The Third Skywalker

Planet Hoth

I had never minded the cold. Space was cold. Coruscant would turn brisk near the winter months, as had Dantooine. Temperature was only a state, cold the absence of heat. However, the second we reached Hoth the cold resonated in my bones, creating a deep longing for warmth. The planet was covered in snow every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year. It was always covered in a layer of snow, thick and white and suffocating.

Perhaps the reason I disliked the planet so much was the fact that it reminded me of my father. His hatred the absence of his love, the absence of his love caused by the absence of his daughter. Caused by the absence of me. I decided not to let that thought get to me. He was a sith. I yearned to be a Jedi. He was corrupted by the dark side. I was immersed in the light. And then there was Luke.

Luke Skywalker was a curious person. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and a personality much like my own. We shared the same last name. That couldn't just be a coincidence. There is no such thing as coincidences, no such thing as luck. Just the will of the force and experience. Therefore, I could tell we were fated to have met, had it not been on Tatooine, then on another planet, later in life. Part of me had a fleeting thought that the two of us were related; perhaps cousins or distant relatives on my father's side.  But we were too alike, yet very different. Luke, much like Princess Leia, was perfect. A model citizen, strong force user, strict in what he believed. I, however, was not like that. While I was more practiced in the force, Luke was not swaying from the light side. He knew what he wanted. I didn't. I wanted my father. Or did I? Did I want the sith Lord, my father as he had been, or did I want Anakin Skywalker, the name my father left behind when he took up the red lightsaber?

Frowning, I pulled my coat tighter and stared hard at the snowy ground beneath my feet. I grabbed my binoculars and scanned the horizon. Nothing. No metal, no signs of life, no broadcasts out of the ordinary. Great. I had been hoping for a bit of adventure and panic during my patrol to take my mind off the subject of my father. Or Obi-Wan. Or anything, for that matter. I hated being bored, and it killed me that there was nothing better for me to do than to stand around, freezing my butt off on Hoth when the Emperor was still alive. While there were still slaves on Tatooine, Dantooine, and the Outer Rim territories. There was nothing for me to do but scan the horizon. 

"Hey Kid, see anything suspicious?" I rolled my eyes, tapping the sub-par quality comlink. It was Han, of course, rubbing  my own anguish in my face. He knew I disliked life at the rebel bases. They were far too organized, planned out, predictable. We would wake up at some ungodly hour in the morning. Eat mush. Do the jobs assigned to us -- being a kid, my my priority was always in the kitchen doing dishes or scanning for our incoming scouts and helping them find their way through the snow to the base. Then I would more mush for lunch, work some more, and eat mush for dinner. I'd go to sleep and repeat  until the Empire finds us. Then we would move to some other obscure corner of the universe and make a base there.

My comlink crackled again. "Tell me you're joking," I muttered into it. I could hear Han laugh on the other end in reply. "It's suspiciously cold, I didn't think we could find a place further away from civilization than Dantooine, but I was wrong, clearly." 

"You getting homesick, Kid?"

"You wish. You're just mad I'm a better shot than you."

"Am not."

"Are too." 

"Am no -- Hey, kiddo, you getting this signal?" 

I froze, my eyebrows knitting themselves together as I focused in on the static. Han went quiet. There was a soft tap on my shoulder. I spun around, frightened by the sudden contact. It was a Rebel technician, a new recruit, or so I recalled. 

"Lani," he yelled above the wind, which had steadily begun to pick up. "Princess Leia needs your knowledge on a new transmission we're picking up." I groaned, and trudged inside the base behind the young man. So, they were bringing in their Imperial Expert, all things considered. Maybe this day wouldn't be too bad after all. 

A/N:

Did I already have this published? I feel like I have, but then again, maybe I didn't. Let me know if I have and I'll get the next part up asap. 

Also, HAPPY BELATED STAR WARS DAY!!!!!! I was aiming to get an update out yesterday in celebration, but ended up studying for an semester exam I took today.