by Ian Doescher
Enter DECK OFFICER.
OFFICER
—Yes, Sir?
HAN
Dost thou know where Commander Skywalker Is?
OFFICER
—I’ve not seen him, but ’tis possible
He through the entrance to the south return’d.
HAN
“ ’Tis possible”? I prithee, good lad, go
Thou thither and find out. It grows quite dark
Outside.
OFFICER
—Aye, Sir.
[Exit deck officer.
C-3PO
—Excuse me, Sir, but may
I ask what doth transpire?
HAN
—Thou mayst indeed.
C-3PO
O man impossible! Come thou, R2,
Let us return unto the princess now.
The drying of her clothes is now the least
Of all our worries, for another ill
Far greater than our mishap is afoot.
In confidence I tell thee: I do fear
That Master Luke grave danger doth confront.
[Exit C-3PO and R2-D2.
HAN
What portents strange, what evil tidings this:
My friend by no one seen, the droids afraid,
Chewbacca prone to error with the ship,
The young deck officer so tentative—
These things foretell some ill that shall occur.
But if misfortune toucheth anyone,
Let it be me and not my partner, Luke.
For he is like a brother unto me,
As all who fight with me in battle are.
Though I did save him in the Death Star clash,
’Tis he hath sav’d me from the smuggler’s life
By leading me on paths more true than I
Had e’er foreseen. Now do I call him friend,
And this rebellion is the cause we share.
From all my friends here I would not depart
If I were not by Jabba hunted down.
Aye, I would give my bones—my life—for great
Rebellion’s sake if e’er it were requir’d.
But soft you now: the officer returns.
Enter DECK OFFICER.
OFFICER
Good Sir, Commander Skywalker hath not
Come in the entrance to the south. He may
Have but forgotten to check in.
HAN
—Nay, nay.
His nature is not thus. Now tell me, are
The speeders ready?
OFFICER
—Nay, we have not yet
Adapted them unto the cold of Hoth.
HAN
So then upon a tauntaun’s back I’ll ride.
Though with especial foulness they abuse
My nose, they are the speediest we have.
OFFICER
But Sir, the temp’rature doth drop too fast
For any living being to survive.
HAN
’Tis true, and my dear friend doth bear the brunt.
He shall not die while I have life or breath,
For neither snow nor ice nor gloom of Hoth
Shall stay my rescue of my greatest friend.
OFFICER
Thy tauntaun shall but freeze ere thou canst ride
Unto our prim’ry marker, I predict.
HAN
Then I shall dine with thee tonight in Hell!
[Exeunt Han Solo, Chewbacca, and deck officer.
Enter LUKE SKYWALKER, hanging upside down from balcony.
LUKE
What warren, friends, is this? I am within
Some icy shelter. Now I do recall—
The creature large hath ta’en me by surprise,
Then quickly did my body overpow’r
By knocking me aside with painful blow.
It kill’d my tauntaun with its vicious claw,
Unmovèd by the creature’s awful scream.
It must have dragg’d us to this frozen lair.
E’en now I hear it gnaw my tauntaun’s flesh,
The stench of musty death is in my nose.
Now I’m awake, hung up by my own feet,
And sounds of tearing skin and crunching bone
Do echo through the monster’s gloomy cave.
The tauntaun, though, is only the first dish,
And I am bound to be the second course.
Indeed, I have a problem grave, and how
Shall I make rescue for myself? But wait—
What’s there—a’lying on the snow nearby?
It is my lightsaber—how fortunate!
’Tis still too far to grasp with my own reach:
Thus call I on the Force to save my life.
O concentrate, and call upon the things
Thou learn’st from Obi-Wan when he still liv’d.
Forsooth, I feel the Force begin to flow—
Within, nearby, inside, surrounding me.
O Force most strong—the lightsaber’s at hand!
Now am I free to flee the fierce beast’s clutch,
But, lo, the creature comes to me anon!
It will attack me in its fiery rage
Unless I am the first to strike. Lay on!
Enter WAMPA. Luke cuts off the wampa’s arm and exits quickly.
WAMPA
Alas, how I am by this man abus’d—
Could I, for seeking food, not be excus’d?
It seemeth that this wampa shall have strife.
Thus, gentles all: have pity on my life.
[Exit wampa.
SCENE 4.
The rebel base on Hoth.
Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, PRINCESS LEIA, and CHEWBACCA.
C-3PO
O horrid interim of waiting, time
That doth like snail unwillingly creep by.
Full many hours have pass’d without a word
Of Master Luke or Captain Solo. Now
The day grows late, and whisper’d words of fear
Throughout the base are heard for these men’s fate.
It seems that all lose heart, and think the worst,
For how can e’en our bold Han Solo stand
The harsh and unrelenting chill of Hoth?
But now, no more, C-3PO; thou art
Not made to worry and to fret. Be brave!
Come now, R2, there’s no more we can do.
Behold, my joints are freezing.
R2-D2
—Whistle, hoo.
C-3PO
Say not such things! Of course we shall set eyes
On Master Luke again. And he shall be
In perfect health, thou impish little droid.
Aye, he shall be in perfect health.
R2-D2
[aside:] —I fear
This chill that doth e’en now my metal frame
Assault. ’Tis cold unto the core. ’Tis cold,
I fear, unto the death. Bear up, droid soul,
And listen to C-3PO’s advice:
Be thou a helpful strength amid distress.
Enter LIEUTENANT and MAJOR DERLIN.
LIEUT.
Sir, all patrols are in, and still no sign
From either Skywalker or Solo.
DERLIN
—Dread!
C-3PO
My Mistress Leia, R2 makes report
He hath not any signals yet receiv’d.
However, he admitteth that his range
Is far too weak to give up ev’ry hope.
DERLIN
Your Highness, I do fear there’s nothing more
That we may do tonight. The shield doors must
Be closèd.
LEIA
—I consent, but with a heart
That breaketh even now.
DERLIN
[to Lieutenant:] —Aye, close the doors.
R2-D2
Meep, beep, meep squeak.
C-3PO
—Now R2 doth report
The odds of their survival in the cold
Are seven hundred twenty-five to one.
[The shield doors close.
CHEWBAC.
Egh, grrm, egh, auugh!
C-3PO
—Though R2’s wont to make
Mistakes, from time to time. O dear, O dear.
[Exeunt Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Lieutenant, and Major Derlin.
R2-D2
[aside:] Why did I speak? O curse my beeping tongue!
“A helpful strength” I pledg’d that I would be,
But now have made these matters worse, for I
Have giv’n our princess reason to be scar’d.
Yet I do worry for my master’s life,
And though I would not cause undue distress
I fear that he may never make return.
[To C-3PO:] Beep, squeak.
C-3PO
—Nay, fear thou not, my silver friend.
I’ll warrant he shall surely be all right,
For Master Luke is clever, young, and spry
E’en for a human being. So say I!
[Exeunt.
SCENE 5.
The ice world of Hoth.
Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, PRINCESS LEIA, and CHEWBACCA.
LUKE
O what a torment have I just endur’d!
For after my attack by creature cruel,
I quickly made my exit from his lair
And made my great escape amidst the snow.
Far, far I ran to find a refuge safe,
Yet too far from the rebels’ base I’ve gone.
And now my strength has left—I fail again—
My body falls, too weak to make its way.
[He falls.
Enter GHOST OF OBI-WAN KENOBI.
But now, e’en now, what vision comes to me?
OBI-WAN
Luke!
LUKE
—Ben?
OBI-WAN
—Attend me, Luke. Thou shalt unto
The system Dagobah go.
LUKE
—Dagobah?
OBI-WAN
There thou shalt learn the Force from Yoda, aye—
The Jedi master who instructed me.
[Exit Ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
LUKE
Ben, leave me not! Alas, I fall again.
[Luke collapses as Han enters and dismounts his tauntaun.
HAN
Amid the burning snow and winter’s bite,
Have I this journey ta’en to find my friend.
But lo, what is this sight that now I see?
’Tis Luke, collaps’d! O lad, be thou not dead!
Give me some sign thou livest! Aye, Luke, live!
The cold of Hoth shall yet be warmth to me
If thou art still alive. Come now, good friend!
[The tauntaun falls over, frozen to death.
LUKE
[muttering:] O Ben, O Dagobah!
[Han takes Luke’s lightsaber and cuts open the tauntaun, pulling Luke close to its warmth.
HAN
—We’ve not much time.
Stay with me, Luke. ’Tis true, this shall smell bad,
But also shall it keep thee warm until
The shelter hath erected been. O, vile!
These tauntauns have an awful stench outside,
But nothing did I know of wretchedness,
Disgusting rot, and sick’ning filth till this
New smell hath made attack upon my nose.
[Han sits with Luke as night passes.
The shelter now is fashion’d by my hands
Both strong and deft. We shall await the morn
With only tauntaun’s guts as company.
O guardian of nighttime travelers,
Be with me and my comrade Luke this eve,
For we are merely pilgrims far from home
Who wish to come again unto our mates.
Now sev’ral anxious hours we’ve huddl’d here,
And with the morning dawns the light of hope.
My rebel friends shall surely make attempt
To find where Luke and I have spent the night.
Search well, my lads, the prize waits to be found!
Enter ZEV aside, flying.
ZEV
The speeders all have been prepar’d, and now
A proper search for Luke and Han begins.
But what is this? Shall fortune be so kind?
My sensors do report some life forms near,
Mayhap the cherish’d find shall yet be mine.
Pray listen, Echo Base, to my report:
There’s something here my scanner hath just found.
’Tis yet unsure, but may a life form be.
Commander Skywalker, dost thou hear me?
’Tis Rogue Two. O good captain Solo, dost
Thou hear? ’Tis Rogue Two.
HAN
—Fine good morning, lads,
’Twas nice of you to fin’lly come around.
ZEV
Hear, Echo Base: I say, they have been found!
[Exeunt.
SCENE 6.
The rebel base on Hoth.
Enter LUKE SKYWALKER, reclining on bed.
LUKE
Through hazy dreams I have vague memories
Of being taken to the rebel base
And given the droid medic’s greatest care.
Now here I am, and naught but scars remain,
Thus is the creature’s foul at last made fair.
Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, and PRINCESS LEIA.
C-3PO
Good Master Luke, my wires are fill’d with joy
To see thee fully functional again.
R2-D2
[aside:] O that I too could speak aloud!
[To Luke:] Meep, squeak!
C-3PO
R2 expresseth his relief as well!
Enter HAN SOLO and CHEWBACCA.
HAN
How goes it with thee, chuck? O verily,
Thou dost look well to me. In faith, thou seem’st
E’en strong enough, I’ll warr’nt, to pull the ears
From off a gundark.
LUKE
—Truly, thanks to thee.
HAN
Now thou dost owe me two good turns, my friend.
[To Leia:] Indeed, Your Worship, well have you conspir’d
To keep me in thy presence longer.
LEIA
—Fie!
’Twas not my doing. Gen’ral Rieekan doth
Believe that it is still too dangerous
For any ship to leave the system, aye—
E’en thy belov’d Millenn’um Falcon—till
The shield of energy is active.
HAN
—Ha!
A cloth of fiction thou dost weave, yet I
Have found the fatal error in thy stitch:
For I believe thou wouldst not let a man
So beautiful as I depart from thee.
LEIA
The only stitch I know is in my side,
From laughing at thy pride most heartily.
Thou mayst attempt to needle at my heart,
But I am sewn of stronger thread than this.
To say I would not let thee go—pish, pish!
I know not whence thy great delusions come,
Thou laser brain.
CHEWBAC.
[laughing:] —Gihut, gihut, gihut!
HAN
Aye, laugh indeed, thou fuzzball large. But thou
Hast not seen us alone i’ th’passage south,
Where she did unto me unspool, in full,
Her feelings true of fondest love for me.
LEIA
My feelings? O! Thou arrogant half-wit,
Thou oversizèd child, thou friend of slime,
Thou man of scruffy looks, thou who herd’st nerfs,
Thou fool-born wimpled roughhewn waste of flesh!
HAN
What scruffy? Scruffy, how? Whose
scruffiness?
How am I all bescruff’d? [To Luke:] Belike my words
Were accurate and hit upon the mark,
Since now she hath her temper lost. True, Luke?
LEIA
Thus is it plain that till thou tam’st thy tongue,
No tongue of woman shalt thou comprehend.
[Leia kisses Luke at length, then exits.
CHEWBAC.
Egh, auugh, gihut!
OFFICER
[from speaker:]
—All personnel report
Unto the center of command at once.
HAN
[aside:] Well hath she play’d the trump.
[To Luke:] Be thou at ease.
[Exeunt Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO,
and R2-D2.
LUKE
O kiss most rare, O lips from heaven sent!
This is a moment I’ll not soon forget.
Though I can sense her heart doth turn to Han,
Still doth this kiss play tricks upon my soul.
By this fair princess I have been bewitch’d—
’Twas ever so since I saw her distress
In R2’s beam, a’pleading for our help.
But though the lass doth move my heart to joy
I ne’er would tempt her with a word too large,
For shall a Jedi’s path lead t’ward romance?
But this sweet kiss I’ll hold in mem’ry’s vault
As a reminder of my noble cause:
To serve rebellion and my princess kind.
[Exit Luke.
Enter HAN SOLO, CHEWBACCA, C-3PO, and R2-D2, crossing to GENERAL RIEEKAN, the CONTROLLER, and PRINCESS LEIA.
RIEEKAN
A visitor hath come, my princess. ’Tis
Outside the base, in sector twelve, and doth
Appear to be directed eastward.
CONTROL.
—’Tis
A thing of metal, cold and harsh and sleek—