INT. SANDCRAWLER

Threepio and Artoo noisily bounce along inside the cramped prison chamber. Artoo appears to be shut off.

Threepio: Wake up! Wake up!

Suddenly the shaking and bouncing of the Sandcrawler stops, creating quite a commotion among the mechanical men. Threepio's fist bangs the head of Artoo whose computer lights pop on as he begins beeping. At the far end of the long chamber a hatch opens, filling the chamber with blinding white light. a dozen or so Jawas make their way through the odd assortment of robots.

Threepio: We're doomed.

A Jawa starts moving toward them.

Threepio: Do you think they'll melt us down?

Artoo responds, making beeping sounds.

Threepio: Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Will this never end?

EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - LARS HOMESTEAD - AFTERNOON

The Jawas mutter gibberish as they busily line up their battered captives, including Artoo and Threepio, in front of the enormous Sandcrawler, which is parked beside a small homestead consisting of three large holes in the ground surrounded by several tall moisture vaporators and one small adobe block house.

The Jawas scurry around fussing over the robots, straightening them up or brushing some dust from a dented metallic elbow. The shrouded little creatures smell horribly, attracting small insects to the dark areas when their mouths and nostrils should be.

Out of the shadows of a dingy side-building limps Owen Lars, a large burly man in his mid-fifties. His reddish eyes are sunken in a dust-covered face. As the farmer carefully inspects each of the robots, he is closely followed by his slump-shouldered nephew, Luke Skywalker. One of the vile little Jawas walks ahead of the farmer spouting an animated sales pitch in a queer, unintelligible language.

A voice calls out from one of the huge holes that form the homestead. Luke goes over to the edge and sees his Aunt Beru standing in the main courtyard.

Beru: Luke, tell Owen that if he gets a translator to be sure it speaks Bocce.

Luke: It looks like we don't have much of a choice but I'll remind him.

Luke returns to his uncle as they look over the equipment for sale with the Jawa leader.

Owen: I have no need for a protocol droid.

Threepio: (quickly) Sir - not in an environment such as this -- that's why I've also been programmed for over thirty secondary functions that...

Owen: What I really need is a droid that understands the binary languages of moisture vaporators.

Threepio: Vaporators! Sir -- My first job was programming binary load lifters... very similar to your vaporators. You could say...

Owen: Do you speak Bocce?

Threepio: Of course I can, sir. It's like a second language for me... I'm as fluent in Bocce...

Owen: All right; shut up! (turning to Jawa) I'll take this one.

Threepio: Shutting up, sir.

Owen: Luke, take these two over to the garage, will you? I want you to have both of them cleaned up before dinner.

Luke: But I was going into Toshi Station to pick up some power converters...

Owen: You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now, come on, get to it!

Luke: All right, come on! And the red one, come on. Well, come on, Red, let's go.

As the Jawas start to lead the three remaining robots back into the Sandcrawler, Artoo lets out a pathetic little beep and starts after his old friend Threepio. He is restrained by a slimy Jawa, who zaps him with a control box.

Owen is negotiating with the head Jawa. Luke and the two robots start for the garage when a plate pops off the head of the red astro-droid, throwing parts all over the ground. He adjusts the astro-droid's head plate and it sparks wildly.

Luke: Uncle Owen...

Owen: Yeah?

Luke: This R2 unit has a bad motivator. Look!

Owen: (to the head Jawa) Hey, what're you trying to push on us?

The Jawa goes into a loud spiel. Meanwhile, Artoo has sneaked out of line and is moving up and down trying to attract attention. He lets out with a low whistle. Threepio taps Luke on the shoulder.

Threepio: (pointing to Artoo) Excuse me, sir, but that R2 unit is in prime condition. A real bargain.

Luke: Uncle Owen...

Owen: Yeah?

Luke: What about that one?

Owen: (to Jawa) What about that blue one? We'll take that one.

With a little reluctance the scruffy dwarf trades the damaged astro-droid for Artoo.

Luke: Yeah, take it away.

Threepio: Uh, I'm quite sure you'll be very pleased with that one, sir. He really is in first-class condition. I've worked with him before. Here he comes.

Owen pays off the whining Jawa and the two robots trudge off toward a grimy homestead entry.

Luke: Okay, let's go.

Threepio: (to Artoo) Now, don't forget this! Why I should stick my neck out for you is quite beyond my capacity!

• The droid auction scene was the first shot for Star Wars when principal photography began in the salt flats at Nefta, near Tozeur, Tunisia on March 22, 1976. The production progress report lists a departure time from the local hotel at 6:30 a.m., with the completion of the first shot at 9:35 a.m. Beleagured by weather conditions and malfunctioning robots, the production ended its first day a quarter-day behind schedule. This scene continued to be shot through the second day of principal photography, and was split into a second unit by the fourth to photograph "Jawa activity shots with robots in front of sandcrawler."

• A handful of short stories explored R5-D4's explosive motivator. The 1981 Star Wars radio dramatization attributed R5's breakdown to surreptitious sabotage from R2-D2. Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, a roleplaying game supplement published in 1989 had R5-D4 self-sacrifice to keep Artoo and Threepio together. Star Wars Tales #1 (1999) takes that altruism even further, suggesting that R5-D4 was actually "Skippy the Jedi Droid" who foresaw the importance of Artoo joining the Lars Homestead.

• In the radio drama, Luke hears about a passing sandcrawler from friends in Anchorhead, and then convinces Owen Lars to purchase a few new droids from the scavengers. Once Owen relents, Luke fires a signal flare into the air, and a short time later the sandcrawler appears at the farm.

• An early idea was for C-3PO to be a bit of a slick used cars salesman in personality, using fast-talking whenever possible to get out of a bind. George Lucas did not expect the "proper English butler" personality that Anthony Daniels imbued Threepio with, but found that he could not change the performance editorially or with a different voice-over actor. A number were tried, though, including veteran comic actor Stan Freberg. The script, as written, has some vestiges of the slick-talker in it -- such as when C-3PO bluffs his way past stormtroopers on the Death Star, or in this scene where he tries to sell himself to Owen Lars. The novelization, which was written while the film was in production, has much more of a huckster in C-3PO's voice: "I don't blame you, sir. I couldn't be in more agreement. What could be more of a wasteful luxury in a climate like this? For someone of your interest, sir, a protocol droid would be a useless waste of money. No, sir -- versatility is my middle name. See Vee Threepio -- Vee for versality -- at your service."