Artoo whistled happily. Ani had found him. Ani looked different. When Artoo had inquired about the suit, Ani had told him that Master Kenobi was evil and had nearly killed him. This made Artoo very angry. Artoo had liked Master Kenobi. There was a pale man who was also nearly dead. He was once Chancellor, but Ani called him Emperor. Artoo had been given a new paint job to blend in with the other Astromechs. The Emperor had told him that there was a threat to Ani that only Artoo could fix. At first Artoo had wondered at the changes in Ani, but a quick re-arranging of memory had fixed that. Artoo was to go to Ani's home and kill a boy. He was not to tell anyone of his mission.
The Tatooine wind blew on Artoo. Artoo was black now, with red lines. But his dome was gold with red. He was on the farm where the boy lived and his sniper was at the ready. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him.
"You lost, little guy?" asked a young voice behind him. He quietly hid the muzzle of his sniper behind a door. The speaker was a young woman with dark brown hair and chestnut eyes. She reminded him of his Mistress.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked.
"I'm Leia. you look like a droid my father used to talk about. He was called R2-D2."
"Your father or the droid?" asked Artoo. He did not mention that she was talking about him. She laughed.
"The droid. You're funny. What are you up to around here?" Artoo pondered the question. He knew that he couldn't just tell her, as that would be against orders.
"I'm here to eliminate a threat to my master. Why are you here?"
"Can I trust you?"
"Of course."
" I'm going to take you home. If you don't like it, I'll rewire you. I'm here to eliminate a threat to the galaxy." Artoo laughed. He then agreed to go with… Leia. There was something about that name...