The Sandtrooper's Story

Chapter 9 – The Lars Place

The sand, rock and windswept dunes making up the barren landscape beneath us slid past quickly as we now flew with a purpose toward one of the moisture farms we had passed earlier this morning.

The fugitives would soon be in our custody, the stolen data extracted and returned to Lord Vader, and the 'droid or 'droids destroyed. I unclipped the macros from my belt and snapped them on, scanning the horizon for any sign of the moisture farm, but there was nothing yet.

I found myself wondering what could be so important that it rattled Lord Vader so remarkably, and how had he been careless enough to allow the rebels to escape with the stolen data in the first place.

(Ξ)

The small domed entrance to the Lars' dwelling finally came into view and our pilot proceeded in low, circling around the techdome, and allowing us a good visual scan of the farm's layout. The main living quarters and most of the other structures were built beneath ground, with only their roofs protruding up to break the flat, sandy skyline.

All appeared to have subterranean corridors that emptied into a common, open-air courtyard pit. The dewbacks groaned and flipped their tails around nervously as the Sentinel settled to the ground, squarely in the center of the now-familiar mechanical tracks of the Sandcrawler that had compressed the sand in front of the dwelling.

The rear doors hissed open, and the gusting fresh air from outside rushed in to replace the overwhelming stench from the onboard livestock. We walked the length of the rear ramp to the ground outside and circled around toward the domed entrance of the desert homestead.

A scruffy, aging male dressed in well-worn, but presentable desert wraps came walking out to meet us. Etz and Topolev walked to the edge of the pit and peered down into the open courtyard below.

The man's eyes followed them as they walked. Felth hung back a bit with 1265, carefully watching the rest of the farm. 4120, 0600, and I stood with Rogue, who walked up to the man as he verified the name on the purchase order, "Mr. Owen Lars?"

"Yeah, that's right", Owen nodded.

"We have information that tells us you purchased two 'droids yesterday from a Jawa Sandcrawler, is that correct? "

The man squinted a bit, crossing his arms, visibly unnerved by the sudden gathering of Imperial troops on his farm, "Maybe, but why the hell would the Empire care if I buy a couple of 'droids?"

Rogue took a step closer to the moisture farmer, "I'll ask the questions."

Owen narrowed his eyes even more as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He had always thought it would come to something like this one day. First the astromech spewing gibberish about Obi-Wan Kenobi and now this. He had watched over his step-brother's child all these years, knowing in the back of his mind that one day, the Empire that had claimed Anakin would be back one day to claim his son as well.

The fact that Kenobi had remained on Tatooine, in hiding and carefully watching over the boy from a distance, had long foreshadowed this day and the events that were now beginning to unfold. Owen felt sick in the pit of his stomach . . . he hadn't seen this coming, there was no warning like the last time, with the Inquisitor. The guns were still hidden in the courtyard below, but he couldn't get to them, he was defenseless. His mind raced to Beru, down in the kitchen preparing the day's food.

Thankfully, Luke had gotten an early start with both new 'droids on an errand, off to repair condensers on the South ridge, and not returning for some time. Owen now feared for himself and his wife as he tried to settle back a bit. He had sheltered and protected his nephew from the Empire and crazy Ben Kenobi for too many years to have it all unravel now because of a 'droid searching for his former master.

He wished Kenobi and his master, Qui Gon Jinn, had never come to this place. Anakin would have grown up here with his mother, both slaves to Watto. And yet, he would have been far away from the treachery that became the Empire; the treachery and deception that had ultimately twisted him into the cold darkness he now was.

Owen's mind was reeling with the chain of events stemming from that fated emergency landing, and the destructive ripple that had swept across the galaxy as a result. That ripple was now culminating with Sandtroopers at his farm on this windy morning. If any one small piece of the puzzle had been different, he might not be in this situation now. With any luck, Luke had already had the astromech's memory flush done.

Owen spoke, "Yeah, I bought two droids yesterday from those greedy little Jawas. They dumped their grimy 'droids, took my money, and headed off in that direction" he said, pointing across the Jundland Wastes toward Anchorhead.

Rogue nodded in agreement as Owen finished speaking. "I'm sure they did, but I need to see the 'droids you purchased. One of them may have something that was taken from us, and we want it back."

Owen scowled, "I don't know what you're looking for, but they aren't here dammit, they've been taken to, uh . . . Mos Espa for some refurbishing. I paid good money for those blasted 'droids and they both still needed work."

Rogue abruptly turned to 4120, "Search the farm. We need to be sure they aren't here. You and 0600 check the power generator. Deckard, I want you, Etz, and Topolev to check the living quarters. 1265, search the surface structures." Our XO nodded and motioned for the rest of us to follow him.

"I already told you they aren't here", said Owen, uncrossing his arms.

Rogue reflexively responded as did the rest of us, stepping back and leveling our blasters at the scruffily-bearded moisture farmer.

He took a step back, slowly raising his hands. "I have no weapons."

Rogue visually scanned the old man and nodded his confirmation to us. We backed off and walked away toward the entrance dome that led down into the home.

"We'll just wait here Mr. Lars, while we see what my troops turn up", said Rogue.

Owen felt control slipping away, and the sickness he felt in his stomach began twisting into a thick knot as the armor-clad Sandtroopers descended the stairs into the homestead his father had built below. For the first time, he hoped Kenobi was watching from a distance.

1265 headed off to inspect the roofs and surface structures behind the courtyard pit. Etz and Topolev went off in the direction of the living spaces in search of other family members. Etz split off, following a drifting smell from what must be a food preparation area, and I went toward the garage.

Topolev uncovered a tidy, modest sleeping room for Mr. Lars and his wife, and a second, disheveled sleeping room, which showed signs of someone having been there the night prior, and having left in a hurry.

Etz stepped quietly through the hallways until he heard the churning of food processors and cookers.

"Luke, is that you? Did you forget something?" came a voice from the next room. He descended a few steps and found an old woman preparing drinks for a morning meal.

She turned, expecting to see Luke in the doorway, and instead saw Etz, with his blaster lowered at her. She screamed and dropped the container she held in her hand. The blue, milky liquid inside exploded all over her feet and the floor as it hit the ground. She stood shaking, terrified, and transfixed by the sight of the Imperial Sandtrooper in her home. Blue milk dripped from her clothes and the lower cabinets.

Etz spoke, "Hold it right there. I don't want to hurt you. We just have a few questions for you and your husband. Who is . . . Luke?"

(Ξ)

I descended a short flight of stairs and crossed a narrow gridded gantry through a dark garage area where it appeared several vehicles were stored.

There was an empty, open bay with some tools and parts lying about, and then a second bay with a T-16 Skyhopper parked in it; hardly the norm for aging moisture farmers. I continued on and the gantry emptied out into a grungy, well-worn techdome; a repair center for condensors, vaporators and other farm machinery, including droids.

The room had the smell of heavy oils, burnt wiring, and exhaust residue. I stepped down to the gridded deck plate in the center of the stone room and slowly looked around. Protruding from another parking bay adjacent to the oil bath facility was the nose of a multi-passenger, V-35 landspeeder; a bit more in line with our residents' age and driving needs.

I poked around, looking over repair benches as lights silently winked on and off on the wall control panels. The oil in the oil bath looked like it should have been changed out long ago, but I did notice that it was calibrated to accommodate a plunge depth for a human-sized, bi-pedal protocol 'droid.

A hooked scraping tool and a small, round piece of metal on the repair bench caught my eye. I moved my left hand from under the muzzle of my blaster, and picked up the small object. It was a restraining bolt, the kind used to keep 'droids from wandering off.

I looked once more around the room and pulled off my helmet, holding the bolt close to my nose to smell it. There was a strong burnt odor and a loose black powdery residue, indicating it had been removed recently. I slipped my bucket back on and headed toward the surface to show Rogue and the others what I had found.

(Ξ)

I stepped off the top step, out of the domed doorway into the sand. 4120 stood beside Rogue. Felth, Topolev, and 1265 now formed a line between the small gathering and the Sentinel. Etz had found a woman and brought her out. She stood beside her husband, shivering with fear as the cool morning wind blew over us. Rogue had his blaster trained on Lars and Etz had his blaster leveled at the small of the woman's back.

I walked closer, rolling the restraining bolt over in my hand. I could hear Rogue speaking to them now, ". . . so then, what you're telling me is that you did buy the 'droids, but they never even made it inside your place? You sent them right off to Mos Espa for refitting and refurbishment?"

Owen nodded.

Then Etz spoke up, "Who is Luke? Your wife called out to Luke when I came walking in on her."

The moisture farmer looked flustered for a second, then recovered with his reply, "Luke was a hired hand that we just lost a week or so ago. He worked on the vaporators. That's why I needed the droids, to fill his spot."

Etz was not convinced. "The woman seemed to think he had forgotten something and had come back for it. Doesn't sound like an ex farmhand to me."

The whole situation was beginning to unravel a bit. I looked down at the restraining bolt in my hand and spoke up to the group as Topolev stepped closer, "I found this in their tech dome" tossing the bolt to 0600 who looked it over as I continued. "It's been recently removed from a 'droid, and their oil bath was last calibrated for a bi-pedal protocol model."

Rogue turned to stare Owen in the eyes.

4120 and Topolev looked at each other as the latter spoke up, "We didn't see any 'droids down there except a worn out old power droid and a broken Treadwell."

Rogue turned his attention back to Owen, "I'm going to ask you one last time. Think carefully before you answer. Who is Luke, and where are your 'droids?"

Owen glanced at Beru as she shook in fear, staring back at him. He turned thoughtfully back to Rogue, "You've already decided to kill us haven't you? You can't have any witnesses to what you're searching for. We're too much of a liability, aren't we?"

Beru remained silent. She knew they had to protect Luke, or everything they had worked for over the years would be for nothing. She lunged at the thermal detonator on Topolev's belt, unclipping and activating it, holding it high in the air over her head. All of our blasters leveled at the old woman as Felth and 1265 stepped closer, blasters raised. She shook and trembled, as we backed away from her and the clicking detonator.

She and Owen backed away from us toward the domed entrance to their home. "You can't have Luke, and you won't be killing any of us over a 'droid. It's, it's you who'll be dying today!"

And, as she moved to throw the detonator at us, 0600, 4120, and I blasted through her forearm at the wrist, severing it from her. The detonator released and dropped at their feet. Owen grabbed his wife as she screamed in pain, and they turned their backs to the device, as we scattered for cover. The concussion of the blast knocked us all into the sand. When we stood and turned to face the grisly sight, there was little left of the moisture farmer and his wife.

The blast had wiped the flesh from their bones, as neatly as you might wipe dirt from your clothing. All that remained were two smoking skeletons lying beside the stairs. Whoever Luke was, he was definitely on his own now.

"Burn it. Burn it all", said Rogue, "I don't want any traces of our presence here left behind" and he walked away, pulling off his helmet, pushing past us.

Felth and 1265 stood guard as Etz, Topolev, 4120, 0600, and I disappeared down the stairs to set the charges. A short time later we all made our way out of the lower levels and headed for the drop ship.

Suddenly, the ground beneath our boots shook violently as the first of our charges detonated. A large geyser of sand shot skyward over the farm as more explosions followed below the surface. Smoke billowed from the open pit, and out of the the roof of the tech dome and the other surface structures as the living quarters beneath were consumed in fire.

Our job here was finished.

(∞ ∞ ∞)