Star Wars: The Skywalker Legacy

A Lost Cause

This is a "What if…" about Luke Skywalker joining the Empire like he was planning to in Episode IV until that fateful encounter with C-3PO and R2-D2 changed his destiny forever. Would Luke have realized his true destiny as a Jedi Knight? Would he have met his father in the Empire? Would Biggs have decided to join the Rebel Alliance? Would the Empire truly have another Darth Vader? Would the Death Star be the Juggernaut of the Galaxy? This Fan Fiction is my take on what if Luke Skywalker had joined the Empire as opposed to the Rebel Alliance. If this theory actually works, perhaps it would work as a trilogy: A Lost Cause; The Rebellion Strikes Back and some final installment pending on how this thing works out. But hey, who am I kidding, right?

Prologue

He continued to look up at the twin stars setting on the horizon. His blond hair continued to flap in the gentle breeze as his oceanic blue eyes found himself wondering what adventures would await a farm boy such as himself. Ah, delusions of grandeur, he thought to himself. Biggs is right; I'm never going to get off this rock.

Luke turned around and walked into the dome shaped farm he had called home. Moisture farming had become something of a luxury and his uncle Owen had begun to harvest a greater crop with more and more droids. Yet somehow, he always seemed to need Luke, promising the young man that it would only take another season before he signed on to join the Empire in the fight against the Rebel Alliance. Heck, he'd join the Rebel Alliance if it meant getting off of this rock.

He found himself remembering the recent argument over dinner; about how Owen needed Luke for 2 more seasons. What was the point of false promises when Luke knew Owen was holding him back? He had aspirations that rivaled the size of the Empire—which spanned through most of the known Galaxy.

Luke found himself resenting Owen. Even Beru could sense the turmoil and rift that was coming between them. Why is he so ignorant? He knows I want to join the Academy and he still finds a way to stop me. He's holding me back! He's jealous because he is stuck being a moisture farmer when he knows I want to be like my father! He sighed. He could only remember the little things Owen or Beru mentioned about his father. So what if his father was a freighter jockey? He was still a skilled pilot and great person, even if he was murdered during the Clone Wars.

He found himself wondering about the Clones Wars. It seemed that being on a backwater planet had its limits. He didn't even know much about the Clone Wars. Even Owen didn't want to talk about it. Maybe old Ben knew. He seemed much more experienced than Owen and he seemed to have an appreciation for Luke. He decided he would ask Ben when he saw him. At least the hermit would tell him something.

"Luke!" A maternal voice called out. It was his aunt Beru. "Luke! We're about to shut down the power for the night; come in!"

"I'll be there in a minute!" He replied. Luke could only sigh visibly. Tomorrow would hold a brand new day of the same thing he'd be stuck doing for the rest of his life: moisture farming.

Above the golden gilded planet, sat a large wedge shaped vessel. It was a Star Destroyer: a symbol of power and might in the age of the Empire. In its berth, sat an oblong hammerhead vessel, burnt with the marks of a battle—presumably from the leviathan that held the smaller vessel.

Aboard the battered cruiser stood a dark figure, who loomed over the crumpled figures before him. The hallway, which used to be pristine and sparkled with its bright luminescence, was littered with bodies that lay still. The once spotless walls held the marks of blood and black carbon scoring from the earlier firefight. Nothing lived within that hallway except for the figure. And in many ways, that figure had been dead for a very long time. The only sign of life from him was the laboured breathing coming from the mechanical implants that kept him alive.

He surveyed the damage that was caused within the hallway and yet, there was still no trace of what he sought. His presence, black as the night itself, stilled, anticipating the precious bounty he had received in the form of a woman, carried by two of his own faceless yet terrifying white-armoured men as they approached him.

He came face to face with the young woman, who wore her chestnut brown hair as two buns at either side of her head. Her eyes held a softness akin to someone else he had known in his past. Her white gown had readily identified her as the Princess of Alderaan.

"Lord Vader," she snorted derisively, "only you could be so bold. When the Senate hears that you have attacked a diplomatic--,"

He silenced her by replying, with his artificial voice, "We detected a transmission from a Rebel Alliance operative to this vessel." She seemed to also carry the fiery intensity akin to that someone else so long ago.

"Transmission? We received no—,"

"You've been aiding the Rebel Alliance and you're a traitor!" He declared. "Take her away!"

With that the Stormtroopers had followed their orders to the letter, eager not to anger this powerful figure. It appeared only she had the ability to stand up to him.

He sighed internally, remembering days long since past, in his old age. Has it been 20 years already? Before he could contemplate any further, a commander saying something he took no interest in interrupted him.

"My Lord, if news of this gets out, it could spread sympathy for the Rebel Alliance," a commander replied.

"I have traced the Rebel Alliance to her. Now she is my only key to them." He walked away, eager to let the stormtroopers strip the ship from bow to stern to find the missing plans. The plans that had been in the making for over a thousand years.

"She would rather die than tell you," he replied.

"Leave that to me, Commander."

"My Lord," another officer approached, wearing the black suit of an Imperial gunner. "An escape pod was jettisoned earlier during the fighting into the planet below."

"That is where we will find the plans. Have our troops commence with the search on the planet—and quarantine it."

"Yes, milord."

He smiled smugly. Soon the plans would be back in their grasp and then the Rebel Alliance would not stand a chance. For now, he would have to inform the Emperor and make his way towards the Death Star—the new battle station that would mean the end of the Rebel Alliance and seal the presence of the Empire.

He knew it would only be a matter of time until he would find a suitable apprentice and remove the Emperor. It would only be a matter of time until he ruled the Galaxy. It was the way of the Sith. The way of maintaining order.