Occupation of Bespin The occupation of Bespin was a battle in the Galactic Civil War between the Bespin Wing Guard under Lando Calrissian ( who turned to the side of the Rebel Alliance ) and the Imperial stormtroopers under Darth Vader , that led into the Empire gaining control of the gas planet Bespin . Prelude . In 3 ABY , the Galactic Empire won the Battle of Hoth and forced the Rebel Alliance offworld . Darth Vader pursued the Rebel leaders , in particular his son , Luke Skywalker . He hired Boba Fett and other bounty hunters to find the " Millennium Falcon , " the starship carrying the Rebel leaders . Fett spotted the " Falcon " fleeing the Hoth Imperial blockade and deduced its destination , Cloud City on the gas giant Bespin . Vader arrived before the " Millennium Falcon " and forged an initial agreement between himself and the Baron Administrator , Lando Calrissian . Calrissian would aid Vader in capturing the Rebels , in exchange for the continued freedom of his colony . The " Millennium Falcon " entered and landed in Cloud City , piloted by Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca . They also had princess Leia Organa and the protocol droid C - 3PO on board . Its crew was greeted as welcomed guests by the Baron Administrator , who gave an especially warm welcome to his old friend , Han Solo . They were given accommodation in which to dwell while their ship was being repaired . After landing , C - 3PO wandered off and was shot by a member of Gamma Squad , dismantling him . C - 3PO ' s remains were later sent to the recycling area of Cloud City , although they were intercepted by Chewbacca , who retrieved the parts . After a while , Calrissian invited them to a dinner arrangement , which turned out to be a trap , set by Darth Vader . Solo , upon discovering Vader in the dining room , attempted to shoot the Dark Lord with his blaster , only for Vader to effortlessly absorb the bolts with his right hand , and telekinetically pull the smuggler ' s blaster away from him with his left . Stormtroopers surrounded the Rebels , ensuring their capture . Later , Lieutenant Sheckil informed Lord Vader of C - 3PO ' s destruction , and Vader visited the wreckage , remembering back when he had created the protocol droid as a young boy , and ordered the droid to be returned to Chewbacca while he prepared to interrogate Solo . He wanted to use Organa , Solo , and Chewbacca ' s capture as a lure to capture his primary objective , Skywalker . Indeed , Han Solo was tortured but not asked questions in order to trigger a response from Luke through the Force , sending him to rescue his friends . The Imperials disabled the repaired " Millennium Falcon ' s " hyperdrive to prevent its escape . An altered deal . Vader had Solo frozen in carbonite , to test to see if the freezing methods would effectively work on Skywalker . This was an important part of his plan ; he would either take his frozen son to the Emperor for training as a Sith apprentice , or change plans and cooperate with him against his master . He had Solo shipped to the gangster Jabba the Hutt by way of Boba Fett , who claimed Solo ' s bounty . This was a violation of his agreement with Calrissian , something Vader casually dismissed as an alteration of the deal . Shortly afterward , Vader ' s hopes were realized as Skywalker ' s ship was detected heading towards the city . As Vader left to prepare for his confrontation with the young Rebel , he gave clear instructions to Calrissian to keep Leia and Chewbacca on the planet , violating the agreement again . Meanwhile , Skywalker had landed in the city and caught a glimpse of his friends being taken away by Imperial troops led by Lieutenant Sheckil . He was caught in a brief firefight with Boba Fett , who was protecting his cargo . Though Princess Leia managed to shout a warning to him , Skywalker continued further into the city , ending up in a carbonite processing chamber where he faced the Dark Lord of the Sith in lightsaber combat . Realizing that the situation was deteriorating , Lando Calrissian arranged for the Bespin Wing Guard members Helder Spinoza , Corman Jeihn , Pedar Solardo , Gir Endac , and Razell Tameron to free Organa and Chewbacca from their Imperial escorts , resulting in Sheckil and his Imperial unit ' s arrest in the process . However , Organa and Chewbacca did not trust him due to his earlier betrayal of Solo , the latter also nearly killing him via strangulation , although the latter ultimately managed to relay that they still have a chance to save Solo from Boba Fett , causing them to decide to aid Calrissian and pursue the bounty hunter . While escaping , Calrissian alerted the populace to the Empire ' s takeover of the city and advised that they evacuate the city before more Imperials arrive . Calrissian ' s announcement likewise caused a mass - panic that aided the group in slipping past most Imperial patrols . Organa ordered the astromech droid R2 - D2 to assist in opening doors for her to reach the " Millennium Falcon . " R2 - D2 then tried to access sockets to Cloud City ' s main computer to access the doors , although thanks to C - 3PO ' s poor advice , the astromech droid inadvertently electrocuted itself at one of the sealed doors by accessing a power outlet instead . While pursuing Boba Fett , the bounty hunter returned fire and taunted about how Solo was now his and no one will take his bounty . Just after accessing the landing pad for the " Millennium Falcon " , R2 also uncovered information from Cloud City ' s main computer that indicated that , although the hyperdrive was indeed fixed , it had also been deactivated by the Imperials , and attempted to warn them . The duel between Vader and Skywalker continued out onto an enormous wind tunnel , where Luke would lose his right hand to Vader ' s lightsaber and have his true parentage revealed . Even as Vader beckoned him to join his side and thus help end the Galactic Civil War , Luke stood defiant and chose to take his own life by falling from the platform they were on . As he plummeted towards the ground , he was sucked into one of the gas exhaust pipes and emerged below the city , grabbing onto a weather - vane . Rebel escape . In a final attempt at survival , Skywalker contacted Princess Leia through the Force , who having escaped in the " Falcon " , now ordered the ship around to look for him . As they were rescuing Skywalker and taking off again , four members of the TIE Fighter squadron , Obsidian Squadron , appeared off the tarmac and gave chase . The " Millennium Falcon " fired back and shot down several TIEs . The fighters had already been deployed for patrol duty even before the formal takeover of the planet . Having escaped the planet , the " Falcon " now headed out into space , where it encountered the " Executor " under the command of Admiral Piett in orbit . Attempting to flee into hyperspace , the crew found that Imperial technicians repaired their hyperdrive , but disabled it in the event of their escaping the city . As the " Executor " prepared to take the ship by tractor beam , R2 - D2 managed to activate the hyperdrive , having been warned about the deactivation earlier by Cloud City ' s computer , and the " Millennium Falcon " escaped once again . Imperial takeover . An Imperial strike force was formed to take over the city . The TIE / D Defenders and TIE Interdictors cleared a landing zone in a break in the city ' s anti - air defenses and fighter cover . The strike force , a mixed force of stormtroopers with repeaters , four dewback troopers , five ASP - 7 labor droid s , deployed from the seven landing craft and spread out . The landing craft also deployed four All Terrain Scout Transports , six All Terrain Personal Transport s , four Phase II dark troopers , four Imperial Thermal Detonator Trooper s , and two Heavy Imperial Missile Launcher Trooper s . The city had six Gravity Control Center s spread throughout , and the Rebels were planning on disabling them to scuttle the city and prevent its takeover . After landing , the strike force engaged T3 - B heavy attack tank s sent their way and beat back Lando ' s Commandos . The Imperial strike force ' s bombers attacked a nearby tibanna gas platform and destroyed its storehouses to acquire additional resources . The strike force ' s labor droids established a base , and the force fought through the Rebel and the Bespin Security Force defenders , destroying storehouses in the process to acquire more resources . Walls prevented the strike force from accessing parts of the city ; the strike force used their landing craft to reach those areas . The strike force reached the Gravity Control Centers to prevent their destruction . The Imperials also destroyed the Bespin Government Center and built an Imperial Palace in its place to cement their occupation . Aftermath . Skywalker , Organa , Chewbacca , Calrissian , and the droids returned to the Alliance Fleet , where Skywalker received a prosthetic hand . With the Rebels defeated , the Empire took control of the city and the tibanna gas mines . Cloud City and its remaining population had to endure the occupation of an Imperial garrison under the command of Hugo Treece for many months , until the Battle of Bespin , which would see the Empire driven out of the colony . Nonetheless , there were some minor skirmishes prior to its liberation , such as a raid by the Rebel Alliance on the tibanna gas platforms shortly before the Battle of Endor , and an internal rebellion by the Ugnaught population caused by Treece unofficially turning Cloud City into a slave camp due to his embezzling funds . Behind the scenes . The occupation of Bespin first appeared with the release of . " The 2001 video game " " presents the player with the opportunity to play through the occupation during the Darth Vader campaign . The campaign was also included in the game ' s 2002 expansion pack , " . " The player is tasked with establishing a base and securing the Gravity Control Centers . The player has the option of building additional units , and may also attack a mining platform for its resources . Half of the six Gravity Control Centers must survive and the player must destroy the Bespin Government Center to complete the mission . In " " , the Occupation of Bespin was a bonus mission called " Escape from Bespin . " It branched off from one of the main missions in Wedge ' s campaign , Guns of Dubrillion , implying that the event was concurrent with the Battle of Dubrillion . The battle also appeared in LEGO form in two missions in the 2006 video game adaptation of the Original trilogy , " . " The missions are also included in its 2007 .