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A LONG TIME AGO, IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…

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STAR WARS: SHATTERED REALITY

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It is a time of civil war in the galaxy. Upon infiltrating the Galactic Senate, Darth Sidious has wiped out the Jedi Knights, and formed the first Galactic Empire. Through his tyrannical rule, countless systems have lost their freedom. While members of the Imperial Senate debate against Emperor Palpatine's cruel dominion, Alderaan's representative, King Bail Organa, had decided to take action. From the shadows, he and other members of the Senate have formed an army of Rebels to bring down the Empire.

After years of varying success, the Rebellion has finally earned a major victory; infiltrating the planet Scariff to steal the plans to the Empire's latest weapon: the DEATH STAR. Making a hasty retreat, the Rebels are now pursued by the Emperor's right hand, Darth Vader…

The last Rebel starship was blocked by the Imperial Fleet above Scariff. Acting quickly, Captain Antilles ordered everyone to the emergency drop ship. Just as the Star Destroyer locked onto their flagship, the Rebels finished downloading the plans and rushed into the docking bay. One soldier managed to get the data plans onto the drop ship and pulled the release lever.

"Your highness…" He entered the command deck and handed the plans to King Organa's child. "We managed to save this before it was too late. What is it?"

"Hope…"

Unfortunately, the Star Destroyer had followed them out of hyperspace and an intense battle broke out over Tatooine. The Rebel's ship was caught in the Destroyer's tractor beam and was now being boarded. A small battalion rushed to the ship's entryway, and prepared for the fight of their lives. Soon, the ship's door was blown open, and an army of Storm Troopers burst in.

The Rebels did their best to hold off the Imperial Army, but all hope was lost when Darth Vader arrived. Until today, the Rebel soldiers had only heard rumors of the Sith Lord's powers, but now, they could experience his wrath, firsthand. His red lightsaber deflected their fire while he used his power over the Force to subdue the ones closest to him.

One soldier survived the onslaught and tried to run away. But the Storm Troopers cut him off at the exit, and Vader cornered him with his weapon. Two more Troopers approached from the ship's computer room.

"The Death Star plans are not in the main computer, my Lord." One reported.

"Where are the transmissions you received from Scariff?" Vader's voice was strong and intimidating. "What have you done with those plans?!"

"W-we intercepted no transmissions!" The soldier stuttered. "This is a consular ship! We're on a diplomatic mission!"

"If this is a consular ship, then where is the ambassador?" Vader's lightsaber cut through the Rebel, and he turned to his minions. "Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans! And bring me the passengers, I want them alive!"

Meanwhile, the other Rebels were still trying to escape from the ship. One of the escapees was a standard protocol droid under the designation C-3PO. He hurried through the halls of the ship, trying to find his astromech counterpart, R2-D2. As he reached the fifth corridor, he saw someone in a white robe place something inside the astromech before disappearing.

"At last!" He scolded as R2 rolled over to him. "Where have you been?! They've overrun the ship! We'll be deactivated for sure! Wait… where are you going?"

R2-D2 beeped in defiance as he made his way to an escape pod. "Hey! You're not permitted in there!" R2 beeped again, explaining his mission to his companion. "Secret mission? What plans? I'm not getting in there!" A sudden blast coaxed the droid into following the astromech. Their escape pod landed on Tatooine, and they were soon captured by scavengers.

Back on the Star Destroyer, Vader had his men deliver their captives to the detention center. But on the way towards the prison block, he recognized one of the captives and pulled him out of the group. The young man looked at Vader with utter disgust as he was led to the Destroyer's command deck. Once they arrived, they were greeted by an elderly Imperial Officer.

"It has been a long time, your highness."

"Governor Tarkin." Prince Luke Organa spat. "I should've known it'd be you pulling Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench the moment I was brought onboard."

"It's Grand Moff Tarkin, now, Prince Luke." The old man gripped Luke's jaw, firmly. "And you would be wise to respect me. As you would respect Lord Vader and Emperor Palpatine."

"You're going to pay for this unprovoked attack, Tarkin." Luke replied, bravely. "Once the Imperial Senate hears that you have attacked a diplomatic vessel, they will-"

"You may drop the act, Organa." Tarkin chuckled. "We suspected your father's involvement in the Rebel Alliance years ago. And the Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to the Emperor. Not once the Death Star is fully operational."

Luke chuckled. "The tighter that withered old man squeezes the galaxy, the easier it'll be for systems to slip through his fingers, Tarkin."

"Charming as always." Tarkin rebuffed. "When we arrive at the Death Star, you will tell us everything you know about your Rebel friends, and the Alliance will be crushed."

"You're a bigger fool than I thought." Luke snorted. "As long as there is breath in my lungs, I will never betray the Rebellion. My father is twice the man you are. The spirit of the Alliance will continue to spread throughout the Senate, until the people you would see crushed beneath your foot have taken back what belongs to th-"

Luke's fingers tugged at the collar of his shirt as he felt his throat closing up. It was as if an invisible hand held his neck in an iron grip, and started to squeeze. The prince gasped for air as he fell to his knees.

"What was that about 'breath in your lungs,' your majesty…?" Vader taunted as he used the Force to strangle Luke.

"Enough of this!" Tarkin ordered. "Vader, release him."

"As you wish." Vader let go of the boy and ordered his guards to return him to the detention center. "He is a strong-willed individual, Tarkin. He would die before betraying the Rebellion."

"Leave that to me, my friend." The Grand Moff of the Imperial Fleet left to converse with the Emperor as they headed for the Death Star.

The next morning, on Tatooine, a group of Jawas were traveling across the barren wastelands, wanting to sell their latest collection of droids. By morning, they had reached the moisture farms nearby the dune sea. They halted their sandcrawler and ordered the droids outside for display.

One hour later, the Lars family woke up to see what they had to gain.

"Leia! Leia! Leia!" Beru Lars called out for her niece. Owen was about to head out of the house to purchase new work droids, and he would need Leia's help.

"I'm coming, Aunt Beru!" A young girl in dusty work clothes came out of her room. Her brown hair was curled up around the sides of her head, covering her ears.

"Leia Skywalker!" Beru gasped in disbelief and crossed her arms. "What did you do to your hair?"

"Do you like it?" Leia brushed one bun, gently, as she smiled. "Aurora says it's the latest hairstyle on Alderaan."

"It makes you look like you should be served up for breakfast!" Her aunt teased. The two shared a good laugh. "Now, go help your uncle. Oh, and if he gets a translator, tell him to make sure it speaks Boschi."

"I don't think we have much of a choice, but I'll remind him." With that, Leia ran out of the house to meet up with her Uncle Owen. While her uncle was busy discussing business, Leia looked up to the sky, admiring the glow of the morning horizon. Despite her sheltered childhood, the young woman often dreamed of traveling across the galaxy, one day. Fighting the Empire, saving the innocent, and just living life to the fullest.

Eventually, farmer settled on a gilded protocol droid and blue astromech, and had just finished paying the Jawas. Then he turned to his niece. "Alright, Leia. Take these two to the garage and have them cleaned up before dinner."

"But it's Aurora's last day home before she goes back to the academy." Leia argued. "We were going to meet up in two hours and go celebrate her birthday at Mos Cantina!"

"You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done." Lars answered, sternly. "Now, get to it."

"Alright, c'mon." She ordered the droids. Once they were back inside, Leia directed the protocol droid to the oil bath while she rubbed down the astromech.

"Thank the maker!" 3PO exclaimed. "I have so much sand in my joints, I feared I'd never move again!"

But Leia wasn't paying attention. She was too frustrated as she scrubbed R2's chassis. "It just isn't fair! Cree's right, I'm never gonna get out of here!"

"Is there anything I can do to help, Madam?"

"No, I don't think so." Leia grabbed a tool to bend the dents out of R2. "Not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest, or teleport me off this rock."

"I'm sorry, but I'm only a droid. My abilities are quite limited, Madam."

"You can call me Leia." She corrected.

"I see." The droid replied. "And I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart, R2-D2."

"Well, you both look a little beat up." She observed as she worked on R2's dome. "What've you been up to?"

"It's a rather long story." 3PO answered. "To be honest, I'm surprised either of us are in one piece. What with the Rebellion going on."

"Wait, what?!" Leia dropped the tool and fell back. Recovering quickly, she positioned herself to where she was right in front of 3PO's face. "You know about the Rebellion against the Empire?"

"That's how we came to be in your service. If you take my meaning, Madam."

"Have you been in many battles?"

"Several. Although, there's not much to tell. I'm merely an interpreter. I've never truly been in the heat of any conflict."

Leia sighed, heavily. She was hoping that maybe these droids had finally brought some excitement into her life. She returned to R2's dome, digging away at the projector module. "Looks like you've got something jammed in here…" She struggled. "Hey, were you on a Star Cruiser, or, uh-"

Suddenly, R2's holographic projector flashed to life, startling Leia into stumbling backwards. An image of a man close to her age, dressed in white was now replaying a dire message, over and over.

"Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.~Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.~Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

"What…? Wh-who… is that?" Leia gasped at the sight of him.

"Why, I do believe that he was aboard our ship." 3PO replied. "Judging by his garbs, I'd say he is of some political importance."

Leia examined the tone of the man's voice; it was nervous and desperate. He sounded as if he were begging. She felt concerned. "It sounds like he's in trouble. Is there more to the message?"

R2 beeped instructions that only 3PO could understand. "Madam, he claims that the restraining bolt placed on his chassis has damaged his memory banks. He suggests that if you remove the bolt, he can replay the entire message."

Leia looked down at the tool in her hand, then back at the recording. On one hand, if she removed the bolt, the R2-unit wouldn't be restricted to the farm, and could get away. But, on the other hand, astromechs weren't known for being particularly fast. She decided if he did try to escape, it wouldn't be too hard to find him.

"Alright… there you go…" She took the bolt off and then turned to see that the image had vanished. "Hey! Where'd he go? Play back the whole message!"

R2 beeped in confusion, prompting a smack from 3PO. "'What message?' The one you've just been playing! The one hidden inside your rusty innards!"

"Leia! Dinner's ready!"

"Alright, Aunt Beru! I'll be right there!" Leia handed the tool to 3PO and washed her hands in the garage's sink. "You keep working on him, I'll be right back."

"Yes, Madam Leia." 3PO replied, happily. Then he turned back to R2. "Now, don't you dare try something like that again! She's our new master! It'd be best not to anger her. Just consider replaying that message."

R2 vocalized in his robot language again. "No, I don't think she likes you at all!" 3PO retorted, much to R2's sadness.

To Be Continued!

WHAT'S THIS?! LUKE ORGANA?! LEIA SKYWALKER?! WHAT THE %#& IS GOING ON HERE?! Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter that will explain this switcheroo!

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