R2-D2
—Meep, beep, squeak!
LUKE
Fear not, R2, for now we fly!
R2-D2
—Beep, hoo.
LUKE
Now flies my weary soul to Dagobah,
The place that hath in vision called to me.
I know not what or who this Yoda is,
Yet do I trust the ghost of my dear Ben.
To be a Jedi is my calling now,
To learn the ways of the most potent Force.
Already have I had more mentors than
Most people would e’er know in seven lives.
But here I am, drawn t’ward another quest—
To travel to an unknown system, aye,
And meet an unknown person who, perhaps,
Doth not expect my sudden visit there.
Yet I believe the words that came from Ben
Were better than a foolproof prophet’s tale.
There is a tide in the affairs of Jedi,
Which taken at the flood, leads to the Force.
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in black holes and in miseries.
On such a full sea I am now afloat.
And I must take the current where it serves,
Or lose my chance to find my destiny.
R2-D2
[aside:] O noble speech, with feeling brute and raw.
My master’s honor shall I serve with pride.
How best to show him I stand by his side?
I’ll offer ways to help him navigate.
[To Luke:] Beep, meep, meep, squeak, beep, whistle, whistle, beep?
LUKE
Nay, nothing’s wrong, I merely change our course.
R2-D2
Meep, beep, squeak, whistle, beep, meep, meep, beep, whee?
LUKE
We shall not rendezvous with our friends yet.
Unto the system Dagobah we travel—
And what we shall meet there, time shall unravel.
[Exeunt.
Scene 5.
Space, in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Enter HAN SOLO, CHEWBACCA, and PRINCESS LEIA.
HAN
Hoth is a memory, but trouble still
Doth follow close behind. With threat’ning force
The Empire’s ships aggressively pursue
My well-belovèd ship. Shall we escape?
CHEWBAC.
Auugh!
HAN
—Truly, Chewie, I did see them too!
LEIA
I prithee, say—what hast thou seen, O Han?
HAN
Two Star Destroyers coming t’ward the ship.
Enter C-3PO.
C-3PO
Sir, Sir, may I but say a thing to thee?
HAN
Pray, shut him up or shut him down, anon!
Prepare our shield—they still may be outrun.
[Aside:] With all my pilot’s wisdom, skill, and might
I shall attempt to outwit these who chase.
Now watch, you Empire vile, how I do fly!
First up and down, aye, up and down, this Han
Will lead them up and down. Away we go!
Now back and forth, then back around again.
They are confounded by my errant moves.
Ha, ha! They are confus’d and fall behind.
Thus we have slipp’d away, soon safe from harm.
[To Chewbacca:] Make ready for the jump to hyperspace.
C-3PO
But Sir!
LEIA
—They do approach!
HAN
—Not yet: observe!
[The Millennium Falcon makes a sound and fails.
LEIA
Observe? What’s to observe, pray tell me plain?
HAN
A fig! The ship seems to malfunction. Fie!
’Tis possible we may in trouble be.
C-3PO
I tried to warn thee, Sir, the hyperdrive
Hath damag’d been, and cannot do its task!
Lightspeed is verily unfeasible!
HAN
Correction: we in trouble truly are.
O that all I had fix’d were truly fix’d!
But now I must in haste—and under threat
Of death—attempt to fix the ship once more.
[He runs to repair the ship, yelling back to Chewbacca.
Where are the horizontal boosters hid?
CHEWBAC.
Egh, auugh!
HAN
—Alluvi’l dampers, where are they?
[Aside:] If only I were but more organiz’d!
’Tis true that order’s not a smuggler’s gift.
[To Chewbacca:] Bring me the hydrospanners quickly now.
[Aside:] I know not how we shall escape this time.
Of all the situations I have seen,
Of all the problems small or dangers great,
Of all the rubs and scrapes have scratch’d my life,
Of all the enemies just barely fled—
This moment now doth seem the worst of all.
[Loud sound. Han is knocked aside.
Alack, now what is this? What shakes the ship?
How have we gone from bad to still worse yet?
LEIA
Good Han, return at once!
[Han runs back to the cockpit.
’Tis asteroids!
HAN
[aside:] O wicked thought and wonderful idea
That cometh to me in this frightful time.
I shall here chart a course none would expect:
Not flee from danger, nay, but welcome it,
And in so doing break the Empire’s grip
While rescuing my princess from all harm.
[To Chewbacca:] Set course two-seven-one.
LEIA
—What didst thou say?
Thou wilt not enter in the ast’roid field?
For certain thou art wild—but not insane!
HAN
Yet they would be the madder to give chase.
LEIA
Thou must not do this to impress me, Han.
[Aside:] Already he hath won my heart, ’tis true,
Yet would I rather live to tell him so!
C-3PO
Good Sir, attend: the possibility
Of navigating fields of ast’roids is
Three thousand seven hundred twenty to
But one—the odds are well against thee here!
HAN
The odds of rescuing a princess: low.
The odds of smuggler turning rebeclass="underline" lower.
The odds of ending th’Death Star: lowest yet!
I tell thee, droid: assail me not with odds!
LEIA
[aside:] Behold, what keen maneuvers doth he make,
And how, like Gungans sinking in the swamp,
Our enemies do fall behind us, slain.
What bravery he showeth for my sake.
HAN
If you recall, Your Highness, you did hope
You would bear witness to my failure great:
It may be now.
LEIA
—My word I do rescind.
We shall be pulveriz’d if we remain
A’floating in this field of wayward rocks.
Thou hast thy honor proven, Han, now please:
Let us seek safety in another place.