Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back

by Donald F. Glut

explosion on the back side of the Falcon, causing it to lurch

  to one side.

  EXTERIOR MILLENNIUM FALCON -- STAR DESTROYER, AVENGER -- ASTEROID FIELD

  The Falcon is hit hard by another bolt from the Star

  Destroyer which creates a huge explosion near the cockpit of

  the smaller ship. The Falcon tilts steeply, then rights

  itself.

  INTERIOR MILLENNIUM FALCON -- COCKPIT

  Han corrects the angle of his ship.

  HAN Let's get out of here. Ready for light-speed? One...two...three!

  Han pulls back on the hyperspace throttle and -- nothing

  happens. Flak bursts continue to rock the ship.

  HAN (frantic) It's not fair!

  Chewie is very angry and starts to growl and bark at his

  friend and captain. Again, Han desperately pulls back on the

  throttle.

  HAN The transfer circuits are working. It's not my fault!

  Chewie puts his head in his hands, whining.

  LEIA (almost expecting it) No light-speed?

  HAN It's not my fault.

  THREEPIO Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield. One more

  direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for.

  Han pauses for a moment, makes a decision, and pulls back

  on a lever.

  HAN Turn her around.

  Chewie barks in puzzlement.

  HAN I said turn her around! I'm going to put all power in the front

  shield.

  LEIA Yo u're going to attack them?!

  THREEPIO Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial

  Star Destroyer...

  LEIA Shut up!

  EXTERIOR SPACE -- MILLENNIUM FALCON -- ASTEROID FIELD

  The Falcon banks, makes a steep, twisting turn. In the

  next moment it is racing toward the Star Destroyer, looking

  very small against the massive surface of the Imperial ship.

  As it moves across the surface of the Star Destroyer, the

  Falcon bobs and weaves to avoid the numerous flak bursts.

  INTERIOR STAR DESTROYER, AVENGER -- BRIDGE

  The tiny Falcon heads directly for the Avenger's bridge.

  The Imperials stationed there are stunned to see the small

  spaceship racing low across the hull, headed directly at the

  huge windows of the bridge area. Alarms go off everywhere. The

  Destroyer's commander, Captain Needa, can scarcely believe his

  eyes.

  NEEDA They're moving to attack position. Shields up!

  Needa and his men duck as the Falcon nears the bridge

  window. At the last minute, the Falcon veers off and out of

  sight. All is quiet.

  NEEDA Track them,. They may come around for another pass.

  TRACKING OFFICER Captain Needa, the ship no longer appears on our

  scopes.

  NEEDA They can't have disappeared. No ship that small has a cloaking

  device.

  TRACKING OFFICER Well, there's no trace of them, sir.

  COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Captain, Lord Vader demands an update on the

  pursuit.

  NEEDA (drawing a breath) Get a shuttle ready. I shall assume full

  responsibility for losing them, and apologize to Lord Vader.

  Meanwhile, continue to scan the area.

  COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Yes, Captain Needa.

  EXTERIOR DAGOBAH -- BOG -- DAY

  Luke's face is upside-down and showing enormous strain. He

  stands on his hands, with Yoda perched on his feet. Opposite

  Luke and Yoda are two rocks the size of bowling balls. Luke

  stares at the rocks and concentrates. One of the rocks lifts

  from the ground and floats up to rest on the other.

  YODA Use the Force. Yes...

  Yoda taps Luke's leg. Quickly, Luke lifts one hand from the

  ground. His body wavers, but he maintains his balance. Artoo,

  standing nearby, is whistling and beeping frantically.

  YODA Now...the stone. Feel it.

  Luke concentrates on trying to lift the top rock. It rises

  a few feet, shaking under the strain. But, distracted by

  Artoo's frantic beeping, Luke loses his balance and finally

  collapses. Yoda jumps clear.

  YODA Concentrate!

  Annoyed at the disturbance, Luke looks over at Artoo, who

  is rocking urgently back and forth in front of him.

  Artoo waddles closer to Luke, chirping wildly, then scoots

  over the edge of the swamp. Catching on, Luke rushes to the

  water's edge. The X-wing fighter has sunk, and only the tip of

  its nose shows above the lake's surface.

  LUKE Oh, no. We'll never get it out now.

  Yoda stamps his foot in irritation.

  YODA So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you

  nothing that I say?

  Luke looks uncertainly out at the ship.

  LUKE Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally

  different.

  YODA No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn

  what you have learned.

  LUKE (focusing, quietly) All right, I'll give it a try.

  YODA No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

  Luke closes his eyes and concentrates on thinking the ship

  out.

  Slowly, the X-wing's nose begins to rise above the water.

  It hovers for a moment and then slides back, disappearing once

  again.

  LUKE (panting heavily) I can't. It's too big.

  YODA Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hm?

  Mmmm.

  Luke shakes his head.

  YODA And well you should not. For my ally in the Force. And a

  powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. It's energy

  surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we...(Yoda pinches

  Luke's shoulder)...not this crude matter. (a sweeping gesture) You must

  feel the Force around you. (gesturing) Here, between you...me...the

  tree...the rock...everywhere! Yes, even between this land and that

  ship!

  LUKE (discouraged) You want the impossible.

  Quietly Yoda turns toward the X-wing fighter. With his eyes

  closed and his head bowed, he raises his arm and points at the

  ship.

  Soon, the fighter rises above the water and moves forward

  as Artoo beeps in terror and scoots away.

  The entire X-wing moves majestically, surely, toward the

  shore. Yoda stands on a tree root and guides the fighter

  carefully down toward the beach.

  Luke stares in astonishment as the fighter settles down

  onto the shore. He walks toward Yoda.

  LUKE I don't...I don't believe it.

  YODA That is why you fail.

  Luke shakes his head, bewildered.

  EXTERIOR SPACE -- IMPERIAL FLEET

  The fleet around Vader's Star Destroyer now includes

  Needa's Star Destroyer, the Avenger.

  INTERIOR VADER'S STAR DESTROYER -- BRIDGE

  VADER Apology accepted, Captain Needa.

  Clutching desperately at his throat, Captain Needa slumps

  down, then falls over on his back, at the feet of Darth Vader.

  Two stormtroopers pick up the lifeless body and carry it

  quickly away as Admiral Piett and two of his captains hurry up

  to the Dark Lord.

  PIETT Lord Vader, our ships have completed their scan of the area and

  found nothing. If the Millennium Falcon went into light-speed, it'll

  be on the other side of the galaxy by now.

  VADER Alert all commands.
Calculate every possible destination along

  their last know trajectory.

  PIETT Yes, my lord. We'll find them.

  VADER Don't fail me again, Admiral.

  Vader exits as the admiral turns to an aide, a little more

  uneasy than when he arrived.

  PIETT Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet.

  EXTERIOR SPACE -- IMPERIAL FLEET

  Vader's ship moves away, flanked by its fleet of smaller

  ships. the Avenger glides off into space in the opposite

  direction. No one on that ship or on Vader's is aware that,

  clinging to the side of the Avenger, is the pirateship, the

  Millennium Falcon.

  INTERIOR MILLENNIUM FALCON -- COCKPIT

  THREEPIO Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far. (Chewie

  growls) No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca. Why doesn't anyone listen

  to me?

  HAN (to Chewie) The fleet is beginning to break up. Go back and stand

  by the manual release for the landing claw.

  Chewie barks, struggles from his seat, and climbs out of

  the cabin.

  THREEPIO I really don't see how thats going to help. Surrender is a

  perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire

  may be gracious enough...

  Leia reaches over and shuts off Threepio, mid-sentence.

  HAN Thank you.

  LEIA What did you have in mind for your next move?

  HAN Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump

  their garbage before they go to light-speed, then we just float away.

  LEIA With the rest of the garbage. Then what?

  HAN Then we've got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Got any

  ideas?

  LEIA No. Where are we?

  HAN The Anoat system.

  LEIA Anoat system. There's not much there.

  HAN No. Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando.

  He points to a computer mapscreen on the control panel.

  Leia slips out of her chair and moves next to the handsome

  pilot. Small light points representing several systems flash

  by on the computer screen.

  LEIA Lando system?

  HAN Lando's not a system, he's a man. Lando Calrissian. He's a card

  player, gambler, scoundrel. You'd like him.

  LEIA Thanks.

  HAN Bespin. It's pretty far, but I think we can make it.

  LEIA (reading from the computer) A mining colony?

  HAN Yeah, a Tibanna gas mine. Lando conned somebody out of it. We go

  back a long way, Lando and me.

  LEIA Can you trust him?

  HAN No. But he has no love for the Empire, I can tell you that.

  Chewie barks over the intercom. Han quickly changes his

  readouts and stretches to look out the cockpit window.

  HAN (into intercom) Here we go, Chewie. Stand by. Detach!

  Han leans back in his chair and gives Leia an invisible

  smile. She thinks for a moment, shakes her head; a grin creeps

  across her face and she gives him a quick kiss.

  LEIA You do have your moments. Not many, but you have them.

  EXTERIOR SPACE -- IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER

  As the Avenger Star Destroyer moves slowly into space, the

  hatch on its underbelly opens, sending a trail of junk behind

  it. Hidden among the refuse, the Falcon tumbles away. In the

  next moment, the Avenger roars off into hyperspace. The

  Falcon's engines are ignited, and it races off into the

  distance. Amidst the slowly drifting junk, Boba Fett's ship

  appears and moves after the Falcon.

  EXTERIOR DAGOBAH -- BOG -- CLEARING -- DAY

  In the clearing behind Yoda's house, Luke again stands

  upside-down, but his face shows less strain and more

  concentration than before. Yoda sits on the ground below the

  young warrior. On the other side of the clearing, two

  equipment cases slowly rise into the air. Nearby Artoo

  watches, humming to himself, when suddenly he, too, rises into

  the air. His little legs kick desperately and his head turns

  frantically, looking for help.

  YODA Concentrate...feel the F orce flow. Yes. Good. Calm, yes. Through

  the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future...the past.

  Old friends long gone.

  Luke suddenly becomes distressed.

  LUKE Han! Leia!

  The two packing boxes and Artoo fall to the ground with a

  crash, then Luke himself tumbles over.

  YODA (shaking his head) Hmm. Control, control. You must learn control.

  LUKE I saw...I saw a city in the clouds.

  YODA Mmm. Friends you have there.

  LUKE They were in pain.

  YODA It is the future you see.

  LUKE Future? Will they die?

  Yoda closes his eyes and lowers his head.

  YODA Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.

  LUKE I've got to go to them.

  YODA Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help

  them you could. But you would destroy all for which they have fought

  and suffered.

  Luke is stopped cold by Yoda's words. Gloom shrouds him as

  he nods his head sadly.

  EXTERIOR BESPIN SYSTEM -- MILLENNIUM FALCON -- DAWN

  The powerful pirate starship blasts through space as it

  heads toward the soft pink planet of Bespin.

  EXTERIOR BESPIN SURFACE -- MILLENNIUM FALCON

  It is down on the gaseous planet. Huge billowing clouds

  form a canyon as the ship banks around them, heading toward

  the system's Cloud City.

  Suddenly, two twin-pod cloud cars appear and move toward

  the Falcon. The cloud cars draw up alongside the starship.

  INTERIOR MILLENNIUM FALCON -- COCKPIT

  One of the cloud cars opens fire on the Falcon, its flak

  rocking the ship. Chewie barks his concern.

  HAN (into transmitter) No, I don't have a landing permit. I'm trying

  to reach Lando Calrissian.

  More flak bursts outside the cockpit window and rattles the

  ship's interior. Leia looks worried.

  HAN (into transmitter) Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain.

  INTERCOM VOICE You will not deviate from your present course.

  THREEPIO Rather touchy, aren't they?

  LEIA I thought you knew this person.

  Chewie barks and growls at his boss.

  HAN (to Chewie) Well, that was a long time ago. I'm sure he's

  forgotten about that.

  INTERCOM VOICE Permission granted to land on Platform

  Three-two-seven.

  HAN (into transmitter) Thank you.

  Angry, Han snaps off the intercom. Chewie looks at him and

  grunts. Han turns to the worried princess and her droid.

  HAN There's nothing to worry about. We go way back, Lando and me.

  Leia doesn't look convinced.

  LEIA Who's worried?

  EXTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- MILLENNIUM FALCON -- CLOUD CARS

  The clouds part to reveal a full view of the city as it

  bobs in and out of the cloud surface. The cloud cars and the

  Falcon head for the gleaming white metropolis.

  EXTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LANDING PLATFORM -- MILLENNIUM FALCON

  With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Falcon lands on

  one of the Cloud City's platforms.

  EXTERIOR LANDING PLATFORM -- DOOR OF MILLENNIUM FALCON

  Han and Leia stand at the open door, armed. Behind them,

  Chewie, also armed, surveys the scene warily.

&
nbsp; THREEPIO Oh. No one to meet us.

  LEIA I don't like this.

  HAN Well, what would you like?

  THREEPIO Well, they did let us land.

  HAN Look, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Trust me.

  INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- CORRIDOR -- DAY

  Lando Calrissian, a suave, dashing black man in his

  thirties, leads a group of aides and some Cloud City guard

  rapidly toward the landing platform. The group, like the other

  citizens of the city, is a motley collection of aliens,

  droids, and humans of all descriptions. Lando has a grim