A Wind to Shake the Stars

Within his farm's tech dome, Luke Skywalker can be found listening to a recruitment message from the Imperial Space Academy. Luke has heard the recording so many times that he knows it by heart, reciting parts along with it and humming along to the background music. His friend Windy unexpectedly enters. Embarrassed, Luke attempts to halt the recording quickly, but Windy seizes the tape and reads the label. He teases Luke for continuing to dream of following their friend Biggs to the Academy.

Luke prepares his skyhopper and flies Windy to Tosche Station, where they meet up with the other three members of their friend group: Fixer, a self-assured young man who manages the station; Camie, his admiring girlfriend; and Deak, who seems happy to follow Fixer's lead in everything. Windy informs the group about the recruitment tape he discovered Luke listening to, leading to another round of ridicule aimed at Luke. Camie particularly accuses Luke of wanting to attend the Academy solely to emulate Biggs.

Luke successfully diverts the conversation by inquiring about Fixer's plans for the day, to which Fixer responds that he intends to do "speed runs"– racing skyhoppers through Beggar's Canyon. Luke accepts Fixer's challenge to a race. With Windy as his copilot, they get into Luke's skyhopper and the race commences. Fixer and Deak quickly take the lead, effectively blocking Luke's attempts to overtake them. Despite Windy's terrified protests, Luke decides to try a shortcut through the Stone Needle, a perilous maneuver known as threading the needle. Luke emerges victorious, earning the reluctant respect of his friends, although his skyhopper sustains damage.

Sometime later, Luke is having breakfast with his uncle Owen and aunt Beru. Owen pesters Luke about repairing moisture vaporators located on the farm's southern ridge. Luke suggests that the family acquire more droids to alleviate the workload. Owen counters that the droids would be unnecessary if Luke spent less time lost in his daydreams. Beru gently scolds her husband, mentioning that she could use a new droid around the house, and then privately advises him to be more understanding of Luke and not resent his aspirations beyond the farm.

Subsequently, Luke is on the south ridge with the repair droid Treadwell, attempting to fix a vaporator. The droid proves to be clumsy and malfunctioning, causing damage to itself while attempting the repair. At that moment, Luke notices flashes in the sky. Using his macrobinoculars, he observes two starships seemingly engaged in combat in the upper atmosphere. He abandons Treadwell and rushes to Tosche Station to inform his friends.

Upon arriving at the station, Luke is surprised to find Biggs with the group, just as he used to be before leaving for the Academy. Biggs explains that his graduation has been expedited by imperial decree and that this will be his final visit home before reporting to his new ship, a freighter named the Rand Ecliptic. Luke shares his account of the battle he witnessed. Most of them dismiss it, while Biggs suggests more kindly that it was unlikely for a battle to occur over Tatooine, suggesting the ships were probably refueling instead.

Fixer, Camie, and the others return inside, and Biggs asks Luke to take a drive to Beggar's Canyon in the landspeeder. Once there, Biggs reveals his secret plans: he and a group of fellow graduates intend to desert their posts and join the Rebel Alliance. He also criticizes Luke for yielding to his uncle's pressure to remain on the farm instead of pursuing his own path at the Academy. This irritates Luke, who is unwilling to abandon his family when they need him. Biggs apologizes. Their farewell is bittersweet and emotional. Luke still desires to follow Biggs to the Academy and perhaps even the Rebellion. Luke remarks that the wind is picking up, and Biggs responds that it's rising throughout the Galaxy and even Tatooine will soon feel its effects. He also assures Luke that he believes his account of a potential battle in the sky.

Luke's skyhopper had a visual presence as a background element in the film A New Hope, but it was never shown in operation. Consequently, Tom Voegeli was tasked with creating a completely original sound effect for the hoppers during the episode's post-production phase.

None of the events from "A Wind to Shake the Stars" are present in the original film. This episode provides significant context to Luke's dissatisfaction with his life on Tatooine and his difficulty in fitting in with his friends from Anchorhead. The initial scenes – the recruitment tape, the race through Beggar's Canyon, and Luke's conversation with his aunt and uncle – are exclusive to the radio drama. Luke referenced the race in a scene omitted from the first Star Wars film but included in the Star Wars novelization, mentioning to Biggs that he damaged his skyhopper while winning an exciting race. The later scenes on the moisture farm and in Anchorhead closely mirror this same set of deleted scenes. The dialogue between Luke and Biggs largely replicates the deleted scene, but its setting is changed from outside the station to Beggar's Canyon. Together, these scenes paint a familiar picture of teenage life, sharing similarities with the small-town teens in Lucas' earlier film American Graffiti.

During his conversation with Luke, Biggs clarifies that the Rand Ecliptic is a merchant ship and expresses his fear of being drafted into the Imperial Starfleet at some point. This aligns with the novelization but contradicts later Legends works and sources that depict the Ecliptic as a military frigate and portray his Academy training as more explicitly military in nature.