The Mountie

Strikes Back

A Savage Garden Production

Starring:

Ray Kowalski

As:

Ray Skywalker

Benton Fraser

As:

Ben Solo

Francesca Vecchio

As:

Princess Frannie Organa

Bob Fraser

As:

Fraser-Wan Kenobi

Ray Vecchio

As:

Darth Vecchio

With:

Huey and Dewey

As:

Huey-D2 and C-3Dewey

And

Introducing:

Buck Frobisher

As:

Buck

FONT>

Written,Created, Produced and Directed by:

Lover in the Savage Garden

The rebels were overjoyed after

Destroying the dreaded Death Star.

Unfortunately, the Empire was stronger

Than they thought. The evil Darth Vecchio

Escaped with his loyal aid, Admiral General Grand

Moff Welsh. On orders from the mysterious Emperor,

Vecchio pursued the Rebels across the galaxy. The Rebels, led

by their new hero Ray Skywalker, fled from the evil galactic Empire.

They relocated themselves and built a brand new rebel base on the remote

And icy planet Yukon. It is here on Yukon that the Empire has tracked them…

"See anything Ben?" Ray Skywalker asked into the communicator. He and Ben Solo were just making the rounds outside of the base.

"Negative." Ben replied. "I believe everything is secure."

"Okay." Ray said, peering through the snow. Beneath him, his caribou shifted nervously. "It's okay girl." Ray patted the nervous animal. Suddenly there was a flash of light as something fell to the surface of the planet a little way away from Ray.

"What was that?" Ben asked. Even though Ben was quite a way off, he had most likely seen the object.

"I don't know. A meteorite or something." Ray said. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"Alright. But I would advise you not to stay out for too long. The temperature drops significantly after dark." Ben said. "I'm returning to the base."

"'kay. I'll see you later." Ray said, wheeling his caribou around and trotting off to where the meteorite had hit. Unfortunately, he only made it about three steps before he was clobbered over the head and the world went dark.

…

Ben Solo returned to the base after ceasing communications with Ray. Diefenbaker was busy working on the Millenium Maple Leaf. Ben looked around for t Princess Frannie. Not seeing her anywhere, he relaxed. Frannie was a wonderful woman, she was just a little…friendlier than was to Ben's liking.

"Rrr." Dief said.

"Yes, I'm well aware that this Jabba has put a price on my head." Ben answered.

"Grr aroo." Dief told him.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that too. But, nonetheless, since there is a price on my head it would be safer for everyone if I were to leave." Ben said.

"Rr?" Dief asked.

"We will leave immediately. I will just inform the authorities of my intent to depart." Ben said, and headed off to talk to the general who was in charge. Unfortunately, Frannie was with him.

"There you are, Ben!" Frannie said.

"Yes." Ben said. "Ah, General, I was just going to inform you that I will be leaving you soon."

"Really…" The General started to say.

"Leaving?" Frannie interrupted. "But why?"

"Some woman named Jabba is convinced I owe her money, and has put a price on my head. My presence here endangers you all."

"And you must leave now?" The general asked. "You're a good pilot. I'd hate to lose you."

"Be that as it may, I cannot stay. Goodbye general. Goodbye Your Highness." Ben said, bowing slightly to Frannie. He turned and began quickly walking away.

"Ben, wait!" Frannie yelled, running after him.

"Um, yes?" Ben said, turning.

"Please don't go." She said. "We need you. I need you!"

"Oh, um, I'm sure you'll be quite fine without me." Ben assured her.

"No!" She cried, clinging at him.

"Your Highness…"

"And don't call me 'Your Highness'. We're much closer than that. Call me Frannie." Frannie told him.

"Yes, well, Frannie, I really must go. Please, try to understand." Ben was getting quite uncomfortable with this whole situation.

"Okay." Frannie said, looking like she was going to cry. Ben bowed again, and started walking off again.

"Wait!" Frannie yelled again.

"Oh dear." Ben mumbled, turning around. "Yes?"

"You're not going to leave without giving me a goodbye kiss, are you?" Frannie had moved quite close. Uncomfortably close. And she was moving closer.

"Great Scott!" Ben cried, pointing. "Turtles!"

"Huh?" Frannie said, startled. She looked where he was pointing, and Ben made a hasty exit.

When Ray woke up he was immediately aware of two things. One: He was in pain. Two: he was upside-down. He opened his eyes and saw he was inside a large ice cave. His feet had been frozen into the ice on the ceiling.

"This is not good." Ray said. He reached for his lightsaber, and found it missing. "Ah crap." He mumbled. He looked around, and saw it lying a few feet away, just out of reach.

"Here lightsaber, lightsaber, lightsaber." Ray called, stretching out his hand. He tried to use the Force and call the lightsaber to him.

"Grrr!" He heard. He looked up and saw a big furry monster coming at him. He tried for the lightsaber again. This time it worked, because the lightsaber leapt up into his hand. He turned it on, and swung at the big monster. It fell to the ground, dead. Then Ray applied the lightsaber to the ice encasing his feet. He was free in a few minutes.

"Okay, now I just gotta find my way back to the base." He said, dusting himself off. "Without freezing to death." That of course was the challenge. Ray stumbled out of the cave and made it about ten feet before he collapsed.

"Cold…" Ray mumbled.

"Oh, toughen up Yank." He heard a cranky voice tell him.

"Bob?" Ray asked.

"Yes Yank." Bob said.

"What…do I do?" Ray asked.

"Just go to sleep, Yank. Everything will be fine." Bob said. That didn't sound quite right to Ray, but…

"Um…" Ray was too cold and tired to say anything else. He slipped off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Good." Ben was saying to Dief. "We'll leave as soon as I say goodbye to Ray. He should most certainly be back by now." Ben went off in search of Ray, but found Huey-D2 and C-3Dewey instead.

"Excuse me…" Ben began.

"Oh, what now?" Huey asked.

"I was just wondering if you've seen Ray." Ben said. The little droid had developed a serious attitude problem.

"Nope." Dewey said. "We haven't seen him. Why?"

"Well, he went to check out a meteorite a few hours ago. He should be back by now." Ben told the droids.

"Gee, too bad." Huey said sarcastically. It was no secret that Huey didn't like Ray one bit.

"Yes, well, thank you anyway." Ben said, hurrying off to check and see if Ray had checked in.

"Has Ray checked in yet?" Ben asked another nameless general.

"No. Why?" The general asked.

"Because I believe he may be missing." Ben said. "Did he check in at the south entrance?"

"No." The general said.

"Oh dear." Ben said.

"Oh dear what?" Frannie asked, coming up behind Ben.

"Ray is missing." Ben said.

"Missing?" Frannie asked.

"Yes. And I'm going to find him. Are the speeders ready yet?" Ben asked.

"No. We haven't adapted them to the cold yet." The general said.

"Then I'll take a caribou." Ben decided.

"No!" Frannie cried, grabbing his arm. "It's almost dark. If you go out now, you might die!"

"I know. But if I don't go out, most likely Ray will die. I have to Frannie." Ben gently pried Frannie off of his arm and mounted his caribou.

Ben had been riding for almost an hour before he found Ray. Ray was passed out face down in the snow. Ben hopped off of his caribou and rushed over to him.

"Ray?" Ben asked, feeling for a pulse. It was there, but faint. "Ray." Ben said, a little louder. Ray remained unconscious. Ben looked around. His caribou was also passed out on the ground. On closer inspection, Ben realized it was dead.

"Oh dear." He mumbled. It was getting much darker and much colder. Ben was struck with an idea. He hauled Ray over to the body of the caribou. He pulled out a knife, and was about to slice open the carcass when he heard something.

"Don't even think about it." Someone whispered.

"Pardon?" Ben asked, looking up. There was no one. Ben lifted his knife again.

"I said don't even think about it." Ben looked down. Ray had one eye open.

"Ray!" Ben hissed. "You're supposed to be unconscious. Now go back to sleep."

"As long as you promise not to do what you're gonna do." Ray whispered.

"Well, it is in the script…" Ben said, shrugging.

"To hell with the script. You are not shoving me in a dead caribou. That is final." Ray said.

"Well, how am I supposed to keep you alive?" Ben asked.

"Don't worry about it." Ray assured him. "I promise, I'm not gonna die."

"Well…" Ben shrugged. "If you insist."

"I insist." Ray said, and closed his eye. Ben shook his head and settled back against the caribou to wait for morning.

"Where is he!?!" Frannie demanded, running frantically throughout the base.

"Who?" A general asked.

"Ben! Who else?" Frannie snapped.

"Oh. Captain Solo hasn't checked in yet." The general said.

"WHAT?!?" Frannie exploded. "It's nighttime! Do you have any idea how cold it gets out there at night? He could be dead! Dead, do you hear me?"

"Uh…" The general trailed off.

"What? What do you not understand about this situation?" Frannie demanded.

"Uh…" The general repeated. "Maybe you should talk to someone else."

"Uh! Fine!" Frannie exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. "You!" She pointed at another nameless rebel.

"Uh, me?" The rebel asked, wishing he were somewhere else.

"Yes, you! Go out and find Captain Solo! He's missing!" Frannie ordered.

"Um, it's cold out." The rebel said.

"Are you questioning my authority? I am a princess remember. I can have you…beheaded or something. So get out there!"

"Um…can I at least wait until morning. Please?" The rebel cried.

"NO!!!" Frannie yelled.

"Well, um, if I go out now, my caribou will freeze." He whined.

"Do I look like I care? Ben could be dying!"

"Well, if I wait until morning I can take a snow-speeder. They're fast. And, uh, they have tracking equipment." He said. "I'll leave as soon as the sun comes up. I promise! And I'll take my friends with me! We'll all look!"

"Well…maybe." Frannie said. "When does the sun rise?"

"Uh…" He shrugged, looking at the floor.

"What do you mean you don't know? You're a rebel! A real one! You have to know!" She yelled.

"Oh. Uh, six hours?" He said, hopefully.

"Well, if anyone can survive out there, it's my Ben!" Frannie cooed.

"Uh, sure." The rebel said, running away. Frannie returned to her chambers, only to find them full of water.

"What the…?" Frannie exclaimed. "Why is there water in my room?"

"It was the droids." Someone told her.

"Where are they?" Frannie asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they went out to look for Captain Solo."

"Maybe…" Frannie said doubtfully. "I'm gonna go look for them anyway." She said. Knowing the two droids, they were probably up to no good. She was right. She found them in the hangar bay.

"Excuse me!" Frannie yelled, causing the droids to jump.

"Oh, uh, princess…" C-3Dewey said.

"Uh, hi." Huey-D2 said.

"Uh-huh. Cut it. I know you flooded my room. Why?" Frannie demanded.

"Oh, uh…Huey?" Dewey mumbled.

"Yeah, um, well, Dewey wanted to…" Huey muttered.

"No, it was really Huey's idea to, uh…"

"Heat up your rooms!" Huey finished.

"Yeah." Dewey continued. "'cause it's so cold."

"Uh-huh." Frannie said, not believing the two droids for a minute.

"So uh, sorry." Huey said.

"Whatever. And just what are you doing here?" Frannie asked.

"Um…sleeping." Dewey said.

"Sleeping?" Frannie questioned.

"Yeah." Huey supplied. "We're sleeping. We like it out here."

"Do you two even have any clue what's going on?" Frannie asked.

"Not really." Dewey said.

"What's up?" Huey asked.

"Ben is missing!" Frannie wailed.

"Oh? Really?" Huey asked, finally taking an interest in the conversation.

"Yes! He left to…uh…do something. And he's not back! And it's cold out! Really cold!" Frannie cried.

"That's too bad." Dewey said. "I hope he's okay."

"Uh, yeah." Huey mumbled. "I don't suppose Ray went with him?"

"Ray? Oh yeah! That's why Ben left. To find Ray. Ray's dead, I think. Or that's what Ben said. Or something like that. Oh, I don't know!" Frannie said fretfully.

"So, basically both Ben and Ray are stuck out in below freezing temperature with no way to get in?" Huey asked.

"Uh-huh." Frannie said, beginning to sob.

"Well, you're obviously upset." Huey said. "I think you should get some rest."

"Where? My room is full of water!" Frannie wailed.

"Oh, yeah." Huey said.

"Why don't you use Ben's room?" Dewey suggested. "He's obviously not going to be using it. And I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Okay." Frannie said. "I'll go do that."

"Hmm." Huey said, once Frannie was gone.

"Hmm what?" Dewey asked.

"Well, if Ray and Ben are dead, there's really no way this can go on. We'll have to end it." Huey explained.

"Oh. But what about Frannie? She's pretty important." Dewey reminded his partner.

"I know." Huey said. "Well, I'll think of something."

"Okay." Dewey said. "Now let's try to get some sleep."

"Ray?" Ben said, shaking Ray. "Ray. Ray. Ray!"

"Wha…huh?" Ray said, waking up.

"I think we should attempt returning to the base. The sun is up, and the temperature has risen."

"Oh." Ray said, sitting up and stretching. "I think I have frostbite."

"Hmm." Ben said, looking at Ray closely. "I believe you do. All the more reason we should head back. The medical facilities at the base should be able to take care of you."

"'kay. Good." Ray mumbled, stumbling to his feet. "I hate the cold."

"I know you do. But, there's very little we can do about it as we are on an ice planet." Ben said, starting to walk.

"I know we're on an ice planet. I don't care. I'm still cold." Ray mumbled, trailing after Ben.

"Well, think warm thoughts." Ben told him.

"Warm thoughts?" Ray repeated, shaking his head. "You are unhinged."

"Well, that may be, but you're the one with frostbite. I'd suggest you stop dawdling and increase your pace." Ben said.

"Okay, okay." Ray said, struggling to catch up with Ben. "How far do we have to go?"

"By my calculations, only a few miles. We should be there in an hour or so." Ben assured Ray. "Of course, there are most likely search parties out looking for us. We'll surely meet up with one of them."

"Oh yeah. Search parties. I bet Frannie's got the whole base out looking for you." Ray muttered.

"Oh, well, yes. I'm sure the princess is quite worried about us." Ben said.

"Well?" Frannie demanded. "Where is he?"

"We're not sure…" The rebel said.

"What do you mean you're not sure? There are at least twenty people out there looking. He can't be that far away!" Frannie shouted.

"Well, uh, I'm just telling you what our pilots see. And they don't see Captain Solo. I'm sorry. We'll keep looking."

"You'd better!" Frannie hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. And not just because she was sleeping in Ben's room! She had been sick with worry. And now the stupid pilots couldn't even find him.

"Good news your Highness!" A rebel exclaimed, rushing up to Frannie.

"What? What is it?" She asked.

"Captain Solo and Ray Skywalker just checked in!" The rebel announced.

"Where is he?" Frannie demanded.

"Huh?"

"Cpt. Solo! Where is he?" Frannie asked again.

"Oh. He's with Ray. Ray has frostbite, and is being attended to now."

"Thank you." Frannie said, rushing off to find Ben.

"Hey!" Darth Vecchio exclaimed. "What's the situation with those Rebel bases?"

"Well, we have a couple of possibilities. They're on screen now if you'd like to take a look at them." Welsh said.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Vecchio decided.

"Okay, this is the ice planet Yukon." Welsh said, pointing at the screen.

"Uh-huh." Vecchio said, staring at the screen.

"It's got ice and snow. And our probe droid there met with an unfortunate accident.." Welsh told him.

"That's it." Vecchio said, sure of himself.

"Are you sure?" Welsh asked.

"Look. I am a Sith Lord, okay? I can kill people without even thinking about it. I think I can figure out which planet has a Rebel Base on it, okay?"

"Yes sir." Welsh said.

"Okay, we'll send some of those big weapons and wipe them out." Vecchio ordered.

"Yes sir." Welsh said, and began snapping out orders.

"Those rebels won't escape this time." Vecchio muttered to himself. "I'll make sure of it."

"Warm again." Ray mumbled, settling back in the large chair he was sitting in.

"Yes." Ben agreed. "And luckily your case of frostbite was only a minor one."

"Hey, uh thanks for saving me." Ray said.

"Don't mention it." Ben told him.

"Ben!" They heard a woman exclaim.

"Oh dear." Ben mumbled, looking for a way out.

"Ben, I was so worried!" Frannie cried, rushing into the room and flinging herself on Ben.

"Yes, well, I appreciate your concern Your Highness." Ben said, extricating himself from Frannie's embrace.

"You don't care, do you?" Frannie demanded, hands on her hips.

"Pardon?" Ben asked, quite confused.

"You don't care that I was up all night sick with worry over you!" Frannie said.

"Oh, no. I'm…uh…" Ben trailed off, trying frantically to think of anything that would pacify Frannie.

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Frannie persisted.

"Well, you are seeing me now, so you didn't have anything to worry about." Ben told her.

"That's not the point! The point is, no matter what I do you don't care!" Frannie was raising her voice now, and Ben was getting quite uncomfortable.

"Oh, that's not true…" Ben started to say.

"Damn right it's true!" Frannie yelled. "But not for long. How'd you feel if I…" Frannie trailed off looking around the room. Her eyes fell on Ray, who had been quiet during the whole exchange, and a wicked glint came to her eye. "What if I kissed Ray?"

"Pardon?" Ben asked again. Ray was sitting up now, taking an active interest.

"How would you feel if I kissed Ray?" Frannie asked again.

"How would I feel?" Ben was still a little confused by this whole exchange. "I'd feel…" He trailed off.

"Fine!" Frannie said, grabbing Ray's head and kissing him deeply.

"Wow." Ray said, leaning back and feeling quite proud of himself.

"Well?" Frannie asked, turning to Ben.

"Well what?" Ben asked, shrugging.

"You're not jealous?" Frannie asked.

"No. Should I be?" Ben asked.

"Actually…" Ray started to say.

"Shut up!" Frannie snapped. "Fine, you don't' care if I kiss Ray, what about if I kiss you?"

"Oh, uh, well…" Ben was at a loss for words, and Frannie was advancing quickly. Ben looked out the window, and started to panic.

"Great Scott!" He mumbled. "Turtles!"

"I'm not falling for that again!" Frannie told him, grabbing him.

"No Frannie." Ray said, getting up. "Turtles! Big metal ones!"

"Huh?" Frannie looked out the window. Sure enough, there in the distance were large metal turtles, lumbering towards the base.

"Oh." Frannie said.

"I do believe we are under attack." Ben said. "I believe we should alert the authorities."

"Uh-huh." Frannie agreed, quite upset she had been cheated out of another kiss.

"Okay, here we go." Ray said, "We're gonna go kill some giant turtles."

He was in his small fighter, and the giant turtles were advancing rapidly. Ray, for some bizarre reason, was in charge of the counter-attack. And, for some other bizarre reason, Ray had refused a co-pilot.

"Okay, uh, everybody go after the turtles, and try not to get hit." Ray ordered. "I'm going for this one." He swung his fighter around, down near the turtles legs. "Uh, somebody draw that things fire. Please." Ray said, spinning out his cable and circling the turtles legs. After the third circle, he released the cable, and the turtle crashed to the ground and blew up.

"I got one!" He cried excitedly, and went after the next one. In a few minutes, the second one was down as well. Unfortunately, the giant turtles now saw Ray as a threat, and were shooting at him and not the other rebels.

"Oh, crap!" Ray exclaimed as his little fighter took a hit. "I'm going down!" And he was. In another instant, he hit the ground. Luckily, he had his lightsaber with him. "Guess I gotta do this by hand. I can handle that." He turned on his lightsaber, and headed over to one of the remaining turtles. He looked up at it, trying to figure out how he was gonna get up there.

"Uh, to hell with it." He said. "I'll just throw it." He peered up at the turtle, saw what looked like an engine of some sort, took aim, and threw. The lightsaber flew in a graceful arc, twirling up to the turtle. Unfortunately, Ray had horrible aim. The lightsaber bounced off of a leg, and fell to the ground.

"#&!*!" Ray exclaimed, stamping his foot. But suddenly, the turtle spontaneously combusted. "Okay." Ray said. "That works." He retrieved his lightsaber, and repeated the process until all the turtles were destroyed.

Meanwhile…

"We're under attack!" A rebel cried over the intercom. "Evacuate the base! I repeat, we are under attack! Evacuate the base now! We will regroup in the Consulate Sector. Evacuate the base!"

"This is not happening!" Frannie exclaimed. "How'd they find us?"

"It must have been the probe droid." Ben said.

"What probe droid?" Frannie asked.

"Oh!" Ben said, putting his hand to his forehead. "In all the excitement, I had forgotten. A probe droid landed on the planet. Ray thought it was a meteor, but I checked the script. It was actually an Imperial Probe Droid. Unfortunately, what with Ray being brutally mauled by a snow creature, I didn't have the opportunity to destroy the droid. But, this would have happened whether or not I had destroyed the said probe, so we should just continue as we are."

"Uh-huh." Frannie said.

"Mm-hmm. As the base is being attacked, and we are ordered to evacuate, I suggest we do so." Ben continued.

"Fine." Frannie said. "Let's go." They started down a corridor, but the base was hit. A large piece of debris fell, blocking their path.

"Oh dear!" Ben exclaimed, pulling Frannie back quickly.

"That almost crushed me!"

"Yes it did." Ben said. "A good thing I was here. We'll have to go around. We can take the Millenium Maple Leaf." Just then, they spotted C3-Dewey running frantically down the corridor.

"This corridor is blocked." Ben informed him. "You'll have to come with us. Where is Huey-D2?"

"Huey's with Ray. They're fighting or something. There wasn't any room for me in the X-Wing." Dewey said forlornly.

"Oh." Ben said. "Well, come on. There's plenty of room in the Maple Leaf." They hurried into the ship, and Ben and Dief leapt into their chairs. The ship shot up into space. Rebels and Imperials were fighting, and the Maple Leaf was right in the middle of it.

"Go to warp-speed!" Frannie cried. "Now!"

"Actually, it's hyperdrive. The Enterprise had warp…never mind. I'm trying. It seems someone tampered with it. I'll try to outmaneuver them while Dief attempts to fix it." Ben said, as the Maple leaf dipped and turned in a desperate attempt to escape the few Tie-Fighters left. All the other rebels had long since left.

"They're gaining on us!" Frannie warned.

"I'm well aware of that." Ben said. "Ah-ha!"

"What?" Frannie asked.

"We'll lose them in that asteroid field." Ben said, heading for a very large asteroid field up ahead.

"Are you crazy?" Frannie asked.

"We're gonna die!" Dewey announced, not sounding upset in the least.

"No we won't." Ben said. "Trust me."

Meanwhile…

"We survived." Huey-D2 said from the top of Ray's X-Wing.

"Yup." Ray said. "Now set a course for the Dagobah System."

"Why?" Huey asked.

"Because I said so. You are still my droid, and you have to listen to me."

"I don't know what the coordinates are." Huey protested.

"It doesn't matter!" Ray told him. "Just plug in some numbers and we'll get there."

"You're gonna get us killed." Huey said, punching in some random numbers.

"No I'm not. I'm gonna go find Yoda and become a great Jedi…uh, Mountie. Then maybe you'll listen to me." Ray grumbled.

"Not likely." Huey warned him.

"Shut up. Let's just go." Ray said.

"Where the hell are you going!?!" Bob asked out of nowhere.

"Dagobah." Ray said. "And would you stop that?"

"Did I tell you to go to Dagobah?" Bob asked.

"No." Ray said.

"Then why are you going there?"

"It's in the script." Ray explained.

"So what! I'm your teacher. You listen to me. You shouldn't even be here! How'd you get out of the ice field?" Bob asked, quite upset.

"Ben rescued me. Now go away." Ray said.

"Fine. But you won't be quite so snippy once you get to Dagobah. You can count on that!" With that, Bob's voice faded out into nothingness.

Meanwhile…

Darth Vecchio was not a happy Sith Lord. Darth Vecchio had to go speak with the Emperor. True, it was only a holograph of the Emperor, but still. It was the Emperor. The greatest Sith Lord of them all. A man who killed even more indiscriminately and frequently then Darth Vecchio.

"Here goes nothing." Vecchio said, as the holograph of the Emperor appeared in front of him. His entire face was covered in a large hood.

"Your Excellence!" Vecchio said, kneeling.

"Get up." The Emperor snapped. Vecchio shot up.

"You wished to speak with me?" Darth Vecchio asked.

"He got away." The Emperor said. "I thought I had made it clear I did not want him getting away."

"Uh...who?' Vecchio asked, deciding to play dumb.

"Skywalker!" The Emperor roared.

"Oh. Yeah."

"He cannot be let to learn his potential." The Emperor continued, calming down. "He is too powerful. He must be killed."

"Killed?" Darth Vecchio asked. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"He is a threat." The Emperor said. "He must be destroyed."

"Well, couldn't we just turn him evil? I mean, if he's that powerful, wouldn't it be a good thing if he were on our side?" Vecchio suggested.

"Hmm. You have permission to try. But if he cannot be turned, kill him. And make sure he stays dead. Have a nice day."

"I really don't think this was a good idea!" Frannie informed Ben as they dodged asteroids.

"This was our best option." Ben assured her. "Trust me."

"We're gonna die." Dewey said. He had been repeating that at regular intervals.

"We are not going to die." Ben assured the droid, as another TIE-fighter smashed into an asteroid.

"Ben, we're eventually gonna come out of this asteroid field. What are we gonna do then?" Frannie asked, concerned.

"Hmm." Ben said. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, sighting a rather large asteroid.

"No." Frannie said.

"Yes." Dewey said.

"It's our best option." Ben said, angling the Maple Leaf to land on the asteroid.

"There's a cave!" Frannie exclaimed, pointing to the view-screen.

"Yes there is." Ben said. "That's where we're headed."

"The hole?" Dewey asked. "Why are we going in the hole?"

"Because the TIE-fighter won't be able to find us." Ben explained, entering the hole. They flew for a while, and eventually landed.

"We should be safe in here." Ben said. Suddenly, everything shut down. The interior of the Millenium Maple Leaf was dark and quiet.

"What was that?" Dewey asked.

"Aroo!" Dief exclaimed.

"Yes, I believe it would be a good idea for you and C3-Dewey to go and see what's wrong." Ben said. Dewey and Diefenbaker retreated to another part of the ship.

"Ben?" Frannie said, quietly.

"Yes Your Highness?" Ben responded.

"I'm scared." She reached out for him, and Ben couldn't see to move away.

"Yes, well, you have absolutely nothing to be frightened of. The Imperials…"

"Be quiet, Ben." Frannie snapped. "You did read the script, didn't you?"

"Um, well, you see…" Ben had indeed read over the script, having learned his lesson the first time. And if he remembered correctly…"Oh dear."

"What's wrong?" Frannie asked, inching closer and closer to Ben.

"Oh, um, I just remembered…uh…turtles?" Ben said weakly. Frannie was extremely close now. He could feel her breath on his face. He tensed up, not being able to run…

"Hey, Ben!" Dewey called, bursting in through the door. Frannie pulled away quickly. "Oh, sorry." Dewey apologized. "I'll leave you two alone…"

"Oh, no, that's quite all right." Ben said. "Have you located the problem?"

"Uh, maybe. I don't understand a word of what Dief says. You should come outside and see what's up." Dewey said.

"Quite right. Terribly sorry, Your Highness." Ben said, nodding to Frannie. He left the cockpit, feeling quite relieved.

Meanwhile…

"That's Dagoba?" ray mumbled to himself, looking at the small planet. He shrugged, and prepared to enter the planet's atmosphere. Unfortunately, Ray wasn't too good at landing, and ended up in a swamp.

"Oh, this is just great." Ray mumbled, climbing out of the X-Wing, and looking around at the murky planet. He unhooked Huey-D2, and jumped off of the ship.

"This is disgusting." Ray mumbled, wading through the hip-deep muck. He found some dry land, and climbed out. Huey-D2, meanwhile, had decided to explore the deepest part of the swamp. He had rolled right off of the ship and into the muck.

"Huey?" Ray called, squinting through the fog. The droid didn't answer. Ray shrugged, and leaned back against a tree. Suddenly, Huey was shot out of the swamp, and landed a few feet away.

"Guess something down there doesn't like droids." Ray said. Huey grumbled and rolled over to Ray.

"Now what?" Huey asked.

"Now we wait for Yoda." Ray said. "We'll make camp."

"With what?" Huey asked.

"The supplies I brought." Ray said, pulling some stuff out of his backpack. "And there's some more stuff on the ship."

"Great." Huey mumbled. This was not his idea of a good time.

An hour or so later, they had set up a camp. And it had gotten dark.

"I'm not liking this." Huey said, staying close by the fire Ray had going. "I'm not liking this at all."

"Me neither." Ray said. "Hey, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Huey asked, But Ray was already up, waving his flashlight around. It shone in the face of a man, dressed in long robes and carrying a stick.

"Who the hell are you?" Ray asked.

"You are you?" The man demanded.

"I asked you first." Ray snapped.

"I asked you second." The man snapped back.

"I'm Ray. I'm looking for a guy who lives here. Yoda." Ray said reluctantly. The man had by now sat down, and was poking through Ray's stuff.

"Hmm. No Yoda here." The man mumbled.

"Get out of there!" Ray said, waving the man away. "And what do you mean there's no Yoda here? He's a, uh, a Mountie Master."

"You are sadly mistaken, my boy." The man said. "There's no Mountie Master named Yoda. Never was."

"But…but…" Ray sputtered, quite confused.

"Sorry." The man said, fiddling with a flashlight.

"Hey, hey! Put that down or I'll pop you!" Ray admonished.

"Hmm!" The little man grunted. "I'd watch the way you spoke to me!"

"Whatever." Ray mumbled.

"You're looking for the Mountie who lives here, aren't you?" The man demanded.

"You just said there wasn't one!" Ray yelled.

"No I did not! Listen! I said there was no Yoda here. There isn't."

"Oh. So, who's the Mountie?" Ray asked.

"Are you daft? I'm the Mountie!" He snapped.

"Oh." Ray said, feeling a little ashamed. "I knew that."

"Hmm." The Mountie said. "I'm Buck. I was old Fraser-Wan's, uh, teacher. I suppose you want me to teach you."

"Well, that would be nice seeing as how I'm the last of the Mounties."

"Not with that attitude you're not! You better shape up boy. In my day, if I spoke like that to a superior, I'd be tied outside with the dogs." Buck snapped.

"Um, okay." Ray said. "So when are you gonna start training me?"

"Patience! Why, in my day, we knew the meaning of patience. But you youngsters, it's always rush rush rush! You never take your time." Buck sighed, and shook his head, obviously remembering the good old days.

"Okay. I'll, uh, wait until you're ready." Ray said.

"Good. We start tomorrow!"

Meanwhile…

Frannie was left alone in the cockpit, and she was not at all happy with her situation. This was the third time she had been cheated out of a kiss. And if they followed the script (which they probably wouldn't) that was her last chance until the third installation. All of a sudden, something big and squishy landed on the window.

"Eek!" Frannie exclaimed, rushing outside.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked, looking concerned.

"There's a thing on the ship!" She exclaimed, grabbing Ben's arm.

"What sort of thing?" Ben asked.

"A…a thing! An icky thing!" Frannie said.

"Well, I'll look and see." Ben said, pulling away from Frannie. "Hmm."

"What?" Frannie asked, as another one of the things swooped at her. "Ahh!"

"Oh dear!" Ben exclaimed, taking Frannie's arm. "We have to get back in the ship, now. Dief, Dewey, hurry!" They rushed into the ship, and the door closed behind them. "The Imperials should be gone by now. I suggest a quick departure." Ben leapt into his seat and gunned the engines. The Maple Leaf shot up, out of the cave. Unfortunately, the cave began collapsing as soon as the opening was in sight.

"Oh my god!" Frannie exclaimed. She, by this time, had a death grip on Ben.

"Oh dear." Ben said, flicking switches as fast as he could.

"This isn't a cave, is it?" Dewey asked.

"No, it's not." Ben said as they shot out just in time.

"That was close." Frannie breathed, relaxing just a bit. "But what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure. The Maple Leaf has sustained some damage. I don't think we can make the rendezvous point now. But, I do have an alternate suggestion." Ben said.

"Which is?" Frannie asked.

"I believe we can make the Ontario system. I have a…friend there." Ben said.

"Fine." Frannie said. "I just want to be off of this stupid ship. Not that there's anything wrong with your ship, it's just that I don't really like flying and…" She trailed off, realizing she was babbling. Ben nodded, and set course for the Ontario system.

"I cannot do this!" Ray said, collapsing in a heap.

"You'd better!" Buck grunted, poking Ray with his stick.

"I can't! I have been concentrating on that stupid rock for an hour and nothing has happened yet, and nothing is gonna. You are a crappy teacher." Ray accused.

"I'm a fine teacher!" Buck protested.

"Damn right you are." Bob said, materializing out of nowhere.

"ACK!" Buck exclaimed, jumping up. "Fraser-Wan? That you?"

"Yes it is. Good to see you Buck." Bob said.

"And, you're, uh, how are you?" Buck stammered.

"I'm dead." Bob said.

"That's what I thought."

"Okay, okay, enough with the happy reunion. One of you had better start teaching me how to use the Force!" Ray exclaimed.

"Patience, Yank!" Bob snapped. "Buck here has been doing his best."

"Telling me to stare at a rock and concentrate is his best?" Ray asked.

"Yes." Bob said. "It's more than I ever taught you."

"Damn right." Ray mumbled under his breath.

"Alright look." Bob said. "Before you can learn, you have to go into the cave."

"No he…" Buck started to say. A harsh look from Bob silenced him.

"So, if you want to be a Mountie, go into the cave." Bob said.

"Fine. I'll go into the cave. You think I won't come out, but I will. And then you'll have to teach me." Ray said, grabbing his lightsaber and stalking off into the cave.

"That boy has no patience. He'll never be a Mountie." Buck said, shaking his head.

"I know. That should be my boy, but no! It's the yank." Bob said.

"Hmm. He won't last long." Buck said.

"I know." Bob agreed. "I'm counting on it.

Meanwhile…

The Millenium Maple Leaf was just touching down on Cloud City, the capital of Toronto, the main planet of the Ontario system. Frannie, Ben, Dewey and Dief exited the ship, and stood waiting as a woman wearing brown pants and a blue shirt came over to them.

"I demand an explanation for this!" She snapped, stopping before Ben.

"We are in need of repairs." Ben said.

"I see. And you assume you can simply land on my planet and be accommodated, when I've had not a word of warning?" She demanded.

"I apologize." Ben said.

"Well, no need. As you know, my hospitality is always extended to you." She said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you." Ben said. "It's good to see you."

"And you would be…?" Frannie asked, grabbing Ben by the arm.

"I'm Meg Calrissian. Who are you?"

"The Princess Frannie." Frannie said, glaring at Meg.

"Um, yes." Ben said. "If we could stay here for a few days? It seems the Empire is after us."

"The Empire?" Meg asked. "Did they follow you here? I don't have the resources to deal with the Empire."

"Oh, no. I'm sure we lost them." Ben assured her.

"Good." Meg said. "If you'll come this way?" She took Ben's other arm, glaring at Frannie the entire time.

"You can stay here. I won't be able to entertain you, as I have a city to run. But feel free to explore the compound at your leisure. My second will show you to your rooms." A blue alien came over, and led them to a set of suites.

"Who is that woman?" Frannie demanded when the small rebel group was alone.

"An old friend." Ben explained.

"What sort of friend?" Frannie asked.

"Your Highness, you're being irrational." Ben said.

"Don't you 'Your Highness' me! I don't trust her one bit." Frannie said.

"Now you're being irrational." Dewey said.

"Did I ask you?" Frannie snapped. Dewey shut up.

"Grr aroo." Dief said.

"Quite right." Ben agreed. "Meg is being very kind to allow us to stay here. And I'm well aware she can be a bit difficult at times."

"Hmm." Frannie said.

"I'm gonna go…out." Dewey said. If he got lucky, maybe he'd find an open window he could jump out of.

"Geesh." Dewey muttered to himself as he wandered around. "I wish Huey were here. Hey, what's that?" Dewey had spotted a room with some droids. He peeked in, and was grabbed by a small alien. No one heard him scream.

"Meg has invited us to dinner." Ben informed Frannie. "Will you be joining us?"

"What? You think I'd leave you alone with her?" Frannie asked.

"Oh, uh, well…" Ben trailed off.

"Hmm. Where did Diefenbaker go?" She asked.

"I'm not quite sure." Ben said. All he was sure of was that he didn't want to be left alone in a bedroom with Frannie.

"When's dinner?"

"Oh, uh, in a few minutes." Ben said.

"A few minutes?" Frannie asked, disbelieving.

"Apparently so. Shall we go?"

"I guess so." They exchanged a look, shrugged, and headed to the dining room.

"Something about this is fishy." Frannie said.

"Hmm. You know, I agree." Ben said. He opened the door, and they realized just what was fishy about it. Seated at the head of the table was none other than Darth Vecchio himself.

"You!" Frannie spat, and Ben wasn't sure if she was adressing Meg, Vecchio, or both.

"Meg!" Ben said, looking at her.

"I'm sorry Ben. As I said before, I have a city to run and I cannot deal with the Empire." Meg said, actually sounding sorry.

"Enough with the chit-chat." Vecchio said. "I have questions, you have the answers. You can give them to me now, or I can torture them out of you. Which will it be?"

"Neither, you big balloon! We're not gonna talk, and you can't make us." Frannie snapped. Storm-troopers had already grabbed her, Ben and Dief.

"I think not, Princess. See, I know you won't talk, so I'm not gonna bother with you. I'm gonna torture your friend here." Vecchio said. "Take him away!"

As the storm-troopers hauled Ben away, Frannie flew into a frenzy. She kicked, and twisted and bit. Unfortunately, Darth Vecchio had anticipated a struggle from her, and she was soon incapacitated.

"Wait!" Meg said. "You said you wouldn't hurt Ben. That was the deal."

"So I changed the deal. Big whoop." Vecchio said. "I'm a Sith Lord. I'll do as I damn well please."

"But..." Meg began to protest.

"But nothing! You'll do what I tell you!" Darth Vecchio snapped. "Now take these two to their rooms and lock them in. And guard them!"

"Yes sir!" The storm-troopers said, and hauled Frannie and Dief away.

Meanwhile…

"Go in the cave, he says. You can't be a Mountie till you go in the cave. I know for a fact I am not supposed to go in the cave yet." Ray mumbled as he stumbled down the path into the depths of the swamp. "I should be floating rocks or something."

Ray looked around. Bob and Buck had long since disappeared from sight. The swamp was dark, and Ray could hear things moving around. There were snakes, frogs and all sorts of other crawly creatures.

"This place gives me the creeps." Ray muttered. He drew out his lightsaber, more for light then protection. He swung it around, trying to self-teach himself how to use it. He swung the lightsaber about, battling imaginary enemies. Unfortunately he went deeper and deeper into the cave.

"Oh crap!" He exclaimed, turning around. Standing behind him was Darth Vecchio himself, lightsaber drawn, ready to do battle. Ray leapt back, holding his lightsaber out in front of him. Vecchio advanced, and swung at Ray. Their lightsabers crashed together with an electrical crackle. Ray jumped back. Parrying Darth Vecchio's strokes as best as he could.

"Oh crap." Ray muttered again as Vecchio came at him. He searched desperately for an opening. It was time to trust the Force. Ray took a wild stab at Darth Vecchio, and came in contact with his opponent. Not thinking, Ray swung again and swiftly decapitated Vecchio.

"I think I'm gonna puke." Ray muttered as the head rolled away. He didn't even want to look at it. He knew what he would see. He shut off his lightsaber and walked out of the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Buck demanded when Ray came back.

"I'm here to be trained, remember? I went in the cave, I whacked the Vecchio thing, and now I'm back." Ray said, plopping down on a log.

"Oh. Alright. Levitate that rock." Buck instructed, pointing to a rock.

"See, I need a little more instruction then that. How do I levitate the rock?" Ray asked.

"Use the Force!" Buck snapped. Ray sighed, and focused on the rock, reaching out for it. After a few minutes, the rock lifted a few centimeters off the ground. It immediately fell back down, but it had lifted.

"Did you see that?" Ray asked Buck.

"See what? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Buck apologized. Ray groaned.

"I did it." Ray explained.

"You did?" Buck sounded as though he didn't believe him.

"Sure. I'll do it again." Ray said. He concentrated on the rock, and it lifted into the air again. This time he managed to keep it there for more than a few seconds.

"Well, I'll be!" Buck exclaimed. "You did it!"

"Told you." Ray said, setting the rock back down.

"Well, now that you've mastered that, we'll start with the real training. If you hadn't noticed, your ship is sinking in the mud. Lift it out." Buck said.

"What? I can hardly lift a rock, and you want me to lift a ship?" Ray asked.

"Yes." Buck said. Ray sighed and turned his attention to the ship.

"I'll try." He said.

"No!" Buck snapped. "There is no try! It's either do or don't do!"

"Okay, okay." Ray mumbled. He turned his attention to the ship, concentrating with all of his being. He concentrated for ten minutes. Nothing happened.

"I'm sorry." He apologized to Buck.

"Hmm. Well, keep lifting rocks." Buck said, and hobbled off to wherever it was he went.

"When are we leaving?" Huey-D2 asked.

"When I become a Mountie." Ray said.

"That's not gonna happen anytime soon." Huey said.

"Shut up." Ray snapped.

"Hey, I just tell it like it is." Huey explained. "And you are not going to be a Mountie any time in the near future."

"I am too. Just you wait." Ray said. "Just you wait."

Meanwhile…

"Ben!" Frannie cried as Ben was brought back to the room. He was covered in sweat, and he looked to be in pain. She rushed over to him, and helped him over to the bed.

"I'm…alright." He said.

"No you're not." Frannie said, sitting down next to him. "What did they do to you?"

"It doesn't matter." Ben said.

"Rrr." Dief whined, laying his head on the bed.

"They tortured you." Frannie said tearfully, brushing the hair off of Ben's forehead.

"No, Frannie, it's really all right." Ben said, taking her hand. "Trust me."

"What do you mean?" She asked, a small part of her thrilled that he was holding her hand.

"Well, they didn't really torture me. This is all just for effect." Ben explained. "But I wasn't supposed to tell you, so if you could just pretend that you don't know, I would be greatly appreciative."

"Oh." Frannie said, relieved. "Of course."

"Thank you." Ben aid, smiling at her.

"So what happens now?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. But I don't think it's good." Ben admitted.

"I told you I didn't trust that woman." Frannie said.

"I can't believe Meg would do something like this." Ben said.

"Well, she did." Frannie told him. "And who knows what's going to happen next."

"Hmm." Ben said, and it was obvious he was thinking.

"Well, try to get some rest." Frannie said, kissing him gently on the forehead. And to her delight, he only tensed up a little.

Meanwhile…

"How much longer?" Ray asked. He was levitating three rocks and Huey-D2. While standing on his head.

"Not much longer." Buck said. "Okay, you can put them down now." Ray dropped the rocks and Huey, and tumbled into a sitting position.

"Okay, now lift them up again." Buck said. "On your head." Ray groaned, and wearily attempted to balance himself on his hands. Once he was stable, he lifted the rocks one at a time, and finally Huey. But as soon as they were up, they dropped back down again.

"What?" Buck demanded.

"I…I saw, something." Ray said, gasping for breath.

"What?" Buck asked.

"I, I don't know. It was Ben and Frannie, and they were in trouble." Ray said.

"Hmm. You're seeing the future. Pay no attention to it." Buck said.

"What do you mean 'pay no attention to it'?" Bob asked, materializing. "My boy's in trouble!"

"I'm aware of that," Buck said. "But the yank's actually learning. Besides, if he goes, he'll die."

"So let him go!" Bob said.

"Look, I gotta save them." Ray said.

"If you go now, you won't complete your training." Buck warned.

"Well, some things are more important than becoming a Mountie." Ray said.

"No patience!" Buck lamented.

"If he's going to go, he's going to go." Bob said. "Now get his ship out of the goo and let him go!"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Buck said, and levitated the ship out of the mud.

"Thank you." Ray said, gathering up his things.

"Are we leaving?" Huey asked.

"Yes we're leaving. We have to go to Toronto." Ray said, securing Huey in the X-Wing.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Buck said.

"I won't." Ray said, hopping into the X-Wing. "And I will come back and become a Mountie. I promise." With that, he gunned the engine, and took off.

"I shouldn't have let him go." Buck said, shaking his head. "He's too much like his brother."

"What do you mean?" Bob demanded.

"I mean he's our last hope." Buck said. "He really has the Force."

"No he doesn't!" Bob said, disbelieving.

"Yes he does." Buck said.

"Uh-oh." Bob said. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You didn't ask."

"But…" Bob shook his head. "Oh well. It's not my problem. I'm dead." And with that, he dematerialized to wherever it was dead Mounties went.

Meanwhile…

The door of the room slid open, and a mass of storm-troopers entered. Ben sat up, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had taken Frannie's advice and gotten some rest.

"On your feet." A storm-trooper ordered.

"Where are we going?" Frannie asked.

"You'll find out when we get there." He said.

"We're not going anywhere!" Frannie protested. The two storm-troopers in front looked at each other, and seven of eight descended on Frannie. She put up quite a fight, but in the end she was bound and hauled away with Ben and Diefenbaker. They were taken to a strange chamber with smoke and lots of machines. Darth Vecchio and Meg stood in the middle along with a strange alien type man.

"I demand you tell me what's going on!" Frannie said, still struggling against her bonds.

"I thought I ordered you to gag her!" Vecchio snapped.

"We tried sir." The storm-trooper in charge said.

"Hmm. Alright, bring Solo over here." Vecchio ordered.

"No!" Both Meg and Frannie yelled at once.

"Yes. And hold the princess." Vecchio whispered something to the alien type thing standing next to him.

"Vecchio, we had an agreement!" Meg said.

"So I changed it. Be happy I don't change it anymore, capishe?" Vecchio said. "We have to make sure this carbon freezing chamber works. Why not test it out on Solo? Besides, Boba Fett here has agreed to pay for him. I guess Jabba's put a price on his head."

"You're going to freeze him?" Frannie asked, aghast.

"Uh-huh." Vecchio said. "Bring him over here." Two storm troopers grabbed Ben, he struggled, but a sharp blow to the head quieted him.

"Ben!" Frannie said, leaping forward. The four storm-troopers holding her pulled her back.

"It's alright." Ben said quietly. A hole opened up in the floor, and smoke poured out. Ben was led over to a small platform in the hole.

"You know, this reminds of an…" Ben began to say.

"Shut up!" Darth Vecchio snapped. He gave the order, and an alien

servant flipped a switch. Ben began sinking into the pit.

"Aroo!" Dief howled, struggling at the end of the leash he had been put on.

"Ben!" Frannie called out, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes. "I love you!"

"Uh, I'm, um, aware of that." Ben said, gulping. "Um, yes." He nodded, looking quite uncomfortable with the whole situation. The smoke increased, and soon he was no longer visible. The pit closed, and Frannie screamed.

"It's done." Meg said quietly. "Is he…?"

"Hey!" Vecchio exclaimed, looking at the monitor. "He's alive!"

"Thank goodness." Meg said, sighing with relief.

"Well, Boba Fett, he's all yours." Vecchio said. "Get the chamber ready for Skywalker."

"Yes sir." The storm-troopers and aliens began making adjustments.

"What should we do with them?" A storm-trooper asked, indicating the hysterical Frannie and the near-feral Diefenbaker.

"Oh, uh, take them to my ship." Vecchio said.

"Yes sir." They said, pulling them away.

"I'll kill you, I swear!" Frannie screamed, trying to get at Vecchio. "You'll never get away with this! Never!"

Meanwhile…

"Here we are." Ray said, landing the X-Wing. There was no one around, so Ray unhooked Huey and went inside the big building. People and droids were running everywhere.

"Wonder what's going on." Ray mumbled to himself. He snuck down corridors and hallways, trying to find his friends. He heard a commotion, and headed towards it. He saw Frannie and Dief being led away by Storm-Troopers.

"Frannie!" He called. She looked at him, and he saw she had been crying.

"Get out of here!" She screamed. "It's a trap!"

"Huh?" Ray asked, confused. "Where's Ben?"

"What don't you understand!?! It's a trap!" Ray wanted to ask more, but she was pulled away, and the storm-troopers had begun shooting at him. He ran blindly throughout the building, trusting the Force to guide him. He found himself in a room full of smoke and large machines.

"Ray Skywalker." He heard someone say. He turned and saw Darth Vecchio standing behind him, lightsaber drawn.

"Darth Vecchio." Ray said. "Where're my friends?"

"Oh, yeah, like I'm gonna tell you." Vecchio said. "What do you think I am, stupid? Now turn on your lightsaber."

"You wanna fight? You want a peice of this?" Ray said, drawing his lightsaber. "That's fine with me." Vecchio swung at him, and Ray met the thrust with confidence. Vecchio swung again and again, raining blows on Ray relentlessly. Ray did his best to keep up, but it was obvious Vecchio had a pretty good idea of what he was doing.

"You can't win." Vecchio said, as Ray was pushed into another room. It did not look like a very safe place to have a lightsaber fight. There was a bridge that extended across a large pit. Ray had no choice but to inch out onto the bridge.

Meanwhile…

Somehow or other, Frannie and Dief had been turned over to Meg and her guards.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Frannie snapped, lunging at Meg. Two guards held her back.

"If you kill me, there will be no one left to help you." Meg said.

"What do you mean?" Frannie demanded.

"What I mean is that I'm getting you out of here, alright?" Meg said, as the guards released Frannie.

"Oh." Frannie said. "Thanks."

"Mmm. Can you fire a blaster?" Meg asked. Frannie nodded. "Good." She tossed one to her.

"Now let's go." Meg said, leading them down a corridor.

"Aroo!" Diefenbaker said, barking at something on the floor.

"What is it?" Meg demanded.

"It looks like…C-3Dewey?" Frannie said, picking up a shiny gold arm that was lying on the floor. They gathered up the rest of the droid and secured the pieces on Dief's back.

"Now hurry up. It won't be long before Vecchio's goons realize I'm not taking you to his ship. We may have to fight our way out." Meg said. As if on cue, a small group of storm-troopers burst around the corner and opened fire. Frannie and Meg shot back, managing to take out a goodly number of the storm-troopers.

"We'll take the Maple Leaf!" Meg said.

"You can fly?" Frannie asked, firing away at the rapidly multiplying storm-troopers.

"Of course I can fly." Meg snapped.

"What about Ray?" Frannie asked, remembering her friend.

"Who?" Meg asked.

"Ray. He's here! We have to help him!" Frannie said.

"We don't have time." Meg told her. "If we want to make it out alive, we have to leave now!" Frannie sighed in resignation, and the small party made their way to the Millenium Maple Leaf.

"Can you use the Maple Leaf's gun towers?" Meg asked, racing on board and leaping into the pilots seat.

"I can try!" Frannie said, climbing into the gun tower. The storm-troopers were firing away like mad at the departing ship. Frannie shot a blast into their midst, and they scattered like flies. The ship flew off, in search of Ben.

Meanwhile…

"You have nowhere to go!" Vecchio said, as Ray backed farther and farther out onto the bridge.

"Shut up!" Ray snapped.

"Just give up!" Vecchio suggested, slicing at Ray's neck. Ray just barely avoided being decapitated.

"No." Ray said, feebly meeting Vecchio's never-ending attacks. But Ray had reached the end of the bridge, and there was nowhere left to go but down.

Ray fought as hard as he could, but Vecchio was too good. Soon, Ray was forced back against the ledge, and Vecchio stood ready to make a wounding blow.

"Uh, wait a minute!" Ray said. "Time out, or whatever."

"What?" Vecchio demanded.

"Um, you're not really gonna cut my hand off, are you?" Ray asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, that's what happens." Vecchio said.

"Well, can't we just pretend?" Ray asked. "I mean, it's just a story, and I'm kinda attached to my hand, so if you could leave it where it is, I'd be really grateful."

"Uh, okay I guess. Sure." Vecchio said. "I won't cut off your hand. Can we continue?"

"Sure." Ray said, looking for a way out. He looked down, and realized it was the only way. He grabbed onto a strange antenna thing that was at the end of the bridge, and began inching himself down.

"What are you doing?" Vecchio asked, pausing in his attack to stare at Ray.

"I'm escaping, what does it look like?" Ray asked sarcastically.

"Down there? Man, you are insane." Vecchio said, laughing.

"I'm insane?" Ray asked, shaking his head. Unfortunately, Ray was incredibly tired, and he didn't know if he had the strength to inch down any further.

"Listen." Darth Vecchio said. "You can use the Force, and it's pretty strong in you. We should team up, overthrow the Emperor, and rule the galaxy."

"No!" Ray said. "Why would I ever join with you?"

"Because!" Vecchio snapped. "Didn't Fraser-Wan tell you?"

"Of course not! Fraser-Wan didn't tell me anything!" Ray said, wondering where Vecchio was going with this.

"About your brother?" Vecchio continued.

"Oh yeah. You killed him!" Ray said, remembering. "Now I have to kill you."

"He told you I killed him?" Vecchio asked, laughing again. "And you believed him? Oh, that's funny."

"Oh, and I suppose your side of the story is different." Ray said, wishing Vecchio would just shut up so he could drop into the garbage shoot or whatever was below him.

"Oh yeah. I didn't kill your brother. I am your brother." Vecchio said.

"Noooooooooooooooo!" Ray screamed.

"Yes." Vecchio said. "Come on! We can rule the galaxy together!"

"You're not my brother! You're not!" Ray protested. He couldn't believe what Vecchio was telling him. But another part believed him…

"Come on!" Vecchio demanded. Ray didn't know what to do. He looked down, and looked back up at Vecchio. The Sith Lord was standing over him, his hand stretched down to help him.

"What?" Vecchio asked, when Ray just hung there.

"I have this thing about falling…." Ray started to explain. Vecchio groaned. "It's just that that's a long way down, and it doesn't look too soft…" Ray trailed off, realizing there was no way of getting out of this. He sighed, let go of the antenna thing, and plummeted down into the unknown.

The plummet ended abruptly. Ray fell through a trap door, and began sliding down a tunnel of some sort. He was going incredibly fast, and the grooves in the tunnel were not comfortable in the least.

Unfortunately for Ray, the tunnel ended in another funny antenna thing. Only this one hung over empty space. Ray grabbed the antenna as he shot out of the tunnel, and held on for dear life.

"Oh, this sucks." Ray muttered to himself. "I guess I better use the Force." He concentrated, and tried to think of who could possibly help him. Frannie! She was out there, somewhere. Maybe he could contact her through the Force.

Frannie! I need your help… Ray thought at her. Please. If you don't get your butt back here, I'm probably gonna die. And then you'll have no reason to hang around with Ben. He was having trouble thinking. The air where he was was very thin, and he was still weak from his fight, and the knowledge that Vecchio was his father. He just hoped Frannie could hear him!

Meanwhile…

"So, where exactly are we going?" Frannie asked Meg.

"To Chicago." Meg answered.

"Hmm." Frannie said.

"Look, I'm sure your friend is fine." Meg said, not sounding sure in the least.

"Maybe…" Frannie said, trailing off.

"Perhaps you could do something constructive, hmm?" Meg asked. "Like keep the droids busy."

"Droids? I thought we only had one." Frannie said, puzzled.

"As did I. But we somehow picked up a Huey unit along the way. Him and the protocol droid have been bickering the entire time." Meg explained.

"Oh." Frannie said, and then realized the importance of what Meg had said.

"Huey!" She shouted, rushing over to the little droid.

"What?" Huey-D2 asked.

"Did you see what happened to Ray?" Frannie asked.

"Who…? Oh, yeah. Him. I don't know. He went to go fight Darth Vecchio or something. He's probably dead by now." Huey said.

"No." Frannie said, rushing back to the cockpit.

"No what?" Meg asked, frustrated.

"No, Ray's not dead!" Frannie insisted.

"And what makes you say that?" Meg asked.

"I don't know…I just…know." Frannie said, trying to figure it out herself. "Buy we have to go back!"

"Are you insane?" Meg asked.

"Maybe…But Ray needs us." Frannie said. "And either you turn this ship around right now, or I'm gonna do it for you!"

"Fine! But if we die, it's your fault." Meg said, turning around and heading back for Toronto.

"What the…?" Meg said, peering at the antenna on the bottom of Cloud City.

"What?" Frannie asked.

"There's something strange on the antenna." Meg said.

"What?" Frannie asked, peering at it. "Oh my God! It's Ray!"

"What?!?" Meg sped up, and moved closer to get a better look. It was indeed Ray hanging off of the antenna.

"Well, go and pick him up!" Frannie ordered.

"Steer the ship. I'll go and get him." Meg grumbled, leaving the cockpit. Frannie positioned the ship under Ray.

"I think he's dead!" Meg called down. "No, wait, I feel a pulse! I'm bringing him in!"

"You mean he's not dead?" Huey-D2 asked.

"No, he is not dead!" Frannie snapped. "You are the most morbid droid I have ever met!"

"How do you feel?" Frannie asked, sitting on the edge of Ray's bed.

"Like crap." Ray said.

"Hmm." Frannie said. "You're lucky to be alive."

"I know." Ray said, looking away.

"What's wrong?" Frannie asked.

"Oh, nothing. Vecchio was just trying to psyche me out back there. I guess it got to me." Ray said, shrugging. "Where's Ben?"

"He was frozen in carbonate. We're going to go rescue him." Frannie said.

"Oh. That where we're headed now?"

"Uh-huh. He'll be okay, won't he?" Frannie asked.

"Sure. We'll go save him, and then we're gonna crush this Empire." Ray told her. "Don't worry about it."

"You think we can?" She asked, doubtful.

"I doubt it." Huey-D2 said, rolling in.

"It's really bad odds that you could." C3-Dewey said, joining them.

"Shut up, both of you." Ray said. "Of course we can. Now let's go do it!"

The End