The ancient R1 unit that had served the Lars family for years had finally given up the ghost not long ago.
Uncle Owen had tried everything he could to repair it, but the old droid was beyond saving, even if he still refused to throw away the chassis.
As a result, all the small maintenance jobs around the farm had fallen to the two of us, despite the fact that they were exactly the sort of work a repair droid was meant to handle.
“Let’s have a look,” Uncle Owen said, waving off the Rodian who had been trying to sell him some overpriced relic old enough to have witnessed the reign of Xim the Despot.
“Show us that droid, Wald.” The Rodian immediately abandoned his sales pitch and hurried over to the R5 unit he clearly hadn’t expected to sell anytime soon.
He brushed a layer of dust from the astromech as if we hadn’t already noticed how little attention the merchandise received.
“This is R5-D4, a fully functional R5-series astromech droid.
Trained in everything a droid of his type should know.
Unlike most R5 units, he even has a decent personality.” “Then why hasn’t anyone bought him?” I asked.
“What’s wrong with him?” “Nothing at all.” Wald spread his hands.
“He’s in perfect condition.
The problem is that he’s an R5.
People don’t like the model because of the reputation and the attitude.
But for Tatooine?
He’s perfect.
And he’s cheap.
I can even give a discount for the son of an old childhood friend!” Owen shot Wald a look that suggested murder might soon be on the table.
He still didn’t like being reminded of Anakin.
As for me, unexpectedly meeting one of Anakin Skywalker’s childhood friends could prove useful.
If nothing else, it would help explain where some of my knowledge came from.
Maybe he’d even have interesting stories.
So I immediately deployed the most powerful ability available to a twelve-year-old.
The adorable child face.
Tugging on Owen’s sleeve, I pressed the advantage before things escalated.
“And he said he can repair other astromechs too.
Maybe he can help with Big Guy?” That was the name Owen had given his old R1.
“And it’ll help me practice Binary.” Like most uncles, Owen had a habit of giving in to his nephew eventually.
He waved a hand in surrender, agreeing to buy Skippy, then returned to arguing about turbine parts.
Hopefully he wouldn’t end up fighting with Wald before we got around to the swoop bike.
A mysterious droid was interesting.
But it wasn’t the reason we’d come here.
The Starkiller brothers had gotten swoops recently.
I was the only member of my own group still without one.
That was unacceptable.
It damaged my authority.
“Come on, Skippy,” I said, beckoning the droid closer.
“I think you’ve got an interesting story to tell.
But you’ll still have to work on the farm.” The astromech immediately responded with an excited string of Binary beeps, apparently declaring that he’d been waiting for me his entire life and had foreseen me accomplishing something important.
Or maybe my Binary was simply too bad.
Either way, the droid seemed slightly insane.
I made a mental note to ask Qui-Gon about it.
As far as I remembered, Force-sensitive droids weren’t really a thing.
There were the Iron Knights, but they weren’t true droids.
They were Force-sensitive Shards inhabiting mechanical bodies.
And if memory serves, they should currently be hiding somewhere in a forgotten corner of the galaxy for the next few decades.
They definitely didn’t look like astromechs.
“Uncle Owen, can I go look at the swoops now?” I asked, tugging on his sleeve again.
Thankfully Wald had stopped acting like a salesman and was gathering the necessary components with reasonable competence.
“Honestly, old friend, I wouldn’t recommend buying anything currently sitting out on the lot,” Wald said before Owen could answer.
“Watto only keeps junk these days.
Explosive junk.” That was deeply disappointing.
Apparently I’d have to restore some pieces of scrap with my own hands.
The important thing was making sure Owen didn’t change his mind.
“You didn’t say that for no reason, did you, Wald?” Owen asked.
Like any native Tatooine resident, he could smell a sales pitch from kilometers away without needing the Force.
“But today happens to be your lucky day,” Wald replied, setting down a kitchen processor Owen had already rejected.
Then he winked at me.
“Because I’m selling my swoop.
If you buy it soon, I’ll even give you a discount.
I need credits quickly.” “What for?” “I’m trying to buy a beautiful Rodian woman out of slavery from Jabba.” Owen’s expression changed.
It remained heavy, but now there was understanding mixed into it.
After all, Shmi Skywalker, his stepmother and my biological grandmother, had been purchased out of slavery by his father.
For Owen, the subject was personal.
Unlike many Tatooine residents, he had never made peace with slavery.
“Shouldn’t you buy your own freedom first?” Owen asked.
“I already did.” Wald puffed up proudly.
“Bought my freedom last year.
Now I work for Watto for actual wages.” “Congratulations,” Owen said, shaking the Rodian’s hand.
“I didn’t know.” Then he nodded.
“Luke will come by after classes the day after tomorrow.
If everything checks out, I’ll pay you.
Can you make time?” “I’ll clear my schedule,” Wald replied.
If Rodians could smile, he probably was.
“I’ve got the finest swoop bike on all of Tatooine.” … “Master,” I greeted Qui-Gon enthusiastically when the Force ghost appeared once again.
“I actually need your help.” “That is why I teach you, Luke,” the Jedi replied automatically.
“What troubles you?” “A droid.” I pointed toward Skippy, who was parked in the corner of the garage.
“He feels different in the Force.
Not like a droid.
It’s almost like he has his own Living Force.” At the mention of his name, the astromech sprang to life and rolled over, chirping excitedly in Binary.
“Uh…” I froze as I translated part of what he’d said.
“He claims he can see you too.” “Despite the body of a droid, the being before you is sentient,” Qui-Gon said calmly.
The statement hit me like a thermal detonator.
“He is a Shard, Luke.
A sentient crystalline life-form from Orax.
And he is as Force-sensitive as you are.” “Whoa.” My jaw nearly hit the floor.
Skippy immediately protested in Binary, insisting that he remembered nothing about Shards or Orax and had always believed himself to be a droid.
“I’ve never encountered a Shard suffering from memory loss before,” Qui-Gon admitted.
“Though I have met very few of them.” The Jedi ghost studied the astromech for a moment.
“Well then, Luke.
You wanted a fellow youngling, did you not?
Now you’re responsible for two students instead of one.
Until a living Jedi can be found, I shall teach both of you.” As my brain struggled to process how thoroughly I’d shattered canon already, Qui-Gon and Skippy began exchanging opinions.
Eventually the astromech agreed to join Qui-Gon’s improvised effort to rebuild the Jedi Order using orphans and droids.
Honestly, Qui-Gon would have been better off haunting Obi-Wan and Yoda instead.
“In the old Jedi Order, a single Master rarely trained two Padawans at the same time,” Qui-Gon eventually said, turning back toward me.
“Fortunately, neither of you are Padawans yet.
Eventually you will need a living teacher.
Until then, Luke, it is time to continue your studies.” “I’m ready, Master,” I said eagerly.
“Hopefully we’re finally getting to lightsabers.” “It is time for you to learn meditation.” The words hit harder than a blaster bolt.
“You devote far too little attention to it.” The sound of my disappointment was probably audible on Coruscant.
….
Wald lived on the outskirts of Mos Espa in a quiet single-story district.
Tank and his father dropped Skippy and me off there.
The Rodian occupied a small house with a crude garage attached to one side.
Watto had evicted him from his previous residence the moment he’d bought his freedom, so the place was only temporary, according to Wald himself.
Every spare credit he earned was being saved to purchase some Rodian woman from the Hutts.
That was why he was selling me his swoop.
Though calling it a swoop barely felt accurate.
At its core, it was an aging Zephyr-G, a once-popular model first manufactured roughly fifty years ago.
Everything else, however, had been modified beyond recognition.
“All of this can be removed if necessary,” Wald explained, patting the vehicle proudly.
“The base is still a good old Zephyr.
I just made a few adjustments for racing.” “A few?” I asked, staring at the machine.
The word felt wildly inaccurate.
“You were a racer?” “I won Jabba’s brutal race last year,” Wald announced proudly.
“The prize money was enough to buy my freedom and this little house.” I stared at him with newfound respect.
“You’re impressive.
Why’d you stop?” “Not as impressive as your father.” Wald shook his head.
“He won the Boonta Eve Classic at your age against the strongest competition imaginable.
Matter of fact, those two boosters over there came from his homemade podracer.
Salvaged what remained after Sebulba’s son smeared himself across the desert two years ago because of his own stupidity.” “And why aren’t you racing anymore?” I pressed.
Wald’s expression darkened.
“Nineteen racers started my race.
Five reached the finish line.” He looked away.
“Ten died.
Two more were crippled for life.
There’s a reason they’re called the Brutal Races.
Besides…” He sighed.
“Last year I accidentally splattered Sebulba’s second son across one of the canyon walls.” I blinked.
“That’s unfortunate.” “It gets worse.” He rubbed his face.
“They won’t touch me inside the city.
After someone murdered the first champion of the Brutal Races before the second event, Jabba fed the killer to a rancor and declared all champions under his protection.” He paused.
“But out on the course?” A bitter laugh escaped him.
“Dugs are vindictive creatures.
If they learn I’m racing again, old Sebulba will come back from wherever he’s hiding just to kill me personally.” “Yeah,” I said, genuinely impressed by Tatooine’s standards of civilization.
“That sounds like Dugs.” Then I leaned forward.
“So tell me about my father.
You said you were friends with him.” ….
Many elements introduced in this story are not part of the official canon, making it a completely alternate universe (AU).
However, canon elements will still remain.