by Ian Doescher
TALLIE Your time hath come, O gunners true. Aim well.
[Aside:] The battle’s on, already some do fall.
An X-wing pilot o’er our radio
Doth shout, “They’re ev’rywhere!” and speaks no more.
A bomber doth erupt in red and orange,
A sick’ning sight, and sobering as well.
CANADY Recharge the cannons, thus to strike their cruiser—
Elimination bars evacuation.
BB-8 Blik zzwa reejroil bloo zzwablip blic flewblik!
POE I see it also. Tallie, they do target
The cruiser—we must make our move anon.
We stand upon the brink of th’precipice.
TALLIE I understand—our ships are nearly there!
Brave bombardiers, begin your dropping sequence.
PILOT 1 Mine eyes do spy the target. Bombs are arm’d,
And we shall bring the pain unto the Dreadnought.
Alack! A stray TIE fighter, struck and spinning,
Doth whirl, sans all control, into our hull—
We’re doom’d, our bombs explode inside the ship!
[Pilot 1 dies.
PAIGE A bomber gone, and only one remains—
E’en mine. Resistance, can we win this day?
OFFICER 2 The cannons have been aim’d, and shall be charg’d
In forty seconds. Then shall we prevail!
CANADY Destroy the final bomber—whilst e’en one
Survives, we fly beneath a deadly threat.
POE Paige, canst thou hear me? Wherefore are thy bay
Doors still unopen’d to the mark below?
Thou fliest th’only bomber that remaineth—
If ’twould be done, ’twere well it were done quickly.
If not, these horrid ends shall come to pass:
The unendurable oppression of
The lungs, the stifling fumes of burning flesh,
The clinging of our garments unto death,
The blackness of the night most absolute,
The silence like a sea that overwhelms.
PAIGE The bay doors? Why hath not my partner op’d them?
Some tragedy befell him, by my troth.
I’ll climb above, release the doors myself.
A-ha, I see it—held in his dead hand,
The small remote that shall unseal the doors
And drop the bombs upon the ship below.
I climb, e’en as the ship around me shakes,
The lot of the Resistance in my hands.
I grasp for it, my fingers scarcely touch it—
Another second and it shall be mine.
O, tyranny, another blow doth strike
My troubl’d ship, and I do fall, I fall!
What pain, what misery, I am undone,
Can hardly move, or wake, or even think.
I hear Poe’s shouts resounding in mine ears,
The battle pressing hard on ev’ry side.
This is the only chance I have been giv’n,
Yet I have not the might to see it through.
O Paige, bethink thee of some way to do’t.
My legs! They still have strength of life in them.
Kick on the ladder. Kick! And kick again!
The shy remote must bring itself to me.
O sister, whom I think upon e’en now,
In this, the final moment of my life,
I bid thee be courageous when I’m gone.
Thou carriest the twin of this steel pendant—
Which I hold even now and think on thee—
And with it, sister, thou hast half my heart.
Another kick, rememb’ring thou still liv’st,
And lo, the bomb’s remote doth fall to me.
I clutch it, press the button, seal my fate—
The bombs will hit their mark, and I shall die,
That my sweet sister live another day.
TALLIE The bombs have flown! The Dreadnought shall be naught.
[Exeunt Canady and all aboard the Dreadnought, dying.
SOLDIER 2 Directly hit! The ship is down fore’er.
POE Brave Paige hath done it—lo, the Dreadnought falls!
A spectacle I never thought I’d see.
Ah, we have put her living in the tomb,
Her bomber falls within the fiery grave.
She died, though, so a greater hope may live—
We have destroy’d a mighty pow’r today,
A monstrous thing that would have done us harm
In future battles, somewhere far from here.
Our thanks, good Paige, for thy great sacrifice.
Now hie thee to the ship, Poe, we must leave!
I speed into the cruiser’s waiting bay,
And we do jump into lightspeed—away!
My clever BB-8, thou didst well, droid.
BB-8 Flib blooblic flitzood roohzilf zzwa fligzoon
Flli blikreej blis, roilblip zoombloo rooq blee!
LEIA [aside:] O, I have seen too much of death and loss.
The sensor ’fore me beepeth, showing all
That we have lost today. Upon the screen,
The ships are merely signals, blue and red,
Yet each one standeth in the place of life—
A person whom I knew, a pilot dear,
My comrade who did go to death for me.
So many gone, in hundreds, thousands, millions,
My planet, Alderaan, when I was young,
And since, a line of losing those I love.
How shall a gen’ral find the time to grieve?
When I lost Han, I first was in denial,
Could not believe my paramour was gone.
Then came the anger, first for Leader Snoke,
Then for our galaxy, too mir’d in hate.
I bargain’d—yea, I did—with fickle Fate,
And wish’d that I could die instead of Han.
The feelings of depression follow’d next,
As I sunk to the depths of human pain.
Acceptance then should follow, yet ’tis near
Impossible when others still are dying—
New grief comes wave on wave in times like this.
[Exit Leia.
OFFICER 1 [to Hux:] O Gen’ral Hux, our Supreme Leader Snoke
Doth contact you, our progress to discuss.
HUX ’Tis well. Yea, verily, all shall be well.
I shall within my chamber speak with him.
Enter SUPREME LEADER SNOKE in hologram.
SNOKE Thou! Gen’ral Hux!
HUX —Ah, Leader Snoke. Yes, good—
[Snoke uses the Force to drag Hux to the ground.
SNOKE My disappointment in thy poor performance
Can ne’er be overstated. Speak, thou imp!
HUX The vile Resistance cannot get away,
But we shall follow hard upon, my liege.
They fasten’d are upon a trick of string,
E’en stronger than the mighty cord of Fate.
[Exeunt Snoke, Hux, and all First Order officers, troopers, and pilots.
Enter FINN, in a bacta suit.
FINN Awoken from my slumber, here am I—
A broken Finn, but mended and prepar’d
To find an answer to the question that
Doth burn within the center of my soul.
BB-8 [to Poe:] Flirflib zoozblee flig roohflit bloo zoodroil
Zoomzood! Flig zilfrooq flliblay zoon blayzoon
Roil zoonflir zzwa reejblik blox bleeflir zood,
Flewroil rooqblee zilf zzwablav blik rooh flli
Zilfzoon zooz flig blisflib flew zzwa blu
uflig.
POE “Finn naked, leaking bag”—what sayest thou?
These fancies, aye, and such as these,
Have always given to thy meditations
What our world ev’ryday would term fantastic.
Hast thou had some malfunction, BB-8?
BB-8 Flig flitroil roohzzwa bleezilf flirbluu blee!
POE [seeing Finn:] O, my dear Finn! Thou art most luck’ly met.
Remark’bly well thou looking art today!
It does mine eyes and heart so well to see thee.
We must away and get thee dress’d, my friend.
A thousand questions must, o’er thee, hold sway.
FINN Nay, merely one, fine Poe. Say: where is Rey?
[Exeunt.
SCENE 2.
On Ahch-To.
Enter REY, LUKE SKYWALKER, and various PORGS.
REY An ’twere the galaxy did pause and watch,
Now I do stand before this mighty man.
Determin’d to soak in his Jedi wisdom,
Yearn I to make him teacher, guide, and friend.
E’en now, he looks at me with interest,
Takes stock of my intentions, yea, as if
To see within the center of my soul.
His eyes, O how they twinkle—is’t delight?
Ere I did come, the man was quite alone,
So must he eager be for company.
I shall approach, hold forth his lightsaber;
My simple offering holds so much weight.
Perchance he kneweth not it still existed,
Lost for so many years and now return’d.
Especially attentive is he now,
Stands ready for whatever I do next.
Take, then, the man’s lightsaber, Rey, and show
A Jedi Master that thou com’st in peace.
Nay, not just peace, but hope and joy as well,
Suffus’d with such assorted feelings as
Would make a person burst, if ev’ry tense
Emotion could be felt at once. Ah, me!
Rey, calm thyself: the moment comes anon.
I think that, by the Force, thou—Luke—canst read
So plainly ev’ry notion in my mind.
Dost thou, then, know what mission brings me here?
Enow with thought alone: ’tis time to act.
As I extend my hand, I sense his will,
Declaring he shall take this mantle on.
O take thy lightsaber, thou Jedi true—
Now it is thine, and thou shalt lead us all!
[Luke takes the lightsaber from Rey and throws it over his shoulder. He walks into his shelter.
[Aside:] Alas, ’twas not the welcome I expected.
I’ll follow him toward his little hut.
[To Luke:] Wise Master Skywalker? I come from the
Resistance. Thy kind sister, Leia, sent me.
We need thine urgent help. Art there? Hello?
PORG Porg!
REY —I’ll retrieve his lightsaber at least.
A weapon of such elegance is rare,
And worthy of a better end than to
Be play’d with by some odd, small, beastly birds.
Below, beneath the water, I espy
The man’s X-wing, wherewith he hither flew.
Some clue unto his past the ship doth give.
Back to his dwelling, Rey, to try again.
Ah, here comes stout Chewbacca from the Falcon—
Luke mayhap will be mov’d to heed his knock.
Enter CHEWBACCA. He and REY knock on LUKE’s door.
LUKE [from inside:] Get hence! I would not speak to thee today,
Or any day. O! What is this? My door!
Someone hath broke it down, but who could—
CHEWBAC. [entering:] —Auugh!1
LUKE Chewbacca! Even thou art on this errand?
CHEWBAC. Egh, auugh!2
REY —He says thou wilt come back with us.
LUKE How did ye find me here, where I have hid?
REY Upon the Falcon I shall tell thee all—
It is a tale told by me, full of sound
And fury, signifying ev’rything.
LUKE Yea, ’twas the Falcon you flew here upon?
CHEWBAC. Egh.3
LUKE —Chewie and the Falcon—where is Han?
[Exeunt.
1 Editor’s translation: Halfway across the galaxy we’ve come,
And thou canst not e’en open wide thy door?
Is hospitality in short supply?
This is not how I had remember’d thee.
2 Editor’s translation: If you shall not be mov’d, we shall move thee!
3 Editor’s translation: So little dost thou know of what hath pass’d—
Thou shalt soon learn to mourn with us anew.
SCENE 3.
Aboard the Finalizer.
Enter SUPREME LEADER SNOKE and GENERAL HUX, with ROYAL GUARDS aside.
SNOKE Thy news is music to thy leader’s ear,
Good Gen’ral Hux. Tied on a string, forsooth!
Well done, sir. The Resistance soon shall be
Within the grasp of our First Order’s hand.
HUX I live to serve. You have my thanks for your
Affirming words, strong Supreme Leader Snoke.
[Exit Hux.
Enter KYLO REN.
SNOKE Thou wond’rest why I keep a rabid cur
In such a place of pow’r? I’ll tell thee true:
When that the weakness of a cur is us’d,
Manipulated, stretch’d to one’s own will,
This may result: a sharp and well-hon’d tool.
Yea, such is Hux. But as for thou, how art?
Dost thou recover from thy recent wound?
KYLO ’Tis but a scratch. Aye, just a flesh wound, this.
SNOKE O, stop all thy emotiveness, thou scamp.
The mighty Kylo Ren thou art, indeed.
When I found thee, I saw what ev’ry master
Doth long to see: ’twas raw, untamèd strength,
Untainted, pure potential in a man.
Beyond that, something special verily:
The promise of thy bloodline powerful,
A new Darth Vader rising in the ranks.
Yet now, I fear mine ev’ry thought was errant.
KYLO All that I have, thus have I giv’n to you,
To our First Order, to the dark side, too.
SNOKE Remove that cowardly, ridic’lous mask.
[Kylo Ren removes his mask.
Behold that face, with all too gentle look.
Thou hast too much of thy dead father’s heart,
Young Solo shouldst thou be, not Kylo Ren.
KYLO I kill’d the man, sans doubt or hesitation.
The moment came and I was true to you.
SNOKE Gaze on thyself! Thou didst the deed, and it
Hath split thy very spirit to the core.
Thou art—and always wert—unbalanc’d, man,
And bested by a lowly girl who ne’er
Had held a lightsaber before. Thou fail’dst!
KYLO Nay, say not so. [Aside:] I’ll show him he is wrong!
SNOKE [aside:] Shall he attack? I welcome the attempt.
[Snoke strikes Kylo Ren with lightning.
Skywalker liveth still, and thou’rt to blame.
The Jedi Order’s seed doth therefore live.
Hence hope yet liveth in the galaxy,
And this the worst of all thy rank offenses.
Methought thou’dst be the one to snuff it out.
For shame, thou art no Vader, but a child—
A child who hides beneath a silly mask.
[Exeunt Snoke and royal guards.
KYLO O words that quickly light my soul afire!
Mine anger burns in me as if ’twere fuel’d
By some volcanic force of deepest hell.
[Kylo Ren begins hitting his mask against the wall, destroying it.
This damnèd, cursèd mask doth mock me! See—
Its eyes do look on me as if to laugh,
Its mouth would open in disgust and scorn,
Its blackness taunts my angry, darken’d mood.
This putrid, weak façade shall be no more—
It is not I, and I not it! Come, spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unmake me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe full
Of direst cruelty. Yea, make thick my blood.
Stop up the course and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
Th’effect and it! Come to my very core,
And take my blood for gall, you murd’ring fiends,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen saber see no wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through blanket of the dark
To cry, “Hold, hold!” I am, from now, reborn—
In darkness whole, and ne’er to be forsworn.
[Exit.
SCENE 4.
On Ahch-To.
Enter REY and LUKE SKYWALKER.
REY No light doth still remain in Kylo Ren.
He groweth stronger, is a larger threat.
The foul First Order soon shall hold control
O’er all the major systems. Dost thou see?
We need thy help, cannot succeed without,
We need the Jedi Order to return,
We need a miracle to win this fight,
We need one single man: Luke Skywalker.
LUKE Nay, ’tis not so. Ye need no Luke Skywalker.
REY Hast thou e’en heard a moment of mine utt’rance?
Mayhap thine ears are just as passing poor
As thine indecent stubbornness is great.
LUKE What is it thou imaginest, pray tell?
I shall walk thither with a laser sword
And face the whole First Order where it stands?
What didst thou hope would happen when thou cam’st?
Belike in thine odd, folly-fallen brain
