Ben stood awkwardly on the bridge beside an eager Captain Dan, watching the Avenger's Captain Needa give his formal apology to Darth Vader. "I claim the responsibility," the captain was saying. "I apologize completely for losing sight of the Millennium Falcon, Lord Vader."

Maybe not the best plan of action, Ben reflected, knowing what would happen next.

Vader lifted his hand, curling his fingers inward to steal Needa's air supply. The captain began to choke, grasping at his throat as Vader closed his fist. Then he fell to the ground, dead.

"Apology accepted, Captain Needa," Vader told the corpse.

Captain Dan pumped a fist.

"What are you so happy about?" Ben demanded in a whisper. "Did you just celebrate over that poor guy's death?"

I probably should be celebrating, too – his death means my friends got away.

Ben found himself wondering again which friends were on the Falcon. He had been assuming Lumina for sure, knowing she had been with Leia during the Battle of Hoth. But the exact locations of Leana and Lucas, he didn't know. Whether they were on the Falcon, with Luke, or somewhere else with the Rebels, he didn't know.

"Because, every time someone dies, someone else gets a promotion," Dan hissed at Ben. "And this time, it could be me!"

Ben frowned. "But you're already at the rank of captain, same as Needa."

"But I am the captain of the Executor, which is also the admiral's flagship," Dan pointed out. "Needa was captain of the Avenger, which the admiral isn't on. So, technically, if I was to be given control of the Avenger, it would be a promotion, in that it would be my own ship."

Ben just looked at him blankly.

"Report, Admiral," Vader commanded, turning to Piett.

"Lord Vader, already our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing," Piett answered. "If the Millennium Falcon went into hyperspace, they'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now."

But unless somebody changed something, they can't go into hyperspace. So the Imperials will know their location soon enough. Unless Boba Fett is too caught up in listening to Taylor Swift to pay any attention to them.

"Alert all commands," Vader ordered. "Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory."

Piett snapped his fingers. "Done."

"It better be," Vader said bluntly. "Or else, Admiral."

Piett paled slightly. "It – it will be, Lord Vader." He glanced at Dan. "Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet."

"Yes, sir," Dan snapped to attention. He hurried over to a terminal and bent over it, eyes glued to the screen.

Ben glanced out the viewport, at the Avenger. He bit his lip to conceal his grin and quickly averted his gaze, for sitting on the hull of the other Star Destroyer was the Millennium Falcon.

"Quick question," Dan said, glancing up from the terminal. "With Captain Needa dead, who will be captain of the Avenger?"

Vader glanced over at him. "Just do your work, Captain."

Dan frowned for a moment, then saluted. "Yes, sir."

"Guess that promotion won't be going to you," Ben muttered.

"Shut up," Dan shot back.

****

Lumina leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms up above her head. After zipping past the bridge of the Avenger, they had landed on the hull of the Star Destroyer, the Falcon's landing claw holding them in place. Fortunately, they blended in, but their precarious position still made Lumina nervous. Any moment now, their cover could be blown.

Nothing happens in the movie, she reminded herself. We'll be fine. At least, until we drift away and Boba Fett tracks us down.

"Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far," C-3PO stated. If the protocol droid could have crossed his arms in annoyance, Lumina was pretty sure he would have.

Chewbacca barked, curling his lip in aggravation at the droid.

"No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca," C-3PO protested. "Why won't anyone listen to me?"

"Because right now, you're being annoying," Lucas muttered, his eyes fixed on the viewport. The Star Destroyers had begun to separate, and it was almost time for the Falcon to depart as well.

"The fleet is beginning to break up," Han observed, straightening in his seat. "Chewie, go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw."

Chewbacca barked and stood, leaving the cockpit. Lucas followed after him.

"I don't see how that's going to help us," C-3PO grumbled. "Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative. The Empire may be gracious enough...."

"May," Lumina snapped, tiring of the protocol droid's complaining. "The odds are they won't."

"The odds are –" C-3PO began, but Lumina interrupted him again.

"The odds are they won't! The Empire isn't gracious, Threepio! What, did you think it was common courtesy when they blew up Alderaan?"

C-3PO fell silent as Leia winced slightly. "What do you have in mind for your next move?" she asked Han quietly.

"Well, if these Imperials follow standard procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to hyperspace," Han said. "And then we'll just float away."

"With the rest of the garbage," Leia clarified. "Then what?"

"Then we've got to find a safe port around here," Han told her, flipping on the mapscreen on the navicomputer. "Got any ideas?"

"There are no safe ports around here," Lumina muttered, sitting forward in her chair to peer at the map of the surrounding solar systems.

"No," Leia replied to Han, also studying the holographic map. "Where are we?"

"The Anoat system," Han said, glancing up at her.

"Anoat system," Leia repeated. "There's not much there."

"Well, anything's better than the Empire," Han said with a slight laugh.

"Then don't go to Bespin," Lumina murmured. But apparently, all Han heard was "Bespin."

"Yeah!" Han exclaimed, twisting to look back at her. "Lando! Good thinking, Lumina."

Lumina wanted to tell him that Bespin was a horrible idea, a terrible idea, but really, if she was being realistic, there were no better ideas. The Falcon couldn't make it far without a hyperdrive – and neither Han nor Lucas could fix it while they were in the air and lacking replacement parts. Bespin was the only option, and Lumina hated that.

"Lando?" Leia repeated inquisitively.

"Lando Calrissian," Han explained. "He's a card player, gambler... above all, a scoundrel." He glanced at the map again. "Bespin. It's pretty far, but I think we can make it. Lumina, you know Lando?"

"I've heard of him," Lumina replied coolly.

"I don't like the way you said heard," Leia remarked, glancing over at her.

"Trust me," Lumina told her. "You shouldn't."

Leia glanced back at the map, reading what Lumina already knew about the planet. "It's a mining colony?"

"Yeah," Han said. "A Tibanna gas mine. Lando conned someone out of it."

"Sounds like a nice guy," Lumina said, rolling her eyes.

"If he can help us, he is nice," C-3PO agreed.

"I was being sarcastic, Threepio."

"Me and Lando go back a long way," Han continued, ignoring both the droid and Lumina.

"Can you trust him?" Leia asked.

"No," Lumina stated, crossing her arms. "Not at all."

"No is right," Han agreed, glancing back at Lumina grimly. "I can't trust him. But he has no love for the Empire, I can tell you that. He does love money, though."

And, according to Solo, fancy capes.

"Sounds familiar," Leia said teasingly to Han, who scowled slightly.

Chewbacca's bark suddenly came in over the intercom.

"Yeah, uh, we're back here," Lucas' voice came, following the bark. "Just waiting for you's guys to get around to remembering us."

Han checked his monitors and looked out the viewport. It was almost time for the Star Destroyer to dump its garbage. "Here we go, Chewie," he said. "Stand by."

"Standing by," Lucas returned, as Han, Leia, and Lumina stared out the viewport, waiting.

As the garbage began to float out of the rear hatches, Han spoke into the comlink. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Detach!"

"Detaching," Lucas said, and the Falcon drifted away from the Avenger's hull, floating away with the garbage.

"You do have your moments," Leia said, sitting forward in her seat. She kissed Han on the cheek, her hand lingering on his shoulder. "Not many of them, but you do have them."

Lumina glanced out the viewport, watching the Star Destroyers disappearing into hyperspace. She wished it would be the last time she saw them, but knew it wouldn't be. They had one more, long run-in with the Imperials awaiting them on Bespin.

"Just be careful," Lumina said quietly. "Bespin may be out of the way, but the Empire has a long arm. And a very strong, long arm. I have a bad feeling they'll find out where we went."

"They don't know where we are," Han told her. "By the time they figure it out, if they do, we'll already be rendezvousing with the Rebel fleet. Everything's going to be fine."

"I know you don't believe that," Lumina said. "I know that Vader wants this ship captured very badly. And he'll spare no expense. You can expect bounty hunters to be looking for us at this very second, perhaps calculating you'll have made this decision. Captain Solo, Princess Leia, please listen to me. Be prepared for anything on Bespin, and don't trust Lando."

Han glanced back at Leia, then at Lumina again. "Look, we're going to get our hyperdrive fixed and be on our way. I already don't trust Lando. But he's our only chance right now."

The worst part? I know that.

The Falcon's engines started up again and Han maneuvered them through the garbage, following the course to Bespin.

"Captain Solo, are you sure this is a good idea?" C-3PO asked, looking unnerved at Lumina's words.

Han didn't answer. Lucas, who was coming back into the cockpit with Chewbacca, did. "Sure? Threepio, my friend, we're so not sure. We're taking big chances. Risky ones, too."