Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Page #2

---

The two robots stop at Han Solo's space freighter. Han and Chewie are

struggling with their central lifters.

HAN:

(to Chewie)

Why do you take this apart now?

I'm trying to get us out of here

and you pull both of these.

Chewie grumbles in irritation.

THREEPIO:

Excuse me, sir.

HAN:

(to Chewie)

Put them back together right now.

THREEPIO:

Might I have a word with you,

please?

HAN:

What do you want?

THREEPIO:

Well, it's Princess Leia, sir.

She's been trying to get you on

the communicator.

HAN:

I turned it off. I don't want to

talk to her.

THREEPIO:

Oh. Well, Princess Leia is wondering

about Master Luke. He hasn't come

back yet. She doesn't know where he

is.

HAN:

I don't know where he is.

THREEPIO:

Nobody knows where he is.

HAN:

What do you mean, "nobody knows"?

Han glances at the fading light at the entrance of the ice cave as

night slowly begins to fall on the planet.

THREEPIO:

Well, uh, you see...

Han jumps down off the lift, as Threepio follows him.

HAN:

Deck Officer. Deck Officer!

THREEPIO:

Excuse me, sir. Might I inqu...

Han abruptly puts his hand over Threepio's mouth as the deck officer

approaches.

DECK OFFICER:

Yes, sir?

HAN:

Do you know where Commander

Skywalker is?

DECK OFFICER:

I haven't seen him. It's possible

he came in through the south entrance.

HAN:

It's possible? Why don't you go

find out? It's getting dark out there.

DECK OFFICER:

Yes, sir.

The deck officer leaves hurriedly, as Han takes his hand off Threepio's

mouth.

THREEPIO:

Excuse me, sir. Might I inquire

what's going on?

HAN:

Why not?

THREEPIO:

Impossible man. Come along, Artoo,

let's find Princess Leia. Between

ourselves, I think Master Luke is

in considerable danger.

INT. HOTH - REBEL BASE - MAIN ICE TUNNEL

The deck officer and his assistant hurry toward Han as he enters the

tunnel.

DECK OFFICER:

Sir, Commander Skywalker hasn't

come in through the south entrance.

He might have forgotten to check in.

HAN:

Not likely. Are the speeders ready?

DECK OFFICER:

Not yet. We're having some trouble

adapting them to the cold.

HAN:

Then we'll have to go out on

Tauntauns.

DECK OFFICER:

Sir, the temperature's dropping too

rapidly.

HAN:

That's right. And my friends out

in it.

ASSISTANT OFFICER

I'll cover sector twelve. Have

com-control set screen alpha.

Han pushes through the troops and mounts a Tauntaun.

DECK OFFICER:

Your Tauntaun'll freeze before you

reach the first marker.

HAN:

Then I'll see you in hell!

Han maneuvers his mount out of the cave and races into the dark bitter

night.

EXT. HOTH - ICE GORGE - DUSK

The jagged face of a huge ice wall sits gloomily in the dim twilight of

a Hoth day. Luke hangs upside down, ankles frozen into icy

stalactites, his extended arms within a foot of the snow floor. One

side of his face is covered in a dried mask of frozen blood. He opens

his eyes as a chilling moan of the hideous ice creature echoes off the

gorge walls. Luke pulls himself up, grabs hold of his ankles, and

futilely tries to unfasten the throngs.

Exhausted, he drops back into his hanging position. As he hangs there,

he spies his lightsaber lying near a pile of his discarded gear, about

three feet out of reach.

He focuses on the saber and, as his hand strains toward the weapon, he

squeezes his eyes tight in concentration.

Just as the ice creature looms over Luke, the lightsaber jumps into

Luke's hand.

The young warrior instantly ignites his sword, swinging up, and cuts

himself loose from the ice. He flops to the snow in a heap. The

startled creature moves back, his giant yellow eyes blinking. Luke

scrambles to his feet. He swings his lightsaber and the beast screams

in pain.

EXT. HOTH - ENTRANCE TO ICE GORGE - DUSK

Luke staggers out of the gorge into the dark and snowy twilight. Weak

and exhausted, he stumbles down a snow bank.

EXT. HOTH - SNOW PLAIN - DUSK

A small, lone figure riding a Tauntaun races through the hostile

vastness of snow and cold. As it runs, the Tauntaun's legs kick up

large clouds of snow and ice into the snowy air.

EXT. HOTH - OUTSIDE ICE HANGAR - DUSK

Artoo stands in the falling snow, beeping worriedly. Threepio moves

stiffly over to him.

THREEPIO:

You must come along now, Artoo.

There's really nothing more we can

do. And my joints are freezing up.

Artoo beeps, long and low.

THREEPIO:

Don't say thing like that! Of

course we'll see Master Luke again.

He'll be quite all right, you'll see.

(to himself)

Stupid little short-circuit. He'll

be quite all right.

Threepio turns to go back inside the main hangar as Artoo mournfully

keeps his vigil.

EXT. HOTH - SNOW DRIFT - DUSK

The wind is blowing quite strong now. Luke struggles to stay upright,

but a blast of freezing snow knocks him over. He struggles to get up,

but he can't. The young warrior from Tatooine drags himself a couple

of feet and then collapses.

INT. REBEL BASE - MAIN HANGAR DECK - ENTRANCE - NIGHT

Princess Leia stands inside the dark entrance to the Rebel base,

waiting for a sign of the two Rebel heroes. She shivers in the cold

wind as, nearby, Chewie sits with his head in his hands. In the

background, Artoo and Threepio move through the doors.

A Rebel lieutenant moves to Major Derlin, an officer keeping watch with

the princess.

LIEUTENANT:

Sir, all the patrols are in.

There's still no contact from

Skywalker or Solo.

THREEPIO:

Mistress Leia, Artoo says he's been

quite unable to pick up any signals,

although he does admit that his own

range is far too weak to abandon

all hope.

Leia nods an acknowledgment, but she is lost in thought.

DERLIN:

Your Highness, there's nothing

more we can do tonight. The shield

doors must be closed.

He turns to the lieutenant.

DERLIN:

Close the doors.

LIEUTENANT:

Yes, sir.

The lieutenant walks away. Chewie lets out a long, mournful howl,

somewhat like a coyote. At the same moment, Artoo begins a complex

series of efficient beeps.

THREEPIO:

Artoo says the chances of survival

are seven hundred seventy-five...

to one.

Leia stands praying to herself as the huge metal doors slam across the

entrance of the ice cave. The loud booms echo throughout the huge

cavern. Chewie lets out another suffering howl.

THREEPIO:

Actually, Artoo has been known to

make mistakes... from time to time.

Oh, dear, oh, dear. Don't worry

about Master Luke. I'm sure he'll

be all right. He's quite clever,

you know... for a human being.

EXT. HOTH - SNOW DRIFT - DUSK

Luke lies face down in the snow, nearly unconscious. Slowly he looks

up and sees Ben Kenobi, barely visible through the blowing snow. It is

hard to tell if Kenobi is real or a hallucination.

BEN:

Luke... Luke.

LUKE:

(weakly)

Ben?

BEN:

You will go to the Dagobah system.

LUKE:

Dagobah system?

BEN:

There you will learn from Yoda,

the Jedi Master who instructed me.

The image of Ben fades, revealing a lone Tauntaun rider approaching

from the windswept horizon.

LUKE:

(groaning faintly)

Ben... Ben.

Rate this script:4.5 / 9 votes