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| LUKE SKYWALKER |
| [You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power] |
| 22 AE | Luke 04 |
| Status: Rebel Commander Species: Human Age: 22 (22 AE) Homeworld: Tatooine Affiliation: Rebel Alliance Weapon: Blaster pistol Vehicle: T-65 X-wing starfighter T-47 snowspeeder |
| Played by: Mark Hamill Pronounced: Loo-k Sky-walk-ur Links: Just Luke The Mark Hamill fanclub Starkillers |
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| The wampa scene was added after Mark Hamill sustained facial injuries in a car crash, to explain his scars |
| Main | Life on Tatooine - A New Hope - Rebel Hero - Revelation - Jedi Knight - Destiny - First of the New - Master Skywalker |
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| Though Commander Skywalker had become a respect- ed figure in the Rebel Alliance, it was not easy going for the young Jedi. On a mission to scout the frozen plains of Hoth, Luke was attacked by a wampa ice creature after spotting what he thought was a meteor impact. The 'meteor' was actually a probe droid, which relayed the location of Echo Base to Darth Vader. However, Luke was in no position to investigate: the wampa knocked him un- conscious and dragged him back to its lair. Hanging upside down in the wampa cave, Luke awoke, and attempted to free himself, but to no avail. It was only after he stopped trying to escape, and let the Force flow through him, that he was able to grab his lightsaber and cut himself free. The Force could do little to protect him against the harsh climate of Hoth, and soon Luke was close to death after staggering around in the endless snow plains. He thought he saw a vision of Ben Kenobi, instructing him to seek out a Jedi Master on Dagobah, but he soon fell unconscious again. Luckily for Luke, Han Solo had arrived in time to save him and ensure his return to Echo Base. Luke was treated for his wounds, but his recuperation was cut short. The Empire had launched an assault on Hoth, and Luke was needed as part of the Rebel's defences. He led Rogue Squadron, flying modified T-47 airspeeders, against the Imperial assault walkers. Though Luke's tactic of tripping the walkers with tow cables proved sucessful, he was shot down and Echo Base was overrun. Luke managed to reach his X-wing as the remnants of the Rebel defence fled Hoth. Luke fled also, but he was not heading for the Rebel rendezvous as he had been instructed. Instead, he flew to Dagobah, to seek out Master Yoda. Though Luke was glad to find Dagobah actually existed, he was not so happy upon landing on the planet; since his landing submerged his X-wing in one of Dagobah's many swamps. He retrieved his equipment and set up a camp, while wondering just what to do next. The answer found him, in the form of a little green creature, insistent, it seemed, on irritating Luke and Artoo. The creature's persistance led Luke to its home, where Skywalker realized the being was, in fact, Yoda, after it began talking with the disembodied voice of Ben Kenobi. Thus began Luke's Jedi training at the hands of Yoda. Luke's skill in the Force grew, even though he was still far from becoming its master. He failed one of Yoda's tests by allowing his fear to manifest itself as Darth Vader, and later failed to raise his X-wing from the swamp. Yoda chided him on his insistance to try, rather than to do. Though Luke was beginning to understand what Yoda meant, his recklessness cut the training short. After recieving a vision of his friends in pain on Bespin, Luke left Dagobah, despite warnings and protests from both his Jedi mentors. On Bespin, Luke realized why his teachers had warned him: Darth Vader had set a trap to lure Luke to him via his friends' pain. Skywalker and Vader duelled on Cloud City, and though Luke was able to hold his own in the initial stages of the battle, it didn't last. Beaten and weary, Luke was forced onto a gantry overlooking a vast reactor shaft. Vader attacked relentlessly, and eventually severed Luke's right hand, sending it and his lightsaber into the shaft. Then came the biggest assault againt Luke in the fight: Vader revealed that he had not slain Luke's father, as Ben had told him...he was Luke's father. As the shocked and confused Luke listened, Vader implored his son to join him on the dark side. He stretched out his hand for Luke to clutch onto, but Luke did not. He chose to fall to his death than fall to the worse fate of joining the dark side. Luke was sucked into an exhaust pipe and dropped out of Cloud City's underside. Hanging on to a weather vane for his dear life, Luke called to Ben through the Force. Knowing he would not answer, Luke called to Leia. Somehow, she heard his plea, and ordered Lando to return the fleeing Falcon to Cloud City in order to save Luke. He was brought on board, and after a narrow escape from Vader's Super Star Destroyer, they met up with the rest of the Alliance. Luke was given a new hand, and stood with Leia and the droids, watching the galaxy spiral below them, contemplating their future. |
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