Upon watching the light saber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader on the Death Star, and later pondering it, I formed the opinion that that duel was as intense as their earlier duel on Mustafar. Just as intense, but on a completely different level.
The duel on Mustafar was between two relatively young Force-users. Newly appointed Darth Vader had only recently embraced his fear, anger, and hatred. Obi-Wan, while a Jedi Master is every sense, had only been trained in the use of the Force for about thirty or so years. Both the Jedi and the Sith were still at the point where their physical actions defined them and provided them with security and comfort in a difficult situation.
Jump ahead 20+ years and you have tow vastly different individuals.
Darth Vader has existed in a artificial body with anger and hatred being the main supports of his life. As the Empire gained more power and authority throughout the galaxy, the opportunities for Vader to utilize his full physical skills became rarer and rarer. He probably relied on a quick Force choke for individual punishment, and a legion of Stormtroopers for groups. The light saber at his belt probably was more for intimidation of others; and a sense of confidence for Vader himself. It is doubtful that Vader had even had a use for it for the last 10 years or so.
Obi-Wan Kenobi spent the 20+ years as a hermit on a barren planet. His only connection to anything physical was keeping himself alive in the desert and being available to look after Luke from a distance. In learning from Qui-Gon Jinn about becoming one with the Force after death, Obi-Wan looked inside himself and his connection to the Force. His light saber was probably put away and barely touched, if at all, during the last 10 years or so.
Obi-Wan rejoins the galaxy at-large. He now has two missions: get the plans to Alderaan and show Luke the way of a Jedi. Deep in his heart, he knows he doesn't need to stay alive for either mission. Once he realizes that it is up to him to shut down the tractor beam, he has no intention of leaving the Death Star alive. The years of meditation and training for becoming one with the Force, while maintaining his sense of self, was now coming to fruition.
Darth Vader for many long years had no real adversary. His presence alone caused other beings to do what he wanted them to do. Where once Anakin Skywalker lived for the thrill of action, Darth Vader used his connection to the dark side of the Force to fuel his thoughts and his life. Since he never encountered anyone as strong as him as an adversary, he didn't need to practice or even think about his physical skills.
Now these two Force-users, one Jedi and one a Sith, meet again. Vader's anger from a betrayal and fear for a loved one has morphed into a desire to maintain power; whereas once the Force (and his use of it) served a higher purpose, now the Force served Vader himself----he used it to maintain his life.
Obi-Wan, knowing that his death will bring an opportunity to support and assist Luke in ways he never could while alive, is preparing for that death. Rather then looking for a way to safeguard the galaxy with his skills and focus, Obi-Wan is looking inside himself and his connection to the Force.
When watching the duel on the Death Star, I get the feeling that both Vader and Obi-Wan use their light sabers as a focal point of the conflict. But the real intensity is going on within the Force, and within their hearts and minds.
But not surprising, Obi-Wan has a greater insight into what they have both become. He also acknowledges that both of their "powers" reside more on attitude and thoughts than light saber dueling. The verbal exchange reflects this:
VADER: When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.
KENOBI: Only a master of evil, Darth.
In this simple response, Obi-Wan is both pointing out that Vader is a master of evil. Evil is a state of behavior. It doesn't automatically reflect skill or power---just attitude. Obi-Wan also calls him "Darth" which I think is patronizing and an acknowledgment that all that is left of Anakin Skywalker is a Sith Lord and nothing else. After defeating Vader on Mustafar, Obi-Wan vents is sadness and frustration with his former Padawan. But on the Death Star, Obi-Wan only sees the evil.
VADER: Your powers are weak, old man.
KENOBI: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
In his fear, Vader gravitates back to his reliance on action. He considers Obi-Wan's physical powers and age, and declares them both inferior to Vader's. Obi-Wan however, knows that the battle he is fighting is not on that deck, but in the heart and mind of Luke. Obi-Wan knows that Vader can't win, since Vader will only rely on his physical skills, while Obi-Wan is operating on a completely different level.
While the minimal light saber exchanges are happening, the real battle is going on underneath the physical movements. And it is a battle that Vader completely loses to his old Master. And by winning that battle, Obi-Wan takes Luke on his first steps to becoming the first of the new Jedi.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Pivotal Scene
I watched "The Empire Strikes Back" today. I have seen this film several times in my life; I wouldn't know how to put a number on it. Tonight, as I watched the battle between Luke and Vader I had an emotional reaction to a portion of their conversation:
Vader: Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough--he told me YOU killed him!
Vader: No, I am your father.
What struck me is the emotion of both men in this small piece of dialogue.
Let's look at Luke first:
Here is an orphan that has been raised by aunt and uncle (who were killed by the Empire). Luke and his uncle--based on the previous film--had a difficult relationship. Owen was hard, or appeared to be hard on Luke, probably for two reasons: 1) Luke would have been a wanted individual. If the Empire ever got wind that Anakin's son was on Tatooine they would have come for him. 2) Luke was Anakin's son; Owen knew how Anakin turned out. Therefore, Owen didn't want Luke becoming anything like his father.
Growing up, I'm sure this distanced Luke from Owen and built his own father up in his mind. "My Dad would never treat me this way," Owen probably heard Luke say a billion times. Whether he was a pilot on a freighter or a Jedi Knight, I'm sure in Luke's developing mind he was the ideal father. When Obi-Wan told Luke that Vader killed this idealized man it had to effect the farmboy. I'm sure part of Luke's resolved to become a Jedi and join the rebellion was to honor the memory of his father (and possibly revenge).
Now for Vader:
How would he feel when he heard Luke say: "He told me enough--he told YOU killed him!"
That's how Obi-Wan felt? Anakin was dead to him and Vader was the murderer? Certainly it wouldn't have effected him as much as it would have twenty-three years earlier, but it was the last sting Kenobi would give Vader and something I'm sure he thought about later in his mediation chamber. Perhaps it was partially what brought Anakin back from the Dark Side?
Vader: Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough--he told me YOU killed him!
Vader: No, I am your father.
What struck me is the emotion of both men in this small piece of dialogue.
Let's look at Luke first:
Here is an orphan that has been raised by aunt and uncle (who were killed by the Empire). Luke and his uncle--based on the previous film--had a difficult relationship. Owen was hard, or appeared to be hard on Luke, probably for two reasons: 1) Luke would have been a wanted individual. If the Empire ever got wind that Anakin's son was on Tatooine they would have come for him. 2) Luke was Anakin's son; Owen knew how Anakin turned out. Therefore, Owen didn't want Luke becoming anything like his father.
Growing up, I'm sure this distanced Luke from Owen and built his own father up in his mind. "My Dad would never treat me this way," Owen probably heard Luke say a billion times. Whether he was a pilot on a freighter or a Jedi Knight, I'm sure in Luke's developing mind he was the ideal father. When Obi-Wan told Luke that Vader killed this idealized man it had to effect the farmboy. I'm sure part of Luke's resolved to become a Jedi and join the rebellion was to honor the memory of his father (and possibly revenge).
Now for Vader:
How would he feel when he heard Luke say: "He told me enough--he told YOU killed him!"
That's how Obi-Wan felt? Anakin was dead to him and Vader was the murderer? Certainly it wouldn't have effected him as much as it would have twenty-three years earlier, but it was the last sting Kenobi would give Vader and something I'm sure he thought about later in his mediation chamber. Perhaps it was partially what brought Anakin back from the Dark Side?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job
We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder.
Like many, I was fed this story when I was growing up. But as I watched the video, I began to realize that all was not as it seemed. And the more I questioned the official story, the deeper into the rabbit hole I went.
Presented here are some of the results of my soul-searching regarding this painful event. Like many citizens, I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed? No matter what the answers, we have a problem.
1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battle ships?
2) Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station’s large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?
3) Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?
4) Why has there not been an investigation into allegations that Darth Vader, the second-ranking member of the Imperial Government, is in fact the father of the pilot who allegedly destroyed the Death Star?
5) Why did Lord Vader decide to break all protocols and personally pilot a lightly armored TIE Fighter? Conveniently, this placed Lord Vader outside of the Death Star when it was destroyed, where he was also conveniently able to escape from a large-sized rebel fleet that had just routed the Imperial forces. Why would Lord Vader, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Government, suddenly decide to fly away from the Death Star in the middle of a battle? Did he know something that the rest of the Imperial Navy didn’t?
In the video of the Death Star’s destruction, Lord Vader clearly exclaims “I have you now” then fires two shots. Those shots never impact — anywhere. Were they merely “added” to the “official” video after the event to make it appear that Lord Vader had at least attempted to fight off his alleged son?
6) Nerf-Herders defy the laws of physics? How could any pilot shoot a missile into a 2 meter-wide exhaust port, let alone a pilot with no formal training, whose only claim to fame was his ability to “bullseye womprats” on Tatooine? This shot, according to one pilot, would be “impossible, even for a computer.” Yet, according to additional evidence, the pilot who allegedly fired the missile turned off his targeting computer when he was supposedly firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star. How did the missile make a right angle turn after entering the exhaust port? How could a missile shot in the vacuum of space–that would tend to keep going in the same direction as it was released, according to the laws of physics–be *sucked* into an *exhaust* pipe? "Exhaust" means to exhale or blow out... Wouldn’t the missiles have been blown awry of their target rather than sucked in? If it had been an intake pipe, then the “bending” path of the missiles could be plausible. Why have these discrepancies never been investigated, let alone explained?
7) Why has their been no investigation into evidence that the droids who provided the rebels with the Death Star plans were once owned by none other than Lord Vader himself, and were found, conveniently, by the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and who is also believed to be Lord Vader’s son? Evidence also shows that the droids were brought to one Ben Kenobi, who, records indicate, was Darth Vader’s teacher many years earlier! Are all these personal connections between the conspirators and a key figure in the Imperial government supposed to be coincidences?
8) How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? No records, anywhere, show that any battle station or capital ship has ever been destroyed by a single missile. Furthermore, analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?
9) Prior to the destruction of the Death Star a smuggler named Captain Solo was reportedly given a large sum of money. At a crucial point in the battle, Captain Solo had an unobstructed shot on his choice of the fighters pursuing Skywalker, yet Solo did not take advantage of this opportunity to kill Darth Vader. Although Vader was in the process of firing upon Skywalker’s X-wing, Solo attacked the defensive fighter instead. In the aftermath, Vader escaped, while Solo still had crates of money in his cargo hold. Captain Solo eventually made his way to the Bespin system, where he was seen dining with none other than Vader, who was reportedly obsessed with obtaining Captain Solo’s ship (and the money contained therein). Solo’s ship was then seen flying into the super-structure of the second Death Star, destroying it just after Vader was able to get out (he was seen leaving a shuttle piloted by none other than Luke Skywalker). Yet through this whole sequence of events, the money was never seen removed from Solo’s ship. Was it used to bribe Darth Vader, who (allegedly) assassinated Palpatine? Did anyone other than Vader and Skywalker actually see Emperor Palpatine die?
10 ) During pilot debriefing we leaned that Obi Wan was the one who told Luke to turn off his targeting computer. He said he was told by Obi Wan to "Let go" and "Trust me". This is the same Obi Wan who was, according to the official story, killed after sabotaging the Death Star by none other than Darth Vader BEFORE speaking to Luke. His convenient death places him inside the Death Star just before the explosions on the surface occur. By faking his death Vader would have given Obi Wan time to plant explosives. The only evidence of his death is his Jedi robe on surveillance cameras. And even that can't be found because they decided to conveniently let the evidence burn in the planet atmosphere. Also, why are there reports from Endor that Lord Vader, Obi Wan and Yoda were seen together AFTER their deaths? And who other than the Empire has the capacity to fake their deaths?
11) Lord Vader executed an officer for incompetence by allowing the rebels to escape. He then orders another officer to disable the Millennium Falcon's hyper drive. The rebels once again escape using the disabled hyper drive. Why was the officer responsible for caring out Lord Vader's order to disable the hyper drive not executed? Why was he in fact given NO disciplinary action what so ever? Why did Lord Vader only disable the hyper drive? If Lord Vader didn't want the rebels to escape, why didn't he disable the ship entirely?
12) Why did the captain of the Imperial Stardestroyer not fire upon the lifepod with the droids carrying Death Star plans? The "official story" says he didn't find the any signs of life. He said "Hold your fire. There are no life forms. It must have been short-circuited." Why would he be looking for life when it was electronic plans he should have been looking for. Why did he jump to the conclusion it was "short-circuited". Is he a lifepod engineer?
How can all this be just incompetence and coincidence? IMPOSSIBLE!
Like many, I was fed this story when I was growing up. But as I watched the video, I began to realize that all was not as it seemed. And the more I questioned the official story, the deeper into the rabbit hole I went.
Presented here are some of the results of my soul-searching regarding this painful event. Like many citizens, I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed? No matter what the answers, we have a problem.
1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battle ships?
2) Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station’s large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?
3) Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?
4) Why has there not been an investigation into allegations that Darth Vader, the second-ranking member of the Imperial Government, is in fact the father of the pilot who allegedly destroyed the Death Star?
5) Why did Lord Vader decide to break all protocols and personally pilot a lightly armored TIE Fighter? Conveniently, this placed Lord Vader outside of the Death Star when it was destroyed, where he was also conveniently able to escape from a large-sized rebel fleet that had just routed the Imperial forces. Why would Lord Vader, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Government, suddenly decide to fly away from the Death Star in the middle of a battle? Did he know something that the rest of the Imperial Navy didn’t?
In the video of the Death Star’s destruction, Lord Vader clearly exclaims “I have you now” then fires two shots. Those shots never impact — anywhere. Were they merely “added” to the “official” video after the event to make it appear that Lord Vader had at least attempted to fight off his alleged son?
6) Nerf-Herders defy the laws of physics? How could any pilot shoot a missile into a 2 meter-wide exhaust port, let alone a pilot with no formal training, whose only claim to fame was his ability to “bullseye womprats” on Tatooine? This shot, according to one pilot, would be “impossible, even for a computer.” Yet, according to additional evidence, the pilot who allegedly fired the missile turned off his targeting computer when he was supposedly firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star. How did the missile make a right angle turn after entering the exhaust port? How could a missile shot in the vacuum of space–that would tend to keep going in the same direction as it was released, according to the laws of physics–be *sucked* into an *exhaust* pipe? "Exhaust" means to exhale or blow out... Wouldn’t the missiles have been blown awry of their target rather than sucked in? If it had been an intake pipe, then the “bending” path of the missiles could be plausible. Why have these discrepancies never been investigated, let alone explained?
7) Why has their been no investigation into evidence that the droids who provided the rebels with the Death Star plans were once owned by none other than Lord Vader himself, and were found, conveniently, by the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and who is also believed to be Lord Vader’s son? Evidence also shows that the droids were brought to one Ben Kenobi, who, records indicate, was Darth Vader’s teacher many years earlier! Are all these personal connections between the conspirators and a key figure in the Imperial government supposed to be coincidences?
8) How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? No records, anywhere, show that any battle station or capital ship has ever been destroyed by a single missile. Furthermore, analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?
9) Prior to the destruction of the Death Star a smuggler named Captain Solo was reportedly given a large sum of money. At a crucial point in the battle, Captain Solo had an unobstructed shot on his choice of the fighters pursuing Skywalker, yet Solo did not take advantage of this opportunity to kill Darth Vader. Although Vader was in the process of firing upon Skywalker’s X-wing, Solo attacked the defensive fighter instead. In the aftermath, Vader escaped, while Solo still had crates of money in his cargo hold. Captain Solo eventually made his way to the Bespin system, where he was seen dining with none other than Vader, who was reportedly obsessed with obtaining Captain Solo’s ship (and the money contained therein). Solo’s ship was then seen flying into the super-structure of the second Death Star, destroying it just after Vader was able to get out (he was seen leaving a shuttle piloted by none other than Luke Skywalker). Yet through this whole sequence of events, the money was never seen removed from Solo’s ship. Was it used to bribe Darth Vader, who (allegedly) assassinated Palpatine? Did anyone other than Vader and Skywalker actually see Emperor Palpatine die?
10 ) During pilot debriefing we leaned that Obi Wan was the one who told Luke to turn off his targeting computer. He said he was told by Obi Wan to "Let go" and "Trust me". This is the same Obi Wan who was, according to the official story, killed after sabotaging the Death Star by none other than Darth Vader BEFORE speaking to Luke. His convenient death places him inside the Death Star just before the explosions on the surface occur. By faking his death Vader would have given Obi Wan time to plant explosives. The only evidence of his death is his Jedi robe on surveillance cameras. And even that can't be found because they decided to conveniently let the evidence burn in the planet atmosphere. Also, why are there reports from Endor that Lord Vader, Obi Wan and Yoda were seen together AFTER their deaths? And who other than the Empire has the capacity to fake their deaths?
11) Lord Vader executed an officer for incompetence by allowing the rebels to escape. He then orders another officer to disable the Millennium Falcon's hyper drive. The rebels once again escape using the disabled hyper drive. Why was the officer responsible for caring out Lord Vader's order to disable the hyper drive not executed? Why was he in fact given NO disciplinary action what so ever? Why did Lord Vader only disable the hyper drive? If Lord Vader didn't want the rebels to escape, why didn't he disable the ship entirely?
12) Why did the captain of the Imperial Stardestroyer not fire upon the lifepod with the droids carrying Death Star plans? The "official story" says he didn't find the any signs of life. He said "Hold your fire. There are no life forms. It must have been short-circuited." Why would he be looking for life when it was electronic plans he should have been looking for. Why did he jump to the conclusion it was "short-circuited". Is he a lifepod engineer?
How can all this be just incompetence and coincidence? IMPOSSIBLE!
Revionist History
A New Sith, or Revenge of the Hope
Reconsidering Star Wars IV in the light of I-III
If we accept all the Star Wars films as the same canon, then a lot that happens in the original films has to be reinterpreted in the light of the prequels. As we now know, the rebel Alliance was founded by Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. What can readily be deduced is that their first recruit, who soon became their top field agent, was R2-D2.
Consider: at the end of RotS, Bail Organan orders 3PO's memory wiped but not R2's. He wouldn't make the distinction casually. Both droids know that Yoda and Obi-Wan are alive and are plotting sedition with the Senator from Alderaan. They know that Amidala survived long enough to have twins and could easily deduce where they went. However, R2 must make an impassioned speech to the effect that he is far more use to them with his mind intact: he has observed Palpatine and Anakin at close quarters for many years, knows much that is useful and is one of the galaxy's top experts at hacking into other people's systems. Also he can lie through his teeth with a straight face. Organa, in immediate need of espionage resources, agrees.
For the next 20 years, as far as 3PO knows, he is the property of Captain Antilles, doing protocol duties on a diplomatic transport. He is vaguely aware of the existence of the princess but doesn't know much about her. Wherever 3PO goes, being as loud and obvious as he always is, his unobtrusive little counterpart goes with him. 3PO is R2's front man. Wherever they land, R2 is passing messages between rebel sympathisers and sizing up governments as potential rebel recruits - both by personal contact and by hacking into their networks. He passes his recommendations on to Organa.
Yoda is out of the picture by this stage, using the Force-infused swamps of Dagobah to hide himself from Vader and the Emperor. Or something. He is meditating on the future and keeping in touch with Obi-Wan via the ghost of Qui-Gon Jin, which as comm systems go has the virtue of being untappable. Obi-Wan, on Tattoine, keeps in touch with Bail Organa and the other Rebel leaders by courier, of which more later.
As Star Wars opens, R2 is rushing the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. R2, not Leia. The plans are always in R2. What Leia puts into him in the early scene is only her own holographic message to Kenobi. Leia's own mission, as she says in the holographic message, is to pick up Obi-Wan and take him to Alderaan - or so she thinks. Actually, her father just wants her to meet Kenobi, which up to this point she never has. There's a reason for that.
Obi-Wan has spent the last 20 years in the Tattoine desert, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker and trying to decide on one of the three available options:
A) If Luke shows no significant access to the Force, then leave him alone in obscurity
B) If Luke shows real Force ability, then consider recruiting him as a Jedi. The rebellion needs Jedi. Now.
But, if Luke shows any signs of turning out like his father, then C) sneak into his house one fine night and chop his head off. With great regret but it'll save a lot of trouble later on.
Knowing this to be the case, Bail Organa (perhaps at the insistence of his wife) has found excuses not to send Leia to Ben for assessment of Jedi potential, largely for fear of option C.
To be fair to all concerned, Leia has shown no overt signs of a link to the Force. Luke on the other hand has. In his home-built hotrod aircraft, with no formal fighter pilot training and no decent instrumentation, Luke can regularly score centre-hits on 2-metre targets in complicated zero-altitude maneouvres. Until he attends the briefing on Yavin, Luke has no way of knowing that hardened combat pilots would consider that nearly impossible. To him it's easy. Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin's performance in the Pod Race, is nervous.
Much of Obi-Wan's behaviour in this film, and Yoda's in the next, can best be understood if they are frankly scared to death of what Luke might become. (Ben is also scared that he himself will make all the same mistakes he made with Anakin.)
Now, with the existence of the rebellion at stake, Bail Organa has finally told Leia to go see Obi-Wan and has sent her along with R2. The original plan would then be for Obi-Wan (with optional Luke and/or Leia in tow) to leave his exile and take the Death Star plans to Yavin, where they can be put to use. R2 (with Leia if Ben doesn't want to take her) would then carry on to Alderaan to maintain the cover story. The original plan does not survive contact with a large Imperial Star Destroyer.
R2 and 3PO bail out in an escape pod, landing in vaguely the right area of Tattoine, where R2's first priority is transport. He arranges to be captured by a group of Jawas and, once on board their transport, he makes a deal with them (possibly using emergency funds stored about his person) to take him where he wants to go. The Jawas refuse to go directly to Kenobi for fear of marauding Sandpeople but they agree to R2's second request : transport to the Skywalker farm. They even get to keep the purchase price if they can sell R2 and 3PO there. The Jawas shake on it and go through with the plan.
Seeing 3PO fail to recognise the farm where he worked for 10 years gives r2 a moment's amusement but, as soon as possible, he gets away and heads for Kenobi. Luke and 3PO follow, which may or may not have been part of the plan.
On first seeing R2, Obi-Wan has a twinkle in his eye and calls him "my little friend". Well, he is. However, when Luke wakes up and says that R2 claimed to be owned by an Obi-Wan Kenobi, he blandly says "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Ben has in fact owned several but the remark is aimed at R2 and translates as "You keep quiet. I'm not about to tell him everything just yet." Obi-Wan thinks fast and tells Luke a version of his past that does not involve a father who became a dark lord of the Sith. He wants to examine Luke a lot more closely before he risks telling him the real truth.
Although the Death Star plans need to get to Yavin as soon as possible, Obi-Wan needs to make one more diversion first. If the Empire knows that Leia is a Rebel leader, then they also know about her father and the whole Organa family may need immediate evacuation. Fortunately, before coming to Tattoine, R2 had already arranged transport, which is waiting at Mos Eisley, under the command of the Rebellion's other chief field agent and espionage asset. Chewbacca.
20 years earlier, Chewbacca was second in command of the defence of his planet. He's there in the tactical conferences and there on the front lines and is a personal friend of Yoda's. When he needed reliable people to join the embryonic Alliance, who else would Yoda turn to but his old friend from Kashykk? Given his background, there is no way that Chewie would spend the crucial years of the rebellion as the second-in-command to (sorry Han) a low-level smuggler. Unless it's his cover. In fact, Chewie is a top-line spy and flies what is in many ways the Rebellion's best ship.
The Millenium Falcon may look like a beat-up old freighter but it can outrun any Imperial ship in normal space or hyperspace, hang in a firefight with a Star Destroyer or outmaneouvre a dozen top-of-the-line TIE fighters. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and must have cost a colossal fortune to build. How does Han come to own a ship like that? He only thinks he does, actually it's Chewie's. Half-way through RotS, we see the Falcon landing at the Senate building on Coruscant. If it's the same ship (which of course it is) then it was the personal transport of one of the senatorial delegations - a much more likely source to commission its design. That delegatino must have later joined the Rebellion and given it the use of the Falcon. In fact, if the delegation is the one from Kashykk, then the ship may have belonged to Chewbacca as early as RotS.
Han is Chewie's front man. It's much better, and safer for him, if he doesn't know what's really going on. Chewie used to work with Lando Calrissian in a similar way but Lando wanted to settle down, so Chewie arranged for him to lose the Falcon in a card game to Han Solo, an even better choice as partner. Han and Chewie's working method is pretty much what we see in the cantina scene: Chewie make the contacts and sets up the deals, then turns them over to Han who haggles over the price and gives the final yea or nay. This lets Chewie wander the seamy underside of the galaxy pretty much at will, making contacts, gathering and passing information with no-one was the wiser, especially not Han.
Chewie persuaded Han to do business with Jabba the Hutt so he could make regular runs to Tattoine, where Chewie could pass messages between Kenobi and Organa. When R2's urgent message came through only days before, the only way for Chewie to get back to Tattoine in time was to make the "mistake" that forced Han to dump his cargo to avoid capture. As a down side, this led to Solo's getting a death mark out on him from Jabba the Hutt. Chewie was a bit upset about the need for that but figured they weren't going to be dealing with Tattoine for much longer.
En route to Alderaan, R2 and Chewie play stop-motion chess. This is the latest in a series of games they've played over the year in the back rooms of space stations and cantinas across the galaxy, but this is the first time they've done it in front of their respective straight men, so they put on a big show.
Then it all goes wrong again. Alderaan is gone and the Falcon is caught and brought aboard the Death Star. Only Han, Luke and 3PO don't know just how much trouble they're in but Obi-Wan has a plan and seems confident (but Jedi always do). Soon afterwards, R2 finds Leia in the detention cells and shouts that they have to rescue her, to which Chewie can only agree. If Vader learns he has a daughter, then they're all in deep trouble, so Chewie does his bit to persuade Han to go along with Luke's plan.
Then, on the verge of escape, Vader himself turns up only yards from both of his children, one of whom is leaking Force all over the place. Obi-Wan stages a distraction by letting himself die and go into the Force while the others escape. At this point, Chewie suddenly realises that he's been left in charge, not only of the Death Star Plans and the survival of the Rebellion but of the secret son and daughter of Darth Vader. With the Organas and Kenobi all dead, only Chewie, R2 and Yoda know who Luke and Leia are. And only Ob-Wan knew where Yoda has been hiding. Chewie is stressed out by the responsibility and R2 (who keeps making crude jokes about the whole affair) is being no help at all.
Chewie's first problem is what is happening between Luke and Leia. With a psychic link they can feel but don't understand, thrown together in a life-or-death escape, they are looking at each other with a sparky intensity that Chewie gradually recognises as Romantic Tension. He's no expert on human relationships but Chewie is fairly sure that that's Wrong, so he does the only thing he can under the circumstances - he throws Han at her. Han is at first not interested but after a while starts to warm to the idea with an intensity that gives Chewie new worries.
When they reach Yavin, Han decides to take the money and run and Chewie decides to go with him. Looked at in cold light, it's for the good of the Rebellion. Even if Yavin is destroyed, there'll be one agent who knows what's going on who can try and put something back together, but he doesn't feel good about it. When Han decides to turn around and join the attack, Chewie is all for it.
Han and Luke get medals but Chewie doesn't. Actually, Leia offers him one but Chewie turns it down. He got one of those things from Yoda about 20 years ago, but there's no way he can tell her that.
As the film ends, the three founders of the Rebellion are all gone. Bail Organa is dead, Yoda is out of contact and Obi-Wan's ghost can only talk to other Jedi. (So that would be Yoda then.) Thus, the field leadership of the rebellion has just been turned over to the daughter of Darth Vader. Chewie is really hoping that someone with an official rank greater than hers will get here real soon before he has to think really seriously about option C.
Reconsidering Star Wars IV in the light of I-III
If we accept all the Star Wars films as the same canon, then a lot that happens in the original films has to be reinterpreted in the light of the prequels. As we now know, the rebel Alliance was founded by Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. What can readily be deduced is that their first recruit, who soon became their top field agent, was R2-D2.
Consider: at the end of RotS, Bail Organan orders 3PO's memory wiped but not R2's. He wouldn't make the distinction casually. Both droids know that Yoda and Obi-Wan are alive and are plotting sedition with the Senator from Alderaan. They know that Amidala survived long enough to have twins and could easily deduce where they went. However, R2 must make an impassioned speech to the effect that he is far more use to them with his mind intact: he has observed Palpatine and Anakin at close quarters for many years, knows much that is useful and is one of the galaxy's top experts at hacking into other people's systems. Also he can lie through his teeth with a straight face. Organa, in immediate need of espionage resources, agrees.
For the next 20 years, as far as 3PO knows, he is the property of Captain Antilles, doing protocol duties on a diplomatic transport. He is vaguely aware of the existence of the princess but doesn't know much about her. Wherever 3PO goes, being as loud and obvious as he always is, his unobtrusive little counterpart goes with him. 3PO is R2's front man. Wherever they land, R2 is passing messages between rebel sympathisers and sizing up governments as potential rebel recruits - both by personal contact and by hacking into their networks. He passes his recommendations on to Organa.
Yoda is out of the picture by this stage, using the Force-infused swamps of Dagobah to hide himself from Vader and the Emperor. Or something. He is meditating on the future and keeping in touch with Obi-Wan via the ghost of Qui-Gon Jin, which as comm systems go has the virtue of being untappable. Obi-Wan, on Tattoine, keeps in touch with Bail Organa and the other Rebel leaders by courier, of which more later.
As Star Wars opens, R2 is rushing the Death Star plans to the Rebellion. R2, not Leia. The plans are always in R2. What Leia puts into him in the early scene is only her own holographic message to Kenobi. Leia's own mission, as she says in the holographic message, is to pick up Obi-Wan and take him to Alderaan - or so she thinks. Actually, her father just wants her to meet Kenobi, which up to this point she never has. There's a reason for that.
Obi-Wan has spent the last 20 years in the Tattoine desert, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker and trying to decide on one of the three available options:
A) If Luke shows no significant access to the Force, then leave him alone in obscurity
B) If Luke shows real Force ability, then consider recruiting him as a Jedi. The rebellion needs Jedi. Now.
But, if Luke shows any signs of turning out like his father, then C) sneak into his house one fine night and chop his head off. With great regret but it'll save a lot of trouble later on.
Knowing this to be the case, Bail Organa (perhaps at the insistence of his wife) has found excuses not to send Leia to Ben for assessment of Jedi potential, largely for fear of option C.
To be fair to all concerned, Leia has shown no overt signs of a link to the Force. Luke on the other hand has. In his home-built hotrod aircraft, with no formal fighter pilot training and no decent instrumentation, Luke can regularly score centre-hits on 2-metre targets in complicated zero-altitude maneouvres. Until he attends the briefing on Yavin, Luke has no way of knowing that hardened combat pilots would consider that nearly impossible. To him it's easy. Obi-Wan, who saw Anakin's performance in the Pod Race, is nervous.
Much of Obi-Wan's behaviour in this film, and Yoda's in the next, can best be understood if they are frankly scared to death of what Luke might become. (Ben is also scared that he himself will make all the same mistakes he made with Anakin.)
Now, with the existence of the rebellion at stake, Bail Organa has finally told Leia to go see Obi-Wan and has sent her along with R2. The original plan would then be for Obi-Wan (with optional Luke and/or Leia in tow) to leave his exile and take the Death Star plans to Yavin, where they can be put to use. R2 (with Leia if Ben doesn't want to take her) would then carry on to Alderaan to maintain the cover story. The original plan does not survive contact with a large Imperial Star Destroyer.
R2 and 3PO bail out in an escape pod, landing in vaguely the right area of Tattoine, where R2's first priority is transport. He arranges to be captured by a group of Jawas and, once on board their transport, he makes a deal with them (possibly using emergency funds stored about his person) to take him where he wants to go. The Jawas refuse to go directly to Kenobi for fear of marauding Sandpeople but they agree to R2's second request : transport to the Skywalker farm. They even get to keep the purchase price if they can sell R2 and 3PO there. The Jawas shake on it and go through with the plan.
Seeing 3PO fail to recognise the farm where he worked for 10 years gives r2 a moment's amusement but, as soon as possible, he gets away and heads for Kenobi. Luke and 3PO follow, which may or may not have been part of the plan.
On first seeing R2, Obi-Wan has a twinkle in his eye and calls him "my little friend". Well, he is. However, when Luke wakes up and says that R2 claimed to be owned by an Obi-Wan Kenobi, he blandly says "I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Ben has in fact owned several but the remark is aimed at R2 and translates as "You keep quiet. I'm not about to tell him everything just yet." Obi-Wan thinks fast and tells Luke a version of his past that does not involve a father who became a dark lord of the Sith. He wants to examine Luke a lot more closely before he risks telling him the real truth.
Although the Death Star plans need to get to Yavin as soon as possible, Obi-Wan needs to make one more diversion first. If the Empire knows that Leia is a Rebel leader, then they also know about her father and the whole Organa family may need immediate evacuation. Fortunately, before coming to Tattoine, R2 had already arranged transport, which is waiting at Mos Eisley, under the command of the Rebellion's other chief field agent and espionage asset. Chewbacca.
20 years earlier, Chewbacca was second in command of the defence of his planet. He's there in the tactical conferences and there on the front lines and is a personal friend of Yoda's. When he needed reliable people to join the embryonic Alliance, who else would Yoda turn to but his old friend from Kashykk? Given his background, there is no way that Chewie would spend the crucial years of the rebellion as the second-in-command to (sorry Han) a low-level smuggler. Unless it's his cover. In fact, Chewie is a top-line spy and flies what is in many ways the Rebellion's best ship.
The Millenium Falcon may look like a beat-up old freighter but it can outrun any Imperial ship in normal space or hyperspace, hang in a firefight with a Star Destroyer or outmaneouvre a dozen top-of-the-line TIE fighters. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and must have cost a colossal fortune to build. How does Han come to own a ship like that? He only thinks he does, actually it's Chewie's. Half-way through RotS, we see the Falcon landing at the Senate building on Coruscant. If it's the same ship (which of course it is) then it was the personal transport of one of the senatorial delegations - a much more likely source to commission its design. That delegatino must have later joined the Rebellion and given it the use of the Falcon. In fact, if the delegation is the one from Kashykk, then the ship may have belonged to Chewbacca as early as RotS.
Han is Chewie's front man. It's much better, and safer for him, if he doesn't know what's really going on. Chewie used to work with Lando Calrissian in a similar way but Lando wanted to settle down, so Chewie arranged for him to lose the Falcon in a card game to Han Solo, an even better choice as partner. Han and Chewie's working method is pretty much what we see in the cantina scene: Chewie make the contacts and sets up the deals, then turns them over to Han who haggles over the price and gives the final yea or nay. This lets Chewie wander the seamy underside of the galaxy pretty much at will, making contacts, gathering and passing information with no-one was the wiser, especially not Han.
Chewie persuaded Han to do business with Jabba the Hutt so he could make regular runs to Tattoine, where Chewie could pass messages between Kenobi and Organa. When R2's urgent message came through only days before, the only way for Chewie to get back to Tattoine in time was to make the "mistake" that forced Han to dump his cargo to avoid capture. As a down side, this led to Solo's getting a death mark out on him from Jabba the Hutt. Chewie was a bit upset about the need for that but figured they weren't going to be dealing with Tattoine for much longer.
En route to Alderaan, R2 and Chewie play stop-motion chess. This is the latest in a series of games they've played over the year in the back rooms of space stations and cantinas across the galaxy, but this is the first time they've done it in front of their respective straight men, so they put on a big show.
Then it all goes wrong again. Alderaan is gone and the Falcon is caught and brought aboard the Death Star. Only Han, Luke and 3PO don't know just how much trouble they're in but Obi-Wan has a plan and seems confident (but Jedi always do). Soon afterwards, R2 finds Leia in the detention cells and shouts that they have to rescue her, to which Chewie can only agree. If Vader learns he has a daughter, then they're all in deep trouble, so Chewie does his bit to persuade Han to go along with Luke's plan.
Then, on the verge of escape, Vader himself turns up only yards from both of his children, one of whom is leaking Force all over the place. Obi-Wan stages a distraction by letting himself die and go into the Force while the others escape. At this point, Chewie suddenly realises that he's been left in charge, not only of the Death Star Plans and the survival of the Rebellion but of the secret son and daughter of Darth Vader. With the Organas and Kenobi all dead, only Chewie, R2 and Yoda know who Luke and Leia are. And only Ob-Wan knew where Yoda has been hiding. Chewie is stressed out by the responsibility and R2 (who keeps making crude jokes about the whole affair) is being no help at all.
Chewie's first problem is what is happening between Luke and Leia. With a psychic link they can feel but don't understand, thrown together in a life-or-death escape, they are looking at each other with a sparky intensity that Chewie gradually recognises as Romantic Tension. He's no expert on human relationships but Chewie is fairly sure that that's Wrong, so he does the only thing he can under the circumstances - he throws Han at her. Han is at first not interested but after a while starts to warm to the idea with an intensity that gives Chewie new worries.
When they reach Yavin, Han decides to take the money and run and Chewie decides to go with him. Looked at in cold light, it's for the good of the Rebellion. Even if Yavin is destroyed, there'll be one agent who knows what's going on who can try and put something back together, but he doesn't feel good about it. When Han decides to turn around and join the attack, Chewie is all for it.
Han and Luke get medals but Chewie doesn't. Actually, Leia offers him one but Chewie turns it down. He got one of those things from Yoda about 20 years ago, but there's no way he can tell her that.
As the film ends, the three founders of the Rebellion are all gone. Bail Organa is dead, Yoda is out of contact and Obi-Wan's ghost can only talk to other Jedi. (So that would be Yoda then.) Thus, the field leadership of the rebellion has just been turned over to the daughter of Darth Vader. Chewie is really hoping that someone with an official rank greater than hers will get here real soon before he has to think really seriously about option C.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Star Wars Episode 7
Thirty years have passed since the Battle of Endor (Return of the Jedi), where both the Emperor and Vader met their doom. During the decades since Endor, the remnants of the Empire have been defeated and the New Republic formed out of the ashes of the Empire. However, enemies against the New Republic still exist. A rogue group of Dark Jedi have emerged that threaten the fragile stability that the New Republic enjoys.
The Cloud City of Bespin has been converted into one of the many Jedi training facilities located all throughout the galaxy. The Jedi's numbers are beginning to grow to Old Republic heights. The New Jedi Order consists of about 7,000 Jedi Knights. Bespin is now the home to both Jedi Masters, Knights and Apprentices.
During routine Jedi training on Bespin, the Dark Jedi invade wearing jet packs, which send them like a swarm dropping into the upper reaches of the cloud city. These Dark Jedi are seeking to re-establish the legacy of Darth Vader and, hence, they wear a more-advanced-looking version of Darth Vader's mask, helmet and body armor in honor of their fallen hero.
As the Dark Jedi attack Bespin, their sleek battle satellites swarm the floating city and rain down turbolaser fire on the city. The Jedi are taken by complete surprise. However, the Dark Jedi seek not to conquer Bespin, but to capture some of the Jedi's prized holocrons, which hold vast quantities of information about the ancient ways and customs of the Jedi. As hundreds of light-saber battles erupt between the Jedi and their Dark Jedi counterparts, some of the Dark Jedi use concussion grenades to cause damage to Bespin's superstructure.
A few of the holocrons are captured by the Dark Jedi. With their mission now complete, the Dark Jedi retreat from Cloud City and fly away from the city using their jet packs which they wear on their backs. The Dark Jedi fly into the nearby clouds and disappear. The roar of engines can be heard as the Dark Jedi escape in their customized Tie Rager star ships, which were hidden in the clouds above Cloud City.
The 12 members of the Jedi Council are present in the Jedi Council chamber in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Several Jedi, who survived the battle of Bespin against the Dark Jedi, relate to Luke Skywalker (the head of the Jedi Council) that several Jedi holocrons were taken during the battle. Luke informs the Jedi Council that the Jedi will have to find these lost holocrons and bring the Dark Jedi under control.
Meanwhile, just outside of the Jedi Temple, a shape-shifting Dark Jedi named Asp morphs into Ben Skywalker and enters the Jedi Temple. Asp makes his way to the Jedi super computer area where Asp hopes to disable the Jedi's computer network. Padawans Anakin Solo (son of Han Solo and Leia Organa) and Ben Skywalker (son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade) are walking by the computer area. They both sense something and enter the computer area. Ben and Anakin are shocked to see someone in the room that looks exactly like Ben. Asp sees the padawans and flees the room. Ben and Anakin chase after Asp.
Asp makes his way to the garage at the Jedi Temple and steals one of the Jedi swoop bikes. At a high rate of speed, Asp flies down the streets of Coruscant. Ben and Anakin each get a swoop bike and pursue Asp. After a thrilling chase, Asp wrecks his swoop bike. The Coruscant zoo is nearby and Asp enters the zoo to hide from Anakin and Ben. Anakin and Ben park their swoop bikes and quickly follow Asp into the zoo. A spectacular light-saber duel erupts between Asp vs. Ben and Anakin. As the duel rages on, Asp begins to lose so he uses his light saber to release massively large Rygor tigers from their cage.
Ben sees the tigers and says: "I have a bad feeling about this." The tigers spot Ben and Anakin and then charge at the two padawans. Ben and Anakin battle the tigers. Within a few minutes, Ben and Anakin have killed all seven of the ferocious tigers. However, by the time Ben and Anakin are finished fighting the tigers, Asp has escaped to parts unknown.
Elsewhere, Shindor, the leader of the Dark Jedi, is elated to learn that some of the Jedi holocrons have successfully been taken from the Jedi. Shindor is currently at the Dark Jedi's cloning facility, which is located on a planet nearby Coruscant. Shindor is using this facility to make clones of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The Dark Jedi plan to fulfill Darth Vader's prophecy that he and Luke should rule the galaxy as father and son and bring peace and order to the galaxy. The Dark Jedi are using Imperial DNA samples of Vader to produce a clone of the Dark Lord of the Sith and are using DNA samples from Luke's severed hand to produce a clone of the venerable Jedi Master. Skywalker's severed hand is currently owned by one of the chief Dark Jedi named, Spiden.
Meanwhile, Spiden hatches a plan to leak the Dark Jedi's efforts to clone Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker to spies working for the New Republic. Spiden hopes the leader of the Dark Jedi will be destroyed by forces from the New Republic so that he can become the new leader of the Dark Jedi. Spiden leaks this information. The New Republic military and a Jedi army plan to raid the Dark Jedi hideout.
Also, Spiden contacts Luke Skywalker and asks the great Jedi Master to meet with him on the planet of Sluivan. Spiden tells Luke that Spiden is a smuggler who came across Luke’s severed hand in a preservation box. Luke learns from Spiden that the Empire recovered Luke's hand that Vader cut off at Bespin. Spiden says that the hand is in perfect condition and can probably be re-attached to Luke’s arm. Luke agrees to meet Spiden on Sluivan.
Luke arrives on Sluivan with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Luke enters a room where Spiden told Luke he would be waiting for Luke. Luke sees Spiden holding his severed hand in a transparent preservation box. Suddenly, the door behind Luke closes. Spiden sets down the hand and pulls out two light sabers. Spiden holds one in each hand and ignites them. Spiden tells Luke that he will now avenge the deaths of Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, who were the final Sith Lords. Luke pulls out his light saber and ignites it. Luke and Spiden fight with their light sabers. Luke manages to cut off one of Spiden's hands. Spiden continues to fight with his other hand.
R2-D2 rolls up behind Spiden. R2 ignites his rocket boosters and crashes into the back of Spiden at a tremendous speed. Spiden falls to the ground. Spiden stands back up dazed. With a slight movement of his hand, Luke uses the Force to send Spiden flying across the room. Spiden slams into a wall and is left unconscious. Luke thanks R2 for his valor, then Luke recovers his severed hand and then cuts the closed door open with his light saber. Luke, R2 and C-3PO exit the room. On Coruscant, a team of Jedi doctors re-attach Luke’s hand to his arm.
Luke learns that the Republic is planning to send a military unit to the enormous asteroid base where the Dark Jedi are cloning Vader and Luke. Luke orders the Jedi star pilots to scramble to their fighters and join the Republic forces in the fight. The Republic and Jedi star fighters arrive at the Dark Jedi asteroid hideout where the Dark Jedi cloning facility is located. Hundreds of Dark Jedi fighters are waiting for them. A massive space battle ensues.
Luke and several dozen or so other Jedi make their way to the interior of the asteroid base and enter the Dark Jedi cloning facility. Light saber battles erupt between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi. Luke finds the Dark Jedi leader, Shindor, and they engage in a light-saber duel. Luke eventually decapitates Shindor.
The remaining Dark Jedi flee the cloning facility with the growing clones of Vader and Luke. The Jedi set explosive charges all over the cloning facility. The Jedi flee the cloning facility. A few minutes later, the cloning facility is destroyed by the exploding charges.
While the Dark Jedi cloning facility has been destroyed, the New Republic and Jedi are unaware that the Dark Jedi succeeded in preserving the growing clones of Vader and Luke, which will be utilized in the Dark Jedi's grand scheme to conquer the galaxy. Back on Coruscant, Anakin Solo and Ben Skywalker are brought before the Jedi Council. For their bravery in combating the Dark Jedi, the Jedi Council makes Anakin and Ben full-fledged Jedi Knights. The two are given their official Jedi robes. Iris out. Start and roll production end credits.
The Cloud City of Bespin has been converted into one of the many Jedi training facilities located all throughout the galaxy. The Jedi's numbers are beginning to grow to Old Republic heights. The New Jedi Order consists of about 7,000 Jedi Knights. Bespin is now the home to both Jedi Masters, Knights and Apprentices.
During routine Jedi training on Bespin, the Dark Jedi invade wearing jet packs, which send them like a swarm dropping into the upper reaches of the cloud city. These Dark Jedi are seeking to re-establish the legacy of Darth Vader and, hence, they wear a more-advanced-looking version of Darth Vader's mask, helmet and body armor in honor of their fallen hero.
As the Dark Jedi attack Bespin, their sleek battle satellites swarm the floating city and rain down turbolaser fire on the city. The Jedi are taken by complete surprise. However, the Dark Jedi seek not to conquer Bespin, but to capture some of the Jedi's prized holocrons, which hold vast quantities of information about the ancient ways and customs of the Jedi. As hundreds of light-saber battles erupt between the Jedi and their Dark Jedi counterparts, some of the Dark Jedi use concussion grenades to cause damage to Bespin's superstructure.
A few of the holocrons are captured by the Dark Jedi. With their mission now complete, the Dark Jedi retreat from Cloud City and fly away from the city using their jet packs which they wear on their backs. The Dark Jedi fly into the nearby clouds and disappear. The roar of engines can be heard as the Dark Jedi escape in their customized Tie Rager star ships, which were hidden in the clouds above Cloud City.
The 12 members of the Jedi Council are present in the Jedi Council chamber in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Several Jedi, who survived the battle of Bespin against the Dark Jedi, relate to Luke Skywalker (the head of the Jedi Council) that several Jedi holocrons were taken during the battle. Luke informs the Jedi Council that the Jedi will have to find these lost holocrons and bring the Dark Jedi under control.
Meanwhile, just outside of the Jedi Temple, a shape-shifting Dark Jedi named Asp morphs into Ben Skywalker and enters the Jedi Temple. Asp makes his way to the Jedi super computer area where Asp hopes to disable the Jedi's computer network. Padawans Anakin Solo (son of Han Solo and Leia Organa) and Ben Skywalker (son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade) are walking by the computer area. They both sense something and enter the computer area. Ben and Anakin are shocked to see someone in the room that looks exactly like Ben. Asp sees the padawans and flees the room. Ben and Anakin chase after Asp.
Asp makes his way to the garage at the Jedi Temple and steals one of the Jedi swoop bikes. At a high rate of speed, Asp flies down the streets of Coruscant. Ben and Anakin each get a swoop bike and pursue Asp. After a thrilling chase, Asp wrecks his swoop bike. The Coruscant zoo is nearby and Asp enters the zoo to hide from Anakin and Ben. Anakin and Ben park their swoop bikes and quickly follow Asp into the zoo. A spectacular light-saber duel erupts between Asp vs. Ben and Anakin. As the duel rages on, Asp begins to lose so he uses his light saber to release massively large Rygor tigers from their cage.
Ben sees the tigers and says: "I have a bad feeling about this." The tigers spot Ben and Anakin and then charge at the two padawans. Ben and Anakin battle the tigers. Within a few minutes, Ben and Anakin have killed all seven of the ferocious tigers. However, by the time Ben and Anakin are finished fighting the tigers, Asp has escaped to parts unknown.
Elsewhere, Shindor, the leader of the Dark Jedi, is elated to learn that some of the Jedi holocrons have successfully been taken from the Jedi. Shindor is currently at the Dark Jedi's cloning facility, which is located on a planet nearby Coruscant. Shindor is using this facility to make clones of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. The Dark Jedi plan to fulfill Darth Vader's prophecy that he and Luke should rule the galaxy as father and son and bring peace and order to the galaxy. The Dark Jedi are using Imperial DNA samples of Vader to produce a clone of the Dark Lord of the Sith and are using DNA samples from Luke's severed hand to produce a clone of the venerable Jedi Master. Skywalker's severed hand is currently owned by one of the chief Dark Jedi named, Spiden.
Meanwhile, Spiden hatches a plan to leak the Dark Jedi's efforts to clone Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker to spies working for the New Republic. Spiden hopes the leader of the Dark Jedi will be destroyed by forces from the New Republic so that he can become the new leader of the Dark Jedi. Spiden leaks this information. The New Republic military and a Jedi army plan to raid the Dark Jedi hideout.
Also, Spiden contacts Luke Skywalker and asks the great Jedi Master to meet with him on the planet of Sluivan. Spiden tells Luke that Spiden is a smuggler who came across Luke’s severed hand in a preservation box. Luke learns from Spiden that the Empire recovered Luke's hand that Vader cut off at Bespin. Spiden says that the hand is in perfect condition and can probably be re-attached to Luke’s arm. Luke agrees to meet Spiden on Sluivan.
Luke arrives on Sluivan with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Luke enters a room where Spiden told Luke he would be waiting for Luke. Luke sees Spiden holding his severed hand in a transparent preservation box. Suddenly, the door behind Luke closes. Spiden sets down the hand and pulls out two light sabers. Spiden holds one in each hand and ignites them. Spiden tells Luke that he will now avenge the deaths of Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, who were the final Sith Lords. Luke pulls out his light saber and ignites it. Luke and Spiden fight with their light sabers. Luke manages to cut off one of Spiden's hands. Spiden continues to fight with his other hand.
R2-D2 rolls up behind Spiden. R2 ignites his rocket boosters and crashes into the back of Spiden at a tremendous speed. Spiden falls to the ground. Spiden stands back up dazed. With a slight movement of his hand, Luke uses the Force to send Spiden flying across the room. Spiden slams into a wall and is left unconscious. Luke thanks R2 for his valor, then Luke recovers his severed hand and then cuts the closed door open with his light saber. Luke, R2 and C-3PO exit the room. On Coruscant, a team of Jedi doctors re-attach Luke’s hand to his arm.
Luke learns that the Republic is planning to send a military unit to the enormous asteroid base where the Dark Jedi are cloning Vader and Luke. Luke orders the Jedi star pilots to scramble to their fighters and join the Republic forces in the fight. The Republic and Jedi star fighters arrive at the Dark Jedi asteroid hideout where the Dark Jedi cloning facility is located. Hundreds of Dark Jedi fighters are waiting for them. A massive space battle ensues.
Luke and several dozen or so other Jedi make their way to the interior of the asteroid base and enter the Dark Jedi cloning facility. Light saber battles erupt between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi. Luke finds the Dark Jedi leader, Shindor, and they engage in a light-saber duel. Luke eventually decapitates Shindor.
The remaining Dark Jedi flee the cloning facility with the growing clones of Vader and Luke. The Jedi set explosive charges all over the cloning facility. The Jedi flee the cloning facility. A few minutes later, the cloning facility is destroyed by the exploding charges.
While the Dark Jedi cloning facility has been destroyed, the New Republic and Jedi are unaware that the Dark Jedi succeeded in preserving the growing clones of Vader and Luke, which will be utilized in the Dark Jedi's grand scheme to conquer the galaxy. Back on Coruscant, Anakin Solo and Ben Skywalker are brought before the Jedi Council. For their bravery in combating the Dark Jedi, the Jedi Council makes Anakin and Ben full-fledged Jedi Knights. The two are given their official Jedi robes. Iris out. Start and roll production end credits.
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