by Ian Doescher
And now, young one, I feel thine anger rise.
I sense thy hatred, which doth stir my blood.
I sit here, all defenseless, in thy sight.
Take up thy weapon now, and strike me down
In all thy hate, and then your journey t’ward
The dark side of the Force shall be complete.
LUKE
[ aside:] This man is pure incarnate evil. Shall
He goad me past the point of no return?
But what else can I do? Shall I remain
And weakly watch the death of all I love?
Nay, I cannot—for I would rather die
Than live and know I did not fight for them.
I must have courage now, and come what may!
[Luke reaches out toward his lightsaber with the Force, drawing it into his hand. He tries to strike the Emperor but is stopped by Darth Vader’s lightsaber.
EMPEROR
Ha, ha! Thy transformation hath begun!
Your steps draw ever closer unto me.
[Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader duel.
LUKE
[ aside:] Now shall I fight, if fight I must to save
My friends so dear.
VADER
[ aside:] —He is far stronger and
More subtly skill’d than when we last did meet.
[Luke Skywalker kicks Darth Vader off the balcony. Darth Vader stands up below, ready.
EMPEROR
’Tis well, apprentice—thine aggressiveness
Shall serve thee well. Let all thy hatred flow
Within thee.
[Luke Skywalker turns off his lightsaber.
VADER
—Obi-Wan hath taught thee well.
LUKE
I shall not fight thee, Father.
[Darth Vader climbs the balcony and strikes at Luke Skywalker.
VADER
—Unwise art
Thou so to lower thy defenses, boy!
[They continue to duel. Luke Skywalker jumps away from Darth Vader.
[ Aside:] His nimbleness astounds me. Almost do
I wish I did not serve another’s will.
Imagine what we two could do, were I
Not subject to another’s ev’ry whim.
LUKE
Thy thoughts betray thee, Father. I can feel
The good within thee, and the conflict, too.
VADER
There is no conflict.
LUKE
—Aye, thou couldst not bring
Thyself to kill me earlier and I
Believe thou shalt not hurt me, even now.
VADER
Thou verily dost underestimate
The power of the dark side. If thou wilt
Not fight, then thou shalt meet thy destiny.
[Darth Vader throws his lightsaber toward Luke Skywalker, which hits the balcony where Luke stands. Luke falls and hides.
EMPEROR
Ha ha, ’tis well! Now, Vader: finish it.
VADER
[ aside:] What words shall I employ to find a son,
To drive him so to hatred that he shall
Attempt to strike me down, and then be turn’d
Unto the dark side? O, is this not strange?
Were e’er there words to such a purpose put?
[ To Luke:] Thou canst not hide forever, Luke.
LUKE
—I shall
Not fight thee.
VADER
—Give thyself unto the dark
Side. ’Tis the only way to help thy friends.
[ Aside:] O what is this I sense within him now?
Another secret kept conceal’d from me?
Shall I e’er be the last to know my past?
[ To Luke:] Indeed, thy thoughts betray thee, for thou hast
Strong feelings for thy friends, especially
For one thou dost call sister. Aye, thou hast
A sister, and a twin. Thy feelings have
Betray’d her too. ’Twas wise of Obi-Wan
To try to hide the girl from me, but now
His vast and utter failure is complete.
LUKE
[ aside:] O Leia, how my thoughts have giv’n thee o’er!
Fie, cursèd be my weak and changing mind
That e’er I did let Vader see its thoughts.
I wish’d that he would but as father see
His daughter there, and by her presence might
Be mov’d toward a better, nobler path.
But now I know he doth but wish to taunt
And draw me out by his discovery.
O Leia, ever since I first did see
Thee in the beam from R2’s light I knew
We shar’d a deep connection. Now have I
Been partner to her cause through many times
Of hardship: battles won and lost, the joys
That come from victory, and all the griefs
That flow when friends have perish’d. With regard
To this both noble and fair princess, I
Have gone from hope of romance to a far
More deep and greater form of love. I fain
Would give my life for her. But O! That I
Should here betray her so, e’en with my weak
And simple-minded thoughts—what folly! Nay,
Far more: what horrid, selfish knavery!
But how shall he, my father, use this knowledge?
Will he attempt to capture her again
And lock her in this Death Star as he hath
Before? Or shall he seek to kill her now,
Since he doth know she may a threat become?
VADER
Belike, boy, thou dost wonder how her fate
Shall alter’d be, since I do know of her.
Thus pay good heed to this I do declare:
If thou shalt not toward the dark side turn,
Mayhap she will.
LUKE
[ aside:] —O thought more evil than
Whate’er I did or could imagine. [ Revealing himself:] Nay!
[Luke Skywalker fights Darth Vader passionately.
For Leia shall I strike thee down, thou brute!
For Han and all my friends I do attack!
For Ben, whom thou didst slaughter sans remorse,
For all thou hast destroy’d, I vengeance bring!
[Luke Skywalker strikes Darth Vader and cuts off his hand.
VADER
Ah!
EMPEROR
—Good, my young apprentice. Thy strong hate
Hath made thee powerful, indeed. Fulfill
Thy destiny, and take thy father’s place
Beside me. Strike him down, and rule with me!
[Luke Skywalker looks at the stump of Darth Vader’s hand, and at his own gloved hand.
LUKE
[ aside:] My father’s hand, of wires and circuits made,
I have in fury sever’d quite. And here,
My hand, of wires and circuits also made,
For in another duel, another place,
He hath the living one dismemberèd.
’Tis plain to me what is transpiring here:
I do become like him. Torn up by hate,
More like machine than man with ev’ry scar,
Fulfilling the foul Emperor’s base will.
Shall this obsess’d, derang’d, and wicked man
Lead yet another Skywalker unto
A path of dark and evil? Shall it be
That I become the thing that I despise?
Protect me, Jedi ancestors, from such
A mangl’d Fate, so hopeless, grim and bleak.
[ To Emperor:] I never shall be turn’d unto the dark.
Thy plan hath fail’d, thy Highness; I am Luke
Skywalker, Jedi Knight, just like my brave
And noble father.
EMPEROR
—Then so be it, Jedi.
Thy proclamations foolish change not this:
I still control thy final destiny.
If thou shalt not be turn’d, then thou shalt be
Destroy’d! Bear witness to the terror and
The torment of the dark side of the Force!
[Emperor Palpatine strikes Luke Skywalker with lightning that flows through his hands. Luke falls. Darth Vader rises.
LUKE
O agony!
EMPEROR
—Young fool, ’tis only now
In this, thy final living moment, thou
Dost comprehend thy folly and my might.
[He continues to strike Luke with lightning.
Thy feeble skills are nothing when compar’d
To all the power of the dark side. Thou
Dost pay the rightful price for thy severe
And utter lack of vision. Aye, thy debt
Is due, and I am both thy creditor
And thy collector, too. What thou hast not
Repaid with thy belief I shall exact
From thine own flesh. And O, what joy it brings
To charge thee thus—my payment justly earn’d.
To wound thee, hurt thee, break thee, and, at last,
To bring to thee the death that I am ow’d.
[The Emperor continues to assault Luke with lightning.
LUKE
O, Father, please, do not stand idly by—
Assist me, if thou ever mercy knew!
EMPEROR
And now, young Luke Skywalker, thou shalt die.
[The Emperor gleefully assails Luke with lightning. Luke screams and writhes in pain.
LUKE
My Father, gracious father, lend me aid!
Extend to me the grace I beg of thee!
VADER
[ aside:] This torment is not only his, but mine.
His ev’ry shriek doth sound within my soul
As though ’twere I who were assaulted here.
What feeling’s this—my heart hath turn’d toward
The boy? My heart, that center of my soul
That I so long have hidden ’neath the dark
And evil deeds that well befit a Sith.
But how my heart doth groan as though it wakes
From lengthy sleep. It shakes my spirit, spurs
My aging wither’d body, and doth make
Me young again—I am a Jedi Knight,
By Obi-Wan instructed; Anakin,
The name by which my mother call’d me, calls
Me now to resurrect my former self.
Methinks I feel the Force within me here—
Not to perform the deeds of evil men
But to release myself from bitter hate
And rescue Luke, whose courage I behold.
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul.
Be Anakin Skywalker now—recall
The man thou wert and rescue thy dear son!
[Darth Vader lifts Emperor Palpatine and throws him down a long shaft, where he is killed amid his lightning and flames.
LUKE
O Father, thou hast sav’d me from great woe—
And thou hast sav’d thyself. Now, let us go!
[Exeunt.
SCENE 3.
Inside the shield generator bunker on Endor / Space / Inside the second Death Star.
Enter IMPERIAL COMMANDER and IMPERIAL TROOPS on left side of stage. HAN SOLO appears in viewscreen, dressed as an Imperial AT-ST pilot.
HAN
The battle’s over, my commander. All
The rebels have been routed, and abscond
Unto the forest. Reinforcements are
Requir’d to aid us in our quick pursuit.
TROOPS
Hurrah!
COMMAND.
—Send thou three squads to bring them help!
Pray, open up the back door speedily.
What joy! The rebels know defeat today,
And we’ll rejoice to bear the news unto
Our officers superior. Go now!
[The Imperial troops open the back door and are met by Ewoks and rebels, who disarm them.
HAN
A cunning line! And you are quite the catch—
Deceiv’d by rebels playing Empire’s part!
We dangled all your hopes for victory
As bait to draw you in and hold you fast,
And now we take the bunker in our care.
Let fall your weapons, else I shall release
Your lives unto these creatures’ fearsome pow’r!
Perchance they seem not vicious, yet they have
What thou canst never know: fierce bravery.
Enter PRINCESS LEIA and CHEWBACCA, joined by HAN SOLO, into the bunker. The Imperial troops remain guarded by the rebels at the back door.
LEIA
This bunker shall anon destroyèd be,
And then our friends may strike their final blow.
HAN
Indeed! Pray, give to me another charge.
We shall fulfill this task with perfect skill—
And leave no charge unusèd.
CHEWBAC.
—Auugh!
LEIA
—’Tis set!
Now let us fly! Else we shall bear the blast.
[Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca run from the bunker, which explodes.
Enter LANDO OF CALRISSIAN, NIEN NUNB, ADMIRAL ACKBAR, WEDGE ANTILLES, and other REBEL PILOTS on right side of stage, dueling with IMPERIAL TROOPS in their ships. ADMIRAL PIETT and IMPERIAL CONTROLLER are aside, inside the Death Star.
ACKBAR
’Tis done, the Endor crew hath triumph’d yet—
The shield is down! Upon the Death Star’s main
Reactor let us fly anon. Then shall
We reach the core and give it quite a zap!
LANDO
We fly with haste! Red Group, Gold Group, form up
And follow me! Today rebellion shall
Have reason to exult! Our enemies
Shall soon be vanquish’d! O what triumph shall
Be ours when this great Death Star its own death
Doth undergo. Three things shall be achiev’d
Thereby. The first shall be a victory
For our Rebellion—all the fervent hopes
Of these past years attain’d in one swift stroke.
The second benefit of Death Star’s end
Is freedom and security for all
Within the galaxy—no more oppress’d
By evil tyrants, people shall once more
Be free to dwell in possibility.
And finally, the third result of this
Great Death Star’s fall shall be the rising up
Of all whose pasts conceal some awful guilt,
Some aspect of their lives that brings regret.
I speak of my own past—you all know well
How I betray’d my friend when th’Empire forc’d
My hand. And e’en that friend, good Han, hath through
Rebellion’s cause found purpose he had ne’er
Imagin’d. In this battle we fight not
To merely terminate an enemy—
Full many of us rebels seek the bliss,
The balm and healing of redemption’s touch.
So let it be, my noble comrades all:
Fight now for the Rebellion, fight for all
Who dwell within our galaxy, and fight
Most ardently, indeed, for your own souls.
Thus shall we raise those who by Empire’s might
Have died, and forth from their celestial graves
Shall they ascend and with a rebel’s voice
Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war!
WEDGE
Well spoken! I fly in for rebels’ gain!
NIEN
N’tiya tih.
LANDO
—We fly with thee, good Wedge:
Inside the station, t’ward the centermost.
TIE fighters follow us adroitly in—
&
nbsp; Mark well how they do come behind anon.
We must outrun them e’en as we approach
The place where we shall strike the Death Star’s core.
WEDGE
Form up, good lads, and stay alert. We could
Within this tiny shaft lose space with haste.
LANDO
This passage is a narrow path indeed.
If we can but maneuver cunningly,
We shall escape the Death Star with our lives
And, what is more, our hop’d-for victory.
I prithee, pilots all, attend my words:
Lock all thy weapons to the largest source
Of power, which should be the generator.
[An Imperial pilot strikes Rebel Pilot #1.
PILOT 1
Alas, friends, I am hit, and go to die!
[Rebel Pilot 1 dies.
LANDO
I would not even one more pilot lose
Who under my command doth fly herein.
Pay heed, all: separate by diff’rent paths
And fly toward the surface. See if you
Can draw a few TIE fighters thither, too.
This is the surest hope for our success
Against the Death Star and its minions.
PILOT 2
—Aye,
Thou speakest well, Gold Leader. We’ll obey.
[The rebels inside the Death Star separate. Some exit, pursued by Imperial troops, leaving only Lando, Nien Nunb, and Wedge Antilles inside the shaft.
NIEN
Ah!
[The Millennium Falcon scrapes the wall of the Death Star shaft.
LANDO
—Pardon, Han, I did say not a scratch,
But did, in this tense moment, break that vow.
Yet thou and I both know it could be worse—
Our Falcon hath known scrapes in times now past.
Still, that last brush was far too close; so shall
I try to take more care with borrow’d wings.
ACKBAR
Our fighters must be given yet more time.
This victory is here, within our reach.
Thus, concentrate thy pow’r unto the main,
