by Ian Doescher
Means Adm’ral Holdo doth not need to know.
By undue knowledge, the appearance of
Too many fine designs are utt’rly spoil’d.
C-3PO ’Twas not the meaning of my golden mind—
POE You two, fly swift—shut down the tracker, whilst
I do remain to jump us to lightspeed
And give account of this phenomenon.
A larger question still remaineth, though:
How shall we sneak you onto Snoke’s destroyer?
ROSE We steal the clearance codes? It hath worked twice—
Once over Scarif, once o’er Endor too.
FINN Nay, codes are fix’d with biohexacrypt,
Rescrambl’d ev’ry hour, sans fail, sans doubt.
We never shall unseen make foray through
Their finely hon’d shields of security.
No person can, none whereof I do know.
POE One person, though, doth leap into my mind—
E’en Maz Kanata, she who walketh with
A more than natur’lly firm and springy step.
Belike she knows some way to break the code,
Or, likelier, shall break it by herself.
Let us communicate with her anon.
Enter MAZ KANATA on balcony above, in hologram. Sounds of battle surround her.
Good Maz, we’re in a situation dire.
Dost thou know how we may defeat the codes
Of large First Order Star Destroyer nigh,
Which are by biohexacrypt protected,
Rescrambl’d ev’ry hour?
MAZ —Could I do it?
Of course I could, in theory, do the deed,
Yet cannot do it at the present moment,
Wherein I am assail’d by many foes. [Maz turns to fire a weapon and is shot at in return.
FINN Maz, what befalls around thee? Art thou well?
MAZ Disputing with a guild of craft and trade;
I’ll warrant ye’d not wish to hear the tale.
Yet, you are fortunate today, for there
Exists one person I do trust, who hath
The skill and wherewithal to break such codes
And crack into such deep security.
The man is Master Codebreaker, ace pilot,
A poet with a blaster, last of all.
C-3PO This talented codebreaker, so it seems,
Is gifted and may do most anything.
MAZ Indeed, he can. The stories I could tell…
FINN [aside:] Methinks ’twould not be for the innocent.
MAZ Thou shalt discover him, with red plom bloom
Upon his doublet, playing for high stakes
In th’main casino o’er in Canto Bight.
POE In Canto Bight? Nay, ’tis so very far.
I never knew one so keenly alive
To some small joke than thou art, clever Maz.
Is there no way that we can handle this,
Instead of traveling to Canto Bight?
MAZ With my regrets, sweet Poe, the answer’s no.
What you describe is cracking rarified.
An you would board the Star Destroyer soon,
I know of but one option to pursue.
Find ye the master codebreaker anon.
Now must I fly, to manage this dispute!
[Exit Maz.
FINN We two shall thither fly, strong Rose and I.
I bid thee, Poe, take thou this beacon from me,
Protect it with thy life, as we are friends.
POE No sooner said than done, good Finn. I’ll lend
A helping hand, and in a trice ye’ll go.
Luck be with you, my worthy mates, indeed—
By your keen plan Resistance shall succeed.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 3.
On Ahch-To and aboard the Finalizer.
Enter KYLO REN above, on balcony, with an IT-S00.2 MEDICAL DROID treating the wound on his face.
KYLO Hath any man so much o’er which to ponder?
A father kill’d in confrontation dark,
Upon a precipice o’er nothingness.
A mother peradventure dead in our
Most recent battle with the doom’d Resistance.
My mentor, Supreme Leader Snoke, upset
With my development and pow’rlessness.
Have I turn’d orphan inadvertently,
Alone within the spacious galaxy?
These enterprises of great pith and moment
Would make a lesser man uncertain and
So weak that he may lose the name of action.
Not Kylo Ren—I shall endure, and must.
Yet wait, what is this presence I do feel?
Another’s sense comes o’er me, even here.
[Kylo Ren dismisses the droid. Exit medical droid.
Enter REY in her shelter. She and KYLO REN are joined in the Force and see each other.
REY Awaking, what is this I see herein?
Mine enemy, upon this island somehow?
I’ll blast him to a thousand bits at once,
Ere he shall know what hath befallen him.
[Rey fires her blaster at Kylo Ren.
KYLO This strange, unbidden apparition fires
On me, yet naught of Kylo hath she hit.
How real her aspect seemeth, though, as if
She were within this very room of mine.
REY The blast hath miss’d, though he stood ’fore me here.
Of course, my better sense knows he’s not here.
Instead, the blaster’s laser merely did
Incinerate the stones of this small shelter.
Forthwith I’ll look outside, belike to see
Some glimpse of this strange vision of the man.
KYLO Into the hallway of our mighty ship!
I’ll find her yet, though whether she is here
In body still is mystery to me.
REY O! There he is again, one more we’re join’d.
KYLO This opportunity I shall not waste.
[To Rey:] Thou shalt deliver Skywalker to me.
REY How he doth wish ’twere so, yet I’m not mov’d.
KYLO [aside:] A failure, yea, a weak attempt, I grant.
[To Rey:] Thou hast not brought we two together thus,
The effort would destroy thee in a trice.
Canst thou see my surroundings, where I stand?
REY I’ll warrant thou shalt burn for thy misdeeds!
KYLO Whatever thine environs are, they do
Remain most hidden from my sight. All I
Can see is thou, and thou alone. Intriguing.
REY [aside:] Mine anger smolders fiercely, whilst the man
Is full of academic interest.
KYLO This is a new thing I have never seen.
[Rey hears a noise behind her.
REY [aside:] What sound is this? Alas, in turning ’round
Have I betray’d both Luke and his location?
KYLO Luke—he is there.
Enter LUKE SKYWALKER and several LANAI CARETAKERS severally.
LUKE [to Rey:] —What is that newfound hole
I spy upon the ramparts of thy shelter?
[Exit Kylo Ren from balcony.
LANAI 1 Haneena ma’ santa mareeyna mai!
REY [aside:] Naught hath he witness’d of what happen’d here.
[To Luke:] ’Twas nothing, verily—whilst I did clean
My blaster, it most naughtily did fire.
LUKE I prithee, with thy blaster take great care:
If thou keeps’t out of trouble, thou shalt double
Thy choices. Such a situation’s fraug
ht—
Thou must be caref’lly taught. If thou art not,
Thou mayst be shot. Come now, we shall begin.
[Exeunt caretakers. Rey and Luke begin climbing the island peak.
REY Tell me, as we ascend this mighty hill,
Who are those beings by the shelters yon?
LUKE They are caretakers—island natives, too.
For certes, these are people of the island—
Who, though they are of monstrous shape, yet, note,
Their manners are more gentle-kind than of
Our human generation you shall find
Many, nay, almost any. They’ve maintain’d
The Jedi structures since they were created.
REY It seemeth that these creatures like me not.
LUKE I can’t imagine wherefore they should not—
In my experience of thee thus far,
Thou dost endear thyself to all thou meet’st.
REY [aside, walking:] E’en here, atop this island enigmatic,
Are structures built by beings rational—
A stairway to a cave, a stone mosaic,
Some altar or some venerable place,
With ceiling dom’d, inspiring reverence.
Out now, upon a precipice that juts
Above the island, water far below.
A simple stony seat doth sit hereon—
Here I shall learn to be a Jedi Knight.
I shall address good Luke, confirm my mission.
[To Luke:] Strong Master Skywalker, we need thee to
Restart and reignite the Jedi faith—
A line of Jedi who may fight withal—
For Kylo Ren each day doth stronger grow
Within the dark side of the mighty Force.
Without the Jedi, we shall never win.
LUKE What know’st thou of the Force whereof thou speak’st?
REY It is a power Jedi do command,
Enabling them to have control o’er people,
And, peradventure, make things float through th’air.
LUKE Impressive, lass. Each word thou speakest was
Entirely false. Sit thou upon this rock,
Most calm, with thy legs cross’d. The first of thy
Much-needed lessons starteth hereupon.
REY [aside:] I sit, as told, yet all my hopes rise up.
LUKE The Force is not a power someone holds,
And nothing has to do with lifting rocks.
The Force is th’energy betwixt each thing,
The tension and the balance, which do bind
All things together in the universe.
REY I see, but do not see. Thus: what is it?
LUKE Close thou thine eyes. Breathe deep. And now, reach out.
[Rey stretches forth her hand.
[Aside:] A literal interpretation, this!
Her lesson shall begin, then, with a jape.
This palm frond shall stand in the Force’s place.
[Luke tickles Rey’s hand with the leaf.
REY There’s something there! I feel it gently call.
LUKE Thou feel’st it, truly?
REY —Truly!
LUKE —’Tis the Force!
REY Is’t?
LUKE —Verily, ’tis strong with thee!
REY —I’ve ne’er—
[Luke swats Rey’s hand with the leaf. She opens her eyes suddenly.
Avaunt! Thou hurtest me. And in thy face
I see that I misread thy meaning. Ah.
Thou wouldst I reach out with my mind, not hand.
LUKE The lady may be taught.
REY —Once more I’ll try.
LUKE It is enow to breathe—breathe in, breathe out.
[Rey shuts her eyes again.
Reach out with all thy feelings, Rey, reach out!
What dost thou see within the eyes of th’mind?
REY The island all around us—hither, yon,
The air and ocean, sun that brings the dawn.
The life surrounding us with pure potential,
Which to we human beings is essential.
The death that, too, is there—of life the pair,
Decay that shall each living thing ensnare.
New life that’s being nourish’d e’en by death,
As old doth turn to new—new growth, new breath.
The warmth of sun, of heart, of pulsing blood,
Without which never flower knew its bud.
The cold that cometh from the deep, the tide,
The chilling mystery of ocean wide.
Peace ’midst it all, the pure and perfect calm,
Unto a troubl’d soul a needed balm.
And violence, twin of peace, which bringeth strife,
And worketh ’gainst the qualities of life.
LUKE Betwixt it all, what dost perceive therein?
REY A balance simple, flawless and serene,
Completed by an energy unseen.
A force.
LUKE —Inside of thee, what find’st thou then?
REY Inside of me, the selfsame force again.
LUKE This is the lesson offer’d thee today.
That Force doth not to Jedi Knights belong.
To think that if the Jedi die, the light
Shall vanish, is a dreadful vanity.
Feel’st thou, strong Rey, the truth of what I speak?
REY There is aught else that calleth unto me.
Beneath the island—dark and dreary place!
LUKE ’Tis balance, nothing more and nothing less.
The light most pow’rful, darkness pow’rful, too.
REY So cold it is.
LUKE [aside:] —The primal elements
Begin to move, led on by Rey’s keen sense.
If this endures, this cliff shall ocean be.
REY It calleth me.
LUKE —Resist it, Rey, resist!
We must resist the darker forces, lest
They strip us of our own humanity.
REY O ecstasy and agony at once!
LUKE What’s this? Thou leapt, forthwith, unto the dark.
REY Some message or intelligence the place
Would speak to me, in whispers soft and true.
LUKE It proffer’d aught of which thou hast a need.
Thou show’dst no inclination to reject it,
Or keep’t from bringing thee into temptation.
REY I saw not you, however—nowhere, Luke.
Thou hast thyself shut off, e’en from the Force.
Of course thou hast, for such is thy harsh penance.
LUKE One time, and only once, did I behold
This raw strength in an individual:
’Twas Kylo Ren—Ben Solo—long ago.
I was not, then, as properly afeard
As I should be. The sight doth scare me now.
[Exit Luke.
Enter CHEWBACCA and various PORGS.
REY Chewbacca, still no word from the Resistance?
CHEWBAC. Egh, auugh.7
REY —Keep trying, prithee. And if thou
Do reach them, check the status of the fleet
And ask them of the health of Finn.
CHEWBAC. —Auugh!8
PORG —Porg!
[Exeunt Chewbacca and porgs.
REY In all my early days upon Jakku,
As I did sweat and toil upon the dunes,
My mind did never dream of such a place,
Of verdant hills and ocean blue and deep
Fill’d with a million mysteries and marvels,
Land stony, with an ancient history—
O, how I might
have laugh’d at such a thought
When all I knew was sand and heat and work.
Lo, how my life of scavenging hath chang’d,
Yet even so, my path doth seem unclear.
Brought to th’Resistance ranks by fearless Han,
I found a Rey who stretch’d beyond herself.
Renewing my conception of my life,
The skirmishes with the detestable,
Hate-fill’d First Order gave me purpose new:
To fight for justice through the galaxy.
Op’d unto me a novel, rousing path—
Perchance I might become a Jedi Knight!
Apace my skill and training seem’d to fly,
Reveal’d as I did fight with Kylo Ren—
Encourag’d was I, yea, though also scar’d.
Now come I to this beautiful location
To seek Luke Skywalker and take the next
Swift steps toward my hop’d-for destiny.
What did I find here? One reluctant master,
Inclin’d to give me not what I desire.
Life shall bring twists and turns, an ’twere a top;
Did ever one live so confus’d as I?
Enter KYLO REN above, on balcony. He and REY are joined in the Force again and see each other.
KYLO Why hath the Force connected us again?
What bond hath thou and I that it should thus?
REY Thou art a murd’ring snake, and nothing more.
Aye, furthermore, thou art too late—hast lost.
I have located Skywalker in th’end.
KYLO Hath he said aught about our history?
The night on which I did destroy his temple—
Told he wherefore I did so?
REY —I know all
I ever would of thee, O villain vile.
KYLO So dost thou, with the manner of thy visage,
As in the forest where we lately met.
Thou call’dst me then a monster.
REY —Thus thou art:
A monster who would kill a father kind,
A monster who would join with evil men,
A monster who would thrash a galaxy,
A monster trapp’d in darkness, sans the light.
KYLO Indeed, I claim the title, wear it well.
[Their connection is broken.
REY The strange connection gone—he too is gone.
What was this last admission? Aught of guilt?
I shall bethink upon it as I may.
KYLO Gone, yea, but still the elements remain:
I see no Rey, yet still receive her rain.
[Exeunt severally.
7 Editor’s translation: Unfortunately, nay, though me and all
