I'm a Skywalker too!
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Chapter 05

06:1:27 GrS
Hangar Bay, Aldera Royal Palace

Breha sat in her hoverchair as she watched the two children play with the paint they were supposed to be using to repaint the Z-95 Headhunter. Despite herself, her upbringing, and the children's impending departure, a mischievous smile had spread across her face as she watched the two. It had started out simple and calm enough earlier at breakfast.

"Can I keep the Headhunter?" Luke had asked. "There's so much I want to see and do before I go back to Tatooine."

"Like what and where?" Leia asked, looking up from her own meal.

"I don't know," Luke admitted, smiling sheepishly. "That's why I wanna go and explore!"

"I would recommend against that, children," Master Ropal had said. "The galaxy is a big place, very dangerous, and easy to get lost in if you don't know where you're going. It would be wiser to remain here for the time being."

Breha quite sure that what he'd left unspoken was that if they were off exploring the galaxy at their own whims, it'd no doubt make locating the two children more difficult. But she kept quiet on that as she swallowed her own mouthful of food and said, "I have already listed the starfighter under your name and into your ownership, Luke. All that's left is an identification card, some credits to properly fuel and maintain the starship, and a certified flying license, and it's all yours."

"Can we keep the yacht too?" Leia asked, her eyes wide with hope and expectation.

"No," both Ropal and Breha had answered simultaneously. After a moment, Breha continued, "While there is a lot of gray area in the law about letting you keep the starfighter, you two are far too young to own a starship any larger than a two-seater. When you're at least 13, you will be considered old enough to responsibly pilot a ship of light freight size."

"Not in the Outer Rim," Luke muttered, more to himself than the others. Though Breha and Ropal frowned, they made no attempt to correct him as they both knew that laws and regulations of that sort were rarely, if ever, followed that far out into the fringes of colonized space.

"Fine," Leia pouted. Then she perked up again with a fresh smile. "But I hate the colors! Let's repaint it, Luke!"

From there, the conversation delved into a lighthearted argument between the siblings about what new colors they could make it. Leia wanted it to be bright white with pink and purple. Luke wanted a simple blue, red, or even tan color. In the end, it was Ropal who suggested a compromise between their two most favorite colors. And now, the two children were busy finishing up the paint job that they'd spent the better part of the day doing. The stench of the fresh paint was quite overpowering, even with strong air conditioning and leaving the hangar bay doors open to help dispel the strong fumes.

Even though it was a pair of children who were responsible for it, Breha had to admit that their first attempt wasn't as horrible as she'd thought it'd be. The overall color was a bright white, as Leia had wanted, with some rather prominent blue stripes along the fuselage and wings, which Luke insisted on having. They had actually gotten nearly finished with it when Leia decided that she'd gotten bored and wanted to liven things up. It started out small, with the young girl flicking some paint drops up at her brother, staining his blue clothes and blonde hair with white flecks. Luke of course retaliated with his own, catching her in the face by accident. Leia retaliated with escalating force.

Soon, the two of them rolling on the floor, buckets of paint spilled upon the ancient stonework, leaving puddles that the two were pushing one another into. They were nearly fully covered in white paint from head to toe, their clothes stained beyond repair. Despite the mess and the slight aggression they were treating each other with, Breha could see that both of them were quite enjoying themselves, so she was content to watch them play for the moment.

That was when an angry Rodian had marched up to them from the side, stopping just before the large paint puddles on the floor. Using the Force, Ropal pried them off of one another and held them separate several meters apart. "Children, this is not how we act in public! Behave! If you truly want to be Jedi, you will cease this childish display immediately!"

There was a moment of silence as the two of them looked at Ropal with unreadable expressions on their faces, thanks in large part to the paint stuck to their faces in thick globs. But then, as he was moving to climb to his feet, Luke slipped in one of the paint puddles and fell to the floor unceremoniously. Leia broke out laughing at this as she began to climb to her own feet, only to slip as well. This caused Luke to join in her laughter as well. The two of them continued their laughing and giggling as they finally climbed to their feet and hurried out of the hangar and away from the upset Jedi, probably (hopefully!) to get themselves cleaned up.

"Let it go, Master Jedi," Breha said, floating down beside him. "They're only children."

Taking a visibly deep breath to calm himself, Ropal turned to her. "Whether they know it or not, they are the future of this galaxy and the Jedi Order. They should be better behaved than this." For Ropal, who had been indoctrinated into the Jedi Order as an infant and as a Master who focused more on his study of the Unifying Force than the Living Force, it seemed a foregone conclusion for him that the two siblings would join the Order as well.

"And when the time comes, they will be," Breha assured him knowingly. "But for now, let them have their fun. Remember, they are still children. Let them act the part, because, after all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

Ropal looked at her appraisingly before nodding. "Perhaps…"

"Have you finished your report to the Jedi Council?" Breha asked, turning her hoverchain towards the exit with Ropal following.

"Indeed," Ropal answered easily enough, it wasn't like this was classified information. "They were most…surprised to hear my acknowledgement of the original report's validity."

"I suppose it isn't every day one runs into a child that's so strong in the Force," Breha commented lightly. "Let alone two."

"Indeed," Ropal agreed. "But that wasn't the only thing that caught them by surprise."

"Yes?"

"The fact that they are siblings and Skywalkers to boot," Ropal said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What's wrong with that?" Breha asked, glancing over at the Jedi.

"Not so much wrong as surprising," he admitted. "They would not be the first Skywalker we've found recently who has such an incredible concentration of midi-chlorians."

"You mean there's another Skywalker in the Order who's just as strong as them?" This was very surprising news for Breha. The Jedi Order was tiny in comparison to the galactic population, especially since they were forbidden from having families. So the fact that there was another Skywalker in the Order was something she'd not heard before. And the fact that he or she was also probably just as strong. Was it possible the Skywalker family had always been so powerfully gifted in the Force? If so, why hadn't anyone in the galaxy ever heard of them before?

"Yes," Ropal said. "I haven't personally met the boy and the boy's still just a Padawan, but his potential is unsurpassed by any other. He's so powerful that we had thought that he might've been…conceived by the Force itself."

"Is such a thing possible?" Breha asked in disbelief and skepticism.

"All things are possible in the Force," Ropal stated with total certainty. "And our understanding of it is still far from complete. But now…I wonder where these two have come from. If they were not conceived by the Force, then who is their father or mother and why haven't we come across them before? And their mere existence also throws question into just who the other Skywalker's father is or if he had a father."

He was talking more to himself than Breha at this point, but the Queen wasn't going to interrupt. This was fascinating information that she was learning and it implied many things about all three Skywalkers.

Later that night…

Luke couldn't sleep tonight. He was restless, scared, cold. Something…something bad was coming. He knew it. He could feel it. It was like he was a nerf that had caught the eyes of a krayt dragon, who was now stalking him, hiding just under the sandy surface in preparation for the killing bite. And he didn't like this sensation one bit. But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was he felt as though he should recognize this cold, hungry feeling. Like he'd felt it somewhere before. But he just couldn't figure out how, where, and why.

Giving up on going to sleep, Luke climbed out of his bed with regret since he'd never slept in such a wonderful bed before. Pulling on his new blue tunic, trousers, and some shoes, he quietly headed out of his room. He still wasn't very familiar with the enormous layout of the palace, but he knew where he wanted to go well enough. Following the path he'd found, he soon found himself back out in the inner courtyard where he and Leia would regularly practice their self-defense training and occasionally try to touch the Force.

"Do or do not," Luke repeated himself as he approached the center of the courtyard and knelt down. Closing his eyes, he let out a long breath as he again sought to achieve what Leia had so easily learned. Even though they were siblings, they had some rather obvious differences in abilities. Where Leia was better able to use the Force as a weapon during combat, Luke had an easier time communing with it, letting it guide and encourage him. He just couldn't seem to work up the strength of will necessary to control the Force as a weapon just yet, and it was starting to frustrate him.

"You couldn't sleep too?" Leia asked quietly as she knelt down next to him.

"No," Luke said, not opening his eyes as he sought to reach the Force. "Something's not right."

"It's cold, hungry, dangerous," Leia said, as though speaking his mind and maybe she was. "And it wants us."

"I think…I think we should leave, tonight," Luke said. "I don't want something bad to happen to Mrs. Organa."

"But Master Ropal's still here," Leia pointed out. "He can protect her and us if needed."

"But I don't wanna be protected," Luke said, somewhat pouting. "The only ones who need to be protected are those who can't fight for themselves."

"Is that something your uncle taught you?" Leia asked. While it wasn't something she felt the need to argue against, it seemed a bit softhearted for what she'd heard about his stern and uncompromising uncle.

"No," Luke admitted. "My grandpa and aunt taught me that."

"…You really wanna go home, don't you?" Leia asked. "Why do you want to? What's so great about that dustball?"

"Nothing," Luke said simply. "But it's where my family is."

There was a moment of silence between them as the two tried to collect their thoughts and seek the warm, comforting touch of the Force. Finally, unable to keep her silence on the matter any longer, Leia said, "I don't think we should go there. Or, if we do, we shouldn't stay."

"Why?" Luke asked sharply, finally opening his eyes and looking over at his sister.

"Things are different than what they should be," Leia said, meeting his upset gaze unflinchingly. "My mother is far younger than she should be. No one has ever heard of the Galactic Empire or the Emperor. The Jedi Order is still alive. And there are no Imperials around trying to control everything and everyone. Why?"

"…I don't know," Luke admitted. That was something that had been plaguing his mind endlessly since they'd arrived on Alderaan. And no one he asked could give him any adequate answers, not without looking at him like he was some kind backwater and ignorant savage.

"I think I do, now," Leia said. "I looked at the time before I came out here. Do you want time it is?"

"Late?" Luke asked, unsure what the answer was or how it mattered to what was going on.

Shaking her head with an annoyed smile, Leia said, "It was about 1am of the 28th day of the 1st month of the 6th galactic cycle."

"What?" Luke said, confused. "That can't be right. Isn't it the 23rd cycle?"

"Yes and no," Leia said, her expression unreadable. "For us, it would be the 23rd. But for everyone else, it's the 6th."

"You mean…?"

"That's right, children," a deep, gravelly voice sounded from across the courtyard. The two siblings flinched and quickly jumped to their feet, sliding into defensive postures. "That hyperdrive explosion we were caught in brought us 17 years into the past." Like a demon predator stalking from the shadows, a large and heavily muscled Twi'lek in armor appeared. Though his face was shrouded in shadow, they could hear his amusement in his voice and see an evil, unnatural golden glow in his eyes. "I have been looking for you two for quite some time now."

"What do you want with us?" Leia demanded loudly, subtly hoping to attract the palace security's attention to help them with this dangerous creature.

"Who are you?" Luke asked just as loudly, though his reasoning was that he was trying to bury his fear under his loud voice. It didn't work very well.

"You already know who I am," the Twi'lek said, sneering as he sensed that oh-so-sweet aura of fear permeating from the two. "I am the hunter and you are my prey." As he said this, he grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it, relishing seeing them flinch back in surprise as their fear spiked substantially. And there on his waist, illuminated by the glow of his red blade, was something that caught Luke's attention.

"But why are you hunting us?" Leia asked. "We haven't done anything to you!"

"Because it is what I was born and raised to do," the hunter sneered. "I need no other reason than that."

"I ain't going anywhere with you!" Luke accented his last declaration by impulsively thrusting out his hand, yanking. With a slight tear, the lightsaber that had been hanging there was pulled from his belt and shot into Luke's hand, who immediately activated it, rushing to meet the monster in combat.

Though surprised, the monster grinned as he watched his attacker approach. With one hand, he easily caught the boy's weak swings and slashes, deflecting them to the sides. "Is that all you've got, boy? What a disappointment." He loved the sense of growing fear and anger in the boy, which spiked at his comment.

Knocking the boy's arm to the side with a casual swipe, he made to stab the boy in his arm and force him to drop the lightsaber. However, Leia cried out in alarm at seeing her brother open to such an attack. Launching a weak but rather focused Force blast, she was able to hit the hunter's shoulder and knocked his aim off, missing Luke entirely.

Recovering from his momentary fear and attack, Luke let out his own cry and launched a powerful blast of telekinesis. He had acted on instinct, wanting to send the monster before them as far away from them as he could. Thus, while he was able to attack, it wasn't as well focused or as powerful as it should've been if he'd been actively controlling it. This was how the hunter was able to deactivate his lightsaber and throw up his arms to form a Force shield in defense of the blast. That blast, which should've killed him had it been properly focused, was thus unable to fully penetrate his more experienced shield, even though it did send him flying into the far wall.

Not wasting a moment, Leia grabbed Luke's hand and pulled him away. The pair were racing up the stairs and into the palace by the time the hunter had recovered enough from the blast to pursue them. As they ran, Leia spotted one of the emergency fire levers and pulled it. The response was immediate. Nozzles sprung out of the ceiling and walls, water spraying out and blasting everything within their range, red lights of alarm flashing to life as a loud, attention-grabbing siren shrieked deafeningly in the echoing halls of the palace. Behind them, the monster was stalking forward as silently and forebodingly as a prowling predator, following their fear like a scent trail.

Knowing the palace like the back of her hand, Leia was easily able to pull Luke through its twisting maze. Her first inclination was to rush to her mother, hoping her beautiful maternal figure would be able to provide her protection from the monster like she always had in the past. But Leia wasn't naïve enough to give into that impulse anymore. She knew that her mother was still very tired and physically and emotionally hurt from whatever had happened her to recently. Plus, the monster was some type of evil Jedi-like mystic, he could easily kill the weakened woman with no effort. Her next inclination was to find Jedi Master Ropal, but she didn't know where his quarters were, or if he was even housed in the palace at all. No, she and Luke were on their own. That meant that, to protect her mother and hopefully everyone else, they needed to leave.

Pulling Luke into the hangar bay where their 'new' Z-95 Headhunter was still faithfully waiting for them, she pushed him towards the ship. "You get it powered up! We're leaving! I'll deal with him!"

"But—" Luke was cut off by Leia shoving him forward, a forceful demand to get his ass moving. Fearful of disobeying his sister and letting her get hurt or caught by that monster, he quickly gave up the argument and rushed for the starfighter.

Leia turned back to the hangar bay door controls. With her fear and high emotions as extra fuel, she reached out her hand as she drew upon the Force. Sensing that she had the control panel within her grasp, she clenched her fist in a symbolic gesture of crushing the panel. A split second later, the panel was little more than twisted metal and plastic as the heavy bay doors slammed shut with a deafening clang. Turning back to the hangar, she hurried over to the small control section, activating it and entering the command for the outside doors to open. Once the red light flashed green in confirmation, she rushed over to the starfighter, who's engines were now hissing and roaring as they were fired up.

A flash of red and a loud hissing noise drew Leia's attention behind her momentarily. There was a shaft of red light piercing the locked hangar bay doors, slowly making its way downwards. The monster was almost on them! Redoubling her efforts, she rushed to the starfighter, grabbing its small handrails and began pulling herself up. Luke helped pull her up when she was close enough until she collapsed into the tiny passenger seat behind him. Actually, calling it a passenger seat was being far too generous. It was more of a small storage space for the pilot than anything else, but Leia's small body was still able to easily fit within its confines all the same.

By the time the hunter had managed to cut the doors enough to use the Force to pry them apart, it was far too late to stop the starfighter from blasting out of the open outside bay doors. He glared in frustration as he watched the four small engines vanish into the night overhead. Growling lowly in his throat, he switched off his lightsaber and stalked forward for the exit. He wasn't foolish enough to think that he could still catch them if he rushed to where he'd landed his TIE Advanced and fired it up. The two would be in hyperspace long before he broke through the atmosphere.

"The hunt goes on, children," he growled out before dropping out of sight.

06:1:28 GrS
Jedi Temple, Coruscant

In the seclusion of his personal meditation room, the small, wrinkled, green figure of the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order pondered and sought knowledge from the Force. He had been doing so for the better part of two weeks now, ever since he'd felt something change in the flow of the Force. Something was different now. He had felt it, briefly, faintly. The growing shroud of darkness that had been and still was encompassing the galaxy and blinding him to the Force had momentarily faltered. In that moment of disturbance, like waves rippling towards shore by a cast stone, he had been able to detect a pair of newly-awakened Force-sensitives. He couldn't be sure, given the distance and the rapid return of the shroud, but he was very certain that those two presences had been incredibly strong.

But that wasn't all that he had momentarily felt when he sensed them. He had also felt an incredible sense of destiny surrounding the two. It wasn't anything like the destiny he sensed for young Anakin Skywalker. That boy's fate was clouded by his own fear, uncertainty, and growing ambition. He could've done and become anything and Yoda was unable to accurately predict which path he was more likely to choose. But these two new presences were different. It wasn't so much that their destinies were clouded, but it was more like no matter what they did in life, they would be great. If he were honest with himself, Yoda would admit to feeling more than a little humbled in that brief instant he'd been able to sense them.

But where were these two 'great destinies' now? Where had they come from? What was happening to them now? Where were they going? What did they want? These questions and more were plaguing Yoda's mind for days, causing him to dedicate himself to scrying the Force, hoping to find even another hint of them. But his efforts had mostly been in vain. But then he was given a reprieve by the Force when word eventually trickled up to the Jedi High Council about Breha Organa of Alderaan discovering a new pair of powerful Force-sensitives. Yoda had been waiting with all his considerable patience for Master Bolla Ropal to reach Alderaan and survey the children.

As these thoughts and his hopes for what was to come were drifting through his mind, Yoda blinked suddenly as he sensed something happen. Another disturbance was rocking the ebb and flow of the Force, sending out shivers and ripples. Unlike the previous time, these were much stronger because they were a great deal closer. Quickly reorienting himself, he delved back into the convulsing energy field, seeking the source of this disturbance. In his mind's eye, he glimpsed planets, stars, and whole systems shooting past him as he zeroed in on the cause. He watched as a familiar blue-green planet flashed before him, taking him down to its surface.

Flashing through the capital city, he came upon the Royal Palace as a pair of children, a blonde boy and a brunette girl of likely the same age, faced off against a dark armored figure who held a red lightsaber threateningly up at them. The boy, holding a lightsaber of his own, yelled out something that he couldn't hear before sending a strong but unfocused Force Wave at the figure. Once the figure was knocked off its feet, the girl grabbed the boy and they fled into the palace, raising the alarm as they ran, likely hoping to slow their pursuer down somewhat.

His vision blurred momentarily as another wave in the Force reached him. Riding the disturbance with skillful ease, he returned to his earlier vision just in time to watch as a blue and white starfighter fled from the Royal Hangar. He didn't even need the Force to know that the starfighter rocketing for space before vanishing into hyperspace had been carrying to two children who'd been inadvertently tormenting him so much recently. Frowning, Yoda returned his attention towards their attacker. Who was he or she? And why were they after those two? Sweeping over the Royal Palace and the surrounding lands, Yoda failed to find any trace of the figure, which was very disturbing.

A chime at his room's door pulled the ancient Grandmaster from his meditations. "Enter."

The door slid open, revealing a young Padawan. "Master Yoda," the Padawan greeted respectfully. "Master Windu requests your presence in the High Council. There is an urgent transmission from Alderaan."

"Hm, urgent indeed," Yoda agreed, nodding his head knowingly. "Come quickly, I will. Return to your duties, Padawan, you may now."

The Padawan bowed lowly at the dismissal before leaving quickly. Yoda briefly returned the bow as he hobbled onto his hoverchair. Normally, he preferred to walk wherever he could within the Temple, but sometimes he felt the need to hurry along. And when that whim or need struck, he was quite glad to climb onto his hoverchair and move about. With his hoverchair carrying him, he reached the council chamber in less than ten minutes of the summons.

Entering the chamber, he was met by Masters Mace Windu, Plo Koon, and Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Master," Ki-Adi-Mundi greeted respectfully, bowing.

Nodding in response, Yoda said, "A transmission, I hear there has been. What news comes of Alderaan?"

"Rather distressing news," Plo said, his deep voice rumbling through his breath mask. As he spoke, he reached over and pressed a button on the small console near him. A hologram of Bolla Ropal appeared in the center of the room and began speaking quickly.

"Masters, I don't have much time, so I'll be brief," Ropal said, bowing slightly. "There has been some kind of break-in at the Royal Palace. I don't have all the details, but I was able to sense a great deal of fear, anger, and aggression from the two Children I've come to investigate. That is troubling, but not so much as the dark shadow I had sensed near them when it happened, shortly before the alarms were pulled. I don't know what has happened, but I do know that the Children are no longer on the planet. The starfighter that Breha Organa had gifted them is missing as well. I will report back as soon as I learn more of the situation that has occurred here."

"This message is roughly twenty minutes old," Ki-Adi-Mundi said, answering Yoda's question before he could ask it. "I imagine we'll be hearing back from Master Ropal shortly."

"Hmm…" Yoda hummed heavily, thoughts racing through his mind.

"You sensed it too, didn't you?" Mace asked, looking at Yoda meaningfully. "That disturbance, the imbalance."

"Yes, I did," Yoda admitted, meeting Windu's gaze unflinchingly. "Something new has appeared. Something strong, but untrained and headstrong."

"Those two children," Plo guessed easily.

"Yes, very powerful they are," Yoda said, nodding. "Must find them again, bring them here, train them properly, we must."

"Is that wise, Master?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked skeptically. "Making yet more exceptions to our rules? Young Skywalker is strong and talented, but he is also headstrong and proud. Do you really think it wise to bring two more children who could likely be the same, if not worse, than what he has become?"

"We don't know that they'll become like him, even if they are as equally strong," Plo Koon pointed out calmly. "I sense that they are different."

"Yes, very different these two are," Yoda said strongly. "Though faintly from this distance, great destinies could I sense from them."

"But destiny is a tricky thing to predict or understand," Mace said, speaking lowly and thoughtfully. "Could they be a great beacon of hope for the galaxy or tyrants in the making?"

"Find them, train them, we must," Yoda reasserted sternly, glancing between the three Council members. The three of them could only nod in agreement.

06:2:01 GrS
Carida

With a heavy thump, the Z-95 Headhunter set down roughly in a clearing that was hidden deeply within the forested mountains of the area. After the canopy opened, a pair of exhausted children climbed weakly out. They were so weak that they lost their grips on the handgrips halfway down and fell the short distance to the ground, heaving mightily where they lay.

"Nice…land…ding," Leia gasped out weakly from her crumpled position atop of him.

"Shut…up," Luke groaned, trying and failing to roll over and get Leia off of him.

"Now, what do…we do?" Leia asked. "We can't…go home anymore…and it's still…after us."

"I know," Luke gasped, finally managing to roll Leia off of him. Why did she weigh so much all of a sudden? Sure, they were stuck in the cramped starfighter for several days with little to no food, but it shouldn't have had this much of an effect on them…should it?

"I don't know…what we do," Luke said, speaking softly and shortly to conserve his strength and breath for more important matters, like pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"We hide…train…learn…" Leia offered, looking to the side at her brother. "Then we…strong, we…find, fight…and kill it." Though he looked uncomfortable at the thought of killing that monster, Luke nodded slowly. As far as plans go, it would suffice for now.

In the meantime, they needed to figure out what to do in the here and now. Reaching out and drawing weakly upon the Force, pulling it into himself to bolster his strength, Luke finally was able to sit up and look around. The clearing was large enough to comfortably land the starfighter and still have enough room for a small campsite. Though he knew next to nothing about living off the land in a mountainous forest like this, he did know that no matter where a person went, they needed three things to survive: food, clothing, and shelter. They had clothing and enough ration bars in the Headhunter to last for a few days if they were conservative, so they just needed to make some shelter to protect them from local wildlife and the environment itself.

Pushing himself up with all of his strength, Luke was able to finally get his feet under him and force himself to stand up as tall as his small form could manage. It was a very small step, but it would work for now.

(Author's Note) Thank you, animefan29, for all the help and the compelling argument of starfighter vs. yacht!

I know this chapter is a bit short and chaotic, but I didn't want to waste much time on Alderaan. I really wanted to leave and move on with the story, which would only really happen after they'd left. So, we can thank the Fifth Hunter for that. Look forward to the next chapter, as it's the start of the new arc and leads up to the 'big event' of the story.

In case anyone's wondering, Carida is listed to have twice the galactic standard for gravity. That is why the twins were unable to stand up when they landed. Granted, they don't know that, so they think it's for other reasons they can't stand up properly.

PS: For any ambitious writers out there, feel free to use my setting if you want. I admit that the first two or so chapters would've been excellent opening to a Rebels-themed story, rather than making it a time-skip story.