So, I saw the Resistance trailer, and it's... questionable, to say the least. But that was my reaction when I first started watching Rebels, so I will certainly give it a chance. Who knows, it could end up being really good! I already have so many questions about Kaz, Poe, and company. I heard Leia's going to be in it, which would be thrilling.

This chapter is really fun, but it's also full of confusing stuff. It's A Princess on Lothal, except Luke is there.

Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Percy Jackson. (August 18th)

Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars characters or plotlines.

(publsihed 8.21.18)

Chapter Twenty: A Princess on Lothal

3 BBY

"Um," Luke said intelligently. "I - "

"Get out of there," the girl said. Painfully, he crawled out and rubbed his eyes. At least he hadn't woken up to the face of some hideous person. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she interrogated. "And how did you get on this ship?"

There was no point in hiding. "I'm Luke… Lars, and I followed the clone - Rex," he stated. "I want to join the Rebellion." That was just a cover story, but maybe he could join the Rebellion. Later.

She raised an eyebrow. "You want to join the Rebellion, so you hid in a closet?"

"Yes!" Luke said, mentally slapping himself.

"Alright," the girl said, still with her eyes narrowed..

"What?"

"Alright, come with me." She gestured with her hand and Luke followed her. Still appalled by the squeaky-clean white hallways, they entered a large room filled with people typing and chatting.

"What's your name, anyway?" Luke whispered, peering around.

She began to speak, but was interrupted. "Princess! We're getting a transmission from the surface!" someone yelled.

Luke peered through the front window and gaped. "Wow," he breathed. It was the greenest planet he had ever seen. Sure, he had seen planets like this in school, but it was more extravagant in person. Must be Lothal.

The 'princess' ran over, Luke in tow. A voice came through the system: "Attention. This is Lieutenant Lyste. Lothal is now a restricted system by order of the Emperor. Identify yourselves immediately."

One of the soldiers spoke. "Greetings, Lieutenant. We come bearing relief supplies for the citizens of Lothal. Our mission is sanctioned by the Imperial Senate."

"I wasn't informed of your visit, nor do you have a landing permit," said the Imperial. Some workers tapped the buttons in the screens in front of them and there was com silence for a few seconds. Then Lyste said, "Your landing has been granted, and fighters will escort you to the Jalath City Depot for processing. I will meet you there."

"This is Princess Leia Organa," she said. "I look forward to it."

Luke was… well, flabbergasted. This girl, no older than himself, was a Princess and a Rebellion leader?

"Well, there's no turning back now," she muttered.

"Well, Princess, this isn't for relief, is it?" Luke asked politely.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're a good liar," he said. "But this is obviously for the Rebellion. So what is it?"

Leia sighed and gave in. "There should be some Rebel operatives down there to collect these ships from us. They need them badly."

They landed in the center of a mountain range, large folded rocks in the shape of cones. All around was grass except for in the center, where it was sandy.

"Lars," commanded Leia. "Come with me."

"Why? Apparently I'm not to be trusted."

She looked up. "That's exactly why you're coming with me." Luke sighed and reluctantly followed.

Outside, a trooper and a cadet met them. The cadet removed his visor, revealing dark blue eyes, and said, "Excuse me, miss, where's your commander?"

Leia replied, "Not much of a welcoming committee. Trooper?" Luke realized… she was speaking to the stormtrooper. Surprisingly, the trooper removed his helmet.

"I'm Kanan, this is Ezra," he said. "We're from Phoenix Squadron." Kanan and Ezra? Those names sounded familiar.

"Wait. Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger?" he said, racking his brain for the names.

"Yeah," said the younger one. "How'd you know?" He looked to Leia. "Who is this?"

"Luke Lars," she said dryly. "He's accompianing me."

"You're Jedi!" Luke said excitedly. His father had told him about the good Jedi in his stories as a kid. These guys seemed like they would be those Jedi.

"Keep it down, we don't want the entire Empire to know that we're some of the most wanted people in the galaxy, kid," Kanan said sarcastically.

"Well, unless you want the deck officer to know, too, I suggest you put your helmet back on and keep your mouths shut," she said smoothly.

"Excuse me?" Ezra said, putting his hands on his waist while Leia walked away.

"You heard her," the older man said. "Shut it." He stuck his helmet back on and walked after the princess. Luke shrugged and followed.

"Deck officer!" Leia said as a few more stormtroopers approached. "I'd like to start distributing my relief aid."

"Stand by. My orders are to inspect the cargo for contraband and detain these vessels until the lieutenant arrives." He turned to his team. "Scanning crew, move out!"

As soon as they left, Kanan came closer and muttered, "Well, this plan is off to a great start."

Leia smiled sneakily. "As a matter of fact, it's going perfectly. Where's the rest of your team?"

"They'll be here."

"Good! Then you can steal my ships," Leia said, causing the normal reaction from all three of them.

"What?" they all said in shock. An Imperial shuttle landed and they all kept walking closer.

"I'll explain later. First I have to deal with the lieutenant. Follow my lead, and try and keep up," she said to Ezra specifically.

"Wait!" the boy protested. "Why does she get to give orders? I don't get to give orders!"

"You ever listened to yourself, kid?" Kanan scoffed.

"Yes, and I happen to be very interesting," he muttered as he tried to catch up to them.

"We've got to try and play along," Luke said, teeth clenched.

Lieutenant Lyste, or so Luke presumed, stepped out of the shuttle. "You must be Leia Organa, princess of the Royal House of Alderaan."

"And aid to my father, Senator Bail Organa," she added pompously. "I come with relief supplies for Lothal's needy who are suffering terribly from the rebel insurgency here." She shook her head mournfully. "Surely you don't want innocents to starve!"

"No, of course not," Lyste replied. "Lothal has indeed suffered, as has Alderaan. But as I hear, your ships have an unfortunate habit of falling into rebel hands. I assure you, that won't happen on my watch." He turned to his men, who were moving some kind of device onto the bottoms of the ships.

"What's that?" Luke murmured in awe. The device connected to the ships and locked into place.

Leia turned back to Lyste with a look of disgust on her face. "Gravity locks? This is hardly necessary."

"Oh, I insist," he sneered. "Plus a trooper detachment, and for extra security…" He looked over Leia's shoulders.

Luke had never seen one before, but it was overwhelming. A real, full-size, Imperial walker.

And there were two of them.

"Walkers will guard your ships from the rebel insurgency," finished the lieutenant boastfully. "All for your safety, Miss."

Leia glared. "It's 'Your Highness.'" Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "As my ships are detained, I will require you shuttle to begin my work." Luke nearly burst into laughter at the face that the Imperial was making.

"Oh, uh," he stuttered. "My shuttle? Certainly I can arrange for other transportation."

"No. Your shuttle," she insisted. "I need to leave immediately." Although Lyste was gaping at her, she motioned to Luke. "Lars, you're with me. You two, bring those supplies and escort me to the trauma area at once!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Kanan and Ezra, running to push the supplies into the shuttle.

"Good job, Princess," Luke said sarcastically. "I'm sure that acting is your specialty."

"Actually, it is," Leia whispered and Luke decided not to question any further.

They got in the ship to find Kanan and Ezra at the controls. Kanan said, "I hate to say it, but whoever came up with this plan severely underestimated the Empire's security."

Leia panicked, projecting a lot of worry. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"Don't be," Kanan said. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" she protested. "This was my plan."

Suddenly, Luke heard a voice that wasn't his own in his mind - Leia's voice! Idiot, you're such an idiot, Leia! They need this, and you screwed it up! Were those her thoughts? And... Luke could hear them. That was only possible if -

"You're Force-sensitive!" Luke blurted out, causing the two Jedi to turn around and Leia to look at him in perplexity.

"I'm what?" she asked.

Ezra answered for him. "That means that you can use the Force. But how do you know about that? How can you tell?" He looked at Luke.

"Well, uh," he said, searching… "I'm being taught by a dead guy how to use the Force."

That obviously brought on a lot of blank stares. He decided to rephrase.

"I mean, his name is Qui-Gon and he's been dead for over twenty years. He's been teaching me to use the Force."

"Wait… Qui-Gon Jinn?" Kanan asked.

Luke shrugged. "He's never told me his last name. Why? How do you know him?"

"I never knew him, but he was a famed Jedi at the Temple," Kanan remembered. "He was an amazing Force-user."

"Wait… are you telling me that he's been teaching me to be a Jedi all this time?" Luke said incredulously.

Leia was just looking at them like they were all crazy. "Excuse me, but what does this have to do with me being... Force-sensitive?"

Kanan sighed. "Luke thinks you're Force-sensitive, but I don't feel anything. If you really are, then someone must be shielding you very well."

Leia turned to face Luke. "So, Lars, what's your real last name?" Luke staggered back.

"What? Lars is my last name."

"Unlike me, you don't seem to be 'gifted with acting'. Spill."

Luke grimaced. "Fine. My name is Luke Skywalker." Both Leia and Kanan gasped. "What?" he asked.

Kanan shook his head. "Skywalker? Would your father possibly be... Anakin Skywalker?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Ezra cut in. "Are you talking about - "

Kanan and Leia looked at each other with concerned faces. "Luke…" Leia started.

"Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi," Kanan said. "One of the best in the galaxy."

So, Luke meets the other Jedi and his sister, and Kanan spills the truth. Next chapter is just a flood of questions from Luke. And I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger! Why do I love those so much?

Thanks to CloneWarsNerd for reviewing. I totally agree about being evil.

I've been reading Thrawn and it's amazing so far! I'm getting a ton of insight on our favorite tactician for when he comes into the story. But I have a burning question, so to any of the people who have read Thrawn: What is the time span of this book? It's annoying me that I can't figure out the timeline. It doesn't align with when Ryder Azadi (or the Bridgers, for that matter) is arrested, or when Rebels takes place. So can anyone tell me what the timeline is? Thanks!

Please remember to review!

May the Force be with you, and God bless!

-HH