Backstory 1

The Adventures of Jawa Jaka and R2-AL
(A love story between a jawa and his droid)

Chapter 1: AT THE PUDDLE OF WATER

Part 1:
Jawa Jaka was on his daily roaming of the canyons on Tatooine, his home world. Jaka enjoyed his lonely walks, picking up stuff here and there left on the ground by wayward space travelers or the abundant farmers scattered throughout the planet. Sometimes he would come across items left behind by those city folks just looking for a good party, junk like lost jewelry or small vats of Correllian wine (a rare find but his most prized possessions since he loved the taste of it). Jaka spent most of his life gathering up the flotsam and jetsom most would consider trash. To him they were treasures, ready to be made into fantastic sculptures or refurbished and sold to other lost city folk (except the wine of course). He collected and stored all this junk in a very large tent he made from a ship's parasail found at a crash site somewhere in the middle of the desert. Lightweight and easy to fold, Jaka could break down his tent and travel anywhere he wanted. That was the appeal to him, freedom to go anywhere and do anything. Who cared if none of the other jawas called him friend or came to visit? Yes, it was a lonely existence, but he was happiest amongst all his junk.

On this cloudy day, without looking up at the sky, Jaka made his way down a small canyon that led into a larger opening. He had been to this valley many times, but today was going to be different. Instead of sitting quietly in the valley he decided to forage for junk along a path he rarely went on. He had heard several days ago about an Imperial spy ship being blown to bits by a rebel cruiser in the skies just above the planet. Jaka figured there might be some junk he could sell from bits and pieces that might have fallen from the battle. Pieces of Imperial ships brought large sums these days since everybody was suspect of everything Imperial. The Battle of Yavin was big news on all outer rim planets, and Tatooine was no exception.

Jaka reached the valley, rested his tired feet, took some drink (who knows what jawas drink to quench their thirst), and took out a small map showing possible crash sites in the area. He picked a route and headed up a small ravine that had a trickling brook burbling just underneath. Jawas are very self-sufficient in the desert and can find small amounts of water under the crust rather quickly. Jaka filled a small bottle with the lovely liquid. This would fetch a great price in the city. He took another bottle out when he noticed something odd reflecting in the water. He turned around and in the sand was something shining, even on a cloudy day. AHA!! KACHING! Jaka knew it had to be something from the battle. It was time to get to work.....