Dear Readers! We continue our brand new Knights of the Force project! Please welcome The Empire strikes back for the 30th anniversary of the Episode V film, created with KotF software dioramas!

The Galactic Empire has driven the Rebel Alliance into hiding on the ice planet Hoth

Despite their victory over the Galactic Empire with the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire's forces have driven the Rebel Alliance into hiding, forcing the fleet to establish a hidden base (called Echo base) on the remote ice planet Hoth. Darth Vader has multiple probe droids dispatched throughout the galaxy, one of them lands on Hoth. While patrolling near the base, Luke is attacked and knocked unconscious by a Wampa. Back at the base, Han Solo announces his intentions to leave the Rebellion to pay off a debt to Jabba the Hutt (much to Princess Leia's displeasure). When Luke doesn't return that evening, Han braves the deadly Hoth night to find his lost friend. Luke however was attacked by a wampa creature and was taken home for dinner. The wampa eat the killed taun-taun first, and hung up Luke for later, but Luke did not wanted to wait for that moment. With a Force Pull, grabbed his lightsaber, rescued from the ice, and chopped the wampa arm. Escaping from the Wampa lair, Luke nearly succumbs to the cold and has a vision of his late mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who instructs him to go to the planet Dagobah to train under Jedi Master Yoda. Han finds Luke and keeps him alive with the warm of a dead Taun-taun before they are rescued the following morning by some Snowspeeder scouts.

Battle of Hoth

Meanwhile, the Imperial probe droid locates the Rebel base on Hoth, and Vader orders a ground attack while the Rebels prepare to evacuate and disperse. The rebel soldiers take covers, and wait the closing imperial army. They are outnumbered, and technically also have no chance. They can shoot the snowtroopers, or with their turrets they are able to slow down their advance a bit, but the end of the battle is not a question. But they have to stay, to try to protect the ion cannon, and the shield generator. The huge imperial walkers easily break through the rebel defense lines, destroying many defence turrets, infantry, and even airspeeders. Luke Skywalker's snowspeeder was also hit, crash-landed on the snowy fields of Hoth. Luke however manages to harpoon an AT-AT, climbs up, and cuts a hole on its armor with his lightsaber, to be able to throw in a detonator, which destroys the walker. The whole process makes me remember a Starship troopers scene, when Johnny Rico climbs on top a plasma bug, fires a hole in its back, and throws in a grenade, which detonates the deadly bug in that movie. The Imperial forces eventually overpower the Rebels and effect an entrance in the Echo base. Han and Leia keeps arguing, their constant jarring throughout the whole movie is pretty boring and annoying. They keep arguing even in this dangerous moment, but Han gets enough of it, and pulls her towards the Millennium Falcon to escape with C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca just in time, because some moments later imperial snowtroopers swarm the hangar bay, prep an E-web, and amongst the firsts, Darth Vader also arrives in the hangar.

The falcon is dying, Luke visits Yoda in Dagobah, Vader sends bounty hunters after them.

But the Falcon was unable to enter hyperspace due to technical difficulties. That is the other very boring and annoying thing of this episode, the whole movie illustrates a coughing, malfunctioning starship, and I can hardly imagine spaceship able to travel above lightspeed behaving so out of order, few waits the ship falling apart in any moment. They evade pursuit in an asteroid field, where they hide in the mouth/stomach of a space creature, then they hide on top of an imperial Star destroyer, then finally escape from them. The well-known understanding Darth Vader accepts Captain Needa's apology, then has his men to take Needa's dead body away from him, and calls several notorious bounty hunters on board of the Executor, Bossk, IG-88, Zuckuss, 4-LOM, and Boba Fett, to assist in locating the Falcon. Meanwhile, Luke escapes from Hoth with R2-D2 and his X-wing crash lands on Dagobah, where he meets Yoda.

Han Solo visits his friend, Lando Calrissian at Bespin

After losing the Imperial forces, and unaware that they have been tracked by Fett, the Millennium Falcon sets a course for Cloud City, a floating gas mining colony in the skies of the planet Bespin, which is run by Han's old friend, Lando Calrissian. Shortly after they arrive at Cloud City, Lando turns them over to Vader to be used as bait in a trap for Luke. The Empire wants Luke Skywalker to join their cause, or he'll die. Previously the Emperor warned Vader that Anakin Skywalker had a son, who grew up, and he is present in the Force. Lando insists to Han and Leia that he was forced to betray them to prevent the occupation of his city by the Empire. Vader straps Han to a torture machine and, while not permanently harmed, he is tormented to the point that he can barely stand. While undergoing intensive training, Luke has a premonition of Han and Leia in trouble and, against Yoda's wishes, leaves to save his friends, promising to return to complete his training. Vader intends to hold Luke in suspended animation via carbon freezing, and selects Han as a test subject for the process. Before Han is frozen in the carbonite freezing chamber, and taken to Jabba the Hutt, Leia professes her love for him. Vader gives Han's hibernating form to Fett, who plans to present this "prize" to Jabba the Hutt. Lando repents and helps Leia and the others escape, insisting that there is still a chance to save Han. Unfortunately, Fett makes off with his quarry just seconds before they get a chance to confront him, forcing them to make an escape on the Millennium Falcon.

Cloud City scenes duels between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

Meanwhile, Luke arrives at Cloud City and falls right into Vader's trap. Within the carbon-freezing facilities, Luke and Vader engage in a vicious lightsaber duel, which leads them over the city's central air shaft. After their first duel, Vader starts Force throwing multiple objects to Luke, for a lesson of the power of the dark Side, but one object breaks the window, and the vacuum pulls out Luke from the room. Later he manages to climb back, and on a different level they meet again, and continue the duel. Gaining an advantage, Vader cuts off Luke's dueling hand along with his lightsaber. With Luke cornered and defenseless, Vader tempts Luke with the offer to rule the galaxy alongside him, making the revelation that he is in fact Luke's father. Horrified, Luke casts himself into the air shaft, plummeting until he reaches a tube system that spills him out onto an antenna attached to the underbelly of the city. He makes a desperate call to Leia, who senses Luke's distress aboard the Millennium Falcon and gets him to safety. Its hyperdrive finally functional (thanks to timely repairs by the clever R2-D2), the Falcon escapes. Aboard a Rebel medical frigate, a medical droid fits Luke with an artificial hand. Lando and Chewbacca set out on the Falcon to locate Han, while the convalescent Luke, Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2 stare out towards the darkness of the space.

Special thanx to Darth Stryker (alias Roland), our faithful reader, who send these pictures, which he made with the KotF, we planned this section together, thanks for all! I hope with these pictures and with my story lines we gave a nice memoir for the Empire Strikes Back, starting its way to the eternity in 1980. april, 30 years ago! Also, Happy B-day Roland!

written and translated by: Norbert Rostas