O, ’tis for the Rebellion a dark time.
For though they have the Death Star all destroy’d,
Imperi’l troops did from the ashes climb
And push the rebels closer to the void.
Across the galaxy pursu’d with speed,
The rebels flee th’Imperi’l Starfleet vast.
A group with Luke Skywalker in the lead
Hath to the ice world known as Hoth flown fast.
Meanwhile, the cruel Darth Vader is obsess’d
With finding young Skywalker. Thus he hath
Through ev’ry point of space begun his quest
By sending robot probes to aid his wrath.
In time so long ago begins our play,
In war-torn galaxy far, far away.

If flurries be the food of quests, snow on.
Belike upon this Hoth, this barren rock,
My next adventure waits. ’Tis time shall tell.
And yet, is it adventure that I seek?
Shall danger, fear, and action fill my days?
Shall all my life be spent in keen pursuit
Of great adventure and her fickle fame?
It seemeth I have had enough of life
To fill a thousand normal human lives—
A princess in a vision spake to me,
My aunt and uncle by stormtroopers slain,
A hasty flight from my home, Tatooine,
A pilot and a Wookiee and a Knight,
A rescue brave within our cruel foe’s grasp,
My teacher kill’d, and then the final scene:
The Death Star battle—many friends were lost,
But in the end a greater war was won.
Adventure hath both taken from my life,
And given to me ev’rything I have.
And thus I seek and shun its tempting ways.
E’en now adventure knocks upon the door:
A flaming orb hath struck the ground nearby.
Is it a portent of some ill to come?
[Into comlink:] ’Tis Echo-Three to Echo-Seven: Han,
My true companion e’er, canst thou hear me?

[through comlink:] Aye, truly, chuck, thy voice rings loud and clear.
What can I do for thee, my noble friend?

My circle ’round the area hath been
Completed now, but naught of life nor forms
Of life my scan hath yet uncover’d.

[through comlink:]—Nay.
There is not life enough upon this cube
Of ice to fill an empty space cruiser.
The sensors have I put in place, so shall
I now return unto the base.

—’Tis well,
And I, forsooth, shall soon meet with thee there.
But I have spied a met’orite that hath
Its landing made near here. So shall I go
And fix my eyes upon the scene. I’ll not
Be long, I warrant; then, I shall return.

You viewers all, whose gentle hearts do fear
The smallest womp rat creeping on the floor,
May now perchance both quake and tremble here,
When wampa rough in wildest rage doth roar.
Pray know that I a wampa simple am,
And take no pleasure in my angry mood.
Though with great force this young one’s face I slam,
I prithee know I strike but for my food.

Alas, is this th’adventure I am due,
To die upon a vicious monster’s whim?
I am attackèd by this awful beast!
O fate most wretched—shall I be his feast?

A scoundrel may not rise above his place—
This is a fact the galaxy doth teach.
For e’en though I have join’d rebellion’s ranks
These many weeks and months, and gain’d respect
Within their noble band, my scoundrel past
Doth make its harsh demands upon my life.
The bounty hunters sent by Jabba make
Pursuit to win the price upon my head.
So must I go once more unto the depths
Of my old life, find Jabba of the Hutt
And pay his ransom, thus to free my soul.
I would not leave my noble rebel friends,
I would not leave the cause for which they fight,
I would not leave the princess and her charm,
I would not leave all these, and yet I must.
A life’s not well lived under threat of death,
Especially with men of cruel intent—
Who for a price shall fill the Hutt’s demands—
Upon the trail of my indebtedness.
And so, my mate Chewbacca and I leave
Upon the instant that the ship is set to go.

I say, Chewbacca, ho! Aye, Chewie!

—Auugh!

Lose not thy temper, gentle Wookiee, nay,
But practice patience; I shall help thee soon.

Egh, auugh, egh.

—Solo, wouldst thou speak with me?

Good general, the sensors are in place,
And surely shalt thou know if aught comes near
Our hidden station here.

—Well. Prithee say,
Commander Skywalker, hath he yet made
Report?

—Nay, truly. He hath gone to see
A met’orite that hath made landfall near.

With all the met’orites a’falling in
This system, I believe we shall have pains
And trouble in detecting ’proaching ships.

[aside:] How shall I tell my news most difficult,
And crush this man’s great hopes for what’s ahead?
Fear not, O heart, but be direct and calm:
’Tis best approach’d straight on, like th’Kessel Run.
[To Rieekan:] My general, I cannot stay. I must
Make haste and get me hence, e’en now.

[aside:]—Alack,
How like a death knell sounds this news to me!

I tell thee truly when I say to thee:
This news doth break this gen’ral’s gentle soul.
I could not be more sorry, pilot brave.

A price still lies upon my head, and if
I do not make amends with Jabba, I
Shall not repay with money, nay, but life.

A price too dear, indeed! A death mark is
No kind companion to a free man’s life.
Thou art a warrior noble, Solo, and
I hate to lose thee.

—And thou art a kind,
Good general, sirrah, I hate to go.

And so, Your Highness great, this is the end.

’Tis so.

—I prithee mourn me not, and show
No sentiment. Farewell, thou princess cold.
[Aside:] I go, and hope she’ll follow hard upon,
For if she shall not follow, all is lost.

Han, halt!

—What is thy pleasure, Highness?

I did believe that thou had chos’n to stay.

The bounty hunter we did meet on Ord
Mantell hath chang’d my mind.

—We need thee, Han.

What “we”? Why speakest thou of “we”?
Dost thou in royal terms speak here of “we”?
Hast thou a rodent in thy pocket, such
That thou and he are “we”? What meanest thou?
What need is there that thou dost share with all?
Speak not of “we,” but “I.” O princess, what
Dost thou most need? Not “we,” not “they,” but thou?

I know not what thou speakest of.

—’Tis true.
Most probably thou dost not know thyself.

And what, pray tell, precisely should I know?
Of what great myst’ry am I unaware?
Hast thou the depths of Leia plumb’d and seen
What lies within my soul, my very core?

Be not elusive, nay! Thou wouldst that I
Should stay because of how thou feelest in
Thy heart about me. Need hath turn’d to want.
Pray, tell me not thy needs, but thy desires.

Thou art a leader full of skill, ’tis true.

Thine answer leadeth thee astray. Let fly!
I see it in thine aspect now, let fly!
Tell me the answer true.

—Thy vanity
Hath puff’d up thine imagination.

—Aye?
Then why dost thou yet follow me? Wert thou
Afraid I would depart without a kiss?

I would as eagerly kiss Wookiee lips.

That can arrangèd be. By heaven’s breath,
A kiss would suit thee well!

—O man of bile!
Thou wouldst make e’en the coolest temper burn,
For thou art made of heat and flame and fire.
No wood may stand within a mile of thee
But it shall roast as if ’twere on the sun.
And now, thy scorching manner lights my fuse.
Aye truly, I confess I am aflame:
Thine eyes create combustion in my heart,
Thy face doth cause my cheeks to flood with warmth,
Thy fingers set me trembling at their touch,
Thy hands may hold the secrets of my soul.
Thou hast a pow’r o’er Leia’s very self,
Yet wear my patience past what I can bear.
For O, how thou dost needle, jest, and prick
When thou dost think thy pride is at the stake.
Be not so full of bile, my noble Han.
I prithee, choose the tender side of wit.
If thou couldst ever put thy pride away,
Belike my prejudice would fall aside.
Then could our two hearts sing a melody,
Instead of clashing in disharmony.

O R2, thou dost ever plague me so!
E’en now have we been in dishonor sent
Away from our good princess’ chamber. Fie!
Such breach of etiquette and protocol,
And all the fault doth on thy shoulders lie.

Beep, meep, beep, whistle, meep, beep, squeak, nee, meep!

Lay not thy blame upon my shoulders, droid—
I did, at no point, ask thee to engage
The thermal heater. ’Twas but a remark
Upon the coldness of the princess’ room.

Beep, whistle, squeak.

—But freezing it should be!
And now, how shall we dry off all her clothes?
I truly know not how.

—Beep, meep, beep, hoo.

O, switch off!

[aside:]—Watch thy tongue, thou naughty droid,
Or I shall bring my wit to bear on thee
And thou shalt not escape my shocks and jabs.
For though I speak aloud in beeps and squeaks,
Within my mind a keener tongue prevails.
And though thou like a brother art to me,
I’ll happily correct your errant ways.
If thou didst think the thermal heater was
Too hot, then shalt thou surely not endure
The fire that I shall kindle with my wit.

[to Chewbacca:] Why hast thou taken this apart when
I am striving to depart this wretched place?

Excuse me, Sir.

—Pray, mend the ship, and swift!

Please, Sir, a word with thee.

—What dost thou want?

’Tis Princess Leia, Sir, she strives to reach
Thee on th’communicator.

—Then ’twas wise
That I did turn it off, for I have no
Desire to speak with her.

—I see. But she
Hath after Master Luke made inquiry,
For surely he hath not return’d unto
The base. She knows not where he is.

—In that
Her mind and mine are one. I know not where
He is.

—But no one knows his whereabouts.

What dost thou mean by “no one,” prating droid?
Deck officer, deck officer!

—Yes, Sir?

Dost thou know where Commander Skywalker Is?

—I’ve not seen him, but ’tis possible
He through the entrance to the south return’d.

“’Tis possible”? I prithee, good lad, go
Thou thither and find out. It grows quite dark
Outside.

—Aye, Sir.

—Excuse me, Sir, but may
I ask what doth transpire?

—Thou mayst indeed.

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.

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.

Good Sir, Commander Skywalker hath not
Come in the entrance to the south. He may
Have but forgotten to check in.

—Nay, nay.
His nature is not thus. Now tell me, are
The speeders ready?

—Nay, we have not yet
Adapted them unto the cold of Hoth.

So then upon a tauntaun’s back I’ll ride.
Though with especial foulness they abuse
My nose, they are the speediest we have.

But Sir, the temp’rature doth drop too fast
For any living being to survive.

’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.

Thy tauntaun shall but freeze ere thou canst ride
Unto our prim’ry marker, I predict.

Then I shall dine with thee tonight in Hell!

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!

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.

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.

—Whistle, hoo.

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.

[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.

Sir, all patrols are in, and still no sign
From either Skywalker or Solo.

—Dread!

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.

Your Highness, I do fear there’s nothing more
That we may do tonight. The shield doors must
Be closèd.

—I consent, but with a heart
That breaketh even now.

[to Lieutenant:]—Aye, close the doors.

Meep, beep, meep squeak.

—Now R2 doth report
The odds of their survival in the cold
Are seven hundred twenty-five to one.

Egh, grrm, egh, auugh!

—Though R2’s wont to make
Mistakes, from time to time. O dear, O dear.

[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.

—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!

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.

But now, e’en now, what vision comes to me?

Luke!

—Ben?

—Attend me, Luke. Thou shalt unto
The system Dagobah go.

—Dagobah?

There thou shalt learn the Force from Yoda, aye—
The Jedi master who instructed me.

Ben, leave me not! Alas, I fall again.

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!

[muttering:] O Ben, O Dagobah!

—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.

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!

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.

—Fine good morning, lads,
’Twas nice of you to fin’lly come around.

Hear, Echo Base: I say, they have been found!

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.

Good Master Luke, my wires are fill’d with joy
To see thee fully functional again.

[aside:] O that I too could speak aloud!

R2 expresseth his relief as well!

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.

—Truly, thanks to thee.

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.

—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.

—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.

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.

[laughing:]—Gihut, gihut, gihut!

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.

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!

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?

Thus is it plain that till thou tam’st thy tongue,
No tongue of woman shalt thou comprehend.

Egh, auugh, gihut!

[from speaker:]
—All personnel report
Unto the center of command at once.

[aside:] Well hath she play’d the trump.

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.

A visitor hath come, my princess. ’Tis
Outside the base, in sector twelve, and doth
Appear to be directed eastward.

—’Tis
A thing of metal, cold and harsh and sleek—
It is not animal.

—Well, then ’tis not
The self-same creature that did harm our Luke.
But what do ye men think that it may be?

Belike a speeder, one of ours?

—Nay, wait.
A signal dim doth reach unto mine ears.

[through comlink:] Beh mena bem bem. Mena bem bem beh.

Good Sir, six million forms of language do
I know, and I may tell thee true that this
Strange signal is not by th’Alliance us’d.
It may, perhaps, be an Imperi’l code.

’Tis not a friendly sound, that much is sure.
Now Chewie, come with me and we’ll to it.
[Aside:] Snow creatures first, and now Imperi’l droids,
What portents of great evil may these be?
Though I am brave, forsooth these signs do make
E’en my courageous heart begin to fear.
I find myself afraid of what may come,
That my whole soul shall freeze ere this is done.
[To all:] Chewbacca and myself have ventur’d out
To see the probe. Now Chewie gives a shout—
It fires on him, and I respond in turn.
Be gone, thou enemy of all that’s right.
But wait, now what hath happen’d? I releas’d
A blast most simple—aye, a single blast.
Yet it appears that single blast was all
It could withstand; the blast was lethal, friends.
Now naught is left, for it hath been destroy’d.

What was’t?

—A droid. My blast did not strike hard,
Belike the thing did self-destruct.

—’Tis clear!
A probe droid from the Empire. This doth mean
The start of our rebellion’s flight from Hoth,
For now that we discoverèd have been
We lack security.

—Agreed. Methinks
The Empire knoweth we are here on Hoth.
[Aside:] My sense of doom and dread is not without
Its cause, for this event is grave indeed.

Good friends, dear rebels, comrades one and all,
We have no choice but to flee hastily.
Our swift evacuation shall commence,
And till ’tis done, make ready our defense.

My admiral?

—Yes, Captain.

—Here’s a thing
That thou shouldst see, good Sir. We have receiv’d
Report from a Hoth system probe, the best
That we have found so far.

—Your best, belike,
Shall bested be, for thousands of these probes
We have a’wandering the galaxy
And looking for the rebels. I want proof,
Piett, not leads. Proof—only that—is best.

But Sir, this best is better yet, for it
Hath found some forms of life upon the ground.

How better yet? How best? It could be but
An error or some useless reading. If
We were to follow ev’ry lead, our best
Would soon turn worst.

—And yet I do maintain
My best is better yet for this: ’tis said
That Hoth is all devoid of human forms.
It seems, good Sir, the rebels have been found.
Why else would sign of life appear on Hoth?
I’ll warrant, Sir, my forecast shall prevail.

You have found something good?

—My Lord, we have.
A probe that late hath made descent on Hoth
Hath made discovery of both life forms
And the appearance of a power source.

Thy judgment hath prov’d best, Piett: ’tis them.
Forsooth, the rebels may be found therein.

My Lord, there are throughout the galaxy
So many settlements we have not mapp’d.
This could be smugglers, maybe even—

—Nay,
That is the system, certain am I of’t,
And Skywalker is with them there. Now set
Thy course t’ward Hoth, and Gen’ral Veers, prepare
Your men for combat.

—Hath not a Sith eyes?
Hath not a Sith such feelings, heart, and soul,
As any Jedi Knight did e’er possess?
If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you
Blast us, shall we not injur’d be? If you
Assault with lightsaber, do we not die?
I have a body as do other men,
Though made, in part, of wires and steel. And aye,
I vari’us passions feel, as all men do.
So I, a Sith, shall not distracted be
Till I attain the thing for which I seek.
Therefore I shall pursue this Skywalker
Unto the limit of the galaxy.
For true, he hath the Death Star quite destroy’d,
And true, he hath the Force with him as well.
But truly, more than that the boy doth have—
For truth be told, his name doth stir my soul.
The boy’s connection to myself I do
Not understand as yet. This Skywalker
Must have some link to my life past, but what?
So shall this Sith pursue this rebel lad,
And find the missing truth of Vader’s life.

What news dost thou have, Gen’ral Veers?

—My Lord,
Our noble fleet hath flown to Hoth in haste
With hopes to catch the rebels by surprise.
The fleet has movèd out of lightspeed now,
But com-scan hath detected a sharp shield
Of energy surrounding planet six
Within the system. It is strong enough
To hinder what bombardment we can make.
This grim news I report with sadden’d mien:
It seems, my Lord, our fleet is all too close.

The rebels are aware of our attack,
For Adm’ral Ozzel left lightspeed too near
To the Hoth system.

—He believ’d surprise
Was wiser…

—Say no more. Speak not to his
Defense. He is as clumsy as he is
Replete with ignorance. Prepare your troops
Now, Veers, to lead a ground attack. We shall
Still win the day, despite the blunder.

—Aye.

Lord Vader, I am happy to report
The fleet has come out of lightspeed and is
Prepar’d to—

—Thou hast fail’d me once again,
But nevermore shalt thou have chance to fail.
I bring the Force to bear upon thy throat
That thou, in thy last breath, shalt know my pow’r.
Captain Piett?

—My Lord?

—Prepare to land
Our troops beyond the shield of energy,
And then deploy our fleet so naught can ’scape
The system. Do it, Admiral Piett.
And be thou sure to rise to thy new rank.

Alas, with this promotion comes some dread,
For Vader hath no rev’rence for the head.

A pilot must respect his ship with care,
And play physician to her ev’ry need.
With patience and with tender healing touch
I caringly embrace each bolt and wire.
Now, ’tis repair’d. [To Chewbacca:] Good Chewie, try it now!

Egh.

—Nay! Act thou with speed, and turn it off!
[Aside:] Physician, heal thyself from too much haste.

[aside:] The last time I said my farewell to these
Compatriots of mine, ’twas ere the Death
Star battle when it seem’d as though they were
Deserting us. But now, their valor prov’d,
Their hearts align’d with good Rebellion’s cause,
I’ll wish them on their merry way with joy.
[To Chewbacca:] Chewbacca, brave, ’tis now my time to leave,
For soon to Dagobah my path is bound.

[embracing Luke:] Egh!

—How your tight embrace doth warm my heart—
But also strains my bones, thou jolly brute.

Well met, young lad. [To droid:] There must a reason be
Why this malfunction hath occur’d. But now,
I prithee, get thee hence.

Art thou yet well?

Aye, verily. [Aside:] O what words would I say
To this man here, if words were loud enough!
But hath a word e’er been created, which
Could tell the comrade’s love I feel for him,
Articulate the good I sense in him,
Express the debt of life I owe to him?
At times ’tis true that words betray us all—
The mighty pow’r of language fails to speak,
And neither tongue nor rhetoric gives aid.
This Han hath found a life among our band
That did transform his former, solo self,
But now he takes his leave to pay the price
Of former indiscretions come to call.
I would explain how much he means to me,
I would disclose my deep respect for him,
I would unveil my brotherlike regard,
I would reveal the workings of my soul—
But at this moment words are render’d weak.
Thus, he must see the story in my eyes,
Peruse the tale that’s told within my heart,
And there read more than ever can be penn’d.

Now be thou careful, friend.

—And thou as well.

A noble lad, and true. If Fate is kind,
I shall make right the danger I am in
And live to fight aside him once again.

My general, a group of Star Destroy’rs
Has just emerg’d from hyperspace, and now
Has been detected in yon sector four.

Divert all pow’r unto our forward shield.
In doing so we may protect the base
Until the transports their escape have made.
Then, let us all prepare for ground assault.
[To all:] Good gentlemen and women, come ye near!
For we shall now our very lives defend.

Good cheer! All preparation hath been made,
Both for the swift retreat of transports hence,
And to defend our base until they’re fled.
The carriers shall meet up at the north,
And larger transports leave once they are full.
Two fighter escorts shall be sent with each
And shall remain quite close, for our strong shield
Will be disarm’d a fleeting length of time.
’Twill be a passage dangerous no doubt,
But with the Force we shall prevail, indeed.

I prithee, say again: shall only two
Of our small fighters match a Star Destroy’r?

Pray, screw your courage to the sticking place.
Our ion cannons shall with lethal fire
Make ev’ry pathway clear. When you have clear’d
The shield of energy, then go anon
Unto our rendezvous. Do all agree?
Will ye all go in great rebellion’s name?

Aye, Princess, aye!

—We shall heed thy command.

Now ev’ryone unto their stations, go!

[to Controller:] Belike the power generators will
Their prim’ry target be. Prepare thou now
To open up the shield. And may the Force
Attend our swift retreat, our hearts inspire!

Now standby ion cannon; aye, and fire.

The transports make their way deep into space;
The ion cannon leads as they take flight.
But now the rebels grave new dangers face,
As th’Empire sends a ground assault to fight.

How dost thou fare, good Sir? For I have heard
Of your unlucky recent incident.
How is it with thee after the attack?

Quite well, I thank thee, Dack. And art thou well?

Aye, truthfully, Commander—I do feel
I could the Empire overthrow myself,
If I were giv’n the opportunity.
A single warrior to bring them down,
A single hand to show rebellion’s strength,
A single mind that could outwit them all,
A single Dack to best the Empire’s might.

O noble soul, how like a soldier said!
It seems that thou and I are fashion’d from
One cloth—one fabric knits our souls together.
The feeling you express is one I’ve known.
Indeed, it is a potent privilege,
But also brings responsibility.

But who did bid thee join with us?

—Piett.
’Twas he who order’d me to come with ye
To crush the rebels and their little base.

Well said, for I know of no baser base—
’Twill be a vict’ry great when ’tis destroy’d.
But think ye we shall in this fight prevail?
The rebels are a force formidable.

My friends, we have had quite enough of talk:
The battle is upon us, let us go.
And ye who doubt, I pray remember this:
Although we are but AT-ATs gray and plain,
We have a noble task to undertake—
Our mighty Emperor’s reign to protect,
The great Darth Vader to obey and aid,
And Admiral Piett to serve with pride.
So shall an AT-AT swoon before the fight,
Or should our legs be shaken ere th’assault?
Have we been made to cower? I say nay!
An AT-AT should be made of sterner stuff.

[to AT-AT 2:] I pray, good walker, is he ever thus?

Aye, truly, Sir, I never yet have met
An All Terrain Armorèd Transport who
Is loftier of mind than this one here.
Indeed, although like us he’s made of steel,
He never enters battle zones unless
He hath made some great speech to steel his nerves.
It does no harm.

—No harm, but to mine ears.
I’d rather fight than hear another speech.

Now let us go, these rebels to destroy!

[to rebel pilots:] Now stay together, men.

—Alas, good Luke,
The ship’s computer hath malfunction’d. O,
I am not set for this attack!

—Be patient.
We shall use pattern delta now, anon!

rebels quickly retreat.
A hit! A very palpable hit. Wait,
Although my shots have found their mark, their blasts
Have no effect. It is their armor, fie!
Our blasters are too weak to penetrate
The strength of their robust exteriors.
Rogue group, use thy harpoons and cables, too.
Let us go for their legs and trip them up—
Perhaps they may be bested from beneath.
Dack, art thou with me?

—This malfunction hath
Put fire into the system. I’ll attempt
To quickly gain some pow’r another way.

I prithee, be thou careful now, young Dack!

Alas, I die! Farewell, Commander Luke!

Nay, Dack! O agony of battle, curse
Of war, and dread of ev’ry soldier’s heart:
To suffer at the hands of enemies,
To end one’s days by pow’r of the unjust!
What use is war? For it doth ravage all
Within its path, and what hath it e’er solv’d?
’Tis rare that peace doth follow in war’s wake.
Indeed, this recent blow doth only urge
And heighten my destructive sentiments:
I shall avenge thee, Dack, and slay these here
Who have thy lifeblood ta’en, and seal’d thy fate.

No more of these amusements with the weak.
’Tis time to make this victory our own:
Head for the power generator, mates,
The battle’s nearly won!

—Rogue Three, dost hear?

I do, Rogue Leader.

—Wedge, I need thee now.
I’ve lost my gunner: thou must strike their legs
With thy harpoon. I’ll give thee aid—we’ll fly
Together, follow close behind me.

—Aye!
Now activate harpoon and slay these beasts!

What treachery! The rebels have assail’d
My weakest part. My legs, good comrades—they
Have struck where I most vulnerable am.

Well hit, brave Janson. Now encircle him
And bring this giant down to meet his end.
It worketh, friends! His legs hath been confin’d,
And thus the brute hath trouble with his stride.
Just one more pass around, and then detach!

The cable is detach’d! He falls!

—Alack;
I perish now, my comrades. Win the day!

A-ha!—and thus our Dack hath been aveng’d!

I see thy handiwork; well done, strong Wedge.
Dack’s memory we honor by this strike.

The rebels have destroy’d one of our lot,
But we shall yet o’erwhelm them utterly.
I’ll make approach unto their hidden base,
Identify their systems in my sights,
And then shall on the generator fire.

Rogue Two, art thou beside me in this fight?
We need the help of ev’ry fighter here.
Not long ago thou rescu’d Han and me
From our meek shelter on the ice of Hoth:
Thou art a man of cunning, strength, and wit.
And thus I ask thee on thy honor, Sir:
Art thou prepar’d to face this harsh assault?

Aye, verily, Rogue Leader, that I am.
My life I am prepar’d to sacrifice
To save rebellion from this fierce attack.

Then let us all approach the knaves again.
Prepare your swift harpoon and we shall strike!

They think themselves the noble ones, but we
Defend the Emp’ror’s righteousness today.

Well spoken. Let us fight for Empire’s might!

O Luke, I have been hit, and die anon!
Remember me whene’er thou speak’st of this.

Alas, poor Zev. Too many lost—such good
And worthy men have met their end to these
Confounded walkers. Fie! This battle bleak
May mean Rebellion’s end. ’Tis now my turn—
My ship hath ta’en a hit. I fall, yet am
Not slain. Indeed, though here I lie upon
The ground, I spy an opportunity.
For while this awful monster walks above,
I spy his weakness as I lie below.
He passes just beyond me—now to it!
Revenge should have no bounds when friends are slain,
And now their memory doth push me on.
My lightsaber shall strike the lethal blow;
I’ll hit where he shall feel it, in his heart—
If ever such cruel beast did have a heart.

I perish, comrade true, but fall with pride!

Although my fellow AT-ATs meet their ends,
I press toward my goal with purpose firm.
The rebels’ power generator is
Within the target of my lasers keen.
Now all the fallen AT-ATs I salute
As for my noble Emperor I shoot!

Our pow’r is insufficient to protect
Two transports at one time.

—’Tis risky, aye,
But this base overpower’d is, and shall,
I fear, withstand no more of this attack.
We have no choice.

—Indeed, thou speakest true.
[Into comlink:] Launch all patrols.

[to aide:]—Evacuate the staff
Who do remain within the base. Make haste!

These endless fixes now are nearly done,
And soon we may take flight. ’Tis none too soon—
This base shall not survive this great attack.

Auugh!

—Nay, nay! This one here and that one there.
’Tis clear? [Aside:] I do admit this Wookiee here is dear,
But if he break my ship I’ll break his pate!

My R2 small, pray be thou safe, good friend,
And take especial care of Master Luke.
Farewell, farewell! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say farewell till thou hast left.

[aside:] “Till thou hast left”? No poet he, indeed.
Alas, it seems that romance is not one
Of 3PO’s six million forms of speech.

O zounds! What is this pow’rful shaking here?
The base begins to crumble even now.
Our humble shelter made of snow and ice
Is now defeated by the Empire’s might
And starts to fall apart. O, shall we too?
Shall our rebellion suffer this same Fate—
To be destroyèd by the Empire cruel?
To be demolish’d by Imperi’l strength?
Though I had plann’d to go and save myself
From Jabba’s bounty hunters, I cannot:
This smuggler-captain never shall desert
Whilst friends nearby do mortal peril face.
I shall not steal away and leave behind
The princess who doth lead the rebels true.
She is of great importance, and my life
Must be but secondary to her fate.
So shall I take her in the Falcon swift
And spirit her away to someplace safe.
’Tis not because of how I feel about
Her, nay; naught there of love, that much is true—
Or if ’tis not, I’ll tell myself it is.
Now to it, Han, ere our great cause is lost.

Your Worship, art thou well?

—O, wherefore art
Thou yet within this base? Hast thou not fled?

The center of command has been struck down.

And yet hast thou thy clearance to depart.

Depart I shall, but first deliver thee
Unto thy ship.

—Your Highness, we must take
This final transport. ’Tis our only hope!

[through comlink:] Imperi’l troops have come into the base!
Imperi’l troops have come into the base!

Now end thy stubborn ways, and set aside
Thy prejudice. Thou wilt come with me now,
I do command it. Neither argument
Nor moving speech nor aught that thou canst say
Shall sway me now: thou wilt come with me, Princess.

[aside:] O noble man, protector of my soul!
[To aide:] Send our evacuation code and get
Thee to thy transport.

—Prithee, wait for me!

The battle is within the very walls,
And ev’ry portent tells of dread and doom.
[Into comlink:] Good transport, this is Solo. Take your leave—
Our way has now become a wayward thing,
All fill’d with mounds of ice that block our path.
This moment calls for quick decision. Thus,
I shall with Leia flee on Falcon’s wings.

But wait, where do you go? Pray, do come back!
Most typical this is. O wretched fate,
To be deserted by my friends most dear.
These human beings care but little for
Us droids who ever serve with loyalty.
Thus shall I end my days within this base,
A frozen remnant of the rebels’ stay
On Hoth. Belike one day explorers shall
Discover this defeated base, shall dig
Into its core and find a golden droid
Whose final resting place was ice and snow.
“Who would abandon such a lovely droid?”
No doubt this shall be their response when they
Espy me here. “What wretched humans would
Leave such a one as this alone to rot?”
I shudder at this thought, let it not be!
O open up your hearts unto my kind,
Then open wide this door for kindness’ sake!

Anon, thou goldenrod, thou heap of scrap,
Else shalt thou ever stay within this base
And make thyself a lasting icy grave.

[aside:] This man is both the reason for my pain
And for my joy. My gratitude o’erflows!

[to Chewbacca:] Now wherefore doth the ship not function right?

Pray, would it help if I did disembark
And push with all a princess’ might upon’t?

Belike!

—Pray, Captain Solo, Captain Solo!

Tut!

—It shall wait.

—This bucket full of bolts
Shall ne’er beyond that blockade make escape.
We may as well depart the base aboard
A tauntaun’s furry back!

—The ship hath yet
Surprising, keen maneuvers, sweetheart. Watch!
The ship protects us with its lasers true
Against th’Imperi’l troops who come at us.
See, Princess, see? Now Chewie, let us fly,
And hope we shall not burn the engine out.
Repairs are made—let us repair to space!

One day thou shalt be wrong, and well I hope
I shall bear witness to thy failure great.

Anon, Chewbacca, lead us to our fate!

The recent battle is both lost and won:
’Tis lost because of rebels who expir’d,
’Tis lost because our base is compromis’d,
’Tis lost because our time on Hoth is done,
’Tis lost because we now evacuate.
And yet, ’tis won because two walkers fell,
’Tis won because the foes arriv’d too late,
’Tis won because our transport is away,
’Tis won because we live to fight again.
R2, we leave anon. With all due speed
Prepare the ship for takeoff.

—Meep, beep, squeak!

Fear not, R2, for now we fly!

—Beep, hoo.

Now flies my weary soul to Dagobah,
The place that hath in vision called to me.
I know not what or who this Yoda is,
Yet do I trust the ghost of my dear Ben.
To be a Jedi is my calling now,
To learn the ways of the most potent Force.
Already have I had more mentors than
Most people would e’er know in seven lives.
But here I am, drawn t’ward another quest—
To travel to an unknown system, aye,
And meet an unknown person who, perhaps,
Doth not expect my sudden visit there.
Yet I believe the words that came from Ben
Were better than a foolproof prophet’s tale.
There is a tide in the affairs of Jedi,
Which taken at the flood, leads to the Force.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in black holes and in miseries.
On such a full sea I am now afloat.
And I must take the current where it serves,
Or lose my chance to find my destiny.

[aside:] O noble speech, with feeling brute and raw.
My master’s honor shall I serve with pride.
How best to show him I stand by his side?
I’ll offer ways to help him navigate.
[To Luke:] Beep, meep, meep, squeak, beep, whistle, whistle, beep?

Nay, nothing’s wrong, I merely change our course.

Meep, beep, squeak, whistle, beep, meep, meep, beep, whee?

We shall not rendezvous with our friends yet.
Unto the system Dagobah we travel—
And what we shall meet there, time shall unravel.

Hoth is a memory, but trouble still
Doth follow close behind. With threat’ning force
The Empire’s ships aggressively pursue
My well-belovèd ship. Shall we escape?

Auugh!

—Truly, Chewie, I did see them too!

I prithee, say—what hast thou seen, O Han?

Two Star Destroyers coming t’ward the ship.

Sir, Sir, may I but say a thing to thee?

Pray, shut him up or shut him down, anon!
Prepare our shield—they still may be outrun.
[Aside:] With all my pilot’s wisdom, skill, and might
I shall attempt to outwit these who chase.
Now watch, you Empire vile, how I do fly!
First up and down, aye, up and down, this Han
Will lead them up and down. Away we go!
Now back and forth, then back around again.
They are confounded by my errant moves.
Ha, ha! They are confus’d and fall behind.
Thus we have slipp’d away, soon safe from harm.
[To Chewbacca:] Make ready for the jump to hyperspace.

But Sir!

—They do approach!

Observe? What’s to observe, pray tell me plain?

A fig! The ship seems to malfunction. Fie!
’Tis possible we may in trouble be.

I tried to warn thee, Sir, the hyperdrive
Hath damag’d been, and cannot do its task!
Lightspeed is verily unfeasible!

Correction: we in trouble truly are.
O that all I had fix’d were truly fix’d!
But now I must in haste—and under threat
Of death—attempt to fix the ship once more.

Where are the horizontal boosters hid?

Egh, auugh!

—Alluvi’l dampers, where are they?
[Aside:] If only I were but more organiz’d!
’Tis true that order’s not a smuggler’s gift.
[To Chewbacca:] Bring me the hydrospanners quickly now.
[Aside:] I know not how we shall escape this time.
Of all the situations I have seen,
Of all the problems small or dangers great,
Of all the rubs and scrapes have scratch’d my life,
Of all the enemies just barely fled—
This moment now doth seem the worst of all.

Alack, now what is this? What shakes the ship?
How have we gone from bad to still worse yet?

Good Han, return at once!

’Tis asteroids!

[aside:] O wicked thought and wonderful idea
That cometh to me in this frightful time.
I shall here chart a course none would expect:
Not flee from danger, nay, but welcome it,
And in so doing break the Empire’s grip
While rescuing my princess from all harm.
[To Chewbacca:] Set course two-seven-one.

—What didst thou say?
Thou wilt not enter in the ast’roid field?
For certain thou art wild—but not insane!

Yet they would be the madder to give chase.

Thou must not do this to impress me, Han.
[Aside:] Already he hath won my heart, ’tis true,
Yet would I rather live to tell him so!

Good Sir, attend: the possibility
Of navigating fields of ast’roids is
Three thousand seven hundred twenty to
But one—the odds are well against thee here!

The odds of rescuing a princess: low.
The odds of smuggler turning rebel: lower.
The odds of ending th’Death Star: lowest yet!
I tell thee, droid: assail me not with odds!

[aside:] Behold, what keen maneuvers doth he make,
And how, like Gungans sinking in the swamp,
Our enemies do fall behind us, slain.
What bravery he showeth for my sake.

If you recall, Your Highness, you did hope
You would bear witness to my failure great:
It may be now.

—My word I do rescind.
We shall be pulveriz’d if we remain
A’floating in this field of wayward rocks.
Thou hast thy honor proven, Han, now please:
Let us seek safety in another place.

I cannot argue with thine argument.
I shall attempt to fly us closer in
Toward a larger ast’roid.

—Closer?

—Auugh!

O this is suicide, for where have we
To go where we may yet survive? Are we
Not bound for death?

—Aye, this one here shall do.
It hath a goodly look.

—What “goodly look”?

Be calm, I prithee, for it shall suffice.

Excuse me, Princess, but where are we bound?

My hope flies unto you, most worthy man,
My hope for us, and for our safety, too.
I hope it is the Force that leadeth thee,
I hope that thou dost know what thou dost do.

Thy hopes do echo mine, my lady, true.

[aside:] O sight most tragic, this—a robot-man
Who doth require a mask to stay alive.
What situation e’er did lead to this?
How can he stand to live beneath a mask?
But soft, Piett, and reconsider this:
Aye, verily, how shall I judge? The mask
He wears is far more obvious than most.
With Vader it is plain he wears a mask,
Though few have seen the scarring underneath.
But truly, what man doth not wear a mask?
For all of us are maskèd in some way—
Some choose sharp cruelty as their outward face,

Some put themselves behind a king’s façade,
Some hide behind the mask of bravery,
Some put on the disguise of arrogance.
But underneath our masks, are we not one?
Do not all wish for love, and joy, and peace?
And whether rebel or Imperial,
Do not our hearts all beat in time to make
The pounding rhythm of the galaxy?
So while Darth Vader’s mask keeps him alive,
And sits upon his face for all to see,
’Tis possible he is more honest than
A man who wears no mask, but hides his self.
But come, Piett, now still thy prating tongue—
His private time is done, his mask back on.

Yes, Admiral?

—Our ships have found the swift
Millenn’um Falcon, Lord. However, it
Hath ventur’d deep into an ast’roid field.
It seems unsafe to make pursuit therein:
To follow it is far too great a risk.

Thy fear of asteroids concerns me not.
I want the ship, not thy most weak dismay.

I understand, my Lord, and shall obey.

What misadventure I have seen today!
Our sensors spied no cities or machines
Within this system desolate, but life
Forms plenty. As we made our way unto
The planet’s atmosphere, all went awry:
My X-wing ship began to shake and groan.
My scopes had fail’d, and I did blindly spin
Into a landing doom’d to end with strife.
’Tis almost fortunate that I did land
Within this swampy bog where now the ship
Is partway sunk, for had I hit the ground
My ship and droid and even my own self
Might have been crush’d, and ev’rything destroy’d.
But now my ship is fixèd in the mire,
And how it shall come out I cannot tell.
Was this first trouble all I would endure?
Nay, nay! It seemeth Fate did not see fit
To send pain singular, but multiple!
Fate hath provided pains abundantly,
For this is not the end of our distress.
As R2 and I headed for the shore
He fell into the water, wheels to scope,
And was assaulted by a mighty beast—
Aye, swallow’d whole and disappear’d from sight.
For seeming ages I did search for him,
To no avail. And then, with frightful scream,
He was ejected from the swamp as fast
As proton-fill’d torpedoes from their shaft.
Above my head he sail’d, well o’er the ground,
And landed in a heap of dirt and grime.
’Twas only for his metal-tasting shell
This little droid shall live to see tomorrow.
So much misfortune! After all this pain
I should feel grateful still to have my life.
But now we are maroon’d within a place
Where neither friend nor contact may be found.
I should have listen’d to the wise R2
When he said coming here would work us woe.
Our camp is now set up, our food prepar’d,
My faithful R2 chargeth up his pow’r,
The semblance of good order we present—
But I have neither stomach nor desire
To sit down to a hale and hearty feast.
More pressing, too, I must this Yoda find,
Indeed, if that good man doth e’en exist.
Look ’round about, R2: is this place not
Unlikely for a Jedi master’s home?
’Tis strange, ’tis passing strange, ’tis pitiful.

Beep, squeak?

—I know not what it is, dear friend.
’Tis like some thing appearing from a dream,
Some midnight reverie I cannot shake.
For neither does this circumstance seem real,
Nor do I slumber here—aye, that I know.
It seems the place is but a walking shadow—
Not dream, not wake, but something in between.
The strangeness of the scene creeps in my bones,
Yet also do I feel familiar pangs.

Beep, whistle, meep?

—I know not. I do feel—

What dost thou feel, hmm?
Prithee, I would truly know
What is it thou feel’st?

That odd, familiar sense that we are watch’d!

Beep, beep, meep, whistle, beep, squeak, whistle, nee!

Away with weapons!
I mean no harm, but wonder
Why thou hast come here.

Thou sneaking imp! I look for someone here.

Looking, are you, hmm?
Found someone you have, it seems!
Is that not correct?

’Tis true, I may suppose—I’ve someone found,
Though such a one as this did not expect.

Help you I can, aye.
[Aside:] I, indeed, more help shall be
Than he imagines.

Nay, I think not. My search is for a great
And mighty warrior, a man of strength!

O, great warrior!
A great warrior you seek?
Wars not make one great.
But soft, no more of
Talking, for my appetite
Dinner demandeth.
Thus shall I explore
The food thou hast here prepar’d.
Mmm, and I shall taste.

Nay, nay, unhand my supper, little one!

How dost grow so big
When the food of thy diet
Is of this strange kind?

Attend, my friend, thou must leave this alone.
My food I shall have need of, as we strive
To free our ship. I did not try to land
Inside that puddle drear, and if we could
Our ship remove, we would. But we cannot—
At least, I know not how it shall be done.

Unfortunate ship…
Thou canst not get it out, hmm?
O, what merry light!

A mess thou now hast made! Give me that light!

’Tis mine, it is mine!
I shall the pretty thing have
Or I help you not.

I need not thine assistance, nay! I need
My lamp, for it shall guide me out of this
Most slimy and disgusting hole of mud!

What slimy, what mud?
Thou speak’st indeed of my home.

Alas, naughty droid!

O R2, let the creature have it now.

Now move along, good fellow. We have much
To do. Thou art small in both size and help.

Nay, nay, I shall stay.
For I shall stay and help thee
Find thy long lost friend.

Thou dost not understand, thou useless scamp.
I search not for a friend in this damp place,
But for a Jedi master wise in skill!

O Jedi master!
Yoda that you seek it is.
’Tis truly Yoda!

[aside:] A strange turn of events! This tiny sprite
May yet prove useful if he knows the man.
[To Yoda:] Attend: thou know’st of Yoda, little one?

I’ll take thee to him.
Aye, but first, let us eat food.
Come, I good food have!

I follow. R2, stay and watch the camp—
Mayhap some hope still lives within this damp.

Now shall I shut down ev’rything except
The ship’s emergency pow’r systems.

—Sir,
I am almost afraid to ask, but doth
This mean that I shall be shut down as well?

Nay, nay, good droid, for thou shalt speak unto
The Falcon to determine wherefore doth
The hyperdrive not operate aright.
For once I find thee useful, goldenrod.

Sir, it is possible this ast’roid may
Not be entirely stable.

—Dost thou think?
O droid of wisdom, skill, and excellence—
Howe’er would I survive if I did not
Have thee here to reveal such mysteries?
From usefulness to obvious within
A single stroke. I pray, Chewbacca, take
This scholar made of wires and metal to
The back and plug him in the hyperdrive!

Sometimes I do not comprehend the strange
And varied ways of human beings. True
It is that I did only try to help!

[aside:] O happy accident! O fall most fair!
Now in his arms, where I have long’d to be,
I know not whether ’tis the ship or if
It is my heart that I feel quaking. Yet,
Alas, this moment not befits our love.
The situation is too strain’d. I wish,
With all my being, to be in this place—
But not like this. [To Han:] Pray, let me go.

—Tut, tut!

I prithee, let me go.

[aside:]—O small request
That tears apart my soul! [To Leia:] Indeed, indeed,
Be not with such excitement overcome.

My captain, being held by you is far
Too plain a thing to e’er excite my mood.

I crave your kindly pardon, sweetheart fierce,
But we have little time for something else—
I’ll leave thee here alone and then, mayhap,
The time apart shall heighten thy desire.

O man of pride and will most obstinate!
However can I love thee, being as
You are? But being other than you are,
I would not love thee. How this pirate hath
Laid claim upon the bounty of my soul!
O, wherefore did I speak so testily?
Why is it that whenever he is near
My wit is turn’d to unto a laser beam
With Han plac’d firmly in its sights? I tear
His heart in twain with words too cruel and harsh,
Then wonder why he is so full of pride.
’Tis now quite clear that he with arrogance
Doth speak so that he may his heart protect.
Forsooth, was e’er a woman placèd in
So delicate a situation yet?

O, where is that knave R2 now? For when
I need him most, then is he far away.
Perhaps on some adventure, which will serve
To puff him up most mightily, and leave
Him ever bragging o’er his exploits. Pish!
The scrawny, errant scamp perplexes me,
For he is both my nuisance and delight—
The thorn deep in my side and, stranger still,
The very object of my happiness.

Now, Captain Solo, pray, a word with thee.

[aside:] A word from thee belike means hundreds more.

I know not where your ship did learn to speak—
It hath a most peculiar dialect.
It is as though ’twere programm’d by a thief,
And spends its days with smugglers, thugs, and crooks.
But now, no more of that; my point is made.
It doth report the power coupling on
The axis negative is polariz’d,
And must replacèd be to operate.

’Tis plain it must replacèd be. Presume
Thou not to tell a pilot—one so grand
As me, at least—the bus’ness of his ship.

[To Chewbacca:] Good Chewie?

—Egh?

—It seems we must replace
The power coupling negative, yes?

—Grrm.

[aside:] We are alone. Yet ev’ry time I have
Approach’d her recently I’ve been rebuff’d.
This should not be a nut I cannot crack—
I am not ignorant in women’s ways.
Although, by troth, most often when I speak
Of “she” or “her,” I indicate my ship.
And yet, I am a man of many strengths:
I pilot ships with talent, skill, and grace,
In battles or in races hard to best,
My swift maneuvers legendary are
And through the galaxy my ship is known.
But with this princess, all my skill is naught.
My tongue is tied, and I resort to barbs
And witticisms sloppily convey’d.
How shall I show this princess my true heart?
How set aside my ego and be kind?
Here, in this moment, I shall undertake
To set my pathway not toward my pride,
But through the smoother course that runs to love.

[To Leia:] Pray patience, Worship, I but try to help!

Couldst thou forswear thy pompous attitude
And promise thou shalt ne’er call me that name?

Aye, Leia.

[aside:]—Prithee, give me patience now!
To make him thine, respond thou not with fire.
[To Han:] You do not make it simple.

—Yes, ’tis true.
But ’tis not I alone who is to blame,
For thou couldst softer and more gentle be.
O Princess, may we end these pointless games?
May we two souls of flame extinguish’d be
Just long enough to drink of love’s rewards?
I ask thee, truly, dost thou sometimes think
That certain virtues may be found in me?
Canst thou imagine ever looking deep
Into my soul to see the man within?

Occasionally, mayhap, when you are
Not acting in the manner of a scoundrel.

A scoundrel? “Scoundrel” is the word you choose?
I like that word, when spoken from your lips.

Pray cease that touch, it doth my heart confuse.

But wherefore cease? What reason shall eclipse
The greater reason of my heart’s intent?

But lo, my hands are dirtied by my work.

My hands are likewise dirty. Pray, assent
Unto this moment. What fear makes you shirk?

What fear? I tell thee, I am not afraid.

Did I imagine that your hands did shake?
Thou likest that I am of scoundrel made.
For thy life could more scoundrel gladly take.
If thou wouldst cast my suit off, think again—
I would that thou within me deeper look.

I tell thee true, that I do like nice men.

I too am nice.

[aside:]—He kisses by the book.

Sir, Sir, I’ve isolated the reverse
Flux power coupling. Have I done thee proud?

O thank you, 3PO, thank you so much.

But speak none of it, Sir—I have a touch.

The swift Millenn’um Falcon made its way
Unto the field of asteroids and that,
My great Lord Vader, was the last that they
Within our scopes did e’er appear. They must
Have been destroy’d, if one considers all
The damage we have tolerated here.

Your answer’s insufficient, Captain, for
I know they are alive. Thy scanners are
Poor proxies for the Force. Now listen well
To my command: I tell thee ev’ry ship
That hath some power left to give shall search
The ast’roid field until they have been found.

I shall with haste fulfill thy shrewd decree.

My Lord?

—Yes, Admiral?

—The Emperor
Commands that thou do contact him at once.

Then, move the ship out of the ast’roid field
That I may with my master clearly speak.

We will, my Lord.

—Now shall I speak with my
Dread Emperor. The man who gave me life
When all was lost. The man to whom I owe
All that I am, and e’er shall be. The man,
Indeed, who like a father is to me.
His plans for pow’r and schemes most excellent
I do obey and carry out with pride.
Though people fear my aspect bleak and dark,
They should, more surely, fear what I will do
When answering his perfect, flawless will.
For sooner would I sacrifice my life
Than disobey the word of this great man.

What is thy bidding, master pure and true?

There is a great disturbance in the Force.

I too have felt it.

—A new enemy
Arises, e’en the rebel who destroy’d
The Death Star—and I have no doubt this boy
Is kin to Anakin Skywalker.

[aside:]—O,
Profoundest revelation! I knew he
Was powerful and bore Skywalker’s name,
Yet that the boy is kin to Anakin
I did not see. [To the Emperor:] How is this possible?

You only must within your feelings search,
Lord Vader. Then shalt thou too know ’tis true.
He could destroy us.

—He is but a boy,
And Obi-Wan no longer is his help.

The Force is strong with him, and mark me well:
The son of Skywalker must ne’er become
A Jedi. Dost thou comprehend my words?

[aside:] I do his meaning understand, and yet
Another future for this boy I’ll write.
Not death, but something even greater still.
It may be that this young Skywalker will
Still prove to be most worthy of the name.
[To the Emperor:] If he could but be turn’d, an ally strong
He could become.

—Indeed, thou speakest true.
The boy may prove himself an asset sure.
Can it be done? What is thy true reply?

The boy shall surely join us, or shall die.

This creature I have follow’d to his home,
But still no further answers are reveal’d.
It seemeth that he stalls in bringing me
Unto the one I truly hope to see.
With all that hath befallen in this place
My patience runneth thin. I’ll press the point.

Thy generosity is truly rare,
I’ll warrant that thy food delicious is.
Yet neither rhyme nor reason have I heard
Of wherefore we may not go, even now,
To see good Master Yoda where he lives.

Pray, patience, young one.
For Jedi too must eat—thus
My good food, eat now.

How many leagues away is Yoda? Shall
The journey to him long and per’lous be?

Not far is Yoda.
Aye, soon thou shalt be with him.
First, eat of rootleaf.
Feast for a Jedi—
Food that enlivens the mind
Should thy repast be.
And now, a question:
What drives the young man’s heart to
Learn the Jedi way?

This is an inquiry perceptive, friend,
For I am driv’n by force unto the Force:
My noble father doth inform my steps.

Thy father, indeed.
Powerful Jedi was he.
Powerful Jedi.

Avaunt, thou silly creature, how canst thou
My father know? For surely thou dost not
E’en know who I am. Fie! I know not what
Or who or why or when or where or how
Hath brought about this meeting! Time is short;
Each minute pass’d with thee hath gone to waste!

[speaking to the air:] I cannot teach him.
The boy hath none of patience.
How shall he be taught?

He patience lacks, but patience can be learn’d.

Much anger in him.
Sudden and quick in quarrel:
Too like his father.

Was I then diff’rent when thou didst teach me?

He is not ready.
’Tis now the thing that I see:
This one’s unprepar’d.

’Tis Yoda! Nay, but Ben, pray argue for
My cause, for verily prepar’d am I!
I can and shall a Jedi be. True, Ben?

Ready are you, hmm?
What know you yet of ready?
Say naught of “ready.”
For eight hundred years
Have I the Jedi trainèd,
So say not “ready.”
I my own counsel
Shall keep on who’s to be trained!
A Jedi is wise.
A strong commitment
And a most serious mind
Are necessary.
Long have I watch’d him.
All his life looking away
To the future, hmm,
To the horizon.
Ne’er his mind on where he was,
What he was doing!
Ventures, excitement:
A Jedi craveth not these.
Thou art reckless, aye!

And so was I, if thou dost think on it.

And he is too old
The training to begin now.
Certain, he’s too old.

But Master Yoda, I have learn’d so much.

And will he finish
The thing he doth begin here?
I prithee, tell me.

I shall not fail thee: ’tis my promise true,
For I am not afraid of anything.

Thou shalt be yet, Luke.
My words most carefully heed:
Thou shalt be, indeed.

Good Sir, if I may venture my belief—

I tell thee honestly, C-3PO,
That neither appetite nor inclination
Have I to feast upon your odd beliefs.
Do thou thy work but keep opinion out,
And we shall feast together on the silence.

O Han, a horrid sight I have just seen!
Whilst I did in the cockpit sit and think—

On what? Pray tell: what didst thou think upon?

’Tis not the time for jokes and parries, please!
As I did sit there, suddenly a jolt
Went through me as I heard a sound upon
The window. Looking closer, I espied
A second beast outside that hard upon
The window fell. There’s something out there, Han—
Beyond the ship, abiding in the cave.

Auugh!

—Listen!

—I shall venture out to see.

Nay, art thou mad? It is not wise or safe
To go without when there are creatures we
Know nothing of.

—This bucket is just fix’d,
Wouldst thou I let some thing tear it apart?

I see thy reason, and shall go with thee.

I shall with courage and with honor stay
Behind to bravely guard the ship.

What is this ground that we do walk upon?
’Tis strange—it doth not feel at all like rock.

Indeed, with thine assessment I agree:
It seems there is much moisture in this place.

I have a feeling bad about this cave.
What odd new situation find we here?
Do not these signs and portents give thee fear?

Aye.

’Tis all right.

—What is’t?

’Tis what I did suspect: some mynocks. They
Are fasten’d to the ship, a’chewing on
The power cables.

—Mynocks? O what beasts!

Return inside, and we shall search for more.

But hold one moment, something seems awry,
For blaster fire should not cause walls to shake.

O, horror, for I now do understand:
The cave doth quake whenever it is shot.
But what knows rock of pain, or stone of hurt?
Whenever did a cave feel anything?
Impossible it is, unless this cave
Is much more than a cave. [To Leia and Chewbacca:] Pray, go inside!

With speed now, Chewie, let us fly away!

We’ve no time to discuss this in committee.

O, fie! Thou scoundrel, I am no committee!

See reason! For thou canst not make the jump
To lightspeed midst this field of asteroids.

Make sure thy back end finds a seat—we go!

Observe! We are destroy’d!

—I see it plain.

O, we are doom’d!

—The cave, it doth collapse!

This is no cave, and I am not its food.
Now we do fly—another close escape!

Alas, another meal hath fled and gone,
And in the process I am sorely hurt.
These travelers who have escap’d my reach
Us’d me past the endurance of a block!
My stomach they did injure mightily
With jabs and pricks, as though a needle were
A’bouncing in my belly. O cruel Fate!
To be a space slug is a lonely lot,
With no one on this rock to share my life,
No true companion here to mark my days.
And now my meals do from my body fly—
Was e’er a beast by supper so abus’d?
Was e’er a creature’s case so pitiful?
Was e’er an exogorth as sad as I?
Was e’er a tragedy as deep as mine?
I shall with weeping crawl back to my cave,
Which shall, sans food, belike become my grave.

[aside:] This Yoda is indeed a teacher wise,
And hath agreed to train me in the way
Of Jedi. Strong and quick I show myself—
With leaps and flips I train my body and
Instill within a Jedi’s discipline.
Aye, with the Force I like a sand bat fly.
My spirit feeleth free, my muscles strong,
My mind is calm inside, my heart is still.
What gratitude I feel toward this new
And treasur’d mentor. Thus I train my best—
His expectations I’ll not disappoint.

Now run, indeed, run!
A Jedi’s strength doth surely
Come from the Force, Luke.
But mind the dark side.
Anger, fear, aggression—from
The dark side are they.
Easily they flow,
Quick to join you in a fight.
Aye, they do not fail!
Once on the dark path,
Forever shall it control
Thy destiny, Luke.
It shall consume thee,
As it did the apprentice
Of good Obi-Wan.

Darth Vader: legendary is his pow’r.
But Master, hath the dark side greater strength?

Nay, nay—forsooth: nay.
’Tis quicker, easier, more
Seductive only.

But how, good master, shall I know the good
Side from the bad, the darkness from the light?

Thou shalt know, my lad,
When thou art calm and passive.
[Aside:] I hope thou shalt know.
When fac’d with terror,
And with thy father’s grim fate,
I hope thou shalt know.
[To Luke:] A Jedi uses
The Force only for knowledge
And defense. Is’t clear?
The Force is no club,
Neither is it a weapon
Us’d for attacking.

Yet it is still a weapon for defense.
So wherefore may I not the Force employ—

Nay, there’s no wherefore.
Nothing more shall come today.
From thy questions, rest.

[aside:] Reliev’d am I this training to complete,
If only for this day, which hath been years.
But is this not a strange and troubling thing?
Where only moments past I felt at ease,
Now there’s some sprite within that troubles me—
A chill, a solemn aura in my bones.
I would not much ado o’er nothing make,
But still shall I ask Yoda what it is.
[To Yoda:] I feel a cold, a presage here of death.
What is it that I sense within this place?

With the Force’s dark side
Is that place yonder quite strong.
A place of evil.
Discover thou shalt
That wherever good is found,
Evil is nearby.
Here on Dagobah
’Tis also so. For e’en here
That evil place is.
Bound thou art now, Luke,
To enter it, and face its
Deepest darknesses.

But Sir, I prithee, tell me: what’s within?

Only that which thou
Shalt take away with thee, Luke.

Take not thy weapons.

What twists of knotted vines and tangl’d fates
Await me in this hole? I shall go in,
And prove that I am not afraid of it,
Nor any task or misadventure here.
What evil can await I have not seen?
For I have facèd evil enemies
Who kill’d my mentor and my family.
What evil in this place can greater be?
Now doth time seem to slowly beat its pace.
And all is like a thick and restless dream.
But wait, who comes unto this deep, dark place?
It moves with grace—is it my father good?

Nay, nay, how I have been deceiv’d, abus’d!
For it is Vader here, my greatest foe,
The cruel defiler of my father’s youth.
I stand preparèd to do battle as
A Jedi, full of rage and righteous hate.
Now up, lightsaber, light my keen revenge!
Lay on, Darth Vader, damnèd henchman vile.
And now we fight! Yet seems it that my limbs
Are made of stone—but he is slower still!
I see my chance to strike, and let it fall—
The blow that shall release my father’s soul.
Now Vader’s head doth fall onto the ground
And I feel no relief, but only pain.
The mask doth split, his visage to reveal!
O, I shall see the face that kill’d a man,
That kill’d a thousand fathers like my own.
But wait, what is this here—and can it be?
This is no face of Vader: ’tis my face!
The horror, O the horror! Darker yet
That e’er I had imagin’d possible.
The greatest evil I may face—myself!

Now hath he seen it,
And he shall ever see it
Till he sees it through.

O strange and somber night that falleth here—
My master Luke all out of sorts from what
He spies inside this hole. What lesson is
It Yoda hath reveal’d to him inside?
I would that I my master could protect,
But such is not the role I have to play.
And thus, since I may not protector be,
My path shall be to play the fool and watch:
I shall maintain my droidlike silence and
Bear witness as the boy becomes the man,
The learner doth become the Jedi true.
Content yourself with this, R2, and rest,
For other times than these require your best.

These bounty hunters, O they reek! We have
No need for their most wretched scum.

—Aye, Sir.

The rebels surely shall not ’scape us now.

We have been hail’d by the Avenger ship.

Now let us hear it.

—There shall be rewards
Aplenty for the one who finds the swift
Millenn’um Falcon. Ye may use whate’er
Approaches, weapons, means, or what ye will,
But mark ye well: I want them all alive.
[To Boba Fett:] There shall be no disintegrations. Clear?

[to Darth Vader:] My Lord, the ship hath been discoverèd!

O, praise the maker! We are venturing
Out of the ast’roid field, and are alive—
Miraculous! [Aside:] I almost am convinc’d
That Captain Solo bears a hero’s air.

Now let us hence. Chewbacca, art prepar’d
For lightspeed?

—Auugh!

—Now one, two, three, and go!

Egh.

[aside:] A hero, did I say? O man of folly!

Auugh, auugh!

—The transfer circuits do not work
’Tis not my fault!

—No lightspeed once again?

’Tis not my fault. In troth, ’tis not my fault!

The rear deflector shield is compromis’d,
And if we do sustain another hit
Upon the ship’s back quarter, ’tis our end.

[aside:] ’Tis madness, this maneuver I’ll attempt.
But desp’rate times for desp’rate measures call.
[To Chewbacca:] Turn thou this ship around.

—Egh?

—Turn it ’round!
I shall put all our pow’r to shields in front.

Thou wilt attack a Star Destroyer?

—Sir!
The odds of our success in a direct
Attack upon a Star Destroyer—

—Tut!

They move into attack position—shields!
But now, where are they gone? Pray, track them straight.

The ship’s no longer shown in any scopes.

That is impossible. No ship that small
Hath any ways or means to cloak itself.
Nay, they cannot, as magic, disappear.

Good Captain Needa, our Lord Vader doth
Demand an update of our keen pursuit.

[aside:] O dreaded moment. This shall mean my death.
Farewell now, for my life’s gone with the ship.

The full responsibility for their
Escape, and shall apologize unto
Lord Vader. Keep thy watch most vigilant.

Aye, Captain Needa.

—On thy mercy great
I throw myself and all my hopes, dear lord.
The great Millenn’um Falcon now is fled.
It hath evaded even our vast fleet.
Take my apology—

—The ship is lost?
And thus thy life—dead for a ducat, dead!

The necks of fools deserve a crushing Force.
Let this serve as thy dying lesson, Needa.
With that last breath thy recompense is done
And all apologies accepted.

—Lord,
Our scan of the surrounding area
Is now complete, but has, alas, found naught.
Lord, if the swift Millenn’um Falcon hath
Made good the jump to lightspeed, it may be
Beyond the far end of the galaxy.

Alert thou every Imperi’l post,
And calculate the ship’s most likely course
From its trajectory as it did flee.

Aye, Lord, I’ll warrant we shall find them soon.

O ancestors, pray save me from these fools
Who with their instruments and scanners could
Not find a bantha in a womp rat’s hole.
But calm thyself now, Vader, be at ease.
This momentary failure may yet prove
Most beneficial, and I’ll warrant that
The time shall not go dully by us, for
It shall be us’d to finalize my plans
And think upon the moment when I shall
Both meet and then defeat the Skywalker
Who dares to call the Empire enemy.
So let these rebels go for now, my soul,
And ponder how to make their downfall whole.

Use the Force, Luke, yes.
Now, lift thou the stone. Feel it.
The Force within flows.

Nay, listen thou not
To the droid and all his beeps.
Do thou concentrate!

Nee, nee, beep, meep, beep, squeak, squeak, whistle, squeak!

Fie! We shall never extricate the ship.

So certain are you?
Always with you, my pupil,
It cannot be done.
What have we done here—
Hear’st thou nothing that I say?
Dost thou attend, Luke?
If depend upon
The Force thou shalt, anything
Possible shall be.

But Master, moving stones with the great Force
I do admit may be achiev’d. But this,
This ship—to lift its hulk, its mass, its size—
’Tis different, aye, wholly different!

Nay! No different.
Only within thy mind, Luke,
Different it is.
Thou must unlearn all
Those things that thou hast learnèd.
Dost thou understand?

In troth, I understand, and I shall try.

Nay, nay! Try thou not.
But do thou or do thou not,
For there is no “try.”

[aside:] I shall stretch out my mind, and shall attempt,
But this is madness—lifting e’en a ship?
The greatest Jedi still cannot achieve
That which is patently impossible.
Methinks no Force can move this ship, and thus
I certain am I never shall do this.

Beep, hoo.

—Nay, I cannot. ’Tis much too big.

Nay, size matters not.
Look thou at me, I prithee.
Judge me by my size?
And where you should not.
For my ally ’tis the Force.
A pow’rful ally.
Life doth create it.
Its energy surrounds us,
Binds us together.
Luminous beings
We are, not this crude matter.
You must feel the Force.
All around thee, here—
Between thou and me, tree, rock:
Ev’rywhere it is.
E’en between the land
And your ever-sinking ship,
The Force is there, too.

I know now thou dost ask th’impossible.

[aside:] Be mindful, young one,
And watch what inner strength great
May come from small size.

The ship! It cometh out—thou hast done it!
I ne’er imagin’d it was possible.
With eyes I see, but mind does not believe.

Thus is your error.
Against the Force you do rail;
That is why you fail.

With such deep wit Han hath the Empire trick’d
That now the Falcon hides within its fleet!
With skill he doth the Empire’s moves predict,
And bravely plans to make his move discreet.

I tell thee, Captain Solo, thou hast gone
Beyond all measure with this reckless move.
Thou hast put all aboard in danger grave,
And yet thou seem’st to have but little care.

Auugh!

—Nay, I’ll not be silent! Wherefore am
I never listen’d to?

—The fleet doth break
Itself up into pieces. [To Chewbacca:] Go thee now,
Chewbacca; stand aside the manual
Release to liberate the landing claw.

Egh.

—Truly, I see not how that shall help.
Surrender is, in circumstances such
As these, a fair alternative. Perhaps
The Empire may yet reasonable be.

Great thanks I give thee for the gift of peace.

Brave soul, what dost thou think thou next shalt do?

Before these ships do from the fleet release,
They should their garbage dump ere they pursue
A jump to lightspeed. Then we’ll float away.

Thy ship with all the garbage, eh? Well said.
And what then?

—We shall haply find our way
Unto a port where safety makes its bed.
Pray, dost thou know of any port like such?

Mayhap I might, if I knew where we were.

Anoat system, but doth that help much?

O, the Anoat system? I aver:
’Tis bleak.

—But hark! An interesting name
My ship’s computer showeth: Lando!

—Han?
What Lando system?

—“System,” you exclaim?
He is not system: Lando is a man.
As Lando of Calrissian he’s known.
The man doth deal in cards, in gambling and
In scoundreling—thou wouldst his type condone.

[aside:] He jests with me as one in love’s command!

He is in Bespin—rather far, but we
May make it there.

[reading from screen:]—A colony? A mine?

Tibanna gas mine—I would wager he
Hath ta’en the mine that someone did call “mine.”
This Lando hath a hist’ry long with me.

But dost thou trust him?

—Nay, thou’rt right. But I
Believe we have no need of fear, for he
No love doth harbor for the Empire, aye.

[Into comlink:] Prepare now, Chewie, ’tis the time. Detach!

Thou hast these moments that are unsurpass’d—
Aye, when thou hast them, they are without match.
Not numerous are they, but aye: thou hast.

’Tis said that sometimes those who knew us in
Our youth did know us best. From them we have
No secrets and cannot pretend to be
Another thing than what we are. They keep
Our living honest, for they know who we
Have been. And such a man is Lando. He
And I have known each other many years,
So he doth know me from my smuggling past,
The days when I did gamble, cheat, and fight—
And often in that order, too. He knew
Me ere I was with the Rebellion join’d,
And knoweth what Han Solo once hath been.
Thus is he prim’d uniquely to give aid
Unto a friend who now hath found a cause:
A cause to join, a cause e’en to defend.
O Lando, all our hopes are pinn’d on thee.
What shall it be, old friend? I here take all
I have—my ship, my mates, my one true love—
And stake it all on thee and on our past.
How shalt thou answer, O Calrissian?
Will this, my wager, prove a foolish bet?
How shall the deck unfold, the players end?
And is the dealing in my favor stack’d?
The playing of the game is yet to be,
But Lando: I do seek to win with thee.

Now, concentrate, Luke.
Feel the Force, how it doth flow.
Be calm, at peace, yes.
When you use the Force,
The Force, in your soul, begins
New paths to open.
Through the Force, your mind
Shall see future things, things past.
Friends nearer and yon.

Alas, my mind doth see—’tis Leia, Han!

Nay, be in control!
Thou must, beyond all else, Luke,
Have control entire.

O vision most horrendous and most drear.
A city in the clouds most beautiful,
Beneath a golden sun—as though ’twere heav’n.
But hidden just beneath its luster doth
A harsh and painful nightmare lurk. I saw,
Beneath a sky of orange hues array’d,
Dear Leia weeping at some cruel, dark thing—
She will not be consol’d from her great loss.
And Han, his screams do echo in mine ears,
Such cries of suffering I ne’er have heard.
What signs are these, what ghosts of future hurt?
What doth the Force attempt to show to me?
O tell me, Master, tell me plain, I pray:
Shall Han and Leia die, is that their fate?

A future sight, this.
Hard to see is the future—
’Tis e’er in motion.

I understand ’tis hard for thee to see,
But harder yet the vision echoes in
My head, and reaches deep within my soul.
If thou canst not give reassurance they
Are safe, and shall be safe, ’tis I who must
Ensure the same. I will not idly stand
By whilst they suffer many agonies.
My mind is settl’d: I must thither go.

Decide thou must, how
Thou shalt truly serve them best.
Mayhap you may help.
But also shalt thou
Sacrifice all for which they
Shall fight and suffer.

But Master, tell me what then I should do?
Wouldst thou allow thy friends to suffer thus?
Wouldst thou accept the future’s “hard to see”?
Wouldst thou ignore the screams within thy brain?

[aside:] The boy doth not hear—
His friends’ fates I cannot see,
But his looketh bleak.
Convince him I must,
Else he shall suffer greatly
And lost is our hope.
[To Luke:] Go not, I prithee.
The training must thou complete.
To my words listen!

The vision shall not, will not, leave my head.
E’en now I witness Leia in her torment,
And Han, alone, as if upon some isle.
E’en brave Chewbacca cries for what is lost—
These signs can only equal tragedy.
They are my friends, and I must fly with haste.
Or else, I’ll warrant, all of them may die.

Thou canst not know this, Luke. E’en Yoda doth
Not have the pow’r, their final fate to see.

But I may help them now; I feel the Force!

To see is one thing—to control is yet
Another. Dangerous this moment is
For thee, for thou shalt be sore tempted, in
Thy rage, toward the dark side of the Force.

Yes, to Obi-Wan
Thou must listen. The cave, Luke:
Recall thy failure!

But truly, I have learn’d so much since then.
I know what I must watch for and beware,
I know how tempted by the dark I’ll be,
I know this and shall, therefore, guard my soul.
I tell thee, Master Yoda, I’ll return
And finish all my training. This I vow.

Pray, open up thine eyes. ’Tis thee and thine
Abilities the Emperor desires.
They are the bait, and thou the colo claw—
Thou art the fish the Emperor would catch.
Thy friends do suffer only for thy sake,
So that, through them, thou mayst be easily
Drawn in.

—And that is why I have to go.
Present unto the Emperor the fish,
And rest assur’d the bait is off the hook.

O Luke, I would not lose thee as I lost
Darth Vader. His betrayal made my life
A bleak and tragic thing. Thy loss unto
The dark would make my death a hellish, cold
Eternity.

—I shall return, dear Ben.
My training thus far shall suffice, it is
Enough; I stand prepar’d to face the dark.

Stoppèd they must be;
On this depends ev’ry thing.
But pray, attend me:
Only a fully
Trainèd Jedi may defeat
Vader and his Lord.
If thou leavest now,
And here do end thy training,
Thou art choosing ease.
And once on the path
Of ease and haste, like Vader
Thou mayst become, Luke.

Attend to Yoda’s wisdom, Luke, and stay.
O, exercise thy patience, worthy lad.

And in the waiting sacrifice my friends?
Is that the choice that ye would have me make?

This hard indeed is.
But if thou honor the thing
For which they fight: yes.

If thou dost choose to face Darth Vader, thou
Shalt be alone; I cannot interfere.

I understand, and have been fully warn’d.
My mind is set; good R2, do prepare.
Fire up the ship’s converters: we depart.

O, do not give in unto hate, dear Luke,
In doing so the dark side shalt thou find.
[Aside:] Indeed, I once did see it happen thus.

Strong is Darth Vader.
Remember what thou hast learn’d,
For save thee it can.

I shall, and shall return: you have my word.

Warnèd thee I have—
He a reckless spirit hath.
Now matters are worse.

That boy is our first, last, and greatest hope.

But nay, ’tis not so.
For another yet there is:
One more hope for us.
O how this plagues me!
The boy for training hath come,
But too soon is fled.
A young bird he is,
Too eager the nest to leave,
Yet trying to fly.
But young birds fly not—
Their wings still too fragile are.
Instead, they do fall.
And fall this one shall.
But how far, how fast, how long?
Time only shall tell.
Little bird, be safe.
If thou the nest seest again
I shall meet thee then.

Nay, nay, good Sir, as I have said before:
I have no permit that shall let me pass,
But Lando of Calrissian I seek.

[through comlink:] Thou shalt not enter unto Bespin, nay.

Why dost thou fire at me and my good ship?
Be not so quick to turn to blasters, Sir—
I prithee, grant me time but to explain…

[through comlink:] Make thou no deviation from thy course.

These Bespinites are rather petulant—
They’ve nothing of my disposition sweet.

[to Han:] I thought that thou didst say thou knowest this
Man Lando.

—Auugh!

—But ’twas so long ago.
Nay, surely he doth hold no grudge by now.

[through comlink:] Thou hast permission now to land upon
The platform three–two–seven.

—Many thanks.
Now do ye see, ye doubters all? I tell
Ye truly: Lando is a friend, indeed.

Nay, who hath worri’d? [Aside:] Verily, there is
A something here that seemeth not aright:
This welcome hath been less than welcoming.
Yet Han with brave nobility hath led
Our troubl’d quest—I shall not doubt him now.

Egh.

—O, there is no one to meet us here.

I do not like this, Han.

—What wouldst thou like?

At least we are no more upon the ship—
Enough of space I’ve seen to last a life.
’Twas kind of them to let us land.

[to Princess Leia:] —Be calm
And trust me, all things shall end well.

[aside:] How shall I play this? Shall I distant be?
Nay, then he shall become suspicious and
May have some cause to fear ere Vader comes.
I shall be jovial and shine with joy—
A colt is ridden best by kindly rider.
I know ’tis true: it worketh ev’ry time.
Thus, to deceive I shall employ a jest.
[Walking to Han:] Thou slimy, double-crossing, no-good swine!
Thou hast a nerve to show thy cheating face,
Since thou hast prov’n thyself a lying thief.

Is’t possible? Is friendship’s mem’ry slain?

Heigh-ho, I mock at thee, my goodly friend!
How art thou, pirate? ’Tis a joy to see
Thee here.

[to Princess Leia:]—He doth seem full of friendship’s mirth.

Aye, truly, he seems full of it indeed.

What brings thee here to Bespin?

—Ship repairs.
Methought thou couldst some kind assistance grant.

What hast thou done unto my ship?

—Thy ship?
Remember thou didst lose her o’er to me
As fairly as the day is long.

—And how
Dost thou, Chewbacca? Hang’st thou still around
This aging renegade?

—Egh!

[to Princess Leia:]—O, what light
Doth break upon mine eyes? What beauty’s this?
I give thee welcome, gentle lady. I
Am Lando of Calrissian, and do
Administer this great facility.
And who, pray tell, art thou? Eh?

—Leia, I.

[kissing her hand:] Most welcome, Leia.

—Aye, ’tis well, ’tis well.
Thou ever wert a lover of fair things.

C-3PO am I, and at your service…

[Aside:] I wonder that I still am talking here:
Nobody marks me.

[to Han:]—What doth ail the ship?

The hyperdrive.

—My people shall begin
Work on’t immediately. I tell thee,
That ship in many cases sav’d my life!
What stories of adventure I could tell
In which the ship doth play the central part.
She is the fastest heap of scrap in all
The galaxy!

[aside:]—He loveth this old ship
Almost as much as Han! This love of ships,
’Tis like an illness wild within these men.

Now tell me of thy life and bus’ness, friend—
How doth the gas mine for thee? Doth it pay?

’Tis credits in and credits out, but more,
I fear, of out than in. We are but small,
An outpost minor. Thus have I supply
Dilemmas, labor difficulties, too.

Ha, ha!

—Why say’st thou “Ha”? And wherefore twice?

’Tis thou. Pray, hearken unto thine own voice.
So rife with deep responsibility,
So serious, experienc’d, mature,
And bus’nesslike. ’Twas not my expectation.

[aside:] O weep, my heart, to see him brings such joy,
And pains me more to seal his awful fate.
[To Han:] Pray, hear me truly, Han. Whatever else
May happen, hear these words: this moment doth
Recall for me our past together, which
Is sweetness in my memory.

—Indeed.
’Tis well to see thee thriving so, my friend.

And thou hast hit the mark: I duties bear,
And grave responsibilities are mine.
’Tis but the price of one’s success, I s’pose.

What joy to see a kind, familiar face.

E chu ta!

—O, how rude! But pray, what’s here?

Was that an R2 unit’s sound I heard?
Is’t possible that R2-D2’s here?
Hello, who is herein?

—Say, who art thou?

Alas, this is my end! An enemy—
If only I could others tell. O me!

Time’s passage hath not sooth’d my mind’s distress.
Full many moments we have waited here
Within this lovely city in the clouds,
Yet I am neither rested nor relax’d.
Foreboding doth creep o’er me like a plague—
My mind is sore afeard, my hands do shake,
And nowhere can my troubl’d soul find peace.
The quick permission given us to land,
The too-familiar welcome Lando gave,
A small apartment offer’d for our use—
It seems as though we were expected here,
Though how this could have happen’d, I know not.
For surely when th’Imperi’l fleet broke up,
We in the opposite direction flew.
But e’en beyond that worry there is more,
For though I do not love the prating droid
C-3PO has not been seen since our
Arrival here. We have too much of quiet—
I almost miss his constant chattering.

All shall be well. The ship is fix’d with care.
There are but two or three things more, then will
We make our swift departure hence. ’Tis fair?

The swiftest shall be best. Some thing is still
Awry. Where is C-3PO? He hath
Not seen us or been seen for many hours,
And no one knows about his way or path.
Hath he lost all his faithful, droidly sense?
Most happ’ly would I by him be annoy’d,
If it did mean that he, at least, were near.

I shall inquire of Lando ’bout the droid.
But in the meantime, Leia, have no fear.

I trust not Lando.

—Neither, sweet, do I,
Yet he’s my friend who helpeth us, dost see?
I’ll warrant that we soon from here shall fly.

Then thou shalt take thy flight as well—from me.

The future has its own time yet to write,
And wheth’r or not we worry, my good lass,
It comes as sure as day doth follow night.
So, think not of it till it come to pass.

O pass me that!

O give me this!

We Ugnaughts are a’working!

O pass the head!

Give me the chest!

Our duties never shirking!

Thou naughty droid—

Thou hast been caught!

Thy prying never ceases!

Your lesson learn’d—

Our treasures earn’d—

For now thou art in pieces!

Auugh!

Take not the arms!

Pray, leave the legs!

Thy greed thou art revealing!

But naught shall last!

For nothing doth!

Our treasures thou art stealing!

So shall we speak—

Our proverb true—

With voices loudly ringing—

It easy came—

And easy goes—

But still we keep on singing!

I see, Chewbacca, thou hast found the droid,
At least some small and varied parts of him.
O, what hath happen’d?

—Auugh!

—Thou hast found him
Upon a junk pile, what? How can that be?
C-3PO was fine when we arriv’d.
But now, I fear, he is more dread than droid.

’Tis such a mess. Canst thou repair him, good
Chewbacca?

—Egh, auugh.

—Lando’s people can
Provide the cure.

—Nay, thank you: I’d not hav’t.

Forgive me, worthy guests. Do I intrude?

Nay, verily.

—O, but thou art a beauty.
I prithee, never leave—thou dost belong
With us in our great city in the clouds.
Thy loveliness doth put the sun to shame,
Thy brightness of your cheek would shame the stars.

[aside:] This scoundrel too familiar is. Now do
I see that though I once thought Han uncouth,
He is the sweetest smuggler ever liv’d.
[To Lando:] Thou hast my thanks.

—Now come, will ye join me
For some repast?

—Auugh.

—Chewie, fear thou not!
Be sure I meant that all invited are.
[Seeing C-3PO:] Is there some matter with your droid?

—Nay, I
Know not of any matter.

Tell me, though,
As we proceed to supper: art thou an
Accepted member of the mining guild?

Nay, we are none. Our operation is
Still small enough that we may be discreet.
’Tis advantageous to our customers,
For they are anxious to escape attention.

[aside:] O, all this talk of bus’ness, mines and stealth!
My mind cannot abide it, for I sense
That terrible events shall soon befall.
Within my mind a vision of some pain
Begins to form, but still is indistinct.
Would that I had some time to clear my thoughts!

[to Lando:] But art thou not afraid the Empire shall
Find out about your operation and
Then drive you out of business, or e’en worse?

’Tis e’er a danger that looms over us
And all that we have built in Bespin’s walls.
But things have just develop’d which shall make
Our future safe and well-secur’d. A deal
I’ve with the Empire made that shall keep them
Far distant from our operations.

—Auugh!

[aside:] But what is this? Betrayal! Hands, take flight—
My blaster shall I use, and save us yet!

We would be honor’d should ye join us here.

I am most sorry, worthy friend. They did
Arrive in Bespin ere thou here didst fly.

No sorrier, I do expect, than I.

Oi! Well met, worthy friend. What dost thou here?

I have been poring o’er our city’s plans.

What’s this? A newfound interest? Shalt thou
Turn architect?

—Nay, nay, and yet I have
Found something curious.

—Indeed?

—Indeed.

Pray tell!

—The city hath been built within
The Empire’s strict specifications for
Design and building standards.

—Aye, ’twas wise,
Thus may the Bespin council never have
A reason for to fear the Empire’s sharp
Inspectors.

—Verily, but follow on:
That they unto the code this city built
Is not the thing that I found strange. Instead,
It was the code’s requirements I did mark.
For didst thou know the Empire doth require
That any major structure shall include
At least one chasm that’s deep and long and dark?
Not only shall these chasms exist: the code
Doth further specify that they shall be
Abutting pathways where pedestrians
May walk. The Death Star that was built some years
Ago had, evidently, sev’ral of
These holes, and our Cloud City has them, too.
Is not this strange?

—I know them well, and did
Go walking past just such a gaping hole
That led to nothingness but yesterday.
But wherefore dost thou say ’tis strange, I pray?

It simply maketh little sense to put
Such vast, deep holes in ev’ry structure next
To well-worn paths. Could not a person, by
Some simple misstep, fall most easily
Down one of these great chasms? So wherefore place
Such hazards into ev’ry structure built?

I see your reasoning, but shall rebut:
The Empire is the greatest strength e’er known, ’Tis true?

—Of course. I’d not say otherwise.

And any great thing—person, beast, or realm—
Doth put its greatness on display, agreed?

’Tis natural, I’ll warrant. Pray, say on.

I posit that the Empire doth command
That structures have these chasms immense because
It is through their immensity that our
Great Empire’s strength is shown. And since they are
Vast holes that deadly are, should one fall in,
They send a message strong and clear to all:
The Empire is a proud and mighty pow’r
And doth not fear sure death, but laughs at it.
I’ faith, we are so full of life that we
Walk by our certain passing daily—it
Is but quotidian for us—and yet
We have no fear.

—Thy point is clearly made.
But still, I think it strange that this is true:
A structure is not whole till it hath holes.
Such things lie far beyond my understanding,
Yet do I trust there is a master plan.

Shall we to supper, friend?

—Forsooth, lead on!

O what is this dire sound I just have heard?
My friend Han Solo screaming in great pain,
The shrieks of man turn’d victim through my fault—
My quick decision to protect myself.
Yet what choice had I? Could I else have done?
No person in my place would diff’rently
Behave. No choice had I but one: to save
Myself, my interests, and my belov’d
Cloud City from a dark and awful fate.
Yet ever shall my soul be haunted by
These dismal howls of my old friend, unless
I can find some way to make recompense.
But how shall that e’er be whilst Vader’s threats
Do cast their shadows o’er my ev’ry move?
I know not how, but yet it must be so.
I shall—belike with loyal Lobot’s help—
Discover yet a way to make this right,
And save myself from a betrayer’s name!

[to Boba Fett:] Thou mayst take Captain Solo and transport
Him unto Jabba once Skywalker has
Arriv’d and captur’d been. Say, is this clear?

No harm beyond undoing shall he bear.

Lord Vader, do I comprehend this fully—
Thou shalt surrender Han unto this man,
This bounty hunter here? So what is next?
I prithee, tell me: what shall happen to
Both Leia and the Wookiee?

—Never shall
They leave this city.

—This doth push the bounds
Too far! Imprisonment was never a
Condition of the bargain we did make,
And ’twas not in the plan to hand o’er Han
Unto this bounty hunter!

—Mayhap thou
Dost think thou hast unfairly treated been?

[aside:] A threat is in his voice and aspect. [To Vader:]
Nay,
For I shall model flexibility.

’Tis well. ’Twould be a pity should I feel
It necessary to retain a full
And armor’d garrison in Bespin. [To Boba Fett:] Come!

He orders what he will sans sense or rhyme—
This deal is worse becoming all the time!

...

Auugh.

[being reconnected:]—Stormtroopers? In Bespin? I am shot!

Egh!

—O, ’tis better! That is quite improv’d.
But hold, for something is not right: my eyes—
I cannot see.

Now that is mended, aye.
Yet wait, I now am backward—head is back
And front’s reverse and all has gone awry!
Is this a Wookiee’s notion of a joke?
Thou stupid, senseless beast!

[laughing:]—Gihut, gihut!

Thou furball wretched! Mophead ignorant!

Auugh, auugh!

—O, Chewie, I’m in agony—
My ev’ry bone and sinew cries with pain.

What have they done to you, my noble man?
And what can be their purpose, dost thou know?

’Twas torture unlike any I have known,
For never any questions did they ask.
Instead, with silent mouths and darting eyes
They fix’d me solidly unto a seat
And lower’d me unto a mechanism.
At first ’twas like a searing heat that rac’d
From skin to bone and back again. Then sparks
Flew out, upon my chest and neck and face,
Such fire as though a hundred blasters spread
Their shots across my body or, perhaps,
As though a million tiny lightsabers
Did prick and dance their way about my skin.
All this they did, but ne’er made inquiry,
Ne’er ask’d me whence we came or where we go,
Ne’er ask’d about the rebels’ rendezvous.
No information they did seek to know,
It only seem’d they wish’d to bring me pain.
I tell thee, ’twas far worse and terrible
Than if they had sought answers from my blood.
But this demented evil shakes my soul,
For wherefore torture without questioning?

Auugh, egh, auugh!

—Get thee hence now, Lando.

—Tut!
Attend my voice, for this ye both should hear:
Darth Vader hath giv’n word that he will turn
Both Leia and Chewbacca o’er to me.

What dost thou mean by “o’er to me”? Thou knave!
I would not turn a rival o’er to thee,
Much less the ones belovèd by my heart.

They must stay here, but will, at least, be safe.
’Twas not my choice—I have no say in this.
’Tis Vader who doth pull the strings, and we
Are but the puppets with which he doth play.

And what of Han?

—Darth Vader shall give him
O’er to the bounty hunter.

—Vader doth
Desire that all of us are dead.

—He wants
You not at all. He searches for someone
Called Skywalker.

—Aye, Luke—thou meanest Luke!

Lord Vader set a trap for him to fall.

And we are but the bait by which he’s caught.

The trap shall soon be sprung, for Skywalker
Is on his way, e’en now.

—This villainy
Thou hast arrang’d is all too perfect. Fie!

Auugh!

—Cease! I have done all that I may do.
For certain I am sorry I could not
Do better yet than this, but I do have
Enough vexations here.

—O, thou great man!
Thou art a hero, and thy tale shall e’er
Upon the lips of lesser folk be told.
Throughout all history it shall be writ:
“Behold, great Lando of Calrissian,
A man who ever serv’d his comrades well.”

[aside:] This stings my soul, yet no more can I do
Than hold my head up high, and plan what’s next.

My soldier, O my heart, thy fire doth blaze!
Thy skill with others ne’er doth cease t’amaze.

The time is ripe!

His time is nigh!

And soon he will be frozen!

We’ve never done—

This on a man—

But someone’s now been chosen!

A merry prank!

O shall it work?

Or will the man be dying?

What’er befall—

One thing is sure—

The pleasure’s in the trying!

A perfect touch this is, to freeze Skywalker.
The plan is perfect—he who hath destroy’d
The Death Star shall be packag’d as a gift.
But now, let us inspect the details. Aye,
This crude contraption should be adequate
To put this vexing Skywalker on ice
Ere his deliv’ry to the Emperor.

Lord Vader—there’s a ship that doth approach,
An X-wing class.

—’Tis well. Watch Skywalker,
Allow his landing, let him hither come.

Lord Vader, this facility has ne’er
Been us’d for humans, only carbon freezing.
If thou dost put him in this vast machine
It may not freeze him, but may mean his death.

This is a point that I consider’d not.
It seems, Calrissian, that thou dost learn
To be obedient unto thy Lord.
’Tis well, and it is in thine interest.
I do not wish him harm’d; the Emperor
Shall not enjoy a damag’d prize. So shall
Another stand for him to be a test—
We shall make Captain Solo undergo
The freezing process first, to test its pow’r.

Fear not, thy hunt shall have its bounty still.
Thou shalt be compensated if he dies.

[to Chewbacca:] I almost fully am restor’d to my
Old self, except thy work is not complete.
If thou had but attach’d my legs, I would
Not yet remain in this position rare!
I prithee, good Chewbacca, do recall
That I am thy responsibility—
Do not in any instance foolish be!

[to Lando:] Pray tell, O dearest friend, what is at hand?

Thou shalt be plac’d in total carbon freeze.

[aside:] The news of my grim fate doth chill my blood.
O, how I once thought Hoth was cold and bleak,
Yet now I pine for all its balmy plains.

Now, put him in!

—Chewie, stop, I pray!

Alas, yes, stop! I am not set to die!

This cannot help me, brave Chewbacca, nay.
I prithee, save thy strength to fight again.
Attend me now: the princess—thou must be
Her strength, her stay, her guard, her confidence:
These things that I no longer can bestow.

O, I do love thee wholly, Han.

—I know.

Pray, turn around, Chewbacca, let me see.
O, he in carbonite hath been encas’d—
He should be well protected, if he hath
Surviv’d the freezing process.

—Make report,
Calrissian, is he alive?

—He is,
And rests in perfect hibernation here.

The prize is thine now, bounty hunter Fett.
Take him to Jabba, with my gratitude.

Reset the chamber for young Skywalker—
He shall the next a’freezing undergo.

Skywalker’s ship hath just made landing, Lord.

’Tis well, and be thou sure he hither comes—
Put him upon the path that leads him here.

Calrissian, take thou the princess and
The Wookiee to my ship, and there remain.

Nay, thou didst say they would in Bespin dwell—
With me, under my supervision keen.
How canst thou bargain thus? ’Tis always thy
Side of the deal that doth improve. What shalt
Thou give to me to make this deal worthwhile?

Seek not to deal thyself a winning hand.
The Empire shall not e’er play by thy rules.
By my command, the deal is alterèd.
In all thy orisons thou mayst yet plead
The deal no further alterèd will be.

[sings:] Auugh, egh, auugh, auugh egh. Auugh, muh, muh,
Egh, egh, auugh, egh, egh, muh, muh.
Auugh, auugh, egh, auugh, muh, egh, muh, muh,
Muh, wroshyr, wroshyr, wroshyr.

[sings:] Full fathom five my lover lies,
Within an icy tomb,
They say he lives, yet my heart dies,
Sing wroshyr, wroshyr, wroshyr.

[sings:] Egh, auugh, auugh, auugh, egh, egh, muh, muh,
Auugh, egh, egh, auugh, auugh, muh, muh.
Egh, auugh, auugh, grrm, auugh, egh, muh, muh,
Muh, wroshyr, wroshyr, wroshyr.

[sings:] Now he is gone, and so’s my life,
All frozen in a moment.
He my seiz’d lov’d one, I his strife,
Sing wroshyr, wroshyr, wroshyr.

Yes, now am I in Bespin—more fool I,
For though my feelings say this is the place,
I know not yet for certain if it be.
My friends I have not heard from, hide nor hair,
And yet the Force doth call in clearest tones
As if to say: “Here lies thy destiny!”

But wait, what’s this? Procession most sincere,
And with such maimèd rites? This doth betoken
The corpse they follow was an enemy.
These Bespin guards do make odd pallbearers;
This scene is verily a sign of ill.

Aha! It seems that I expected am—
This then must be the place my vision saw.
The Force hath led me here by prophet’s hand—
I shall pursue the fiend most ardently,
Belike he shall lead me unto my mates.

These blasts and great commotion indicate
Skywalker’s recent advent unto Bespin.
This great upheaval his arrival makes
Doth grant me the diversion that I seek
To call upon my man-at-arms for help.

O Luke, pray fly! ’Tis but a trap! A trap!
Flee now, dear friend, ere thou art captur’d too.

But what is this? ’Tis Leia in distress!
Yet here, beset by blasts, I’ll not prevail.

Auugh!

—Aye, well done, my aide! Pray, put them in
The tower most secure, and be ye quiet!

...

[aside:] O, will he play the hero now? A fig!
[To Lando:] What is in thy imagination, man?

We shall depart at once.

[aside:]—I knew ’twas thus,
A regular misunderstanding.

—Auugh!

[choking:] I had no choice!

—What is this foolishness?
Pray, trust him!

—Aye, we understand, thou knave,
Thou didst have neither choice nor will to act.
Thou brute! Imperi’l officers act by
Their Lord’s command and blind obedience,
The bounty hunter is well paid for his
Nefari’us actions, e’en Darth Vader and
The Emperor are fully driven by
Their power, aye! But shalt thou say thou hadst
No choice? What lily-liver’d weak excuse
Is this? At least assume thy stature as
A man, and here confess thy shameful deeds!
We’ll give thee opportunity to ’fess
Thy wrongs before thou diest at Chewie’s hand.

[choking:] I did but try to help.

—We do not need
Thy help, thou whoreson, senseless villain!

[choking:]—Han!

What didst thou say?

—It sounded like a “Han!”

[choking:] There may yet be a chance we can save Han.
The bounty hunter’s ship, the platform east.

Pray, Chewie, let him go.

—My ferventest
Apologies for this, good Sir. See, he
Is but a Wookiee, ignorant and plain.

[aside:] I have been separated from my master.
Yet happy circumstance, for here I see
The others, and may now rejoin them.

O R2, R2, say, where hast thou been?
It does me well to see thee, little droid.
Yet prithee, haste thee, for we all now strive
To save our captain from the clutches of
The bounty hunter!

—Meep, beep, whistle, squeak!

At least thou art still in one piece—observe
My sad fragmented fate!

[aside:]—O flown, alack!
My Han—his body flown and fled. Now break
My heart, and weep mine eyes. A princess I
May be, but first and foremost human with
Emotions that betray my higher sense.
O gracious Han, forgive that I did come
To love thee late, and only then to lose thee.
I’ll find thee in the stars, my Han—I’ll search
The galaxy until I find thee.

—O!
[To Chewbacca:] Pray, Chewie, look, they come behind thee!

The soldiers are dispatch’d; now let us go.
A princess doth command thee, Lando: make
Thy choice once and for all whom thou shalt serve.
Wilt thou remain the Empire’s stooge, or shalt
Thou go with us to serve rebellion’s cause?

Good lady, this demand is fairly made.
Forgive me of the things I’ve done, I pray,
And I shall fly with thee and serve thee true.
But first, let me a final action take
To serve the Bespinites I love so well—
One moment for the greater good. [Into comlink:] Hear ye,
’Tis Lando of Calrissian who speaks.
The Empire doth control the city now—
I do advise ye all: evacuate
At once, before more troops arrive within.

[To Princess Leia:] This door shall lead us to the Falcon, but
The codes have chang’d. I know not how!

—R2,
Thou canst o’erride the door’s security.
Pray, R2, speed thee!

—Beep, meep, whistle, beep!

O blame me not, I am interpreter,
And know not power socket from computer!

Now under siege again! O, let us hence
Away unto the Falcon. Droid, canst thou
Release these doors that we may pass and fly?

If ever droid were worthy, R2 is.
Go to it, R2, make our good escape!

Beep, meep, beep, beep, squeak, whistle, beep, meep, meep!

We do not care about the hyperdrive—
The great Millenn’um Falcon is repair’d!

[aside:] Fie! This computer tells me all’s not well,
But how shall I convey this ’midst these blasts?
The doorway first; the hyperdrive shall wait.
[To C-3PO:] Beep, meep!

—Pray, ope’ the door, thou stupid lump!

O, R2, never did I doubt thee, thou
Art wonderful!

—I know that I should fly,
And yet for Han’s sake would I stay and slay
Each enemy that cometh from within.
Love unfulfill’d turns quickly into spite,
And vengefulness doth fill the empty place
Within my heart. O die a thousand times,
Ye basest beasts who fed upon my love.
O brutes, ye think not of the lives ye take—
You are but senseless minions who fulfill
The sordid whims of your Imperi’l lords.
Belike ’tis not your fault, for you are by
A merciless, vile Emperor controll’d.
Yet I shall strike at ye till you do fall
For ev’ry pain that you have giv’n to me:
The loss of Alderaan, of my great friends,
And now the loss of my belovèd one.
O die, ye mindless men of Empire cruel!
I shall upon the Empire be reveng’d
Until my gallant Han hath been aveng’d.

Where am I now, and where are all my friends?
Some wrong turn have I ta’en, and now am lost
Within a cavern, dark and fill’d with mist.
R2 is left behind; I am alone.
What evil lurks within this passage bleak?
What fate shall I discover in this place?
What pow’r hath brought me here—is it the Force?
If not, what messenger of darkness vile
Hath giv’n me up unto this realm of fear?
The cold I feel is as on Dagobah,
When in the cave my darkest self I fac’d.
The thoughts I thought therein do now return,
The questions that did rise and give me pause:
O, what is life, and what our purpose here?
Are living creatures made for pain and strife,
Do we but walk our days upon the ground
To perish without memory or fame?
If so, what shall we seek whilst we yet live?
Is brave adventure worthy of our time,
Or should we seek the principle of pleasure?
Are family and children noble aims,
Or is the Force itself our holy goal?
Is life a quest or is it but a farce—
A splendid journey or a fool’s crusade?
Such questions plague my soul, and make me doubt.
They draw my mind toward the darkest thoughts
That e’er I’ve known since I became a man.
And here, away from Dagobah, I have
No firm assurance of my safety, nor
The comfort of my master being here.
Thus shall I face my fortune by myself,
Without my mentors great to give me help.
The thought doth bring me trepidation, for
I have relie’d upon their counsel wise.
Be with me here in spirit, if not form,
Good Obi-Wan and Yoda—masters true.
O life, O Fate! I would I knew my place,
My time, my end, my destiny complete—
But I cannot see why or how life is.
Because the past is not a perfect guide,
And since the future still remains unknown:
My fate shall I meet in the present tense.

But soft, I hear slow footsteps drawing near.

The Force is with thee now, young Skywalker,
In troth—but thou art not a Jedi yet.

[aside:] ’Tis Vader, and ’tis Fate. Let it begin.

O mighty duel, O action ne’er surpass’d:
The lightsabers do clash and glow like fire.
Darth Vader in the villain’s role is cast,
While Luke’s young temper turneth soon to ire.
They flash and fly like dancers in a set,
Yet never dance did know such deadly mood.
Luke tires, and soon his brow begins to sweat,
Whilst Vader doth attack with strength renew’d.

Forsooth, young one, ’tis plain thou hast learn’d much.

Thou shalt find me full of surprises yet!

Thy destiny doth lie with me, Skywalker.
Your teacher Obi-Wan did know ’twas true.

Thou liest, O thou villain cruel and cold.

[aside:] ’Twas far too simple, trapping him within.
Perhaps the boy is not as powerful
As my great Emperor and I did think.

I am not captur’d yet, thou lord of hate.
Thou must another evil scheme derive
To catch me in thy snares. For I am quick,
And move with all the power of the Force.

Impressive, most impressive, worthy lad,
Thine Obi-Wan hath taught thee well, and thou
Hast master’d all thy fears. Now, go! Release
Thine anger, for thy hate alone can strike
Me down! [Aside:] Now ’tis the moment to provoke
His inner rage. Come walls, machines, and parts
And come at him from ev’ry side. He’ll be
Made weak, and in his weakness darkness find!

Alas, I fall—O Fate, be on my side!

The battle goes exactly as foreseen.
The boy is powerful and skill’d, ’tis true,
But his young powers are no match for mine.
It seems that Obi-Wan was weak with age,
For this boy’s training still is incomplete.
He shall be turnèd yet, for I still hold
The news that shall undo him utterly.
He thinks the speed of my lightsaber and
My power to send objects hurtling at
Him are the worst that I can muster, but
My greatest weapon yet shall break his soul,
Not touch his body. He shall know the truth.
But even as I plan to share with him
The story of his father, I must pause.
The strange confusion I before have felt
Hath come again into my mind. What is’t?
I know no better Fate for him and me
Than to be join’d in service to my Lord
And Emperor. So why am I confus’d?
Enough of this now, Vader: finish it.
The boy shall turn or he shall be destroy’d.

O pain, O bitter weariness. I did
Not know the power of the Force till now—
Till it, to purpose rank, was turn’d on me!
Now for my very life I grasp and hold
Unto the precipice whereon I cling.
Be with me now, O Ben, restore my strength.
I see that Vader hath ta’en flight, yet it
Is plain he doth but wait for his next chance.
Some hope remains, e’en now, amidst my fear—
He may yet be defeated, all’s not lost.
I have regain’d my footing, and may rest
Until the fight must be resum’d. Now quick:
Look deep within your heart, Luke, and recall
The teachings of your gentle master Yoda.
Breathe deeply and call on the Force, that it
May show to thee the path that thou must take.
O, give me strength to win this battle now
Or, if not win, maintain my sense of right.
But lo, Darth Vader cometh once again!

This is the end for thee, Skywalker. See,
Thou art defeated now; resistance would
Be futile. Let yourself not be destroy’d
As Obi-Wan did, weak old man he was.

O horror! O vast pain exceeding words!

Thou shalt find no escape. Do not make me
Destroy thee. Great importance shalt thou have
Within the Empire’s power, and thine own
Shall only grow with time. I prithee, join
With me, and I your training shall complete.
When our strength is combin’d, we shall conclude
This bitter conflict and bring order to
The galaxy entire.

—I never shall
Join with thee; I would rather be destroy’d.

[aside:] The boy doth admirably keep his head,
But now I shall unleash the final blow.
[To Luke:] If thou but knewest all the power of
The dark side. Obi-Wan hath never told
Thee of what happen’d to thy father, Luke.

O, he hath spoken much. And he hath told
Me of the truth—that thou didst slay him, aye,
And without cause or mercy, murderer
Most vile and wretched!

—No, I am thy father.

Nay, ’tis not true! It is impossible!

Pray, search thy feelings, Luke. Thou knowest it
Is true.

—Nay!

—Luke, thou mayst the Emperor
Destroy; he hath foreseen what thou wouldst do.
It is thy destiny, come join with me—
Together we shall rule the galaxy
As son and father. Come now, Luke, it is
The only way: the dark side is thy path.
O join with me, and we shall be as one.

I fall, and yet no death’s upon me yet.
I fall, for ’tis a better path than hate.

He falls, and welcomes death instead of pow’r.
He falls, but I can sense he liveth still.

I have not died—but pass into this shaft.
I have not died—though I may wish it so.

He hath not died—his heart screams in its fear.
He hath not died—so may he yet be turn’d.

I am held fast by this vane o’er the clouds.
I am held fast by some mirac’lous pow’r.

He is held fast within the dark side’s grasp.
He is held fast by his own clouded mind.

O Ben, I call to thee, but wilt thou hear?
I do remember thou didst say thou couldst
Not interfere in this, but O Ben, hear!
Alas, my mentor’s gone fore’er, and gives
No answer—e’en deserted by the dead.
If he cannot appear and rescue me,
Then I shall try the living: Leia, next
I call to thee. I prithee, Leia, hear!

[aside:] What is this voice that echoes in mine ears?
’Tis Luke, I know it is. Yet how is it
That I do hear him when he is not nigh?
No matter—more important ’tis that I
Respond unto his call. [To Lando:] We must go back.

What didst thou say?

—I know where Luke is!

—What
About the fighters drawing near?

—Egh, auugh!

I prithee, Chewie: Han we could not save,
But may yet rescue Luke, if we make haste.

But what about the fighters, Princess?

Pray, peace, good Wookiee, thou shalt have thy way.

What ties most deep do bind these souls as one!
In all my workings as a bus’nessman,
In all my making deals and earning more,
I have forgotten what doth make life rich:
’Tis friendship, love, and sacrifice that make
A life, and I too long have not liv’d well!
Farewell, the former Lando, lonely man!
Farewell to selfish pride and high ambition!
Farewell to scoundrelhood and avarice!
Farewell to all the things my life has been!
From now, I shall the great Rebellion serve,
And join myself unto this band of friends
Whate’er befall—pain, injury, or death.

Now come, brave Luke, whose mates to thee are dear,
I have not met thee, but do call thee brother.
Give me your hand, good Sir, if we be friends,
And Lando shall, in time, restore amends.
[To Leia:] Good Princess, let us fly, for all is well!

O Luke, my heart doth swell to see thee safe!
Thou hast been caught within Darth Vader’s trap,
But now thou art deliver’d and restor’d.

Now go with me unto the cot, and rest.
In time, we shall trade tales of grief and woe.

The man is sav’d, but now the battle’s on,
For by TIE fighters is our ship pursu’d!

The Falcon is attack’d, Luke. Lie thou back,
I shall anon return to give thee aid.

[To Lando:] Behold, a Star Destroyer doth approach.

Make ready, Chewie, for the lightspeed jump.

Aye, if thy people fix’d the hyperdrive,
Coordinates are set—’tis time we flew.

Now make it so!

—Auugh!

—I was told ’twas fix’d!
My trust I gave them, to repair the ship.
Some treachery and villainy lie here.
Forgive me, I know not what hath transpir’d.
’Tis not my fault. In troth, ’tis not my fault!

The ship shall be in tractor beaming range
Before thou canst say “aye.”

—Thy trusty men
Disab’d the swift Falcon’s hyperdrive?

They did, my Lord.

—’Tis well. Prepare to board
Their ship, and set all weapons onto stun.
They have not made escape for long, and soon
Skywalker shall be in my hand again,
And I shall bring him to the Emperor.

Indeed, my Lord, I shall with joy comply.
The rebels shall be in our grasp anon.

Why have we not to lightspeed flown?

—Beep, squeak!

What dost thou mean that we cannot? How canst
Thou know the hyperdrive disabl’d is?

Beep, meep, meep, beep, squeak, whistle, nee, beep, hoo!

The city’s central processor hath told
Thee so? O, R2-D2, how have I
Oft warnèd thee of talking to a strange
Computer? Now, attend to my repair!

[to Luke:] Luke, well I know that thou canst sense my call.

My father! Word most strange upon my lips.

My son.

—O Ben, why didst thou tell me not?

Chewbacca, we must fly or we shall be
Destroy’d!

—It is Darth Vader on that ship.
We are in danger here. When shall we fly?

Luke, come with me, fulfill thy destiny!

[aside:] O Ben, I ask, why didst thou tell me not?
What anguish and disorder fill my mind!

[aside:] It falls to me again to win the day,
And rescue the Rebellion from dire loss.
I shall reactivate the hyperdrive,
Thus we shall fly, to fight another time!

O clever droid, great R2, rescuer!

Fie, fie! Yet once again the ship escapes.
I shall devise brave punishments for those
Who put upon our state this grievous blight.
Then shall I seek my son, the Jedi Knight.

The medic droid hath fix’d my hand with care,
Though never shall it fully be repair’d.
For though I can this hand use as before,
It shall ne’er truly be a hand of mine.
For now I am machine, though partly so,
Now have I ta’en a step toward the man
Who saith he is my father, yet is wires
And bolts. O hand, I find thee yet so dear.
Pray, serve me well, and prick my memory
That I did once the dark side briefly know—
And fac’d, and fought, and ultimately fail’d.
Then rise once more with me, my true right hand—
Thy rightful place thou shalt take at my side
To right the wrongs that we have sufferèd,
And right now thou and I begin to work
T’ward righteousness in great rebellion’s cause.

Now Lando, shalt thou go?

—Aye, Luke, for all
Hath been prepar’d. When we find Jabba and
The bounty hunter, we shall tell thee all.

I’ll meet thee where we plann’d—on Tatooine—
My homeland that is now estrang’d from me.

Good princess, now farewell. Apologies
Most earnest I convey again, and with
Them come a vow: we shall find Han, I swear.

Dear Chewie, I’ll await thy signal.

—Auugh!

Now take thou care—the Force be with ye both.

Now ends this troubl’d time of Empire’s rise,
Our time of harsh betrayal, painful loss.
Now have we learn’d what friendship truly costs,
And in the learning lost a comrade strong.

Along the way, our hearts were movèd much:
By sacred love, most wondrous to behold,
By bravery that shall outlive the times,
By sacrifice of our most precious friends.

Encounters unexpected we did meet
With masters wise and persons unforeseen.
These are the star wars, yet they are not done—
For sure, the final chapter’s just begun.

A glooming peace this morning with it brings,
No shine of starry light or planet’s glow.
For though our heroes ’scape the Empire’s slings,
The great rebellion ne’er has been so low.
Brave Han is for the Empire’s gain betray’d,
Which doth leave Princess Leia’s heart full sore.
Young Luke hath had his hand repair’d, remade—
The man is whole, but shaken to the core.
Forgive us, gentles, for this brutal play,
This tale of sorrow, strife, and deepest woes.
Ye must leave empty, sighing lack-a-day,
Till we, by George, a brighter play compose.
Our story endeth, though your hearts do burn,
And shall until the Jedi doth return.

If these haiku have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumber’d here
While these haiku did appear…

There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream;
There with fantastic garlands did she come
Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do dead men’s fingers call them:
There, on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke;
When down her weedy trophies and herself
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide;
And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up:
Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes;
As one incapable of her own distress,
Or like a creature native and indued
Unto that element: but long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death.