Guard 1
Thou mockest me.
Guard 2
—Well notic’d! Mark me now:
Thy fears all rest upon a tiny word,
A word so small it should not give thee cause
To fret and worry so: that word is “if.”
“If” there were rebels on the forest moon,
“If” they did meet with creatures and form pacts,
“If” then they could our bunker strong destroy,
“If” they had plann’d to strike our Death Star great.
Thine “if” itself the Empire overthrows,
But “if” knows little of reality.
I tell thee true, if I had richer been,
If I had been a politician’s son,
If I were rais’d in wealth and privilege,
If I myself became most powerful,
Why then, I would be Emperor, not guard!
But for the “ifs.”
Guard 1
—Thy point is made, and I
Shall rest my “ifs” and be at ease. Now, if
Thou shalt come with me, we have both been call’d
To rearrange the chairs upon the deck.
Guard 2
If thou shalt lead, I’ll follow, worthy friend.
[Exeunt.
Enter EMPEROR PALPATINE on balcony, with ROYAL GUARDS.
Emperor
Our age is but a constant grasp for pow’r,
A time when trust and honor are no more
And all is but a furious race till death.
How doth a person make a life that’s worth
The living? Is’t by love or ventures? Nay:
The one who hath the greatest pow’r prevails.
The politicians grumble, scrape, and grab,
A’fighting o’er their spheres of influence,
The people cringe and whimper ’neath the loads
Plac’d on them by those in authority,
And all in bleak timidity do cow’r
When in the presence of their Emperor.
O what a piece of work are we! I should
Find joy in our humanity, and yet,
To me, what is this quintessence of dust?
A galaxy of vermin searching for
A crumb of what the best do eat, all rul’d
By those who have the appetite for pow’r—
For in a world of darkness only those
Who serve the dark deserve to live and thrive.
Let those naïve and wayward souls who seek
For justice, wisdom, honesty, and right
Endure such suffering as fits their weak
And simple souls. Let those who love be made
To witness how their lov’d ones scream and shriek
And, at the last, forsake e’en those they love
When tortur’d by the mighty hand of pow’r.
Let those who lurch and stumble t’ward the light
Discover, in the moments ere they die,
The light they sought is but a blaster shot,
Lightsaber beam or lightning of the Sith
That shall their wretched life put to an end.
And let the vile Rebellion choke upon
Its own absurd and innocent ideals,
Until each sick’ning, cursèd, backward soul
Who e’er hath spoken in Rebellion’s name
Lies broken in the streets, beneath my steps.
Aye, let’s kill all the rebels. It shall be,
For power is my slave and I its god.
Enter LUKE SKYWALKER and DARTH VADER on balcony.
I bid thee welcome, young Skywalker. Long
Have I awaited thee. Guards, leave us now.
[Exeunt royal guards.
I do look forward to the moment when
Thy training shall completed be. In time
Thou shalt bow low and call me Master.
Luke
—There
Thou art mistaken gravely, for I am
Not thine to be converted as thou in
The past did turn my father.
Emperor
—Nay, my young
Apprentice. Thou shalt find ’tis thou who art
Mistaken vis-à-vis so many things.
[Darth Vader hands Luke’s lightsaber to the Emperor.
Vader
His lightsaber I give to thee.
Emperor
—Indeed.
The weapon of a Jedi Knight, much like
Thy father. Surely, boy, thou knowest well
That never shall thy father turnèd be
Away from dark toward the good; so shall
It be for thee.
Luke
—O, thou art wrong. Anon
I shall be dead, and thou with me.
Emperor
—Ha, ha!
Belike thou speakest of the imminent
Attack that hath been plannèd by the fleet
Of rebel ships?
Luke
[ aside:] —Alas! How can he know?
Emperor
Aye, let me reassure thee we are safe
Here from the foolish undertaking of
Thy wretched friends.
Luke
—Thine overconfidence
Is thy great weakness.
Emperor
—And thy faith in thy
Base friends is thine.
Vader
—’Tis pointless to resist,
My son. Thou shalt be turn’d unto the dark,
And then we three shall rule the galaxy.
Emperor
Dost thou not see? All that hath happen’d doth
Proceed according to my grand design.
Thy friends upon the sanctuary moon
Now walk into a trap that I shall spring.
Thy rebel fleet as welclass="underline" the snare is set
To catch the pests and crush them ’twixt my fingers.
Hast thou yet understood? ’Twas I who did
Allow thy bold Alliance to find out
The site of the shield generator; it
Is wholly safe from thy band pitiful.
I let thy spies believe they had reveal’d
A secret great about this station, yet
’Twas I who leak’d intelligence to them,
So all the pieces would be perfectly
Arrang’d to strike rebellion down at last.
A legion of my finest troops awaits
Their piteous attack. But O, fear not,
For fully operational the shield
Shall be when thy misguided friends arrive.
With skill the players all are put in place,
Much bloodshed and destruction shall they face.
[Exeunt.
Scene 3.
Space / Inside the second Death Star.
Enter CHORUS.
Chorus
Imagine you see space, ye viewers true,
In which the final battle shall be fought.
The rebels put their trust i’the Endor crew:
Unless the shield is down, ’tis all for naught.
Yet little do they know that plan hath fail’d,
For Palpatine hath work’d his great deceit.
On Endor is the rebel crew assail’d,
Which doth create disaster for the fleet.
[Exit chorus.
Enter LANDO OF CALRISSIAN, NIEN NUNB, ADMIRAL ACKBAR, WEDGE ANTILLES, and other REBEL PILOTS.
Lando
Great Admiral, we’re in position now.
Each rebel fighter is accounted for,
And all are now prepar’d for our attack.
Ackbar