William Shakespeare's the Jedi Doth Return (9781594747144) Read online

Since first we met. A brother! O, what news!

  [ To Luke:] It is as if I did already know—

  Within my heart ’tis like I’ve always known.

  LUKE

  Then canst thou see why I must face him now?

  LEIA

  Nay, that I cannot see. If he can feel

  Thee here, then flee anon and save thy life!

  It is no shame to fly from danger, Luke.

  I wish that I could fly with thee.

  LUKE

  —Nay, say

  That not, for thou e’er wert the strongest one.

  LEIA

  But wherefore needest thou confront him, Luke?

  LUKE

  Methinks the man hath good within him still,

  And shall not basely render his own son

  Unto his cruel and vicious Emperor.

  Methinks I still can save the man who gave

  Us life, and turn him to the good once more.

  Methinks I must endeavor so to do,

  Or else my path is darker e’en than his.

  Methinks so many things, dear Leia, but

  The most important of them all is this:

  My father is my duty to reclaim,

  E’en though he has a vile existence led.

  His heart, his soul, his life can be redeem’d,

  ’Tis now my mission and, I hope, thine too.

  And now farewell, for I must take my leave.

  [Exit Luke Skywalker.

  LEIA

  O, what a noble mind is here reveal’d:

  My brother young, yet speaking like a man

  Imbu’d with ev’ry honorable trait.

  To take upon himself the role of nurse

  To heal our wayward, troubl’d father. Ah!

  And I, of ladies most profoundly bless’d,

  To have a brother such as this good Luke—

  His swift return unto our loyal band

  I shall with pride await. O joy is mine,

  T’have seen what I have seen, see what I see!

  Enter HAN SOLO.

  HAN

  What ails thee, Leia?

  LEIA

  —Nothing, Han. I’ve grown

  More full of deepest feeling than I e’er

  Thought possible. I would remain alone

  Till I have time to ponder this affair.

  HAN

  ’Tis “nothing”? Prithee, tell me what is wrong.

  LEIA

  Thou dost not see—I cannot tell thee yet.

  HAN

  But Luke, couldst thou tell Luke in whisper’d song?

  Then shall I leave thee.

  LEIA

  —O!

  [Han Solo begins to leave, but then returns to Princess Leia.

  HAN

  —Beg pardon, pet.

  Forgive this latest outburst of my pride,

  I am but worried for thy state of mind.

  LEIA

  Embrace me, Han, and here with me abide:

  Thou art a man of substance, strong and kind.

  [They embrace.

  HAN

  Although thou causest me to fret and groan,

  My love is thine and thou shalt ne’er be lone.

  [Exeunt.

  SCENE 4.

  The forest moon of Endor.

  Enter DARTH VADER.

  VADER

  E’en now my son doth come to me, I feel’t.

  Thus is the moment near when I bring him

  Unto my Lord and, in so doing, bind

  Together those two forces of my life:

  My skillful son and my true Emperor.

  The two become one: ’Tis a consummation

  Devoutly to be wish’d. I’ll see Luke turn’d

  Toward the dark side of the Force, and we

  Shall rule the galaxy—the father, son,

  And mighty Emperor. O make it so,

  Most slippery and cunning Fate, for great

  Shall be the combination of our pow’rs.

  Enter LUKE SKYWALKER and IMPERIAL cOMMANDER, with STORMTROOPERS.

  COMMAND.

  My Lord, this is the rebel who did bring

  Himself to us in full surrender. He

  Denieth there are others here, yet I

  Believe there may be more. I do request

  Permission to conduct a search of the

  Surrounding area. “No stone unturn’d,”

  As my dear father us’d to say. Is not

  A father’s wisdom precious more than gold?

  But I digress: the rebel came here arm’d

  With this and this alone, a lightsaber.

  [The Imperial commander hands Luke’s lightsaber to Darth Vader.

  VADER

  [ aside:] O how it stirs my soul to hear him tell

  The love of his good father. Now, be calm!

  [ To commander:] Thou hast fulfill’d thine office faithfully,

  Commander. Leave us now, conduct thy search,

  And bring this one’s companions back to me.

  I’ll warrant thou shalt find them as thou think’st.

  COMMAND.

  Of course, my Lord. My pleasure ’tis to see

  Thy great will done. If further rebels are

  Upon the moon, we shall discover them.

  [Exit Imperial commander.

  VADER

  The Emperor hath been expecting thee.

  LUKE

  [ aside:] Now it begins. [ To Darth Vader:] I know, my father.

  VADER

  —Ah,

  Thou hast accepted what is true.

  LUKE

  —I have

  Accepted thou wert once call’d Anakin

  Skywalker, and as such, my father wert,

  And art, and whate’er come to pass, shall be.

  VADER

  That “Anakin” is meaningless to me.

  The name hath neither relevance nor worth.

  My life is chang’d, and I with it, fore’er.

  LUKE

  ’Tis but the name of thy true self, which thou

  Hast but forgotten. Furthermore, I know

  That there is good within thee yet, for thy

  Great Emperor cannot have driven it

  From thee entirely. That is wherefore thou

  Couldst not destroy me when we met at first,

  And wherefore thou wilt not deliver me

  A pris’ner to thine Emperor.

  VADER

  [ aside:] —Almost

  I know not what to say, so shall I turn

  The conversation unto matters that

  Are simple to discuss, with no confusion.

  [ To Luke:] I see thou hast constructed for thyself

  A lightsaber. Thy skills are now complete,

  Except I see its beam is green, much like

  Thine innocent opinion of my fate.

  But still thou hast become quite powerful,

  Just as the Emperor himself foresaw.

  LUKE

  If green doth mark me as a man naïve,

  I’ll claim the color proudly. Come with me—

  My father, turn toward the good, and live!

  VADER

  Old Obi-Wan once thought as thou dost think.

  Thou canst not understand the power of

  The dark side: I shall be obedient

  Unto my master—aye, I must, and will.

  LUKE

  I shall not turn toward the dark, and thou

  Shalt verily be forc’d to kill me then.

  VADER

  [ aside:] Confusion, be thou gone. ’Tis madness, this!

  [ To Luke:] If that shall be thy destiny, so be’t.

  LUKE

  O, search thy feelings, father. Thou canst not

  Do this to me. I feel the conflict rise

  Within thee. Let thy hatred go, be free!

  VADER

  It is too late for me, my son. I shall

  Deliver thee unto the Emperor.

  ’Tis he who
shall reveal to thee the true

  And pow’rful nature of the Force. He is

  Thy master now, and thou shalt serve him well.

  LUKE

  Then may I say these words with confidence:

  My father who once liv’d is truly dead.

  [Exeunt Luke Skywalker with stormtroopers guarding.

  VADER

  O what a rogue and peasant Sith am I.

  This turmoil in my spirit doth not suit

  A dark and vicious warlord like myself.

  My son a rebel—fickle-minded Fate

  That e’er would be so cruel to have me see’t!

  And not a simple rebel, nay, but he

  A hero, noble, brave, and true, a lad

  Whose character befits his parentage.

  Were he within the Empire’s ranks employ’d,

  I would be proud to govern by his side.

  A worthy lad is he, of virtues full,

  A Jedi Knight and pow’rful in the Force,

  A brave, courageous, cunning warrior,

  A shadow of my former, noble self.

  Yet if he will not turn he’ll be destroy’d.

  O shall it be? The strands of Fate do seem

  To wind themselves about my neck as if

  To strangle me and drag me down into

  The measureless, uncharted depths of my

  Beloved Emperor’s most perfect will.

  Thus shall I drown within the dark side’s pull:

  A murky grave to bury Vader’s soul.

  The rudder of my conscience runs not straight,

  Thus am I tow’d along toward my Fate.

  [Exit.

  SCENE 1.

  The forest moon of Endor.

  Enter HAN SOLO, PRINCESS LEIA, CHEWBACCA, C-3PO, R2-D2, Wicket, Paploo, and several REBELS.

  LEIA

  The entrance to the bunker where the Death

  Star’s shield controllèd is lies just beyond

  That landing platform there. To get inside,

  Without revealing our intent shall not

  Be easy.

  HAN

  —Fear thou not. Chewbacca and

  Myself have enter’d places that were far

  More heavily protected than this one.

  The tales I could relate—another time.

  WICKET

  Na nubba nubba,

  Weeva nubba,

  Nozza wayza,

  Yubba yubba.

  C-3PO

  N’ketcha ketcha,

  Yuzza betcha,

  Yuzza surra,

  Netcha, netcha.

  WICKET

  Suki, suki,

  Nahgoh luki,

  Nahyoo siya,

  Ch’buki uki.

  LEIA

  I prithee, 3PO, what doth he say?

  C-3PO

  ’Tis news that shall delight, good Princess, for

  It renders our assault yet easier.

  A secret entrance may be found along

  The other side of this great ridge.

  HAN

  —’Tis well.

  So let us hence and find this hidden way.

  [The group of rebels and Ewoks walks to a new location.

  LEIA

  [ aside:] What circumstance unlikely doth befall—

  A group of hardy rebels makes its way

  Unto a battle with the Empire vile.

  Such enterprise of pith and moment, yet

  Here are we by these furry creatures led.

  What unexpected allies! Aye, what strange

  But needed friends these noble scamps may prove.

  There is a saying back on Alderaan—

  Or rather, should I say, there us’d to be

  For now no sayings there are heard at all—

  “There should for no one greater welcome be

  Than one who is an unexpected guest.”

  So do we welcome these small ones unto

  Our great and just Rebellion, these who are

  Both meek and full of childlike eagerness.

  Yet even as these words escape my lips,

  Another thought unfolds itself to me:

  It is not we who welcome them; I err.

  For ’tis their moon, their home, their dwelling place.

  ’Tis surely they who kindly welcome us,

  ’Tis truly they to whom our thanks are due,

  ’Tis certain they are far more brave than we,

  ’Tis verily their home for which they fight.