Star Wars_ Episode V_ The Empire Strikes Back - Donald F. Glut [56]
'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