Star Wars. Suns Among Stars Trilogy, Book One: A Man Among Boys

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen:

"Daddy, can I clean the blue droid?" Shmi asked eagerly, picking up a rag and sitting beside him where he was already scraping away at the crevices on the droid's casing.

"You can certainly help, thank you Shmi." Luke scooted over to make room for her. "You start cleaning the flat surfaces while I scrape the grime from his compartment linings."

"Okay!" Shmi dutifully did as she was told, taking her time in wiping each flat part of their new droid.

In the oil bath to their left, the protocol droid was going on about how good the dip in the tub felt.

"I do not believe we have been introduced, Mistress Shmi," the golden droid said. "I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations."

Shmi giggled. "That is a very long and funny name! Can't you shorten it any?"

Luke hid a wide smile behind his free hand, though to his surprise the astromech blew a raspberry as well, to which See-Threepio huffed indignantly.

"I most certainly do not gloat, Artoo Detoo!" he said, irritated. "I am merely giving my proper identification and the purpose of my model."

Artoo bleeped again, the golden droid seemed to do a double-take.

"Oh, well, I guess it would be a mouthful for a child of Mistress Shmi's age."

Shmi, who had been listening with interest, opened her mouth. "I'll just call you Threepio."

"That will do well, Mistress Shmi." Threepio bowed his head.

Again Shmi chortled. "You don't have to call me Mistress!"

"I've already tried that line, Sweetie," Luke spoke up. "He doesn't get it."

"Begging your pardon Master Luke, but it is not proper for a droid to address his master so informally!" Threepio defended himself.

"See?" Luke winked at Shmi, and then glanced to Threepio as he rose at the end of his dunk in the lubricant bath. "I was joking, Threepio, it's fine."

"Oh." Threepio fell silent momentarily. "May I inquire as to how old Mistress Shmi is?"

"I am four!" Shmi announced with great pride. "I will turn five very soon!"

"That sounds wonderful, Mistress Shmi!" Threepio cheered happily, to which Luke's daughter smiled.

Luke returned his attention to Artoo, who had fallen into a patient silence, and discovered that there seemed to be something jammed inside one of the panel seams.

"Hey there, little guy; you've got something shoved in there really good. Where'd you guys come from any..." at that moment, Luke received a slight shock and the droid jerked, making Luke fall back.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Shmi rushed to help him up, but Luke's gaze was fixated on the glowing blue image of a woman in white that had appeared out of thin air. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it originated form Artoo.

"Daddy?" Shmi followed his gaze, and gasped in surprise. "Who is that?"

"I don't know..." Luke murmured, feeling a strange sense of attraction for this woman. "But she's..." he frowned, unable to place it.

"Really pretty?" Shmi filled in. "Do you like her Daddy?"

Luke blinked from his daze and smiled at his daughter. "She is pretty, but I don't know who she is."

"Daddy, she's speaking!" Shmi pointed, and sure enough Luke heard a few words.

Help me Obi wan Kenobi... you're my only hope.