by Ian Doescher
Enter QUI-GON JINN, SHMI SKYWALKER, PADMÉ, and JAR JAR BINKS to welcome ANAKIN.
JAR JAR
Yay, Anakin! De clever boyee!
ANAKIN
O mother! Didst thou see? I have prevail’d!
QUI-GON
What marvelous accomplishment, bright star
Of Tatooine. Thou makest me most proud.
The Force was present with thee here, forsooth.
PADMÉ
[embracing Anakin:] We owe to thee our boundless gratitude—
When we look’d for a hero, thou didst come.
ANAKIN
Fine lady, if I did but make you glad,
Then ev’ry nervous turn was worth its pain.
QUI-GON
Now, pardon, I must seek old Watto out,
And claim from him our wages justly earn’d.
[Exeunt Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé, Jar Jar Binks, Fode and Beed, R2-D2, C-3PO, Kitster, podracers, and crowd.
ANAKIN
Thou hadst no need of worry, mother mine:
Thy boy is safe, is here, and he is thine.
[Shmi takes Anakin in her arms, singing.
SHMI
[sings:] Shall I make merry? O, shall I make mirth?
Thee did I love, since th’instant of thy birth,
To see thee win is unto my heart gain,
Yet still I fear, and sense some future pain.
Hark! Cracks a mother’s heart.
Shall I make merry, O, shall I make mirth?
Today thou hast prov’d thy most ample worth,
Thou showest scores of strength to ev’ryone,
And by the showing, shall I lose a son?
Hark! Cracks a mother’s heart.
Shall I make merry, O, shall I make mirth?
Of quiet moments have our lives a dearth,
The visitors who come are noble men,
Yet when they go, shall I know peace again?
Hark! Cracks a mother’s heart.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 2.
On the planet Tatooine.
Enter QUI-GON JINN and WATTO.
WATTO
You vile dissembler, cheat and villain rank—
Somehow I have been swindl’d in your deal.
You knew—by magic most unnational—
The boy would find the will to win the race.
My fortune hath been most unfortunate,
And all that I did think to win I’ve lost.
QUI-GON
And yet the sport is gambling call’d for there
Is e’er the chance that one shall sorely lose.
When one doth walk e’er near th’inferno’s edge,
One must expect to burn from time to time.
Now to our business: bring thou the parts
Unto the hangar where I’ll make my claim.
Thereafter I shall visit thy small shop,
That thou may to my care release the boy.
WATTO Nay, I shall never let you take him hence;
A wager’s mollified when one doth cheat.
QUI-GON
Mayhap thou wouldst prefer to talk it o’er
Within the court and justice of the Hutts?
I have no doubt they would take merriment
In proffering a settlement twixt us.
I would delight to witness Jabba’s face
As thou explainest thine absurd complaint.
WATTO
[aside:] This mention of the Hutts destroys my case.
[To Qui-Gon:] Forsooth, the boy is yours—both be accurs’d!
[Exit Watto.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI.
QUI-GON
We have the needed parts to take our flight,
And may this abject settlement depart.
Yet first must I go thither to complete
A vital matter—I shall not be long.
OBI-WAN
Say, wherefore do I sense that we shall add
Another wretched life-form to our group?
QUI-GON
It is the boy who hath made possible
Our flight beyond this planet desolate.
Now our responsibility’s to him—
Our path becometh his path, Obi-Wan.
Install the hyperdrive with all good haste,
That we may fly the moment I return.
[Qui-Gon walks aside.
Obi-Wan begins to exit.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] What news is this that comes from
Master Qui-Gon?
The four who left our ship shall now be five?
We have acquir’d a hyperdrive and in
The acquisition comes a boy as well.
What strange part shops have they on Tatooine
That do include a lad with ev’ry sale!
’Tis double-dealing ta’en to an extreme.
[Exit Obi-Wan.
QUI-GON
Pray, madam and young Anakin, come forth!
Enter ANAKIN SKYWALKER and SHMI SKYWALKER.
ANAKIN
What is it, sir?
QUI-GON
—First must I render to
Thee what is due: the money for thy pod.
[Qui-Gon gives the money to Anakin, who gives it to Shmi.
ANAKIN
Behold, sweet mother—wealth we ne’er have known.
SHMI
’Tis wonderful beyond expectancy.
QUI-GON
Yet I shall render e’en a greater prize:
Thy freedom thou obtain’d in the podrace.
I say again, young Anakin: th’art free.
ANAKIN
Mine ears do play me tricks: what did you say?
QUI-GON
No longer art thou slave to anyone.
ANAKIN
Hast heard, dear mother? Freedom now is mine!
SHMI
There’s naught shall hold thee back now, cherish’d child.
Thou art a free man, free at last to dream
And make thy dreams into reality.
It is a privilege thou shouldst embrace.
[To Qui-Gon:] With all my heart I beg you: take him hence,
Deliver him from this cruel life we lead
And make him yet a Jedi like yourself.
QUI-GON
Thy wish is mine as well, and I believe
’Twas no coincidence we three did meet.
The Force knows not of accident nor chance,
But wisely guides our footfalls, one by one.
ANAKIN
Then I shall fly within your starship, sir?
QUI-GON
I bid thee, understand now, Anakin:
To be a Jedi’s not an easy path,
The training is a task that few endure,
A challenge to the mind and heart and soul.
E’en if thou dost in training find success,
’Tis but the prelude to a life most rare
And rife with difficulty sans compare.
ANAKIN
Yet ’tis a life I wish for, have wish’d for.
My mind is settl’d: I shall go with you.
[To Shmi:] O, mother mine, dost give me leave to go?
SHMI
My son, ’tis not my place to give or take.
This path is set before thee—thou alone.
The choice, therefore, lies not with me, but thee.
Dost thou choose to depart—what is thy will?
Know this: no choice that thou canst make herein
Shall alter my unending love for thee.
ANAKIN
Then I shall go—it is mine earnest wish.
QUI-GON
Go then, and swift thy preparations make.
ANAKIN
Hurrah! [Aside:] Yet wait, what’s this that comes to me?
A thought o’er which I’d not reflected yet.
[To Qui-Gon:] What of my mother? May she also come?
QUI-GON
There is no use in hiding truth from thee:
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br /> I did attempt to free her, Anakin—
I tried as well I could. Yet Watto did
Refuse to let your mother come withal.
ANAKIN
And yet, thou shalt come with us, Mother, yea?
SHMI
My place is here, my future here as well.
The time hath come for thou to just let go—
This change shall do thee well, be not afeard.
ANAKIN
Why do we worship at the shrine of change?
Hath change e’er put a meal upon our board?
Is change a thing to be devoutly wish’d?
Doth change betoken something positive?
Or may it be that change for changing’s sake
But changes good to evil, bad to worse?
SHMI
Yet change cannot be stopp’d, lest thou would stop
The sun from setting, or stop death itself.
ANAKIN
How shall a heart be whole that’s rent in twain?
Would that I could be two instead of one
Both boy who doth remain with mother true,
And man who shall become a Jedi Knight.
I cannot be a man by staying here,
Therefore I’ll be a boy who takes his leave.
SHMI
Go with my love, my heart, my joy, my life.
[Anakin walks aside, to his chamber, where C-3PO sits, turned off.
[To Qui-Gon:] I thank you, e’en though it is difficult.
QUI-GON
I shall look after him: thou hast my word.
Wilt thou be well?
SHMI
—As well as I can be.
QUI-GON
Thou knowest, I do hope, how much I wish
We could take thee withal. Some part of me
Remaineth here, with thee, on Tatooine.
SHMI
Indeed, I know. In taking my sweet boy,
You take with you my heart, and it is yours.
Pray, treat it well.
QUI-GON
—’Twill be my life’s pursuit.
And now farewell, dear lady. Be at peace.
[Anakin turns on C-3PO.
C-3PO
Awake again—good Master Anakin!
I stand a’ready at your service, sir.
ANAKIN
C-3PO, I have been freed today,
And presently must take my leave from thee.
I shall by starship fly from Tatooine.
C-3PO
I wish you well, my maker, master, both—
Yet I would wish to be complete ere you
Depart for stars and systems still unknown.
ANAKIN
I beg thy pardon, Threepio, for I
Have not the time to finish thee or give
Thee all the coverings thou dost deserve.
I’ll miss the time I spent constructing thee,
And e’en though thou art droid, thou wert a friend.
I shall entreat my mother not to sell thee.
C-3PO
Alack, to sell me?
ANAKIN
—Now, adieu.
C-3PO
—O, my!
[Exit C-3PO. Anakin returns to Shmi and embraces her.
ANAKIN
I cannot part from thee, my mother, nay.
SHMI
O, Anakin, have courage and endure.
ANAKIN
O, think’st thou we shall ever meet again?
SHMI
What is the whisper of thy heart, dear one?
ANAKIN
I do not know; I hope so. I say: aye.
SHMI
If thou dost say it, truly it shall be.
Keep me within thy heart until that time.
ANAKIN
I shall return and grant your freedom, too.
This is my promise and my solemn vow.
SHMI
Now go, my son, and look not backward. Yea,
I bid thee, keep thine eyes e’er forward turn’d.
O, look not backward.
[Exit Anakin.
Agony most rare!
With ev’ry yearning of this mother’s will
I would both let him go and keep him here.
The two desires make duel in me still:
The selfish one would keep him for mine own,
The better one would see him go, be free.
That better part hath power o’er my tongue,
Whilst cries the selfish part within my soul.
For one, this is a mother’s proudest time,
For th’other, ’tis the height of pain and grief.
Such gain, such loss, such blessing and such burthen,
Beyond all measure anguish, joy, and fear.
Was ever mother fortunate as I?
Was ever mother desolate as I?
O, Fate, go with these two who leave me now:
The man and boy—nay, rather ’tis two men.
One young, one older, aye, yet both are men.
This is my solace: I did raise the boy,
Did give him all I could whilst he was mine,
And now, as a young man, the bird shall fly.
Thus shall my tears turn to a healing balm,
And sighs of sorrow turn to breath of life.
Goodbye, mine Anakin, mine only son:
My life is whole since thine hath just begun.
[Exit.
SCENE 3.
On the planet Tatooine.
Enter DARTH MAUL.
MAUL
The Jedi’s whereabouts my droids have found,
And I shall make my strike on them anon.
I see them now—the older Jedi comes
With boy of little consequence behind.
I’ll make my swift attack upon the elder,
And finish with the youth once he is dead.
Enter QUI-GON JINN and ANAKIN SKYWALKER.
QUI-GON
Behold, what’s this? An enemy? [To Anakin:] Make haste!
Unto the ship make thou the swiftest flight,
And tell them to depart most urgently!
[Exit Anakin. Qui-Gon and Darth Maul begin to duel.
MAUL
Your pow’rs are weak, and agèd your technique.
You art no match for one so skill’d as I.
QUI-GON
Alas, such speed and fleet agility
I ne’er have seen but in the Jedi ranks.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, ANAKIN SKYWALKER, R2-D2, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and RIC OLIÉ on balcony, in the cockpit of the Naboo cruiser.
PANAKA
Great trouble doth pursue Qui-Gon below!
OBI-WAN
I prithee, pilot, take off now!
RIC
—I shall!
OBI-WAN
Draw near to them—fly low that he may leap.
[Qui-Gon begins to lose strength.
MAUL
You grow still weaker; soon I’ll see you fall.
QUI-GON
Perchance I’ve one last leap to save myself.
[Qui-Gon jumps into the ship, on the balcony.
MAUL
This battle ends, and you are barely sav’d:
Next time you shall not be so fortunate.
[Exit Darth Maul.
ANAKIN
Good sir, is’t well with you?
OBI-WAN
—What was the thing?
QUI-GON
I am not certain, merely do I know
That it was trainèd well in Jedi arts.
Belike it hither came to take our queen—
And, lo, the game it plays is dangerous.
ANAKIN
What shall we do?
QUI-GON
—For now we bide our time,
And strive for calm and patience in all things.
Young Anakin Skywalker, I present
My strong apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
ANAKIN
Well met, dear sir. Are you a Jedi
, too?
OBI-WAN
Indeed, my lad, as well thou mayest be.
QUI-GON
Together we shall this new threat confront—
Belike we’ll answers find on Coruscant.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 4.
On the planet Naboo.
Enter NUTE GUNRAY, SIO BIBBLE, OOM-9, and other GUARD DROIDS.
NUTE
Your queen is lost, your people feebly starve,
And it appears their governor—e’en you—
May not outlive them. Truth, your life is mine,
A prize that I do mean to claim anon.
SIO
Your ill-advis’d attack shall gain you nil.
Naboo is proudly a democracy:
Its citizens decide, and they did speak
Decisively enough against your rule.
NUTE
Your insolence offends. [To guards:] Take him away!
[Exeunt several guards with Sio Bibble.
OOM-9
My troops have ta’en position in the swamps,
Where they seek out the underwater towns
About which rumor hath been spread of late.
What hidden is shall soon revealèd be.
NUTE
I thank thee, Captain: thy words ease my mind.
Make me a full report of what they find.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 5.
Aboard the Naboo cruiser and on the planet Coruscant.
Enter RUMOR.
RUMOR
Whilst cruelly doth the Federation find
Excuse to starve Naboo’s poor, conquer’d hordes,
Fear starts to rise within each troubl’d mind—
Look ye, and see how Rumor knots her cords.