Of Spies and Sabacc (Pre-ESB/Leia, Han, Luke, Chewie) Thanks for the Noms!

I've hit POST 400!!! Yahoo!!!

Dances a little jig...

 

congrats on 400.........I fell so behind......so, I'll catch up sometime......hopefully by christmas.

 

BEAUTIFULL POST!!!!
great action!
congrats on the 400 thing...
cant wait till you post again!

 

LP: I thought of that too, actually I thought of Hagrid when Chewie got out, but I always thought of that sceen as being based a bit on Indian Jones too. . . .

I'm a hopeless lucasfilmer. ..

Great stuff by the way, quite reminicent of Rotj though. .. but that's fine. . . Power to the little people!!!

 

I think Vader will be even more mad - if that's possible.

 

Nearly Completed

OH well, it's been a great read! I love this story LP. And you did a wonderful job.

Waiting for the conclusion.

inez

 

Awesome post, Lady Padme! I am really going to miss this story when I m gone.
More bad news: I *only* have the SE of the OT. Yes, unfortunately, my brother stole back his originals when he bought me the SE. So will just those do?

I tried to make peanut butter cookies today. The first batch burned, and they're all shaped very weirdly... I think I did something wrong.... Otherwise I would share...
What I would like to share, however, is that as of today I am no longer a teenager!
Woohoo!
Kirana Ti

 

Jedi_Liz: How nice to see you again! Hope you enjoy what you read, esp. Luke and Vader's lightsaber battle.

DarthMasan: Thank you! When I started the story I was just hoping to hit 250, so I'm really excited about this.

maramijade: little people

RebelMom: Yeah, Vader isn't usually in a good mood in the best of times.

inez: Three more posts to go...last one for the 19th. Hope you like the end!

Kirana_Ti: Happy 20th birthday! How exciting! If you were Chinese you could clean up on red envelopes (i.e. MONEY!). Hope you got a lot of good gifts, anyway.

As for viewing SW:

* sighs *

All right, just the SE--although I must say, having Greedo shoot first really ruined the SE for me.

All right, what food to send out today?
Thinks about it...how about some ethnic food?

Shark's fin soup with abalone, Peking duck with plum sauce, sweet and sour pork, shrimp with snow peas, lobster with scallion and ginger sauce, and drunken chicken.

Enjoy!

 

Drunken Chicken?

 

Okay, I don't know how to cook it, but if I'm right, drunken chicken is a cold chicken dish, where the chicken is steamed and then marinated in a sauce that has a lot of rice wine (or some sort of alcohol), so that when you eat it, it has an alcoholicky flavor. It's actually quite good.

I'm not sure if it's called 'drunken chicken' in English. I'm just translating literally from Chinese

 

Chapter Thirty-six

?What?s the delay?? Vader asked, as he approached the cockpit door.

The pilot turned back, bracing himself for the encounter with the Dark Lord. ?I?I?ve just received a communiqué from planetside, my lord.?

?And?? Vader demanded impatiently.

?It?it seems the prisoner has escaped,? the pilot said, nervously. ?The ground commander says the prisoner was taken by what appears to be two or three humans and one Wookiee.?

?How could a whole company of troops be so impotent against so few?? Vader asked, his voice dangerously quiet.

?My?my lord, the ground commander says that a horde of indigenous creatures attacked them at the same time. The troops were overwhelmed. Then?not long after the prisoner escaped, the creatures all dis?disappeared.?

Vader was silent for a moment, and then said, ?How did the prisoner escape? On foot??

?No, my lord. The ground commander reports he and his accomplices acquired a transport?one of ours.?

?Does this useless ground commander have a lock on the transport??

?Yes, my lord,? the pilot said, ?The transport is approaching sector seven-one-three.?

?Dispatch a message to all the ships stationed around Cordenia. I want all units to be deployed to prevent any ships from escaping.?

?Yes, my lord,? the pilot said, as Vader left the cockpit. The pilot quickly opened the loading ramp, and Vader disembarked.

Taking a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead, the pilot shook with relief and then dispatched the message as ordered.

**********************************

Back inside the cockpit of the ?fastest hunk of junk? in the galaxy, Han started the preflight check. Chewbacca sat next to him in the copilot?s chair completing his own pre-flight tasks.

Toward the rear of the ship, Luke and Leia were tending to each others? wounds with bacta ointment, while the droids sat nearby, quiet for once.

Through the open cockpit door, Han turned, ?You realize that they?re looking for us, right? There were five Star Destroyers out there when we landed and there could easily be more by now, and who knows how many TIE fighters.?

?Well, we can?t stay here forever,? Luke said. ?What about flying the Falcon away from here, but keeping low to the ground to avoid detection? Get to the night side of the planet; there are bound to be fewer ships out there, and then try to make the jump into hyperspace as quickly as possible.?

Han grunted, considering Luke?s suggestion. He looked back down on his scopes. ?Damn!?

?What is it?? Leia asked, looking up from bandaging Luke?s leg.

?They?ve rounded up the cavalry. Imperial speeders and?whoa! Two AT-ATs approaching this canyon. Damn! I knew we should have ditched the speeder earlier.?

?We couldn?t have gotten down the canyon wall without it,? Leia reminded him.

?Well, make sure you?re strapped in,? Han said. ?Chewie, get us out of here.?

Chewbacca gave a growl and pulled back on the controls. The ellipsoid ship eased out of canyon opening and shot off into space.

Once out of the atmosphere, their worst fears were realized. All five Star Destroyers were waiting for them, and at least sixty TIE fighters and TIE bombers. The Star Destroyers were arranged in a pentagonal array, and stayed in a holding pattern while the TIE fighters and TIE bombers zoomed forward to engage the Falcon. This time, there was no one else to divert the action away. The Millennium Falcon would have to run the gauntlet of the Imperial ships and the asteroid belt on its own.

?Here?s where the fun begins,? Han muttered, pulling back on the throttle. ?Chewie full power on the deflector shields?front and rear.?

Chewbacca nodded his head and complied.

?Hey, you two well enough back there to man the gun towers? I?m gonna need Chewie?s help here for this.?

?Yes,? Luke and Leia answered at once. They headed quickly for the gun tower rung ladders. Leia climbed to the top tower and Luke climbed down to the bottom one.

?Make sure you strap yourself in, sweetheart,? Han called out with a grin

 

LOL get yourselves a room !!! LOL


Marvelous as always LP!!!

 

Only 2 left. Oh, well, it has been a fun ride. Still is. go Han!

 

Afraid I've fallen a bit behind myself. Hopefully, I'll get caught up in the next day or so. I just didn't want you to think I've abandoned your story.

 

maramijade: Thank you!

RebelMom: You've definitely hung on longer than anyone else. Glad you've enjoyed.

Sologal: Hey, glad to see you back. Stick around a little longer!

 

I don't care.
I still don't like Mishi.

And perhaps I will try some of that Drunken Chicken....

*has images of the Swedish Chef going through her head*

Hehehe...
And only two more posts... *pouts*... I will miss it...

Kirana Ti

 

You know, the Shapiti remind me of the Ewoks for some reason.
I'm glad to see Mishi getting the Rebels out of this jam. I wonder what that will do to Han's ego...
Up to the top!

 

Kirana_Ti: Ahhh...images of the Swedish Chef and Beaker. Just looking at Beaker makes me crack up!

Poor little Mishi

Amy21: Yes, the Ewoks were definitely on my mind when I created the Shapiti--although my little guys aren't nearly as cute.

 

And a last little bit for all you Dark-side lovers...


Chapter Thirty-seven

Vader strode swiftly down the main bridge-level corridor on the Executor toward his meditation chamber. Behind him was a grisly scene of mass execution. At least fifty Imperial Navy personnel from enlisted men to Admiral Maset paid the price for allowing the Millennium Falcon and its most valuable prize of Luke Skywalker escape from the Dark Lord?s clutches. Twenty more died when Vader heard that Imperial ships had engaged the Rebel fleet in battle, but the majority of the Rebels had also managed to escape. The men whose lives were spared trembled in terror as they quickly, quietly and efficiently continued their tasks.

Inside his meditation chamber Darth Vader paced for nearly an hour, as his black rage swirled around, making unbolted objects fly around the chamber in a frenzied manner. Luke had escaped, again. Vader tried to slow down his breathing to allow it to match the respirator?s set rate. He tried to reign in his impatience, to be philosophical. This would not be their only encounter. There would be more in the future, and he would see to it that Luke had no more chances to escape. Vader smiled grimly behind his mask. Luke. If you only knew the secrets I could tell you, you would know your days with the Rebels are numbered.

**********************************

In the magnificent Imperial Palace on Coruscant, the Governor?s Ball was in full swing. The Regional Governors and their families, various dignitaries and court sycophants were all in attendance. The main ballroom, built to hold over fifty thousand was strained to its full capacity. Uniformed servants milled around serving the well-heeled guests. The strains of the Emperor?s favorite music drifted out the large floor-to-ceiling length windows into the flower scented gardens behind the palace.

Storm troopers, looking incongruous amidst the gay decorations and festive garb of the attendees stood guard outside the ballroom, while inside, the Emperor?s Red Guard stood like silent crimson wraiths guarding the doors.

The guests at the party danced and drank the expensive liquor and sampled the exotic canapés provided for them. They talked and laughed and mingled. Their outwardly benign and welcoming host commanded them to be festive, and ever mindful of the sharp claws hidden under the Emperor?s placid exterior, the guests strove to be as festive as possible.

In the center of all the activities, on a raised dais set over a slowly rotating platform, sat his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Palpatine. One Red Guard stood sentry at each of the four corners of the platform. Behind the Emperor stood a row of fabulously beautiful and scantily clad women who fawned over his every need. The Emperor took in everything at the party with his gimlet eyes. Every once in a while a luminary would approach the platform to offer the Emperor tribute or obeisance, which the Emperor graciously accepted.

Conspicuously absent from this gala was the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Vader usually attended these functions as a silent, glowering presence, but raised whispers circulated amongst the guests at his absence from this party. The Emperor heard the whispers and smiled, loving the fear, confusion and discord that were created whenever there was uncertainty. He fed off these dark fears, gaining strength from others? weaknesses.

The gold gilded front doors opened and a young woman with a mane of red-gold hair entered. She wore a lovely sea-green gown that softly clung to her slender frame, and she walked with the proud bearing of a highborn woman or a warrior. She looked neither right nor left as she approached the dais and waited for it to complete its rotation. When the Emperor finally faced her, she waited for his acknowledgement of her presence.

The Emperor smiled when he saw her, a smile that simultaneously sent a chill of fear and a thrill of fanatic happiness down her spine, but she betrayed none of these emotions outwardly as she knelt before h

 

ooohhhhhh . .. that's that one gala that is depicted in some of the comics . . . I remember that dress sorry MJ fan here


oooohhh so Palpy knows. . . hey I thought Palp kept that Luke was Vader's son from MJ, she didn't know until the Noghori told her on Wayland


ahh well
Only one post left


I know it'll be great!!!

 

maramijade: There was a comic with an Imperial gala and Mara Jade wore a sea green dress????

Holy cow! I've never read any of the comics. I'm so excited to hear that!

Glad you liked the post.

 

Aw, wonderfully well written darkside!
What does "gimlet" mean? I've never heard of that word before.
I have a feeling that if Mara had showed up in the OT, she would've been my favourite. I've always wanted to be a redhead...

One more post... *pout*
Okay, I am making sure I watch the trilogy this week...
Kirana Ti

 

Kirana_Ti: Really? Mara would be your favorite? I'm not a rabid Mara hater, but H/L always come first for me.

gim-let-eyed adj. Having a piercing glance.

More later tonight!

 

excellent!
I love it!
one more post... well... everythings gotta end sometime!

 

Thanks, Darth_Masan.

Next post coming as soon as I can load it. It's been great, everyone!