Choices Regarding the Skywalker Children

[Crown]

And just because Palpatine used that trick, does not mean that he's immune to it being used on him. Palpatine and Vader may have simply not considered that the Jedi would hide something that they wanted hidden very well so close to them.

I agree with this, also it is pretty clear in the movies that Obi-Wan is pretty good (damn good) with the whole 'sneaky-sneaky' side of the Force - and Luke later adopts (or learns) this trick.

[Master Arachnos]

As for Luke / Vader in the trench...

I always thought that Luke was subconciously using the force to assist his piloting (a la Anakin in the pod-racing), and that it was this that Vader was picking up on.
By the same stretch this is probably how Leia was'nt detected (as someone said, you don't need to use the force to manuever through a banquet....unless the buffet table is extremely busy )

[Durandal]

Not changing Luke's last name. Why didn't they simply call him Luke Lars? Calling him Skywalker just makes it that much easier to raise some flags. What if there is an Imperial census? Skywalker from Tatooine may draw unwanted attention from prying eyes. What if there is a draft? A Private Skywalker from Tatooine may warrant some attention by interested parties.

I doubt that Vader personally oversees every application to the academy. It would have to catch some recruiting officer's eye first. And that would only happen if they were told to look for it. Sure, it's a risk, but not as big a risk as you think.

And from a much more minor slant frankly wouldn't it have been easier for all involved for Luke to think that Owen and Beru were his actual parents? It would keep Luke from inquiring after his dear old dad and make him less of a dreamer if he didn't have a sense that he didn't belong on Tatooine. (Yoda seemed to think this was a character flaw in ESB)

It's possible that he did, initially. But we know that he had contact with Obi-Wan in and out throughout his childhood. Obi-Wan might have told Luke that his real last name was Skywalker, and that Owen and Beru weren't his real parents. That would explain why Owen was so hostile to the man who'd delivered he and his wife a child to raise as their own.

Leia adopted by Bail Organna. The over riding concern is keeping the children safe from the Sith - in Obi Wan's words Far from where the Sith might detect them. Ohhhohhhh I know...how about in the household of one of the more prominent senators in the Rpeublic. Occasionally she would have to make appearanced at dinners or receptions where the Emperor himself or more likely his agents would attend. If we assume Leia is as powerful as Luke, and there is no reason to not think so, let's remember that Vader detected Luke's force sensitivity in the midst of fighter combat, I would think hanging out at a dinner party would make things easier for him to detect.

I find it odd that you send one child out to the Outer Rim, a logical choice if you want them away from the Sith (But then it's one of the Sith Lord's homeworlds so bzzztttt on that one) yet the other child is raised basically in the Core, in the middle of Imperial High Society giving the Sith access to this child.

Remember that the galaxy was under the impression that Padmé died before delivering her children. Hell, the galaxy probably had no idea that she was carrying twins.

And Leia hiding in plain sight isn't a terrible idea. As far as anyone was concerned, she was the fiery little daughter of Bail Organa. That's how she made her name. No one was sitting around thinking, "Gee, I wonder if she's Padmé Amidala's undelivered child." She wasn't running around using the Force or anything, so how could anyone suspect?

Aside from that, putting one child on the Outer Rim and the other in the Core eliminates suspicion of any connection between the two. If one is discovered to be Anakin's child, that does not compromise the other.

Allowing Luke to apply to the Academy - Yes, I am well aware that Owen was very resistant to allowing Luke to go but frankly Luke was reaching that age where Owen may not have been able to stop him. Yet Owen was ready and willing to let Luke apply next year. This leads to the obvious issues of having a Skywalker from Tatooine signing up. Owen could have said something like "Our family has some issues in the Imperial hierarchy, I think your dad or some crazy uncle was wnated by the Imperials and they might take it out on you. How about joining up with some Corporate Sector guys if you really want to get off world?"

In the Radio Drama, it's made pretty clear that Owen is just stringing Luke along the entire time. Owen thought that if he kept Luke on the farm long enough, his ambitions would just fade away eventually.

Allowing Leia to become a Senator - This far more than the Luke one bugs me to this day. You just went through armageddon with trying to smuggle those children away from the Sith, you know damn well what the Sith would do if they found them yet not only do you allow one of them to be raised in the very belly of the beast but then you let her be seen and heard by these self same Sith. In fact she spouts some pretty rebel friendly stuff and is virtually considered a member of the Alliance "You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor - take her away!" putting her squarely in the Emperor's and Vader's sights - something that Luke would not do anywhere as easily being a faceless recruit in the Imperial military - and opening up the possibility of them ferreting her identity out.

Again I point to the Vader detecting Luke's force sensitivity in the heat of combat at a distance to show how brightly Luke shone. For now I have no idea how to explain Leia's captivity on the DSI and not tripping the "The Force is strong in this one."

And yet, he help Leia captive on the Death Star and saw her witness the destruction of her home planet without having a clue that it was his daughter.

[Knife]

Slightly different twist on this.

First of all, why take any chances by taking Luke back to Tatooine? A million worlds to hide on and the chaos of the post-war period, why not take him somewhere far away with no connections to Vader whatsoever? And yeah, change the name. Don't take any chances.

The way I've figured it is that Tatooine is probably the safest place in the galaxy to hide from Vader. There is nothing left for him there but painful memories of his mother. The Lars are not his family, he doesn't know them, if anything can blame them some for the death of his mother. He has no other family there, just a childhood of slavery.

Tatooine is a dead planet for Vader. While Sith feed off of anger, I still doubt Anakin Skywalker wants to feed off that particular set of circumstances. Indirectly he's still pissed about his mom and probably feeds off of that, but I don't think Anakin wants to directly confront the place that caused him so much emotional baggage.

As for sticking Leia with Bail Organa- gee, he's an opposition senator with a history of getting under Palpatine's skin. Even without the threat of detection, it's easily possible that Palpatine might arrange for bad things to happen to Bail or his family in the pursuit of political maneuvers.

But then this is coming from members of a Jedi Council who hold top-level meetings in front of whoever happens to be standing around the transmitter. Cloak and dagger, or even basic security, is not their forte.

Actually Bail Organa durring the PT's was a loyalist. They puposely kept him off the petition of 2000 and all his dealings with the Jedi in RotS was on the down low. It's possible that what was left of those Clone Troopers at the Jedi Temple could ID him but they kind of had their hands full at the moment and weren't checking ID and were just denying everyone access to the Temple.

[Faqa]

Further, consider this: if Vader/Palps WERE looking for Anakin's offspring, where would be the LAST place they'd look? To quote Lando from SotE:

"Yeah, they'll think nobody could be that stupid. Lucky for us, we ARE that stupid..."

As to "Skywalker" popping up on official Imperial papers, Owen was actively trying to avoid that. Luke may not even have been registered with them. Yes, he could've struck out on his own - but that would probably have been the sign of the "Obi-Wan panic button". Kenobi wasn't waiting on a lost droid to find Luke in the end. If things had been allowed to go their natural course, he would've used whatever lines of communication he had with the Lars to enlighten Luke at some point. The point was to let the twins become normal people before being trained, not to never let them discover their powers. Luke starts using the Force, or manages to get off-planet, the Lars call Obi-Wan. That's my theory, anyway.

[Kettch]

Tatooine is a dead planet for Vader. While Sith feed off of anger, I still doubt Anakin Skywalker wants to feed off that particular set of circumstances. Indirectly he's still pissed about his mom and probably feeds off of that, but I don't think Anakin wants to directly confront the place that caused him so much emotional baggage.

Notice that in ANH, Vader doesn't hang around after they board Leia's ship. He dumps some storm troopers, alerts the local garrison, call some other ships (Han's 'cruisers') and takes off for the Death Star, leaving the search for those all important plans in the hands of his deployed troops & probably vague directions to the local Governor. (The DS is still top secret.)

He could have done the interrogations of Leia on the Star Destroyer & used his force power to quicken the ground search. Instead he came back to the Death Star empty handed in stead of a day late.

Hanging around, even in orbit, was too painful for Vader.

Oh, & remember the heraldry at the pod race? If there is heraldry, then there should at some time have been a "Skywalker Clan,” though as Shmi's predicament may show, they probably are no longer tightly knit, that she could call on them to buy off her slavery. (Maybe she is outcast for some reason?). Anyway the last name should not be that uncommon on Tatooine.

[spongyblue]

Maybe Shmi's an outcast for having an unexplainable pregnancy?

Anyway, I think giving Leia to Bail was a good idea. It's likely that a good number of people on Alderaan knew that the Organa's where in the market to adopt a girl, so when one day the show up with a new born it's no big deal

As far as Luke keeping the name Skywalker, I look at it like this. If he was told he was a Lars, and Obi-Wan showes up when Luke's an adult and tells him his pops was a Jedi named Skywalker and it up to him to learn the Force and defeat the Emperor, how successful would Obi-Wan be? Very little. Where as if from the time Luke was a child, he knew he was a Skywalker, and at least knew that he was a pilot of some sort, it would make it a little easier for him to swallow and accept the role he has to take.

[Srynerson]

Oh, & remember the heraldry at the pod race? If there is heraldry, then there should at some time have been a "Skywalker Clan,” though as Shmi's predicament may show, they probably are no longer tightly knit, that she could call on them to buy off her slavery.

Do we have evidence that the flag C-3PO carries has anything to do with the name "Skywalker" as opposed to Watto?

[Illuminatus Primus]

Another thing of note: the Academy is not necessarily owned by the Empire; there were Sector-level academies for the merchant marine in addition to pan-Empire, Naval Academy and Army Academy.

Note: I doubt there was a Marine Academy, as there were probably no Marine commands exceeding the sector-level formation. I figure that Starfighter Corps are subordinated to the Navy (there however may be in-house contingents of Army aviators, especially flying combat and carrier airspeeders). It would seem both Academies are on Carida, but at least a naval one was.