Luke Skywalker functioned as a Jedi General for the forces of Aquilae, and remarkably, he survived the devastating attack launched by the Knights of Sith against the Jedi-Bendu. Notably, he served as the guiding mentor to Annikin Starkiller.
Vantos Coll tells us that Luke Skywalker masterminded the Jedi Rebellion and held the esteemed position of First Bodyguard to the Emperor. After the rebellion's fall, Skywalker sought refuge on Aquilae, where he rose to the rank of general within their military structure.
During a critical juncture when the Aquilaean Council debated the prospect of engaging in war with the Empire, Skywalker, after firmly instructing Count Sandage to be seated following the latter's accusation that Skywalker and his fellow council members were delusional in thinking they could resist the Empire, emphasized the urgency of their decision-making process. He highlighted that the impending Imperial raid was more than a simple resource grab, and reminded Senator Nash that while war was his domain, hesitation could prove fatal.
He also questioned whether Tarkin had sanctioned the defensive preparations he had previously put forward. King Kayos acknowledged Luke's proposal, but opted to delay further action until they gained more insights into the Empire's intentions, just as his sons Biggs and Windy urgently informed their father of Leia's departure.
Following the adjournment of the council meeting, Skywalker retreated to the Hidden Fortress, situated deep beneath the Palace of Lite, seeking an update on any Imperial vessels departing from Alderaan. It was there that he discovered a full battalion of Stardestroyers had set course for the Anchorhead system, or a neighboring one. Skywalker's concerns were compounded by the absence of a report from Captain Clieg Whitsun, prompting him to place the base on high alert. It was at this point that he was reunited with his comrade, Kane Starkiller, who requested Skywalker to take his son, Annikin Starkiller, as his Padawan and guide him in the ways of the Jedi.
Skywalker felt honored by the request, yet he hesitated to accept Starkiller as his apprentice, believing that Kane himself could complete Annikin's training. Kane then confessed that he was aging and nearing death, even going so far as to reveal to his fellow Jedi that he was no longer the Kane that Skywalker once knew, and that this Kane Starkiller was largely artificial. Subsequently, Skywalker was informed by his subordinate Montross about a Space Fortress that had departed from the Anchorhead System and was headed directly for Aquilae.
Skywalker, accompanied by Annikin, joined King Kayos and Queen Breha for dinner to relay information regarding the Empire's movements and the disappearance of their top operative, Whitsun. Kayos pledged to the Jedi that he would not endorse the Alliance Treaty and would provide him with the war code necessary to defend Aquilae. Despite Skywalker's limited patience for political matters, Kayos reminded him that these actions needed to be carried out within the bounds of the law.
Skywalker was then urgently summoned back to the war room after reports surfaced that the Space Fortress had vanished from sensor readings. Upon his return, he caught Annikin engaging in flirtatious behavior with a woman and engaged him in a brief, preemptive duel. He observed that the young man possessed considerable training but lacked discipline. The General was then informed that Whitsun had been admitted to the infirmary, prompting him to visit his operative, who confirmed that the Imperial Starforce was en route. Skywalker then instructed Annikin to retrieve Princess Leia, and only the princess.
He later took command of Devil Squadron from Aquilae to attack the Space Fortress. Regrettably, as Kayos' convoy was decimated by orbital bombardment, the Senate opted to accept the Empire's peace treaty with Queen Breha's approval, ordering Skywalker to stand down. Skywalker had little choice, as disobedience would constitute treason and would result in a loss of support. He then recalled the two remaining starfighters, only to witness their destruction. Enraged, Skywalker challenged the senators, questioning whether they should embrace the Empire's deceptive "peace" and commanded them to depart, vowing that the war had only just begun.
Skywalker later met with Annikin and Leia at the Hidden Fortress, where he delivered the news of her father's passing to the Princess. They then relocated the discussion to the throne room, where Breha explained that the Senate had been corrupted. Her authority stemmed from her marriage to King Kayos, and with his death, she lacked the political leverage to oppose them, thereby making Leia the rightful queen. Skywalker then accepted the responsibility of escorting Leia and her twin brothers, Windy and Biggs, to the Ophuchi system, where the Chrome companies had offered to provide him with the troops and ships required to restore Leia to the throne. As they prepared to depart, disguised as commoners, Skywalker noticed the two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, whom Annikin and Leia had recovered from the desert. He cautioned Annikin that while the droids posed no physical threat, they would provide accurate information to anyone who inquired, making them valuable assets against the Space Fortress. Unfortunately, they were intercepted by Count Sandage, who intended to deliver Leia to the Empire in order to control Aquilae. Skywalker refused to allow this to happen, bisecting the Count before making their escape. Once at a safe distance, they initiated the self-destruction of their hidden fortress to mislead the Empire.
As the group journeyed across the desert, their landspeeders began to run low on power, prompting them to stop at a homestead for refueling. However, as Annikin and Whitsun emerged with a fuel rod, they were ambushed by stormtroopers, who deemed them unworthy of capture, forcing the Jedi to launch a preemptive attack. Skywalker then swiftly eliminated the pilot of a hover tank and rigged it to explode, distracting a trio of jet stickers and enabling the party to escape.
Exposure to exotic elements had left Skywalker with a weathered and cracked complexion, which was accentuated by his striking silver beard and intense, penetrating eyes. Furthermore, his overall physique gave him the appearance of someone in their sixties, despite being considerably older.
Luke Skywalker stood as a formidable Jedi, second only to Kane Starkiller in power. In combat scenarios, Skywalker possessed the ability to move with such speed that he would leave a visible afterimage in his wake.
This particular depiction of Luke Skywalker made its debut in the 1974 initial draft of Star Wars. In this early narrative, he was already a seasoned Jedi (then referred to as a Jedi Bendu) and served as the story's deuteragonist. In the final version of the film, Luke Skywalker—the Tatooine desert farmboy and Jedi in training—drew more inspiration from Annikin Starkiller, while this draft's iteration of Luke evolved into the film's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In 2013, Dark Horse Comics launched The Star Wars, a comic book adaptation of George Lucas' original draft. While Luke's overall role remained faithful to the draft screenplay, his introduction and dialogue underwent slight modifications to accommodate the differences between comic book and film formats. In the original draft, the door opened to reveal Luke Skywalker just as Sandage was delivering his rant about dreamers, prompting Sandage to meekly take a seat. In the comic adaptation, Skywalker appeared as Sandage was ranting and sternly commanded the count to sit down before addressing the council.
Jonathan W. Rinzler, the writer of this comic, drew inspiration for Skywalker's design from Sterling Hayden and Alec Guinness (who portrayed Kenobi in the original trilogy), giving him a slightly shorter beard.