by James Kahn
Leia and Chewbacca listen tensely as the sound of a high speed
transmission begins.
LEIA
Now we find out if that code is worth the
price we paid.
HAN
It'll work. It'll work.
Chewie whines nervously. Luke stares at the Huge Super Star
Destroyer that looms ever larger before them.
LUKE
Vader's on that ship.
HAN
Now don't get jittery, Luke. There are a lot
of command ships. Keep your distance though,
Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to
keep your distance.
Chewie barks a question.
HAN
I don't know. Fly casual.
LUKE
I'm endangering the mission. I shouldn't have
come.
HAN
It's your imagination, kid. Come on. Let's
keep a little optimism here.
Chewie barks his worries as the Super Star Destroyer grows larger
out the window.
60 INT VADER'S STAR DESTROYER - BRIDGE 60
Lord Vader stands, back to us, staring out a window at the Death
Star. Now, some vibration felt only by him causes him to turn.
After a moment of stillness, he walks down the row of controllers
to where ADMIRAL PIETT is leaning over the tracking screen of the
controller we've seen earlier. Piett straightens at Vader's
approach.
VADER
Where is that shuttle going?
PIETT (into comlink)
Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and
destination?
PILOT VOICE (HAN)(filtered)
Parts and technical crew for the forest moon.
The Bridge Commander looks to Vader for a reaction.
VADER
Do they have a code clearance?
PIETT
It's an older code, sir, but it checks out. I
was about to clear them.
Vader looks upward, as he senses Luke's presence.
PIETT
Shall I hold them?
VADER
No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them
myself.
PIETT (surprised)
As you wish, my lord.
(to controller) Carry on.
Piett nods at controller, who switches on his comlink.
61 INT STOLEN IMPERIAL SHUTTLE - COCKPIT 61
The group waits tensely.
HAN
They're not goin' for it, Chewie.
CONTROLLER (filtered)
Shuttle Tydirium, deactivation of the shield
will commence immediately. Follow your
present course.
Everyone breaths a sigh of relief. Everyone but Luke, who looks
worried. Chewie barks.
HAN
Okay! I told you it was gonna work. No
problem.
62 EXT SPACE - STOLEN IMPERIAL SHUTTLE - ENDOR 62
The stolen Imperial shuttle moves off toward the green Sanctuary
Moon.
63 EXT FOREST LANDING SITE - ENDOR 63
The stolen Imperial shuttle sits in a clearing of the moon's
dark, primeval forest, dwarfed by the ancient towering trees.
On an adjacent hill, the helmeted Rebel contingent makes its way
up a steep trail. Leia and Han are slightly ahead of Chewie and
Luke. The troops of the strike-team squad follow, with Artoo and
Threepio bringing up the rear. Artoo beeps.
Up ahead, Chewie and Leia reach a crest in the hill and drop
suddenly to the ground, signaling the rest of the group to stop.
Han and Luke crawl up to take a look.
THREEPIO
Oh, I told you it was dangerous here.
THEIR POV. Not far below them, two IMPERIAL SCOUTS are wandering
through bushes in the valley below. Their two ROCKET BIKES are
parked nearby.
LEIA
Shall we try and go around?
HAN
It'll take time. This whole party'll be for
nothing if they see us.
Leia motions for the squad to stay put, then she, Han, Luke and
Chewie start quietly down.
64 EXT FOREST CLEARING - CAMPSITE 64
The four friends make their way to the edge of the clearing not
far from the two Imperial scouts.
HAN
Chewie and I will take care of this. You stay
here.
LUKE
Quietly, there might be more of them out
there.
HAN (grins)
Hey... it's me.
Han and Chewie turn and start through the bushes toward the
scouts. Luke and Leia exchange smiles.
Han sneaks up behind one of the scouts, steps on a twig and the
scout whirls, knocking Han into a tree. The scout shouts for his
companion.
SCOUT 1
Go for help! Go!
The second scout jumps on his speeder bike and takes off, but
Chewie gets off a shot on his crossbow laser weapon, causing the
scout to crash into a tree. Han and Scout 1 are in a rousing
fistfight.
LUKE (sarcastic)
Great. Come on.
Luke starts for the scuffle, followed by Leia with her laser
pistol drawn. As they run through the bushes, Leia stops and
points to where two more scouts are sitting on their speeder
bikes, with an unoccupied bike parked nearby.
LEIA
Over there! Two more of them!
LUKE
I see them. Wait, Leia!
But Leia doesn't hear him and races for the remaining speeder
bike. She starts it up and takes off as Luke jumps on the bike
behind her.
LUKE (pointing to the controls)
Quick! Jam their comlink. Center switch!
Luke and Leia speed into the dense foliage in hot pursuit, barely
avoiding two huge trees.
HAN
Hey, wait! Ahhh!
He flips the remaining scout to the ground.
65 EXT FOREST - THE BIKE CHASE 65
The two fleeing Imperial scouts have a good lead as Luke and Leia
pursue through the giant trees at 200 miles an hour, the fire
from their bike's laser cannon hitting harmlessly near the moving
targets.
LUKE
Move closer!
Leia guns it, closing the gap, as the two scouts recklessly veer
through a narrow gap in the trees. One of the bikes SCRAPES a
tree, slowing the scout.
LUKE
Get alongside that one!
Leia pulls her speeder bike up so close to the scout's bike that
their steering vanes SCRAPE noisily. Luke leaps from his bike to
the back of the scout's, grabs the Imperial warrior around the
neck, and flips him off the bike, into a thick tree trunk. Luke
gains control of the bike and follows Leia, who has pulled ahead.
They tear off after the remaining scout.
LUKE
Get him!
The speeding chase passes TWO MORE IMPERIAL SCOUTS. These two
swing into pursuit, chasing Luke and Leia, firing away with their
laser cannon. The two Rebels look behind them just as Luke's bike
takes a glancing hit.
LUKE (indicating the one ahead)
Keep on that o ne! I'll take these two!
With Leia shooting ahead, Luke suddenly slams his steering vanes
into the braking mode. Luke's bike is a blur to the two pursuing
scouts as they zip by him on either
side. Luke slams his bike
into forward and starts firing away, having switched places with
his pursuers in a manner of seconds. Luke's aim is good and one
scout's bike is blasted out of control. It explodes against a
tree trunk.
The scout's cohort takes one glance back at the flash and shifts
into turbo drive, going even faster. Luke keeps on his tail.
FAR AHEAD, Leia and the first scout are doing a highspeed slalom
through the death-dealing trunks. Now Leia aims her bike skyward
and rises out of sight.
The scout turns in confusion, unable to see his pursuer.
Suddenly, Leia dives down upon him from above, cannon blasting.
The scout's bike takes a glancing hit.
Leia moves in alongside him. The scout eyes her beside him,
reaches down, and pulls out a handgun. Before Leia can react, the
scout has blasted her bike, sending it out of control. Leia dives
off as her bike explodes against a tree. The happy scout looks
back at the explosion. But when he turns forward again, he is on
a collision course with a giant fallen tree. He hits his brakes
to no avail and disappears in a conflagration.
ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST Luke and the last remaining scout
continue their weaving chase through the trees. Now Luke moves up
close. The scout responds by slamming his bike into Luke's. A
fallen tree forms a bridge across their path. The scout zips
under. Luke goes over the top and crashes his bike down on the
scout's. Both riders look ahead - a wide trunk looms directly in
Luke's path, but the scout's bike beside him makes it almost
impossible for him to avoid it. Luke banks with all his might,
leaning almost horizontal over the scout's bike, and is able to
make it by, just clipping the tree. When he straightens, he and
the scout discover that their two bikes have locked front vanes
and are moving as one.
Another big tree looms in Luke's path. He reacts instinctively
and dives off his bike. The two bikes come apart a second before
Luke's explodes against a tree. The scout sweeps out and circles
back to find Luke.
Luke rises from the undergrowth as the scout bears down on him
and opens fire with his laser cannon. Luke ignites his laser
sword and begins deflecting the bolts. The scout's bike keeps
coming and it appears that in a second it will cut Luke in half.
At the last instant, Luke steps aside and chops off the bike's
control vanes with one mighty slash. The scout's bike begins to
shudder, then, pitching and rolling, it rises up to slam directly
into a tree in a giant ball of fire.
66 EXT SCOUT CAMPSITE - FOREST 66
Han, Chewie, and the droids, along with the rest of the squad,
wait anxiously in the clearing. Artoo's radar screen sticks out
of his domed head and revolves, scanning the forest. He beeps.
THREEPIO
Oh, General Solo, somebody's coming. Oh!
Han, Chewie, and the rest of the squad raise their weapons.
Luke steps out of the foliage to find the weapons trained on him.
He's too tired to care. He plops himself down on a boulder and
looks around.
HAN
Luke! Where's Leia?
LUKE (concerned)
What? She didn't come back?
HAN
I thought she was with you.
LUKE
We got separated.
Luke and Han exchange a silent, grim look. Luke gets up wearily.
LUKE
Hey, we better go look for her.
Han nods, and signals to a Rebel officer.
HAN
Take the squad ahead. We'll meet at the
shield generator at 0300.
LUKE
Come on, Artoo. We'll need your scanners.
Luke, Chewie, Han, and the droids move off in one direction as
the squad proceeds in another.
THREEPIO
Don't worry, Master Luke. We know what to
do.
They move off into the woods.
THREEPIO (to Artoo)
And you said it was pretty here. Ugh!
67 EXT FOREST CLEARING - LEIA'S CRASH SITE 67
A strange little furry face with huge black eyes comes slowly
into view. The creature is an EWOK, by the name of WICKET. He
seems somewhat puzzled, and prods Leia with a spear. The princess
groans; this frightens the stubby ball of fuzz and he prods her
again. Leia sits up and stares at the three-foot-high Ewok. She
tries to figure out where she is and what has happened. Her
clothes are torn; she's bruised and disheveled.
The Ewok jumps up and grabs a four-foot-long spear, which he
holds in a defensive position. Leia watches him as he circles
warily and begins poking her with the sharp point of the spear.
LEIA
Cut it out!
She stands up, and the Ewok quickly backs away.
LEIA
I'm not gonna hurt you.
Leia looks around at the dense forest, and at the charred remains
of her speeder bike, then sits down, with a sigh, on a fallen
log.
LEIA
Well, looks like I'm stuck here. Trouble is,
I don't know where here is.
She puts her head in her hands to rub away some of the soreness
from her fall. She looks over at the watchful little Ewok and
pats the log beside her.
LEIA
Well, maybe you can help me. Come on, sit
down.
Wicket holds his spear up warily and growls at her like a puppy.
Leia pats the log again.
LEIA
I promise I won't hurt you. Now come here.
More growls and squeaks from the little bear creature.
LEIA
All right. You want something to eat?
She takes a scrap of food out of her pocket and offers it to him.
Wicket takes a step backward, then cocks his head and moves
cautiously toward Leia, chattering in his squeaky Ewok language.
LEIA
That's right. Come on. Hmmm?
Sniffing the food curiously, the Ewok comes toward Leia and sits
on the log beside her. She takes off her helmet, and the little
creature jumps back, startled again. He runs along the log,
pointing his spear at her and chattering a blue streak. Leia
holds out the helmet to him.
LEIA
Look, it's a hat. It's not gonna hurt you.
Look. You're a jittery little thing, aren't
you?
Reassured, Wicket lowers his spear and climbs back on the log,
coming to investigate the helmet. Suddenly his ears perk up and
he begins to sniff the air. He looks around warily, whispering
some Ewokese warning to Leia.
LEIA
What is it?
Suddenly a laser bolt comes out of the foliage and explodes on
the log next to Leia. Leia and Wicket both roll backwards off the
log, hiding behind it. Leia holds her own laser gun ready, while
Wicket disappears underneath the log. Another shot, and still no
sight of anyone in the forest. Then Leia senses something and
turns to find a large IMPERIAL SCOUT standing over her with his
weapon pointed at her head. He reaches out his hand for her
weapon.
; SCOUT l
Freeze! Come on, get up!
She hands the weapon over, as a second scout emerges from the
foliage in front of the log.
SCOUT 1
Go get your ride and take her back to base.
SCOUT 2
Yes, sir.
The second scout starts toward his bike, as Wicket, crouched
under the log, extends his spear and hits the first scout on the
leg. The scout jumps and lets out an exclamation, and looks down
at Wicket, puzzled. Leia grabs a branch and knocks him out. She
dives for his laser pistol, and the second scout, now on his
bike, takes off. Leia fires away and hits the escaping bike,
causing it to crash into the first scout's bike, which flies end
over end and explodes. The forest is quiet once more. Wicket
pokes his fuzzy head up from behind the log and regards Leia with
new respect. He mumbles his awe. Leia hurries over, looking
around all the time, and motions the chubby little creature into
the dense foliage.
LEIA
Come on, let's get outta here.
