by Ian Doescher
yet no Sand People.
Wait, wait, one doth appear unto me now—
CHORUS
With sudden viciousness the Tuskens come,
They knock young Luke and cause the droid to fall.
They seek to take a harshly pillag’d sum,
Till frighten’d by a false krayt dragon call.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, who has made a krayt dragon call to frighten off the Tusken Raiders.
OBI-WAN
Now enter I the scene of this boy’s life:
This boy whom I have watch’d for many years
Hath grown into the man before me now.
My hope I now entrust to him alone,
That he might be our sure deliverance.
And yet, this situation warrants care—
I must approach with caution as we speak,
And meet his questions as a trusted guide.
My inner joy I must with patience hide,
For certain ’tis it gives me great delight
To see him now—his face, his golden hair!
So long have I watch’d o’er him from afar,
So many hours and days of my life spent
In hopeful expectation of this one.
In his beginning I shall find my end;
This business shall reveal my final stage.
Yet in my closing scenes perhaps I’ll write
A worthy ending to my mortal days:
’Tis possible that in this gentle one
The dream I’ve long awaited shall come true.
So I’ll compose a final act that shall
Accomplish two most worthy ends: to set
The world aright and save this old man’s soul.
[To R2-D2:] Well met, my little one.
R2-D2
[aside:] —Almost I could
My metal tongue release and speak to him.
This man doth show sure signs of wisdom and
Experience. [To Obi-Wan:] Beep, beep, meep, beep, meep, squeak.
OBI-WAN
Come hither, tiny friend, be not afraid.
R2-D2
Beep, squeak, whee, hoo.
OBI-WAN
—Nay, prithee fret thou not.
For he shall make a full recovery.
[Luke wakes.
Rest easy, lad, for thou hast had a fall—
And more adventure hast thou seen today
Than many in a lifetime do. I say,
Thou catchest Fortune’s favor to survive
A cruel attack from Sand People most vile.
LUKE
But, by this light! ’Tis Ben Kenobi here!
It fills my heart with joy and soothes my pain
To meet thee.
OBI-WAN
—Aye, ’tis well. But let’s go hence.
The Jundland Wastes no place for trav’lers is.
Now prithee, good young Luke, say wherefore art
Thou here, and what strange errand bringeth thee
Herein where I am wont to dwell?
LUKE
—This droid.
Aye, truly, he hath brought me here.
R2-D2
—Beep, meep.
LUKE
It seemeth unto me that he doth search
To find his former master, yet in all
My days I ne’er have such devotion seen—
As this one showeth—from a droid.
R2-D2
—Hoo.
LUKE
—Yet
He claims that he belongeth to a man
Nam’d Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I thought,
Perchance, the man some relative of yours
May be. Dost thou know any by such name?
OBI-WAN
[aside:] O how the heart inside me breaks to hear
That name I once was call’d so long ago—
But happy Fate that ’tis Luke’s voice that calls!
[To Luke:] Aye, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan
Kenobi. [Aside:] O, the name is like a song—
Yet whether glorious song of joy or else
Some dirge of bitter pain I’m yet unsure.
[To Luke:] It is a name I have not heard for lo
These many, many years—a long, long time.
LUKE
My uncle knoweth Obi-Wan, I ken.
He doth report to me the man is dead.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] O Owen, wretched knave! Such base deceit,
And yet I know full well why thou so spok’st.
Should I have acted diff’rent in thy place?
[To Luke:] But nay, the man takes not his final sleep.
At least—unto this moment now—not yet.
LUKE
Then know’st thou him?
OBI-WAN
—Aye, verily I do.
I know the man as if he were myself,
For truly, aye, he is. This Obi-Wan,
Dear Luke, ’tis I.
R2-D2
[aside:] —By heaven’s light! [To Obi-Wan:] Beep, meep.
OBI-WAN
I have not heard this name, this Obi-Wan, Since ere e’en thou, thyself, wert born.
LUKE
—Aye, then,
I see this little droid is bound to thee.
OBI-WAN
I have no memory of owning such
A droid as this. ’Tis curious indeed.
[Sound of Tusken Raiders aside.] Now mark thee these my words: we must repair
Indoors to ’scape a second cudg’ling here.
The Sand People do easily take flight,
But soon they shall return with many more.
R2-D2
Beep, meep, beep, beep, meep, squeak!
LUKE
—C-3PO!
[C-3PO wakes, broken in pieces.
C-3PO
Where am I? Have I ta’en an ill-tim’d step?
In dreams have I seen visions of my death—
Ten thousand soldiers pranc’d upon my grave,
And I, alone to face the murd’rous mass,
Could only weep at my untimely end.
LUKE
Peace, peace, good droid. Thou art alive, fear not.
Canst thou now stand? We quickly must depart
Before the Sand People attack us here
And strive to make thy dream reality.
C-3PO
O whether dream or waking, I know not,
But go thee hence, and save thyself, I pray.
C-3PO by nightmare hath been slain!
OBI-WAN
[aside:] This droid shall quickly stretch his welcome thin.
LUKE
I shall not leave thee, droid, thou speak’st sans sense.
Come, come, I’ll bear thee up, so argue not.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] What noble care he takes to soothe this droid.
[To Luke:] We must make haste or face them yet again,
So hence let us away unto my den.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 2.
Inside the Kenobi homestead.
Enter OBI-WAN KENOBI, LUKE SKYWALKER, C-3PO, and R2-D2.
LUKE
Nay, thou art sure misled, O wise one, for
My father hath not fought in any wars.
Full many evenings as I lay abed
Such tales I heard of him I never knew:
A navigator on a freighter ship
Which carried fragrant spices hence to yon
My father was. He kneweth naught of wars.
OBI-WAN
So hath thine uncle told thee. Marry, he
Did not agree with aught thy father told
Of his philosophy and brave ideals.
Thine uncle, tether’d to the land, did not
Believe thy father should become involv’d
In matters of the stars and Empires, nay.
[Aside:] What shall I of the father tell the child?
If gentle Luke knew all that’s known to me
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�ll warrant he’d not understand the rhyme
And reason for my words. And yet, what is’t
To lie? To tell the truth, all else be damn’d?
Or else to tell, perhaps, a greater truth?
Is it the truth to tell a boy each fact
And thus deface his father’s memory?
Or have I spoken better truth to Luke
When I about his father speak with pride?
Aye, ev’ry child deserves a champion.
LUKE
Hast thou done battle in the Clone Wars?
OBI-WAN
—Aye.
And once was I a Jedi Knight, the same
As thy dear father.
LUKE
—O, how tears well up
Within me for the loss of that dear man
Whom never I did know, nor do, nor will.
OBI-WAN
I tell thee truly, ’mongst the pilots he
Was e’er the greatest in the galaxy.
He also was a cunning warrior,
And to the last was he a dear, dear friend.
[Aside:] And now to play upon his natur’l sense
Of self-importance, so to draw him near
To thoughts of Jedi training for himself.
[To Luke:] I hear thou art a pilot skill’d as well.
This calleth to my mind a gift I have
For thee. Thy father hath desir’d that thou
Shouldst have this weapon when thou wert of age.
Thine uncle, though, would none of it, so fear’d
He that thou might adjoin with Obi-Wan
Upon a fool’s crusade or devil’s task
Just as thy father hath when he was young.
C-3PO
Dear Sir, if thou dost need me not, I shall
Shut down upon the present moment, here.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Why speak’st he here when ’tis my time to speak?
These droids of protocol are e’er uncouth:
Of etiquette they know but little, troth!
LUKE
Pray tell, what is’t?
OBI-WAN
—Thy father’s lightsaber.
It is the weapon of a Jedi Knight:
If thou in thine own hand could hold a sun,
Then thou wouldst know the power of this tool.
Not merely random, neither awkward like
A blaster. Nay, the lightsaber maintains
A noble elegance, a Jedi’s pride.
’Tis something for a civiliz’d new age.
CHORUS
Now holdeth Luke the weapon in his hand,
And with a switch the flame explodes in blue.
The noble light Luke’s rev’rence doth command:
That instant was a Jedi born anew.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] Now doth the Force begin to work in him.
[To Luke:] For many generations Jedi were
The guarantors of justice, peace, and good
Within the Old Republic. Ere the dark
Times came and ere the Empire ’gan to reign.
LUKE
How hath my father died?
OBI-WAN
[aside:] —O question apt!
The story whole I’ll not reveal to him,
Yet may he one day understand my drift:
That from a certain point of view it may
Be said my answer is the honest truth.
[To Luke:] A Jedi nam’d Darth Vader—aye, a lad
Whom I had taught until he evil turn’d—
Did help the Empire hunt and then destroy
The Jedi. [Aside:] Now, the hardest words of all
I’ll utter here unto this innocent,
With hope that one day he shall comprehend.
[To Luke:] He hath thy Father murder’d and betray’d,
And now are Jedi nearly all extinct.
Young Vader was seduc’d and taken by
The dark side of the Force.
LUKE
—The Force?
OBI-WAN
—The Force.
The Force doth give a Jedi all his pow’r,
And ’tis a field of energy that doth
Surround and penetrate and bind all things
Together, here within our galaxy.
R2-D2
[aside:] In hearing this wise man I have almost
My errand quite forgot. Now to my work!
[To Obi-Wan:] Beep, meep, meep, squeak, beep, whee, squeak, whistle, meep!
OBI-WAN
And now, my little friend, shall I attempt
To find out whence thou came, and to discern
The reason wherefore thou hast left thy home
For lands unknown, a mission to pursue.
LUKE
He hath a message play’d—
OBI-WAN
—Thus have I found.
Enter PRINCESS LEIA, in beam projected by R2-D2.
LEIA
Dear General Kenobi, many years
Ago thou serv’d my noble father in
The Clone Wars. Now, he beggeth thee to come
Again and aid him in his struggle with
The Empire. Sadly may I not be there
With thee in person, my request to give.
My ship of late hath fallen under siege
And thus my mission—bringing thee unto
My cherish’d planet Alderaan—hath fail’d.
Yet have I deep within the mem’ry banks
Of this brave R2 unit stor’d the plans
Most vital for rebellion’s victory.
My father can retrieve the plans therein,
But I must ask of thee to take the droid
And bring him unto Alderaan with care.
The desp’rate hour is now upon us—please,
I beg thee, Sir. O help me, Obi-Wan
Kenobi, help. Thou art mine only hope.
[Exit Princess Leia from beam.
CHORUS
The message ends, then doth a silence fall.
While Obi-Wan his duty contemplates,
Young Luke considers whether Fate doth call.
Aye—in this moment, destiny awaits.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] The boy doth hear and hath the taste of fire
New burning in his ears. Now shall I play
The part of fuel and gently stoke that fire.
[To Luke:] Thou must be taught the Force if thou wouldst come
Away with me, and go to Alderaan.
LUKE
Nay, Alderaan? [Aside:] This man hath many charms,
And now it seems to me that I have been
These many hours under some great spell
That he hath cast. [To Obi-Wan:] Nay, I must hence back home.
’Tis late, and Uncle Owen shall be vex’d,
If I do not return to him ere long.
OBI-WAN
[aside:] And now it must be done or else ’tis lost!
[To Luke:] I need all thy good help, Luke—so doth she.
For such adventures I have grown too old.
LUKE
Nay, nay, I should not be involv’d, dear friend.
Much work there is to be completed yet,
And as the seers say true, a crop without
Its harvester is like a dewback sans
Its rider. Verily, I loathe the cruel
And noisome Empire, aye, yet nothing ’gainst
It have I pow’r to do at present. Fie!
’Tis all so far, far distant from this place.
OBI-WAN
Thus speaks thine uncle through thy lips, not thee.
LUKE
Mine uncle, O, mine uncle! How shall I
To him explain this matter? Tell me, how?
OBI-WAN
Come now with me and learn the Force, dear Luke.
LUKE
[aside:] Now am I split in twain by Fate’s sharp turns.
Two paths: the one toward adventure leads,
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br /> The other taketh me back to my home.
I have, for all my life, long’d to go hence
And now this Obi-Wan hath reason giv’n
Why I should leave my Tatooine and fly
Unto the stars. Aye, he hath told me of
The pow’rful Force. And yet, another force
Doth pull me home: the force of duty and
Responsibility. I would go hence,
Would fly today and ne’er look back again,
Except Beru and Owen are my true
And loyal family. ’Tis settled, then,
I stay on Tatooine until the time
When I may leave with clear, unfetter’d soul.
[To Obi-Wan:] I shall take thee as far as Anchorhead.
From there may’st thou find transport to where’er
Thou goest—aye, throughout the galaxy.
OBI-WAN
Thou must hold with thy conscience, it is true,
Whate’er thou thinkest right, thus thou shouldst do.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 3.
Inside the Death Star.
Enter Imperial generals and Senators, including ADMIRAL MOTTI and COMMANDER TAGGE.
TAGGE
Until this battle station utterly
Prepar’d and operational shall be,
’Tis plainly vulner’ble to an attack.
The rebels have more resources and are
More dangerous that thou wilt deign to see.
MOTTI
Perhaps of danger to thy star fleet, aye,
But not unto this battle station strong.
TAGGE
Rebellion shall gain more support within
Th’Imperial Senate—
Enter GRAND MOFF TARKIN and DARTH VADER.
TARKIN
[aside:] —O, these men do talk
And quibble like a brood of clucking hens!
[To Tagge:] Th’Imperial Senate, which thou speak’st of here,
No longer any threat to us doth hold.
For truly have I just receivèd word
