Star Wars Episode One: The New Republic (1994)

Star Wars
Episode One: The New Republic

By Dave Jutsum and Sean Harrington
Based on characters and situations created by George Lucas.
October 30, 1994

DISCLAIMER **
This treatment is based on characters and situations created by George
Lucas which are property of LucasFilm, Ltd. It is not intended as a
representation of work created by George Lucas, and is issued
open-handedly as a gift to the Star Wars fan community, and in
particular to George Lucas.

Characters
Ben Kenobi - A young Jedi Knight.

Anakin Skywalker - A young star pilot, on a quest to find a cure for
his father's sickness.

Beru (Haberu) Kenobi - Ben's sister, in love with Owen Lars.

Owen Lars - A space trader from Tatooine, in love with Beru Kenobi.

Acheron Kenobi - Ben and Beru's younger brother.

Anesta Kenobi - Ben and Beru's mother.

Jared Kenobi - Ben and Beru's father.

Senator Palpatine - A corrupt politician from Coruscant who seeks
control over the Imperial Senate, and will stop at nothing to gain it.

Bail Organa - A young Senator from Alderaan, the Speaker of the
Imperial Senate.

Ombr'ahm - A mysterious scientist who wears a respirator mask to aid
in breathing, and who has developed a procedure for cloning, among
other things.

The Dark Lords of the Sith - a brotherhood of masters of the Dark Side
of the Force. They have faces tattooed with an intricate triangular
pattern, and wear hoods to protect their long braided hair.

Lord Vhidraaq - The last, possibly the most notorious of the Sith.

Esig - A mysterious holy man who is rumored to have found a cure for
the plague.

Jedi Knights - Masters of the Force and guardians of truth and justice

Manath - Ben's Jedi mentor.

Glidara - A two-headed Janwian, and an acquaintance of Anakin's.

Rogold and Challis - The inventors of C3PO and R2D2.

The Yiin - A group of holy men who nurse Esig back to health.

Mandelorians Knights - Originally a group of royal guards from a
fallen dynasty. They now act as mercenaries.

Imperial Senate - Representatives from each of the planets from member
worlds of the New Republic.


Prologue
The New Republic
It is a dawn of a new era within the galaxy. After eons of
isolationism and seclusion, the civilized worlds have banded together
to form the Imperial Senate. Protected by the Jedi Knights, The Senate
seeks to unify and enrich its member worlds with peace and prosperity.
Imperial Senators, elected by their home worlds have traveled to the
Senate capital city on Corellia to solve the problem of a highly
contagious plague which strikes randomly and mercilessly on the worlds
which it infects.  A search for the cure is commissioned, and a
desperate search begins.  To further complicate matters, the Dark
Lords of the Sith, lead by Lord Vhidraaq have been refused admission
the Senate and vow vengeance.  They are blamed for the destruction of
a defenseless farm colony on Motheb Din and are named as enemies of
the Senate. The Sith are hunted down and executed for their crimes...

Scene One
A Sith ship is pursued by a Correlian Corvette. The Correlian ship
disables and overtakes the smaller ship. The ships dock, and the two
Sith pilots board the Corvette and bow, feigning submission. They
attack the group of Mandelorian Knights, serving as guards on board
the Corvette, but are engaged by a lone hooded Jedi, Manath. Manath
disables the two Sith warriors, and is confronted by Lord Vhidraaq who
has been watching from the shadows within the Sith ship. Vhidraaq
surrenders as Manath's pupil, Ben Kenobi, steps from the shadows to
even the balance.  The captain of the ship has Vhidraaq taken to the
detention area.  Along the way, Vhidraaq converses with the two Jedi,
claiming innocence in the massacre at Motheb Din. Vhidraaq scowls,
claiming that Sith are no different from Jedi. The group arrives at
the detention block and is greeted by Senator Palpatine of
Coruscant. Palpatine has been chartered with hunting down and
destroying the Sith. As Vhidraaq is dropped into an isolation cell, he
vows vengeance on the Jedi. The lid to the detention cell is closed,
and he is frozen.

Scene Two
Kenobi and Manath discuss Ben's training. Ben tells Manath that he has
decided not to continue his Jedi training, despite his father Jared's
disapproval. He will not be continuing on with Manath to Dagobah, but
will travel with his sister Beru to meet her sweetheart, Owen
Lars. Manath tries to dissuade Ben, but is unsuccessful. He bids Ben
farewell.

Scene Three
Ben and Beru are picked up by Owen Lars near Tatooine. Owen thanks Ben
for bringing Beru there, even though their father disapproves of the
courtship.  Suddenly the small trading craft is bombarded by fire from
a pirate ship.  Owen tries to outmaneuver but is out-gunned. Just as
he signals their surrender, another ship comes into view and attacks
the pirate ship.  The pirate ship makes an immediate jump into
hyperspace. Owen's ship is breaking up and is ready to explode from
the damage. The pilot of the other ship signals an emergency
docking. Seconds after Ben, Beru and Owen make it into the other ship,
Owen's frigate explodes.

Scene Four
The pilot of the craft introduces himself as Anakin Skywalker. He
mentions that he is on a quest to find a holy man by the name of
Esig. Ben has heard of Esig, but says that it will be difficult to
find him. Ben also feels a strong presence of the Force within Anakin,
but does not mention it. Anakin mentions that it is rumored that Esig
has discovered a cure for the plague, with which his father is
stricken. Ben asks to join Anakin. Anakin agrees and offers to take
Owen and Beru to Mos Eisley on Tattoine.

Scene Five
At the capital city on Corellia, the Senate has convened to discuss
the problem of devastation caused by the plague. Several groups
suggest re-isolationism, but the more open minded groups see that as
prolonging the problem. Many senate members are still in fear of
attacks by the Sith. Just then, Palpatine enters and tells of the
victory in capturing Vhidraaq, Palpatine assures that this will be the
end of the Sith menace. Majority leader Bail Organa from Alderaan
calls order and introduces the first of two guest speakers.  The first
speaker is the scientist Ombr'ahm, who presents a plan to produce
cheap labor by cloning. This will allow the populous to recover from
the plague, and will aid in unification of the Senate. Palpatine
applauds the proposal, but is thwarted by Bail and the rest of the
Senate. The Senate rejects the cloning proposal, calling it a
travesty. Palpatine quietly vows revenge against Organa.  The second
proposal is by a pair of scientists, Rogold and Challis.  They have
developed two prototype androids for use as laborers. The
demonstration is our first glimpse of R2 and 3PO. The senate is
enchanted.  Bail Organa commissions the immediate production of the
android units.  The Senate applauds the effort. Palpatine fumes
silently, and calls one of his ideas to put about a scheme to destroy
the robots, and Rogold and Challis as well.

Scene Six
After dropping Owen and Beru off at Mos Eisley, Ben makes contact with
his brother, Acheron, on Sirrus. He says that Manath has already
delivered the message and that their father, Jared, is
furious. Acheron says that Jared has all but disowned Ben and Beru,
and that he has asked Acheron to travel to Dagobah to train with Yoda
in Ben's place. Ben tells him of his and Anakin's plan. Acheron says
that he has heard Esig was last heard of on Kessel, the shared moon of
the planets Correlus and Corellia. Ben mentions that Beru is happy and
wishes Acheron well in his training. Anakin and Ben make the jump into
hyperspace for Kessel.

Scene Seven
Rogold and Challis are traveling with the prototype droids to the
manufacturing facility on Kessel. They both work to modify the
personality programming in the droids with very humorous results.  The
ship is overtaken by a group of Mandelorian Knights. The ship is
disabled and made to look as though it has malfunctioned. It's engines
have been disabled, and it is heading for the surface of
Kessel. Rogold and Challis stuff the droids into an escape pod, just
as the ship enters the atmosphere. The droids are ejected and land
somewhere on Kessel.  The transport with Rogold and Challis explodes.

Scene Eight
Anakin and Ben share their backgrounds. Ben tells Anakin of his Jedi
training, and Anakin is fascinated. Anakin tries to express the
feelings of the Force he has had much of his life. They both feel a
wave of pain as Anakin's ship enters the Correlian system,just as the
transport explodes.  Ben sees the escape pod with the droids and
tracks it to the surface.  Anakin maneuvers near the pod's landing
site.  As Anakin's ship grabs the pod, two Mandelorian ships swoops in
and attack.  Ben gets the droids into the ship and Anakin raises
shields. Anakin tosses a thermal detonator to Ben and instructs him to
put it into the pod and release it. Ben does so. The timing is
perfect, and the empty escape pod explodes behind Anakin's ship just
as he makes a quick turn to avoid an embankment. The Mandelorians are
blinded and one of the two ships is destroyed, the other is
disabled. Anakin and Ben head for the Del Ario spaceport to gather
information on Esig.

Scene Nine
At Del Ario, Ben and Anakin seek out one of Anakin's old
acquaintances, Glidara, a two headed Janwian trader. Glidara manages
the loading and unloading of cargo in one of the larger Del Ario
warehouses. He is busy fiddling with a binary load lifter and offers
little useful information to Anakin at first, but sees the droids and
offers a trade. Anakin agrees.  Glidara arranges transport to
Correlus, the darker sister planet to Corellia. Correlus is a
forbidding wasteland, which has an overpopulated sun belt from it's
equator to south pole. It's entire northern hemisphere is obstructed
from sunlight by Corellia. Glidara warns them to stay away from the
militarized sector in the north, and mentions having seen many ships
with odd markings land and depart there. Esig is said to be in a camp
somewhere near there at the edge of the sunbelt.20

Scene Ten
Glidara drops Ben and Anakin off on Correlus and sets a time for pick
up.  He warns of the dangers of straying into the northern hemisphere.
It is nearly nightfall, so the two set up camp. Ben teaches Anakin
rudimentary use of the lightsabre and spars briefly with him.
Suddenly the disabled Mandelorian ship zips overhead toward the north.
They quickly stow their lightsabres and hide in the nearby trees. The
Mandelorian ship scans the clearing, and finds no one. It continues
toward the base.  Anakin and Ben gather their items and begin to
leave, when they suddenly find themselves surrounded by hooded
beings. Anakin ignites his lightsabre and Ben tells him to put it
away. Anakin does so as Esig reveals himself.  He removes his hood,
and reveals that he is a former Sith. They travel to their hidden
underground camp.

Scene Eleven
Esig's companions, the Yiin, a clan of Correlusian holy men, were
among the first to be stricken by the plague, because several Yiin
were captured and experimented on by Ombr'ahm. These Yiin contracted
the plague, but developed an immunity and eventually a serum. The
serum was stolen by the Mandelorians who work for Ombr'ahm at the
military base in the northern hemisphere.  Esig, a former Lord of
Sith, had already developed symptoms of the plague, and being was
hunted down by the Mandelorians when he crash landed on Correlus. The
Yiin found him, helped to turn him from the Dark Side, and helped him
to recover from the plague. Now, more of their kind have been captured
and are being held at the base for some mysterious reason.  Ben and
Anakin agree to help them to recover the serum and their friends.
They all set out for the base.

Scene Twelve
The group enter the complex by overcoming a lightly guarded utility
entrance. Once inside the complex, Esig and a few Yiin head for the
detention area and Ben and Anakin and a few other Yiin head to find
the serum, probably in Ombr'ahm's lab.  Ben and Anakin make it to the
lab, but are captured by the Mandelorians.  They are brought into the
lab and are introduced to Ombr'ahm who winds up being a female
scientist. She details the real purpose of the base, cloning, and
mentions that the plague was an unfortunate side effect of the cloning
process. She is quickly silenced by the entrance of Senator
Palpatine. He commands that Ben and Anakin be put onto isolation pads
for gene removal. Another door opens and Lord Vhidraaq enters.  Ben
and Vhidraaq exchange words. Vhidraaq mentions that he was offered the
ultimate compliment, to be the master prototype for an army of super
clones which would rule the galaxy. Ben tries to warn Palpatine for
being stupid and ignorant of the dark powers of Vhidraaq, but is
silenced by Vhidraaq's used of the Dark Side. Anakin overwhelms
Vhidraaq by teaming his powers with Ben's. Vhidraaq and the two heroes
have a virtual battle in the lab.  Palpatine is engrossed and watches
eagerly.  Suddenly, as Vhidraaq has nearly overcome the two heroes,
the power dims in the room and explosions are heard. Palpatine orders
the Mandelorians to go and investigate, and Vhidraaq scowls and
leaves.  A small group of Mandelorians are left to freeze Ben and
Anakin, overseen by Ombr'ahm. Ben and Anakin are weak from their
battle with Vhidraaq, but notice Esig motioning them from a catwalk
above. Ben creates a distraction, and Esig overcomes the Mandelorians
and releases Ben and Anakin and the detained Yiin. Ombr'ahm is coerced
into showing them the locked storage unit with the code for the
serum. She is put into a pad and put to sleep with some sort of device
she had used earlier.

Scene Thirteen
A fierce battle is occurring between the Mandelorians and the Yiin.
The Yiin use ambush the bulk of the Mandelorians. Palpatine slips away
unnoticed. Ben and Anakin go off to find him, and Esig goes to find
Vhidraaq.  Esig finds Vhidraaq near the transport ship and the two
begin to duel.  Palpatine returns to the lab and revives Ombr'ahm. The
two grab the master vials of gene samples, as well as a back-up serum
mixture. Palpatine sets a self-destruct sequence with the main defense
system, telling Ombr'ahm that the Senate cannot find out about the
cloning experiments.  Anakin and Ben spit up, and Anakin stumbles upon
the two Sith fighting.  He watches transfixed as the two
duel. Vhidraaq seriously wounds Esig, and Anakin comes to Esig's
aid. Anakin is no match for the Dark Lord, but engages Vhidraaq
anyway. Vhidraaq uses the dark side to hurl objects at Anakin, but
stops when he notices Palpatine and Ombr'ahm leaving on the
transport. Vhidraaq runs for the ship but is too late.  Ben finds
Anakin and Esig, and warns them of the pending destruction.  Esig
builds up strength and charges Vhidraaq. The two dark lords tumble
into a bottomless chasm.  Ben, Anakin and the remaining Yiin flee the
complex and are picked up by Glidara just as the complex
explodes. Glidara mentions that it was the droids who helped him find
them.

Scene Fourteen
It is morning on Alderaan. Anakin greets Ben, but mentions that he was
too late to save his father. Bail Organa has agreed to marry Beru and
Owen, as a favor to Ben's mother Anesta. She has gotten their father,
Jared to overlook his anger at both of them.  After the wedding, Ben
introduces Anakin to his family and Manath, and mentions that he
wishes to resume his Jedi training, but asks that Anakin also come to
train with Yoda. Manath senses Anakin's powers and agrees, but says
that Yoda will make the final decision Suddenly, Bail's aide enters
and says that unknown dark forces are attacking various
Senate-friendly outposts. Manath, Ben and Anakin set off for Dagobah.

THE END