by George Lucas
locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to
leave.
Ben studies the data on the monitor readout.
BEN I don't think you boys can help. I must go alone.
HAN Whatever you say. I've done more that I bargained for on this
trip already.
LUKE I want to go with you.
BEN Be patient, Luke. Stay and watch over the droids.
LUKE But he can...
BEN They must be delivered safely or other star systems will suffer
the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path
than mine. The Force will be with you...always!
Ben adjusts the lightsaber on his belt and silently steps
out of the command office, then disappears down a long grey
hallway. Chewbacca barks a comment and Han shakes his head in
agreement.
HAN Boy you said it, Chewie.
Han looks at Luke.
HAN Where did you dig up that old fossil?
LUKE Ben is a great man.
HAN Yeah, great at getting us into trouble.
LUKE I didn't hear you give any ideas...
HAN Well, anything would be better than just hanging around waiting
for him to pick us up...
LUKE Who do you think...
Suddenly Artoo begins to whistle and beep a blue streak.
Luke goes over to him.
LUKE What is it?
THREEPIO I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, sir. He says "I found her",
and keeps repeating, "She's here."
LUKE Well, who...who has he found?
Artoo whistles a frantic reply.
THREEPIO Princess Leia.
LUKE The princess? She's here?
HAN Princess? What's going on?
THREEPIO Level five. Detention block A A-twenty-three. I'm afraid
she's scheduled to be terminated.
LUKE Oh, no! We've got to do something.
HAN What are you talking about?
LUKE The droid belongs to her. She's the one in the message.. We've
got to help her.
HAN Now, look, don't get any funny ideas. The old man wants us to
wait right here.
LUKE But he didn't know she was here. Look, will you just find a way
back into the detention block?
HAN I'm not going anywhere.
LUKE They're going to execute her. Look, a few minutes ago you said
you didn't want to just wait here to be captured. Now all you want to
do is stay.
HAN Marching into the detention area is not what I had in mind.
LUKE But they're going to kill her!
HAN Better her than me...
LUKE She's rich.
Chewbacca growls.
HAN Rich?
LUKE Yes. Rich, powerful! Listen, if you were to rescue her, the
reward would be...
HAN What?
LUKE Well more wealth that you can imagine.
HAN I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit!
LUKE You'll get it!
HAN I better!
LUKE You will...
HAN All right, kid. But you'd better be right about this.
Han looks at Chewie, who grunts a short grunt.
LUKE All right.
HAN What's your plan?
LUKE Uh...Threepio, hand me those binders there will you?
Luke moves toward Chewbacca with electronic cuffs.
LUKE Okay. Now, I'm going to put these on you.
Chewie lets out a hideous growl.
LUKE Okay. Han, you put these on.
Luke sheepishly hands the binders to Han.
HAN Don't worry, Chewie. I think I know what he has in mind.
The Wookiee has a worried and frightened look on his face
as Han binds him with the electronic cuffs.
THREEPIO Master Luke, sir! Pardon me for asking...but, ah...what
should Artoo and I do if we're discovered here?
LUKE Lock the door!
HAN And hope they don't have blasters.
THREEPIO That isn't very reassuring.
Luke and Han put on their armored stormtrooper helmets and
start off into the giant Imperial Death Star.
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- DETENTION AREA -- ELEVATOR TUBE.
Han and Luke try to look inconspicuous in their armored suits
as they wait for a vacuum elevator to arrive. Troops,
bureaucrats, and robots bustle about, ignoring the trio
completely. Only a few give the giant Wookiee a curious
glance.
Finally a small elevator arrives and the trio enters.
LUKE I can't see a thing in this helmet.
A bureaucrat races to get aboard also, but is signaled away by
Han. The door to the pod-like vehicle slides closed and the
elevator car takes off through a vacuum tube.
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- MAIN HALLWAY.
Several Imperial officers walk through the wide main
passageway. They pass several stormtroopers and a robot
similar to Threepio but with an insect face. At the far end of
the hallway, a passing flash of Ben Kenobi appears, then
disappears down a small hallway. His appearance is so fleeting
that it is hard to tell if he is real or just an illusion. No
one in the hallway seems to notice him.
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- INTERIOR ELEVATOR -- DETENTION SECURITY AREA.
Luke and Han step forward to exit the elevator, but the door
slides open behind them. The giant Wookiee and his two guards
enter the old grey security station. Guards and laser gates
are everywhere. Han whispers to Luke under his breath.
HAN This is not going to work.
LUKE Why didn't you say so before?
HAN I did say so before!
INTERIOR DETENTION AREA.
Elevator doors open. A tall, grim looking Officer approaches
the trio.
OFFICER Where are you taking this...thing?
Chewie growls a bit at the remark but Han nudges him to
shut up.
LUKE Prisoner transfer from Block one-one-three-eight.
OFFICER I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it.
The officer goes back to his console and begins to punch in
the information. There are only three other troopers in the
area. Luke and Han survey the situation, checking all of the
alarms, laser gates, and camera eyes. Han unfastens one of
Chewbacca's electronic cuffs and shrugs to Luke.
Suddenly Chewbacca throws up his hands and lets out with
one of his ear-piercing howls. He grabs Han's laser rifle.
HAN Look out! He's loose!
LUKE He's going to pull us all apart.
HAN Go get him!
The startled guards are momentarily dumbfounded. Luke and
Han have already pulled out their laser pistols and are
blasting away at the terrifying Wookiee. Their barrage of
laserfire misses Chewbacca, but hits the camera eyes, laser
gate controls, and the Imperial guards. The officer is the
last of the guards to fall under the laserfire just as he is
about to push the alarm system. Han rushes to the comlink
system, which is screeching questions about what is going on.
He quickly checks the computer readout.
HAN We've got to find out which cell this princess of yours is in.
Here it is...cell twenty-one-eight-seven. You go get her. I'll hold
them here.
Luke races down one of the cell corridors. Han speaks into the
buzzing comlink.
HAN (sounding official) Everything is under control.
Situation
normal.
INTERCOM VOICE What happened?
HAN (getting nervous) Uh...had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh,
everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here,
now, thank you. How are you?
INTERCOM VOICE We're sending a squad up.
HAN Uh, uh, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few
minutes to lock it down. Large leak...very dangerous.
INTERCOM VOICE Who is this? What's your operating number?
Han blasts the comlink and it explodes.
HAN Boring conversation anyway. (yelling down the hall) Luke! We're
going to have company!
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- CELL ROW.
Luke stops in front of one of the cells and blasts the door
away with a laser pistol. When the smoke clears, Luke sees the
dazzling young princess-senator. She had been sleeping and is
now looking at him with an uncomprehending look on her face.
Luke is stunned by her incredible beauty and stands staring at
her with his mouth hanging open.
LEIA (finally) Aren't you a little short to be a stormtrooper?
Luke takes off his helmet, coming out of it.
LUKE What? Oh...the uniform. I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue
you.
LEIA You're who?
LUKE I'm here to rescue you. I've got your R2 unit. I'm here with Ben
Kenobi.
LEIA Ben Kenobi is here! Where is he?
LUKE Come on!
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- CONFERENCE ROOM.
Darth Vader paces the room as Governor Tarkin sits at the far
end of the conference table.
VADER He is here...
TARKIN Obi-Wan Kenobi! What makes you think so?
VADER A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the
presence of my old master.
TARKIN Surely he must be dead by now.
VADER Don't underestimate the power of the Force.
TARKIN The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe.
You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion.
There is a quiet buzz on the comlink.
TARKIN Yes.
INTERCOM VOICE Governor Tarkin, we have an emergency alert in
detention block A A-twenty-three.
TARKIN The princess! Put all sections on alert!
VADER Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him.
TARKIN If you're right, he must not be allowed to escape.
VADER Escape is not his plan. I must face him alone.
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- DETENTION AREA -- HALLWAY.
An ominous buzzing sound is heard on the other side of the
elevator door.
HAN Chewie!
Chewbacca responds with a growling noise.
HAN Get behind me! Get behind me!
A series of explosions knock a hole in the elevator door
through which several Imperial troops begin to emerge.
Han and Chewie fire laser pistols at them through the smoke
and flame. They turn and run down the cell hallway, meeting up
with Luke and Leia rushing toward them.
HAN Can't get out that way.
LEIA Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route.
HAN (sarcastically) Maybe you'd like it back in your cell, Your
Highness.
Luke takes a small comlink transmitter from his belt as
they continue to exchange fire with stormtroopers making their
way down the corridor.
LUKE See-Threepio! See-Threepio!
THREEPIO (over comlink) Yes sir?
LUKE We've been cut off! Are there any other ways out of the cell
bay?...What was that? I didn't copy!
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- MAIN BAY GANTRY -- CONTROL TOWER.
Threepio paces the control center as little Artoo beeps and
whistles a blue streak. Threepio yells into the small comlink
transmitter.
THREEPIO I said, all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir.
The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out; all other
information on your level is restricted.
Someone begins banging on the door.
TROOPER VOICE Open up in there!
THREEPIO Oh, no!
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- DETENTION CORRIDOR.
Luke and Leia crouch together in an alcove for protection as
they continue to exchange fire with troops. Han and Chewbacca
are barely able to keep the stormtroopers at bay at the far
and of the hallway. The laserfire is very intense, and smoke
fills the narrow cell corridor.
LUKE There isn't any other way out.
HAN I can't hold them off forever! Now what?
LEIA This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn't you have a
plan for getting out?
HAN (pointing to Luke) He's the brains, sweetheart.
Luke manages a sheepish grin and shrugs his shoulders.
LUKE Well, I didn't...
The princess grabs Luke's gun and fires at a small grate in
the wall next to Han, almost frying him.
HAN What the hell are you doing?
LEIA Somebody has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, wise
guy.
She jumps through the narrow opening as Han and Chewbacca
look on in amazement. Chewbacca sniffs the garbage chute and
says something.
HAN Get in there you big furry oaf! I don't care what you smell! Get
in there and don't worry about it.
Han gives him a kick and the Wookiee disappears into the
tiny opening. Luke and Han continue firing as they work their
way toward the opening.
HAN Wonderful girl! Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to
like her. Get in there!
Luke ducks laserfire as he jumps into the darkness. Han
fires off a couple of quick blasts creating a smokey cover,
then slides into the chute himself and is gone.
INTERIOR DEATH STAR -- GARBAGE ROOM.
Han tumbles into the large room filled with garbage and muck.
Luke is already stumbling around looking for an exit. He finds
a small hatchway and struggles to get it open. It won't budge.
HAN (sarcastically) Oh! The garbage chute was a really wonderful
idea. What an incredible smell you've discovered! Let's get out of
here! Get away from there...
LUKE No! wait!
Han draws his laser pistol and fires at the hatch. The
laserbolt ricochets wildly around the small metal room.
Everyone dives for cover in the garbage as the bolt explodes
almost on top of them. Leia climbs out of the garbage with a
rather grim look on her face.
LUKE Will you forget it? I already tried it. It's magnetically
sealed!
LEIA Put that thing away! You're going to get us all killed.
HAN Absolutely, Your Worship. Look, I had everything under control
until you led us down here. You know, it's not going to take them long
to figure out what happened to us.
LEIA It could be worst...
A loud, horrible, inhuman moan works its way up from the
murky depths. Chewbacca lets out a terrified howl and begins
to back away. Han and Luke stand fast with their laser pistols
drawn. The Wookiee is cowering near one of the walls.
HAN It's worst.
LUKE There's something alive in here!
HAN That's your imagination.
LUKE Something just moves past my leg! Look! Did you see that
?
HAN What?
LUKE Help!
Suddenly Luke is yanked under the garbage.
HAN Luke! Luke! Luke!
Solo tries to get to Luke. Luke surfaces with a gasp of air
and thrashing of limbs. A membrane tentacle is wrapped around
his throat.
