Title: How the Galaxy Learned about Darth Father
Description: Luke Skywalker returns to Couresount to campaign on behalf Leia Organa-Solo's bid for president of the New Republic. What he does not bargain for is the galaxy learning who is father is.
Forward: When I was a kid reading Star Wars books, obtained from the public library and half-priced books, I kept waiting for the moment in which the Galaxy learned that Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa-Solo where the children of Darth Vader. In some of the books everyone seemed familiar with their parentage and in others it was a secret. Surely, such a revelation needed its own story, the galaxy was surely not just going to accept that Luke and Leia were the children of Darth Vader. I chose to continue to this story in the cannon of old for two reasons first of all, truthfully Luke and Leia are just not a big enough deal for it to matter in the new movies. In the stories of the New Republic, Leia runs the government as the leader of the free galaxy and Luke trains Jedi, and a lot of them at that. Both of them become leaders of the galaxy in their own right. In the new movies, Luke disappears and Leia is spending her with the rebellion that never seemed to take off. Really, neither seem like a big enough deal for anyone to care who their father is. In addition, while this is set in back drop of the New Republic I play a bit fast in lose with the cannon, mostly because it has been such a long time since I have read a Star Wars book, that I don't remember enough to get ever little detail correct, also, at this point, Star Wars is so disaggregated, there are like 10 different versions of Cannon. Also, on a side note, there is a Harry Potter Easter egg, so I good luck finding that. Enjoy or don't, I am old enough now that spending my weekend writing fanfiction has nothing to do with reviews and everything to do with my personal compulsion to right.
-Miranda
Luke Skywalker walked into the small apartment he maintained Couresount. Even though this was technically his permanent residency and had been for nearly a decade, he had not spent a night in the apartment for six months. The interior was bland and impersonal. In the front room, which contained a small kitchen and a sofa had no personal effects and the bedroom was nearly just as bland with white sheets and almost no clothes in the closet.
Luke examined the space surrounding the apartment with his enhanced force senses, noting a bustling community that shared these walls. Luke had specifically picked this apartment because it was on the outskirts of the governmental complex and the surrounding apartments had been empty at the time, the complex that had belonged to the old republic and the empire and now New republic set up their own headquarters in this space and the government had grown.
Luke dropped his rucksack in the tidy sterile bedroom and headed to the fresher to clean up. The Jedi master had been on a bizarre and messy favor for Lando Calrissian that had lasted weeks and included little time for sleep, before that he had been on an errand for Mon Mothma providing security for a contingent of diplomats and before that Luke has been on his own mission to research the long gone Jedi nights of another time.
Now, even with his force enhanced ability to run on very little sleep for long amounts of time, all Luke wanted to do was sleep in a bed for a full night without interruption, even Jedi have their limitations and Luke had finally reached his.
Unfortunately, as Luke suspected, his Comm unit was beeping when he got out of the fresher unit. He pressed the button to listen the message and was unsurprised to hear the voice of his sister, Leia Organa-Solo, play over the unit.
"Hey Luke, I just say that your X-Wing landed, and I know you probably want to get some rest, but my media team really wants to go over some talk points for tomorrow." Even through the Comm unit, Leia sounded exhausted.
Luke pressed they button on the Comm unit and waited for a response. "Uncle Luke," the voice of a six year old rang over the Comm unit. Luke reached out over the force, unsure if he was responding to his niece or nephew but voice alone, the kids loved this trick and purposefully did not identify themselves. "Jaina, can I talk to your mom?" Luke asked and then waited for the giggle of confirmation that he was correct.
Before the giggle could fully come to conclusion Leia's voice came over the Comm Unit, "Oh good, Luke, can you come over, just for an hour or two, I just need to reassure the media team that you have been prepped, even one misstep as this point is likely to cost the election and this one has become high stakes, a loss will reverse everything we have worked so hard to achieve."
"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes." Luke responded.
The call ended and Luke dressed and headed over to his sister's apartment. On the walk, he considered the circumstances that had brought him back. Mon Mothma has announced her retirement a year ago and ever since the New Republic has been in the midst of an election campaign season, the election just six weeks away. Leia had instantly thrown her hate into the race and Luke had found excuses to be absent from the more populated portions of the republic, turn most of his attention to planets that were not part of any galactic alliance. Privately, Leia had always been his choice, regardless to the fact that they were siblings and friends, Leia has the experience and policy that was, in his opinion, right for the republic, but public Luke has chosen to stay away. It only took a fleeting knowledge to know that the Empire and the destructive harmful policies had originated when a Jedi had traded in their vows and lightsaber for the corruption of politics. This had also been the reason Luke and Leia had refrained going public with both their relation to each other and parentage, it would only unjustly affect Leia's chance at public office.
Now, Luke returned to Couresount for the purpose of campaign on behalf of his sister. The pool had narrowed in the past few months from four candidates, three of which would have been adequate for the position in Luke's opinion and one that was little more than a thinly vailed emperor, both his policy and administration was likely to undo all of the work the resistance had fought for including the exile of any remining Jedi and their legacy. Of the three candidates that would were suitable, only one remained and that was Leia. This was no longer about politics but survival. In a lot of ways, the media tour was more of an extension of his efforts in the rebellion rather than anything actually political. Anyway, at least, Luke was not actually running for office, all he was doing was endorsing a fellow war hero in her attempt.
Luke arrived in the most central portion of the governmental complex apartments and raised his fist to knock on the Organa- Solo apartment, but the door opened before he could make contact.
"Uncle Luke, Uncle Luke," screamed two bouncy six-year-olds in front of the door.
"Luke, it's good to see, thanks so much for doing this, I know you have your whole Jedi thing about politics, but thanks so much." Leia said from the threshold of the door and reached out for a hug.
As they released Luke gave a thin smile and said, "This is important and it's good to see you, it's been a while."
Leia moved into the apartment and Luke followed her to find Han sitting on the sofa, a picture book open in his hands and but the only child who seemed to still be interested was two-year-old Anakin sitting next to Han, to interested in the book to care to see his uncle.
Han looked up from his position, "Kid, you have come just in the nick of time, I've been in battle and somehow this is worse. That or I just don't have the stomach for politics." Han then turned to his kids, the twins still running around underfoot and said, "Time for bed."
"But DAAAD, I want to spend time with Uncle Luke," Wined Jacen.
"He'll be around for a few days, and it's your bed time, you have school in the morning." Han said, rounding up his children.
"But, but DAAAD, it's Uncle Luke, he's a real-life Jedi." Jaina cried.
"Jaina, Jacen, come over here," Luke said kneeling on the floor so that he was child height. The children looked him at him with all the attention in the world. "You want to be Jedi one day, right?" Luke questions.
Both the children nodded, suddenly shy.
"That's what I thought. Do you want a piece of Jedi advice right now?" Luke questioned.
The children nodded again.
"Okay, that's what I thought, part of being a Jedi is knowing the right time to be present and the time to not. As a Jedi, you are sometimes just as useful when you are not around. Right now, it is a time to recuse yourself from the situation. Does that make sense." Luke spoke the words slowly but not patronizing.
"I think so, I think you are saying that this is one of the situations when it is best to not be here?" Jacen, the more sensitive of the two questioned.
"Yes, I think that is best." Luke said.
"Dad, we're ready for bed." Jaina stated in her most grown up voice.
"Alright then, I think we'll invite Uncle Luke to bed time every night, let's go." Han said, leading the Children to their bedroom.
"Projecting much?" Leia joked as soon as the kids are out of ear shot?
"I got your kids to bed, didn't I?" Look shoot back dryly.
"Come on, the media team is camped out in my dining room. This should not take long." Leia directed him to the formal dining room, a room mostly reserved for dinners with visiting diplomates and other important people. The dining room had been converted into some sort of make shift campaign headquarters.
"I thought you had a proper campaign headquarters?" Luke questioned.
Leia sighed and then said, "I do have another headquarters, but meeting here in the evenings allows me to see my kids before they go to bed. Have small children and campaigning to be the leader of the free is a worlds balancing act."
Luke noded but did not get a chance to respond before he was swarmed by Leia's media team. The session really was only an hour, Luke had reviewed his talking points during his flight back to Couresount which meant the media team was generally happy with his speech and response.
The next morning, Luke arrived at his first stop, the easiest of all his campaign stops. This was the breakfast for Veterans of the Rebellion. Luke was one of two speakers, the other was his old friend Wedge Antilles who would introduce Luke. Luke was fairly sure Leia's team has set this up more as a practice run than anything else, Luke knew half the guys in the audience and it was unlikely any of them would vote for anyone but Leia.
Luke stood on the wings of the stage while he listened to Wedges' Speech. "The speaker for today's breakfast most likely needs no introduction, but I am going to do so anyways." A light chuckle radiated through the audience. "I first met Luke Skywalker 17 years ago, and he was neither a war hero or a Jedi, he was just a farm kid trying for anything better for both himself and the Galaxy. The next day Luke would destroy the Death Star and go on to being one of the most famous war heroes to serve in the Rebellion. After four years of consistent and outstanding service to our cause, Luke left the day to day fighting of the rebellion to learn the ways of the Jedi Knights, only to return to serve our cause again during the battle of Endor, the battle which ultimately tipped the balance of the rebellion and led to the formation of the New Republic. Today, Luke is in the process of rebuilding the Jedi order so that our Galaxy may come to know the same peace that our predecessors in the old rebellion enjoyed for thousands of years. Without further ado, Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker."
Luke entered the stage to applause, more than was warranted by the introduction. Before he started his speech, he looked out in the audience pleased to see familiar faces and then started his speech. "Good morning, and welcome, I am very excited to be here this morning and see the faces of so many old friends. As you all know, probably better than me, we are about to conclude what some are calling the first real election of the New Republic. The race has now been narrowed down to two candidates, but I am only going to talk about one, as the other is not worth mentioning. The candidate I am going to talk about today is Leia Organa- Solo, one of my oldest and most trusted Friends. Leia has dedicated her life to make sure everyone in the Galaxy is free. When she was just 16 years old she ran for senate to defend the people of Alderann, to defend her planet from the Empire and when she realized that the political environment, the only one she had ever known, was not supportive of a free and open government, she joined the Rebellion in order to start a new government that was for the people and by the people. Leia has also stood up for every single person of the Galaxy, no matter their species or their culture or one of the may other things that Empire chose to discriminate against. Leia's record, ever since she was 16 years old, has supported fair and just labor practices and to end slavery throughout the galaxy. Leia is the candidate that will continue to defend, through policy and diplomacy, ever thing we fought for during the Rebellion. This election is not just about politics, but maintaining the very government that so many of our friend and family lost their lives to defend. In so many ways, this election is just one more battle to our freedom. So I ask that you help me get as many people out to the polls to vote for Leia Organa-Solo, a Veteran of the Rebellion that is committed to defending what we fought so hard to earn."
Applause rang out through the auditorium while Luke exited the stage and visited with his old friends.
Luke gave a similar version speech two more times that day, in the afternoon he spoke to an auditorium full of University students and in the evening, he spoke at a festival in a floating park.
At 7:00pm Luke arrived back at The Organa- Solo apartment for dinner and a debrief of the day. The apartment was hectic between both children and campaign workers running about and Luke watched as Han and Leia performed a delicate dance to get the campaign workers contained in the formal dining room and the children in their seats for dinner at the kitchen table.
Once everyone had settled in and served themselves Leia turned to the twins and asked, "How was your day at school."
Jaina blurted out "Nazinin says that Uncle Luke's not my real Uncle."
Leia looked at her daughter for a second and said, "Well, not everyone knows everything about our family, and that's okay. We all know that Uncle Luke is my brother but it's okay if not everyone knows that. Do you know all of Nazinin's Uncles?" Leia asked.
"Um Yes… Um no, I don't know her Uncle's." Jaina replied.
"Well then, see, Nazinin just thinks she knows what's right, but we know the truth." Leia confirms, but the adults share a glance. The twins are now old enough to understand the difference between a fake and a real Uncle, but knot old enough to understand that it needs to be a secret. Leia makes a note to figure out how to explain this is her children before it escalates. Overall, this one incident will pass, it is common enough knowledge that Leia and Han are close friends with Luke.
The dinner passes, and Han takes the Children to bed and Leia leads Luke back into the dining room turned campaign headquarters.
"Great first day," Says a slim woman in her mid-20's. Her long hair is fiery red and she is wearing a pair of tall spikey heals. "We don't have official polls in yet, but I think Luke has been a great asset to the Campaign, I just wish we had gotten him on sooner."
"Me too, Kenton, me too" Leia says dryly looking at her brother.
"We do need to do some preparation for tomorrow morning, it's going to be a bit harder than today, tomorrow you are both going on the most watched morning show on 14 planets, it's where we're really going to get the impact."
Luke returned to his apartment three hours later, even though the questions had already been agreed upon a head of time, there was still a more than slight chance that interviewers would throw in a curve ball during the interview, since it would be live on the holonet.
Luke and Leia were sitting next to each other on the sofa of the 'Wake Up Today', they had made it through 15 minutes of the interview and only had 5 left. The questions had gone as planned and the answers satisfactory. The media team were already viewing all of the positive feedback coming through in the holonet, sure that this would be what finally tipped the stalemate the campaign cycle had become.
"Luke, this question is for you?" the 9 ft tall man covered in fury blue hair continued his question. "During this interview, we have gotten some information from an anonymous source that your father is actually Darth Vader? Is this correct?"
Without missing a beat, Luke responded. "My father is Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi knight, I was raised by my aunt and uncle on the desert planet of Tatooine."
The report paused as he listens to something in his ear piece and said, "Our understanding is that Anakin Skywalker, the man you just admitted to be your father, would later go by the name of Darth Vader, can you please comment on that."
Luke stares in the camera, calling on the force for guidance, only to feel a que from Leia, her force training limited, but enough to call out and provide him with the answer. "Right now, I am here to support Leia Organa-Solo in her run for office. Commenting on my personnel matters would only distract from her campaign. I would be happy to answer any questions about what Leia and her effort to continue to rebuild the republic. If you do not have any further questions on the topic, I suggest we end the interview."
Behind the camera, Luke watches as the media team puts down their tablets and looks gap mouthed at Luke.
The interviewer turns to Luke and Leia and said, as if he had never asked Luke the question about his father, "thanks so much for joining us today, it was a pleasure learning more about the campaign." And then the show switched to commercial. The media team pushed Luke and Leia outside the studio door and into a hover car before the program returned from commercial break. Kenton, who Luke realized must be the chief media person pushed into the car as well.
Kenton looked at Leia and then at Luke and then back at Leia, "Did you know about this, did you actual know Luke was the son of Darth Vadar?"
"He never actually admitted to it." Leia said, but it comes out clumsy.
"Fine, Luke, is Darth Vader your father?" Kenton pressed, looking at Luke from across the back of the hover.
Luke looked over at Leia, unsure of what to do, "Just tell her."
"Yeah, Darth Vader is my father." Luke admitted.
"And you know this?" integrated Kenton.
"Yeah," Leia said.
"Why do I get the feeling there's more to this?" Kenton questioned, "Like why you would choose to name your child after Luke Skywalker's father.
"We're just down the way from headquarters, we should go there to talk, it's a bit more private and comfortable." Leia deflected the inquire, though Luke knew it was mainly to think through what she was about to explain to Kenton.
Kenton picked up her Comm unit and frantically started messaging the rest of the Media team, giving them instructions on where to go.
About twenty minutes later the media team had reassembled in a conference room in Leia's actual campaign headquarters. Luke and Leia sat next to each other on one side of the conference table with the rest media team on the other side staring them down.
Kenton started the questioning, "If you knew about this, why would you not have said anything, why would you allow him to campaign on your behalf. You had to have known that this getting out could destroy your campaign, I mean, even without an endorsement it would have been hard enough, it's not exactly a secret you're friends."
Leia pressed her lips together in a thin line and said, "Because Luke and I share this secrete."
"What does that even mean, you share this secret, are you saying you are the only one who knows? That makes no sense." Kenton exclaimed.
"I mean, it's also my secret, he's also my father." Leia said softly.
"Your father was Bail Organa, everyone knows that, you're literally the princess of Alderann." Kenton explained, frustration growing.
"And everyone also knows I'm adopted, there were a lot of orphans in the years following the Clone wars, no one ever really asked question about my parentage growing up, even I didn't, by the time I was old enough to ask I knew the stories were too sad." Leia explained.
"So, what, you and Luke are half siblings, how many children did Darth Vader father, it could be hundreds or even thousands?" Kenton stated, hoping to build a case.
"We're twins and as far as we know it's just us, we are Anakin Skywalker's only children." Luke contributed.
Kenton sighed and then said, "What happened this morning was probably just the appetizer, wet the appetite of everyone watching, as soon as this make its way around, right before the news cycle shifts again, they're going to drop the real bomb. This is just great, the most Anti- Empire candidate is the literal child of the most evil empire operative and I am just finding this out six weeks before the election."
"I think we should get ahead of it, if we can control the message, then we can pivot back to policy. I say we hold a press conference and tell everyone everything." Leia presented the idea with confidence and poise. She had recovered from the shock of it all.
"I need to know the entire story before I agree to something so, well so brazen, but I think you may be right." Kenton agreed.
"You and you, make arrangements for a press conference this afternoon, after this morning, every outlet in the city will be there." Kenton says, pointing to a couple of young staffers on the media team.
"You and you," Kenton barked out two other staffers, "Cancel the rest of todays appearances for Leia, Han, Luke and Chewbacca." Chewbacca had been off world building the campaign for non-humans. The staffers left the room leaving just Kenton and two staffers.
"And you two," Kenton said, pointing to Luke and Leia, "We need to hear the entire honest story, so we know what exactly we are going to do at this press conference."
Leia nodded, "I'll tell my story and I'll let Luke tell his."
Leia paused, waiting for the attention to turn to her. She had learned a long time ago how to command a room. Now it was time to regain control of her campaign team. Once the room had refocused, Leia began her story, "Most of my story is exactly as I have always told it, Bail and Breha Organa adopted me before I have any memories and growing up I never knew much about my real parents. When Alderann was destroyed I still did not know the real identity of my parents. I met Luke shortly after that, but I would not understand that Luke was my brother or Anakin Skywalker was my father until the battle of Endor."
Kenton picked up the conversation. "That's it, Darth Vader…"
Luke Interrupted, "Anakin Skywalker."
"Fine, Anakin Skywalker, also happens to be known as Darth Vader, is just a man you share DNA with, it's not like you grew up with the man or know him any better than anyone else in the galaxy. Is that correct?" Kenton confirmed.
"That's it." Leia agreed.
"And Luke?" Kenton turned the attention in to the room to Luke.
"As I've always said, I was raised by Aunt and Uncle on Tatooine, until I was 18 I always thought my father was a navigator that died in an accident, when I met Obi-Won Kenobi, he told me that my father was a Jedi that had been killed by Vader. It was not until I faced Vader years later that I learned the truth."
"And why, Leia, did you choose to name your son Anakin? That will certainly be a question that is asked over and over again." Kenton pressed.
Leia sighed and then in a sudden panic said, "I need to call Han, he does not know any of this yet. And the Kids, I need him to pull them out of school and…"
"You're deflecting, if you can't answer me how are you going to handle the sharks out there." Kenton waved her hand toward an exterior wall.
"I'm serious, I will answer you question, but I need to protect my family, at least while we get this under some sort of control." Leia nearly yelled at her chief media advisor.
Without further argument and without moving from her spot at the table Leia picked up her Comm unit and called her husband.
"Han, have you watched…"
"Yeah, do you have a next move yet?" Han gruff voice rang over the Comm unit for everyone to hear.
"We're working on it, but the kids, we should pull them out of school, at least until we have a chance to explain." Leia said, her voice calm and commanding.
"Way ahead of you Princess, I'm walking in the school right now." Han replied.
Leia shook her head and said, "I love you."
"I know," Said the gruff voice on the other end before the call ended.
"Are you done now." Kenton said firmly, bringing the room back to focus. "We have four hours to attempt to save the not only this campaign but the entire New Republic, we have a press conference set at four and we need have a full media package ready to go at that time and we don't even have all of the facts yet. So, Leia, can you explain why you named your son after Darth Vader."
"While Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi, would go on to become Darth Vader, the Sith lord, our father died as Anakin Skywalker, a good man who saved my brothers life at the cost of his own. At the end Anakin Skywalker made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save his child. I named my son after a hero who spent years of his life a victim to the dark side, " Leia explained unwaveringly.
"Seriously, this is hard enough to spin with out the fact that your son shares a name of one of the most evil men to ever serve the empire, but now, I'm not sure there is going to be a way to over come this." Kenton stood from her spot at the table and started pacing the room, her heals clicking on the tiles with each slow step. "How about your mother, is there anything we need to know about her, any more surprises I need to know about?"
Luke inhaled and then said, "We think.."
Kenton cut him off, "what do you mean, you think? you don't know?" Her heals continued to click deliberately against the tile floor. The other staffers remained motionless in the room, intrigued in how the drama would play out. If anything, they provided a crystal ball into how the rest of galaxy will perceive this story.
Luke started again. "Everyone knows the Clone wars and the formation of the empire were a turbulent for the galaxy and there are plenty of people our age who have no idea who their actual parents are. But based on our research we think our mother was Padmé Naberrie, also known as…"
Kenton interrupted "Queen Amidala of Naboo, your telling me your father was Darth Vader and your mother was one of the most influential politicians in the final days of the Old Republic? What makes you believe this is your actual mother?"
"Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie travelled back to Naboo together just a few years before our birth and based on news stories of the time, the two maintained a close friendship after, perhaps this would suggest that she was our mother…" Leia trailed off, realizing how weak the explanation sounded.
"Your missing just one thing, Padme Naberrie famously died pregnant, she never had the child and we never knew who the father was, that's part of the reason we still know her story today." Kenton rationalized. "Look, Darth Vader did a lot of evil things, it would not have been above him to, well, force someone. Do you think there's a chance that, well…" Kenton danced around the question she was asking.
Leia and Luke shared a look and then Leia spoke up, "That's not possible, we're not a product of…"
"Of Rape," Luke spat the word as if it were poison in his mouth, but he was the only one in the room who was able to say the word.
"Look, for now, let's stay away from your mother, have either of you ever run your DNA in through a database to try to find your mother?" Kenton integrated.
"No, we didn't want the information on our father to get out, we all know that DNA database matchers don't do a good job of protecting privacy, using a database would just provide easy bait for the press." Leia explained, regaining control of the room with a good explanation.
"Fair enough, but given we're we are now, it makes sense to try. If Queen Amidala is your mother, she'll be in the database and it will be a match. Let's just hope your research is right, we need a win." Kenton took her seat at the table and pulled out her tablet. "Are there any other surprises we need to know or do we haver enough facts to put together the press conference and media package."
"That's it," Leia said, she could feel her self loosing control of not only the room but her campaign as well.
The next four hours turned into hurried session to develop a media package that would feed the appetite of the masses while saving the campaign. The results, still being refined on the hover ride to the press conference, would provide enough to dominate the news cycle for the next 24 hours, but would require another dose of information to sedate the combined hysteria of the voters. Kenton only hoped that the DNA would actually reveal that Leia's mother was late Queen that still captivated the hearts and minds of the Galaxy.
Luke and Leia stepped up to the podium of the Grand Couresount Hotel. Even though admission had been limited to only those with approved press credentials, the room was still packed with nearly five hundred members of the media, all of which had dropped any other plans for the afternoon in pursuit of this story. The entire galaxy was watching.
It had quickly been decided that Leia would do the majority of the talking as she was trained in diplomacy and this was her campaign. "Good afternoon," Leia paused, as she had done many times in order to wait for silence, but the pause was unnecessary, the room went silent the second the twins walked on to the podium. "This morning, a reporter asked Luke Skywalker a question about his father and the galaxy now wants answers. Today, we are both hear to tell the truth, or at least the truth that we know."
Luke picked up for the part he had to tell. "Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, is my biological father, I was 22 before I knew this, and he died just a few months later, saving my life from the Emperor. While Darth Vader's legacy will always be a dark mark on the history of the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker was one of the greatest Jedi to ever live, unfortunately, these two men were one in the same. I will not apologize for who my father is, as I did not make that choice, but I will reaffirm my commitment to the New Republic and the entire galaxy that I will do my best to bring peace, freedom and prosperity for all and I will continue to rebuild that Jedi so that their legacy may continue long after I am gone." Luke finished, his words calm and strong without being loud. The room so quiet, Luke could have spoken without the aid of the microphone and the room would have been none the wiser.
Leia continued, "We are holding this press conference in order to make sure that me and my campaign share the whole truth to the people we expect to trust us. The reason I have withheld what I am about to say is because of fear, fear that I will no longer be able to serve my one true calling, serving the people of the galaxy. I am worried what I am about to say next will cause a loss or trust, but please, before you make a judgement on who I am, please remember what I have done and what I am promising to do for the galaxy, what I can do for our future." Leia pauses, the tension in the air so thick it can almost be scooped out as if it were a tangible object.
"Luke Skywalker is my twin brother and Anakin Skywalker is my biological father, something I did not come to learn until the night before he died. My brother and I were born during the Clone wars and the formation of the Empire, many children born at the same time lost parents they would never get to meet. For a long time, Luke and I, like so many others our age accepted that we were orphans and we would never learn our true parentage. When we did, it was easier to keep it quiet, to continue to live as we always had. Even as we speak to you today, we do not know who our mother is. Over the next few days the pundits will debate and theorize what our parentage will mean to the New Republic, but I encourage you to remember what I have promised and what this government can be. Luke and I are not our father, just like so many other people are not their parents. We do ask that media give my family the privacy over the next few days. We will not be taking questions at this time, but we have distributed a media package that should help to provide answers to some of the questions you may have over the next few days. Thank you so much and have a great day."
Leia walked off the stage followed by Luke as flashes snapped bright lights and the tomb like room exploded into a shouting match, each reporter yelling louder than the other to try to ask a question that will never be answered.
Luke and Leia are shuffled back in into the Holocar by Leia's media team. Once everyone is in Kenton said, "Let's go back to your apartment, we can watch the preliminary results, see how bad the damage is so that we can develop next steps." Her voice is even and calm, this is just another day on the job.
"Not tonight." Leia said firmly.
"But we need…"Kenton started to argue.
"I have two six year old at home who think their grandfather was a great Jedi Knight, I now need to go home and explain how good and evil work before the media does. Tonight, I am just a mom, you can go back to HQ or home or anywhere but my house. For tonight I am off." Leia commanded the car and no one argued.
"Um, can you just take me back to the west wing of the Governmental Complex?" Luke questioned the driver, ready to go home and meditate on the situation.
"Not you!" Leia exclaimed, "you have to help explain to your niece and nephew that their grandfather is literally the boogie man."
Luke nodded and looked over as Kenton attempted to stifle a laugh.
20 minutes later Luke and Leia walked into the Organa-Solo apartment, Han was sitting on the sofa reading an actual flimsy book to his children, Han had insisted that all children should learn to read on flimsy books and had bought a stack of them through a holo advert when the twins were born. Neither Han nor Leia had ever even opened the package and they had sat in the twin's closet for six years. Now, looking for a way to avoid the media, Han had opened the package and read half the books to his children. He was determined to make sure that his children were not introduced to the truth about their grandfather via an angry pundit.
"How'd it go?" Han asked from his position on the sofa.
"It went, the people now know as much as we do." Leia stated deflated. "We should probably…"Leia nodded her head toward her children sitting on the sofa.
"All of them?" Han questioned, his two year old son wiggling around from the position on his lap.
"All of them," Leia stated, even though she wanted to protect them all, Anakin would need to grow up with this news, and even if he did not get it now, she could not keep this from him forever, she'd already kept it from the twins for too long.
Leia took a seat on the sofa next to her husband and Luke sat in the arm chair next to the sofa so that he was facing his sister's family. Leia started the conversation. "Do you remember what we told you about Grandfather Anakin? Leia asked and then waited for their response.
"He was a Jedi," Jacen stated proudly, "and Jedi maintained peace within the galaxy."
"And one day we're going to be Jedi just like Uncle Luke," Jaina added.
Leia smiled and nodded, looked at her youngest child, sent a silent prayer to the university hoping that her youngest could not comprehend and then said, "Okay, what if I told you Grandfather Anakin was a Jedi and he did good things when he was a Jedi, but he also was something else, he spent a lot of his life not doing good things, not being a Jedi." Leia explained and then waited again.
"He was evil?" Questioned Jacen.
"Yes, for part of his life he was, and he did some very bad things. Things that made him famous for all of the wrong reasons." Leia explained.
"Like what sort of bad things?' Question Jaina.
"He hurt people, killed people even. He hurt Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Luke many years ago. What he did was wrong, but he saved Uncle Luke and gave the ultimate sacrifice, his own life. That's way we named Anakin after your grandfather. But your grandfather went by another name and that was Darth Vader."
"Darth Vader?" Both of the Solo twins questioned at the same time. They were old enough to know that name.
"Does that mean we're evil too?" Asked Jacen.
Luke stepped up, he had grappled with this question enough on his own to know exactly how to answer it. "No, what it means is that like all people we have to be vigilant, aware of our actions and make sure that we are always working to benefit the people around us, that we do not give in to fear or greed. It is a hard path to walk, but it is the promise we make as Jedi. It was one of the very first lessons Master Yoda taught me." Luke explained.
Han picked up the conversation, not interested in a Jedi history lesson "Look, for a long time no one knew that Mommy and Uncle Luke's father was Darth Vader, but today that changed and on the news tonight they are going to talk about, everyone in the whole galaxy is going know, including your friends at school and things may change. People may treat your different or act differently around you, but you have not changed, you are still my kids."
Han paused, and Leia picked up the conversation. "The reason people may act different is because they are scared and confused and sometimes when people are scared and confused they do mean things, just like Darth Vader did mean things to people. I want you to be strong going forward, do you understand?" Leia asked her children, waiting from them to respond.
"Yes," Both Jacen and Jaina responded at the same time.
"And you know that you can always come to me or Daddy or Uncle Luke if you have any questions?" Leia confirmed.
Jacen and Jaina nodded and Anakin continued to wiggle on his father's lap, not understanding anything that was going on. "Do you have any questions?" Leia asked.
"No," Jacen said and then it was repeated by Jaina.
"Okay then," Han said, wrapping up the conversation, glad to get it out of the way and ready for a distraction. "Who wants dinner?"
Luke was helping Leia clear the table while Han cleaned up the children and ready them for bed. "Um, Luke, I've let my Jedi training fall off as of late, you know with all of the campaigning, I was wondering, if well, if I could train with you at some point?" Leia questioned.
"Yeah, of course, when I'm hear I use an empty bay, I was actually going to train tonight for a while if you wanted to come." Luke answered.
"Yeah, that'd be nice." Leia replied.
"Meet at 8:30 at bay X in the old part of the complex, Wedged mentioned it was empty."
Luke was sitting cross legged on the floor of bay X when Leia entered. He opened his eyes and watched when Leia took a seat next to him. He followed her breathes, each inhale and exhale, and he followed her reach through the force. Luke had recently started working with a few other students in his travels and it was instantly obvious that none of them had the inherent talent that Luke shared with sister, but Leia would never train enough to really become a full Jedi, her path went in a different direction.
Once the meditation exercise had done its job and connected both of the Skywalker's with the force Luke spoke, "Do you want to spare?" Luke unclipped his light saber as he asked, and Leia removed hers as well. Hey light saber had been a gift from Luke, a sort of encouragement to continue her training.
They traded a few blows, Luke at first careful to go easy, sure he was a far superior swordsman then his sister, but he was quickly surprised to find the Leia was nearly an even match. He reached into the force, both to aid in is own defense and to get a better sense of where Leia was drawing her inspiration, he stopped when we felt a bone chilling coolness.
"What you are you doing?" Leia questioned, puzzled at the sudden stop.
"You're scared which means…"
"I know, I know Master Yoda used to say, Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. But what am I supposed to be right now, I'm terrified that I am going to lose the election and that we are going to fall right back in the ways of the Empire." Leia's voice was weary, she flipped off her light saber and took a seat of the steps leading down into the empty bay.
Luke took the seat next to her and for a moment he was silent, Leia was unsure if it is for effect or if he was truly contemplating what to say. "Leia, I don't know what's going to happen with the election. What I do know is that being angry and fearful is how the other guy buys his votes. You are the voice of hope, reason and new beginnings. The dark side is not just for Jedi and Sith lords, everyone, regardless of their affinity for the force anyone can fall victim, your opponent already has. If you win but are full fear, then everyone else loses. No one has ever served their people with anger."
"But how do I not be angry and scared?" Leia questioned.
"You try, it's hard work, sometimes what is easy is not always right, but of course, you know that better then anyone else. Truthfully, I think this campaign has made you a bit soft, back when we we're still truly young you'd roll into a spray of blaster fire with out so much as a pause, you were absolutely fearless." Luke gave her a half smile at the jest and then stood up and offered her a hand. "Let's go again, but this time, leave the fear behind that's for the other guy."
They started sparing again and this time, when Luke reached out through the force the coldness had vanished.
After an hour, both Luke and Leia had both worked up a sweat and it was getting late. They parted ways, and each headed back to their own dwellings, Luke was given strict instructions at what time to report to the campaign, Kenton had been monitoring the early read on public opinion and it would be all hands-on deck to keep the campaign going.
Twenty minutes later Leia arrived at her apartment. Han had gotten the kids into bed, with Han's early retirement from the new republic army and Leia's political career, Han had taken on a large majority of childcare. Han was laying in their bed with his tablet on his lap reading, most likely reading the headlines that had come through during the day.
"How bad is it?" Leia asked her husband.
"Well it's not great, but you did a stellar job at the press conference. Ironically enough, a lot of the biggest criticism is coming from the people who still support the Empire outright." Han provided and then put his tablet down to look at his wife.
"What do you do about the kids, do you think it's a good idea to send them to school tomorrow, pulling them out a few days may not be a bad idea. Winter has been doing a project on Yavin IV the last few weeks, we could send the kids there, give this a chance to play out before we send them into the fray?" Leia suggested as she got into bed.
Han sighed and pulled his wife close, "The kids are going to face a lot in their life, there mother is princes and one of the leaders of the New Republic, soon to be the leader, their father is both a pirate and a military hero, their Uncle is the last of the Jedi, working to rebuild a new order and their grandfather was one of the most evil men in all of history and there is a possibility their grandmother was the queen of Naboo. That does not even start to scratch the surface of my family, nor does it consider that they themselves will grow up to be Jedi. They are stronger then we give them credit for, I think we need to send the twins to school tomorrow."
"Yeah, your right, this will blow over." Leia agreed, letting her body relax into her husband. "I love you." Leia said, waiting for the same answer, the one even more precious then "I love you, too."
"I know." Han replied, as they both drifted into sleep, too exhausted by the campaign to allow anything to prevent rest.
In the morning, before the sun was fully up, Luke and Leia were sitting in the conference room of the Leia's campaign headquarters while Kenton paced the room in her spiky heals, her long red hair did not even move an inch as she moved. Three different consoles were blasting holo news stories, all of them reporting the press conference from the day before.
"We have reviewed early feedback from the press conference and it seems like the damage is just as bad as we thought. There are some minor but loud voices asking that you drop out of the election and that you are replaced by Tina Kintize, but none of the big endorsements, including Mon Mothma have not said anything yet. I met with the media team last night and we think getting new endorsement from all of the people who have already campaigned on your behalf is the best move, we've already gotten a few on board. Are you okay if we continue?" asked Kenton.
"Yeah, that's perfect," not for the first time, Leia started to feel like she was losing control of her own campaign.
"We have some good news at least, it's not going to going get everything back on track, but we ran your DNA through a database and your mother is in fact Queen Amidala." Kenton proclaimed.
"Does that mean another press conference?" Luke questioned.
"No, that would look like we were trying too hard, this will come in the form of another leak, 'The Galaxy in the Morning Show' always does a good job, Kenton, can you get that set up." Leia requested.
"Will let it go tomorrow, it's going to be too overlooked today." Kenton countered.
"Fine, where are we on events?" Leia questioned.
"Virtual rally on 3 planets, mostly rural the Empire has been especially bad to them but they populations tend to make fallacies instead of informed conclusions, so they see Darth Vader's daughter, they see the return of the empire, the see a man who is literally running imperial campaign ads and they see nothing." Kenton explained.
"Do we have anyone who can introduce from these planets or planets that are similar?" Leia questioned.
"Yeah, we have a few people lined up, but No one with name big enough."
"So what else, what's the plan?" Leia prodded?
"Leia, it's too late for a major strategy shift. We've controlled the media and managed the message but that's it, all we can do it stop the hemorrhaging and hope that our current plan gets you across the finish line, that's why this happened when it did. You know as well as me that by the time we get accurate poll numbers from all of this, the election will just be days away." Kenton explained.
Leia signed and then started getting ready for what would be the hardest day of campaigning yet.
Luke returned to his apartment in mid-morning when it became apparent that he would no longer be needed. Now that his secret was revealed he add no credibility to the campaign and it was determined that it was best he stayed out of the public eye for a few days so that the messaged could be controlled as closely as possible.
Luke turned on the holo net out of some sort of morbid curiosity only to find reporters repeating the words "Leia Organa-Solo is the daughter of Darth Vader," and pundits arguing nature versus nurture. The clip of the press conference played over and over and other outlets read from the prepared statement included in the media package.
Luke chuckled to himself for a moment, even though we had pushed the fear far away from his mind, this had always crept up, hunted his dreams and his passive thoughts. He had known for a long time that the public would eventually figure out that he and Leia were the children of Darth Vader. What we had never stopped to consider was the fact that it didn't matter. It would never truly matter because it was not about anything Luke did or didn't do, it was not about his own action. It was just something to fill the airways and soon as this story failed to hold the publics opinion they would move one. Sure, Luke would spend the rest of his life tried in the court of public opinion, but that was always going to happen. The Jedi in general were not without their controversy and being Darth Vader's father was not going to exacerbate it enough for Luke to need to worry. He had his supporters and none of them were backing down.
Two days later Leia held the biggest rally not just in her campaign but in the history of the New Republic. Mon Mothma has agreed to be the keynote speaker and stood among the entire galaxy and gave the most impassioned speech about how Leia was not just the best candidate in the race, but the best candidate period. The crowd went wild, Mon Mothma has been a popular president.
Two days after the rally it was revealed that Leia's opponent had invested heavily in the Kessel slave trade and suddenly the pundits were no longer interested in the melodrama that was someone's parents and instead spent their days talking about if the opponent had committed a serious crime.
Two days after that is was revealed that Han had done the kessel run in under 12 parsecs, though no one could seem to agree if this was a good thing or not.
And every two days for the next month something else happened and the pundits pivoted, forgetting the pervious conversation nearly mid-sentence.
Epilogue
Luke sat with his sister and her family in the Organa-Solo apartment. The dining room was empty, and the staffers had left. The polls had closed across the galaxy.
The same man that had asked Luke about his father was sitting at a desk on the television and he said, "Folks, we are now confident that we can call the race. The next president of the New Republic is Leia Organa- Solo."