Author's Note: I actually had a lot of fun writing my last story, so I thought I'd continue Luke and Leia's journey through this alternate universe. In this installment, Leia has to team up with her worst enemy (three guesses who!) to defeat a common enemy. I know that a lot of you don't like him, but frankly, his arrogance makes him really fun to write about (and don't worry, I'll suspend him from school again at the end of the story.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any of these characters.
Luke Skywalker, sixteen years old, was at the home of his favorite aunt and uncle. Actually, they were his only aunt and uncle, but he had a special bond with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.
When Luke was four, his mother had died, and his father had gotten maimed in a horrible car accident. Anakin Skywalker had spent about a year in the hospital, undergoing reconstructive surgery and physical therapy, and somehow had ended up in a black suit, unofficially changing his name to Darth Vader. But that was a story for another day.
During the time that Anakin—er, Darth—had been unable to raise his children, Luke and his twin sister Leia had been in the care of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. They lived on a farm, and strictly speaking, Luke wouldn't imagine his uncle doing anything else. When he was born, Uncle Owen had given him a stuffed animal cow. When he turned two, Uncle Owen had taught him to milk.
Luke hated farm chores more than anything. Luckily, when he wasn't feeling well, he managed to get out of it.
"My stomach hurts, Aunt Beru," Luke moaned, tossing and turning is bed as his aunt tried to rouse him for school.
Luke's aunt, who didn't have any children of her own, put her hand to his nephew's forehead. "You don't feel warm, sweetheart. Is it a stomach bug?"
"Luke doesn't have a stomach bug, Aunt Beru. He's just nervous," Leia snorted. She was already dressed for school and brushing her hair.
"What are you nervous for, Luke, honey?"
"I have to give my speech today in English class, and I hate public speaking. Last year, I had a panic attack," Luke mumbled, face in his pillow.
"Look at your sister the whole time," Aunt Beru suggested.
"We're in separate classes, but Mark is in there with him," came Leia's response. Mark was the closest thing that the shy Luke had to a friend. Both of them loved comic books and computers. Both of them preferred being shut up in their rooms with no social contact.
"Okay, well, then look at Mark the whole time. Imagine you're speaking only to him."
"Mark sits all the way in the back," came another mumble from the face-down Luke.
"Luke, think of this as a learning experience. Someday, you might grow up to work for a company like RebelCorp-" Aunt Beru began.
"Never," Luke grumbled.
"—and you'll have to speak in front of people all the time. I bet your father makes speeches every week!"
"Dad's not human. Dad's a robot. Have you ever seen what's underneath the suit?" Darth Vader was out of town, on some kind of retreat for the new job he had gotten at RebelCorp, a local robotics company. He was their new Vice President of Innovation.
"Very funny. Luke Skywalker, you are not staying home today. I'll give you some stomach medicine, but off to school you'll go."
Ten minutes later, Luke traipsed downstairs to breakfast, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that read, SAVE THE EWOKS.
"What are Ewoks?" Leia asked him.
Luke shrugged. "This shirt isn't even mine. It's Mark's. I stole it from him and I won't give it back until he returns my favorite Batman shirt."
Whatever.
Breakfast on the Lars farm was always delicious. This morning, Aunt Beru had made toast, scrambled eggs, and ham, served to Luke and Leia with large tumblers of blue milk.
For some odd reason, milk was always blue at their house. Aunt Beru said there was something in the blue dye that made the milk healthier.
Okay, so she was a little quirky, but she was still Luke's favorite aunt.
"Your father comes home this afternoon, so eat up," Beru smiled, scratching the back of Luke's head in affection. "You know you don't get this nice of a breakfast at home."
"Do we come here after school?" Leia asked.
"Yes, honey. Your father is going to come by to pick you up."
After Leia ate a hearty breakfast—and Luke picked at his food, but swallowed back a large dose of Pepto-Bismol—their aunt hugged them and saw them off on the bus together.
Leia sat up front. Luke sat in the back. They were two of the first kids to be picked up.
A couple of stops later, Luke's best friend Mark got on. He was wearing Luke's Batman shirt, and didn't seem to care that Luke was wearing his. "Hey," Mark smiled. "Want to go to Toshi's station after school to pick up some power converters?"
"I'd love to, but I bet my Uncle Owen has a whole bunch of chores for me to do," Luke scowled. "And I didn't do anything this morning because I wasn't feeling well."
"Nervous?"
"You know it."
Two stops later, Carrie—one of Leia's two best friends—boarded the bus. Leia's other best friend, Marilou, rode in her brother's car.
"Leia, you know what today is?" Carrie asked as she plopped into their seat.
"Monday?" asked Leia blankly.
"Yeah. Han's supposed to be back in school today."
"Dear God." Leia slammed her head against the back of her seat.
Han Solo was Leia's worst enemy. He had a huge crush on her and was always asking her out; he didn't seem to be taking no for an answer. His best friend was Chas Bacca, the star of the basketball team, and nicknamed "Chew" because he just grunted through the ten wads of gum he was always chewing.
Luckily, Han was also a huge troublemaker, so Darth Vader didn't really want Leia seeing him.
"You know what, though? He's a senior, and there are two months left of school," Leia told Carrie. "Then I'll be free of him forever."
"Unless he fails and has to repeat his senior year over again," Carrie warned.
Leia froze. "We have to get him out of school," she told Carrie. "Maybe I should start tutoring him, just to be safe."
"Leia, are you nuts? You can't stand him!"
"I know, but I'd rather dedicate two months of my life to help his pass his classes than have to put up with him for a whole other year."
"Well," Carrie drawled. "He's sure going to like this."
Up Next: Darth is Back
