The Legends of Luke Skywalker

by Ken Liu

  “Hold on.”

  “Grab my hand!”

  “Don’t let go!”

  “DWEEP dweep!”

  “I’ve got you! I’m not going to let go!”

  “I know.”

  They tumbled out of the pipe into a massive pool the size of a small lake. There, the sewage would settle and be filtered, and the water recycled for more dockside uses. Pulling, kicking, and keeping one another afloat, the band of adventurers splashed their way to the edge of the pool and climbed ashore.

  Even the authorities there didn’t think the sewage reclaiming pool was worth guarding.

  “Welcome to Canto Bight,” said G’kolu to the others with a dramatic flourish. The dunk in the pool had washed off the grime of their time in the bilge, though it would take some time for their clothes to dry.

  They looked around in delight. Massive domes loomed above and around them, each grander than the last. Lit from within by bright lights in every hue of the rainbow, they appeared as a fluther of jellyfish rising into the still indigo predawn sky. Ships zoomed through the air in every direction. Loud music and advertisements filled their ears while the smells of a thousand perfumes and exotic foods assaulted their noses (and horns). In the distance, waves of noise from cheering crowds swelled and receded like an invisible ocean.

  “Must be the fathier racetracks,” said G’kolu.

  “So this is the galaxy,” said Flux, a smile of wonder on her face. She turned to the others. “Thank you for helping me see more of it.”

  “Do you think Luke Skywalker is here?” asked an eager G’kolu. “Is that why you came here?”

  Flux closed her eyes and seemed to reach out into the cacophonous air around her. The others held their breaths and gazed at her intently.

  She opened her eyes and shook her head.

  “Oh.” Teal was disappointed.

  “I told you there’s no such thing as the Tide,” said Tyra.

  “That’s not it,” said Flux. “Luke isn’t here. But the idea of Luke brought us together. That’s how the Tide works. Aren’t you glad we got to meet? From now on, no matter how far apart we are from each other, we’ll be connected by this shared experience, by this night. This is our story, and it’s the best story of them all.”

  “We’re all Luke Skywalker,” said G’kolu, his horns standing straight up jauntily.

  “We uplift each other,” said Tyra.

  “We have to head back before Tuuma throws a fit when we aren’t there to unload,” said Teal.

  G2-X beeped at Flux, and she used her robe to wipe away a bit of mud that seemed to be stuck over his photoreceptor.

  “Be well,” said Teal. She and Flux embraced each other.

  “Trust in the Tide,” said Flux.

  “May the Force be with you,” said Teal.

  Flux turned and walked away from the lake, her plain white robe dazzling in the bright multihued lights of the metropolis. Soon her figure faded into the busy traffic.

  “Let’s go,” said Teal. She kept her voice low, hoping the others would not hear it crack or see the tears in her eyes.

  At the loading dock, the deckhands ran into Dwoogan and Ulina.

  “I didn’t see you at breakfast,” said Dwoogan. “Were those vegicus tails from last night too rich?”

  “Not at all,” said G’kolu. “We were up early and wanted to check out the casinos before unloading.”

  “Really?” said Ulina, her eye patch glowing a suspicious orange. “I was in the cargo bay before we docked, and I never saw any of you leave.”

  “We were…um…” Tyra and Teal looked at each other desperately.

  “We snuck out in the captain’s skiff when he left to see the dockmaster,” said G’kolu. “You know how he would never let us ride it, so we just jumped on the back once he settled in. It’s not like he can turn around easily with that body, you know?”

  Dwoogan guffawed with delight. “You’re really bold.”

  “They don’t call me ‘the Grease’ for nothing. I’m slick.”

  “You know the captain hates—” Ulina started to lecture.

  “You gonna tell me that you never tried anything like that when you were a deckhand?”

  Ulina sighed and shook her head, her eye patch glowing an affectionate, tender aquamarine. “Go take care of the fathiers and get them ready to be unloaded.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  “I left some extra food for you in the galley,” added Dwoogan.

  “If you finish ahead of schedule,” said Ulina, “I’ll let you start your shore leave early this afternoon.”

  The deckhands whooped with joy.

  “What about the two of you? What are you going to do in Canto Bight?” asked Teal.

  “Bet on a few races,” said Dwoogan.

  “Look up some old friends and swap some stories,” said Ulina.

  “Oh, we already have some great stories,” said Tyra.

  “I’ll bet,” said Ulina. “Just by the way G’kolu’s horns are twitching, I know you’ve been up to no good.”

  “Hey!”

  While the organics continued their banter, the droid custodian G2-X wheeled himself away. He had been away from a power source for longer than was his habit, and he was feeling the effects of his night of exertion.

  As the conversation behind him faded, G2-X turned the corner and found a power socket. He plugged himself in and drifted into low-power mode. He was looking forward to dreaming about electronic fathiers and juice bars filled with the purest power chargers.

  Briefly, just before his cognitive circuits went into free association, he wondered what the deckhands would dream of when they slept. He hoped that their dreams would be filled with adventure in a galaxy more wondrous and beautiful than the wildest tales could conjure.

  He was certain they would be the heroes of those adventures, each of them a Luke Skywalker.