A New Hope for the Galaxy

Just then, an elderly woman came into the garage, and she asked for me. I stood up, and walked towards her. She brought me into a room, where she had set out a pair of clothes for me.

“Oh, Miss…”

“Please…call me Beru…” The elderly woman said.

“Alright, call me Max …Beru, please. I don’t want to be any trouble…”

“Max, you deserve something comfortable to wear, please, wear this…” Beru said, gently. I looked at the light blue outfit that Beru had laid out for me.

“Alright…”

She smiled. “Thank you Max …You are a very lovely girl.”

“Thank you Beru…” I smiled. She turned and left. I changed quickly, and I took a bath from the tub that was in the corner. I dried myself off, and I changed. I put my hair up, and I walked down the sand stairs.

*Luke’s Point of View*

After Max had left with Aunt Beru, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. A few minutes later, I heard Aunt Beru call me for dinner. “I’ll be right there, Aunt Beru.” I handed the restraining bolt that I found on R2, and I handed it to C3-P0.

“Here, see what you can do with him…” I said, before walking out of the garage, and I crossed the courtyard floor, to the dining alcove, which was a cozy arched-ceiling excavation in the courtyard’s wall. Aunt Beru had already put some food in a bowl for me, and in front of Uncle Owen. Just as I entered, she sat herself down.

“She is such a lovely girl, Owen…” Beru said.

“She is…she also did receive more attention and care, than what she already did from who she seemed to have left, and from the Jawa’s…” Uncle Owen said.

I turned to him, “What do you mean?” I asked him.

“When I took a good look at the girl’s face, I saw a faded mark of a human hand, across her cheek…” Was all he said, that was all I needed to hear. I knew what he meant.

“You know, I think that Artoo unit that we bought may have been stolen…” I said, trying to avoid the subject, involving Saoirse and her past.

“What makes you say that?” Uncle Owen asked.

“Well, I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning him, he says he belongs to someone called Obi-Wan Kenobi…” I chewed my food thoughtfully.

“I thought he might have meant Old Ben…” I looked to my Uncle.

“Do you know what he’s talking about?”

“Nmm-mm…” Was all my Uncle said, as he kept his eyes on the food in his bowl.

“Well, I wonder if he’s related to Ben.”

“That wizard’s just a crazy old man,” Uncle Owen said. I knew that my Uncle didn’t like Ben, but I didn’t know why.

“Tomorrow I want you to take that Artoo unit into Anchorhead and have its memory erased. That’ll be the end of it. It belongs to us now…”

“But, what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for him?”

“He won’t…” My uncle said, flatly.

“I don’t think he exists anymore…” At that point, Max had entered the dining alcove, and boy! Did she ever look different! But, she did look a bit nervous, I gave her small smile, and she returned it.

“…He died about the same time as your father.”

“He knew my father?” I said, a bit brightly.

“I told you to forget it…Your only concern is to prepare those two new droids for tomorrow. In the morning, I want them up there on the south ridge working on those condensers…”

“Yes sir…” I muttered, for I knew better than to argue with my uncle. I took a deep breath.

“I think those new droids are going to work out fine…” I said, trying my best to try and keep it casual. “In fact, I, uh, was also thinking about our agreement, about me staying on another season. And if these new droids do work out, I want to transmit my application to the Academy this year…”

My uncle’s eyebrows rose, “You mean the next semester before harvest?”

“Sure, there’s more than enough droids…”

“Harvest is when I need you the most…It’s only one season more. This year we’ll make enough on the harvest that I’ll be able to hire some more hands. And then you can go the Academy next year. You must understand I need you here, Luke…”

“But it’s a whole ‘nother year.”

“Look, it’s only one more season…”

“Yeah…” I said, rising from the table. “…That’s what you said last year when Biggs and Tank left…”

“Where are you going?” Aunt Beru asked, sounding a bit concerned.

“It looks like I’m going nowhere…” I said, bitterly. “I have to go finish cleaning those droids…”

*Max’s Point of View*

I stood up, after Luke had left, and I thanked Beru, and Owen for their meal, and I followed Luke out of the homestead. I found him outside, staring out at Tatooine’s giant twin suns set over a distant dune range. I walked over to him, with the hot wind tugging at my tunic, and hair. I stood beside him.

“Sorry, you had to hear that…Max…” I heard him say, absentmindedly.

“They just don’t seem to understand…” He said, bitterly.

“They just want what’s best for you, Luke…”

“I know…it’s just that, they don’t seem to understand what it’s like…”

“At least you have people who actually do care about you…” I said; my voice breaking. Luke looked down at me, and I was trying to blink tears away.

“Max…” He said, gently. I avoided his gaze, and I just looked to the sandy ground. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and he turned me to face him. My head hit his chest, and I sobbed. He kept his arm around me, rubbing my back comfortingly. He turned the both of us around, and we both walked back into the garage. There was no sign of C-3PO or R2. Luke took the droid caller from his belt, and he pressed a button that made a buzzing sound.

“Aah!” C-3PO cried in response to the caller’s transmitted shock, as he jumped out from his hiding place behind the Lars family speeder. Luke and I both grinned.

“What are you doing back there?” Luke asked.

“It wasn't my fault sir…” He said, with his voice trembling. “Please don’t deactivate me. I told him not to go, but he’s faulty, malfunctioning, kept babbling on about his mission…”

I turned to see Luke’s smile falter. We all raced out of the garage, and the sky was pitch black. But for me, strangely enough, I could see outside as if it was daytime. When we rushed through the domed entrance, Luke took out his macrobinoculars from his belt, and he raised it to his eyes, and he scanned the horizon. C-3PO had followed the both of us out onto the sandy flat.

“That Artoo unit has always been a problem. These astrodroids are quite out of hand. Even I cannot understand their logic at times…”

“How could I be so stupid?! He’s nowhere in sight! Blast it!” Luke said angrily, lowering his macrobinoculars, and he put them back at his belt.

“It’s not your fault Luke, you didn’t know…” I said, trying to be comforting. I took his hand, and I gave it a squeeze. He sighed.

“Pardon me, sir, but shouldn’t we go after him?” C-3PO asked.

“No, it’s too dangerous with all the sand people around. We’ll have to wait until morning…” I answered, and Luke nodded in approval. Just then, Owen’s voice boomed.

“Luke! I’m shutting the power down!”

Luke turned to face the dome, “Alright, I’ll be right there!” He answered, before he took one last glance out at the horizon.

“Boy, am I going to get it!” He turned to face C-3PO.

“You know that droid is going to cause me a lot of trouble…” He muttered.

Without taking a moment to hesitate, C-3PO replied, “Oh he excels at that sir…” Luke placed a hand on my back, and we all walked back to the homestead….