❛ Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes? ❜
In which a Rebel intelligence officer's life changes in an instant when a blonde boy in a Stormtrooper disguise rescues her from the hands of the Empire.
cover by the amazing @shangch...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❝ but I only called her one time, maybe it was two times ❞
The Falcon soared through the striking cotton candy clouds of Bespin's upper atmosphere. Soon, an immense metallic structure appears in the distance, which Elara presumed was the infamous Cloud City, dispatched security ships that fired upon them as the foreign ship draw nearer. "No, I don't have a landing permit! I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian!"
They ignored Han's pleas, and Leia casted a worried glance to Flynn and Elara, who once again found herself uncomfortably situated on her friend's lap. "Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain."
A male voice takes over their intercom. "You will not deviate from your present course."
"Rather touchy aren't they?" Threepio declares.
"I thought you knew this person." Leia gritted her teeth in an anxious manner. Chewie growls a concern to the smuggler.
"Well, that was a long time ago. I'm sure he's forgotten about that." Han flips a couple switches at his controls.
Forgotten about what? Elara mouths to Leia, who simply shrugged a response.
"Permission granted to land on platform 3-2-7."
"Thank you," Han slammed the intercom link off, "kriffing idiots!"
Han shifts around to face Leia, who held her head in her hands out of frustration, and gained anxious glares from both Flynn and Elara. The smuggler spoke with a false confidence to his voice. "There's nothing to worry about! We go way back, Lando and me."
"Who's worried?" Leia sighed, making her sarcasm clear to the brunette pilot. He says nothing in response, as he subconsciously realized they all had understandable reasons to be worried, as he was himself. As more pastel clouds parted, the metallic structure vanished into a sleek, gleaming white metropolis. The Falcon gracefully landed onto the designated platform.
Warily, Han, Leia, and Chewie are the first ones to exit the Falcon, with their blasters drawn defensively, even though the platform remained empty. Elara follows suit, also clutching a blaster, gesturing for Flynn to hide behind her, though his height exceeded hers, as he'd chosen to remain unarmed. To say he wasn't one for action was an understatement. Though heavily exposed to violence, he still couldn't even harm a fly, even in self defense.
"Oh. No one to meet us." Threepio dejectedly points out the obvious.
"I don't like this." Leia's eyes scanned every corner of the platform.
Elara loosened her grip on her blaster to glance around their surroundings. "Yeah, me neither Leia."
"Well, what would you like?" Han scoffs.
"Well they did let us land." Threepio pointed out the obvious once again.
"Yeah, I think we all figured that out, Threepio." Elara shot the droid a look of annoyance.
Han whirled around, leaving his back to the city entrance, to address the group's concerns. "Hey, look. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me."
"Well then, who's that?" Elara pointed to a group of guards, led by a suave black man, who appeared the same age as the smuggler, exiting the city and onto the platform.
Han turned back around, his body language shifting from a tense stance to one of relief. "See, my friend."
The man came to a halt a few feet from Han, engaging him in a momentary staring contest, before speaking with disdain weaving through his voice. "Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled."
Han plays dumb, pointing to himself while he mouthed something to the man. Elara observes the interaction with a mixture of skepticism and disbelief written on her face, while Leia and Flynn exchange worried glances when the man threateningly takes a closer step to Han. The man's demeanor shifts to one of glee as he throws his arms around his long lost friend. "How you doing, you old pirate? So good to see you! I never thought I'd catch up with you again. Where you been?"
Elara's jaw falls to the bottom of the platform. "Well I'll be–"
"Well. He seems very friendly." Threepio interrupted, joyfully.
Leia appears skeptical of the man's intentions."Yes, very friendly."
"I really don't like this." Flynn adds.
"What are you doing here?" The man, who they presumed was the infamous Lando, questioned.
Han gestures back to the Falcon, whose adventures over the last month left the outside of the ship in shambles. "Ahh... repairs. Thought you could help me out."
"What have you done to my ship?"
"Your ship? Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square." Han corrected. Chewie reluctantly growls in agreement with his pilot.
A smirk grows over Lando's face as he happens to lay eyes on the two attractive young women standing behind his friend. "Still getting the girls, I see. Who might you two be?"
"Elara." She frowned at his somewhat sexist comment while he moved toward Leia.
"Leia." As if he sensed her royalty status, he bowed slightly and kissed her hand.
"Alright, you old smoothie." Han steals Leia's hand away, steering her away from Lando and to the door to the city. Elara and Flynn followed suit, while Flynn protectively wrapped his arm around her out of distrust for Han's friend.
"Hello, sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your –"
•••
Lando now led the group through a sleek, decorative white hallway. The floor lining the halls was an eloquent white marble that pattered under the Rebel's boots. Threepio once more lags behind the group, this time because his sensors became overwhelmed by the beauty of the city's interior.
"How's the gas mine? Is it still paying off for you?" Han inquires.
"Oh, not as well as I'd like. We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. And I've had supply problems of every kind. I've had labor difficulties," Lando rattled of his list of issues, earning him a round of laughter from the brunette smuggler, "what's so funny?"
"You. Listen to you - you sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?"
Lando pauses. "You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things."
a/n I know Thursday's are cardigan update days but!! I decided to upload this today since I am having a VERY good day today. I woke up this morning to the news that miss Taylor Swift is releasing a new album at midnight! and I actually have $$ rn to buy merch if I want.
and my car is not totalled! whoop whoop!
and I just checked my work schedule and my favorite coworker is back from college and disney announced all the new series and I am PUMPED for these let's go 2021
