Star Wars has finally revealed why Rey's parents left her on the junkyard planet Jakku. For Rey, the sequel trilogy was the story of her quest for identity. For years she had waited on Jakku, confident her parents would one day return for her. Ironically, it was only when she left the junkyard world and headed out into the wider galaxy that she learned the truth.

Rey only learned the truth about her parents in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Her father was a flawed clone of Palpatine, one who did not possess the Force, and who had escaped the Sith redoubt of Exegol to build a life of his own. Palpatine had only become interested in his clone when he somehow learned he had sired a daughter, one the Emperor believed had potentially inherited the Force. Palpatine sought Rey as a potential host for his malevolent spirit because other genetically-engineered creations had proved unable to contain his darkness.

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The full story of Rey's parents has been revealed in Adam Christopher's novel Shadow of the Sith. This tells the story of Dathan and Miramir, Rey's parents, who had tried to hide on Jakku. Unfortunately, Palpatine's agents successfully tracked them down and they were forced to flee. Only the intervention of a random New Republic task force saved them, prompting Palpatine to send the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon in his place. Dathan and Miramir ultimately decided to fight back, successfully stealing Ochi's ship in the hopes it would slow him down. They then doubled back to Jakku, leaving Rey there because they figured the Sith would never think to return to Jakku.

Star Wars Shadow of the Sith Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams as Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian Cover Art

Unfortunately, a homing beacon had been placed upon Ochi of Bestoon's ship, and the assassin was able to track Dathan and Miramir to Jakku. He intercepted the ship in orbit, captured them, and killed them while under the influence of the Sith dagger he had been given by the Sith Eternal. The dagger was supposed to lead Ochi to the Sith redoubt of Exegol once he had found Rey, but ironically its dark side influence proved the flaw in Palpatine's plan.

Miramir had planned for a potential defeat, however. Aware her daughter's life was in danger, she'd chosen to wear some beads from the planet Pasaana. Ochi fell for the bait, and headed to Pasaana. As seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, he died there after stumbling into sinking sand, before falling prey to a vexis. He never reported in, meaning Palpatine's other agents never learned Ochi of Bestoon had ever returned to Jakku in the first place. The trail went cold, with Rey successfully hidden on the planet Jakku. There is a rich irony in this hiding place, because years ago the Empire had fallen in the Battle of Jakku. The Emperor had intended that conflict to cripple the Republic, but he was outmaneuvered by saboteurs. The greatest villain of Star Wars never thought to return to the site of his defeat - and so Rey remained safe.

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