two you owe me, junior.' Han gave

the princess a wide, devilish grin. 'Well,

Your Worship,' he said mockingly, 'it

looks like you arranged to keep me close

by for a while longer.'

'I had nothing to do with it,' Leia said

hotly, annoyed at Han's vanity. 'General

Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any

ships to leave the system until the

generators are operational.'

'That makes a good story. But I think you

just can't bear to let me out of your

sight.'

'I don't know where you get your

delusions, laser brains,' she retorted.

Chewbacca, amused by this verbal battle

between two of the strongest human wills

he had ever encountered, let out a roaring

Wookiee laugh.

'Laugh it up, fuzz ball,' Han said

goodnaturedly. 'You didn't see us alone in

the south passage.'

Until now, Luke had scarcely listened to

this lively exchange. Han and the princess

had argued frequently enough in the past.

But that reference to the south passage

sparked his curiosity, and he looked at

Leia for an explanation.

'She expressed her true feeling for me,'

Han continued, delighting in the rosy

flush that appeared on the princess's

cheeks. 'Come on, Your Highness, you've

already forgotten.'

'Why, you low-down, stuck-up, half-

witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder...'

she sputtered in fury.

'Who's scruffy-looking?' he grinned. 'I

tell ya, sweetheart, I must've hit pretty

close to the mark to get you hoppin' like

this. Doesn't it look that way to you,

Luke?'

'Yeah,' he said, staring at the princess

incredulously, 'it does ... kind of.'

Leia looked over at Luke with a strange

mixture of emotions showing on her flushed

face. Something vulnerable, almost child

like, was reflected in her eyes for a

moment. And then the tough mask fell

again.

'Oh, it does, does it?' she said. 'Well,

I guess you don't understand everything

about women, do you?'

Luke agreed silently. He agreed even more

when in the next moment Leia leaned over

and kissed him firmly on the lips. Then

she turned on her heel and marched across

the room, slamming the door behind her.

Everyone in the room - human, Wookiee, and

droid - looked at one another, speechless.

In the distance, a warning alarm blared

through the subterranean corridors.

General Rieekan and his head controller

were conferring in the Rebel command

center when Han Solo and Chewbacca burst

into the room. Princess Leia and Threepio,

who had been listening to the general and

his officer, turned in anticipation at

their approach.

A warning signal blared across the

chamber from the huge console located

behind Rieekan and monitored by Rebel

control officers.

'General,' the sensor controller called.

Grimly attentive, General Rieekan watched

the console screens. Suddenly he saw a

flashing signal that had not been there a

moment before. 'Princess,' he said, 'I

think we have a visitor.'

Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Threepio

gathered around the general and watched

the beeping monitor screens.

'We've picked up something outside the

base in Zone Twelve. It's moving east,'

said Rieekan.

'Whatever it is, it's metal,' the sensor

controller observed.

Leia's eyes widened in surprise. 'Then it

can't be one of those creatures that

attacked Luke.'

'Could it be ours?' Han asked. 'A

speeder?'

The sensor controller shook his head.

'No, there's no signal.' Then came a sound

from another monitor. 'Wait, something

very weak...'

Walking as rapidly as his stiff joints

allowed, Threepio approached the console.

His auditory sensors tuned in the strange

signals. 'I must say, sir, I'm fluent in

over sixty million forms of communication,

but this is something new. Must be in a

code or-'

Just then the voice of a Rebel trooper

cut in through the console's comlink

speaker. 'This is Echo Station Three-

Eight. Unidentified object is in our

scope. It's just over the ridge. We should

have visual contact in about-' Without

warning the voice filled with fear. 'What

the-? Oh, no!'

A burst of radio static followed, then

the transmission broke off completely.

Han frowned. 'Whatever it is,' he said,

'it isn't friendly. Let's have a look.

Come on, Chewie.'

Even before Han and Chewbacca were out of

the chamber, General Rieekan had

dispatched Rogues Ten and Eleven to

Station Three-Eight.

The mammoth Imperial Star Destroyer

occupied a position of deadly prominence

in the Emperor's fleet. The sleekly

elongated ship was larger and even more

ominous than the five wedge-shaped

Imperial Star Destroyers guarding it.

Together these six cruisers were the most

dreaded and devastating warships in the

galaxy, capable of reducing to cosmic

scrap anything that strayed too close to

their weapons.

Flanking the Star Destroyers were a

number of smaller fighter ships and,

darting about this great space armada,

were the infamous TIE fighters.

Supreme confidence reigned in the heart

of every crew member in this Imperial

death squadron, especially among the

personnel on the monstrous central Star

Destroyer. But something also blazed

within their souls. Fear - fear of merely

the sound of the familiar heavy footsteps

as they echoed through the enormous ship.

Crew members dreaded these footfalls and

shuddered whenever they were heard

approaching, bringing their much feared,

but much respected leader.

Towering above them in his black cloak

and concealing black headgear, Darth

Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, entered the

main control deck, and the men around him

fell silent. In what seemed to be an

endless moment, no sounds except those

from the ship's control boards and the

loud wheezes coming from the ebony

figure's metal breath screen were to be

heard.

As Darth Vader watched the endless array

of stars, Captain Piett rushed across the

wide bridge of the ship, carrying a

message for the squat, evil-looking

Admiral Ozzel, who was stationed on the

bridge. 'I think we've found something,

Admiral,' he announced nervously, looking

from Ozzel to the Dark Lord.

'Yes, Captain?' The admiral was a

supremely confident man who felt relaxed

in the presence of his cloaked superior.

'The report we have is only a fragment,

from a probe droid in the Hoth system. But

it's the best lead we've had in-

'We have had thousands of probe droids

searching the galaxy,' Ozzel broke in

angrily. 'I want proof, not leads. I don't

intend to continue to chase around from

one side of-'

Abruptly the figure in black approached

the two and interrupted. 'You found

something?' he asked, his voice somewhat

distorted by the breath mask.

Captain Piett respectfully gazed at his

master, who loomed above him like a black-

robed, omnipotent god. 'Yes, sir,' Piett

said slowly, choosing his words with

caution. 'We have visuals. The system is

supposed to be devoid of human forms ...'

But Vader was no longer listening to the

captain. His masked face turned toward an

image beamed on one of the viewscreens -

an image of a small squadron of Rebel

snowspeeders streaking above the white

fields.

'That's it,' Darth Vader boomed without

further deliberation.

'My lord,' Admiral Ozzel protested,

'there are so many uncharted settlements.

It could be smugglers-

'That is the one!' the former Jedi Knight

insisted, clenching a black-gloved fist.

'And Skywalker is with them. Bring in the

patrol ships, Admiral, and set your course

for the Hoth system.' Vader looked toward

an officer wearing a green uniform with

matching cap. 'General Veers,' the Dark

Lord addressed him, 'prepare your men.'

As soon as Darth Vader had spoken, his

men set about to launch his fearful plan.

The Imperial Probe Droid raised a large

antenna from its buglike head and sent out

a piercing, high-frequency signal. The

robot's scanners had reacted to a lifeform

hidden behind a great dune of snow and

noted the appearance of a brown Wookiee

head and the sound of a deep-throated

growl. The blasters that had been built

into the probe robot took aim at the furry

giant. But before the robot had a chance

to fire, a red beam from a hand blaster

exploded from behind the Imperial Probe

Droid and nicked its darkly finished hull.

As he ducked behind a large snow dune, Han

Solo noticed Chewbacca still hidden, and

then watched as the robot spun around in

midair to face him. So far the ruse was

working and now he was the target. Han had

barely moved out of range as the floating

machine fired, blasting chunks of snow

from the edge of his dune. He fired again,

hitting it square on with the beam of his

weapon. Then he heard a high-pitched whine

coming from the deadly machine, and in an

instant the Imperial Probe Droid burst

into a billion or more flaming pieces.

'... I'm afraid there's not much left,'

Han said over the comlink as he concluded

his report to the underground base.

Princess Leia and General Rieekan were

still manning the console where they had

maintained constant communication with

Han. 'What is it?' Leia asked.

'Droid of some kind,' he answered. 'I

didn't hit it that hard. It must have had

a self-destruct.'

Leia paused as she considered this

unwelcome piece of information. 'An

Imperial droid,' she said, betraying some

trepidation.

'If it was,' Han warned, 'the Empire

surely knows we're here.'

General Rieekan shook his head slowly.

'We'd better start to evacuate the

planet.'

= IV =

SIX ominous shapes appeared in the black

space of the Hoth system and loomed like

vast demons of destruction, ready to

unleash the furies of their Imperial

weapons. Inside the largest of the six

Imperial Star Destroyers, Darth Vader sat

alone in a small spherical room. A single

shaft of light gleamed on his black helmet

as he sat motionless in his raised

meditation chamber.

As General Veers approached, the sphere

opened slowly, the upper half lifting like

a jagged-toothed mechanical jaw. To Veers,

the dark figure seated inside the

mouthlike cocoon hardly seemed alive,

though a powerful aura of sheer evil

emanated from him, sending a chilling fear

through the officer.

Uncertain of his own courage, Veers took

a step forward. He had a message to

deliver but felt prepared to wait for

hours if necessary rather than disturb

Vader's meditation.

But Vader spoke immediately. 'What is it,

Veers?'

'My lord,' the general replied, choosing

each word with care, 'the fleet has moved

out of light-speed. Corn-Scan has detected

an energy field protecting an area of the

sixth planet in the Hoth system. The field

is strong enough to deflect any

bombardment.'

Vader stood, rising to his full two-meter

height, his cloak swaying against the

floor. 'So, the Rebel scum are alerted to

our presence.' Furious, he clenched his

black-gloved hands into fists. 'Admiral

Ozzel came out of light-speed too close to

the system.'

'He felt surprise was a wiser-

'He's as clumsy as he is stupid,' Vader

cut in, breathing heavily. 'A clean

bombardment is impossible through their

energy field. Prepare your troops for a

surface attack.'

With military precision, General Veers

turned and marched out of the meditation

room, leaving behind an enraged Darth

Vader. Alone in the chamber, Vader

activated a large viewscreen that showed a

brightly lit image of his Star Destroyer's

vast bridge.

Admiral Ozzel, responding to Vader's

summons, stepped forward, his face almost

filling the Dark Lord's monitor screen.

There was trepidation in Ozzel's voice

when he announced, 'Lord Vader, the fleet

has moved out of light-speed-

But Vader's reply was addressed to the

officer standing slightly behind Ozzel.

'Captain Piett.'

Knowing better than to delay, Captain

Piett stepped forward instantly as the

admiral staggered back a step, his hand

automatically reaching for his throat.

'Yes, my lord,' Piett answered

respectfully.

Ozzel began to gag now as his throat, as

if in the grip of invisible talons, began

to constrict.

'Make ready to land assault troops beyond

the energy field,' Vader ordered. Then

deploy the fleet so that nothing can get

off that planet. You're in command now,

Admiral Piett.'

Piett was simultaneously pleased and

unsettled by this news. As he turned to

carry out the orders, he saw a figure that

might someday be himself. Ozzel's face was

hideously contorted as he fought for one

final breath of air; then he dropped into

a dead heap on the floor.

The Empire had entered the system of

Hoth.

Rebel troops rushed to their alert

stations as the warning alarms wailed

through the ice tunnels. Ground crews and

droids of all sizes and makes hurried to

perform their assigned duties, responding

efficiently to the impending Imperial

threat.

The armored snowspeeders were fueled as

they waited in attack formation to blast

out of the main cavern entranceway.

Meanwhile, in the hangar, Princess Leia

was addressing a small band of Rebel

fighter pilots. 'The large transport ships

will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only

two fighter escorts per ship. The energy

shield can only be opened for a split

second, so you'll have to stay very close

to the transports.'

Hobbie, a Rebel veteran of many battles,

looked at the princess with concern. 'Two

fighters against a Star Destroyer?'

'The ion cannon will fire several blasts

which should destroy any ships in your

flight path,' Leia explained. 'When you

clear the energy shield, you will proceed

to the rendezvous point. Good luck.'

Somewhat reassured, Hobbie and the other

pilots raced toward their fighter

cockpits.

Meanwhile, Han was working frantically to

complete welding a lifter on the

Millennium Falcon. Finishing quickly, he

hopped to the hangar floor and switched on

his comlink. 'All right, Chewie,' he said

to the hairy figure seated at the Falcon's

controls, 'give it a try.'

Just then Leia walked past, throwing him

an angry look. Han looked at her smugly

while the freighter's lifters began to

rise off the floor, whereupon the right

lifter began to shake erratically, then

broke partially loose to swing back down

again with an embarrassing crash.

He turned away from Leia, catching only a

glimpse of her face as she mockingly

raised an eyebrow.

'Hold it, Chewie,' Han grunted into his

small transmitter.

The Avenger, one of the Imperial armada's

wedgelike Star Destroyers, hovered like a

mechanized death angel in the sea of stars

outside the Hoth system. As the colossal

ship began to move closer to the ice

world, the planet became clearly visible

through the windows which stretched 100

meters or more across the huge bridge of

the warship.

Captain Needa, commander of the Avenger's

crew, gazed out a main port, looking at

the planet when a controller came up to

him. 'Sir, Rebel ship coming into our

sector.'

'Good,' Needa replied with a gleam in his

eyes. 'Our first catch of the day.'

'Their first target will be the power

generators,' General Rieekan told the

princess.

'First transport Three Zone approaching

shield,' one of the Rebel controllers

said, tracking a bright image that could

only be an Imperial Star Destroyer.

'Prepare to open shield,' a radarman

ordered.

'Stand by, Ion Control,' another

controller said.

A giant metal globe on Hoth's icy surface

rotated into position and angled its great

turret gun upward.

'Fire!' came the order from General

Rieekan.

Suddenly two red beams of destructive

energy were released into the cold skies.

The beams almost immediately overtook the

first of the racing Rebel transport craft,

and sped on a direct course toward the

huge Star Destroyer.

The twin red bolts struck the enormous

ship and blasted its conning tower.

Explosions set off by the blast began to

rock the great flying fortress, spinning

it out of control. The Star Destroyer

plunged into deep space as the Rebel

transport and its two fighter escorts

streaked off to safety.

Luke Skywalker, preparing to depart,

pulled on his heavy-weather gear and

watched the pilots, gunners, and R2 units

hurrying to complete their tasks. He

started toward the row of snowspeeders

that awaited him. On his way, the young

commander paused at the tail section of

the Millennium Falcon, where Han Solo and

Chewbacca were working frenetically on the

right lifter.

'Chewie,' Luke called, 'take care of

yourself. And watch over this guy, will

ya?'

The Wookiee barked a farewell, gave Luke

a big hug, then turned back to his work on

the lifters.

The two friends, Luke and Han, stood

looking at each other, perhaps for the

last time.

'I hope you make your peace with Jabba,'

Luke said at last.

'Give 'em hell, kid,' the Corellian

responded lightly.

The young commander began to walk away as

memories of exploits shared with Han

rushed to his mind. He stopped and looked

back at the Falcon, and saw his friend

still staring after him. As they gazed at

each other for a brief moment, Chewbacca

looked up and knew that each was wishing

the other the best, wherever their

individual fates might take them.

The public address system broke in on

their thoughts. 'First transport is

clear,' a Rebel announcer proclaimed the

good news.

At the announcement, a cheer burst from

those gathered in the hangar. Luke turned

and hurried over to his snowspeeder. When

he reached it, Dack, his fresh-faced young

gunner, was standing outside the ship

waiting for him.

'How are you feeling, sir?' Dack asked

enthusiastically.

'Like new, Dack. How about you?'

Dack beamed. 'Right now I feel like I

could take on the whole Empire myself.'

'Yeah,' Luke said quietly, 'I know what

you mean.' Though there were only a few

years between them, at that moment Luke

felt centuries older.

Princess Leia's voice came over the

address system: 'Attention, speeder pilots

... on the withdrawal signal assemble at

South Slope. Your fighters are being

prepared for takeoff. Code One Five will

be transmitted when evacuation is

complete.'

Threepio and Artoo stood amid the rapidly

moving personnel as the pilots readied for

departure. The golden droid tilted

slightly as he turned his sensors on the

little R2 robot. The shadows playing over

Threepio's face gave the illusion that his

faceplate had lengthened into a frown.

'Why is it,' he asked, 'when things seem

to get settled, everything falls apart?'

Leaning forward, he gently patted the

other droid's hull. 'Take good care of

Master Luke. And take good care of

yourself.'

Artoo whistled and tooted a good-bye,

then turned to roll down the ice corridor.

Waving stiffly, Threepio watched as his

stout and faithful friend moved away.

To an observer, it may have seemed that

Threepio grew misty-eyed, but then it

wasn't the first time he had gotten a drop

of oil clogged before his optical sensors.

Finally turning, the human-shaped robot

moved off in the opposite direction.

= V =

NO one on Hoth heard the sound. At first,

it was simply too distant to carry above

the whining winds. Besides, the Rebel

troopers, fighting the cold as they

prepared for battle, were too busy to

really listen.

In the snow trenches, Rebel officers

screamed out their orders to make

themselves heard above the gale-force

winds. Troopers hurried to carry out their

commands, running through the snow with

heavy bazookalike weapons on their

shoulders, and lodging those death rays

along the icy rims of the trenches.

The Rebel power generators near the gun

towers began popping, buzzing, and

crackling with deafening bursts of

electrical power -enough to supply the

vast underground complex. But above all

this activity and noise a strange sound

could be heard, an ominous thumping that

was coming nearer and was beginning to

shake the frozen ground. When it was close

enough to attract the attention of an

officer, he strained to see through the

storm, looking for the source of the

heavy, rhythmic pounding. Other men looked

up from their work and saw what looked

like a number of moving specks. Through

the blizzard, the small dots seemed to be

advancing at a slow yet steady pace,

churning up clouds of snow as they moved

toward the Rebel base.

The officer raised his electrobinoculars

and focused on the approaching objects.

There must have been a dozen of them

resolutely advancing through the snow,

looking like creatures out of some

uncharted past. But they were machines,

each of them stalking like enormous

ungulates on four jointed legs.

Walkers!

With a shock of recognition, the officer

identified the Empire's All Terrain

Armored Transports. Each machine was

formidably armed with cannons placed on

its foreside like the horns of some

prehistoric beast. Moving like mechanized

pachyderms, the walkers emitted deadly

fire from their turnstile guns and

cannons.

The officer grabbed his comlink. 'Rogue

Leader ... Incoming! Point Zero Three.'

'Echo Station Five-Seven, we're on our

way.'

Even as Luke Skywalker replied, an

explosion sprayed ice and snow around the

officer and his terror-struck men. The

walkers already had them within range. The

troopers knew their job was to divert

attention while the transport ships were

launched, but none of the Rebel soldiers

was prepared to die under the feet or

weapons of these horrible machines.

Brilliant billows of orange and yellow

flames exploded from the walker guns.

Nervously the Rebel troopers aimed their

weapons at the walkers, each soldier

feeling icy, unseen fingers pierce his

body.

Of the twelve snowspeeders, four took the

lead, soaring at full throttle as they

moved toward the enemy. One All Terrain

Armored Transport machine fired, barely

missing the banking craft. A burst of

gunfire blew another speeder into a ball

of flaming oblivion that lit up the sky.

Luke saw the explosion of his squadron's

first casualty as he looked from his

cockpit window. Angrily, Luke fired his

ship's guns at a walker, only to receive a

hail of Imperial fire power that shook his

speeder in a barrage of flak.

Regaining control of his ship, Luke was

joined by another snowspeeder, Rogue

Three. They swarmed like insects around

the relentlessly stomping walkers, as

other speeders continued to exchange fire

with the Imperial assault machines. Rogue

Leader and Rogue Three flitted alongside

the lead walker, then moved away from each

other, both banking to the right.

Luke saw the horizon tilt as he

maneuvered his speeder between the

walker's jointed legs and soared out from

under the monster machine. Bringing his

speeder back to horizontal flight, the

young commander contacted his companion

ship. 'Rogue Leader to Rogue Three.'

'Copy, Rogue Leader,' acknowledged Wedge,

the pilot of Rogue Three.

'Wedge,' Luke called into his comlink,

.'split your squad into pairs.' Luke's

snowspeeder then banked and turned, while

Wedge's ship moved off in the opposite

direction with another Rebel craft.

The walkers, firing all cannons,

continued their march across the snow.

Inside one of the assault machines two

Imperial pilots had spotted the Rebel

guns, conspicuous against the white field.

The pilots began to maneuver the walker

toward the guns when they noticed a lone

snowspeeder making a reckless charge

directly toward their main viewport, guns

blazing. A huge explosion flashed outside

the impenetrable window and dissipated as

the snow-speeder, roaring through the

smoke, disappeared overhead.

As Luke soared up and away from the

walker, he looked back. That armor is too

strong for blasters, he thought. There

must be some other way of attacking these

horrors; something other than fire power.

For a moment Luke thought of some of the

simple tactics a farm boy might employ

against a wild beast. Then, turning his

snowspeeder for yet another run against

the walkers, he made a decision.

'Rogue group,' he called into his

comlink, 'use your harpoons and tow

cables. Go for the legs. It's our only

hope of stopping them. Hobbie, are you

still with me?'

The reassuring voice immediately

responded. 'Yes, sir.'

'Well, stick close now.'

As he leveled his ship, Luke was grimly

determined to glide in tight formation

with Hobbie. Together they veered,

dropping nearer Hoth's surface.

In Luke's cockpit, his gunner, Dack, was

jostled by the abrupt movement of the

craft. Trying to keep his grip on the

Rebel harpoon gun in his hand, he shouted,

'Whoea! Luke, I can't seem to find my

restraints.'

Explosions rocked Luke's ship, tossing it

about violently in the enveloping flak.

Through the window he could see another

walker that appeared to be unaffected by

the full fire power of the Rebel attack

speeders. This lumbering machine now

became Luke's target as he flew, moving in

a descending arc. The walker was firing

directly at him, creating a wall of laser

bolts and flak.

'Just hang on, Dack,' he yelled over the

explosions, 'and get ready to fire that

tow cable!'

Another great blast shook Luke's

snowspeeder. He fought to regain control

as the ship wobbled in its flight. Luke

began to sweat profusely, despite the

cold, as he desperately attempted to right

his plunging ship. But the horizon still

spun in front of him.

'Stand by, Dack. We're almost there. Are

you okay?'

Dack didn't answer. Luke managed to turn

and saw that Hobbie's speeder was

maintaining its course next to him as they

evaded the explosions bursting around

them. He craned his head around and saw

Dack, blood streaming from his forehead,

slumped against the controls.

'Dack!'

On the ground, the gun towers near the

Rebel power generators blasted away at the

walking Imperial machines, but with no

apparent effect. Imperial weapons

bombarded the area all around them,

blasting the snow skyward, almost blinding

their human targets with the continuous

onslaught. The officer who had first seen

the incredible machines and fought

alongside his men, was one of the first to

be cut down by a walker's body-ripping

rays. Troops rushed to his aid, but

couldn't save him; too much of his blood

had already spilled, making a scarlet

stain against the snow.

More Rebel fire power blasted from one of

the dishlike guns that had been erected

near the power generators. Despite these

tremendous explosions, the walkers

continued to march. Another speeder made a

heroic dive between a pair of the walkers,

only to be caught by fire from one of the

machines that exploded it into a great

ball of rippling flames.

The surface explosions made the walls of

the ice hangar tremble, causing deep

cracks to spread.

Han Solo and Chewbacca were working

frantically to complete their welding job.

As they worked, it became obvious that the

widening cracks would soon bring the

entire ice ceiling smashing down upon

them.

'First chance we get,' Han said, 'we're

giving this crate a complete overhaul.'

But he knew that first he would have to

get the Millennium Falcon out of this

white hell.

Even as he and the Wookiee labored on the

ship, enormous pieces of ice, broken loose

by the explosions, came tumbling down

throughout the underground base. Princess

Leia moved quickly, trying to avoid the

falling frozen chunks, as she sought

shelter in the Rebel command center.

'I'm not sure we can protect two

transports at a time,' General Rieekan

told her as she entered the chamber.

'It's risky,' she answered, 'but our

holding action is faltering.' Leia

realized that the transport launchings

were taking too much time and that the

procedure had to be hastened.

Rieekan issued a command through his

comlink. 'Launch patrol, proceed with

accelerated departures ..."

As the general gave his order, Leia

looked toward an aide and said, 'Begin

clearing the remaining ground staff.' But

she knew that their escape depended

completely on Rebel success in the on-

going battle above.

Inside the cold and cramped cockpit of

the lead Imperial walker, General Veers

moved between his snow-suited pilots.

'What is the distance to the power

generators?'

Without looking away from the control

panel, one of the pilots replied, 'Six-

four-one.'

Satisfied, General Veers reached for an

electrotelescope and peered through the

viewfinder to focus on the bullet-shaped

power generators and the Rebel soldiers

fighting to save them. Suddenly the walker

began to rock violently under a barrage of

Rebel gunfire. As he was propelled

backward, Veers saw his pilots scrambling

over the controls to keep the machine from

toppling over.

The Rogue Three snowspeeder had just

attacked the lead walker. Its pilot,

Wedge, hooted with a loud Rebel shout of

victory as he saw the damage his guns had

caused.

Other snowspeeders passed Wedge, racing

in the opposite direction. He steered his

craft on a direct course toward another

walking death machine. As he approached

the monster, Wedge shouted to his gunner,

'Activate harpoon!'

The gunner pressed the firing switch as

his pilot daringly maneuvered their craft

through the walker's legs. Immediately the

harpoon whooshed from the rear of the

speeder, a long length of cable unwinding

behind it.

'Cable out!' the gunner yelled. 'Let her

go!'

Wedge saw the harpoon plunge into one of

the metal legs, the cable still connected

to his snowspeeder. He checked his

controls, then brought the speeder around

in front of the Imperial machine. Making

an abrupt turn, Wedge guided his ship

around one of the hind legs, the cable

banding around it like a metallic lariat.

So far, thought Wedge, Luke's plan was

working. Now all he had to do was fly his

speeder around to the tail end of the

walker. Wedge caught a glimpse of Rogue

Leader as he carried out the maneuver.

'Cable out!' shouted the speeder's gunner

again as Wedge flew their craft alongside

the cable-entangled walker, close to the

metal hull. Wedge's gunner depressed

another switch and released the cable from

the rear of the snowspeeder.

The speeder zoomed away and Wedge laughed

as he looked down at the results of their

efforts. The walker was awkwardly

struggling to continue on its way, but the

Rebel cable had completely entangled its

legs. Finally it leaned to one side and

crashed against the ground, its impact

stirring up a cloud of ice and snow.

'Rogue Leader ... One down, Luke,' Wedge

announced to the pilot of his companion

speeder.

'I see it, Wedge,' Commander Skywalker

answered. 'Good work.'

In the trenches, Rebel troops cheered in

triumph when they saw the assault machine

topple. An officer leaped from his snow

trench and signaled his men. Bolting out

of the trench, he led his troopers in a

boisterous charge against the fallen

walker, reaching the great metallic hulk

before a single Imperial soldier could

pull himself free.

The Rebels were about to enter the walker

when it suddenly exploded from within,

hurtling great jagged chunks of torn metal

at them, the impact of the blast flinging

the stunned troops back against the snow.

Luke and Zev could see the destruction of

the walker as they flew overhead, banking

from right to left to avoid the flak

bursting around them. When they finally

leveled off, their craft were shaken by

explosions from the walkers' cannons.

'Steady, Rogue Two,' Luke said, looking

over at the snowspeeder flying parallel to

his own ship. 'Set harpoon. I'll cover for

you.'

But there was another explosion, this one

damaging the front section of Zev's ship.

The pilot could barely see through the

engulfing cloud of smoke that fogged his

windshield. He fought to keep his ship on

a horizontal path, but more blasts by the

enemy made it rock violently.

His view had become so obscured that it

wasn't until Zev was directly in the line

of fire that he saw the massive image of

another Imperial walker. Rogue Two's pilot

felt an instant of pain; then his snub-

nosed craft, spewing smoke and hurtling on

a collision course with the walker,

suddenly erupted in flames amid a burst of

cannon fire. Very little of Zev or his

ship remained to hit the ground.

Luke saw the disintegration and was

sickened by the loss of yet another

friend. But he couldn't let himself dwell

on his grief, especially now when so many

other lives depended on his steady

leadership.

He looked around desperately, then spoke

into his comlink. 'Wedge ... Wedge ...

Rogue Three. Set your harpoon and follow

me on the next pass.'

As he spoke, Luke was hit hard by a

terrific explosion that ripped through his

speeder. He struggled with the controls in

a futile attempt to keep the small craft

under control. A chill of fear swept over

him when he noticed the dense twisting

funnel of black smoke pouring from his

ship's aft section. He realized then that

there was no way his damaged speeder could

remain aloft. And, to make matters even

worse, a walker loomed directly in his

path.

Luke struggled with the controls as his

ship plunged toward the ground, leaving a

trail of smoke and flames behind. By then

the heat in the cockpit was nearly

unbearable. Flames were beginning to leap

about inside the speeder and were coming

uncomfortably close to Luke. He finally

brought his ship down to skid and crash

into the snow just a few meters away from

one of the walking Imperial machines.

After impact, Luke struggled to pull

himself from the cockpit and looked with

horror at the looming figure of the

approaching walker.

Gathering all his strength, Luke quickly

squeezed himself from under the twisted

metal of the control board and moved up

against the top of his cockpit. Somehow he

managed to open the hatch halfway and

climbed out of the ship. With each

elephantine step of the oncoming walker,

the speeder shook violently. Luke had not

realized just how enormous these four-

legged horrors were until, unprotected by

the shelter of his craft, he saw one up

close.

Then he remembered Dack and returned to

try and pull his friend's lifeless form

from the wrecked speeder. But Luke had to

give up. The body was too tightly wedged

in the cockpit, and the walker was now

almost upon him. Braving the flames, Luke

reached into his speeder and grabbed the

harpoon gun.

He gazed at the advancing mechanical

behemoth and suddenly had an idea. He

reached back inside the cockpit of the

speeder and groped for a land mine

attached to the ship's interior. With a

great effort he stretched his fingers and

firmly grasped the mine.

Luke leaped away from his vehicle just as

the towering machine lifted a massive foot

and planted it firmly on the snowspeeder,

crushing it flat.

Luke crouched underneath the walker,

moving with it to avoid its slow steps.

Raising his head, he felt the cold wind

slap against his face as he studied the

monster's vast underbelly.

As he ran along under the machine, Luke

aimed his harpoon gun and fired. A

powerful magnet attached to a long thin

cable was ejected from the gun and firmly

attached itself to the machine's

underbelly.

Still running, Luke yanked on the cable,

testing to make sure its strength was

sufficient to sustain his weight. Then he

attached the cable drum to the buckle of

his utility belt, allowing its mechanism

to pull him up off the ground. Now,

dangling from the monster's underbelly,

Luke could see the remaining walkers and

two Rebel snowspeeders continuing the

battle as they soared through fiery

explosions.

He climbed up to the machine's hull where

he had observed a small hatch. Quickly

cutting it open with his laser sword, Luke

pulled open the hatch, threw in the land

mine, and made a rapid descent along the

cable. As he reached the end, Luke dropped

hard onto the snow and became unconscious;

his inert body was nearly brushed by one

of the walker's hind feet.

As the walker passed over and away from

him, a muffled explosion tore at its

insides. Suddenly the tremendous bulk of

the mechanical beast exploded at the

seams, machinery and pieces of hull flying

in every direction. The Imperial assault

machine crumbled into a smoking,

motionless heap coming to rest upon what

remained of its four stiltlike legs.

= VI =

THE Rebel command center, its walls and

ceiling still shaking and cracking under

the force of the battle on the surface,

was attempting to operate amid the

destruction. Pipes, torn apart by the

blasting, belched sprays of scalding

steam. The white floors were littered with

broken pieces of machinery and chunks of

ice were scattered everywhere. Except for

the distant rumblings of laser fire, the

command center was forebodingly quiet.

There were still Rebel personnel on duty,

including Princess Leia, who watched the

images on the few still-functioning

console screens. She wanted to be certain

that the last of the transport ships had

slipped past the Imperial armada and were

approaching their rendezvous point in

space.

Han Solo rushed into the command center,

dodging great sections of the ice ceiling

that came plunging down at him. One great

chunk was followed by an avalanche of ice

that poured onto the floor near the

entrance to the chamber. Undaunted, Han

hurried to the control board where Leia

stood beside See Threepio.

'I heard the command center was hit.' Han

appeared concerned. 'Are you all right?'

The princess nodded. She was surprised to

see him there where the danger was

severest.

'Come on,' he urged before she could

reply. 'You've got to get to your ship.'

Leia looked exhausted. She had been

standing at the console viewscreens for

hours and had participated in dispatching

Rebel personnel to their posts. Taking her

hand, Han led her from the chamber, with

the protocol droid clacking after them.

As they left, Leia gave one final order

to the controller. 'Give the evacuation

code signal... and get to the transport.'

Then, as Leia, Han, and Threepio made

their hasty exit from the command center,

a voice blared from the public address

speakers, echoing in the nearby deserted

ice corridors. 'Disengage, disengage!

Begin retreat action!'

'Come on,' Han urged, grimacing. 'If you

don't get there fast, your ship won't be

able to take off.'

The walls quaked even more violently than

before. Ice chunks continued to fall

throughout the underground base as the

three hurried toward the transport ships.

They had nearly reached the hangar where

Leia's transport ship was waiting, ready

for departure. But as they neared the

corner they found the entrance to the

hangar completely blocked by ice and snow.

Han knew they would have to find some

other route to Leia's escape ship - and

quickly. He began to lead them back down

the corridor, careful to avoid falling

ice, and snapped on his comlink as they

hurried toward the ship. 'Transport C One

Seven!' he yelled into the small

microphone. 'We're coming! Hold on!'

They were close enough to the hangar to

hear Leia's escape vessel preparing for

lift-off from the Rebel ice base. If he

could lead them just a few meters more,

the princess would be safe and-

The chamber suddenly quaked with a

terrible noise that thundered through the

underground base. In an instant the entire

ceiling had crashed down in front of them,

creating a solid barrier of ice between

them and the hangar docks. They stared in

shock at the dense white mass.

'We're cut off,' Han yelled into his

comlink, knowing that if the transport

were to make good its escape there could

be no time wasted in melting down or

blasting through the barricade. 'You'll

have to take off without Princess Organa.'

He turned to her. 'If we're lucky we can

still make it to the Falcon.'

The princess and See Threepio followed as

Han dashed toward another chamber, hoping

that the Millennium Falcon and his Wookiee

copilot had not already been buried under

an avalanche of ice.

Looking out across the white battlefield,

the Rebel officer watched the remaining

snowspeeders whisking through the air and

the last of the Imperial vehicles as they

passed the wreckage of the exploded

walker. He flipped on his comlink and

heard the order to retreat: 'Disengage,

disengage. Begin retreat action.' As he

signaled his men to move back inside the

ice cavern, he noticed that the lead

walker was still treading heavily in the

direction of the power generators.

In the cockpit of that assault machine,

General Veers stepped close to the port.

From this position he could clearly see

the target below. He studied the crackling

power generators and observed the Rebel

troops defending them.

'Point-three-point-three-point-five ...

coming within range, sir,' reported his

pilot.

The general turned to his assault

officer. 'All troops will debark for

ground assault,' Veers said. 'Prepare to

target the main generator.'

The lead walker, flanked by two of the

hulking machines, lurched forward, its

guns blazing to scatter the retreating

Rebel troops.

As more laser fire came from the oncoming

walkers, Rebel bodies and parts of Rebel

bodies were flung through the air. Many of

the soldiers who had managed to avoid the

obliterating laser beams were crushed into

unrecognizable pulp beneath the walkers'

stomping feet. The air was charged with

the stink of blood and burning flesh, and

thundering with the explosive noises of

battle.

As they fled, the few surviving Rebel

soldiers glimpsed a lone snowspeeder as it

retreated in the distance, a black trail

of smoke escaping its burning hull.

Although the smoke rising from his

crippled speeder obstructed his view,

Hobbie could still see some of the carnage

that raged on the ground. His wounds from

a walker's laser fire made it torture even

to move, let alone operate the controls of

his craft. But if he could manage to work

them just long enough to return to the

base, he might be able to find a medical

robot and...

No, he doubted he would survive even that

long. He was dying - of that he was now

certain - and the men in the trench would

soon be dead, too, unless something were

done to save them.

General Veers, proudly transmitting his

report to Imperial headquarters, was

totally unaware of Rogue Four's approach.

'Yes, Lord Vader, I've reached the main

power generators. The shield will be down

in moments. You may commence your

landing.'

As he ended his transmission, General

Veers reached for the electrorangefinder

and looked through the eyepiece to line up

the main power generators. Electronic

crosshairs aligned according to the

information from the walker's computers.

Then suddenly the readouts on the small

monitor screens mysteriously vanished.

Confounded, General Veers moved away from

the eyepiece of the electrorangefinder and

turned instinctively toward a cockpit win

dow. He flinched in terror at seeing a

smoking projectile heading on a direct

course toward his walker's cockpit.

The other pilots also saw the hurtling

speeder, and knew that there was no time

to turn the massive assault machine. 'He's

going to-' one of the pilots began.

At that instant, Hobbie's burning ship

crashed through the walker cockpit like a

manned bomb, its fuel igniting into a

cascade of flame and debris. For a second

there were human screams, then fragments,

and the entire machine crashed to the

ground.

Perhaps it was the sound of this nearby

blast that jarred Luke Skywalker back to

consciousness. Dazed, he slowly lifted his

head from the snow. He felt very weak and

was achingly stiff with cold. The thought

crossed his mind that frostbite might

already have damaged his tissues. He hoped

not; he had no desire to spend any more

time in that sticky bacta fluid.

He tried to stand, but fell back against

the snow, hoping he would not be spotted

by any of the walker pilots. His comlink

whistled, and somehow he found the

strength to flick on its receiver.

'Forward units' withdrawal complete,' the

broadcast voice reported.

Withdrawal? Luke thought a moment. Then

Leia and the others must have escaped!

Luke suddenly felt that all the fighting

and the deaths of loyal Rebel personnel

had not been for nothing. A warmth rushed

through his body, and he gathered his

strength to rise and begin making the long

trek back toward a distant formation of

ice.

Another explosion rocked the Rebel hangar

deck, cracking the ceiling and almost

burying the docked Millennium Falcon in a

mound of ice. At any moment the entire

ceiling might cave in. The only safe place

in the hangar seemed to be underneath the

ship itself where Chewbacca was

impatiently awaiting the return of his

captain. The Wookiee had begun to worry.

If Han did not return soon, the Falcon

would surely be buried in a tomb of ice.

But loyalty to his partner kept Chewie

from taking off in the freighter alone.

As the hangar started to tremble more

violently, Chewbacca detected movement in

the adjoining chamber. Throwing back his

head, the shaggy giant filled the hangar

with his loudest roar as he saw Han Solo

climb over hills of ice and snow and enter

the chamber, followed closely by Princess

Leia and an obviously nervous See

Threepio.

Not far from the hangar, Imperial

stormtroopers, their faces shielded by

white helmets and white snowscreens, had

begun moving down deserted corridors. With

them strode their leader, the dark-robed

figure who surveyed the shambles that had

been the Rebel base at Hoth. Darth Vader's

black image stood out starkly against the

white walls, ceiling, and floor. As he

moved through the white catacombs, he

regally stepped aside to avoid a falling

section of the ice ceiling. Then he

continued on his way with such quick

strides that his troops had to hurry to

keep up.

A low whine, rising in pitch, began to

issue from the saucer-shaped freighter.

Han Solo stood at the controls in the

Millennium Falcon's cockpit, at last

feeling at home. He quickly flipped one

switch after another, expecting to see the

board flash its familiar mosaic of light;

but only some of the lights were working.

Chewbacca had also noticed something

amiss and barked with concern as Leia

examined a gauge that seemed to be

malfunctioning.

'How's that, Chewie?' asked Han

anxiously.

The Wookiee's bark was distinctly

negative.

'Would it help if I got out and pushed?'

snapped Princess Leia, who was beginning

to wonder if it were the Corellian's spit

that held the ship together.

'Don't worry, Your Holiness. I'll get it

started.'

See Threepio clanked into the hold and,

gesturing, tried to get Han's attention.

'Sir,' the robot volunteered, 'I was

wondering if I might-' But his scanners

read the scowl on the face staring at him.

'It can wait,' he concluded.

Imperial stormtroopers, accompanied by

the rapidly moving Darth Vader, thundered

through the ice corridors of the Rebel

base. Their pace quickened as they rushed

in the direction of the low whine coming

from the ion engines. Vader's body tensed

slightly as, entering the hangar, he

perceived the familiar saucer-shaped form

of the Millennium Falcon.

Within the battered freighter ship, Han

Solo and Chewbacca were trying desperately

to get the craft moving.

'This bucket of bolts is never going to

get us past that blockade,' Princess Leia

complained.

Han pretended that he didn't hear her.

Instead, he checked the Falcon's controls

and struggled to keep his patience even

though his companion had so obviously lost

hers. He flipped switches on the control

console, ignoring the princess's look of

disdain. Clearly, she doubted that this

assemblage of spare parts and welded hunks

of scrap metal would hold together even if

they did manage to get beyond the

blockade.

Han pushed a button on the intercom.

'Chewie ... come on!' Then, winking at

Leia, he said, This baby's still got a few

surprises left in her.'

'I'll be surprised if we start moving.'

Before Han could make a carefully honed

retort, the Falcon was jolted by a blast

of Imperial laser fire that flashed

outside the cockpit window. They could all

see the squad of Imperial stormtroopers

rushing with drawn weapons into the far

end of the ice hangar. Han knew that the

Falcon's dented hull might resist the

force of those hand weapons, but would be

destroyed by the more powerful bazooka-

shaped weapon that two of the Imperial

troopers were hurriedly setting up.

'Chewie!' Han yelled as he quickly

strapped himself into his pilot's chair.

Meanwhile, a somewhat subdued young woman

seated herself in the navigator's chair.

Outside the Millennium Falcon,

stormtroopers worked with military

efficiency to set up their enormous gun.

Behind them the hangar doors began to

open. One of the Falcon's powerful laser

weapons appeared from the hull and swung

about, aiming directly at the storm

troopers.

Han moved urgently to block the Imperial

soldiers' efforts. Without hesitation he

released a deadly blast from the powerful

laser weapon he had aimed at the

stormtroopers. The explosion scattered

their armored bodies all over the hangar.

Chewbacca dashed into the cockpit.

'We'll just have to switch over,' Han

announced, 'and hope for the best.'

The Wookiee hurled his hairy bulk into

the copilot's seat as yet another laser

blast erupted outside the window next to

him. He yelled indignantly, then yanked

back on the controls to bring the welcome

roar of engine fire from deep inside the

Falcon.

The Corellian grinned at the princess, a

gleeful I-told-you-so gleam in his eyes.

'Someday,' she said with mild disgust,

'you're going to be wrong, and I just hope

I'm there to see it.'

Han just smiled then turned to his

copilot. 'Punch it!' he shouted.

The huge freighter's engines roared. And

everything behind the craft instantly

melted in the fiery exhaust billowing from

its tailpiece. Chewbacca furiously worked

the controls, watching out of the corner

of his eyes the ice walls rushing past as

the freighter blasted away.

At the last moment, just before takeoff,

Han caught a glimpse of additional

stormtroopers running into the hangar. In

their wake strode a foreboding giant clad

entirely in black. Then there was only the

blue and the beckoning of billions of

stars.

As the Millennium Falcon soared from the

hangar, its flight was detected by

Commander Luke Skywalker, who turned to

smile at Wedge and his gunner. 'At least

Han got away.' The three then trudged

along to their waiting X-wing fighter

ships. When they finally reached them,

they shook hands and moved off toward

their separate vehicles.

'Good luck, Luke,' Wedge said as they

parted. 'See you at the rendezvous.'

Luke waved and began to walk toward his X-

wing. Standing there amid the mountains of

ice and snow, he was overcome by a surge

of loneliness. He felt desperately alone

now that even Han was gone. Worse than

that, Princess Leia was also somewhere

else; she might just as well be an entire

universe away ...

Then out of nowhere a familiar whistle

greeted Luke.

'Artoo!' he exclaimed. 'Is that you?'

Sitting snugly in the socket that had

been installed for these helpful R2 units

was the little barrel-shaped droid, his

head peeking from the top of the ship.

Artoo had scanned the approaching figure

and had whistled with relief when his

computers informed him it was Luke. The

young commander was equally relieved to re-

encounter the robot that had accompanied

him on so many of his previous adventures.

As he climbed into the cockpit and seated

himself behind the controls, Luke could

hear the sound of Wedge's fighter roaring

into the sky toward the Rebel rendezvous

point. 'Activate the power and stop

worrying. We'll soon be airborne,' Luke

said in response to Artoo's nervous

beeping.

His was the last Rebel ship to abandon

what had, for a very brief time, been a

secret outpost in the revolution against

the tyranny of the Empire.

Darth Vader, a raven specter, quickly

strode through the ruins of the Rebel ice

fortress, forcing his accompanying men

into a brisk jog to keep up. As they moved

through the corridors, Admiral Piett

rushed up to overtake his master.

'Seventeen ships destroyed,' he reported

to the Dark Lord. 'We don't know how many

got away.'

Without turning his head, Vader snarled

through his mask, 'The Millennium Falcon?'

Piett paused a moment before replying. He

would have preferred to avoid that issue.

'Our tracking scanners are on it now,' he

responded a bit fearfully.

Vader turned to face the admiral, his

towering figure looming over the

frightened officer. Piett felt a chill

course through his veins, and when the

Dark Lord spoke again his voice conveyed

an image of the dreadful fate that would

be inflicted if his commands were not

executed.

'I want that ship,' he hissed.

The ice planet was rapidly shrinking to a

point of dim light as the Millennium

Falcon sped into space. Soon that planet

seemed nothing more than one of the

billions of light specks scattered

throughout the black void.

But the Falcon was not alone in its

escape into deep space. Rather, it was

followed by an Imperial fleet that

included the Avenger Star Destroyer and a

half-dozen TIE fighters. The fighters

moved ahead of the huge, slower-moving

Destroyer, and closed in on the fleeing

Millennium Falcon.

Chewbacca howled over the roar of the

Falcon's engines. The ship was beginning

to lurch with the buffeting flak blasted

at it by the fighters.

'I know, I know, I see them,' Han

shouted. It was taking everything he had

to maintain control of the ship.

'See what?' Leia asked.

Han pointed out the window at two very

bright objects.

'Two more Star Destroyers, and they're

heading right at us.'

'I'm glad you said there was going to be

no problem,' she commented with more than

a touch of sarcasm, 'or I'd be worried.'

The ship rocked under the steady fire

from the TIE fighters, making it difficult

for Threepio to maintain his balance as he

returned to the cockpit. His metal skin

bumped and banged against the walls as he

approached Han. 'Sir,' he began

tentatively, 'I was wondering..."

Han Solo shot him a threatening glance.

'Either shut up or shut down,' Han warned

the robot, who immediately did the former.

Still struggling with the controls to

keep the Millennium Falcon on course, the

pilot turned to the Wookiee. 'Chewie,

how's the deflector shield holding up?'

The copilot adjusted an overhead switch

and barked a reply that Solo interpreted

as positive.

'Good,' said Han. 'At sublight, they may

be faster, but we can still out-maneuver

them. Hold on!' Suddenly the Corellian

shifted his ship's course.

The two Imperial Star Destroyers had come

almost within firing range of the Falcon

as they loomed ahead; the pursuing TIE

fighters and the Avenger were also

dangerously close. Han felt he had no

choice but to take the Falcon into a

ninety-degree dive.

Leia and Chewbacca felt their stomachs

leap into their throats as the Falcon

executed its steep dive. Poor Threepio

quickly had to alter his inner mechanisms

if he wanted to remain on his metallic

feet.

Han realized that his crew might think he

was some kind of lunatic star jockey,

pushing his ship on this madman's course.

But he had a strategy in mind. With the

Falcon no longer between them, the two

Star Destroyers were now on a direct

collision course with the Avenger. All he

had to do was sit back and watch.

Alarms blared through the interiors of

all three Star Destroyers. These

ponderously massive ships could not

respond quickly enough to such

emergencies. Sluggishly one of the

Destroyers began to move to the left in

its effort to avoid collision with the

Avenger. Unfortunately, as it veered, it

brushed its companion ship, violently

shaking up both spaceborne fortresses. The

damaged Destroyers began to drift through

space, while the Avenger continued in

pursuit of the Millennium Falcon and its

obviously insane pilot.

Two down, Han thought. There was still a

quartet of TIE fighters tailing the

Falcon, blasting at its stern with full

laser fire, but Han thought he could

outstrip them. The ship was buffeted

violently by the fighters' laser blasts,

forcing Leia to hold on in a desperate

attempt to keep her seat.

'That slowed them down a bit!' Han

exulted. 'Chewie, stand by to make the

jump to lightspeed.' There was not a

moment to waste -the laser attack was

intense now, and the TIE fighters were

almost on top of them.

'They're very close,' Leia warned,

finally able to speak.

Han looked at her with a wicked glint in

his eyes. 'Oh, yeah? Watch this.'

He threw the hyperspace throttle forward,

desperate to escape, but also eager to

impress the princess with both his own

cleverness and his ship's fantastic power.

Nothing happened! The stars that should by

then have been mere blurs of light were

still. Something was definitely wrong.

'Watch what?' Leia asked impatiently.

Instead of responding, Han worked the

lightspeed controls a second time. Again,

nothing. 'I think we're in trouble,' he

muttered. His throat tightened. He knew

'trouble' was a gross understatement.

'If I may say so, sir,' Threepio

volunteered, 'I noticed earlier that the

entire main para-light system seemed to

have been damaged.'

Chewbacca threw back his head and let out

a loud and miserable wail.

'We're in trouble!' Han repeated.

All around them, the laser attack had

increased violently. The Millennium Falcon

could only continue at its maximum

sublight velocity as it moved deeper into

space, closely followed by a swarm of TIE

fighters and one gigantic Imperial Star

Destroyer.

= VII =

THE double sets of wings on Luke

Skywalker's X-wing fighter were pulled

together to form one wing as the small,

sleek craft streaked away from the planet

of snow and ice.

During his flight, the young commander

had time to reflect on the events of the

past few days. He now had time to ponder

the enigmatic words of the ghostly Ben

Kenobi and think about his friendship with

Han Solo, and also consider his tenuous

relationship with Leia Organa. As he

thought of the people he cared most about,

he arrived at a sudden decision. Gazing

back one last time at the small icy

planet, he told himself there was no

longer any turning back.

Luke flipped a number of switches on his

control board and took the X-wing into a

steep turn. He watched the heavens shift

as he rocketed off in a new direction,

flying at top velocity. He was bringing

his craft back onto an even course when

Artoo, still snug in his specially

designed socket, began to whistle and

beep.

The miniature computer installed in

Luke's ship for translating the droid's

language flashed the small droid's message

onto a control panel viewscreen.

There's nothing wrong, Artoo,' Luke

replied after reading the translation.

'I'm just setting a new course.'

The small droid beeped excitedly, and

Luke turned to read the updated printout

on the viewscreen.

'No,' Luke replied, 'we're not going to

regroup with the others.'

This news startled Artoo, who immediately

emitted a series of galvanic noises.

'We're going to the Dagobah system,'

answered Luke.

Again the robot beeped, calculating the

amount of fuel carried by the X-wing.

'We have enough power.'

Artoo gave vent to a longer, singsong

series of toots and whistles.

'They don't need us there,' said Luke to

the droid's question about the planned

Rebel rendezvous.

Artoo then gently beeped a reminder about

Princess Leia's order. Exasperated, the

young pilot exclaimed, 'I'm countermanding

that order! Now, be still.'

The little droid fell silent. Luke was,

after all, a commander in the Rebel

Alliance and, as such, could countermand

orders. He was making a few minor

adjustments on the controls when Artoo

chirped up again.

'Yes, Artoo,' sighed Luke.

This time the droid made a series of soft

noises, selecting each beep and whistle

carefully. He did not want to annoy Luke,

but the findings on his computer were

important enough to report.

'Yes, Artoo, I know the Dagobah system

doesn't appear on any of our navigational

charts. But don't worry. It's there.'

Another worried beep from the R2 unit.

'I'm very sure,' the youth said, trying

to reassure his mechanical companion.

Trust me.'

Whether or not Artoo did trust the human

being at the X-wing's controls, he only

vented a meek little sigh. For a moment he

was completely silent, as if thinking.

Then he beeped again.

'Yes, Artoo?'

This communication from the robot was

even more carefully put forth than before

- one might even call the whistle-

sentences tactful. It seemed Artoo had no

intention of offending the human to whom

he had entrusted himself. But wasn't it

possible, the robot calculated, that the

human's brain was slightly malfunctioning?

After all, he had lain a long time in the

snowdrifts of Hoth. Or, another

possibility computed by Artoo, perhaps the

Wampa Ice Creature had struck him more

seriously than Too-Onebee had

diagnosed?...

'No,' Luke answered, 'no headache. I feel

fine. Why?'

Artoo's chirp was coyly innocent.

'No dizziness, no drowsiness. Even the

scars are gone.'

The next whistle rose questioningly in

pitch.

'No, that's all right, Artoo. I'd rather

keep it on manual control for a while.'

Then the stout robot delivered a final

whimper that sounded to Luke like a noise

of defeat. Luke was amused by the droid's

concern for his health. 'Trust me, Artoo,'

Luke said with a gentle smile. 'I know

where I'm going and I'll get us there

safely. It's not far.'

Han Solo was desperate now. The Falcon

had still not been able to shrug off the

four TIE fighters or the enormous Star

Destroyer that pursued it.

Solo raced down to the ship's hold and

began to work frantically on repairing the

malfunctioning hyperdrive unit. It was all

but impossible to carry out the delicate

repair work necessary while the Falcon

shook with each blast of flak from the

fighters.

Han snapped orders at his copilot, who

checked the mechanisms as he was

commanded. 'Horizontal booster.'

The Wookiee barked. It looked fine to

him.

'Alluvial damper.'

Another bark. That part was also in

place.

'Chewie, get me the hydrospanners.'

Chewbacca rushed over to the pit with the

tools. Han grabbed the spanners, then

paused and looked at his faithful Wookiee

friend.

'I don't know how we're going to get out

of this one,' he confided.

Just then a resounding thump hit the

Falcon's side, making the ship pitch and

turn radically.

Chewbacca barked anxiously.

Han braced himself at the impact, the

hydrospanners flew from his hand. When he

managed to regain his balance, he shouted

at Chewbacca over the noise, 'That was no

laser blast! Something hit us!'

'Han... Han ..." Princess Leia called to

him from the cockpit. She was frantic.

'Get up here!'

Like a shot, he lurched out of the hold

and raced back to the cockpit with

Chewbacca. They were stunned by what they

saw through the windows.

'Asteroids!'

Enormous chunks of flying rock hurtled

through space as far as they could see. As

if those damn Imperial pursuit ships

weren't trouble enough!

Han instantly returned to his pilot's

seat, once more taking over the Falcon's

controls. His copilot settled himself back

into his own seat just as a particularly

large asteroid sped by the prow of the

ship.

Han felt he had to stay as calm as

possible; otherwise they might not last

more than a few moments. 'Chewie,' he

ordered, 'set two-seven-one.'

Leia gasped. She knew what Han's order

meant and was stunned by so reckless a

plan. 'You're not thinking of heading into

the asteroid field?' she asked, hoping she

had misunderstood his command.

'Don't worry, they won't follow us

through this!' he shouted with glee.

'If I might remind you, sir,' Threepio

offered, trying to be a rational

influence, 'the possibility of

successfully navigating through an

asteroid field is approximately two

thousand four hundred and sixty-seven to

one.'

No one seemed to hear him.

Princess Leia scowled. 'You don't have to

do this to impress me,' she said, as the

Falcon was pummeled hard by another

asteroid.

Han was enjoying himself enormously and

chose to ignore her insinuations. 'Hang

on, sweetheart,' he laughed, grasping the

controls more tightly. 'We're gonna do

some flyin'.'

Leia winced and, resigned, buckled

herself firmly into her seat.

See Threepio, still muttering

calculations, shut down his synthesized

human voice when the Wookiee turned and

growled at him.

But Han concentrated only on carrying out

his plan. He knew it would work; it had to

- there was no other choice. Flying more

on instinct than on instruments, he

steered his ship through the relentless

rain of stone. Glancing quickly at his

scanner screens, he saw that the TIE

fighters and the Avenger had not yet

abandoned the chase. It would be an

Imperial funeral, he thought, as he maneu

vered the Falcon through the asteroid

hail.

He looked at another viewscreen and

smiled as it showed a collision between an

asteroid and a TIE fighter. The explosion

registered on the screen with a burst of

light. No survivors in that one, Han

thought.

The TIE fighter pilots chasing the Falcon

were among the best in the Empire. But

they couldn't compete with Han Solo.

Either they weren't good enough, or they

weren't crazy enough. Only a lunatic would

have plunged his ship into a suicidal

journey through these asteroids. Crazy or

not, these pilots had no choice but to

follow in hot pursuit. They undoubtedly

would be better off perishing in this

bombardment of rocks than reporting

failure to their dark master.

The greatest of all the Imperial Star

Destroyers regally moved out of Hoth's

orbit. It was flanked by two other Star

Destroyers and the entire group was

accompanied by a protective squadron of

smaller warships. In the central

Destroyer, Admiral Piett stood outside

Darth Vader's private meditation chamber.

The upper jaw slowly opened until Piett

was able to glimpse his robed master

standing in the shadows. 'My lord,' Piett

said with reverence.

'Come in, Admiral.'

Admiral Piett felt great awe as he

stepped into the dimly lit room and

approached the Dark Lord of the Sith. His

master stood silhouetted so that Piett

could just barely make out the lines of a

set of mechanical appendages as they

retracted a respirator tube from Vader's

head. He shuddered when he realized that

he might be the first ever to have seen

his master unmasked.

The sight was horrifying. Vader, his back

turned to Piett, was entirely clothed in

black; but above his studded black neck

band gleamed his naked head. Though the

admiral tried to avert his eyes, morbid

fascination forced him to look at that

hairless, skull-like head. It was covered

with a maze of thick scar tissue that

twisted around against Vader's corpse-pale

skin. The thought crossed Piett's mind

that there might be a heavy price for

viewing what no one else had seen. Just

then, the robot hands grasped the black

helmet and gently lowered it over the Dark

Lord's head.

His helmet back in place, Darth Vader

turned to hear his admiral's report.

'Our pursuit ships have sighted the

Millennium Falcon, my lord. It has entered

an asteroid field.'

'Asteroids don't concern me, Admiral,'

Vader said as he slowly clenched his fist.

'I want that ship, not excuses. How long

until you will have Skywalker and the

others in the Millennium Falcon?'

'Soon, Lord Vader,' the admiral answered,

trembling in fear.

'Yes, Admiral...' Darth Vader said

slowly,'... soon.'

Two gigantic asteroids hurtled toward the

Millennium Falcon. Its pilot quickly made

a daring banking maneuver that brought it

skirring out of the path of those two

asteroids, nearly to collide with a third.

As the Falcon darted in and out of the

asteroid field, it was followed closely by

three Imperial TIE fighters that veered

through the rocks in hot pursuit. Suddenly

one of the three was fatally scraped by a

shapeless chunk of rock and spun off in

another direction, hopelessly out of

control. The other two TIE fighters

continued their chase, accompanied by the

Star Destroyer Avenger, which was blasting

speeding asteroids in its path.

Han Solo glimpsed the pursuing ships

through the windows of his cockpit as he

spun his craft around, speeding under yet

another oncoming asteroid, then bringing

the freighter back to its right-side-up

position. But the Millennium Falcon was

not yet out of danger. Asteroids were

still streaking past the freighter. A

small one bounced off the ship with a

loud, reverberating clang, terrifying

Chewbacca and causing See Threepio to

cover his eye lenses with a bronzed hand.

Han glanced at Leia and saw that she was

sitting stone-faced as she stared at the

swarm of asteroids. It looked to him as if

she wished she were thousands of miles

away.

'Well,' he remarked, 'you said you wanted

to be around when I was wrong.'

She didn't look at him. 'I take it back.'

'That Star Destroyer is slowing down,'

Han announced, checking his computer

readings.

'Good,' she replied shortly.

The view outside the cockpit was still

thick with racing asteroids. 'We're going

to get pulverized if we stay out here much

longer,' he observed.

'I'm against that,' Leia remarked dryly.

'We've got to get out of this shower.'

'That makes sense.'

'I'm going to get in closer to one of the

big ones,' Han added.

That did not make sense.

'Closer!' Threepio exclaimed, throwing up

his metal arms. His artificial brain could

scarcely register what his auditory

sensors had just perceived.

'Closer!' Leia repeated in disbelief.

Chewbacca stared at his pilot in

amazement and barked.

None of the three could understand why

their captain, who had risked his life to

save them all, would now try to get them

killed! Making a few simple adjustments on

the cockpit controls, Han swerved the

Millennium Falcon between a few larger

asteroids, then aimed the craft directly

at one the size of a moon.

A flashing shower of smaller rocks

exploded against the enormous asteroid's

craggy surface as the Millennium Falcon,

with the Emperior's TIE fighters still in

pursuit, flew directly above the asteroid.

It was like skimming over the surface of a

small planet, barren and devoid of all

life.

With expert precision, Han Solo steered

his ship toward still another giant

asteroid, the largest one they had yet

encountered. Summoning all the skill that

had made his reputation known throughout

the galaxy, he maneuvered the Falcon so

that the only object between it and the

TIE fighters was the deadly floating rock.

There was only a brief, brilliant flare

of light, then nothing. The shattered

remains of the two TIE fighters drifted

away into the darkness and the tremendous

asteroid - undeflected in its course -

continued on its way.

Han felt an inner glow as bright as the

spectacle that had just lighted up the

view. He smiled to himself in quiet

triumph.

Then he noticed an image on the main

scope of his control console and nudged

his hairy copilot. 'There.' Han pointed to

the image. 'Chewie, get a reading on that.

Looks pretty good.'

'What is it?' Leia asked.

The Falcon's pilot ignored her question.

'That should do nicely,' he said.

As they flew near the asteroid's surface,

Han looked down at the craggy terrain, his

eye caught by a shadowy area that looked

like a crater of mammoth proportions. He

lowered the Falcon to surface level and

flew it directly into the crater, its bowl-

like walls suddenly rising up around his

ship.

And still two TIE fighters chased after

him, firing their laser cannons and

attempting to mimic his every maneuver.

Han Solo knew he had to be trickier and

more daring if he was to lose the deadly

pursuit ships. Spotting a narrow chasm

through his windscreen, he banked the

Millennium Falcon to one side. The ship

soared sideways through the high-walled

rocky trench.

Unexpectedly the two TIE fighters

followed. One of them even sparked as it

grazed the walls with its metal hull.

Twisting, banking, and turning his ship,

Han pressed through the narrow gorge. From

behind, the black sky flared as the two

TIE fighters crashed against one another,

then exploded against the rocky ground.

Han reduced his speed. He still wasn't

safe from the Imperial hunters. Searching

about the canyon, he spotted something

dark, a gaping cave mouth at the very

bottom of the crater, large enough to hold

the Millennium Falcon - perhaps. If not,

he and his crew would know soon enough.

Slowing his ship, Han coursed into the

cave entrance and through a large tunnel,

which he hoped would make the ideal hiding

place. He took a deep breath as his ship

was promptly devoured by the cave's

shadows.

A tiny X-wing was approaching the

atmosphere of the Dagobah planet.

As he neared the planet, Luke Skywalker

was able to glimpse a portion of its

curved surface through a heavy cover of

thick clouds. The planet was uncharted and

virtually unknown. Somehow Luke had made

his way there, though he wasn't certain

whether it was his hand alone that had

guided his ship into this unexplored

sector of space.

Artoo Detoo, riding in the back of Luke's

X-wing, scanned the passing stars, then

addressed his remarks to Luke via the

computer scope.

Luke read the viewscreen interpreter.

'Yes, that's Dagobah, Artoo,' he answered

the little robot, then glanced out the

cockpit window as the fighter ship began

to descend toward the planet's surface.

'Looks a little grim, doesn't it?'

Artoo beeped, attempting for one last

time to get his master back on a more

sensible course.

'No,' Luke replied, 'I don't want to

change my mind about this.' He checked the

ship's monitors and began to feel a bit

nervous. 'I'm not picking up any cities or

technology. Massive life-form readings,

though. There's something alive down

there.'

Artoo was worried, too, and that was

translated as an apprehensive inquiry.

'Yes, I'm sure it's perfectly safe for

droids. Will you take it easy?' Luke was

beginning to get annoyed. 'We'll just have

to see what happens.'

He heard a pathetic electronic whimper

from the rear of the cockpit.

'Don't worry!'

The X-wing sailed through the twilight

halo separating pitch black space from the

planet's surface. Luke took a deep breath,

then plunged his craft into the white

blanket of mists.

He couldn't see a thing. His vision was

entirely obstructed by the dense whiteness

pressing against the canopy windows of his

ship. His only choice was to control his X-

wing solely by instruments. But the scopes

weren't registering anything, even as Luke

flew ever nearer to the planet.

Desperately he worked his controls, no

longer able to discern even so much as his

altitude.

When an alarm began to buzz, Artoo joined

its clarion call with his own frantic

series of whistles and beeps.

'I know, I know!' Luke shouted, still

fighting the controls of his ship. 'All

the scopes are dead! I can't see a thing.

Hang on, I'm going to start the landing

cycle. Let's just hope there's something

underneath us.'

Artoo squealed again, but his sounds were

effectively drowned by the ear-splitting

blast of the X-wing's retrorockets. Luke

felt his stomach plunge as the ship began

to drop rapidly. He braced against his

pilot's seat, steeling himself for any

possible impact. Then the ship lunged and

Luke heard an awful sound as if the limbs

of trees were being snapped off by his

speeding craft.

When the X-wing finally screeched to a

halt, it was with a tremendous jolt that

nearly flung its pilot through the cockpit

window. Certain, at last, that he was on

the ground, Luke slumped back in his chair

and sighed with relief. He then pulled a

switch that lifted his ship's canopy. When

he raised his head outside the ship to get

his first look at the alien world, Luke

Skywalker gasped.

The X-wing was completely surrounded by

mists, its bright landing lights not

illuminating more than a few feet in front

of it. Luke's eyes gradually began to grow

accustomed to the gloom all around him so

that he could just barely see the twisted

trunks and roots of grotesque-looking

trees. He pulled himself out of the

cockpit as Artoo detached his stout body

from its cubbyhole plug.

'Artoo,' Luke said, 'you stay put while I

look around.'

The enormous gray trees had gnarled and

intertwining roots that rose far above

Luke before they joined to form trunks. He

tilted back his head and could see the

branches, high above, that seemed to form

a canopy with the low-hanging clouds. Luke

cautiously climbed out onto the long nose

of his ship and saw that he had crash-

landed in a small, fog-shrouded body of

water.

Artoo emitted a short beep - then there

was a loud splash, followed by silence.

Luke turned just in time to glimpse the

droid's domed topside as it disappeared

beneath the water's foggy surface.

'Artoo! Artoo!' Luke called. He kneeled

down on the smooth hull of the ship and

leaned forward, anxiously searching for

his mechanical friend.

But the black waters were serene,

revealing not a sign of the little R2

unit. Luke could not tell how deep this

still, murky pond might be; but it looked

extremely deep. He was suddenly gripped by

the realization that he might never see

his droid friend again. Just then, a tiny

periscope broke through the surface of the

water and Luke could hear a faint gurgling

beep.

What a relief! Luke thought, as he

watched the periscope make its way toward

shore. He ran along the nose of his X-wing

fighter, and when the shore line was less

than three meters away, the young

commander jumped into the water and

scrambled up the shore. He looked back and

saw that Artoo was still making his way

toward the beach.

'Hurry, Artoo!' Luke shouted.

Whatever it was that suddenly moved

through the water behind Artoo moved too

quickly and was too obscured by the mist

for Luke to clearly identify it. All he

could see was a massive dark form. This

creature rose up for a moment, then dove

beneath the surface, making a loud bang

against the little droid's metal hull.

Luke heard the robot's pathetic electronic

scream for help. Then, nothing ...

Luke stood there, horror-struck, as he

continued to stare at the black waters,

still as death itself. As he watched, a

few tell-tale bubbles began to erupt at

the surface. Luke's heart began to pound

in fear as he realized he was standing too

near the pool. But before he could move,

the runt-size robot was spat out by the

thing lurking beneath the black surface.

Artoo made a graceful arc through the air

and came crashing down onto a soft patch

of gray moss.

'Artoo,' Luke yelled, running to him,

'are you okay?' Luke was grateful that the

shadowy swamp lurker apparently found

metal droids neither palatable nor

digestible.

Feebly the robot replied with a series of

faint whistles and beeps.

'If you're saying coming here was a bad

idea, I'm beginning to agree with you,'

Luke admitted, looking around at their

dismal surroundings. At least, he thought,

there was human companionship on the ice

world. Here, except for Artoo, there

seemed to be nothing but this murky bog -

and creatures, as yet unseen, that might

lurk in the falling darkness.

Dusk was quickly approaching. Luke

shivered in the thickening fog that closed

in on him like something alive. He helped

Artoo-Detoo back onto his feet, then wiped

away the swamp muck that covered the

droid's cylindrical body. As he worked,

Luke heard eerie and inhuman cries that

emanated from the distant jungle and

shuddered as he imagined the beasts that

might be making them.

By the time he finished cleaning off

Artoo, Luke observed that the sky had

grown noticeably darker. Shadows loomed

ominously all around him and the distant

cries didn't seem quite so far away

anymore. He and Artoo glanced around at

the spooky swamp-jungle surrounding them,

then huddled a bit closer. Suddenly, Luke

noticed a pair of tiny but vicious eyes

winking at them through the shadowy

underbrush, then vanishing with a scutter

of diminutive feet.

He hesitated to doubt the advice of Ben

Kenobi, but now he was beginning to wonder

if that robed specter had somehow made a

mistake leading him to this planet with

its mysterious Jedi teacher.

He looked over at his X-wing and groaned

when he saw that the entire bottom section

was completely submerged in the dark

waters. 'How are we going to get that

thing flying again?' The whole set of

circumstances seemed hopeless and somewhat

ridiculous. 'What are we doing here?' he

moaned.

It was beyond the computerized abilities

of Artoo to provide an answer for either

of those questions, but he made a little

comforting beep anyway.

'It's like part of a dream,' Luke said.

He shook his head, feeling cold and

frightened. 'Or maybe I'm going crazy.'

At least, he knew for certain, he

couldn't have gotten himself into a

crazier situation.

= VIII =

DARTH Vader looked like a great silent

god as he stood on the main control deck

of his mammoth Star Destroyer.

He was staring through the large

rectangular window above the deck at the

raging field of asteroids that was pelting

his ship as it glided through space.

Hundreds of rocks streaked past the

windows. Some collided with one another

and exploded in brilliant displays of

vivid light.

As Vader watched, one of his smaller

ships disintegrated under the impact of an

enormous asteroid. Seemingly unmoved, he

turned to look at a series of twenty

holographic images. These twenty holograms

re-created in three dimensions the

features of twenty Imperial battleship

commanders. The image of the commander

whose ship had just been obliterated was

fading rapidly, almost as quickly as the

glowing particles of his exploded ship

were being flung to oblivion.

Admiral Piett and an aide quietly moved

to stand behind their black-garbed master

as he turned to an image in the center of

the twenty holograms which was continually

interrupted by static and faded in and out

as Captain Needa of the Star Destroyer

Avenger made his report. His first words

had already been drowned by static.

'... which was the last time they

appeared in any of our scopes,' Captain

Needa continued. 'Considering the amount

of damage we've sustained, they also must

have been destroyed.'

Vader disagreed. He knew of the

Millennium Falcon's power and was quite

familiar with the skills of her cocky

pilot. 'No, Captain,' he snarled angrily,

'they're alive. I want every ship

available to sweep the asteroid field

until they're found.'

As soon as Vader had given his command,

Captain Needa's image and those of the

other nineteen captains faded completely.

When the last hologram vanished, the Dark

Lord, having sensed the two men standing

behind him, turned. 'Now what is so

important it couldn't wait, Admiral?' he

asked imperiously. 'Speak up!'

The admiral's face turned pale with fear,

his trembling voice shaking almost as much

as his body. 'It was ... the Emperor.'

'The Emperor?' the voice behind the black

breath mask repeated.

'Yes,' the admiral replied. 'He commands

you make contact with him.'

'Move this ship out of the asteroid

field,' Vader ordered, 'into a position

where we can send a clear transmission.'

'Yes, my lord.'

'And code the signal to my private

chamber.'

The Millennium Falcon had come to rest

hidden in the small cave which was pitch

black and dripping with moisture. The

Falcon's crew turned down its engines

until no sound at all was emitted from the

small craft.

Inside the cockpit, Han Solo and his

shaggy copilot were just completing

shutting down the ship's electronic

systems. As they did so, all the service

lights dimmed and the interior of the ship

became nearly as dark as its sheltering

cave.

Han glanced over at Leia and flashed her

a quick grin. 'Getting kind of romantic in

here.'

Chewbacca growled. There was work to be

done in here and the Wookiee needed Han's

undivided attention if they were going to

repair the malfunctioning hyperdrive.

Irritated, Han returned to his work.

'What are you so grouchy about?' he

snapped.

Before the Wookiee could respond, the

protocol droid timidly approached Han and

posed a question of burning importance.

'Sir, I'm almost afraid to ask, but does

shutting down all except emergency power

systems include me?'

Chewbacca expressed his opinion with a

resounding bark of affirmation, but Han

disagreed. 'No,' he said, 'we're going to

need you to talk to the old Falcon here

and find out what happened to our

hyperdrive.' He looked over at the

princess and added, 'How are you with a

macrofuser, Your Holiness?'

Before Leia could get off a suitable

retort, the Millennium Falcon lurched

forward as a sudden impact struck its

hull. Everything that was not bolted down

flew through the cockpit; even the giant

Wookiee, howling boisterously, had to

struggle to stay in his chair.

'Hang on!' Han yelled. 'Watch out!'

See Threepio clattered against a wall,

then collected himself. 'Sir, it's very

possible this asteroid is not stable.'

Han glared at him. 'I'm glad you're here

to tell us these things.'

The ship rocked once more, even more

violently than before.

The Wookiee howled again; Threepio

stumbled backward, and Leia was hurled

across the cabin directly into the waiting

arms of Captain Solo.

The ship's rocking stopped as suddenly as

it had started. But Leia still stood in

Han's embrace. For once she did not draw

away, and he could almost swear she was

willingly embracing him. 'Why, Princess,'

he said, pleasantly surprised, 'this is so

sudden.'

At that, she began to pull back. 'Let

go,' she insisted, trying to move out of

his arms. 'I'm getting angry.'

Han saw the old familiar expression of

arrogance beginning to return to her face.

'You don't look angry,' he lied.

'How do I look?'

'Beautiful,' he answered truthfully, with

an emotion that surprised him.

Leia felt suddenly, unexpectedly shy. Her

cheeks flushed pink and, when she realized

she was blushing, she averted her eyes.

But she still did not really try to get

free.

Han somehow couldn't let the tender

moment last. 'And excited,' he had to add.

Leia became infuriated. Once again the

angry princess and haughty senator, she

quickly moved away from him and drew

herself up to her most regal bearing.

'Sorry, Captain,' she said, her cheeks now

reddened in anger, 'being held by you

isn't enough to get me excited.'

'Well, I hope you don't expect more,' he

grunted, angrier at himself than at her

stinging words.

'I don't expect anything,' Leia said

indignantly, 'except to be left alone.'

'If you'll just get out of my way, I'll

leave you alone.'

Embarrassed to realize that she was,

indeed, still standing rather close, Leia

stepped aside and made an effort to change

the subject. 'Don't you think it's time we

got to work on your ship?'

Han frowned. 'Fine with me,' he said

coldly, not looking at her.

Leia quickly turned on her heel and left

the cockpit.

For a moment Han stood there quietly,

just gathering his composure. Sheepishly

he looked at the now quiet Wookiee and

droid, both of whom had witnessed the

entire incident.

'Come on, Chewie, let's tear into this

flying short circuit,' he said quickly to

end the awkward moment.

The copilot barked in agreement, then

joined his captain as they began to leave

the cockpit. As they walked out, Han

looked back at Threepio, who was still

standing in the dim chamber looking

dumbfounded. 'You too, goldenrod!'

'I must admit,' the robot muttered to

himself as he began to shuffle out of the

cockpit, 'there are times I don't

understand human behavior.'

The lights of Luke Skywalker's X-wing

fighter pierced the darkness of the bog

planet. The ship had sunk deeper into the

scummy waters, but there was still enough

of it above the surface to let Luke carry

needed supplies from the storage

compartments. He knew it could not be much

longer before his ship sank deeper -

possibly all the way - beneath the water.

He thought that his chance of survival

might be increased if he gathered as many

supplies as he could.

It was now so dark that Luke could

scarcely see in front of him. Out in the

dense jungle he heard a sharp snapping

noise and felt a chill run through him.

Grabbing his pistol, he prepared to blast

anything that leaped from the jungle to

attack him. But nothing did, and he

clipped his weapon back onto its holster

and continued to unpack his gear.

'You ready for some power?' Luke asked

Artoo, who was patiently waiting for his

own form of nourishment. Luke took a small

fusion furnace from an equipment box and

ignited it, welcoming even the tiny glow

thrown off by the small heating device,

then took a power cable and attached it to

Artoo through a protuberance that roughly

resembled a nose. As power radiated

through Artoo's electronic innards, the

stout robot whistled his appreciation.

Luke sat down and opened a container of

processed food. As he began to eat, he

talked to the robot. 'Now all I have to do

is find this Yoda, if he even exists.'

He looked around nervously at the shadows

in the jungle and felt frightened,

miserable, and increasingly in doubt about

his quest. 'This certainly seems like a

strange place to find a Jedi Master,' he

said to the little robot. 'Gives me the

creeps.'

From the sound of his beep, it was clear

Artoo shared Luke's opinion of the swamp

world.

'Although,' Luke continued as he

reluctantly tasted more of the food,

'there's something familiar about this

place. I feel like-

'You feel like what?'

That wasn't Artoo's voice! Luke leaped

up, grabbed his pistol, then spun around,

peering into the gloom to try to find the

source of those words.

As he turned he saw a tiny creature

standing directly in front of him. Luke

immediately stepped back in surprise; this

little being seemed to have materialized

out of nowhere! It stood no more than half

a meter in height, fearlessly holding its

ground in front of the towering youth who

wielded an awesome laser pistol.

The little wizened thing could have been

any age. Its face was deeply lined, but

was framed with elfin, pointed ears that

gave it a look of eternal youth. Long

white hair was parted down the middle and

hung down on either side of the blue-

skinned head. The being was bipedal, and

stood on short legs that terminated in

tridactyl, almost reptilian feet. It wore

rags as gray as the mists of the swamp,

and in such tatters that they must have

approximated the creature's very age.

For the moment, Luke could not decide

whether to be frightened or to laugh. But

when he gazed into those bulbous eyes and

sensed the being's kindly nature, he

relaxed. At last the creature motioned

toward the pistol in Luke's hand.

'Away put your weapon. I mean you no

harm,' it said.

After some hesitation, Luke quietly put

his pistol back into his belt. As he did

so, he wondered why he felt impelled to

obey this little creature.

'I am wondering,' the creature spoke

again, 'why are you here?'

'I'm looking for someone,' Luke answered.

'Looking? Looking?' the creature repeated

curiously with a wide smile beginning to

crease his already-lined face. 'You've

found someone I'd say. Heh? Yes!'

Luke had to force himself not to smile.

'Yeah.'

'Help you I can ... yes ... yes.'

Inexplicably Luke found himself trusting

the odd creature, but wasn't at all sure

that such a tiny individual could be of

help on his important quest. 'I don't

think so,' he replied gently. 'You see,

I'm looking for a great warrior.'

'A great warrior?' The creature shook his

head, the whitish hair flopping about his

pointed ears. 'Wars don't make one great.'

A strange phrase, Luke thought. But

before he could answer, Luke saw the tiny

hominid hobble over to the top of the

salvaged supply cases. Shocked, he watched

as the creature began to rummage through

the articles Luke had brought with him

from Hoth.

'Get away from there,' he said, surprised

at this sudden strange behavior.

Moving across the ground, Artoo waddled

toward the pile of cases, standing just

about at optical sensor level with the

creature. The droid squealed his

disapproval as he scanned the creature

that was carelessly digging through the

supplies.

The strange being grabbed the container

holding the remains of Luke's food and

took a bite.

'Hey, that's my dinner!' Luke exclaimed.

But no sooner had the creature taken his

first bite than he spat out what he had

tasted, his deeply lined face wrinkling

like a prune. 'Peewh!' he said, spitting.

'Thank you, no. How get you so big eating

food of this kind?' He looked Luke up and

down.

Before the astounded youth could reply,

the creature flipped the food container in

Luke's direction, then dipped one of his

small and delicate hands into another

supply case.

'Listen, friend,' Luke said, watching

this bizarre scavenger, 'we didn't mean to

land here. And if I could get my fighter

out of this puddle I would, but I can't.

So-

'Can't get your ship out? Have you tried?

Have you tried?' the creature goaded.

Luke had to admit to himself that he had

not, but then the whole idea was patently

ludicrous. He didn't have the proper

equipment to-

Something in Luke's case had attracted

the creature's interest. Luke finally

reached the end of his patience when he

saw the crazy little being snatch

something out of the supply case. Knowing

that survival depended on those supplies,

he grabbed for the case. But the creature

held on to his prize - a miniature power

lamp that he gripped tightly in his blue-

skinned hand. The little light came alive

in the creature's hand, throwing its

radiance up into his delighted face, and

he immediately began to examine his

treasure.

'Give me that!' Luke cried.

The creature retreated from the

approaching youth like a petulant child.

'Mine! Mine! Or I'll help you not.'

Still clutching the lamp to his breast,

the creature stepped backward,

inadvertently bumping into Artoo-Detoo.

Not remembering that the robot was at all

animate, the being stood next to it as

Luke approached.

'I don't want your help,' Luke said

indignantly. 'I want my lamp back. I'll

need it in this slimy mudhole.'

Luke instantly realized he had issued an

insult.

'Mudhole? Slimy? My home this is!'

As they argued, Artoo slowly reached out

a mechanical arm. Suddenly his appendage

grabbed the pilfered lamp and immediately

the two little figures were engaged in a

tug-of-war over the stolen prize. As they

spun about in battle, Artoo beeped a few

electronic, 'give me that's.

'Mine, mine. Give it back,' the creature

cried. Abruptly, though, he seemed to give

up the bizarre struggle and lightly poked

the droid with one bluish finger.

Artoo emitted a loud, startled squeal and

immediately released the power lamp.

The victor grinned at the glowing object

in his tiny hands, gleefully repeating,

'Mine, mine.'

Luke was about fed up with these antics

and advised the robot that the battle was

over. 'Okay, Artoo,' he said with a sigh,

'let him have it. Now get out of here,

little fellow. We've got things to do.'

'No, no!' the creature pleaded excitedly.

'I'll stay and help you find your friend.'

'I'm not looking for a friend,' Luke

said. 'I'm looking for a Jedi Master.'

'Oh,' the creature's eyes widened as he

spoke, 'a Jedi Master. Different

altogether. Yoda, you seek, Yoda.'

Mention of that name surprised Luke, but

he felt skeptical. How could an elf like

this know anything about a great teacher

of the Jedi Knights? 'You know him?'

'Of course, yes,' the creature said

proudly. 'I'll take you to him. But first

we must eat. Good food. Come, come.'

With that, the creature scurried out of

Luke's camp and into the shadows of the

swamp. The tiny power lamp he carried was

gradually dimming in the distance as Luke

stood feeling baffled. At first he had no

intention of pursuing the creature, but

all at once he found himself diving into

the fog after him.

As Luke started off into the jungle, he

heard Artoo whistling and beeping as if he

would blow his circuits. Luke turned

around to see the little droid standing

forlornly next to the miniature fission

furnace.

'You'd better stay here and watch over

the camp,' Luke instructed the robot.

But Artoo only intensified his noisy

output, running through the entire gamut

of his electronic articulations.

'Artoo, now settle down,' Luke called as

he ran into the jungle. 'I can take care

of myself. I'll be safe, okay?'

Artoo's electronic grumblings grew

fainter as Luke hurried to catch up with

the little guide. I must really be out of

my mind, Luke thought, following this

weird being into who-knows-what. But the

creature had mentioned Yoda's name, and

Luke felt compelled to accept any help he

could get to find the Jedi Master. He

stumbled in the dark over thick weeds and

twisting roots as he pursued the

flickering light ahead.

The creature was chattering gaily as he

led the way through the swamp. 'Heh ...

safe ... heh ... quite safe ... yes, of

course.' Then, in his odd little way, this

mysterious being started to laugh.

Two Imperial cruisers slowly moved across

the surface of the great asteroid. The

Millennium Falcon had to be hidden

somewhere within - but where?

As the ships skimmed the surface of the

asteroid, they dropped bombs on its pock-

marked terrain, trying to scare out the

freighter. The shock waves from the

explosives violently shook the spheroid,

but still there was no sign of the Falcon.

As it drifted above the asteroid, one of

the Imperial Star Destroyers cast an

eclipsing shadow across the tunnel

entrance. Yet the ship's scanners failed

to note the curious hole in the bowl-like

wall. Within that hole, in a winding

tunnel not detected by the minions of the

powerful Empire, sat the freighter. It

rattled and vibrated with every explosion

that pounded the surface above.

Inside, Chewbacca worked feverishly to

repair the complex powertrain. He had

scrambled into an overhead compartment to

get at the wires that operated the

hyperdrive system. But when he felt the

first of the explosions, he popped his

head out through the mass of wires and

gave out a worried yelp.

Princess Leia, who was welding a damaged

valve, stopped her work and looked up. The

bombs sounded very close.

See Threepio glanced up at Leia and

nervously tilted his head. 'Oh, my,' he

said, 'they've found us.'

Everyone became quiet, as if fearing that

the sound of their voices might somehow

carry and betray their exact position.

Again the ship was shaken by a blast, less

intense than the last.

'They're moving away,' Leia said.

Han saw through their tactic. 'They're

just trying to see if they can stir up

something,' he told her. 'We're safe if we

stay put.'

'Where have I heard that line before?'

Leia said with an innocent air.

Ignoring her sarcasm, Han moved past her

as he went back to work. The passageway in

the hold was so narrow that he couldn't

avoid brushing against her as he passed by

- or could he?

With mixed emotions the princess watched

him for a moment as he continued to work

on his ship. And then she turned back to

her welding.

See Threepio ignored all this odd human

behavior. He was too busy trying to

communicate with the Falcon, trying to

find out what was wrong with its

hyperdrive. Standing at the central

control panel, Threepio was making

uncharacteristic whistle and beep sounds.

A moment later, the control panel whistled

back.

'Where is Artoo when I need him?' sighed

the golden robot. The control panel's

response had been difficult for him to

interpret. 'I don't know where your ship

learned to communicate,' Threepio

announced to Han, 'but its dialect leaves

something to be desired. I believe, sir,

it says the power coupling on the negative

axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll

have to replace it.'

'Of course I'll have to replace it,' Han

snapped, then called up to Chewbacca, who

was peering from the ceiling compartment.

'Replace it!' he whispered.

He noticed that Leia had finished her

welding but was having trouble reengaging

the valve, struggling with a lever that

simply would not budge. He moved toward

her and began offering to help, but she

coldly turned her back to him and

continued her battle with the valve.

'Easy, Your Worship,' he said. 'Only

trying to help.'

Still struggling with the lever, Leia

asked quietly, 'Would you please stop

calling me that?'

Han was surprised at the princess's

simple tone. He had expected a stinging

retort or, at best, a cold silence. But

her words were missing the mocking tone

that he was accustomed to hearing. Was she

finally bringing their relentless battle

of wills to an end? 'Sure,' he said

gently.

'You make things difficult sometimes,'

Leia said as she shyly glanced at him.

He had to agree. 'I do, I really do.' But

he added, 'You could be a little nicer,

too. Come on, admit it, sometimes you

think I'm all right.'

She let go of the lever and rubbed her

sore hand. 'Sometimes,' she said with a

little smile, 'maybe ... occasionally,

when you aren't acting the scoundrel.'

'Scoundrel?' he laughed, finding her

choice of words endearing. 'I like the

sound of that.'

Without another word, he reached for

Leia's hand and began to massage it.

'Stop it,' Leia protested.

Han continued to hold her hand. 'Stop

what?' he asked softly.

Leia felt flustered, confused,

embarrassed - a hundred things in that

moment. But her sense of dignity

prevailed. 'Stop that!' she said regally.

'My hands are dirty.'

Han smiled at her feeble excuse, but held

on to her hand and looked right into her

eyes. 'My hands are dirty, too. What are

you afraid of?'

'Afraid?' She returned his direct gaze.

'Of getting my hands dirty.'

'That's why you're trembling?' he asked.

He could see that she was affected by his

closeness and by his touch, and her

expression softened. Whereupon he reached

out and took her other hand.

'I think you like me because I'm a

scoundrel,' he said. 'I think you haven't

had enough scoundrels in your life.' As he

spoke he slowly drew her near.

Leia didn't resist his gentle pull. Now,

as she looked at him, she thought he had

never seemed more handsome, but she was

still the princess. 'I happen to like nice

men,' she chided in a whisper.

'And I'm not nice?' Han asked, teasing.

Chewbacca stuck his head out from the

overhead compartment and watched the

proceedings unnoticed.

'Yes,' she whispered, 'but you ...'

Before she could finish, Han Solo drew

her to him and felt her body tremble as he

pressed his lips to hers. It seemed

forever, it seemed an eternity to share

between them, as he gently bent her body

back. This time she didn't resist at all.

When they parted, Leia needed a moment to

catch her breath. She tried to regain her

composure and work up a measure of

indignation, but she found it difficult to

talk.

'Okay, hot shot,' she began. 'I-

But then she stopped, and suddenly found

herself kissing him, pulling him even

closer than before.

When their lips finally parted, Han held

Leia in his arms as they looked at each

other. For a long moment there was a

peaceful kind of emotion between them.

Then Leia began to draw away, her thoughts

and feelings a turmoil. She averted her

eyes and began to disengage herself from

Han's embrace. In the next second she

turned and rushed from the cabin.

Han silently looked after her as she left

the room. He then became acutely aware of

the very curious Wookiee whose head was

poking from the ceiling.

'Okay, Chewie!' he bellowed. 'Give me a

hand with this valve.'

The fog, dispersed by a torrent of rain,

snaked around the swamp in diaphanous

swirls. Scooting along amid the pounding

rain was a single R2 droid looking for his

master.

Artoo Detoo's sensing devices were busily

sending impulses to his electronic nerve

ends. At the slightest sound, his auditory

systems reacted - perhaps overreacted -

and sent information to the robot's

nervous computer brain.

It was too wet for Artoo in this murky

jungle. He aimed his optical sensors in

the direction of a strange little mud

house on the edge of a dark lake. The

robot, overtaken by an almost-human

perception of loneliness, moved closer to

the window of the tiny abode. Artoo

extended his utility feet toward the

window and peeked inside. He hoped no one

inside noticed the slight shiver of his

barrel-shaped form or heard his nervous

little electronic whimper.

Somehow Luke Skywalker managed to squeeze

inside the miniature house, where

everything within was perfectly scaled to

its tiny resident. Luke sat cross-legged

on the dried mud floor in the living room,

careful not to bang his skull against the

low ceiling. There was a table in front of

him and he could see a few containers

holding what appeared to be hand-written

scrolls.

The wrinkle-faced creature was in his

kitchen, next to the living room, busily

concocting an incredible meal. From where

Luke sat he could see the little cook

stirring steaming pots, chopping this,

shredding that, scattering herbs over all,

and scurrying back and forth to put

platters on the table in front of the

youth.

Fascinated as he was by this bustling

activity, Luke was growing very impatient.

As the creature made one of his frantic

runs into the living room area, Luke

reminded his host, 'I told you, I'm not

hungry.'

'Patience,' the creature said, as he

scuttled back into the steamy kitchen.

'It's time to eat.'

Luke tried to be polite. 'Look,' he said,

'it smells good. I'm sure it's delicious.

But I don't know why we can't see Yoda

now.'

'It's the Jedi's time to eat, too,' the

creature answered.

But Luke was eager to be on his way.

'Will it take long to get there? How far

is he?'

'Not far, not far. Be patient. Soon you

will see him. Why wish you become a Jedi?'

'Because of my father, I guess,' Luke

answered, as he reflected that he never

really knew his father that well. In truth

his deepest kinship with his father was

through the lightsaber Ben had entrusted

to him.

Luke noticed the curious look in the

creature's eyes as he mentioned his

father. 'Oh, your father,' the being said,

sitting down to begin his vast meal. 'A

powerful Jedi was he. Powerful Jedi.'

The youth wondered if the creature were

mocking him. 'How could you know my

father?' he asked a little angrily. 'You

don't even know who I am.' He glanced

around at the bizarre room and shook his

head. 'I don't know what I'm doing here

Then he noticed that the creature had

turned away from him and was talking to a

corner of the room. This really is the

final straw, Luke thought. Now this

impossible creature is talking to thin

air!

'No good is this,' the creature was

saying irritably. 'This will not do. I

cannot teach him. The boy has no

patience!'

Luke's head spun in the direction the

creature was facing. Cannot teach. No

patience. Bewildered, he still saw no one

there. Then the truth of the situation

gradually became as plain to him as the

deep lines on the little creature's face.

Already he was being tested - and by none

other than Yoda himself!

From the empty corner of the room, Luke

heard the gentle, wise voice of Ben Kenobi

responding to Yoda. 'He will learn

patience,' Ben said.

'Much anger in him,' the dwarfish Jedi

teacher persisted. 'Like in his father.'

'We've discussed this before,' Kenobi

said.

Luke could no longer wait. 'I can be a

Jedi,' he interrupted. It meant more than

anything else to him to become a part of

the noble band that had championed the

causes of justice and peace. 'I'm ready,

Ben ... Ben ..." The youth called to his

invisible mentor, looking about the room

in the hope of finding him. But all he saw

was Yoda sitting across from him at the

table.

'Ready are you?' the skeptical Yoda

asked. 'What know you of ready? I have

trained Jedi for eight hundred years. My

own counsel I'll keep on who is to be

trained.'

'Why not me?' Luke asked, insulted by

Yoda's insinuation.

'To become a Jedi,' Yoda said gravely,

'takes the deepest commitment, the most

serious mind.'

'He can do it,' Ben's voice said in

defense of the youth.

Looking toward the invisible Kenobi, Yoda

pointed at Luke. 'This one I have watched

a long time. All his life has he looked

away ... to the horizon, to the sky, to

the future. Never his mind on where he

was, on what he was doing. Adventure,

excitement.' Yoda shot a glaring look at

Luke. 'A Jedi craves not these things!'

Luke tried to defend his past. 'I have

followed my feelings.'

'You are reckless!' the Jedi Master

shouted.

'He will learn,' came the soothing voice

of Kenobi.

'He's too old,' Yoda argued. 'Yes. Too

old, too set in his ways to start the

training.'

Luke thought he heard a subtle softening

in Yoda's voice. Perhaps there was still a

chance to sway him. 'I've learned much,'

Luke said. He couldn't give up now. He had

come too far, endured too much, lost too

much for that.

Yoda seemed to look right through Luke as

he spoke those words, as if trying to

determine how much he had learned. He

turned to the invisible Kenobi again.

'Will he finish what he begins?' Yoda

asked.

'We've come this far,' was the answer.

'He is our only hope.'

'I will not fail you,' Luke said to both

Yoda and Ben. 'I'm not afraid.' And,

indeed, at that moment, the young

Skywalker felt he could face anyone

without fear.

But Yoda was not so optimistic. 'You will

be, my young one,' he warned. The Jedi

Master turned slowly to face Luke as a

strange little smile appeared on his blue

face. 'Heh. You will be.'

= IX =

ONLY one being in the entire universe

could instill fear in the dark spirit of

Darth Vader. As he stood, silent and alone

in his dim chamber, the Dark Lord of the

Sith waited for a visit from his own

dreaded master.

As he waited, his Imperial Star Destroyer

floated through a vast ocean of stars. No

one on his ship would have dared disturb

Darth Vader in his private cubicle. But if

they had, they might have detected a

slight trembling in that black-cloaked

frame. And there might even have been a

hint of terror to be seen upon his visage,

had anyone been able to see through his

concealing black breath mask.

But no one approached, and Vader remained

motionless as he kept his lonely, patient

vigil. Soon a strange electronic whine

broke the dead silence of the room and a

flickering light began to glimmer on the

Dark Lord's cloak. Vader immediately bowed

deeply in homage to his royal master.

The visitor arrived in the form of a

hologram that materialized before Vader

and towered above him. The three-

dimensional figure was clad in simple

robes and its face was concealed behind,

an enormous hood.

When the hologram of the Galactic Emperor

finally spoke, it did so with a voice even

deeper than Vader's. The Emperor's

presence was awesome enough, but the sound

of his voice sent a thrill of terror

coursing through Vader's powerful frame.

'You may rise, my servant,' the Emperor

commanded.

Immediately Vader straightened up. But he

did not dare gaze into his master's face,

and instead cast his eyes down at his own

black boots.

'What is thy bidding, my master?' Vader

asked with all the solemnity of a priest

attending his god.

'There is a grave disturbance in the

Force,' the Emperor said.

'I have felt it,' the Dark Lord replied

solemnly.

The Emperor emphasized the danger as he

continued. 'Our situation is most

precarious. We have a new enemy who could

bring about our destruction.'

'Our destruction? Who?'

'The son of Skywalker. You must destroy

him, or he will be our undoing.'

Skywalker!

The thought was impossible. How could the

Emperor be concerned with this

insignificant youth?

'He's not a Jedi,' Vader reasoned. 'He's

just a boy. Obi-Wan could not have taught

him so much that-

The Emperor broke in. 'The Force is

strong in him,' he insisted. 'He must be

destroyed.'

The Dark Lord reflected a moment. Perhaps

there was another way to deal with the

boy, a way that might benefit the Imperial

cause. 'If he could be turned, he would be

a powerful ally,' Vader suggested.

Silently the Emperor considered the

possibility.

After a moment, he spoke again. 'Yes ...

yes,' he said thoughtfully. 'He would be a

great asset. Can it be done?'

For the first time in their meeting,

Vader lifted his head to face his master

directly. 'He will join us,' he answered

firmly, 'or die, my master.'

With that, the encounter had come to an

end. Vader kneeled before the Galactic

Emperor, who passed his hand over his

obedient servant. In the next moment, the

holographic image had completely

disappeared, leaving Darth Vader alone to

formulate what would be, perhaps, his most

subtle plan of attack.

The indicator lights on the control panel

cast an eerie glow through the quiet

cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. They

softly lit Princess Leia's face as she sat

in the pilot's chair, thinking about Han.

Deep in thought, she ran her hand along

the control panel in front of her. She

knew something was churned up within her,

but wasn't certain that she was willing to

acknowledge it. And yet, could she deny

it?

Suddenly her attention was attracted by a

flurry of movement outside the cockpit

window. A dark shape, at first too swift

and too shadowy to identify, streaked

toward the Millennium Falcon. In an

instant it had attached itself to the

ship's front window with something that

looked like a soft suction cup. Cautiously

Leia moved forward for a closer look at

the black smudgelike shape. As she peered

out the window, a set of large yellow eyes

suddenly popped open and stared right at

her.

Leia started in shock and stumbled

backward into the pilot's seat. As she

tried to compose herself, she heard the

scurry of feet and an inhuman screech.

Suddenly the black shape and its yellow

eyes disappeared into the darkness of the

asteroid cave.

She caught her breath, leaped up out of

the chair, and raced to the ship's hold.

The Falcon's crew was finishing its work

on the ship's power system. As they

worked, the lights flickered weakly, then

came on and stayed on brightly. Han

finished reconnecting the wires, and began

setting a floor panel back in place while

the Wookiee watched See Threepio complete

his work at the control panel.

'Everything checks out here,' Threepio

reported. 'If I might say so, I believe

that should do it.'

Just then, the princess rushed

breathlessly into the hold.

'There's something out there!' Leia

cried.

Han looked up from his work. 'Where?'

'Outside,' she said, 'in the cave.'

As she spoke, they heard a sharp banging

against the ship's hull. Chewbacca looked

up and let out a loud bark of concern.

'Whatever it is sounds like it's trying

to get in,' Threepio observed worriedly.

The captain began to move out of the

hold. 'I'm going to see what it is,' he

announced.

'Are you crazy?' Leia looked at him in

astonishment.

The banging was getting louder.

'Look, we just got this bucket going

again,' Han explained. 'I'm not about to

let some varmint tear it apart.'

Before Leia could protest, he had grabbed

a breath mask off a supply rack and pulled

it down over his head. As Han walked out,

the Wookiee hurried up behind him and

grabbed his own face mask. Leia realized

that, as part of the crew, she was duty-

bound to join them.

'If there's more than one,' she told the

captain, 'you're going to need help.'

Han looked at her affectionately as she

removed a third breath mask and placed it

over her lovely, but determined, face.

Then the three of them rushed out,

leaving the protocol droid to complain

pitifully to the empty hold: 'But that

leaves me here all alone!'

The darkness outside the Millennium

Falcon was thick and dank. It surrounded

the three figures as they carefully moved

around their ship. With each step they

heard unsettling noises, squishing sounds,

that echoed through the dripping cavern.

It was too dark to tell where the

creature might be hiding. They moved

cautiously, peering as well as they could

into the deep gloom. Suddenly Chewbacca,

who could see better in the dark than

either his captain or the princess,

emitted a muffled bark and pointed toward

the thing that moved along the Falcon's

hull.

A shapeless leathery mass scurried over

the top of the ship, apparently startled

by the Wookiee's yelp. Han leveled his

blaster at the creature and blasted the

thing with a laser bolt. The black shape

screeched, stumbled, then fell off the

spaceship, landing with a thud at the

princess's feet.

She leaned over to get a better look at

the black mass. 'Looks like some kind of

Mynock,' she told Han and Chewbacca.

Han glanced quickly around the dark

tunnel. 'There will be more of them,' he

predicted. 'They always travel in groups.

And there's nothing they like better than

to attach themselves to ships. Just what

we need right now!'

But Leia was more distracted by the

consistency of the tunnel floor. The

tunnel itself struck her as peculiar; the

smell of the place was unlike that of any

cave she had ever known. The floor was

especially cold and seemed to cling to her

feet.

As she stamped her foot against the

floor, she felt the ground give a bit

beneath her heel. 'This asteroid has the

strangest consistency,' she said. 'Look at

the ground. It's not like rock at all.'

Han knelt to inspect the floor more

closely and noted how pliable it was. As

he studied the floor, he tried to make out

how far it reached and to see the contours

of the cave.

'There's an awful lot of moisture in

here,' he said. He looked up and aimed his

hand blaster at the far side of the cave,

then fired toward the sound of a

screeching Mynock in the distance; as soon

as he shot the bolt, the entire cavern

began to shake and the ground to buckle.

'I was afraid of that,' he shouted. 'Let's

get out of here!'

Chewbacca barked in agreement, and bolted

toward the Millennium Falcon. Close behind

him, Leia and Han rushed toward the ship,

covering their faces as a swarm of Mynocks

flew past them. They reached the Falcon

and ran up the platform into the ship. As

soon as they were on board, Chewbacca

closed the hatch after them, careful that

none of the Mynocks could slip inside.

'Chewie, fire her up!' Han yelled as he

and Leia darted through the ship's hold.

'We're getting out of here!'

Chewbacca hurriedly lumbered to his seat

in the cockpit, while Han rushed to check

the scopes on the hold control panel.

Leia, running to keep up, warned, 'They

would spot us long before we could get up

to speed.'

Han didn't seem to hear her. He checked

the controls, then turned to rush back to

the cockpit. But as he passed her, his

comment made it clear he had heard every

word. 'There's no time to discuss this in

committee.'

And with that he was gone, racing to his

pilot's chair, where he began working the

engine throttles. The next minute the

whine of the main engines resounded

through the ship.

But Leia hurried after him. 'I am not a

committee,' she shouted indignantly.

It didn't appear that he heard her. The

sudden cave-quake was beginning to

subside, but Han was determined to get his

ship out -and out fast.

'You can't make the jump to light-speed

in this asteroid field,' she called over

the engine roar.

Solo grinned at her over his shoulder.

'Strap yourself in, sweetheart,' he said,

'we're taking off!'

'But the tremors have stopped!'

Han was not about to stop his ship now.

Already the craft moved forward, quickly

passing the craggy walls of the tunnel.

Suddenly Chewbacca barked in horror as he

stared out the front windscreen.

Directly in front of them stood a jagged

white row of stalactites and stalagmites

completely surrounding the cave's

entrance.

'I see it, Chewie,' Han shouted. He

pulled hard on the throttle, and the

Millennium Falcon surged forward. 'Hang

on!'

'The cave is collapsing,' Leia screamed

as she saw the entrance ahead grow

smaller.

'This is no cave.'

'What?!'

Threepio began jabbering in terror. 'Oh,

my, no! We're doomed. Good-bye, Mistress

Leia. Good-bye, Captain.'

Leia's mouth dropped open as she stared

at the rapidly approaching tunnel opening.

Han was right; they were not in a cave.

As they came nearer the opening, it was

apparent that the white mineral formations

were giant teeth. And it was very apparent

that, as they soared out of this giant

mouth, those teeth were beginning to

close!

Chewbacca roared.

'Bank, Chewie!'

It was an impossible maneuver, but

Chewbacca responded immediately and once

again accomplished the impossible. He

rolled the Millennium Falcon steeply on

its side, tilting the ship as he

accelerated it between two of those

gleaming white fangs. And not a second too

soon, for just as the Falcon flew from

that living tunnel, the jaws clamped shut.

The Falcon sped through the rocky crevice

of the asteroid, pursued by a titanic

space slug. The enormous pink bulk didn't

intend to lose its tasty meal and pushed

itself out of its crater to swallow the

escaping ship. But the monster was too

slow. Within another moment the freighter

had soared out, away from the slimy

pursuer and into space. As it did so, the

ship plunged into yet another danger: The

Millennium Falcon had re-entered the

deadly asteroid field.

Luke was panting, nearly out of breath in

this, the latest of his endurance tests.

His Jedi taskmaster had ordered him out on

a marathon run through the dense growth of

his planet's jungle. Not only had Yoda

sent Luke on the exhausting run, but he

had invited himself along for the ride. As

the Jedi-in-training puffed and sweated

his way on his rugged race, the little

Jedi Master observed his progress from a

pouch strapped to Luke's back.

Yoda shook his head and muttered to

himself disparagingly about the youth's

lack of endurance.

By the time they returned to the clearing

where Artoo Detoo was patiently waiting,

Luke's exhaustion had nearly overcome him.

As he stumbled into the clearing, Yoda had

yet another test planned for him.

Before Luke had caught his breath, the

little Jedi on his back tossed a metal bar

in front of Luke's eyes. In an instant

Luke ignited his laser sword and swung

frantically at the bar. But he was not

fast enough, and the bar fell - untouched

- onto the ground with a thud. Luke

collapsed on the wet earth in complete

exhaustion. 'I can't,' he moaned,'... too

tired.'

Yoda, who showed no sign of sympathy,

retorted, 'It would be in seven pieces,

were you a Jedi.'

But Luke knew that he was not a Jedi -

not yet, anyway. And the rigorous training

program devised by Yoda had left him

nearly out of breath. 'I thought I was in

good shape,' he gasped.

'Yes, but by what standard, ask I?' the

little instructor quizzed. 'Forget your

old measures. Unlearn, unlearn!'

Luke truly felt ready to unlearn all his

old ways and willing to free himself to

learn all this Jedi Master had to teach.

It was rigorous training, but as time

passed, Luke's strength and abilities

increased and even his skeptical little

master began to see hope. But it was not

easy.

Yoda spent long hours lecturing his

student about the ways of the Jedi. As

they sat under the trees near Yoda's

little house, Luke listened intently to

all the master's tales and lessons. And as

Luke listened, Yoda chewed on his Gimer

Stick, a short twig with three small

branches at the far end.

And there were physical tests of all

kinds. In particular, Luke was working

hard to perfect his leap. Once he felt

ready to show Yoda his improvement. As the

master sat on a log next to a wide pond,

he heard the loud rustling of someone

approaching through the vegetation.

Suddenly Luke appeared on the other side

of the pond, coming toward the water at a

run. As he approached the shore, he made a

running leap toward Yoda, rising high

above the water as he hurtled himself

through the air. But he fell short of the

other side and landed in the water with a

loud splash, completely soaking Yoda.

Yoda's blue lips turned down in

disappointment.

But Luke was not about to give up. He was

determined to become a Jedi and, no matter

how foolish he might feel in the attempt,

would pass every test Yoda set for him. So

he didn't complain when Yoda told him to

stand on his head. A bit awkwardly at

first, Luke inverted his body and, after a

few wobbly moments, was standing firmly on

his hands. It seemed he had been in this

position for hours, but it was less

difficult than it would have been before

his training. His concentration had

improved so much that he was able to

maintain a perfect balance - even with

Yoda perched on the soles of his feet.

But that was only part of the test. Yoda

signaled Luke by tapping on his leg with

his Gimer Stick. Slowly, carefully, and

with full concentration, Luke raised one

hand off the ground. His body wavered

slightly with the weight shift - but Luke

kept his balance, and, concentrating,

started to lift a small rock in front of

him. But suddenly a whistling and beeping

R2 unit came rushing up to his youthful

master.

Luke collapsed, and Yoda jumped clear of

his falling body. Annoyed, the young Jedi

student asked, 'Oh, Artoo, what is it?'

Artoo Detoo rolled about in frantic

circles as he tried to communicate his

message through a series of electronic

chirps. Luke watched as the droid scooted

to the edge of the swamp. He hurried to

follow and then saw what it was the little

robot was trying to tell him.

Standing at the water's edge, Luke saw

that all but the tip of the X-wing's nose

had disappeared beneath the water's

surface.

'Oh, no,' moaned Luke. 'We'll never get

it out now.'

Yoda had joined them, and stamped his

foot in irritation at Luke's remark. 'So

sure are you?' Yoda scolded. 'Tried have

you? Always with you it can't be done.

Hear you nothing that I say?' His little

wrinkled face puckered with a furious

scowl.

Luke glanced at his master, then looked

doubtfully toward the sunken ship.

'Master,' he said skeptically, 'lifting

rocks is one thing, but this is a little

different.' Yoda was really angry now.

'No! No different!' he shouted. 'The

differences are in your mind. Throw them

out! No longer of use are they to you.'

Luke trusted his master. If Yoda said

this could be done, then maybe he should

try. He looked at the downed X-wing and

readied himself for maximum concentration.

'Okay,' he said at last, 'I'll give it a

try.'

Again he had spoken the wrong words.

'No,' Yoda said impatiently. 'Try not. Do,

do. Or do not. There is no try.'

Luke closed his eyes. He tried to

envision the contours, the shape, to feel

the weight of his X-wing fighter. And he

concentrated on the movement it would make

as it rose from the murky waters.

As he concentrated, he began to hear the

waters churn and gurgle, and then begin to

bubble with the emerging nose of the X-

wing. The tip of the fighter was slowly

lifting from the water, and it hovered

there for a moment, then sank back beneath

the surface with a loud splash.

Luke was drained and had to gasp for

breath. 'I can't,' he said dejectedly.

'It's too big.'

'Size has no meaning,' Yoda insisted. 'It

matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my

size, do you?'

Luke, chastened, just shook his head.

'And well you shouldn't,' the Jedi Master

advised. 'For my ally is the Force. And a

powerful ally it is. Life creates it and

makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and

binds us. Luminous beings we are, not this

crude matter,' he said as he pinched

Luke's skin.

Yoda made a grand sweeping gesture to

indicate the vastness of the universe

about him. 'Feel it you must. Feel the

flow. Feel the Force around you. Here,' he

said, as he pointed, 'between you and me

and that tree and that rock.'

While Yoda gave his explanation of the

Force, Artoo spun his domed head around,

trying without success to register this

'Force' on his scanners. He whistled and

beeped in bafflement.

'Yes, everywhere,' Yoda continued,

ignoring the little droid, 'waiting to be

felt and used. Yes, even between this land

and that ship!'

Then Yoda turned and looked at the swamp,

and as he did the water began to swirl.

Slowly, from the gently bubbling waters,

the nose of the fighter appeared again.

Luke gasped in astonishment as the X-wing

gracefully rose from its watery tomb and

moved majestically toward the shore.

He silently vowed never to use the word

'impossible' again. For there, standing on

his tree root pedestal, was tiny Yoda,

effortlessly gliding the ship from the

water onto the shore. It was a sight that

Luke could scarcely believe. But he knew

that it was a potent example of Jedi

mastery over the Force.

Artoo, equally astounded but not so

philosophical, issued a series of loud

whistles, then bolted off to hide behind

some giant roots.

The X-wing seemed to float onto the

beach, and then gently came to a stop.

Luke was humbled by the feat he had

witnessed and approached Yoda in awe.

'I...' he began, dazzled. 'I don't believe

it.'

'That,' Yoda stated emphatically, 'is why

you fail.'

Bewildered, Luke shook his head,

wondering if he would ever rise to the

station of a Jedi.

Bounty hunters! Among the most reviled of

the galaxy's inhabitants, this class of

amoral money-grubbers included members of

every species. It was a repellent

occupation, and it often attracted

repellent creatures to its fold. Some of

these creatures had been summoned by Darth

Vader and now stood with him on the bridge

of his Imperial Star Destroyer.

Admiral Piett observed this motley group

from a distance as he stood with one of

Vader's captains. They saw that the Dark

Lord had invited a particularly bizarre

assortment of fortune hunters, including

Bossk, whose soft, baggy face gawked at

Vader with huge bloodshot orbs. Next to

Bossk stood Zuckuss and Dengar, two human

types, battle-scarred by innumerable,

unspeakable adventures. A battered and

tarnished chromecolored droid named IG-88

was also with the group, standing next to

the notorious Boba Fett. A human bounty

hunter, Fett was known for his extremely

ruthless methods. He was dressed in a

weapon-covered, armored spacesuit, the

kind worn by a group of evil warriors

defeated by the Jedi Knights during the

Clone Wars. A few braided scalps completed

his unsavory image. The very sight of Boba

Fett sent a shudder of revulsion through

the admiral.

'Bounty hunters!' Piett said with

disdain. 'Why should he bring them into

this? The Rebels won't escape us.'

Before the captain could reply, a ship's

controller rushed up to the admiral.

'Sir,' he said urgently, 'we have a

priority signal from the Star Destroyer

Avenger.'

Admiral Piett read the signal, then

hurried to inform Darth Vader. As he

approached the group, Piett heard the last

of Vader's instructions to them. 'There

will be a substantial reward for the one

who finds the Millennium Falcon,' he was

saying. 'You are free to use any methods

necessary, but I want proof. No

disintegrations.'

The Sith Lord stopped his briefing as

Admiral Piett hurried to his side.

'My lord,' the admiral whispered

ecstatically, 'we have them!'

= X =

THE Avenger had spotted the Millennium

Falcon the moment the freighter shot out

of the enormous asteroid.

From that moment, the Imperial ship

renewed its pursuit of the freighter with

a blinding barrage of fire. Undaunted by

the steady rain of asteroids on its

massive hull, the Star Destroyer

relentlessly followed the smaller ship.

The Millennium Falcon, far more

maneuverable than the other ship, darted

around the larger asteroids as they came

rocketing toward it. The Falcon was

succeeding in holding its lead in front of

the Avenger, but it was clear that the

steadily pursuing ship was not about to

abandon the chase.

Suddenly a gigantic asteroid appeared in

the Millennium Falcon's path, rushing

toward the freighter at incredible speed.

The ship quickly banked out of the way,

and the asteroid hurtled past it, only to

explode harmlessly against the Avenger's

hull.

Han Solo glimpsed the explosion's flare

through the front window of his ship's

cockpit. The craft that followed them

seemed absolutely invulnerable; but he had

no time to reflect on the differences

between the ships. It took everything in

his power to maintain control of the

Falcon as it was pelted by Imperial cannon

fire.

Princess Leia tensely watched the

asteroids and cannon fire flaring in the

blackness of space outside the cockpit

windows. Her fingers had tightened on the

arms of her chair. Silently she hoped

against hope that they would emerge from

this chase alive.

Carefully following the bleeping images

on a tracking scope, See Threepio turned

to Han. 'I can see the edge of the

asteroid field, sir,' he reported.

'Good,' Han replied. 'Soon as we're

clear, we'll kick this baby into

hyperdrive.' He was confident that within

moments the pursuing Star Destroyer would

be left light-years behind. The repairs in

the freighter's light-speed systems had

been completed, and there was nothing left

to do now but get the ship free of the

asteroid field and into space, where it

could blast away to safety.

There was an excited Wookiee bark as

Chewbacca, looking out a cockpit window,

saw that the asteroid density was already

decreasing. But their escape could not yet

be completed, for the Avenger was closing

in, and the bolts from its laser cannons

bombarded the Falcon, making it lurch and

carom to one side.

Han rapidly adjusted the controls and

brought his ship back on an even keel. And

in the next instant, the Falcon zoomed out

of the asteroid field and entered the

peaceful, star-dotted silence of deep

space. Chewbacca whined, joyful that they

were at last out of the deadly field - but

eager to leave the Star Destroyer far

behind.

'I'm with you, Chewie,' Han responded.

'Let's vacate the area. Stand by for light-

speed. This time they get the surprise.

Hang on...'

Everyone braced themselves as Han pulled

back on the light-speed throttle. But it

was the crew of the Millennium Falcon, and

most of all the captain himself, that got

the surprise, once again-

-nothing happened.

Nothing!

Han frantically pulled back the throttle

again.

The ship maintained its sublight speed.

'This isn't fair!' he exclaimed,

beginning to panic.

Chewbacca was furious. It was rare that

he lost his temper with his friend and

captain. But now he was exasperated and

roared his fury in angry Wookiee growls

and barks.

'Couldn't be,' Han replied defensively,

as he looked at his computer screens and

quickly noted their readings. 'I checked

the transfer circuits.'

Chewbacca barked again.

'I tell you, this time it's not my fault.

I'm sure I checked it.'

Leia sighed deeply. 'No light-speed?' in

a tone that indicated she had expected

this catastrophe, too.

'Sir,' See Threepio interjected, 'we've

lost the rear deflector shield. One more

direct hit on the back quarter and we're

done for.'

'Well,' Leia said, as she glared at the

captain of the Millennium Falcon, 'what

now?'

Han realized he had only one choice.

There was no time to plan or to check

computer readouts, not with the Avenger

already out of the asteroid field and

rapidly gaining on them. He had to make a

decision based on instinct and hope. They

really had no alternative.

'Sharp bank, Chewie,' he ordered and

pulled back a lever as he looked at his

copilot. 'Let's turn this bucket around.'

Not even Chewbacca could fathom what Han

had in mind. He barked in bewilderment -

perhaps he hadn't heard the order quite

right.

'You heard me!' Han yelled. 'Turn around!

Full power front shield!' This time there

was no mistaking his command and, though

Chewbacca couldn't comprehend the suicidal

maneuver, he obeyed.

The princess was flabbergasted. 'You're

going to attack them!' she stammered in

disbelief. There wasn't a chance of

survival now, she thought. Was it possible

that Han really was crazy?

Threepio, after running some calculations

through his computer brain, turned to Han

Solo. 'Sir, if I might point out, the odds

of surviving a direct assault on an

Imperial Star Destroyer are-

Chewbacca snarled at the golden droid,

and Threepio immediately shut up. No one

on board really wanted to hear the

statistics, especially since the Falcon

was already banking into a steep turn to

begin its course into the erupting storm

of Imperial cannon fire.

Solo concentrated intently on his flying.

It was all he could do to avoid the

barrage of flak bursts rocketing toward

the Falcon from the Imperial ship. The

freighter bobbed and weaved as Han, still

heading directly for the Star Destroyer,

steered to avoid the bolts.

No one on his tiny ship had the slightest

idea what his plan might be.

'He's coming in too low!' the Imperial

deck officer shouted, though he scarcely

believed what he was seeing.

Captain Needa and the Star Destroyer crew

rushed to the Avenger's bridge to watch

the suicidal approach of the Millennium

Falcon, while alarms blared all over the

vast Imperial ship. A small freighter

could not do much damage if it collided

against a Star Destroyer's hull; but if it

smashed through the bridge windows, the

control deck would be littered with

corpses.

The panicked tracking officer reported

his sighting. 'We're going to collide!'

'Shields up?' Captain Needa asked. 'He

must be insane!'

'Look out!' the deck officer yelled.

The Falcon was headed straight for the

bridge window and the Avenger crew and

officers fell to the floor in terror. But

at the last instant, the freighter veered

up sharply. Then-

Captain Needa and his men slowly lifted

their heads. All they saw outside the

bridge windows was a peaceful ocean of

stars.

'Track them,' Captain Needa ordered.

'They may come around for another pass.'

The tracking officer attempted to find

the freighter on his scopes. But there was

nothing to find.

'That's strange,' he muttered.

'What is it?' Needa asked, walking over

to look at the tracking monitors for

himself.

'The ship doesn't appear on any of our

scopes.'

The captain was perplexed. 'It couldn't

have disappeared. Could a ship that small

have a cloaking device?'

'No, sir,' the deck officer answered.

'Maybe they went into light-speed at the

last minute.'

Captain Needa felt his anger mounting at

about the same rate as his befuddlement.

'Then why did they attack? They could have

gone into hyperspace when they cleared the

asteroid field.'

'Well, there's no trace of them, sir, no

matter how they did it,' the tracking

officer replied, still unable to locate

the Millennium Falcon on his viewers. 'The

only logical explanation is that they went

into light-speed.'

The captain was staggered. How had that

crate of a ship eluded him?

An aide approached. 'Sir, Lord Vader

demands an update on the pursuit,' he

reported. 'What should he be told?'

Needa braced himself. Letting the

Millennium Falcon get away when it was so

close was an unforgiveable error, and he

knew he had to face Vader and report his

failure. He felt resigned to whatever

punishment waited in store for him.

'I am responsible for this,' he said.

'Get the shuttle ready. When we rendezvous

with Lord Vader, I will apologize to him

myself. Turn around and scan the area one

more time.'

Then, like a living behemoth, the great

Avenger slowly began to turn; but there

was still no sign of the Millennium

Falcon.

The two glowing balls hovered like alien

fireflies above Luke's body lying

motionless in the mud. Standing

protectively next to his fallen master, a

little barrel-shaped droid periodically

extended a mechanical appendage to swat at

the dancing objects as if they were

mosquitoes. But the hovering balls of

light leaped just out of the robot's

reach.

Artoo Detoo leaned over Luke's inert body

and whistled in an effort to revive him.

But Luke, stunned unconscious by the

charges of these energy balls, did not

respond. The robot turned to Yoda, who was

sitting calmly on a tree stump, and

angrily began to beep and scold the little

Jedi Master.

Getting no sympathy from him, Artoo

turned back to Luke. His electronic

circuits told him there was no use trying

to wake Luke with his little noises. An

emergency rescue system was activated

within his metal hull and Artoo extended a

small metal electrode and rested it on

Luke's chest. Uttering a quiet beep of

concern, Artoo generated a mild electrical

charge, just strong enough to jolt Luke

back to consciousness. The youth's chest

heaved, and he awoke with a start.

Looking dazed, the young Jedi student

shook his head clear. He looked around

him, rubbing his shoulders to ease the

ache from Yoda's seeker balls' attack.

Glimpsing the seekers still suspended over

him, Luke scowled. Then he heard Yoda

chuckling merrily nearby, and turned his

glare on him.

'Concentration, heh?' Yoda laughed, his

lined face creased with enjoyment.

'Concentration!'

Luke was in no mood to return his smile.

'I thought those seekers were set for

stun!' he exclaimed angrily.

'That they are,' the amused Yoda

answered.

'They're a lot stronger than I'm used

to.' Luke's shoulder ached painfully.

'That would not matter were the Force

flowing through you,' Yoda reasoned.

'Higher you'd jump! Faster you'd move!' he

exclaimed. 'Open yourself to the Force you

must.'

The youth was beginning to feel

exasperated with his arduous training,

although he had only been at it a short

time. He had felt very close to knowing

the Force - but so many times he had

failed and had realized how very far away

it was from him still. But now Yoda's

goading words made him spring to his feet.

He was tired of waiting so long for this

power, weary at his lack of success, and

increasingly infuriated by Yoda's cryptic

teachings.

Luke grabbed his laser sword from the mud

and quickly ignited it.

Terrified, Artoo Detoo scurried away to

safety.

'I'm open to it now!' Luke shouted. 'I

feel it. Come on, you little flying

blasters!' With fire in his eyes, Luke

poised his weapon and moved toward the

seekers. Immediately they zipped away and

retreated to hover over Yoda.

'No, no,' the Jedi Master scolded,

shaking his hoary head. 'This will not do.

Anger is what you feel.'

'But I feel the Force!' Luke protested

vehemently.

'Anger, anger, fear, aggression!' Yoda

warned. 'The dark side of the Force are

they. Easily they flow ... quick to join

in a fight. Beware, beware, beware of

them. A heavy price is paid for the power

they bring.'

Luke lowered his sword and stared at Yoda

in confusion. 'Price?' he asked. 'What do

you mean?'

'The dark side beckons,' Yoda said

dramatically. 'But if once start you down

the dark path, forever will it dominate

your destiny. Consume you it will... as it

did Obi-Wan's apprentice.'

Luke nodded. He knew who Yoda meant.

'Lord Vader,' he said. After he thought

for a moment, Luke asked, 'Is the dark

side stronger?'

'No, no. Easier, quicker, more

seductive.'

'But how am I to know the good side from

the bad?' he asked, puzzled.

'You will know,' Yoda answered. 'When you

are at peace ... calm, passive. A Jedi

uses the Force for knowledge. Never for

attack.'

'But tell me why-' Luke began.

'No! There is no why. Nothing more will I

tell you. Clear your mind of questions.

Quiet now be - at peace ..." Yoda's voice

trailed off, but his words had a hypnotic

effect on Luke. The young student stopped

protesting and began to feel peaceful, his

body and mind relaxing.

'Yes ...' Yoda murmured, 'calm.'

Slowly Luke's eyes closed as he let his

mind clear of distracting thoughts.

'Passive..."

Luke heard Yoda's soothing voice as it

entered the receptive darkness of his

mind. He willed himself to travel along

with the master's words to wherever they

might lead.

'Let yourself go

When Yoda perceived that Luke was as

relaxed as the young student could be at

this stage, he made the tiniest of

gestures. As he did, the two seeker balls

above his head shot toward Luke, firing

stun bolts as they moved.

In that instant Luke sprang to life and

ignited his laser sword. He leaped to his

feet and, with pure concentration, began

deflecting the bolts as they spun toward

him. Fearlessly he faced the attack, and

moved and dodged with extreme grace. His

leaps into the air, as he jumped to meet

the bolts, were higher than any he had

achieved before. Luke wasted not a single

motion as he concentrated only on every

bolt as it sped his way.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the

seeker attack was over. The glowing balls

returned to hover on either side of their

master's head.

Artoo Detoo, the ever-patient observer,

let out an electronic sigh and shook his

metal dome-head.

Grinning proudly, Luke looked toward

Yoda.

'Much progress do you make, young one,'

the Jedi Master confirmed. 'Stronger do

you grow.' But the little instructor would

not compliment him more than that.

Luke was full of pride at his marvelous

achievement. He watched Yoda, expectantly

waiting for further praise from him. But

Yoda did not move or speak. He sat calmly

- and then two more seeker balls floated

up behind him and moved into formation

with the first two.

Luke Skywalker's grin began to melt away.

A pair of white-armored stormtroopers

lifted Captain Needa's lifeless form from

the floor of Darth Vader's Imperial Star

Destroyer.

Needa had known that death was the likely

consequence of his failure to capture the

Millennium Falcon. He had known, too, that

he had to report the situation to Vader

and make his formal apology. But there was

no mercy for failure among the Imperial

military. And Vader, in disgust, had

signaled for the captain's death.

The Dark Lord turned, and Admiral Piett

and two of his captains came to report

their findings. 'Lord Vader,' Piett said,

'our ships have completed their scan of

the area and found nothing. The Millennium

Falcon definitely went into light-speed.

It's probably somewhere on the other side

of the galaxy by now.'

Vader hissed through his breath mask.

'Alert all commands,' he ordered.

'Calculate every possible destination

along their last known trajectory and

disburse the fleet to search for them.

Don't fail me again, Admiral, I've had

quite enough!'

Admiral Piett thought of the Avenger's

captain, whom he had just seen carried out

of the room like a sack of grain. And he

remembered the excruciating demise of

Admiral Ozzel. 'Yes, my lord,' he

answered, trying to hide his fear. 'We'll

find them.'

Then the admiral turned to an aide.

'Deploy the fleet,' he instructed. As the

aide moved to carry out his orders, a

shadow of worry crossed the admiral's

face. He was not at all certain that his

luck would be any better than that of

Ozzel or Needa.

Lord Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer

regally moved off into space. Its

protecting fleet of smaller craft hovered

nearby as the Imperial armada left the

Star Destroyer Avenger behind.

No one on the Avenger or in Vader's

entire fleet had any idea how near they

were to their prey. As the Avenger glided

off into space to continue its search, it

carried with it, clinging unnoticed to one

side of the huge bridge tower, a saucer-

shaped freighter ship - the Millennium

Falcon.

Inside the Falcon's cockpit all was

quiet. Han Solo had stopped his ship and

shut down all systems so quickly that even

the customarily talkative See Threepio was

silent. Threepio stood, not moving a

rivet, a look of wonder frozen on his

golden face.

'You could have warned him before you

shut him off,' Princess Leia said, looking

at the droid that stood motionless like a

bronzed statue.

'Oh, so sorry!' Han said in mock concern.

'Didn't mean to offend your droid. You

think braking and shutting everything down

in that amount of time is easy?'

Leia was dubious about Han's entire

strategy. 'I'm still not sure what you've

accomplished.'

He shrugged off her doubt. She'll find

out soon enough, he thought; there just

wasn't any other choice. He turned to his

copilot. 'Chewie, check the manual release

on the landing claws.'

The Wookiee barked, then pulled himself

out of his chair and moved toward the rear

of the ship.

Leia watched as Chewbacca proceeded to

disengage the landing claws so that the

ship could take off without mechanical

delay.

Shaking her head incredulously, she

turned to Han. 'What do you have in mind

for your next move?'

'The fleet is finally breaking up,' he

answered as he pointed out a port window.

'I'm hoping they follow standard Imperial

procedure and dump their garbage before

they go into light-speed.'

The princess reflected on this strategy

for a moment, and then began to smile.

This crazy man might know what he was

doing after all. Impressed, she patted him

on the head. 'Not bad, hot shot, not bad.

Then what?'

'Then,' Han said, 'we have to find a safe

port around here. Got any ideas?'

'That depends. Where are we?'

'Here,' Han said, pointing to a

configuration of small light points, 'near

the Anoat system.'

Slipping out of her chair, Leia moved

next to him for a better look at the

screen.

'Funny,' Han said after thinking for a

moment, 'I have the feeling I've been in

this area before. Let me check my logs.'

'You keep logs?' Leia was more impressed

by the minute. 'My, how organized,' she

teased.

'Well, sometimes,' he answered as he

hunted through the computer readout. 'Ah-

ha, I knew it! Lando - now this should be

interesting.'

'I never heard of that system,' said

Leia.

'It's not a system. He's a man, Lando

Calrissian. A gambler, con artist, all-

around scoundrel...' he paused long enough

for the last word to sink in, and gave the

princess a wink, 'your kind of guy. The

Bespin system. It's a fair distance but

reachable.'

Leia looked at one of the computer

monitor screens and read the data. 'A

mining colony,' she noted.

'A Tibanna gas mine,' Han added. 'Lando

won it in a sabacc match, or so he claims.

Lando and I go way back.'

'Can you trust him?' Leia asked.

'No. But he has no love for the Empire,

that much I know.'

The Wookiee barked over the intercom.

Quickly responding, Han flicked some

switches to bring new information to the

computer screens, and then stretched to

look out the cockpit window. 'I see it,

Chewie, I see it,' he said. 'Prepare for

manual release.' Then, turning to the

princess, Han said, 'Here goes nothing,

sweetheart.' He leaned back in his chair

and smiled invitingly at her.

Leia shook her head, then grinned shyly

and gave him a quick kiss. 'You do have

your moments,' she reluctantly admitted.

'Not many, but you have them.'

Han was getting used to the princess's

back-handed compliments, and he couldn't

say that he really minded them. More and

more he was enjoying the fact that she

shared his own sarcastic sense of humor.

And he was fairly sure that she was

enjoying it, too.

'Let 'er go, Chewie,' he shouted

gleefully.

The hatch on the underbelly of the

Avenger yawned open. And as the Imperial

galactic cruiser zoomed into hyperspace,

it spewed out its own belt of artificial

asteroids - garbage and sections of

irreparable machinery that scattered out

into the black void of space. Hidden among

that trail of refuse, the Millennium

Falcon tumbled undetected off the side of

the larger ship, and was left far behind

as the Avenger streaked away.

Safe at last, Han Solo thought.

The Millennium Falcon ignited its ion

engines, and raced off through the train

of drifting space junk toward another

system.

But concealed among that scattered debris

was another ship.

And as the Falcon roared off to seek the

Bespin system, this other ship ignited its

own engines. Boba Fett, the most notorious

and dreaded bounty hunter in the galaxy,

turned his small, elephant's head-shaped

craft, Slave I, to begin its pursuit. For

Boba Fett had no intention of losing sight

of the Millennium Falcon. Its pilot had

too high a price on his head. And this was

one reward that the fearsome bounty hunter

was quite determined to collect.

Luke felt that he was definitely

progressing.

He ran through the jungle - with Yoda

perched on his neck - and leaped with

gazellelike grace over the profusion of

foliage and tree roots growing throughout

the bog.

Luke had at last begun to detach himself

from the emotion of pride. He felt

unburdened, and was finally open to

experience fully the flow of the Force.

When his diminutive instructor threw a

silver bar above Luke's head, the young

Jedi student reacted instantly. In a flash

he turned to slice the bar into four shiny

segments before it fell to the ground.

Yoda was pleased and smiled at Luke's

accomplishment. 'Four this time! The Force

you feel.'

But Luke was suddenly distracted. He

sensed something dangerous, something

evil. 'Something's not right,' he said to

Yoda. 'I feel danger... death.'

He looked around him, trying to see what

it was that emitted so powerful an aura.

As he turned he saw a huge, tangled tree,

its blackened bark dry and crumbling. The

base of the tree was surrounded by a small

pond of water, where the gigantic roots

had grown to form the opening to a darkly

sinister cave.

Luke gently lifted Yoda from his neck and

set him on the ground. Transfixed, the

Jedi student stared at the dark

monstrosity. Breathing hard, he found

himself unable to speak.

'You brought me here purposely,' Luke

said at last.

Yoda sat on a tangled root and put his

Gimer Stick in his mouth. Calmly looking

at Luke, he said nothing.

Luke shivered. 'I feel cold,' he said,

still gazing at the tree.

'This tree is strong with the dark side

of the Force. A servant of evil it is.

Into it you must go.'

Luke felt a tremor of apprehension.

'What's in there?'

'Only what you take with you,' Yoda said

cryptically.

Luke looked warily at Yoda, and then at

the tree. He silently resolved to take his

courage, his willingness to learn, and

step within that darkness to face whatever

it was that awaited him. He would take

nothing more than-

No. He would also bring his lightsaber.

Lighting his weapon, Luke stepped through

the shallow waters of the pond and toward

the dark opening between those great and

foreboding roots.

But the Jedi Master's voice stopped him.

'Your weapon,' Yoda reproved. 'You won't

need it.'

Luke paused and looked again at the tree.

Go into that evil cave completely unarmed?

As skilled as Luke was becoming, he did

not feel quite equal to that test. He

gripped his saber tighter and shook his

head.

Yoda shrugged and placidly gnawed his

Gimer Stick.

Taking a deep breath, Luke cautiously

stepped into the grotesque tree cave.

The dark inside the cave was so thick

that Luke could feel it against his skin,

so black that the light thrown by his

laser sword was quickly absorbed and

illuminated scarcely more than a meter in

front of him. As he slowly moved forward,

slimy, dripping things brushed against his

face and the moisture from the soggy cave

floor began to seep into his boots.

As he pushed through the blackness, his

eyes began to grow accustomed to the dark.

He saw a corridor before him, but as he

moved toward it, he was surprised by a

thick, sticky membrane that completely

enveloped him. Like the web of some

gigantic spider, the mass clung tightly to

Luke's body. Thrashing at it with his

lightsaber, Luke finally managed to

disentangle himself and clear a path

ahead.

He held his glowing sword in front of him

and noticed an object on the cave floor.

Pointing his lightsaber downward, Luke

illuminated a black, shiny beetle the size

of his hand. In an instant, the thing

scurried up the slimy wall to join a

cluster of its mates.

Luke caught his breath and stepped back.

At that moment he considered hunting for

the exit - but he braced himself and

ventured still deeper into the dark

chamber.

He felt the space about him widen as he

moved forward, using his lightsaber as a

dim beacon. He strained to see in the

darkness, trying his best to hear. But

there was no sound at all. Nothing.

Then, a very loud hiss.

The sound was familiar. He froze where he

stood. He had heard that hiss even in his

nightmares; it was the labored breath of a

thing that had once been a man.

Out of the darkness a light appeared -

the blue flame of a just-ignited laser

sword. In its illumination Luke saw the

looming figure of Darth Vader raise his

lighted weapon to attack, and then lunge.

Prepared by his disciplined Jedi

training, Luke was ready. He raised his

own lightsaber and perfectly side-stepped

Vader's attack. In the same movement, Luke

turned to Vader and, with his mind and

body completely focused, the youth

summoned the Force. Feeling its power

within him, Luke raised his laser weapon

and brought it crashing down on Vader's

head.

With one powerful stroke, the Dark Lord's

head was severed from his body. Head and

helmet crashed to the ground and rolled

about the cave floor with a loud metallic

bang. As Luke watched in astonishment,

Vader's body was completely swallowed up

by the darkness. Then Luke looked down at

the helmet that had come to rest directly

in front of him. For a moment it was

completely still. Then the helmet cracked

in half and split open.

As Luke watched in shocked disbelief, the

broken helmet fell aside to reveal, not

the unknown, imagined face of Darth Vader,

but Luke's own face, looking up at him.

He gasped, horrified at the sight. And

then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the

decapitated head faded away as if in a

ghostly vision.

Luke stared at the dark space where the

head and pieces of helmet had Iain. His

mind reeled, the emotions that raged

inside of him were almost too much to

bear.

The tree! he told himself. It was all

some trick of this ugly cave, some charade

of Yoda's, arranged because he had come

into the tree carrying a weapon.

He wondered if he were really fighting

himself, or if he had fallen prey to the

temptations of the dark side of the Force.

He might himself become a figure as evil

as Darth Vader. And he wondered if there

might be some even darker meaning behind

the unsettling vision.

It was a long while before Luke Skywalker

was able to move from that deep, dark

cave.

Meanwhile, sitting on the root, the

little Jedi Master calmly gnawed his Gimer

Stick.

= XI =

IT was dawn on the gaseous Bespin planet.

As the Millennium Falcon began its

approach through the planet's atmosphere,

it soared past several of Bespin's many

moons. The planet itself glowed with the

same soft pink hue of dawn that tinted the

hull of the powerful pirate starship. As

the ship neared, it swerved to avoid a

billowing canyon of clouds that swirled up

around the planet.

When Han Solo finally lowered his ship

through the clouds, he and his crew got

their first glimpse of the gaseous world

of Bespin. And as they maneuvered through

the clouds, they noticed that they were

being followed by some kind of flying

vehicle. Han recognized the craft as a

twin-pod cloud car but was surprised when

the car began to bank close to his

freighter. The Falcon suddenly lurched as

a round of laser fire struck its hull. No

one on the Falcon had expected this kind

of greeting.

The other craft transmitted a static-

obscured message over the Falcon's radio

system.

'No,' Han snarled in reply, 'I do not

have a landing permit. My registration

is-'

But his words were drowned out by a loud

crackle of radio static.

The twin-pod car was apparently not

willing to accept static for a reply.

Again it opened up fire on the Falcon,

shaking and rattling the ship with each

strike.

A clear warning voice came over the

freighter's speakers: 'Stand by. Any

aggressive move will bring about your

destruction.'

At this point Han had no intention of

making any aggressive moves. Bespin was

their only hope of sanctuary, and he

didn't plan to alienate his prospective

hosts.

'Rather touchy, aren't they?' the

reactivated See Threepio asked.

'I thought you knew these people,' Leia

chided, casting a suspicious look at Han.

'Well,' the Corellian hedged, 'it's been

a while.'

Chewbacca growled and barked, shaking his

head meaningfully at Han.

'That was a long time ago,' he answered

sharply. 'I'm sure he's forgotten all

about it.' But he began to wonder if Lando

had forgotten the past...

'Permission granted to land on Platform

327. Any deviation of flight pattern will

bring about your-

Angrily, Han switched off the radio. Why

was he being put through this harrassment?

He was coming here peacefully; wasn't

Lando going to let bygones be bygones?

Chewbacca grunted and glanced at Solo, who

turned to Leia and her worried robot.

'He'll help us,' he said, trying to

reassure them all. 'We go way back ...

really. Don't worry.'

'Who's worried?' she lied unconvincingly.

By then they could clearly see the Cloud

City of Bespin through the cockpit window.

The city was immense and seemed to float

in the clouds as it emerged through the

white atmosphere. As the Millennium Falcon

approached the city, it became evident

that the expansive city structure was

supported from below by a thin unipod. The

base of this supporting stalk was a large

round reactor that floated through its

billowing sea of clouds.

The Millennium Falcon dipped closer to

the huge city and veered in the direction

of its landing platforms, flying past the

rising towers and spires that dotted the

city's landscape. In and about these

structures cruised more of the twin-pod

cloud cars, gliding effortlessly through

the mists.

Han gently brought the Falcon in to land

on Platform 327; and as the ship's ion

engines whined to a stop, the captain and

his crew could see the welcoming party

moving toward the landing platform with

weapons drawn. Like any cross-section of

the citizenry of Cloud City, this group

included aliens, droids, and humans of all

races and descriptions. One of these

humans was the group's leader, Lando

Calrissian.

Lando, a handsome black man perhaps the

same age as Solo, was clad in elegant gray

pants, blue shirt, and a flowing blue

cape. He stood, unsmiling, on Landing

Platform 327, waiting for the Falcon's

crew to disembark.

Han Solo and Princess Leia appeared at

the open door of their ship, with blasters

drawn. Standing behind them was the giant

Wookiee, his gun in hand and a bandoleer

of ammunition packs slung over his left

shoulder.

Han didn't speak but quietly surveyed the

menacing welcoming party that was marching

across the platform toward them. An early

morning wind began to sweep along the

ground, making Lando's cloak fly up behind

him like enormous deep blue wings.

'I don't like this,' Leia whispered to

Han.

He didn't much like it either, but he

wasn't going to let the princess know

that. 'It'll be all right,' he said

quietly. Trust me.' Then, cautioning her,

he added, 'But keep your eyes open. Wait

here.'

Han and Chewbacca left Leia guarding the

Falcon and they walked down the ramp to

face Calrissian and his motley army. The

two parties moved toward each other until

Han and Calrissian stopped, three meters

apart, to face each other. For a long

moment, each one eyed the other silently.

Finally Calrissian spoke, shaking his

head and squinting at Han. 'Why, you

slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler,'

he said grimly.

'I can explain everything, ol' buddy,'

Han said quickly, 'if you'll just listen.'

Still unsmiling, Lando surprised alien

and human alike when he said, 'Glad to see

you.'

Han lifted an eyebrow skeptically. 'No

hard feelings?'

'Are you kidding?' Lando asked coolly.

Han was becoming nervous. Had he been

forgiven or not? The guards and aides

still had not lowered their weapons, and

Lando's attitude was mystifying. Trying to

conceal his worry, Han remarked gallantly,

'I always said you were a gentleman.'

With that, the other man broke into a

grin. 'I'll bet,' he chuckled.

Han laughed in relief, as the two old

friends at last embraced each other like

the long-lost accomplices they were.

Lando waved at the Wookiee, standing

behind his boss. 'How you doing,

Chewbacca?' he asked amiably. 'Still

wasting your time with this clown, eh?'

The Wookiee growled a reserved greeting.

Calrissian was not certain what to make

of that growl. 'Right,' he half-smiled,

looking uncomfortable. But his attention

was distracted from this shaggy mass of

muscle and hair when he saw Leia beginning

to walk down the ramp. This lovely vision

was followed closely by her protocol

droid, who cautiously glanced around as

they walked toward Lando and Han.

'Hello! What have we here?' Calrissian

welcomed her admiringly. 'I am Lando

Calrissian, administrator of this

facility. And who might you be?'

The princess remained coolly polite. 'You

may call me Leia,' she replied.

Lando bowed formally and gently kissed

the princess's hand.

'And I,' her robot companion said,

introducing himself to the administrator,

'am See Threepio, human-cyborg relations,

at your-

But before Threepio could finish his

little speech, Han draped one arm about

Lando's shoulder and steered him away from

the princess. 'She's travelling with me,

Lando,' he advised his old friend, 'and I

don't intend to gamble her away. So you

might as well forget she exists.'

Lando looked longingly over his shoulder

as he and Han began to walk across the

landing platform, followed by Leia,

Threepio, and Chewbacca. 'That won't be

easy, my friend,' Lando said regretfully.

Then he turned to Han. 'What brings you

here anyway?'

'Repairs.'

Mock panic spread across Lando's face.

'What have you done to my ship?'

Grinning, Han glanced back at Leia.

'Lando used to own the Falcon,' he

explained. 'And he sometimes forgets that

he lost her fair and square.'

Lando shrugged as he conceded to Han's

boastful claim. 'That ship saved my life

more than a few times. It's the fastest

hunk of junk in the galaxy. What's wrong

with her?'

'Hyperdrive.'

'I'll have my people get to work on it

right away,' Lando said. 'I hate the

thought of the Millennium Falcon without

her heart.'

The group crossed the narrow bridge that

joined the landing area to the city - and

were instantly dazzled by its beauty. They

saw numerous small plazas ringed by smooth-

edged towers and spires and buildings. The

structures that constituted Cloud City's

business and residential sections were

gleaming white, shining brightly in the

morning sun. Numerous alien races made up

the city's populace and many of these

citizens leisurely walked through the

spacious streets alongside the Falcon

visitors.

'How's your mining operation going?' Han

asked Lando.

'Not as well as I'd like,' Calrissian

answered. 'We're a small outpost and not

very self-sufficient. I've had supply

problems of every kind and ..." The

administrator noticed Han's amused grin.

'What's so funny?'

'Nothing.' Then Han chuckled. 'I never

would have guessed that underneath that

wild schemer I knew was a responsible

leader and businessman.' Grudgingly, Han

had to admit that he was impressed. 'You

wear it well.'

Lando looked at his old friend

reflectively. 'Seeing you sure brings back

a few memories.' He shook his head,

smiling. 'Yes, I'm responsible these days.

It's the price of success. And you know

what, Han? You were right all along. It's

overrated.'

Both burst out laughing, causing a head

or two to turn as the group moved through

the city walkways.

See Threepio lagged a bit behind,

fascinated by the bustling alien crowds in

the Cloud City streets, the floating cars,

the fabulous, fanciful buildings. He

turned his head back and forth, trying to

register it all in his computer circuits.

As the golden droid gawked at the new

sights, he passed a door facing the

walkway. Hearing it open, he turned to see

a silver Threepio unit emerging and

stopped to watch the other robot move

away. While Threepio paused there, he

heard a muffled beeping and whistling

coming from behind the door.

He peeked in and saw a familiar-looking

droid sitting in the anteroom. 'Oh, an R2

unit!' he chirped in delight. 'I'd almost

forgotten what they sound like.'

Threepio moved through the doorway and

walked into the room.

Instantly he sensed that he and the R2

unit were not alone. He threw his golden

arms up in surprise, the expression of

wonder on his gilded faceplate frozen in

place. 'Oh, my!' he exclaimed. 'Those look

like-'

As he spoke, a rocketing laser bolt

crashed into his metal chest, sending him

flying in twenty directions around the

room. His bronzed arms and legs crashed

against the walls and settled in a

smoldering heap with the rest of his

mechanical body.

Behind him, the door slammed shut.

Some distance away, Lando guided the

small group into his hall of offices,

pointing out objects of interest as they

moved through the white corridors. None of

them had noticed Threepio's absence as

they walked along, discussing life in

Bespin.

But Chewbacca suddenly stopped and

curiously sniffed the air as he looked

behind him. Then he shrugged his huge

shoulders and continued to follow the

others.

Luke was perfectly calm. Even his present

position did not make him feel tense or

strained or unsure, or any of the negative

things he used to feel when he first

attempted this feat. He stood, perfectly

balanced on one hand. He knew the Force

was with him.

His patient master, Yoda, sat calmly on

the soles of Luke's upturned feet. Luke

concentrated serenely on his task and all

at once he lifted four fingers from the

ground. His balance undisturbed, he held

his upside-down position - on one thumb.

Luke's determination had made him a quick

student. He was eager to learn and was

undaunted by the tests Yoda had devised

for him. And now he felt confident that

when he finally left this planet, it would

be as a full-fledged Jedi Knight prepared

to fight only for the noblest of causes.

Luke was rapidly growing stronger with

the Force and, indeed, was accomplishing

miracles. Yoda grew more pleased with his

apprentice's progress. Once, while Yoda

stood watching nearby, Luke used the Force

to lift two large equipment cases and

suspend them in midair. Yoda was pleased,

but noticed Artoo Detoo observing this

apparent impossibility and emitting

electronic beeps of disbelief. The Jedi

Master raised his hand and, with the

Force, lifted the little droid off the

ground.

Artoo hovered, his baffled internal

circuits and sensors trying to detect the

unseen power that held him suspended in

the air. And suddenly the invisible hand

played still another joke on him: While

hanging in midair, the little robot was

abruptly turned upside down. His white

legs kicked desperately and his dome head

spun helplessly around. When Yoda finally

lowered his hand, the droid, along with

two supply cases, began to drop. But only

the boxes smashed against the ground.

Artoo remained suspended in space.

Turning his head, Artoo perceived his

young master, standing with hand extended,

preventing Artoo from a fatal tumble.

Yoda shook his head, impressed by his

student's quick thinking and by his

control.

Yoda sprang onto Luke's arm and the two

of them turned back toward the house. But

they had forgotten something: Artoo Detoo

was still hanging in the air, beeping and

whistling frantically, trying to get their

attention. Yoda was merely playing another

joke on the fretful droid, and as Yoda and

Luke strolled away, Artoo heard the Jedi

Master's bell-like laugh float in gay

peals behind him as the droid slowly

lowered to the ground.

Some time later, as dusk crept through

the dense foliage of the bog, Artoo was

cleaning the X-wing's hull. Through a hose

that ran from the pond to an orifice in

his side, the robot sprayed down the ship

with a powerful stream of water. And while

he worked, Luke and Yoda sat in the

clearing, Luke's eyes closed in

concentration.

'Be calm,' Yoda told him. 'Through the

Force things you will see: other places,

other thoughts, the future, the past, old

friends long gone.'

Luke was losing himself as he

concentrated on Yoda's words. He was

becoming unaware of his body and let his

consciousness drift with the words of his

master.

'My mind fills with so many images.'

'Control, control you must learn of what

you see,' the Jedi Master instructed. 'Not

easy, not fast.'

Luke closed his eyes, relaxed, and began

to free his mind, began to control the

images. At last there was something, not

clear at first, but something white,

amorphous. Gradually the image cleared. It

seemed to be that of a city, a city that

perhaps floated in a billowing white sea.

'I see a city in the clouds,' he finally

said.

'Bespin,' Yoda identified it. 'I see it,

too. Friends you have there, heh?

Concentrate and see them you will.'

Luke's concentration intensified. And the

city in the clouds became clearer. As he

concentrated he was able to see forms,

familiar forms of people he knew.

'I see them!' Luke exclaimed, his eyes

still shut. Then a sudden agony, of body

and spirit, took hold of him. 'They're in

pain. They're suffering.'

'It is the future you see,' the voice of

Yoda explained.

The future, Luke thought. Then the pain

he had felt had not yet been inflicted on

his friends. So perhaps the future was not

unchangeable.

'Will they die?' he asked his master.

Yoda shook his head and shrugged gently.

'Difficult to see. Always in motion is the

future.'

Luke opened his eyes again. He stood up

and quickly began to gather his equipment.

'They're my friends,' he said, guessing

that the Jedi Master might try to dissuade

him from doing what he knew he must.

'And therefore,' Yoda added, 'decide you

must how to serve them best. If you leave

now, help them you could. But you would

destroy all for which they have fought and

suffered.'

His words stopped Luke cold. The youth

sank to the ground, feeling a shroud of

gloom envelop him. Could he really destroy

everything he had worked for and possibly

also destroy his friends? But how could he

not try to save them?

Artoo perceived his master's despair and

rolled over to stand by him and provide

what comfort he could.

Chewbacca, who had grown concerned about

See Threepio, slipped away from Han Solo

and the others and began hunting for the

missing droid. All he had to follow were

his keen Wookiee instincts as he wandered

through the unfamiliar white passageways

and corridors of Bespin.

Following his senses, Chewbacca finally

came upon an enormous room in a corridor

on the outside of the Cloud City. He

approached the entrance to the room and

heard the clamor of metallic objects

clattering together. Along with the

clanging, he heard the low grunting of

creatures he had never encountered before.

The room he had found was a Cloud City

junk room - the repository of all the

city's broken machines and other discarded

metal junk.

Standing amid the scattered pieces of

metal and tangled wire were four hoglike

creatures. White hair grew thickly on

their heads and partially covered their

wrinkled piggish faces. The humanoid

beasts - called Ugnaughts on this planet -

were busy separating the junked pieces of

metal and casting them into a pit of

molten metal.

Chewbacca entered the room and saw that

one of the Ugnaughts held a familiar-

looking piece of golden metal.

The piglike creature was already raising

his arm to toss the severed metal leg into

the sizzling pit when Chewbacca roared at

him, barking desperately. The Ugnaught

dropped the leg and ran, to cower in

terror with his fellows.

The Wookiee grabbed the metal leg and

inspected it closely. He hadn't been

mistaken. And as he growled angrily at the

huddled Ugnaughts, they shivered and

grunted like a pack of frightened pigs.

Sunlight streamed into the circular

lounge of the apartments assigned to Han

Solo and his group. The lounge was white

and furnished simply, with a couch and a

table and little of anything else. Each of

the four sliding doors, placed along the

circular wall, led to an adjoining

apartment.

Han leaned out the lounge's large bay

window to take in the panoramic view of

Cloud City. The sight was breathtaking,

even to such a jaded star jockey. He

watched the flying cloud cars weave

between the towering buildings, then

looked down to see the people moving

through the networks of streets below. The

cool, clean air swept against his face,

and, at least for the present, he felt as

if he didn't have a care in all the

universe.

A door behind him opened, and he turned

to see Princess Leia standing in the

entranceway to her apartment. She was

stunning. Dressed in red with a cloud-

white cloak flowing to the floor, Leia

looked more beautiful than Han had ever

seen her. Her long, dark hair was tied

with ribbons and it softly framed her oval

face. And she was looking at him, smiling

at his astounded expression.

'What are you staring at?' she asked,

beginning to blush.

'Who's staring?'

'You look silly,' she said, laughing.

'You look great.'

Leia looked away in embarrassment. 'Has

Threepio turned up yet?' she asked, trying

to change the subject.

Solo was taken off guard. 'Huh? Oh.

Chewie went to look for him. He's been

gone too long just to be lost.' He patted

the softly cushioned sofa. 'Come over

here,' he beckoned. 'I want to check this

out.'

She thought about his invitation for a

moment, then walked over and sat next to

him on the couch. Han was overjoyed at her

apparent compliance and leaned over to put

his arm around her. But just before he had

quite succeeded, she spoke again. 'I hope

Luke made it to the fleet all right.'

'Luke!' He was becoming exasperated. How

hard did he have to play at this game of

hard-to-get? It was her game, and her

rules -but he had chosen to play. She was

too lovely to resist. 'I'm sure he's

fine,' Han said, soothingly. 'Probably

sitting around wondering what we're doing

right now.'

He moved closer and put his arm around

her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

She gazed at him invitingly, and he moved

to kiss her-

Just then one of the doors zapped open.

Chewbacca lumbered in carrying a large

packing case filled with disturbingly

familiar metal parts - the remains, in

bronzed bits and pieces, of See Threepio.

The Wookiee dropped the case on the table.

Gesturing toward Han, he barked and

growled in distress.

'What happened?' Leia asked, moving

closer to inspect the pile of disjointed

parts.

'He found Threepio in a junk room.'

Leia gasped. 'What a mess! Chewie, do you

think you can repair him?'

Chewbacca studied the collection of robot

parts, then, looking back at the princess,

shrugged his shoulders and howled. It

looked to him like an impossible job.

'Why don't we just turn him over to Lando

to fix?' Han suggested.

'No thanks,' Leia answered, with a cold

look in her eyes. 'Something's wrong here.

Your friend Lando is very charming, but I

don't trust him.'

'Well, I do trust him,' Han argued,

defending his host. 'Listen, sweetheart,

I'm not going to have you accusing my

friend of-

But he was interrupted by a buzz as a

door slid open, and Lando Calrissian

entered the lounge. Smiling cordially, he

walked toward the small group. 'Sorry, am

I interrupting anything?'

'Not really,' the princess said

distantly.

'My dear,' Lando said, ignoring her

coldness toward him, 'your beauty is

unparalleled. Truly you belong here with

us among the clouds.'

She smiled icily. 'Thanks.'

'Would you care to join me for a little

refreshment?'

Han had to admit that he was a bit

hungry. But for some reason he could not

quite name, he felt a wave of suspicion

about his friend flood over him. He didn't

remember Calrissian being quite so polite,

quite so smooth. Perhaps Leia was correct

in her suspicions ...

His thoughts were interrupted by

Chewbacca's enthusiastic bark at the

mention of food. The big Wookiee was

licking his lips at the prospect of a

hearty meal.

'Everyone's invited, of course,' Lando

said.

Leia took Lando's proffered arm and, as

the group moved toward the door,

Calrissian glimpsed the box of golden

robot parts. 'Having problems with your

droid?' he asked.

Han and Leia exchanged a quick glance. If

Han was going to ask for Lando's help in

repairing the droid, now was the moment.

'An accident,' he grunted. 'Nothing we

can't handle.'

They left the lounge, leaving behind them

the shattered remains of the protocol

droid.

The group strolled through the long white

corridors and Leia walked between Han and

Lando. Han wasn't at all certain he liked

the prospect of competing with Lando for

Leia's affections -especially under the

circumstances. But they were dependent on

Lando's good graces now. They had no other

choice.

Joining them as they walked was Lando's

personal aide, a tall bald man dressed in

a gray jacket with ballooning yellow

sleeves. The aide wore a radio device that

wrapped around the back of his head and

covered both his ears. He walked along

with Chewbacca a short distance behind

Han, Leia, and Lando, and as they walked

toward Lando's dining hall, the

administrator described the status of his

planet's government.

'So you see,' Lando explained, 'we are a

free station and do not fall under the

jurisdiction of the Empire.'

'You're part of the mining guild then?'

Leia asked.

'Not actually. Our operation is small

enough not to be noticed. Much of our

trade is, well... unofficial.'

They stepped onto a veranda that

overlooked the spiraled top of Cloud City.

From here they saw several flying cloud

cars gracefully swooping around the

beautiful spired buildings of the city. It

was a spectacular view, and the visitors

were very impressed.

'It's a lovely outpost,' Leia marveled.

'Yes, we're proud of it,' Lando replied.

'You'll find the air quite special here

... very stimulating.' He smiled at Leia

meaningfully. 'You could grow to like it.'

Han didn't miss Lando's flirtatious

glance - and he didn't like it, either.

'We don't plan on staying that long,' he

said brusquely.

Leia raised an eyebrow and glanced

mischievously at the now-fuming Han Solo.

'I find it most relaxing.'

Lando chuckled, and led them from the

veranda. They approached the dining hall

with its massive closed doors and, as they

paused in front of them, Chewbacca lifted

his head and sniffed the air curiously. He

turned and barked urgently at Han.

'Not now, Chewie,' Han reproved, turning

to Calrissian. 'Lando, aren't you afraid

the Empire might eventually discover this

little operation and shut you down?'

'That's always been the danger,' the

administrator replied. 'It's loomed like a

shadow over everything we've built here.

But circumstances have developed which

will insure security. You see, I've made a

deal that will keep the Empire out of here

forever.'

With that the mighty doors slid open -

and immediately Han understood just what

that 'deal' must have involved. At the far

end of the huge banquet table stood the

bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Fett stood next to a chair that held the

black essence of evil itself - Darth

Vader. Slowly the Dark Lord rose to his

full, menacing two-meter height.

Han shot his meanest look at Lando.

'Sorry, friend,' Lando said, sounding

mildly apologetic. 'I had no choice. They

arrived right before you did.'

'I'm sorry, too,' Han snapped. In that

instant, he cleared his blaster from its

holster, aimed it directly at the figure

in black, and began to pump laser bolts

Vader's way.

But the man who may have been the fastest

draw in the galaxy was not fast enough to

surprise Vader. Before those bolts zipped

halfway across the table, the Dark Lord

had lifted a gauntlet-protected hand and

effortlessly deflected them so they

exploded against the wall in a harmless

spray of flying white shards.

Astounded by what he had just seen, Han

tried firing again. But before he could

discharge another laser blast, something -

something unseen yet incredibly strong -

yanked the weapon from his hand and sent

it flying into Vader's grip. The raven

figure calmly placed the weapon on top of

the dining table.

Hissing through his obsidian mask, the

Dark Lord addressed his would-be

assailant. 'We would be honored if you

joined us.'

Artoo Detoo felt the rain plunking on top

of his metal dome as he trudged through

the muddy puddles of the bog. He was

headed for the sanctuary of Yoda's little

hut, and soon his optical sensors picked

up the golden glow shining through its

windows. As he neared the inviting house,

he felt a robot's relief that at last he

would get out of this annoying, persistent

rain.

But when he tried to pass through the

entrance he discovered that his inflexible

droid body just could not get in; he tried

from one angle, then from another. At last

the perception that he was simply the

wrong shape to get in seeped into his

computer mind.

He could scarcely believe his sensors. As

he peered into the house, he scanned a

busy figure, bustling about the kitchen,

stirring steaming pots, chopping this and

that, running back and forth. But the

figure in Yoda's tiny kitchen, doing

Yoda's kitchen tasks, was not the Jedi

Master - but his apprentice.

Yoda, it appeared from Artoo's scan, was

simply sitting back observing his young

pupil from the adjacent room, and quietly

smiling. Then suddenly, in the midst of

all his kitchen activity, Luke paused, as

if a painful vision had appeared before

him.

Yoda noticed Luke's troubled look. As he

watched his student, three glow-ball

seekers appeared from behind Yoda and

noiselessly shot through the air to attack

the young Jedi from behind. Instantly Luke

turned to face them, a pot lid in one hand

and a spoon in the other.

The seekers sent one rocketing bolt after

another directly at Luke.

But, with astounding skill, he warded off

every one. He knocked one of the seekers

toward the open door where Artoo stood

watching his master's performance. But the

faithful droid saw the shining ball too

late to avoid the bolt it shot at him. The

impact knocked the shrieking robot onto

the ground with a clunk that nearly shook

loose his electronic insides.

Later that evening, after the student had

successfully passed a number of his

teacher's tests, a weary Luke Skywalker

finally fell asleep on the ground outside

Yoda's house. He slept fitfully, tossing

and softly moaning. His concerned droid

stood by him, reaching out an extension

arm and covering Luke with the blanket

that had slipped halfway off. But when

Artoo started to roll away, Luke began to

groan and shudder as if in the grip of

some horrible nightmare.

Inside the house, Yoda heard the groans

and hurried to his doorway.

Luke awoke from his sleep with a start.

Dazed, he looked about him, then saw his

teacher worriedly watching him from his

house. 'I can't keep the vision out of my

head,' Luke told Yoda. 'My friends ...

they're in trouble ... and I feel that-'

'Luke, you must not go,' Yoda warned.

'But Han and Leia will die if I don't.'

'You don't know that.' It was the

whispered voice of Ben, who was beginning

to materialize before them. The dark-robed

figure stood, a shimmering image, and told

Luke, 'Even Yoda cannot see their fate.'

But Luke was deeply worried about his

friends and was determined to do

something. 'I can help them!' he insisted.

'You're not ready yet,' Ben said gently.

'You still have much to learn.'

'I feel the Force,' Luke said.

'But you cannot control it. This is a

dangerous stage for you, Luke. You are now

most susceptible to the temptations of the

dark side.'

'Yes, yes,' Yoda added. 'To Obi-Wan you

listen, young one. The tree. Remember your

failure at the tree! Heh?'

Painfully, Luke remembered, though he

felt he had gained a great deal of

strength and understanding in that

experience. 'I've learned much since then.

And I'll return to finish. I promise that,

master.'

'You underestimate the Emperor,' Ben told

him gravely. 'It is you he wants. That is

why your friends suffer.'

'And that,' Luke said, 'is why I must

go.'

Kenobi was firm. 'I will not lose you to

the Emperor as I once lost Vader.'

'You won't.'

'Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with

the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader

and his Emperor,' Ben emphasized. 'If you

end your training now, if you choose the

quick and easy path - as Vader did - you

will become an agent of evil, and the

galaxy will be plunged deeper into the

abyss of hate and despair.'

'Stopped they must be,' Yoda interjected.

'Do you hear? On this all depends.'

'You are the last Jedi, Luke. You are our

only hope. Be patient.'

'And sacrifice Han and Leia?' the youth

asked incredulously.

'If you honor what they fight for,' Yoda

said, pausing for a long moment,'... yes!'

Great anguish overcame Luke. He wasn't

certain that he could reconcile the advice

of these two great mentors with his own

feelings. His friends were in terrible

danger, and of course he must save them.

But his teachers thought he was not ready,

that he might be too vulnerable to the

powerful Vader and his Emperor, that he

might bring harm to his friends and

himself- and possibly be lost forever on

the path of evil.

Yet how could he fear these abstract

things when Han and Leia were real and

were suffering? How could he permit

himself to fear possible danger to himself

when his friends were presently in real

danger of death?

There was no longer any question in his

mind as to what he had to do.

It was dusk the next day on the bog

planet when Artoo Detoo settled himself

into his nook behind the cockpit of Luke's

X-wing fighter.

Yoda stood on one of the storage cases,

watching Luke load the cases one by one

into the fighter's underbelly as he worked

in the glow of the X-wing's lights.

'I cannot protect you, Luke,' the voice

of Ben Kenobi came, as his robed figure

took solid form. 'If you choose to face

Vader, you will do it alone. Once you've

made this decision, I cannot interfere.'

'I understand,' Luke replied calmly.

Then, turning to his droid, he said,

'Artoo, fire up the power converters.'

Artoo, who had already unfastened the

power couplings on the ship, whistled

happily, grateful to be leaving this

dismal bog world, which was certainly no

place for a droid.

'Luke,' Ben advised, 'use the Force only

for knowledge and for defense, not as a

weapon. Don't give in to hate or anger.

They lead the way to the dark side.'

Luke nodded, only half-listening. His

mind was on the long journey and on the

difficult tasks ahead of him. He must save

his friends, whose lives were in danger

because of him. He climbed into the

cockpit, then looked at his little Jedi

Master.

Yoda was deeply concerned about his

apprentice. 'Strong is Vader,' he warned

ominously. 'Clouded is your fate. Mind

what you have learned. Notice everything,

everything! It can save you.'

'I will, Master Yoda,' Luke assured him.

'I will and I'll be back to finish what I

have begun. I give you my word!'

Artoo closed the cockpit and Luke started

the engines.

Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi watched the X-

wing gear its engines and begin to move

away for take-off.

'Told you, I did,' Yoda said sorrowfully,

as the sleek fighter craft began to lift

into the misty heavens. 'Reckless is he.

Now things are going to worse.'

'That boy is our last hope,' Ben Kenobi

said, his voice heavy with emotion.

'No,' Kenobi's former teacher corrected

with a knowing gleam in his large eyes,

'there is another.'

Yoda lifted his head toward the darkening

sky where Luke's ship was already a barely

distinguishable point of light among the

flickering stars.

= XII =

CHEWBACCA thought he was going mad!

The prison cell was flooded with hot,

blinding light that seared his sensitive

Wookiee eyes. Not even his huge hands and

hairy arms, thrust up over his face, could

entirely protect him from the glare. And

to add to his misery, a high-pitched

whistle blared into the cubicle,

tormenting his keen sense of hearing. He

roared in agony, but his guttural roars

were drowned out by the piercing,

screeching noise.

The Wookiee paced back and forth within

the confines of the cell. Moaning

pitifully, he pounded at the thick walls

in desperation, wanting someone, anyone,

to come and free him. While he pounded,

the whistle that had nearly exploded his

eardrums suddenly stopped and the deluge

of light flickered and went out.

Chewbacca staggered back a step with the

sudden absence of torture, and then moved

to one of the cell walls to try to detect

whether anyone was approaching to release

him. But the thick walls revealed nothing

and, maddened to a fury, Chewbacca slammed

a giant fist against the wall.

But the wall stood undamaged and as

impenetrable as before, and Chewbacca

realized it would take more than Wookiee

brute strength to topple it. Despairing of

his chances of breaking through the cell

to freedom, Chewbacca shuffled toward the

bed, where the box of 3PO parts had been

placed.

Idly at first, and then with more

interest, the Wookiee began poking through

the box. It dawned on him that it might be

possible to repair the disjointed droid.

Not only would doing so pass the time, but

it might be helpful to have Threepio back

in working condition.

He picked up the golden head and gazed

into its darkened eyes. He held the head

and barked a few soliloquizing words as if

to prepare the robot for the joy of re-

entry into activity - or for the

disappointment of Chewbacca's possible

failure to reconstruct him properly.

Then, quite delicately for a creature of

his size and strength, the giant Wookiee

placed the staring head atop the bronzed

torso. Tentatively he began experimenting

with Threepio's tangle of wires and

circuits. His mechanical skills had

previously only been tested in repairs on

the Millennium Falcon, so he wasn't at all

certain he could complete the delicate

task. Chewbacca jiggled and fiddled with

the wires, baffled by this intricate

mechanism, when suddenly Threepio's eyes

lit up.

A whine came from inside the robot. It

sounded vaguely like Threepio's normal

voice, but was so low and so slow that the

words were unintelligible.

'Imm-peeeeer-eee-all-storr-mmm-trppp...'

Bewildered, Chewbacca scratched his furry

head and studied the broken robot

intently. An idea came to him, and he

tried switching one wire to another plug.

Instantly Threepio began speaking in his

normal voice. What he had to say sounded

like words from a bad dream.

'Chewbacca!' the head of See Threepio

cried. 'Watch out, there are Imperial

stormtroopers hidden in-' He paused, as if

reliving the whole traumatic experience,

and then he cried, 'Oh, no! I've been

shot!'

Chewbacca shook his head in sympathy. All

he could do at this point was try to put

the rest of See Threepio back together

again.

Quite possibly it was the first time Han

Solo had ever screamed. Never had he

endured such excruciating torment. He was

strapped to a platform that angled away

from the floor at approximately forty-five

degrees. While he was strapped there,

electric currents of searing power shot

through his body at short intervals, each

jolt more painfully powerful than the

last. He squirmed to free himself but his

agony was so severe that it was all he

could do just to remain conscious.

Standing near the torture rack, Darth

Vader silently watched Han Solo's ordeal.

Seeming neither pleased nor displeased, he

watched until he had seen enough, and then

the Dark Lord turned his back on the

writhing figure and left the cell, the

door sliding behind him to muffle Solo's

anguished screams.

Outside the torture chamber, Boba Fett

waited for Lord Vader with Lando

Calrissian and the administrator's aide.

With obvious disdain, Vader turned to

Fett. 'Bounty hunter,' Vader addressed the

man in the black-marked silver helmet, 'if

you are waiting for your reward, you will

wait until I have Skywalker.'

The self-assured Boba Fett appeared

unruffled by this news. 'I am in no hurry,

Lord Vader. My concern is that Captain

Solo not be damaged. The reward from Jabba

the Hut is double if he's alive.'

'His pain is considerable, bounty

hunter,' Vader hissed, 'but he will not be

harmed.'

'What about Leia and the Wookiee?' Lando

asked with some concern.

'You will find them well enough,' Vader

answered. 'But,' he added with

unmistakable finality, 'they must never

again leave this city.'

'That was never a condition of our

agreement,' Calrissian urged. 'Nor was

giving Han to this bounty hunter.'

'Perhaps you think you're being treated

unfairly,' Vader said sarcastically.

'No,' Lando said, glancing at his aide.

'Good,' Vader continued, adding a veiled

threat. 'It would be most unfortunate if I

had to leave a permanent garrison here.'

Bowing his head reverently, Lando

Calrissian waited until Darth Vader had

turned and swept into a waiting elevator

with the silver-armored bounty hunter.

Then, taking his aide with him, the

administrator of Cloud City strode swiftly

down a white-walled corridor.

'This deal's becoming worse all the

time,' Lando complained.

'Maybe you should have tried to negotiate

with him,' the aide suggested.

Lando looked at his aide grimly. He was

beginning to realize that the deal with

Darth Vader was giving nothing to him.

And, beyond that, it was bringing harm to

people he might have called friends.

Finally, he said, low enough not to be

heard by any of Vader's spies, 'I've got a

bad feeling about this.'

See Threepio was at last beginning to

feel something like his old self.

The Wookiee had been busily working on

reconnecting the droid's many wires and

internal circuits, and just now was

beginning to figure out how to attach the

limbs. So far he had reattached the head

to the torso and had successfully

completed connecting an arm. The rest of

Threepio's parts still lay on the table

with wires and circuits hanging out of the

severed joints.

But, though the Wookiee was diligently

working to complete his task, the golden

droid began to complain vociferously.

'Well, something's not right,' he fussed,

'because now I can't see.'

The patient Wookiee barked, and adjusted

a wire in Threepio's neck. At last the

robot could see again and he breathed a

little mechanical sigh of relief. 'There

now, that's better.'

But it wasn't much better. When he cast

his newly activated sensor gaze toward

where his chest should be he saw - his

back! 'Wait- Oh, my. What have you done?

I'm backwards!' Threepio sputtered. 'You

flea-bitten furball! Only an overgrown

mophead like you would be stupid enough to

put my head-

The Wookiee growled menacingly. He had

forgotten what a complainer this droid

was. And this cell was too small for him

to listen to any more of that! Before

Threepio knew what was happening to him,

the Wookiee lumbered over and pulled a

wire. Instantly the grumbling ceased, and

the room became quiet again.

Then there was a familiar scent nearing

the cell.

The Wookiee sniffed the air and hurried

to the door.

The cell door buzzed open and a ragged,

exhausted Han Solo was shoved in by two

Imperial stormtroopers. The troopers left

and Chewbacca quickly moved to his friend,

embracing him with relief. Han's face was

pale, with dark circles under his eyes. It

seemed that he was on the verge of

collapse, and Chewbacca barked his concern

to his long-time companion.

'No,' Han said wearily, 'I'm all right.

I'm all right.'

The door opened once again, and Princess

Leia was thrown into the cell by the

stormtroopers. She was still dressed in

her elegant cloak but, like Han, she

looked tired and disheveled.

When the stormtroopers left and the door

slid shut behind them, Chewbacca helped

Leia over to Han. The two gazed at one

another with great emotion, then reached

out and tightly embraced. After a moment

they kissed tenderly.

While Han still held her, Leia weakly

asked him, 'Why are they doing this? I

can't understand what they're up to.'

Han was as puzzled as she. 'They had me

howling on the scan grid, but they never

asked me any questions.'

Then the door slid open again, admitting

Lando and two of his Cloud City guards.

'Get out of here, Lando!' Han snarled. If

he had felt stronger, he would have leaped

up to attack his traitorous friend.

'Shut up a minute and listen,' Lando

snapped. 'I'm doing what I can to make

this easier for you.'

'This ought to be good,' Han remarked

caustically.

'Vader has agreed to turn Leia and Chewie

over to me,' explained Lando. 'They'll

have to stay here, but at least they'll be

safe.'

Leia gasped. 'What about Han?'

Lando looked solemnly at his friend. 'I

didn't know you had a price on your head.

Vader has given you to the bounty hunter.'

The princess quickly looked at Han,

concern flooding her eyes.

'You don't know much about much,' Han

said to Calrissian, 'if you think Vader

won't want us dead before all this is

over.'

'He doesn't want you at all,' Lando said.

'He's after someone called Sky walker.'

The two prisoners caught their breath at

the casual mention of that name.

Han seemed puzzled. 'Luke? I don't get

it.'

The princess's mind was racing. All the

facts were beginning to fit together into

a terrible mosaic. In the past, Vader had

wanted Leia because of her political

importance in the war between Empire and

Rebel Alliance. Now she was almost beneath

his notice, useful only for one possible

function.

'Lord Vader has set a trap for him,'

Lando added, 'and-'

Leia finished his statement. 'We're the

bait.'

'All this just to get the kid?' Han

asked. 'What's so important about him?'

'Don't ask me, but he's on his way.'

'Luke's coming here?'

Lando Calrissian nodded.

'You fixed us all pretty good,' Han

growled, spitting his words at Lando, '-

friend!'

As he snarled that last, accusing word,

Han Solo's strength returned in a rush. He

put all of his might into a punch that

sent Lando reeling. Instantly the two

former friends were engaged in a furious,

close-quarters battle. Lando's two guards

moved closer to the two grappling

opponents and began striking at Han with

the butts of their laser rifles. One

powerful blow struck Han on the chin and

sent him flying across the room, blood

streaming from his jaw.

Chewbacca began to growl savagely and

started for the guards. As they raised

their laser weapons, Lando shouted, 'Don't

shoot!'

Bruised and winded, the administrator

turned to Han. 'I've done what I can for

you,' he said. 'I'm sorry it's not better,

but I've got my own problems.' Then

turning to leave the cell, Lando

Calrissian added, 'I've already stuck my

neck out farther than I should.'

'Yeah,' Han Solo retorted, regaining his

composure, 'you're a real hero.'

When Lando had left with his guards, Leia

and Chewbacca helped Han back to his feet

and led him to one of the bunks. He eased

his weary, battered body onto the bunk,

and Leia took a piece of her cloak and

began gently dabbing at his chin, cleaning

off the oozing blood.

As she did so, she started to chuckle

softly. 'You certainly have a way with

people,' she teased.

Artoo Detoo's head swiveled atop his

barrel-like body as his scanners perceived

the star-studded void of the Bespin

system.

The speeding X-wing had just entered the

system, and was swooping through black

space like a great white bird.

The R2 unit had a lot to communicate to

his pilot. His electronic thoughts were

tumbling out, one on top of the other, and

were translated on the cockpit scope.

The grim-faced Luke quickly responded to

the first of Artoo's urgent questions.

'Yes,' Luke replied. 'I'm sure Threepio is

with them.'

The little robot whistled an excited

exclamation.

'Just hold on,' Luke said patiently,

'we'll be there soon.'

Artoo's turning head perceived the regal

clusters of stars, his innards warm and

cheerful, as the X-wing continued like a

celestial arrow toward a planet with a

city in the clouds.

Lando Calrissian and Darth Vader stood

near the hydraulic platform that dominated

the huge carbon-freezing chamber. The Dark

Lord was quiet while aides hurried to

prepare the room.

The hydraulic platform was housed within

a deep pit in the center of the chamber

and was surrounded by countless steam

pipes and enormous chemical tanks of

varying shapes.

Standing guard with laser rifles clutched

in their hands were four armor-suited

Imperial stormtroopers.

Darth Vader turned to Calrissian after

appraising the chamber. 'The facility is

crude,' he remarked, 'but it should suit

our needs.'

One of Vader's officers rushed to the

Sith Lord's side. 'Lord Vader,' he

reported, 'ship approaching - X-wing

class.'

'Good,' Vader said coldly. 'Monitor

Skywalker's progress and allow him to

land. We'll have the chamber ready for him

shortly.'

'We only use this facility for carbon-

freezing,' the administrator of Cloud City

said nervously. 'If you put him in there,

it might kill him.'

But Vader had already considered that

possibility. He knew a way to find out

just how powerful this freezing unit was.

'I don't wish the Emperor's prize to be

damaged. We'll test it first.' He caught

the attention of one of his stormtroopers.

'Bring in Solo,' the Dark Lord commanded.

Lando quickly glanced at Vader. He hadn't

been prepared for the pure evil that was

manifested in this terrifying being.

The X-wing speedily made its descent, and

began to pierce the dense cloud blanket

enveloping the planet.

Luke checked his monitor screens with

growing concern. Maybe Artoo had more

information than he was getting on his own

panel. He tapped out a question to the

robot.

'You haven't picked up any patrol ships?'

Artoo Detoo's reply was negative.

And so Luke, thoroughly convinced that

his arrival was thus far undetected,

pressed his ship onward, toward the city

of his troubled vision.

Six of the piglike Ugnaughts frantically

prepared the carbon-freezing chamber for

use, while Lando Calrissian and Darth

Vader - now the true master of Cloud City

- observed the hasty activity.

As they scurried about the carbon-

freezing platform, the Ugnaughts lowered a

network of pipes - resembling some alien

giant's circulatory system - into the pit.

They raised the carbonite hoses and

hammered them into place. Then the six

humanoids lifted the heavy coffinlike

container and set it securely onto the

platform.

Boba Fett rushed in, leading a squad of

six Imperial storm-troopers. The troopers

shoved and pulled Han, Leia, and the

Wookiee in front of them, forcing them to

hurry into the chamber. Strapped to the

Wookiee's broad back was the partially

reassembled See Threepio, whose unattached

arm and legs were roughly bundled against

his gilded torso. The droid's head, facing

the opposite direction from Chewbacca's,

frantically turned around to try to see

where they were going and what lay in

store for them.

Vader turned to the bounty hunter. 'Put

him in the carbon-freezing chamber.'

'What if he doesn't survive?' the

calculating Boba Fett asked. 'He is worth

a lot to me.'

'The Empire will compensate you for the

loss,' Vader said succinctly.

Anguished, Leia protested, 'No!'

Chewbacca threw back his maned head and

gave out a bellowing Wookiee howl. Then he

charged directly at the line of

stormtroopers guarding Han.

Screaming in panic, See Threepio raised

his one functioning arm to protect his

face.

'Wait!' the robot yelled. 'What are you

doing?'

But the Wookiee wrestled and grappled

with the troopers, undaunted by their

number or by Threepio's frightened

shrieks.

'Oh, no ... Don't hit me!' the droid

begged, trying to protect his disassembled

parts with his arm. 'No! He doesn't mean

it! Calm down, you hairy fool!'

More stormtroopers had come into the room

and joined the fight. Some of the troopers

began to club the Wookiee with the butts

of their rifles, banging against Threepio

in the process.

'Ouch!' the droid screamed. 'I didn't do

anything!'

The stormtroopers had begun to overpower

Chewbacca, and were about to smash him in

the face with their weapons when, over the

sounds of the fray, Han shouted, 'Chewie,

no! Stop it, Chewbacca!'

Only Han Solo could deflect the maddened

Wookiee from his battle. Straining against

the hold of his guards, Han broke away

from them and rushed over to break up the

fight.

Vader signaled his guards to let Han go

and signaled the battling stormtroopers to

stop the fight.

Han gripped the massive forearms of his

hairy friend to calm him down, then gave

him a stern look.

The flustered Threepio was still fussing

and fuming. 'Oh, yes ... stop, stop.'

Then, with a robotic sigh of relief, he

said, 'Thank heavens!'

Han and Chewbacca faced each other, the

former looking grimly into his friend's

eyes. For a moment they embraced tightly,

then Han told the Wookiee, 'Save your

strength for another time, pal, when the

odds are better.' He mustered a reassuring

wink, but the Wookiee was grief-stricken

and barked a mournful wail.

'Yeah,' Han said, trying his best to

crack a grin, 'I know. I feel the same

way. Keep well.' Han Solo turned to one of

the guards. 'You'd better chain him until

it's over.'

The subdued Chewbacca did not resist as

the stormtrooper guards placed restraining

bands around his wrists. Han gave his

partner a final farewell hug, then turned

to Princess Leia. He took her in his arms

and they embraced as if they would never

let go.

Then Leia pressed her lips to his in a

lingering kiss of passion. When their kiss

ended, tears were in her eyes. 'I love

you,' she said softly. 'I couldn't tell

you before, but it's true.'

He smiled his familiar cocky smile. 'Just

remember that, because I'll be back.' Then

his face grew tender and he kissed her

gently on the forehead.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as

Han turned away from her and walked

quietly and fearlessly toward the waiting

hydraulic platform.

The Ugnaughts rushed to his side and

positioned him on the platform, binding

his arms and legs tightly onto the

hydraulic deck. He stood alone and

helpless, and gazed one last time at his

friends.

Chewbacca looked at his friend

mournfully, Threepio's head peeking over

the Wookiee's shoulder to get one last

look at the brave man. The administrator,

Calrissian, watched this ordeal, a solemn

look of regret etched deeply into his

face. And then there was Leia. Her face

was contorted with the pain of her grief

as she stood regally trying to be strong.

Leia's was the last face Han saw when he

felt the hydraulic platform suddenly drop.

As it dropped, the Wookiee bellowed a

final, baleful farewell.

In that terrible moment, the grieving

Leia turned away, and Lando grimaced in

sorrow.

Instantly fiery liquid began to pour down

into the pit in a great cascading shower

of fluid and sparks.

Chewbacca half-turned from the horrifying

spectacle, giving Threepio a better view

of the process.

'They're encasing him in carbonite,' the

droid reported. 'It's high-quality alloy.

Much better than my own. He should be

quite well protected ... That is, if he

survived the freezing process.'

Chewbacca quickly glanced over his

shoulder at Threepio, silencing his

technical description with an angry bark.

When the liquid finally solidified, huge

metal tongs lifted the smoldering figure

from the pit. The figure, which was

cooling rapidly, had a recognizably human

shape, but was featureless and rocky like

an unfinished sculpture.

Some of the hogmen, their hands protected

by thick black gloves, approached the

metal-encased body of Han Solo and shoved

the block over. After the figure crashed

to the platform with a loud, metallic

clang, the Ugnaughts hoisted it into the

casket-shaped container. They then

attached a boxlike electronic device to

its side and stepped away.

Kneeling, Lando turned some knobs on the

device and checked the gauge measuring the

temperature of Han's body. He sighed with

relief and nodded his head. 'He's alive,'

he informed Han Solo's anxious friends,

'and in perfect hibernation.'

Darth Vader turned to Boba Fett. 'He's

all yours, bounty hunter,' he hissed.

'Reset the chamber for Skywalker.'

'He's just landed, my lord,' an aide

informed him.

'See to it that he finds his way here.'

Indicating Leia and Chewbacca, Lando told

Vader, 'I'll take what is mine now.' He

was determined to whisk them out of

Vader's clutches before the Dark Lord

reneged on their contract.

'Take them,' Vader said, 'but I'm keeping

a detachment of troops here to watch over

them.'

'That wasn't part of the bargain,' Lando

protested hotly. 'You said the Empire

wouldn't interfere in-

'I'm altering the bargain. Pray I don't

alter it any further.'

A sudden tightness grasped Lando's

throat, a threatening sign of what would

happen to him if he gave Vader any

difficulty. Lando's hand automatically

went to his neck, but in the next moment

the unseen hold was released and the

administrator turned to face Leia and

Chewbacca. The look in his eyes might have

expressed despair, but neither of them

cared to look at him at all.

Luke and Artoo moved cautiously through a

deserted corridor.

It concerned Luke that thus far they had

not been stopped for questioning. No one

had asked them for landing permits,

identification papers, purpose of visit.

No one in Cloud City seemed at all curious

about who this young man and his little

droid might be -or what they were doing

there. It all seemed rather ominous, and

Luke was beginning to feel very uneasy.

Suddenly he heard a sound at the far end

of the corridor. Luke halted, pressing

himself close against the corridor wall.

Artoo, thrilled to think that they might

be back among familiar droids and humans,

began to whistle and beep excitedly. Luke

glanced at him to be still, and the little

robot emitted one last, feeble squeak.

Luke then peered around a corner and saw a

group approaching from a side hallway.

Leading the group was an imposing figure

in battered armor and helmet. Behind him,

two Cloud City armed guards pushed a

transparent case down the corridor. From

where Luke stood it appeared the case

contained a floating, statuelike human

figure. Following the case were two

Imperial stormtroopers, who spotted Luke.

Instantly, the troopers took aim and

began to fire.

But Luke dodged their laser bolts and,

before they could shoot another round, the

youth fired his blaster, ripping two

sizzling holes into the stormtroopers'

armored chests.

As the troopers fell, the two guards

quickly whisked the encased figure into

another hallway and the armor-clad figure

leveled his laser blaster at Luke, sending

a deadly bolt at him. The beam just missed

the youth, and nicked a large chunk out of

the wall next to him, shattering it into a

shower of dustlike particles. When the

particles had cleared, Luke peeked back

around the corner and saw that the

nameless attacker, the guards, and the

case had all disappeared behind a thick

metal door.

Hearing sounds behind him, Luke turned to

see Leia, Chewbacca, See Threepio, and an

unfamiliar man in a cloak moving down yet

another hallway, and guarded by a small

band of Imperial stormtroopers.

He gestured to catch the princess's

attention.

'Leia!' he shouted.

'Luke, no!' she exclaimed, her voice

charged with fear. 'It's a trap!'

Leaving Artoo trailing behind, Luke ran

off to follow them. But when he reached a

small anteroom, Leia and the others had

disappeared. Luke heard Artoo whistling

frantically as he scooted toward the

anteroom. Yet, as the youth swiftly

turned, he saw a mammoth metal door crash

down in front of the startled robot with a

thundering dang.

With the slamming of that door, Luke was

cut off from the main corridor. And, when

he turned to find another way out, he saw

more metal doors bang shut in the other

doorways of the chamber.

Meanwhile, Artoo stood somewhat dazed by

the shock of his close call. If he had

rolled just a tiny bit farther into the

anteroom, that door would have squashed

him into scrap metal. He pressed his metal

nose against the door, then gave out a

whistle of relief and wandered off in the

opposite direction.

The anteroom was full of hissing pipes

and steam that belched from the floor.

Luke began to explore the room and noticed

an opening above his head, leading to a

place he could not even imagine. He moved

forward to get a better look, and as he

did, the section of floor he stood on

began to rise slowly upward. Luke rode up

with the lifting platform, determined to

face the foe he had traveled so far to

meet.

Keeping his blaster clutched in his hand,

Luke rose into the carbon-freezing

chamber. The room was deathly quiet,

except for the hissing of steam escaping

some of the pipes in the room. It appeared

to Luke that he was the only living

creature in this chamber of strange

machinery and chemical containers, but he

sensed that he was not alone.

'Vader..."

He spoke the name to himself as he looked

around the chamber.

'Lord Vader. I feel your presence. Show

yourself,' Luke taunted his unseen enemy,

'or do you fear me?'

While Luke spoke, the escaping steam

began to billow out in great clouds. Then,

unaffected by the searing heat, Vader

appeared and strode through the hissing

vapors, stepping onto the narrow walkway

above the chamber, his black cloak

trailing behind him.

Luke took a cautious step toward the

demonic figure in black and bolstered his

blaster. He experienced a surge of

confidence and felt completely ready to

face the Dark Lord as one Jedi against

another. There was no need for his

blaster. He sensed that the Force was with

him and that, at last, he was ready for

this inevitable battle. Slowly he began to

mount the stairs toward Vader.

'The Force is with you, young Skywalker,'

Darth Vader said from above, 'but you are

not a Jedi yet.'

Vader's words had a chilling effect.

Briefly Luke hesitated, recalling the

words of another former Jedi Knight;

'Luke, use the Force only for knowledge

and for defense, not as a weapon. Don't

give in to hate or anger. They lead the

way to the dark side.'

But throwing aside any fragment of doubt,

Luke gripped the smoothly finished handle

of his lightsaber and quickly ignited the

laser blade.

At the same instant, Vader ignited his

own laser sword and quietly waited for the

young Skywalker to attack.

His great hatred for Vader impelled Luke

to lunge at him savagely, bringing his

sizzling blade down upon Vader's. But

effortlessly, the Dark Lord deflected the

blow with a defensive turn of his own

weapon.

Again Luke attacked. Once again their

energy blades clashed.

And then they stood, staring at one

another for an endless moment through

their crossed lightsabers.

= XIII =

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-

Lando, desperately trying to free himself

from Chewbacca's ferocious grip, tried to

explain. 'I had no choice,' he began - but

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 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 - or 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 I. 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

laser 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 doors closed,

they glimpsed the remaining troopers

racing at them.

Lightsabers 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 knees 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 use 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 again he 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 - just one of many jutting from the

circular, light-dotted inner wall - was 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 himself up, he

scrambled onto the gantry and stood 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-' he reminded himself. 'Be calm.'

But the grimly cloaked specter stalked

toward him along the narrow gantry, 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 his corn-link 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 com

puter feeds. I'm an interpreter-

'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 though 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 - if 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 - but 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 start 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 at 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 - as dense as the clouds

surrounding this world - that 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 fugitives 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 - suspended above the

gaseous surface - for 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 disappear 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 knew 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 the 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 now 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 the

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,

battered 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 fighters' 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 the 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 - it

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 - there 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 to 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

seem 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 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 ebony cloak

billowing behind him.

= XIV =

THE Millennium Falcon was at last safely

docked on a huge Rebel cruiser. Gleaming

in the distance was a glorious red glow

that radiated from a large red star - a

glow that shed its crimson light on the

battered hull of the small freighter

craft.

Luke Skywalker rested in the medical

center of the Rebel Star Cruiser, where he

was attended by the surgeon droid called

Too-Onebee. The youth sat quietly,

thoughtfully, while Too-Onebee gently

began to look at his wounded hand.

Gazing up, Luke saw Leia, followed by See

Threepio and Artoo Detoo, entering the

medical center to check his progress, and,

perhaps, bring him a little cheer. But

Luke knew that the best therapy he had

received yet aboard this cruiser was in

the radiant image before him.

Princess Leia was smiling. Her eyes were

wide and sparkling with a wondrous glow.

She looked just as she had that first time

he saw her - a lifetime ago, it seemed -

when Artoo Detoo first projected her

holographic image. And, in her floor-

length, high-necked gown of purest white,

she looked angelic.

Raising his hand, Luke offered it to the

expert service of Too-Onebee. The surgeon

droid examined the bionic hand that was

skillfully fused to Luke's arm. Then the

robot wrapped a soft metalized strip about

the hand and attached a small electronic

unit to the strip, tightening it slightly.

Luke made a fist with his new hand and

felt the healing pulsations imparted by

Too-Onebee's apparatus. Then he let his

hand and arm relax.

Leia and the two droids moved closer to

Luke as a voice came over an intercom

loudspeaker. It was Lando: 'Luke ...' the

voice blared, 'we're ready for takeoff.'

Lando Calrissian sat in the Millennium

Falcon's pilot's chair. He had missed his

old freighter, but now that he was once

again its captain, he felt quite

uncomfortable. In his copilot's chair, the

great Wookiee Chewbacca noticed his new

captain's discomfort while he began to

throw the switches to ready the ship for

takeoff.

Luke's voice came over Lando's comlink

speaker: 'I'll meet you on Tatooine.'

Again Lando spoke into his comlink

microphone, but this time he spoke to

Leia: 'Don't worry, Leia,' he said with

emotion, 'we'll find Han.'

And leaning over, Chewbacca barked his

farewell into the microphone - a bark that

may have transcended the limits of time

and space to be heard by Han Solo,

wherever the bounty hunter had taken him.

It was Luke who spoke the final farewell,

though he refused to say good-bye. 'Take

care, my friends,' he said with a new

maturity in his voice. 'May the Force be

with you.'

Leia stood alone at the great circular

window of the Rebel Star Cruiser, her slim

white-draped form dwarfed by the vast

canopy of stars and the drifting ships of

the fleet. She watched the majestic

scarlet star that burned in the infinite

black sea.

Luke, with Threepio and Artoo tagging

along, moved to stand next to her. He

understood what she was feeling for he

knew how terrible such a loss could be.

Standing together, the group faced the

inviting heavens and saw the Millennium

Falcon moving into view, then veering off

in another direction to soar with great

dignity through the Rebel fleet. Soon the

Millennium Falcon had left the fleet in

its wake.

They needed no words in this moment. Luke

knew that Leia's mind and heart were with

Han, no matter where he was or what his

fate might be. As to his own destiny, he

was now more uncertain about himself than

he had ever been - even before this simple

farm boy on a distant world first learned

of the intangible something called the

Force. He only knew he had to return to

Yoda and finish his training before he set

off to rescue Han.

Slowly he put his arm around Leia and

together with Threepio and Artoo, they

faced the heavens bravely, each of them

gazing at the same crimson star.