Luke Skywalker/Legends

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

- Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker was the son of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala, and the older twin brother of Leia Organa Solo. A celebrated pilot, leader, and legendary Jedi Master, Skywalker was most famous for destroying the first Death Star and providing the catalyst for Darth Vader to kill Emperor Palpatine, which led to the eventual downfall of the Galactic Empire and made him the greatest hero of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. He was later promoted to general, though left the military to become an influential member of the New Republic and a prominent Jedi Master.

Trained in the ways of the Force by Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, Luke 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. He married fellow Jedi Mara Jade, with whom he had a son, Ben Skywalker. In 36 ABY, Luke officially claimed the title Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Luke Skywalker was known as one of the greatest heroes of the Galactic Civil War and other subsequent conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War and the Dark Nest Crisis.

Early life (19 to 1 BBY)
"Oh, Luke."

- Padmé Amidala to the newborn Luke.

Luke Skywalker was born on the asteroid colony of Polis Massa shortly after the start of the Great Jedi Purge and the foundation of the Galactic Empire. Seconds after the birth of Luke's twin sister, Leia, Padmé Amidala died, effectively orphaning both children.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda knew the children, both with a natural affinity for the Force, had 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.

"To Tatooine, to his family, send him."

- Yoda, 19 BBY

Kenobi himself took the infant to Tatooine, making the first leg of the journey in the Soulless One via Nar Shaddaa, then, selling the starfighter to buy passage to the homeworld of the Lars family. Intending to watch over Skywalker as he grew, Kenobi chose to go into hiding on Tatooine and live near the boy.

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.

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. As a boy, Skywalker unknowingly tapped into the Force to find his uncle's lost screwdriver. When Owen found out, he yelled at the boy telling him to never do that again.

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.

He 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. Biggs left for the Academy in 1 BBY, much to Skywalker's pride, jealousy and dismay. 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.

Leaving Tatooine
"I want to come with you to Alderaan, there's nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of The Force and become a Jedi like my father."

- Luke Skywalker

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. 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.

Upon returning home, Skywalker discovered that his aunt and uncle had been killed by Imperial stormtroopers looking for R2-D2 and C-3PO. With his family dead, he agreed to accompany Kenobi to Alderaan to deliver the astromech&mdash;who was carrying the plans to the Death Star&mdash;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.

Rescue on the Death Star
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.

"I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you."

- Luke Skywalker

Once onboard, 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 but had to jump into the garbage chute in order to escape the pursuing Imperial forces. Luke and Leia were separated from Han and Chewie, but after a good luck kiss from Leia and swinging across a deep shaft, they were able to meet back up with the smuggler duo in the hangar bay.

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. 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.

Hero of the Rebellion
"The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi."

- Emperor Palpatine

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 and used the Force to direct his proton torpedoes to their target and destroyed the station.

After the destruction of the Death Star, the young Skywalker spearheaded a number of missions for the Rebel Alliance. Within two weeks of the Battle of Yavin, Skywalker had participated in destroying the ISD Liquidator, helped the Alliance collect new X-wings directly from Vors Voorhorian (where he displayed his extraordinary potential in bringing down a TIE Fighter using only his father's lightsaber), fought in the Battle of Vactooine, and traveled to Bonadan and the Unknown Regions. He was sent to investigate new base locations on the the Keeper's World, Akuria II, and Drexel. All ended in violence and failure.

Eager to serve the Rebel Alliance, Skywalker's early years were filled with adventures including fighting pirates, aiding in battle against Imperial forces and evading the clutches of Darth Vader and his agents. While on a scouting mission, Skywalker's vessel was caught in the hyperwash of a transdimensional comet, depositing him onto a barren ice world Hoth. Skywalker returned to the Alliance, informed his superiors of the isolated world, and the Rebel Alliance planned to evacuate their outposts on Yavin 4 and Thila to set up a base on Hoth.

When Yavin IV was evacuated, Jan Dodonna promoted Skywalker to Commander, but the promotion was not filed before the General's capture. Even so, mere days after the base was evacuated Skywalker became a Lieutenant Commander and led missions to Dantooine, Ralltiir and Tatooine.

It was during this time that Skywalker began to truly feel at home in a starfighter squadron. When not flying alongside Red Squadron and his mentor Commander Narra, he was leading the neophyte fighter group Rogue Squadron to planets like Barkhesh, Chorax, Corellia, and Gerrard V.

Before the year was out, Skywalker was also finding himself participating in missions outside of a starfighter cockpit. He saw action at Jabiim, Kalist VI, Kiva, and Per Lupelo and learned first-hand of the horrors of war. On Kalist VI, Luke had an unexpected reunion with his childhood friend Janek Sunber, now a lieutenant in the Imperial Army.

In 2 ABY he accompanied Princess Leia on a diplomatic mission to the Circarpous system where they crash landed on the planet of Mimban. On Mimban, Luke and Leia encountered a Force-sensitive old woman named Halla. They struck a deal with her, promising to find the Kaiburr crystal if she promised to aid them in their escape off the planet. However, Darth Vader was also looking for the powerful Kaiburr crystal. Both in pursuit of the powerful Force relic, Skywalker and Vader dueled in the ancient Temple of Pomojema. Every movement of Skywalker was guided by the spirit of Kenobi and empowered by the crystal, so the young boy amazingly managed to hold Vader off, even managing to sever the Dark Lord's mechanical arm. Shocked, Vader tumbled down a deep pit, ending their duel.

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.

Skywalker recovered from his wounds in a bacta tank, but did not have much time to recover; 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. As Imperial forces breached the defenses, the last Rebel transport departed and Skywalker fled aboard his X-Wing.

Luke then headed to Dagobah and found Yoda, who 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. 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.

Duel with the Dark Lord
"You'll find I'm full of surprises!"

- Luke to Darth Vader

Skywalker arrived at Bespin in time to see Solo's carbonite frame taken by Boba Fett and Princess Leia taken prisoner by the Empire. As she was led away by Imperial stormtroopers, Leia attempted to warn him that he was walking into a "trap." Sensing Vader, Skywalker sought the Dark Lord and engaged him in a duel. Unlike their battle on Mimban, Vader proved his superiority in 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. He survived though, 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, Chewie, and the droids onboard, arrived to rescue him. After reuniting with the Rebel fleet, Skywalker received his cybernetic hand aboard the Redemption.

Search for a scoundrel
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.

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.

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 Chewie 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.

When the Alliance discovered the Imperial superweapon Tarkin, a small commando team consisting of Luke, Leia, Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio was dispatched to pose as workers and infiltrate the battle station. Flying the Falcon to Hockaleg&mdash;the location of the Tarkin&mdash;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. 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.

In preparation for another Alliance mission, he, Lando, and Chewie 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 unbeknownst 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 Chewie, and returned to Arbra.

Ascending to the command of Rogue Squadron, Skywalker fell in love with one of his squadron mates, the talented and enigmatic Shira Brie. During a heated battle with Imperial forces, Skywalker's targeting computer was knocked out of commission, and he instead relied on the Force to pick his targets. Inexplicably, the Force told him to fire on a friendly vessel, and he shot Shira Brie out of the sky. For this, Skywalker was stripped of command and put on trial. As a result, Skywalker's confidence in the Force was shaken. He investigated the matter and discovered that Shira was actually an Imperial agent. Skywalker cleared his name and was reinstated as a Rebel commander.

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. Returning to Tatooine, Luke spent much time at the old residence of Obi-Wan Kenobi, where he constructed a new green lightsaber with the help of a journal prepared by Kenobi, based on the design of his old lightsaber. After fending off an attack by a swoop gang, with the aid of Dash Rendar&mdash;who had been hired to watch out for Luke&mdash;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 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 in a bid to aggravate Darth Vader while vying for power 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 bested the droid in unarmed combat, but was unwilling to destroy it. 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.

Shortly thereafter, Skywalker and his friends were sent to Lahsbane to investigate the disappearance of Rebel agents Tay Vanis and Yom Argo. The search took them from Lahsbane to Iskalon, Gamandar, Kabray, a stopover at Belderone until finally, it concluded with the discovery of a broken and comatose Vanis on Arcan IV. While there, Lando and Chewbacca learned that Boba Fett had finally delivered Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. Skywalker began to put a plan for rescue in motion.

Rescuing a hero
"Nevertheless, I am taking Captain Solo and his friends. You can either profit by this or be destroyed. It's your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my power."

- Luke to Jabba Desilijic Tiure

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. Luke killed the fearsome monster, but Jabba was furious and sentenced all the captured Alliance heroes- including an unfrozen Solo- to death in the 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 easily handled Jabba's guards and Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and the droids escaped after destroying both Jabba's barge and the gangster himself.

The test of Endor
"I will not turn and you'll be forced to kill me." "If that is your destiny&hellip;"

- Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

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. Furthermore, Skywalker realized that Leia was his sister and would be in peril if their father found out as well.

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 skills in the Jedi ways by leaping from one speeder to another while traveling at high speed and deflecting the laser fire of another. 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.

Once onboard 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 and father and son dueled for the last time. Unlike their first duel, where Vader easily defeated Luke, the pair now dueled on more even footing.

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. Skywalker attacked Vader with the power of the dark side furiously, wielding the full power of Djem So, and eventually cut off the Sith Lord's right hand. But when Palpatine encouraged him to finish Vader, Luke threw his lightsaber away, realizing from the mechanical stub of Vader's right hand that he was becoming what he wanted to destroy.

"Never. I'll never turn to the dark side. You've failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

- Luke Skywalker to Palpatine

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, Anakin Skywalker re-emerged to destroy the Emperor.

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 onboard 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.

Post Endor
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 as the latter had discovered a message droid that was threatening to self-destruct, requesting help for the beleaguered outpost world Bakura. Skywalker commanded 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. There Skywalker and Organa negotiated a temporary truce between the Rebel and Imperial forces to help fight off the invasion. Luke encountered a young Bakuran senator, Gaerial Captison, and they eventually developed a mutual attraction for each other, but parted ways after the mission was complete. During the mission, Luke was infected with parasites by the treacherous Imperial governor Wilek Nereus and was also taken prisoner by the Ssi-Ruuk. With the aid of Dev Sibwarra, a Force-sensitive human serving the Ssi-Ruuk, Luke was able to escape the Ssi-Ruuk, disable their ship, and win the battle. Luke later dictated the terms of surrender to Wilek Nereus for the Bakurans to have their freedom to choose their governing authority. 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.

In search of a legacy (4 to 11 ABY)
"The Force will be with you. Always."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

However, Luke had to put his dreams for a New Jedi Order on hold. The death of Palpatine had created a time of frenetic activity, and Luke was caught up aiding worlds trying to break from the Empire at its time of weakness. On the world of Solay, Luke aided the local resistance overthrow King Blackart. During the coup, Luke fell in a love with a local girl named Mary and hoped for the first time to leave the war behind. However, Luke was jolted back into reality when the Empire returned to enslave Solay. Mary was killed in the reoccupation, and Luke escaped the planet with the aide of a local named Braxas. The death of Mary renewed Luke's commitment to the Rebellion, and he took to his duties with renewed fervor.

At the Rebellion's base on the moon of Endor, Luke began to hone his force powers with Wicket and the Ewoks. It was there that Luke would receive his first official mission since the death of Palpatine. Luke became a representative of the victorious Rebellion and visited the planets of Iskalon and Shawken to ask for representatives to attend the First Conference of Free Peoples. On this mission, Luke met the Iskalonian Kiro. Kiro was Force-sensitive and hoped that Luke would train him to become a Jedi Knight. However, the death of Sibwarra had made Luke question his readiness to train a new generation of Jedi Knights and he refused Kiro's request. Kiro was visibly upset, but he accepted Luke's judgment. Around this time Luke began to train more recruits for the Alliance including Barney, Rik Duel, Chihdo, Dracos, Dani, and Faron. Although they may not have been Force-sensitive, they too wished to be trained as Jedi Knights, but Luke's mind was made up and his fear of new Jedi falling to the dark side kept him from schooling them in the powers of the Force. Unfortunately, Luke's decision would later come back to haunt him.

During his time as a squad commander, another young rebel named Vila arrived on the forest moon demanding that Luke train her so that she could save her homeworld of Naldar. Luke's convictions held strong, and although he promised to help Vila he would not train her. Luke's fear of training new Jedi was tested on Naldar where he came into conflict with Flint, another young man that he had refused to train. Flint had become the Dark Lord of the Sith under Lumiya and was leading Imperial forces on Naldar. Luke fought the Dark Lord and realized that his refusal to train Flint had actually created evil instead of preventing it. Luke was able to make Flint realize how lost he had become, but the ensuing battle claimed the life of Vila. Flint was put in Alliance custody, and a force vision with Yoda, Obi-wan Kenobi, and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker made Luke realize that he should no longer be afraid of the dark side. Luke decided to take up Kiro's request to be trained as a Jedi Knight, and Kiro became Luke's first apprentice.

Nagai-Tof War
Before the training could start, Luke was caught up in the Nagai-Tof War. The Nagai Commander Ozrei N'takkilomandrife had created infighting among the rebels on Saijo, and Luke, Leia, and Han were forced to resolve the dispute by discovering the traitor Durne. However, this was just the start of the conflict, and in a routine check on Kinooine, Luke came face to face with the power of the Nagai war machine. Along with Kiro and Dani, Luke surveyed the planet, searching for a missing scouting party. Unknown to Luke, his scouting party had been executed by Lumiya and her Nagai aide, Den Siva. Dani and Kiro encountered the dangerous Sith Lady before Luke and Kiro was critically injured and Dani was captured by Den Siva. Luke confronted Lumiya, but suffered one of his first defeats when she attacked him with her lightwhip. Luke was captured and placed in an underground cell on the planet.

Luckily, Kiro had recovered from his more serious wounds, and he set out to rescue his master and Dani. Kiro infiltrated the prison, killing the Nagai guards. He released Luke and helped him create a shoto. Kiro and Luke confronted Lumiya again, but the outcome was drastically different. Luke used two sabers against Lumiya's whip, and the Dark Lady was defeated. Unmasking the woman, Luke was surprised to find that her true identity was Shira Brie, his former love. Unfortunately, at this exact moment, the Nagai fleet arrived and Luke and Kiro were forced to bring their prisoner with them into hiding. The team met another snag when they were forced to tie up Lumiya so that they could rescue Dani. Kiro and Luke rescued the Zeltron, but their escape was foiled by Den Siva, who attacked Kiro and critically injured him leaving him to die in the waters of Kinooine. Luke and Dani were forced to make a hasty retreat believing that Kiro had been killed. Luke had lost another potential apprentice, and Lumiya escaped from her bonds.

The war took a step up during the Battle of Endor where Alliance forces came into direct conflict with Nagai forces. Space forces led by Lumiya almost destroyed the Alliance fleet, but Luke's leadership on the ground and Lando's tactics in the air turned the tide. The seriousness of the Nagai threat now apparent, Luke began to take a more central role in dealing with the Nagai. In the Battle of Iskalon, Luke faced the forces of General Kruskob Tiltanka, destroying the Nagai presence on the world. Luke also became reunited with his apprentice Kiro during the engagement, but Kiro's priorities had changed, and he had opted to remain on Iskalon to protect his people. Luke was saddened by Kiro's decision but accepted it.

The war took another turn when the Nagai's sworn enemies, the Tof, entered the war in the Battle of Zeltros. Luke was forced to fight against the Tof when they threatened Dani and Leia, and Luke's assault helped in the capture of a Tof ship, ending the battle. The final battle of the war came at the Battle of Saijo after the Alliance allied with the Nagai against the Tofs. Luke led a task force in capturing the Tof leader Supreme.

Lost City of the Jedi
Luke and Admiral Ackbar would later that year journey to Mon Calamari to stop Trioculus from obtaining the Glove of Darth Vader from the ocean depths. Luke was able to defeat Trioculus' attacks and destroyed his ally-Captain Dunwell's ship&mdash;but Trioculus managed to escape with the glove. Luke, advised by the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, then sought out the Lost City of the Jedi on Yavin IV. In the Lost City, he discovered a young boy named Ken, alleged to have been a Jedi Prince. However, Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side Kadann declared that Ken was a threat to Trioculus' rule of the Empire and tried to find and destroy him. What Luke didn't know was that this Kadann was an imposter, and Trioculus was a puppet set up by Grand Moff Hissa and the rest of the Central Committee of Grand Moffs. Although the false Kadann managed to capture Ken, Luke helped Ken escape, and then trapped the false Kadann and his troops in the Lost City after ensuring that they could not recover the lost information stored in a computer. Luke and Ken then left the moon. Luke later aided in the escape of Ken's father, Triclops, from an asylum on Duro. The threat of the false Kadann was later stopped by Grand Admiral Makati.

Luke was a vital member of the Alliance of Free Planets and, soon thereafter, the New Republic. He was an agent of the short-lived Senate Planetary Intelligence Network. After his excellent tactics defending the Dreadnaught New Hope at Milagro allowed the New Republic to capture an Imperial Star Destroyer (which would later become the Crynyd), Skywalker was promoted to general. 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 disgusted with 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.

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.

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.

The Witches of Dathomir
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. During their adventures 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." One of the young witches, Teneniel Djo, was at first attracted to Luke, but she later developed an interest in Isolder and would eventually marry him. Luke decided to aid Teneniel Djo's clan of witches against the dark-side users on Dathomir, 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 from certain death at the hands of Gethzerion. Using the Falcon, Luke shot down Gethzerion's shuttle, killing her and all aboard, and disabled the orbital nightcloak placed in orbit by Zsinj.

After this events, Skywalker's Jedi search intensified and the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi once again visited him. Kenobi said his final farewell to Skywalker in 9 ABY. His spirit would no longer pay Luke any visits. Skywalker, feeling alone, realized he was not the last of the old Jedi, but rather, the first of the new.

Thrawn and C'baoth's efforts
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, 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. Another time, his X-wing was interdicted by Thrawn's Star Destroyer. While Luke was able to escape the tractor beam, he damaged his hyperdrive and was derelict in space. Thankfully, Luke was rescued by the smuggler chief Talon Karrde, who 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 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.

When Thrawn unexpectedly arrived on Myrkr, Karrde placed Luke in a shed. Luke escaped, freed R2-D2 and hijacked a Skipray blastboat, pursued by Mara Jade. Both ships crashed, stranding Luke, Mara, and R2 deep in the Force-blinded forests of Myrkr. Despite repeated vornskr attacks, Mara held Luke captive. 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, to ambush the stormtroopers and help Luke escape.

As the Thrawn campaign began, rumors surfaced of a Jedi Master hidden on the remote world of Jomark. After leaving Myrkr, Skywalker participated in a variety of missions, some personal and some for the New Republic. He was present in the first Imperial raid on Nkllon, helped settle a dispute on New Cov, made a visit to Honoghr&mdash;where he was recognized as the son of Darth Vader&mdash;and most significantly, investigated and discovered the insane Dark Jedi clone, Joruus C'baoth. For a while, Luke studied under C'baoth on Jomark, but was confused by the old man's eccentric and brusque manner. The breaking point came when Mara Jade arrived, seeking Luke's help in rescuing Talon Karrde, who had been captured by the Empire. Using a ysalamiri to help clear Luke of C'baoth's influence, and with the help of R2, Mara was able to get Luke away from the insane Jedi Master. Luke then accompanied Mara to spring Karrde out of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Although there were several snags in the rescue operation, and another trip through an Imperial garbage chute, Luke saved Karrde from Thrawn, returning the favor done to him.

The Thrawn crisis saw Skywalker and Jade spend a great deal of time together, and they slowly developed a relationship. Despite repeated opportunities, Jade did not kill Skywalker, and the two worked together to defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn and C'baoth. Jade, putting aside her hatred for Skywalker, developed a begrudging respect for Luke and his skills, especially after she learned that Thrawn was using clones to grow an endless supply of troops. At the Battle for the Katana fleet, Mara's fighter was hit by an ion cannon. She ejected, but probably would have died in the vacuum of space had Luke not used the Force to find her. After Mara revealed the location of Thrawn's cloning facility, she went with Luke, Han, Chewie, R2, and C-3PO to Wayland to end the threat.

Traveling through the hazard-filled forests of Wayland, Luke took time to expand Mara's training even as they trekked towards the Mount Tantiss stronghold. Once in Mount Tantiss, Luke and Mara went to find the self-destruct for the facility in the Emperor's chamber, although they were hampered by the ysalamiri-created Force-blindness. Finding C'baoth waiting for them there, Skywalker tried to persuade Joruus C'baoth to renounce the dark side, but C'baoth's insanity and was too deeply rooted to undo, and in his bid to mold Skywalker into his new dark side pupil, C'baoth did the unthinkable. Using Skywalker's severed hand, recovered from Bespin by Imperial agents, C'baoth grew a clone of the young Jedi&mdash;Luuke Skywalker&mdash;and sent the mindless drone to kill Skywalker in Mount Tantiss on Wayland. At the same time, Imperial troops controlled by C'baoth destroyed the ysalamiri in the facility, restoring Luke's&mdash;and C'baoth's&mdash;connection to the Force. Luke fought fiercely against his doppelgänger, though it was ultimately Mara Jade who defeated C'baoth and the clone, in the process completing the last order the Emperor had given her.

Although Grand Admiral Thrawn was defeated, his string of victories rallied the Imperial Remnant to stage a spectacular attack on the New Republic-held capital Coruscant. Whereas Thrawn wanted to capture the capital intact, these Imperials attacked without restraint and ravaged the once gleaming ecumenopolis. The Republic retreated and Skywalker commanded a number of missions into the Imperial-held world.

Return of the Emperor
"And now, my young apprentice&hellip; Your father is dead. Have you come to join me? Will you take the place that rightfully belongs to you&mdash;at my side?"

- Palpatine

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.

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. 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&mdash;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. On one 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. Palpatine managed to defeat Luke in their first duel.

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. 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-hand combat, and together with Leia he eventually managed to destroy the body Palpatine inhabited at the time, turning his immense Force storm against him.

But the shadow of the dark side continued to haunt Skywalker. Having seen the sheer number of Force-sensitive beings under Palpatine's control, Skywalker was determined to begin rebuilding the Jedi ranks. While Palpatine, again in a new body, and his minions rallied at Byss around the new Galaxy Gun, Skywalker raced to Ossus to investigate rumors of an ancient Jedi holocron. As he explored the mysteries of the history-rich world, Skywalker came under attack by a group of Dark Side Elite, loyalists of Palpatine, who tried to capture the holocron for their reborn master.

Palpatine in his new clone body then took his new flagship, the Eclipse II, to Onderon to claim the body of young Anakin Solo. Luke and his Jedi companions boarded the ship, but Palpatine was gone. R2-D2 then sent the ship on a collision course with the Galaxy Gun. Meanwhile, Palpatine found Leia and Han on the surface, but Luke and his companions arrived there to aid them. A vicious duel broke out which left Rayf Ysanna dead and Empatojayos Brand mortally wounded. However, Han Solo shot Palpatine in the back. As the dark spirit flew towards Anakin, Brand clasped it and took the menace of Palpatine with him into death.

Establishing a New Jedi Order
"Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

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. Having passed the tests, Luke convinced Gantoris to join the Jedi Order and also arranged for the Eol Sha colonists to be transported to Dantooine before the world was destroyed. 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.

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 Kieran 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, Tenel Ka, Zekk, Lowbacca, Tahiri Veila, and his niece and nephews Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo. Luke's students in turn eventually became Masters, and a new generation of Jedi Knights arose. 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

However, galactic circumstances kept Luke from completely devoted to the Jedi Academy. Early on, Luke was called away from the academy to find Han and Chewie, who had disappeared after 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 Chewie 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, Chewie, 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 fleet in an impromptu brawl.

Exar Kun's attack
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. 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.

Luke spent much attention on another new arrival, Kyp Durron, who had been rescued from Kessel and Imperial imprisonment by Han Solo and Chewbacca. 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. 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&mdash;from a full New Republic medical team to the innocent kiss of his niece&mdash;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.

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.

The Jensaarai
Later on, Luke and 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. Once on Susefvi, Luke, Corran, Ooryl, and Elegos A'kla&mdash;a Caamasi&mdash;stormed the prison and freed Mirax. They then confronted the Saarai-kaar of the Jensaarai, which Luke easily defeated, along with both the Imperial guards and the Jensaarai that he encountered. Corran and Mirax Terrik were again reunited.

Encounters with Callista
Luke, now the leader of the reborn Jedi Order, had little chance to focus on his personal life, though the prospect of a relationship appeared while on the super dreadnaught Eye of Palpatine. Luke and others, victims of a surprise attack by the ship's droids, were captured and brought aboard the ship. Onboard the Eye, Luke met the spirit of Callista Ming, a survivor of the old Jedi Order who had transferred her life energy into the ship's computers. Callista contacted Luke and despite the restrictions imposed by her disembodied state, the two fell in love as they tried to stop the automated dreadnaught from attacking a former Jedi refuge, Belsavis. With the aid of two of Luke's students, Cray Mingla and Nichos Marr, they were able to stop the station, but both students sacrificed themselves.

Because of this, Callista was freed by entering the body of Cray, whose spirit allowed her to possess. However, in the process Callista lost her connection to the Force. Luke tried to work with her to regain her connection to the Force, taking her on a journey across the galaxy to Coruscant, Dagobah, the Mulako Corporation Water Quarry, and Hoth. While on Hoth, they encountered a group of hunters cornered in the ruins of Echo Base by a massive herd of wampas. They helped them fight their way out, although the hunters did not survive. The two Jedi barely managed escape, lifting off into space in their ravaged ship. Luke survived in a hibernation trance, slowly losing his life, when they were finally rescued by the Millennium Falcon.

Soon thereafter, Daala had launched a massive ground and air assault on the Jedi Temple, and, while Luke and students used the Force to rout the Imperials, Callista attacked Daala's flagship, the Knight Hammer from the inside, 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. In battle, she discovered that she could still touch the dark side, and, feeling pressured by Luke to make progress she could not achieve. She decided to disappear. For some time, it was believed that Callista died during this attack.

However, Callista was revealed to be alive when she sent Leia Organa Solo a message warning her not to meet with a man named Seti Ashgad of Nam Chorios. Luke tried to slip into Seti's homeplanet via B-wing starfighter to talk with Callista, but was shot down by the planet's defenses. After traveling several days across the planet and encountering vicious Force storms, Luke was recruited by a deranged Jedi named Taselda who wanted him to recover her lightsaber from Beldorion, a Hutt Jedi. During all of this, Luke was continually tormented by visions of stormtroopers forcing brains inside the heads of Jawas. Because of these visions, Luke would eventually help rescue the tsils from Loronar Corporation on Nam Chorios, ending with a confrontation with Dzym and Seti Ashgad. As Ashgad attempted to flee the planet with his plans for causing galactic chaos, Luke pursued him in his fighter but was once again shot down. Luke then convinced the tsils in the CCIR Needles to stop Ashgad and they destroyed the man's ship. Again, Luke's mastery of the Force stood him in good stead and he was successful in preventing a crisis on a galactic scale in the form of the Death Seed plague. He did meet with Callista there, but they resolved to end their relationship, and went their separate ways.

The Empire Reborn
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&mdash;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.

Now recovering from this assault, and believing the Empire Reborn destroyed, Luke, Han Solo and C-3PO traveled to Crseih Station to investigate rumors of a healing cult, and to look for possible Jedi trainees. There, Luke was tempted by a trans-dimensional being known as Waru, who wanted to consume Luke's Force potential in order to escape back to his dimension. Luke had originally used the Force to mask his identity, but he was starting to feel as if he was losing his control over the Force. Luke found himself drawn to Waru's promise of complete rejuvenation in the Force. Unbeknownst to him, it was actually the nearby crystal star that was disturbing his control of the Force. Hethrir, the leader of the Empire Reborn, had kidnapped the Solo children and planned to sacrifice them to Waru, but Han, Leia, and Luke helped save the children from the peril of Waru.

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 promising student Jaden Korr and his 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.

Finding his role in the Force
For a short period, Luke built himself a concealed sanctuary&mdash;a reconstructed residence of Darth Vader&mdash;on Coruscant, retiring from public life to try and discover his purpose in life and in the Force. He was surprised by a visit from Akanah Norand Goss Pell, who said that her teacher, a woman named Nashira, was Luke's mother. Luke was immensely interested and went with Akanah on her Verpine Adventurer, the Mud Sloth, to several different planets. His search was complicated by the fact that the Fallanassi, Akanah and Nashira's people, were highly skilled in concealing themselves. The first planet Luke and Akanah visited was Lucazec, where the Fallanassi had lived previously. There, Akanah found clues that some of the Fallanassi had gone to Teyr. Journeying to Teyr, Akanah again found another clue to the whereabouts of her family, this time on the world of J't'p'tan. During their search on Teyr, Akanah told Luke that the Fallanassi were on Atzerri, so they went there next. However, Akanah had led them there to meet her father. She met her father alone but found him to be severely brain-damaged and with no memory of her family. Luke encountered a tearful Akanah back at the Mud Sloth and she told him of the Fallanassi's existence on J't'p'tan. Luke empathized and comforted Akanah over her loss, and discussed the nature of the Force as well as the source of the Fallanassi's power, known as the White Current. Luke found a potential partner in Akanah and began to grow close to her. However, on J't'p'tan, when Luke encountered the Fallanassi leader, Wialu, and asked her about his mother, she refused to answer him since he was not a Fallanassi himself. Akanah at that point revealed that she had been deceiving Luke and manipulating him the entire time: she actually did not know anything of Luke's mother. At this revelation, Luke ended his relationship with Akanah. With Akanah's help, Luke did persuade Wialu to help the New Republic in the Black Fleet Crisis. In the final battle of that conflict, Wialu and Akanah created an illusion of a huge fleet of New Republic ships, saving the lives of many crewbeings from the vicious Yevetha. Other than that, Luke did not contribute much to the New Republic during this crisis. However, he did gain a better understanding of his purpose in the Force and did not withdraw himself again.

Luke was again called upon to avert yet another crisis in the form of fallen Jedi Dolph, also known as Kueller, and Brakiss, who had bombed the Senate hall. Luke traveled to Dolph's headquarters on Almania, but was injured when his fighter was sabotaged. Weakened by a broken leg and burns, he was thrown in prison where a thernbee was expected to devour him. Using the Force, he communicated with the thernbee and persuaded it to help him escape. Though he did escape, with the help of his sister, he was halted by Dolph, who sought to kill Luke. Luke, during the subsequent fight with Dolph, found that he was sinking into the dark side, and determined that he would not give in to that hate. Luke decided it would be better to die than give into his anger, and stopped fighting. He might have died at Dolph's hands because of this, but Han Solo arrived with a ysalamiri&mdash;albeit inside the thernbee&mdash;cutting off Dolph's connection to the Force. When Dolph armed a remote to activate bombs placed in hundreds of droids, which would strengthen his connection to the dark side, Leia shot him.

First Corellian Insurrection
At the start of the Corellian Trade Summit attended by the Solo family, Luke was off helping Lando Calrissian look for a wealthy wife. Luke was willing to vouch for Lando, who admittedly had undertaken some new more altruistic ventures including affordable, safe, subterranean housing on Coruscant. Luke was somewhat surprised that Lando managed to con him into going with him, and was quite concerned when Lando almost made a lethal vow of matrimony with a "life witch". On another planet, their quest turned out to be a waste of time as the prospective wife was already married. However, on Sacorria Lando found a woman named Tendra Risant whom Lando was attracted to, but the two were quickly chased off the planet by the local authorities.

Not much later, Luke was unexpectedly contacted by a little-known New Republic Intelligence agent named Belindi Kalenda, who had recently escaped from the Corellian Sector. Kalenda had been instructed by Han Solo right before he bought time for her escape to only deliver a message to either Admiral Ackbar or Luke. Luke received her report about the First Corellian Insurrection, and after consulting with New Republic officials, flew to Bakura to request the aid of Bakura's fleet, as the New Republic was perilously low on ready warships. Also, the Bakurans had technology to help circumvent the interdiction field around the whole system. To aid in his mission, Luke contacted Gaeriel Captison once more, and, along with Belindi Kalenda, accompanied the Bakuran fleet to the Corellian system. Later Luke led the mission to investigate Centerpoint Station and his Jedi powers helped the entire party survive the increasingly hot and hazardous environment of what was once Hollowtown, which was located in the very core of Centerpoint Station. They just barely escaped before the environment became entirely lethal. Luke was finally reunited with the Solos on Selonia, where they prepared to defend against the Sacorrian fleet. Luke also encountered Mara Jade again on Selonia, as she had been with Leia during the initial attack. In the final battle against the Sacorrian fleet, Luke fought for the Bakurans from his X-wing, holding out until Admiral Ackbar arrived with a New Republic fleet. The insurrection was squelched.

Caamas Document crisis
"You're not going to make this easy for me are you?" "When have I made anything easy for you?"

- Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade

Not long after, the New Republic threatened to crumble when the Caamas Document, an Imperial file that implicated a group of Bothans in the orbital bombardment of Caamas, probably on Palpatine's order, was found. However, the document was altered to include the names of several prominent Bothan clans as having something to do with the attack. When the crisis first started, Luke was asked by Han Solo to help with some negotiations between the Ishori and the Diamala. While fending off a pirate attack, Luke started to draw on the power of Force to defeat the pirates, but realized that that action would lead him close to the dark side.

While fighting the pirates, Luke sensed that he was fighting clones. Curious, Luke eventually tracked the Cavrilhu Pirates back to their base. Luke successfully infiltrated their base, but was caught and nearly trapped by the inventive outlaws. However, he escaped and was rescued by Mara Jade shortly before their base self-destructed. Luke also made a visit to Nirauan to find Mara Jade, who had traveled there in order to investigate some unusual alien spacecraft. He had been led there by a Force-vision of Mara floating prone in a pool of water. Meeting up with Mara, they and R2-D2 managed to infiltrate an Empire of the Hand fortress&mdash;known as the Hand of Thrawn&mdash;and damaged its hangar bay, preventing the occupants from contacting or allying with the Imperial Remnant. Later, Luke, Mara, and R2 would return to the fortress to obtain a copy of the Caamas Document. With aid provided by local Qom Qae and Qom Jha, Luke and Mara entered the fortress, battling numerous Chiss warriors equipped with ysalamiri and charrics. In the process, they destroyed an immature clone of Thrawn and destroyed a large part of the fortress while escaping through the rush of floodwater they created by destroying a fusion generator. While battling guard droids, Luke and Mara experienced a form of Force Meld, seeing each other's inner emotions and selves.

His many failed romances, coupled with the strain of his duties as a Jedi Master, had often seemed to indicate that Luke was to follow in his mentor's footsteps and live a life of solitude. Yet despite the odds, he found true love in a person very close to him. While on Nirauan during the Caamas Document incident, Luke's relationship with Mara Jade grew, and their mission culminated in Luke's proposal of marriage to the former Emperor's Hand. She accepted.

Around a decade after their initial hostile encounter, Skywalker and Jade were married on Coruscant in two ceremonies&mdash;a private one held at the Jedi Headquarters, and a second, public ceremony almost ruined by the appearance of Imperial agitators. Luke was able to talk the ringleader around, while his friends dealt with the remaining infiltrators, and the wedding continued smoothly.

The rediscovery of Outbound Flight
Immediately afterwards, Luke and Mara were invited by the Chiss to act as representatives of the Jedi in the return for the ruins of the Outbound Flight project, which had been revealed to have been destroyed by Thrawn and whose remains were located in a Chiss stronghold known as The Redoubt. Luke and Mara traveled as honorary guests aboard the Chaf Envoy, along with Geroon representatives, Dean Jinzler, Chak Fel and four stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand. Luke and Mara grew increasingly suspicious after several attempts to sabotage the expedition, including setting an area near the fuel tanks on fire. At this time, Luke also helped Mara settle her doubts about joining the Empire of the Hand. Once they arrived on Outbound Flight, the various parts of the diplomatic party were separated and put in different repulsor cars by the Survivors of Outbound Flight. However, the Geroons revealed themselves to actually be the tyrannical Vagaari and to be in much greater numbers than first thought. Luke and Mara escaped from the Survivors' trap and helped defeat the over three hundred Vagaari with the aid of the Imperials, the Chiss party and the Survivors. Almost as disturbing as the ambush to Luke was that the Survivors had a hatred and fear of Jedi from their experiences with Master C'baoth. After the Vagaari took one of the six Dreadnaughts back to rendezvous with their main ship, Luke and Mara chased it down in a Delta-12 starfighter and intercepted the ship. On board the ship, they fought their way through heavy defenses, including a droideka, and defeated the Vaagaari leader.

Second Imperium
"Be careful&mdash;don't assume a teacher is always right, without question. You have to think for yourself. Sometimes we teachers make mistakes, too. But in this case, I am right: You're not yet ready for a lightsaber."

- Luke Skywalker to Jacen Solo, after discovering his nephew playing with his lightsaber in his office.

Soon after the Outbound Flight incident, Luke returned to teaching at the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. He had been reluctant to teach his younger students the fundamentals of a lightsaber as he felt they were not ready. Angry with the slow pace of his teaching, one of Luke's failed apprentices, Brakiss, created the Shadow Academy, a training ground for Dark Jedi. The Shadow Academy was aligned with the Second Imperium, an insurgency group which rejected the peace treaty between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic in 19 ABY.

With the help of Tamith Kai&mdash;a nightsister&mdash;and her apprentice, the Shadow Academy was able to kidnap Force-sensitive children including Luke's niece and nephew, as well as their friend Zekk. Fortunately, the twins were able to escape due to Luke's and Tenel Ka's arrival. Luke eventually battled his former student and defeated him, while Tenel Ka injured Tamith Kai's knee. They then escaped the Academy in the stolen Imperial ship Shadow Chaser. Regrettably, the Shadow Academy managed to escape into hyperspace. Zekk, however, became an avid follower of the Shadow Academy, and succumbed to the dark side.

After their hostile encounter with Brakiss and his students, Luke decided that it was time for his students to construct their first lightsabers. Soon after, the Shadow Academy and a fleet of reclaimed Imperial warships appeared. Legions of Stormtroopers and Dark Jedi were then unleashed, thus starting the long battle. With the help of a redeemed Zekk and the twins, Luke was able to defeat the Shadow Academy and the Second Imperium came to an end.

Yuuzhan Vong War (25 to 30 ABY)
"I had fought the worst of all wars, and witnessed the redemption of evil. I've seen balance restored to the Force. But order can turn to chaos&hellip; as it did when I was born. Now, with my loved ones and my loyal allies, I face a new challenge unlike any before. And I'm not sure if this time we can win."

- Luke Skywalker reflecting on the Yuuzhan Vong threat

Holding off the invasion
"To life we owe our compassion and our duty. But I wonder what we owe to something completely outside our definition of life, to something that is a kind of living death. I wonder if we must owe them anything but a real death?"

- Luke Skywalker to Vergere

Now the New Jedi Order faced its greatest challenge to date. Without the governance of a Jedi Council, the new Jedi Knights lacked unity and focus. Many were accused of reckless vigilantism, and the Republic citizenry began to grow suspicious of their protectors. Worse came the Yuuzhan Vong, extragalactic alien invaders bent on conquest. The Jedi became the first line of defense for the Republic, but their failure to repulse the brutal aliens was widely reported. Incidents like the Battle of Osarian and the destruction of Ithor caused the Senate and the public to oppose the Jedi. Strangely, the Yuuzhan Vong did not exist in the Force, and thus the Jedi were robbed of their most powerful abilities against this new enemy. It raised fundamental problems for the Jedi, who wondered if the problem was with the Yuuzhan Vong, the Force, or the Jedi themselves. Luke was inclined to believe that the problem was with the Jedi, as his own training had been rushed.

The Yuuzhan Vong took specific interest in the Jedi, proclaiming them the worst of a galaxy full of infidels. After the Battle of Duro, which saw Jacen Solo defeated by Warmaster Tsavong Lah in a duel to rescue his mother, Lah announced that peace could be maintained if the galaxy would turn in every single Jedi to the Yuuzhan Vong. Many in the New Republic began to turn against the Jedi in an effort to appease the Yuuzhan Vong and blunt their destructive invasion. Organizations such as the Peace Brigade betrayed the Order, and began rounding up Jedi captives for the invaders. The Yuuzhan Vong then destroyed the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, killing Master Ikrit and shaping Tahiri Veila in the process, which forced young Jedi initiates into exile. It was as if the dark times of Palpatine's Empire had returned. Headstrong Jedi like Kyp Durron called for aggressive actions to counter the Yuuzhan Vong threat. Durron attracted a large number of Jedi candidates to work independently, a move which divided the Jedi Order deeply. Skywalker knew that fear and too aggressive a path would lead his Jedi to the dark side. Instead of an aggressive counteroffensive, Luke called for the help of Han and Leia, engineering an underground fugitive network, dubbed the Great River, and two secret havens called the Shelter and Eclipse Station, to protect the beleaguered Jedi Knights.

With his beloved wife affected by a Yuuzhan Vong-engineered disease, and his closest friends forever affected by the violence, Skywalker found that not even a Jedi Master could keep galactic events from striking close to his heart. During these war-ravaged years, Mara not only ultimately defeated her disease, but also became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Ben Skywalker. Keeping his newborn child safe became an important concern for Luke. Because of the growing dangers that the galaxy faced, Ben and many other children were sent to the Maw Installation. Though Luke did this to protect his son, the act would cause Ben to distance himself from Luke and Mara.

At the same time, the rise of anti-Jediism in the Senate reached the peak that forced Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya to issue a warrant for Luke and Mara's arrest. Despite Borsk's personal assurance that the arrest order was merely used to turn down an even more extreme proposal, it was clear that the Jedi were no longer welcome in the New Republic.

Leading from the Front
With their plan to capture every single Jedi failed, and with Kyp Durron having tricked the New Republic military to destroy a new worldship, the Yuuzhan Vong declared the truce broken. Then 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 frontline, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Accompanied by Wedge's fleet group, Luke found and led Twin Suns Squadron in the recapture of Borleias, until he passed the squadron to Jaina for the needs of psychological warfare. 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. A chilling vision of the dark side brought the Skywalker couple, together with Tahiri Veila and the Wraiths, to the heart of the Yuuzhan Vong-held Coruscant. In the depths of the altered city planet, Skywalker faced off against Lord Nyax, the deranged, mutated Dark Jedi that once was Irek Ismaren. Surviving a massive Force battle at the site of the old Jedi Temple, Skywalker returned to take over Blackmoon Squadron when Wedge launched Operation Emperor's Spear against former Warmaster Czulkang Lah.

Reorganizing the New Republic and the Jedi Order
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.

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.

While Luke and Mara were focused on keeping the galaxy safe for their son, they had not realized that Ben had cut himself off from the Force. After reflection, they were able to decipher that Ben could sense the pain, suffering, and emotions that they felt during the war. Worse, Mara had trouble finding Ben through the Force and feared the worst. This was a disturbing development that Luke and Mara did not know how to overcome.

Finding Zonama Sekot
With the New Republic safely transformed into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, Luke felt safe to leave the government and seek the solution of the war. Armed with important information from Vergere, Skywalker led a group of Jedi to journey to the depths of the Unknown Regions, seeking to find the key to victory against the alien invaders. Before reaching their destination, the group was able to persuade the Imperial Remnant to join the Galactic Alliance after the fall of Bastion. Afterwards, the group journeyed to Csilla, the capital planet of the Chiss Ascendancy. There they foiled the assassination attempt on former Imperial Baron Soontir Fel and earned the help of the Chiss. Armed with reliable data from the Expeditionary Library, Luke and his group finally reached the living world Zonama Sekot, where he persuaded the living intelligence of the planet, Sekot, to help defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. They also learned the truth about the Yuuzhan Vong's absence: the problem was not the Force or the Jedi, but with the Yuuzhan Vong, who had been stripped of the Force.

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.

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.

Ending the war
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. 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.

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.

On the advice of Kam Solusar, Luke Skywalker established a new Jedi Academy on Ossus, where he continued to train young Jedi in the ways of the Force. A few years later, more Jedi candidates including his son would attend the Jedi Praxeum on Ossus.

Role of the Jedi Order
"The Force may have no dark or light side, but we do. We must choose."

- Luke Skywalker

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.

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.

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.

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 and the Swarm War.

A cry for help
In 35 ABY, a Force-call crying for help emanating from the Unknown Regions was heard by all of the survivors of the ill-fated Myrkr strike team, and all save Queen Mother Tenel Ka responded by immediately going to investigate. During the Mission to Myrkr, Jedi Knight Raynar Thul was incapacitated by Nightsister Lomi Plo and the Dark Jedi Welk. The three had escaped on the Tachyon Flier and were presumed lost. Actually, they had been integrated as Joiners into various Killik nests. When these nests started building up along the Chiss border with the help of the Jedi from the Myrkr strike team, Aristocra Mitt'swe'kleoni 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.

Luke, Mara, and Saba arrived at the Lizil nest on the Jade Shadow, which was 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.

UnuThul greeted the Solos 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. UnuThul explained the Unu nest as "the nest of the nests".

In the following interview, Luke sensed that the Raynar presence rose repeatedly to the surface but was swallowed by the presence of the hive mind. UnuThul claimed that the Crash was remembered, but not the Dark Jedi, and concluded that they must be dead. When Luke tried to probe UnuThul again, the hive mind was able to powerfully push Luke out. When Mara demanded the location of the missing Jedi, UnuThul suddenly Force probed Luke with such a power that required the combined strength of Luke, Mara, Saba and Leia to stop him.

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.

Mysterious attackers
The Jedi soon realized that such a collective mind allowed UnuThul to spy on them almost anytime and anywhere on Yoggoy. They visited the crash site, and Leia received Dark blue insects then attempted to assassinate the Jedi Masters at the crash site, which the Jedi barely escaped with Nanna killing several blue insects in the process. However, the Yoggoy guide that accompanied the Jedi denied ever seeing any blue insects before its death. When they traveled back to the hangar, Han and UnuThul exchanged harsh words on the matter of attempted assassination. As the debate became a stalemate, Luke proposed that it was another party who attempted to assassinate the Jedi, but UnuThul insisted that even if someone else attacked the Jedi, the hive mind would also be aware.

Meanwhile, the missing 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. Worse, the young Jedi seemed to be well on their way to being Joined, with the notable exception of Jacen, who was an enigma, acting rather strangely throughout the entire experience. After an intense interview, the Masters-on-site requested the Jedi return to Coruscant. The Jedi agreed under the conditions that Lowbacca would be rescued and a Master would stay on Qoribu to monitor the conflict. While on the Shadow, Ben Skywalker secretly brought a Killik from the Gorog nest back home.

Dark Nest Crisis
Events developed rapidly in the following days. Alema sabotaged the Falcon, outmatched Leia in a lightsaber duel, and was captured by Han. Jacen traveled to Hapes and convinced Tenel Ka to send a fleet for the Colony's defense. Tesar fled to inform Raynar's family about his reappearance. On Ossus, Mara fought against Ben's Gorog "friend" and captured the insect. After a morally debatable experiment, Master Healer Cilghal solved the basics of the Joining mystery, and concluded that Alema was Joined with the Dark Nest Gorog due to her close relationship with the dark side. Cilghal's discovery revealed that the Dark Nest was manipulating the Colony behind the scenes, fooling UnuThul, the Joiners and all the nests.

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 the Chief. Leia proposed moving the nests on Qoribu to a new system the Solos 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.

Concerned on the Colony's plot for the upcoming battle, Jaina reached into the Force and warned Jagged about a 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 Chiss nor Hapes would trust the claim of the Solos, each fearing that the Solos were a ploy of the opposite party. Despite all the crossfire, the Falcon landed on Kr and stormed the Dark Nest to reinforce the Skywalkers.

As Jaina and Zekk attempted to rescue Lowbacca, Alema and Dark Nest warriors ambushed the combined force of Skywalkers, Solos, Saba, Kyp, Kyle Katarn, Octa Ramis and YVH 5-S Bugcruncher war droids. Jaina and Zekk warned UnuThul about the Chiss employing the Bothan fade tactic against the Colony, and the orbital battle became another stalemate. On Kr, the battle intensified as Luke and Mara dueled with Alema, Welk, and the Gorog assassin respectively. 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 the motion of Luke. Although convinced that it was Lomi Plo, the Jedi could not find her. There Luke realized that although the Force itself might have no light or darkness, the Force-users did have, and thus they must choose the right path. The battle ended with Mara defeating the Gorog assassin and Luke killing Welk, but the injured Alema fled.

The battle saw to 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, and full-scale war between the Killiks and the Chiss was averted with the signing of the Qoribu Truce, but peace would not last long.

Jedi Grand Master and the Swarm War
"There are times when the end justifies the means. But when you build an argument based on a whole series of such times, you may find that you've constructed an entire philosophy of evil."

- Luke Skywalker

For a year, the Killiks were virtually unheard of in the Galaxy, but rather were gathering for war. The nests were still under the sway of the Dark Nest, Lomi Plo having survived the battle a year before. UnuThul, under the influence of the Dark Nest, was enraged at a natural calamity for which he blamed the Galactic Alliance. The "Fizz", a deadly white substance that eats 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.

The Skywalkers 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 Skywalker and Han Solo captive in attempts to get them to join into the Killik nest, hence being able to learn their secrets. A rescue mission was hatched by Organa Solo and several Jedi, but before they could get to him the nests fled the Utegetu Nebula in massive nest ships. Some escaped a blockade set up by the Alliance, but the Gorog Hive ship was caught. After fierce fighting, Skywalker was caught by Lomi Plo herself. Plo eventually gained the upper hand in the battle, and managed to escape. Skywalker, however, was almost killed. The Killik fleets escaped, and engaged the Chiss. The Swarm War had finally fully begun.

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. Soon after, though, it became clear that his plan failed, and he then realized that he had to take complete control.

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. Only when Luke could remove any doubt from his mind could he defeat Lomi Plo. Later, Luke fought 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.

Second Corellian insurrection (40 ABY–)
"It's coming to me through currents in the Force, he's all wrapped up in shadows&hellip; he brings great pain to the galaxy, and me."

- Luke Skywalker referring to the Dark Man

Rising tensions
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.

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.

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.

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".

The Dark Shadow
After Jacen fully embraced the dark side, Luke's visions of the shadow person became worse and he knew it had something to do with Jacen. Luke began to worry about Ben's safety and completely distrusted Jacen. As he continued to watch Jacen, Luke decided that Ben would have to be taken away from Jacen and be given a new master. Mara, however, believed that Jacen was perfect for Ben and that Luke should trust Jacen, because he opened Ben to the Force when they couldn't. To make matters worse, Ben joined the Galactic Alliance Guard, much to Luke's and the other Jedi Masters' dismay. As a test, Jacen brought Lumiya before Luke in order to find her true intentions. Unbeknownst to Jacen, Luke eventually did sense Lumiya and believed her to be the dark figure in his dreams. In a discussion between Luke and his niece Jaina after her suspension from duty, it became painfully obvious to both of them that Jacen was falling to the dark side and Jaina suggested that Ben be removed from Jacen's tutelage.

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.

Luke and Mara then journey 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 Ben. 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.

Legacy
Sometime between the Second Corellian Insurrection and the Sith-Imperial War, the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, inheritor of the Jedi legacy and Hero of the Galaxy passed on, uniting his spirit with the Force like his father before him and entered into the realm of ghostly figures, from which he would return, many years later, to plead&mdash;repeatedly, and over the course of many meetings&mdash;with his descendant Cade Skywalker to turn back to the Force and the Jedi way.

Talents
"The Force is strong with him."

- Palpatine

Though he received little training, Luke Skywalker became a wise and powerful Jedi Master. His skills with both the Force and lightsaber were exceptional. Luke had the Force potential to become what his father was supposed to become&mdash;the Force potential of the Chosen One. Luke Skywalker was one of, if not the, most powerful Jedi to ever exist, as he demonstrated powers and abilities that greatly surpassed even Grand Master Yoda. Some examples where his skills are shown include:


 * During the Battle of Yavin, Luke managed to destroy the first Death Star by letting the Force tell him when to fire his proton torpedoes, while traveling at very high speeds, and not knowing the distance to the port, and having no previous knowledge of proton torpedoes and their abilities. One should note that Luke only had little training with the Force at this time.
 * Without any guidance except a handbook left by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker successfully built his first lightsaber, merely three years after he was first introduced to the Force, and undergoing formal training for less than a year.
 * Luke Skywalker's use of Form V is probably as much instinctive as trained. On Bespin, Luke revealed that he was an extraordinarily gifted duelist after only one brief session with Obi-Wan Kenobi and a short time of study with Yoda. After that fateful duel, Luke studied some lightsaber skills from Kenobi's journal and greatly advanced his abilities. Without a Master, it was Luke's unparalleled aptitude which contributed in the impossible advancement of his skills. Onboard the second Death Star, Luke mirrored Darth Vader's own Form V technique and responded with his own furious demonstration of Form V's raw power. Observing swordsmen such as Palpatine might be astonished at such instantaneous learning in a lightsaber duel. Finally, Luke was able to duel Vader on an even footing, and defeated the experienced Dark Lord. However, Luke's particular form of lightsaber combat may in the end be something entirely new, with traces of Form III, Form IV and Form V mixed together with his own techniques. It is doubtful that Kenobi and Yoda had time to actually teach him the finer points of the combat Forms. Just like most other things about being a Jedi Knight, Luke probably had to figure out whole new fighting styles to replace the ones lost during the Great Jedi Purge. It is also probable that the Jensaarai would have passed on knowledge of the lightsaber forms of the Old Jedi Order since their founders were former Jedi Knights and Padawans.
 * Luke applied the very opposite of Dun Möch onboard the second Death Star by infusing love into Darth Vader's heart through spoken words. The young Jedi was successful &mdash; Anakin Skywalker ultimately redeemed himself and brought balance to the Force.
 * Luke safely landed himself, Isolder, and Isolder's fighter from a free fall drop from orbit with the Force.
 * During the Battle of Dathomir, Luke flew the Millennium Falcon single-handedly using only the Force, manipulating its controls and operating it with a skill that not even a full crew could manage.
 * Also during the Battle of Dathomir, Luke regenerated from an almost fatal Force lightning attack and fall in the span of several hours.
 * Luke managed to land a crashing Imperial Star Destroyer on Coruscant by manipulating the repulsors through the Force, mirroring a similar achievement by his father towards the end of the Clone Wars.
 * Luke was able to knock down AT-ATs easily by tampering with them through the Force, as well as absorbing the initial cannon blasts from the AT-AT, before deflecting the rest with his lightsaber.
 * Luke also destroyed an army of advanced battle droids just by waving his hand, thereby destroying the internal components of the whole army of droids. This Force power was first manifested by Jedi Master Arca Jeth during the Great Droid Revolution. Even then, with proper instruction, it was a difficult power to master. However, this power apparently came naturally to Luke.
 * Luke managed to defeat the reborn Emperor Palpatine in a lightsaber duel, slicing off his hand with cho mai. It should be noted that Palpatine was perhaps one of the best swordsmen in lightsaber history, and even Yoda, Luke's own master, was unable to defeat him. Leia, who was watching the fight, could hardly see the movements of Luke and the Emperor, but she sensed waves of power generating from them&mdash;dark from the Emperor, and light from Luke.
 * During the time when he was re-creating the Jedi Order and was searching for potential candidates, he walked on lava, believing in his mastery in the Force. One should note that the temperature near a lava lake is so extreme (around 2000 degree F), it is almost impossible to even breathe properly. Not only did Luke use the Force to walk on lava, but he also battled a creature living in lava at the same time. Luke's performance impressed Gantoris so much that he decided to become Luke's apprentice.
 * During the Eye of Palpatine incident, Luke subconsciously used his Force powers to overcome a particularly vicious form of brainwashing.
 * During the Death Seed Plague, Luke used the Force to communicate with the sentient crystals Tsils. It is important to remember that the more dissimilar the type of mind, the more difficult it is to communicate with via the Force.
 * Luke could generate a Force shield to deflect blaster fire.
 * While searching for the kidnapped Solo children, Luke used the Force to create an illusion over his face in order to disguise his identity. He would later reuse this trick on Yoggoy.
 * During the Black Fleet Crisis, Luke used the Force to rebuild Darth Vader's old fortress on Coruscant and made it invisible. After the crisis, with new found knowledge from the White Current, Luke removed the planet Brath Qella and the Teljkon Vagabond from view using the Force, and claimed it could last indefinitely. (One should observe that a hundred or thousand years later, eventually the Qella would rebuild their world successfully, by then their life forces would disturb the cloak and reveal the system.) In addition, Luke used the Force to crush the rebuilt fortress of Darth Vader to nothingness, shattering the building piece by piece.
 * After the Black Fleet Crisis, Luke taught the combined White Current/the Force illusion skill to his more experienced students, which would help shield the entire moon Yavin 4 from intruders during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
 * During the Kueller crisis, Luke prepared himself for death in such a way that he would become a Force ghost.
 * During the Battle of Dantooine of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Luke expanded several voids (black holes) to envelope the enemy, destroying it. Later, Kyp Durron, who believed that he had more pure power than Luke, used the same tactic against a Yuuzhan Vong frigate and achieved the same result.
 * Jacen Solo described Luke in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar as a maelstrom of Force energy, a Force storm against which there was no shelter. So calm and focused that his actions were not interrupted by any thought. Luke merged with the Force in a degree which seemed the Jedi Master, physically or as an individual personality, not present on the battlefield anymore. Luke's lightsaber blade was described to look like ten or twenty blades moving at once. The Solo twins were astounded by seeing their uncle in such a state. One should note that the description of Luke's blade work matches the legendary lightsaber combat form Vaapad which was created by Mace Windu.
 * Luke's abilities with a lightsaber and the Force allowed him to fight his way through countless Yuuzhan Vong warriors in the Sacred Precinct. After defeating numerous Yuuzhan Vong warriors in the Citadel Luke defeated more than five Slayers; while Kyp Durron, one of the most powerful Jedi of his time, could not best even the Slayers who were exposed to Alpha Red. Afterwards, Luke slew Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane, who was stated to be the best warrior of the Yuuzhan Vong, despite just being injured by the poison of the Scepter of Power.
 * Luke used a powerful and unique ability of the Force related to his signature green Electric Judgment in the chamber of Shimrra Jamaane. This technique had been described to look like "green sparks," which instantly killed the Slayer.
 * Luke displayed his amazing dueling skills with dual blades during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Regardless of receiving formal Jar'Kai training or not, Luke proved to be one of the best dual blades-duelists in his era.
 * During the early days of the Dark Nest Crisis, Luke used the Force to generate a lifelike copy of the Jade Shadow to fool the attacking dartships. This usage of the Force was so extreme, Luke burnt out and his face was temporarily sunken and shriveled like Palpatine's. A year later Luke applied the same trick on the DR919a, by then Luke already mastered the technique and would no longer burn out.
 * Toward the end of the Swarm War, Luke used the Force to call all the Jedi across the Galaxy to Ossus to make the announcement of him taking on the role as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, and to issue his views about the role of the Order to his Jedi.
 * While battling UnuThul, Luke was able to resist the combined Force power of the Colony and triumph. When UnuThul attempted to Force Push the Grand Master, Luke rooted himself in the heart of the Force so strongly that it was said that the black hole at the center of the galaxy could not move him.
 * Right after a battle with UnuThul, wounded and using only his left hand to hold a lightsaber, Luke defeated Lomi Plo, who was wielding two lightsabers.
 * Luke defeated his son in a sparring match without even igniting his lightsaber, and for part of the duel, without taking a step at all.
 * Despite sustaining severe chest injuries from a lightwhip, including lung damage, and the loss of his prosthetic right arm, Luke continued to duel Lumiya, eventually defeating her.
 * On only the trip back to Hapes after the duel, Luke used a Jedi healing trance to heal most of the damage caused by Lumiya.
 * Upon death, Luke was able to retain his consciousness in the Netherworld of the Force, and could henceforth manifest himself in spirit form.

Lightsabers
Luke Skywalker's first lightsaber was his father's former weapon given to him by Obi-Wan Kenobi. During his first three years of his adventure, Luke upgraded his first lightsaber by placing a shard of Kaiburr crystal in the focusing crystal hold and other parts like the activator board. Specialized to Djem So, his father's style, Luke wielded it until it fell into the depths of Bespins Cloud City. It was later recovered.

After being defeated by Vader on Bespin, Luke built a new weapon that followed the design of Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber. A practical weapon with a green Synth-crystal blade, Luke still wielded it during the Second Corellian Insurrection.

During the Nagai-Tof War, after losing an initial duel to Lumiya and her lightwhip, Luke constructed a shoto to counter her unique weapon. Years later, he would use it again in a duel against the Dark Lady of the Sith.

Personality
"Farmboy."

- Mara Jade

"This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away. To the future. To the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh! Excitement&hellip; A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!"

- Yoda

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.

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. This somewhat soft stance on discipline and errant behavior at the Jedi Praxeum indirectly led to the attacks by Exar Kun on his students.

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. This type of inner conflict would remerge in the Yuuzhan Vong War, where Luke struggled with how the Jedi should approach the war.

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&mdash;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 onboard the second Death Star, but ultimately failed. Luke's love for his friends and his determination foiled the plans of the evil Sith Lord.

Romances
"Who is she? She's beautiful."

- Luke on Leia after seeing the hologram

Leia Organa
Luke was known for having several failed attempts at romance. He felt an attraction to Leia Organa after only seeing her in hologram, saying "She's beautiful." Luke later discovered that she was his sister and they formed a close brother-sister relationship. Leia went on to marry Han Solo.

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

Shira Brie
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.

Tanith Shire
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 Winger
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 Captison
While fighting the Ssi-Ruuk over Bakura, Luke and Gaeriel Captison had a mutual attraction to each other, but they parted ways after the invasion was stopped and Captison informed Luke that she was already in love with Bakura. They would encounter each other again years later, but Gaeriel was a widow by then. After her untimely demise on the Intruder, Luke arranged to have her orphaned daughter Malinza taken care of.

Mary
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 Ysanna
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 Ming
Luke also had a romance with Callista Ming, a Jedi Knight whose spirit had been trapped in the Eye of Palpatine's computers. After Cray Mingla sacrificed herself and left Callista her body to inhabit, Luke grew close to Callista, but despite their closeness, she could not touch the Force and left Luke to find her own way back to the Force. This encounter embittered Luke somewhat, as he was quite in love with Callista.

Akanah
Akanah Norand Goss Pell 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&mdash;she knew nothing of his mother. The relationship ended after that.

Mara Jade
Then there was Mara Jade, a former Emperor's Hand whose last order had been to kill Luke. To say the least, their relationship was prickly at first, although they were forced to cooperate on numerous occasions to survive. As Mara worked with Luke, she developed at first a grudging respect for him, then later a growing admiration, tempered by her pragmatism and coolness as usual. While fighting on Nirauan, in order to coordinate their efforts perfectly, Luke and Mara performed a Force Meld, linking their minds. It was after understanding each other on so deep a level that they realized the depth of their attraction for each other. The two were falling in love and were happily married. Luke and Mara had a son that they named Ben, in honor of the memory of his first master, Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi.

Behind the scenes
"Anakin wasn't what he was supposed to become. But the son could become that."

- George Lucas 

Origins of Luke
Just as George Lucas took the name "Anakin" from his friend and fellow film director, Ken Annakin, the name "Luke" is likely derived from Lucas's own name. One reason Lucas may have done this is to reflect his own identification with the character.

The name Luke, as well as Lucas, means "the bringer of light." The name Luke is the same as Lucas, which is the original Hebrew form of the name, which underwent a slight transformation when the names were translated into English. The same results can be observed with other names such as Joseph (Youseph), Mark (Markose), John (Yohannan) etc.



In the biography of George Lucas on The Academy of Achievement website (http://www.achievement.org), it is noted that the famous Skywalker Ranch is in fact, named after Luke Skywalker.

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. The Starkiller name later was used for a Tarisian duel veteran in the times of Revan, named Bendak Starkiller.

George Lucas has stated that Luke has the same Force potential as his father, which is why both Darth Vader and the Emperor were willing to turn on each other to gain Luke as their apprentice. Luke is said to represent Anakin's full potential, if Anakin had lived to achieve it rather than suffer the horrible fate that made him more machine than man. Lucas further measures that Luke's Force potential was twice as powerful as Emperor Palpatine.

Luke was to have had a major role in the now cancelled sequel trilogy as an Obi-Wan/Yoda type Jedi Master somewhere in his 60's passing on the torch to the next young hope.

Casting
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&mdash;"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 a 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 2000. 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.

Ben Burtt, the sound designer and main editor of the Star Wars films, also auditioned for the role of Luke Skywalker.

Relationship with his sister
Luke's attraction to Leia, whom he did not know was his sister at the time, is actually emblematic of common phenomenon known as genetic sexual attraction.

Luke Skywalker as the Monomyth Hero
The Hero Cycle is the pattern of the lives of many of the greatest heroes. It was discovered by Lord FitzRoy Raglan and published in 1936 in his book The Hero: A Study In Tradition, Myth And Drama. This list, composed of twenty steps with sub-steps, was later refined and published in Joseph Campbell's work The Hero with a Thousand Faces in 1949. This work was one of the many referenced by George Lucas while he was creating Star Wars. As a result, Luke, and later his father, Anakin, proceed through these steps, though Anakin's cycle is much more twisted due to the fact he is doomed to be a tragic hero. Luke, however, follows the steps nearly exactly. Although this is true, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi only cover approximately three-fourths of the Hero Cycle, with the proceeding novels picking up the torch, most notably Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. The more well known version in Hero with a Thousand Faces, called the Hero's Journey, which also closely follows Luke's life. The two lists will be compared here.

Hero Cycle
1. Unusual conception and/or virgin birth; twins&mdash;Luke and Leia were born twins

2.1. Assassination attempt by family member&mdash;Darth Vader's attack on and ordered execution of Owen and Beru Lars

2.2. Hero wounded&mdash;Luke hurt by the Sand People/Tusken Raiders

2.3. But escapes&mdash;Escape from sandtroopers with the Millennium Falcon 3. Summons to adventure&mdash;Call for help from Leia; Obi-Wan netting him into the rescue

4. Acquisition of helper&mdash;C-3PO; R2-D2; Obi-Wan; Han; Chewbacca; Leia

5.1. Brother battle&mdash;Dodging Darth Vader in the Death Star Trench; lightsaber duels with Vader

5.2. Dragon battle&mdash;Fighting the dianoga; escaping the wampa; fighting/escaping the rancor 5.3. Crucifixion&mdash;The death of Obi-Wan

6.1. Imprisonment in whale's belly&mdash;Han keeping Luke alive by placing him in the belly of the tauntaun 6.2. Night sea journey&mdash;Luke's immersion in the bacta tank

6.3. Petrifaction&mdash;Luke kept from leaving Dagobah; petrifaction in the Dark Side cave after vision 6.4. Dismemberment&mdash;Vader cutting Luke's right hand off

6.5. Hell's gate&mdash;The Sarlacc Pit

7.1. Labyrinth&mdash;Journey through The Death Star & Cloud City

7.2. Scylla vs. Charybdis&mdash;Choice whether to stay on Dagobah or help his friends

8. Passage of riddles, tests; ordeals&mdash;Training on Dagobah; vision of Han and Leia in trouble; turmoil about revelation that Vader is his father

9. Adherence to narrow path&mdash;Promise to Yoda to return; decision not to kill Vader; throwing away his lightsaber

10. Illumination&mdash;Revelation about his father's identity; revelation about sister's identity

11.1. Sacred marriage&mdash;'Wedded' to the Force; later wedded to Mara Jade

11.2. Theft of magic elixir&mdash;Keeping his lightsaber hidden in R2-D2's dome. Interestingly, R2-D2 is carrying drinks during that time. 11.3. Father atonement&mdash;Anakin's turning back to the light 12. Summons to return&mdash;Returning to Tatooine to rescue Han 13. Magic flight&mdash;The Death Star Trench Run; the speeder bike chase 14. Departure of helper&mdash;Obi-Wan; Yoda

15.1. Rout of pretenders&mdash;Jabba; Darth Sidious

15.2. Resurrection&mdash;The return of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin as Force Ghosts

15.3. Fame&mdash;Hero of the Rebellion, the Ewok celebration

16. Rescue&mdash;Rescuing Han; rescuing Mara Jade

17.1. Founding of a city&mdash;Founding of the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV

17.2. Law giving&mdash;Grand Master of the New Jedi Order

18. Fall from grace&mdash;Continuing lure of the Dark Side

19. Exile&mdash;Kept from living a normal life because of his power and status

20. Extraordinary hilltop death&mdash;The death of Luuke (Luke's clone) on Mt. Tantiss

Hero's Journey


The Hero's Journey can relate to Luke's story throughout A New Hope, and can also be extended to the original trilogy as a whole, as well as some of the EU.

Departure (or Separation)

 * The Call to Adventure &mdash; when we first meet Luke, he bemoans his inability to leave Tatooine and join the Academy.
 * Refusal of the Call &mdash; Luke is refused adventure by Owen Lars. Luke himself also initially refuses to join Obi-Wan Kenobi on his mission to Alderaan out of loyalty to his uncle.
 * Supernatural Aid / The Meeting with the Mentor &mdash; Luke is saved from the Tusken Raiders by Ben Kenobi, who reveals himself as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and teaches Luke about the Force.
 * The Crossing of the First Threshold &mdash; Luke enters Chalmun's Cantina in Mos Eisley, symbolising his crossing from the world he knows into an alien environment.
 * The Belly of the Whale &mdash; Luke leaves Tatooine on the Millennium Falcon, which is subsequently captured by the Death Star.

Initiation

 * The Road of Trials &mdash; Luke begins training first under Obi-Wan, and later Yoda.
 * The Meeting with the Goddess &mdash; Luke rescues Leia Organa from her cell aboard the Death Star.
 * Woman as Temptress, or Temptation from the True Path &mdash; despite being told to stay in the control room by Obi-Wan, Luke places himself and others in danger by rescuing Leia. Both Luke and Han become attracted to her, leading to tensions between them. The dark side of the Force, manifested in Palpatine, also serves as Luke's temptation.
 * Atonement with the Father &mdash; Luke confronts Darth Vader on Bespin, and learns he is Vader's son. Luke will ultimately become Vader's salvation after coming to terms with this revelation and reconciling with his father.
 * Apotheosis &mdash; Luke sacrifices himself rather than join Vader after learning of his true parentage.
 * The Ultimate Boon &mdash; Luke reconciles with his father, who destroys Palpatine and fulfils the prophecy of the Chosen One, thus restoring balance. Luke also achieves inner balance after setting light to his father's body on a funeral pyre on Endor.

Return

 * Refusal of the Return &mdash; Luke chooses to meet with his father rather than help with the mission on Endor. He later proclaims "I won't leave you!" to his dying father.
 * The Magic Flight &mdash; Luke escapes from Death Star II with his father's body moments before the battlestation's destruction.
 * Rescue from Without &mdash; Luke is defeated by Palpatine, forcing Vader to step in and kill the Emperor. In addition, Han Solo aided Luke in destroying the first Death Star.
 * The Crossing of the Return Threshold &mdash; Luke confronts Vader onboard the second Death Star, and ultimately redeems him.
 * Master of Two Worlds &mdash; by confronting Vader, Luke becomes a true Jedi Knight, having resisted the temptation of the dark side.
 * Freedom to Live &mdash; with the Emperor and Darth Vader dead, the Empire falls into decline and the New Republic is later born. Luke, his friends and worlds across the Galaxy celebrate their newfound freedom.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * 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