VADER
No harm beyond undoing shall he bear.
LANDO
Lord Vader, do I comprehend this fully—
Thou shalt surrender Han unto this man,
This bounty hunter here? So what is next?
I prithee, tell me: what shall happen to
Both Leia and the Wookiee?
VADER
—Never shall
They leave this city.
LANDO
—This doth push the bounds
Too far! Imprisonment was never a
Condition of the bargain we did make,
And ’twas not in the plan to hand o’er Han
Unto this bounty hunter!
VADER
—Mayhap thou
Dost think thou hast unfairly treated been?
LANDO
[aside:] A threat is in his voice and aspect. [To Vader:]
Nay,
For I shall model flexibility.
VADER
’Tis well. ’Twould be a pity should I feel
It necessary to retain a full
And armor’d garrison in Bespin. [To Boba Fett:] Come!
[Exeunt Darth Vader and Boba Fett.
LANDO
He orders what he will sans sense or rhyme—
This deal is worse becoming all the time!
LOBOT
...
[Exeunt.
Scene 5.
Bespin, the cloud city.
Enter CHEWBACCA, with C-3PO’s parts.
CHEWBAC.
Auugh.
C-3PO
[being reconnected:]—Stormtroopers? In Bespin? I am shot!
[Chewbacca disconnects C-3PO and tries to reconnect him again.
CHEWBAC.
Egh!
C-3PO
—O, ’tis better! That is quite improv’d.
But hold, for something is not right: my eyes—
I cannot see.
[Chewbacca adjusts C-3PO.
Now that is mended, aye.
Yet wait, I now am backward—head is back
And front’s reverse and all has gone awry!
Is this a Wookiee’s notion of a joke?
Thou stupid, senseless beast!
CHEWBAC.
[laughing:]—Gihut, gihut!
C-3PO
Thou furball wretched! Mophead ignorant!
[Chewbacca switches off C-3PO.
Enter HAN SOLO, carried by STORMTROOPERS, who drop him and exit.
CHEWBAC.
Auugh, auugh!
HAN
—O, Chewie, I’m in agony—
My ev’ry bone and sinew cries with pain.
Enter PRINCESS LEIA.
LEIA
What have they done to you, my noble man?
And what can be their purpose, dost thou know?
HAN
’Twas torture unlike any I have known,
For never any questions did they ask.
Instead, with silent mouths and darting eyes
They fix’d me solidly unto a seat
And lower’d me unto a mechanism.
At first ’twas like a searing heat that rac’d
From skin to bone and back again. Then sparks
Flew out, upon my chest and neck and face,
Such fire as though a hundred blasters spread
Their shots across my body or, perhaps,
As though a million tiny lightsabers
Did prick and dance their way about my skin.
All this they did, but ne’er made inquiry,
Ne’er ask’d me whence we came or where we go,
Ne’er ask’d about the rebels’ rendezvous.
No information they did seek to know,
It only seem’d they wish’d to bring me pain.
I tell thee, ’twas far worse and terrible
Than if they had sought answers from my blood.
But this demented evil shakes my soul,
For wherefore torture without questioning?
Enter LANDO, with GUARDS.
CHEWBAC.
Auugh, egh, auugh!
HAN
—Get thee hence now, Lando.
LANDO
—Tut!
Attend my voice, for this ye both should hear:
Darth Vader hath giv’n word that he will turn
Both Leia and Chewbacca o’er to me.
HAN
What dost thou mean by “o’er to me”? Thou knave!
I would not turn a rival o’er to thee,
Much less the ones belovèd by my heart.
LANDO
They must stay here, but will, at least, be safe.
’Twas not my choice—I have no say in this.
’Tis Vader who doth pull the strings, and we
Are but the puppets with which he doth play.
LEIA
And what of Han?
LANDO
—Darth Vader shall give him
O’er to the bounty hunter.
LEIA
—Vader doth
Desire that all of us are dead.
LANDO
—He wants
You not at all. He searches for someone
Called Skywalker.
HAN
—Aye, Luke—thou meanest Luke!
LANDO
Lord Vader set a trap for him to fall.
LEIA
And we are but the bait by which he’s caught.
LANDO
The trap shall soon be sprung, for Skywalker
Is on his way, e’en now.
HAN
—This villainy
Thou hast arrang’d is all too perfect. Fie!
[Han Solo strikes Lando but is quickly restrained by guards.
CHEWBAC.
Auugh!
LANDO
—Cease! I have done all that I may do.
For certain I am sorry I could not
Do better yet than this, but I do have
Enough vexations here.
HAN
—O, thou great man!
Thou art a hero, and thy tale shall e’er
Upon the lips of lesser folk be told.
Throughout all history it shall be writ:
“Behold, great Lando of Calrissian,
A man who ever serv’d his comrades well.”
LANDO
[aside:] This stings my soul, yet no more can I do
Than hold my head up high, and plan what’s next.
[Exeunt Lando and guards.
LEIA
My soldier, O my heart, thy fire doth blaze!
Thy skill with others ne’er doth cease t’amaze.
[Exeunt.
Act V
Scene 1.
Bespin, the cloud city.
Enter UGNAUGHTS 1, 2, and 3, singing.