’Tis true, I may suppose—I’ve someone found,
Though such a one as this did not expect.
YODA
Help you I can, aye.
[Aside:] I, indeed, more help shall be
Than he imagines.
LUKE
Nay, I think not. My search is for a great
And mighty warrior, a man of strength!
YODA
O, great warrior!
A great warrior you seek?
Wars not make one great.
But soft, no more of
Talking, for my appetite
Dinner demandeth.
Thus shall I explore
The food thou hast here prepar’d.
Mmm, and I shall taste.
LUKE
Nay, nay, unhand my supper, little one!
YODA
How dost grow so big
When the food of thy diet
Is of this strange kind?
LUKE
Attend, my friend, thou must leave this alone.
My food I shall have need of, as we strive
To free our ship. I did not try to land
Inside that puddle drear, and if we could
Our ship remove, we would. But we cannot—
At least, I know not how it shall be done.
[Yoda rummages through Luke’s supplies, discarding them to the ground.
YODA
Unfortunate ship…
Thou canst not get it out, hmm?
O, what merry light!
[Yoda removes a light from Luke’s supplies.
LUKE
A mess thou now hast made! Give me that light!
YODA
’Tis mine, it is mine!
I shall the pretty thing have
Or I help you not.
LUKE
I need not thine assistance, nay! I need
My lamp, for it shall guide me out of this
Most slimy and disgusting hole of mud!
YODA
What slimy, what mud?
Thou speak’st indeed of my home.
[R2-D2 reaches out and grabs the lamp.
Alas, naughty droid!
[R2-D2 and Yoda fight for the lamp.
LUKE
O R2, let the creature have it now.
[R2-D2 releases the lamp.
Now move along, good fellow. We have much
To do. Thou art small in both size and help.
YODA
Nay, nay, I shall stay.
For I shall stay and help thee
Find thy long lost friend.
LUKE
Thou dost not understand, thou useless scamp.
I search not for a friend in this damp place,
But for a Jedi master wise in skill!
YODA
O Jedi master!
Yoda that you seek it is.
’Tis truly Yoda!
LUKE
[aside:] A strange turn of events! This tiny sprite
May yet prove useful if he knows the man.
[To Yoda:] Attend: thou know’st of Yoda, little one?
YODA
I’ll take thee to him.
Aye, but first, let us eat food.
Come, I good food have!
LUKE
I follow. R2, stay and watch the camp—
Mayhap some hope still lives within this damp.
[Exeunt, Luke following Yoda.
Act III
Scene 1.
Aboard the Millennium Falcon, inside the asteroid.
Enter HAN SOLO, PRINCESS LEIA, CHEWBACCA, and C-3PO.
HAN
Now shall I shut down ev’rything except
The ship’s emergency pow’r systems.
C-3PO
—Sir,
I am almost afraid to ask, but doth
This mean that I shall be shut down as well?
HAN
Nay, nay, good droid, for thou shalt speak unto
The Falcon to determine wherefore doth
The hyperdrive not operate aright.
For once I find thee useful, goldenrod.
[The ship shakes and all are rocked from side to side.
C-3PO
Sir, it is possible this ast’roid may
Not be entirely stable.
HAN
—Dost thou think?
O droid of wisdom, skill, and excellence—
Howe’er would I survive if I did not
Have thee here to reveal such mysteries?
From usefulness to obvious within
A single stroke. I pray, Chewbacca, take
This scholar made of wires and metal to
The back and plug him in the hyperdrive!
C-3PO
Sometimes I do not comprehend the strange
And varied ways of human beings. True
It is that I did only try to help!
[Exeunt Chewbacca and C-3PO. The ship shakes again and Leia falls into Han’s arms.
LEIA
[aside:] O happy accident! O fall most fair!
Now in his arms, where I have long’d to be,
I know not whether ’tis the ship or if
It is my heart that I feel quaking. Yet,
Alas, this moment not befits our love.
The situation is too strain’d. I wish,
With all my being, to be in this place—
But not like this. [To Han:] Pray, let me go.
HAN
—Tut, tut!
LEIA
I prithee, let me go.
HAN
[aside:]—O small request
That tears apart my soul! [To Leia:] Indeed, indeed,
Be not with such excitement overcome.
LEIA
My captain, being held by you is far
Too plain a thing to e’er excite my mood.
HAN
I crave your kindly pardon, sweetheart fierce,
But we have little time for something else—
I’ll leave thee here alone and then, mayhap,
The time apart shall heighten thy desire.
[Exit Han Solo.
LEIA
O man of pride and will most obstinate!
However can I love thee, being as
You are? But being other than you are,
I would not love thee. How this pirate hath
Laid claim upon the bounty of my soul!
O, wherefore did I speak so testily?
Why is it that whenever he is near
My wit is turn’d to unto a laser beam
With Han plac’d firmly in its sights? I tear
His heart in twain with words too cruel and harsh,
Then wonder why he is so full of pride.
’Tis now quite clear that he with arrogance
Doth speak so that he may his heart protect.
Forsooth, was e’er a woman placèd in
So delicate a situation yet?
[Exit Princess Leia.
Enter C-3PO.
C-3PO
O, where is that knave R2 now? For when
I need him most, then is he far away.
Perhaps on some adventure, which will serve
To puff him up most mightily, and leave
Him ever bragging o’er his exploits. Pish!
The scrawny, errant scamp perplexes me,
For he is both my nuisance and delight—
The thorn deep in my side and, stranger still,
The very object of my happiness.