by Ian Doescher
LUKE Forsooth! He makes his way to that small moon.
HAN I may play checkmate on him ere he lands.
OBI-WAN Alas—I sense the game, and we’re the pawns.
That is no moon. ’Tis a space station there.
[The Death Star looms in the distance, growing closer.
HAN ’Tis far too large a space station to be.
LUKE My feelings now do stir, I sense them well!
They tell me we shall lose the match we play.
OBI-WAN Pray, turn thee now the ship around.
HAN —I shall!
Now Chewie, lock thou quick th’auxill’ry pow’r.
LUKE Why do we still approach? What can be done?
HAN It hath th’advantage, using tractor beam
To pull us in, unto its landing bay.
LUKE But pray, some move thou must have left to make!
HAN My moves are finish’d, lad, I must shut down,
Else shall the ship entire soon come apart.
But still, with all my players I shall fight.
OBI-WAN Thou canst not win, but will by strategy
Some good alternatives to fighting see.
CHORUS So enters the Millenn’um Falcon in
Unto the Death Star, grand and stark and mean.
With fear the Wookiee and the three brave men
Look on as their space journey changes scene.
Meanwhile, the denizens within the base
Make haste to catch the ship that cometh near.
Commanders come with well-arm’d guards apace,
While stormtroopers do at their posts appear.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 1.
Inside the Death Star.
Enter DARTH VADER, GRAND MOFF TARKIN, and ENVOY.
ENVOY A freighter hath been captur’d entering
The system Alderaan. Its markings match
A ship that hath Mos Eisley quickly fled.
VADER This errant ship, belike, endeavors to
Return the plans unto the princess who,
Within this base, is lock’d in guarded cell.
[To Grand Moff Tarkin:] Perhaps the princess yet hath use to us.
[Exit Grand Moff Tarkin. Vader crosses to the ship.
Enter OFFICER 1, STORMTROOPERS, and GUARDS 1 and 2.
OFFICER 1 No person is aboard the ship, my Lord.
The log maintain’d on board doth tell a tale
Of all the crew abandoning the ship
Directly after its departure. ’Tis
No doubt a decoy, Sir. For all the pods
Have launchèd been.
VADER —Hast thou found any droids?
OFFICER 1 Nay, truly not, my Lord. If there had been,
Then surely must they have abandon’d too.
VADER Send thou a scanning crew aboard the ship,
And check its nooks and crannies, ev’ry bit.
OFFICER 1 Aye, good, my Lord.
VADER [aside:] —Distract’d is my mind,
But through its cloudy haze the reason comes:
Unless I am in error, someone here
Has come. I have not felt this presence since
The days that are but dark in memory.
This presence I have known since I was young,
This presence that once call’d me closest friend,
This presence that hath all my hopes betray’d,
This presence that hath turn’d my day to night.
This awful presence present here must be,
So shall I to this presence violence
Present.
[Exit Darth Vader.
OFFICER 1 —Now to thy work, and scan the ship!
TROOPER 5 The scan is done; no living soul is here.
[Exeunt stormtroopers.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, LUKE SKYWALKER, HAN SOLO, CHEWBACCA, C-3PO, and R2-D2, hidden.
LUKE ’Tis fortunate thou hast these storage bins.
HAN Their use hath ever been for smuggling goods.
Ne’er have I thought I would myself herein
Be smuggling. All we do is madness—fie!
If I could start the ship, the tractor beam
Would wrap its eagle’s talons ’round my neck.
OBI-WAN The tractor beam thou may’st leave unto me.
HAN Thou fool, I knew that thou wouldst say as much.
OBI-WAN Aye, say thou fool? Then fool, good Sir, am I.
But when thou sayest fool remember well
That fools do walk in foolish company.
So if I am a fool, perhaps ’tis true
That other fools around me may be found.
For who is he who hath more foolish been—
The fool or other fool who follows him?
[They hide. Guards 1 and 2 standby while scanning crew enters ship and are bested by Obi-Wan, Luke, Han Solo, and Chewbacca.
GUARD 1 Oi! Didst thou hear that sound?
GUARD 2 —Pray, hear a sound?
GUARD 1 Aye, truly—I quite clearly heard a sound.
GUARD 2 Thine ears, mayhap, play tricks on thee, my friend.
GUARD 1 Nay, nay. Dost thou not think this strange?
GUARD 2 —What strange?
GUARD 1 The droids did flee the ship we have attack’d,
And unto Tatooine have gone by pod.
’Tis true, thus far?
GUARD 2 —I cannot claim ’tis false.
GUARD 1 On Tatooine they have been tracèd first
To Jawas vile and then to humans—
GUARD 2 —Dead.
GUARD 1 Aye, dead they are—our men did see to it.
But follow on: the boy who with them liv’d
Hath fled, we knew not where, till he was seen
At yon Mos Eisley with the pair of droids.
GUARD 2 Aye, aye, ’twas all in last week’s briefing. Pray,
What more of this? Hast thou aught new to say?
GUARD 1 The boy and droids together disappear’d
The very hour the ship—this ship—did fly.
And now, the ship is here, though empty seems.
GUARD 2 Nay, empty ’tis! The scanning crew doth work
E’en now.
GUARD 1 —Which bringeth me full circle to
The sound I just have heard. Is’t possible,
My friend, that boy and droids and rebels all
Have flown within this ship unto this base
And yet—e’en now—whilst thou and I do speak,
Still hide within the ship?
GUARD 2 —I am amaz’d!
GUARD 1 Aye, verily? Think’st thou I may be right?
GUARD 2 I said thou hast amaz’d me, and ’tis true.
But never did I say I think thee right—
Thou dost amaze by thy o’eractive thoughts!
A hidden boy! The droids within! A fig!
Avaunt, thou silly guard, be not so thick.
Thy great imagination hath o’erwrought
Thy better senses. Thinkest thou thy pow’rs
Of judgment far exceed our Masters true?
May’st thou outwit the great Darth Vader or
The cunning of our Gov’nor Tarkin? Nay!
We are but simple guards, our purpose here
Is plain and to the point: we have been task’d
To watch the ship and follow all commands,
And not to prattle on with airy thoughts.
GUARD 1 Aye, thou hast spoke a well-consider’d word.
Thou art a friend, as I have e’er maintain’d,
And thou hast spoken truth and calm’d me quite.
The rebels hide herein! What vain conceit!
That e’er they should the Death Star enter—ha!
GUARD 2 It warms my heart to see thee so restor’d
And back to thine own merry, native self.
HAN [within:] Pray, may we have thy good assistance here?
GUARD 1 [to Guard 2:] So, let us go together, friend. Good cheer!
[Guards 1 a
nd 2 enter ship and are killed. Exeunt others.
SCENE 2.
Inside the Death Star.
Enter OFFICERS 2 and 3.
OFFICER 2 Say—TK-421, now wherefore hast
Thou left thy station? TK-421,
Canst thou my message hear? [To Officer 3:] Take thou command,
Belike he hath a bad transmitter. So
Shall I attend and help him if I may.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, C-3PO, R2-D2, and CHEWBACCA with HAN SOLO and LUKE dressed as stormtroopers, killing Officers 2 and 3.
CHORUS Now through the doorway come our heroes brave.
Th’Imperi’l officers Chewbacca fights
Whilst Han with blaster doth his entry pave.
They have arriv’d: escape is in their sights.
CHEWBAC. Auugh!
LUKE —Fie! With all this howling nonsense and
With all thy blasting ’tis a miracle
That all within the station have not heard
Of our arrival.
HAN —Surely, let them come!
A fight would I prefer to sneaking yon
And hither.
R2-D2 —Beep, beep whistle, squeak, beep, meep.
C-3PO We have the outlet for the system found.
[Aside:] O that my words might end their bickering.
OBI-WAN ’Tis well! Plug R2 in and he shall read
The whole Imperi’l network.
R2-D2 —Beep, meep, squeak!
Hoo, whistle, whee, ahh, beep, meep, squeak, beep, meep.
C-3PO Now hath he found the main control unto
The power beam that holds the ship herein.
He shall attempt to show thee, presently,
Where its exact location may be found.
The tractor beam in seven places is
Connected to the main reactor, but
A power loss at any terminal
Shall set the good Millenn’um Falcon free.
OBI-WAN [aside:] That number seven shall our freedom mean.
But only one of seven shall we need.
I fear those numbers—seven and then one—
Do something dangerous portend. But why?
Our company is only six, unless
There were another join’d unto us here.
Then were we seven, yet what means the one?
O! Strangely sweeps the thought into my mind:
I have a feeling through the Force that ere
We leave this place, some seven shall we be.
Yet one shall stay behind as sacrifice.
Thus seven and thus one: the numbers tell
The story that herein shall soon be told.
[To Luke and Han:] Methinks ye two cannot assist me now.
This one—e’en I—shall go alone.
HAN —Aye, good!
So shall I hearken unto what thou sayst,
For I already on this voyage have
Done more than that for which I have been paid.
LUKE I would go with thee, Sir.
OBI-WAN —Pray, patience, Luke,
For thou must stay and guard the vital droids.
They must be taken safely to our friends,
Or other systems end like Alderaan.
Thy destiny, dear boy, doth truly go
Upon a path far different from mine,
And Fate for thee hath spun another thread
Than what she hath for Obi-Wan’s life stitch’d.
The Force, it shall be with thee always, Luke.
[Exit Obi-Wan.
LUKE [aside:] He hath bestow’d a Jedi’s blessing here,
So why then am I utterly unnerv’d?
CHEWBAC. Auugh!
HAN —Wookiee, thou hast spoken well
and true:
Whence hast thou this old bag of bones uncover’d?
LUKE Yon Ben in all good virtues doth excel.
HAN Aye, certain he excelleth when the goal
Is but to lead us into trouble great.
LUKE But thou hast not excell’d at offering
A thought to how we can this station ’scape.
HAN Yet any simple plan excelleth o’er
Remaining here till all descend on us.
It taketh not a wisdom that excels
To know for certain fact that such is true.
R2-D2 [aside:] By heav’n I’ll stop their bickering with this
New information. [To Han and Luke:] Whistle, beep, meep, whee!
LUKE I prithee, what doth all this beeping mean?
C-3PO Sir, I confess I do not know. He hath
Declar’d that he hath found her, then the droid
Repeats “She’s here, she’s here.”
LUKE —But, marry, who?
C-3PO Good Princess Leia.
LUKE —Princess Leia—here?
[Aside:] Now doth this strange adventure stir my blood!
HAN What sayst of “princess”?
LUKE —Where, thou droid? Say where!
HAN What princess? On thy life, this thing unveil.
R2-D2 Beep, meep, meep, beep, squeak, whistle, beep, meep, hoo.
C-3PO E’en now the princess is on Level 5,
Detention block of AA-23.
R2-D2 [aside:] O me! This new discovery of mine
Doth shake my core, and shall arouse their souls.
[To Han and Luke:] Meep, meep, ahh, beep, squeak, beep, meep, beep, ahh, nee.
C-3PO I fear, good Sir, it doth give certain news
The princess shall be terminated soon.
LUKE Nay, nay! So quickly met and now, with this,
So quickly lost! Now must we swiftly act!
HAN What dost thou prattle on about? Pray tell!
LUKE [aside:] O how can one describe in simple words
The import this myster’ous woman hath
Upon my life? [To Han:] The droids, these droids, are hers,
She hath appear’d in message urgent, too!
I see thou canst not understand it well,
Yet what I know is this: we must give her
Whate’er unflagging help and hope we may!
HAN Speak not with such great folly. Obi-Wan
Hath told us to remain.
LUKE —Yet knew he not
That she is here! [To C-3PO:] Pray tell me how we may
Straight make our way to the detention block.
HAN I say again what I have said before:
To this location is my purpose fix’d
And whether princess be within or no,
I tell thee plain: I shall not thither go.
LUKE She shall be executed! Thou hast said,
Mere minutes past, that thou wouldst not remain
To see our sudden, sure imprisonment.
Now is thy fondest wish that we should stay?
HAN To march to the detention block’s unwise!
To make our way to danger folly ’tis!
To there present ourselves is passing mad!
To boldly go where none hath gone is wild!
LUKE Hast thou no heart? She sentenc’d is to die!
HAN My sentence is: ’tis better she than I.
LUKE [aside:] How shall I break a heart that loveth not,
And how convince a man who lives by wits?
He hath not seen the urgency within
Her eyes. He hath not known the trembling in
Her voice. He hath not heard the manner of
Her plea. And yet, without his help I fear
My errand surely fails. What shall I do?
I know that under his exterior
More good and noble aspirations lie.
But by what tricks of speech to bring them forth,
And what persuasions shall his fix’d will move?
My aunt Beru hath told me once a tale:
She said when first the deep, vast Kessel mines
Were dug, it was revealèd that the pearls
Of greatest value must by clever means
Discover’d be.
So did the miners band
Together, so to make a useful tool.
This tool would pull the pearls out of the rock
In such a way they seem’d t’emerge by ruse.
This practice had a name: the Hammer Ploy.
Now shall I play a Hammer’s Ploy upon
The soul of this good smuggler, coaxing him
By means most indirect to rescue good.
Thus may the pearl of his still ragged soul
Revealèd be and shine as ne’er before.
[To Han:] I tell thee true: the lady wealthy is.
CHEWBAC. Egh, auugh!
HAN —Say, wealthy?
LUKE —Wealthy, aye, with pow’r.
If thou wouldst rescue her, thy great reward
Would be—
HAN —Pray, what?
LUKE —Well more, I’ll warrant, than
Thou mayst imagine!
HAN —Ha, thou josh with me.
For my imagination hath few bounds.
LUKE Thou shalt have it!
HAN —So would I!
LUKE —Aye, thou wilt!
HAN Enough, I am engag’d. But I do hope
Thou knowest well of what thou speakest here.
LUKE Well, well!
HAN —Hast thou a plan?
LUKE —C-3PO,
I prithee pass those binding cuffs to me.
[To Chewbacca:] Good Wookiee, I shall put these on thee now.
CHEWBAC. Auugh!
LUKE —Han, perhaps thou shouldst that honor have.
[Han Solo cuffs Chewbacca.
HAN Fear not, dear Chewie, now his plan is plain.
C-3PO My Master Luke, forgive my question frank:
What should we do if we discover’d are?
LUKE Lock thou the door.
HAN —And pray they’ve blasters none.
C-3PO [aside to R-D2:] ’Tis not a reassuring word.
R2-D2 —Beep, squeak!
[Exeunt C-3PO and R2-D2 as Han, Luke, and Chewbacca go to detention block.
CHORUS So now Chewbacca, Han, and Luke proceed
Unto detention level 5, quite grave.
With bravery, good hope, and all Godspeed,
Their errand is a princess there to save.
The minions of the Death Star pay no mind,
Nor are they by these three at all dismay’d.
They do not fear the Wookiee, for behind
Are Han and Luke as stormtroopers array’d.
Meanwhile in stealth does Obi-Wan pass by
And to the terminal doth make his way,
But while he goes Darth Vader feels him fly—
So ev’ry character his role doth play.
HAN Thy plan, it shall not work.
LUKE —And wherefore hast