To all my fellow Star Wars fans, May the 4th be with you and have a happy day: D

Star Wars

Twin Suns Early Rise

Chapter 7: Heading to Skywalker

Things had become hectic in the last twenty-four hours for Captain CT-7567, Rex. This of course would've been a usual occurrence for him, had it not for the reason behind this sudden change in routine. A few hours ago, Rex had received a transmission from Senator Bail Organa, requesting his help in finding his missing daughter, Princess Leia Organa, who he believed had gone to the desert, outer rim world of Tatooine. Rex was surprised by the senator's decision to chose him for this assignment as he had other allies closer to him who were not known for their connections to the rebellion, and would not bring the princess any unnecessary attention. The clone was even more surprised when Organa forbade him from bringing the Ghost crew along, nor letting Phoenix Cell know the details about his mission. However, once the senator explained to Rex why his daughter had gone to that miserable planet, he both understood why he'd been chosen and yet was still shocked beyond belief.

Not only were the claims Rex had heard back at the end of the Clone Wars true about Anakin becoming a Sith Lord, but around the same time Anakin's secret wife, Padmé Amidala, had given birth to twins, Luke Skywalker, and Bail Organa's adoptive daughter Leia Organa.

To protect the twins from the Empire, as Palpatine would either use them as weapons of evil or destroy them should he learn about their existence, the two Skywalkers were separated at birth. While the Organa's had taken in Leia, Luke lived with his father's stepbrother, Owen Lars on Tatooine while under the secret watch of Obi-Wan Kenobi; a Jedi Master whose survival, along with Master Yoda's, were two more secrets Bail had been keeping.

As a further precaution, it was agreed that both twins wouldn't learn about their bloodline until they were ready for the burden. Though unfortunately, Leia had discovered the truth about her birth family by accident from a holo-confession created by Bail should he die before he could tell his daughter himself. Leia hadn't taken the news well and had now run off with R2, a droid who'd served her biological parents throughout the Clone Wars, to reunite with her long-lost twin.

It had been a lot to take in, though Rex soon came to accept it all. He knew his Jedi General had been in a secret relationship with the senator from Naboo and even assisted him when covering for their private meetings from time to time. He'd also seen General Kenobi in action countless times, and it was no surprise to learn of how he'd avoided execution at the hands of his own men when order sixty-six was issued. He just hoped Cody, Kenobi's first in command and Rex's best friend, hadn't been killed in the process.

Though Cody wasn't his priority. After listening to Organa's request, Rex gladly agreed to go on the mission to find the princess. He was kinda looking forward to the idea of meeting Anakin's children and seeing a new generation of Skywalkers grow into the great leaders that their parents had been. True he was hurt about his former general's betrayal, especially since it meant that Anakin, now Vader, was the one who killed Ahsoka Tano, his own padawan. However, Rex had learned a long time ago not to let past actions interfere with events of the present. He knew for a fact that if Ahsoka were here she would agree with him. So Rex set all his attention on getting to Tatooine, finding the princess, bring her back to Alderaan and recruit both Luke and Obi-Wan into the rebellion; that last part Senator Organa had also permitted Rex to do while on Tatooine.

As a coverup when requesting to borrow an A-wing, Senator Organa instructed Rex to claim he was running an important/classified errand for Rebel Command, providing him with special codes only the highest-ranking officers used, which got Commander Sato's approval. Though while talking to the commander, Ezra showed up and claimed he believed Darth Maul, a thorn in the Rebels side, was on Tatooine hunting down Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master who'd cut the Sith apprentice in half so many years ago.

Rex offered to scout the system for signs of Maul and report whether or not he was there before heading off on his other mission; as in secret, Tatooine was where he was going anyways. Ezra volunteered to tag along as backup, though Rex denied the young padawan's request, and was backed by Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus, Captain Hera Syndulla, and Commander Sato. They'd seen what happened whenever Ezra got tangled up with Maul, most notably the little "incident" leading to Dathomir a few months back, and believed it was best for Ezra to stay away from Maul.

In his apprentices' place, Kanan had offered to go with Rex in case Maul was on Tatooine. Though again Rex refused to accept any backup, reminding the Jedi Knight of what his own encounters with Maul had resulted in. In truth, Rex was doing this not just for the Jedi's sake, but also given the sensitivity of his main mission. He'd been forbidden from taking anyone else with him to Tatooine, and Maul being there was no exception. Chances were high that they'd learn of Skywalkers children's existence if they went to Tatooine and Bail did not want to risk the entire galaxy finding out about them just yet. Besides hopefully if Rex found Maul, General Kenobi wouldn't be too far along and the two could easily take the Sith Lord down for good.

Rex went so far as to vouch for Senator Organa's claims about Kenobi's death being true and that Maul had become delusional by his desire for vengeance. He told them all about Tatooine's harsh desert environment that drained the life out of people and the vicious natives, Tusken Raiders, who were known for not taking too kindly to outsiders. He insisted that given Maul's mental state, combined with the planet's killing environment and dangerous natives, not even his dark side powers could save the Sith Lord this time.

Neither Jedi believed this logic, however, in the end, Hera persuaded them to let the subject go and allow Rex to handle this mission himself. She and Commander Sato, who more than trusted Rex's skills, approved the scouting mission, under the condition that the Clone Wars veteran contact command for assistance should he see any signs of Maul's presence on Tatooine.

To make sure Ezra and Kanan didn't try to sneak away to follow Rex, the two Jedi were sent on an immediate scouting mission to Ezra's home planet of Lothal to make final preparations for their assault on the planet's TIE fighter factory. This attack was extremely important as it would stop the mass production of TIE Defender, the Empire's newest and heavily modified TIE fighter that threatened the Rebellion's future. The attack would be the Rebel Alliance's first real blow to the Empire, hopefully showing the rest of the galaxy what they were really capable of.

So with the matter of Maul settled and the Jedi occupied with their own mission, Rex sat in the cockpit of the two-person A-wing, travelling through hyperspace towards Tatooine. At this time, Rex was going over his plan to find the Skywalkers twins with all the information Bail could provide him with. He wasn't concerned about locating Kenobi as he knew once he found one twin the Jedi Master would reveal himself then the other twin if they weren't already found. Then of course there was the matter of dealing with Maul. Rex had a couple of ideas for how to handle the half droid, half Zabark, all maniac, though he suspected he'd have to improvise when and if he caught up with him. Three years serving under Skywalkers, and two years alongside the rebellion, had taught him that nothing ever went according to plan, no matter how confident you acted.

Tatooine, in comparison to the countless other worlds that Princess Leia Organa had visited in all her years, this planet was one of the worst she'd ever stood on, and she'd been to places suffering from plagues, mass pollution, slavery, corruption, and or poor economics. Yet Tatooine somehow managed to make all that combined look like nothing of concern. A scorching hot, sand-covered rock with poor medical facilities and was ruled by a criminal Hutt overlord who taxed people for water, a resource both scarce and more valued on this world than half the credits in the galaxy. To top it off wild natives and scavengers roamed the planet freely taking whatever they pleased, with no one to protect the innocents.

Leia couldn't help feeling disgusted by her adoptive father for allowing her own brother to grow up on this hell planet whereas she'd been raised on one of the most beautiful, privileged planets in the galaxy. A place where the temperature was never a bother and everyone could go about their day feeling safe and secure. It made Leia wish she'd discovered Luke's existence a long time ago. Then she could've found him and taken him off this retched dirtball, bringing him to Alderaan where he could live a much more pleasant life.

Though Leia couldn't focus on the what-ifs. She needed to set her attention on finding her brother. According to R2, Luke was being raised by their father's stepbrother and step-sister-in-law, Owen and Beru Lars; two moisture farmers who lived somewhere out on the Jundland Wastes, an area of Tatooine far from Mos Eisley, the spaceport city where Leia had arrived at. To add further problems to the list along with needing to find transportation, Leia was running low on credits after what she spent to get to Tatooine. She was down to only a thousand credits and would need every last one to get her, R2 and Luke offworld once she located her brother.

To her luck, she managed to avoid spending her dwindling credits when she came across a kind, elderly-looking male named Carter in a nearby cantina who was generous enough to take her and R2 to Anchorhead, a small town not far from the area where the Lars moisture farm was located in. In exchange, Leia agreed to assistance Carter in loading and unloading some supplies he was transporting between to Anchorhead. While en route to Anchorhead Leia asked the guy if there were any hotspots in the area for local teens like herself. She figured her brother might be there and it might save her the trouble of finding another ride to take her to the farm he hopefully still lived at. Carter recommended a place called Tosche Station, a repair station where most teens came to hang out and repair their rides.

After arriving at Anchorhead, Leia helped unload the cargo, gave Carter her farewells, as well as a couple of credits in gratitude, then headed off towards the station he'd told her about. When she found it, it appeared identical to all the other buildings she'd seen so far on Tatooine; a massive dried-up, pale brown rock with several holes in the outer walls that were its doors and windows. Nothing of a surprise to Leia at this point.

Inside, she found the place to be a total dump, junk and spare parts lying everywhere. In this junkpile of a station, Leia saw a few other young humans in their late teen years like herself, hanging around by what she figured was a desk but she had trouble seeing it due to all the "trash" surrounding the desk. A major difference between these teens and Leia was how they all wore worn-out clothes covered in sand and grime, some were torn up a bit. Which was the opposite of the shining, fancy, expensive white cloak Leia had on. So of course, it came as no surprise when everyone started starring at Leia's and her elegant-looking outfit upon her entrance.

"Well look what the stars brought in," said one of the taller teen, ignoring the blue astromech droid that followed behind Leia. "Hey, beautiful, what's your name?"

Leia simply shoved off the big guy's attempts to flirt with her. She hadn't been interested in dating since the death of her previous love interest, Kier Domadi a while back and this guy wasn't motivating her to begin again.

"Tank, don't hit on my customers," scolded one of the other teens, a male with scruffy black hair, who sat behind the desk. He then turned his attention towards Leia and spoke in a more polite tone of voice. "Welcome to Tosche Station. People call me Fixer I run this place, and that's my girlfriend Camie," Fixer said pointing to a female with long brown hair sitting on the table itself beside him. "How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for someone," Leia said.

"Would by any chance that someone be a handsome, tall farmer's boy like myself?" Tank asked, giving Leia another smirk.

"Knock it off Tank," said Camie.

Ignoring his friends, Tank asked again, "Are you sure I'm the not guy you're after?"

"Unless your name is Luke Skywalker then the answer is no," Leia replied, which for some reason unknown to her surprised everyone in the station.

"You're kidding right?" Fixer asked.

"You mean Wormie?" Camie added.

"Blond hair, blue hair, lives with his aunt and uncle?" Tank described.

"I think so," Leia said, though to be honest, she didn't know what her brother looked like. All she knew about him was his name and who he was supposed to be living with. "Do any of you know where he is?" she asked.

"Why in all the stars would someone as hot as you want that puny flyboy?" Tank asked. "You sure you're not after someone that fits your attractive levels?"

"Tank I swear if you don't stop flirting in my station, I'm gonna blast you!" Fixer threatened Tank, pulling out a blaster rifle to show he wasn't joking. "But seriously why are you looking for Luke?" he asked.

Leia didn't feel right blabbering to a bunch of strangers she'd just met that she was related to Luke. If it were to be discovered that she was the Princess of Alderaan and that she had a twin who shared the same last name as the famous Anakin Skywalker, then word of this might reach the Empire, leading to hell knowns what kind of trouble.

"That's none of your business. I just need to find him," Leia stated. "Is he at the Lars Homestead?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be going there if I were you," Fixer advised.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because he's been acting weird lately," Camie replied. "More so than usual."

"Yeah, yesterday he crashed his skyhopper during a race, all because he got caught up in some daydream," Tank described.

"Is he alright?" Leia asked, concerned.

"He's fine. His skyhopper took most of the damage. All he got were a couple of minor bruises," Fixer assured her. "Heard afterwards he got into a massive fight with his uncle, but that's not unusual. Those two fight all the time. It's about as natural as the twin suns on this planet rising and setting every day."

"Okay. Would any of you be willing to take me to him?" Leia asked.

"Sorry I got stuff to do," Fixer said.

"Including helping me fix my speeder," Tank added.

"Yeah and I don't have my own ride missy," Carrie said.

"I can take you to him," called out a new voice from behind Leia.

Turning around Leia saw a man standing at the entrance she'd come through minutes ago. He was tall, not as tall as Tank, but still tall nonetheless, with dark black hair and a small, neatly trimmed mustache. Unlike the other occupants in the station, this man wore clothes less worn out, less dirty, and much newer. He also appeared to be a couple of years older than Leia was, perhaps in his early twenties even. For some reason, Leia found this man to be quite attractive which caused her to begin staring at him.

"Name's Biggs, Biggs Darklighter," the man said. "I came in a few moments and couldn't help overhearing your interest in my buddy, Luke Skywalker. And you are?"

"Leia," she replied, attempting to stop herself from staring at this Biggs fellow.

"And is that cute little astromech yours too?" Biggs asked, patting the droid's dome head, which R2 whistled and beeped happily.

"Yes, his name's R2-D2," Leia introduced before returning to the main subject. "You said you could take me to Luke at the Lars moisture farm?"

"Sure," Biggs replied.

"What's the catch?" Leia asked suspiciously.

"No catch. I was planning on heading over there to check on Luke anyway," Biggs responded. "My speeder's parked outside. Just let me collect some power converters I came in for, then we can load up your droid and head out."

Sitting in the passenger seat, with R2 strapped to the speeder's back hull, Leia sat in the passenger seat of Biggs' speeder, as her new acquaintance flew across Tatooine's desert scape. Wasn't much, just vasts amounts of sand everywhere, with few to no signs of life in eyesight. Leia had to admit to herself, this planet was very dull among its list of other problems. Not to mention the sand. How it constantly got everywhere, in her shoes, her hair, all over her skin made her hate the stuff so much.

"So why are you here on Tatooine?" Biggs asked. "You don't seem like the type to have any interest in a dried-up hellhole like this."

Leia frowned upon hearing this. She'd had a similar conversation with the smuggler who brought her to Tatooine and she wasn't interested in having another one. "You know I've been getting a lot of questioning for wanting to come to this planet and it's gotten old. Besides, I already told you why I'm here. I'm looking for Luke Skywalker. You're taking me to him, remember?"

"Yeah, but what do you want with him?" Biggs asked. "I don't recall Luke or either his aunt and uncle ever mentioning someone with your name or appearance before and you just appear out of nowhere all of a sudden looking for my friend. Sounds fishy to me. So what's your deal?"

Still, Leia did not want to explain herself to a stranger, again. "We haven't met before, but I do know him. And speaking of knowing Luke, you've said several times your buddies right?" Leia asked, changing the subject.

"Of course. He and I go way back. My mother was a close friend of his aunts long before Luke showed up. She used to bring me over to play with Luke back when he was a toddler. I know him better than anyone else on this rock; even his dam uncle Owen. What I don't know is who you are and what your interest is with a guy whom you've never met before and why you're so secretive about it?"

"That's none of your business," Leia stated.

All of a sudden, the speeder came to a halt, causing Leia to slam against the windshield, and nearly knocking R2 off.

"I'm serious. Luke's my best friend. We've had each other's backs for so long. We're basically brothers in most ways, and right now he going through some tuff issues. So if you're going to cause him any sort of shit, and I don't care whether it's the physical or emotional kind, you can forget about me letting you a parsec near him."

Leia thought over for a moment. On one hand, it was too risky telling strangers who she'd only met a few minutes ago information that had been kept secret for strong valid reasons for so long. On the other hand, she was so close to her brother now and Biggs appeared to be the only obstacle left in her way; and it wasn't like she had to tell him all the details, just a few parts that would satisfy his curiosity and allow them to continue. Besides, Leia could somehow tell that Biggs' truly cared for her brother and was only looking out for his best interest. Also, if this guy was a close to Luke as he was claiming to be, Leia suspected that he'd learn the truth soon enough anyways.

"If I tell you, you need to promise that everything I say you won't tell anyone, not even Luke. You got that?" Leia asked sternly.

"I won't say anything. But if you don't want me saying anything to Luke, you better be planning to tell him yourself," Biggs replied.

"I plan to. I promise, as soon as I see him face to face," Leia assured.

"Very well, now what do you want with him?"

Here she went. Taking a deep breath in, Leia breath out, revealing the truth "I'm his twin sister."

Biggs' face froze when he heard this. But then a smile formed on his face and the next thing Leia knew, "HA! Ah-ha, ha, ha, ha!" Biggs was laughing so hard like he'd been told a very funny joke; which infuriated Leia.

"I'm serious!" Leia shouted. "We were separated at birth. I didn't know I had a brother until recently, and I only found out by accident. If you want proof take me to him and then we can get a DNA test."

The laughter then began to die down as Biggs' smile changed to a puzzled frown as he closed his eyes and started rubbing his eyelids with his right thumb and index finger. Leia didn't know what was going on inside Biggs' mind, but she hoped he was considering her explanation as perhaps plausible. After several minutes, he spoke up, with a barrel full of questions. "Where have you been all this time? Do you have any other relatives related to Luke? How did you find out about him? Why'd you come now? What happened to his parents? What were they really like?"

In response, Leia gave a brief description answering almost all of Biggs's questions. "I grew up on a wondrous world in the core regions, raised by a wealthy and loving foster family. I never knew my biological parents or even that I had a twin up until a couple of days ago I came across a recording made by my adoptive father explaining the truth about my birth family. I soon learned from R2, who'd been in service to my adoptive father at the time of my birth, where Luke had been sent when we were separated. After I found out where he was I left my home at once with one goal in mind, to reunite with the brother I never knew I had.

"Look I know it's hard to believe, I myself would find it weird if I were you. But I am the twin sister of Luke Skywalker, and I have taken so many risks to just come here to meet him. I don't intend to harm him. I just want to know my sibling. If you take me to Luke I promise I can prove we're related. After that, I'll do what I can to be a true sibling to him like and most brothers and sisters are to each other."

Biggs looked at Leia suspiciously. She figured he was still trying to determine whether or not she was lying. Then he moved his hand back to his speeder's controls and started it up again. "Well let's get you to him. Oh and if this is some sort of scam I will personally blast you to atoms myself. I got a blaster on hand and I'm not afraid to use it," Biggs said. "Especially on someone who's trying to mess with my best friend."

Leia breathed out a sigh of relief. "I understand; and thank you, Biggs."

Without another word, Biggs flew the speeder onward towards the Lars homestead to meet Leia's long-lost twin brother.

To be continued…

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I specifically made sure to get it ready for Star Wars Day for all my fellow fans of the greatest sci-fi franchise in history. May the force be with you all.

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