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Anchored Down in Anchorhead

Anchored Down in Anchorhead Mary Jo Fox

Anchorhead: Ten years after the battle of Endor

It was an ordinary mid-year day at Tosche Station. As usual, the locals gathered there to make the dull, uneventful hours pass quicker. A small contingent of older men conversed by the supplies counter as they nursed bottles of ale.

"I don't care what they say," grumbled the bearded, burly man behind the supplies counter. "That Brecker kid might be good, but in my day, I could've beaten his butt easily in my old T-16."

"That's the problem, Fixer," said a tall, skinny man. "It isn't your day, not anymore."

The men, except for Fixer, laughed.

"Yeah, real funny, Deak," Fixer said. "At least I was the best pilot around here. You can't even fly a kid's hoverboard."

"Maybe not, but don't forget two other guys managed to whip you good racing around Beggar's Canyon back in the old days," Deak retorted.

"Listen, Deak..." Fixer began. He spotted a golden protocol droid entering the room. The others stopped their activities and turned to see the lone droid. Nobody in these parts owned a droid like this. Things had gotten even rougher for Tatooine now that Jabba was long gone and the smuggling in that area had wound down.

"Pardon me," the droid said to the group. "Is there a gentleman named 'Fixer' present?" "Yeah?" growled the burly man. "That's me. Whaddya want?"

"I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. I am here to announce the arrival of my master, Luke Skywalker." Windy nearly gagged on his ale. "L-l-uke Skywalker?!" he coughed. "Wormie Skywalker?!"

The Tosche Station regulars all looked at each other, slack-jawed and speechless.

Just then, an imposing man with a confident gait, dressed in a black cloak, entered the room. A squat R2 unit scooted in behind him.

"Well, hello, everyone. Long time, no see," the man said.

"Uh, uh... is that you, um, Luke?" Windy stammered.

"Of course it's me," Luke Skywalker replied with a big, friendly grin as he removed his hood. "How have you been?"

"Uh... just fine," Windy replied, his voice barely audible.

"Good," Luke replied graciously. "This, as you already know, is my protocol droid See-Threepio, and the little fellow here is Artoo-Detoo."

The little droid trilled his salutations.

"Hey, Luke, don't you remember me?" Deak asked sheepishly.

"Why, yes, hello, Deak!" Luke exclaimed as he went forward to shake his old friend's hand. "So nice to see you again, too!"

Deak went pale at Luke's firm grip. He realized that it was Luke's right hand he was shaking, the one people said was artificial. The one he got after the fight with Darth Vader... who was rumored to be Luke's real father.

"And how can I forget my old pal Fixer," Luke said, turning to the big man who was staring bug-eyed at the Jedi.

"Hello, Wor-, I mean, Luke," Fixer said quietly.

"Hey," Luke replied as he looked around at the men gathered around him. "Whatever happened to Camie?"

"Oh, she's in the back," Fixer stated. "Oh, Camie! Come on out and see who's here."

A large woman waddled out of the back office, a screaming toddler in her arms.

"Oh my Gods!" the woman gasped. "It's you, Wormie!"

"Camie," Luke said, "you've really changed."

"Yeah, well, seven kids can ruin a girl's figure," Camie shrugged.

"Seven kids?!" Luke laughed. "Wow! How long have you and Fixer been married?"

"Thirteen years. It wasn't too long after you left," Camie said as she stared blankly at the Jedi Master before her.

"I guess I missed out on a lot, being busy all of these years," Luke said with a shrug. "They really flew by."

"So, what brings you to Tatooine?" Windy asked.

"Well, I'd gone to Midori on a mission, and I figured since I was in the neighborhood, I'd drop by and say 'hi'. I didn't have time the last time I came."

"Oh," Windy replied, knowing the result of that last visit. "So, how's the family?"

"Everybody's doing fine," Luke replied. "My sister has generously donated some of her inheritance to build a Jedi training compound on Eredon. She suggested some nice beachfront property for the site."

Fixer's expression suddenly darkened.

"So that's what you're here for, Skywalker. You're here to tell us that we're all wrong about you, that you're really a big hero, and the son of nobility and all that! You came all the way back to Tatooine just to let us know that we're a bunch of losers, stuck on this dustball while you've been traveling the galaxy with your big shot friends!"

"No, not at all..." Luke said, his eyes widening with surprise. "I just wanted to see how everybody's been doing."

"Please, Fixer," Camie pleaded. "Leave him alone."

Fixer glowered at the Jedi.

"You might think you're some flashy Jedi Knight, but as far as I'm concerned, you're still a little punk that needs some sense knocked into him."

Fixer swung his big fist toward Luke's chin. He found himself sprawled flat on the floor a second later. Fixer blinked with astonishment and confusion. It seemed as if Luke had moved out of his way in less than a second. The onlookers were just as shocked. They had never seen anybody move like that before.

" I really didn't want it to turn out this way," Luke said sadly. "I had hoped you would've put the past behind you, as I had put my past behind me. I never forgot the cruel things some of you did to me, but I forgave those things. After all, we were just kids back then, and kids do dumb things. But I guess I came here expecting too much. So, I'll be off. You won't see me again. Good bye." Luke smiled wanly and said to his droids: "Come on guys, let's go."

The Tosche Station regulars were still silent as Luke and the droids left the room. Fixer shook his head and muttered.

"Well, I'll be damned."

Outside the adobe building, Luke had just finished loading the droids into his landspeeder when Deak sauntered over to the rented vehicle.

"I'm real sorry about what Fixer did back there," Deak said. "I guess some things never change."

"No, I guess not," Luke said with a grin. "Being back here sure brought back a lot of memories, bad and good." He sighed."It reminds me of Biggs." "Yeah, I still miss that guy," Deak said.

"Me too." Luke placed his right hand on Deak's shoulder, and this time the man did not flinch. "Take care of yourself and your family, okay? And, if you ever get off this dust bunny, be sure to come on out and visit. I'd really love to have you meet my family."

"Sure, Luke," Deak said with a smile. "I just might take you up on that."

"Great. Well, gotta go." Luke hopped into the speeder, revved up the engines, and started to pull away from the building. "See you!" Luke cried over the engine's roar. Seconds later, he had disappeared off into the horizon, heading for Mos Eisley.

For a brief moment, it seemed to Deak that everything was as it was so many years ago, when Biggs and Luke were racing around Beggar's Canyon like lunatics, dreaming of the day they'd take off for the stars. Those were the days all right... Deak sighed, and went back inside, where his bottle of ale still awaited him.

Finis

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