Chapter 6: Two New Pals

Luke soon settled down at school. It was very different from what he was used to, but he was adaptable. However, every so often something new would suddenly come up, and throw him off balance. One such thing was the oath they had to recite each morning, pledging their loyalty to the Emperor and the Empire. The first time, Luke was embarrassed that he didn't know it. He mouthed the words, not wanting to appear ignorant.

He had solved that problem by getting Ben to write it down so he could memorize it. Ben had become a good friend—his only friend, really. They had much in common and Ben was a great help with the school work. That too, had taken some getting used to. They hadn't expected such a high standard back on Tatooine and he hadn't been to school in ages.

Lev would drop him off at school if he wasn't busy, but Luke was happy to walk. It did get lonely, though. Leaving the palace involved passing through three security checkpoints, and the guards were friendly enough, especially after they began to recognise him. But he knew they were just being polite when they asked how his day had gone, and he couldn't give them a real answer. Deep down, he knew he was missing his father. He didn't know why—it wasn't like he ever saw him when he was home. It just made him feel more secure, somehow, to know his father was nearby.

One lunchtime, two weeks after Luke had started school, he and Ben were sitting in the cafeteria, working on some math homework. Luke tossed the datapad down in frustration.

"I don't understand this," Luke said, tapping his lightpen against the table.

"What don't you understand?" Ben asked.

"Everything. It keeps telling me I have the wrong answer, and I can't even see where I'm going wrong."

"Give me a look," Ben said, picking up Luke's datapad.

Luke gazed around the cafeteria while he waited, making sure Chilee wasn't around. He had successfully managed to avoid his notice so far, and he planned to keep it that way. The cafeteria was mostly deserted, though, as most of the students were outside in the bubble-domed grounds. Luke wished he was too, but Ben had wanted to finish the homework. Besides, it was in his own best interests to complete it while his friend could check over it.

"Do you have any food with you?" Luke asked, rubbing his stomach. Why was it that homework made a person feel so hungry?

"No." Ben dug in his pocket and slid some credits across the table. "Go and get some from the snack machine in the hall."

Luke eyed the credits. "Are you sure? I'm not that hungry ... "

"Yes, get some for both of us," Ben said distantly, absorbed in the mathematics.

Luke picked up the credits and went out to the hall, considering the situation. He felt a little uncomfortable using his friend's credits, as he currently had no means of returning the favor. The last time he'd received an allowance was while living with his aunt and uncle. Maybe he could try asking Lev to bring it up with his father for him. Although Lev and the other officers seemed even more nervous around his father than he was.

He put the coins into the machine and selected a bag of Cosmo Crunchies. There were a few clicks, and he waited impatiently. Pretty soon, it was clear the machine wasn't doing anything. He gave it a kick, and the screen blacked out for a moment, before returning to 'insert credits!'. There was no sign of any snack—or refund, for that matter. He tried another kick, deciding it couldn't hurt. Typical.

"Too bad. I suppose those credits were your life savings."

Luke turned around to see Ophelia, standing nearby.

"What?"

"Here, let me help," Ophelia said, pulling a card out of her pocket. She came over to the machine and held it up to the sensor..

"What's that?" Luke asked, curious.

"My credit card. I suppose you've never seen one of these," Ophelia held out the shiny gold card for Luke to inspect. "How sad."

"How ... how did you get one of those?" Luke asked.

"I've got several. They are linked to my father's bank account. He's a—"

"Grand Moff, yes, you have mentioned that," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

"I was going to say he's a billionaire." Ophelia pushed buttons on the snack machine, and waited for it to produce the food. Luke was half hoping it would malfunction again, but no such luck.

"Here you go," she said, tossing the Cosmo Crunchies in his direction.

Luke caught the bag and wondered whether to accept them or not. But Ophelia was already walking away.

"Thanks," he called after her.

She didn't reply.

Luke returned to the cafeteria, not knowing what to think. She'd only done that to show off her credit card and to make him feel inferior, yet he did get food out of it, so maybe it was worth it. Food for insults ... sounded like a fair trade. He sat down opposite Ben and opened the bag of snacks, placing it between them.

"Ben," he said. "Do you have a credit card?"

Ben looked up, laughter in his eyes. "A credit card?! Are you kidding?"

"Ophelia was just showing me hers."

"Typical of her. She probably gets a thousand credits a week allowance," Ben said, going back to his analysis of Luke's homework.

Luke decided to change the subject. "What's after lunch?"

"Physical ed," Ben moaned.

"Oh yeah," Luke said, brightening, "Miss Lee said we start gymnastics today, didn't she?"

"Don't remind me," Ben said. "I'm useless at that. How about you?"

"I don't know," Luke admitted. "We never had that at my old school. We didn't even have a physical education class. You didn't make yourself hot on Tatooine unless it was absolutely necessary."

"The more you tell me about your planet, the less I want to visit it," Ben said, finally tossing the datapad back. "I've made corrections."

"I don't know," Luke said, staring out a window. "I hated it while I lived there, but sometimes, I kinda miss it. Being rich there meant you were planning to move off planet. Or you were a Hutt."

After the rendezvous with the Arena, they chased after another lead Vader had obtained from one of the captured Rebels. It had yielded moderately successful results, with another Rebel cell being uncovered on Benventi. It was a slow process, crushing these insignificant, unorganized uprisings, but the Emperor was determined to maintain order right down to the smallest Outer Rim settlement.

He could have stayed out here for months in the Outer Rim, chasing these loose threads with the fleet while returning to Mustafar every few days to recuperate. An impossibly short time ago, he would have done so. But his life had changed abruptly since then, a fact that continually gnawed at him every time he attempted to realign himself to the Force in deep meditation.

Vaneé, the attendant and steward of the Mustafar fortress, approached him while he stood in the main entrance hall, looking out at the unforgiving landscape.

"My Lord, an ISB agent has just sent through a media story they have removed from an underground HoloNet channel."

Vader turned, and Vaneé held up the holoprojector.

The title segment flashed with the words: 'Cruiser Vanishes Without A Trace!'.

A Sullustian anchor appeared. 'The Alderaan government is calling for any information on the whereabouts of pleasure cruiser Spectrum, which, as of this morning, was a week overdue in Alderaan space. The vessel has not been seen or heard from since a so-called routine check carried out by the Imperial Navy.'

Vader was surprised. The Arena's captain had assured him the Spectrum had entered hyperspace unharmed. The holo display changed to an image of a young Alderaanian reporter, with a picture of the Alderaan capital city as a backdrop.

'Worried relatives have been demanding to know the current whereabouts of family members. The Imperial navy has remained silent on the issue, refusing to say what has happened to the ship or its civilian crew.'

The image changed back to the Sullustian anchor.

'Lord Vader was in command of the operation but has yet to make an official statement on the situation or whereabouts of the missing passengers.'

The holo faded, and Vader remained silent, trying to understand what he had just heard.

"Contact the Arena," he said to Vaneé, finally. "Tell them to transfer their sensor logs immediately."

"Yes, my lord."

"I must return to Coruscant. It may be … some weeks before I will return."

There was a clear question in Vaneé's expression. He had already been away for longer than usual.

Vader turned away to the view of the lava flows, wondering why this was difficult. The only person he had directly told of his relationship to Luke was the Emperor, but there were many on Coruscant who knew of it now.

"I have recently been reunited with a son I long thought dead," Vader said. He felt Vaneé's surprise in the silence that followed, but the man didn't say anything. Vader breathed for a few cycles, and then said, "The Jedi stole the child when he was born and have been hiding him in the Outer Rim."

Vaneé was silent for a moment longer, and then asked, "How old is the boy, my lord?"

"Twelve standard years."

"Will you bring him here? Should I arrange for a room to be prepared?"

Vader turned and looked around at the entrance hall. Lighted walkways led to the visitor's landing pad in one direction, and to the elevators in the other. Below them was a very long fall down to the lava. It was not difficult to imagine the overly-energetic child skidding right over the edge.

Vaneé followed his gaze, and seemed to catch on to his thoughts.

"And perhaps … some railings?"

Changes would be necessary. But just the thought of it was as depressing as the thought of having to spend more time on Coruscant. The proximity of the plummeting depths was a useful tool when a quick execution of a visitor was required. And for those not destined for such a grim fate, the fear of the possibility was ever-present. It was difficult to see how safety railings could be compatible with this purpose.

"Or a force field, perhaps? One that could be turned off and on as needed?"

"That would be … preferable," Vader said. He considered it for another moment, and then said, "There will be many things to consider. For now, he is attending school on Coruscant, so he will remain there for the time being." He paused, and then added, "And so I must return."

Luke was in the middle of a daydream as he wandered home from school. He felt happier than he had in weeks, no, months! He had finally found something which just seemed to come so naturally. Balancing, jumping, flipping ... it was all so incredibly easy. Like he'd been doing it all his life. And when he closed his eyes ... everything else seemed to disappear, and his mind and body were perfectly in union.

He was so wrapped in his thoughts, he bumped head first into a soft, yet solid, pillar. It turned out to be a person.

"Oh! Sorry!" he said, looking up in surprise.

A greenish skinned man peered down at him, before turning away, uninterested. He was holding a placard, filled with a photo of an old man. Underneath the picture was a slogan in red, reading 'His innocent son is a prisoner of the Empire!'. About thirty others were spread along the walkway, chanting and waving banners and signs.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, curious. He'd never seen anyone like this on Coruscant before. Or ever in his life, for that matter.

"Move along, kid," one of them said. "You'll get hurt if you stick around."

Luke gave up and continued around the corner, where the walkway led into a large park. It was a longer route to go this way, but he did enjoy the sight of trees and grass, things he'd never known on Tatooine. As he ran across the picnic area, he tossed his bag aside and paused to do a few cartwheels. On the third one, he ended up tumbling, and he rolled into a pile of freshly cut weeds. A nearby gardening droid swiveled its domed head to face him and beeped angrily.

Maybe it would be a better idea to go on home and practice somewhere inside. There had to be a gym somewhere in the palace, and Lev would probably know where. He ran on towards the other end of the park, before remembering his school bag and running back for it. By the time he actually made it to the third security checkpoint for the Imperial Palace, he was breathing quickly and not paying much attention to where he was going.

As a result, he bumped into Lev at the elevator hub.

"Lev!" he said, rubbing his head. "Sorry! You're the second person I've bumped into in the last ten minutes."

"How was school?" Lev asked, picking a blade of grass out of Luke's hair. "Looks like you had fun."

"Great! We started gymnastics today. The teacher said I was a natural."

"I bet," Lev said, walking on. "Come down and tell me about it later, okay? There's a situation outside and I need to check in with the security office."

Luke was about to press the up button for the elevators, when he remembered the problem with the snack machine.

"Uh, Lev?!" Luke called.

Lev turned around.

"I was wondering something," Luke said, walking closer so he didn't have to yell. "My father ... you said credits weren't a problem, right?"

Lev laughed. "You have a gift for the understatement, Luke. Why, do you need something?"

"I was wondering about getting an allowance."

"Maybe you should ask your father—I'm sure he'd be happy to discuss it with you."

"He's not here," Luke said, sighing. He hadn't seen his father in weeks.

"Don't be so sure," Lev said. "Rumor has it he arrived back this afternoon."

Luke brightened. "Where is he?"

"Try the conservatory on the north-facing wall, level twenty-six."

Luke immediately sprinted back towards the elevators. This day was getting better by the moment!

The initial media report about the Spectrum had been available on the HoloNet for less than an hour. But an hour was all it had taken. News of the ship's disappearance had spread like a sandstorm on Tatooine, with speculation about its fate getting more and more outlandish at every turn.

By the time Vader had arrived on Coruscant, at least one major news agency was reporting the ship had been impounded by the Imperial Navy as a security threat, and all crew and passengers were currently being held at detention centres. IMH had logged over 200 communications from various senators demanding to know when their various citizens would be released.

He had withdrawn to the conservatory to take a break from it all, and found himself with a good view of illegal seditionists, staging a protest gathering outside the Imperial Palace. It was something of a cruel irony. The incident they had chosen to risk their lives protesting over, was one of the few in which the Empire was entirely removed from any involvement. Proving that to the satisfaction of the whining populace would be another matter.

The doors slid open with a loud hiss, and Vader felt his mood slip another notch. He had made it clear he was not to be disturbed. This had better be an emergency, or his visitor might find themselves being tossed through the giant windows.

He stretched out with the Force and was immediately smothered with the glowing presence of Luke. The boy crept up beside him, acting as if he was trying to be here without looking like he was.

"Uh ... hi!" he said, looking up for a response. "You're back!"

Vader briefly wondered if Luke was purposely goading him, or if he was genuinely so oblivious. Either way, this had to stop. He turned to face his son, raising a finger to point at him.

"We may be related," he said, "but that does not give you the right to address me in such a—"

He paused, studying Luke's appearance. Loose grass coated his school uniform from tunic to knee, and his boots were splattered with dirt. He followed Vader's gaze, and quickly tried to brush some of it off.

Vader was just about to order the boy out of his sight, when he noticed a troop transport pulling up down below. He turned to watch, hoping they would do their job quickly and efficiently.

"What are those people doing?" Luke asked, stepping closer to see out the windows. "I bumped into one of them on the way home."

"Is there a reason why you are here?" Vader asked, bluntly.

Luke, seeming to finally become aware of his poor mood, began to stumble over his words. "Haven't seen you ...long time ... uh, I was at school today and ... and I was thinking ..."

"It is good to hear you do that occasionally," Vader said, dryly.

Luke continued, "Anyway. I was wondering. The other people at school ... they have credit cards, and ... "

Vader turned to face him, and Luke trailed off.

"Children at your school possess their own credit cards?" He shouldn't have been surprised. Judging by the level of intelligence he had encountered among their parents, the children of the Imperial aristocracy probably possessed their own communication satellites. Luke must have spent a bit too long under those boiling Tatooine suns to think, even for a moment, he was going to spoil him in that manner.

Vader turned back to the scene unfolding outside the palace.

"I suppose it is pretty stupid," Luke said, sounding like he wished he hadn't brought it up.

Vader thought he was done, but he began to speak again.

"But they're quite useful," Luke insisted. "You can use them on the snack machines. They seem to malfunction less when you use a card, instead of loose credits."

Vader didn't reply—the stormtroopers were starting to encircle the protestors. One of them shoved a man to the ground, just as Luke happened to glance over.

"Hey! What's going on down there!? Those troopers are hurting people!"

"They are correcting a grievous error in judgment," Vader explained.

"What was that?" Luke asked.

"Imagining the Empire would tolerate attempts to spread poisonous lies."

The stormtroopers began firing blaster shots, causing the protestors to scatter. Vader watched until satisfied, and then turned to leave. The technicians at IMH should have finished with their analysis of the Arena's sensor logs by now. Hopefully they might shed some light on the fate of the missing Spectrum.

As he turned away, he felt Luke entering a mood which could almost rival his own. It was an odd sensation—the boy was normally so good-natured, he'd never considered he might have a temper. Interesting. It would serve him well if the Emperor ever changed his mind on the issue of training.

He briefly considered enquiring as to what was angering the boy, but the more pressing issue of the missing ship won out.

Luke spent the rest of his afternoon shut in his room and occasionally punching the pillow. It didn't help, though.

Two weeks. His father hadn't seen him in two weeks, and he couldn't even be bothered to ask him how he was finding his new school. He had made him feel out of place for even daring to speak to him. All he cared about was the stupid Empire.

Not even his favorite HoloNet show and a triple helping of dessert could ease him out of this mood. Eventually, he switched off everything, tossed his dinner in the trash, and settled down on his bed to brood. Brooding didn't pass the time quickly enough, though. Luke soon picked up a datapad, and amused himself by drawing sketches of Vader being eaten by some of the giant carnivorous plants in the conservatory. Before long, he was so involved in his work of art, he jumped in fright when he heard the door-comm beep.

He looked towards it in surprise. He hadn't ordered any more food, and the laundry droids always left his clothes outside the door. Luke quickly stuffed the datapad under his pillow and walked across to open the door. His suspicions were confirmed when the looming black figure of his father was waiting on the other side.

Oh stars, Luke thought, he knows what I was doing!

A second later, he realized that was ridiculous, but he wasn't taking any chances. He stepped out to join his father in the corridor, letting the doors close on his somewhat messy room.

"Um, is something wrong?" Luke asked, nervously. There had to be for his father to visit him in his room. He'd never done that before.

"Yes," Vader said. "Your negative emotions are disturbing my meditation."

Luke was confused.

"You are upset about something, and it is causing ripples in the Force," Vader explained. "You appear to have a problem."

Luke became tense. "It's nothing." He really didn't like these psychic abilities his father had. Luckily, he only read emotions, not thoughts. But he wouldn't put it past him to try the latter.

Vader was silent, expectant. Luke eyed him cautiously. His father appeared to be in a better mood. He might as well try, at least.

"I was trying to ask you something earlier, in the conservatory," Luke explained. "About the other students having credit cards."

Vader stared back at him. "You wish to have your own credit card?" he asked, in a disbelieving tone.

"No! I mean, not really. I was just ..."

"Materialism is a shallow and fruitless pursuit, " Vader said, pointing at him. "And it ultimately leads nowhere. You are mistaken if you think I will encourage you to follow that path. You will seek a more worthy destiny."

Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. All he wanted was an allowance, and his father was talking about 'following a path' and his 'destiny'. Had he ever lived in the real world?

"I wasn't wanting a credit card," Luke explained. "I just ... sometimes I'm hungry and want food from the snack machine, and I don't want my friend Ben to have to pay all the time ..." Luke trailed off, realizing his father was unlikely to understand. He probably didn't even know what a snack machine was.

"Your friend?" Vader said, sounding suspicious.

Luke wondered how anyone could miss the point by such a wide margin. "At school. He's in all my classes."

"I see. You are happy at school, then?"

"I guess so," Luke said, surprised he'd asked.

"I would hope so, if your most pressing problem is finding spare change for the snack machines," Vader said, causing Luke to smile. He did know what they were.

"I suppose your request is not unreasonable," he continued, causing Luke to look up quickly. "I am willing to allow you a limited weekly amount to spend as you wish. However, you should train yourself not to desire worthless material possessions."

Luke nodded, not having heard much beyond the initial agreement. He'd done it! He'd persisted, and it had worked!

"And you will be expected to earn it."

Now Luke paid attention. "Doing what?"

"There is plenty to do around here. You may assist with maintaining the spacecraft and droids."

Luke grinned. That wasn't work! He'd been playing with the droids in the hangar anyway. This deal was looking better and better.

"Do you have any mechanical skills?" Vader asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Luke became nervous, as his father seemed to be waiting eagerly for his answer. "Well, I could repair moisture vaporators back on the farm. And I could fix some of the droids. They were always breaking down."

Vader didn't seem impressed. Luke thought harder.

"I did once repair Aunt Beru's chronometer. It hadn't gone in years, but I managed to fix it. I was only about six or seven. Uncle Owen asked me how I did it, and when I couldn't explain he got really angry. He always got angry when I did anything I couldn't explain."

"Perhaps you simply need training," Vader suggested.

"Could you teach me?" Luke asked, quietly. He anticipated Vader's answer long before it came, however.

"I am busy."

Luke nodded, trying not to look disappointed. "I guess I better stop taking up your time, then," he said, glancing back at the door to his room

"But perhaps I can find a spare moment now and then."

Luke stared in amazement. Spare moments? He didn't know Vader even had those.

Vader appeared to be thinking. Then he added, "I recently obtained two wrecked droids from an Alderaanian cruiser. We were unable to recover any useful information from their memory banks. You can use them to practice your droid maintenance skills."

"Where are they?" Luke asked, eagerly.

His father turned, and Luke followed quickly. He hadn't received this much attention out of his father in ... well ever since he'd met him. It was a silent journey down to the hangar, but as soon as they stepped out, Luke was suddenly bursting with questions. He wanted to know the name of every ship and how his father had obtained it.

His father walked quickly to one of the workrooms, though, and Luke put his questions aside, for the time being. Inside, two wrecked droid shells sat miserably on the bench.

"Wow!" Luke said, unable to keep quiet any longer. "That's a real astromech droid, and a Cybot Galactica protocol droid! Have they been in a space battle?"

His father didn't reply, and Luke glanced up to find him looking at another droid, powered down in the corner.

"Isn't that the droid I assigned to mind you?" Vader asked, gesturing at it. There were cobwebs growing on it now.

"It was faulty," Luke said, shifting into his line of sight. "It … uh … kept shutting itself down. So if I manage to get these new ones working, can I keep them?" He gestured back to the two on the bench.

"If you wish." Vader dragged the shell of the protocol droid forward, and opened up the service panel. "As you can see, the main circuits and CPU are largely untouched. Your work will mainly involve re-soldering the limb connections and repairing the damage to the outer coverings."

"These wires are fraying, look!" Luke reached for a cluster of wires coming out of one of the storage circuits, but Vader grabbed his wrist.

"I would recommend wearing insulated gloves before you touch live wires."

"It's powered down!"

"There may still be residual charge."

Luke compromised by picking up an insulated hydrospanner. He used it to push the fraying wires aside and revealed a blackened circuit.

"What problem do you see there?" Vader asked, in a tone which indicated he already knew the answer.

"Oh," Luke said, leaning closer to get a better look. "Short circuit."

"You will need to—"

"—re route it," Luke said. "I'm on it."

Vader pulled a nearby tray of tools closer, and the next thing Luke knew, they were working side by side. It took a moment for Luke to appreciate what this actually meant. No sarcasm, no bad temper. Just the two of them, working in harmony. For a brief moment, it felt like they really were related.

A smile spread on Luke's face, and he felt a happiness arise within him. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay between him and his father. He just had to be patient. Let things happen at their own time.

"Pass me that capacitor," Vader said, seemingly unaware of Luke's joy.

Luke dropped it into Vader's waiting hand and watched as he replaced one which had been damaged.

"Now you can solder that in."

Luke picked up the soldering tool, and Vader held the circuit steady. It was tricky work, but Luke was careful to make a perfect job. Fortunately, he'd had a lot of practice with this kind of thing back on the farm. When he finally did make a small slip, Vader did not complain. Instead he unclipped the circuit, and placed it on Luke's side of the bench.

"You will find it easier to work in that fashion."

Luke nodded and set about re-soldering some loose wires. Vader occupied himself with another task, and Luke felt increasingly comfortable. Almost comfortable enough to try asking a question. Luke mulled over the idea for a few minutes, before finally voicing his thoughts.

"Um, can I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did."

"I mean something else. It's ... well, it's a little personal."

Vader glanced at him, and Luke pretended to be focused intently on his soldering job. After a moment of silence, Vader turned back to his own work.

"Keeping in mind that questions about my past are forbidden," he said, "you may proceed."

Luke released the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"I was just wondering ... what do those controls on your chest do?"

When Vader didn't answer immediately, Luke instantly tried to back track. "Sorry if that's too personal. Forget it."

"They control the respirator," Vader said, sounding more weary than annoyed.

"Oh."

"Well? Is that it?"

"Huh?"

Vader turned, abruptly. "I am used to people staring at me and wondering how I eat and sleep and every other normally commonplace activity. I may be a morbid curiosity to the rest of the galaxy, but if at all possible, I could do without it from you. So I would be grateful if you would get these questions out of the way immediately."

"I ... um ..." Luke fidgeted with a stray wire. "How did it happen?"

Vader didn't reply. He made an odd noise of frustration, and then dropped his tools and left the room. Luke stared after him, wondering if he'd said the wrong thing. Then he recalled the ban on questions about the past, and slapped his forehead.

"You're stupid, Skywalker. Stupid."

A loud whistle and beep answered him, and he jumped in fright. Then he looked over at the astromech, and saw it had powered up.

"You're not so damaged after all, are you?"

The droid made a few more noises, but Luke couldn't decide whether they were positive or negative.

"Well, if you're able to, you can help me get your friend here in working order. I need an extra hand now that my father stormed off. Yes, that was my father. Can you believe it?"

The astromech whistled and made a noise which sounded like a chuckle. Luke knew instantly he was going to get on well with this little droid.

It took Luke a few days to get the droids in working order. It might have taken longer, but he'd done everything but sleep in the workroom since his father had shown him the droids. It wasn't by choice, although he did enjoy the work. He just felt it was better in the long run if he didn't bump into his father. Vader hadn't spoken to him since the night he'd messed up and asked him the question, and seemed to be actively avoiding him. Or perhaps it was just his imagination.

When every last wire was in the right place, Luke reached up and flicked the power switch at the back of the protocol droid's neck. He stood back, waiting expectantly. The droid had been factory reset, so all going well, it should immediately imprint on him.

"Greetings. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your disposal."

"It works!" Luke yelled out to the air.

Threepio seemed to focus on Luke.

"Hello, young master," Threepio said. "How may I serve you?"

"My name is Luke, for a start," Luke said.

"Hello, Master Luke."

The astromech droid rolled forward, beeping quickly.

"What do you mean, memory loss?" Threepio said. "And who are you?"

"I think your memories were wiped because of some investigation," Luke said. "Sorry."

The astromech droid whistled and beeped negatively.

"This astromech droid claims that his memory is still intact due to an inbuilt protection against such an event. But I really wouldn't believe him, if I were you, sir."

The shorter droid bumped against the table Threepio was resting on, causing the protocol droid to slip forward onto the floor.

"How rude!"

"Artoo-Detoo," Luke said, chuckling as he read the number plate on the side of the droid's dome. "So what can you remember? Have you been in any space battles?"

Artoo launched into a long sequence of beeps and whistles.

"Oh my!" Threepio said, standing shakily on his feet as he stared down. "I don't believe it. We've been through all that?!"

"What!?" Luke said, excitedly. "What have you been through?"

Threepio listened for a while, and then said, "I'm sorry, Master Luke, but Artoo says he's not programmed to release Alderaan's royal secrets."

Luke frowned, disappointed. Then he saw the good side.

"It's probably better that way. If anyone found out you still had information, they might try and find a way around the memory block. Anyway, you're mine now," Luke said, turning to both droids. "You'll make great pals."

Artoo beeped an affirmative.