The tenth installment of the Star Wars radio drama, entitled "The Luke Skywalker Initiative," was initially broadcasted on National Public Radio on Monday, May 4, 1981. This episode, which can be found in the Star Wars radio drama series, adapts portions of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, specifically starting with the forced landing of the Millennium Falcon within the Death Star. Crucially, it merges the two primary narrative threads of the drama, those centered on Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.
As the Death Star pulls the Millennium Falcon inward, Han Solo and Chewbacca begin their deception to give the impression that the ship is deserted. They accomplish this by altering the ship's log, deploying the escape pods, and concealing themselves, along with the other two passengers, within smuggling compartments situated beneath the deck. These compartments are designed to be impervious to scanner detection. Consequently, the initial search party of stormtroopers fails to locate them upon the ship's landing. Ben detects the presence of Darth Vader, but keeps this information to himself.
Han and Chewbacca subdue the scanning crew who board the vessel. Subsequently, they eliminate two [stormtroopers](/article/stormtrooper-legends], don their armor, and seize control of the control room adjacent to the docking bay. Using a computer terminal inside this room, Artoo-Detoo identifies the power source for the tractor beam that is preventing their departure. Ben departs to deactivate the beam, instructing the others to remain with the droids for their protection.
Furthermore, Artoo discovers that Princess Leia is being held captive on the station and is scheduled for execution. Luke immediately resolves to rescue her, persuading Han and Chewbacca to assist by offering them a reward from the Rebel Alliance. Han and Luke, now wearing the stolen armor, disguise Chewbacca as a prisoner and proceed to the detention Level. When their deception begins to unravel, they eliminate the Duty officer and three guards, successfully freeing Leia from her cell.
However, immediately after Leia's liberation, another group of troopers arrives and initiates gunfire, trapping the four within the detention block corridor. See-Threepio, communicating via a comlink, informs Luke that their actions have triggered a station-wide alert on the Death Star. Leia, seizing a blaster, creates an opening in the wall, allowing them to enter the nearest garbage chute. They survive an encounter with an unseen trash-dwelling creature, which retreats as quickly as it appeared. The group soon understands the reason for the creature's hasty departure: the trash pit is, in fact, a compactor, and its walls begin to close in as the episode concludes.
"The Luke Skywalker Initiative" maintains a high degree of fidelity to the events depicted in the film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, with only slight modifications necessitated by the radio medium. For instance, it explicitly portrays Han and Chewbacca's efforts to make the Falcon appear abandoned, an event that occurs off-screen in the film. The stormtrooper identified as TK-421 in the film is referred to as TX-421 in this adaptation, aligning with the comic book adaptation Death Star.