Tatooine - Lars Homestead

When the twin suns rose over the desert, Luke and the two droids were missing. Upon inspection, Owen and Beru discovered he had gone out very early to get a head start, something that he rarely ever did. Luke's uncle simply grumbled that his nephew had better have the units on the southern ridge repaired by midday or there would be hell to pay. What neither of his family members new was that Luke was blazing across the Jundland Wastes in a battered looking but well maintained landspeeder, searching for the astro droid.

Luke glanced between the terrain ahead of him and the scanner in the golden protocol droids lap. "Look, there's a droid on the scanner. Might be our little Artoo unit."

Minutes later, the stopped just meters away from the Artoo-Deeto as he tried to wheel away. "Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" called Luke, mildly annoyed and more than mildly curious. The little droid's reply was a series of beeps and whistles that Luke didn't understand but Threepio clearly did. "Master Luke is your rightful owner now;" said the bipedal droid indignantly. "We'll have no more of this Fulcrum gibberish!"

After another series of noises, Threepio threw his arms up in exasperation, "And don't talk to me about your mission either! You're fortunate he doesn't blast you into a million pieces right now!"

Luke had to stifle a chuckle at the protocol droid melodrama. "No it's alright but I think we'd better go."

Suddenly, the little droid began to rock from one strut to another and whistle frantically. "What's wrong with him now?" asked Luke. "He says several creatures are approaching from the south east."

"Sand people;" muttered Luke, as if it were a curse. "Or worse;" and he grabbed a slug rifle and electro binoculars from the speeder. "Come on, let's have a look;" he said. The droids weren't as eager. "Come on!" he urged eagerly.

At the top of a rise, he could see them. "Well there are a couple of banthas down there but I don't see any- wait..." and he paused, peering carefully through his optics. "There's sand people alright. I can see one of them now."

Suddenly, one was right there, leaping up right in front of him. Luke tried for his rifle but it was far too late. A tall figure wrapped in brown robes and masked, smashed him with a heavy club, breaking the rifle and, after a few blows, rendering the poor farm boy unconscious. Several more came up and they dragged him over by the speeder before examining the small vehicle and beginning to demolish it, searching it for anything useful to them. Suddenly, twin snap-hisses were heard and they turned. A woman stood there, a female alien with orange skin, white markings and twin lekku and montrals - a Togruta. Using the force, she projected an aura of warning and of danger. It was more than enough. The sand people fled back to their steeds and the woman quickly hustled over to where Luke lay. Carefully, she checked his vitals and and sighed with relief. A whistle and tweet sounded behind her. The Togruta woman smiled and looked at Artoo-Deeto. "It's good to see you again, Buddy. Besides the dirt, you look as good as ever."

Artoo gave a morose whistle and she chuckled, "Oh he's a little beat up but he'll be fine. Come on over here, Artoo."

Luke opened his eyes and looked into the unfamiliar face of an alien woman. "Easy, kiddo; you took a beating but nothing's broken or too damaged;" she said. Luke looked at her and said, "I guess you're the one to thank that I'm alive. So... uh... thanks."

She chuckled and said, "Don't mention it. Come over here and have a seat. Let's make sure there's no hidden damage on you or anything."

The Togruta helped him over to a large rock and set him down. As she did, she mentioned, "By the way, my name is Ahsoka - Ahsoka Tano."

"Luke Skywalker;" replied the farmboy. Ahsoka nodded, as if confirming a suspicion. "Alright, let's see here;"

Artoo whistled and chirped, causing her to chuckle. "He really is, isn't he? Oh well, I'm sure we can help him to avoid becoming as accident prone as his father was."

Luke's eyes suddenly widened. "You know each other? Wait, you knew my father?"

Ahsoka nodded as she gently ran callused hands along his arms and sides, gently testing the bruises for broken bones. "I sure did. Your father was a dear friend and teacher for quite a few years. As for this bucket of bolts;" she winked playfully at Artoo, who blew a raspberry at her indignantly, "he belonged to your father during the Clone Wars, though I'm sure much of his data from that time has been uploaded to a server somewhere and wiped from his memory banks."

The droid uttered another series of noises and Ahsoka's eyes widened. "Really? Wow! Well strike what I just said from the record then."

Luke rolled his neck and shoulders, testing them to make sure they weren't too terribly injured. "So since you know this fella from way back, you wouldn't happen to know someone by the name of Fulcrum, would you?"

Ahsoka chuckled. "Oh yeah, I do. Fulcrum is, well, was me. Though I haven't used it in a couple years."

"Well this Artoo unit has a message for you from some lady - I assume she was his last owner before they were picked up by Jawas. One thing's for certain, whoever she was, she wasn't from Tatooine because she was dressed in a long white robe like she was royalty or something. At least, I assume she was royalty. I've never met anyone like that before."

Ahsoka's brow furrowed. "I see, well..." but suddenly, a tusken hunting roar came from somewhere out in the wastes. Ahsoka stood and said, "Let's go. I have a place nearby where we can finish this conversation and get you cleaned up and your speeder fixed. Those tusken raiders will be back and there will be more of them."

They headed towards the speeder when Artoo suddenly squealed. "Oh no!" groaned Luke. Ahsoka looked in the direction he was looking. There, in the dust, was See-Threepio. One of his arms had been ripped off and his plating dented. "Oh my, I must have taken a bad step."

With a sigh, they collected him and headed back to the hovel that Ahsoka had been living in.

Lady Mara Jade frowned as she jumped back onto her Dewback. She really didn't like the creatures. They were smelly and slow but the 74-Z speeder bikes that the Imperial Military utilized were notorious for getting gummed up with dust and dirt. They had found the escape pod but it was empty. However, one of her troopers had found a piece of metal that was obviously from a droid - most likely an astro droid. Recognizing it, the Emperor's Hand had scowled. Even though it made her job that much more difficult, she couldn't help but respect Princess Leia's ingenuity. The Alderaanian Princess had managed to fool the Star Destroyer's gunners into not firing at it by using a droid and not a being as the courier for the plans, though why she thought it would make it down here on Tatooine, Mara was unsure. Turning to her trooper commander, she called, "Commander, what do you know about this planet and its inhabitants?"

The commander was using a bulky datapad made to withstand use in harsh environments. "According to everything the local garrison commander gave us, there are only a few settlements and none of them are larger than maybe ten thousand inhabitants. There are moisture farms and Tusken Raider settlements and small outposts in between the towns. Apparently there are also nomadic groups of indigenous creatures called Jawas that travel in massive, home made vehicles called sand crawlers. They scavenge junk and droids and sell what they have to the moisture farmers and outposts."

Mara chewed a plump lower lip. There was very little trail to follow now. The planet's winds had eliminated any foot prints or tread trails and the Imperial garrison commander had informed her that the Empire had only had a presence on the planet for a few months now. The only reason it was there in the first place was because a large cell of rebels and smugglers had been located in a massive cluster of pinnacles in the Dune Sea. Apparently her brother and his legion had eliminated them and a garrison was left to make sure no other foot holds were gained by the Alliance. Therefore, there was very little information that the locals could give. Mara looked around before saying, "Well they couldn't have gotten far in just a two days. Get some TIE Strikers down here and have them start circling outward. Any information they get, whether it's those Sandcrawlers or moisture farms or whatever, needs to be reported in detail. I don't care if it's a herd of banthas, have them take a note of it. We need to recover those plans."

Luke plopped down and began working on See-Threepio's arm while Ahsoka got them some water and a little food. The hut didn't have much in it but it was comfortable. There were a couple of large chests and a rough looking bed, plus a sonic shower and a tiny kitchen set. Other than that, it was pretty well empty. Ahsoka shed her long, faded brown robe, revealing two slightly curved cylinders at her hips, hanging from a utility belt. As Luke worked, Artoo whistled and she chuckled. "You're right, Artoo; he seems to have inherited his father's skill with all things mechanical. Most other Jedi, or anyone else for that matter, wondered how he had gotten so good with his hands. During the Clone Wars, he was constantly tinkering with his ships and his lightsaber."

"What? Wait, my father didn't fight in the war and he wasn't a Jedi. He was the navigator on a spice freighter;" protested the young man. Ahsoka chuckled again. "I'm sure that's what your uncle told you. He really didn't hold with your father's ideals. He thought your father should have staid here instead of getting involved with the Clone Wars."

Luke's eyes were wide. Even though all of his attention was on Ahsoka, his hands were still working on the golden droid as if of their own free will. "Did you fight in the Clone Wars?"

"Of course;" she replied, "I was a Jedi just as your father was, though I never attained the rank of Jedi Knight. But that's a long story."

She paused for a moment, her eyes growing distant as if looking through a window far back into the past. "He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, though telling him that would have only swollen his already considerable ego. Anakin was also a cunning warrior and fantastic leader and teacher. Whatever the manuals or rule books were for teaching or commanding, he threw them out the airlock and did things his way."

Again she was quiet before blinking and turning her eyes to Luke with a smile. "I've heard you've become quite the pilot yourself, Skyg- young Luke."

A light blush crept over Luke's face but a did smile also. Ahsoka sighed and stood. Seeing the two cylinders, Luke asked, "What are those two cylinders on your belt?"

"Lightsabers - the weapons of a Jedi Knight - which reminds me;" and she opened the chest she had been sitting on, pulling out another cylinder. This one wasn't at all curved. "This belonged to a friend of mine. Take it. Try it out."

Luke took it and examined it. It had a pair of switches on it and Luke pressed one. From the end of the weapon blazed a brilliant blue beam of energy. It was odd because the weapon didn't gain any weight or anything. Experimentally, Luke began to swing the weapon a little. It was unlike anything he'd ever used before - not that he had used any close quarters weapons before anyway. After a moment, he closed it down and asked, "What happened to its owner?"

Ahsoka's eyes looked sad and she replied, "A couple years back, Emperor Vader caught wind that my friend and his Jedi student were causing trouble for the Empire. I joined up with them and we headed to an ancient Sith planet called Malachor. There we fought the Emperor's Inquisitors and the Emperor himself. My friends died but I managed to escape, taking this lightsaber with me. The owner's name was Kanan Jarrus."

Luke nodded and was silent before asking, "What happened to my father?"

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader gave in to the dark side of the force. He betrayed and murdered many Jedi, including your father, Anakin Skywalker. It was this Vader who led the purge against the whole of the Jedi Order, bringing it to the very brink of extinction. Now I remain."

Luke was on the edge of his seat. He was learning so much about his father, something he had always wanted to learn. But he was also learning about something he had never heard of before. "What is the force?"

"The force is what gives a Jedi his power. It is an energy field that is created by all living things. It surrounds us. It penetrates us. It binds the universe together."

Luke nodded, barely understanding what was being said. Suddenly, Artoo began beeping and whistling again. Ahsoka chuckled and said, "Alright, alright; you've been patient enough little fella. Let's see who had what to say, huh?"

She tapped the droid on his dome and immediately, a shimmery blue hologram emerged. "Fulcrum, years ago your served the old Republic in the Clone Wars and, recently, you served the Rebel Alliance. Now, my father desperately begs you to rejoin us in our struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am not able to make this request in person but my ship has come under attack by the Empire and my mission to take you to Alderaan to meet my father has failed. I have place information vital to the rebellion's survival within the droid's memory banks. My father will retrieve it but you must see this droid safely to Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Please, we need your help, Fulcrum."

Suddenly, background noise interrupted her and the woman bent down and ended the recording. A brittle silence followed as Ahsoka watched Luke, studying his face. Finally, she stood and placed her hands on her hips. "You must learn the ways of the force and come with me to Alderaan."

Luke's eyes shot wide. "Alderaan? I can't go to Alderaan! I have to go home. It's late and I'm in for it as it is."

"I need your help, Luke;" pleaded Ahsoka. "She needs your help! With the Emperor and his blasted children around, the Alliance needs people like you and me - Jedi and potential Jedi!"

Luke looked as though he was waging and internal fight against himself. Finally, he said, "I can't get involved. I've got work to do. I mean, it's not like I love the Empire. I hate it but there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."

Ahsoka shook her head with the hint of a smile. "That's your uncle speaking."

"Oh boy - my uncle. How am I even going to explain this?"

Ahsoka watched him like a gambler, weighing her odds. Finally, Luke sighed and said, "I can take you as far as Anchorhead and from their, you can get passage to Mos Eisly and from there, wherever you need to go."

Ahsoka sighed and stood, wrapping her brown robe around her shoulders. "You must do what you feel is right, of course."

Updated 12.12.2017