Luke Skywalker was the son of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, and the twin brother of Leia Organa Solo. A celebrated Rebel pilot, leader, and eventually a Jedi Master, Skywalker destroyed the first Death Star and provided the catalyst for Darth Vader to kill Emperor Palpatine, which led to the eventual downfall of the Galactic Empire. These, in addition to numerous other accomplishments, led him to become one of the greatest heroes of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and a promotion to General.

Trained in the ways of the Force by Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, Skywalker eventually closed the chapter in his life as a soldier and established the Jedi Praxeum to create the New Jedi Order that would serve as guardians and peacekeepers in the New Republic, becoming as his master Obi-Wan said, the first of the new Jedi. In the midst of this rebirth came numerous challenges, including the Thrawn campaign, the Almanian Uprising, and the lure of Waru, but Skywalker, aided by fellow Jedi and his friends, was able to overcome each trial. His new Jedi faced their own trials in the form of the Shadow Academy and the Diversity Alliance, but Skywalker helped his trainees also face their own challenges. After a long series of failed relationships, he married fellow Jedi Mara Jade, with whom he had a son, Ben Skywalker.

Several years after the close of the Galactic Civil War, Skywalker was again thrust onto the front lines as the leader of the New Jedi Order during the Yuuzhan Vong War. He endured countless battles as the New Republic was first pushed back, including the loss of his home on Coruscant. However, the newly reformed government, labeling itself the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, regrouped and helped push back the Yuuzhan Vong invaders. In the final stages of the war, Luke sought out the living world of Zonama Sekot, convincing the planet to join the Galactic Alliance in a final battle at Coruscant. At the last major battle of the war, Skywalker personally led the assault on the Supreme Overlord's citadel and slew Shimrra, the leader of the Yuuzhan Vong.

After the Yuuzhan Vong War, Skywalker maintained a prominent role among the Jedi into the Dark Nest Crisis, which saw him call a Jedi convocation to deal with strife within the Order. Faced with disunity, Skywalker assumed the title of Grand Master and direct control over the reestablished Jedi Council. He also dealt with the renegade Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk, though Alema Rar escaped. Despite the successful handling of the Dark Nest crisis and Swarm War, lasting peace was yet to be achieved, as the Second Galactic Civil War broke out a few years later. Luke was plunged into a dark time as his nephew Jacen Solo became a Sith apprentice under his old adversary Lumiya and slew his beloved wife Mara. His grief was further compounded by his son's treading near the dark side as well, but he continued to lead the Jedi, taking them on a path away from either of the warring factions even as he fought against the Sith Lord, Darth Caedus, that his nephew had become. In the final stages of the war, Skywalker went on several raids against Caedus and ultimately helped bring about the Sith's downfall by influencing his visions of the future and hiding the one who would ultimately kill him, his sister Jaina Solo.

Following his death sometime before the Sith-Imperial War, Skywalker became a Force Ghost like his father, mentors, and wife had done previously. As an apparition, he would later provide guidance to his descendant, Cade Skywalker, encouraging him to follow the path of the Jedi.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life (19–0 BBY) 1.2 Galactic Civil War (0 BBY–4 ABY) 1.2.1 Leaving Tatooine 1.2.2 Rescue on the Death Star 1.2.3 Hero of the Rebellion 1.2.4 Encounter with the Keeper 1.2.5 Liberating Akuria II 1.2.6 Scout mission gone wrong 1.2.7 Battle with the Dragon Lords 1.2.8 Showdown above Drexel 1.2.9 Events on the Wheel 1.2.10 Thwarting Tagge's plans 1.2.11 Encounter with Valance 1.2.12 Valance's sacrifice 1.2.13 Return to Tatooine 1.2.14 Omega Frost 1.2.15 Ion Ring 1.2.16 Mission to Jazbina 1.2.17 Envoy to Monastery 1.2.18 Beginnings with Rogue Squadron 1.2.18.1 Campaign against Moff Seerdon 1.2.19 Alliance poster boy 1.2.20 Training to become a Jedi 1.2.21 Duel with the Dark Lord 1.2.22 Continuing the fight 1.2.23 Search for a scoundrel 1.2.24 Rescuing a hero 1.2.25 The test of Endor 1.2.26 Post-Endor 1.3 In search of a legacy (4–11 ABY) 1.3.1 Nagai-Tof War 1.3.2 Lost City of the Jedi 1.3.3 The Witches of Dathomir 1.3.4 Thrawn and C'baoth's efforts 1.3.5 Return of the Emperor 1.4 The trials of the Jedi Master (11–25 ABY) 1.4.1 Establishing a New Jedi Order 1.4.2 Exar Kun's attack 1.4.3 The Eye of Palpatine 1.4.4 Voyages with Callista 1.4.5 Nam Chorios and the Death Seed 1.4.6 The Empire Reborn 1.4.7 Finding his role in the Force 1.4.8 Almanian rebellion 1.4.9 First Corellian Insurrection 1.4.10 Caamas Document Crisis 1.4.11 Marriage to Mara Jade 1.4.12 Married life 1.4.13 Junior Jedi Academy 1.4.14 The rediscovery of Outbound Flight 1.4.15 Second Imperium 1.4.16 Facing the shadow 1.4.17 Diversity Alliance 1.4.18 Return of Black Sun 1.5 Yuuzhan Vong War (25–30 ABY) 1.5.1 Holding off the invasion 1.5.2 Leading from the front 1.5.3 Reorganizing the New Republic and the Jedi Order 1.5.4 Ending the war 1.6 Strife within the Order (30–40 ABY) 1.6.1 Role of the Jedi Order 1.6.2 A cry for help 1.6.3 Mysterious attackers 1.6.4 Dark Nest Crisis 1.6.5 Jedi Grand Master and the Swarm War 1.7 Confederation-Galactic Alliance War (40 ABY—) 1.7.1 Rising tensions 1.7.2 The dark shadow 1.7.3 The pain of loss 1.8 Picking up the pieces (43 ABY) 1.9 Legacy 2 Personality and traits 3 Powers and abilities 4 Lightsabers 5 Relationships 5.1 Leia Organa 5.2 Dani 5.3 Shira Brie 5.4 Tanith Shire 5.5 Alexandra Winger 5.6 Gaeriel Captison 5.7 Mary 5.8 Jem Ysanna 5.9 Callista Ming 5.10 Akanah Norand Goss Pell 5.11 Mara Jade 6 Behind the scenes 6.1 Origins of Luke 6.2 Casting 6.3 Luke Skywalker as the monomyth hero 6.4 Non-canon appearances 6.4.1 Infinities 6.4.1.1 A New Hope 6.4.1.2 The Empire Strikes Back 6.4.1.3 Return of the Jedi 6.5 Merchandise 6.5.1 Miniatures 7 Appearances 8 Sources 8.1 Databank sources 8.2 Wizards.com sources 9 Notes and references 10 See also 11 External links

BiographyEdit

Early life (19–0 BBY)Edit

Luke Skywalker was born to Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala on the asteroid colony of Polis Massa shortly after the start of the Great Jedi Purge and the foundation of the Galactic Empire under the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, known to the public as Emperor Palpatine. Luke's father had recently pledged himself to the dark side of the force and became the Sith known as Darth Vader, in part due to his obsession with saving his pregnant wife from dying during childbirth. Seconds after the birth of Luke's twin sister, Leia, Padmé died of fatigue, effectively orphaning both children.^[2]

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda knew that the children, both having a natural affinity for the Force, needed to be protected from Palpatine and their father. Deciding it would be best if they were separated, the two Jedi Masters agreed to send the infant boy to live with his father's stepbrother, Owen Lars, and his wife, Beru, on Tatooine. Leia was sent to live under the protection of her newly-adopted parents, Bail and Breha Organa.^[2] To further disguise the birth of the children, Yoda suggested that they make Padmé look pregnant at her funeral.^[18] Per the traditions of Naboo, Padmé's surviving grandmother, Ryoo Thule, dressed and prepared the body for the procession.^[19]

Kenobi himself took the infant to Tatooine, making the first leg of the journey in the Soulless One via Nar Shaddaa, then sold the starfighter to buy passage to the homeworld of the Lars family.^[20] Intending to watch over Skywalker as he grew, Kenobi chose to go into hiding on Tatooine and live near the boy.^[2] At first, Kenobi quietly shadowed the Lars family, concerned about the infant Luke's welfare. Though only he, Yoda, and Bail Organa knew of the child's whereabouts, Kenobi wanted to ensure that he remained hidden. When he learned of Anakin's survival, Kenobi grew apprehensive until the spirit of his own master, Qui-Gon Jinn, informed him that Darth Vader would not set foot on Tatooine again. Nevertheless, Kenobi continued his quiet vigilance.^[21]

During the first days of his exile, Obi-Wan visited the Lars homestead every day, always trying to stay clear of Owen and Beru so that they would not see him, in order to watch Luke from afar. Later Obi-Wan's intervention in the family business of the Lars would mark him an unwelcome man in Owen's eyes, and as a result Obi-Wan would eventually stop watching Luke every single day. According to Luke, his first use of the Force was when he was roughly six and, through the Force, located a lost screwdriver that was under the couch. He was severely scolded by his uncle, with the argument that he could only have known it's location because he placed it there, and afterwards learned not to duplicate the stunt.^[22]

Skywalker spent the first nineteen years of his life on the Lars' moisture farm, where his uncle tried unsuccessfully to discourage all of his adventurous tendencies. This created friction between the two as Luke's adventurous nature conflicted with Owen's sense of strong moral values. As a teenager, Skywalker dreamed of adventures beyond Tatooine and clashed with his uncle over his desires to fly among the stars to distant worlds. When prompted with inquiries about his father's involvement in the Clone Wars, Lars told him that his father had been "a navigator on a spice freighter." Despite this deception, Skywalker became an adventure-seeking youth, piloting his Incom T-16 Skyhopper through Beggar's Canyon and racing his landspeeder with little regard for his own safety. In addition to sharing his father's natural piloting skills, Skywalker developed a knack for mechanical repairs while looking after droids and fixing the moisture vaporators.^[6]

Luke cultivated a group of like-minded friends on Tatooine, amongst whom he earned the nickname "Wormie." The group included Deak, Windy, Camie and Fixer, whose horizons did not extend much past Tatooine itself; and "Tank" and Biggs, who shared Skywalker's dreams of joining the Imperial Academy and becoming pilots. Biggs Darklighter was perhaps Skywalker's closest friend, whom he looked up to as a brother.^[6]

When Luke was ten years old he ran away when Owen refused to tell him information concerning his father. Unfortunately, Luke became lost in a sandstorm. In the desert, he had a vision of a tall dark figure, and shortly afterwards he met a young boy named "Annie". The two boys realized that they had much in common—neither knew much about their father, they were both great pilots, they both wanted to leave Tatooine some day, and that they could sense things before they happened. They soon discovered a Sand Person buried in the sand, and took his gaffi stick. They then sought shelter in a nearby cave but a pack of womp rats drove them back out into the storm, where they stumbled upon a red and white astromech droid. Annie rigged up the astromech's motivator to explode, causing a flare. Unfortunately, the flare attracted the attention of a krayt dragon that attacked the two boys. Luke lost sight of Annie, but on instinct, Luke killed the dragon by throwing the gaffi stick at its throat. Exhausted, Luke fell unconscious but fortunately, Owen and a rescue party found him. Once they did, there was no sign of the krayt dragon or Annie. Luke, however, was certain it was more than just a dream, and Owen knew that there was something special about his nephew.^[23]

As a teenager, Skywalker and his friend Biggs Darklighter managed to buy tickets to a GR-75 medium transport that would take them offworld to one of Tatooine's moons for a sightseeing trip. Though the ship was crowded, they were enthusiastic about the trip. However, before they had even cleared orbit, the ship experienced mechanical failure, sending the ship falling back towards Tatooine. Skywalker raced to the bridge and made stopgap repairs that allowed the pilot to regain control of the ship and land safely on Tatooine. He was acclaimed as a hero, but to his great disappointment, he and Biggs were unable to take their trip into space.^[24]

In what was possibly the first encounter Luke remembered having with Obi-Wan, Luke and his friend Windy were cruising down Beggar's Canyon in Luke's T-16 skyhopper in search of womp rats to bullseye. Crashing, the two managed to evade Sand People and discourage Jawas from stealing their ship. Making camp in a cave, they were cornered by a krayt dragon, but Obi-Wan arrived and chased it off. Then, taming a dewback, the hermit took Luke and Windy back to the Lars homestead.^[25][26]

Sometime during his teenage years, Luke was challenged to a speeder race by a local braggart, Gorm Maldorf, in The Cage. On the morning of the race, Gorm's decapitated body was found in the cage. Luke began his own investigation of the death, and with the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he deduced that Gorm had been accidentally killed by his companion Chester the night before while attempting to rig the Cage for the race.^[27]

During his free time, Luke also enjoyed constructing model ships,^[28] even building one of his own T-16 Skyhopper.^[29]

After one Skyhopper race at the Beggar's Canyon, Luke and company noticed a burning landspeeder. Aboard it was a militia scout who told about the upcoming Tusken Raider attack. As he said this, the Sand People attacked. Because of the atmospheric interference, the group was unable to contact Anchorhead, so Luke decided to take his Skyhopper and call for help. Taking Biggs, wounded by the poisoned gaderffi, with him, Skywalker rushed through the dangerous Diablo Cut. To pass it, Luke somehow reached deep within himself, unknowingly using the Force. He succeeded to warn the militia and save Biggs's life. The Tusken Raiders were soon beaten back.^[30]

Biggs left for the Academy in 1 BBY, much to Skywalker's pride, jealousy and dismay.^[source?] As more of Skywalker's friends left the planet to follow their dreams, he became increasingly frustrated that his uncle would not allow him to leave, claiming that he still needed help with the farm. In truth, Owen was trying to prevent Luke from following in his father's footsteps.^[6]

As Luke grew older he became more determined to leave Tatooine, believing he was destined for something greater than the life of a moisture farmer. Desperate for something to help relieve his boredom, he often flew his T-16 skyhopper. Shortly after Biggs left for the academy, Luke was at Beggar's Canyon with his friends discussing his dreams. When Fixer mocked him, Luke challenged him to a race in their skyhoppers, and outflew his friend. This proved to Luke that he was a good enough pilot to enter the academy.^[31]

Galactic Civil War (0 BBY–4 ABY)Edit

Leaving TatooineEdit

One day, while Skywalker was in the desert with Lars' old droid WED-15-77, repairing a moisture vaporator, he noticed a bright sparkle in the sky. Looking closer with his macrobinoculars, he saw two starships exchanging fire. Willing to tell his friends about it, he rushed to Anchorhead, leaving the melted Treadwell droid behind.^{[32][33] [34]}

Running into Tosche Station, he noticed Biggs, who came back to Tatooine to say goodbye, before his commission to Rand Ecliptic. Skywalker told his friends about the space battle and they came out to see for themselves. But instead of seeing a battle, they saw two ships just sitting there. Fixer took his time to mock Luke and left with Camie, Deak and Windy. After Skywalker and Darklighter were left alone, Biggs told Luke about his intention to jump ship and join the growing Rebellion, increasing Skywalker's will to leave the planet. The two friends then said goodbye, not hoping to see each other again.^{[33][34][32][35]}

The purchase of two droids by Skywalker's uncle changed the youth's life forever. With the discovery of a desperate message to Obi-Wan Kenobi contained within the astromech droid R2-D2, Skywalker soon found himself in the company of Ben Kenobi after being attacked by Sand People. Kenobi then revealed to Skywalker that he had once been a Jedi Knight who served in the Clone Wars with Skywalker's father. He went on to inform Skywalker that his father was no cargo pilot, but a Jedi Knight struck down by Darth Vader.^[6]

Upon returning home, Skywalker discovered that his aunt and uncle had been murdered by Imperial stormtroopers looking for R2-D2 and C-3PO. With his family dead, he agreed to accompany Kenobi^[36] to Alderaan to deliver the astromech—who was carrying the plans for the Death Star—to Bail Organa at the behest of Organa's daughter, Princess Leia Organa. The two traveled to Mos Eisley cantina to obtain passage off Tatooine and met Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca, where Luke nearly had a fatal run-in with Ponda Baba in Chalmun's Cantina^[6] after attempting to order a glass of water.^[28]

Rescue on the Death StarEdit

After escaping stormtroopers and blasting off the planet in Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, Kenobi began Skywalker's instruction in the ways of the Force, much to the mocking of Solo. This teaching, however, was soon interrupted by their arrival in the Alderaan system and their discovery of the planet's destruction. They then spotted a patrolling TIE fighter, and upon following it found that it was approaching what appeared to be a small moon. To their horror, however, it turned out to be the Death Star. Caught by the Death Star's tractor beam, they were brought aboard the massive space station.^[6]

Once on board, Kenobi separated from Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca, and the droids to deactivate the tractor beam. But when R2-D2 discovered that Leia Organa was being held captive, Skywalker insisted on rescuing her. With Solo and Chewbacca's help, the trio made it into the detention area in the guise of Imperial stormtroopers escorting a Wookiee prisoner. They were able to rescue Leia from her cell but had to jump into the garbage chute in order to escape the pursuing Imperial forces. Luke and Leia were separated from Han and Chewbacca, but after a good luck kiss from Leia and swinging across a deep shaft via a grappling hook to evade more Imperial troops, they were able to meet back up with the smuggler duo in the hangar bay.^[6]

Eventually, the group escaped the Death Star, but only after Kenobi sacrificed himself in a duel with Darth Vader. They traveled to the hidden Rebellion base on Yavin IV, even though the Death Star was tracking them. On their way, Solo's ship was attacked by a squad of TIE fighters. Luke manned the turret, and despite not being familiar with the controls, managed to shoot down several enemy fighters, allowing the Falcon to reach Yavin safely. It was then that Solo received his reward for rescuing Leia and was preparing to leave the group. Luke tried to persuade him to stay and help them against the Empire but Solo refused, which deeply disappointed him.^[6]

Hero of the RebellionEdit

While on Yavin IV, Luke had the opportunity to examine an X-wing starfighter. As he did so, he was approached by Keyan Farlander, a young pilot who, like Luke, had recently become aware of his own Force sensitivity, and had strayed close to the dark side. The two discussed their limited experiences with the Force and Keyan offered to show Luke how the controls of the X-wing worked. After some hastily arranged piloting tests, at which Luke showed a natural ability, he was officially made part of Red Squadron for the upcoming battle.^[37]

Skywalker took part in the Battle of Yavin as Red Five. He witnessed the death of many compatriots, including Biggs Darklighter, and after the death of the two squadron leaders, he took it upon himself to lead the final assault. With the timely arrival of the Millennium Falcon and the guidance of Kenobi's spirit, Skywalker took a single shot, focusing the Force to direct his only pair of proton torpedoes to their target,^[38][39] destroying the station. For this action he and Han Solo were awarded the Medal of Bravery.^[6] Later, at a more informal party, Skywalker shared a kiss with Princess Organa. Unable to sleep that night after the party, Luke took his X-wing out for a joyride—although it soon turned into a dogfight as he encountered a lone TIE Fighter who had escaped the earlier explosion. After a ship-to-ship encounter, the two fighters crashed on the planet below. Both pilots survived and engaged in a fierce scuffle in the jungle; Skywalker was prepared to kill the TIE pilot—until he saw the man's face and realized that killing when it could be avoided made him no better than his enemy.^[40] Following this encounter, Han Solo prepared to leave Yavin 4 for Tatooine in order to pay off his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Bidding his friend farewell, Skywalker, along with Leia Organa, C-3PO, and R2-D2, watched as Solo and Chewbacca left the jungle moon.^[41]

Encounter with the KeeperEdit

With Solo and Chewbacca gone, the Rebel leadership decided that it was time to get in touch with other rebel groups, to prevent the Empire from launching a surprise attack. Skywalker and Organa, accompanied by C-3PO and R2-D2, were dispatched to one such base on the planet Akuria II. However, a miscalculation by the badly repaired Artoo brought their ship out in the middle of an Imperial fleet above an uncharted planet. Skywalker managed to evade several Star Destroyers, but as a result of his maneuvering, Skywalker's starship was caught in the planet's gravitational grip and crash-landed on the planet. While Organa remained at the ship trying to contact the Rebels, Skywalker decided to take a look around with Artoo and Threepio and soon stumbled upon a giant footprint left by a beast. Meanwhile, the Imperials sent a landing party to find and capture the crew of the ship that had crashed on the planet.^[42]

Later, while sitting near their downed vessel, Skywalker and the rest of the company were attacked by a giant three-eyed monster. As they were fighting the beast, Skywalker and Organa did not notice as R2 went away. The little droid soon found a much larger beast, which had been quietly sleeping. Artoo awakened it and the monster took away the smaller beast, saving Skywalker's and Organa's lives. However, as soon as that danger was dealt with, Skywalker noticed an Imperial ship landing nearby and told Organa and the droids to run.^[42]

Trying to hide from the Imperial troops, Skywalker, Organa and the droids stumbled upon what looked like a long-abandoned temple. The Rebels soon realized, however, that they had reached a dead end and were soon cornered at the temple's wall by the Imperials, who prepared to shoot. At that moment, Threepio unintentionally hit a hidden switch, activating a mechanism that transported Skywalker along with his friends inside the building. There, they were greeted by four children with supernatural powers, the abilities to control Earth, Wind, Fire and Rain. Suddenly, the Imperials—who had found the same switch—appeared inside the temple and tried to stun the kids. In turn, the four children used their powers to stall the stormtroopers and their commander, allowing the Rebels to escape into the nearby cavern, where they found the Keeper, a huge computer that captured them in some kind of an energy beam.^[42]

Instead of doing any harm to the visitors, however, the Keeper told them its story. The intelligent machine revealed that it had been built by the planet's native civilization with the task to rebuild the planet, which had been damaged by a violent war. After the civilization had fled the world, the Keeper created the four android children as a replacement and had been keeping the planet hostile-looking, so no one would disturb it until its original civilization returned. After finishing its story, the giant computer created an earthquake that prompted the Imperial landing party to leave the planet thinking that the Rebels had been killed in the cataclysm. After the Keeper had repaired the Rebels' ship as a goodbye gift, Skywalker, Organa and the droids left the Keeper's world to continue with their original mission.^[42]

Liberating Akuria IIEdit

As soon as they reached Akuria II, the Rebels were attacked by several TIE fighters. Manning the ship's turret, Princess Organa managed to destroy one of the TIEs, and Skywalker used a little "Beggar's Canyon style stunting" to make the other one crash into a rock. However, the last TIE had damaged the Rebel ship before being destroyed by a blaster fired by a group that Skywalker assumed to be the Akurian rebels. After crash-landing the ship, Skywalker and his companions were attacked by the native Akurians, who captured Artoo and Threepio. Skywalker and Organa, were rescued by the War Sled, a giant machine—the same one that had destroyed the last TIE—,commanded by the man who introduced himself as a local rebel leader Colonel Odan. After being rescued, Skywalker asked Odan to order a search for Artoo and Threepio, to which the Akurian leader agreed. Skywalker, however, soon noticed blaster burns throughout the War Sled and remembered that Odan had never told them necessary recognition codes.

Skywalker then expressed his thoughts to Organa, telling her that Odan might have been in fact an impostor, which soon proved true. Odan captured Organa and Skywalker, and left the latter in the Sled's bridge, tied with a rope. Taking the Princess with them and fusing the Sled's controls, the Imperials abandoned the war machine, sending Skywalker to a certain death in the great Geyser Sea. However, the real Colonel Odan and his second-in-command Fafnir soon infiltrated the Sled, accompanied by Artoo and Threepio, whom the real rebels, Akurians, had brought to Odan.^[43]

After untying Skywalker, the five escaped from the Sled on the Power skis, only to be caught in a dangerous storm. In order to hide from it, they decided to melt a hole in the snow. However, Skywalker and his rescuers soon found themselves in an Ice Worm's burrow, the home of an almost extinct creature. One such Ice Worm attacked the group, but by using the Power skis to kick up some ice and exhaust against the Worm's sensitive tendrils, they managed to reach the surface, right in time to catch up with the impostor Odan, who fled toward the Imperial base on a Snow Flyer. Skywalker quickly used his Power ski to gain on Odan, subdued the Imperial and rescued the Princess. However, the impostor revealed that he had issued an order to sent out every TIE fighter if he did not reach the base in time. Having heard his words, the Rebels divised a plan.^[43]

Bringing the captured Imperial with them, Skywalker, Organa, Odan, Fafnir and the droids infiltrated the enemy base, and used the Snow Flyer to blow up a hole in the base's wall. At that moment, the Akurians appeared and started a full-scale battle, during which, the false Odan escaped from the Rebels' custody. Skywalker then captured one of the Imperial TIE fighters and destroyed the base from within, killing the impersonator of Odan in the process. The real Odan and the Akurians then swore allegiance to the Alliance. Their mission successful, Skywalker, Organa and the droids returned to Yavin base.^[43]

Scout mission gone wrongEdit

Since the main Rebel base was no longer safe from the Empire, the Rebel command appointed the task of locating a suitable host world to Luke Skywalker, who packed what few belongings he had and, along with C-3PO and R2-D2, boarded a Rebel scout ship headed for deep space. During the initial length of the journey, Skywalker began thinking about the various deeds of the weeks past which had seen him leave his homeworld, join the Rebellion, and destroy the Death Star. This time also saw Skywalker reflect upon the legacy of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and witnessed him vow to confront Darth Vader and make him pay for Kenobi's death.^[44] Skywalker eventually found what he perceived to be a worthy candidate for a new base, when he came across an unnamed planet that orbited the star Drexel. Breaking his self-imposed communication-silence, Skywalker turned on his ship's transceiver and opened up a connection with the Rebel headquarters on Yavin 4. Reaching Leia Organa on the jungle moon, Skywalker began to explain what he had discovered. However, during the conversation, Skywalker hurriedly advised Organa that something was wrong, and he cut off the communication transmission. Believing that he was in trouble, Organa advised General Jan Dodonna that she was going to go search for Skywalker, and set out from Yavin 4 in her private space craft.^[45] Feeling guilty for not going with him on the mission in the first place, Organa felt guilt begin to settle in around her. Promising herself that he was not going to become yet another casualty in the fight against the Empire, Organa resolved to find Skywalker even if it meant that she had to do it herself.^[46]

Meanwhile, Skywalker had realized that he was in dire straights. During his previous communication with Leia Organa, all of the systems aboard Skywalker's ship went dead and he was forced to crash land on the planet which he had been surveying. Forced to put his transport down in a body of water, Skywalker, along with R2-D2 and C-3PO, made his way onto the hull of un-submerged portion of the ship. Once there, however, the trio came under attack by an enormous Sea-dragon which had been disturbed by the crash landing. Realizing that it was safer inside their ship than outside of it, Skywalker and his droids retreated back inside of the ship, which was rapidly filling with water. Nonetheless, due to the quick thinking of R2-D2, the trio were able to make their way to the ship's escape pod and managed to eject it, thus putting some distance between themselves and the Sea-dragon.^[47]

During this time, another Sea-dragon arrived at their downed ship, but this one was being controlled by an unidentified rider, who was able to compel the Sea-dragons into salvaging the wreckage of Skywalker's ship. Likewise, another force of beings showed up in hydra-skimmers, intent on driving the Sea-dragons, and their controller, away so that they could lay claim to the wreckage of Skywalker's ship. After a brief confrontation, the second group of attackers, who identified themselves as working for Governor Quarg, noticed the errant escape pod floating in the water and decided to salvage it. However, Skywalker and his droids emerged, immediately setting Quarg's men into a desperate scramble. Explaining that droids were a rare thing on their planet, Quarg's men decided that they would kill Skywalker and take the droids back to their master as booty. However, Skywalker proved to be too much for Quarg's men, and the gang relented to the young Jedi, who asked them to take him to see their boss. After Skywalker and the droids had arrived at Quarg's base, which was a massive floating barge, Quarg noticed Skywalker's lightsaber and gigured out that the visitor could have been a Jedi. Realizing that the newcomer and his two droids were too valuable to let go free, Quarg agreed to harbor Skywalker aboard his barge.^[48]

To prove his worthiness, Skywalker was tasked with repairing a broken skimmer, the one that had been deemed not repairable by the ship-dwellers' Master Machinesmith. With the help from R2, Skywalker successfully completed the task, but while on the test run, he was attacked by Master Machinesmith, who feared that he would lose his job to the newcomer and his droid. By using the skimmer's brakes, Skywalker managed to drop Master Machinesmith off the vehicle. Returning to the ship, Skywalker found his adversary hanged and was promoted to Master Machinesmith's position by Quarg. After that, the governor told Luke the story of the ship-dwellers, revealing that they descendants of the Republic-era pirates forced to live on Drexel after a confrontation with Jedi Knights. Since then they had been using the sonic jamming technology now built into their floating city, bringing down any ship that strayed into the Drexel system and scavenging it. Quarg also revealed that those sea-dragon riders were a rival group separated from the ship-dwellers a long time ago, because they thought that the sonic jammer caused harm to the sea-dragons.^[49]

Battle with the Dragon LordsEdit

As soon as Quarg finished his tale, the ship-dwellers noticed an Imperial cruiser entering the system. Unbeknownst to Skywalker, aboard that ship were princess Organa and Han Solo, who had been both captured by the notorious pirate Crimson Jack. Quarg ordered to bring the ship down, but the jammer did not have enough power to do that. Meanwhile, an army of Dragon Lords appeared on the horizon. Preparing for a battle, Quarg ordered Skywalker to man a gunship, threatening to dismantle his droids if he refused to do so. Skywalker agreed and soon found himself in the midst of a battle he did not want to fight. Suddenly, the young Jedi noticed the Millennium Falcon landing on the water, brought there by the jammer. Aboard the ship were Organa and Solo, who had managed to escape from Crimson Jack. Skywalker noticed that a skimmer was attacking them, and rushed to help his friends without a second thought. He destroyed the attacking skimmer, but was too late, as he saw someone falling into the water from the Falcon. Hoping to find his friends, Skywalker looked into the water and was suddenly attacked by Chewbacca, who suspected Luke of piloting the skimmer that had shot at the Falcon. However, Quarg's men had seen that Skywalker had betrayed them and attacked Luke's gunship. Skywalker survived the destruction of his craft, but lost consciousness as a result of the explosion. He awoke in a cell aboard the city-ship, along with a still hostile Chewbacca, R2 and C-3PO, and witnessed as the golden droid tried to explain the situation to the angry Wookiee to no avail.^[50]

Chewbacca attacked Skywalker again, but R2 used his fire extinguisher on the Wookiee, knocking him unconscious and saving Skywalker's life. After that, Skywalker was called by Quarg. The ship-dwellers' leader ordered the young Jedi to link the Millennium Falcon's engines with those of the city-ship to provide extra power for the sonic jammer, needed to bring down Crimson Jack's cruiser. Skywalker refused, but Quarg brought Princess Organa, whom his men had captured, and threatened to kill her. Luke was forced to agree and started working amidst the still continuing battle. Suddenly, the Falcon was attacked by a sea-dragon, whose rider infiltrated the ship. Soon enough, Luke discovered that the beast rider was none other than Han Solo, who had tried to sabotage Skywalker's work. He did not succeed though, and the power was linked to the city-ship. Strangely, all sea-dragons began dying and Solo explained that after the Falcon had been attacked by the skimmer, he had been saved by the dragon-riders, who told him that the sonic jammer was the cause of the sea-dragons' deaths.^[51]

Skywalker, however, assured his friend that while this link aided Quarg, it had also freed the Falcon from the sonic jammer's effect. Solo then tried to use his ship's firepower to destroy the evil machine, but noticed that Princess Leia was held on a gunpoint by Quarg. Rushing to save the Princess, Skywalker swang on a rope and knocked Quarg off the ship, thus killing him and saving Organa. Solo then used the Falcon's guns to destroy the sonic jammer. The actual fighting continued on into the night, but by the first glow of light, even that was over. The Dragon Lords thanked Skywalker and his friends, and although the battle on the planet had ended, Crimson Jack's cruiser still remained on the orbit.^[52]

Showdown above DrexelEdit

Soon after Solo had expressed his concerns about Crimson Jack to Skywalker and the others, a Y-Wing appeared and shot at the floating Falcon. Skywalker, Solo, Chewbacca, Organa and the droids quickly boarded the smuggler's ship and roared away from Drexel, shooting back at the Y-Wing along the way. Taking the controls of the quad-cannons, Skywalker and Solo managed to destroy several Crimson Jack's snubfighters, but the Y-Wing damaged the Falcon's gyro control module, before being damaged itself. Jack tried to vaporize Solo's ship, but Han revealed that he had transferred Jack's navigational charts into his own computer while being aboard pirate's ship. To this end, a deal was struck to exchange the navigational charts for the gyro control module in the open space. In an unexpected twist of events, Crimson Jack was killed, after he had tried to fool Solo, and his ship was destroyed in a suicide run by the Y-Wing pilot, Jolli, who wanted to avenge the fact that her captain had left her alone after her Y-Wing had been damaged. After a short stop to give Jolli her final kiss and to install the new gyro control module, the Millennium Falcon departed the Drexel system, carrying Skywalker and all his friends aboard.^[53]

Dropping out of hyperspace to make minor repairs, the Falcon ran into several TIE fighters. After they had been destroyed, Princess Organa, reminded by the flight maneuver Solo had used, told Skywalker and the others a story about Ben Kenobi and the Merson Pirates, a story which she had in turn heard from her father. After she had finished the story, and the Falcon had underwent needed repairs, the whole company continued their journey.^[54] A short time later, while at the controls of Solo's ship, Skywalker remembered his past on Tatooine, the battle with the Tusken Raiders and how he had saved his friend, Biggs Darklighter.^[30] During that time, a word about Skywalker reached the notorious bounty hunter Beilert Valance. Half-man, half-machine hating himself and all non-organic, he vowed to find Luke to make him pay for his friendship with droids.^[55]

Events on the WheelEdit

While en route to the Yavin base, Skywalker tried to get some practice with the Force, but while meditating, he accidentally touched the mind of Darth Vader and—not being ready to resist it's dark nature—fell in some kind of trance. Trying to get some medical help for him, Han Solo accidentally flew into the Imperial Military Containment Zone and discovered the remains of a merchant ship in what looked like the aftermath of a Rebel attack. However, a lone survivor rescued by Solo from the debris told them that the "Rebel" raid had been staged by the Empire. At that moment, the Imperial forces suddenly attacked the Falcon, and the survivor died. Running from the pursuing Imperials, Solo landed the Millennium Falcon inside The Wheel, a massive space station. To hide the still unconcious Luke from the Empire, Solo decided to leave him in the care of R2 and 3PO, rather than with the well-known Rebel Princess and the smuggling duo. The droids and the rest of the Rebels then parted ways.^[56]

The droids, however, were soon cornered by a squad of stormtroopers,^[57] but thanks to R2's quick thinking—who activated the station's self-defense system—they evaded the Imperial troops and soon delivered Skywalker to a hospital. Solo, Chewbacca and Organa were not so fortunate though, as they were captured by the station's administrator, Simon Greyshade, after the Imperial commander Strom had claimed that they had been responsible for the attack on the merchant ship that had carried the Wheel's profits. Greyshade, however, learned the truth from Organa.^[58]The administrator then struck a deal with Strom, promising the Imperial commander that he would not tell about the staged "Rebel" attack and would get rid of all witnesses if the Empire would leave the station. The only exception was Organa, whom Greyshade was secretly infatuated with and wanted to keep on the station. Greyshade left Skywalker in the hospital under the eye of his nurse to assure that he would not recover, as part of his deal with Strom.^[59]

While being in trance, partially because of medicaments the nurse had given him, Luke fought Darth Vader under the guidance of Ben Kenobi in a dream. After he had defeated Vader, Skywalker awoke and found himself surrounded by the dead bodies of the Wheel security members. He then met Leia, who had also escaped from her captivity. Skywalker and Organa soon found several stormtroopers being attacked by the Wheel guards, who had discovered the pirated Wheel profits. Skywalker and Organa decided to follow the guards.^[60] However, the guards had noticed that they had been followed, and ambushed Skywalker. A firefight ensued, but it ended when Greyshade appeared and took both Skywalker and Organa on a gunpoint. He then revealed his true intention to escape the Wheel and to take Leia with him. To force her to choose to go with him, Greyshade showed how Chewbacca had presumably killed captain Solo after the smugglers had been forced to participate in a gladiator fight. Unbeknownst to both Organa and Greyshade however, Solo and Chewbacca staged Solo's death to escape from the station.^[61]

Meanwhile, Strom—after awakening from the effects of a drug Greyshade had secretly given him—ordered his stormtroopers to attack the administrator and everyone who sought refuge on the Wheel. Luke volunteered to stay behind to cover their escape, but Greyshade was tired of being upstaged by Luke's bravery and decided that he would stay behind and let the Rebels escape in his personal yacht. Skywalker and Organa, along with R2 and 3PO fled the station, only to be pulled by a tractor beam from the newly arrived Star Destroyer with Darth Vader aboard, and to be saved by Han Solo. Solo started shooting at the Star Destroyer, but that was not enough. When the Star Destroyer was about to destroy Han's ship, Skywalker cried in anger because he could not help his friend. Suddenly, all Luke's anger blasted into Darth Vader's mind, stalling him and buying some time for both the Millennium Falcon and the yacht to jump for hyperspace. Despite this, Skywalker knew that the next time, his mastery of the Force might not be enough to evade Vader and his agents.^[62]

Thwarting Tagge's plansEdit

Hoping to escape the long arm of the Empire, Skywalker and Organa separated from Solo and Chewbacca and travelled to Centares to trade Greyshade's yacht for a less traceable ship. As they struck a deal with Jorman Thoad, a starship dealer, they noticed a House of Tagge Mining Explorer on its way to the Gordian Reach, where Yavin IV was located. Thoad informed the Rebels that a lot of spice had been discovered on one of the planets in the system, and because of Tagge's ties with the Empire, a blockade had been established there. However, Organa assured Skywalker that when the Alliance had choosen Yavin IV as the location of their base, they made certain that there was no spice nearby. Finding it strange that the House of Tagge was headed to the system where the Rebel base was located, Skywalker and Organa decided to follow the Mining Explorer.^[63]

As they came out of hyperspace, however, the commander of the Mining Explorer noticed them and deployed a load of mines throughout the sector. Using the Force to navigate through the mine field, Skywalker hid from the Tagge's ship behind one of Yavin Prime's small moons. In gratitude for saving her life, Leia kissed Luke, deepening their relationship. The two then jetted onto the moon in their survival suits, to spy on the Mining Explorer. They soon saw a whole formation of TIE fighters flying through a wormhole in Yavin Prime's gas-filled atmosphere. To their shock, Skywalker and Organa realized that the wormhole was made by some kind of base, that allowed to hide enemy ships in the scanner-jamming gases of Yavin, providing a great opportunity to strike on the Rebel base. Hurrying to warn the Alliance, Skywalker and Organa returned to their ship, only to run into another squad of TIEs, which disabled their engines.^[64]

Despite Organa's shooting skills, the two were still outnumbered. Skywalker then ordered Organa and the droids to board an escape pod and try to get to Yavin IV, while he held off the TIEs. Luckily, a scout group of Rebel X-Wings appeared and destroyed the pursuers. Under the escort, Luke managed to land his damaged ship near the Rebel base. Meeting with General Dodonna, Luke and Leia told the Rebel general about the hidden Imperial base. Skywalker then realized that the base must have opened its corridor by some kind of signal from a TIE fighter. Remembering that one of the TIEs had crashed on the surface of Yavin IV, Luke rushed to it. Near the downed fighter, he encountered its pilot, who damaged R2, before being shot to death by Luke. Skywalker retrieved the signal gadget from the TIE and brought it back to the base. While Dodonna and the others formulated a plan, Luke tried to meditate and think about his past actions.^[65]

Dodonna soon appeared and told that they would need to send Skywalker on the mission to destroy the base, much to Leia's dismay, who worried for his safety. Everyone, including Luke himself realized that it was going to be a suicide mission, because once the base was destroyed, the only way out was through the dangerous gas atmosphere of Yavin. Nevertheless, Skywalker agreed, boarded a stolen TIE with the signal gadget installed in it and departed the base. Sending a code, he flew into the opened wormhole, seeing a huge turbine with the Mining Explorer attached to it. Using several proton charges, Luke destroyed the turbine. After turbine had been destroyed, Skywalker was left alone, swirling through gases in his starfighter. Concentrating on using the Force as much as he could, Luke managed to return to the Rebel base, not knowing that Tagge's Mining Explorer had secretly followed him, and that aboard the ship was Orman Tagge, the Baron of the House of Tagge. He swore vengeance on Skywalker for the destruction of the turbine, which had been his only way to impress the Emperor.^[66]

Encounter with ValanceEdit

Skywalker then was sent along with 3PO on a mission to probe the extent of the Imperial blockade. While on the mission, he ran into a Star Destroyer. Using one of Han Solo's "smuggling tricks", he lured the enemy ship into an asteroid field, allowing himself to jump to hyperspace and proceed with the second part of the mission, to find spare parts to repair the damaged R2. Arriving on the planet Junction in search of the spare parts, he encountered the cyborg bounty hunter, Valance, who attacked the young Jedi. Despite his usage of the lightsaber, Skywalker was defeated by the skilled cyborg. But as Valance was about to kill Luke, C-3PO stood between, willing to sacrifice himself only to buy some time for Skywalker to recover. In turn, Luke was trying to save his droid friend. Seeing such relationships between a droid and a man, Valance let go off his hatred of droids and let Skywalker and 3PO go. However, Luke somehow knew that Valance would later play a large role in his life.^[67]

Valance's sacrificeEdit

Back on the Yavin base, Artoo was finally repaired. Meanwhile, General Dodonna revealed Skywalker that he had sent Princess Leia on a mission to the planet Metalorn alone. Although, Skywalker was worried about Organa's safety, the aged Alliance general assured the young Jedi that the Princess would be all right. Meanwhile, on the planet Centares, Beilert Valance confronted Darth Vader, who was searching for a Rebel named Tyler Lucian, in hope of learning the identity of the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star. The same man who had tried to kill Skywalker before, Valance sacrificed himself only to delay Vader in his quest a little more. Valance's sacrifice prompted Lucian to commit suicide rather than to tell Skywalker's name to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Skywalker's identity was kept secret, at least for some time.^[68]

Return to TatooineEdit

To distract Luke from his thoughts about Princess Leia's safety, ^[69], Dodonna sent him along with Artoo and Threepio to his home planet Tatooine, to recruit several blockade runners to the Rebel cause. Arriving at now Imperial-occupied planet, Luke headed for Mos Eisley on the landspeeder provided by the Rebel Alliance, but on the way there, he stopped at his late uncle's moisture farm. Grieving at the burned remains of the farm, Skywalker noticed that one of the moisture vaporators was surprisingly in good condition. As he noticed it, he was taken on a gunpoint by someone. Using all Ben Kenobi had taught him, Skywalker quickly disarmed his opponent, who turned out to be Fixer. His childhood friend—who apparently did not know the true reasons of Lars' deaths—told Skywalker that since Luke's uncle and aunt had been killed by the Tusken Raiders, he had been keeping the farm operational for the Tagge family to buy it. Meeting with another old friend, Camie, Skywalker explained his intention of coming to Tatooine and continued his journey to Mos Eisley.^[70]

However, Skywalker soon ran into the motionless Bantha. Touching it, Luke discovered that it had been frozen stiff. Artoo then informed that his sensors had picked up a noise of an Imperial transport, just in time for everyone to hide behind the rock. Soon, a squad of stormtroopers appeared and destroyed the frozen Bantha, assuring Skywalker that whatever Tagge's intents were, it sure was not moisture farming. Finally reaching Mos Eisley and entering Chalmun's Cantina, Skywalker was caught in a brawl, meeting Han Solo and Chewbacca in the middle of it. After Chewie ended the fight, Solo told about his activities on the planet Orion and informed Skywalker that Jabba had forgiven his debt.^[71] Suddenly, Skywalker noticed Fixer smirking nearby. In response to his question about what he was doing there, Fixer replied that he had reported Luke to the Empire and now came to warn him. Just as he finished, stormtroopers appeared. Shooting back at them, Luke, Han, Chewie and the droids escaped on Luke's landspeeder into the desert.^[72]

However, their transport's coolant soon broke amidst the sands of Tatooine, because of a shot from one of the stormtroopers. Thanks to Artoo and Threepio, who provided their own coolants to link to the landspeeder, the group evaded the Imperial scout party and reached the place where Skywalker had left his starship, only to witness some Jawas scavenging it. The young Skywalker wanted to get the Jawas off of his ship, but Solo offered to ask them for transportation to Mos Eisley—and the Millennium Falcon parked there—instead. The Jawas agreed and allowed Solo, Skywalker and Chewbacca to ride in their sandcrawler, but took R2 and 3PO along with the broken landspeeder as part of a bargain. Soon, however, the small creatures informed the Rebels that before reaching Mos Eisley, they wanted to finish their three-month scavenging run. As Skywalker and Solo started to protest, stormtroopers appeared and stopped the sandcrawler. By blasting the ridge out from under them, Skywalker and Solo got rid of the pursuers, but also blocked the road, forcing the Jawas to go through the Jundland Wastes, a place that they feared to go to since the House of Tagge had appeared there.^[73]

Once in the Wastes, the Rebels and the Jawas noticed what looked like a giant moisture vaporator. However, upon closer inspection, Skywalker realized that it was something else. He then sensed that the thing was getting colder and remembered the frozen Bantha. Just as he told Solo to get away from the "vaporator" and take the Jawas with him, a bright flash of light occurred on the sky. To their shock, Skywalker and Solo saw that everything in the nearby area, including the other sandcrawler, that had appeared moments earlier, had been frozen. Once again being warned about the approaching Imperials, this time by one of the Jawas, Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca hid nearby, spying on them. It was soon discovered that among those Imperial forces were Orman Tagge and his brother Silas, who were discussing the effects of the machine that had frozen the sandcrawler, revealing it to be named the Omega Frost.^[74]

However, unbeknownst to Skywalker, Tagge's troops had noticed them. The Imperials then suddenly attacked using several Reconnaissance Troop Transporters. Skywalker, who, after spending some time in the Rebel Alliance, became fluent in strategy, realized that the attackers did not want to kill them; they drove the Rebels into something instead. As a last chance, Luke asked the Jawas for help, and they, being grateful to Skywalker and Solo for saving them from the effects of the Omega Frost, used their sandcrawler to turn over one of the Transporters. Han Solo then dropped some drums of Skyhopper propellant from the crawler, and Skywalker—remembering his past activities at bulls-eyeing womp-rats—shot at them, creating a wall of fire that destroyed one RTT and halted another. Soon, Artoo and Threepio, who were stored on the sandcralwer throughout the whole skirmish, told that the Jawa's coolant had worked in them and offered to try it in the landspeeder. Soon the speeder was repaired and Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca left the Jawas—who were grateful enough to return the droids and the vehicle—certain that the Empire would follow the sandcrawler and that the Jawas would lose themselves in the Dune Sea.^[75]

Omega FrostEdit

Soon, the Millennium Falcon and its crew departed Tatooine. As they did, they noticed the House of Tagge Mining Explorer, getting ready to embark. After what Luke had seen on his home planet, he felt that it was vital to know where the Tagge's ship was headed. With the help of Artoo and Threepio, the Rebels discovered that its destination was Junction, one of Yavin base's chief source of supplies. It was decided to follow Tagge there. Once above Junction, Skywalker and Solo noticed that a transfer operation was underway between the Mining Explorer and a Star Destroyer. In hope of finding more information, Skywalker disguised himself as one of the workers and joined the transfer. From the intercom gossip, he discovered that Tagge had planned to use the Omega Frost on Junction. However, just as Skywalker separated from the group of workers to get back to the Falcon, he was spotted. Skywalker could only reveal Tagge's plans to Solo on the intercom and ask the smuggler to bring help, before being stunned by stormtroopers and brought to Tagge's ship. Being held prisoner by Orman Tagge, Skywalker was told that instead of using the Omega Frost on Junction, as he had informed his friends, Tagge intended to use it in the surrounding asteroid corridor, so that when the Rebel fleet raced there to rescue one of its main sources of supplies, it was destroyed by a sudden wave of cold. In a bold attempt to escape, Skywalker managed to retrieve his lightsaber and reach the landing hangar, only to be cornered by Tagge. Soon, the two engaged in a duel. During the fight, Skywalker heard the voice of his old mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, guiding him, and—despite the fact that Tagge had shut down the light—defeated his opponent by destroying his cyber-vision, thus blinding him. Skywalker then escaped Tagge's ship on one of the TIE fighters, eager to warn the Alliance of the incoming danger.^[76]

However, the TIE fighter's guns were not energized, the communication system was out and the fuel was very low. Skywalker tried to maneuver, but was eventually forced to eject before the ship crashed into one of the asteroids. Activating his jetpack, Skywalker let the Force guide him in the right direction. Soon, he reached an asteroid with a tower, similar to the one from Tatooine, installed on it. The young Rebel tried to destroy the tower, but a force field prevented him from doing so. Meanwhile, Han Solo, accompanied by a fleet of Rebel ships and Princess Organa, arrived in the system, just in time to witness the asteroids freezing before them. The fleet was saved though, when Skywalker finally destroyed the tower by hitting its unshielded base. The fleet then turned on the Tagge's ship, destroying the vessel. Skywalker, who had been rendered unconscious as a result of the destruction of the Omega Frost tower, was in turn saved from the attacking TIE by the Millennium Falcon.^[77]

Ion RingEdit

On one occasion, Skywalker, Artoo and Threepio were sent to a small Rebel base located on the planet Randa. After finishing their business there, they were picked up by Han Solo and Chewbacca. However, they soon discovered a woman, who was hiding aboard the Millennium Falcon. She introduced herself as Mira Volz, the daughter of the famous inventor Renn Volz. She told that her father had invented a giant ship called the Ion Ring, which could manipulate the weather. Unfortunately, Volz's invention came into possession of the Empire, and Volz, under the orders of captain Bzorn, who had captured Mira and threatened to kill her, was forced to devastate Rebel planets with his machine. On a distant spaceport, Mira managed to escape from the stormtroopers that had been guarding her and snuck aboard the Falcon, which Han Solo was loading with spice for a Kessel run for Jabba the Hutt. After finishing her story, Mira asked Skywalker and Solo for help, for she believed that her father would stop doing what Bzorn said if he saw that she was all right. Skywalker and Solo agreed to take her to her father and set a course for the planet Rion, that, as Mira had heard, was supposed to be the Ion Ring's first target. They were late though, as Volz had already turned the planet from a tropical paradise into a snowy desert with dozens of refugees crying for food.^[78]

From one of the refugees Mira discovered that her home planet, Kessel, was going to be the next planet to be devastated. Meanwhile, Solo gave some of his spice to the refugees, but despite that, one of them turned the whole group to the garrisoned stormtroopers. Shooting back at the Imperial troops, Skywalker, Solo and the rest barely escaped on the Falcon. Upon reaching Kessel, Solo, Skywalker and Volz formulated a plan to contact Professor Volz. Because any normal transmission to the Ion Ring would be cut by the Imperial troops, Mira offered to use the sub-space image transmitter to project her image onto the ship. As she entered the transmitter, however, the Ion Ring appeared near Kessel and Bzorn demanded the people of Kessel to surrender the Rebels, who were supposedly living on the planet. Solo realized that the planet could be devastated before Mira could get through to her father, and offered to try something else. As earthquakes began on Kessel, Skywalker, Chewbacca and Solo boarded the Falcon and flew to the Ring under the guise of surrendering to the Empire. As they infiltrated the Ring, the image of Mira appeared on the ship, seeding panic among the stormtropers. Using the distraction, the three Rebels reached the control room at the same time as Mira's image. Seeing his daughter safe, Renn refused to further devastate Kessel. Hearing that, Bzorn ordered his troops to attack but was killed by the friendly fire from his own stormtroopers. Thinking that the Empire would try to capture the Ion Ring again, Volz set the ship to self-destruct and then escaped on the Falcon with Solo, Chewbacca and Skywalker.^[79]

Mission to JazbinaEdit

Two months after the Battle of Yavin,^[80]Skywalker witnessed the result of a court-martial of the Rebel pilot Jal Te Gniev. Gniev, who had been in a sickbay with measles during the Rebels' triumph on Yavin and who hated Skywalker for taking all the credit in the destruction of the Death Star, crashed his X-Wing in a tree during a false alarm, because he did not close his wings while flying off the hangar. General Jan Dodonna, the head of the council, sentenced Gniev to be a liaison on the planet Dubrava. As Skywalker walked in to talk with Dodonna, he ran into Jal, who sarcastically thanked him. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Rebels, Darth Vader learned from a captured Rebel pilot on the planet Centares that the pilot who destroyed the Death Star was named "Skywalker". Not knowing that he was now in danger, Skywalker set off on a diplomatic mission to the planet Jazbina. Once there, he met with Lord Prepredenko, the ruler of the planet. Unfortunately, the people of Jazbina did not like the Rebel Alliance, thinking that it was safer for them to side with the Empire. Prepredenko offered Skywalker to find his kidnapped daughter, Syayna, promising that if he succeed, it would change the Jazbina people's attitude towards the Alliance. Willing to help the Rebellion to get more loyal people, Skywalker accepted the task.^[81]

Prepredenko soon brought Skywalker to the entrance of an abandoned mine shaft that should have led Skywalker right behind Syayna's kidnappers. The ruler of Jazbina gave Luke a pair of goggles to help him see in the dark and assigned one of his people, Choraw, to guide Skywalker and the droid 3DVO, which was supposed to record the Rebel's heroic deed. Escorted by Choraw and 3DVO, Skywalker entered the dark mine. Soon, however, Choraw felt a Tikulini—a giant mine worm—approaching and advised Skywalker to run. Skywalker followed his advise, but was attacked by Tikulini anyway. He managed to kill the worm with his lightsaber, but got caught in a cave-in. Skywalker fell down to a cave where the kidnappers were holding Princess Syayna, breaking his googles in the process. Seeing the bandits, Skywalker ordered them to back off and activated his lightsaber. However, the cave was full of Sun crystals, which magnified the light from Skywalker's weapon. Without his goggles to protect him from the bright light, the young Jedi was blinded. Nonetheless, he attacked the kidnappers and was able to defeat them. However, the Princess told Skywalker that the people he attacked were members of a rebellion cell on Jazbina and that she had willingly come with them, hoping to force her father to change sides. As she finished, 3DVO, acting under the secret orders from Prepredenko, fired a tranquilizer dart, rendering Skywalker unconscious.^[81]

He awoke in a cell in Prepredenko's palace, still blind. Meanwhile, the Princess, after she had heard from her father that Darth Vader was coming to Jazbina and that he wanted Skywalker dead, pretended that she wanted to kill Skywalker herself to impress Vader. However, Syayna only stunned Luke and later delivered the "body" to her rebel friends. In fact, Prepredenko was fooled twice, because 3DVO, embarrassed by the fact that the ruler of Jazbina had installed the tranquilizer dart in him, gave him the false data about Vader's intents. Because of that, when Vader arrived and heard that Skywalker had been killed, he ordered to throw Prepredenko into a cell. Meanwhile, at the rebels' hideout, Syayna's boyfriend Raol became jealous and wanted to harm Skywalker by offering him to take off his blindfold that protected his eyes, and to look at the sun, telling Skywalker that it could cure him. However, Syayna prevented Luke from doing so, informing him that darkness was the only cure from his temporary blindness. Then, after Syayna had seen a transmission recorded by 3DVO from her imprisoned father, who rethought his actions before dying, she decided to get Skywalker off-planet, despite Raol's protests.^[81]

The Jazbinian rebels escorted Skywalker to the hangar where they unexpectedly met Jal Te Gniev. Gniev, who had finally understood that he had joined the Alliance not for the glory, rushed to Jazbina to help Skywalker and was very glad to see him alive. Suddenly, Darth Vader appeared, escorted by a squad of stormtroopers and demanded that Skywalker was given to him. However, the people of Jazbina also gathered near the hangar wanting to help the Princess, driven by the transmission from 3DVO they had seen. Using the distraction from the crowd, Gniev took an X-Wing and roared away from Jazbina. Vader, whose long search for Skywalker seemed to be finally over, ordered his troops to shoot at the crowd, and if that did not convince Syayna to give him Skywalker, to contact the orbiting Interdictor Star Destroyer and start bombarding the planet. Skywalker, not wanting to be responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people, decided to surrender to Vader. However, as he walked to the Dark Lord with his hands raised, the Interdictor exploded, destroyed by Gniev, who had sacrificed himself to do it. Seeing the explosion, the people of Jazbina quickly subdued the stormtroopers, leaving Vader alone. When Syayna asked Vader if he would fight the whole planet alone, the Dark Lord slowly walked away, telling that it was not over yet. That day, Skywalker for the first time felt that he could really die, but also that it was the right thing to do. His sight returning to him, Skywalker told Syayna that it was a scary feeling, but at the same time, beautiful too.^[81]

Envoy to MonasteryEdit

Not long after, Darth Vader discovered Skywalker's full name from a captured Rebel on an Alliance Refueling station. Meanwhile, Skywalker, as Blue Leader, led the Blue Flight in a routine patrol of the Yavin system. Suddenly, a civilian ship appeared on the scanners, pursued by four TIE fighters. Skywalker's patrol quickly responded and destroyed three of the pursuers. Skywalker ordered his men to escort the civilian ship to the Yavin base, while he followed the remaining TIE to see where it came from. Skywalker soon noticed that the enemy fighter was headed for a Star Destroyer, which was building speed to go to hyperspace. Seeing that and remembering General Dodonna's order to avoid one-sided entanglements, Skywalker decided to return to the base to see whom he had rescued. Aboard the ship were two aliens and a woman, who introduced herself as sister Domina, a priestess in the Order of the Sacred Circle. During the entire war, the Order remained neutral due to their belief in the circle of life and that a war would break that circle and cause doom to the galaxy. However, when the Empire had sent an envoy to persuade the Order to join it, the Order decided to hear both sides before making a decision. After revealing that the Imperial envoy was none other than Darth Vader, Domina asked that Skywalker was sent to the Order's homeworld of Monastery as an envoy from the Rebel Alliance. Domina told that she had sensed the openness and sincerity in Skywalker that would make a contrast to Vader; the contrast that the Order would find impressive. General Dodonna agreed and sent Skywalker to Monastery, accompanied only by Artoo. However, unbeknownst to Skywalker, the Rebel general also sent Princess Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Threepio on the Millennium Falcon to monitor Skywalker's actions and to assure that everything would proceed fine.^[82]

As soon as Skywalker and Domina reached Monastery, they were attacked by a beast. Skywalker killed it with his lightsaber and soon was greeted by Darth Vader, who claimed that the beast must have been driven mad by the presence of Skywalker. The young Jedi wanted to attack Vader, but—remembering that he had swore Jan Dodonna to keep the mission peaceful—promised the Dark Lord to meet another time. Vader then told Domina that Skywalker would only make Vader's presentation to the Order appear better. Skywalker realized that Vader had probably been right and almost gave up, but was assured by Domina that he would do fine. Little did Skywalker know that Domina was a member of the Tagge family, and that she lured the young Jedi into a trap following Darth Vader's orders, after Vader had delivered her the news of her brother Orman Tagge's death in the Junction asteroid field and Skywalker's part in it. In fact, however, Orman and his brother Silas had been saved by the Dark Lord of the Sith and were kept by him in a constant state of hibernation. While awaiting his meeting with the Order, Skywalker stopped at the Order's temple, unknowingly being spied on through Artoo by Organa and Solo, who remained at the orbit on the Falcon.^[82]

Skywalker could not sleep at night, so he chose to go for a walk. He soon found Domina meditating near a lake and a beast preparing to leap and kill her. Skywalker killed that beast, but Domina told him that the animal was peaceful and had been allowed to roam there at will. Moreover, the whole Order witnessed what Skywalker had done, and they were seemingly dissappointed by his action. Skywalker returned to his quarters, where he was surprisingly contacted by Princess Leia. Revealed Skywalker that she and Solo had been captured by the Imperials and were held aboard a Star Destroyer, Organa advised the Jedi to be alert. As she signed off, Domina entered Skywalker's quarters and told him that the Order was ready to make a decision. As Skywalker entered the main chambers, Domina told him that the Order wanted the Rebel Alliance to be eliminated. Skywalker, who had sensed that the Force was at work there, figured out that it was all Darth Vader's plan. Vader then challenged Skywalker into a duel. However, Domina proclaimed that the Temple was not a place to settle disputes and proposed Vader and Skywalker to meet at the ceremonial Crystal Valley.^[83]

The Valley itself was a dangerous place, with crystal pillars constantly growing from the earth and falling on everyone who dared to cross it. Artoo wanted to follow Skywalker into the Valley, but Luke forbid his droid to do that. Nonetheless, Artoo followed the young Rebel and established a link with Threepio, who had managed to escape from the Star Destroyer along with Organa, Solo and Chewbacca. Threepio wanted to guide Luke to the Falcon, but Skywalker broke the transmission, telling that he needed to face Vader, whom he soon met. Skywalker was able to defeat his opponent and strike him in the chest. However, instead of Vader, it was Orman Tagge who fell dead on the ground. The fact that Skywalker saw Vader was revealed to be just an illusion. Then the real Vader appeared and told that the whole mission was meant to test Skywalker's skills. Vader then offered Skywalker to fight a real duel, but Luke, sensing that the only way to defeat Vader was to stop playing his game, ran to the Millennium Falcon. Once there, he met Domina, who asked what had happened to her brother. Skywalker tried to explain, but the priestess did not listen and told that her wrath would always be against Skywalker, despite the fact that the Order would not turn its influence against the Rebellion. After witnessing Vader leaving Monastery in his ship. Skywalker and the Rebels departed the planet as well. Skywalker then told his friends thar after what Vader had learned about him on Monastery, he would not have to be cautious again, as he had been before.^[84]

Soon after that, Jabba the Hutt once again put the bounty on Solo, after his men had found wrecked Crimson Jack's ship—which Jabba had helped to refund—drifting above Drexel. Solo, and unintentionaly everyone else near him, once again became targets of numerous bounty hunters.^[84]

When Skywalker and Organa's mission to meet with an uncommitted planetary governor went wrong, the two Rebels and their droids battled Imperial stormtroopers as they fled to their ship, and then to hyperspace to avoid an orbiting Imperial ship. After Skywalker commented on the princess' expert blasterwork that allowed for their escape, she shared with him the story of her training under the weapons master Giles Durane.^[85]

Beginnings with Rogue SquadronEdit

Approximately five months after the Battle of Yavin, Luke was placed in command of the elite Rebel starfighter wing Rogue Squadron, established out of the ashes of his former unit, Red Squadron. By this time, Skywalker was high on the Empire's hit list due to his role in the Death Star's destruction. Acting off a tip from an unidentified bounty hunter working out of Mos Eisley, the Imperials attacked various civilian targets on Tatooine in an effort to draw Skywalker and his wingmates, who were off duty at the time, into an ambush. Luke and his wingmen fell for the bait and opted to defend the civilian targets; however, they managed to overcome the Imperial forces with relative ease, much to the surprise of the Empire. The incident boosted the morale of Skywalker and his squadron, realizing their true potential in the Alliance military.^[86]

Shortly afterwards, Rogue Squadron was deployed to the planets Barkhesh and Chorax, assigned to protect a convoy of local insurgents and retrieve valuable personnel and cargo from the downed Rebel ship the Nonnah, respectively. After these operations were successful, Luke was assigned to patrol the Corellian capital city Coronet during a meeting between General Carlist Rieekan of the Rebel Alliance and Crix Madine of the Galactic Empire, arranging the latter's defection to the Rebellion. Luke managed to lead Rogue Squadron to repel an ambush by Imperial TIE bombers attempting to disrupt the conference. Luke was assisted by the sudden arrival of Han Solo (who grew up on Corellia) and Chewbacca in the Millenium Falcon, narrowly saved edge Antilles's life and assisted in the evacuation of the city's capital tower while Luke escorted Madine offplanet.^[86]

Madine was quickly given a seat in the High Command Advisory Council due to his intimate knowledge of Imperial military tactics, and organized an operation to dispel Imperial influence over the planet Gerrard V, whose inhabitants had recently rebelled against the local Imperial governor. Luke was given the task of escorting Gold Squadron as they disabled a number of Imperial yachts used to loot the capital city of its resources. Luke destroyed much of the city's turbolaser grid and engaged in open combat with the elite 128th TIE Interceptor Squadron of the Empire. Amidst the crossfire, the lieutenant of the 128th, Kasan Moor, surrendered herself to the Rebellion and proposed defection to their cause. Her defection was quickly finalized and she was given a seat in Rogue Squadron, helping Luke organize guerilla strikes on various Imperial installations, including a supply depot on the Jade Moon and the walker construction yards on Balmorra.^[86]

Luke and Kasan's most ambitious operation came in the form of an assault on the Imperial enclave of Kile II, a major hub for Imperial activity in that sector. The operation was largely a success; however, it came with the price of losing Wedge Antilles, Rogue's ace pilot and Luke's best friend, to Imperial captivity. Luke quickly organized a strike on the Imperial prison facilities of Kessel in an effort to free his best friend. Luke managed to disable the hover train transporting Antilles to his prison before it arrived at its destination. With the Rogue lineup complete once more, a full assault on the prison facilities, backed by Crix Madine and a group of commandos, took place. Luke destroyed the shield generator protecting the various prison campuses, allowing the commandos to liberate a number of Rebel detainees from their cells.^[86]

Campaign against Moff SeerdonEdit

Kasan's intel would lead them to the Imperial Tibanna gas mines of Taloraan, a planet under the influence of Grand Moff Kohl Seerdon. Seerdon was in the process of consolidating his forces for an attack on the Rebel's supply of bacta on the planet Thyferra. Rogue Squadron's strike on Taloraan was targeted towards Imperial owned Tibanna gas platforms, which were used to power various weapons. Luke destroyed most of the Empire's gas platforms in and around Taloraan City. Their next target in the campaign against Seerdon was the Weapons Research Facility on the ice planet Fest which was used to develop walkers^[86] and phrik armor^[87] , among other military assets. Rogue Squadron was deployed to extract a team of commandos who had managed to steal three AT-PT walkers but had their escape compromised. Luke took down a squadron of TIE bombers attempting to destroy the AT-PT squad as they attempted to reach the evacuation shuttle. Once the walkers were clear, Luke took out the facility's deflector shield generator and destroyed the facility's main building in a barrage of laser fire.^[86]

In retaliation for the events on Fest and Taloraan, Moff Seerdon ordered the destruction of Chandrila's capital city, which was the origin of Alliance founder Mon Mothma. Furthermore, he attempted to blockade the city with wallbuilders surrounding its perimeter. Luke escorted a hover train carrying supplies beneficial to the Chandrilans through through the blockade, and took out a TIE bomber squadron and six AT-ST walkers which were opening fire on the city's structures. After a successful evacuation of the city, Luke dissuaded Kasan Moor from attacking Seerdon, who was taunting her from the cockpit of his Imperial shuttle escorted by a sizeable squadron of TIE interceptors. In their final offensive against Seerdon, Luke destroyed the Imperial capacitor on Sullust.^[86]

It was during the raid on Sullust that Seerdon decided to launch his attack on Thyferra, quickly overrunning local Alliance forces and securing the majority of their bacta supply. Luke and his squadron quickly reinforced Thyferra. Using all their might to destroy the entire Imperial invasion force consisting of walkers, TIE fighter squadrons, turbolaser encampments, and makeshift bunkers, Luke led the squadron to victory. In his final throes, Seerdon, who had personally led the invasion in a customized Imperial landing craft, came out of hiding and personally challenged Luke to a dogfight. Luke gunned the Moff down and emerged victorious.^[86]

Alliance poster boyEdit

Six months after the Battle of Yavin, Luke, Han, and Chewbacca were dispatched to investigate BloodScar pirate activity near a Rebel supply line, although Solo was reluctant and unsure of his ultimate role in the Alliance. During the mission, Luke and the others became mixed up with a group of AWOL stormtroopers, who spotted them while they were with their local Rebel contact. The ex-stormtroopers followed the Rebels, helping them beat off a pirate attack. Afterwards, the Millennium Falcon was boarded by the deserters, who had dubbed themselves the Hand of Judgment and were posing as investigators from Consolidated Shipping.^[88]

With little other choice, Luke and the others traveled with the Hand of Judgment on their ship after the rogue stormtroopers ordered them. The Rebels posed as independent shippers, but they quickly learned the other group's identity and vice versa. Neither side fully trusted the other, but Luke was able to keep hostilities from breaking out between them. However, they then learned that Leia was being hunted on Shelkonwa, and sought to help her, while the Hand of Judgment believed that the pirates had a connection to the Governor's office on Shelkonwa. As their missions converged, they flew to Shelkonwa. The three Rebels, with some aid from the renegade Imperials, were able to sneak into Makrin City and rescue Leia, who had gone to ground while hiding from the Empire. Then, boarding the Millennium Falcon, they escaped back to the Rebel Alliance despite a large Imperial presence on Shelkonwa, including that of Darth Vader.^[88]

Covering the evacuation from Yavin Four, Luke Skywalker was assigned to fly his X-wing starfighter to cover a group of transports while Han Solo, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and C-3PO took a load of munitions onboard the Millennium Falcon. However, while investigating a strange ship in the wreckage of the first Death Star, the Falcon came under attack by Redkihl Rokk's Pirates and was captured. Skywalker, however, had sighted the pirates and had doubled back to intercept them, blasting several hostile fighters with his starfighter. However, the pirate captain, Redkihl Rokk, unleashed the antistarfighter weapons of his ship against Luke, damaging Skywalker's fighter. Undaunted, he crash-landed the X-wing into Rokk's hangar bay and began heading for the bridge, accompanied by R2-D2. Attacked by three guards armed with melee weapons, Skywalker used his lightsaber to quickly dispatch them. Arriving on the bridge, he broke in just as C-3PO arrived bearing a message to the pirate leader from Han Solo, who had been hiding with the rest of the crew. Solo threatened to detonate all the explosives via a remote detonator, but Rokk claimed Solo was bluffing. When Luke approached the pirate to confront him, Rokk activated a blaster turret, injuring him, but was distracted by the Millennium Falcon powering up, courtesy of some hasty repairs by Solo and Chewbacca. Skywalker took advantage of the situation and fled with the two droids after injuring Rokk, making his way back to the Millennium Falcon. The freighter launched away from Rokk's ship and Solo detonated the explosives that Rokk's droids had stolen, destroying the pirate vessel.^[89]

Skywalker stayed on the move with the Rebel fleet while Organa went on a mission to the Ryloth system.^[90] Keeping busy with Red Squadron, Skywalker was on board Kalla's Stanchion prior to Organa's planned trip to Aguarl III when a scramble alarm sounded, forcing him to leave with the squadron while Organa was instead whisked away on the Millennium Falcon with Captain Solo.^[91]

On another mission, Red Squadron flew escort for a recon team to a remote jungle world. Intrigued by the planet, Skywalker explored the jungle while the intel team worked. He discovered graves and a downed gunship from the Clone Wars. Just as he returned to notify Commander Arhul Narra, an Imperial landing craft landed at their location and spilled out stormtroopers. The Rebels scattered; Skywalker used his lightsaber to protect himself and Narra. After narrowly escaping a TIE fighter, thanks to Wedge Antilles' air support, Skywalker and Narra encountered a lone clone trooper, BL-1707, who had been stranded on the world since two decades prior. To gain the support of the trooper (whom Skywalker simply called "Able"), the Rebels implied that Skywalker was a Jedi General like the clones once served. Disguising themselves as stormtroopers, the trio returned to the Imperials' location and fought to make their escape. Skywalker made it to his X-wing and took off with the remaining Rebel ships, but when he realized Able was still on the ground, Skywalker turned back and pickup the trooper with his X-wing's landing gear. Once safely rejoined with the fleet, Skywalker apologized to Able for lying about his rank. Able, who had become a Rebel operative, accepted because, even if not a general, Skywalker was "still a Jedi."^[92]

Approximately eight months after the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance received an urgent transmission from a rebel sympathizer named Nolan Gillmunn, requesting their presence on his homeworld of Jabiim, where he lead the local resistance against the Imperials stationed there. The Alliance, determined to rally more allies to their cause, eagerly accepted the summons; a diplomatic envoy consisting of Skywalker, Leia Organa, mathematician Jorin Sol and Nera Dantels was immediately dispatched to the planet. As they descended upon the planet's worn surface, the team happened upon a battle between the resistance and the Imperial Army. Luke and the others quickly intervened, and managed to save the locals from the small Imperial task force. Landing on Jabiim's surface, the team stepped out of their ships to greet the local resistance members. After a very tense first meeting, Gillmunn invited the team to the Loyalist's headquarters, where they met with other members of the Jabiim resistance. Meanwhile, Rogue Squadron, led by Wedge Antilles, stayed behind in orbit to monitor the situation.^[93]

During the tour, Gillmunn took the time to explain his planet's history. According to him, during the Clone Wars, the Jabiimi were betrayed by the Republic Army and their Jedi commander, who left the planet to be pillaged by the Separatist army and, later, the Empire. The betrayal sparked feelings of hatred and distrust amongst the Jabiimi and, after the complete takeover of their homeworld by the Empire, they pushed themselves into isolation. Nolan had hoped that with their help, the Jabiimi would set aside their old prejudices and accept help from an outside source, one that would help them rid their planet of the Empire. However, despite Gillmunn's insistence that they were there to help, many members refused to acknowledge the team as comrades and remained hostile towards the group.^[93]

As Leia worked to convince the Jabiimi Loyalists into joining the Alliance, Luke felt somewhat displaced. In the following months after the Death Star's destruction, he'd risen to fame as a hero of the Alliance; however, it was something that he did not wish for himself. In a private conversation with Dantels and Sol, he revealed his uneasiness about using his fame as a means to achieve their task. However, they assured him that he deserved the recognition as his feat helped foster a sense of hope in the galaxy. With newfound courage, Skywalker joined Leia's side as she introduced him to the crowd. The crowd, however, was less enthusiastic to learn about the man who destroyed the Death Star, as his name sparked outrage among the audience. They edged closer to Skywalker and asked if he was related to a man named Anakin Skywalker. Confused, Skywalker informed them that he was indeed Anakin's son and proceeded to ask why; however, before he could get an answer, the members called for his immediate arrest. Another resistance leader, Tal Hesz, came to his defense and revealed to Skywalker and Organa that his father was the Jedi commander who had betrayed the Jabiimi nearly twenty years ago. Nolan approached the other leaders and pleaded with them to give Hesz and himself time to sort out the situation; they obliged but refused to Skywalker out of their sight. Luke was taken to a holding cell in the prison level, where he was forced to defend himself against his captors. Nolan, seemingly surprised by the behavior of his men, broke up the fray and took Skywalker to the medical center where he received bacta treatment for his wounds. There, Luke confided in the older man of his doubts about his Jedi father, who had been his hero and greatest inspiration.^[93]

As they prepared to exit the center, the base fell under attack by Imperials who had learned of their presence on the planet. Luke and Gillmunn, in conjunction with his rebel group, participated in the ensuing battle, though they were ambushed and captured by Thorne Kraym, the leader of the Jabiimi Nationalists—a political faction that had allied themselves with the Empire just prior to the Galactic Civil War. The Jabiimi Nationalists, hoping to spare themselves from annihilation, agreed to give the rest of the planet's population to the Empire as slaves. However, they were betrayed by Darth Vader, who had ordered the immediate decimation of the planet. Skywalker used the distraction to escape captivity and reunite with the rest of the group. Convinced that their presence would bring more trouble to Gillmunn and his cause, the team, with the help of Rogue Squadron, fled the planet; however, while doing so, the team left Sol behind.^[93]

A month later, Luke took part in the Infiltration of Kalist VI in the hopes of rescuing Sol and acquiring much need fuel for the Alliance. Capturing the Imperial freighter Nuna's Twins on its way to Kalist VI, the Rebels posed as its crew to infiltrate the Imperial base. While R2-D2 began draining fuel from the Imperial pumps and Rebel soldiers, posing as stormtroopers, searched for Sol, Luke, disguised as Lieutenant Jundland, Captain Harran and Deena Shan met with General Noils. As Deena set about leaking false information about a Rebel base at Thila, prompting an Imperial attack which would leave Kalist VI undefended, Luke and Harran were entertained by Noils. Luke excused himself and began his own search of the command center. Returning to the Nuna's Twins the next morning, Luke learned that a number of Jabiimi slaves had been found at the base. The Rebels decided to attempt to rescue the slaves, although doing so would complicate their mission. Later, as Luke and Deena watched the Imperial troops depart for Thila, they were approached by Luke's old friend Janek Sunber, now a lieutenant in Imperial Army. The old friends caught up and, as Janek's disillusionment with the Empire became clear, Luke tried to persuade his friend to defect to the Alliance. At that moment, the Rebels struck, having been forced into action by Sol's imminent transfer to Coruscant. As alarms sounded throughout the base, Janek realized that Luke was a Rebel spy and went for his weapon, forcing Luke to strike him. With the Rebel's plan in disarray, it fell to Luke to attempt to rescue the slaves. Leaving his unconscious former friend behind, Luke set off for the workshop and used his lightsaber to defeat the guards. Unable to get back to the Nuna's Twins, Luke led the slaves to an Acclamator-class assault ship, but was stopped by Janek Sunber. When Sunber produced a weapon, Luke was forced to deflect his shot back with his lightsaber, wounding his friend. Sunber again rejected Luke's offer to join the Alliance and Luke was forced to leave his former friend behind.^[94]

Shortly after returning from Kalist VI, Luke joined Red Squadron in an attack on an Imperial convoy aimed at stealing supplies and parts but, even though the raid was successful, he had to be rescued by Wedge Antilles when a power failure left his X-wing dead in space. Luke's personal life was no easier and, ever since Kalist VI, he had been plagued by dreams of his death at the hands of Janek Sunber, though he refused to discuss it with even his closest friends. The Alliance soon received a coded Imperial message from Sunber announcing his intention to defect and providing coordinates for Luke to rendezvous with him. Though Luke was relieved to hear of his friend's change of heart, Leia was skeptical and, fearing a trap, refused to let Luke retrieve his friend. Luke, however, decided to ignore his orders. As he prepared to leave he was stopped by Deena Shan. Deena, who had also been experiencing emotional turmoil since she had betrayed her Imperial lover, Kale Roshuir, on Kalist VI, asked to join Luke, seeing it as an opportunity to prove her worth. Arriving at the coordinates given by Sunber they found themselves in an Imperial junkyard, surrounded by derelicts dating back as far as the Clone Wars. After identifying the only power source—a small administration center—they docked and Luke searched for Sunber, leaving Deena to guard the ship. He found Sunber restrained and showing signs of having been beaten. As Luke freed him, Sunber explained that his transmission had been intercepted and the Empire had set a trap. The two returned to the ship to find Deena already under attack from Imperial troops led by Kale Roshuir. Unknown to Luke, Sunber was a willing participant in the trap and, with Luke distracted fighting the Imperials, Sunber moved to attack him but got hit in the crossfire. Still unaware of his friend's betrayal, Luke got the injured Sunber on his ship and the group left the station. Upon their return to the fleet Skywalker and Shan were reprimanded heavily before being allowed to return to duty. Sunber was placed in custody but was eventually allowed limited access to the ship. However, Sunber wasn't the only Imperial agent on board. Jorin Sol had been brainwashed during his confinement and had revealed the fleet's location to the Empire. As an Imperial fleet arrived he attacked Leia and was overpowered by Luke. To make matters worse, Sunber chose this moment to strike, producing a stolen weapon and attempting to force Luke and the injured Leia into an escape pod, to be retrieved by the Imperial forces. As the former friends fought, the ship was struck, sending them flying across the deck and leaving Sunber hanging from a ledge, holding on to the unconscious Leia with his other hand. As Luke rushed to help, Sunber lifted Leia to him, but fell himself. Though the Rebels were able to escape, their fleet had suffered heavy losses and Luke was left unsure of the fate of his friend.^[95]

While repairing an engine with the aid of R2-D2, Skywalker was contacted by Chewbacca's family. The Wookiees were waiting for Chewbacca to come home to celebrate Life Day, but he and Han Solo had not yet arrived on Kashyyyk. While initially concerned, Skywalker reassured the worried family that Chewbacca wasn't about to miss a Life Day, having never missed one yet. Skywalker turned out to be right, as he and Princess Organa later joined Chewbacca and the family to celebrate.^[96]

Skywalker would later be on Corellia with Leia in a temporary Rebel base around 1.5 ABY. He and the princess found that they both needed time simply to experience the worlds they visited, and Leia divulged information about an important mission that she had sent one of her agents on: to recover a holocron with information on Rebel sympathizers within the Empire. Skywalker would later assist in that mission, boarding a craft occupied by Organa's agent, Dusque Mistflier, and an Imperial spy named Finn Darktrin, who had been working with Mistflier in hopes of taking the holocron for himself. Upon entering the ship, Skywalker found Mistflier gravely wounded and immediately began treating her injuries, which gave Darktrin time to flee in an escape pod. However, Darktrin was unable to transmit all the data off of the holocron before it was destroyed, and the Rebel sympathizers remained largely uncompromised. Meanwhile, Mistflier was taken by Skywalker and his group of Rebel soldiers back to their base on Corellia to recover from her injuries.^[97]

Transferred to Echo Base alongside Rogue Squadron in 3 ABY, Skywalker participated in regular patrols of the frozen perimeter. While reconnoitering the surroundings of Echo Base, Skywalker was knocked out by a wampa. He regained consciousness in the creature's cave, severed its arm and escaped only to find that he was far from Echo Base. After a long walk in the icy wind, he collapsed from exhaustion. Near death, he had a vision of Kenobi who told him to seek the teachings of Yoda on the Dagobah system, and was then rescued by Han Solo.^[11]

Skywalker recovered from his wounds in a bacta tank, but did not have much time to recuperate; one of Vader's thousands of probe droids, launched across the galaxy in search of the Jedi and the new Alliance headquarters, had reached Hoth and sent proof of Rebel activity to the Galactic Empire. In the ensuing battle, Skywalker led his squadron in an effort to counter the attack and buy time for an evacuation. Under his leadership, the speeders proved more effective in attacking the massive AT-ATs than the Empire realized was possible. Furthermore, even after he was shot down, Luke demonstrated his formidable potential as a Jedi when he proceeded to single-handedly destroy a walker with spectacular effectiveness. As Imperial forces breached the defenses, the last Rebel transports departed and Skywalker fled aboard his X-wing,^[11] escorting with Antilles the Dutyfree along the way.^[98]

Training to become a JediEdit

Luke then headed to Dagobah, where he encountered Yoda. In their initial meeting, Luke—confused at his surroundings and frustrated—was rather short with the diminutive Yoda, who did not initially identify himself. Luke gained a new appreciation for the small creature upon learning his identity, though Yoda agreed to train Skywalker only at the insistence of Kenobi's spirit. Skywalker's training proved to be difficult, as his adventurous past had shaped his mind towards action and emotional instinct.^[11] Some time during his training, Skywalker encountered a droid bounty hunter named Milko, who sought to collect the Imperial bounty on his head. Instructed by Yoda to stop the bounty hunter in order to preserve their secrecy, Skywalker confronted the droid and was able to capture it with the aid of his lightsaber. However, rather than destroy the bounty hunter, Skywalker allowed it to leave, saying that if it revealed the location of Yoda's refuge, it would be forced to admit that it had lost to a Jedi, costing it large amounts of prestige. He later wondered if the entire scenario had been one of Yoda's tests, and if so, whether or not he had passed.^[99] When Yoda asked him to enter a cave in which he was supposed to find only what he took with him, he was challenged by a vision of himself wearing Darth Vader's armor. Shortly after, he had a vision of Han Solo and Princess Leia suffering at Cloud City on Bespin. Despite Yoda and Kenobi's warnings and disapproval, Skywalker rashly left Dagobah to rescue them.^[11]

Duel with the Dark LordEdit

Luke arrived at Cloud City and, with blaster drawn, headed in to rescue his friends. He then was shot at by Boba Fett and ambushed by a group of stormtroopers and Imperial officers. He then saw Leia being used as a human shield by an Imperial officer. As she was led away, Leia attempted to warn him that he was walking into a "trap." While attempting to pursue them his path was diverted to the carbon-freeze chamber where Vader awaited him. The two engaged in a fierce duel. Vader proved his superiority in his customized Form V swordplay, executing cho mai and Dun Möch. Vader attempted to seduce the weakened Luke to the dark side of the Force. In his efforts to sway his son, Vader revealed that he was Skywalker's father. Faced with this horrifying claim and the even more fearsome temptation to join Vader, Skywalker found the moral courage to choose death instead by throwing himself down a long shaft. Luckily, he survived, but was stranded beneath the floating city. Weak and helpless, he reached out to Leia with the Force, and soon the Millennium Falcon, with Lando Calrissian, Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids on board, arrived to rescue him. After reuniting with the Rebel fleet, Skywalker received his cybernetic hand aboard the Redemption.^[11]

Continuing the fightEdit

To test his recovery after his traumatic duel with Darth Vader, Skywalker went out on patrol in his X-wing for the Alliance fleet. He pondered on Vader's revelation and wondered if Kenobi had lied to him—but his thoughts were interrupted when R2-D2 pointed out an approaching Rebel blockade runner. However, the ship suddenly fired on Skywalker's fighter and destroyed it, sending he and the droid into the vacuum of space. Protected by his flight suit, Skywalker grabbed R2-D2 and propelled them toward the attacking ship. He used a lightsaber^[100] to slice through the ship's hull; once inside, he and the droid barely escaped the firing of welding beams to seal the hull damage. After deducing from a transmission intercepted by R2-D2 that the ship was under Imperial control, Skywalker realized that he should warn the Rebel fleet. As he made his way through the ship, Skywalker evaded a mechanized hold-tender and an automated conveyor dropping flammable liquid propellant. R2-D2 determined that something was overriding the ship's main computer—it was in fact under the control of 13-K, an infiltrator probe droid modified by Admiral Damon Krell, who was set on attacking the Rebel fleet. Upon learning the probot was linked to the ships main reactor and building toward critical mass, Skywalker went to the ship's cockpit announced himself as he began attacking the ship with his lightsaber. The probot retaliated with a power overload, sending Skywalker into a coma–but now knowing Skywalker's identity, it abandoned its course for the fleet and instead followed a higher priority order to take Luke Skywalker to Lord Vader, by way of returning him to Krell. Skywalker awakened, though, and made off in an escape pod with R2-D2 to be later picked up by the Rebels, while the ship (which, as a result of 13-K's over-loaded logic capacitators, was still set to self-destruct), returned and destroyed Admiral Krell and his Star Destroyer.^[101]

Following a ground battle on Xeron, Skywalker rendezvoused with another Rebel ship to check out a recovered Imperial warbot from the battle. While trying to analyze the warbot, R2-D2 accidentally fused its insides. So Skywalker and his droids took the warbot to Kligson's Moon, but because Kligson did not allow organics on his "droid world", Skywalker remained in ship while the two droids took the warbot in for analysis. After an eventful stay on the mechanical moon, the droids returned with full schematics of the warbot, much to Skywalker's delight.^[102]

Tracing a signal across the galaxy, Skywalker, Organa, and the droids took a modified Y-wing to Tantajoc V.^[103][104] After landing, Skywalker was attacked by a large beast, only to be saved by Prince Denid, the man they had travelled to find. Denid told them the tale of his crashing on the planet along with his late betrothed Loren and protector Jedidiah. Skywalker then set explosives to destroy the transmitter that had led them to the planet and headed for Denid's native Velmor so that he could claim the throne and ensure that the planet sided with the Alliance. Over the next several days, Skywalker grew jealous of the romantic spark between Denid and Princess Organa.^[103]

Once on Velmor, Skywalker assumed the guise of Korl Marcus—a red-haired bounty hunter with a long mustache and an eyepatch. After crashing the public ceremony at which Prince Anod was to assume Velmor's throne, Denid's identity was confirmed, and Marcus and the group attended a banquet in Denid's honor. Zelor asked Marcus engage in a ceremonial "duel" with lightsaber-like weapons, and while Marcus intended to let his rival win so as not to blow his cover, he found Zelor to be a fierce opponent. Though Marcus lost the duel, he maintained his disguise—but Captain Zeta Traal was already on to him. The female Imperial knew "Marcus" wasn't real, and in a private conversation outside, she seductively offered to help him "in any number of ways" if he would kill Denid and Organa (who was posing as the late Loren). That night, Skywalker sneaked out to alert Organa to Traal's plan, but fled when he saw her kissing Prince Denid.^[103]

Skywalker did manage to warn the princess the next morning before the ceremonial mrid hunt. But later, during a break in the hunt, Marcus pulled a blaster on Traal, and the situation turned violent. Zelor blasted Marcus' blaster, while Anod shot at Denid and Loren. When Marcus drew his lightsaber at Anod for killing "Leia", as he claimed, Traal realized that Korl Marcus was in fact Luke Skywalker. He fled into the woods, with Traal and Zelor on his tail—and each other's. Skywalker ditched his disguise and reached out into the Force to locate his enemies. Zelor found him first, but Skywalker disarmed him in a quick duel. Traal, though, who was wanting to capture Skywalker to gain favor in the Empire, was taken out by Jedidiah in what became his final act. As Skywalker watched Jedidiah's sacrifice, Zelor reached for his blaster, but Skywalker again disarmed him, and then knocked out Traal. He was reunited with Denid and Organa, who had only been stunned by Anod's blaster previously, and then took Jedidiah's body and paid his respects; he had initially thought the Velmoc just a crazy old man, but Skywalker decided that Jedidiah's soul was that of a true Jedi Knight. As they left Velmor, Skywalker gave the fallen "last Jedi" a sendoff in a rocket-powered coffin, and prayed that he should one day meet death as valiantly as Jedidiah.^[103]

A short time after the Battle of Hoth, Skywalker was assigned as part of a diplomatic delegation to Abridon. Doubtless playing off his heroic stature as the Rebellion's Jedi hero, Skywalker was one of five dignitaries sent to convince the Abridon Government Council to join the Rebel fold after its revolution against the Empire. However, Abridon's freedom didn't last. Grand General Malcor Brashin and General Brenn Tantor arrived within days and crushed the rebellion. Hamman Flatt, a leader of the Abridon Nationalists, sold out the Rebel diplomats in an attempt to save his life. Skywalker, along with the rest of the delegation, was hunted down by Tantor and captured.^[105]

From Abridon, Skywalker was sent to Kalaan Prison, from which he awaited transfer to Coruscant. Fortunately, he was rescued by none other than his captor, Tantor. Shortly after Skywalker's capture, Tantor had refused an order to massacre civilians. For that, he was imprisoned on Kalaan. Unlike Skywalker, Tantor had a unit of loyal stormtroopers to call upon. His stormtroopers freed Tantor, who escaped to the Rebels' General Tyr Taskeen, taking Skywalker with him to prove his good intentions.^[105]

The aftermath of the Battle of Hoth scattered the Alliance, and Skywalker was stationed at temporary bases on Golrath and Arbra, from where he continued to perform missions for the Rebel Alliance. On one such mission, while boarding an Imperial ship, Luke found the entire crew dead. Suspecting an unusual crimson stone to be the cause of the mysterious deaths, Luke returned to Golrath, but was already infected with the disease. Soon, he was lying comatose with his eyes scarlet red. The disease Luke had contracted was indeed related to the crimson stone. Known as the Crimson Forever, it was caused when the two stones from the Red Nebula were separated. Calling Lando and Chewbacca back from the search for Han, Leia and Lando journeyed to find the other stone in the Falcon to save Luke. Actually, Luke's infection by the Crimson Forever was part of a revenge attempt by Domina Tagge, because Darth Vader had told her that Luke was responsible for the death of her brother Orman. Tagge had set the trap for Luke when, after she retrieved the stones, her ship was boarded by Imperial stormtroopers. After her bounty hunters had fought the stormtroopers off, she triggered a canister with one of the stones inside on the Imperial ship, killing all of them and preparing the way for Luke's infection. Although Lando and Leia were captured by Tagge's minions, they escaped and another prisoner unleashed the second stone on Tagge's ship. Lando and Leia then struck a deal with Tagge, who was trapped in a sealed off compartment, to trade the second stone for a ship to escape with. Tagge agreed, and Leia and Lando brought the second stone back to Golrath, where the crystals were reunited and Luke was cured. After his recovery, they loaded the crystals on the abandoned Imperial ship and sent it into Golrath's sun, and Luke continued serving the Alliance as he had before.^[106]

When the Alliance discovered the Imperial superweapon Tarkin, a small commando team consisting of Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Artoo, and Threepio was dispatched to pose as workers and infiltrate the battle station. Flying the Falcon to Hockaleg—the location of the Tarkin—the Rebel commandos planned to use proton grenades to destroy the superweapon's reactor. Unfortunately, Vader was present on the station and, sensing Luke's presence, laid a trap to protect the reactor and catch the aspiring Jedi.^[107] Only an assassination attempt on Vader's life by several Imperial officers allowed the Rebel team to escape. Fleeing the Sith, Luke and the others aborted their mission and left in a ship. They were hotly pursued by Imperial TIE Fighters, but Lando, who had stowed away on the Falcon, flew the freighter up from Hockaleg and blasted the fighters. The Rebel team then boarded the Falcon and prepared to make good their escape, but Vader, having survived the assassination attempt, now gave chase in his personal fighter. To escape him, Luke dumped the Falcon's water supply into space, which froze. Vader crashed into the wall of ice, ending that threat, but the Imperials then fired the Tarkin's main weapon at them. However, Leia had sabotaged it, so instead of destroying the Rebels, the weapon destroyed itself.^[108]

In preparation for another Alliance mission, he, Lando, and Chewbacca were sent to retrieve 4 TIE Fighters. Meeting their contact, Orion Ferret, on Bazarre, Luke and Lando received a ship and the coordinates of the garbage world of Patch-4, where the fighters had been located. Upon arrival, they found the TIE Fighters, but were attacked by the Watchbeast, which unbeknown to Luke, was controlled by Ferret. Luke and Lando fled into some nearby caves, only to find an entire community of people living inside. Acting off of a tip received from Serja Kesselrook, one of the inhabitants, Luke dashed for the ship they arrived in while Lando distracted the Watchbeast. Reaching the shuttle, Luke activated the sonic pacifier that controlled the beast, putting it to sleep. They then retrieved the fighters, the Falcon, and Chewbacca, and returned to Arbra.^[109]

Search for a scoundrelEdit

Over time, Skywalker grew more powerful in the Force, and his exploits in the Alliance gained a higher profile. Luke received word that Boba Fett, who had in his possession the frozen Han Solo, was lurking near Gall. Luke and the Rogues set off to provide cover for Leia and Lando in the Millennium Falcon. However, the attack was unsuccessful as their guide Dash Rendar abandoned them and Boba Fett escaped. On the return trip, Wes Janson's astromech malfunctioned, took over his fighter, and targeted Luke's craft. Luke was able to disable it though, thankfully without harm to Janson. Upon returning to their base, it was discovered that the droid had been sabotaged by a mechanic.^[110]

Returning to Tatooine, Luke spent time at the former residence of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Back when Kenobi had presented Luke with his father's lightsaber, the elder Jedi had secretly scanned Luke's thumbprint off of the lightsaber and used it to protect a journal that he had compiled over his years in exile. Fortunately for Skywalker, his hand and thumbprint were successfully reproduced by the 2-1B medical droid after his duel with Darth Vader on Cloud City, for given the wrong fingerprint, the flashpackets Kenobi planted inside his journal would have exploded. After managing to open the journal, Skywalker read for the first time the history of the ancient Sith, the Clone Wars, and other aspects of life as a Jedi from the viewpoint of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In addition, he constructed a new green-bladed lightsaber with the help of the journal, based on the design of his old lightsaber. Although R2-D2 offered to test the new lightsaber for him, Luke felt that testing it himself brought him closer to being a true Jedi Knight.^[111]

After fending off an attack by a swoop gang with the aid of Dash Rendar—who had been hired to watch out for Luke—Luke encountered a message droid that was originally sent to Leia, who had gone to meet with Black Sun representatives. However, Luke was able to determine the password to reveal the message. The message was sent by Koth Melan, a Bothan spymaster. Luke traveled from Ben Kenobi's hut to meet with Melan along with Rendar. Melan sought Luke's help in attacking the freighter Suprosa, which was carrying top secret Imperial data. Luke trained the squadron of Bothan Y-wing pilots and led the attack. Although they suffered heavy losses, the information was retrieved, and Dash Rendar again left after failing to prevent the deaths of several Bothan pilots. However, upon returning to the Bothan base, they fell under attack. Though the data was safely moved for translation, Luke was temporarily captured by Barabel bounty hunters. He managed to escape during another attack and was contacted by Chewbacca, who reported that Leia was in the hands of the Black Sun leader, Prince Xizor, who had been behind the repeated assassination attempts on Luke to aggravate Darth Vader as part of a power struggle with the Dark Lord. Luke met up with Lando and Chewbacca and smuggled them into Imperial Center. After joining forces once more with Dash Rendar, Luke was able to infiltrate Xizor's palace by entering through the sub-sub-basement sewers. They were able to rescue Leia, but were intercepted by numerous guards. Xizor fired at Luke, but the aspiring Jedi easily blocked his shots. At that point, Lando activated the timer on a thermal detonator and dropped it into the maintenance shaft, dooming the building. Xizor and the guards fled, allowing the rescue party to meet the Millennium Falcon, which was piloted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Before they left, Luke was challenged by Guri, Xizor's powerful Human replica droid. Luke accepted the challenge, beating her empty-handed, but refused to finish her. Along with Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca, he escaped in the Millennium Falcon. They were pursued by Xizor's private fleet, but the intervention of Rogue squadron and the Imperial Navy allowed the Falcon to escape, escorted by the Rogues.^[110]

Rescuing a heroEdit

Luke finally arrived on Tatooine early on in 4 ABY. When Leia and half the rescue party were held captive by Hutt crimelord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Luke went to free them and Han. Skillful use of the Force allowed Luke to get past Jabba's Gamorrean guards and his majordomo Bib Fortuna, but the Hutt was not so easily swayed and attempted to feed Luke to his rancor after Skywalker's attempt to ransom his friends and then shoot his way out with a stolen blaster failed.^[112]

Luke killed the rancor, but Jabba was furious and sentenced all the captured Alliance heroes—including an unfrozen Solo—to death in the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, Luke was not fated to become the sarlacc's meal, and right before he was put into the pit, he escaped when R2-D2 shot his lightsaber to him and freed the other prisoners on the skiff. The aspiring Jedi massacred Jabba's guards about the crime lord's sail barge, though he sustained a minor wound on his artificial hand. Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and the droids escaped after destroying both Jabba's barge and the gangster himself, whom Leia had strangled.^[112] While some of Jabba's henchmen, such as those remaining at his palace, survived,^[113] the crime lord's empire had been brought down, which earned him favor from many other smugglers and fringers who had owed Jabba, as the Hutt's death had freed them from those obligations.^[114] Furthermore, famed bounty hunter Boba Fett was presumed dead by sarlacc after a brief tussle between him, Luke, and a blind Han Solo, who knocked him into the Pit of Carkoon.^[112] Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, at Jabba's palace undercover as one of the crime lord's dancers, was unable to complete her mission of assassinating Luke because Jabba would not allow her to come with him on the barge. Luke later had a vision of how she would have prevented his escape when he revisited Dagobah.^[114]

The test of EndorEdit

Not long after, Skywalker returned to Dagobah to complete his training and received confirmation from the dying Yoda and the spirit form of Obi-Wan Kenobi that Vader was indeed his father, Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi Knight who turned to the dark side of the Force. The elderly and dying Yoda told Luke that his training was complete, but in order to be a Jedi, he would have to confront Darth Vader again, a notion that Luke found painful to accept. Furthermore, Skywalker realized that Leia was his sister and would be in peril if their father found out as well.^[112]

Skywalker nevertheless accompanied his friends on the mission to the forest moon of Endor to knock out the shield generator that protected the second Death Star in orbit. Upon approaching Endor, Luke sensed Vader's presence on the nearby Star Destroyer, and suddenly realized he was endangering the mission. His companions dismissed his concerns, and proceeded on. However, thanks to Luke merely accompanying the mission, Vader was able to detect the presence of the Rebels in the shuttle in which they infiltrated the forest moon, but allowed them to land so he could deal with them himself. When the Rebel force was discovered by Imperial scout troopers, Luke and Leia hopped on speeder bikes and pursued them through the dense foliage and successfully prevented them from reporting the Rebels' presence. Luke showed off his skill in the Jedi ways by leaping from one speeder to another while traveling at high speed and deflecting the laser fire of another, which he destroyed with a swift stroke of his new lightsaber. However, during the high speed chase, Leia became separated from Luke. Upon learning of her disappearance, Han, Luke, Chewbacca, and the droids went looking for her, but were captured by a tribe of Ewoks.^[112]

Luke prevented a skirmish with the small forest-dwellers and ingeniously rescued the party after the Ewoks, who thought C-3PO was a god, planned to sacrifice the Rebel heroes. Luke used the Force to levitate Threepio, convincing the Ewoks to release and aid the Rebels. However, Luke knew that he had to confront Vader. In the Ewok village, Luke revealed to Leia her true familial heritage and resolved to face Vader. Not long after, Skywalker surrendered to Vader in an attempt to bring the Dark Lord back to the light side, but he ultimately became a prisoner of the Emperor.^[112]

Once on board the Death Star, the Emperor and Vader attempted to corrupt Skywalker with promises to save his friends from their trap if he joined the dark side. As a backup idea, the Emperor goaded Skywalker to strike him down to save the Rebels who were being defeated in the Battle of Endor. Skywalker, in a moment of weakness, lashed out, but Vader stopped his strike. Despite the clash, Skywalker managed to keep emotional control, much to the frustration of his enemies. Luke, maintaining control of his emotions, hid himself and said he would not continue to fight. However, that control was lost when Vader telepathically sensed the existence of Skywalker's sister and threatened to concentrate on corrupting her instead.^[112]

Furious at the threat, Skywalker viciously attacked, wielding the full power of Djem So, and eventually cut off the Sith Lord's right hand. Nearly killing Vader. Palpatine laughed, and demanded him to finish Vader, and take his place at his side, Luke threw his lightsaber away, realizing from the mechanical stub of Vader's right hand that he was becoming what he wanted to destroy. Enraged, the Emperor unleashed Force lightning against Skywalker in an attempt to kill the young Jedi, in an excruciating manner. Seeing his son dying, and perhaps remembering the mercy shown him, compassion finally broke through to Vader. In an act of self-sacrifice and pure love for his son, Anakin Skywalker re-emerged to destroy the Emperor.^[112]

On the deteriorating Death Star, at the foot of Vader's shuttle, Skywalker removed the former Vader's mask and looked upon his father's face for the first and only time before Anakin became one with the Force. Skywalker took his father's body on board the shuttle and escaped the Death Star's destruction. Back on Endor, Skywalker cremated his father in the manner of a Jedi's funeral, and joined in the celebration of the apparent defeat of the Empire. Thus, Skywalker came full circle both as a Jedi and as a person.^[112]

Post-EndorEdit

The day after his duel with Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor, while still recovering from the wounds inflicted by Palpatine's Force-lightning, Skywalker saved Wedge Antilles from certain injury or death. Luke's friend had discovered a message droid that was threatening to self-destruct, requesting help for the beleaguered outpost world Bakura. When Skywalker reached him, Wedge was floating in space using his hands to keep the droid from exploding. With a deft cut of his telekinetically-controlled lightsaber Skywalker was able to disable the droid and the Alliance retrieved a message. As the Alliance fleet was the closest force to Bakura, Skywalker managed to wrangle permission to command an Alliance mission to the Bakura system, which was under siege by a strange alien race, the Ssi-Ruuk, which used the life force of their captives to power their technology. He brought a small fleet, as well as Han Solo and Leia Organa in the Millennium Falcon to investigate the situation. There Skywalker's forces helped the beleaguered Imperials fend off an Imperial assault and Organa, with the aid of Bakuran prime minister Yeorg Captison, negotiated a temporary truce between the Rebel and Imperial forces to help fight off the invasion.^[115]

On the surface, Luke encountered a young Bakuran senator, Gaeriel Captison, and felt strangely attracted to her but she had religious objections to Jedi. When he and his companions were invited to a state dinner, Skywalker conversed further with Gaeriel, hoping to sway her opinion somewhat, but was largely unsuccessful. He accomplished more on that front, though, by using his powers to heal Eppie Belden, the mentally infirm wife of Orn Belden, a Bakuran senator, and a close friend of Gaeriel's. Also while on Bakura, Luke helped defuse a tense situation caused by a group of Bakurans attacking Rebel Alliance technicians after mistaking them for Ssi-ruuk. As part of the defense plans, he and Han met with Pter Thanas, the head of the Imperial fleet over Bakura and helped work a combined defense plan with the Rebel and Imperial forces working together. However, during his stay on Bakura, Luke was infected with Olabrian trichoid parasites while eating lunch with Gaeriel by the treacherous Imperial governor Wilek Nereus and was also taken prisoner by the Ssi-Ruuk, as Nereus had arranged. Though he fought well enough to keep Gaeriel from also being captured, he was knocked unconscious and taken to the Ssi-ruuk flagship, [Shriwirr]], where the Ssi-ruuk had planned to use his powers to remotely drain the life from countless others. With the aid of Dev Sibwarra, a Force-sensitive Human who had been brainwashed into serving Ssi-Ruuk, Luke was able to escape the Ssi-ruuk and disable their ship as the Ssi-ruuk made their final assault on Bakura. Though the Rebel and Imperial forces managed to fend off the Ssi-ruuk, Nereus ordered Thanas to attack the Rebel fleet and much of Skywalker's task force was destroyed by the sudden onslaught. However, Luke and Sibwarra took over Shriwirr and the threat of the alien flagship was enough to compel Thanas's surrender, but a brief fusillade of fire between Thana's Dominant and Shriwirr left Dev Sibwarra near death. Luke felt the parasites Nereus had infected him with attack his body, but he used the Force to neutralize the creatures, saving himself from certain death, but Sibwarra succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, down on the ground, partisan forces led by Leia Organa, Eppie Belden, and Gaeriel Captison. Luke later dictated the terms of surrender to Wilek Nereus for the Bakurans to have their freedom to choose their governing authority. Once they were alone, Gaeriel admitted her attraction to Luke, but stated that her place was on Bakura, not in the stars with him, and the two parted ways. The discovery of Dev Sibwarra during the Battle of Bakura fueled Skywalker's conviction for finding others like him in the galaxy. Palpatine and Vader's scourge was not absolute. Surely, he believed, there were Force-users that had escaped the dark times.^[115]

After returning from Bakura, Luke led the pilots of the understrength Rogue Squadron to Corellia on a vacation/scouting mission. They found the planet to be almost free of Imperial occupation. However, while sitting in a tapcafe in Coronet City, the city came under attack by General Weir and his forces. The Rogues held off the stormtroopers sent after them, and Luke's Jedi skills came in handy in defending the other pilots from blaster fire and keeping an AT-ST from falling over until Tycho Celchu and Ten Numb could get away from it. After Numb was captured, Luke pursued his Imperial captors, but they escaped off the planet in transports. Fortunately, Tycho and the astromechs brought their X-wings for them. Taking off in pursuit, they were delayed by a diversionary TIE fighter attack on a civilian convoy. Nevertheless, Luke and the other Rogues tracked Weir and Ten to Tralus, where they found a hidden underground base. After a short firefight, Weir fled in a TIE and Luke and Wedge commandeered TIEs of their own to pursue him. Meanwhile, Wes Janson discovered that Numb was already dead, tortured and killed by Weir. Luke and Wedge shot down Weir, and they took him prisoner back to the Alliance. Shortly afterwards, Luke turned responsibility for the squadron over to Wedge.^[116]

Around six months after the Battle of Endor, Skywalker received a personal invitation from Guldus Bemm to visit his mining colony Canyon. Bemm claimed to have discovered a number of rare crystalline formations suitable for use in lightsabers. However, as the Jedi Knight had pressing business with Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar, he sent a number of New Republic operatives in his stead. In actuality, the message was a trap set by Imperial Advisor Bregius Golthan to capture Skywalker. When the Jedi did not appear in person, the trap went ahead, snaring Platt Okeefe instead.^[117]

In search of a legacy (4–11 ABY)Edit

Nagai-Tof WarEdit

Lost City of the JediEdit

Skywalker was eventually promoted to the rank of general in the Rebel Alliance. However, he greatly disliked military command, and after fighting the forces of Lord Shadowspawn to the last man on the bloody battlefields of Mindor, Skywalker was appalled at the immense loss of life and resigned his military commission a mere six months after his promotion. His decision to leave the military would later be used against him by some anti-Jedi politicians.^[118]

In 5 ABY, Skywalker was onboard the Dreadnaught New Hope, along with Leia and Mon Mothma, when a Rebel agent, Jan Ors, requested to speak with them on a matter of some urgency. Ors explained that she and her partner Kyle Katarn had learned about a location known as the Valley of the Jedi via a recording that Katarn had received from his father, along with a lightsaber belonging to a Jedi named Qu Rahn. Luke had heard of the Valley of the Jedi from Yoda's teachings, and Ors continued to say that she believed that Katarn should be allowed to investigate the matter. When asked for his opinion by Mon Mothma, Skywalker, recognizing that Katarn was Force-sensitive, recommended that Katarn be allowed to explore, and Mon Mothma agreed, under the condition that Ors keep a close eye on him.^[119]

Later, Skywalker would arrive on Sulon in his X-wing to check up on Katarn and Ors, who had recently obtained the coordinates of the Valley of the Jedi, though not before Inquisitor Jerec also learned of the location. The two agents apprised Luke of their progress, and Katarn also stated his intention to pursue Jerec to the Valley and confront him. Luke, having heard of a prophecy of a knight coming to fight a battle and free prisoners in the valley, supported Katarn's planned course of action.^[119]

Eventually, Skywalker, Ors and Katarn returned to Milagro, where the New Hope was, only to find themselves in the midst of the Battle of Milagro. He called Leia, who attempted to warn him off belatedly. In reply, Luke advised Leia that the Star Destroyer which had been launching fighters at the New Hope was damaged and escorting a convoy of transports. In response, Han Solo led a small force of fighters, homing in on Luke's signal, to attack the Imperial vessel. Skywalker and Ors were able to weave his X-wing and her Moldy Crow through the Imperial escorts to a position where the escorting ships would have to fire upon the Star Destroyer in order to hit them, destroying TIE fighters as they flew. The Imperial commander Purdy M. Trico had his ships break formation in order to target the two smaller ships, and that left the vessel open to attack by the New Hope and Solo's force of starfighters. After Trico was killed by one of his officers in the midst of ranting for them to keep fighting hopelessly on, the Star Destroyer surrendered.^[120]

In a conference with his sister, Han Solo, Katarn, Mon Mothma, Katarn, and Ors about embarking on a mission to Ruusan to investigate the Valley of the Jedi, Luke supported the idea that Ors and Katarn could slip down to the surface instead of deploying a full battle fleet as Mon Mothma proposed. The mission was approved and Katarn and Ors set out in a captured Imperial transport, and Katarn was ultimately able to kill the Dark Jedi Jerec and reclaim the Valley of the Jedi.^[120]

Luke also went on a mission to Hanoon to liberate the people and collect the shards of the Vor'Na'Tu, a powerful Force artifact, after he and Leia were prompted to do so by the spirit of a deceased Jedi Master, Echuu Shen-Jon. Although the artifact was destroyed, the people of Hanoon did gain their freedom from Imperial rule.^[121] Also, around this time, Luke encountered Tyria Sarkin, a New Republic pilot with marginal Force sensitivity. Luke regretfully informed her that her discipline at the time was insufficient to invest in Jedi training.^[122]

Although Luke continued to search for Force-sensitive beings and other remnants of the Jedi legacy, he was still called upon to help his friends and the New Republic in other ways. He flew his X-wing and accompanied Lando Calrissian to the Avatar Orbital Platform to help Han and Chewbacca rescue the Wookiee slaves on the platform. Luke also accompanied Alliance ground troops under Rand Talor in their final drive on the Imperial Palace on Coruscant in their push to capture the planet.^[121]

Later, while continuing his quest to discover information and relics of the Jedi, Luke was apprised of a cache discovered by New Republic starfighter pilot Corran Horn on newly liberated Coruscant. Horn had found the cache in a sealed off section of the Galactic Museum, and Skywalker was able to unearth valuable information on the history of the Jedi from the chamber. Among the knowledge he obtained was that Corran Horn was of the Halcyon lineage; Nejaa Halcyon had been a Jedi Master during the Clone Wars. Revealing this information to Horn at a Rogue Squadron gathering, Skywalker offered to train Horn as a Jedi Knight, but Horn refused, citing a need to render justice to the recently escaped Ysanne Isard, who had imprisoned him and killed millions in her flight from Coruscant. In fact, Horn precipitated a mass resignation of Rogue Squadron to combat Isard in what became known as the Bacta War, though Skywalker warned him about the danger of revenge.^[123]

The Witches of DathomirEdit

In 8 ABY, Leia Organa was being courted by the Hapan prince Isolder for her hand in marriage. In response, Han Solo abducted Leia and escaped with her to an unknown planet. The galaxy was scandalized by the apparent kidnapping involving two of the Rebellion's most famous figures. Luke naturally started investigating and found some Hapan investigators roughing up Drackmarian warlord Omogg. He stopped them and, as a reward, was given the name and location of the planet Han had won in a sabacc game from Omogg and where he was taking Leia: Dathomir. Luke and R2-D2 traveled with Isolder on the Song of War to Dathomir, where he faked his death and, using the Force, controlled his descent through the atmosphere.^[124]

During their time stranded on Dathomir, Luke taught Isolder the principles of the Force, despite Isolder having negligible Force-sensitivity. On this planet, Luke discovered the ruins of the Chu'unthor, an ancient Jedi training vessel and an entire Force-sensitive culture of witches. Luke was seen as a rarity among the Dathomiri as there were not any male "witches." Upon discovering the ruins of the Chu'unthor, the two were surprised by a young witch named Teneniel Djo. She captured them, as she was attracted to Luke. Teneniel wished to keep Luke as her slave-husband, as was the custom on Dathomir. With her help, Luke and Isolder were able to avoid the Nightsisters, a dark-side clan of Force users, and the three made it to the mountain where her clan, the Singing Mountain Clan, was based. There, they were reunited with Han, Leia, and Chewbacca. However, the witches warned them that they would soon fall under attack by the Nightsisters, who desired Solo's ship to get off of Dathomir. Luke decided to aid Teneniel Djo's clan of witches against the Nightsisters. In this battle, he was nearly killed by their leader, Gethzerion, but healed himself in only a few hours using the Force. He then went on to pilot the Millennium Falcon, operating all of its systems by himself, using the power of the Force to greatly enhance the effectiveness of the ship, and rescued Han, who had surrendered himself to the Nightsisters to save Leia, from certain death at the hands of Gethzerion. Using the Falcon, Luke engaged Gethzerion's shuttle, which was then targeted by Imperial vessels in orbit, killing her and all aboard. Luke then disabled the orbital nightcloak placed in orbit by Zsinj that was rapidly freezing Dathomir by blocking out all sunlight from the world. With the destruction of the Nightsisters, a witch named Rell would later reveal to Luke data tapes left in the old Chu'unthor relic and a message from Yoda telling that one day, a Knight would come to unlock them. Meanwhile, Teneniel and Isolder had fallen in love, leaving Han and Leia to marry. Luke wished Teneniel the best before the two parted, with the Jedi reminding Isolder and his bride-to-be to remember the principles of the light side of the Force. Not long afterward, Luke attended the wedding of Han and Leia.^[124]

Much of his time after Leia and Han were married was spent studying the ancient data tapes he had recovered from Dathomir. However, while on a trip to Tatooine, Leia called him, asking for his advice on how to handle the recovery of Killik Twilight, an Alderaanian moss painting that contained a Shadowcast key that could identify numerous New Republic agents. Unfortunately, a group of Imperials had also tried to acquire the painting, forcing Leia to attempt to destroy it. Luke agreed to inform Mon Mothma of the developments, but apprised her that Wraith Squadron, was already en route to an important mission to capture an Imperial Grand Moff—a mission which relied upon Shadowcast to contact their local support and had no other means of recalling them, making the recovery of the key even more of a priority. Leia then informed Luke of her real reason for calling him: while on Tatooine, she had discovered that the local populace generally had a high opinion of Anakin Skywalker, one she did not share. Luke warned her that her fear and anger towards Darth Vader could corrupt her if she didn't check it, and that she should be more receptive to the Force. Han and Leia's mission, although they ultimately failed to keep the painting, was successful, as the Shadowcast key was removed and Leia was able to accept both her heritage and her own Force-sensitivity.^[125]Not long after Leia's mission, Luke had a vision of Tatooine where he communed with the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who informed him that he would no longer be able to linger on and that Luke would be the first of the new Jedi.^[114]

Thrawn and C'baoth's effortsEdit

The next crisis Skywalker was to face was the return of Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, or Thrawn. During his return from obscurity, Thrawn attempted to capture Luke on several occasions to turn him over to the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth, but the Jedi was able to evade his forces, though his escapes were often narrow. Accompanying Han and Leia on a trip to Bimmisaari, Luke was ambushed by a group of Noghri commandos, who were out to capture both him and Leia for C'baoth. Slaying his attackers with a throw of his lightsaber, Luke quickly raced down to aid Leia and with the help of Chewbacca got the Solos onboard the Millennium Falcon and safely away to Coruscant.^[114]

While Han and Leia were visiting the recently raided world of Bpfassh on a diplomatic mission, Luke decided to journey to Dagobah and visit Yoda's old residence, which he found had almost completely decayed. Exploring the dark side cave where he had been tested years ago, Skywalker had a vision of a woman interrupting his rescue at the Pit of Carkoon, and also found an old piece of electronics, but left soon after arriving. Instead, he chose to go to Nkllon, a superhot mining world that Lando Calrissian had an operation on, intending to ask Lando about the beckon call device he had found. In transit to the planet's surface, Skywalker found that Han and Leia had also decided to see Lando again, but before they could land, an Imperial Star Destroyer Judicator arrived in the system. In his X-wing, Luke engaged some of the TIE fighters that were launched, but was distracted by a disturbance in the Force caused by C'baoth reaching out to him. Thankfully, the Judicator was only after some of Calrissian's mole miners, and as such did little damage to Lando's Nomad City and did little to pursue the Millennium Falcon or Skywalker.^[114]

Luke, along with the Solos, did land on Nomad City, as Lando offered them his hospitality. Skywalker asked about the device he had found on Dagobah, which Calrissian identified as a beckon call, and Skywalker suspected it had once belonged to a Dark Jedi whom Yoda had once defeated in combat. Hearing of a rumor of a Jedi Master on Jomark, Luke decided to investigate the rumor, but it was in fact a trap by Thrawn to capture him and turn him over to C'baoth, who was on Jomark.^[114]

In deep space, Luke's fighter was yanked out of hyperspace and he awoke from a hibernation trance to find himself facing an Imperial Star Destroyer and an Interdictor cruiser. While Luke was able to escape the Star Destroyer's tractor beam, he damaged his hyperdrive and was derelict in space. Thankfully, Luke was rescued by the smuggler chief Talon Karrde, who stunned him, but hid him from Thrawn, although he kept him as a sort of hostage while he decided what to do with him. Around the time of these events, Karrde introduced Luke to his associate Mara Jade, who had been the one to find him drifting in space. She quickly formed an antagonistic relationship with Luke. A fiercely determined Force-sensitive warrior, Mara was once a deadly agent of Palpatine. She was one of the "Emperor's Hands", a deadly group of Dark Jedi who could hear the Emperor's call from across the galaxy. Jade held Skywalker responsible for the destruction of her career and purpose, and desired to kill him. Meanwhile, Karrde's ship transported Luke back to Myrkr while the smuggler chief decided his fate.^[114]

When Thrawn unexpectedly arrived on Myrkr, Karrde placed Luke in a shed. However, Luke escaped, freed R2-D2 and hijacked a Skipray blastboat, but was soon pursued by Mara Jade in a similar ship. During the pursuit, both ships crashed, stranding Luke, Mara, and R2 deep in the forests of Myrkr, in which the Force could not be used due to the Force-dampening effect of ysalamiri. Despite repeated vornskr attacks, Mara held Luke captive, and she made her glaring hatred for him well known, even after he saved her life. In fact, it required considerable persuasion on Luke's part to keep her from shooting him outright. While they were stranded, Luke was able to get Mara to explain her past, and she told him that she had once been a servant of the Emperor and had been sent to Jabba's palace to kill him. Using R2-D2's counterpart-level connection with Luke's X-wing, they were able to send a secure message to Karrde. As they left the forest, Luke and Mara entered Hyllyard City, which was patrolled by Thrawn's stormtroopers. However, Karrde had sent some of his associates, accompanied by Lando and Han, who had arrived to discuss a deal between Karrde and the New Republic and wound up learning about Luke's capture and were present when Thrawn arrived, to ambush the stormtroopers and help Luke escape. Han posed as a prisoner of Karrde's people to get close to Luke, and with the help of Han's trick cuffs and detonators hidden in the weapons that the Imperials had confiscated from Karrde's people, Lando and Karrde's people sprung their trap, but only after Luke warned them to wait until they were near a stone arch. While the arch normally would have provided cover for the stormtroopers, Luke used his lightsaber to slice through the pillars supporting it and dropped the sizable structure onto the stormtroopers. Luke then returned to Karrde's base with Han and Lando and the three left in the Millennium Falcon.^[114]

Arriving at Sluis Van, they soon found themselves in the midst of the Battle of Sluis Van and spent several frantic moments of Han flying the Falcon while Luke and Lando shot off Imperial TIE fighters. To make matters worse, Thrawn had dispatched boarding teams which had begun to take control of many of the ships present there, and only Lando's recall of the codes that controlled the mole-miners that Thrawn had seized and was now using to board the New Republic ships saved many of the ships from capture. The boarding teams were killed when Lando reactivated the mole-miners, but the fleet was left crippled, even though the Imperial warships withdrew.^[114]

A call from Leia informed him of Admiral Ackbar's arrest for alleged treason, but due to the bureaucratic nature of the Sluissi government and the cleanup after the battle, Skywalker was unable to get his starfighter repaired. While he was talking with Calrissian, who was similarly stranded, Lando noticed a smell of carababba tabac and discerned that Niles Ferrier, a ship thief, was in the shipyards. Skywalker accompanied Lando to Corridor Six of the shipyards and found Ferrier with a mixed group of aliens and humans. After a brief tussle with Ferrier's Defel accomplice, Lando was able to use Luke's reputation to persuade Ferrier that continued resistance was futile, and in turn they agreed to let the ship thieves go.^[12]

Once he was finally able to return to Coruscant, Luke dug into the past of Jorus C'baoth, the Jedi that was rumored to be on Jomark. However, he was called to meeting with Leia and Han to discuss Fey'lya's charges against Admiral Ackbar. On an idea from Solo, Luke agreed to meet Lando and Han at New Cov to investigate the planet; as it was one of the few locations that Fey'lya's Bothan faction had defended viciously during the war, Solo believed the Bothans were hiding something. While in a tapcafe waiting for his friends to arrive, Luke helped solve a barroom dispute, enlisting the aid of Lando and a reluctant Niles Ferrier, who happened to be in the room. An Imperial raid forced Luke and Lando to link back up with Han and return to their ships. A brief firefight with Imperial forces ensued, but a distraction by the Lady Luck's slave circuit allowed Skywalker to get to his X-wing and pin down the Imperials. As they flew into orbit, Skywalker shot off TIE fighters from an Imperial Star Destroyer off of the Lady Luck, until the help that a local contact named Irenez had promised Solo arrived in the form of three Dreadnaught-class cruisers. As the three cruisers beat off the Star Destroyer, Han and Lando informed Luke that they could continue the mission without him, and Skywalker decided to journey to Jomark.^[12]

Meeting C'baoth, Skywalker was surprised by the old man's mood shifts, but readily agreed to continue learning from the Jedi Master. The casual decidedness that C'baoth employed to mete out justice to the local inhabitants only added to Luke's surprise. Finding C'baoth to be unpleasable, Luke endured several lectures from the other, many of which seemed contradictory of Yoda's and Obi-Wan's teachings.^[12]

After he had been there for some time, Mara Jade arrived on Jomark, looking for him to plead for his help. Thanks to one of Thrawn's subterfuges, she had given up Talon Karrde to the Grand Admiral and wanted Skywalker's help in getting him free. The subtle Force influence that C'baoth had been exerting on him removed by a ysalamir in Jade's possession, Skywalker agreed to leave, rejecting C'baoth's teaching. C'baoth objected and attacked them with the Force, but R2-D2 used the X-wing's laser cannon to blast near C'baoth, knocking him out with the shock. Recalling how he was able to redeem Vader, Skywalker would not let Mara finish C'baoth off, and he and Jade left for the Wistril system, where they posed as Imperial crewmen flying a supply shuttle to the Chimaera.^[12]

Onboard the Imperial vessel, Luke and Mara disguised themselves as TIE pilots and Luke infiltrated the detention block by way of the garbage pit while Mara sliced into the Star Destroyer's computer. He was able to free Karrde undiscovered and they reversed his trail back out before Thrawn realized they were aboard. Escaping the stormtrooper cordon by going into the deep storage area, Karrde, Luke, and Mara found the Millennium Falcon, recovered by Thrawn after it had been left derelict over Endor, and used the vessel to escape the Chimaera with only minimal resistance from the guards, which Luke quickly dealt with.^[12]

When Karrde informed him of the existence of the Katana fleet, Skywalker immediately returned to Coruscant and informed the New Republic. On Coruscant, he was also reunited with Leia, who had just persuaded the Noghri commandos to turn against the Empire, as well as Han and Lando, returned from a mission to seek out the legendary Garm Bel Iblis. However, Borsk Fey'lya slowed down the salvage effort for the fleet with political maneuvering, and Skywalker accompanied Rogue Squadron on an independent mission to reach the fleet before the Imperials; Han and Lando had informed him that Thrawn would soon have the location.^[12]

Skywalker and his allies reached the fleet before either the Imperial or Fey'lya's expedition and boarded the Katana, but no sooner had they arrived and investigated the ship than a frigate commanded by Fey'lya arrived and tried to place Luke and Han under arrest; Leia, also onboard the frigate, was powerless to stop them. Before any serious action could be taken, though, an Imperial Star Destroyer reverted from hyperspace. Soon enough, Skywalker was kept busy fending off Imperial boarders, with Han using an old walker in a corridor to good effect. In the end, Luke was able to herd the last of the boarders to one compartment and Chewbacca vented it into space, killing the troopers. In space, the New Republic forces, now unified under Organa Solo, fought against the Star Destroyer, but were still outnumbered. Even with aid from Karrde's forces, they were hard pressed, but the sudden arrival of General Garm Bel Iblis and his private ships was enough to damage the Judicator and destroy the Peremptory, which had arrived to assist the first Star Destroyer, by ramming it with a Dreadnaught remotely controlled by Solo from the Katana. However, at the end of the battle, the New Republic was faced with two shocking facts. First, most of the Katana fleet had already been taken by the Empire, and second, Luke realized that the troopers he had been fighting were clones. In the aftermath, Luke also used his Force skills to locate Mara Jade, who was floating in space after she had been forced to eject from her fighter. ^[12]

With the New Republic threatened by Thrawn's supply of clones from freshly reactivated Spaarti cylinders, Luke Skywalker participated in a number of missions to track down the facility that was producing them. One of these missions was to Berchest, where he did indeed sense groups of cloned infantry, but also met Talon Karrde, presumably on Berchest for a similar reason. Skywalker agreed to set up a credit line to help fund Karrde's activities and reimburse the smuggler for any valuable information that he and his people could obtain. Thrawn had found a way to grow clones in less than twenty days and with the recent capture of the Katana fleet and the food-producing world of Ukio had both provisions and hulls with which to equip his forces.^[126]

Skywalker continued to follow the routes that the human duplicates traveled and ended up on Poderis, only to find himself shadowed by Imperial Intelligence. Escaping a cordon of ysalamiri-equipped stormtroopers, he managed to reach his disguised freighter only to be intercepted by the Chimaera in orbit. Only by escaping in an X-wing built into the freighter did he and R2 manage to jump free of the Star Destroyer, but the result left their hyperdrive damaged. Luke limped to Honoghr on sudden impulse to visit the Noghri. The aliens received him as the son of Vader and readily agreed to help repair his ship, claiming it was part of their debt to help him. After his ship was repaired, Luke returned to Coruscant, where Leia, Han, and their newborn children had just survived an Imperial kidnapping attempt.^[126]

After Leia revealed to him, Han, and Lando that Mara Jade knew of the location of Thrawn's cloning center on Wayland, Luke agreed to break Mara out of New Republic confinement so she could guide them to Wayland. After neutralizing the guard droid (link) with a specially modified restraining bolt, Luke brought a somewhat reluctant Mara discreetly out to the Millennium Falcon, where Han, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Lando were waiting for them. They slipped out of Coruscant and eventually made their way to the Imperial world of Wayland, landing without encountering any Imperial patrols.^[126]

When wild garrals attracted to the sound of the repulsorlifts on their speeder bikes forced them to walk for roughly two weeks through Wayland's dense jungle, Luke found himself spending a large amount of time with Mara. Luke helped Mara hone her Force skills during their journey, feeling that she might need them based on a premonition in the Force. In return, she asked him how the Emperor died, and Luke's revelation of the tale made her realize that Palpatine's will had motivated her desire to kill him. In any event, the predators and grueling terrain forced them to work together anyway, though the natural hazards diminished as their trek progressed.^[126]

As they were nearing the Imperial stronghold of Mount Tantiss, Luke and the others discovered that a group of Noghri had been following them, driving off predators and fending off the local aliens. At an impromptu conference between the expedition, the Noghri, and the local Psadans and Myneyrshi, they were able to work out safe passage to Mount Tantiss accompanied by the Noghri. ^[126]

Upon arrival at the stronghold, the party was met by another group of Mynereshi and Psadans, who offered to launch a diversionary attack on the Imperials at the front gate while the New Republic saboteurs entered from a side vent. Luke agreed and sent two Noghri to aid the outgunned locals in their diversion. As Luke, Han, Lando, Mara, Chewbacca, and the two droids entered the fortress, they were impressed by the sheer size of the facility. Realizing that their munitions would not be enough to critically damage the cloning tanks, Luke and Mara volunteered to search for a self-destruct in the Emperor's throne room.^[126]

However, thanks to numerous ysalamiri scattered around the fortress, they were unaware that Joruus C'baoth had been imprisoned in the Emperor's chambers. Upon arriving in the throne room, C'baoth confronted Luke and Mara. Activating a detonator prepared by mind-controlled Imperial troops, C'baoth destroyed all the ysalamiri in a single blow, restoring the Force to him. Rebuffing Skywalker's offers of help to recover from his mental illness, C'baoth unleashed a barrage of Force lightning at both Skywalker and Jade.^[126]

At that point, C'baoth revealed Skywalker's opponent—Luuke Skywalker, a clone Skywalker grown from the hand severed on Bespin by Darth Vader and armed with Luke's old lightsaber. With the mental pressure of being so close to his duplicate, Luke was unable to fight the clone effectively, and C'baoth prevented him from disarming the clone or destroying its weapon. Even the reinforcements of Han, accompanied by the newly arrived Leia Organa Solo, Talon Karrde, and his two vornskrs were insufficient to distract C'baoth enough to let Luke defeat his opponent. Only when Mara seized Leia's lightsaber was C'baoth distracted enough from controlling the clone. As the clone swung a blow to finish Luke off, Luke ducked, causing a viewscreen that Luuke's lightsaber hit to explode into the clone's face. Mara took advantage of the distraction and quickly slew the temporarily blinded clone, fulfilling the Emperor's last command to her—to kill Luke Skywalker.^[126]

However, C'baoth was enraged by the death of his clone and began throwing chunks of the ceiling at Luke, Mara, and their companions using the Force. In spite of Luke's offer to remain behind while letting the others go, C'baoth proclaimed himself to be greater than any of them. Luke tried to shove the rocks away with the Force, but he was already tired and C'baoth's fury empowered him. Furthermore, the rocks completely blocked off the exit, trapping them with C'baoth. However, Luke was able to use his lightsaber to free Karrde's two vornskrs from their leashes and they lunged at C'baoth. As C'baoth turned to deal with the animals, Luke and Leia helped guide Mara through a hail of rocks to reach C'baoth and she cut the deranged Jedi down. The resulting explosion of dark side energy following C'baoth's death blew through the mountain, allowing them to escape on the Wild Karrde just before the arrhythmic resonance scheme that Lando and Chewbacca had rigged destroyed the entire fortress.^[126]

Escaping in the Wild Karrde and Millennium Falcon, the entire party returned to Coruscant. At the Imperial Palace, Luke found an excuse to spend time with Mara. He suggested that she act as an intermediary between the New Republic and the new Smuggler's Alliance that Karrde was forming, and also gave her his father's old lightsaber, saying that it was an important part of her path to Jedi Knighthood and that he wanted her to have it. They eventually parted on less than hostile terms.^[126]

Return of the EmperorEdit

Stranded on Coruscant in 10 ABY, Skywalker began to discover strange clues in newly opened secret chambers throughout the former Imperial Palace, clues to the Emperor's power. Before he could piece together their significance, a raging Force storm appeared in the sky. The swirling vortex of dimension-altering energy consumed Skywalker, and deposited him in a cell aboard an Imperial Dungeon Ship bound for the Deep Core world of Byss. There, in an ornate citadel, Skywalker faced an enemy he had not ever expected to see again: Emperor Palpatine.^[9]

Palpatine's spirit had been staving away death by using arcane Sith knowledge and Spaarti cloning technology. Palpatine would grow clone duplicates of his own body to serve as tools for his evil life force should his body die. With this technique, Palpatine had escaped death aboard the second Death Star and now called for Skywalker to kneel before him and become his servant. Skywalker, realizing that the Emperor was almost invincible, knelt before him and agreed to join the Dark Side and learn the ways of the Sith.^[9]

Like a few others in recorded history, he believed he could defeat the dark side from within by learning its secrets. He had neglected one of Yoda's key teachings—never underestimate the power of the dark side. Skywalker worked for the light side in the shadows just like Quinlan Vos had during the Clone Wars. And just like that Jedi Master, he found he was unable to break away from its snare once he was immersed too deeply in it. During this dark apprenticeship, Luke acquired two Sentinels, clones mutated into his Dark Side servants. Though he succeeded in covertly sabotaging several of Palpatine's plans including a World Devastator attack on Mon Calamari, he was too deep in darkness to think clearly. In a failed attempt to rebel against his master, Luke marched into the cloning laboratory and smashed all of the cloning tanks. But before he could finish the job, the Emperor transferred his spirit into his last clone. Luke then engaged him in a spectacular lightsaber duel. But Luke's skills alone were not enough, and he was defeated by Palpatine.^[9]

Palpatine then traveled to Pinnacle Base in his flagship, bringing a broken Luke along. However, with the help of his sister Leia, Luke was able to fight back the darkness before it consumed him and turned against his master. Skywalker finally defeated Palpatine in single combat, and together with Leia he eventually managed to destroy the body Palpatine inhabited at the time, turning his immense Force storm against him.^[9]

The trials of the Jedi Master (11–25 ABY)Edit

Main article: New Jedi Order

Establishing a New Jedi OrderEdit

Luke Skywalker, now a Jedi Master, felt that, due to the growing dangers in the galaxy, the New Republic needed a New Jedi Order to serve and protect it. He proposed to the government that a new Jedi Academy needed to be started, with himself as its head instructor. When the New Republic agreed, Skywalker began searching in earnest for Jedi candidates to train in the Great Massassi Temple on Yavin 4 where he had established his Jedi Praxeum. One of the first places Luke went to was Eol Sha, a harsh volcanic world inhabited only by a small colony. Their leader, Gantoris, was at first convinced that Luke was the "dark man" of his dreams, a man that would only lead him to destruction with promises of power. Because of this, he made Luke pass several tests, such as collecting fungi in a steam vent and walking across lava while battling a giant lava snake. Passing the tests, Luke convinced Gantoris to join the Jedi Order and also arranged for the Eol Sha colonists to be transported to Dantooine, which had a much more hospitable climate. After further searching, Luke found his next apprentice, Streen, on an abandoned gas prospecting platform on Bespin. Streen agreed to join the Jedi on the condition that Luke would teach him to quiet the "voices" and emotions in his head that he "heard" from those around him.^[13]

Another student at the new academy was Kam Solusar, a former Dark Jedi who Luke had turned back to the light during the reborn Emperor's return. Another one of Luke's students, Corran Horn, sought him out to learn to use the Force to rescue his wife, at Luke's suggestion, under the alias of Keiran Halcyon. Some of Luke's other students included the clone Dorsk 81, the Dathomiri Kirana Ti, and the historian Tionne. In the early years, Luke's Jedi Knights also included Brakiss, Madurrin, Kyle Katarn, Cilghal and Kyp Durron. Mara Jade also studied under Luke in a less official capacity. In future years, Luke was to train notable Jedi such as Jaden Korr^[127], Tenel Ka^[128], Zekk^[129], Lowbacca^[128], Tahiri Veila^[130], and his niece and nephews Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo.^[130] Luke's students in turn eventually became Masters, and a new generation of Jedi Knights arose. One Jedi who never attended the academy was Tyria Sarkin, who, over a period of years, developed her Force skills and earned Jedi Knighthood from Luke.^[131] Through this academy, Skywalker returned the Jedi Order to the galaxy, and began to reverse the damage done by Palpatine and Vader in previous decades.^[13]

However, galactic circumstances kept Luke from being completely devoted to the Jedi Academy. Early on, Luke was called away from the academy to find Han and Chewbacca, who had disappeared after embarking on a mission to Kessel. Luke along with his old friend Lando traveled to Kessel disguised as businessmen, and confronted Moruth Doole, administrator of the spice mines. The two retrieved the Falcon from Doole's clutches, for the Rybet had stolen it and sent Han and Chewbacca to the spice mines. Luke and Lando fled from Doole's large ragtag fleet, and headed for the Maw Cluster, when suddenly the Sun Crusher, with Han, Chewbacca, Qwi Xux, and Kyp Durron aboard, shot out of the cluster, closely pursued by Admiral Daala's fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. The Millennium Falcon and the Sun Crusher escaped as the Imperial fleet engaged Doole's forces in an impromptu brawl.^[13]

Exar Kun's attackEdit

Shortly after establishing his Praxeum, Luke's new students were menaced by an age-old threat. Gantoris, frustrated with how slowly Luke was taking his training, was tempted by the lingering spirit of Exar Kun, luring him with the dark side. Under the tutelage of the Dark Lord, Gantoris constructed his own dual-phase lightsaber. Soon after, he fought with Luke and lost, but his behavior and the sudden appearance of his lightsaber were brushed off by Luke as nothing to worry about. However, Exar Kun later horrifically killed Gantoris by burning him from inside and out with the power of the dark side.^[13] Luke consulted with 'Kieran Halcyon' on Gantoris' death, but before he could complete the investigation, Luke was distracted with new students, one of which was Mara Jade, who still maintained a tenuous-at-best friendship with Luke. However, she left not long after arriving, feeling she knew most of what Luke was teaching.^[14]

Luke spent much attention on another new arrival, Kyp Durron, who had been rescued from Kessel and Imperial imprisonment by Han Solo and Chewbacca.^[13] Kyp was prodigiously talented in the Force and made great progress, thus gaining the attention of Exar Kun, who tempted him with even more power, preying on his anger and frustration. Kyp gave in to the seduction of the dark side, and exhibited pro-Kun leanings on more than one occasion. Finally on one morning, Kyp, full of the dark side and imbued by the power of Exar Kun, exploded. He attacked Luke, and with the combined ancient power of the powerful Sith and his own potential, Kyp managed to sunder Luke's spirit from his body, leaving Luke in a lifeless, comatose state.^[132] Kyp took off in the newly retrieved superweapon, the Sun Crusher, to take revenge on the Empire. However, Exar Kun wanted nothing less than Luke's total destruction. Many efforts—from a full New Republic medical team to the innocent kiss of his niece—were made to revive Luke, but all were unsuccessful. Exar Kun, desperate for Luke's blood and knowing that the destruction of the Jedi Master's body would render him forever hung between life and death, temporarily possessed Streen, deceiving him into creating a Force Whirlwind meant to destroy Luke. He was stopped, but the danger persisted. Luke's nephew and niece arrived, and Luke's spirit was able to communicate with them, although not with any of the others. Not long after, Kun's spirit sent hideous monsters to attack Luke's body. Luke, guiding the hand of young Jacen Solo, called on Jacen to use Luke's lightsaber. Other apprentices observed the young Solo dueling like a master swordsman. Because of this, the spectral Kun was rousted from hiding, and led into a trap; destroyed by the combined efforts of the Jedi apprentices, Luke's spirit, and the long-dead spirit of Kun's slain master, Vodo-Siosk Baas.^[17]

When Kyp Durron, now freed forever from the Dark Lord's spirit, was brought to Luke for judgment for his destruction of Carida and his other atrocities, Luke allowed Kyp to live, saying his punishment was a life of service. This was frowned on across the galaxy and was one of the reasons behind Corran Horn's departure from the academy. However, as part of his penance, Kyp was required to send the Sun Crusher into one of the Maw's black holes. However, when Luke and Kyp, who were aboard the tiny vessel, arrived at the Maw Installation, they found it under attack by both Admiral Daala and the prototype Death Star. Luke landed the ship and went to see what he could do to aid Wedge, the commander of the expedition to protect the Installation, until they could retrieve some sensitive data from it. Kyp, however, returned to the Sun Crusher and attacked the prototype Death Star. He lured the station close to a black hole, where both the Sun Crusher and the Death Star prototype were pulled into the event horizon. Fortunately, Kyp managed to escape by compressing himself into a messenger pod and launching himself out to safety. Kyp then went on to become a talented Jedi.^[17]

Later on that year, Luke and Gand Rogue Squadron pilot Ooryl Qrygg aided Corran Horn in his effort to rescue his wife from Leonia Tavira and the Jensaarai. Luke had sensed that his former pupil would need help on Courkrus and traveled there with the Findsman Qrygg in time to aid Horn against five Jensaarai. Luke easily handled his opponents by depriving them of the Force via several ysalamiri; defeating all of them without killing them. Luke then acted as Corran's Jedi superior, deceiving the Jensaarai into revealing information in order for Luke to "return the Force back to them." Luke and Corran then traveled to Susevfi, the location of Mirax as revealed by the Jensaarai, and used the ysalamiri to mask their presence from the Ring Defenders protecting the stronghold. Once on Susefvi, Luke, Corran, Ooryl, and Elegos A'kla—a Caamasi—stormed the prison and freed Mirax. They then confronted the Saarai-kaar, or leader, of the Jensaarai and her students. Corran defeated the Saarai-kaar in a duel while Luke easily defeated the rest of her companions along with both the Imperial guards and the Jensaarai that he encountered. Also, Corran and Mirax Terrik were again reunited when Horn rescued her from a stasis chamber and Skywalker was able to reconcile the Jensaarai to the Jedi Order.^[14]

The Eye of PalpatineEdit

In 12 ABY, Skywalker, along with two of his students, Nichos Marr and Cray Mingla, were invited to the Time of Meeting on the world of Ithor. However, though Marr had once been a student of Skywalker's, he slowly perished due to a chronic disease, his consciousness only preserved in a human replica droid developed by Mingla. Also attending were his sister Leia and Han Solo. However, at a reception, Leia was rushed by a crazed man screaming "Solo!" as he charged. Skywalker handily threw the man to the ground, and Han helped pinion him. The man was an old smuggler acquaintance of Han's, Drub McKumb, but Solo was confused as to the man's crazed state. In his ravings, McKumb mentioned a place called Plett's Well, which Marr remembered from his childhood. Skywalker attempted to probe Marr's consciousness in search of any memories to unravel the mysteries of McKumb's speech, but when he did so, he encountered a disturbance in the Force. Skywalker then asked Marr to generate a random number, thinking that whatever random value Marr's consciousness generated might have significance. As it turned out, the number was a set of coordinates in the Moonflower Nebula, and Skywalker resolved to take Mingla, Marr, and C-3PO out to investigate in the Huntbird, an exploration ship borrowed from the Ithorians, on the chance that something unusual was there.^[22]

Arriving at the coordinates, they found little there besides an asteroid field. While they exploring the asteroids, they came under fire and were forced to nurse their suddenly damaged ship to the planet Pzob a few parsecs away, which had been colonized by Gamorreans. Just before they pulled out of range, the Huntbird sustained one last hit, rupturing a coolant line, which leaked all over Skywalker and he was exposed to the coolant before striking his head with sufficient force to render him unconscious. When he awoke, the ship was nearing Pzob and Skywalker was able to land the ship near the sole power signal they detected from orbit. Upon landing, the group was met by Triv Pothman, a former Imperial stormtrooper who had been marooned on the world for some time. Pothman helped tend Skywalker's injuries, and after learning that the man had been forgotten by the Empire for decades, they agreed to transport him offworld after repairing the Huntbird.^[22]

Before they could do so, though, the two feuding Gamorrean tribes that inhabited that area of Pzob arrived, causing the Humans and droids to seek shelter inside the Huntbird. Then, an automated Imperial lander arrived, sending out droids and stunning all of them. When Skywalker awoke, he at first believed he was a stormtrooper and that he hated the Jedi, but quickly shook off the indoctrination. He realized he was on a spaceship and C-3PO, who along with Marr was there in the room with him, told him that they had been jumping from system to system while an automated group of landers retrieved and re-indoctrinated a number of sentient beings, thinking they were the ship's crew. The protocol droid also informed him that the ship they were on was the Eye of Palpatine, an old Imperial battlemoon headed to destroy Plett's Well. He quickly located Pothman and Mingla as well, but was startled to see a number of other alien species, including the Gamorreans from Pzob, indoctrinated into thinking they belonged as crewmembers and troopers on the battlemoon. However, before he could use the Force to free Mingla from her indoctrination, the rival Gamorrean tribe attacked and both Marr and Mingla were captured in the fray, while Skywalker sustained a deep leg injury. He was crudely tended to by a Gamorrean sow named Bullyak, but was able to reunite with C-3PO.^[22]

However, while searching for decent medical equipment, he found the ship was been slowly ransacked and torn apart by Jawas which the ship had brought onboard. Furthermore, he was stymied in his attempts to learn more about the ship or its mission—all such information was blocked by a computer identity dubbed "the Will." He did manage to explore somewhat, despite his bad leg, and located a two-seat Y-wing fighter in one of the launch bays and also learned that certain areas of the ship were defended by a lethal enclision grid that killed all intruders. Furthermore, he saved a Jawa from being slain by one of the Gamorrean tribes, convincing the Gamorreans that he was an Imperial Intelligence officer named Calrissian. Later, that same Jawa gave Skywalker another lightsaber that the Jawa had found. Inquiring as to how the Jawa had obtained the Jedi weapon, Skywalker was led to a shaft that led to the heart of the ship, where someone had, years earlier, ascended into the area and died due to the enclision grid while attempting to stop the ship. By examining the lightsaber, he deduced that the weapon had been a woman's.^[22]

Unfortunately for Skywalker, shortly thereafter, the entire ship received an information broadcast from Mingla's captors, detailing her imminent trial and execution for sabotage. He and C-3PO immediately began searching out Mingla's location, but encountered a group of Sand People, who pursued him. However, a hatch lock had malfunctioned and opened, allowing him to escape through it and secure his escape by sealing it behind him and C-3PO. As time ran out for Mingla, Skywalker enlisted the aid of a group of indoctrinated Affytechans and they located a pair of light transports in one of the hangars, which he planned on using for the purposes of escaping. However, once again, he was found by the Sand People and, just as before, only escaped thanks to a series of doors opening and closing just in time for him to slip through. While hiding in a room, he was looking at himself in the reflection of a monitor screen when he saw the pale image of a young woman in the screen behind them, though there was nobody else there.^[22]

Skywalker asked the presence he felt for its name, and on the monitor screen appeared the word "Callista." Communicating through the room's computer, he was able to learn that she was the spirit of a Jedi who had been on a mission to destroy the Eye of Palpatine thirty years earlier. Though she had been killed by the enclision grid, her spirit had survived, fighting against the Will and aiding him in his encounters with the Sand People. Skywalker befriended her and telling her that the Empire she had fought against was in disarray. To help distract the Gamorreans so he could free Mingla, Callista suggested that he employ something analogous to a foo-twitter, a device used on her homeworld of Chad, to emit sounds that would gain the attention of the Gamorreans. Skywalker implemented her idea, taking her advice on how to make the enclision grid misfire with the Force while the reprogrammed droid and voder he appropriated made its way through the guarded passage. While he worked, he told Callista about his childhood on Tatooine and his times in the Rebellion, and she in turn shared her own previous life growing up on Chad and then being taken in by the Jedi Order.^[22]

When he finished, he sent his diversion up the shaft, misfiring the grid with the Force, but the Will was aware of his actions and sent an assortment of ship's droids after him. Skywalker managed to fend them off, but was both exhausted and aggravated his injury with his efforts and passed out. While passed out, Skywalker had a vision where he saw Callista's final moments aboard the Eye of Palpatine, and then in his dream, felt and saw her as if she were there in person, though their spirits visited many places and times in his unconsciousness. When he awoke, C-3PO informed him that it was nearly time for Mingla's execution and dressed Skywalker's injuries anew.^[22]

Furthermore, he was able to distract the Gamorreans by persuading them that the Will really wanted them to attack the other tribe. In the melee, he was able to get to Mingla and free her while breaking through the indoctrination of Triv Pothman and removing the restraining bolt that had prevented Marr from freeing Mingla himself. Once they were away from the execution chamber, Skywalker had arranged for the indoctrinated aliens to be moved to the transports, even the Sand People and Jawas. Skywalker then planned to try and stall the Will while disabling the gunnery systems, to allow the others to escape—in particular, he wanted Mingla to return with a human replica droid body to store Callista's spirit, as he was in love with the Jedi spirit. Callista, however, insisted that the Eye of Palpatine had to be destroyed once and for all, over Skywalker's objections, and refused any offer of a droid body. When Skywalker couldn't do what was needed to destroy the ship because of his attachment to Callista, Mingla stunned him. Instead, Callista and Ming decided to work together to misfire the grid while Marr went up the shaft to destroy the battlemoon's reactors. They did so, and Skywalker awoke in a shuttle departing the Eye of Palpatine, which had reverted from hyperspace over Belsavis. After the Eye of Palpatine was destroyed, the two shuttles were met by Mara Jade, as well as Han and Leia, who had been on Belsavis attending to the people who had re-activated the Eye of Palpatine in the first place. They tended to Skywalker's injuries and picked up the sole escape pod from the battlemoon, which Skywalker presumed to contain Mingla. However, upon docking with the pod, Skywalker realized that Mingla had given up her body to Callista—with Marr dead, Mingla no longer had any desire to live, and so had departed and allowed Callista to once again exist on a physical plane through her body. However, though Callista was reunited with Skywalker and was able to explain a number of Jedi relics that Han and Leia had found at Plett's Well—an old Jedi sanctuary—she was unable to touch the Force. However, Skywalker told her that he loved her, not just the Force, and she returned with him to Yavin as their relationship deepened.^[22]

Not long after the destruction of the Eye of Palpatine, Skywalker accompanied Han Solo on a journey to Tatooine to investigate the ruins of Jabba's palace. Disguised as Sand People, they made their way incognito towards the structure and Skywalker used the Force to keep the Sand People from noticing their true identity. Inside the palace, they were met by a being named Maizor, a former rival of Jabba's who had had his brain surgically removed and placed in a droid chassis on Jabba's orders. Asking Maizor for information, Skywalker and Solo learned that numerous Hutts had been to the palace in search of Jabba's former troves of Imperial information and planned on constructing a superweapon. They decided to return to warn the New Republic of the impending threat, but first, they made a side trip to Kenobi's old desert hut, where Skywalker searched for any clues that might help Callista recover her connection to the Force. However, there was no information there, nor was Kenobi's spirit present, so Skywalker resolved to find help for Callista on his own.^[133]

Voyages with CallistaEdit

Returning to Yavin Four, Skywalker made time to graduate three of his students: Kyp Durron, Cilghal, and Dorsk 81, proclaiming them to be Jedi Knights, and sending them off to do whatever good they felt they could do. Not long after he did so, he was visited by Mara Jade, who also informed him that that the Smuggler's Alliance believed the Hutts were up to something. Skywalker, along with Callista, then visited Coruscant to pass on the information he had gleaned to Leia, and then informed his sister that he was going off with Callista in search of finding ways to regain her connection to the Force.^[133]

Their first destination was the Mulako Corporation Primordial Water Quarry, a water mining facility built into the icy nucleus of a comet. Recalling her own watery homeworld, Callista loved it there and enjoyed the time they spent together, but felt that it had little connection to the Force. Instead, they left and went to Dagobah, where Luke had trained, as Callista felt that somewhere with a greater connection to the Force would help her concentrate. Upon landing, they explored the surrounding area, but despite all her attempts, Callista was still unable to touch the Force, which frustrated her to the point where she said that if she could not regain her powers, she did not want to be with Skywalker, which concerned him. That evening, they were attacked by predatory nightbats and Callista unleashed her anger and frustration on them. For that instant, Skywalker felt her in the Force and the two realized that she could still touch the dark side. Seeking the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, they then left and went to Hoth, where Obi-Wan's spirit had once appeared to Luke.^[133]

While on Hoth, they encountered five hunters cornered in the ruins of Echo Base by a massive herd of wampas. They attempted to return to Skywalker's ship, but found that it had been ravaged by the wampas. Returning to Echo Base, Skywalker, Callista, and the hunters grimly prepared for an impending attack, which came during the night. They helped the hunters fight, but there were too many wampas and all of the others perished. The two Jedi barely managed to escape back to their ship and after some frantic rewiring and rigged repairs, lifted off into space, sending out a desperate call for help. With life support failing, Callista used the sole envirosuit and Luke survived in a hibernation trance, slowly losing his life, when they were finally rescued by the Millennium Falcon and were taken to Yavin Four by Han and Leia.^[133]

However, right before they arrived, the resurgent Admiral Daala, leading a rejuvenated Imperial war machine, launched a massive ground and air assault on the Jedi Academy, which the Jedi trainees had barely managed to stave off, though they had repulsed the first wave of Star Destroyers. The Falcon managed to slip past Daala's flagship, the Knight Hammer, and landed to unload Luke and Callista, who immediately went to aid the Jedi trainees in battle.^[133]

Using guerrilla tactics, the Jedi split up to engage approaching Imperial ground forces. While Luke and his students used the Force to rout the Imperials on the planet's surface, Callista attacked the Knight Hammer from the inside by detonating a large number of fully armed and fueled TIE bombers, thus dooming the ship. It was during this battle, and the previous attack on Hoth, that made Callista realize that she had to leave Luke. Feeling pressured by Luke to make progress she could not achieve, she decided to disappear after destroying the Knight Hammer. For some time, it was believed that Callista died during this attack, though she left a message for Luke informing him of her decision. However, this only stiffened Luke's resolve to one day be reunited with her.^[133]

Nam Chorios and the Death SeedEdit

Time passed, and Skywalker continued to oversee his responsibilities at the Jedi Academy. When one of his students, a former SpecForce member named Dal Konur grew impatient with what he perceived as Jedi inactivity against the Empire,^[134] he proposed a plan to Luke Skywalker to infiltrate Imperial space and assassinate members of the Moff Council, which Skywalker refused to approve.^[135] In response, Konur stowed away aboard a supply shuttle and flew off for parts unknown to wage his own war against the Empire. Fearful that Konur might turn to the dark side, Skywalker dispatched four accomplished individuals to retrieve Konur, and unhurt.^[134]

Upon the eve of a conference between Leia Organa Solo and Seti Ashgad, a leader of the Meridian sector, Leia received a note from Callista warning her to avoid the meeting and especially Ashgad. In response, Luke accompanied Leia to the Meridian sector, having learned that Callista was possibly on the world of Nam Chorios, took a B-wing starfighter from Leia's ship, the Borealis, to journey down to Nam Chorios in search of his lost love. As Nam Chorios was an interdicted world whose automated gun stations would take down any ship larger than a starfighter, Skywalker knew that the approach would be dangerous as his was close to the maximum size limit for a ship to slip past the gun stations, but the heavily armed starfighter was chosen due to nearby pirate nests. Before he left Leia's ship, Skywalker promised his sister he would pass any information on the reason for Callista's warning as soon as he found it.^[136]

Arriving in atmosphere, Luke felt a sensation of hundreds of voices crying out through the Force in a mass scream, but was distracted before he could follow the perception. The gun stations of Nam Chorios opened fire on him and his craft was shot down despite all his efforts to avoid the laser cannon bolts. He crash-landed and a group of Theran fanatics, a religious local cult who were generally anti-technology and decidedly isolationist, attacked the shipwreck, but Luke was able to escape them by stirring up a cloud of dust with the Force and slipping away in the ensuing confusion. He made his way to a nearby settlement, where a farmer named Arvid Scraf greeted him with hospitality and offered to help him salvage the B-wing, though Skywalker identified himself as "Owen Lars."^[136]

Skywalker soon discovered the divide in the populace of Nam Chorios: the younger inhabitants, the Newcomers, who largely dwelt in the cities and towns, sought to open the world to wider interplanetary trade. However, another segment of the populace, known as the Oldtimers, insisted that the status quo be maintained, for unknown reasons. Nam Chorios turned out to be quite different from his expectations. The planet was infested with small biting insects known as drochs and Skywalker soon found that using the Force caused ground lightning storms. Instead, he made his way to the largest city, Hweg Shul and, via an acquaintance of Scraf's, learned that Callista had arrived on Nam Chorios eight months prior. While in Hweg Shul, though, he sensed the presence of another Jedi and went to investigate. In a desiccated alleyway, Skywalker found the dwelling of the ancient Taselda, a human female who had once been a Jedi Knight. Taselda told him that she had been teaching Callista in the ways of the Force, but was challenged by a Force-sensitive Hutt named Beldorion who exerted considerable influence in Hweg Shul and had driven Taselda to hiding. Skywalker initially offered to retrieve Taselda's lightsaber from Beldorion, whom she said had taken it, but later recognized that she had been using him, to the point of slipping a mood-enhancing drug in his drink. Returning to confront her, he was ambushed by a group of street youths who were under Taselda's influence. Resolving not to use the Force for fear of inciting another ground lightning storm, Luke was rescued by a pair of local constables, Snaplaunce and Grupp, who dispersed the youths and responded to his inquiries about Callista by telling him that she had gone into the wilderness some time ago.^[136]

Skywalker then found himself a local job working as a mechanic, where he discovered a lucrative trade in local crystals to Loronar Corporation, which were somehow connected to the Force. Still focused on locating Callista, he attended a meeting held at Seti Ashgad's estate in hopes of finding someone who had seen Callista, unaware that Ashgad had kidnapped Leia and unleashed the Death Seed plague. At the meeting, Ashgad used his political and oratorical skills to incite the Newcomers gathered there against the New Republic, employing a faked hologram of the New Republic Chief of State to his advantage. Wondering what Ashgad was planning, Skywalker accompanied a group of well-armed Newcomers sent to retrieve a cargo of weapons and supplies from a capsule dropped from orbit. Upon examining some of the capsule's contents, Luke was alarmed to see that some of the weapons had belonged to the New Republic and Leia personally. He then decided to sneak into Ashgad's residence again, looking for more information on Leia's whereabouts.^[136]

Upon entering, he was set upon by a horde of drochs, some of them having grown and mutated to be of considerable size. When his lightsaber was of little use against the multitude of insects, Luke reluctantly used telekinesis to scatter and smash his attackers, aware that his actions had repercussions elsewhere due to Nam Chorios's unique biosphere. Advancing, he found Ashgad's secretary, a creature named Dzym threatening and attacking another of Ashgad's associates, Liegeus Vorn, a holo faker. Upon hearing Vorn mention Leia's name in his anguish, Luke sprang forward to engage Dyzm, hurling him into the wall with the Force, but Dzym fled. Luke picked up Vorn and made his way to a speeder garage, where he took one of the speeders and escaped from Ashgad's residence. Vorn informed him that the drochs that had been biting him were controlled by Dyzm and could transmit Luke's life energy back to him. In order to combat the tele-vampiric effects of the insects buried in his flesh, Luke rigged an electric pulse that, though uncomfortable, would purge the drochs from him and Vorn. Meanwhile, Vorn not only confirmed that Leia had been held captive by Ashgad only to escape, but also that Dyzm, a vastly mutated and sentient droch was the bearer of the Death Seed plague. Furthermore, Vorn apprised him that Callista had been enslaved by Taselda and then later given to Dzym, but she, too, had escaped and fled into the wilderness. Luke felt more strongly than ever that he needed to find Callista, refusing to accept the possibility that he could lose her.^[136]

Luke journeyed to the Bleak Point gun station again, which had fallen under attack by Beldorion and some of Ashgad's Newcomer associates in hopes of clearing a launch corridor for Ashgad to depart on his nearly finished freighter, along with Dyzm. Skywalker was all too aware of what would happen if Ashgad escaped Nam Chorios with Dzym—the world's sunlight and the guardian tsil crystals inhibited the growth and spread of the plague, but other planets would be highly vulnerable to the Death Seed. Skywalker flew his speeder into the midst of the Newcomers, telling them that Ashgad had duped all of them. He was having difficulty rationalizing with the group of Newcomers when Leia emerged from the Therans defending the gun station and told the truth about Ashgad's lies, complete with evidence she had taken from his residence upon her escape, and most of them immediately changed sides, ending the attack on the station. However, one of the Newcomers threw a belt of grenades into the gun station and disabled the cannon, clearing the way for Ashgad's escape. Luke immediately took Leia with him in his appropriated speeder to Ashgad's residence in hopes of preventing Ashgad from lifting off. Little did he realize that Callista had also been present at the Bleak Point station.^[136]

Though brother and sister burst into the mansion, they were too late: Ashgad's ship, the Reliant had already lifted off. Skywalker immediately effected some hurried repairs on a damaged Z-95 Headhunter in the hangar bay in hopes of pursuing the Reliant, while Leia met Beldorion in a lightsaber duel. Leia slew the Hutt and Luke recognized her victory as part of her accepting her Jedi heritage. He then took off and chased down the Reliant. However, his ship was damaged by a group of CCIR needless, small drone fighters centrally controlled by the same tsil crystals that were abundant on Nam Chorios. As his craft went down, Luke suddenly realized that the tsils were not only alive, but also Force-sensitive and had been responsible for the unusual Force perceptions he had received while on Nam Chorios. Communicating with them via the Force, Skywalker persuaded them to destroy the Reliant in exchange for the return of all the tsils that had been taken offworld by the Loronar Corporation. They also additionally agreed to help stop the Death Seed plague that had already escaped Nam Chorios and had been ravaging the sector. With the defeat of Ashgad's renegade Imperial allied fleet in space due to a combined New Republic and independent Imperial force led by the resurgent Admiral Daala, the loss of the CCIR needles, and the death of Dyzm, the plot to cripple the New Republic with the Death Seed plague was over. Luke, Han, and Leia were reunited on the surface of Nam Chorios, and Luke had one last glimpse of Callista, who had been coordinating the Theran effort from the surface, albeit from a distance. That one look was enough to tell Luke that their ways had been parted, and he ended his quest to regain Callista.^[136]

The Empire RebornEdit

Back at the Praxeum, Luke was disturbed by the murder of Havet Storm at the hands of one of his more wayward pupils, Desann. Desann, like Brakiss before him, left the Praxeum in disgust, and turned to the dark side. Shortly after, former student Kyle Katarn returned to the Praxeum, and informed Luke that he had encountered Desann. Katarn was distraught over the apparent death of his partner, Jan Ors, and in his plight, had returned to the Valley of the Jedi on Ruusan to re-gain his powers. Only he, Jan and Luke knew the location of the Valley, but Luke suspected that Desann may have followed Katarn to the Valley. Realizing what the Valley's power could do in the wrong hands, he sought the help of Rogue Squadron, and traveled to Ruusan, driving away Desann and his forces. But it was too late—Desann had joined the new Empire Reborn movement, a splinter faction headed by the Dark Jedi Hethrir, in charge of training a cadre of the Empire Youth. Using the Valley of the Jedi to make them Force-sensitive, he had created a small army of Force users. Luke sought to further investigate this new threat, finally infiltrating the Cairn Installation. Because of this, Luke teamed up with Katarn to wipe out a small batch of Reborn. While Kyle sneaked onto the Reborn flagship ship, the Doomgiver, Luke was ambushed by Desann, and fought him in a fierce but brief lightsaber duel. Faced with the prospect of losing the duel, Desann escaped. Luke then returned to Yavin 4, which was, incidentally, the Doomgiver's target. The Reborn warriors attacked the Praxeum en masse, but were defeated by Luke's students, with Katarn killing Desann deep in the bowels of the Temple.^[137]

Despite the best efforts of the New Republic and the Jedi, the Emperor Reborn was not dead, although weakened. Later in that same year, the Disciples of Ragnos, a cult splinter group from the remnants of the Empire Reborn, surfaced and attacked the Praxeum shuttle Yavin Runner II while it was carrying new students to Yavin 4. It turned out that this was a diversionary assault, enabling one of their agents to slice into Luke's datapad and obtain the locations of numerous Force nexus in the galaxy. As the cult's plan to drain the Force energy from these locations became evident, Luke sent many Jedi to those locations to oppose the cult and he personally traveled to Dagobah to safeguard that location. As the cult's plan to resurrect the spirit of ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos using an ancient scepter was discovered, Luke organized a Jedi strike team to travel to Korriban and defeat the cult once and for all. At least 48 Jedi assembled under Luke, including the Jedi Knight Jaden Korr and his former master, Kyle Katarn. The Jedi successfully landed on Korriban and in the ensuing battle most of the Disciples of Ragnos were killed, along with their leader Tavion Axmis, who was slain by Jaden Korr. Moreover, the Scepter of Ragnos was destroyed and the entrance to Ragnos's tomb was sealed, thus ending that menace forever.^[127]

In 14 ABY Luke and Han traveled to Crseih Station, located in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, after receiving a mysterious summons to search for a Jedi. Chewbacca and the three Solo children were with Leia, who was on a diplomatic tour of the galaxy. After several days of travel, Han and Luke arrived in the unstable Crseih system set to meet their contact and investigate what was happening. After some hassling with natives, they found a place where they can stay. Later, the two met their contact, a woman named Xaverri—Han's former lover.^[138]

She led them to a building surrounded by people. Inside, she led them to an altar, on which sat Waru, a blob-like being covered in scales and dripping with ichor. Waru, whose origins were a mystery, had incredible healing powers, she claimed. When a group of Zeffliffl approached with a sick companion, Waru enveloped him in his body, opening his scales, and forming a crysalis around the alien. When Waru released the being, he was completely healed. Though Han thought it was a fraud, Luke was awed, a complete believer. He sensed something about Waru. Not quite Force-sensitivity in the alien, but something else. He knew Waru was not his Jedi, but he had a mysterious ability, a strange sense about him.^[138]

After the group left the building, the trio returned to their hotel room. When Skywalker found Han and Xaverri together, and angrily accused Han of forgetting Leia. Han asked Luke why he was so angry, and in response, the Jedi stormed out of the room. Han later found Luke in front of Waru, confiding to the mysterious being that he felt lost. Waru comforted him, although he was trying to convince Luke to let him "heal" the Jedi. Han came running over to Luke, and was able to pull his friend away before he climbed "into" Waru. Luke drew his lightsaber, stunning Han, although he suddenly stopped. Apologizing, Luke told his friend that he could not feel the Force anymore.^[138]

Luke and Han later encountered a strange being carrying a child outside Waru's temple. Han immediately recognized the child as his son Anakin. Unknown to the group, the man was Hethrir, leader of the Empire Reborn, who had a plan to bring down the New Republic. Not long after the man left, they encountered Leia, who was with Jacen, Jaina and Chewie and Rillao, Hethrir's former lover. She informed them that Hethrir had kidnapped the Solo children, although they had managed to rescue Jacen and Jaina. Hethrir was meeting a group of wealthy individuals who supported the Empire Reborn.^[138]

Inside Waru's building they learned of Hethrir's plan. Waru had promised him great power if Hethrir would sacrifice a powerful Force-sensitive. That was what Hethrir needed Anakin for. Springing into action, the group was able to free Anakin, and along with Hethrir's former child slaves, fought him and his Empire Youth. However, before they could escape, Waru was able to con Luke Skywalker into "entering" him, promising he could restore his power. Luke allowed Waru to take him inside his scales. In horror Leia and Han leapt after him, knowing Waru would kill him unless they could stop Luke. Inside Waru they found themselves underwater, near a great dark circle. Leia and Han knew that whoever would enter this would die. Calling for Luke, they were able to snap him out of his trance. The three swam away from the darkness, and jumped out of Waru. In anger, Waru lunged out and grabbed Hethrir, dragging the Dark Jedi inside him.^[138]

Waru finally had been able to capture a powerful Force-user, and had drained Hethrir of energy. Luke realized that Waru was from another universe, a place where another form of the Force took the place of the Force. This anti-Force had blocked the Force, robbing Luke (and all other Force-sensitives) of his ability to feel the mystical energy field. Waru, now energized, disappeared, heading back to his alternate universe. This massive energy shift caused the nearby crystallizing star, already unstable, to explode. The group was able to escape on the Millennium Falcon just in time, with R2-D2 activating Crseih's engines to power the station away. They had defeated the threat of Waru and the Empire Reborn.^[138]

Finding his role in the ForceEdit

In 16 ABY, Luke began to question his role, as he could no longer feel the Force as strongly as he once was able to. Luke had come to a realization that as a Jedi became more intune to the Force, they were more tempted by the dark side, and it became necessary for them to find a "balance" between power and meditation. However, he felt increasingly pulled and wearied by the demands of duty, and longed to get away.^[139]

Desperate to find the answer, Luke left Yavin IV, leaving Streen in charge of the Jedi Academy. Telling no one where he was going, he headed to Coruscant, traveling incognito in an E-wing. Once on Coruscant, he located the site of his father's old castle, and using the Force, rebuilt it. Luke spent several weeks alone in the palace, meditating. Leia sensed his presence on Coruscant when he arrived and, seeking to have his aid with her Force-sensitive children, intially wanted to talk to him, but she realized he was hiding and eventually let the matter be.^[139]

Not long into his hermitage on Coruscant, Luke contacted Han, inviting him to his hidden retreat, which floated above one of Coruscant's artificial seas. Though his old friend had many questions for him, Luke told him that he was well, but that he needed time to himself and that Leia could handle her children on her own. While he didn't understand all of Luke's philosophical points, Han agreed to convey the message to Leia, leaving Luke to contemplate his role in the Force.^[139]

One day, while he was in the midst of his meditations, he was surprised to find that someone had managed to enter his sanctum without him noticing. Rousing from his thoughts, Luke found a human female, Akanah Norand Goss Pell, who identified herself as a Fallanassi Adept who had come to seek him out. Furthermore, she claimed that Luke's mother was a Fallanassi named Nashira. Though he was shocked by her revelation, Akanah told him that it was important that he accompany her to find the hidden Fallanassi refuge and learn of what had befallen his mother; only then would he be whole. She also offered to instruct him in the ways of the White Current, her source of power, as Luke was unable to register her as being Force-sensitive. Luke, unaware of his true lineage, considered Akanah's offer, but first went to Leia to probe her mind for memories of her mother.^[139]

However, Leia, frustrated by her fruitless month-long negotiations with Viceroy Nil Spaar of the Koornacht Cluster and vexed by Luke's unwillingness to help train her children, refused to go along with his plan, particularly as her mind had already been probed earlier to find more information on their parents. Exploding in a fit of anger of what she saw as his fixation with the past, Leia vehemently sent Luke packing, and Skywalker returned to his hideaway, agreeing to go with Akanah to seek out the Fallanassi and his mother.^[139]

As his starfighter was too small to carry them both, they were forced to travel in Akanah's Verpine Adventurer, a decrepit ship which Skywalker soon christened Mud Sloth, and the slow speed of the ship meant that the trip took longer than expected. Their first destination was a world called Lucazec, a relatively backwater world that Akanah informed him had once been home to the Fallanassi until the Empire forced them out. They took a cart through the countryside to the settlement of Ialtra, only to find that it had been destroyed years earlier. While they were investigating the ruins of the Fallanassi dwelling, they came under attack from a pair of men, whom Skywalker surmised to be Imperial agents. While their assailants attempted to capture Akanah, Skywalker easily killed one and dealt the other an incapacitating wound, but the wounded man committed suicide before he could glean any information from him. To his surprise, Akanah was repulsed by his deeds, saying that she was never in danger. After a brief exploration of the settlement, they both returned to Mud Sloth, as Skywalker insisted they get off of Lucazec.^[139]

There was a significant delay between Mud Sloth leaving Lucazec and entering hyperdrive due to safety precautions on the ship. After a bit of coaxing from Skywalker, Akanah revealed that she had found writing at the ruins on Lucazec that would take them to the world of Teyr. While Skywalker attempted to disable some of the precautions, he and Akanah talked about numerous things, ranging from their childhoods to Akanah's fear and distrust of Skywalker's willingness to take life so easily. Akanah stated that she did not want him to kill, even to defend her, again, and she did not understand the Jedi's allegiance to the New Republic, an allegiance Skywalker defended by saying that the Jedi were not necessarily beholden to the New Republic and sought above all to maintain the greater peace and order.^[140]

They eventually arrived at Teyr and navigated their way through a series of bureaucratic hurdles to land incognito on Teyr. They went to a house on Teyr in the city of Griann where Akanah's people had once lived, but a cyclone years earlier had ruined the dwelling, and all that was left was a hole in the ground. However, using the census records, they were able to find another city, Sodonna, where one of the Fallanassi had gone. Again, the dwelling where Akanah believed the Fallanassi to be was abandoned, but she was able to read another hidden Fallanassi inscription that pointed the two to yet another world, Atzerri. En route, Skywalker also looked up the registry of a ship, Star Morning, that other records had revealed the Fallanassi had used to leave Teyr. Using information from the ship's travel registry, Skywalker determined that the ship had set down on Vulvarch and approached Akanah to suggest journeying there instead of Atzerri. However, she was insistent that they continue to Atzerri and Luke reluctantly complied, angry at her stubbornness.^[140]

While they were en route to Atzerri, Skywalker asked Akanah about the White Circle and her involvement in it. She replied that she considered him an honorary member, since his mother was allegedly a member, but said that he would need more than just curiosity to become part of the Fallanassi. Akanah refused to teach him how to read Fallanassi scribing until he passed further tests, such as leaving his lightsaber on Mud Sloth at their next port of call. Upon landing on Atzerri, Akanah insisted on seeking out the Fallanassi on her own, much to Skywalker's perturbation. While she was away, he explored the city in which they had landed, looking at various fraudulent works that claims to be Jedi documents and spending some time at a replica of Jabba's palace. While there, he learned of the burgeoning trouble between the New Republic and the Yevetha in the Koornacht Cluster, which concerned him somewhat.^[140]

Upon Akanah's return, she reported to him that she had found nothing and, rather upset, stormed off to the ship's lone bunk to rest from her long trip. Skywalker raised ship, exploring some of the reports he had received in the mean time, including searches on Akanah's personal history. When she awoke, though, Akanah was in a better mood and told him some more of her past, satisfying his curiosities and suspicions about her, and also agreed to teach him to read Fallanassi scribing. Finally, she gave him the location of the White Circle, a planet called J't'p'tan, but did not divulge how she had obtained that information. Skywalker soon realized from the coordinates of the planet that it was in the Koornacht Cluster and wondered how tense the situation between the New Republic and Yevetha had become.^[140]

While Mud Sloth once again made its slow way through hyperspace, Akanah confessed the true reasoning for journeying to Atzerri to Skywalker. She admitted that she had known J't'p'tan was their true destination, but said she had gone to Atzerri in hopes of finding her father, but instead found him addicted to the Rokna blue drug, unable to remember her or her mother. At her sudden outburst of sorrow, Luke felt sorry for her and comforted her, holding her close in the ship's bunk.^[140] Their relationship deepened to physical intimacy. Awaking later, Akanah asked Skywalker about his family, a topic which he was loathe to discuss, though she slowly coaxed the truth out of him. Their conversation eventually turned to the role of the Jedi, and Skywalker reiterated his commitment to the idea that Jedi carried weapons because they empowered to act, and needed to use force at times.^[141]

However, mechanical failure forced Mud Sloth to make a stop at the world of Utharis near the edge of the Koornacht Cluster. Akanah was worried and frustrated by the delay and suggested they steal a ship, a notion which Skywalker firmly quashed. While their ship was repaired, he took the opportunity to learn more about the impending war between the New Republic and Yevetha. He discovered that tensions had heightened, but a lock on information by the New Republic prevented him from learning about Han Solo's capture by the Yevetha. A message from Streen also told him that R2-D2 and C-3PO had been borrowed by Lando Calrissian for some excursion of his. For the moment, Skywalker believed that he needed to continue with Akanah to J't'p'tan. He used the Force to have Mud Sloth given priority for repairs, and he and Akanah were soon on their way.^[141]

Arriving over J't'p'tan, Skywalker and Akanah found a Yevethan warship over the world, but Akanah employed her Fallanassi illusion technique to hide Mud Sloth's approach. Landing on the planet, which had been partially bombarded as part of the Yevethan Purge, they began exploring the surface. When Akanah suddenly disappeared, Skywalker grew concerned initially, but soon realized the Fallanassi were there. Akanah and two members of the Fallanassi White Circle then rematerialized in front of him—an elder woman named Wialu and a friend of Akanah's named Norika. Wialu thanked him for helping guide Akanah back, but also told him that he had to take Mud Sloth and leave at once. Skywalker was unwilling to do so, as he still sought tidings of his mother, and though Akanah sided with him, Wialu was recalcitrant. At that point, Akanah used her own abilities to reveal the H'kig colonists and Fallanassi that had been shielded from view.^[141]

Skywalker was impressed by their abilities and sought to enlist the aid of the Fallanassi in the New Republic's struggle against the Yevetha, as the invading aliens had completely missed the settlement on J't'p'tan in their purge. Skywalker suggested that the Fallanassi could generate the illusion of a fleet large enough to persuade the Yevetha to surrender. Numerous Fallanassi were swayed by his words and Wialu decided to journey with Skywalker to lend her aid to the New Republic, though the older woman insisted that Akanah accompany her.^[141]

With Wialu and Akanah in tow, Skywalker met with General Etahn A'baht, commander of the New Republic's Fifth Fleet, which was deployed in the Koornacht Cluster. Skywalker offered the services of the Fallanassi to the New Republic, but the flag officers were skeptical of their alleged mystic powers. As a demonstration, Wialu demonstrated the Fallanassi's illusory powers when a group of New Republic ships arrived to reinforce the Fifth Fleet. She generated the appearance of many more ships than had actually arrived, convincing the fleet. Thereafter, General A'bath decided to strike at the Yevethan homeworld of N'zoth, where the illusion would have the most success. Shortly before the strike was carried out, Skywalker also witnessed the successful return of a Wookiee strike team, led by Chewbacca, from N'zoth. The Wookiees, with the tacit aid of a Fallanassi named Enara, had been able to rescue Han Solo. Skywalker was shocked to learn that Solo had been captured; when Chewbacca asked him where the Jedi had been, Skywalker had no ready answer, but professed ignorance of the situation. He later expressed to his regrets for not helping to Solo personally. In the prelude of the move on N'zoth, Skywalker tried to inquire more about Nashira, but neither Wialu or Akanah provided him any more information.^[141]

As the fleet prepared to depart for N'zoth, Skywalker was offered command of an E-wing squadron by A'baht, but he declined it, saying that on the request of the Fallanassi, he would not directly participate in the battle. A'baht was perplexed by his decision, but Skywalker was resolute. The Fifth Fleet arrived over N'zoth and Wialu generated her illusion, maintaining it for as long as she could, as the Yevetha were unswayed by the appearance of a massive armada and moved to strike at the Fifth Fleet. The New Republic was ultimately successful in defeating the Yevetha, although they were forced to completely destroy the enemy fleet.^[141]

After the battle, the Fallanassi told Skywalker that they planned to depart and sequester themselves in hiding on another location, far from the eyes of the galaxy. Skywalker was not invited to accompany them, despite his curiosity about their ways, although he did ask Wialu and Akanah about Nashira one last time. Akanah then admitted that she had used Skywalker to help find her way back to the rest of the Fallanassi—while Akanah's mother had helped betray the Fallanassi years earlier and had been condemned for her actions, Wialu had left a path for Akanah to follow back to the rest of the White Circle when she was older. Akanah then revealed that the Imperial agents on Lucazec had been an illusion, a way of testing Skywalker to see what kind of person he was. She then admitted that "Nashira" had not been Skywalker's mother, but a Fallanassi woman who had aided Akanah as a child. Luke was considerably upset by the revelation that she had been lying to him throughout the journey. He did see her off, though, as the Fallanassi departed to begin their new life, and she apologized to him before departing.^[141]

Not long after the Fallanassi left, Skywalker received a message from Hiram Drayson, who informed him that his two droids had been located, but Skywalker would need to retrieve them himself. Calrissian had taken them and his former aide Lobot on a mission to explore the Teljkon Vagabond, which had turned out to be an automated and rather hostile Qellan starship now orbiting the planet of Brath Qella. Taking Mud Sloth, Skywalker arrived at Qella to find the automated Qellan vessel floating there. Collecting a scientist named Joto Eckels, who was curious about the vagabond, Skywalker used a Fallanassi illusion to approach the ship without being detected. He was able to reach Calrissian and the others, and by talking to Lobot, who had managed to communicate with the ship, learned that the Qellans had built the ship to thaw out their planet after a global ice age years before. The expedition was able to provide the ship with the information it would need to restore the world, and Skywalker used another Fallanassi illusion to hide Brath Qella while the process took place. Then, after helping retrieve Calrissian, Lobot, Eckels, and the two droids from the Qellan ship, he returned to Coruscant. There, he destroyed the sanctuary he had made and went to visit Leia, promising to be around more now that his journey had helped him find his role in the Force.^[141]

Almanian rebellionEdit

Skywalker was back on Yavin IV, training his students, when he felt a great disturbance in the Force, akin to another attack by a Death Star. Sensing danger directed towards his sister, he decided to immediately journey to Coruscant in his X-wing to meet her. Arriving on Coruscant, he found that the Senate Hall had suffered a bombing attack in its opening session. He was relieved to hear that Leia, although injured, had escaped serious harm and went to visit her after calming her children's fears—they, too, had felt the disturbance in the Force. Leia was convinced that the Empire was behind the assault, but Luke wasn't so sure.^[142]

Investigating the ruined hall, he noticed that the damage had been caused by several small blasts. Upon closer examination, he sensed the presence of a former student of his, a man named Brakiss. Brakiss had been sent by the Empire to infiltrate the Jedi academy, but Skywalker had detected his intentions almost immediately. Nevertheless, he had begun Brakiss's training when, after having Brakiss confront the dark side within him, the trainee had been overcome by anger and fear, departing the academy shortly afterward for the Empire. Before Skywalker got too far into his investigation, R2-D2 and C-3PO reported to him, with R2-D2 informing him that they had been briefly imprisoned and his X-wing disassembled by Kloperian mechanics working for the New Republic. Disturbed, Luke decided to take R2 with him to investigate the X-wing.^[142]

When he arrived, Skywalker found that his fighter had been taken apart in the midst of a fleetwide upgrade for the starfighters that included removal of the astromech droid. Displeased, he told the mechanic on duty, Cole Fardreamer, to work with R2-D2 to reassemble it in the original configuration while he sorted the issue out with the source of the order, his old friend Wedge Antilles. Skywalker instructed Fardreamer to have the fighter ready to fly when he returned, and then departed to investigate the whereabouts of Brakiss, though not before speaking with Leia first, to inform of her of his unease with the situation. His fighter wasn't ready, so he took one of the new models and departed, unknowing that the newer X-wings had a detonator built into their computer core as part of a grand sabotage scheme.^[142]

Skywalker arrived on Msst, Brakiss's last known location, but found nothing. Looking around his X-wing, he was suddenly attacked by floating bubble-like creatures known as mistmakers. He attempted to defend himself, but after bursting a mistmaker with the Force, the corrosive remains of its body remained down on him, knocking him unconscious and leaving burns across his body. When he awoke, he was floating on an air cushion, having been tended to by an elderly woman who lived on Msst, who turned out to be Brakiss's mother, who told him about her son's history. She bore no resentment towards him, as she recognized that Luke Skywalker had tried to redeem her son after the conditioning the Empire had put Brakiss through since his childhood. She warned him away from Brakiss, saying he was dangerous, but she did give Skywalker Brakiss's location: the droid manufacturing world of Telti. Journeying there, Skywalker met no reception initially, though he sensed Brakiss's presence. Instead, he met a droid, C-9PO, who had been sent to receive him by Brakiss. When he finally met Brakiss, the two briefly conversed, with Skywalker asking if he had been involved in the attack on the Senate Hall and then imploring him to return to Yavin Four and back to the service of the Force. Brakiss ultimately refused and briefly dueled with Skywalker. Realizing that he couldn't win, Brakiss raised his lightsaber in salute and told Luke to kill him, but Skywalker would not. Brakiss then revealed that the person Skywalker sought was on Almania, waiting for him.^[142]

Arriving near Almania, Skywalker sensed that the disturbance he had felt earlier had come from its moon, Pydyr, and he decided to land there and discover its source. As he approached for a landing on the deserted moon, he lost control of his X-wing due to its computer locking up and it exploded in midair. He managed to survive the landing, but with significant burns and other injuries. Little did he know he was being observed and the transmission passed on to his sister on Coruscant, who immediately resolved to journey to Almania, accompanied by a battle fleet. While wandering the deserted city, looking for other people and for medical supplies, he encountered a masked figure who identified himself as Kueller, and Luke recognized him as a man powerful in the dark side of the Force, but who had once been a student of his named Dolph. Kueller explained that he had returned to Almania to find his parents slain by the ruling government, the Je'har. Devastated, he had taken revenge against them, slaying everyone on Pydyr, and now he stood posed to confront Skywalker and the New Republic for galactic power. The two duelled, and Kueller was able to overcome Luke in his weakened state. He had Skywalker imprisoned, locked into a cell with a sizable sapient creature known as a thernbee, which was intended to eat him. Instead, Skywalker befriended the thernbee and it helped him escape the prison. Skywalker and the thernbee departed Kueller's facility and met with Leia, who had arrived on Almania to look for him. They were en route to her ship, the Alderaan, when Kueller attacked Skywalker. Their lightsabers clashed once more, but Skywalker was still weak. Leia tried to fire upon Kueller with a blaster, but he easily deflected her fire. At one point, Kueller brandished a remote, threatening to activate the detonators he placed in droids across the galaxy—detonators which had already been used in Luke's X-wing and in the Senate Hall—and Skywalker knew that with each death, Kueller would be able to wield more dark side power. To stop him, Skywalker prepared to sacrifice himself and help Leia defeat Kueller. Before Kueller could activate the remote, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Mara Jade arrived with ysalamari. The effect from the ysalamiri cut off Kueller from the Force and he was momentarily stunned. Leia took the initiative and shot him, ending the threat he had posed to the galaxy, though R2-D2 had already remotely disabled the droids from a location on Telti.^[142]

First Corellian InsurrectionEdit

Caamas Document CrisisEdit

Marriage to Mara JadeEdit

After the signing of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty, Luke and Mara spent a couple of weeks vacationing at the Vlassy Nature Preserve on the planet of Garqi. There, they had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the planet’s scenery, though, in a conversation with Jade, Skywalker confessed that he was rather nervous about the future ahead. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Leia announced Luke's and Mara's wedding, which was taken by the press as a sign of unity between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic; however, many critics saw the union as a means to establish a Jedi Empire. To complicate matters further, C-3PO became involved in the wedding planning, resulting in a more grandiose ceremony, much to Luke’s dismay.^[143]

As the news made its way across the galaxy, Luke and Mara returned to Coruscant to begin wedding preparations. Upon their arrival in the planet's busy metropolis, the couple was greeted by Han and Leia, who had recently returned from their public appearance at the Senate announcing the marriage. While Mara and Leia went around Coruscant searching for potential dress designers, Luke and Han traveled to a local pub for a casual outing, where Solo revealed the glamorized state of the wedding to Skywalker. After sharing pleasantries over a few drinks, Luke returned to the newly rebuilt Jedi temple to resume his daily activities. There, he talked with Kam Solusar and Corran Horn about the possibility of a Jedi ceremony, in addition to a more publicized one. Horn suggested that they hold the Jedi ceremony first, as he felt that having the public event as a Jedi one would confuse the public and make them feel excluded from what was supposed to be a uniting event; Skywalker agreed and preparations were immediately made. Later that day, Luke and Mara held a private, less formal ceremony in the Jedi training area. Joining two halves of a crystal together in a symbol of their union, the couple were married by Solusar.^[143]

Shortly after the ceremony, Han took Luke to the Red Rancor cantina, where he and Antilles had arranged a surprise bachelor party featuring numerous guests including members of Rogue Squadron, Jedi, and other old acquaintances. The festivities had barely begun, however, before a swoop gang picked a fight with the group, causing a huge bar brawl. With many Jedi, Rogues, and smugglers involved, the bachelor party quickly overpowered the swoop gang, though, during the ensuing fight, Luke had sustained a bruise to his eye and the party left the cantina before media attention was attracted. Mara was displeased to find that he had been fighting and urged him to take it easy. However, on the eve of their wedding day, both Luke and Mara found relaxation difficult as they experienced somber visions, in which Palaptine had succeeded in swaying Luke to the dark side.^[143]

The next morning, he and the other men in the wedding went for their fittings. Just before the wedding was to begin, Karrde came to Antilles and the others with Banner Sumptor, a man who had been part of a rogue Imperial moff's scheme to disrupt the wedding and assassinate Luke and Mara, but had a change of heart. Antilles insisted that the ceremony go on and took command of the defense, assigning several of the Rogue Squadron members present to security duties. Celchu, Darklighter, and Antilles were able to drive off the swoopers, while Luke succeeded in dissuading the moff, who personally interrupted the wedding ceremony, from carrying out his mission, urging him to join in the reconciliation. Despite the minor setback, the ceremony continued, with Luke and Mara exchanging their wedding vows and rings. After their reception, Han flew the couple to their honeymoon site.^[143]

Married lifeEdit

About a year later, Luke, accompanied by Mara, was working to arbitrate disputes, many of them generational, on a planet that especially revered Jedi. While his wife was growing flustered by all these demands on his time, Luke took the opportunity to arrange a second honeymoon for his wife via one of his local contacts, which was a pleasant relief for both of them.^[144]

Junior Jedi AcademyEdit

Around 22 ABY, Luke and his former student Tionne traveled to Tatooine on a quest for young Jedi candidates, where they came upon an orphaned Human girl named Tahiri, who had been adopted by a tribe of Tusken Raiders. The Jedi sensed the Force in Tahiri and decided to bring her to Yavin 4 for training, promising the Sand People Tahiri would come back one day to decide if she would stay with them or continue her schooling. The day after returning to the Jedi Praxeum with their newest recruit, the Master and Jedi historian started the first session of the Junior Jedi Academy. Luke sensed that Tahiri and his nephew Anakin, another student at the academy, were stronger as a team than many adult Jedi, and so did not punish them harshly for disappearing into the jungle during their first days of instruction.^[145]

One week later, Luke reluctantly allowed Anakin and Tahiri to accompany the Melodie Lyric to Yavin 8 for her Changing Ceremony. When the two students returned bedraggled, battered, and bruised with a new Melodie named Sannah, Luke was worried and upset about the dangers the kids had gotten themselves into; still, upon sensing the Force running strongly within Sannah, he allowed the young girl to stay and study with her new friends at the Jedi Praxeum.^[146]

One week after the students returned from Yavin 8 and six months after Luke's last visit to Tatooine where he first met Tahiri, Skywalker sent Tahiri back to Tatooine to fulfill his promise to the Sand People, accompanied by Anakin and Tionne in Peckhum's Lightning Rod. There, the Jedi faced more danger, to Luke's dismay, but showed signs of their continuing growth in the use of the Force, leading the Jedi Master to believe that they would become powerful Jedi Knights. When Anakin and Tahiri secretly slipped out again to break the curse of the Golden Globe, Luke Skywalker met the ancient Jedi Master Ikrit, who explained the whole situation to him. He was very proud when the two young Jedi candidates returned, having successfully freed the trapped Massassi souls.^[147]

Three months later, Luke welcomed Anakin back to the academy from his break on Coruscant and, realizing that the boy was troubled, told him they needed to talk when he was ready. Yet before they could meet, a boy named Uldir was discovered stowing away in the Lightning Rod's cargo hold. Dreaming of becoming an adventurous Jedi, Uldir demanded to be brought before Luke Skywalker. Luke agreed to test the boy, but did not find much, if any, Force potential within him; however, he allowed Uldir to stay at the academy for several months with his parents' permission. After a conversation with Ikrit, Luke realized that Anakin was upset by thoughts of who he really was inside. At the Kushiban Jedi's suggestion and the approval of the Solos, Luke allowed Anakin to go to Dagobah with his friends, in order to give the boy time to explore his inner self. After the kids returned, including Uldir, who had once more stowed away, Luke met with each individually in his office to discuss their encounters, before sending them on to talk to Tionne. Despite recognizing that each child had learned an important lesson, Luke knew that they would have many more trials and adventures in their future.^[148]

Some time later, Luke sent Anakin, Tahiri, and Uldir to meet Tionne, who was returning from a research mission to Borgo Prime. As he routinely cleaned R2-D2, oiling and upgrading the droid's various components, the trio entered his office with the Jedi historian and news of a Jedi relic, Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber, originally thought lost in the destruction of the first Death Star. According to Tionne, a Hutt information broker located Kenobi's lightsaber in an abandoned castle on Vjun. From Tionne's description, Luke quickly recognized the castle as Darth Vader's former fortress, Bast Castle. Wishing to retrieve the lightsaber but unable to because of an urgent meeting with Leia on Coruscant, Luke agreed to let Tionne, Ikrit, and R2-D2 escort Anakin, Tahiri, and Uldir to Vjun, assuming the parents of the two boys consented. They did, so the group traveled to Vjun, whereupon they battled through booby traps and fought off Orloc, the "Mage" of Exis Station, who was likewise seeking the saber. Skywalker met the group on the temple landing pad upon their return, pleased to see that they had recovered a holocron in addition to Kenobi's lightsaber, and surprised to find the adventurers arriving in two ships, Sunrider and the Lore Seeker, when they had departed in one.^[149]

Luke was soon called back to Coruscant for several weeks, leaving lessons at the Praxeum in the hands of Tionne. After showing Anakin, Tahiri, and Uldir the basic workings of Asli Krimsan's holocron, Tionne placed the recovered relics in Luke's quarters until he returned; impatient with the slow pace of learning, Uldir sneaked in to Luke's vacant room and "borrowed" the lightsaber and holocron. Discovering the theft of the objects, and the disappearance of Uldir and Ikrit's Sunrider, Anakin, Tahiri, Tionne, Ikrit, and R2-D2 flew to Exis Station. There, they rescued the artifacts and Uldir, who had nearly been corrupted by the false magician Orloc. The reformed Uldir realized that he would never be a Jedi, and a week after they returned to Yavin, Luke spent several hours discussing things with the boy, pushing him towards becoming an emergency pilot. Uldir decided to do that and left the academy the next day.^[150]

Later that year, Luke joined his wife, Mara, on a trip to an Outer Rim planet to meet with the smuggler boss Huxley, a long-time member of Talon Karrde's organization. Mara informed him that Karrde no longer needed his services, as she was going legitimate. Huxley, angered by what he saw as betrayal, demanded Mara pay 500,00 credits. Mara refused, and in response Huxley revealed to Mara his secret weapon—a Clone Wars droideka. Mara knew that even though the droid was old, it could still be deadly. She distracted Huxley and his gangsters while her husband destroyed the droid. Huxley was then forced to surrender and drop his demands.^[151]

The rediscovery of Outbound FlightEdit

Immediately after this incident, Luke and his wife learned (through Talon Karrde) of a message sent to them by Admiral Voss Parck. Parck informed them that the Chiss had discovered the remains of Outbound Flight, an old ship used in an expedition to search for life outside the galaxy nearly 50 years ago. Chaf'orm'bintrano, a Chiss Aristocra asked the Parck send a message to the New Republic's greatest Jedi. Luke had not received the summons, Parck informed them, because an engineer on an Outer Rim space station by the name of Dean Jinzler had stolen it.^[151]

Luke and Mara nonetheless headed to Chiss space, where they boarded the Chaf Envoy to meet with the Aristocra. However, in the entrance corridor, they were nearly knocked unconscious by a heavy metal cable which had swung loose. The two were saved only by Luke's Jedi danger sense and quick reflexes. They then met with Formbi, as he requested they call him, who told them more about Outbound Flight. It had been destroyed nearly 50 years ago by a rogue Chiss—Thrawn. Recently, the remains had been found, and the Chiss thought it may contain information useful to the Jedi. Formbi then introduced the two to Dean Jinzler, whom he believed to be a New Republic ambassador. He recognized that the two Jedi knew he was not from the government, and admitted that he had stolen the message, claiming he needed to see the wrecakge of Outbound Flight for "personal reasons".^[151]

Shortly after the two Jedi had boarded the Chaf Envoy, a group of aliens known as the Geroons contacted the Chiss. They claimed Outbound Flight had saved them from their captors, the Vagaari, decades ago. They wished to visit the site and pay homage to their heroes. Formbi agreed to let a Geroon shuttle dock with the Chaf Envoy. Later, Mara headed back to the corridor where the cable had slipped, looking to see if it was a true accident or sabotage. Though she was unable to confirm it was purposely released, it seemed highly likely it had been let go on purpose. There, she made another startling discover—a group of stormtroopers were onboard the Chaf Envoy. The commander spotted her, and introduced himself, Chak Fel, leader of Unit Aurek-Seven of the 501st. He told her that Parck had sent them to watch over the Jedi for reasons unknown to the stormtroopers or Mara.^[151]

Though Mara insisted they did not need protection, Fel told them he was under Imperial orders, and he would do his duty. It was later revealed to Luke that one of the members of the 501st was an Eickarie, something Palpatine would not have allowed. This was one of the first clues to Luke and Mara that the Empire of the Hand, as it was called, was dramatically different from the old Empire Mara had served.^[151]

As the ship traveled to the wreckage, which was located in the Redoubt, the mission was beset by several problems. Line creepers were found in the power lines, a set of Outbound Flight's schematics possessed by Fel was stolen and one of the Geroons was shot. The Jedi were unable to rule out anyone as the guilty party.^[151]

Despite these problems, the Chaf Envoy made it to Outbound Flight. Luke, Mara, Jinzler, Formbi, General Drask and of his several Chiss soldiers and the Geroons boarded the ancient ship. Once onboard, the two Jedi were shocked when they sensed the presence of others on the ship—the survivors. The group, now realizing that they must approach this differently, set out to explore the ship, splitting up into several groups.^[151]

However, each group was lured into a trap by two of the survivors, Guardian Pressor and his niece Evlyn. As they followed Evlyn, a section of the floor fell out, trapping the groups in a small room which began to descend. They were in turbolifts. After a time, each group was contacted by Jorad Pressor, who warned them that the cars would drop if they tried to escape, something that would kill them all. He agreed to free "ambassador" Jinzler and the three beings with him, two Geroons and the Chiss Feesa, but refused to release the Jedi.^[151]

Meanhwile, Luke and Mara had managed to escape from their car, despite the high probability of the car crashing. Along with Drask, they headed for the control room, where the leadership of the survivors waited along with Jinzler, negotiating for their release. At this time, Mara came to a sudden realization—the Geroons were playing them for fools. She had connected several small clues to realize that the Geroons were not the peaceful beings they claimed to be, but creatures with sinister plans. Shortly after this, Jinzler contacted them. He told the Jedi that the Geroons had attacked them in the conference room with their pet wolvkils. One of the survivors had identified them as Vagaari, vicious enemies of the Chiss.^[151]

Mara and Luke managed to contact Fel and the 501st and warn them of the danger. On their way to the conference room where Jinzler and some of the survivors were trapped by several wolvkils, the two Jedi encountered dozens of Vagaari warriors and their wolvkils. The Vagaari had kept the warriors in suspended animation in rooms partiallly open to vacuum on their ship, fouling up scanners. However, the Vagaari and even their vicious pets were no match for the two Jedi. Upon their arrival in the conference room, they defeated the wolvkils and freed the prisoners. However, it was too late to stop the Vagaari, who had taken one of the functional Dreadnaughts from Outbound Flight. The Jedi were unsure of how they could stop them, until one of the "natives" revealed they had a Delta-12 starfighter, a fast two-man ship that could catch up to the Dreadnaught before it made it out of the Redoubt.^[151]

The two managed to catch up to the ship before it could exit the Redoubt, and board it through a gaping hole in the side. Once onboard, they made it through the hallways, defeating more Vagaari warriors until they reached the bridge. There, they killed all except the leader, Estosh. Estosh attempted to kill them with poison gas, but they destroyed the canisters, killing Estosh. However, he had already entered the coordinates of the Vagaari fleets location, enabling the Chiss to find them and earning the Jedi the respect of commander Prard'enc'iflar.^[151]

Second ImperiumEdit

Following the defeat of the Vagaari, Luke Skywalker returned to the Yavin Four Academy part time to instruct more potential Jedi in the ways of the Force, though he continued to take missions of his own and left much of the instruction to other Jedi he had trained. Among them were his nephew Jacen and niece Jaina Solo. As he had with his first class, Skywalker's curriculum contained lessons and exercises concerning the use of the Force, but was not strictly regimented in the same manner as the Old Jedi Order. Instead, he sought to allow his students to learn and discover at their rate and in their own way while providing a guiding influence.^[152]

During one lecture, though, Skywalker was interrupted by R2-D2, who informed him of trouble on the landing pad. Luke sprinted out to the pad to find a large jungle creature terrorizing a spacer named Peckhum, who had just landed his ship near the academy. While some of the Jedi trainees and Peckhum expected Skywalker to fight the creature, he sensed that the animal was confused, not malicious, and calmed it down with the Force. Then, he planted a suggestion in its mind that the academy was not of interest and the beast crashed back off into the jungle, to the amazement of the onlookers. Greeting the frightened spacer, Luke assigned Jacen, Jaina, and a Dathomiri trainee named Tenel Ka to assist Peckhum in unloading his ship, informing them that their father, Han Solo, would soon be bringing another Jedi trainee, the Wookiee Lowbacca to Yavin Four.^[152]

While teaching the trainees in the ways of the Force was sometimes challenging, such as when Skywalker was asked almost nonstop questions by Raynar Thul or when he came across a large food fight, he found the work rewarding and devoted his time to raising the next generation of Jedi. Shortly after Lowbacca arrived, though, he was called away on a mission. While he was gone, the Solo twins were briefly taken prisoner by an Imperial TIE pilot named Qorl, who had been marooned on the moon since the Battle of Yavin. The twins were forced to help him repair his derelict fighter, but they made their way back to the Temple after Qorl blasted off. Meanwhile, Lowbacca and Tenel Ka had raised the alarm at the Jedi Academy. By the time Skywalker returned it had been a few days since Han Solo, who had been in the system visiting Lando Calrissian's GemDiver Station over Yavin Prime, had chased off the TIE fighter in the Millennium Falcon. Skywalker was impressed with how the Jedi trainees had worked together, as well as their continued commitment to the Jedi path in the face of adversity.^[152]

Skywalker also assisted Tenel Ka in keeping secret that she was the Hapan heir by arranging a visit to GemDiver Station for the rest of her friends when Hapan ambassador Yfra arrived. However, the ambassador was delayed, and in the meantime, Lando Calrissian reported that GemDiver Station had been attacked and boarded. Furthermore, Calrissian informed Skywalker that the Jedi trainees had been kidnapped by the attackers, who were apparently some form of Imperial splinter faction. Taking Tenel Ka with him, he journeyed to GemDiver Station to investigate the abduction. Upon arrival, Calrissian informed him that the craft used to breach the station's defenses had been equipped with industrial-grade corusca gems mined at GemDiver and sold to a gem broker on Borgo Prime. Contacting Han and Leia, Luke urged restraint on their part while he investigated the fresh trail in the Odd Chance, a ship borrowed from Calrissian, and they reluctantly agreed.^[153]

Landing on the disreputable world of Borgo Prime, Skywalker and Tenel Ka began searching for a trader dealing in corusca gems, operating under aliases to conceal their identities. Meeting with a Hutt information broker, Skywalker was able to find the gem broker who had recently dealt in corusca gems and learned from him that she had claimed to be a Nightsister, the dark side Force witches of Dathomir he had previously fought. The pair of Jedi then immediately set out for Dathomir to investigate the possible return of the Nightsisters. Meeting with the Singing Mountain clan leader Augwynne, Skywalker learned that the Nightsisters had risen again and were allied with the Empire. When a Nightsister named Vonnda Ra arrived at the Singing Mountain clan village searching for recruits, Skywalker and his young companion observed her and resolved to journey to the Great Canyon, where Ra had said for any prospective recruits to journey for training. Tenel Ka and Skywalker successfully infiltrated the Nightsister enclave and were taken in an experimental shuttle to the Shadow Academy, a secret space station used for training Dark Jedi. Skywalker refrained from revealing the full measure of his abilities during the tests they were put through by the Nightsisters, but as their questioner, a Nightsister named Garowyn, focused on Tenel Ka, he was in little danger of being discovered. In a swift display of the Force, Skywalker hurled Garowyn into an escape pod and jettisoned her into deep space as soon as the Nightsister had set their course for the Shadow Academy. Although their destination at first appeared to be empty space, the station deactivated its cloaking device and allowed the shuttle to land. However, before they had even left the hangar bay, Skywalker and Tenel Ka were met by Jacen, Jaina, and Lowbacca, who had escaped from imprisonment and their Imperial captors. Before they could escape, though, Skywalker was confronted by his former apprentice Brakiss, who was now in charge of the Shadow Academy. Before their argument progressed to violence, though, Jaina Solo used their shuttle's laser cannons to disable a set of door controls, separating Skywalker and Brakiss. Escaping the space station, they returned to Yavin Four, broadcasting a warning to the New Republic. Back on the jungle moon, Skywalker asked his nephew Jacen what he learned about the use of a lightsaber, as Brakiss had allowed him to handle one during indoctrination sessions on the Shadow Academy. While the younger Solo replied that he knew it was not a weapon to be used lightly, Skywalker told him the existence of the Shadow Academy meant the new group of Jedi trainees might soon be thrown into conflict.^[153]

Facing the shadowEdit

During this period, Skywalker sent Jaina and Jacen, along with Lowbacca and Tenel Ka, back to Coruscant so the Solo twins could be with their parents and have a reprieve from their Jedi studies. During their trip, they met and befriended a street urchin named Zekk. However, Brakiss and his Nightsister aide Tamith Kai abducted Zekk and, realizing he was Force-sensitive, began training him at the Shadow Academy after persuading Zekk to join them. Skywalker greeted his trainees upon their return, encouraging them by saying it would still be possible to redeem Zekk and that it was not their fault that the orphan had gone over to the Shadow Academy. However, after a visit to learn more of what the New Republic had uncovered about the Shadow Academy Skywalker was also concerned enough about it to begin preparations for a battle between the Shadow Academy's Dark Jedi and his Jedi Order.^[154]

As part of his preparations, Skywalker kept his own physical and mental skills sharp, challenging himself daily with workout routines and meditation exercises. Skywalker also warned his trainees of the threat posed to them by the Shadow Academy. He also informed the two Solos, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka that the time had come for them to construct their own lightsabers, as the Shadow Academy had already tried targeting them, placing them in a threatened status. The four all constructed their own unique weapons over a period of weeks. After they were completed, Skywalker helped instruct his students in the proper use of the Jedi weapon, training them against dueling droids, stationary targets, and training remotes before letting them practice against one another. However, in one of their training matches, Jacen Solo accidentally sliced off Tenel Ka's left arm when the power supply in her lightsaber failed due to a defect in the construction. After seeing that she received medical attention, Skywalker allowed Tenel Ka to be returned to her family on Hapes, though the episode leaked her identity as the heir to the Hapan throne to the other trainees.^[155]

However, Tenel Ka was not allowed to receive messages from the Jedi, due to an order by her grandmother Ta'a Chume, who was temporarily watching the girl while her parents were traveling. Skywalker, recalling his past experiences with Ta'a Chume, decided to take Tenel Ka's friends to Hapes in the Shadow Chaser to visit her. Encountering Ta'a Chume, Luke was unsurprised to find that the older woman bluntly wanted Tenel Ka to immediately discontinue her Jedi training. Skywalker allowed Tenel Ka's friends to remain on Hapes with her while she recovered, but he had other pressing matters to attend to, so he left them at the Hapan Court to keep the Hapan heir company. After a series of assassination attempts during their stay on Hapes, Tenel Ka ultimately decided to return to Yavin 4 and complete her training as a Jedi Knight. She constructed a new lightsaber and continued her training, which pleased Skywalker, as did the progress his students had been making in learning the ways of the Force.^[155]

Skywalker accompanied his friend Han Solo on a scouting run in the Outer Rim. To help maintain a low profile, both men disguised themselves and Solo's Millennium Falcon. Solo left Chewbacca to help keep an eye on Solo's twin and the two were off. By the time Skywalker returned from his mission, his Jedi trainees had already had their first clash with the Shadow Academy's Dark Jedi, including Zekk, on Kashyyyk.^[156] In an effort to bolster the defenses, Skywalker had shield generators deployed to protect the Praxeum, along with increasing the ground combat training for the trainees. However, the Shadow Academy attacked the Jedi academy, quickly destroying its shield generators with a commando raid. Skywalker furthermore learned that their communications had been jammed, but he resolved to repulse the Imperial attack anyway, without reinforcements. To do this, he ordered his trainees to evacuate the Temple and meet the Imperials in the jungle, much as he had done during Daala's raid years ago.^[157]

In the midst of the battle, Brakiss sent out a challenge to Skywalker, asking to meet him at the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster. Skywalker agreed and the two met face to face. Each tried to persuade the other to join them, but both Skywalker's and Brakiss's efforts were in vain. With persuasion having failed, the two briefly dueled and Skywalker destroyed Brakiss's lightsaber, but the Dark Jedi escaped. Skywalker returned to the battle and was present at its conclusion when Zekk emerged, barring the way to the Great Temple. The rest of the Dark Jedi had already been defeated, but Zekk alone remained, as Brakiss had died when the Shadow Academy self-destructed. However, Jaina Solo volunteered to confront the Dark Jedi in hopes of redeeming him and Skywalker allowed her to do so. She was ultimately successful, and though the Temple had taken heavy damage, Skywalker saw the aftermath of the battle as an opportunity to start the rebuilding process. He also worked with Tionne in efforts to redeem the Dark Jedi that had been taken prisoner in the failed assault.^[157]

Diversity AllianceEdit

Not long after the Second Imperium attack, Skywalker allowed Zekk to depart in the Lightning Rod, which Peckhum had given him. The troubled young man needed to find his own path, and Skywalker hoped the Force would give Zekk the guidance he would need. Meanwhile, the Solo twins, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka went to the Graveyard of Alderaan in Tenel Ka's ship Rock Dragon to gather a birthday present for their mother. Though Boba Fett attacked them, the Jedi Knights managed to escape and return to Yavin 4 with the aid of Zekk, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, who chased off Fett. After the entire group returned to Yavin 4, Luke met up with Leia and Anakin Solo for a private birthday celebration for his sister.^[158]

However, as Jedi trainee Raynar Thul's father, Bornan Thul, had disappeared, Skywalker was asked to personally escort Thul to his parent's fleet of trading vessels for his security. Skywalker allowed Thul's friends to accompany them on the Shadow Chaser while some of his other companions followed in the Rock Dragon. Skywalker delivered the young man to his relatives safely and returned to the Jedi academy, though Thul's friends were allowed to stay with him for a few days. Skywalker soon received a message informing him that his young Jedi Knights had gone searching for Bornan Thul on worlds across the galaxy.^[159]

After Thul's and the other Jedi trainees' eventual return to Yavin 4, Skywalker was sent off an another mission for the New Republic. On his return, he brought Lusa, a Force-sensitive Chironian whom the Solo twins had met during their capture by Hethrir years earlier.^[160] Not long afterwards, he met Zekk on the roof of the Great Temple. The former Jedi had turned to bounty hunting and had been searching for Bornan Thul, but now he needed Skywalker's aid. Zekk reported that Thul's disappearance was related to mysterious nonhuman organization known as the Diversity Alliance. The Diversity Alliance had been known for its hatred of humans, and while Lusa had previously deserted the group, Lowbacca had become affiliated with them recently. Furthermore, Jacen, Jaina, Raynar Thul, and Tenel Ka had gone off on a mission of their own to find Lowbacca and hadn't reported in. Zekk wanted Skywalker's aid in finding them and Skywalker took him to see Lusa, who would have knowledge of Diversity Alliance locations and strongholds. Skywalker found Lusa near the academy in a pool where she had been swimming until a Bothan working for the Diversity Alliance had attacked her, under orders not to allow escapees from the Diversity Alliance. She and the Bothan were fighting furiously until Skywalker intervened and used the Force to disarm and neutralize the would-be assassin. After Skywalker brought his prisoner and Lusa back to the academy, he explained that while he and Leia had been aware of the growing threat of the Diversity Alliance, they had kept their actions to low-profile investigative missions to avoid stirring up dissension between the species of the New Republic. Furthermore, Zekk told the Jedi Master about Nolaa Tarkona, the leader of the Diversity Alliance, and her plan to use the Emperor's Plague, a biological weapon that targeted only humans. Lusa revealed that the four missing Jedi trainees had gone to Ryloth, a Diversity Alliance stronghold, to search out Lowbacca and Skywalker, Lusa, and Zekk immediately departed in the Lightning Rod to find them.^[161]

They arrived on Ryloth and disabled a pair of sentry ships to slip down to the surface. Skimming over Ryloth's hot side, they noticed a skirmish taking place on hte ground. As it turned out, Jaina and Raynar Thul were under attack from Diversity Alliance henchmen. The Lightning Rod's laser cannons dealt with the attackers and Luke, Zekk, and Lusa rescued the two beleaguered Jedi trainees. With Luke and Zekk at the controls, the Lightning Rod raced through the atmosphere, pursued by Diversity Alliance ships, but Skywalker's piloting skills were such that he was able to dodge the hostile ships while Zekk returned fire. They linked up with the Rock Dragon, which contained Jacen, Tenel Ka, a prodigal Lowbacca, and a Twi'lek clan leader that Jacen and Tenel Ka had rescued. However, the younger Jedi Knights had all been injured, so Skywalker had both ships set course for Coruscant, where he explained the situation to the Solos and saw that the injured received appropriate medical attention.^[161]

He was present for a special session of the Senate that Leia Organa Solo had called to address the issue of the Diversity Alliance. As a result, an investigative team was sent to Ryloth to search out the Diversity Alliance's activities there and Skywalker accompanied them, as did Lusa and Lowbacca and Jedi Knight Cilghal. Other members of the team included Lowbacca's sister Sirrakuk, also a former Diversity Alliance member, and New Republic senator Trubor, who doubted the Jedi's report. Their reception was less than warm, but Tarkona already left Ryloth and one of her henchmen, the Devaronian Kambrea remained behind to deal with the New Republic team. While most of the sites Kambrea showed them were innocuous of appearance, including the ryll mines where the four Jedi visitors had earlier been briefly enslaved, Sirrakuk found a cache of armaments disguised as medicine. A firefight broke out and while Skywalker was easily more than a match for any of the Diversity Alliance soldiers he faced, the New Republic team was greatly outnumbered. Eventually, though, after a New Republic Chadra-Fan senator was killed in the crossfire, the Twi'lek clan leader, Kur, was able to persuade the Diversity Alliance soldiers to surrender, as nonhumans were killing nonhumans. Meanwhile, several of Luke's Jedi trainees helped destroy the Imperial warehouse where numerous plagues were being stored, ending the threat of pathogenic terrorism. Nolaa Tarkona was infected by one of the plagues and died, crippling the Diversity Alliance's leadership and their fleet was destroyed by a New Republic armada under Han Solo. Lastly, as the Jedi trainees and Skywalker returned to Yavin Four, both Zekk and Lusa decided to remain at the Jedi academy and train to become Jedi Knights and Skywalker welcomed both of them.^[162]

Return of Black SunEdit

Following the defeat of the Diversity Alliance, Luke continued to reside on Yavin Four, training the new Jedi Order while some of his older graduates, such as Kyp Durron and Streen, were sent on missions of their own. Skywalker encouraged Zekk in his training to use the light side of the Force, suggesting that he find ways to train in something that he enjoyed, which led him and Tenel Ka to participate and win the Blockade Runners' Derby on Ord Mantell. Skywalker would also later dispatch Streen and Kyp Durron to aid Zekk, Tenel Ka, and the Solos in settling a civil war on Anobis.^[163]

Upon their return from Anobis, Skywalker agreed, upon the recommendation of Han Solo, to let Anja Gallandro stay at the Yavin Four praxeum for some time. Though Gallandro was not Force-sensitive, she used a lightsaber when her coordination was enhanced by andris spice. Luke, though skeptical of her potential, allowed her to stay. He also permitted the Solo twins, Gallandro, Zekk, Lowbacca, and Tenel Ka to take a trip to Bespin with Lando Calrissian to visit the soon-to-be-opened SkyCenter Galleria, a theme park and entertainment complex that Calrissian had invested in, and the young Jedi Knights were able to foil a Black Sun scheme to take over the galleria.^[164]

Later, during a visit by a spacer named Peckhum who had helped raise Zekk to Yavin Four, Gallandro decided to steal Zekk's ship, the Lightning Rod in order to find a way to fuel her andris addiction. In response to Zekk's angry response, Skywalker reminded him that it was Gallandro's choice to leave the academy and asked the trainees if they really wanted Gallandro arrested, as they had previously considered her a friend. They didn't, and Skywalker dispatched the same party that had gone to Bespin minus Gallandro in the Rock Dragon, Tenel Ka's ship, to find Gallandro. The episode was a mild bit of strife for Skywalker, who noted with satisfaction that the ranks of the Jedi Knights continued to swell. Little did he know that the Jedi apprentices he sent out would help thwart a grandiose power-grabbing scheme by Black Sun lieutenant Czethros, but he was impressed with the results, as the five trainees and a repentant Gallandro defeated Czethros before his plans could come to fruition. In fact, in the midst of the festivities that surrounded their return, Luke took each of the five young Jedi Knights aside and told them that they were rapidly approaching the status of full Jedi Knighthood and should consider their role in the galaxy.^[165]

Yuuzhan Vong War (25–30 ABY)Edit

Holding off the invasionEdit

Leading from the frontEdit

Soon after came the voxyn threat, which proved even more lethal than the Peace Brigade. After conducting a vote on Eclipse Station, Luke approved the launch of the Mission to Myrkr. Meanwhile, in the Senate on Coruscant, the turning point of the Jedi came when Borsk Fey'lya openly pledged his home system to support the Jedi in order to counter Nom Anor's demand. At the same time, Luke successfully united Kyp Durron, Saba Sebatyne and their squadrons with the Jedi Order by promising that the Jedi would carry the war to the Yuuzhan Vong. Returning to the front line, Luke led half the Jedi and most of the Masters in the galaxy to rescue the hostages in Talfaglio's orbit. With the combined strength of Saber Squadron, Shocker Squadron, the Wild Knights, the Kyp's Dozen and New Republic reinforcements, the Jedi swiftly defeated the Yuuzhan Vong fleet and rescued almost everyone, with the bonus of capturing a yammosk. Together with Borsk Fey'lya, Luke used the stunning victory to turn the tide against the anti-Jedi faction in the Senate and earn the New Republic military's official support and cooperation with Jedi activities.^[166]

After the fall of Reecee, Luke attempted to capture a living yammosk when Booster Terrik lured an enemy fleet to Eclipse Station. The plan failed, as Tsavong Lah had instructed his subordinates to destroy any yammosk which was threatened to fall into the Jedi's hands. Next, Luke led the Jedi to take part in a nine hundred ship task force which crippled the staging Yuuzhan Vong fleet in the Black Bantha Nebula and saw to the capture of a living yammosk.^[166]

When the tide seemed to finally favor the Jedi, the Force once again shifted to nightmarish darkness with a series of developments: the death of Anakin Solo on Myrkr, the leak of Eclipse Station's coordinates, the fall of Coruscant and the near-successful kidnapping of Ben by the traitor Viqi Shesh.^[166]

Despite joining forces with General Wedge Antilles' Fleet Group Three, the Jedi were still hopelessly outnumbered by Tsavong Lah's invasion fleet. While the Jedi destroyed several enemy yammosks and Lah's flagship, the Sunulok, the Jedi starfighter wing paid too heavy a price. Both Luke and Mara, two of the most noted Jedi pilots in the galaxy, were shot down in their X-Wings when the couple attempted to recover the kidnapped Ben. When Lando and YVH 1-1A took over to recover the baby, Luke led Mara and Artoo to defend Coruscant with a surface turbolaser battery. The trio escaped the doomed Coruscant aboard the Falcon. Thankfully, Lando was able to rescue Ben and Threepio from Viqi Shesh, though the treacherous Kuati escaped.^[166]

Accompanied by Wedge's fleet group, Luke founded and led Twin Suns Squadron in the recapture of Borleias. Together with his family and life-long friends, they founded the Insiders to counter the self-declared Chief of State Pwoe and his corrupted Advisory Council. Luke continued to serve the Borleias garrison, through both ground patrols against Yuuzhan Vong resistance forces and space missions as Twin Suns leader until he passed the squadron to Jaina Solo for the needs of psychological warfare. At the same time, Luke had a disagreement with his wife over their roles in the Force, as Mara felt the maternal instinct to remain with Ben to protect him and Luke felt he needed to go to Coruscant after receiving a chilling vision of the dark side there. They eventually resolved the dispute and Mara agreed to join the mission to Coruscant. Lando Calrissian brought the Skywalker couple, together with Tahiri Veila, Danni Quee, and several members of Wraith Squadron, to the heart of the Yuuzhan Vong-held Coruscant, where the Wraiths and Danni planned to spy out the fallen capital while the Jedi dealt with the dark side emanation.^[131]

In the depths of the altered city planet, Luke and the others, disguised as Yuuzhan Vong, explored the Vongformed planet while evading Yuuzhan Vong warrior parties, though they had to destroy at least one group. They also met with groups of survivors, assuring them they were not forgotten and offering them what aid they could. Luke found himself demoralized by the city though, as it was unlikely that its recapture would occur soon and it had already been significantly altered by its occupiers. Also, he felt numerous disturbances in the Force from the dark side.^[167]

While they were exploring an old air purification area, Luke, persuading a devourer tank that he was not food, gained the others access to a secret laboratory where they learned the source of the dark side premonitions Luke had received, though at the cost of his black outfit. The laboratory yielded valuable information on its one-time occuaption, a deranged, mutated, cyborg Dark Jedi known only as Lord Nyax, but who had once been Irek Ismaren, whom Leia had encountered on Belsavis years earlier. Nyax had been slaughtering Yuuzhan Vong and controlling the pitiful undercity survivors and the result had been a large disturbance in the Force. Nyax was even able to exert some measure of mental influence on the weary and demoralized Luke, nearly convincing the Jedi Master to walk off a building and plummet to his death. Tahiri, and Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker faced off against Lord Nyax, pursuing him throughout the city as they tried to stop his plans to release a wellspring of Force energy with the aid of a construction droid he had commanded survivors to repair for him. Though they encountered Yuuzhan Vong in their pursuit, the alien warriors and the Jedi were both more concerned about dealing with Nyax. Surviving a massive Force battle at the site of the old Jedi Temple that resulted in Nyax being crippled by thudbugs thrown by Tahiri, Skywalker left Coruscant and returned to take over Borleias.^[167]

Upon their return, Luke took command of Blackmoon Squadron, whose commander had been reduced to catatonia by battle stress. The squadron was considered one of the garrison's elite units, and the Blackmoons and Luke flew cover for Lusankya when Wedge launched Operation Emperor's Spear against former Warmaster Czulkang Lah, protecting the enormous vessel until it was close enough to ram Lah's worldship. This marked the final stages of the battle, as Antilles's forces withdrew after they destroyed the worldship that housed Czulkang Lah, and Luke and Mara journeyed to Mon Calamari to assess the situation with the government in exile.^[167]

Reorganizing the New Republic and the Jedi OrderEdit

After that, Skywalker concentrated his efforts on recreating the legendary Jedi Council. To do so, he had to enter the nebulous world of politics. Backing a pro-Jedi candidate, Skywalker saw Cal Omas elected Chief of State of the New Republic. Together, they formed the new High Council, which now included both Jedi representatives and members of the New Republic government. The first challenge in the world of politics was the crisis of Alpha Red, which could destroy every single Yuuzhan Vong life form if launched. Luke and his Jedi representatives prevented the motion from passing, but Cal Omas nevertheless ordered the project to move on. When Alpha Red was sabotaged by Vergere, an Old Republic Jedi who had spent decades among the Yuuzhan Vong, Luke realized the trust between him and Cal was lost.^[168]

With Alpha Red out of the picture, Luke journeyed to meet the seasoned General Garm Bel Iblis, who had gone rogue after the fall of Coruscant. Together the pair led a formidable task force to reinforce the New Republic in the Battle of Ebaq 9. Luke coordinated the fleet with the Force Meld technique, which greatly improved the performance of the New Republic forces. The battle ended with the death of Warmaster Tsavong Lah.^[168]

Ending the warEdit

As Zonama Sekot traveled back to known space despite Nom Anor's sabotage, Luke formed a plan based on the intelligence of the showdown between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong in Mon Calamari. Zonama Sekot directly jumped to the Coruscant system, causing great confusion and chaos among the Yuuzhan Vong, triggering the heretics to revolt, and Zonama's gravitational pull slowly dragged Coruscant back to its original orbit. Disturbed, Warmaster Nas Choka recalled his fleets back to Yuuzhan'tar.^[10]

Luke and other High Council Jedi members traveled to Contruum, attempted to talk the Alliance leaders out of assaulting Coruscant. Refused, the Alliance leaders wrote Zonama Sekot out of their concern and left the planet for the Jedi to deal with. Luke returned to Zonama Sekot and mustered the Jedi to deal with the crisis. Part of the Jedi would protect Zonama Sekot, some would serve on Alliance capital ships, while Luke led Mara, the Solo twins, Tahiri and Kenth Hamner to infiltrate Shimrra's Citadel.^[10]

The Battle of Yuuzhan'tar broke out. Luke and the Solo twins fought through the Sacred Precinct, and the team entered the Citadel with Jacen's help. There, Luke led the assault to the top level, slaying warrior after warrior. The Jedi Master became a calm maelstrom of Force energy, surrendering his individual personality to the Force and becoming the embodiment of its will. Neither Jaina nor Jacen were able to percive their Uncle as he moved faster then even their Jedi senses could follow, calmly ripping through scores of elite Yuuzhan Vong warriors as Luke Skywalker's massive power was unleashed. In Shimrra's chamber, Luke and the Solo twins killed several Slayers guarding the Supreme Overlord. Embracing the Unifying Force, Luke used his unique green Electric Judgment for the first time on a Slayer to save Jacen. While Jaina pursued the fleeing Onimi, Shimrra Jamaane knocked out Jacen and engaged the Jedi Master. Struggling against the giant Shimrra, Luke failed to leap out of Shimrra's attacking range while Shimrra's Scepter of Power wrapped itself around Luke. As Luke held back the amphistaff, Shimrra deflected Jacen's saber throw and attempted to slay Luke with Anakin Solo's lightsaber. Luke released his hold on the Scepter to push away Shimrra's wrist and was bitten by the staff. When Shimrra prepared to strike the death blow, Luke Force pulled Anakin's lightsaber into his hand, slashed the amphistaff into pieces with his own blade, and beheaded Shimrra with the cross of the lightsabers.^[10]

Unable to fight anymore, Luke sent Jacen to rescue Jaina. Fortunately, after the battle, his nephew Jacen was able to concoct an antidote by manipulating his own tears before Luke was killed. Luke then played a key role in the Sekot Accords, convincing Nas Choka and the Yuuzhan Vong to surrender and live a peaceful life on Zonama Sekot. Gathering all the Jedi that had survived the war, Skywalker explained to them a new path for the Order: their role was to embrace the Force completely and serve its will wherever it would guide them.^[10]

Strife within the Order (30–40 ABY)Edit

Role of the Jedi OrderEdit

After the end of the war, the Jedi started to change. Internal struggle and the Galactic Alliance proved to be a constant source of discontent within the Order. Nowhere was this more evident than on the Masters' Council.^[169]

One side, led by Kyp Durron and Mara Jade Skywalker, was of the opinion that the Jedi were not responsible for the protection of the Galactic Alliance by mandate; rather, that the Jedi had to take a larger view of galactic affairs to avoid getting tangled in the internal politics of the Alliance, as had happened in the Old Republic.^[169]

The other side, led by Kenth Hamner and Corran Horn, believed that the Jedi Order owed the Galactic Alliance their full and unwavering attention, due to the fact that it was the Galactic Alliance that financed the Order, and was also responsible for giving the Order a new Jedi Temple. This faction believed that because of the Alliance-Jedi High Council, which was the ruling body of the Alliance, the Jedi were irrevocably tied to the Galactic Alliance.^[169]

These tensions were nominally smoothed by the first-among-equals leader of the Jedi, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Under his leadership, he tamed the tempers of even the brashest and loudest of the Jedi, but, as he would later reflect, he made the almost fatal error of not providing a power structure within the order. All these things would manifest themselves in the Dark Nest Crisis^[169] and the Swarm War.^[170]

A cry for helpEdit

In 35 ABY, after a Force-call for help, originating from the presumably lost Jedi Knight Raynar Thul, the Nightsister Lomi Plo, and the Dark Jedi Welk, was heard and answered by all the Myrkr strike team survivors except Tenel Ka, Killik nests started building up along the Chiss border, aided by the Jedi who had answered the call. The Myrkr strike team survivors had, like the three presumed-missing Force-sensitives, become Joiners into various Killik nests. Aristocra Mitt'swe'kleoni, alarmed and outraged, demanded an explanation from Chief of State Omas, who led him to Luke. Mitt'swe'kleoni was apparently convinced that the missing Jedi had gone rogue, while Cal Omas demanded that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker personally bring the Jedi back and stop the killing.^[169]

In response to this turn of events, Luke, Mara, and Saba traveled to the Lizil nest on the Jade Shadow, and were greeted by five hundred dartships, while the Solo couple also rushed to the Lizil nest after receiving the news from Kyp. Using the Force, Luke tried to gain the locals' cooperation, however, a strange presence in the Force always interfered with his efforts. Later, with the help of Jae Juun and Tarfang, the Jedi learned the basic idea of Joiners and traveled to Yoggoy.^[169]

UnuThul greeted the group in Yoggoy hangar with a masterful display of his current Force power. In the Prime Chamber, UnuThul used "we" to address himself, stating Raynar Thul no longer existed and "they" were now UnuThul. Luke insisted that he sensed Raynar's presence in UnuThul, and guessed Raynar might be in hiding. Raynar then guided the Jedi to read the Chronicle on the wall, explaining the transformation of Raynar Thul to UnuThul, and the rise of the Unu nest.^[169]

Over the course of the interview, Luke sensed that Raynar's presence rose repeatedly to the surface but was swallowed by the presence of the hive mind. UnuThul claimed that since the Killiks remembered the Crash, but not the Dark Jedi, the Dark Jedi must be dead. When Luke tried to probe UnuThul again, the hive mind was able to powerfully push Luke out. When Mara demanded to know the location of the missing Jedi, UnuThul suddenly Force-probed Luke with such a power that the combined strength of Luke, Mara, Saba and Leia was required to stop him.^[169]

Still refusing to surrender the location of Qoribu, UnuThul stated that anyone could leave whenever they wanted, and decided to assign a Yoggoy guide to escort the Jedi back to Lizil. Luke refused and insisted on performing a private investigation. UnuThul then debated with Luke about the political standing of the New Jedi Order and their new Potentium view of the Force.^[169]

Mysterious attackersEdit

Luke and his companions soon realized that such a collective mind allowed UnuThul to spy on them almost any time and anywhere on Yoggoy. They visited the crash site, Dark blue insects attempted to assassinate the group there. The Solos, Skywalkers, and Saba barely escaped with Nanna, killing several blue insects in the process. However, the Yoggoy guide that accompanied them denied ever seeing any blue insects before its death. When they traveled back to the hangar, Han and UnuThul exchanged harsh words about the attempted assassination. As the debate became a stalemate, Luke proposed that it was another party who attempted to assassinate them, but UnuThul insisted that even if someone else had attacked them, the hive mind would be aware.^[169]

Meanwhile, the joined Jedi battled against Chiss forces over Qoribu's orbit, and Lowbacca went EV. When the Masters reached Qoribu, the Shadow was attacked by mysterious dartships, which were fooled by Luke's illusions. After an intense interview, Masters Luke, Saba, and Mara requested the younger Jedi return to Coruscant. The joined Jedi agreed on the conditions that Lowbacca would be rescued and that a Master would stay on Qoribu to monitor the conflict. However, unbeknownst to his parents, while returning home on the Shadow, Ben Skywalker secretly stowed away a Killik from the Gorog nest.^[169]

Dark Nest CrisisEdit

Once Luke had returned, Cal Omas demanded the Jedi recall the rogue Jedi and Hapan fleet; otherwise the Alliance would stop financing the Order. Open debate broke out in the Masters' Council right in front of Omas. Leia proposed moving the nests on Qoribu to a new system the Solos had discovered on the condition that Borao would be given to the Ithorians. The Jedi mounted an assault against the Dark Nest by allowing Alema to escape Ossus with Gorog, leading the Jedi to Kr^[169]

Concerned about the Colony's plot for the upcoming battle, Jaina reached into the Force and warned Jagged about the Colony ambush. Meanwhile, Luke led a team of Jedi to neutralize the Dark Nest on Kr. The Skywalker couple infiltrated the Dark Nest in StealthXs but were shot down and ambushed. In high orbit, the Second Battle of Qoribu broke out as neither the Chiss nor the Hapans would trust the claim of the Solos, each fearing that the Solos were agents of the opposite party. Despite all the crossfire, the Falcon landed on Kr and stormed the Dark Nest to reinforce the Skywalkers.^[169]

As Jaina and Zekk attempted to rescue Lowbacca, Alema and Dark Nest warriors ambushed the combined force of the Skywalkers, Solos, Saba, Kyp, Kyle Katarn, Octa Ramis and YVH 5-S Bugcruncher war droids. As the orbital battle rapidly turned into a stalemate, on Kr the battle intensified as Luke and Mara dueled with Alema, Welk, and the Gorog assassin in turn. The fighting darkened as the Skywalkers used Force Choke and Force lightning against their enemies. A mysterious attacker drew away the power cells of the Jedi lightsabers and blasters, and slowed down Luke's motions. Although convinced that it was Lomi Plo, Luke and Mara could not find her. Then, Luke realized that although the Force itself might have no light or darkness, the Force-users do, and thus they must choose the right path. In the end, Mara defeated the Gorog assassin, and Luke slew Welk with his own lightsaber, although Luke sustained a minor leg injury. However, Alema Rar, injured, fled the battlefield.^[169]

The battle saw the apparent destruction of the Dark Nest. With the help of the Solos and Saba, the Jedi were able to twist the truth a little bit for the mentally unstable UnuThul. Although full-scale war between the Killiks and the Chiss was averted with the signing of the Qoribu Truce, the peace would not last long.^[169]

Jedi Grand Master and the Swarm WarEdit

For a year, the Killiks kept a low profile in the galaxy, but in actuality they were gathering for war. The nests were still under the sway of the Dark Nest, Lomi Plo having survived the Second Battle of Qoribu. UnuThul, under the influence of the Dark Nest, was enraged at a natural calamity which he blamed on the Galactic Alliance. The "Fizz", a deadly white substance that ate anything not naturally occurring in the planets that the Killiks were given, was killing hundreds of Killiks each day. Because of this, the Killiks, under the influence of the Gorog, were again expanding their nests against the space of the Chiss Ascendancy.^[170]

Luke, Leia, and Han were again brought before UnuThul, this time as presumed enemies. Leia, now a Jedi Knight, was able to calm UnuThul, but he still did not trust them. This mistrust would eventually lead him to hold Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (along with with C-3PO and R2-D2) captive in attempts to get them to join into the Killik nest, which would enable him to learn their secrets. A rescue mission was hatched by Organa Solo and several Jedi, but Luke and Han had an escape plan of their own. With the assistance of Jae Juun and Tarfang, the duo escaped on the DR919a. However, they quickly discovered that the Killik nests were also fleeing the Utegetu Nebula, in massive nest ships. Some of these ships escaped a blockade set up by the Alliance, but the Gorog Hive ship was trapped. Luke and his companions landed on the Gorog ship in an attempt to destroy their dark influence. After fierce fighting, Luke was cornered by Lomi Plo herself and dueled her. Plo eventually managed to escape, after a fierce fight, despite her nearly successful attempt at killing Luke. The Killik fleets escaped, and engaged the Chiss. The Swarm War had begun.^[170]

Luke Skywalker immediately returned to the Jedi Academy on Ossus. He granted himself the title of Jedi Grand Master and assumed full control of the Jedi Order, in hopes of uniting the Masters to overcome their differences. He told his Jedi Order that if they did not place the Jedi first in their lives, they should leave the Order.^[171]

After his speech, he finally discovered how his mother died when he made R2-D2 show him the hologram of his father Force-choking her. Luke, shocked at that revelation, later went with Jacen, Mara, Kyle Katarn, and others to the Gorog nest ship in the Utegetu Nebula to find and kill Lomi Plo. He nearly succeeded in killing Lomi Plo, but Lomi got away just before they severely damaged the nest ship. During the aforementioned battle, Jacen Solo and Mara Jade Skywalker were severely injured by Lomi Plo and, during their recovery, Jacen made Luke confront his doubt about his mother's death, saying that only when Luke could remove all doubt from his mind could he defeat Lomi Plo. Later, Luke fought against Lomi Plo and Raynar alone, against the wishes of his wife and nephew. He killed Lomi Plo, taking back his original lightsaber that was confiscated by Raynar and brought Raynar back to the Galactic Alliance, albeit under heavy sedation, and proved Jacen wrong by rejecting the dark side of the Force completely. After the Swarm War ended, he dissolved the Jedi's role in the Galactic Alliance High Council on Coruscant, in favor of a new ruling Jedi Council, whose opinions and advice would be relayed to the Chief of State. In addition, the Potentium view of the Force as adopted by the Jedi after the Yuuzhan Vong War seemed to be losing strength and the more orthodox view of light and dark started to take hold once more. After this, Luke continued to lead the Jedi Order and, along with his wife Mara, raised his son Ben.^[171]

Confederation-Galactic Alliance War (40 ABY—)Edit

Rising tensionsEdit

In 40 ABY, Luke began to have visionary dreams of a dark, shadowy figure that, at the time didn't "exist". While most of its face was in shadow, its features reminded Luke of Anakin Skywalker, and it behaved malevolently to Luke and his family.^[172]

Also around this time, tensions flared between the Galactic Alliance and Corellia. Feeling something was wrong, Luke sent his son and nephew to Adumar to investigate. However, Ben and Jacen did indeed discover an illegal missile factory and barely escaped with their lives. This event sparked Corellia's rebellion against the Galactic Alliance. Luke, Mara, Jacen and Jaina took the side of the Alliance, while Leia and Han adopted the point of view of the Corellians. These tense times led Luke, Mara, and Jaina to serve the Alliance in the Battle of Tralus, where Luke served as the Hardpoint Squadron's leader. He participated in the mission to kidnap Aidel Saxan, the Prime Minister by retrieving and escorting Jaina's and Tahiri's team to safety. However, while the Galactic Alliance succeeded in disabling Centerpoint Station (which the Corellians were planning to reactivate), the kidnapping of Saxan was foiled.^[172]

Following these first victories and losses, the Galactic Alliance and the Corellians attempted negotiations with each other. Choosing Toryaz Station as a neutral site to hold talks, Supreme Commander Pellaeon represented the Alliance and Prime Minister Saxan represented the Corellians. Many members of both factions, including Luke and Mara, also attended. After the first day of talks, it seemed hopeful that a truce would be made and the war would end before it could escalate. However, Lumiya, the Sith who Luke believed was long dead, brainwashed several commandos of Toryaz Station's security forces and had them target a number of members from both delegations, Luke among them. While he and the other Jedi managed to fend off their attackers, Prime Minister Saxan was among the casualties.^[172]

After the incident on Toryaz Station, Luke and his wife infiltrated Corellia by acting as impersonators of themselves and later met with Corran Horn at a secret Jedi Installation, and he decided to evacuate some Jedi children from the planet. After that, he left for Coruscant. After returning to the capital, Luke encountered a Force Phantom of Jacen in the middle of the night. He fought off the Phantom, not realizing that it was in fact the real Jacen Solo, who was across the galaxy near Bimmiel. Mara faced a similar phantom of Ben. When Jacen agreed to accept the teachings of Lumiya, Luke could sense that the shadowy figure of his dreams was beginning to "exist".^[172]

The dark shadowEdit

As the war continued, Luke requested his son Ben to duel him. This was a test for Ben to force Luke to activate his lightsaber, which later was shown to have no power cell. Luke wanted to discover if Ben was becoming corrupted towards the dark side by Jacen, but couldn't find any evidence. Worried about Lumiya's interest in their son, Luke and Mara decided to look for her, hoping to stop her before she inflicted serious damage. On their search, they were summoned by detectives to look at Tresina Lobi's corpse in Fellowship Plaza, whom Luke had told to follow Ben and Jacen. At the crime scene, they found a holocube that eventually brought them to Lumiya's apartment. In the apartment, Mara and Luke found evidence that linked Lumiya to the killing of Bothans. Distraught at their findings, Mara decided that Ben had to be taken away from Jacen.^[173]

Luke and Mara then journeyed to Hapes, trying to retrieve Ben from the Anakin Solo to keep him away from Jacen. Finding him gone, Luke and Mara did meet with Tenel Ka and Jacen, and were given a rendezvous point to meet with their son. After landing at the rendezvous point where Jacen had said Ben would meet them, Luke and Mara were attacked by Lumiya and Alema Rar. While Luke dealt with Lumiya, Mara dueled Alema Rar when she nearly killed Mara with a dart. In the duel, Luke was severely injured while fighting Lumiya, but Mara defeated Alema, knocking her unconscious, where she discovered the bomb attached to Alema. Returning to see Luke shoot Lumiya five times, Mara informed him of the bomb and pulled him to safety. Luke and Mara saw this as a trap orchestrated by Jacen and both became concerned about their and Ben's safety and seriously considered that Jacen was falling to the dark side and possibly becoming a Sith Lord. Their fear and suspicions deepened after Jacen opened fire with the Anakin Solo's turbolasers upon his own parents. Meeting up with the family, except Han and Leia, Jacen allowed Luke to take Ben away to be cautious. Luke, Mara, and Ben then returned to Coruscant.^[173]

The pain of lossEdit

Luke was present at the funeral of his wife, where Leia Organa Solo was to eulogize her fallen sister-in-law. However, Leia was delayed by a squad of GAG troopers that Jacen had sent to detain them. Instead, Saba Sebatyne delivered the eulogy, using points of Mara's history to verbally sting Jacen Solo, who had arrived late. Jacen tried to make up with Luke, and Luke was somewhat willing to reconcile with his errant nephew, even committing the Jedi to the Battle of Kuat in their StealthXs.^[174]

However, while they were waiting to launch their strike, the other Masters told Luke of how deep their suspicion and distrust of Jacen ran, and also that he had apparently ordered Ben to kill Cal Omas. Luke entered Jacen's private room on the Anakin Solo and immobilized him with the Force, furious at his conduct. Jacen, on the other hand, warned Luke of the apprentices that he had carefully held hostage on Ossus with a GAG battalion. Luke considered taking on Jacen right then and there, but left to return to his craft, stating that they would take up the matter later. However, instead of following the battle plan, Luke and the other Jedi took flight and left for Kashyyyk, where they convinced the Wookiees to not join the Galactic Alliance's warmongering.^[174]

Jacen quickly learned of Luke's deception and pursued him to Kashyyyk with the Fifth Fleet, while ordering his GAG troops to kill the Jedi on Ossus. On Kashyyyk, Luke met up with Han and Leia Solo, while Jaina, Zekk, and Jag dealt with the GAG battalion. Jaina would later join Luke on Kashyyyk, but the Fifth Fleet arrived shortly afterwards. The Anakin Solo, on Jacen's orders, began to bombard Kashyyyk and Luke, Jaina, and the other took off in StealthXs. Luke planned a run on the Anakin Solo to kill Jacen with a shadow bomb, but Jacen interfered in his own StealthX. While trying to shoot him off Luke's tail, Jaina's lasers hit Luke and destroyed his X-wing, which then rammed into the Star Destroyer. Dismayed by the loss of the Jedi Master to them, the Jedi returned to Kashyyyk.^[174]

However, Luke was not dead. In fact, he had faked his death in order to sneak onboard the Anakin Solo to disable its weapons and rescue Ben, who had imprisoned by Jacen after he tried to assassinate him. After Luke disabled the turbolasers, he revealed himself in the Force, but only to Ben, so that he could track him. Entering the room, he found Ben strapped to the Embrace of Pain with Jacen next to him. Enraged that his nephew would do something as horrific as torturing Ben, Luke attacked Jacen, slicing his kidney in the first stroke. The battle then continued into a very physical fight, with both opponents making liberal use of Force techniques, unarmed combat moves such as elbows and kicks, as well as their lightsabers. Jacen threw a bed of thorns onto Luke, but he sliced through it and sent Jacen into a cluster of tangling vines, trapping the Sith. At that point, Ben sliced his way free of the vines, declaring that it "was his right" to kill Jacen. Luke stopped him from doing so, saying it would lead him to the dark side, but Jacen broke free and began to strangle Luke with a vine. Luke struggled against the chokehold, but it was finally broken when Ben rammed a vibrodagger between Jacen's shoulder blades. Luke realized that they were both in no emotional state to deal with the Sith Lord once and for all, and the two fled the Anakin Solo, leaving Jacen sorely wounded but alive.^[174]

After escaping, Luke and Ben returned to Kashyyyk so they both could heal and recover. A Confederacy fleet had pounded the Fifth Fleet until it withdrew thanks to Jacen's and Alema Rar's battle meditation, so Kashyyyk was free from threat. Luke then withdrew the Jedi Order from the conflict, saying that they would neither side with the Galactic Alliance or the Confederacy.^[174]

Luke continued to lead the Order even as they hid from Jacen, biding their time for the proper way to deal with the threat of the Sith. His son Ben went to investigate Mara's death on Kavan, while Luke took a StealthX to a secret meeting near N'zoth with Galactic Alliance Chief of State and Admiral Cha Niathal. Niathal indicated that she would support Jacen's removal and feed Skywalker intelligence on Jacen's activities. A later communique from Niathal regarding Jacen's plans for laying mines around Fondor led Luke to discreetly pass on the information to the Fondorian government, which destroyed the five Nonvideor-class minelayers that had been dispatched. In their correspondence, Luke advised Niathal that Ben was working with a Coruscant Security Force and GAG member named Lon Shevu to investigate Mara's death, and Niathal promised to help them discreetly.^[175]

The news also led Luke to take a large contingent of Jedi to Fondor while leaving Ben at Endor to keep an eye on things and help supervise the transfer of the Jedi from Endor to another haven. While Caedus was flying a brief reconnaissance mission in his StealthX prior to engaging Fondor, Luke stealthily attacked Jacen's fighter with his own StealthX after luring him out with a phantom fleet generated by a Fallanassi illusion. With the aid of two other StealthX's, Luke and the other Jedi nearly succeeded in capturing Jacen wholesale in his fighter, but the Sith Lord's willingness to undertake risky maneuvers and jeopardize innocents by diving through a cargo transfer tunnel caused Luke and the other Jedi to back off, biding their time until later.^[175]

During the battle, Luke and the other Jedi used their illusory skills to conceal the Fondorian fleet and also protected as many civilians in the orbital cities as possible. With the arrival of numerous Imperial fleets and the separation of Cha Niathal from Solo, Skywalker took the Jedi and left and the battle turned out to be the breaking point between Niathal and Caedus, as well as marking the full entry of the Imperial Remnant into the war.^[175]

Upon his return, Luke was called into a conference along with Han and Leia by Ben to present conclusive physical and recorded evidence that Jacen Solo had in fact killed Mara Jade Skywalker. Luke was proud of Ben for the methodical, rational way in which he had obtained his proof, and determined to not stop fighting until Darth Caedus was ultimately defeated. After the battle, Luke was visited by Mara's Force ghost in his sleep, which brought him comfort, as his wife had already appeared to Ben and aided him in his investigation.^[175]

Skywalker then moved the Jedi Order to a new refuge on Shedu Maad, which was located near the Transitory Mists of the Hapes Cluster. While there, he presided over a meeting of the Masters Council, though Leia, Han, Jaina, and Jagged Fel were also present. During the meeting, Jaina proposed that she undertake a mission to eliminate the threat Caedus posed. After she was questioned about her motives and determination, Luke supported her idea, saying that the Masters Council had already debated and agreed to her plan before it was proposed. He then went on to say that while he was sure he could defeat Caedus, he didn't see any possible future where the duel didn't drive him to the dark side. Skywalker felt that his slaying of Lumiya had already tainted him with vengeance and he refused to keep treading that path. Instead, he supported Jaina's plan and sent her, her parents, and Ben to Coruscant to gather intelligence from Lon Shevu about the location of Caedus. For his part, Luke began interfering with Caedus's meditations, altering his visions of the future to focus the Sith's attention on Luke in order to hide the fact that Jaina was coming after him.^[176]

However, upon the return of the team, the three Solos regretfully informed Luke that Ben had been captured. Luke, though saddened, told them that he had foreseen it, and it had been unavoidable if Jaina's plan was to be kept secret from Caedus. Instead, his own efforts had been successful, as Caedus was convinced that a very angry Luke Skywalker would be coming after him, bent on avenging his fallen wife. Ben later escaped from captivity and made his way back to the Jedi with the aid of some Hapans. Ben reported that Caedus was at Nickel One, where Jaina had previously aided the Mandalorians in a failed defense against Imperial Remnant forces. In response, Skywalker led a wave of Jedi StealthXs and blastboats against the Remnant forces there as a cover for Jaina's insertion. The Sword of the Jedi was placed into a dropsuit and prepared for launch from a blastboat, which was crewed by Han, Luke, Leia, and Saba Sebatyne. The battle also saw the arrival of the Mandalorians, which Skywalker had foreseen. Luke persuaded the Mandalorians to fly cover for the Jedi assault on the asteroid facility on Nickel One where Caedus was and Fett reluctantly agreed. The Mandalorians suffered heavy casualties in the raid, but Skywalker was unconcerned, as the Mandalorians had previously rejected Jedi offers to join forces. Instead, he concentrated all of his power on deceiving Caedus, to the point where Caedus thought he was dueling Luke instead of Jaina. When he did this, Skywalker dropped into a trance state, unresponsive to anything else. Though Jaina was unable to kill Caedus, Luke set the blastboat down on the asteroid under heavy fire, waiting to pick her up when she emerged. Jaina was eventually brought back to the blastboat, severely injured, and the Jedi withdrew.^[176]

Back at Shedu Maad, Luke continued to make preparations for a second strike on Caedus while Jaina healed. When she asked him to teach her the shatterpoint skill, he did so, but also noticed that Caedus had left a blood trail on her, allowing the Sith to find their location. Preparations were hastily made to evacuate Shedu Maad, but the arrival of the Hapan fleet under Tenel Ka changed things. The evacuation continued, but the combined Jedi and Hapan forces set up a trap for Caedus, who arrived with a sizable fleet intent on attacking the refuge. Luke had Jaina and Zekk fly a pair of StealthXs as lures for Caedus to draw him into a narrow part of the Mists, then hit the Sith's fleet with a wing of StealthXs while he flew a Bes'uliik fighter Jaina had obtained from the Mandalorians. The fighter was much more visible than a StealthX and Luke intended for Caedus to think he was headed straight for him to distract him from Jaina. In a series of attack runs, the Jedi fighters inflicted heavy damage on the Anakin Solo and Jaina was successfully inserted into Caedus's flagship while Skywalker continued to lead the Jedi forces in battle alongside the Hapans against Caedus's fleet.^[176]

Jaina eventually slew Caedus after a protracted duel on the Anakin Solo, and Luke then led a sizable Jedi boarding team onto the flagship to capture the Imperial moffs, who were aboard. With a dozen Masters and fifty Jedi Knights, Skywalker's Jedi quickly swept through the ship, cutting down any resistance, while Han, Leia, and Jag went to find a once more severely injured Jaina. Skywalker and the Jedi quickly captured the moffs and Luke learned that they had launched a nanovirus targeting the Hapan royal family at the Queen Mother's ship, Dragon Queen. An irate Tenel Ka had survived the assassination attempt, and Skywalker now gave the moffs two choices: to be surrendered to Hapan justice, or to switch allegiances and help end the war now that Caedus was dead. Unsurprisingly, they chose the second option, and Luke nominated Jagged Fel to succeed the assassinated Gilad Pellaeon as head of the Moff Council, to Fel's surprise. However, Fel agreed in the end and the moffs relented. A furious Han Solo wanted to kill some of the moffs in revenge, but when Luke said it was fine with him, Solo realized that more killing wouldn't solve anything. Queen Mother Tenel Ka, though also bitter and angry, came to the same conclusion. With the moffs' capitulation, the battle was effectively over, and the war's end followed not long afterward. The galaxy was once again reunited, with Natasi Daala becoming the new head of state. Daala, however, did hint at the galaxy no longer needing the Jedi in her inaugural speech.^[176]

Picking up the pieces (43 ABY)Edit

Though the war was over, it could not be easily forgotten. Too much damage had been done. Things would grow worse as Chief of State Natasi Daala began to distrust the Jedi, and many of the Order feared that she would attempt to one day outlaw them. Things quickly became worse when, in 43 ABY, Jedi Knight Seff Hellin was involved in a dispute with GA intelligence officers. Luke feared that Hellin had used powers taught to him by Caedus shortly before his death—dark side powers Caedus had learned on his five-year odyssey. This caused Luke to recall all of the Jedi to the Temple on Coruscant indefinitely.^[177]

In 43 ABY, Luke Skywalker was present at a unification summit held on Coruscant between the Galactic Alliance and the Hapans, where Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala, Confederation head Turr Phennir, and Imperial Remnant leader Jagged Fel. During a break in the proceedings, though, Skywalker was approached by Galactic Alliance Security agents and taken into custody. He was accompanied by Han Solo to a security facility, where he was held in isolation after refusing to be questioned without counsel present. The arrest was not a surprise to him, as the Jedi Master had heard rumors that he would be charged to some extent for his role in the Confederation-Galactic Alliance War. However, when he met with his lawyer, the Twi'lek Nawara Ven, he learned that the charges against him were not dereliction of duty for the Jedi abandoning the Galactic Alliance, but criminal negligence leading up to the possibility of a treason charge for failing to prevent Jacen's fall to the dark side.^[178]

Skywalker appeared at an arraignment, where he was ordered to appear at future court hearings, but was released on his own recognizance. Shortly thereafter, he learned that Jedi Knight Valin Horn had become insane, and while Horn had been captured, sedated, and held at the Jedi Temple, Master Cilghal was unable to explain his condition. In particular, the Jedi's brain could not be scanned due to a technique that Horn was subconsciously using, one which Skywalker recognized as one employed by Jacen Solo which the errant Jedi had learned on his travels.^[178]

That evening, Horn escaped, and Skywalker was part of the Jedi-led pursuit. Skywalker, accompanied by Ben, chased Horn's stolen X-wing in airspeeder, and caught it. Skywalker jumped onto the X-wing, but Horn ejected. Skywalker then ordered the starfighter's astromech to safely land the vehicle. He then returned to Ben's speeder, and caught up with Horn again after a group of bounty hunters damaged the speeder that Horn was using. Skywalker then confronted, disarmed, and swiftly rendered Horn unconscious. By that time, though, Galactic Alliance Security personnel had arrived and demanded that Horn be turned over to them. The Jedi were opposed to that idea, but Leia Organa Solo mediated a solution where Horn would be taken to a closely monitored room at Mon Mothma Medical Center, a neutral location.^[178]

However, the incident earned the Jedi much negative press, and Skywalker himself was cast as an out-of-touch autocrat. Skywalker went to negotiate with Daala, feeling that the Force was telling him to do so. They discussed the basis for the case against and she told him that her largest objection to Skywalker and the Jedi was that they were essentially above the law, and were impossible to monitor. Having reached that realization, Skywalker was able to make a settlement with Daala wherein he would be exiled from the Jedi Order for ten years, or until he was able to prove what had caused the fall of Jacen Solo. The agreement was announced at a court hearing, where Skywalker pleaded guilty and announced his departure. Kenth Hamner was chosen as his replacement, and he thereafter presented his plan to the Masters' Council. However, he told the other masters that he was not resigning and did plan on returning.^[178]

His son Ben decided to accompany him, and Skywalker was unable to dissuade him. He packed swiftly and was prepared to leave when Cilghal told him about a record from a Kel Dor Jedi Master of the Old Republic, Plo Koon, which linked the ability to confuse the brain scan to the Baran Do Sages on Dorin. Skywalker then decided to journey to Dorin, taking his wife's old ship, the Jade Shadow. Before he left, the rest of the Jedi Order saw him off, and he bade them farewell.^[178]

Skywalker and Ben reached the Baran Do Temple on Dorin without incident, and when his son made a comment about the appearances of the Baran Do, Skywalker reminded him that things were not as they always seemed. They entered the temple and were met by a Kel Dor named Tistura Paan. Skywalker asked her about Jacen, but she refused to give them access to the leader of the temple, Tila Mong, until they proved their identity. As such, Skywalker had Ben defeat Paan in unarmed combat, as a sign that Skywalker's student could defeat the Mong's student. After she was defeated, Paan took them to meet Mong. Mong informed that Jacen had been there and had learned Baran Do techniques. Skywalker asked to be taught those techniques, but warned Ben that, should the techniques corrupt him, that the younger Skywalker should kill him.^[178]

Skywalker proved a quick study, learning the anya-seff branch of the hasset-durr powers as part of his training. When they were informed that Charsae Saal had decided to "accept death", Skywalker sensed some sort of lie about the whole process, and he and Ben decided to visit the Kel Dor's dying ceremony, where the Baran Do would surrender his life and have his body burned. After attending it, Skywalker quickly discerned that Saal had not in fact died, but had been spirited away while supposedly on the funeral pyre. They returned to the Baran Do that evening in secret and discovered that the pyre led to a hidden series of passages. Investigating, the two Skywalkers found several Baran Do, including Saal preparing to depart in a group of transports. They agreed to accompany them in search of more knowledge, in order to talk to the sage who had trained Jacen, though the Baran Do warned them that their choice was permanent.^[178]

LegacyEdit

Eons after the life of Luke Skywalker, the battered remains of C-3PO would encounter a species known as the Squidge, who were being oppressed by another people, the Vindar. A pair of Squidge approached the torso of the droid asking for stories and C-3PO obliged by telling them stories of the Rebellion, including the accomplishments and adventures of Luke Skywalker. Though one of the Squidge and C-3PO were shot by a Vindar patrol, the other Squidge found a green-bladed lightsaber near C-3PO and, inspired by his stories, vowed to seek justice for his people.^[179]

Personality and traitsEdit

In his youth, Luke was often impatient, looking ahead to the future with little regard for his present surroundings. Like his father, he was impulsive, reckless, and often had little regard for his own personal safety.^[6] According to Han Solo, his first impression of Skywalker was a naïve kid who needed to be taught a thing or two.^[180]

However, as his skills in the Force progressed and after losing a hand to Darth Vader, Luke became more patient and seasoned, and was often seen as having wisdom beyond his years. However, he still retained his idealistic worldview of his youth, believing that Vader was redeemable.^[112] This belief would stay with him for his entire life, as he would go so far as to spare the Sith Lumiya because he believed she could be redeemed, despite the fact there was much evidence to the contrary and a pressing need to have her eliminated.^[173] Some called Skywalker naïve for this, although it was actually his kindness and ability to see the good in others that forced him to view others this way.^[181][182] This somewhat soft stance on discipline and errant behavior at the Jedi Praxeum indirectly led to the attacks by Exar Kun on his students.^{[13][132][17]}

Luke, especially after serving the reborn Darth Sidious as a Dark Jedi apprentice, was often conflicted about his role in the Force and had his judgment clouded, until Mara Jade and Corran Horn helped free him of the dark side's influence.^[183] This type of inner conflict would reemerge in the Yuuzhan Vong War, where Luke struggled with how the Jedi should approach the war.^[168]

Luke was known for being empathetic to his friends and would go to great lengths to help them, whenever he could. At some times, he could be almost passive, serene—a result of his mastery of the Force that allowed him to remain calm and in control even in the heat of battle. His loyalty and devotion to his comrades was virtually unshakable, Emperor Palpatine tried to sever his connection to his friends during their confrontation on board the second Death Star, but ultimately failed. Luke's love for his friends and his determination foiled the plans of the evil Sith Lord.^[112]

After the death of his wife Mara Jade Skywalker, Luke felt that his world had ended.^[181] The weight of his grief would burden him even as the Jedi Order looked to him for leadership and his son Ben fell perilously close to the dark side of the Force.^[174] However, Luke would eventually accept that his duty was to lead the Jedi and he returned to the forefront of the order, leading a series of missions against the Sith Lord Darth Caedus.^[7]

Powers and abilitiesEdit

LightsabersEdit

RelationshipsEdit

Prior to his marriage with Mara Jade, Luke had had a tumultuous, often tragic love life. Nearly every lover or would-be lover of his would either die or reject him, citing irreconcilable differences.^{[115][136][184][1]}

Leia OrganaEdit

Luke Skywalker's first impression of Leia Organa as he saw her in an hologram was "She's beautiful."^[6] When he noticed that Han Solo likewise shared feelings for the Alderaanian princess, he became frustrated^[185] and mentioned both that Solo should keep his distance^[186] and that nothing would work between a princess and a smuggler.^[6] The two later kissed on Hoth.^[11] Four years after their initial meeting, Skywalker discovered that Princess Leia was in fact his sister, and they formed a close brother-sister relationship.^[112] Leia went on to marry Han Solo.^[124]

NOTES: In a deleted cutscene of Empire strikes back, Luke was to show his feelings for Leia and the two were to share a more passionate kiss. But the scene was cut shortly after it was filmed.^[source?]

DaniEdit

Luke encountered this Zeltron on Stenos. She found Luke very attractive, and even infiltrated the Millennium Falcon and followed him on a few adventures. Luke apparently had mutual feelings—when he later encountered a Zeltron that looked like Dani, he blushed.

Shira BrieEdit

During his time in the military, Luke was attracted to Shira Brie, another Rebel Alliance pilot. However, the Force led him to shoot her down in the middle of heated combat. This caused Luke to doubt the Force for some time, until it was revealed that Shira was actually an Imperial spy. She would later try to kill him.

Tanith ShireEdit

Tanith Shire was a crash-landing survivor on Ophideraan, enslaved by the Serpent Masters. She was immediately smitten by the Rebel hero and hoped he would stay on Ophideraan, but she knew he was committed to the Rebel Alliance and decided not to pursue a relationship, though they shared a goodbye kiss before returning to Yavin IV. Years later Luke would say he was never in love with Tanith Shire.

Alexandra WingerEdit

Alexandra Winger worked with Luke Skywalker and the Katarn Commandos on a mission to the Imperial world of Sarahwiee. A Force-sensitive, "Alex" and Luke sensed that they would meet each other again someday. In part due to her Force-related dreams and visions, Alex was known to have developed an attraction for Luke to some extent, though to what extent and to whether that feeling was reciprocated is unknown, other than a kiss they shared on Sarahwiee.

Gaeriel CaptisonEdit

Luke and Gaeriel first met over Bakura shortly after the Battle of Endor when Skywalker's Rebel fleet came to assist the Imperial world of Bakura in repulsing the alien Ssi-ruuk. As a member of the Bakuran Senate, Gaeriel was present when Luke and the rest of the Rebels addressed the senate in hopes of securing a truce. She found herself strangely captivated by Skywalker, but as a follower of the Cosmic Balance, she disdained Jedi Knights, fearing they had too much power.^[115]

Later, Skywalker and the other Rebels were invited to a state dinner and Gaeriel again encountered the Jedi Knight. She introduced him to namana liquor, a popular Bakuran export, and though she tried to hide it, she found herself growing attracted to him, as he was attracted to her. Over the next few days, she spent more time with Skywalker and even had lunch alone with him, enjoying his company. Not long after, Skywalker fought to defend her from a group of Ssi-ruuk kidnappers and she escaped, even though he was taken captive. After the Battle of Bakura, Gaeriel told Skywalker that she remained on Bakura, though, and though they shared a kiss, they parted their separate ways for years.^[115]

The next time Luke met Gaeriel, she was a widow and he was asking for Bakura's aid in the First Corellian Insurrection. She agreed to accompany the Bakuran expedition, but though they both contemplated what might have been between them, their mission came first. Gaeriel died in the line of duty during the final stages of the insurrection and Luke took care of her orphaned daughter, Malinza Thanas.^[1]

MaryEdit

Mary was an inhabitant of Solay who helped Luke to overthrow the Empire on her home planet. Luke fell in love with the young woman after she reminded him of Leia Organa's fighting spirit. Luke entertained thoughts of leaving the war behind to stay with Mary on Solay rebuilding the government. Unfortunately, the Empire arrived on Solay to retake control, and Mary was killed in the initial firefight. Luke lifted Mary's dying body from a mob of people fleeing the Empire's attack where she died in his arms. Luke was thrown into a vengeful fury, almost falling to the dark side before realizing that Mary's memory was not being honored by his search for revenge.

Jem YsannaEdit

Jem aided Luke Skywalker and Kam Solusar search for lost Jedi knowledge on Ossus. Jem and Luke became romantically involved during her training and the relationship grew more intense before her ultimate demise. While trying to save Luke from the Dark Jedi Tedryn-Sha and Krdys Mordi, Jem was shot with a blaster after killing Mordi with her lightsaber.

Callista MingEdit

Callista Ming was a Jedi Knight whose spirit had been trapped in the superweapon Eye of Palpatine's computers. Captured and trapped on the ship years later, Luke and his companions sought to find a way to disable the weapon before it could be seized by the remnants of the Empire. While journeying through the ship, Luke sensed Callista speaking to him mentally through the Force and via some of the computer screens. He eventually learned that the disembodied essence he sensed had been responsible for making the Eye of Palpatine dormant over twenty years earlier, but had sacrificed herself against the ship's security systems to do so. Working with Callista to help rescue one of his Jedi companions, who had been threatened with execution by a group of Gamorreans, and also to disable the computer, Luke also found time to learn about who she had been. Callista was a native of the water world of Chad had trained under a Jedi Master named Djinn Altis. Skywalker grew more and more attached to her spirit and hoped to have an artificial body built to hold Callista's essence. He was even unwilling to destroy the Eye of Palpatine since it meant sacrificing the woman he had come to love.^[22]

However, the choice was taken from him when one of his companions stunned him so that he couldn't stop them from destroying the ship. Instead, he was placed on one of the shuttles and, when he awoke, feared he had lost Callista. After Cray Mingla and Nichos Marr sacrificed themselves to destroy the Eye of Palpatine, Cray left Callista her body to inhabit, as she lost the will to live after Nichos, her lover, died. ^[22] Luke grew close to Callista and she to him, but her inability to touch the Force in her new body led to a barrier in their relationship, despite all of Luke's efforts to help her rekindle her connection to the Force. Skywalker felt that their love alone was enough to make their relationship endure, but Callista did not share that opinion. She eventually realized that her proximity to Luke was interfering with her making any progress, and she left him to seek the Force on her own, after narrowly surviving a single-handed assault on Admiral Daala's flagship over Yavin IV.^[133] Though the two would later be briefly reunited on Nam Chorios, a single look was enough to let both of them know that their ways were sundered. This encounter embittered Luke somewhat, as he was quite in love with Callista.^[136]

Akanah Norand Goss PellEdit

Akanah entered Luke's life as he was meditating on his role in the Force. She told him that she knew of Luke's mother and took him around the galaxy looking for her. They were initially just on friendly terms, until Akanah found out that her father was severely brain-damaged. At that point, Akanah and Luke grew close as Luke empathized and comforted her over her loss. However, this romance was also doomed to fail as Akanah had been deceiving him all along—she knew nothing of his mother. The relationship ended after that.

Mara JadeEdit

Then there was Mara Jade, a former Emperor's Hand whose last order from Palpatine had been to kill Luke.However, after Palpatine's death, Jade, on the run from other Imperial factions, eventually became an employee of Talon Karrde's smuggler organization.^[1] While serving on Karrde's ship, the Wild Karrde, Jade dropped the ship out of hyperspace to do a routine navigation check in close proximity of where Luke Skywalker's X-wing was floating derelict after a botched escape attempt of Skywalker's from Grand Admiral Thrawn. Jade was less than pleased to see him, claiming that Skywalker ruined her life, and advocated turning him over to the Empire or shooting him outright.^[114] Instead, though, Karrde held Skywalker at his base on Mykyr while he decided what to do with the Jedi. However, Skywalker escaped, but was pursued by Mara. They ended up crashing in the Myrkr forest, and though their relationship was more than a little prickly at first, they ended up cooperating in order to survive. Not long afterward, though Jade still wanted to kill him, she solicited his aid in helping free Karrde from the Empire, and Skywalker agreed to aid her.^[12] Later, Skywalker would break her out of New Republic imprisonment to accompany a mission to shut down a cloning complex on Wayland. There was still friction between the two, but they were able to work together to defeat the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth, who was guarding the stronghold, and Jade personally slew Luuke Skywalker, a deranged clone of Luke controlled by C'baoth. Having fulfilled the Emperor's final command, she at last had resolution about Skywalker and was able to treat him more amiably, beyond a grudging respect for his abilities, and he reciprocated, even giving her his father's lightsaber.^[126]

Throughout the years that followed, Skywalker and Jade had intermittent contact. She attended his Jedi academy for a little while, but left after having concerns about his welfare. However, when she learned that he had been rendered comatose, she immediately journeyed to check on him—despite indications she gave to the contrary, she did care about him.^[14] The two encountered each other on other occasions, such as during the First Corellian Insurrection^[184] and the Eye of Palpatine affair.^[22]

However, it was not until their mission to Nirauan to investigate the Hand of Thrawn were they truly able to realize their feelings for each other. After being honest with each other—about views on the Force, Skywalker's journey to the dark side, and their past relationships—Luke and Mara were finally open to each other. While fighting on Nirauan, in order to coordinate their efforts perfectly, Luke and Mara performed a Force Meld, linking their minds to the point where they understood each other completely. It was after understanding each other on so deep a level that they realized the depth of their attraction for each other, and Luke proposed to Mara.^[source?] The two were happily married, both in a private Jedi ceremony on Coruscant, as well as a larger public one.^[143] Their marriage endured into the Yuuzhan Vong War, and through Mara's fight against the deadly coomb spores with which she was infected by the alien invaders. During the war, Luke and Mara had a son that they named Ben, in honor of the memory of his first master, Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi.^[1]

She was later killed by his nephew, Jacen, and in the moment of her death, Luke felt that his world had ended.^[181] He was grief-stricken and morose, unable to lead the Jedi Order through the Second Galactic Civil War and his depressed state was evident at her funeral. It was only after his son, Ben Skywalker, was able to persuade him that he was needed still, that his leadership was what the Jedi were expecting, was Skywalker able to return to the front lines.^[174] However, even after his return, it was some time before Luke was able to set aside his grief for Mara, to the point where Ben believed that his father inwardly wished to die and be with her. Ben was again able to help his father out of his grief, and Luke realized that Mara would not have wanted him to despair over her death.^[7] Her spirit eventually visited him, comforting him in his grief.^[175]

Behind the scenesEdit

Origins of LukeEdit

In the biography of George Lucas on The Academy of Achievement website, it is noted that the famous Skywalker Ranch is in fact, named after Luke Skywalker.^[187]

In early drafts of the A New Hope screenplay, the main character who became Luke was a girl. In other drafts, Luke was an experienced sixty-five year old General rather than a youth. Just before the final script was written, his surname was Starkiller, when later it was changed to Skywalker.^[188] In the scene where Luke first meets Leia on the Death Star he introduces himself as Luke Starkiller, this was later reshot after the executives at 20th Century Fox expressed their displeasure at the name.^[189] The Starkiller name later was used for a Tarisian duel veteran in the times of Revan, named Bendak Starkiller.^[190]

CastingEdit

Luke Skywalker was portrayed by Mark Hamill in the original trilogy and The Star Wars Holiday Special, as well as by Aiden Barton (editor Roger Barton's son) as an infant in Revenge of the Sith. Hamill returned to provide the voice of Luke in the radio dramatizations of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Hamill also played Luke in a number of comedy skits on TV. In 1977, he briefly played Luke on that year's edition of The Bob Hope Christmas Special. He played a primary role as Luke (and as himself—"Luke's cousin") on an episode of The Muppet Show in 1980.

Although Hamill continued on a career of voicing, Luke was portrayed by Bob Bergen in video and computer games, and Joshua Fardon in the Return of the Jedi radio play. In 2000, Mark Hamill reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for a speaking role in a commercial for Vector Prime, the first of the New Jedi Order novels by famous science fiction author R.A. Salvatore. In the commercial, he briefly recalled his past experiences as a Jedi and with the Rebel Alliance, and told of some new threat that he was unsure he could defeat. This threat would be revealed in the book as an alien species from another galaxy known as the Yuuzhan Vong. To view the commercial, click here or here. In recent years, Hamill has also "reprised" his role by voicing both Luke and himself on shows such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Robot Chicken.

Luke Skywalker as the monomyth heroEdit

It is well documented that Luke Skywalker follows the traditional hero cycle, as described by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Skywalker, in addition to other characters from ancient texts and modern culture, was specifically identified by Campbell as adhering to the hero cycle. Several sources, including an article written by at the time Wizards of the Coast employee J. D. Wiker, described the various stages of the monomyth hero cycle that Luke Skywalker's life follows throughout the original trilogy films.^[191] Working on his third draft of what became Star Wars, George Lucas rediscovered The Hero with a Thousand Faces in 1975 after having read it in college, and it undoubtedly influenced his work, and although the elements of the classic hero cycle are re-arranged at some points by Lucas, they are all present in the final story seen by audiences.^[192]

The first stage of the hero cycle, the Ordinary World, is for Skywalker represented by his humble upbringing as a moisture farmer on Tatooine. However, he soon receives the Call to Adventure in the form of the message he receives from Princess Leia via R2-D2. Despite his own instincts to pursue the matter, he displays Refusal of the call by noting that he is required to help his uncle with the harvest. Even with the Supernatural aid of Obi-Wan Kenobi scaring away the Sand People, Luke is still bound to the farm. He only Escapes the First Threshold of Tatooine with Kenobi after his parents' homestead is destroyed, ending his ordinary world. When Kenobi instructs him in the use of a lightsaber, he receives his Famous Weapon and passes on the Road of Trials in his training as a Jedi. Skywalker then proceeds to Encounter the Goddess, an event represented by his meeting with Leia Organa on the Death Star. He would later face the trial typically referred to as The Belly of the Whale onboard the First Death Star while trapped in the trash compactor, and his companions Han Solo, R2-D2, and Chewbacca aided him in achieving the goals of his quest, with Solo even providing the Rescue from Without by saving Skywalker from Vader during his trench run.^[192]

Skywalker experienced the Temptation when Darth Vader tried to turn him to the dark side of the Force, but withstood the temptation. This was in part due to the guidance of Yoda, who serves as the Oracle for the Star Wars saga. Ultimately, he saw Atonement by redeeming his father, Anakin Skywalker, from the clutches of darkness ^[192]and achieved the ultimate Reward with first the destruction of the first Death Star and eventually the death of the Emperor at Endor. In the latter scenario, Skywalker faced his Supreme Ordeal by having to confront two Sith Lords at one time, the point where his beliefs and life were threatened, but he survived the ordeal^[191] achieving the Freedom to Live at the end of Return of the Jedi.^[192][193]

Non-canon appearancesEdit

While Skywalker was a youth on Tatooine, he and his uncle Owen Lars were met by Jawa traders selling droids. Lars picked out a protocol droid and an R5-series astromech droid, not knowing that the astromech was actually Skippy, a Jedi droid, who had used Force Persuade on Lars in order to be picked. Skippy had sensed the Force was strong in young Skywalker and hoped that together they would defeat the Empire. However, as Skippy was rolling over to Luke, he had a glimpse of the future that saw the utter destruction of the Rebellion, the death of Princess Leia Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the domination of the Empire were he to join Skywalker. Realizing that only by the purchase of R2-D2 could the galaxy be saved, Skippy sacrificed himself.^[194]

In Tag & Bink Are Dead 1, Bink Otauna pilots the TIE Fighter that unintentionally leads Luke Skywalker and his companions aboard the Millennium Falcon to the Death Star. Additionally, the comic leads readers to believe that Tag Greenly and Bink Otauna, alongside Darth Vader, attack Luke Skywalker in the Death Star trench.^[195]

Skywalker's and Solo's role in the skirmish at the Pit of Carkoon, which saw the death of Hutt crime lord Jabba the Hutt and the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett fall into the sarlacc pit, was an indirect form of revenge against Fett by a Lepi named Grubbat Fhilch, whom Fett had brought into Jabba for cheating on podraces. Grubbat was consumed by a sarlacc, which later released an infant sarlacc which grew into the specimen found at the Pit of Carkoon. The result was that Fett fell into the now fully-grown sarlacc whose parent had consumed Grubbat, an action precipitated by Skywalker and his companions.^[196]

When Luke's nephew Anakin Solo was a child, his father, Han Solo, would tell him a story of how Luke's hand survived being severed at Bespin. The hand, taking control of the starship Millennium Fist, would go on to confront the hand of Darth Vader and eventually the foot of Palpatine. Palpatine's foot severed the thumb off of Luke's hand, but the hands of Vader and Skywalker joined forces and overcame the foot, throwing it down a reactor shaft.^[197]

In the Wizards of the Coast article Father's Heir, a scenario based on an alternate outcome for the Battle of Endor is described where Luke falls to the dark side upon confronting Emperor Palpatine and the Rebellion was defeated. He is then pitted against his friends, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO by Palpatine on the Second Death Star after the Emperor had them captured. The scenario is open-ended, with the victor dependent on the outcome of the match, though it is possible to redeem Luke.^[198]

In the Star Wars Tales short story The Rebel Club, a teenaged Skywalker was part of a class with Chewbacca, Han Solo, Leia Organa, R2-D2, and C-3PO. Darth Vader, an oppressive schoolmaster, tried to interrogate them for the location of the Rebel base, but they refused to divulge its location. After Vader left, Skywalker attempted to draw Leia's attentions with his dreams of being a Jedi, but the roguish Solo insulted Luke and successfully engaged Leia in conversation. Luke opined that bad boys always got the girls, but the group later escaped the room Vader had locked them into with the aid of the janitor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, much to the displeasure of Vader.^[199]

Star Wars Tales 20 featured a short comic entitled Who's Your Daddy. In the comic, Darth Vader spends his day rehearsing how he will reveal Skywalker's true heritage, repeating the line "Luke, I'm your father" throughout his day.^[200] Skywalker has another non-canon appearance in Tales 20 in Hunger Pains, which tells the story of One-Arm attacking Skywalker and his tauntaun on Hoth to try and feed his children. Skywalker's severing of the wampa's arm occurs just as the wampa is attempting to feed the Human to his offspring, and since Skywalker escaped, One-Arm feeds his own severed arm to his two children.^[201]

Skywalker also appears in the Instant Action and Galactic Conquest modes of Battlefront II as a playable hero, appearing on maps such as Coruscant and Jabba's Palace for the Rebellion faction. In game, Skywalker is a fairly standard Jedi character, capable of moving and jumping with great dexterity and equipped with a lightsaber and the Force powers of Saber Throw and Force Push.^[202]

In the Wii version of The Force Unleashed, two incarnations of Luke Skywalker make an appearance in the game's non-canon Duel mode. The first, titled "Young Luke Skywalker", shows Skywalker wielding his father's blue lightsaber in the outfit worn at the medal ceremony after the Battle of Yavin. The second, titled simply "Luke Skywalker", shows Luke's Jedi Knight appearance; he wields his personal green lightsaber in his black robes. The two outfits are also available as unlockable skins in the single-player mode in the Wii version through the use of cheat codes.^[203]

In the Game Boy Advance game Star Wars: The New Droid Army where Anakin Skywalker is the main character, if a cheat code is activated, it changes the player's skin to that of Luke Skywalker, although the player's character is still referred as Anakin in the dialogue windows. As such, Luke participates in the Clone Wars, conducting missions on Tatooine, Coruscant and Metalorn, ultimately stopping the production of the Separatist Cortosis battle droids.^[204]

InfinitiesEdit

A New HopeEdit

The Empire Strikes BackEdit

In this version, Han Solo was delayed in his search for Skywalker on Hoth because his tauntaun had died. That delay was enough for Luke to freeze to death. Before passing away, he could only tell Han that he must go to Dagobah and find Yoda there, as Ben Kenobi had instructed Luke. Hearing such words from his dying friend, Han assumed that it was his destiny to become a Jedi. Skywalker's body was later buried in the snows of Hoth. Artoo, Threepio, Han, Chewie, Leia and other Echo base personnel were present on his funeral and a speech was told, commemorating Luke's efforts in the fight against the Galactic Empire. Skywalker's funeral was interrupted when Imperial forces attacked the planet, starting the slightly different version of the Battle of Hoth. Because Luke was not there to issue an order to use the tow-cables, many pilots, including Wes Janson and Wedge Antilles, died during the assault. After escaping from Hoth, and later Bespin, Han reached Dagobah and brought Leia with him. On Dagobah, Yoda revealed that it was Organa who was supposed to be trained as a Jedi, not Solo. She then took Skywalker's place as Yoda's apprentice. Eventually, Darth Vader reached Dagobah and killed Yoda. Leia was able to slice off Vader's hand, but he defeated her. As he was about to finish Organa, Han Solo shot him with a blaster. Before dying, Vader once again became Anakin Skywalker and Leia continued her path as a Jedi.^[205]

Return of the JediEdit

MerchandiseEdit

As a major character in the Star Wars saga, Luke Skywalker has had large amounts of merchandise produced.

MiniaturesEdit

For the Star Wars Miniatures game, Wizards of the Coast has made numerous miniatures figures that depict Skywalker in various stages of his life, from the beginning of his days in the Rebellion to his later years as a Jedi Master.^[206]

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (novel) (First appearance)
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
• The Star Wars Holiday Special
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

SourcesEdit

• Star Wars Customizable Card Game: Premiere Limited
• The Essential Guide to Characters
• The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
• Star Wars Chronicles
• Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars Roleplaying Game
• The Essential Chronology
• Who's Who in the New Jedi Order
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 4
• The New Essential Guide to Characters
• Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith: Illustrated Screenplay
• The New Essential Chronology
• Star Wars Miniatures: Bounty Hunters
• Star Wars Miniatures: Rebel Storm
• With These Hands on Hyperspace (content now obsolete; backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)

Databank sourcesEdit

•  Luke Skywalker in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  2-1B (Too-Onebee) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Abyssin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Admiral Ackbar in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ackmena in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Amaiza in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Padmé Amidala in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Anduvil of Ogem in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Wedge Antilles in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  ascension gun in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ponda Baba in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  bacta tank in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Barada in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Bespin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Brakiss in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Kyp Durron in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  C-3PO (See-Threepio) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Callista in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Joruus C'baoth in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Lando Calrissian in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Gaeriel Captison in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  cloning in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Cloud City in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Coruscant in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Coruscant Guards in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Salacious Crumb in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Admiral Daala in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Dagobah in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Dantooine in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Biggs Darklighter (Red Three) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Death Star in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  deflector shield generator in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Major Bren Derlin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  duck in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  electrobinoculars in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Emperor's Throne Room in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  The Empire in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  escort frigate in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Doctor Evazen in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ewok in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Boba Fett in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Borsk Fey'lya in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Grizz Frix in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Bib Fortuna in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  gaderffii (gaffi stick) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Garindan (Long-Snoot) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Captain-Supervisor Grammel in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Guri in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Halla in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  holocam in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Corran Horn in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Hoth in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Isolder in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jabba the Hutt in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jabba the Hutt's palace in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jacen Solo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jaina Solo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  The Jedi Order in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jedi Temple in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Kabe in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Kyle Katarn in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Kaiburr crystal in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Talon Karrde in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ben Kenobi's hut in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ketwol in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Derek "Hobbie" Klivian (Rogue Four) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Exar Kun in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Beru Lars in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Owen Lars in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Lars moisture farm in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  lightsaber in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Lumiya in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Bane Malar in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Massassi Temple in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Lyn Me in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  meditation chamber in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Melas in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Melee in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Falcon/index.html Millennium Falcon in the Databank (content now obsolete; Falcon/index.html backup link on Archive.org)
•  Mimban in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ephant Mon in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Mos Eisley in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Mos Eisley Cantina in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Muftak in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Momaw Nadon in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Noghri in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Oola in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Ord Mantell in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Bail Organa in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Outrider in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Palpatine in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Gilad Pellaeon in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Dack Ralter in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  rancor in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Max Rebo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Dash Rendar in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Myhr Rho in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Saelt-Marae in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  sail barge in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  sarlacc in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Zev Senesca (Rogue Two) in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Tanith Shire in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Sith probe droid in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Anakin Skywalker in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Mara Jade Skywalker in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Pote Snitkin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  snowspeeder in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Anakin Solo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Han Solo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Princess Leia Organa Solo in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  stormtrooper armor in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  T-16 skyhopper in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Grand Moff Tarkin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Tatooine in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  tauntaun in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Temple of Pomojema in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Bria Tharen in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  training remote in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Umpass-stay in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Darth Vader in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Cebann Veekan in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Vergere in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  vibro-ax in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Vjun in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  wampa ice creature in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  WED Treadwell droid in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Wookiee in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  X-34 landspeeder in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Prince Xizor in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  X-wing starfighter in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Yavin 4 in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Yoda in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Yoda's Hut in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  ysalamiri in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Jem Ysanna in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Yuuzhan Vong in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  Salla Zend in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)

Wizards.com sourcesEdit

•  JD's Introduction to The New Jedi Order on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Mission to Myrkr on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  The Emperor's Hand Prestige Class on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  The Planet of Twilight on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Jedi Counseling 1: Drain Energy on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  You Make The Card - Mara Jade on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Antarian Rangers on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Carida: Heavy Duty on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Korriban: Planet of Lost Souls on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Rebel Jedi on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Nightsaber on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Cydon Prax on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Hoth: Under the Ice on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Zeltros: Pleasure Planet on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Beheboth: Blood and Water on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Great Battles in Star Wars History: Hoth on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Bespin: Action Tidings on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Mini-Mimban on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  The Hunt Within on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Father's Heir on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Icons of New Hope on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Icons of Episode V on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Icons of Episode VI on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Byss and the Deep Core on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Ask Wizards on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  The Dark Force Saga on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Dark Forces Saga on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Universe Preview 3 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Universe Preview 8 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Universe Preview 10 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Jedi Counseling 79 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Jabba's Rancor, Part 3: "You're Standing On..." on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Champions of the Force Preview 7 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Starship Battles Preview 2 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Saga Edition Preview 7: Skirmish at the Sarlacc Pit on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Alliance and Empire Preview 6 on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Star Wars Miniatures Strategy Showcase 1: The Hunt for Cade Skywalker on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Legacy of the Force Preview 4: Deena Shan and Han Solo, Galactic Hero on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)
•  Legacy of the Force Preview 5: Darth Krayt and Kyle Katarn, Jedi Battlemaster on Wizards.com (original article link, backup links 1 2 on Archive.org)

Notes and referencesEdit

See alsoEdit

• Skywalker family
• Skywalker epoch
• Luuke Skywalker
• Blockade runner (Luke Skywalker's)
• Skywalker Ranch
• Skywalker Sound

External linksEdit

• Luke Skywalker on Wikipedia
•  Skywalker, Luke in The Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia

Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet[1]
Grand Admiral Thrawn[2] ← 10 ABY Sedriss[2] →
Commander of Rogue Squadron[2]
None ← 3 ABY–4 ABY Wedge Antilles[2] →
Commander of Saber Squadron[3]
None ← 27 ABY[3] Himself as Commander of Twin Suns Squadron[4] →
Commander of Twin Suns Squadron[4]
Himself as Commander of Saber Squadron[4] ← 27 ABY[4] Jaina Solo[4] →
Commander of Blackmoon Squadron[5]
Yakown Reth[5] ← 27 ABY[5] Unconfirmed, eventually Saz[6] →
Commander of Hardpoint Squadron[7]
None ← 40 ABY[7] Jaina Solo[7] →
Grand Master of the Jedi Order[8]
Yoda[9] ← 4 ABY— (Officially claimed since 36 ABY)[8] Unknown →
Owner of the Lars homestead[10]
Owen Lars[11] ← 0 BBY[11] Throgg[10] →

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