SCENE 3.

The silence of the night doth mark my work

And like a gentle breeze sweeps o’er the air.

In stealth I move throughout the palace dark,

That no one shall bear witness to my acts.

Now cross the court, with footsteps nimbly plac’d.

Ne’er did a matter of such weight depend

Upon a gentle footfall in the night.

Put out the light, and then relume his light—

Aye, now I spy my goal: the frozen Han.

Thy work is finish’d, feet. Now ’tis the hands

That shall a more profound task undertake.

Quick to the panel, press the needed code.

O swiftly fly, good hands, and free this man

From his most cold and undeservèd cell.

O true decryptionist, thy codes are quick!

The scheme hath work’d, the carbonite doth melt.

Forsooth, ’tis done—within the silent dark

The greatest light doth sing within my heart!

[Han Solo melts from the carbonite and falls to the floor.

[ To Han Solo:] Relax thou for a moment; thou art free

Of carbonite’s embrace, but thou dost burn

From this harsh hibernation malady.

I cannot see.

—Thine eyesight shall return.

But where am I?

—In Jabba’s Palace you

Have been detain’d.

—Who art thou, voice severe?

[Boushh removes his mask to reveal Princess Leia.

The one whose heart and soul do love thee true.

O, Leia!

[They kiss.

—Come, and let’s away from here.

Ho, ho, ho.

—O, that laugh, it works me woe.

’Tis too familiar in my memory,

And like a chime from Hell’s forsaken bells

Doth ring most evilly within mine ears.

Oofila mooga bos.

—Pray, Jabba, see:

I was upon my way to pay thee back,

And in returning happen’d on a course

That ran the other way. ’Tis not my fault.

Achi pahbuk moonitnuh, Solo, bah.

Akingsah rebah bachmanah bakmah

Jaja weetnowah bantha poodoo, ho!

He shall be bantha fodder, O, ’tis true—

A Solo may make progress through the guts

Of banthas! Aye, my master’s passing wise.

I’ll pay thee triple, Jabba, thou canst not

Deny this fortune—be thou not a fool!

[Han Solo is taken away by guards.

Nakko, kosleeya ni.

[Guards take Princess Leia to Jabba.

—Now shall I be

His plaything? [ To Jabba:] We have friends most powerful.

Thou shalt, with all thy heart, regret this act.

Bana madota, heah.

—Why were my eyes

E’er made to see, when such as this must be

Within my sight? I cannot bear to watch.

[Exeunt Jabba’s court.

What fate is this? What curs’d, unearnèd path?

Within a minute rescu’d by my love,

Then taken from her unto this grim place.

How long was I in carbonite encas’d?

Am I an old man now, with graying hair?

What jubilant occasions have I miss’d?

What friends have died, or have been lost fore’er?

Hath our Rebellion disappointed been,

Or is it now fulfill’d with all success?

Because I do not know how long I’ve slept,

Or what transpir’d while I was frozen thus,

It seems my mind is sluggish to defrost.

Grrm.

—Yet another sound familiar, but

This one doth bring delight into my soul.

Chewbacca? Prithee, tell me, Chewie, is

It thou who art here with me?

—Auugh.

—Sweet joy!

What bounty of affection do I feel

For thee, dear Wookiee. I cannot yet see,

But knowing thou art here doth warm my heart.

I prithee, give me news of all that is.

Egh, auugh!

—What sayst thou? Luke—a Jedi Knight?

What strange tomfoolery! Luke is but young,

Not made for rescues.

—Auugh!

—Thou dost report

I have been gone a time but fleeting, so

Have all acquir’d delusions of some grandeur?

And what of Han? Have I been left behind?

O thought most base, O destiny unkind.

[Exeunt.