Star Wars_ Rebel Force 03_ Renegade - Alex Wheeler [11]
"Where else would they be?" Luke asked, grinning. "Aw, Tosche Station's great, you'll see."
There was a dull metallic roar as a massive sandcrawler rolled past the station. C-f0 3PO cast a fearful look at the machine. R2-f0 D2 issued an alarmed series of beeps.
"What are you two so worried about?" Luke asked. "It's just a bunch of Jawas."
" Precisely what I'm afraid of," C-f0 3PO replied. "I knew coming to this planet was a bad idea. Why, we're surrounded by potential dangers! If we had only—"
"You know, there's a machine shop around back," Luke said quickly. "Why don't you and Artoo go see if they can buff up your platings and outfit you with some fresh recharge couplings?"
C-f0 3PO straightened up. "Now that you mention it, it has been far too long since my last tune-up. And all this sand is not helping matters." He brushed an imaginary fleck of dust off his shoulder. "Did you hear that?" C-f0 3PO boasted to his counterpart as they hurried around the back. "Master Luke is always looking out for our best interests."
R2-f0 D2 trilled and beeped.
"He is most certainly not trying to get rid of us!" C-f0 3PO said indignantly.
Leia suppressed a smile. It dropped away as soon as she stepped into Tosche Station. The inside was even more cluttered and dirty than she would have expected. Dimly lit, with low ceilings and peeling walls, the station was packed full of overstuffed shelves and bins. Every spare surface was covered with grease and spare parts. There was a long counter toward the front, presumably for customers, when there were any. But the station was mostly empty, save for a few figures in the back, lounging around an old holopool table.
They all looked up as the door opened.
"Skywalker!" one of them roared, jumping up from the table and throwing his arms around his old friend.
"Miss me, Windy?" Luke asked, grinning.
"Missed beating you at holopool," a burly young man said, chuckling as he drove a knuckle into Luke's shoulder. He dragged Luke over to the table, pounding him on the back. "Skywalker's back!" he announced. "All hail the conquering Wormie!" The group burst into a mocking cheer.
"You never mentioned your nickname was Wormie," Leia whispered, trying not to laugh.
Luke flushed red and shrugged. As he introduced her to his friends, Leia struggled to keep the jumble of names and faces straight. The burly man was Fixer, a mechanic who ran Tosche Station, when there was any business to do, which was rarely. Next came Camie, who was gazing at Fixer and tossing sweet dweezels into his gaping mouth. Windy and Deak, who Leia couldn't tell apart—
but since they kept repeating each other, she supposed it didn't matter. And, silent in the corner, Jaxson, his flat head, squarish jaw, and dead stare giving him the look of a droid.
Leia noticed Luke give him an odd look, but Luke replaced it with a smile before anyone else could notice. "And this is Leia," Luke said, when the introductions were complete. "My, uh, copilot." They had agreed that no one needed to know that Leia was Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan and founding member of the Rebel Alliance.
"So, tell us about it, Luke!" Windy urged him.
"About what?"
"Everything," Windy said. "What it's like up there!" He pointed to the ceiling.
"Same as down here," Jaxson said, scowling. "Whole galaxy's the same, from one end to the other."
"Like you'd know," Fixer teased. "You've never been farther from home than Mos Espa—and you only ended up there because you got lost on your way home from Beggar's Canyon."
Jaxson didn't laugh.
"I thought you were shipping out to the Academy," Luke said. "What happened?"
Jaxson shrugged. "Changed my mind. This is my home. Not ashamed of where I come from, unlike some people."
"Changed his tune, he means," Fixer said, still chuckling. "Right after he failed