Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"This is Red Leader, can everyone hear me?" Commander Garven Dreis asked. Folks at Base One just called him Dave or Old Man. He was skeptical of how useful Luke would be, but there was a pilot shortage. Biggs vouched for him to the commander to let him test on the sims.

Vader killed him. 

Luke's X-Wing was floating through space, engines shut off. With adept, nimble hands, he set about restarting his ship before he could careen into the commander he thought was dead. The ship could only manage low power mode for now, but that was enough to prevent any disasters until the Empire came knocking around back. 

"Red Two, checking in." Wedge Antilles. Lived. He owed it to Wedge for helping him keep his cool under the sims, beating Wedge's own score. A hint of a smile crossed his face.

"Red Three, checking in." Biggs Darklighter, his best friend. He watched Darth Vader destroy his ship personally. He watched and did nothing because there was a mission greater than all of them combined. He watched and held back his tears. The Death Star had to be eliminated. 

"Red Four, checking in." John D. Branon. Killed by one of the TIE fighters while drawing enemy fire away from Gold Squadron. The first one down. 

"Red Five, checking in." His lips were dry. Luke held tight onto his controls, even as the squadron collectively now were floating to conserve fuel. 

"Red Six, checking in." Jek Tono Porkins but everyone called him Piggy off the field. They put him in the skies and grounded Lieutenant Wes Janson. His fighter had started malfunctioning with an unlucky hit from the debris. Got killed in the turbolaser crossfire.

"Red Seven, checking in." Harb Binli. Killed in action. Second one down. Another last-minute addition much like Luke himself, the decision made when they grounded Elyhek Rue.

"Red Eight, checking in." Zal Dinnes. Killed in action. The lone woman pilot on Red Squadron. 

"Red Nine, checking in." Lieutenant Nozzo Naytaan. Killed in action. 

"Red Ten, checking in." Theron Nett. Luke choked. Killed by Backstabber, who nearly killed Wedge too. 

"Red Eleven, checking in." Major Ralo Surrel. Died to buy Luke enough time to hit the exhaust port.

"Red Twelve, checking in," said Puck Naeco. "Everyone is alive, intact, and accounted for." His X-Wing exploded, shot down by Vader. 

Luke let out the breath he was holding. The entire Red Squadron who faced the Death Star was here. The people who died, facing off Vader so Luke could be given the chance to make his lucky shot. He felt their lights go out in the Force. Those same lights were back. 

Tears in his eyes (a waste of water), Luke wanted to land, wanted to grab Biggs from his shoulders, holding his hands. Even the ones who clearly, without a shadow of a doubt, had died avenging Alderaan. Alderaan, which was—

"Alive," Wedge choked out. 

How? How was that possible? Luke saw the debris where there should have been a planet. Han, Chewie, and him, all huddled to the window of the Millennium Falcon, watching in horror. Planets didn't just explode. Planets certainly didn't reconstruct themselves in an instant, untouched, like time reversed—

Like time reversed.

"Ben was telling you about wizard stuff before he faced off Vader, right, Red Five?" Biggs asked him.

"Nothing like this," Luke said. His mind ran though, thoughts centering on what Ben told him about the Force. Could the Force have done this? Was this its will?

"Can't get in contact with Command," Dreis reported. "We're on our own, Red Squadron."

"Does anyone at least have a hint of an idea of what's going on?" Dinnes asked.

Luke said slowly, "Ben said with the Force, anything is possible. Before Vader killed him, I heard Ben taunting him. He said, 'If you strike me down, I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.' Could this be what he meant?"

"You're the space wizard. If you think so, that's the best guess we're gonna get right now," Biggs said.

They couldn't float in space forever. 

"So is it just me, but I'm pretty sure I died there?" Porkins asked. 

"Oh thank the Force you said something. I've been wondering this entire time whether this is the afterlife," Naytaan said.

Murmurs of similar thoughts went through the comms. 

"Only two people on this squadron are meant to be alive," Wedge said. "Myself and Red Five."

"Which of you made the shot?" Dinnes asked. "Someone made the shot, right?"

"Red Five, you better have used that time I bought you well," Surrel said sharply.

Luke swallowed. "I did."

"I told you!" Biggs whooped and hollared, his joy sweeping away the grief Luke felt under his skin. His friend was alive. He was here. He didn't let Biggs down. "Best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Terrorities!"

"Good to hear," Dreis gruffed. "Let's hope Red Five doesn't need to pull off a repeat performance, eh?"

"Don't put thoughts of a second Death Star in my head, Red Leader. I was fine with just one moon sized space station," Dinnes said dryly.

"Yeah, it'd be stupid to build two planet destroying space stations," Naeco said. 

"Don't jinx it," Luke said absentmindedly. "I really, really don't want to test whether it just a lucky shot."

"Those womp rats sure weren't!" Biggs said. 

"Yes, yes. More importantly, what's the vote for what we're gonna do now?" asked Dreis. 

What could they even do? The galaxy stopped making sense, they barely could trust their own senses, and now Rebel Command seemingly had abandoned them. "What options do we have?" Luke asked.

"Could fly back to base," Binli said.

"When Command hasn't given us permission? Absolutely not," Dreis barked. 

Grumble grumble.

"Why don't we just land on Alderaan?" Branon asked. "I think we're past the point of pretending they're not aiding the Rebellion. Tarkin made the order even though the princess gave up the old base."

Murmur murmur.

"Best idea I've heard so far," Dreis begrudgingly admitted. "If this isn't just a karked up hallucination, we might even be able to give the princess a warning."

There was no princess in the palace. 

Which was mildly concerning, considering Luke had previously assumed this was a mild case of time travel. If it wasn't, then maybe Princess Leia was actually still with Rebel Command, and they had put Alderaan's miraculous reappearance in danger. Getting cleared to land in the hangar was difficult enough without verbally confirming they were Rebellion forces, although their insignia was hardly subtle. 

Dreis was apparently able to get an audience with Bail. Some coded message, a misunderstanding that led to Bail Organa holding out a blaster in their general direction and a great uproar from the squadron because it was apparently the wrong code, and Luke talking out of his ass to calm everyone down. Simple things, he thought hysterically.

"What exactly did you say your name was?" Bail asked. 

He said, "Luke."

"Last name?"

"Skywalker."

"Ah, I see. My apologies, Master Jedi." His smile was more real now, warmer. "I hadn't known Anakin had any relatives in the Order."

That—was normally something Luke would be excited about, but it sounded wrong out of his mouth. He was fighting the urge to frown. "You knew my father?"

Bail looked at him, really looked. "I fear I may be missing a few details."

The reason why Dreis's coded message was received horribly was not because it was the wrong code. In fact, his code was correct. The issue laid in the small matter of Dreis's code being outdated in the strangest way possible: it did not technically exist yet. The princess did not exist. The Empire did not exist. The Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic did not exist because the Republic still existed.

"Of course, the Separatists have been trying their best to make it not the case," Bail said smoothly.

Luke turned to Biggs in bewilderment. His friend shook his head. Who were the Separatists?

Dreis frowned. "Do you think we might all just be inflicted with madness?"

"I don't feel mad," Biggs declared.

"That's what a mad person would say," said Naeco.

"I don't believe any of you are mad," Bail said firmly. "However, I think it would be better to trust but confirm. Alderaan is a pacifist planet. Why would we possess a navy in the future?"

"Alderaan doesn't," Dreis confirmed. "We belong to the Rebellion, who you happen to help fund and support."

"In order to restore democracy," Bail concluded. "A noble goal I see myself supporting." He turned to Luke. "Tell me something about your parents. Something a stranger wouldn't know."

Luke wanted to curl in on himself. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle on Tatooine. I never met my father. My uncle said he was a spice navigator. Ben was the one who told me he was a Jedi, his student."

"Your mother?"

"I never even knew her name."

Chapter Text

Bail believed them. He looked sad at Luke's story, a wistful look to his eyes. If Anakin Skywalker was dead, he told them, then everything else about the future they told made sense. It was just unfortunate what Bail had to tell them in return.

"I thought it was going to be a mild case of time travel," Luke said, almost hysterical. 

Wedge asked, "What's mild time travel supposed to look like?"

"Maybe a day or two. We're almost twenty years back!"

He was sure more of the crew would be in disbelief about time travel were it not for the obvious. There was no denial with Alderaan beneath their feet. 

"I did always want to meet General Kenobi," Wedge mused. "You called him Ben? Hey, maybe he's got caught up in the time travel stuff too."

Ben, who hadn't mentioned being a war general before, was still on the frontlines according to Bail. They'd agree to fly over to the planet the 212th Battalion were campaigning on and provide their assistance where appropriate.

"I'm just glad we came here with our ships," Nett said, soft-spoken. "Imagine having to use an external hyperdrive just to enter hyperspace."

"Some of us don't have to just imagine," Dreis said.

Biggs snorted. "We get it, you're old, Old Man."

Standard ship fuel was still oil, at least, Luke thought. They all filed in line, walking down to the hangar to refuel and do ship checks before flying out. Dreis and Naytaan chatted up with the pilots and mechanics already there.

From his ship, Artoo beeped out a series of words Luke dared not repeat. Biggs had the audacity to laugh.

"I'm sorry pal, the room was already getting crowded with all of us," Luke said, wincing. "I'll bring you next time, all right?"

Artoo was still not pleased but allowed him to go through with the ship inspection.

"No one came around to mess with it, right?" Luke asked. "Just making sure!"

The astromech made its best impression of an annoyed huff through beeps and boops.

"You sure know how to pick 'em."

"Shut up, Biggs."

Biggs helped him examine his ship once he had done his own checks. Luke appreciated it. He was good, he knew, but Biggs knew his way around these X-Wings for longer. Being only just acquainted meant he could hold a few blind spots.

With his hands at work, his mind wandered. Even if he didn't turn out to have his memories of Tatooine, Luke was glad Ben was alive. His Jedi training cut so short, this younger version of his mentor surely could help complete his training. They could stop the Purge, smother the Empire before it could even rise. The galaxy was their stage, and they were going to perform the greatest aerial show it had ever seen.

"Might want to tighten that bolt," Biggs said. "Could you hand the screwdriver?"

"Yeah, yeah, one screwdriver coming right up." He waved his hand. Luke nearly jumped when the Force actually listened, letting him float along the screwdriver into Biggs's sturdy hands. 

He just sighed. "I'm not going to ever get used to that, am I?"

"Biggs?" Luke asked, worried.

His friend climbed out from under the ship, shaking his head. "Nevermind me, Luke. I'm just not looking forward to having to let you go. I wasn't exaggerating when I told Dreis you're the best bush pilot there is. It's a miracle we're able to still be together even this long, after everything…" Biggs trailed off, unable to continue.

Luke understood. His uncle was never going to let him leave the farmstead. If he wasn't going to let up for the Imperial Academy after seeing Luke's scores, then he definitely wouldn't approve of him making flight runs for the Rebellion. 

With the action at a temporary lull, with no running for his life from stormtroopers or Death Stars to shoot down, his aunt and uncle's wishes settled uncomfortably in his gut. Being thrown back in time definitely counted as the type of trouble Owen always thought Luke was going to get into if he ever left Tatooine. It was a bit like spitting on their graves. Not that there was anything left from their burned home to make such a thing, even if the stormtroopers left for Luke to do so, he thought darkly. 

Now, if all went well, Luke was going to be a real Jedi. He tried not to think much about it, but it was a safe assumption that Jedi training was going to take a lot of time. Enough time that he was worried that it meant he wouldn't be able to see Biggs as much, even though they were in the same place again.

"You'll always be my best friend, Biggs."

"Same here. The Mos Eisley kids didn't get things like you do, Luke."

"Yeah, they didn't become Rebels like us, eh?" Luke laughed, and Biggs joined him.

His laugh dimmed. He didn't want Biggs to die. He knew he couldn't selfishly ask Biggs to stay behind. It might even be safer for him to come with, all things considered. Bail Organa certainly thought he was safe in his own palace, from before and now. 

Luke ran his fingers across Biggs's hand. A gentle squeeze. His best friend deserved to be able to fly. He had a whole squadron watching his back. Who was Luke Skywalker against that? 

He once had the passing thought about starting to wear gloves if he was going to stick around for another season at the homestead. It probably wouldn't do much to reverse any skin damage he tolerated from Tatoo I and Tatoo II, but he feared he might lose his nerve senses if he had to touch hot metal again when fixing the vaporators. 

It didn't matter now. He wasn't going back. He couldn't.

"Is there anything you missed?"

"Now, if I knew, wouldn't I just fix it?" Biggs quipped.

"From Tatooine," he clarified.

"Oh." Biggs avoided looking at him. "Luke, you know I don't care about my family like you do."

"Do you think we'll get the chance to visit? Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, they're alive right now. Surely just on the old dust ball doing the same old farm work."

"Hey, if you're so determined to get back on that dust ball, be my guest," Biggs said, bemused. "I'll watch your six. Can't be too careful with Hutts slumming it, or Sand People getting antsy."

It really was too bad they had to leave Alderaan already. Leia's home planet was beautiful. The type of planet full of water, greenery, and harmless wildlife he never dared dream of setting foot on. 

"Red Leader, checking in," Dreis announced over the comms. "No sentient left behind I hope."

"Roger that. Everyone has the coordinates," Surrel confirmed. 

"I've never heard of Umbara before," Naytaan said. "Is the planet even part of the Empire?"

"It is, although we haven't had any recruits from there," Dreis said.

"Joy," Branon said dryly.

"Red Leader, entering hyperspace," Dreis announced. "See you on the other side."

Luke leaned back. Hyperspace was safe, at least. A gentle reprieve until they got to the battle.

He wondered what they were meant to do here. If the Force sent them back this far, were they meant to stop the Empire from rising? Save his father from Vader?

Could they ever go back?

He regretted leaving Han, Chewie, and Leia. Everyone else who mattered though was with him. Luke had Biggs back again. So, Luke wasn't crying about being temporally displaced. The rest of Red Squadron though? He knew they left behind friends, families. Takbright was abrasive, but he was clearly a well-loved comrade. His comments hurt the others because they cared for him. And Lt. Wes Jenson was Dreis's usual second-in-command. That must hurt something awful.

"Artoo, I don't suppose you were alive during the Clone Wars?" Luke laughed at the thought until Artoo answered flippantly that he was, and that he was a wedding gift from Padme to his father. He was, apparently, also present for his birth.

"And you didn't tell me before?" he practically screeched. How did a droid with history like that get into the clutches of Jawas? "Tell me everything!"