The Broken Pitcher

terrifying grunt offury and pleasure and brought down his heavy gaderffii. The double-edged axwould have cleaved Luke's skull neatly in two, except that he threw the rifle up in agesture more instinctive than calculated. His weapon deflected the blow, but wouldnever do so again. Made from cannibalized freighter plating the huge ax shatteredthe barrel and made metallic confetti of the gun's delicate insides. Luke scrambled backward and found himself against a steep drop. The Raiderstalked him slowly, weapon held high over its rag-enclosed head. It uttered agruesome, chuckling laugh, the sound made all the more inhuman by the distortioneffect of its grid-like sandfilter. Luke tried to view his situation objectively, as he had been instructed to do insurvival school. Trouble was, his mouth was dry, his hands were shaking, and hewas paralyzed with fear. With the Raider in front of him and a probably fatal dropbehind, something else in his mind took over and opted for the least painful response.He fainted. None of the Raiders notice Artoo Detoo as the tiny robot force himself into asmall alcove in the rocks near the landspeeder. One of them was carrying the inertform of Luke. He dumped the unconscious youth in a heap next to the speeder, thenjoined his fellows as they began swarming over the open craft. Supplies and spare parts were thrown in all directions, from time to time theplundering would be interrupted as several of them quibbled or fought over aparticularly choice bit of booty.