The Smallest Rebel

Star Wars AU

A rewrite of my old story; Just Another Rebel?

In which Darth Vader escaped Mustafar unscathed, Padme Amidala survived, and instead of twin Skywalkers; it's quadruplet Skywalkers. Placed in hibernation due to medical reasons, little Avigail Skywalker is the youngest of the four. As a smuggler with a forgotten past, Avigal finds herself dragged away on the Executer, wrapped up in a galactic war filled with megalomaniac Imps and rambunctious Rebels and all because she knew a Jedi named Ben Kenobi. Trouble always had a knack for finding Skywalkers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars

Chapter I – Avigail

Avigail – 0 BBY

Mos Eisley was a busy city. Today especially seemed unusually so; everyone in some sort of odd rush. Pushing golden brown hair out of her face, Avigal had to push and shove her way through a particularly anxious crowd. A sandstorm was supposed be blowing in, but she doubted that was why the crowd was acting the way it was. Pulling her cloak's hood up, she slowly but gradually made her way deeper into the city's heart. Nearby she could hear someone shouting in Huttese, someone else selling speeders, and the seemingly nonsense chatter of Jawas.

A droid buzzed nearby, and she backed up a little to get out of its way. Mos Eisley never changed, she mused, dodging a rushing civilian. The cantina couldn't be far off, but she turned down a different street, sticking to the shadows, staying out everyone's way; an old habit of hers. There was an old workshop around here; she sometimes helped out fixing droids and speeders, ships, whatever needed repairs. Her steps grew slower though, something new bugging her in the back of her mind.

There was an odd amount of Stormtroopers hanging about.

Avigail was immediately uncomfortable as soon as she realized it. They were pairs on almost every street, and in the sky, the largest star destroyer she'd ever seen. It has to be the Executer. No star destroyer was that big but the one. For the longest time, the young girl just stared, at a loss. Still, there was something else there, in her mind. It was irritating, like a fly buzzing around her head. It received a scowl but didn't leave her. Almost like how Ben Kenobi's presence would bug her…

"Ben!" She exclaimed, spinning around, but there was nowhere there. A few civilians cast her strange looks. Bitterly, she muttered under her breath in Huttese, and scampered off.

It'd be suspicious if she ran away, though a lot of people were being careful to avoid contact with the Stormtroopers. All she could do was go about her business as usual. Ducking through another ally, she stumbled into the shop, still frowning. It was quiet in the little building, but she supposed it had to do with the sudden Imperial presence on the planet. Sitting at the counter, fiddling with an old droid, was Lev Ryker, the man who owned the shop. He had shoulder length, wavy dark brown hair, always giving off some sort of shine due to oil or grease and a pair of always gleaming brown eyes. He was a tall man, only nineteen to twenty years old – if she remembered correctly – and twice her height, but she was very short, for her age at least, standing at four feet and six inches. She could probably pass as a nine year old.

"Hey kid," Lev chirped brightly, still working. "Toss me the hydrospanner, would ya?" Silently, Avigail complied, watching him fix the droid for a moment, not really paying attention. "Lots of Stormtroopers hanging around," he muttered, causing her to lift her head.

"Yeah… No kidding," she answered, picking up a tool off the self out of random, with her frown now directed at it.

Lev sat upright all of a sudden, placing the old broken droid down, giving her a look. "What's up, Avi?"

"Just…" She sighed and shook her head, leaning against the wall, still holding the tool, a fusion cutter. "Nothing; it was nothing." She was hardly going to tell Lev, though he'd been her friend and mentor for ages about having a weird feeling in the back of her head that could tell when someone was there. He'd think she was crazy. Maybe she was. "I wonder why all the Stormtroopers are here though," Avigail mused, deciding to change the subject in a manner she hoped was discreet enough to get pass Ryker, who had his eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest.

He shrugged, glancing outside. "Could be for anything. A pair walked in earlier; asked about a guy called Obi-wan Kenobi. Swore it was familiar, but I don't anyone with that name."

"Kenobi? I wonder if he's related to old Ben."

"The crazy old hermit?" Lev inquired, blinking. "Maybe."

The door to the shop suddenly opened, a ring sounding as it did. It was Avigail's turn to shrug, and then she slipped around tools, scrap metal and shelves to a tall man standing just inside. She grew weary quickly, blue eyes flickering as she studied the stranger. The city was full of queer people, but she was getting a bad feeling from this guy. He was tall, perhaps taller than Lev, and wearing – definitely not sanely – mostly black, from the tunic and plants, to the boots and cape. Like Lev, his hair was shoulder length, brown – it was more of a red, gold brown – and fairly wavy. Something cylinder was hanging off his belt, and she didn't dare ask what it was.

A pair of yellow-flecked eyes looked back at her. A long scar ran down one side of his face. "Is a Lev Ryker here?" The man asked. With a frown, Avigail nodded and led him through the shop where Lev was waiting. Immediately he leapt to his feet, and grabbed her arm sharply, bending down to hiss in her ear.

"You should go now, quickly, Avi, out the back door, go." Letting her go, she stared at the two for a long time, before darting outside without another word. She ran for two minutes before stopping by the side of a road and sitting down, arms wrapped around herself, wondering why Lev – who was the toughest and chilliest guy she knew – would tell her to run from that man. There was that weird feeling, sure, but he hadn't looked like he was going to harm anyone.

Nearby, an old man, followed by a blonde teenager – a farm boy from what she could tell – walked into the cantina. The feeling was there, in her mind, and she knew the old man was Ben Kenobi. The temptation to follow was there, urging her to her feet, but she stayed put, hoping Lev would appear in a minute or so, to reassure her nothing was going on. Minutes passed, and nothing happened. Avigal was growing restless, tapping the sand covered road with her feet.

Civilians passed, as did Stormtroopers. As the Imperials walked by, she tensed up each time, watching them with increasing anxious. Something fishy was going on. The feeling had long since passed, but when it returned, Avigail jumped to her feet and turned on her heel.

It wasn't Old Ben.

Instead, she was face-to-face with the man from the shop. For the longest time the two stared each other down, neither speaking. The teen wondered why he didn't say anything; he wasn't the one trying to figure out what was going on here, was he? For all she knew he was at the center of it. So, she squared up her shoulders and met his gaze with her own. He was so much taller than her, so much she felt rather like a dwarf if anything when in his presence. She involuntarily stepped back. All her years spent hopping around the galaxy, flipping off crime lords and this guy was scaring her with a look of pure calm.

Finally, he spoke. "Do not concern yourself, your friend is fine. I was just asking him some questions," he stated. If he was expecting that to help her, it wasn't working. Before she could demand what sort of questions, he beat her to answering. "I'm looking for someone; a Jedi."

"Jedi." She echoed. She meant it as a question, but it came as more of a statement. It made sense now, that he was looking for a Jedi. The cylinder thing must be a lightsaber.

He nodded. There was a slight push mental push and she tensed again, shoving it away automatically. The man seemed to tense himself, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared her down. She felt as if he was analyzing every little thing about her, and she'd messed up some sort of test. It wasn't pleasant, and she took another step backwards, into the street.

He seemed to be ignoring her fear. "Your friend said you both knew a man; some hermit?"

"Ben." That said, she took one more step, before spinning around and taking off, not daring to look behind her. He was a threat to Ben. He was a threat to her. He was an Imperial. Her job was to avoid those guys; she should've ran sooner.

She didn't know where she was going, just letting her feet move, quick as possible. One step after the next, chest heaving, pulling her cloak back over her head, racing through civilians and trying to dodge Stormtroopers. Why weren't the Stormtroopers following her? There was a buzz. Something buzzing… Humming. Slashing. Avigail finally turned around. Crazy old Ben was taking down five, six, seven Stormtroopers with something glowing blue, while that blonde kid was firing a blaster. Ben. She had to warn him though. Did he know what she was running from? She didn't even know, the feeling just told her to run.

"Avigail, run!" It was Ben's voice now, telling her.

And she didn't need to be told twice.

She was close enough now. The city's limit was just ahead of her. Ben's lightsaber was a distant sound now, and she stumbled outside. Into a sandstorm. The teen cursed softly in huttese under her breath. She'd forgotten all about the sandstorm, and as she glanced behind her, she couldn't see the Imperials, or crazy old Ben. It was just Avigal and the desert now. She liked her odds in the city better. No one in their right mind would walk in this weather, even to their ship, especially if it was about a klick away.

Suddenly, out of the sand, her wrist was pulled, and she was held in a powerful lock-hold. Alarmed, Avigail kicked and squirmed. A voice, so similar to Levi's earlier, it sent shivers down her spine, hissed in her ear. "You're very lucky you're not his apprentice."

What the hell does that mean?