William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return (17 page)

O Father, thou hast sav’d me from great woe—

And thou hast sav’d thyself. Now, let us go!

[Exeunt.

The battle’s over, my commander. All

The rebels have been routed, and abscond

Unto the forest. Reinforcements are

Requir’d to aid us in our quick pursuit.

Hurrah!

—Send thou three squads to bring them help!

Pray, open up the back door speedily.

What joy! The rebels know defeat today,

And we’ll rejoice to bear the news unto

Our officers superior. Go now!

[The Imperial troops open the back door and are met by Ewoks and rebels, who disarm them.

A cunning line! And you are quite the catch—

Deceiv’d by rebels playing Empire’s part!

We dangled all your hopes for victory

As bait to draw you in and hold you fast,

And now we take the bunker in our care.

Let fall your weapons, else I shall release

Your lives unto these creatures’ fearsome pow’r!

Perchance they seem not vicious, yet they have

What thou canst never know: fierce bravery.

This bunker shall anon destroyèd be,

And then our friends may strike their final blow.

Indeed! Pray, give to me another charge.

We shall fulfill this task with perfect skill—

And leave no charge unusèd.

—Auugh!

—’Tis set!

Now let us fly! Else we shall bear the blast.

[Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca run from the bunker, which explodes.

’Tis done, the Endor crew hath triumph’d yet—

The shield is down! Upon the Death Star’s main

Reactor let us fly anon. Then shall

We reach the core and give it quite a zap!

We fly with haste! Red Group, Gold Group, form up

And follow me! Today rebellion shall

Have reason to exult! Our enemies

Shall soon be vanquish’d! O what triumph shall

Be ours when this great Death Star its own death

Doth undergo. Three things shall be achiev’d

Thereby. The first shall be a victory

For our Rebellion—all the fervent hopes

Of these past years attain’d in one swift stroke.

The second benefit of Death Star’s end

Is freedom and security for all

Within the galaxy—no more oppress’d

By evil tyrants, people shall once more

Be free to dwell in possibility.

And finally, the third result of this

Great Death Star’s fall shall be the rising up

Of all whose pasts conceal some awful guilt,

Some aspect of their lives that brings regret.

I speak of my own past—you all know well

How I betray’d my friend when th’Empire forc’d

My hand. And e’en that friend, good Han, hath through

Rebellion’s cause found purpose he had ne’er

Imagin’d. In this battle we fight not

To merely terminate an enemy—

Full many of us rebels seek the bliss,

The balm and healing of redemption’s touch.

So let it be, my noble comrades all:

Fight now for the Rebellion, fight for all

Who dwell within our galaxy, and fight

Most ardently, indeed, for your own souls.

Thus shall we raise those who by Empire’s might

Have died, and forth from their celestial graves

Shall they ascend and with a rebel’s voice

Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war!

Well spoken! I fly in for rebels’ gain!

N’tiya tih.

—We fly with thee, good Wedge:

Inside the station, t’ward the centermost.

TIE fighters follow us adroitly in—

Mark well how they do come behind anon.

We must outrun them e’en as we approach

The place where we shall strike the Death Star’s core.

Form up, good lads, and stay alert. We could

Within this tiny shaft lose space with haste.

This passage is a narrow path indeed.

If we can but maneuver cunningly,

We shall escape the Death Star with our lives

And, what is more, our hop’d-for victory.

I prithee, pilots all, attend my words:

Lock all thy weapons to the largest source

Of power, which should be the generator.

[An Imperial pilot strikes Rebel Pilot #1.

Alas, friends, I am hit, and go to die!

[Rebel Pilot 1 dies.

I would not even one more pilot lose

Who under my command doth fly herein.

Pay heed, all: separate by diff’rent paths

And fly toward the surface. See if you

Can draw a few TIE fighters thither, too.

This is the surest hope for our success

Against the Death Star and its minions.

—Aye,

Thou speakest well, Gold Leader. We’ll obey.

[The rebels inside the Death Star separate. Some exit, pursued by Imperial troops, leaving only Lando, Nien Nunb, and Wedge Antilles inside the shaft.

Ah!

[The
Millennium Falcon
scrapes the wall of the Death Star shaft.

—Pardon, Han, I did say not a scratch,

But did, in this tense moment, break that vow.

Yet thou and I both know it could be worse—

Our
Falcon
hath known scrapes in times now past.

Still, that last brush was far too close; so shall

I try to take more care with borrow’d wings.

Our fighters must be given yet more time.

This victory is here, within our reach.

Thus, concentrate thy pow’r unto the main,

And give the Empire much o’er which to fret.

Within a fiery blaze of weaponry

Let us the Super Star Destroyer wrap.

[The rebels outside the Death Star fire on the Super Star Destroyer. Admiral Piett and the Imperial controller are shaken.

Alas, Sir, our deflector shield is lost!

Intensify the forward batteries.

Let nothing break the bounds. Intensify,

As well, the forward firing power.

—Nay!

Too late it is. We die, Sir—O, we die!

[The Super Star Destroyer runs into the Death Star, and Admiral Piett and the Imperial controller are killed.

O Luke, I prithee: render thy support

And help me take this mask off.

—If I do,

Dear father, thou shalt surely meet thy death.

Aye. Naught shall stop that now, my son. Just once

Let me look on thee with mine own eyes, Luke—

These eyes that miss’d your mewling newborn face,

These eyes that did not see your budding youth,

These eyes that were not there to see you grow,

These eyes that saw thee not when thou wert train’d.

I prithee, let these eyes see thee at last.

’Twill be a fitting prelude to my death.

My father, thou dost break my heart in twain.

Behold, for thou shalt see thy son, indeed.

[Luke Skywalker removes Darth Vader’s mask to reveal Anakin Skywalker.

My misting eyes are nothing like my son’s—

Thou art so beautiful to me. How strong

Thy features, with thy mother’s gentle face.

A man thou art, and ev’ry part my son.

I never have been prouder, all my life.

These final moments are pure gift. Now go,

And take thy leave ere this place is destroy’d.

But nay, thou shalt come with me. I shall not

Desert thee, but shall save thee yet.

—O, Luke,

Thou hast already done. Thou knewest right—

Thou knewest what I was, for still there was

Some good within me aching to be free.

Tell thy sweet sister this: that thou wert right.

[Anakin Skywalker dies.