William Shakespeare's the Merry Rise of Skywalker

Home > Other > William Shakespeare's the Merry Rise of Skywalker > Page 7
William Shakespeare's the Merry Rise of Skywalker Page 7

by Ian Doescher


  Thou patient, for we shall deliver thee.

  C-3PO

  Whoe’er this Chewie may be, madness ’tis!

  [The Bestoon Legacy flies inside

  a hangar of the Steadfast.

  Enter a few STORMTROOPERS around the Bestoon Legacy.

  TROOPER 6

  Credentials now present, and manifest.

  [Rey, Poe, and Finn emerge,

  shooting stormtroopers. The droids

  follow hesitantly behind.

  FINN

  Feel ye our blaster fire, ye troubling knaves!

  REY

  [to droids:] You three, remain here with the ship.

  C-3PO

  —Forsooth!

  I fear my fellowship to die with ye.

  POE

  Forever changing places are these ships—

  Finn, whither shall we go?

  FINN

  —Fain would I know,

  But no idea have I. Yet follow on!

  [They run aside while the droids

  wait with the ship.

  Enter TWO STORMTROOPERS, pointing

  blasters at REY, POE, and FINN.

  TROOPER 7

  Drop ye your weapons, naughty ruffians!

  [Rey uses a Jedi mind trick on them.

  REY

  ’Tis not a problem that we are herein.

  TROOPER 7

  ’Tis not a problem that ye are herein.

  TROOPER 8

  Indeed, ’tis well!

  REY

  —You are reliev’d to see

  Us on the ship.

  TROOPER 7

  —Hurrah that ye are here!

  TROOPER 8

  Most hearty welcome, gentles, to our ship.

  POE

  [aside, to Finn:] Is’t possible, with a most knowing eye,

  She plies such tricks on us?

  REY

  —We hither came

  To find a prisoner and his things, too,

  And ye shall help us in our noble search.

  TROOPER 7

  Proceed in the direction ye did run

  And ye shall find th’interrogation room.

  [Exeunt stormtroopers.

  FINN

  They told us Chewie would be found this way—

  Let us press forward, blasting cameras,

  Until we locate Chewie finally.

  [They come to a closed door and Finn

  begins working on the panel to open it.

  REY

  [aside:] Again, the presence of another one

  Doth call to me—the dagger is on board,

  And I must thither if we would succeed.

  [Rey starts walking away as

  Finn opens the door.

  FINN

  Rey, swiftly come or we shall be undone.

  REY

  The dagger—it is here and we must have’t.

  POE

  Perhaps it may be that my mind is wrought

  To fever pitch, yet wherefore do we so?

  REY

  A feeling tells me, Poe. I prithee, meet

  Me once more in the hangar.

  FINN

  —Foh, canst not—

  [Poe places a hand on Finn’s chest,

  silencing him. Exit Rey.

  POE

  Be calm—I would not suffer, Finn, our thoughts

  For any length of time to dwell upon

  These latter speculations. Chewie is

  Our goal and aim, so let us go anon.

  They open another door. Enter CHEWBACCA in his cell, bound.

  CHEWBAC.

  Egh, auugh!1

  POE

  —Of course we came! The novelty

  Of an adventure such as this we would

  Not miss, and never would leave thee behind.

  CHEWBAC.

  Egh, egh.2

  FINN

  —Yea, Rey is with us, and shall find

  The dagger ere we venture forth from here.

  Enter ALLEGIANT GENERAL PRYDE and various

  STORMTROOPERS aside, in the hangar.

  PRYDE

  Whose ship is this? Alert the legions stern—

  Belike our enemies have hither come.

  [Exit Allegiant General Pryde as the

  stormtroopers begin searching the ship.

  FINN

  This way unto the ship, my friends. Make haste!

  [The stormtroopers enter the corridor through

  which Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca are running.

  TROOPER 9

  ’Tis them!

  [Finn shoots Trooper 9.

  FINN

  —Wrong way! Fie, they do swarm like bees!

  POE

  Nay, I could not have said this; it is an

  Absurdity—there is no right way here!

  [The blaster fight continues as Poe,

  Finn, and Chewbacca run toward the hangar,

  encountering stormtroopers. Poe shoots one

  stormtrooper and slides a blaster to Chewbacca.

  Now, Chewie, thou mayst make thine own defense.

  Are we yet near the hangar?

  FINN

  —’Tis not far.

  [Poe runs into an opening in the

  corridor and is shot in the arm.

  Alack, good Poe! My truest confidant

  Shot down in combat fierce. Say, art thou well?

  [Stormtroopers surround Poe,

  Finn, and Chewbacca.

  POE

  Although at times my pessimism dark

  Hath been imputed to me as a crime,

  I can say truly: nay, all is not well.

  TROOPER 10

  Freeze, scum, and drop your weapons on the ground!

  POE

  The ship and all within it are imbued

  With spirit, gentles. You are well met!

  TROOPER 10

  —Tut!

  Enter GENERAL HUX and ALLEGIANT GENERAL PRYDE.

  Allegiant General, th’Resistance rogues

  We’ve apprehended, yet the scavenger

  Is not with them.

  PRYDE

  —Pray, bear them from my sight

  And terminate the scoundrels presently.

  [Exit Allegiant General Pryde.

  The stormtroopers take aim.

  HUX

  In troth, I’d gladly do the deed myself.

  Give me thy blaster; I shall end their lives.

  POE

  [aside, to Finn:] I s’pose it is despair hath strung my nerves.

  What was it thou had hop’d to say to Rey?

  [Trooper 10 hands Hux his blaster.

  FINN

  Are all thy feelings still consum’d with this?

  POE

  Is this an inconvenient time for thee?

  Is’t suddenly the case that thou dost fear

  The consequences of discovery?

  CHEWBAC.

  Auugh!3

  FINN

  —Not the best time, nay, for goodness’ sake.

  HUX

  [aside:] The vast First Order searcheth for a spy.

  Who shall it be who will reveal the foe?

  If ye would ask, the answer comes: ’tis I.

  Intelligence from our strong ranks doth fly,

  And ev’rywhere around us tempers grow;

  The vast First Order searcheth for a spy.

  Who would be better thought of, by and by?

  Who would be proud his spirit true to show?

  If ye would ask, the
answer comes: ’tis I.

  Strong Kylo Ren knows something is awry,

  With deep mistrust his visage is aglow—

  The vast First Order searcheth for a spy.

  Who can discern what future times are nigh?

  Who may envisage how events will go?

  If ye would ask, the answer comes: ’tis I.

  In future times, pray ask of Hux not why

  His heart hath turn’d, for it may cause him woe.

  [Hux shoots the stormtroopers.

  [To Finn, Poe, and Chewbacca:] The vast First Order searcheth for a spy.

  If ye would ask, the answer comes: ’tis I.

  POE

  The shock that these few words, thus utterèd,

  Were so well calculated to convey!

  FINN

  E’en thee, our longtime foe?

  HUX

  —We’ve not much time.

  POE

  I’m not a little bit astonish’d to

  Discover it—I knew ’twas so, in faith!

  FINN

  In faith, thou never didst, ne’er could have guess’d.

  [Exeunt Poe Dameron, Finn,

  Chewbacca, and General Hux.

  Enter REY to KYLO REN’S chamber.

  REY

  A chamber full of light, and what is this?

  Darth Vader’s crush’d and broken mask—a-ha!

  ’Tis not a random room, ’tis Kylo Ren’s!

  Into his private chamber, I shall give

  The full cause of my coming—take the knife

  And Chewie’s belt, and then depart at once.

  Yet, even as my hand the dagger grasps,

  The images of its foul deeds arise—

  I hear the screams, the cries, the sadness that

  This wicked instrument hath causèd. Nay.

  Enter KYLO REN aside, on Kijimi but communicating

  with REY through the Force.

  KYLO

  Rey—wheresoe’er thou be, art hard to find.

  REY

  And thou most difficult to be rid of,

  As though a parasite and I thy host.

  KYLO

  I push’d thee in the desert for one cause:

  I needed to see thee, and needed thee

  To see the untold truth of who thou art.

  I know thy story, ev’ry detail worth.

  Rey—

  REY

  —Thou dost lie.

  KYLO

  —Ne’er have I lied to thee.

  Thy parents were nobody by design—

  Such was their choice, which they did make to keep

  Thee safe.

  REY

  —Do not presume to speak of them!

  KYLO

  Thou dost remember more than thou admitt’st.

  I was inside thy head.

  REY

  —I want not this!

  KYLO

  Explore thy memories and thou shalt—

  REY

  —Nay!

  [Rey attacks him with her

  lightsaber and they duel.

  KYLO

  Remember them!

  REY

  [aside:] —Unbidden, lo, they come!

  The face of my dear mother, sore afeard,

  Embracing me, insisting I be brave.

  My father, too, assuring me that I

  Would safer be, remaining on Jakku.

  His promise ere they left in Ochi’s ship,

  My mournful cries as they departed thence.

  KYLO

  They sold thee to protect thee.

  REY

  —Stop thy mouth!

  KYLO

  I know what did befall them afterward.

  [They continue dueling.

  Tell me where thou art hiding. Thou know’st not

  The story in its ev’ry twist and turn—

  ’Twas Palpatine who had thy parents ta’en.

  He search’d for thee, yet they would not reveal

  Thy whereabouts. Thus order’d he their deaths.

  REY

  [aside:] In my mind’s eye I see the tragic scene:

  My mother telling Ochi that I was

  Not on Jakku, and moments later he—

  Pernicious criminal—my father slew!

  [Rey and Kylo Ren duel more, and in the

  process they knock over the pedestal where

  Vader’s mask rests. Kylo Ren sees it.

  KYLO

  A-ha! My chamber, then, is where thou art.

  [They duel.

  Thou knowest why the Emperor hath e’er

  Desir’d thy death.

  REY

  —Nay.

  KYLO

  —I shall thither fly

  And tell thee in the flesh. ’Twill better be.

  [Exit Kylo Ren. Rey runs toward the hangar.

  Enter STORMTROOPERS, approaching the droids in the hangar.

  TROOPER 11

  Who are ye and what is your purpose here?

  [To C-3PO:] What is thine operating number, droid?

  C-3PO

  Nokito wahnga wan.

  TROOPER 11

  —’Tis language none!

  [Rey runs in, shooting the stormtroopers.

  C-3PO

  O! My first laser battle. What a life!

  REY

  Where are the others?

  C-3PO

  —They have not return’d.

  Enter KYLO REN, flying into the hangar in his TIE whisper.

  REY

  I prithee, find them! Get thee gone at once!

  [The droids run down the halls of the ship.

  D-O Ahead, our friends!

  C-3PO

  —Indeed, I see them come!

  Enter POE DAMERON, FINN, CHEWBACCA, and

  GENERAL HUX, heading for a second hangar.

  HUX

  Th’impeders I’ve shut down, yet not for long—

  Ye have mere seconds to escape the ship.

  POE

  I do not hesitate to say that I’m

  Amaz’d, can scarcely credit mine own sense—

  The Falcon! She is here, survivor strong!

  [Exeunt Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, C-3PO,

  BB-8, and D-O into the second hangar,

  where the Millennium Falcon awaits.

  HUX

  [to Finn:] Wait, prithee. Blast me quickly in the arm.

  FINN

  Yet wherefore should I injure thee e’en thus?

  HUX

  An thou dost not, they’ll know ’twas I who help’d.

  [Finn shoots Hux in the leg.

  FINN

  Why art thou proffering thine aid to us?

  HUX

  It matters not to me if ye do win—

  I only hope that Kylo Ren will lose.

  [Exit Finn to the hangar. Exit General

  Hux separately. In the other hangar,

  Rey approaches Kylo Ren.

  Enter STORMTROOPERS, watching the standoff.

  REY

  The scene is set, the stage arrang’d for thee.

  I charge thee, by thy reverence for truth,

  Here to unfold—although thou didst intend

  To keep in darkness what occasion now

  Reveals before ’tis ripe—what thou dost know.

  Say wherefore th’Emperor did hunt for me.

  Why would he track and kill a child? Pray, tell!

  KYLO

  Foresaw he what thou wouldst, in time, become.

  Thou hast not merely pow’r
—thou hast his pow’r.

  Thou art his granddaughter, a Palpatine.

  My mother was to Vader daughter born,

  Thy father was the Emperor’s own son.

  [Kylo Ren begins walking toward

  Rey, who backs away from him,

  approaching the edge of the hangar.

  What Palpatine doth not yet understand

  Is that we are a dyad in the Force—

  We two are one. Together, we shall kill

  Dread Palpatine and take the throne at last.

  Thou know’st what thou must do, thou knowest well.

  [Kylo Ren takes off his mask and

  extends his hand to Rey.

  REY

  Forsooth. I shall do ev’rything I ought.

  Enter POE DAMERON, FINN, CHEWBACCA, C-3PO, BB-8,

  and D-O in the Millennium Falcon, flying next to the hangar. STORMTROOPERS begin firing on the Falcon.

  POE

  With a rapidity that will surprise,

  I’ll blow the lot asunder—steady, hold!

  [Poe pulls a lever, engaging the thrusters

  and pushing the stormtroopers back.

  Kylo Ren holds his ground. Finn stands

  on the Falcon’s boarding ramp.

  FINN

  Rey, fly anon! Abscond while yet thou canst!

  [Rey jumps to Finn, who grabs her

  and helps her inside the Millennium

  Falcon. Exeunt Rey, Poe Dameron, Finn,

  Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, and D-O.

  KYLO

  Though thou this confrontation wouldst delay,

  The cat will mew, and dog will have his day.

  [Exeunt Kylo Ren and stormtroopers.

  SCENE 2.

  On Kylo Ren’s command ship, the Steadfast.

  Enter GENERAL HUX, ALLEGIANT GENERAL PRYDE,

  and various OFFICERS and STORMTROOPERS.

  HUX

  Coordinated the incursion was,

  Allegiant General. They did o’erpow’r

  The guards and forcèd me to escort them

  Directly to the ship.

  PRYDE

  —All now is clear.

  [To Trooper 12:] Hail thou our Supreme Leader presently.

  TROOPER 12

  Yea, sir.

  [Pryde takes Trooper 12’s blaster and

  shoots Hux. General Hux dies.

  PRYDE

  —Inform him that the spy is found.

  On vengeance shall misprision run aground.

  [Exeunt.

  SCENE 3.

  On the Millennium Falcon and on Kef Bir.

  Enter REY.

  REY

  If revelations were a currency,

  A wealthy woman should I be indeed.

  Misfortune, though, is mine inheritance.

  The Emperor’s granddaughter, is it so?

  Here is prosperity I wanted not.

  Entangl’d now his story is with mine,

  Knit are our threads of fate with strands of blood.

 

‹ Prev