Lando Calrissian
Species:
Human
Sex:
Male
Black
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Brown
Height:
1.77 meters
Homeworld:
Unknown
Political Affiliation:
Alliance/New Republic
Con artist and smuggler . . . Lando Calrissian never thought he'd also earn titles like leader and war hero. He never dreamed the Empire would force him to betray an old friend, either.
Little is known about the history of the charming and roguish gambler -- his past is generally a well-guarded secret. It is known that, at least five years priorto the Millennium Falcon's assault on the first Death Star, Lando experienced many of his own adventures in the Corellian freighter.
He had used the Falcon to store precious life crystals from Rafar V, gaining the enmity of a supposed sorcerer named Rakus Gepta. During that time period, Lando traveled with a droid named Vuffi Raa, and amassed a sizable fortune from the life crystals, 173,000 credits gained from a sabacc game against a Corporate Sector Authority cop, and a reward of gemstones and precious minerals, so Calrissian was a man of considerable resources.
Over the years, Lando had befriended a raucous Corellian smuggler, Han Solo, whose partner, a huge Wookiee named Chewbacca, made sure that Solo never came to harm. The friends crossed and double-crossed each other over time, but never with any truly disastrous effects. Lando, Han, and Chewie even undertook smuggling missions together. Then one night on Bespin, Lando and Han played a high-stakes game of sabacc, and when it was over, Han was the new owner of the Millennium Falcon.
Lando took his remaining fortunes and embarked on a galaxywide tour. He again hit success when he returned to Bespin and challenged Baron Administrator Raynor to a game of all-or-nothing sabacc. Raynor was the inept controller of Bespin's Cloud City, a mining and gambling center infamous throughout the galaxy. Lando was inconspicuously aided by a cyborg aide named Lobot, and he won Cloud City, becoming its new Baron Administrator. He kept Lobot as his chief aide.
In addition to his public duties, Lobot proved equally adept at handling Calrissian's more clandestine operations. Some of those included smuggling, while others involved surreptitously aiding the Rebellion.
On the whole, Lando was doing very well running Cloud City and its Tibanna gas-mining operation. Profits and production were up, and the constituents were happy. Shady business dealings were common, but violence was kept down by a strong police presence. Lando was becoming respectable, and so was his city.
But Lando was soon to get a jolt, brought about by the arrival of Imperial forces and the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Meeting with Lando, Vader "persuaded" him to help trap Han Solo. If the Baron Administrator helped him, the Imperials would never again bother Bespin or Cloud City. If he didn't help, Lando could say good-bye to his future. The gambler agreed to betray Solo.
Having escaped from Imperial forces in the Hoth system, Han Solo brought his damaged Millennium Falcon to Cloud City for repairs. Lando welcomed Han and his companions, promising that the techs would get right to work on the Falcon's troublesome hyperdrive. While he played the cordial and dashing host, flirting with Leia and showing off what a successful businessman he had become, Lando was setting Solo up for a fall.
When Vader actuall took Han prisoner, his deal with Lando began to go sour. Han was tortured and frozen in a carbonite block, then given to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, to be taken to Jabba the Hutt. Chewie and Leia were to be retained by Vader. Lando outwardly capitulated to the Dark Lord's demands, but inwardly, he was planning his next move.
When it became clear that his beloved city was to become an armed camp, Lando ordered Lobot to assemble a dozen of Calrissian's personal guards to rescue Leia, Chewie, and the dismembered C-3P0. As the troopers and their prisoners neared the phalanx of Cloud City guards, Lando gave the command "Code Force Seven," and Lobot had the men draw their weapons on the six surprised Imperials.
After a brief altercation wherein Chewbacca tried to strangle Lando, the administrator convinced the Rebels they could save Han from Boba Fett. They arrived too late, and Lando knew they had to flee the city. He utilized the public-address systems to announce that Imperial takeover was imminent, urging the Cloud City citizens to evacuate. He then helped Leia and Chewie escape in the Falcon, and even managed to save Luke Skywalker, who was on the verge of plummeting from the floating metropolis.
Later, when a decision was made for a small strike force to retrieve Han Solo from the Tatooine desert palace of Jabba the Hutt, Lando took the role of a skiff guard named Tamtel Skreej. He surveyed the palace, sending messages and layouts back to the other members of the team. It was easy to spy on Jabba; half of the courtesans in the palace were doing so.
One by one, the players came to the palace: first Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter named Boushh, brought Jabba a "captive" Chewbacca; and finally Luke Skywalker.
On a skiff over the Great Pit of Carkoon, Lando revealed himself and helped Han, Chewie, and Luke fight off the guards. Lando was knocked off the skiff and toward the Sarlacc, but Han saved his life. The Alliance heroes blew up Jabba's sail barge and soared away to freedom.