Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Page 9
expression on his face as he moves onto the landing platform.
EXTERIOR LANDING PLATFORM -- DOOR OF MILLENNIUM FALCON
HAN See? My friend. (to Chewie) Keep your eyes open, okay?
Chewie growls as Han walks down the ramp. Lando and his men
head across the bridge to meet the space pirate.
EXTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LANDING PLATFORM
Lando stops ten feet from Han. The two men eye each other
carefully. Lando shakes his head.
LANDO Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler! You've got a
lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled.
Han points to himself innocently, mouthing, "Me?"
Lando moves threateningly toward Han. Suddenly, he throws
his arms around his startled, long-lost friend and embraces
him.
LANDO (laughs) How you doing, you old pirate? So good to see you! I
never thought I'd catch up with you again. Where you been?
The two old friends embrace, laughing and chuckling.
EXTERIOR LANDING PLATFORM -- DOOR OF MILLENNIUM FALCON.
THREEPIO Well, he seems very friendly.
LEIA (wary) Yes...very friendly.
EXTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LANDING PLATFORM
LANDO What are you doing here?
HAN (gestures toward the Falcon) Ahh...repairs. I thought you could
help me out.
LANDO (in mock panic) What have you done to my ship?
HAN Your ship? Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square.
Chewie growls a reserved greeting. Lando suddenly notices
the princess and smiles.
LANDO Hello. What have we here? Welcome. I'm Lando Calrissian. I'm
the administrator of this facility. and who might you be?
LEIA Leia.
LANDO Welcome, Leia.
Lando bows before Leia and kisses her hand.
HAN All right, all right, you old smoothie.
Han takes Leia by the hand and steers her away from Lando.
THREEPIO Hello, sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My
facilities are at your...
Before Threepio can finish his self-introduction, Lando has
turned to follow Han and Leia, who are walking toward the
city.
THREEPIO Well, really!
Lando, his aide, Lobot, and Han lead the way across the
bridge, followed by Threepio, Chewie and Leia.
LANDO What's wrong with the Falcon?
HAN Hyperdrive.
LANDO I'll get my people to work on it.
HAN Good.
Lando turns to Leia.
LANDO You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times. She's the
fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- CORRIDOR
The group has crossed the narrow bridge and entered the
city. They walk down the lovely Art Deco passageway, rounding
several corners and passing many small plazas as they go.
Threepio lags a bit behind.
HAN How's the gas mine? Is it paying off for you?
LANDO Oh, not as well as I'd like. We're a small outpost and not very
self-sufficient. And I've had supply problems of every kind. I've had
labor difficulties...(catches Han grinning at him) What's so funny?
HAN You. Listen to you -- you sound like a businessman, a responsible
leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?
Lando is reflective. He looks at Han a moment.
LANDO You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things.
HAN Yeah.
LANDO (shakes his head) Yeah, I'm responsible these days. It's the
price you pay for being successful.
Han and Lando laugh together, and the group moves on
through the corridor.
The lagging Threepio passes a Threepio-type silver droid
who is coming out of a door.
THREEPIO Oh! Nice to see a familiar face.
SECOND THREEPIO (mumbles) E chu ta!
THREEPIO How rude!
Threepio stops, watching the silver droid move away. Then
he hears the muffled beeping and whistling of an R2 unit
coming from within the room.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- ANTEROOM
Curious, Threepio enters the room.
THREEPIO That sounds like an R2 unit in there. I wonder if...
Threepio walks through the doorway to the main room. He
looks in.
THREEPIO Hello? How interesting. Oh, my.
MAN'S VOICE (from within) Who are you?
THREEPIO Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I...I didn't mean to intrude. No,
no, please don't get up. No!
A laser bolt to Threepio's chest sends him flying in twenty
directions. Smoldering mechanical arms and legs bounce off the
walls as the door whooshes closed behind him.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- CORRIDOR
Lando, Han, and Leia continue down the corridor unaware of
Threepio's dreadful accident. Chewbacca glances around, sniffs
the air, but shrugs his shoulders and follows the group.
EXTERIOR DAGOBAH -- BOG -- DUSK
In the bright lights of the fighter, Luke loads a heavy
case into the belly of the ship. Artoo sits on top of the
X-wing, settling down into his cubbyhole. Yoda stands nearby
on a log.
YODA Luke! You must complete the training.
LUKE I can't keep the vision out of my head. They're my friends. I've
got to help them.
YODA You must not go!
LUKE But Han and Leia will die if I don't.
BEN'S VOICE You don't know that.
Luke looks toward the voice in amazement. Ben has
materialized as a real, slightly shimmering image near Yoda.
The power of his presence stops Luke.
BEN Even Yoda cannot see their fate.
LUKE But I can help them! I feel the Force!
BEN But you cannot control it. This is a dangerous time for you, when
you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force.
YODA Yes, yes. To Obi-Wan you listen. The cave. Remember your failure
at the cave!
LUKE But I've learned so much since then. Master Yoda, I promise to
return and finish what I've begun. You have my word.
BEN It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants. that is why your
friends are made to suffer.
LUKE And that is why I have to go.
BEN Luke, I do n't want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost
Vader.
LUKE You won't.
YODA Stopped they must be. On this depends. Only a fully trained Jedi
Knight with the Force as his ally will conquer Vader and his Emperor.
If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path,
as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.
BEN Patience.
LUKE And sacrifice Han and Leia?
YODA If you honor what they fight for...yes!
Luke is in great anguish. He struggles with the dilemma, a
battle raging in his mind.
BEN If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot
interfere.
LUKE I understand. (he moves to his X-wing) Artoo, fire up the
converters.
Artoo whistles a happy reply.
BEN Luke, don't give in to hate -- that leads to the dark side.
Luke nods and climbs into his ship.
YODA Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
LUKE I will. And I'll return. I promise.
Artoo closes the cockpit. Ben and Yoda stand watching as
the roar of the eng
ines and the wind engulf them.
YODA (sighs) Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.
BEN That boy is our last hope.
YODA (looks up) No. There is another.
EXTERIOR SPACE -- PLANET DAGOBAH
Luke's tiny X-wing rockets away from the green planet of
Dagobah and off into space.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LIVING QUARTERS -- DAY
Within the quarters assigned her on Cloud City, Leia paces
in agitation. She has changed from her cold-weather pants and
jacket to a lovely dress. Her hair is down, tied back with
ribbons. She moves from a large, open window and turns to see
Han entering through the doorway.
HAN The ship is almost finished. Two or Three more things and we're
in great shape.
LEIA The sooner the better. Something's wrong here. No one has seen
or knows anything about Threepio. He's been gone too long to have
gotten lost.
Han takes Leia by the shoulders and gently kisses her
forehead.
HAN Relax. I'll talk to Lando and see what I can find out.
LEIA I don't trust Lando.
HAN Well, I don't trust him, either. But he is my friend. Besides,
we'll soon be gone.
LEIA And then you're as good as gone, aren't you?
Not speaking, Han considers her words and gazes at her
troubled face.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- JUNK ROOM
The room is piled high with broken and discarded machine
parts. Four Ugnaughts, small hoglike creatures, separate the
junk and throw some pieces onto a conveyer belt which moves
briskly toward a pit of molten metal. Pieces of Threepio's
golden body move down the belt. Chewie enters the room and
spots an Ugnaught picking up and inspecting Threepio's head.
The Wookiee barks a command, startling the Ugnaught, then
reaches to grab the head. But the Ugnaught tosses it away from
him to another Ugnaught. This game of keep-away goes on until
Threepio's head falls from their grip and bounces with a clang
onto the ground.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LIVING QUARTERS -- DAY
The door zaps open. Chewbacca walks in, carrying a packing
case of Threepio, arms and legs hanging over the edge.
LEIA What happened?
Chewie sets the case on a table, grunting and groaning an
explanation.
HAN Where? Found him in a junk pile?
LEIA Oh, what a mess. Chewie, do you think you can repair him?
The giant Wookiee studies the array of robot parts. He
looks at the princess and shrugs sadly.
HAN Lando's got people who can fix him.
LEIA No, thanks.
There is a buzz and the door slides open, revealing Lando.
LANDO I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?
LEIA Not really.
LANDO You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us
among the clouds.
LEIA (coolly) Thank you.
LANDO Will you join me for a little refreshment?
Han looks at Lando suspiciously, but Chewie barks at the
mention of food and licks his lips.
LANDO Everyone's invited, of course.
Leia takes Lando's proffered arm, and the group turns to
go. Lando spots Threepio's remains.
LANDO Having trouble with you droid?
Han and Leia exchange a quick glance.
HAN No. No problem. Why?
Han and Leia move arm-in-arm through the door, followed by
Lando and Chewie. The door slides closed behind them.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- CORRIDOR -- DAY
Leia walks between Han and Lando as Chewie follows a short
distance behind. Long shafts of light pour across the corridor
between tall, pure-white columns.
LANDO So you see, since we're a small operation, we don't fall into
the...uh...jurisdiction of the Empire.
LEIA So you're part of the mining guild then?
LANDO No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be
noticed...which is advantageous for everybody since our customers are
anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves.
The group walks into another corridor and heads for a huge
doorway at the far end.
HAN Aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this
little operation and shut you down?
LANDO That's always been a danger looming like a shadow over
everything we've built here. But things have developed that will
insure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out
of here forever.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- DINING ROOM
The mighty doors to the dining room slide open and the
group enters the dining room. At the far end of a huge banquet
table sits Darth Vader. Standing at his side and slightly
behind him is Boba Fett, the bounty hunter.
Faster than the wink of an eye, Han draws his blaster and
pops off a couple of shots directly at Vader. The Dark Lord
quickly raises his hand, deflecting the bolts into one of the
side walls, where they explode harmlessly. Just as quickly,
Han's weapon zips into Vader's hand. The evil presence calmly
places the gun on the table in front of him.
VADER We would be honored if you would join us.
Han gives Lando a mean look.
LANDO I had no choice. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry.
HAN I'm sorry, too.
EXTERIOR LUKE'S X-WING -- BESPIN SYSTEM
Luke's X-wing races through thick clouds toward Cloud City.
INTERIOR LUKE'S X-WING -- COCKPIT
Luke is grim-faced as he pilots his course toward Bespin's
shining city. Artoo's beeps and whistles are transmitted onto
the scope.
LUKE (into comlink) No, Threepio's with them.
Artoo whistles another worried inquiry.
LUKE (into comlink) Just hang on. We're almost there.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- LARGE CELL
Chewbacca is in a Cloud City prison cell. The stark room is
flooded with hot light. To add to Chewie's misery, a
high-pitched whistle screeches loudly. Chewie is going mad. He
hits the wall with giant fists as he paces back and forth
across the cell floor. The upper lights go off abruptly. The
prisoner rubs his eyes and moves to a wall, where he listens
for a moment. Then, moaning to himself, he moves to a platform
where the disassembled pieces of Threepio lie. He picks up the
golden droid's head and meditates on it for a moment, barking
a few philosophical remarks. Chewie sticks the robot's head on
its torso and starts adjusting wires and circuits. Suddenly,
the lights in Threepio's eyes spark to life as Chewie touches
two connectors together. Threepio immediately begins to speak,
but his voice is so slow and so low as to be nearly
unintelligible.
THREEPIO Mmmm. Oh, my. Uh, I, uh -- Take this off! I, uh, don't mean
to intrude here. I, don't, no, no, no...Please don't get up. No!
Chewie looks at Threepio in bewilderment, then scratches
his furry head. He gets an idea and adjusts some connections,
whereupon Threepio immediately begins speaking normally.
THREEPIO Stormtroopers? Here? We're in danger. I must tell the
others. Oh, no! I've been shot!
I
NTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- PRISON ENTRY AREA
Darth Vader strides through the room as two stormtroopers
prepare an elaborate torture mechanism. Han is strapped to a
rack which tilts forward onto the torture device. Vader
activates the mechanism, creating two bursts of sparks, one of
which strikes Han's face.
The door opens, and Darth Vader moves to the holding
chamber, where Lando and Boba Fett await him.
INTERIOR CLOUD CITY -- HOLDING CHAMBER