by Ian Doescher
An abler Jedi than my fondest hope.
Be thou but patient, gallant Anakin:
I’ll warrant that, in time, the Council shall
Bestow on thee the rank of Jedi Master.
ANAKIN
Good Obi-Wan, as you depart, hear this:
The Force shall ever be with you, my friend.
OBI-WAN
Farewell, my loyal comrade Anakin,
The Force be with thee till we meet again.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 6.
On the planet Coruscant, in Padmé’s apartment.
Voices of PADMÉ and OBI-WAN KENOBI are heard offstage.
OBI-WAN
O, Padmé, listen, you shall see this through:
Store up your energy, all shall be well.
PADMÉ
It shall not be, I do not have the strength.
My soul doth ebb, an ’twere the tide receding.
Enter ANAKIN SKYWALKER.
ANAKIN
O, plague of visions dancing in my mind.
Methought I saw my Padmé sore beset
By agony of childbirth, done to death,
Whilst Obi-Wan stood by with helpless words
As though he could, by speaking, heal her pain.
O, Obi-Wan, what knowledge to me comes?
I sense his presence here, within this place,
’Tis like a stench that lingers in the air.
I treasure him, yet wherefore should he come
Into the private dwelling of my love?
Enter PADMÉ.
My Master, Obi-Wan, hath been here, aye?
PADMÉ
Indeed, this morning he did visit me.
ANAKIN
What was it he did want?
PADMÉ
—Fear not, nor sigh:
All his concern was lavish’d over thee.
He doth report much stress of late thou’st got,
Which I do know, and share with thee thy load.
ANAKIN
I have of late—but wherefore I know not—
Lost all my mirth, and feel I’ve lost my road.
PADMÉ
Yet wherefore lost? Thy words my sense outrun.
ANAKIN
Those who should be my friends have turn’d away:
The Jedi Council and good Obi-Wan.
Their trust for me hath somehow gone astray.
PADMÉ
They trust thee with their lives; is’t not enow?
ANAKIN
I feel a change that cometh over me:
A troubling in my soul—I know not how—
Methinks I’m not the Jedi I should be.
I yearn for more of power, fame, and might,
Yet this is wrong, I know with all mine heart.
PADMÉ
Thine expectations are too far from sight—
Press not thyself beyond thy rightful part.
ANAKIN
I have discover’d how I shall save thee.
PADMÉ
Save me?
ANAKIN
—I mean but from my nightmares, pet.
PADMÉ
They pain thee so, these dreams that thou dost see?
ANAKIN
O, Padmé, I’d not lose thee—nay, not yet.
PADMÉ
I shall not die in childbirth, Anakin.
My promise I do give thee, love: ’tis so.
ANAKIN
I render thee thy promise back again—
Thou shalt be safe by what I’ll come to know.
[Exit Anakin.
PADMÉ
O, warrior heart, O, noble, troubl’d man:
This talk of power, fame, and might—and death—
How shall I understand these muddl’d words,
How calm the man who by them is so vex’d,
How be a comfort midst his inner grief,
How raise a child amid such turmoil, how?
I must away, mine orisons to lift
For Anakin, whose soul is cut adrift.
[Exit Padmé.
SCENE 1.
On the planet Utapau.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, in fighter with droid R4-G9.
OBI-WAN
On Utapau I have with haste arriv’d,
A planet of magnificence profound,
Though somewhere on its beauteous, vast land
A terror doth await for Obi-Wan:
Here Gen’ral Grievous hides most cravenlike,
A coward seeking cover from our might.
He would be but a jape were he not so
Well arm’d and well protected by his host
Of droids who do watch o’er him night and day.
Yet now the den where he doth cower’s mine,
I shall within and find the general,
And slay the half-man, half-droid grievously.
Enter TION MEDON and GUARDS.
TION
My greetings unto you, young Jedi Knight.
What is the matter of your visit here
On our far sanctuary, Utapau?
OBI-WAN
Unfortunately, sir, the matter is
The war in which th’Republic is engag’d.
TION
No war hath come to us on Utapau
Unless, indeed, you bring it here withal.
OBI-WAN
By your most generous and gracious leave,
I’d render my ship fuel and use, as base,
Your city as I search for Gen’ral Grievous,
Who may in nearby system be conceal’d.
TION
[quietly:] The fiend is here. We are his hostages.
E’en now we two are watch’d by eyes above.
OBI-WAN
I understand, good sir.
TION
—The battle droids—
Aye, thousands of their like—await upon
Our high, tenth level. He is also there.
OBI-WAN
Tell all thy people they must shelter find.
If you have warriors, the time hath come.
[Exeunt Tion and guards.
It must appear that I have flown away,
And found not that for which I search’d herein.
For if, as Tion Medon doth report,
I now am watch’d, I must be circumspect.
[To R4-G9:] Fly thou this fighter back unto the ship
And to Commander Cody give this news:
That Obi-Wan hath made good contact. Go!
I shall make exit from the other side
And hide, to find where Grievous doth reside.
R4-G9
Bloop, wizzle, mip!
[Exit R4-G9 with fighter.
OBI-WAN
—Now, unto level ten!
Some transportation I must now obtain
To journey unto Grievous’ secret lair.
Enter WRANGLER with BOGA, a giant varactyl.
O, holla, sirrah, what’s this beast of yours?
Can it be ridden by a one as I?
WRANGLER
No beast—a virtuous varactyl, she.
Her name is Boga: riders choose not her,
But she may deign to choose a rider, see?
OBI-WAN
Your meaning is most clear. [To Boga:] Forgive me,
madam:
I do entreat your mercy and your aid,
To venture out upon a noble quest
And help me rid this planet of a vile
And cruel dissembler: Gen’ral Grievous.
BOGA
—Braaee!
WRANGLER
She grants you her consent. Ride bravely, sir.
[Exit wrangler as Obi-Wan mounts Boga.
OBI-WAN
Now, Boga, go!
BOGA
—Braaee, bwawawa!
OBI-WAN
—She flies!
Today shall be the day when Grievous dies.
[Exit Obi-Wan astride Boga.
SCENE 2.
Enter YODA and KI-ADI-MUNDI in beam, MACE WINDU, ANAKIN SKYWALKER, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE JEDI COUNCIL, and COMMANDER CODY.
CODY
Forgive me, Master Windu, I would not
Make interruption thus, except to bring
This news of greatest import: General
Kenobi hath made contact with the fiend,
E’en Gen’ral Grievous; we begin th’attack
E’en now, directed by myself.
MACE
—’Tis well.
Good Anakin, as our high chancellor
And thou are close as fathers and sons, take
This news to him: observe how he reacts.
His answer shall give clue to his intent.
ANAKIN
I shall do as you say, my Master Windu.
[Exit Anakin.
MACE
An evil plot I sense, which falls not on
The other guys, but us: a plot that would
Destroy the Jedi Order utterly.
The dark side of the Force surroundeth our
E’en darker chancellor. Can ye sense it?
KI-ADI
If he shall not surrender ev’ry pow’r
Once Grievous is defeated, we must act
With haste to take his office from him, aye?
MACE
The Jedi Council then must take, perforce,
Control o’er all the Senate’s dealings so
We may a peaceful switch of pow’r secure.
The sunset limited may be, indeed,
Yet it is now, at least, upon th’horizon.
YODA
The sunset doth come
Only before darkest night.
To that this thought leads.
Great care we must take,
Else the very pow’r we claim
Our undoing is.
[Exeunt Yoda, Mace, Ki-Adi, other members of the Jedi Council, and Commander Cody.
Enter CHANCELLOR PALPATINE and ANAKIN SKYWALKER, on balcony.
ANAKIN
My worthy Chancellor, well met, my liege—
The Jedi have e’en now receiv’d report
From General Kenobi: he’s engag’d
With Gen’ral Grievous, and we do expect
His swift success and vict’ry o’er the droid.
PALPATINE
Our fondest hope it is that General
Kenobi shall this challenge face with valor.
ANAKIN
Forsooth, I should be there to fight with him.
PALPATINE
Alas, ’tis most unfortunate to me
That thine own Council knoweth not thy skill,
Else they most surely would send thee with him.
Dost thou not wonder wherefore they have not
Made thee a Jedi Master like the rest?
’Tis almost like they slumber, and see not.
ANAKIN
Of all my reveries, this thing I’d know.
Each day, as by degrees, the feeling grows
That I am from the Council being barr’d.
’Tis clear to me there’s much about the Force
They’d hide from me, an ’twere I did but sleep.
PALPATINE
In all thy dreams, thou ne’er imagin’d this:
Thy friends no longer trust thee, Anakin.
For in their nightmares, lo, they see thee rise,
Thy future pow’r doth keep them wide awake.
It is thy destiny to conquer o’er
Their fear and penetrate their winking lies.
If thou’d but look to me, I shall assist
Thee in thy quest to know the Force complete.
ANAKIN
Yet how hath knowledge of the Force come ’fore
Your eyes? Is’t not made known but to the Jedi?
PALPATINE
My mentor brought the Force within my sight.
Such visions—yea, and revels—saw I there:
Beyond mere apparition of the night,
This vision was as though the sun had burst
Before my senses, making all things clear.
From him, I learn’d about the other side—
The dark side of the Force, its pow’r immense.
ANAKIN
[aside:] What strange and horrid revelation, O!
[To Palpatine:] The dark side even is within your view?
PALPATINE
Pray, see with mine eyes if thou’d understand:
One must look deep within the galaxy,
There to unlock its mysteries profound.
Aye, ev’ry aspect one must contemplate,
Not circumscribe oneself by Jedi thought.
If thou a learnèd leader would become,
Thou must have sight to see the Force entire:
For only then shalt thou awaken to
The absolute potential of the Force.
Beware the Jedi, Anakin, who’d see
Thee slumber on, oblivious to this.
The course that heals thy blindness leads through me,
And through the teaching I to thee impart.
Know thou the mighty dark side of the Force
And thou shalt rescue Padmé—thine own wife—
From certain death, the sight thou hast each night
A’plaguing all thine awful, prescient dreams.
ANAKIN
[aside:] What are these words, which do mine ears confound?
How can he know of Padmé and my dreams?
PALPATINE
Use thou my knowledge, Anakin, I beg thee.
[Anakin brandishes his lightsaber.
ANAKIN
My vision now is clear: you are the Sith,
The one who would th’Republic overthrow!
PALPATINE
Thy worries and thy troubles I do know.
But listen to me, I’ll reveal the truth:
The Jedi Council plays with thee as if
Thou wert a pawn in their malicious game.
Instead, be thou a knight unto my king,
Take thou the high position due to thee
At my right hand. As long as I’ve watch’d thee,
I’ve seen thee waiting on the perfect move:
Thou searchest for a higher, better life—
No Jedi’s pawn, but fame across the board.
Thou hast thy lightsaber, and thou canst play:
Shalt thou my small life forfeit and make checkmate?
ANAKIN
I may, I can, I would.
PALPATINE
—I feel thy burn,
The passion smoldering inside thine heart,
The anger of a Knight prepar’d to strike:
It gives thee focus, makes thee mightier—
Mayhap for the first time, thou art alive,
Awakening unto a future path.
[Anakin puts down his lightsaber.
ANAKIN
This to the Jedi Council I shall tell,
And let you ply your strategy ’gainst them.
Your punishment they shall devise anon.
PALPATINE
’Tis as I would expect, yet I do sense
Thou art uncertain still of their intent.
ANAKIN
I shall unveil the truth as time allows.
PALPATINE
Thy wisdom doth excel, mine Anakin:
Learn thou the dark side of the Force with me;
Thou shalt untangle Padmé’s knotted fate.
Until then, in my quarters I’ll remain,
That thou may do with me as thou think’st right.
[Exit Palpatine.
ANAKIN
O, wherefore have I sought to know the truth?
Why seek for knowledge when ’tis this I find?
My mentor Palpatine, the hated Sith!
Yet doth he hold the pow’r to vanquish death?
His words do burrow deep into my soul,
His promise seems to me a par
agon—
To conquer over one’s impermanence,
To grant my Padmé immortality!
For such as these I’d give the world entire,
Yet shall I join the evil Sith withal?
Nay, Anakin, remember who thou art:
A Jedi noble, train’d by Obi-Wan,
The husband of an honorable lass,
Protector of the strong Republic’s cause.
Shall I trade these for what the Sith doth vow,
Refuse my past and cling to Palpatine?
The man hath been a mentor true and good,
His favor and his care for me I can
No more deny than mine own self. O, heav’ns,
How deeply you at once do touch me! Fie—
Confusion doth o’erwhelm my troubl’d soul,
O’erpowering my judgment by its fog
And turning dark to light, and light to dark.
I shall away and Master Windu tell:
Thus Fate may knit me unto heav’n or hell.
[Exit Anakin.
SCENE 3.
On the planet Utapau.
Enter GENERAL GRIEVOUS, NUTE GUNRAY, WAT TAMBOR, SHU MAI, SAN HILL, POGGLE THE LESSER, other MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF SEPARATISTS, and several BATTLE DROIDS and MAGNAGUARDS.
GRIEVOUS
But little time shall pass, and we shall be
Track’d by the armies of th’Republic here.
I shall, therefore, send all of you unto
The system Mustafar in th’Outer Rim.
A planet of volcanoes ’tis, where ye
May safe remain until the threat hath pass’d.
NUTE
Safe, ha! Did Palpatine not flee your grasp?
Methinks I’d be a fool to trust these words,
For sans Count Dooku I am fill’d with doubt
At your ability to keep us safe.
O, say not safe, sly General—ne’er safe.