R2-D2
[aside:]—I fear
This chill that doth e’en now my metal frame
Assault. ’Tis cold unto the core. ’Tis cold,
I fear, unto the death. Bear up, droid soul,
And listen to C-3PO’s advice:
Be thou a helpful strength amid distress.
Enter LIEUTENANT and MAJOR DERLIN.
LIEUT.
Sir, all patrols are in, and still no sign
From either Skywalker or Solo.
DERLIN
—Dread!
C-3PO
My Mistress Leia, R2 makes report
He hath not any signals yet receiv’d.
However, he admitteth that his range
Is far too weak to give up ev’ry hope.
DERLIN
Your Highness, I do fear there’s nothing more
That we may do tonight. The shield doors must
Be closèd.
LEIA
—I consent, but with a heart
That breaketh even now.
DERLIN
[to Lieutenant:]—Aye, close the doors.
R2-D2
Meep, beep, meep squeak.
C-3PO
—Now R2 doth report
The odds of their survival in the cold
Are seven hundred twenty-five to one.
[The shield doors close.
CHEWBAC.
Egh, grrm, egh, auugh!
C-3PO
—Though R2’s wont to make
Mistakes, from time to time. O dear, O dear.
[Exeunt Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Lieutenant, and Major Derlin.
R2-D2
[aside:] Why did I speak? O curse my beeping tongue!
“A helpful strength” I pledg’d that I would be,
But now have made these matters worse, for I
Have giv’n our princess reason to be scar’d.
Yet I do worry for my master’s life,
And though I would not cause undue distress
I fear that he may never make return.
[To C-3PO:] Beep, squeak.
C-3PO
—Nay, fear thou not, my silver friend.
I’ll warrant he shall surely be all right,
For Master Luke is clever, young, and spry
E’en for a human being. So say I!
[Exeunt.
Scene 5.
The ice world of Hoth.
Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, PRINCESS LEIA, and CHEWBACCA.
LUKE
O what a torment have I just endur’d!
For after my attack by creature cruel,
I quickly made my exit from his lair
And made my great escape amidst the snow.
Far, far I ran to find a refuge safe,
Yet too far from the rebels’ base I’ve gone.
And now my strength has left—I fail again—
My body falls, too weak to make its way.
[He falls.
Enter GHOST OF OBI-WAN KENOBI.
But now, e’en now, what vision comes to me?
OBI-WAN
Luke!
LUKE
—Ben?
OBI-WAN
—Attend me, Luke. Thou shalt unto
The system Dagobah go.
LUKE
—Dagobah?
OBI-WAN
There thou shalt learn the Force from Yoda, aye—
The Jedi master who instructed me.
[Exit Ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
LUKE
Ben, leave me not! Alas, I fall again.
[Luke collapses as Han enters and dismounts his tauntaun.
HAN
Amid the burning snow and winter’s bite,
Have I this journey ta’en to find my friend.
But lo, what is this sight that now I see?
’Tis Luke, collaps’d! O lad, be thou not dead!
Give me some sign thou livest! Aye, Luke, live!
The cold of Hoth shall yet be warmth to me
If thou art still alive. Come now, good friend!
[The tauntaun falls over, frozen to death.
LUKE
[muttering:] O Ben, O Dagobah!
[Han takes Luke’s lightsaber and cuts open the tauntaun, pulling Luke close to its warmth.
HAN
—We’ve not much time.
Stay with me, Luke. ’Tis true, this shall smell bad,
But also shall it keep thee warm until
The shelter hath erected been. O, vile!
These tauntauns have an awful stench outside,
But nothing did I know of wretchedness,
Disgusting rot, and sick’ning filth till this
New smell hath made attack upon my nose.
[Han sits with Luke as night passes.
The shelter now is fashion’d by my hands
Both strong and deft. We shall await the morn
With only tauntaun’s guts as company.
O guardian of nighttime travelers,
Be with me and my comrade Luke this eve,
For we are merely pilgrims far from home
Who wish to come again unto our mates.
Now sev’ral anxious hours we’ve huddl’d here,
And with the morning dawns the light of hope.
My rebel friends shall surely make attempt
To find where Luke and I have spent the night.
Search well, my lads, the prize waits to be found!
Enter ZEV aside, flying.
ZEV
The speeders all have been prepar’d, and now
A proper search for Luke and Han begins.
But what is this? Shall fortune be so kind?
My sensors do report some life forms near,
Mayhap the cherish’d find shall yet be mine.
Pray listen, Echo Base, to my report:
There’s something here my scanner hath just found.
’Tis yet unsure, but may a life form be.
Commander Skywalker, dost thou hear me?
’Tis Rogue Two. O good captain Solo, dost
Thou hear? ’Tis Rogue Two.
HAN
—Fine good morning, lads,
’Twas nice of you to fin’lly come around.
ZEV
Hear, Echo Base: I say, they have been found!
[Exeunt.
Scene 6.
The rebel base on Hoth.
Enter LUKE SKYWALKER, reclining on bed.
LUKE
Through hazy dreams I have vague memories
Of being taken to the rebel base
And given the droid medic’s greatest care.
Now here I am, and naught but scars remain,
Thus is the creature’s foul at last made fair.
Enter C-3PO, R2-D2, and PRINCESS LEIA.
C-3PO
Good Master Luke, my wires are fill’d with joy
To see thee fully functional again.
R2-D2
[aside:] O that I too could speak aloud!
[To Luke:] Meep, squeak!
C-3PO
R2 expresseth his relief as well!