As Orman's Mining Explorer and Ulric's Star Destroyer meet to plot against Vader, Luke and the droids are on Tatooine to recruit smugglers as blockade runners for Dodonna. Scanning for Jawas and Sandpeople on the Dune Sea, they see troops on dewback lizards and cover their freighter in a camouflage net and hide. Complaining of boredom and sand lice, the troops spy the freighter, but the net makes it seem to be a farmer hunting womp rats. Luke visits the Lars Moisture Farm to pay homage to Owen and Beru, sees a working vaporator, and is approached by someone with a blaster. He pretends to discard his weapon and uses his 'saber to disarm the other, who turns out to be Fixer, his friend from Tosche Station. Fixer is shocked, as Luke was thought dead, and says he works for the House of Tagge, who bought Luke's farm and many others. Working at the Darklighter place, Tagge hired Fixer and Camie, his wife, as caretakers of his lands. Luke won't fight for the farm, leaving when an Imperial Troop Carrier, Unit Three, approaches. He finds a bantha in a canyon frozen solid despite the heat of Tatoo I and Tatoo II, but Unit Three destroys the bantha to eliminate evidence of Tagge plans. In the Jundland Wastes, Orman and his other brother, Silas, chief scientist of Tagge Industries and a man who prefers science and food paste to emotion and meat, discuss their plan. Tatooine was chosen to trap Luke. Luke visits the Mos Eisley cantina and finds Han and Chewie brawling. Finishing the fight, Han says he dropped off Jabba and stayed awhile to spend the bonus and give Luke time alone with Leia. Fixer enters and says he betrayed Luke to protect his job but wanted to warn Luke out of guilt. Stormtroopers arrive and open fire, so Luke and Han take the landspeeder into the desert as a blaster shot cuts their coolant line.

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