Okay, I am sooooo sorry it took so long to update, I'm way behind on school and it's driving me up the wall. Please review. Love you all, Psychic!
One
Twenty years later…
Luke Skywalker was having a very good day.
For starters, it was his birthday. So much had happened since his last one that he was surprised he had even lived to see his twentieth year at all. Since his last birthday, he had learned that his father had been a Jedi Knight by the name of Anakin Skywalker, had begun Jedi training with a famous hero of the Clone Wars, rescued the Princess of Alderaan, destroyed the Death Star and been promoted to Commander in the Rebel Alliance, all in one day. Two weeks later he had resumed his Jedi training with an even stronger Jedi Master, had his hand chopped off by the lightsaber of one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, learned that the same man was actually his father, and lost his best friend, Han, to the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. A month after that, he had rescued Han, killing the vile gangster, Jabba the Hutt, in the process, and returned to his master, Yoda. And that was just the first two months of being nineteen.
Luke had spent the last eight months on swampy Dagobah, learning control over the finer aspects of the Force. Yoda had pronounced him a Jedi Knight mere hours ago and sent him back to the Rebellion with a very important secret.
The Princess of Alderaan, Leia Organa, was in fact the daughter of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
And as such, the younger twin sister of Luke Skywalker.
Luke had no problems whatsoever in believing his master's words. Ever since he had first walked into Leia's—Your sister's, said a little voice in his head—cell on the Death Star, he had felt the connection between them. Young and foolish as he was, he had assumed it was because they were meant for each other in some sort of a romantic sense; he hadn't even thought about examining the connection through the Force.
As Luke brought his battle-scared X-wing out of hyperspace, something suddenly flowed along the bond he shared with his sister, and Luke felt a grin rise to his face. Frowning a little as he read what was flowing to him through the bond, Luke reached along it until he found its origin. There, a little below the equator, just to the right of where he was heading now, was the elusive Rebel Base.
As Luke turned his ship toward the base's location, a hailing light blinked to life of his console. Plummeting through cloudlayer after cloudlayer, he pressed the comm activation stud.
"Unidentified fighter, you are on course to a restricted section. Please identify and state your business." As the X-wing plunged through the thick marine layer surrounding all of Kamino, this time of year, Luke felt a frown form on his face. 'Unidentified fighter?' The X-wing class fighter was the most common among Rebel forces. He could understand a low-level Imperial base not recognizing one, but the Rebel Command Base? Clearly, whoever was manning Control needed to be retrained.
"This is Commander and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker on an X-wing class fighter, formerly of Rogue Squadron. Requesting access to squadron landing pad." As Luke spoke, he stretched along the friendship-bond he shared with Wedge to find Rogue Squadron's landing. There it was. Luke could see it in his minds eye. Just to the left of High Command's private pad.
"Lightning interference from your location, X-wing. We do not copy. State your name and business."
"Commander Skywalker of Rogue Squadron returning to duty."
"What kind of a sick joke is this, X-wing?" Control asked after a long pause, suddenly sounding angry and hurt. "Commander Skywalker of Rogue Squadron has been MIA for eight months and is assumed dead. Now say who you really are or we'll blast you."
Luke's hands froze on his controls. 'Commander Skywalker has been MIA for eight months and is assumed dead?' He gaped at the blinking light on his console for a few moments.
"Excuse me?"
"X-wing, I'm losing my temper. I'm just filling in for a buddy here. I'm not officially a Control officer, so I'm not gonna be all formal and third person and stuff. Just tell me who you are, and I'll tell ya where to go." Wait a minute, Luke thought, frowning. The control officer who wasn't a control officer sounded an awful lot like—
"Han?" Luke asked incredulously, a sad little smile on his face. Han thought he was dead. That meant Leia—Your sister, the little voice said again—and Wedge thought he was, too.
"Yeah, my name's Han," Han said, sounding annoyed now. "What's it to you?"
"Nothing, nothing." Luke shook his head and flicked his eyes upward. Forgive me, he silently prayed, and took a breath.
"My name is Teener Faon," he lied, using the name of a friend of his Uncle Owen. "I wish to join the Rebellion."
"Okay! That's what I like to hear. Get off your current trajectory and head for pad 24C. I'll turn on the landing lights, and someone will meet you there shortly." Han paused for a moment. "I don't know what you were thinking, trying to say you were Luke. The kid is dead. Everyone knows that. They even had the notice on the HoloNet a few months ago. Where've you been? Dagobah?"
Luke chuckled. "Yeah, actually," he whispered. Han didn't hear him. Luke turned toward pad 24C with an oddly constricted feeling in his chest. Frowning, he sensed it out. It was Leia. Han must have told her about the crazy who was pretending to be her brother. The feeling he was getting from Leia changed abruptly as he set down his X-wing, and a smile formed on Luke's face. Leia stood just inside the open door, out of the rain and waiting for him. Before popping his canopy, Luke unzipped his flight suit and donned his new, black Jedi cloak.
"C'mon, Artoo," Luke called, opening the canopy of his fighter and jumping to the ground with catlike grace. Artoo followed his master much less gracefully, and the pair walked down the runway, Artoo trailing a little behind. Luke pulled the cowl of his cloak over his head and lowered his face to the ground.
"Hello!" Leia called, beckoning him out of the rain. "My name's Leia Solo. Who are you?"
Luke hit a mental wall and rebounded. Leia Solo!?! Leia and Han were married!?!
"Leia?" he asked, mind still not functioning properly. "You married Han? When?"
"Excuse me?" Leia frowned, squinting at the hooded man in Jedi robes. "How do you know Han?"
Luke didn't answer. Closing his eyes, Luke lifted his head and lowered the hood.
He opened his eyes in time to see Leia gasp in recognition and clamp a hand on her mouth.
"Luke?"
Luke grinned.
"Surprise."