A deleted scene from Star Wars: A New Hope explains how Luke’s friend, Biggs Darklighter, joined the Rebel Alliance. After attending the Imperial Academy, Biggs deserted his post in hopes of making contact with the Alliance and becoming a pilot. Before, he attempted to rendezvous with the rebels, however, he needed to make a stop back on Tatooine to see an old friend.
Biggs Darklighter grew up on the desert world of Tatooine as a childhood friend of future hero and Jedi, Luke Skywalker. From an early age, the two of them decided that they wanted more than their sandy planet could offer them, so they took to the sky. The two of them learned to fly on T-16 skyhoppers, and they spent so much time flying that they both became impressive pilots.
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Even with their time in the air, the two of them were never really satisfied with their lives and wanted to get off of their homeworld. Because of their knack for flying, the most obvious escape from Tatooine was attending flight school in the Imperial Academy. Uncle Owen never let Luke leave because he needed help on the moisture farm, but Biggs’s parents were relatively wealthy, so they allowed him to attend the Academy. There, he earned a commission as first mate of the vessel the Rand Ecliptic.
The deleted scene from A New Hope takes place near the beginning of the movie, when Luke goes into Tosche Station and finds that Biggs is back from the Academy. Luke is impressed with Biggs’s accomplishments and still yearns to leave home and attend the Academy for himself. It is here that Biggs drops a thermal detonator onto Luke’s ambition: Biggs is deserting.
Luke thinks that his friend is back on Tatooine to say goodbye before shipping off to his Imperial assignment, but Biggs has another, much more important reason for coming home. He tells Luke that he made a friend at the Academy who has a contact within the Rebel Alliance. He is planning to desert the Imperial Navy before reporting for his assignment so that he can try and join up with the rebels as a pilot.
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According to Luke, Biggs has been looking for the Alliance for years, but it is hard to find something that the Empire can’t even track down. Biggs is not even sure that he will be able to find the rebels through his friend from the Academy, but he is certain that he wants to fight for the cause of freedom. As he explains, “The Rebellion is spreading, and I want to be on the side I believe in.” Clearly, Biggs believes that the Empire has not had their best interests at heart in a long time, and he only went to the Academy as an excuse to leave Tatooine. Now, he has a real shot at actually finding the rebels.
The real reason Biggs is back is to confide in Luke. He goes on to say, “I may never come back, and I just want someone to know.” Biggs understands the dangers of fighting against the Empire, and he knows that he could easily die for the rebels’ cause. Nevertheless, he is confident in his beliefs, and he simply needs someone else to know what he's fighting for.
Luke and Biggs were briefly reunited before the Battle of Yavin, where they flew X-wings together as part of Red Squadron, but Biggs ultimately died during that battle. He was shot down by Darth Vader as Luke made his final assault on the Death Star’s thermal exhaust port. Biggs gave his life, but he accomplished his greatest goal – to be do his part in liberating the galaxy from the Empire.