Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

The opening crawl reveals that the evil Galactic Empire has pursued the valiant Rebel Alliance across the galaxy, forcing them to establish a secret base on Hoth, a remote ice planet. The Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader has sent robotic probes into space in search of this base and its commander, Luke Skywalker. While Luke is patrolling around the base, he is knocked unconscious by a Wampa: a predator indigenous to Hoth. Meanwhile, back at the base, the smuggler-pilot Han Solo announces his intention to leave the Rebels and pay the debt he owes to the gangster Jabba the Hutt, much to the displeasure of Princess Leia. After Han discovers that Luke has not returned from patrol, he delays his departure and leaves the base to look for him. After escaping the creature's lair, Luke is overcome by the cold and views his late mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi as a ghostly apparition that instructs him to receive training by Jedi Master Yoda on the planet of Dagobah. Han finally discovers Luke, and prevents him from freezing to death. They are rescued the following morning. Before being discovered and destroyed, an Imperial Probe Droid is able to transmit the location of the base to the Imperial fleet. Darth Vader orders an immediate attack while the Rebels set up infantry trenches and an energy shield to protect them from the Empire's orbital bombardment.

When the Imperials land their ground assault walkers beyond the energy shield, Luke leads his squadron of agile flying speeders into battle. However, the Imperial forces eventually overpower the Rebels and destroy the generator powering the energy shield and capture the Rebel base. Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and their droid C-3PO flee on board the Millennium Falcon. However, the Falcon hyperdrive is damaged and it cannot escape the Imperial blockade in space. During the confusion, they enter a dense asteroid field; Han Solo pilots the Millennium Falcon deeper into the field, eventually landing inside an asteroid crater. Meanwhile, Luke and his astro droid R2-D2 escape Hoth in Luke's X-wing fighter, only to crash land on the planet Dagobah. After recovering, Luke meets a wizened, greenish little creature who reveals himself to be the wise and powerful Yoda. Meanwhile, inside the asteroid cave, Han Solo and Princess Leia argue with one another while repairing the ship, eventually leading to a tender kiss. However, they are forced to escape what they thought was a "cave", but was actually the gullet of a gigantic space slug living inside the asteroid. Leading to another pursuit through space and another failure of the Falcon's hyperdrive. Han evades pursuit cleverly and stealthily. He then sets course for Cloud City, a mining colony run by Han's old friend, Lando Calrissian. On Dagobah, Luke undergoes Yoda's rigorous lessons about the metaphysical nature of the Force. Later, Luke has a vision of Han and Leia in danger and agony. Luke wants to rescue them, but both Yoda and the ghost of Obi-Wan warn of the dangers of rashly leaving, because Luke is still susceptible to the powerful temptation of the Dark Side. Nevertheless, Luke departs from Dagobah and promises Yoda he will return to complete his training. Upon arrival at Cloud City, Han's party is welcomed by Lando Calrissian. After agreeing to help Han repair his ship, Lando invites him and the others to a meal. When they are shown into the dining room, they are captured by Darth Vader. Lando insists he was made to conspire with the Empire to prevent them from invading the city.

In captivity, Han and Chewbacca are systematically tortured in order to lure Luke to the city. Vader orders a freezing chamber prepared to freeze Luke, holding him in suspended animation for transport to the Emperor. The process is tested on Han Solo. As Han is lowered into the machine, Leia declares her love for him. He is frozen and handed over to Boba Fett, who intends to return his quarry to Jabba the Hutt for a large reward. Meanwhile, Luke lands at Cloud City and wanders into the carbon-freezing chamber. Luke meets Vader and engages him in one on one combat. While escorting their prisoners, Vader's Imperial troopers are captured by Lando's private security force, who set Lando and the others free. Lando insists that there is still a chance to save Han. Along the way, they meet up with R2-D2, who joins them. The group pursues Boba Fett and Han's frozen form through Cloud City, but arrive just as the bounty hunter's ship flies away. In a desperate chase, Leia, Chewie, Lando, and the two droids make their escape on the Millennium Falcon. Meanwhile, Vader and Luke's fierce lightsaber duel continues. Their duel brings them to a narrow platform hanging high above the city's abyssal central air shaft. Gaining the advantage, Vader cuts off Luke's dueling hand along with his lightsaber. With Luke cornered and defenseless, Vader informs Luke that he does not yet know the truth about his Father. Luke claims that he does know the truth, saying that Vader killed his father. Vader answers:

No, I am your father.

Luke, shocked, screams in denial. Vader tries to persuade Luke to join him, embrace the Dark Side of the Force, and overthrow the Emperor with him. Luke refuses, lets go, and falls off the platform into the abyss. In freefall, Luke is sucked into an air vent, shoots out of the underbelly of the floating city, and miraculously lands on an antenna hanging beneath. In the Millennium Falcon, Leia senses Luke's distress through the Force and orders Lando to pilot them back to Cloud City. They return in time and save Luke. Once again in space, they are pursued by Darth Vader's flagship. They find that the hyperdrive is fine, it was merely de-activated. R2-D2, who found this information while searching the city central computer, reactivates the hyperdrive at the last minute. Later aboard the medical frigate, Luke is fitted with an artificial hand as Lando and Chewbacca set out in the Falcon to locate Han Solo.

Taken from Wikipedia.

Fun Star Wars Links

Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Original Movie Trailer 1

Original Movie Trailer 2

Empire Strikes Back Quiz

Empire Strikes Back Trivia

Catherine Bookman, 72, is assisted by Colorado Army National Guard Sgt. Eric Rerucha (left) and Sgt. James Shouey (right) as they help her to a Humvee after her dialysis treatment in Denver, on Thursday. The National Guard is assisting people with transportation due to the snowstorm that blanketed the state.

First Lt. Ashkan Angha, Staff Sgt. Chris Depass and Sgt. Luke McCorkel of the Colorado National Guard, push an abandoned vehicle in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday. All the soldiers are with the 1st Battalion 157th Field Artillery.

Soldiers toast each other before eating Christmas lunch at a military base in the coalition headquarters in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Brig. Gen. Douglas Earhart hands over Christmas gifts to local Serb children at a school in the eastern Kosovo village of Partes, on Monday. Some 1,500 U.S troops are stationed in Kosovo as part of the NATO peacekeeping force.

Marines sort packages at the Postal Operations warehouse at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, on Monday. During the holiday season, Marines at TQ Postal deal with approximately 30 tons of mail every day. The unit serves nearly 14,000 service members and civilian personnel at Camp Taqaddum and thousands more at military installations throughout the Anbar Province.

A 3rd Reconnaissance Marine assists the military working dog section by acting as an aggressor. The 15th MEU (Special Operations Capable) is deployed with I MEF (Forward) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Anbar Province of Iraq.

Soldiers with Company B of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, under cover of a smoke grenade, hunt for a sniper that lightly wounded one of their compatriots in New Baghdad, an eastern neighborhood in the Iraqi capital, on Sunday.

Lance Cpl. Brian L. Gunton, a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Regiment-15, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), accepts a holiday stocking at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, on Monday.

A girl watches soldiers from Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, stand guard at an exterior gate while other soldiers search a home for weapons and suspected insurgents in New Baghdad, on Tuesday.

Sgt. David Osbert from El Paso, Texas, (left) and Cpl. Erik Maltais from Boston, Mass., (back 3rd left) both members of the Marine Security Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia, look on as a girl hugs Santa Claus (Army Col. Thomas Wilson), at the SOS Children's Village, a facility for children without parents or without parental care, in Macedonia's capital Skopje, on Friday.

Soldiers from Company A, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, patrol a street while a pair of ducks waddle by in Baghdad on Wednesday.

U.S. and South Korean soldiers escort a North Korean soldier (center) to repatriate him to North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on Wednesday. Two North Korean soldiers who drifted on a small boat in the East Sea and rescued by South Korean navy vessels on Dec. 9, were repatriated on Wednesday.

Joe Vicencio from Fort Sill has fun riding a snow tube at the Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, on Thursday.

President Gerald Ford as a naval officer in 1945. Ford died Tuesday. He was 93.

December 28, 2006

The Last Sins To Go

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READ: 1 Chronicles 21:1-13

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing.” —1 Chronicles 21:8

The apostle Paul said that we are to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1). Even though it may seem to people around us that we are living a clean, moral life, in our spirit we may be harboring an attitude that displeases the Lord. Because sins of the spirit are unseen, hidden in the heart, we tend to ignore them until they lead to some outward behavior that reveals their presence.

King David’s life illustrates these two aspects of sin. His lust for Bathsheba led to adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11–12; Ps. 32:5), and brought great pain to his own life and reproach to the nation of Israel. Then, late in his life, he succumbed to Satan’s prompting to take a census (1 Chron. 21:1-6). This seemingly innocent act displeased God (vv.7-8) because David was taking pride in his military might. He apparently made a subtle shift from complete reliance on God, who had often miraculously delivered him, to trusting in his own power and strength.

On the outside, it may appear to others that we are winning the battle against sin. But we must stay alert to the sins of the spirit, especially pride. They can cause us to stumble and fall, even at the end of life’s journey.

We may confess our outward sins
Because they’re difficult to hide,
But we must also guard against
Our inner sins, like lust and pride. —Sper

Pride and lust are hidden stones over which many people stumble.

Bible in One Year: Zechariah 5-8; Revelation 19

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