Death of Legends

The opening crawl reveals that the Galactic Empire has been working on the construction of a new armored space station which is to be even larger and more powerful than the first Death Star. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO, and R2-D2 return to Tatooine in an attempt to rescue Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt. Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter, attempts to secretly free Solo, who is still encased in carbonite. She succeeds, only to be discovered and captured by Jabba, who makes her his personal slave. Several days later Luke arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo. Luke is then captured by Jabba's guards and dropped into a dungeon to battle a rancor. After defeating the rancor he is sent along with Han Solo and Chewbacca to the Great Pit of Carkoon to be slowly consumed by the Sarlacc. With the help of R2-D2, Luke escapes and a large battle erupts; during the chaos, Leia strangles Jabba to death with her slave chains, and Han accidentally knocks Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who brought him to Jabba, into the pit where he is eaten alive by the Sarlacc. Following this, Luke blasts Jabba's sail barge with its own deck cannon, and all of the heroes manage to escape before it explodes.

Luke then returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training. However, upon arriving, he finds Yoda is languishing. Yoda tells Luke that no other training is required, but that he will not truly be a Jedi until he confronts Darth Vader who, Yoda confirms, is Luke's father. Yoda then dies, but not before telling Luke that "there is another Skywalker". The spirit form of Obi-Wan Kenobi then appears and confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi who was turned to the dark side of the Force. Though he initially seemed to imply that Vader was merely another Jedi who betrayed and murdered Anakin, Obi-Wan explains that Vader truly did this in the sense of the dark side consuming Anakin's mind, apparently destroying the good man who was Luke's father and replacing him as Vader. Luke asks Obi-Wan about the "other" Skywalker Yoda mentioned—Obi-Wan reveals that this "other" is his twin sister, hidden from Anakin and separated at birth to protect them both from the Emperor. Using his intuition, Luke quickly deduces that, to Obi-Wan's confirmation, his sister is Leia.

Meanwhile, the entire Rebel Alliance is meeting to devise an attack strategy. As part of the attack, Han is elected to lead a strike team to deactivate the shield generator on the forest moon of Endor which is projecting a protective shield up to the orbiting and incomplete Death Star. Luke, having returned from Dagobah, joins him and Leia for this mission; however, he soon fears that, after sensing Vader's presence within the nearby Imperial Fleet, his own presence may endanger the mission. On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a tribe of Ewoks, primitive yet intelligent indigenous forest creatures of Endor. With the help of C-3PO, whom the Ewoks believe is a god, they are able to forge an alliance with the forest creatures. Later, Luke decides that the time has come for him to face Vader. He confesses to Leia the truth about her and Vader, and that he has to try to save the man who was once their father. He surrenders peacefully to Vader and unsuccessfully tries to convince his father to abandon the dark side. They go to the Death Star and meet the Emperor, who reveals that he knew of the attack before, and that the Rebel Alliance is walking into a trap. On the forest moon, the Rebels – led by Solo and Leia – enter the shield generator control facility only to be taken prisoner by waiting Imperial forces. Once they are led out of the bunker, however, the Ewoks spring a surprise counterattack. A desperate ground battle begins with the Rebels and Ewoks fighting the Imperial forces. The Rebels eventually gain the upper hand, due in large part to a stolen Imperial AT-ST Walker.

During the strike team's assault, the Rebel fleet, led by Lando, emerges from hyperspace for the battle over Endor, only to discover that the shield of the Death Star is still functioning. An intense space battle takes place as the Rebel fleet battles to give the surface party more time to complete their mission of deactivating the Death Star's shield. During the battle, the Death Star is revealed to be operational; its superlaser is fired at the Rebel fleet and obliterates two Rebel star cruisers. This forces a rethinking of strategy and the fleet closes with the Imperial star destroyers to prevent the superlaser from firing on the Rebel fleet.

On the Death Star, the Emperor tempts Luke to give in to his anger. A ferocious lightsaber duel erupts between Luke and his father. In the midst of combat, Vader reads Luke's feelings and learns that Luke has a twin sister. When Vader toys with the notion of turning Leia to the dark side, Luke gives in to his anger and brutally overpowers his father, eventually slicing off Vader's robotic right hand. However, despite the Emperor's goading, Luke refuses to kill his father, realizing that he is traveling down his father's path towards the dark side. He declares himself a Jedi, like his father before him. Upon realizing that Luke cannot be turned, the Emperor tortures and slowly kills him with Force lightning; in unspeakable pain, Luke begs his father for help. Facing a moral crisis as he sees his son dying before his own eyes, Vader finally repents in return of his former self, Anakin Skywalker, and turns on the Emperor, grabbing him over his shoulder and throwing him down a reactor shaft to his death. At the same time, however, the life support system in his suit is damaged beyond repair by the Emperor's lightning. Moments from death, he begs Luke to take off his breath mask to see him with his own eyes. Luke does so, and finally sees his father's true face: that of a pale, withered man ravaged by the dark side. He entreats Luke to leave him and save himself, and to tell Leia that there was some good left in him after all. With those last words, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker dies, finally at peace.

Back on Endor, the strike team finally destroys the shield generator. The Rebel fleet seizes the opportunity to launch a final assault on the Death Star in space. Lando leads Wedge Antilles and his fighter group into the interior of the Death Star and they fire at the main reactor, causing its collapse. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's body in an Imperial shuttle. Moments later, Wedge in his X-Wing and Lando in the Millennium Falcon emerge from the Death Star as well, just as it explodes. Back on Endor, Leia senses that Luke had escaped the station before it exploded. Han believes that she loves Luke and is prepared to let her go, but Leia reassures Han of her love for him and reveals (to his surprise and relief) that Luke is actually her brother. That evening, Luke cremates the remains of his father in his black armor on a funeral pyre on Endor.

The entire galaxy celebrates the fall of the Empire and the Rebellion's victory. On Endor, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, and the rest of the Rebellion, along with the Ewoks, celebrate the victory as well. During the celebration, Luke catches sight of the spirit figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, who watch over them with pride.

A Champagne bottle tumbles through space, slowly drifting towards its intended target, the new U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B. It is late in the 23rd century, and the inauguration of the vessel is attended by crew from the former starship of the same name — James Kirk, Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov. Reporters and onlookers clamor to interview Kirk and the new U.S.S. Enterprise captain about commanding a starship, as the crew begins to embark on its routine maiden voyage. A short time into the flight, however, the starship receives a distress call and is diverted to aid two El-Aurian transport vessels which are caught in a strange, mysterious energy ribbon. Kirk, falling back on his old instincts, quickly finds that not only is the new captain inexperienced, but most of the ship's vital weapons and functions have not yet been installed. While Kirk, Scott and Chekov struggle to save the ship, the transporter room beams aboard survivors, even as their El-Aurian transport vessels are torn apart by the energy ribbon. Kirk goes below deck to work on the deflector relays, but the ribbon suddenly strikes the starship, tearing a large gash through the hull and leaving only debris where Kirk was working. Scotty and Chekov stare out into space, bewildered by the sudden loss of their friend.

Seventy-eight years later, in 2371, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D join together on the holodeck for a ceremony to promote Lt. Worf — a Klingon officer — to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The ceremony is conducted using a 19th-century sailing ship and corresponding uniforms. The merriment is suddenly interrupted, however, when Picard receives an urgent personal message. Suddenly depressed, Picard leaves the festivities to contemplate in privacy.

Meanwhile, officers Geordi La Forge and Data successfully install an emotion chip designed by Data's creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, into the android. Although La Forge questions the wisdom of the installation as a potentially painful step in the growth of his friend, Data ignores him. After installing the chip, Data quickly discovers the vast array of emotions now available to him and believes he has the necessary skills to integrate them into his programming.

Sent to the Amargosa Observatory to investigate a distress call, the U.S.S. Enterprise finds two dead Romulans and five humans left alive after a mysterious and brutal attack. One of these survivors is a Dr. Tolian Soran. Data and La Forge later return to the starship's laboratory and find traces of a volatile explosive which Soran has secretly concealed in the lab. While Data watches in abject terror, Soran kidnaps La Forge, taking him to a cloaked Klingon ship. When questioning La Forge proves unsuccessful, Soran releases the starship officer — after modifying his VISOR to transmit its signals back to the Klingon vessel.

Soran then fires a trilithium probe into the sun, which causes an incredible shock wave. The Klingon ship, on which he is a passenger, is commanded by the Klingon Duras sisters. In exchange for the formula for Soran's trilithium explosive, they have agreed to take him to the planet Veridian III, where he wants to conduct another solar implosion.

On board the U.S.S. Enterprise, Picard learns that Soran is 300 years old and, like Guinan, a survivor of the El-Aurian incident that killed Captain Kirk. In an effort to understand what is happening, Picard finally goes to Guinan. She tells him that the energy ribbon, called the Nexus, is a temporal anomaly moving through space. To anyone or anything inside the Nexus, linear time has no meaning and a person can experience anything that he or she desires. There is an overpowering feeling of joy so addictive, that once there, no one wants to leave. Soran is desperate to return to the Nexus and recreate that joy with the family he lost when his world was assimilated by the Borg.

Picard, still depressed from his previous message, informs Troi of his family lineage and that he never intended to have any children because his brother had children who would carry on the Picard name. However, according to the message he received, his brother and nephew were killed in a fire on Earth. Therefore, Jean-Luc will now be the last Picard.

In Stellar Cartography, Picard and an emotionally troubled Data plot the course of the Nexus and the changes that have occurred since the sun was destroyed. They conclude that Soran plans to destroy another sun when the Nexus passes close to the Veridian system — killing as many as 230 million inhabitants on one of the system's planets. Destroying the suns alters spacial forces, thereby changing the path of the Nexus. With the Veridian sun destroyed, the Nexus will then pass along the surface of Veridian III, allowing Soran to re-enter the phenomenon.

Picard, learning of the situation, beams down to Veridian III to try to dissuade Soran. In the meantime, La Forge has been returned to the U.S.S. Enterprise in exchange for Picard; the Duras sisters watch with great interest as La Forge moves about the ship. Finally they see what they've been waiting for — the U.S.S. Enterprise deflector shield modulation. Seizing this information, the cloaked Bird-of-Prey fires through the starship's deflector shields, severely damaging the U.S.S. Enterprise. Ultimately, however, the U.S.S. Enterprise succeeds in destroying the Klingon warbird, killing all aboard. Unfortunately Soran has already beamed down to the planet Veridian III.

Due to damage sustained by the Klingon's attack, the Enterprise suffers a warp-core breach and Riker orders the saucer section separated. Before he can get the saucer away safely, however, the battle section explodes, hurtling the saucer and its entire crew toward the surface of Veridian III. After a terrifying ride, the U.S.S. Enterprise saucer crash lands on the planet's surface. Fortunately, most of the crew are uninjured.

Elsewhere on the planet's surface, Picard and Soran fight to the death as the Nexus rapidly approaches. Soran manages to fire his trilithium probe into the sun, destroying it as the ribbon engulfs both men, taking them inside the Nexus. In their wake, the inhabitants of the Veridian system, as well as the survivors from the U.S.S. Enterprise, are engulfed in a giant cloud of fire.

For a time, Picard is bewildered but delighted to be spending Christmas with his large, happy family — a family he's never had the time to start. But then, just as the captain gazes at a sparkling ornament, he is suddenly reminded that this experience is not real and that he must get on with his mission. Picard remembers that Guinan had told him he would find someone in the Nexus to help him defeat Soran. Just then, an "echo" of Guinan appears, telling Picard that he can have anything he wants in the Nexus, but that he can also leave — and he can leave prior to when he came. There might still be time to stop Soran's destruction, but Picard believes he needs help if he's to be successful.

With Guinan's help, Picard finds a slightly puzzled but happy James T. Kirk in the Nexus. Kirk wasn't killed 78 years earlier on the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B, but was drawn into the Nexus instead. Picard meets a content Kirk who is now a happy farmer in Iowa, complete with his life's loves — "Antonia" and his horses. Picard is successful in convincing Kirk of the spurious nature of the Nexus realities, and he awakens Kirk's taste for adventure, duty, and the chance to "make a difference again." The two Enterprise captains leave the Nexus and materialize on Veridian III, just as Soran is preparing to set off his solar bomb. This time, Kirk grapples with Soran while Picard races to sabotages the probe.

Although Kirk wins the fight, knocking Soran off the edge of the cliff, the diabolical doctor manages to cloak the launch mechanism before Picard can disarm it. Yet Soran, hanging on for dear life at the end of a rope, loses control of the remote after the line suddenly gives. The remote control is thrown into the air, landing on a nearby bridge. Kirk races to recover the remote, as does Soran, who fires on Kirk and the bridge with his deadly disruptor. Although Kirk is saved in the nick of time by Picard, the bridge is broken in two, with the remote resting on the opposite portion across the void.

Picard urges Kirk to accept his help, yet Kirk, stubborn as always, goes after the remote himself. With the second half of the bridge about to give, Kirk jumps to the other side, escaping certain death by seconds. Just as the remote is about to fall into the chasm, Kirk miraculously grabs it out of thin air. With time running out and the Nexus fast approaching, Kirk decloaks the launch mechanism. Suddenly the second half of the bridge collapses into the chasm, carrying Kirk with it.

Picard, now able to see the mechanism, races to the controls. Yet his plans are seemingly cut short when Soran, frantic that he might miss his last chance at gaining access to the Nexus, aims his disruptor directly at the captain. Although Picard escapes, capitalizing on Soran's distraction, the evil doctor doesn't care. His moment of triumph is at hand. Soran's smile slowly fades, however, when he realizes that Picard has secured the missile's locking clamps; although about to ignite, the rocket will not launch.

The launch mechanism explodes into a giant fireball, killing Soran and preventing the destruction of the entire Veridian system. Picard runs to Kirk, where he stays until the former captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise dies. "It was fun...oh my." are Kirk's last words. After Picard has buried and mourned the loss of his new friend, a shuttlecraft from the U.S.S. Enterprise finds Picard and takes him to the ship's crash site where survivors are being rescued by the U.S.S. Farragut.

Believing he has finally mastered human emotions, Data finds himself wrong when he and Counselor Troi manage to find the android's cat amongst the Enterprise wreckage. Data, bewildered, is overcome with tears of joy. Riker is saddened as they leave the wrecked starship, but Picard assures him that this is not likely to be the last ship named "Enterprise."