GARAGE: Luke enters the garage to discover the robots nowhere in sight. He takes a small control box from his utility belt similar to the one the Jawas were carrying. He activates the box, which creates a low hum, and Threepio, letting out a short yell, pops up from behind the Skyhopper spaceship.
LUKE: What are you doing hiding there?
Threepio stumbles forward, but Artoo is still nowhere in sight.
THREEPIO: It wasn't my fault, sir. Please don't deactivate me. I told him not to go, but he's faulty, malfunctioning; kept babbling on about his mission.
LUKE: Oh, no!
Luke races out of the garage followed by Threepio, and out of the small doomed entry to the homestead. He searches the darkening horizon for the small triped astro-robot as Threepio struggles out of the homestead. On the salt flat, Luke scans the landscape with his electrobinoculars.
THREEPIO: That R2 unit has always been a problem. These astro-droids are getting quite out of hand. Even I can't understand their logic at times.
LUKE: How could I be so stupid? He's nowhere in sight. Blast it!
THREEPIO: Pardon me, sir, but couldn't we go after him?
LUKE: It's too dangerous with all the Sandpeople around. We'll have to wait until morning.
Owen yells up from the homestead plaza.
OWEN: Luke, I'm shutting the power down for the night.
LUKE: All right, I'll be there in a few minutes. Boy, am I gonna get it.
He takes one final look across the dim horizon.
LUKE: You know that little droid is going to cause me a lot of trouble.
THREEPIO: Oh, he excels at that, sir.
PLAZA: Morning slowly creeps into the sparse but sparkling oasis of the open courtyard. The idyll is broken be the yelling of Uncle Owen, his voice echoing throughout the homestead.
OWEN: Luke? Luke? Luke?
KITCHEN: The interior of the kitchen is a worm glow as Aunt Beru prepares the morning breakfast. Owen enters in a huff.
OWEN: Have you seen Luke this morning?
AUNT BERU: He said he had some things to do before he started today, so he left early.
OWEN: Uh? Did he take those two new droids with him?
AUNT BERU: I think so.
OWEN: Well, he'd better have those units in the south range repaired be midday or there'll be hell to pay!
TATOOINE - DESERT WASTELAND - LUKE'S SPEEDER - DAY: The rock and sand of the desert floor are a blur as Threepio pilots the sleek Landspeeder gracefully across the vast wasteland.
LUKE: Look there's a droid on the scanner . . dead ahead. Might be our little R-2 unit, hit the accelerator.
ROCK MESA: From high on a rock mesa, the tiny Landspeeder can be seen gliding across the desert floor. Suddenly in the foreground two weather-beaten Sandpeople shrouded in their grimy desert cloaks peer over the edge of the rock mesa. One of the marginally human creatures raises a long ominous laser rifle and points it at the speeder but the second creature interrupts before it can be fired.
The Sandpeople, or Tusken Raiders as they're sometimes called, speak in a coarse barbaric language as they get into an animated argument. The second Tusken Raider seems to get in the final word and the nomads scurry over the rocky terrain.
ROCK MESA - CANYON: The Tusken Raider approaches two large Banthas standing tied to a rock. The monstrous, bear-like creatures are as large as elephants, with huge red eyes, tremendous looped horns, and long, furry, dinosaur-like tails.
The Tusken Raiders mount saddles strapped to the huge creatures' shaggy backs and ride off down the rugged bluff.
ROCK CANYON - FLOOR: The speeder is parked on the floor of a massive canyon. Luke stands before little Artoo.
LUKE: Hey, whoa, just where do you think you're going?
The little droid whistles a feeble reply, as Threepio poses menacingly next to the little runaway.
THREEPIO: Master Luke here is your rightful owner. We'll have no more of this Obi-Wan Kenobi jibberish...and don't talk to me about your mission, either. You're fortunate he doesn't blast you into a million pieces right here.
LUKE: No, that's allright, but I think we better go.
Suddenly the little robot jumps to life with a mass of frantic whistles and screams.
LUKE: What's wrong with him now?
THREEPIO: There are several creatures approaching from the southeast.
LUKE: Sandpeople! Or worse!
Luke grabs his rifle from the Landspeeder.
LUKE: Come on, let's go have a look. Come on.
ROCK CANYON - RIDGE: Luke carefully makes his way to the top of a rock ridge and scans the canyon with his electrobinoculars. He spots the two riderless Banthas. Threepio struggles up behind the young adventurer.
LUKE: There are two Banthas down there but I don't see any...wait a second, they're Sandpeople all right. I can see one of them now.
Luke watches the distant Tusken Raider through his electrobinoculars. Suddenly something huge moves in front of his field of view.
Before Luke or Threepio can react, a large, gruesome Tusken Raider looms over them. Threepio is startled and backs away, right off the side of the cliff. He can be heard as he clangs, bangs and rattles down the side of the mountain.
The towering creature brings down his curved, double-pointed gaderffii -- the dreaded axe blade that has struck terror in the heart of the local settlers. Luke manages to block the blow with his laser rifle, which is broken in half. The creature hits Luke with his weapon and knocks him off his feet.
The Tusken Raider keeps striking at Luke who is trying to avoid his blows. The terrified farm boy scrambles backward until he is forced to the edge of a deep crevice.
The sinister Raider stands over him with his weapon raised and lets out a horrible shrieking laugh.
TATOOINE - ROCK CANYON - FLOOR - DAY: Artoo forces himself into the shadows of a small alcove in the rocks.
The vicious Sandpeople walk past carrying the inert Luke Skywalker, who is dropped in a heap before the speeder.
The Sandpeople ransack the speeder, throwing parts and supplies in all directions.
| 
