Lando Calrissian. "Card player, scoundrel, you'd like him." Yes, Lando is quite the likeable type; he's suave, rich, and all...respectable.

That is, if you respect men who are able to betray their friends at the drop of a hat, yet still sleep soundly at night.

Though Lando operated under the pretense of being "respectable" while acting as the administrator of the facility on Cloud City, Han and Leia quickly learned that Lando never really gave up his low-down dirty deceiver ways. Han and Leia put their trust in Lando to keep them safe while they were on the run from the Empire, and in return, they received a harsh slap in the face from their so-called friend. And then, Lando had the nerve to attempt to justify his actions with a weak "I had no choice!"

Sure, Lando. So when Darth Vader showed up on your doorstep and gave you the choice to either betray your friends or have the Empire inconvenience your business and threaten your life, you didn't have a choice but to turn your long-time friend over to the Sith Lord. We understand.

And yet, this may be another instance in Star Wars where your perception of the events taking place depends largely on your point of view.

We see Lando's apparent betrayal through the eyes of Han and Leia. We see two heroes, in which we have vested emotion from following their struggles for one and a half films, being handed over to the enemy by a friend. We see Han, a character we care about, lash out at Lando for complying with the Empire. We see our heroes in trouble, and we blame the man whom they blame. We believe that Lando betrayed his friends in an act of self-preservation, or worse, to avoid the loss of profits that would result from standing up to the Empire. And all of a sudden, we're all singing, "it's all Lando's fault!"

The problem is that we never see the situation from Lando's point of view. Lando is the administrator of Cloud City. He must concern himself with running a business. More importantly, since Cloud City is a home as well as a business, he is responsible for the welfare of every worker, their families, and anyone else living in Cloud City. Thus far, he has been able to make Cloud City a successful and profitable business. And he has been able to do so in a city that has previously gone unnoticed by the Empire. Cloud City is an autonomous business that is not under Imperial control, and has thus avoided the Empire's subjugation. Employees are able to live happy lives and provide for their families, in an environment where they are relatively free to profit from their labour.

But then everything goes to pieces. Lando is simply minding his own business, when the Empire shows up at his doorstep, informing him that a few known enemies of the all-powerful government are about to take refuge in his city. Put yourself in Lando's shoes. You can either agree to turn over your friends to the Empire, and be left alone, or you can resist, in which case the Empire will bring your city under its thumb. And knowing the Empire, it will most likely do so in a rather violent manner. Stormtroopers will overrun Cloud City, surely leaving destruction and dead civilians in their wake. Once Vader has punished you for your lack of cooperation, he will probably capture your friends anyway.

Oh, and you've only got a few seconds to decide. Vader isn't known for his patience.

It is easily forgotten that Lando is in a position of responsibility, and is motivated by more than the prospect of holding on to his credits. Lando is more than a businessman; he is a governor. As the administrator of Cloud City, he must make decisions that affect not only him and his friends, but everyone who works for him, or lives on the installation. If Lando were to resist the Empire, Vader would not hesitate to use force in order to compel Lando's cooperation. Cloud City's defenders would most likely be limited a small security force, that is by no stretch of the imagination sufficient to defend the installation. And if a garrison were left on Cloud City by the Imperials, it would no doubt compromise the freedom of everyone who lived there. Essentially, everyone on the installation would be working for the tyrannical government, rather than for an independent and self-sufficient company. Perhaps the Empire would demand no more that a certain percentage of the Tibanna gas that Cloud City produced, for its own use.

More likely, however, is the possibility that the Empire would exert a much greater amount of control over the colony. In this situation, Vader is clearly in the position of power, having the entire Imperial military at his disposal and no one to oppose him. It is most likely that Vader would see Cloud City as a valuable resource, and claim it for the Empire. He may oust Lando from power, installing an Imperial as a puppet dictator. Many of the freedoms that the people of Cloud City enjoyed prior to an Imperial occupation would be stripped away, as Imperial laws are enforced for the first time. The population of the colony may even become slaves tasked with fuelling the Imperial war machine.

Though we have no knowledge of the threats, offers or shady dealings that actually took place, Lando was forced to consider each of these very real possibilities as he was faced with this choice. Lando could either turn his friends over to the Empire in hopes that Cloud City would then be left alone, or alternatively defy the Empire and face a myriad of uncertainties. At this time, Lando's decision to betray Han and Leia was not simply a question of profit; it concerned the lives of thousands of people. If Lando refused to acquiesce to Vader's demands, would the Empire take control of the city? Would its population be enslaved? Would the colony simply be destroyed, or perhaps raided and left to die?

One could argue that these possibilities would have been very real, regardless of Lando's decision. After all, didn't Vader repeatedly alter the deal after Lando agreed to comply with his demands? The result would have been the same, so Lando should have made the noble choice to defy the Empire.

And perhaps Lando would have done so, many years ago, back when he was another reckless smuggler or pirate with nothing to lose. But Lando shed this role, taking up a position of responsibility, when he became Baron Administrator for Cloud City. Lando could no longer afford to gamble with thousands of lives, especially if he was gambling with the Empire. Perhaps it was his plan from the beginning to double-cross Vader by breaking Han and Leia out when the time was right. But the fact remains that Lando had the interests of thousands of people in mind when he made the decision to betray his friends.

Lando chose to comply with Vader's demands because it was the best option available to him at the time. He chose to protect thousands of people from Imperial rule, rather than harbour known fugitives and enemies of the Empire. It would be downright irresponsible for Lando, as a leader, to agree to submit the entire population of a colony to Imperial rule in order to save the lives of a few old friends. Consider this situation in the context of today's state of affairs. Terrorists manage to capture one of the President's old hunting buddies, and demand that the United States withdraw from Iraq, threatening to execute their prisoner. What's more, the President's friend is not even a citizen of the United States. It is the strict policy of the United States government never to negotiate with terrorists. The suggestion that the President is obligated to alter his country's entire foreign policy, negotiate with these fanatics, compromising the success of a military operation and his entire nation's security in order to save an individual, one who is not even a citizen of that nation, is completely absurd.

A responsible leader, when faced with a moral decision, must look out for the interests of the country, city, or Tibanna gas mining colony, for that matter, as a whole, not for his or her personal interests. Lando could not compromise the freedom and welfare of thousands of people for the sake of his friends. To do so would be to put his personal interests ahead of the common interest. Lando's decision to turn his friends over to Vader was not motivated by personal interests such as self-preservation, or the desire to continue to profit from his business venture without hindrance from the Empire. Lando made the difficult decision to betray his friends out of regard for the safety of the thousands of people he governed.

Such concern for the people of Cloud City is clearly shown as Lando makes his escape with Leia and Chewbacca. He could have left the people of Cloud City to their fate, yet he warns them that the Empire has taken control of the city, at great personal risk. Lando initially sought to avoid this outcome when he made a deal with Vader. But when he realized that Imperial occupation of Cloud City was inevitable, Lando advised the population to leave, demonstrating that he consistently operated in the interests of safety and freedom for the people of the colony.

So did Lando have a choice? Perhaps not in the eyes of Han and Leia. But as a responsible leader, with the lives of thousands of people in his hands, Lando didn't have a choice at all.