Skirmish on Bespin

Following his liberation from incarceration, Zorba Desilijic Tiure journeyed to Tatooine, where he learned of the demise of his offspring, Jabba. Having retrieved Jabba's last will and testament from within Jabba's Palace, he proceeded to Cloud City and successfully reclaimed control of the Holiday Towers from the Baron Administrator, Lando Calrissian. Through deception during a game of sabacc, he successfully assumed the position of the city's new governor.

Shortly thereafter, Princess Leia Organa was taken prisoner aboard an Imperial factory barge situated above the Rethin Sea, while Jedi Prince Ken was apprehended by the Bespin Wing Guards, who were now in the employ of Zorba. Zorba the Hutt formulated a plan to exchange Ken with Emperor Trioculus in return for Leia Organa, whom he held responsible for his son's death. Conversely, Trioculus intended to take Leia as his empress.

Even though his objective was to find Ken, Trioculus declined to surrender Leia when Zorba presented his proposition. As a reaction, he ordered stormtroopers to eliminate Zorba, but the Cloud Police intervened, siding with Zorba. All stormtroopers were defeated, and Trioculus was apprehended while trying to escape.

In the meantime, Ken managed to escape captivity within the casino, aided by his abilities with the Force, and returned to Han Solo's sky house. On the barge, Luke Skywalker located Leia, and the pair were rescued by Han Solo aboard the Millennium Falcon. They were barely able to escape the barge before it was destroyed by a squadron of bounty hunter vessels commanded by the Zorba Express.

After the rebels reunited and departed Bespin, Zorba Desilijic Tiure froze the would-be Imperial leader in carbonite, with the intention of using the captured Imperial's presence as a hostage to safeguard Cloud City from any Imperial threat. Regarding Leia Organa, he assumed she had perished on the barge and that vengeance had been achieved.