The Star Wars

by

George Lucas

Rough Draft [First of four major screenplay drafts] Lucasfilm Ltd. 5/74 1. FADE IN: SPACE A sea of stars is broken by the vast blue surface of the planet, Utapau. Five small moons slowly drift into view from the far side of the planet. The main titles are followed by a roll-up: Until the recent Great Rebellion, the Jedi Bendu were the most feared warriors in the universe. For one hundred thousand years, generations of Jedi perfected their art as the personal bodyguards of the emperor. They were the chief architects of the invincible Imperial Space Force which expanded the Empire across the galaxy, from the celestial equator to the farthest reaches of the Great Rift. Now these legendary warriors are all but extinct. One by one they have been hunted down and destroyed as enemies of the New Empire by a ferocious and sinister rival warrior sect, the Knights of Sith. A small silver spacecraft emerges from behind one of the Utapau moons. The deadly little fightercraft speeds past several of the moons, until it finally goes into orbit around the fourth moon. 2. WASTELAND - FOURTH MOON - UTAPAU A harsh gale blows across the bleak grey surface of the Fourth Moon. The leaden sky presses down on a lone figure, Annikin Starkiller, a tall, heavy- set boy of eighteen. He slowly makes his way across the canyon floor. The heavy winds whip at him and make the going extremely difficult. His face is covered by a breath mask and goggles. He stops for a second to adjust the shoulder strap on his chrome multiplelaser rifle. Something in the sky catches his eye, and he instinctively grabs a pair of electrobinoculars from his belt. He stands transfixed for a few moments, studying the heavens, then turns and rushes back in the direction from which he came. 3. SUPPLY HUT - FOURTH MOON - UTAPAU A spacecraft, half buried in the dust, rests next to the remains of an abandoned supply shack. Annikin makes his way across the colorless landscape and rushes into the crumbling building. The interior of the hut is shabby, but manages to abate the howling winds. Seated in front of a thermoheater are Annikin's father, Kane, and his young brother, Deak. Kane is a large, burly man, wearing the distinctive robes of a Jedi. Deak is ten years old, with dusty blond hair and a large scratch on his cheek. Annikin slams the door and removes his gear. His ruggedly handsome face is caked with many layers of dust. ANNIKIN Dad! Dad!...They've found us! Deak looks up from a small cube he has been studying. His father whacks him across the shoulder with a braided wire connector. KANE Continue with the problem. Your concentration is worse than your brother's. (to Annikin) How many? ANNIKIN Only one this time. A Banta Four. KANE Good. We may not have to repair this old bucket after all. Prepare yourself. DEAK Me too! KANE Do you have the answer? DEAK I think it's the Corbet dictum: "What is, is without." Kane smiles. This is the correct answer. Annikin is strapping on a utility belt with chrome laserpistols and lasersword. Kane rises and starts for his equipment. DEAK (Con't) Ahhh, Pop... KANE Deak, do you feel you're ready? DEAK Yes, sir. I've outmarked Annikin in twelve disciplines. I'm as good... KANE All right, son, get your gear. Deak jumps up with the enthusiasm available only to a ten-year-old and grabs his gear. His father frowns and shakes his head. 4. WASTELAND BLUFF - FOURTH MOON - UTAPAU Kane Starkiller and his two sons carefully make their way up a rock bluff overlooking the parked silver Sith spacecraft. Kane inspects the craft with his electrobinoculars. KANE No tracks. Bi-lock hasn't been opened....Interior systems are still on.... ANNIKIN Are we going to wait for him to come out? KANE He's not in there....He's baiting us. I'm surprised they only sent one this time. We must be wearing them down, or they must think this knight is something special....Stay on guard, and keep hidden. I'm going to work my way across the ridge and call his bluff. Better we meet in open combat than wait for him to ambush us....Keep your guard! Kane leaves his two sons and moves off along the obscured ridge. Annikin and Deak watch him intently. Annikin throws down his multiplelaser rifle in disgust. ANNIKIN He should have let me go with him....He's getting too old to make an open challenge. DEAK He's not too old to realize you'd just get in the way. Annikin ignores his little brother's remark and sneaks a look over the ridge at the Sith spacecraft. Kane moves out of the rocks some distance away and starts toward the starship. Deak moves to the ridge next to his brother, his chrome laserrifle sparkling in the reflected light of Utapau. DEAK He's making his move.... ANNIKIN Watch your guard...and cover that weapon. It shines like a beacon. Deak reluctantly move away and watches the other direction. Kane has almost reached the Sith spacecraft and still there is no sign of its occupant. DEAK What's happening? ANNIKIN Nothing. I don't like it. Kane carefully moves to the main hatch of the starship. He kicks a valve and the hatch drops open with a loud clank and rushing gas. Annikin becomes more tense as his father carefully moves inside the spacecraft. Everything is still. Even the continual winds seem to have died down. Moments pass with no sign of activity inside the enemy starship. Annikin watches the craft with his electrobinoculars. The waiting becomes unbearable. ANNIKIN Something's happened! He's been in there too long. DEAK Let me look! Stand my guard. Deak takes the electrobinoculars from his brother and studies the silent spacecraft. Annikin impatiently scans the opposite horizon. DEAK I think the power just went off. We'd better wait here until someone comes out. ANNIKIN What if he needs help? DEAK The power went back on again.... With the aid of the electrobinoculars, Deak watches the running lights of the starship flash on and off. Suddenly, something huge moves in front of his field of view. Before either of the two young boys can react, a large, sinister Sith warrior in black robes and a face mask looms over them. He carries a long lasersword which cuts young Deak down before he or his brother are able to raise their weapons. The startled Annikin backs away in horror, then settles down and ignites his lasersword, which creates an eerie red glow. He stumbles over rocks as he attempts to avoid the charging Sith knight. The evil warrior swings his mighty lasersword, but Annikin manages to deflect the intended deathblow. Finally, Annikin is able to assume a defensive stance, and the two warriors stand, sizing up each other. The black knight is at least seven feet tall, and dwarfs the young Jedi. They stand for a few moments, almost frozen, then in a flurry of blows, laserswords clash with the sound of electric snapping and popping. Annikin is barely able to hold his own against the experienced knight. Many blows are exchanged before the Sith warrior is able to back Annikin up against a deep crevasse. Annikin stumbles and almost falls over the cliff to his death. The black knight suddenly senses something behind him and whirls around to face Annikin's father, Kane Starkiller, a Jedi Bendu master. The Sith warrior raises his lasersword, but is cut in two before he can bring it down again. Kane moves to the fallen black knight, and studies him carefully. Annikin, still a little wobbly from the whole experience, attempts to stand. Kane sees his dead son Deak, and goes to him. He lifts him into his arms and begins to weep. Annikin stands bewildered, watching his father cradle his dead brother. 5. INTERIOR SITH STARSHIP - WASTELAND CANYON - UTAPAU Kane Starkiller slides into one of the four seats of the small Sith starship. Through the front viewing canopy, he watches Annikin drag his younger brother's body to a small crevasse. Annikin places a small locket around his brother's neck, makes a complicated sign with his hand, and dumps the body into the shallow depression. The giant engines of the spacecraft begin to whine, kicking up large clouds of dust. Annikin climbs into the seat beside his father and removes his breath mask and goggles. There are tears in his eyes. Father and son look out across the wasteland towards Deak's grave. The thunderous clap of an explosion is followed by a small mushroom cloud rising out of the depression. Annikin throws a container down in a fit of rage. ANNIKIN How many more of them are there? I want to finish it, once and for all! I'm sick of running...when will it stop? Annikin's father waits silently until his son's tirade is finished. Annikin sits silently for a few moments. ANNIKIN (con't) I'm sorry. KANE Son, plot a course for Aquilae. Annikin lights up like a Bantha at feeding time. ANNIKIN Aquilae!! You mean we're going home? KANE We both need a rest. Kane pulls back on the throttle, and the powerful spaceship lifts off the surface of the Fourth Moon of Utapau. 6. CLOUD SEA - ALDERAAN A title card appears over a sea of billowing clouds on the gaseous planet of Alderaan: Alderaan: Capital of the New Galactic Empire. The towering white oxide clouds pass, revealing the Imperial city of Alderaan. The magnificent domed and gleaming city is perched, mushroom-like, on a tall spire, which disappears deep into the misty surface of the planet. The peacefulness of this nebulous idyll is broken by the increasing wail of ion engines. Four sleek stardestroyers, from the Imperial Third Fleet, burst from one of the huge cumulus range. The craft are flying in a tight formation as they bank steeply, and head toward the Imperial capital of the galaxy. 7. INTERIOR OF STARDESTROYER - ALDERAAN Stardestroyers are two-man spacecraft crammed with sophisticated electronic weaponry. The pilot and gunnery officers sit side-by-side, surrounded by lighted readouts and switches. They wear the gleaming black uniforms of the Empire. PILOT Tok-One to chicks: Shape it up. Let's make it good. CHICK-ONE Does that glare bother you? PILOT Use your face shield, Chick-One. The pilot is cold and professional as he maneuvers his craft closer to the others. The positions of the ships are displayed on a readout, along with a graphic representation of the city. The pilot gives the gunner a quick look before he flips his sunshield over his eyes. PILOT Here we go. Count: three, two, one, now! 8. REVIEW STAND - PLAZA OF THE DADERS - ALDERAAN On a huge, austere platform stands the dark Cos Dashit, Lord of Alderaan, Consul to the Supreme Tribunal, and ruler of the Galactic Empire. He is a thin, grey-looking man, with an evil mustache which hangs limply over his insipid lip. Standing at rigid attention on his right are several generals, dressed in the black and grey uniform of the realm. Five members of the Supreme Tribunal sit off to the side. On the emperor's left stands Crispin Hoedaack, newly appointed Governor of the Aquilaean Systems, a young, treacherous man with stone-cut, angular features and piercing grey eyes. They all gaze skyward, as the four gleaming stardestroyers scream low overhead in an impressive barrel-roll formation. As the sound of the spacecraft resonates throughout the glass canyon of the Plaza, the group of dignitaries return their attention to the parade of Imperial shock troops, and giant air tanks (which ride magically two to three feet above the ground). The Plaza of the Daders is filled with a hundred rows of troops as the last brigade marches into position. The sound of a thousand men snapping to attention is followed by a strange silence. A light wind blows the great red banner of the Empire, creating a subtle flapping sound. The emperor's amplified voice startles many of the troops as it cuts through the quiet. EMPEROR Upon this battle depends the survival of the Galactic Empire. Upon this battle depends the life and long continuity of our civilization. Not since the great Jedi Rebellion has our destiny been placed in such a balance. This is to be the most magnificent campaign of all! You have never been called without doing something to be remembered, something notable and striking. The conquering of the Aquilaean System, the last of the independent Systems, and the last refuge of the outlawed, vile sect of the Jedi, will have such important and lasting consequences, that I can't but consider it as an epoch in history. To the rear of the Plaza, watching the spectacle over the shoulder of a curious bureaucrat, stands Clieg Whitsun, a tall, blond young man about twenty years old. He seems interested in what the emperor has to say, but keeps looking around nervously as if someone were after him. His arm rests across his head, as he carefully but coolly adjusts a glowing blue ring on his index finger. The emperor nears the end of his speech. Crispin Hoedaack has moved up to stand next to the sinister monarch. The troops shout an Imperial salute in response to a particularly partisan statement. EMPEROR (con't) ...I have personally asked the Aquilaeans to accept this Treaty of Alliance. During the long period of negotiation, they have only decided to be undecided. We will barter no longer. Governor Hoedaack has been appointed the First Lord of the Aquilaean System and Surrounding Territories. This is the last frontier and the final stone in the great wall of the Galactic Empire. The troops cheer, ad the emperor escorts Hoedaack inside. Whitsun moves quickly away from the Plaza, passing through several check stations, where he is forced to show his identification. 9. NIGHT CLUB - ALDERAAN Whitsun walks into the glass and chrome splendor of one of the famous nightclubs of Alderaan. He moves to the long mirrored bar, and sits next to a rough-looking man, Bail Antilles, dressed in the distinctive gold and furs of the Galactic traders. WHITSUN Your glass is empty. Whitsun speaks into a small intercom on the bar front. WHITSUN (con't) A dantic and... He looks in Antilles' glass. ANTILLES No thanks, Whitsun. I've had enough. WHITSUN Just a dantic then. Bail, it's not like you to refuse a drink. You're going to give Galactic traders a bad name. A drink appears magically from a small elevator in the bar. Whitsun takes it, and then places a pen-like transmitter he has taken from his pocket next to the intercom. It creates a low electronic buzz. 10. BAR OBSERVATION CENTER - ALDERAAN A controller sitting in front of a row of monitors taps his headphones, then flips a switch back and forth a couple of times. He is obviously annoyed. CONTROLLER Number eighteen is out again. Give me a maintenance check. The controller yawns and puts his feet up on the control panel. 11. NIGHTCLUB - ALDERAAN Whitsun leans in close to Antilles. He is suddenly very serious. ANTILLES Whitsun, we've got problems. They've just grounded all spacecraft, including trade frigates. Even the ships under Imperial registry can't move. Something big is up. WHITSUN I'm afraid they're not waiting for the Alliance Treaty. They're already moving against the System. I've got to get word back. ANTILLES The chrome companies are protesting the embargo, but it's going to take some time. WHITSUN Isn't anything moving? ANTILLES Military ships, but... They are interrupted by an Imperial officer, and several stormtroopers. The officer shouts over the P.A. system, as the troops rush to block the exits. Whitsun and the Galactic trader are tense, but remain cool. OFFICER Attention: all Captains and First Officers of Guild Trade frigates will accompany me to the Ministry of Transport immediately. Antilles gives Whitsun a hopeless look as the troops check their papers, and then take Antilles away. A small fight breaks out in the back of the nightclub as one of the trader captains expresses his dislike of the Empire. Whitsun slams his glass to the bar in a gesture of hate and frustration. 12. GOVERNOR HOEDAACK'S QUARTERS - ALDERAAN The large, white-on-white executive quarters resound with the high-pitched laugh of the evil Governor Hoedaack. He slaps Darth Vader, a tall, grim- looking general, on the back, and the general's mouth makes the slightest gesture at a smile. HOEDAACK Success, I told you. We are no longer under the control of the Great Families....We've gained a true advantage. Vantos Coll, a member of the Supreme Tribunal, and a man of the grossest dimensions, appears to be a little worried. COLL A rather dangerous advantage. You still have a System to conquer. HOEDAACK But this System will bring us more scientific wealth than that of any other House in the Tribunal. We will easily gain control of the directorship. COLL Don't underestimate the armies of Aquilae. They're lead by a Jedi. HOEDAACK I've told you about Commissioner Lars, General. He worries a lot. VADER It's a myth that any Jedi still exist. COLL General Skywalker is no myth. When I first arrived at court, he was the First Bodyguard to the emperor...He lead the Jedi Rebellion. VADER Seig Darklighter lead the Rebellion. COLL So the emperor would have you think, but I was there. VADER Then why wasn't he hunted down like the others? COLL Because he is too dangerous, too clever. Besides, his presence on Aquilae is still only a rumor. HOEDAACK Then why do you believe it? COLL Because I knew him. He's there, alright. I can sense it. Mark my words: Aquilae will not be easily conquered. 13. COURTYARD - PALACE OF LITE - AQUILAE A low, sleek "landspeeder," (an auto-like transport which travels a few feet above the ground on a magnetic field), glides into the courtyard of the palace of Aquilae. The planet is desert wilderness, but the palace is a sparkling oasis, with low concrete walls and great turrets spilling over with foliage from rooftop gardens. The speeder stops before an enormous shaded corridor. Fountains line the beautiful and highly polished, tiled walkway. Two young boys, Biggs (7) and Windom (5) are helped out of the speeder by Amber, a one- armed bodyguard dressed in the flowing white robes of the Aquilaean military. The two boys run through the long corridors, yelling and screaming, their little footsteps echoing throughout the palace. 14. The palace library is a dim, cool room projecting an aura of time-worn comfort and security. In the distance, the children can be heard screaming through the corridors. King Kayos, silver-haired but amazingly youthful under a tanned and leathery face, motions for one of his aides to shut the partially closed door. He is in the middle of an emergency meeting of the Aquilaean High Senate. The twelve men sit in overstuffed chairs, placed in a large circle. A large, sallow-eyed Galactic trader named Aay Zavos fiddles nervously with a small scrap of leather as he speaks. ZAVOS My Lord, the chrome companies are with you in spirit, but you must understand, they can't openly support you. Imperial trade restrictions are very unfavorable, and we, of course, favor your independence. KAYOS If there were to be war, would your frigates still supply us? ZAVOS Your bluntness is to be commended. It could be arranged. Count Sandage, a corrupt noble of the Senate, jumps to his feet in a rage. SANDAGE This is nonsense! We have no choice but to approve the Treaty. If there is war, the Empire will destroy our entire System with a snap of the finger. General Skywalker is a dreamer if he thinks he can mount any meaningful resistance....And you're dreamers if you believe him. So much trust in one aged man. You must see... At that moment, all heads turn as someone enters the room. It is General Luke Skywalker, Commander of the Aquilaean Starforce. He is a large man, apparently in his early sixties, but actually much older. Everyone senses the aura of power that radiates from this great warrior. Here is a leader: a Jedi general. He looks weary, but is still a magnificent-looking warrior. His face, cracked and weathered by exotic climates, is set off by a close silver beard, and dark, penetrating eyes. Sandage is somewhat embarrassed and quietly sits down. GENERAL Is there anyone here so naive he believes the Empire would even bother negotiating if they were contemplating destruction of this System? Your Excellencies, this is more than a simple raid on your resources. You must reach a decision. Mir Nash, a thin, birdlike senator, turns to the general. NASH General Skywalker, war is a serious business...a deadly business. GENERAL Procrastination is a deadly business, Senator. War is my business. Have you approved my defense measures? The Grande Mouff Tarkin wears the long, black robes of the Aquilaean religion. He speaks with a high, cracking voice. TARKIN An actual war with the Empire is still only a remote possibility. As a military treatise, your proposal has certain merits, but in the harsh light of reality, an attack against the Empire appears to be a somewhat extreme defense. NASH You must understand, General, we are interested in avoiding a war, not starting one. GENERAL There are times when offense makes the best defense. If that Alliance Treaty isn't signed, we will need all of the advantage we can get. KAYOS Count Sandage, I want you to head the delegation to Alderaan. You will leave tomorrow with our answer regarding the Treaty. My decision will be forthcoming. The senators whisper among themselves. KAYOS (con't) All right, then. May the force of others be with you all. The senators leave in a flurry of hushed conversation. The general is lost in thought, and remains in his chair. Biggs and Windom (Windy), the king's two young sons, storm through the existing senators and rush on to Kayos' lap. The king is obviously very proud of the two young princes. He throws Biggs into the air, and then catches him again. WINDY Me too! Me too! BIGGS Leia's leaving! Leia's leaving and you gotta say good-bye. The king picks up Windy and swings him around, then puts him down. KAYOS Okay, whippersnapper, go tell your mother and your sister that I'm on my way. The two boys run out of the room and are heard yelling and screaming down the hallway. The king starts out, but stops in front of the general. KAYOS Luke, my daughter is leaving for the academy at Chathos. Won't you come and wish her well? It would mean a lot to her. She truly idolizes you, you know. Come on, the war will wait. GENERAL Of course. I'm sorry, My Lord. Politics always seem to distress me. The general rises, and as they head for the door, Kayos pats him on the back. KAYOS I know, Luke. I feel the Force also. 15. COURTYARD - PALACE OF LITE - AQUILAE A large, four-seat speeder sits gleaming in the sun-soaked courtyard. The Princess Leia, about fourteen years old, possessing a soft beauty and iron will, is embracing her mother, Queen Breha, a warm, silver-haired matron. There are tears in the princess' blue eyes. Biggs and Windy jump around inside the speeder, disrupting the efforts of the one-armed Amber to pack several plaxiform cases. Leia embraces the king as he approaches with the general. LEIA Oh, Daddy, I'll miss you so. KAYOS The semester will be over before you know it. You'll have a grand time. There are so many new things to learn. I wish I were going. He gives her a fatherly smile, and she hugs him again. The general stands rather formally to one side. The princess, her long auburn hair tied in braids, moves to the general and he bows before her. GENERAL May your studies do you honor. Leia is somewhat embarrassed by the general's formality and can only manage an awkward smile before returning to her parents at the speeder. BREHA Hurry Leia. You must make it to Yuell before nightfall. The princess' maids-in-waiting, Alana, a short, stocky girl, and Mina, more comely (somewhat the same stature as Leia) with long dark hair, giggle and straighten Leia's dress before she enters the speeder. The princess and Mina hug Alana, whose giggles have turned to tears. The two boys scramble out of the speeder as Amber helps the princess and her maid into the back seat. The speeder is piloted by a trooper of the First Order. Amber jumps into the seat beside him, and the speeder starts with a low buzzing sound. The princess waves to her family, and Mina waves to Alana as the speeder slowly glides out of the courtyard. 16. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The war room is a mass of glass enclosures, electronic wall displays, monitors, and computer stations. General Skywalker enters a control station, followed by a covey of military aides of various ranks. As the group hurry through the crowded room, men rise and salute the new arrivals. The general stops before a giant display of the galaxy. Small symbols flash on and off over various portions of the big board. The general studies it intently. GENERAL Montross! Captain Montross, one of the general's aides, snaps to attention. MONTROSS Sir! GENERAL What's the TQ on this? MONTROSS The last frigate to leave the Imperial capital was at twenty-three forty, Sir. GENERAL Have any ships at all left the planet? (to another aide) Check with the Guild on Horton three. MONTROSS At twenty four hundred, a full battalion of stardestroyers left for what is projected to be Anchorhead, or a nearby System. GENERAL And no word from Whitsun. He should have reported by now. Captain Prue! An older, academic looking aide, steps forward. PRUE Sir! GENERAL What do you make of this? PRUE A battalion is invasion force...but the Empire controls that entire part of the galaxy....A revolution, maybe. At any rate, they're going in the wrong direction to be any trouble for us. The general ponders this for a few moments, then speaks almost to himself. GENERAL I don't know... It doesn't feel good. MONTROSS Sir? GENERAL Put 'em on alert. A loud uproar is heard on the far side of the war room. Everyone turns to see a foreign dressed warrior pushing his way past several guards and war-room bureaucrats. The warrior, with his long hair tied in an odd bun on the top of his head, is Kane Starkiller. He is followed by his son, Annikin, who rudely pushes the pesky bureaucrats out of the way. BUREAUCRATS It's restricted. You'll have to wait...(etc.) KANE Get out of my way, boy, before I grind you into the surface...(etc.) As the dauntless Starkiller approaches the general, the guards stop in bewilderment as General Skywalker rushes up to the warrior and embraces him. The two Jedi warriors laugh jubilantly and slap one another, as the aides and bureaucrats look on in amazement. GENERAL Kane Starkiller - you old muscle-rat! What a sight! We heard that you had been executed. KANE So the Empire would like to believe. I've been in the Kessil System. You remember little Annikin. Kane puts his arms around his son, who has been making eyes at one of the cute young female aides. He bows before the General. GENERAL He takes after his mother! (They laugh) It's so good to see you. KANE It's wonderful to be with another Jedi again. There are so few of us left. The cute aide goes back to her duties, flirting with Annikin as she passes. The young warrior pinches her on the ass, which startles her, but she goes on like nothing happened. GENERAL What a sight! The two Jedi stand looking at one another, hardly believing the other is real. Finally, the general realizes his aides are standing around, gawking at the duo. GENERAL (to the aids) Wake up, gentlemen. You're on alert. Keep me posted on that battalion. 17. CONTROL STATION - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general, Starkiller, and his son enter a small glass enclosed control office. They sit, and an awkward silence passes as each man waits for the other to speak. KANE I've come for your help. GENERAL Anything you ask. You're a Jedi brother. We're one. KANE My friend, we've been through much together...I've been through much since we parted. I've lost much... The Empire has chased us half way across the galaxy... There is no refuge. One day they will come here... Take my son as your Padawan Learner. He would be a Jedi. I've trained him from birth. He's reached the fifth stage. He fought in the Kessilian civil wars and commanded a Hubble expedition to the Cone Systems. He's a good boy, Luke, and one hell of a fighter. The general looks down, somewhat embarrassed. He scratches his head, then smiles. GENERAL Old friend, you do me too much honor. I was never a match for you. Why don't you finish his training yourself? KANE I'm too old, Luke. I can't go on... You must finish it. GENERAL What kind of talk is this? You're not the old Starkiller I remember. Too old?!? Starkiller suddenly ignites in a rage and swings his left forearm down with a mighty blow across the solid chrome desk the general is sitting on. The old Jedi warrior's forearm cracks in two, spewing forth wires, and many fine multicolored electronic components. The artificial limb flops lifelessly to Starkiller's side. The warrior rips open his tunic, revealing a plastic chest stuffed with flashing electric parts. KANE (angrily) I'm not the same. There is nothing left but my head and right arm... I've lost too much, Luke...I'm dying. The general bows his head in sorrow for one of the greatest warriors in the galaxy and a dear friend. GENERAL I'm sorry... KANE I'm sorry. I keep losing control. I'm very tired...Take my son! The Jedi- Bendu must survive. We must pass it on. Only a Jedi can stop the Empire. We're very old, Luke. A new generation of Jedi must be started. Take him; teach him the way of the Jedi-Bendu... Captain Montross bursts into the office and somewhat excitedly salutes the general. MONTROSS Sir, we have picked up something! An asteroid, or solid comet moving away from the Anchorhead System. 18. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general rushes out of the control station and back to the giant Galactic display. He is followed by Montross, Starkiller and his son. GENERAL Are you sure it's not the battalion? MONTROSS A solid object. It's as big as our Third Moon. PRUE It's too large to be man-made, and it's too slow to be a comet. GENERAL Analysis? MONTROSS It's too far out. GENERAL I'll be with the king. Report as soon as you can get a reading on it. (turning to Kane's son) Captain Starkiller, from now on you stick close to me. The older Starkiller smiles, and puts his good arm around his old friend. 19. DINING CHAMBER - PALACE OF LITE - AQUILAE King Kayos moves his arm around Breha's waist as they stand on a balcony watching the giant twin suns of Aquilae disappear behind a distant dune range. The general enters, rather in a rush, followed by the young Starkiller, who is now dressed in the white uniform of the Aquilaean starforce. (He still wears the distinctive Kessilian hair knot.) They bow before the king. KAYOS (pointing to the suns) Aren't they beautiful, General? "Always and never the same." You're just in time for dinner. GENERAL I have come for other reasons. Could.... KAYOS Relax, General. We will discuss it, but over dinner. There are times, Luke, when I find you a bit too rigid. Is this your new disciple? Starkiller is ill at ease and bows again. STARKILLER Annikin Starkiller, Sir. KAYOS Where's Kane? GENERAL He left for the spaceport at Gordon to visit an old friend, Han Solo, the Ureallian. KAYOS We are becoming quite a refuge. The group sits at a large table, and food is brought in by servants. They eat. Starkiller is nervous and watches the general, to make sure he is being proper. GENERAL My Lord, several events have occurred which lead me to believe we are in imminent danger of attack. There is no longer time for discussion and debate... KAYOS What events? GENERAL Whitsun, our best agent, has disappeared in the Imperial capital. There is unusual military traffic in the S-4 sectors... KAYOS Unless you have direct, concrete proof of a pending attack, there is nothing I can do. GENERAL By the time we have proof, it may be too late. KAYOS Luke, I'm leaving tonight for Amsel. I'm meeting with the full assembly first thing in the morning. I am not going to approve the Alliance Treaty, and I will get your defense measure approved. Just be patient. You will have the war code. GENERAL Tomorrow may be too late. My Lord, I need the war code now. We must get our forces into space. KAYOS But it must be done legally, with everyone's approval. Tomorrow you will have that. I doubt the Empire would attack before receiving our answer. The separation of war powers is the one condition upon which you assumed command of our forces. You're a friend, Luke, and I trust you. But you're also an outlander who controls a great deal of power. I can't forsake my oath any more than you can. Just be patient. You will have the code tomorrow. Captain Montross enters the large chamber and bows before the king. MONTROSS I bring a report to General Skywalker, My Lord. KAYOS You may deliver it. MONTROSS Sir, the asteroid has disappeared from our scopes. There is no trace of it. GENERAL Were they able to analyze it? MONTROSS It never came within range, Sir. The general rises, quickly followed by Starkiller. GENERAL Excuse us, My Lord. We'd better get back. I will wait patiently for the approval. The general and Montross exit the chamber. Starkiller takes one last bite of his dinner, then dashes after his mentor. 20. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general sits rigidly, facing the big Galactic display board. Several aides and bureaucrats rush to and fro, ignoring the general. he is asleep. Captain Prue approaches the general and snaps to attention. The general's eyes open. GENERAL What are the results? PRUE Negative, Sir. GENERAL Are you sure? PRUE Absolutely. GENERAL It's just not possible. Something that size can't just disappear without a trace...Check it again. PRUE That's the tenth negative, Sir. GENERAL I said check it again. Captain Prue retreats to a computer station. The general looks around for Starkiller. GENERAL Starkiller! Everyone near the general turns, but Starkiller doesn't show. GENERAL Where is that boy? Montross! Montross rushes to the general and snaps to attention. GENERAL Page Starkiller. Montross goes back to his station and a few moments later, Starkiller is paged over the P.A. system. The general waits, watching the big board. Eventually, Starkiller stumbles out of an enclosed computer closet, fastening his pants and tucking in his tunic. A moment later, the cute female aide rather sheepishly exits the computer closet. She is also in the process of putting her uniform back together. Starkiller rushes up to the general and snaps to attention. The general lets him stand there for a moment, not acknowledging his presence; then, suddenly, without warning and in one masterful flash motion, the general stands, grabs a small baton attached to his belt (which immediately ignites into a four-foot glowing lasersword,) and swings at the young warrior's head. In an equally quick movement, Starkiller ignites his lasersword and blocks the general's blow. Everyone in the war room is surprised and startled. After a moment, they rush to the general. Starkiller and the general stand motionless for a few moments, with laserswords locked in mid-air, creating a low buzzing sound. Finally, the general grins, and Starkiller hesitantly relaxes. They lower their swords and turn them off. GENERAL You are trained well, but remember, a Jedi must be single-minded, a discipline your father obviously never learned, hence your existence. Clean yourself up. Discipline is essential. Your mind must follow the way of the Bendu. STARKILLER It won't happen again, Sir. There are many new.... P.A. General Skywalker, white com. The general moves to a control station and picks up a phone. PHONE VOICE Sir, Captain Whitsun has just been admitted to Med Vac. GENERAL What's his condition? PHONE VOICE No data, Sir. GENERAL I'm on my way. 21. MED VAC EMERGENCY ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS Captain Starkiller waits in an outer chamber as General Skywalker rushes into the Med Vac emergency room where several doctors are working on the prostrate Whitsun. GENERAL What's his condition? Is he conscious? DOCTOR Partially. He's be all right - a few bruises, primary exhaustion.... Whitsun thrashes around in a semi-conscious state. He sees the general. GENERAL What happened, boy? What's going on? WHITSUN (with difficulty) The Imperial Starforce is already on its way, not far behind me... They're going to attack. GENERAL Are you sure? WHITSUN I have tapes...A giant space fortress.... He struggles to give General Skywalker his ring. GENERAL As big as our Third Moon? WHITSUN Bigger. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Sophisticated deflection systems.... work in opposition to the suns. GENERAL They will show up on our screens at sunrise. They'll attack before that. The general rushes into the outer chamber where Captain Starkiller is waiting for him. GENERAL Take the fastest landspeeder to Chathos. Pick up Princess Leia... and only Princess Leia. Return by way of the Great Reef. Most speed. Starkiller exits and the general goes to an intercom and pushes several buttons. GENERAL Montross. MONTROSS Sir! GENERAL Full alert....everything! Get the Royal Family back here. MONTROSS The princess is at Chathos. There are no transports.... GENERAL I've already sent Captain Starkiller for her! Contact the king, first priority. He's probably still en route to Amsel. Use the scan com. I'm on my way. 22. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The war room is on full alert. Everyone is at attention, waiting for the command that will put them into action. The general enters a communication center, followed by many aides. Captain Montross and the com aide salute. MONTROSS We're having a problem getting through, Sir. There is a great deal of interference. PRUE It could be jamming. GENERAL Try a surface link through Amsel. The aides go back to the com-link system to try to get a line through to the king. PRUE We should be able to spot them at sunrise....That's not too far off. GENERAL They'll attack with sunrise. Until the king gives us that code to start the war computers, we'll just have to sit tight. PRUE All units are on alert, Sir. GENERAL (to Montross) Have you made contact yet? (to himself) This is one hell of a way to run a war. PRUE Sir? 23. COURTYARD - ACADEMY OF CHATHOS - AQUILAE A landspeeder roars into a courtyard of the Academy at Chathos. Starkiller jumps out, and runs up to the large, heavy doors of the academy. They are locked. He bangs madly on the carved metallic door, until finally an old woman manages to swing it open. Starkiller rushes past her into the main courtyard where Princess Leia and her hand-maiden, Mina, struggle with two large cases. They are followed by two very old matrons, dragging several more cases. STARKILLER Forget the cases - we've no time. LEIA These are my things. They must... STARKILLER I said forget them, and hurry... LEIA Just who do you think you are? Starkiller grabs the princess by the arm, and hauls her to the speeder. Mina and the old women run after them. LEIA I will not be treated like this! You bring my things.... My father will have your head... (etc.) Leia struggles to break away from the young warrior's grasp as he opens the door of the speeder. STARKILLER Settle down! When the door to the speeder is opened, Mina starts in, and Starkiller stops her. STARKILLER You must stay. Here, take the Crest. Starkiller rips the royal crest from the princess' neck, and hands it to the startled handmaiden. The old women gasp in horror. The princess starts hitting Starkiller with little result. PRINCESS Mina's not staying...I'm not leaving her. You can't.... Starkiller punches her square on the jaw and knocks her cold. Mina is panic stricken, one of the old women faints, and another starts for Starkiller with a large staff. STARKILLER She'll be all right. I'm taking her to safety...as ordered. You will wear the crest and continue as before. The authority of Starkiller's voice stops the old lady. He places the princess into the speeder, and maneuvers it out of the courtyard. Mina puts on the crest as the speeder races away from the academy. 24. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE Queen Breha, Biggs and Windy are escorted into a rest area of the war room. General Skywalker sits rigidly in a chair in the communications area, apparently asleep. MONTROSS Sir, we've made contact! The general opens his eyes and takes the intercom mike. KAYOS What is it, General? GENERAL The Empire will attack on the rising of the sun. My agent made it back. I now have proof. I need the war code... KAYOS I'll relay it directly to the computer. Is Breha...? GENERAL The Royal Family is safe. Starkiller has gone after Princess Leia... KAYOS I'm on my way back. 25. RED PLAINS - AQUILAE The small caravan of four speeders sits motionless on the vast red plains of Aquilae. The king returns the intercom to the pilot and takes a small metallic card from around his neck and gives it to the co-pilot. KAYOS Send this sub-land, priority one. (to the pilot) Get us back to Calvas immediately! The four speeders turn around and scream away in the direction they had come. They pass a huge ultrasleek powerplow, planting green fungus in endless furrows. Two clay-covered farmers, riding atop the ponderous machine, watch the speeders disappear over the horizon, and into the rising twin suns. A bright object, twinkling in early morning heavens, catches the eye of the older of the two farmers, and he brings the machine to a lumbering halt. The younger farmer also notices the object, and stares skyward, shading his eyes to get a better view. Suddenly there is a huge, bright atomic flash on the horizon. A few moments later, a thunderous shaking, followed by high winds, tumbles the older farmer from his perch. A second flash on the opposite horizon brings another jolting earthquake, and the younger farmer collapses, terror frozen on his face. 26. READYROOM - SPACEPORT OUTPOST - AQUILAE Chaos. Red scramble lights are flashing. Alert horns and attack buzzers create an unbelievable cacophony. Air warriors, with the distinctive circle and cross medallion on their white space suits, scramble out of the low, concrete readyroom, grabbing helmets and spacepacks as they race out of the door. 27. ATTACK RUNWAY - SPACEPORT OUTPOST - AQUILAE Twelve pilots and navigators dash in unison to a line of waiting two-man starships of the destroyer class. Ground crews scurry back and forth, loading last-minute armament, and unlocking power couplings. Pilot Leader, a rugged, handsome boy of twenty, gives his ground crew a signal that his is okay. He has a winning smile and a distinctive scar along the side of his face. His crew chief pats him on the back. CHIEF Knock them all the way back to Alderaan. The canopy is closed and the powerful starship moves onto the runway. Other crewmen say good-bye to their pilots, some grin, some kidding - all with a great deal of hidden emotion. The din of two dozen retrorockets cuts through the uproar, and six silver spacecraft leave the runway, and disappear into the morning cloud cover. 28. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general stands before a giant display of the Aquilaean solar system. Montross signals the general. MONTROSS They're away, Sir. Six from Gordon. All other spaceports were hit. The king hasn't arrived yet. GENERAL Keep checking. Put those fighters' intercom over the P.A. The general sits at one of the intercom panels, and puts on a headphone. A row of monitors is before him. He turns to Montross. GENERAL Where are they? 29. SPACE - AQUILAE IN ECLIPSE The eerie, reddish-yellow planet of Aquilae slowly drifts into view from total eclipse. A small, bright speck, orbiting the planet, sparkles in the light of the twin suns. The six deadly Aquilaean starships settle ominously into the foreground, moving swiftly toward the orbiting speck. As the sleek starships move closer, the orbiting speck is revealed to be a gargantuan space fortress. The moon-sized satellite fortress dwarfs the approaching fighters. Every few moments, explosions create blinding flash on the planet's surface, as the fortress bombards the planet with a fusillade of laser bolts. 30. AQUILAEAN STARSHIP - INTERIOR Pilot Leader, in the first ship, signals to his navigator who sits in a small, isolated glass bubble to the rear of the craft. General Skywalker is seen on one of many monitors. A view of the space fortress is on another. The rest are filled with various computer readouts and displays. One of the other starships reports to Pilot Leader. DEVIL SIX (intercom) Look at the size of that thing! Hey, Bowman, I hope you remembered to bring your pop gun, 'cause I think we caught us a big one this time.... PILOT LEADER Cut off, Devil Six....Stand by. GENERAL (monitor) It looks like they're still using the basic quad-tristation configuration. Use a "ranger defense." Concentrate on breath ports and lock areas. PILOT LEADER Affirmative base...Copy and transmit....Devil Two, check your rotation plates. DEVIL TWO Roger, Boss. We're getting a threshold disturbance on gyro-three. GENERAL (monitor) Switch over, Five, cover it! ...Devil pack, generate a spread six formation...May the force of others protect you. PILOT Settle in...Devil pack, stand by. Mark five...break off. Here we go. God save us all. 31. SPACE - AQUILAEAN STARSHIP Fuel pods are jettisoned. The half-dozen fighters break off into a powerline attack on the huge fortress. Multiple laserbolts streak from the starships, creating small explosions on the complex surface of the fort. 32. INTERIOR MAIN CORRIDOR - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS The chaos of battle echoes through the vast corridors of the fortress. Walls buckle and cave in, sucking debris and personnel into the vacuum of outer space. Alarm sirens scream as soldiers scramble to large turbo-powered laser gun emplacements. Sergeants yell orders through the smoke and confusion. Men and robots of various shapes and sizes run to their battle stations. 33. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The monitors with pictures from the starships suddenly go blank. Technicians check channels as others in the war room silently listen to the action over the intercom. The general remains calm, but concerned. PILOT LEADER (intercom) Tighten it up... Devil Two, tighten it up. Watch those towers.... DEVIL TWO (CHEWIE) Heavy fire, Boss. Twenty-three degrees. PILOT LEADER I see it. Pull in... we're picking up some interference. DEVIL SIX Wow, I've never seen such fire power. PILOT LEADER Pull in, Devil Two...Pull in! Chewie???!! DEVIL TWO (CHEWIE) I'm all right, Boss. I've got a target. DEVIL SIX There is too much action, Chewie. Get out! PILOT LEADER Break off, Chewie....Acknowledge. Devil Six, can you see Devil Two? DEVIL SIX I've lost him. There's a very heavy fire zone on this side. My radar's jammed. DEVIL FIVE He's gone....no, wait. There he is...Fin damage, but he's all right. A sigh of relief sweeps across the war room. The monitors flash on, then off again. DEVIL FOUR (intercom) Watch your back, Boss! Watch your back!! 34. AQUILAEAN STARSHIP The speedy little fighters dart back and forth across the soft underbelly of the fortress, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. PILOT LEADER Converge on south axis point, point three nine four. It appears accessible. I'm going to map the surface. Devil Four, cover me! Pilot Leader and Devil Four dive in unison through a forest of radar domes, antennae, and gun towers. Devil Four fires into the protrusions as the two starships criss-cross the surface of the fortress. Suddenly, a dense barrage of laserfire erupts from a tower, catching Devil Four broadside. The spacecraft bursts into a million flaming pieces. Pilot Leader reacts to the loss of his wing man, but continues on his mission. 35. SUB-HALLWAY - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS Constant explosions rock the interior of the fortress. Civilians, including women and children, scurry for safety in the panic-ridden hallways. Two construction robots, Artwo Detwo (R2D2) and See Threepio (C3P0), are blown, slipping and sliding across the hallway floor into some freight canisters. Both robots are rather old and battered. Artwo is a short, (three feet) claw- armed tri-pod. His face is a mass of computer lights, surrounding a radar eye. Threepio is a tall, gleaming android of human proportions. He is thin, with a totally metallic surface of an Art Deco design. The robots attempt to get out from under the canisters, but rushing gas from a broken pipe keeps knocking them over. THREEPIO This is madness; we're going to be destroyed. I'm still not accustomed to space travel. ARTWO The external bombardment does appear to be concentrated in this area. The structure has exceeded the normal stress quotient by point four, although there appears to be no immediate danger. THREEPIO No immediate danger! You're faulty. This is madness! Artwo gives Threepio a sheepish look and clings to a siderail for dear life, as debris flies through the hallway. 36. AQUILAEAN STARSHIP Devil Two (Chewie), a young hotshot of about sixteen years, miraculously dives his ship through a virtual wall of laser fire, and blasts a huge radar disc into dust. Chewie signals his navigator, who lets out a whooping cheer, as the craft veers into a victory roll. PILOT LEADER Great moves, Chewie. Regroup at point two, zero one. Coincide, Devil Six. GENERAL Mace, your map projection shows a weak point at south portal: niner point six. Concentrate the attack on that point. Coordinate. PILOT LEADER I see it... It looks good. Devil Five and Devil Three bob and weave in formation toward a giant transformer jutting from the fort's surface. DEVIL THREE I've got a... We're hit. We're hit. PILOT LEADER Eject...Eject. Babs, Babs, do you read? DEVIL THREE I'm okay. I can hold it. Clear me a little, Devil Five... Watch it! Watch it! Devil Three wobbles a little, then drops away sharply, plowing into a lasergun emplacement, causing a hideous series of chain reaction explosions. 37. SUB-HALLWAY - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS A huge explosion rips a large hole in the ceiling of a subhallway. Artwo and Threepio are in a state of shock as they scramble through the rubble. There is a constant sound of creaking and snapping as the sections of the hallway resettle in the fortress superstructure. ARTWO You're a mindless, useless philosopher... Come on! Let's go back to work; the system is all right. THREEPIO You overweight glob of grease. Quit following me. Get away. Get away. Suddenly, the hallway lurches, and a dead trooper falls through a gaping hole in the ceiling. The foot of the carcass is caught in the rubble and it hangs upside down, staring at the two robots. Artwo grabs Threepio, and they cling to each other in terror. ARTWO We're lost. We're destroyed. Three sharp blasts from an airhorn send the two androids running for cover in a burned-out doorway. Five grim-faced troopers riding small rocket platforms pass the two mechanical men. 38. GOVERNOR'S QUARTERS - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS The five troopers race through several hallways, and finally stop in front of an important looking office complex. Two officers dismount and enter the complex. They pass through several heavily guarded doorways until they reach the main chamber. Seated behind a large, cluttered desk surrounded by generals and attaches is Governor Hoedaack. General Vader paces in front of a row of blank monitors. The two officers salute General Vader. FIRST OFFICER All com-link power is out. Twenty-two transformer sections have been destroyed. The situation is grave on all southern levels. Com-link communication should be repaired shortly. The officers salute, turn and leave the chamber. The general turns to Governor Hoedaack, who looks a little worried. VADER Don't look so worried. Not even a Jedi could penetrate this fortress...We've already wiped out most of their forces. HOEDAACK If it goes on too long, we'll run over budget. When do the landings begin? VADER As soon as the attack has been broken: not long. A short, stocky attache salutes the general. ATTACHE Contamination has set in on quadrants B-5 and R-4. All sections are sealed. We've lost two major power stations in the southern quadrants. That puts section 5-1 in serious trouble. The general turns away in controlled anger and embarrassment. 39. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general sits in a glass enclosed computer station, watching the battle progress on several monitors. An officer enters and salutes the general. OFFICER Analysis reports those ZQ configurations are definitely power transformers...Everything in the southern sectors of the fortress is out. GENERAL SKYWALKER I'm surprised they are still using external power units. It's a definite weak point. Concentrate on searching for the main crosslink transformer. The officer exits as Montross rushes in. MONTROSS The senate has voted to end the war. GENERAL They can't do anything without the king's approval; which gives us a little time...Have you been able to regain contact with the king? MONTROSS No, Sir. All ground communications are jammed. GENERAL Send four men..from third squad, to meet the king, and escort him back. Let me know before he arrives. Is Starkiller back with the princess? MONTROSS No, Sir. They're long overdue. Pilot Leader checks in over the intercom. PILOT LEADER All right, base one, we're in position. An officer with headphones looks to the general. He signals to attack. 40. AQUILAEAN STARSHIPS All four starships dive in formation toward a main transformer area, flanked by several solar towers. PILOT LEADER Hold your fire until we're within point zero five four... Make it count. Several ack-ack lasers begin to open fire on the approaching spacecraft. The starships direct their fire at a large black transformer, which when hit, spurts bright blue and white electrical arcs. One of the starships (Devil Five) explodes and careens out of formation, leaving an erratic trail of smoke, before eventually crashing into a solar panel. 41. SUB-HALLWAYS - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS The impact of the exploding starship can be felt throughout the giant fortress. The tall, gleaming Threepio races through several corridors, yelling at Artwo, who struggles vainly to e keep pace with his stubby mechanical feet. THREEPIO ....I don't care what you do, but I'm getting out. All the power's out. Those explosions are coming from the reactor section. This is the end. Abandon ship. ARTWO Our work - we can't leave! It's desertion. It's not possible. It's not possible. THREEPIO Your programming is so limited. My first order is preservation. You stay. I'm going to eject before the whole thing goes up. Threepio breaks open the seal on an emergency lifepod. A red warning light begins to flash, and a low hum is heard. The lanky chrome android works his way into the cramped four-man craft. ARTWO These lifepods aren't for us! It's not right! A new explosion, this time very close, sends dust and debris through the narrow passageway. Flames lick at the two robots. The runt-sized Artwo jumps into the lifepod. ARTWO It's the end. Eject. Eject. The safety door snaps shut, and the pod ejects from the fortress. 42. AQUILAEAN STARSHIPS The terrified androids in the lifepod speed away from the fortress, and pass the attacking starships. DEVIL TWO Object approaching. Attack bearing... DEVIL FOUR It's a lifepod. Forget it. We've got... Devil Four is hit by laser fire, and disintegrates, leaving a trail of flaming particles. The two remaining craft continue the assault. Chewie and Pilot Leader watch the remains of Devil Four disappear. The general appears over one of the monitors. GENERAL Analysis indicates transformer code zero three is the main relay. Hit it, and the whole thing goes dead. PILOT LEADER We're on our way. 43. GOVERNOR'S QUARTERS - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS A row of monitors and the main overhead lights go on, and a trooper appears on one of the screens. TROOPER Internal relays operative. All power restored. All contaminated areas sealed. An officer appears on another monitor. OFFICER Only two enemy craft remain operative. We calculate victory by zero three hundred. General Vader switches to another monitor. VADER Alert the invasion forces. (turning to the governor). The planet is ours. A three hour war. You expected longer. Jedi or not, we've beaten him, and the culture is intact. HOEDAACK A truly great prize for the Empire. They have a treasure of biotic science. Genetics, cloning - they've added two-hundred years to a lifespan. Remember, you must capture at least one member of the Royal Family alive. The Aquilae family has ruled this system for ten thousand years. The people will follow no other. If the royal line is broken, there is a good chance the entire population will destroy themselves and their knowledge before submitting to our rule. The general is interrupted by a call on one of the monitors. OFFICER (on monitor) We've received a message from the planet.... 44. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE General Skywalker watches a giant computer display of the space fortress mapped by the starships. An aide approaches. AIDE Sir! The king's convoy has destroyed at Caldin. All the bodies were contaminated. GENERAL I will audience with the queen.... Who knows of this? AIDE Many. It came through civilian sources. GENERAL Confine Senator Sandage to his quarters. Use any pretext. Where is the senator now? Sandage and several other senators enter the computer station. SANDAGE Right here, General...It's over. We've already relayed peace terms to the Empire, and they've been accepted. Your war has ended. The general is angry and stands pointing at the senators. They jump back, as if the general were pointing a gun at them. GENERAL Senator, this war isn't over. It's just begun. I take my commands from the Royal Family. SANDAGE The queen concurs. I have her written decree. It is to be implemented immediately..... I order you to cease the attack. GENERAL Not likely... SANDAGE Treason? Revolution? The people won't follow you, General...nor will your troops. I suggest you follow your orders. General Skywalker stands angrily pondering the situation. Sandage and the other senators are tense, a little afraid that he might cut them down on the spot. SANDAGE Well, General? 45. LIFEPOD - SKY OVER AQUILAE The reddish-yellow mass of Aquilae seems to engulf the tiny lifepod containing the two fleeing androids. ARTWO It's desertion. They'll destroy us. How could this happen? THREEPIO That's funny. The damage doesn't look as bad from out here. 46. AQUILAEAN STARSHIPS Pilot Leader and Devil Two make a second dive on the now smoldering transformer area. All firing from the fortress suddenly stops. Pilot Leader looks back to his navigator, who is equally puzzled. The two fighters continue to attack the now silent fortress. CHEWIE (DEVIL TWO) I don't get it. What do you think, Boss? General Skywalker appears on the monitors. GENERAL (with difficulty) Base one to Devil Leader...Scramble code niner. Break your attack, and return to base. Repeat, break your attack. Confirm. PILOT LEADER They're hurt, Sir, but they still have power. We should finish.... GENERAL Break off. The war is over. Run on white lights. Get back here, Mace. We're going to need you. PILOT LEADER Confirmed, base one. We're on our way. Did you copy, Chewie? DEVIL TWO Roger, Boss. The two starfighters break off the attack and start back toward the planet. Without warning, the fort directs concentrated fire at the two starfighters. Devil Two instantly bursts into flames, then disintegrates. Pilot Leader's tail section is hit, and the ship pinwheels toward the planet. Blood covers Pilot Leader's immobile face. PILOT LEADER'S NAVIGATOR We're under fire...They're still shooting. I thought it was over. We're hit! We're hit! Pilot is dead....Ejecting. The dead "Pilot Leader" is jettisoned free of the craft, but the navigator's eject panel is dead. He struggles with it, then bangs on the canopy to no avail. The navigator is still trapped in the craft when it explodes, leaving only a puff of pink smoke reflected in the rim light of the planet. 47. DESERT NEAR OUTPOST - AQUILAE Pilot Leader's dead body drifts toward his arid mother-planet. Automatic rockets kick-in occasionally, to direct and soften the landing. Two grey-clad troopers stand next to a military "landspeeder;" watching the descending airwarrior through electrobinoculars. Mace's corpse hits the ground rather hard, creating a whirlwind of dust, and the two troopers rush over to the pilot. The younger of the two troopers, a young boy in his teens, cradles the dead starpilot in his arms and begins to cry. 48. WAR ROOM - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE General Skywalker sits alone, meditating in the deserted war room. Montross approaches the contemplative general. MONTROSS No sign of Starkiller or the princess. There was much damage in that area...The queen will see you at ten hundred. The general doesn't reply. 49. ASSEMBLY - DEPARTURE AREA - IMPERIAL SPACE FORTRESS General Vader stands behind a row of men at computer control panels. A commander reports to the general. COMMANDER All enemy craft destroyed. First and fifth division, troops and equipment standing by. The general gives a sly smile of approval and takes a microphone from one of the computer technicians. He speaks to the troops and pilots waiting in their huge war machines for the invasion order. VADER The war is won. With the conquering of this System we have ushered in a new millenium for the Empire; which will echo throughout the universe. Our reward is the knowledge this system possesses. This planet must be controlled with a minimum of force, but you must not think lightly of this enemy. They have exacted a heavy toll. Today you will make the Empire complete. Do so with pride and care. Vader puts down the mike, and turns to his commander. GENERAL Let the invasion begin. 50. EDGE OF THE DUNE SEA - AQUILAE Jundland, or "no man's land," where the rugged desert mesas meet the foreboding dune sea. The two helpless astro robots kick up clouds of dust as they clumsily work their way across the desert coastline. The short Artwo struggles desperately to keep up with the long-legged Threepio. ARTWO It's not possible. We're not built for this. You're nothing more than a dim- witted, emotion-brained intellectual. Why you were created is beyond my logic systems. Thanks to you, we're deserters, and will probably be destroyed on sight. And on top of that, you're going the wrong way! All this filth is getting.... The towering Threepio stops short and turns on the blabbering mechanical runt. THREEPIO I've had enough of you, you pragmatic, nearsighted scrap pile. You go your own way. He picks up the tiny robot and tosses him several feet into a large sand dune. Threepio starts off in the direction of the dune sea. Artwo struggles to his feet, and shakes a metallic claw arm at his disappearing ex-partner. ARTWO You'll be malfunctioning within a day. You're going the wrong way, but your way is always the wrong way. Threepio stops and yells to the smaller android. THREEPIO And don't let me catch you following me, begging for help, because you won't get it from me. Artwo's reply is a rather rude sound, which only an electronic person could make. He turns and trudges off in the opposite direction into the rocky desert mesas. 51. DUNE SEA - AQUILAE Threepio, hot and tired, struggles up over the ridge of a dune, only to find more dunes, which seem to go on for endless miles. He looks back in the direction he came. THREEPIO You little malfunctioning twerp. This is all your fault. You tricked me into going this way, but you'll do no better! He sits in a huff of anger and frustration, knocking the sand from his joints. 52. DESERT MESA - AQUILAE Artwo stumbles through a narrow canyon until he climbs over a small boulder and sees before him a sight he first thinks is a mirage. Nestled in a rock formation is a deserted landspeeder. Once the little robot is convinced that he is alone, he approaches the battered speeder and begins to analyze it. He climbs into the pilot's seat, and attempts to start the unfamiliar transport. He hears a sound, and stops for a moment. He sees nothing, so he continues to fiddle with the control panel until the speeder lurches forward with a start, banging into a large rock. The stubby android is shaken, but neither he, nor the speeder, seems to be damaged. Shivers run down Artwo's metal spine, and again he has an eerie feeling that he is being watched. He slowly looks around, and sees a large man, Captain Starkiller, standing directly behind him. He is startled, then terrified. STARKILLER Where is your master? The little robot clicks and rattles, but doesn't speak. STARKILLER (Con't) Can't you speak? How do you relate your data? You're of Karollian manufacture...You should be able to talk. Are you damaged? Starkiller pokes at the machine, but doesn't see any damage. Artwo eyes him suspiciously. The robot turns with a start and discovers a young girl, Princess Leia, has been standing next to him for some time. PRINCESS (sarcastic) Well, General, who's your friend? STARKILLER I don't know. He doesn't seem to be able to talk. Damaged, probably....Jettisoned from a damaged ship... PRINCESS What do you intend to do with it? STARKILLER We'll take it with us. Could be a storehouse of valuable information. Starkiller guides the android into the small luggage area behind the front seat, then hops into the driver's seat. PRINCESS I don't want to ride with that hing. I order you to destroy it immediately. STARKILLER Get in! We've got to hurry if we're going to get across the "dunehedge" by nightfall...You're coming, one way or the other. Will you join us peaceably? The princess reluctantly gets into the speeder, and it starts with a jolt. 53. LANDSPEEDER - DESERT MESAS - AQUILAE The speeder flies along, a foot or so above the landscape. PRINCESS You are such a barbarian. I'll have my father cut you into little pieces when we get back...and I'll take pleasure in feeding you to the Gonthas....a little bit each day. I may save your eyes though. I'll have them petrified and made into a necklace. STARKILLER Your sweetness is only surpassed by your beauty. Just try to remember, I'm only following orders. PRINCESS ... to beat me and abuse me? STARKILLER I'm afraid I've only learned one way to treat wild animals. Artwo thrashes about, trying to relieve the pressure on his crumped legs. PRINCESS You stay out of this. 54. DUNE SEA Threepio struggles to the top of a large dune. He is dirty and hot. His plight seems hopeless. He searches the horizon for any sign of life. A glint of reflected light in the distance reveals an object speeding toward him. The chrome android waves frantically, and yells at the approaching speeder. The sleek landspeeder races past him about a hundred yards away. He runs after it, screaming in desperation, until he stumbles and falls head over heels down an enormous sand dune. Silently, the speeder sweeps around in a circle and stops behind the immobile robot. Starkiller jumps out of the landspeeder and is quickly followed by Artwo. PRINCESS We're in a hurry, remember! If you're going to stop for everyone unfortunate along the way, we'll never get back. We're lucky you got the speeder running as it is. Artwo waddles up to his fallen partner and starts pulling on his leg, then runs up and starts pulling on his arm. ARTWO Function! Function! It's me. Come on, function. STARKILLER Well, my little friend, you've found your tongue. ARTWO We must help him... We've been lost. STARKILLER Where did you come from? The little robot runs around his fallen partner giving him small electric charges from his claw hand. Threepio shudders from head to toe, then regains consciousness. THREEPIO What happened? ARTWO You're overheated. STARKILLER Where did you come from? ARTWO We were jettisoned from six twenty-nine, P.R. one. STARKILLER I'm unfamiliar with that ship. What type is it? THREEPIO It's a class M station, not a conventional craft. Threepio then stands and shakes the young Jedi's hand. THREEPIO (Con't) I'm Seethreepio, Human-Cyborg Relations. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. Starkiller and the two robots walk back to the speeder. 55. Both Artwo and Threepio are stuffed into the tiny luggage compartment. It is late in the day when the speeder rumbles to a stop in a small desert canyon surrounded by steep cliffs and broken boulders. STARKILLER We'll rest here. THREEPIO At last. The transport is welcome but my joints are frozen. Everyone climbs out of the low-slung speeder. Starkiller watches the two androids as they stretch their mechanical limbs. ARTWO I've got a bad case of dust contamination. I can barely move. THREEPIO What a foresaken place this is. We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life. Sir, could you tell.... Threepio turns and notices that Starkiller and the princess have disappeared. He looks all around. THREEPIO Where did they go? They've disappeared. ARTWO Maybe they were attacked! I sense danger! 55. HIDDEN FORTRESS ENTRANCE - DESERT CANYON - AQUILAE [scene number - sic] Captain Starkiller and Princess Leia hurry through a maze of large boulders, until they reach a sheer rock face. Starkiller looks around to see if they were followed. Suddenly, a large section of the rock slides away, revealing a well-lit corridor carved out of the rock. They enter, and are greeted by two jubilant guards. Starkiller gives them some orders and points in the direction of the speeder. The secret rock door silently slides closed. 57. MAIN HALLWAY - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE Starkiller and the princess are greeted by General Skywalker and Montross. They bow before the princess. PRINCESS (angrily pointing at Starkiller) General, I want you to do something with this..this barbarian. Where's my father? GENERAL The king is dead, Your Highness. All anger suddenly drains from the princess. She almost timidly asks the next question. PRINCESS My mother?... and brothers? GENERAL She's here. She's safe...so are your brothers. They're in the main chamber. Leia, now looking more like a frightened young girl than a vindictive princess, runs down the hallway toward the main chamber. She vainly attempts to hold back the tears. 58. DESERT CANYON - AQUILAE The two puzzled androids sit on the landspeeder, pondering the disappearance of their saviour. THREEPIO Do you suppose we're in danger? ARTWO The logic of this environment escapes me. As night begins to fall, and the shadows begin to lengthen, the two robots begin to get a little edgy. The sound of approaching feet startles Artwo, and he ducks behind his taller friend. Two guards approach the robots. GUARD You will remain calm, and you will remain here. THREEPIO Certainly. I'm Seethreepio, Human-Cyborg Relations. Your kindness is gratefully appreciated. Artwo sits rather suspiciously behind his extroverted friend. 59. ROYAL CHAMBER - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE General Skywalker bows low before Princess Leia. She sits on a raised platform, dressed in the royal robes of a planetary ruler. The queen sits off to one side on a smaller platform. The princess waits for a few moments before she allows the general to rise. QUEEN The senate has been corrupted. GENERAL They cannot rule without your wish... QUEEN I rule by marriage. With the king dead, I am not strong enough to stop them... Leia is now the true queen... She must be protected. The line must be preserved. I am placing the future of our people in your hands. You must deliver Leia and her brothers to the Ophuchi System. They will be safe there. General, you must understand, I had no alternative but to condone an end to the hostilities. I deeply believe your campaign could have been successful, but there are things that... GENERAL I understand, Your Highness... QUEEN The chrome companies on Ophuchi have offered to supply you with the men and ships necessary to return Leia to the throne. GENERAL Can the chrome companies be trusted? QUEEN The price for their cooperation is high. It is waiting for you in Med Center blue. Guard it as you would the princess herself. No-one must know of this mission. There are those among the trusted who would wish us ill. Take only two of your best officers with you, the most loyal. May the force of others be with you. LEIA Mother, you must not stay. QUEEN I am too old for such a journey. The Empire already controls the spaceport cities. You have a long way to travel. It won't be easy. GENERAL We will have to travel in disguise. I must have full command. No-one can suspect wealth or royal training. I fear the new queen will not stand for this. LEIA (angry) Do not put words into my mouth. I will stand for what is necessary. The general simply smiles. 60. SUB-HALLWAY - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general walks briskly through an isolated hallway, closely followed by Montross. GENERAL How is Captain Whitsun's recovery? MONTROSS Very good; he's up and around. GENERAL Fine! Have Whitsun and...ah, Starkiller report at zero three hundred. I want two converted transports: agricultural type, two days' provisions, travel papers, weapons. Contact Han Solo at the Gordon spaceport...I'll talk to him... with speed! Montross turns and rushes down another hallway. 61. MEDICAL CENTER BLUE - UNDERGROUND FORTRESS - AQUILAE The general enters a stark white waiting area filled with scholarly looking gentlemen. An attendant greets General Skywalker and takes him into a small observation chamber overlooking a large operating theatre. An elderly doctor greets him. DOCTOR Good to see you, General. I'm afraid we're not quite ready yet. Thank God you'll be the one taking them, though. An attendant brings in one of the scholars from the waiting area and places him on a large operating table surrounded by strange looking equipment. An ominous looking clamp is placed on the man's head. GENERAL How many are going? DOCTOR Thirty-three of the greatest scientific minds in our System...A high price for freedom. GENERAL Thirty-three scientists! Transporting a group that size, undetected... I don't... DOCTOR Don't worry, General. All you'll be taking are their minds. The doctor moves over to a safe-like cabinet guarded by two attendants. The doctor gingerly picks up a small clear vial filled with grey fluid. It has a label which reads: Faubun, Astro-dynamics...In the background the scholar on the operating table is undergoing a form of mechanized brain surgery. GENERAL "Bloodory's distillation?" DOCTOR Yes. It has been greatly perfected. The brain is condensed into five ounces of fluid. Cloning cell samples are included so that a structural duplicate of the scientist can be reproduced. When the duplicate child reaches the age of six, he or she begins a series of injections of the brain fluid. By the age of ten years, they have received all the knowledge and memory of an experienced scientist: an old mind in a young body. We have prepared a special shock-belt to carry the vials. In the background, the limp body of the scholar on the operating table is removed and another scientist is escorted into the operating threatre. Dr. Bloodory, a portly doctor in his forties, enters the room and shakes hands with the general. DOCTOR General, this is Doctor Bloodory. He'll be making the trip with you. BLOODORY It's an honor to meet you, General. I'm sure I couldn't be in safer hands. GENERAL The chrome companies are exacting a high prince indeed. Politics will be the ruin of us all. BLOODORY Careful. If we could rid ourselves of the politicians, generals would no longer be necessary. DOCTOR We should be ready by zero three hundred. The doctors exit, leaving the general alone to watch the huge machine extract another brain. 62. SPACEPORT - OBSERVATION DECK - AQUILAE Governor Hoedaack, General Vader walk down a boarding ramp to an observation deck overlooking the conquered city of Gordon. They are followed by a number of aides and officers from the Imperial fleet. Below them air tanks and other military equipment and supplies are being unloaded. VADER Not much of a planet. HOEDAACK Darth, you've done well. Do you think you will have the Royal Family by nightfall? VADER An advance expedition is already on its way to their underground hideaway. They should reach it by nightfall... but only if this Count Sandage can be trusted. HOEDAACK A man hungry for power can always be trusted... to betray those in power. I'm sure his information is correct. 63. HIDDEN FORTRESS CANYON The huge rock face of the canyon opens, and two shabby agricultural landspeeders are pushed into the late afternoon sun. Artwo and Threepio stand on the far side of the canyon with their guards, watching in amazement. The general and Captain Starkiller walk behind the men pushing the landspeeders. GENERAL We'll take them with us. They know more about that fortress than any ten men. They will be very useful. STARKILLER Can they be trusted? GENERAL Loyalty can't be programmed. They can be trusted never to harm a living creature, and to always give accurate information...as they know it, to anyone who asks. You just have to remember not to tell them anything that you don't want to fall into the wrong hands. The general approaches the two robots. Artwo shyly moves around his taller companion. GENERAL Greetings. I'm Luke: Agricultural Engineering. We're going to be travelling together. You're going with us to help set up a hortastation on Banth. Threepio shakes hands with the general. THREEPIO I'm Seethreepio: Human Cyborg relations. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. Threepio and the general both look down at Artwo. Threepio gives the smaller android a little kick. ARTWO Artwo Detwo: Fusion Repair. GENERAL (to Starkiller) Load them into one of the speeders. Captain Whitsun, walking with a slight limp, emerges from the underground fortress with the Royal Family. A small group of guards and aides are lined up, standing at attention. The two young princes, Biggs and Windy, hug and kiss their mother good-bye, then jump into the back of the larger four-man speeder. The princess bows before her mother, then embraces her. Tears roll down her cheeks. Her mother wipes them away. QUEEN You must learn strength. The princess turns and moves to the larger speeder where she is helped aboard by Captain Starkiller. PRINCESS (fuming) I don't need your help, thank you. She gives the general an angry look. GENERAL I'm afraid he's necessary. A commotion erupts at the mouth of the underground fortress. Count Sandage, several senators and ten to twelve troopers rush into the canyon and block the speeders. SANDAGE Where are you going? What is this? In one quick movement the general moves between Sandage and the queen. Whitsun and Starkiller assume defensive positions in front of the princess and her brothers. QUEEN Leia and the boys are being taken to safety. It is my wish. SANDAGE The Empire has assured their safety. They must stay. QUEEN It is not my wish.... SANDAGE General, you've gone too far this time. (to the troops) Arrest him. Five troops start to move on the general, as Sandage draws his laserpistol. Before anyone can complete his action, the general ignites his lasersword and cuts the senator in two. He drops to the ground in a heap, and the approaching troops stop in their tracks. QUEEN Stop this! The general, Starkiller, and Whitsun replace their swords, and bow low to the queen. All of the troops, senators, and aides do the same. The formalness of the occasion is broken when the queen embraces the general. She then turns and embraces each of the captains. They are both flustered, and somewhat embarrassed. QUEEN May the force of others be with you. The general and his captains head for the speeders, while the queen and all the others return to the underground fortress. 64. DESERT BLUFF - AQUILAE The two speeders edge their way onto a bluff overlooking the hidden fortress canyon. They stop for one last reflective moment. Forced to leave their closest friends and relatives, the group is deeply moved. The two robots, for the most part, are puzzled. Suddenly, there is a huge atomic flash, followed by a loud rumble, and the entire canyon collapses into a large crater. The group quietly watches the dust settle. The hidden fortress and all its inhabitants have been destroyed. The general watches the princess, who appears to take it well. GENERAL It was the only way we could be safe from treachery. 65. DUNE SEA - AQUILAE The two sleek landspeeders glide effortlessly through the vast hills and valleys of the dune sea. At the base of the towering dune ridge, the four-man speeder stops. The smaller speeder, with Starkiller and the two robots, makes its way to the top of the ridge. Captain Starkiller stops the speeder just short of the top of the ridge. He gets out and continues the rest of the way on foot. The young captain peeks over the dune ridge into the canyon below. Muted sounds and large dust clouds rise from the canyon floor. Starkiller immediately ducks back behind the ridge with an amazed look on his face. He quickly returns to the speeder, and picks up the intercom. STARKILLER Sir, you'd better take a look at this. But come easy. The four-man speeder starts with a crack, and slowly moves up the side of the imposing dune. It stops next to the smaller speeder. The general and Whitsun get out and make their way to the top of the ridge, where they join Starkiller. Far in the distance, crossing the endless dune sea, is the Imperial invasion army. It is immense. A convoy of giant tanks, troop carriers, and supply ships stretch from horizon to horizon. Cavalry, mounted on giant dune birds, ride the line from one end of the convoy to the other. Hundreds of troops ride one-man jet-sticks in precision formation. Their lances form a giant pin-cushion. It is an awesome sight. GENERAL SKYWALKER They're heading toward the fortress. WHITSUN What will they do when they find it destroyed? GENERAL They won't stop looking for us...They're coming from the spaceport at Anchorhead, which means they control everything between here and the spaceport at Gordon. STARKILLER Can we go around them? GENERAL No. We'll have to wait for them to pass. Starkiller, see if you can monitor any of their communications on the com-link in the big speeder. Starkiller returns to the speeder. He collapses in the large speeder next to the princess, and flips on the com-link radio, moving back and forth across the dial. PRINCESS Must you do that? Starkiller smiles rather sarcastically. STARKILLER Orders...The invasion force has cut us off. We'll probably be here for some time. You ought to stretch a bit. PRINCESS Is that a command, General? Maybe I feel like watching after my brothers. Starkiller looks back at the two sleeping boys. STARKILLER They're not going anywhere. They're asleep. PRINCESS I want to stay with them. STARKILLER What's the matter? You afraid I might eat them? 66. LIBRARY - PALACE OF LITE - AQUILAE The king's old library has been converted into an office for General Vader. He is sitting behind his desk as Prince Valorum, the black knight of Sith, enters and salutes. The black knight is dressed in the fascist black and chrome uniform of the legendary Sith One Hundred. The general returns his salute. VADER Welcome, Prince Valorum. Your exploits are legendary. I have long waited to meet a Knight of the Sith. If there is any way I can assist you, my entire command is at your bidding. VALORUM I want a tie-in to your computer network, a control center, and communication access. VADER Right away! I'll also transfer all information we have on the general. His command post was self-destroyed, but we believe he is still alive.... Do you really believe he's a Jedi? VALORUM If he was not a Jedi, I wouldn't be here. 67. WASTELAND - AQUILAE The speeders make their way across the grey desert. It is dawn. The twin suns have yet to rise over the distant hills. The speeders are coated with dust and grime, indicating that they have travelled far. The two captains drive through the night as everyone else sleeps. Starkiller calls Whitsun on the intercom. STARKILLER How are your fuel packs? I'm reading minus four. WHITSUN I'm too low to transfer any. The general, who appeared to be asleep, opens his eyes, and takes the microphone from Whitsun. GENERAL There is a fuel station fourteen degrees by two meters. The occupation force should have control of it by now, so hide your weapons...but keep them within reach. 68. FUEL STATION - AQUILAE A series of low concrete structures rise out of the desert. The speeders stop in front of an old weather-beaten block house. The rusted hulk of a landspeeder lies half-buried to one side of the building. Starkiller and Whitsun jump out of the speeder and go into the block house. 69. INTERIOR - FUEL STATION - AQUILAE The two young captains, dressed as farmers, enter the dingy little fuel station. It is quiet. A few power packs line the walls and a dismantled speeder rests in the repair bay. There is a sharp dripping sound coming from the speeder. It appears that no-one is there. STARKILLER Greetings! ... Who's in charge here? They look around the deserted station, but find no attendant. An eerie quiet pervades the building. WHITSUN I don't get it... STARKILLER You don't have to. It's abandoned. Whitsun opens a door leading to a storage area, and stops short. WHITSUN Not quite abandoned... Starkiller moves to the doorway and sees the attendant, his wife, and small daughter hanging upside down, tortured to death. Whitsun cuts them down. WHITSUN They shouldn't have resisted. Starkiller grabs two power packs from the shelf. STARKILLER Help me with these power packs. We'd better move out of here. Whitsun covers the family with an old work tarp. He bows to the dead, then reluctantly grabs a couple of power packs and they start for the door. Whitsun stops for a moment. WHITSUN Hear that? Someone's here. (yelling) We're friends. Show yourself. Silence. Whitsun shrugs his shoulders and they start out the door, only to run straight into a burly stormtrooper. STORMTROOPER Get out of here! 70. FUEL STATION - AQUILAE Whitsun and Starkiller are pulled out of the doorway and shoved into the center of a group of fifteen or twenty Imperial stormtroopers who have surrounded the two speeders. Several troops have pulled General Skywalker out of the speeder. He acts senile, like a man twice his age. GENERAL SKYWALKER I'm all right. I can still move about by myself. A rough looking sergeant grabs Whitsun. SERGEANT What are you doing here? WHITSUN We're out of power, sir. SERGEANT Let me see your travel passes! WHITSUN I have it here, somewhere. We've been relocated...to a Bantha hortastation, by Imperial order... Whitsun fumbles to retrieve something from his pocket, and eventually pulls out a small, round disc. The sergeant puts the disc in a small portable reader. Various computer readouts are displayed on the monitor. Starkiller starts to put a power pack into one of the speeders. SERGEANT What are you doing there? All power has been restricted. GENERAL SKYWALKER We've run out. We must have power, or be forced to stay here....and become your responsibilities. The sergeant thinks about this for a moment, as the old, wise general watches him. Tension fills the air. Starkiller shuffles around to a position where he can reach his weapon. A trooper hands the sergeant a message. SERGEANT (to Whitsun) Take only two of those power packs, and then move out quickly. The sergeant hurries to a military craft, where he takes a call on an intercom. General Skywalker and his two young captains load the remaining power packs into the speeder, and roar away from the station. 71. WASTELAND - AQUILAE The speeders race along through the rocky desert wasteland. The general speaks into the intercom to Starkiller. GENERAL Keep a close watch. If that sergeant runs an analysis on those passes, we might be seeing him again...We should be safely inside Gordon within the day. Everyone is in good spirits. The princess and her young brothers sing an Aquilaean melody, which is transmitted to Starkiller in the smaller speeder. The general takes little Windy, and lets him sit on his lap in the forward compartment of the speeder. Artwo flexes Threepio's arm back and forth, attempting to discover the cause of a loud squeak. ARTWO Z-2 doesn't seem to help at all. THREEPIO It's all this filth and dust. This environment is murderous. Starkiller notices a small speck on the horizon. STARKILLER (into intercom) Object approaching, bearing three point two. The general looks through an electrotelescope mounted in the speeder. He spots a distant row of troopers riding strange dune birds. GENERAL (to Starkiller) It's a patrol. It could mean trouble. We'd better split up. You stay on a direct course. We'll meet you at the western edge of ravine 23-64. Stay in contact. The larger speeder makes a sharp left turn, speeding off across a deep ravine. Starkiller can begin to distinguish the approaching troopers. STARKILLER It looks like there's ten of them. They're heading right for me.... Wait a second. They've disappeared! I've lost them. GENERAL Continue on. 73. WASTELAND LAKEBED - AQUILAE Whitsun deftly maneuvers the bulky speeder through a narrow, boulder strewn ravine. They eventually come out on a dry lake bed, where they stop. Standing not more than a hundred feet away, apparantly waiting for the speeder, are five Imperial troops on their dune birds. GENERAL We've found them, five of them, anyway...Watch yourself. The troops slowly ride their huge birds over to the speeder, and dismount. The officer in charge is a vicious looking warrior, with a large scar across his face. OFFICER Let me see your passes. Whitsun hands him the small pass disc, and he places it in his reader. He studies the computer readout for a few moments, and then returns the disc to Whitsun. OFFICER Have you seen any other transports in this area? GENERAL SKYWALKER We saw two heading south. Goin' toward Ansel, look like to me. OFFICER All right. Be on your way. The officer mounts his dune bird, and the patrol moves away. Whitsun winks at the princess, and smiles at the general, as the speeder starts off across the dry lake. The general fiddles with the intercom. GENERAL S-2, are you clear? STARKILLER I have five troopers approaching. Any problems on your end? GENERAL We came through all right. You shouldn't have any trouble, but stay alert. STARKILLER Best wishes....Here they come. Everyone rides along in silence, a little worried about Starkiller, especially the princess. PRINCESS ..Do you think he'll be all right? GENERAL He can take care of himself. Biggs is looking out the back window of the speeder. BIGGS Hey look! They're coming back. Everyone looks to see the patrol quickly gaining on them. GENERAL Stop! They're faster. Get your weapon. The speeder screeches to a halt in a cloud of dust. The general and his captain jump from the transport with laserpistols drawn. The patrol bears down on them, swords drawn, at full charge. Both the general and Whitsun fire. Two of the troopers and their Dune birds explode in a cloud of smoke. The remaining three troopers are upon the duo in a matter of seconds. The general ignites his lasersword and cuts down two of the troops as they pass. The last turns his bird around before reaching the speeder, and hightails it back toward the ravine. The general jumps onto one of the riderless dune birds and takes off in pursuit. Whitsun checks the dead troopers. 73. WASTELAND RAVINE - AQUILAE The general rides at breakneck speed after the fleeing trooper. His lasersword is raised high over his head, ready to deal a death blow. The lumbering birds race through the winding ravine. 74. WASTELAND RAVINE - AQUILAE The intercom warning buzzer begins to scream. Whitsun rushes for it, but the princess gets there first. PRINCESS Are you all right? STARKILLER Two riders heading your way. I got three, but two got away. Watch yourselves! 75. WASTELAND RAVINE - AQUILAE The general is riding neck and neck with the trooper. He swiftly brings his sword down and the trooper drops from his saddle. The momentum of his charge carries the general around a bend in the ravine, and right in the path of two more troops charging down on him. The two troopers are taken by surprise. They stop their birds, and so does the general. They stand there, about fifty yards apart, sizing up each other. Suddenly, the two troopers start for the Jedi at full speed. The general raises his sword, and starts for them. The troopers are no match for the general, who kills them both before they are even able to swing their swords. 76. WASTELAND LAKEBED - AQUILAE Starkiller stops near the larger landspeeder and gets out. He is wounded. Blood streams from his left arm. Whitsun rushes to help him. The princess shows a great deal of concern. WHITSUN It looks worse than it is. You'll be all right. Whitsun motions to the princess, who looks a little relieved. WHITSUN Bring me the med aid pack. PRINCESS It he was clumsy enough to get hurt, maybe we ought to let him bleed to death. She hands Whitsun the kit, as the general rides up and dismounts. He moves to Starkiller. GENERAL You missed two. STARKILLER I know, I couldn't... GENERAL Don't let it happen again. We'd better move out. They might have reported in. 77. CONTROL ROOM - PALACE OF LITE - AQUILAE The dark and sinister Valorum moves several markers on a large map readout to form a line from the destroyed underground fortress to the spaceport at Gordon. An aide enters with General Vader. AIDE The patrol was lost, Sir. All ten of them. VALORUM It's to be expected. VADER Have you found them? VALORUM They're heading for the spaceport at Gordon. I'm going there. Have all security doubled. Make it an alert. 78. THE OUTSKIRTS OF GORDON - AQUILAE The speeders stop on a bluff overlooking a small cantina on the outskirts of Gordon. The spaceport can be seen in the distance. The general and Captain Whitsun walk over to the smaller speeder. Starkiller helps the two androids out of their cramped quarters. THREEPIO Your kindness is greatly appreciated. STARKILLER (to general) I'm fit enough to... The general gives him a hard look and he shuts up. Whitsun and the general climb into the speeder. GENERAL We'll make contact at zero four hundred. If we're not back by fifty-five forty, get worried. The speeder starts off toward the cantina. 79. SPACEPORT CANTINA - AQUILAE The speeder pulls up in front of the low, blockhouse style cantina. Various strange forms of transport are parked outside the bar. GENERAL Take care here. If there is any trouble, get back to the others. The general and Whitsun enter the shabby cantina. The murky little den is filled with a startling array of weird and exotic alien creatures, laughing at the bar. At first, the sight is horrifying. One-eyed, thousand-eyed, slimy, furry, scaling arms, tentacles, and claws huddle over drinks. The general looks over the patrons, but does not see the contact, Han Solo. A large multiple eyed creature shoves the general. CREATURE Assha dughi wouldugga? The general tries to ignore the creature, and turns back to his drink. A short, grubby looking human, and an even smaller rodent-like creature join the first creature. HUMAN He doesn't like you. GENERAL I understood him. HUMAN I don't like you either. GENERAL I'm sorry. The big creature is getting agitated, and yells at the general. HUMAN Don't insult us. You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve Systems. GENERAL I'll be careful then. HUMAN You'll be dead. The short rodent yells something, and everything at the bar moves away. The general assumes a defensive position. His three adversaries ready their weapons. GENERAL You insist on a fight then. HUMAN Just try and kill us. GENERAL It will hurt a little. HUMAN We aren't cowards. GENERAL Then it can't be helped. The general's lasersword sparks to life. An arm lies on the floor. The rodent is cut in two, and the large, multiple-eyed creature lies doubled, cut from chin to groin. The general, with quiet dignity, replaces his sword in its sheath. The entire fight has lasted only a matter of seconds. A figure stands in the doorway watching the general. As soon as the general notices him, he leaves. The cantina goes back to normal, as if nothing had happened, although the general is given a respectable amount of room at the bar. The Jedi finishes his drink, and then leaves. Captain Whitsun follows. 80. SPACEPORT ALLEYWAY - GORDON - AQUILAE General Skywalker embraces Han Solo, the underground contact. Han is a huge, green skinned monster with no nose and large gills. HAN You old stardog. Took a war to get you out here... Whitsun arrives with Starkiller, the princess and her brothers, and the two puzzled androids. GENERAL It's been too long. We've been through much together. It will be good to have you out of retirement and back at my side. How is Starkiller? (putting his arm around the young Captain Starkiller) This is his son. HAN You're all the old boy will talk about. He's still holding up. Come, let's get off the street. The group enters a small doorway at the far end of the alleyway. On the main street, within view of the doorway, giant Imperial air tanks and other military hardware rumble through the city. Starving refugees sit in the gutters watching the immense display of force with a mixture of awe and terror. The princess stops for a moment, and stares at her people, watching the might of the Empire. The general escorts her through the doorway with the others. 81. SLUM DWELLING - LIVING AREA - AQUILAE The seedy dwelling is dark and dingy. The group is greeted by three underground leaders, and the old Jedi, Kane Starkiller. Captain Starkiller embraces his father as the underground leaders bow before the princess. 82. SLUM DWELLING - DINING AREA - AQUILAE The princess walks through the dining area followed by Whitsun and Starkiller, who carry the two sleeping princes. The general sits at a large table finishing dinner with Han, Kane and the three underground leaders. Whitsun returns from the bedroom. GENERAL (to Whitsun) Captain, why don't you take the androids into the other room for a game of chess? ... I'm sure they'd enjoy it. THREEPIO A wonderful idea. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. Whitsun escorts the two robots into the next room. Datos, a thin, wizened old man, seems greatly relieved. DATOS You're taking a great risk travelling with them. This whole operation sounds bad to me. I don't trust the chrome companies. Time is growing short. The Empire's attempts at control have already caused a great deal of suffering to our people. Occo, a brash young rebel, about the same age as Captain Starkiller, slams his fist on the table. OCCO It must happen now! We are ready! Each day the Imperial S.B.T. finds and destroys a few more in the organization. We cannot wait any longer. GENERAL Any uprising without a coordinated attack on the death star is out of the question. HAN He's right. As long as it's operational, any action down here would be meaningless. We must proceed as planned. Are the arrangements secure? Quist, the third member of the underground, sparks to life, and places several discs and badges on the table. QUIST All passenger transport has been suspended, so we've arranged for you to travel as the crew of a Baltarian freighter. The boys will have to be placed in suspended animation and hidden in shielded micro-packs. It's the only way we will be able to get them past the scanners. DATOS Were you able to acquire the necessary power packs? QUIST It's become a serious problem. All power supplies have been restricted. S-4 units are impossible to come by. HAN I know an agent who might be able to acquire them for us. I'll check with him. It will be risky, but we've no other choice. 83. SPACEPORT OBSERVATION DECK - 