Harry Potter and the Dark Lord of the Sith

Chapter 26.

The planet Bespin was large gas giant, almost as big as Yavin. From a distance, it looked like a giant pearl hanging in space. Han descended into the habitable band of its atmosphere and set course for a hovering structure visible in the distance.

Two orange aircraft, made up of two pots with a crew member inside each, flanked the Falcon. Their transmission blared out of the cockpit speakers.

"Unidentified ship, please state your identity and destination."

Han shrugged to the others and leaned to the microphone. "This is Captain Han Solo of the Millennium Falcon," he said. "I'm--"

"Do you have a landing permit?"

"No," Han snarled, "I don't have a landing permit. I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian--"

Laser fire from the aerial vehicles interrupted Han.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain!" the pilot protested.

"You will not deviate from your present course," the reply came.

"If these are your friends, Han," Ron exclaimed, "I'd hate to see what your enemies look like."

Chewbacca barked at Han. "That was a long time ago," the smuggler replied. "I'm sure he's forgotten about that."

"Permission granted to land on Platform 327," the airborne patrol told them, and the craft veered off.

"Thank you," Han snorted, and shut off the system. "There's nothing to worry about. Lando and I go way back."

"Who's worried?" Leia didn't sound convinced.

They remained on course, approaching the floating structure. It looked like a large saucer with regular buildings on top and a long boom hanging from the bottom. And it was big. When the Falcon flew low over the rooftops, it was possible to believe that the city covered the whole planet.

They finally landed on a small landing pad at the edge of the flying metropolis. Han and Chewbacca took their weapons as they headed for the exit. Ron looked at them, nodded, and made sure his wand could be drawn in a hurry. He'd already run into too many of Han's 'friends' and he had no intention of this being the last person he'd ever meet.

"I don't like this," Leia said as they were heading down the ramp.

"I don't either," Ron seconded her.

"Well, what would you like?" Han glared at them.

"Well, they did let us land," Threepio commented.

"Look, don't worry. Everything is going to be fine," Han assured them. "Trust me."

At the far end of the platform, a door opened and several people stepped out. At the front of the group walked a tall, dark-skinned man, elegantly dressed, with a long blue cape on his shoulders.

"See," Han told them. "My friend."

He didn't look like a friend to Ron, and Han's next phrase betrayed the smuggler's unease as well. "Keep your eyes open, okay?" he said to Chewbacca. Ron reached for his wand.

Lando stopped ten feet from Han. "Why you slimy, double-crossing no good swindler! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled."

Han pointed at himself, then raised his eyebrows.

Lando approached him and his face morphed into a grin. He embraced Han and laughed.

"How you doing, you old pirate? So good to see you!" The transformation was so rapid that Ron wondered if it was contrived.

"Well, he seems very friendly," Threepio said, excited.

"Yes..." Leia echoed. "Very friendly."

Ron took his hand off his wand, but he still didn't think everything was going well.

"And how are you doing, Chewbacca? Still hanging around with this loser?" Lando asked the Wookiee. Chewie barked back. Then Lando looked at Leia.

"Hello," he said. "What have we here? Welcome, I'm Lando Calrissian, I'm the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?"

"Leia," she answered dryly.

"Welcome, Leia," Lando kissed her hand.

"Right, you old smoothie," Han led the princess away.

Ron wanted to introduce himself, but Lando was already heading back, talking excitedly with Han. Ron shrugged and followed the rest. He looked at Leia, who was walking behind Han without a hit of a smile on her face.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he told the princess.

She looked in surprise. "Glad to know I'm not the only one," she said.

They followed Lando and Han deep into the heat of Cloud City.

"...and I've had supply problems of every kind, I've had labor difficulties..." Lando was saying, and Han laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You," Han replied. "Listen to you--you sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?"

Lando stared at Han. "You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things."

"Yeah," Han agreed.

"Yeah, I'm responsible these days," Lando explained. "It's the price you pay for being successful."

Chewbacca, at the tail end of the group, stopped and sniffed the air. He growled. "What is it, Chewie?" Ron said, looking back.

The Wookiee shrugged and quietly grunted. "Another bad feeling?" Ron was incredulous. "They seem to breed around here."

Chewie barked a reply. "Yes," Ron admitted. "They usually do turn out to be justified. Just not the way we expect it."

XXXXXXXX

The next morning they resumed their journey. Hermione sensed something that wasn't there before. They had been walking for about an hour when Wedge stopped.

"Wedge, what is it?"

"Shh. Listen."

A faint rumbling was heard in the distance. "Come on," Wedge said. "Let's take a look."

They walked several hundred feet more. The forest ended abruptly, revealing a flat grassy plain stretching to the horizon. And within a quarter of a mile on that plain were Imperial stormtroopers, with their vehicles.

Before Hermione could say anything, they were seen. A blaster bolt exploded over their heads.

"Back into the forest, Hermione!" Wedge yelled. "We don't stand a chance here!"She had to agree. They ran back the way they came.

"Did you see how many were there?" she asked.

"Ten or twelve, I think. Plus an AT-PT. No speeder bikes, thank the Force." He changed to a whisper. "Look!"

Three stormtroopers were walking through the forest. "What're you going to do?" Wedge asked Hermione when she raised her wand.

"Put an invisible wall in front of them," she explained as best she could. "Get ready."

Wedge nodded. Hermione aimed at the Imperials. "Impedimenta!" she cried.

The trio of stormtroopers stopped, and one of them tripped and fell. Wedge fired and brought one of them down. Another aimed at them. "Protego!" Hermione shouted, absorbing his bolt. Wedge's second shot took him. Hermione took out the last one with the stun spell.

Wedge holstered his blaster and picked up one of the dead troopers' rifles. Hermione nodded and did so as well. Wands or not, it might be useful. They resumed their crawl through the underbrush, looking out for more of the enemy. They saw them looking over the bodies of the three imperials they just killed. There were five of them, including a sergeant with orange pads on his shoulders. They stood too far apart to quickly target in succession. Hermione looked carefully for some advantage. Wedge glanced at her and raised a thermal detonator he took from one of the dead stormtroopers. She nodded, and focused on a heavy branch lying near the enemy patrol.

"Accio!" she said, hurling the stick into one of the soldiers, knocking him down. The others turned to him and rushed forward. Wedge threw the detonator, raised his rifle, and fired, taking out the sergeant. "Stupefy!" shouted Hermione, stunning another trooper and sawing more confusion. Then the bomb exploded, eliminating the remaining Imperials.

"Nice job," Wedge congratulated her. "Now--"

A blaster shot rang out, and Wedge was thrown, hit a nearby log, and fell, unmoving. "Wedge!" Hermione screamed. Turning around, she saw two more stormtroopers coming behind a small version of the two-legged walker--an AT-PT. She wanted to yell in anger. Instead, she raised her wand and prepared for a final fight. "Protego!" she said.

The shield absorbed enemy bolts, but she felt it shudder. She fired her blaster rifle with her free hand, and killed one of the soldiers tagging along behind the walker. The other ducked for cover. She looked up, and cursed herself for missing something so obvious. It was a long shot, but... This will work, she reassured herself. Come on, she urged the Imperial. One more step...

The walker obliged. She stabbed upward with her wand. "Incendio!" she cried, putting all her will power into the spell. The blue beam of fire emerged out and contacted the branch of a nearby tree. It burned through in moments, and the three-foot thick tree limb fell on the top of the walker, crushing it. Then the remnants of the vehicle exploded, taking with them the remaining stormtrooper. Once all the pieces landed, unbelievable silence filled the forest.

"Wedge." Hermione rushed to her friend. "Wedge!" The man didn't move. "Oh, Wedge..." She listened more closely, and realized that he was still breathing. She leaned down and heard his heart beat. The relief she felt was impossible to describe. Then Wedge stirred and opened his eyes.

"Ow," he said, rubbing his head.

"Oh, Wedge, you're alive!" Then, without thinking, she kissed him.

Wedge sat up and opened his medkit. "No, let me do it," Hermione said, opening the bottle and rubbing the ointment into Wedge's bruise. Once she got done and Wedge stood up, she embraced him. Their lips met...

"Wedge..." she whispered.

"Yes?"

"When I saw you... When I thought you were dead... That was the scariest thing I had ever seen. More than any mission, than any monster, than the Death Star. I never feared so much in my life. Don't you ever do anything like that to me again!" She kept on kissing him. Wedge could only kiss back.

Hermione finally released him and stood up. "We should get out of her before they decide something is wrong."

"Let's go." They headed, instead of their usual direction, south, away from the river, hoping to remain under the cover of the forest as long as possible. They had no such luck. About a mile away, the forest gave way to the plain here as well. Nearby, they saw a prefab building standing on top of a small hill. "Wonder what's in there," Wedge mused.

"They might have food other than fish or nuts," Hermione said hopefully.

"Are you sure?" Wedge became cautious. "It's probably the Imperials. They aren't likely to welcome us."

"Hey, Wedge, I just took down a walker. Give me some credit. It'll be okay."

Wedge nodded and got his blaster ready.

Hermione drew her wand. Before they stepped out of the woods, she came up to him and gave him another kiss. "Just in case," she said, and, as they headed for the building's entrance, Wedge could only wonder: Just in case what?