William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back (6 page)

—This malfunction hath

Put fire into the system. I’ll attempt

To quickly gain some pow’r another way.

I prithee, be thou careful now, young Dack!

[The fight resumes. Dack is struck.

Alas, I die! Farewell, Commander Luke!

[Dack dies.

Nay, Dack! O agony of battle, curse

Of war, and dread of ev’ry soldier’s heart:

To suffer at the hands of enemies,

To end one’s days by pow’r of the unjust!

What use is war? For it doth ravage all

Within its path, and what hath it e’er solv’d?

’Tis rare that peace doth follow in war’s wake.

Indeed, this recent blow doth only urge

And heighten my destructive sentiments:

I shall avenge thee, Dack, and slay these here

Who have thy lifeblood ta’en, and seal’d thy fate.

No more of these amusements with the weak.

’Tis time to make this victory our own:

Head for the power generator, mates,

The battle’s nearly won!

          —Rogue Three, dost hear?

I do, Rogue Leader.

—Wedge, I need thee now.

I’ve lost my gunner: thou must strike their legs

With thy harpoon. I’ll give thee aid—we’ll fly

Together, follow close behind me.

—Aye!

Now activate harpoon and slay these beasts!

[The fight resumes. Wedge and his gunner, Janson, strike AT-AT 1 with a rope around the legs.

What treachery! The rebels have assail’d

My weakest part. My legs, good comrades—they

Have struck where I most vulnerable am.

Well hit, brave Janson. Now encircle him

And bring this giant down to meet his end.

It worketh, friends! His legs hath been confin’d,

And thus the brute hath trouble with his stride.

Just one more pass around, and then detach!

The cable is detach’d! He falls!

—Alack;

I perish now, my comrades. Win the day!

[AT-AT 1 falls and dies.

A-ha!—and thus our Dack hath been aveng’d!

I see thy handiwork; well done, strong Wedge.

Dack’s memory we honor by this strike.

The rebels have destroy’d one of our lot,

But we shall yet o’erwhelm them utterly.

I’ll make approach unto their hidden base,

Identify their systems in my sights,

And then shall on the generator fire.

Rogue Two, art thou beside me in this fight?

We need the help of ev’ry fighter here.

Not long ago thou rescu’d Han and me

From our meek shelter on the ice of Hoth:

Thou art a man of cunning, strength, and wit.

And thus I ask thee on thy honor, Sir:

Art thou prepar’d to face this harsh assault?

Aye, verily, Rogue Leader, that I am.

My life I am prepar’d to sacrifice

To save rebellion from this fierce attack.

Then let us all approach the knaves again.

Prepare your swift harpoon and we shall strike!

They think themselves the noble ones, but we

Defend the Emp’ror’s righteousness today.

Well spoken. Let us fight for Empire’s might!

[They duel again.

O Luke, I have been hit, and die anon!

Remember me whene’er thou speak’st of this.

[Zev is slain. Luke is struck and falls to the ground.

Alas, poor Zev. Too many lost—such good

And worthy men have met their end to these

Confounded walkers. Fie! This battle bleak

May mean Rebellion’s end. ’Tis now my turn—

My ship hath ta’en a hit. I fall, yet am

Not slain. Indeed, though here I lie upon

The ground, I spy an opportunity.

For while this awful monster walks above,

I spy his weakness as I lie below.

He passes just beyond me—now to it!

Revenge should have no bounds when friends are slain,

And now their memory doth push me on.

My lightsaber shall strike the lethal blow;

I’ll hit where he shall feel it, in his heart—

If ever such cruel beast did have a heart.

[Luke strikes AT-AT 3 from below, and AT-AT 3 dies.

I perish, comrade true, but fall with pride!

Although my fellow AT-ATs meet their ends,

I press toward my goal with purpose firm.

The rebels’ power generator is

Within the target of my lasers keen.

Now all the fallen AT-ATs I salute

As for my noble Emperor I shoot!

[He shoots and destroys the power generator. Exeunt all, in confusion.

Our pow’r is insufficient to protect

Two transports at one time.

—’Tis risky, aye,

But this base overpower’d is, and shall,

I fear, withstand no more of this attack.

We have no choice.

—Indeed, thou speakest true.

[
Into comlink:
] Launch all patrols.

[
to aide:
]          —Evacuate the staff

Who do remain within the base. Make haste!

These endless fixes now are nearly done,

And soon we may take flight. ’Tis none too soon—

This base shall not survive this great attack.

Auugh!

—Nay, nay! This one here and that one there.

’Tis clear? [
Aside:
] I do admit this Wookiee here is dear,

But if he break my ship I’ll break his pate!

My R2 small, pray be thou safe, good friend,

And take especial care of Master Luke.

Farewell, farewell! Parting is such sweet sorrow

That I shall say farewell till thou hast left.

[
aside:
] “Till thou hast left”? No poet he, indeed.

Alas, it seems that romance is not one

Of 3PO’s six million forms of speech.

[Exit R2-D2. C-3PO moves to Princess Leia and General Rieekan. Loud sounds of shaking are heard.

O zounds! What is this pow’rful shaking here?

The base begins to crumble even now.

Our humble shelter made of snow and ice

Is now defeated by the Empire’s might

And starts to fall apart. O, shall we too?

Shall our rebellion suffer this same Fate—

To be destroyèd by the Empire cruel?

To be demolish’d by Imperi’l strength?

Though I had plann’d to go and save myself

From Jabba’s bounty hunters, I cannot:

This smuggler-captain never shall desert

Whilst friends nearby do mortal peril face.

I shall not steal away and leave behind

The princess who doth lead the rebels true.

She is of great importance, and my life

Must be but secondary to her fate.

So shall I take her in the
Falcon
swift

And spirit her away to someplace safe.

’Tis not because of how I feel about

Her, nay; naught there of love, that much is true—

Or if ’tis not, I’ll tell myself it is.

Now to it, Han, ere our great cause is lost.

[Han Solo moves to General Rieekan and Princess Leia.

Your Worship, art thou well?

—O, wherefore art

Thou yet within this base? Hast thou not fled?

The center of command has been struck down.

And yet hast thou thy clearance to depart.

Depart I shall, but first deliver thee

Unto thy ship.

—Your Highness, we must take

This final transport. ’Tis our only hope!

[A blast is heard, closer.

[
through comlink:
] Imperi’l troops have come into the base!

Imperi’l troops have come into the base!

Now end thy stubborn ways, and set aside

Thy prejudice. Thou wilt come with me now,

I do command it. Neither argument

Nor moving speech nor aught that thou canst say

Shall sway me now: thou wilt come with me, Princess.

[
aside:
] O noble man, protector of my soul!

[
To aide:
] Send our evacuation code and get

Thee to thy transport.

[Exeunt General Rieekan and aide. Han Solo and Princess Leia begin to walk toward the transport.

—Prithee, wait for me!

[
As they make their way to the ship, a wall falls in their path.

The battle is within the very walls,

And ev’ry portent tells of dread and doom.

[
Into comlink
:] Good transport, this is Solo. Take your leave—

Our way has now become a wayward thing,

All fill’d with mounds of ice that block our path.

This moment calls for quick decision. Thus,

I shall with Leia flee on
Falcon
’s wings.

[
Han Solo and Princess Leia run the other way, toward the
Millennium Falcon,
shutting the door against C-3PO.

But wait, where do you go? Pray, do come back!

Most typical this is. O wretched fate,

To be deserted by my friends most dear.

These human beings care but little for

Us droids who ever serve with loyalty.

Thus shall I end my days within this base,

A frozen remnant of the rebels’ stay

On Hoth. Belike one day explorers shall

Discover this defeated base, shall dig

Into its core and find a golden droid

Whose final resting place was ice and snow.

“Who would abandon such a lovely droid?”

No doubt this shall be their response when they

Espy me here. “What wretched humans would

Leave such a one as this alone to rot?”

I shudder at this thought, let it not be!

O open up your hearts unto my kind,

Then open wide this door for kindness’ sake!

[The door opens.

Anon, thou goldenrod, thou heap of scrap,

Else shalt thou ever stay within this base

And make thyself a lasting icy grave.

[
aside:
] This man is both the reason for my pain

And for my joy. My gratitude o’erflows!

[They enter the
Millennium Falcon.

[
to Chewbacca:]
Now wherefore doth the ship not function right?

Pray, would it help if I did disembark

And push with all a princess’ might upon’t?

Belike!

—Pray, Captain Solo, Captain Solo!

Tut!

—It shall wait.

—This bucket full of bolts

Shall ne’er beyond that blockade make escape.

We may as well depart the base aboard

A tauntaun’s furry back!

—The ship hath yet

Surprising, keen maneuvers, sweetheart. Watch!

The ship protects us with its lasers true

Against th’Imperi’l troops who come at us.

See, Princess, see? Now Chewie, let us fly,

And hope we shall not burn the engine out.

Repairs are made—let us repair to space!

One day thou shalt be wrong, and well I hope

I shall bear witness to thy failure great.

Anon, Chewbacca, lead us to our fate!

[Exeunt in the
Millennium Falcon.

The recent battle is both lost and won:

’Tis lost because of rebels who expir’d,

’Tis lost because our base is compromis’d,

’Tis lost because our time on Hoth is done,

’Tis lost because we now evacuate.

And yet, ’tis won because two walkers fell,

’Tis won because the foes arriv’d too late,

’Tis won because our transport is away,

’Tis won because we live to fight again.

R2, we leave anon. With all due speed

Prepare the ship for takeoff.

—Meep, beep, squeak!

Fear not, R2, for now we fly!