William Shakespeare's Jedi the Last
Page 9
LEIA A shot doth end this pointless mutiny.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 5.
Aboard the Millennium Falcon and the Supremacy.
Enter REY.
REY My life of scavenging I left behind
When I departed my old home, Jakku.
Yet one more scavenge made I on the island:
The sacred Jedi texts I have attain’d,
To keep them safe, since Luke refus’d to join us.
Forgive me—noble, ancient Jedi line,
And all who went before—for thievery:
I did but steal to save ye from the grave.
Enter CHEWBACCA and R2-D2.
’Tis time, Chewbacca, for my fateful launch—
Unto Snoke’s ship, the fear’d Supremacy—
As soon as it is done, pray get you hence.
Jump to lightspeed, and out of range again.
Stay there until I signal thee to come.
CHEWBAC. Auugh.9
R2-D2 —Meep, beep, whistle, whistle, beep, squeak, hoo.
[Aside:] Farewell, sweet lass, until we meet again.
REY An thou dost see Finn, Chewie, tell him I…
CHEWBAC. Egh, auugh.10
REY —’Tis perfect. Tell him that, I bid thee.
CHEWBAC. Egh!11
R2-D2 [aside:] —Go with hope and courage, gentle Rey.
[Exeunt Chewbacca and R2-D2 in the Millennium Falcon as Rey travels in a pod to the Supremacy.
REY Now to another chapter of my tale:
I go to face my foe, mayhap my friend—
The man Ben Solo, he call’d Kylo Ren.
My body strong and ready for this flight,
My lightsaber in hand, for my defense.
These things are all I thither take withal,
To the Supremacy below, belike
To Kylo Ren and Leader Snoke themselves.
Be still, be calm, be neither vex’d nor anxious.
This moment either shall undo me or
Bring new hope to the drain’d Resistance ranks.
Enter KYLO REN and FIRST ORDER TROOPERS and OFFICERS.
I fly within the hangar of the ship,
A thousand troopers mean surrounding me,
TIE fighters and vast, waiting walkers, too.
Through steam, the viewport shows me Kylo Ren—
Awaiting my arrival, welcoming
Me to his master’s vessel, as a trophy.
The pod’s small door doth open, and we two
Are here, together, in a single place—
Not merely join’d by myst’ry of the Force.
Two troopers stand aside, with binders strong—
This, then, is how he’ll bring me to his lord.
KYLO Come now, into this lift, as prisoner.
[Kylo Ren and Rey enter a lift bound for Snoke’s chamber.
REY Thou art not bound to do these errant deeds—
To hand me over to thy dreadful lord.
I feel the conflict deep inside thy heart,
Which presently doth tear thy soul in twain.
Ben, we did touch and I observ’d the future—
The shape of it, yet solid and most clear.
Thou shalt not bow before thy leader Snoke,
But turn, and I shall help thee. Thus saw I.
KYLO I saw a vision, too, and what I saw
Tells me that when the moment doth arrive,
’Tis thou shalt turn and stand with me as one.
Yet there is more: I saw thy parents, too,
Both who they are and what they did to thee.
Enter SUPREME LEADER SNOKE, as REY, KYLO REN, and OFFICERS reach his chambers.
Enter the PRAETORIAN GUARD, aside.
SNOKE Well done, thou good and faithful servant mine.
My faith in thee hath truly been restor’d—
Together, we shall end the Jedi line.
Intense, evasive Rey: my welcome’s thine.
It warms my soul to see thee here, aboard.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant mine.
Rey, thou shalt find my pow’r all but divine,
And that of mine apprentice sharp as sword—
Together, we shall end the Jedi line.
Once we do break thee, which is our design,
Then Kylo Ren shall earn his just reward—
Well done, thou good and faithful servant mine.
Thou shalt reveal to us Skywalker’s shrine,
Where he doth hide from our First Order horde.
Together, we shall end the Jedi line.
Herein, Rey, thy calm guise we’ll undermine.
Bold Kylo Ren, my thanks I do afford:
Well done, thou good and faithful servant mine,
Together, we shall end the Jedi line!
[Exeunt.
9 Editor’s translation: I’ll do it, though I worry for thy life.
10 Editor’s translation: Tell him, perhaps, that thy regard for him
Is inexpressible in human language?
11 Editor’s translation: Be well, my bold copilot and my friend.
SCENE 1.
Aboard the Raddus and a transport pod.
Enter GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, VICE ADMIRAL AMILYN HOLDO, LIEUTENANT CONNIX, C-3PO, and other RESISTANCE SOLDIERS and PILOTS boarding transports. POE DAMERON’s unconscious body is loaded onto a transport.
HOLDO Poe is adept at making trouble, yea,
Which may be wherefore I do like him so.
LEIA Me, too—I ever lov’d the cocky ones.
But now for thee, both admiral and friend:
The time hath come for thee to board thy transport.
HOLDO The purpose of the transports is escape—
There must be one, however, who doth stay
To pilot th’empty cruiser to the last.
LEIA Too many tragic losses have I borne—
Another loss I cannot tolerate.
HOLDO Thou canst and wilt—indeed, thou taught’st me how.
LEIA [aside:] Sweet, longtime friend, this is a sad farewell.
BOTH O, may the Force—
LEIA —I say the words enow,
I prithee, this time let them come from thee.
HOLDO O, may the Force be always with thee, friend.
[They embrace. Exit Holdo toward the bridge. Leia and all others board a transport pod.
PILOT Our sly device of cloaking hath been trigger’d—
We should, therefore, be off our foes’ sharp scopes.
D’ACY This plan must work, or it shall work us woe.
POE [waking:] I am awake, yet all is like a dream.
Methinks I saw the general arrive
Upon the bridge—how long ago was this?
Alas, and now an indescribable
Uneasiness possesses me—a species
Of nervous hesitation and a tremor.
I have my bearings now—aboard a transport!
My cause is lost, the cruiser now abandon’d.
Nay, nay, it must not be.
LEIA —Poe, hither come.
See whither we are bound, O pilot brash.
POE My old inquisitiveness now returns:
What is the planet whereon thou dost look,
Which lingereth below us like a promise?
D’ACY The min’ral planet Crait—uncharter’d hideout
From back in the Rebellion days of old.
POE It is a Rebel base? [Aside:] The cards are dealt.
D’ACY Long since abandon’d; heav’ly armor’d, though,
With pow’r enow to send a signal of
Distress unto our allies, scatter’d th
rough
The Outer Rim.
LEIA —Vice Adm’ral Holdo knew
The rank First Order only track’d our cruiser,
Yet paid no mind unto the transports small.
POE We could unto the surface slip, unnotic’d,
And hide until the vile First Order passes.
While I was wrapp’d in admiration of
Another lovely vision, Holdo plann’d
A better future still. Her plan may work!
LEIA She was more interested in protecting
The light and life of our Resistance hopes
Than in becoming something like a hero.
POE I tread with heavy footsteps on the world—
Presume I ev’ryone hath heard of me.
The mighty Poe, heroic he, and brave,
Hast thou not heard of all his mighty exploits?
What vanity and self-importance, this,
Whilst strong Vice Adm’ral Holdo hath reveal’d
A path superior to mine in ev’ry
Respect—sans boasting, self-aggrandizing—
And, verily, sans threat’ning mutiny—
She hath a cunning plan pursu’d and realiz’d.
Poe, from this moment, know humility,
Know when to listen, how to calm thy rage,
Know when another’s thought should earn compliance,
Know how to show correct obedience,
Know that to lead shall following require.
Enter VICE ADMIRAL AMILYN HOLDO above, on balcony, on the bridge of the Raddus.
HOLDO Godspeed, you rebels, find your destiny—
And ever shall the Force remain with ye.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 2.
Aboard the Finalizer.
Enter two EXECUTION TROOPERS.
TROOPER 1 I say, my friend, hello. Hast thou been well?
TROOPER 2 I always am, on execution day.
There’s nothing so delightful to the soul
As to bedeck myself in white and black,
Betake myself unto the weapons vault,
Take up my laser ax, then kill a man.
Or woman, if ’tis needed. All’s the same.
TROOPER 1 Indeed, our posts are enviable to all.
Tell me, how hast thou spent thine idle time
Since last I saw thee at an execution?
TROOPER 2 I’ll tell thee, truly—I have read a book
About the Jedi and their bygone pow’r.
TROOPER 1 The Jedi? News surprising! I hope thou
Hast no intent to turn Resistance, hast thou?
TROOPER 2 Of course not, think thou no such thing of me.
In all the reading, though, I something learn’d:
Didst thou know Jedi Masters had the pow’r
To make themselves appear in one place, whilst
They actu’lly are in another place?
They could project an image of themselves,
To make all think they’re somewhere they are not.
TROOPER 1 O strange ability, and passing rare!
The implications, though—
TROOPER 2 —Are massive, aye.
What if ’twere only Qui-Gon Jinn’s appearance
Which Darth Maul did defeat upon Naboo?
TROOPER 1 Indeed! What if old Obi-Wan Kenobi
Still liveth, never was by Vader slain?
TROOPER 2 E’en Yoda, who hath perish’d—so ’tis said—
On Dagobah may still survive today.
TROOPER 1 Mayhap there is some Jedi convocation
Where all the Jedi Masters still reside
Most happily.
TROOPER 2 —Belike they rest upon
A beach somewhere, in quiet meditation,
E’er sending the appearance of themselves
On some small task across the galaxy.
“Holla, façade of Obi-Wan, get ye
Unto the market, for to buy me milk!”
TROOPER 1 “I’ll not take out the garbage, nay! Send mine
Appearance thither to the trash compactor!”
TROOPER 2 “Did not I see thee just the other day,
Perambulating with another woman?”
“Nay, love, it was not me, but my veneer!”
TROOPER 1 Ha, ha, the very thought! Yet something feels
Amiss, and sits not right within my soul.
Though we do joke, could not this pow’r be us’d
To thwart an enemy in times of war?
Could not whole generations have been sav’d
If Jedi sent th’appearance of themselves
To situations dire? And could not this
Prove our undoing, if ’twas ever us’d?
TROOPER 2 ’Tis well, then, we do hunt the final Jedi—
The last one ever who could use a pow’r
Like this against us. Soon enow this threat
Will be a clear impossibility.
TROOPER 1 Are we, friend, duty bound to tell what thou
Hast learn’d to Gen’ral Hux or Kylo Ren?
TROOPER 2 A fair and valid point. And, furthermore,
Such as may recommend us to our leaders.
What thinkest thee of this: we chop the heads
From these two troublesome, Resistance necks,
Then go at once unto our leaders and
Make full report—how falls that on thine ears?
TROOPER 1 A noble and most worthy plan, good comrade.
Though this ability of which thou speak’st
Is little us’d—and peradventure ne’er
Shall be employ’d—still, as we all do learn—
TROOPER 2 The better part of valor is discretion.
Indeed, thou hast it right. Now, off we go!
TROOPER 1 We must make haste—
BOTH —Or heads shall roll! Ha, ha!
Enter ROSE TICO, FINN, BB-8, and DJ guarded by CAPTAIN PHASMA and several FIRST ORDER TROOPERS and OFFICERS.
Enter GENERAL HUX.
HUX Thou traitor. My hand is too good for thee,
But it shall serve its purpose on thy face.
[Hux slaps Finn.
Well done, strong Captain Phasma—they are ours.
PHASMA [to DJ:] Thy ship and gold, e’en as was promis’d thee.
ROSE Thou lying, vicious snake, and villain, too!
DJ We all were caught, I mold mod made a deal.
FINN Wait, foe, what hadst thou, wherewith thou couldst bargain?
OFFICER 1 [to Hux:] We check’d the information from the thief—
We operated our decloaking scan,
And verily, like magic, they appear’d:
Full thirty transport ships of the Resistance
Hath ta’en the air outside the cruiser hangar.
HUX He told the truth—will wonders never cease?
A thief who tells no lies—a most rare thing!
Next thing one knows, we shall have honest statesmen.
Stand all our weapons ready?
OFFICER 1 —Yes, my gen’ral.
HUX Then fire at will.
[Exit Hux.
FINN —Nay, fiend!
ROSE —O never, nay!
FINN [to DJ:] Fie, bastard murderous! Thou villain base!
DJ Why bastard? Wherefore base? Now, gods, stand up
For bastards! Do dwell dwindle easy, Finn.
They bomb thy ships today, thou theirs tomorrow.
’Tis naught but busy busted business, see?
FINN How wrong thou art, thou fickle man.
DJ —Perhaps.
[Exit DJ. The Finalizer begins firing on Resistance transports.
&
nbsp; Enter VICE ADMIRAL AMILYN HOLDO above, on balcony, in the Raddus.
Enter RESISTANCE PILOT 2 in a beam.
PILOT 2 Vice Admiral, we take unceasing fire!
What is thine order? Shall we turn around?
HOLDO Nay, nay, thy ship is much too far away.
Fly thou with full speed to the planet—
PILOT 2 —Ah!
[Exit Pilot 2 from beam, dying.
HOLDO Incredible, this day of reckoning—
We stand like a man at a mark, with a
Whole army shooting at us presently.
Enter GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, POE DAMERON, LIEUTENANT CONNIX, and RESISTANCE PILOT 3 below, stage right, aside.
POE Alas! Our way at ev’ry step and plunge
Doth grow more noisome and more horrible—
Give it full thrusters and full speed, I bid thee.
PILOT 3 I do, sir—I would live as much as thee!
I swiftly fly, that we may swiftly flee!
HOLDO This slaughter shall not be the rebels’ end!
I’ll take what vengeance may be mine—e’en though
It cost my life, ’twill be my legacy.
Enter GENERAL HUX, CAPTAIN PEAVEY, and FIRST ORDER OFFICER 2, stage left, aside.
OFFICER 2 Sir, that Resistance cruiser doth prepare
To make a final jump into lightspeed.
HUX ’Tis empty, and doth seek to pull attention
From all the transport pods that thither flee.
Pay ye no mind to this pathetic move—
Maintain thy fire upon the transport group.
PHASMA An execution with a blaster is
Too high a fate for these two scraps of tin.
Let us, I prithee, fill their deaths with pain.
Come, executioners, unto your work!
ROSE They kick us from our knees unto our stomachs—
This powerless position is our last.
FINN They brandish laser axes passing fearful—
Come, Finn, prepare thy heart and soul for death.
CONNIX [to Poe:] Behold yon Holdo, in the cruiser there.
She turns the ship and flees the scene at once!
POE Nay, ’tis the farthest action from her mind—
In charity none gave more lib’rally.
She shall give all, that we may yet survive.
[Exeunt Leia, Poe, Connix, and Pilot 3.
HUX What’s this I see, the cruiser turns to us,
As if it were an arrow, we the target!
[To Officer 2:] Fire on that cruiser with a thousand deaths!
[Exeunt Hux, Peavey, and Officer 2, in dismay.