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Luke was tired. His bones ache and his whole body screamed out with every move he made but seeing the sun rise on a new day was all worth it. Or was it? Was all this pain and suffering that the galaxy had faced worth it, will the peace last forever or will another regime step up and take the pace of the Empire. For that Luke never knew, only time will tell but for right now all was as right as it could be.
Luke meditated in the morning rays of Endor soaking up all the light and feeling the force around him. It sang but the tune was not as happy as Luke would have hoped, maybe it was the fact that his Father was dead or that the galaxy was thrown into an unknown future. Luke just could feel the force sing a sad tune hard to be detected if one was not in a confused state such as Luke was.
He was happy that the Empire was destroyed and hope could be restored to the galaxy, but at the same time he mourned the loss of a man he barely knew. Sire Luke had heard the story of the Hero with no fear, the man, the myth, the legend of Anakin Skywalker, but those were just tall tales comrades told around the campfire. No really told anything personal about the man, Obi Wan barely spoke a word about him and Yoda only disclosed the bad deeds he did to deter Luke from the dark. But, no one said anything about what he was like everyday like how he liked his coffee or what his favorite food was his likes and dislikes. Luke wanted to know so much about the man, but everyone who knew him was either dead or despised him for what he had become.
Luke sighed as he opened his eyes upset that the force was not giving him the answers he had hoped for. He glanced around the village, the celebration still evident from the many soldiers and ewoks sleeping around the tree top village. But, by the frie Luke noted an older looking soldier cooking something watching the flame intently as he sipped on something in a mug. Luke quietly got up and moved to sit across from the man.
He was older with a while beard and a bald top, his brown eyes dark with years of war in them as he observed the flame in front of him. Luke tried to sense him with the force but was met with static silence on his end, unusual considering most people didn’t know how to block a Jedi out from their mind.
“If you’re trying to get a read on me kid, good luck I’ve dealt with plenty of Jedi in my lifetime.” His gruff voice said as his eyes finally met Luke’s. Then it dawned on him that this man must be one of the many clones that have served the rebellion over the years. Clones weren’t an uncommon sight within the rebellion but they were sort of far and few between. Many just help give info then disappear after they have given what the rebellion wanted usually avoiding the front lines.
“I didn’t know there were any Clone Wars Veterans serving on the front lines.” Luke said poking at the flame.
“As far as I know I’m the only one here. Many of my brethren prefer to hide away from the Empire not run towards it with a blaster.” The man said with a slight chuckle.
“So what's your name if you don’t mind me asking?” Luke said.
“The names CT-7657 but you can call me Rex, and you must be the infamous Luke Skywalker.” He said with a slight smirk.
“You know who I am?” Luke said with curiosity.
“Well unless there's other force users fighting for the republic plus I heard what you did to the Death Star...twice.” He said looking at Luke intently
“Oh yeah,” Luke said scratching the back of his neck with embarrassment, “did you serve with a Jedi in the Clone Wars?”
“Why you asking?” Rex said defensively.
“Well...you seem to know alot about the force and such plus you could sense me trying to read you...unless all clones could do that.”
“Yeah I served with a Jedi, he is one of the best there was, but to answer your second question most clones were trained on basic force information but my general taught us how to detect and block force users from getting into our minds.” He said pretty proudly especially about his general.
“You’re general seems pretty awesome, who was he?” Luke asked eagerly. Hearing about any jedi always excited Luke since he knew so little.
“General Anakin Skywalker and I was his captain.” Rex said, the last part falling deaf on Luke’s ears. The force seemed to hum around him and all he could feel was numbness for all his answers were sitting right in front of him with a man he barely knew.
“You knew my father!?” Luke said, astounded his mind finally catching up to him.
“You ok there kid you seemed to almost faint on me tere a second ago.” Rex said he was concerned for the boy in front of him.
“I’m fine,” Luke said, “Can you tell me some stories about him?”
Rex let out a sigh as he started, “Where do I even begin with General Skywalker..”
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Yesterday had been the greatest yet worst day of Rex’s life. The Empire was destroyed but all Rex could think was ‘What's next?’ his whole life had been war and with nothing to fight for, what would he do? Would he be allowed to even become a citizen or would he have to go back into hiding until he was able to join his brothers on the other side. Was there even something beyond life.
He wasn’t able to enjoy the celebrations last night, his mind raced and he only got an hour of sleep, so he decided it would be best just to sit by the fire like old times and watch the sun rise. As soon as he stepped out of the hut he could see Little Skywalker meditating as the sun rose up. If Rex squinted enough he could have sworn that he was General Skywalker, but Rex knew he would never voluntarily meditate.
Rex had seen Luke a bunch of the times at the rebel base but never worked up the nerve to say something to him. The boy seemed happy and was always around his two friend general Organa and the scruffy Solo guy, he didn’t want to ruin the boys training or force growth with sad stories of his Dad. Rex knew that the force, even though he didn’t really believe in it, would bring Luke to him when he needed it most.
Rex pulled out a ration and put it in some water and sat, as he drank some water waiting for the ration to cook. He felt Luke sit across from him as he felt a slight push in his mental beariors as the boy tried to read him which made him chuckle a little. He looked up and got a close look at the bot and noticed that something seemed to be troubling him, ‘Guess now is the time I should talk to the boy’ Rex thought as he chided the boy for trying to force read him.
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“General Skywalker was honestly trouble I’m not going to lie. He always jumped into situations without really giving them much thought and was reckless with everything he did” Rex started as Luke felt a little downhearted at what the man said, “But he was a good man at heart.”
Luke looked up with a smile as Rex gave him a knowing look.
“He cared deeply for all those he knew and held close and would do anything for them even if that meant breaking the Council’s rules. Which is probably why he was constantly being chided by the council for every move he made. Even with the immense pressure he was under whether it be from the Council or the citizens or heck even from being the Chosen one no one that truly knew General Skywalker could say he didn’t care.” Luke listened in awe at what the man said taking in every word he said.
“It seems like he was under a lot of...pressure.” Luke said, thinking about what the clone had said.
“I would agree with that, he had a lot on his plate, but he truly never let that deter him from getting the job done. He was a good man Luke...what happened to him didn’t happen in an instant like many may have believed, I honestly believe that it was many small things adding up and eventually culminating into well you know…” He said training off at the end.
“That makes sense...I’ve only heard what Yoda had said about him...do you know anything personal about him or even my mom?” Luke asked.
“Well...I truly only knew him as a general, I would consider him a friend but we didn’t have that deep connection that he had with obi Wan or Ahsoka…” Rex said.
“Whose Ahsoka?” Luke asked, his head tilting slightly like a puppy.
“Well that was Anakin’s Padawan, but I honestly think him and Obi Wan were both he Masters...did Obi was ever mention her, Rex said looking at Luke as he just shook his head no, “Of course he didn’t, well she was his Padawan and his Commander. I thought of her like a little sister of sorts and helped me at the siege of Mandalore…oh the stories she could tell” Rex finished with a small smile.
“Is she...around anymore?” Luke asked as Rex shook his head now with a dejected look on his face.
“She managed to survive the order...but Darth Vader killed her on Malachor years ago, at least that's what I last heard of.” Rex said with a far off look, “As for your mother I didn’t personally know her but I do remember a betting pool going on around the 501st and 212th on their relationship, which I would have won by the way!” Luke laughed at the man as he smiled slightly at the fond memory.
“What about you and General organa huh should I start a betting pool between you two?” Rex said while razing his eyebrows at young Skywalker.
“Oh force no! She's my sister!” Luke exclaimed with a weird look on his face.
“Wait, your sister!?” Rex exclaimed his face twisting in confusion.
“Yeah she's my twin sister...we were separated at birth she grew up with the Organas and I grew up with my Aunt in Uncle on Tatooine, it wasn’t until recently we found we were related. Plus her and Han have a...thing?” Luke said confused as he tried to figure out what was honestly going on between Han and Leia.
Rex thought for a moment picturing the young general in his mind, now that he thought of it she looked very similar to Padme but definitely had the temper of her Father. Luke from what he could tell was the opposite, he looked like his Father but had the dmenor of his Mother which made him smile.
“Force help the universe with two Skywalker running around.” Rex said which caused both men to laugh.
In the distance out of Lukes eye Anakin smiled watching his Captain and son interact tossing stories between each other in the new light of the force.