by Ian Doescher
PADMÉ
’Tis that within thine heart thou hast unlock’d—
What thou hast done and further plann’st to do.
I prithee stop this now, and come thou back.
I love thee still.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI.
VADER
—Thou, liar, shalt die soon:
Thou didst bring him to kill me—’tis a fact!
[Vader begins to choke Padmé using the Force.
OBI-WAN
Release her, Anakin—indeed, at once!
VADER
[aside:] Forsooth, my vengeance should strike where ’tis due.
[Vader releases Padmé, who falls aside, unconscious.
[To Obi-Wan:] You turn’d my love, mine only love against me!
OBI-WAN
Thine actions sole are cause to that effect.
Forswear the chancellor, and be restor’d:
The rudder of thy ship may still be turn’d.
VADER
You shall not take her from me, wretched man—
She is my stay, mine anchor in the storm.
OBI-WAN
Thine anger is the wind that blows her hence;
Thy lust for pow’r the sail that steers her far.
Thou hast allow’d the villain Palpatine
To navigate the compass of thy soul,
To serve as captain of thine heart’s dark course.
Upon thy once-still waters hath he play’d,
Till thou art like to be the very thing
Thou’d once have fac’d a tempest to destroy.
VADER
Press not your even-keel’d advice on me.
The lies of your weak Jedi Order are
But troubl’d oceans that do swell and ebb,
Yet my ship is not sway’d upon their tides.
I do not fear to row toward the dark:
Now peaceful currents run because of me,
Now freedom doth resound upon the flow,
Now justice have I brought unto the deep,
Now quick security doth chart my way,
Now am I admiral to Empire new.
I am the monarch of the sea: a Sith.
OBI-WAN
An empire new—what chantey mad is this?
VADER
Do not make me destroy you, Obi-Wan.
OBI-WAN
My steadfast loyalty is to th’Republic,
Unto democracy mine hull is moor’d.
VADER
If you shall pilot by another path,
You sink and are become mine enemy.
OBI-WAN
None but a Sith would set his helm so straight,
As though beset by terrors all around.
A Jedi knoweth well the difference
Betwixt a proper pride and misled hubris.
A Jedi doth not deal in absolutes.
I shall do what I must to set thee right.
VADER
You shall attempt it, aye, but shall be wreck’d.
[Obi-Wan and Vader duel with lightsabers.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Alas! What skill and strength the boy displays—
He doth advance and forces my retreat.
Still, one advantage doth remain to me:
’Twas I who taught him all that he doth know.
VADER
If not by saber, by mine hand you’ll die!
[Vader begins to choke Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan kicks him and is released.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Alas, mayhap I did o’errate my strength,
For almost hath he vanquish’d me. Beware,
O’erhasty Obi-Wan, and take more care.
VADER
[aside:] As soon as I do strike him, he doth rise.
If my lightsaber shall not win the duel,
Mayhap my knowledge of the Force shall do’t.
OBI-WAN
Now come, thou Force of light, and be mine aid!
[They try to use the Force against each other, but both are flung back.
Enter RUMOR above, on balcony.
RUMOR
The work of Rumor here is nearly done,
Intensely now the Jedi two do fight.
Such skill and prowess not to be outdone,
A battle twixt two equals: might and might.
Mine efforts to distort, blur, and confuse
Obscur’d the Jedi Order’s vision well;
Surrounded by disorder, they did choose
To hide within their Force-protected shell.
E’en now they start to bear the consequences—
Pursu’d throughout the galaxy by hate,
Intimidated, sans their strong defenses,
Cold is the end that they are spun by Fate.
Defeat the Jedi know, and these last two—
United in a fight unto the death—
Engage each other with a hate undue.
Lo, this is how sly Rumor takes their breath.
[Exit Rumor. Obi-Wan and Vader continue to duel, moving outside near the lava pits.
VADER
[aside:] I shall pursue him, on the planet’s surface,
Where only these foul fires of Mustafar
Can match the bright inferno in my soul.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Now hath the time more desperate become—
Upon a precipice above the lava
The fight continues, we two balancing
As though we were some meat above a fire,
A skewer’d spit that slowly turns and roasts.
These huge machines perchance may be our death—
To mine advantage I must make them work.
The springs of gushing magma all around
Encompass us, an ’twere the light of hell
That shone upon our dismally join’d fates.
VADER
[aside:] This platform is assail’d with lava rocks,
A’flying through the air like hailstones wild.
A momentary pause we must endure,
Ere we may fight again with vim renew’d.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Alas, we fall into the lava pit!
If we do not destroy each other, then,
Belike, this planet shall undo us both.
We float upon a sea of molten flame,
Yet still doth Anakin pursue my life.
O, what did I e’er do to raise his ire,
How did I so affront him, earn his scorn?
VADER
[aside:] He leaps from this o’erleaning bit of tower,
Which soon shall be engulfèd in the fire.
A floating platform hath he found in time,
And so must I if I would yet survive.
[Obi-Wan lands safely on a floating platform; Vader leaps onto a droid floating over the lava. They resume their duel.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Ne’er have I, ere this skirmish, fought a fight
That was so plainly perilous as this.
Ne’er hath the setting for a battle been
So passing strange as here on Mustafar.
Ne’er hath the outcome been so very vital
For me and for my feelings personal.
Ne’er hath it been ere now and, yea, methinks
’Twill never be again, for ne’er shall I
Face him in mortal combat after this.
[To Vader:] ’Tis true that I have fail’d thee, Anakin—
Thy course is but a failure to my name.
VADER
I should have known the Jedi would attempt
To vanquish the Republic and seize pow’r.
OBI-WAN
O, listen to thy words: the chancellor,
E’en Palpatine, ’tis he who evil is.
VADER
Yet from a certain point of view—e’en mine—
The Jedi are the base and evil ones.
OBI-WAN
Then art thou lost indeed, my onetime friend.
VADER
&n
bsp; Herein shall be the end of Obi-Wan:
My Master he, who died on Mustafar.
[Vader leaps onto Obi-Wan’s platform. They duel.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Upon this platform neither shall prevail—
I shall unto the rocky shore anon
And there possess position tactical.
[Obi-Wan leaps backward onto the rocks.
[To Vader:] ’Tis finish’d, Anakin, the triumph’s mine!
Here I do claim the high ground, yea, and all
The keen advantages it offereth.
VADER
You underestimate my power with the Force.
OBI-WAN
Do not attempt the jump, this I warn thee:
Thou shalt not have the legs to make the leap.
[Vader tries to leap over Obi-Wan, who cuts off his legs with his lightsaber. Vader falls to the ground, slipping toward the lava.
VADER
O, bitter agony! O, man most cruel!
OBI-WAN
Thou wert the chosen one, who should destroy
The Sith, not join their frightful company.
Thou shouldst have brought new balance to the Force,
Not leave it underneath a veil of dark.
VADER
[aside:] I’d scream to him for help, yet he would smirk.
O, Master, hear your humble friend’s entreaty—
For mercy would I beg, if I did but
Deserve its quality, which is not strain’d
But droppeth as the gentle rain from heav’n.
Instead, with all my bitterness of heart,
I shall respond as doth befit a Sith.
[To Obi-Wan:] Hear these, my final words: I hate you, aye!
OBI-WAN
Thou wert to me a brother, Anakin,
An ’twere we two were of one mother born.
I lov’d thee so, shall sadly mourn thy death.
[Vader catches fire. Obi-Wan picksup Vader’s lightsaber and exits, carrying Padmé.
VADER
The taste of hate doth overwhelm my soul,
And all is but betrayal, pain, and death.
Is this my life, the ending of my days?
Shall Anakin Skywalker, son of Shmi,
Born of an unknown father, finish’d be
Upon the burning pyres of Mustafar?
O, wherefore do we humans live and breathe,
Why strive for all our troubl’d length of days,
When all is bitterness and melancholy?
’Tis only now, as I do burn and writhe—
Yea, done to death by mine own Master true—
That I see clearly how my dreadful path
Hath ended here, upon this scorching bank.
I was a boy—a lad on Tatooine—
Was happy, though a servant and not free,
For who hath need of greater happiness
Than that a child doth with his mother find?
But from that home, that mother, was I ta’en,
Untimely ripp’d from her belovèd arms.
By Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan I was
Assur’d a newfound, noble Jedi life.
Then for the Jedi Order did I strive,
My best I gave to them, and wherefore, eh?
For naught but pain and more misfortune and
To be depriv’d of my sweet Padmé’s presence.
This life—this horrid, gods-forsaken life—
Hath been but years of endless misery.
If this is what we humans may expect—
This turmoil that befalls each human life—
’Twere better that we slay each newborn babe
That enters this horrendous galaxy.
For certain, I unto the Jedi younglings
Did grant a sweet and premature release
From all the toil that life could offer them.
O, that someone would do the same for me,
Would come and slay me as I suffer here.
Yet if I live—though even as I say it,
I know that ’tis well nigh impossible—
I ne’er shall trust another soul again,
I ne’er shall search for light, but live in darkness,
I ne’er shall feel remorse when I do kill,
I ne’er shall to these human faults be prey.
Yet all these thoughts of further life are vain,
For even now death’s fingers grasp me tight,
And in its cool embrace my spirit rests.
See Anakin Skywalker: he is dead.
The tragedy of his life is fulfill’d,
Here doth he lie, a corpse deceiv’d and lone.
Enter DARTH SIDIOUS and CLONE TROOPERS.
TROOPER 2
Dear Majesty, I bid you come—behold!
SIDIOUS
By heaven, O, ’tis he! Sore blister’d and
Abus’d by those who once did call him friend.
Yet still alive, O, wondrous strength indeed—
Such bravery as none have ever seen,
Which shall resound throughout the galaxy
An ’twere a tale of heroes born of old.
I prithee, bring a capsule medical.
TROOPER 2
Forsooth, I shall command the craft myself.
[Exeunt troopers. Sidious kneels beside Vader, unconscious.
SIDIOUS
O, live to hate the one who made thee thus,
Rise up and be the mighty, killing scourge
That doth pursue the Jedi who remain.
If we can save thy body, thou art mine,
Forever doing what mine hand doth bid,
Forever serving mine own perfect will.
Thou shalt, Lord Vader, be a servant true:
The perfect weapon in mine Empire strong.
All shall be well, my son, rest here, be still.
The Jedi have done thee a grievous ill.
[Exeunt.
Enter R2-D2, C-3PO, and OBI-WAN KENOBI bearing PADMÉ above, on balcony.
R2-D2
[aside:] Two men did wander off into the night,
Yet only one returns. Belike he is
The victor in this match. [To Obi-Wan:] Beep, meep, beep, squeak.
C-3PO
Good Master Obi-Wan. My lady Padmé
We shall secure on board the ship. Make haste—
I’d leave this dreadful planet in a trice.
PADMÉ
[waking:] Say Obi-Wan, is’t well with Anakin?
OBI-WAN
Good lady, rest—you shall have answers soon.
R2-D2
[aside:] Methinks they shall not be as she doth hope.
[Exeunt R2-D2 and C-3PO, bearing Padmé away. Obi-Wan sings a song of lament.
OBI-WAN
[sings:] Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As our ineptitude,
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Most friendship is feigning,
Most wisdom is vain,
Heigh-ho! Sing heigh-ho!
My comrade is slain.
Hush, hush, thou Force of might,
Thou art so pure and right,
More than we ever are.
Thy dark side, though, is fierce:
It doth our spirits pierce
And doth our pleasure mar.
Most friendship is feigning,
Most wisdom is vain,
Heigh-ho! Sing heigh-ho!
My comrade is slain.
[Aside:] Although it may be said that I have won,
Herein hath died heart of Obi-Wan.
[Exit Obi-Wan.
SCENE 3.
On the planet Polis Massa.
Enter YODA and BAIL ORGANA, with a MEDICAL DROID.
BAIL
Forgive my swift intrusion, Master Yoda,
But Obi-Wan Kenobi contact makes,
And comes to Polis Massa
presently.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI bearing PADMÉ, followed by R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Good sir, well met. We shall at once bear this
Dear woman to a center medical.
I prithee, follow swiftly where I lead.
[They take Padmé aside and begin caring for her. The medical droid scans her.
MEDIC. 1
Dear sirs, I do not know what I can say.
As but a case of medicine, she’s well—
More health in many patients I’ve not seen—
Ne’er have I seen a case as strange as this.
It seemeth that, despite our efforts vast
The lady shuffles off this mortal coil
Join’d more to death than life, e’en as she breathes,
Increasingly she moves toward her end.
More explanation I cannot provide,
It lies beyond the fathoms of my sense.
Methinks, mayhap, she hath not will to live,
As though harsh Fate presented her a choice:
Direct your steps this way, and you shall live,
Or travel yonder, there to meet your death.
Confounded by this twofold path of Fate,
The lady struggles and doth choose her way:
Off to her death she boldly takes her stride.
Resoundingly her soul declares her choice,
Now moving slowly to mortality.
O, this were brave were it not foolishness,
To my not-human, simple, droidly mind,
A careless choice this is, life to reject.
Profound must be the reason for her steps:
Some awful circumstance she’s undergone.
Yea, mayhap something she hath seen or felt
Convinc’d her to embrace this swift demise.
How terrible her heart’s experience—
O’er any dread that ever I have known—
Love lost, belike, or sight of future woe.
One thing is certain, Masters, verily:
Go speedily we must, and operate,
If we’re to save the infants in her womb.
Save them we may, e’en if her life expires—
To rescue them can be our choice, not hers.