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.