Luke recalled other times when he’d had the sensation of being watched by some invisible presence. His aunt Beru knew about at least one time, when he was four, because he’d told her. What he didn’t tell her, because he didn’t know how to explain it and didn’t want to hurt her feelings, was that he had taken some comfort in the idea of someone else watching over him. But then she’d told him his mind had just been playing tricks on him, or something like that, and he’d stopped thinking about it.
Luke scanned the dark horizon. Still no sign of movement. The only sound he heard was the pounding of his own heart. He tried to convince himself that he hadn’t really been frightened, and that he was merely nervous with excitement. He took a deep breath to calm down, and, as he did so, he knew he had overreacted. He was certain that no one was watching him. He knew he was alone.
All alone.
Still standing, he tilted his head back to look at the stars that filled the sky. He’d memorized the names of many worlds and stellar bodies in the Arkanis Sector, the region of space in the galaxy’s Outer Rim, which included Tatooine’s binary star system. There was Arkanis which boasted a starship pilot training facility. Both Andooweel and C-Foroon were said to be refuges for smugglers and pirates, as was the water planet Tarnoonga. He knew little about Najiba, Tythe, Hypori, or Siskeen but had heard that Geonosis had been the location of the first battle of the Clone Wars, the great interstellar conflict which had ended shortly after he was born. Luke suspected that all these worlds were far more interesting than Tatooine.
A bright flare streaked across the northern hemisphere before it vanished. Luke smiled as he held his breath and waited. A moment later, two more streaks radiated from the same direction. Luke had heard some folks call such streaks of light “shooting stars,” and his uncle often said, “People can believe what they like.” But Luke knew that the streaks were meteors, bits of debris striking and burning up in Tatooine’s atmosphere, and he maintained that anyone who called them shooting stars was just plain wrong.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright point of light that appeared to be moving slowly, drifting up from the northern horizon. He realized at once that it was a spacecraft, reflecting the light from Tatooine’s suns. From its trajectory, he guessed it had launched from Mos Eisley Spaceport, roughly fifty kilometers away. He wondered if it might be a spice freighter. For all he knew, he was looking at the same ship that had once carried his father.
Luke watched the moving point of light until it vanished into space. He wondered if the ship might leave the Arkanis Sector. He could only imagine where the ship was headed, but he wished he were on it anyway.
He stooped down to pick up the blanket and the small container of water he’d brought with him and began walking home. He paused twice to look at the stars again, and it took him almost twenty minutes to reach the security sensors.
He dipped his hand into a pocket and withdrew a droid caller he’d rigged to allow him to sneak past the small, roving guard droids that patrolled the homestead’s perimeter. Out of habit, he walked carefully around the area where he knew the bodies of his grandmother and Owen’s parents and uncle were buried.
Luke still knew precious little about his own family, because Owen barely spoke at all about them. At some point, Luke had learned that Owen’s uncle was named Edern, and that he’d died at the age of fourteen when he lost control of a landspeeder. As for any information about Luke’s mother, both Owen and Beru claimed that they knew nothing about her.
Carrying the rigged droid caller and thinking of the dead, Luke was only a few steps from the entry dome when his uncle appeared unexpectedly in the dome’s arched doorway. Owen was carrying a long laser rifle. Luke was alarmed to find himself staring straight down the weapon’s barrel.
Owen jumped when he saw Luke, jerking the rifle back sharply to raise its barrel to the sky. Luke stood frozen in his tracks.
Owen scowled. “I was coming to look for you,” he said. “Just two minutes ago, your aunt went to check in on you. Found your loft empty.” He shook his head. “Boy, what were you doing out there? Trying to get yourself killed?”
“No, sir,” Luke said. The blanket he carried suddenly felt very heavy.
“Well, what, then?”
“I’m sorry,” Luke said. “I heard some kids at Anchorhead say there’d be a meteor shower, and I just wanted a clear view. I know you don’t like to turn off the lights around here, but they make it hard to see the sky at night.”
Owen’s face went red. “You risked your neck to see a meteor shower?”
“I missed the last one,” Luke said. “They don’t happen that often. I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to make you angry. I just wanted to—”
“Inside,” Owen said. “Now. And straight to bed.” As Luke moved past him, Owen added, “Hang on. Hand over that droid caller.”
Luke gave the device to him.
“We’ll talk about this in the morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Luke lay on the mat in his sleeping loft, he couldn’t help overhearing his uncle and aunt’s heated discussion through the air vent that overlooked the central courtyard.
Owen said, “I’m telling you, I’m really at my wit’s end with that boy.”
“You know he didn’t mean to upset us.”
“That’s not the point, Beru. He can’t go wandering off as he pleases.”
“Did you always do everything your father told you to do?”
“This has nothing to do with my father.”
“I know. I just meant that boys don’t always listen to—”
“Oh, come now, you can’t be taking Luke’s side in this. Tell me, honestly, what if something had happened to him out there? And…and what if I’d gone looking for him, and I’d walked straight into a bunch of Tuskens? Would that have convinced you…”
“Owen, please, keep your voice down.”
“…that maybe I have a good reason to worry about whether Luke does as I say? Honestly, Beru, I don’t enjoy bossing him around. But if he won’t listen to us, what’s going to happen to him?”
“Maybe he’d listen to someone else. Maybe Ob—”
“Hush! You keep that man’s name out of our home.”
Luke held his breath as he listened. He had no idea who his aunt and uncle were talking about, but he’d never heard his uncle snap at his aunt like that.
“Well, Owen,” Beru continued, “if, like you say, you’re at your wit’s end, what do you propose to do about it?”
“Well, I think it’s best to keep the boy occupied. Maybe he needs some more chores.”
Hearing this, Luke almost groaned out loud, but he stayed silent.
“More chores?” Beru laughed. “What more can he do? Owen, he’s only seven years old.”
“He needs to understand the importance of personal responsibility.”
“Luke already runs himself ragged for you.”
“Not ragged enough, apparently, if he has the energy to sneak off in the middle of the night. And on Tatooine! Isn’t that boy afraid of anything?”
“Oh, listen to yourself,” Beru said. “Would it make you happier if he were afraid of you?”
“No, of course not,” Owen said. “It’s just that…when I stepped out to look for him tonight, I was carrying my laser rifle, and…Beru, I was startled. If I hadn’t set the rifle’s safety switch…”
“Oh, Owen!”
“…I might have shot him.”
“Well, thank goodness you set the safety.”
There was silence for a moment. Then Owen said, “Living here, surviving here, it helps if you have some degree of fear so you can be careful and stay alive. I’m not doing a very good job of raising Luke if I can’t convince him he should be afraid of Tuskens.”
“Maybe that shouldn’t surprise us,” Beru said. “His father wasn’t afraid of Tuskens either.”
Luke’s eyes widened at the mention of his father. He listened carefully, waiting for
more details. Instead, there was another brief silence before Owen said, “Let’s not get into that. It’s been a long day. We both need to get some rest.”
Luke stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking of the father he would never know, until he finally drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Luke went to the dining alcove for breakfast. He wasn’t looking forward to facing his uncle, as he expected a long lecture about responsibility and all the dangers he’d already heard about before. He found his uncle seated at the dining table, finishing the last bits of food on the plate in front of him. Beru stepped up from the kitchen, carrying a plate of food for Luke, and she smiled as she saw him approach.
“Good morning,” Luke said as he took his seat.
Beru set down Luke’s plate in front of him. As she picked up Owen’s empty plate, Owen lifted his gaze to meet Luke’s eyes.
Luke felt his face flush. “I’m really sorry about last night, Uncle Owen. I…I never meant to make you angry, and I promise I’ll—”
Owen raised a hand and shook his head slightly, signaling Luke to stop. “Let’s hold off on promises,” he said, “because they can be hard to keep.”
Uh-oh, Luke thought. Here comes the lecture.
Beru said, “I’ll let you two talk alone.” She turned and descended to the kitchen.
Owen shifted his elbows on the table. “Luke, I’ve been accused of worrying too much about the people I care about, and I won’t deny it. And I know from experience that a man can’t take care of everything. Things happen. Sometimes people leave, and you think they’ll be comin’ back, but they don’t. Do you understand?”
Luke wasn’t sure, but he nodded.
“Well, I can’t protect you all the time,” Owen continued, “and I certainly can’t teach you to be as cautious as I am. But after doing some thinking, I’ve come up with a solution that might at least make me worry less. I should warn you, though, I already told your aunt about this solution, and she doesn’t like it one bit.”
Luke braced himself. He was certain that his uncle was about to ground him or give him more chores. Or both.
Owen took a sip from a water cup, then said, “I was just about your age when my father taught me how to handle a laser rifle. I do believe I’d worry a bit less about you if you knew how to handle one too.”
Luke’s mouth fell open. “A laser rifle? Really?”
“You can have my uncle’s old one. It’s still good. After breakfast, we’ll go over some safety basics, then do a little target practice.”
“Wow!” Luke said. “Thanks, Uncle Owen!”
“You can thank me by living a good, long life,” Owen replied. Then he leveled a finger at Luke and said, “And if you ever wander off on your own again, don’t you even think of leaving without a weapon.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll go get the rifle,” Owen said, rising from the table. “Now eat up before your food gets cold.”
Owen left the alcove. Luke gobbled down his breakfast, then carried his plate and utensils to the kitchen, where he found his aunt canning vegetables. She looked up at him. “I don’t have to tell you to be careful out there, do I?”
“No, ma’am.” He was about to leave when he stopped, turned to Beru, and said, “When my father left, did he tell Uncle Owen that he was gonna come back?”
Beru frowned slightly, then said, “Oh, Luke. You know it’s best not to wonder about such things.”
“But did he?”
She shook her head. “No,” she said. “He didn’t. He didn’t say anything. He…he just left.”
Luke bit his lower lip, then said, “I’d never do that. Leave without saying good-bye, I mean.”
Beru smiled. “I know you wouldn’t.” She stepped over and gave Luke a hug.
“Gosh, you’re squeezin’ me,” Luke said, laughing. Beru released him and he said, “See you later.” He ran up the steps, eager to catch up with his uncle.
By the age of thirteen, Luke was a crack shot with his laser rifle, which certainly encouraged womp rats to keep their distance from the Lars homestead. He also knew just about everything there was to know about maintaining moisture vaporators, and he had a good deal of experience refurbishing Treadwell droids. His technical skills encouraged his uncle to allow him to work on the family landspeeder, a black SoroSuub V-35 Courier.
But because he had no genuine interest in pest control, moisture farming, or fixing Treadwells, and because it would be a cold day on Tatooine before Owen would let a thirteen-year-old boy drive a landspeeder, Luke found himself growing increasingly restless for any kind of diversion. As much as he loved his aunt and uncle, he didn’t believe that he could ever understand them.
Living on a desert world in the Outer Rim was their choice, he thought. Not mine.
He wasn’t completely isolated. He had a small computer that he usually kept in his sleeping loft, and he sometimes used it to communicate with other kids, including his best friend, Biggs Darklighter. Biggs lived on his father’s moisture farm just eight kilometers away, which made them practically neighbors. He was five years older than Luke, but they shared common interests in high-speed repulsorlift vehicles and interstellar travel. Biggs also had no desire to become a moisture farmer, and he talked often of his plans to leave Tatooine and go to the Academy.
One evening, after dinner, Luke brought his computer into the tech dome, the underground family garage, so he could view instructions for assembling a scale model of a T-16 skyhopper. He had the model’s pieces laid out on his workbench and was about to secure a stabilizer into place when his computer made a beeping sound. Luke knew that Biggs had gone with his family to Mos Espa, and hoped the incoming call was from him.
He pressed a button and watched the skyhopper instructions vanish from the computer’s oval monitor, which then displayed a flickering image of a dark-haired boy. It was Windy Starkiller, who was also thirteen and lived on a nearby moisture farm with his parents.
“Hey, Windy,” Luke said.
“Luke, I just got home from Anchorhead with my folks. Wanna know what Fixer and Tank called us?”
“Huh?”
“They called us small fry. Can you believe that?”
“Small fry?”
“Yeah, just because we’re not old enough to drive landspeeders and they are. They were bragging about going racing in the canyon south of Ja-Mero Ridge tomorrow afternoon. They said it was ‘more than small fry like you and Skywalker could ever handle.’ What a couple of jerks.”
Luke winced. “They called us jerks too?”
“Not us, you idiot,” Windy said, rolling his eyes. “Them! They’re the jerks!”
“Oh,” Luke said. He didn’t want Windy to know that he felt hurt by what the other boys had said. Fixer, whose real name was Laze Loneozner, was always trying to repair one thing or another, and Janek Sunber was called Tank because he was bigger than the other kids. They practically lived at Tosche Station, the power station outside Anchorhead, and Luke liked them both. Or had liked them. He’d thought they were his friends.
“We oughtta do something,” Windy said. “Something to prove we’re not small fry! Something…I dunno…dangerous!”
Luke pursed his lips, then said, “How’s Huey?”
“Fine,” Windy said. “Why?”
“Bring him over tomorrow morning,” Luke said. “We’ll take him for a ride.”
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Oh, and bring your rifle.” Luke broke the connection and Windy’s image flickered off the computer screen.
Huey was a young dewback, a four-legged, green-skinned lizard. He was not fully grown, but was large and strong enough to carry two people at once. Although he mostly resided on Windy’s family’s property, Luke had helped raise Huey from a pup, and the two boys considered him their shared pet.
Luke was waiting for Windy and Huey when they arrived early at the Lars homestead. He had already checked and rechecked the items on his utilit
y belt and cleaned the sand goggles that dangled from a strap around his neck. He held his laser rifle away from his body, its barrel aimed at the bright blue sky, just as Owen had taught him.
Windy straddled the saddle on Huey’s broad back, which also carried Windy’s rifle and various provisions. When Huey saw Luke, he trotted faster across the salt flat until he came to a quick stop in front of Luke, then bumped his green snout affectionately against Luke’s chest.
Windy said, “Where’s your uncle?”
“Out on the south range,” Luke said as he gave Huey a pat. “Did you bring your scanner to check the weather?”
Windy patted the large leather pouch at the side of his utility belt and said, “Wouldn’t leave home without it. Got my comlink too.”
Luke secured his own rifle, then climbed up onto the saddle so he sat in front of Windy. Grabbing the reins, he glanced back at Windy and said, “All set?”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
“Ja-Mero Ridge.”
Windy gasped. “Are you crazy? That’s in the Jundland Wastes!”
“You said we should do something dangerous. And just think…when Fixer and Tank go racing this afternoon, imagine the looks on their faces when they find us way out there, shooting womp rats. Bet they never traveled that far on their own before they got their landspeeders!”
“I dunno,” Windy said. “It’ll take us hours to get there.”
“Huey can handle it,” Luke said. “Besides, he needs the exercise. And we don’t want anyone calling us small fry, right?”
“Yeah,” Windy said, quickly warming to the idea. “You’re right. Fixer and Tank will be speechless when they see us. Let’s go!”
Luke gave the reins a tug as he pressed his ankles gently against Huey’s sides. Huey turned and trotted away from the Lars homestead, carrying the boys toward the Jundland Wastes.
Luke smiled. It was a beautiful day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Lives & Adventures Page 16