NOTE: If you're seeing "new chapters" pop up on your notifications, it's just because I decided to clean up the writing in this a bit, since I rushed so much to get this done before TFA came out. So it's the same story I finished posting on 12/15/15, just a bit less messy in its writing. If you haven't read and you're visiting for the first time - happy to have you here, and please review, as reviews give a fan fic writer the motivation to keep going.

Chapter 1

The victory celebration continued on deep into the night, becoming more and more raucous as Alliance pilots joined the gathering in the Ewok village. Fireworks sparkled across the sky, joining the final flaming remains of the Death hitting the atmosphere, joyful shouts of victory echoed through the forest, and too many intoxicants found their way into human and Ewok alike.

Han hadn't even touched a drop, Leia noted as she observed the revelers. That certainly wasn't like him. He could happily toss it back as efficiently as your average Corellian, but tonight - on the night of the Alliance's greatest victory yet, one that perhaps presaged the end of the whole war - he'd chosen not to, and she knew why: he needed to get some answers from her, and he intended to be stone cold sober while asking his questions.

They hadn't had another moment alone since Wicket interrupted them this afternoon, right after she'd revealed to Han that Luke was her brother. Of course, she'd only told him a part of the truth, the part that felt good and right. She'd considered Luke a brother for longer than he'd want to know; really, ever since that one ridiculous kiss she'd deployed on Hoth, which had felt so wrong the moment her lips touched Luke's, but which had so effectively frustrated the infuriating man she hadn't yet been willing to admit she loved.

She hadn't told Han the terrible revelation about her lineage that came along with her newfound sibling. The thought of telling him the whole truth made her stomach clench, although he needed to know everything so he could make his own decisions about what it meant to any future they might have. First, though, Leia needed a minute alone to refocus her tired mind and steel herself to whatever was to come. She quietly ducked away into the forest, hoping she was leaving unnoticed.

No such luck.

Han saw her departing and quickly excused himself from the group surrounding Lando, who was simultaneously embellishing his exploits in the Death Star battle and avoiding Han's look, which meant that he must have damaged the Falcon somehow. Han wanted to push the issue, but whatever was going on with Leia was more important.

He chuckled over that as he headed into the forest. Someone took precedence over the Falcon? It never stopped surprising him how Leia made what he'd thought were the most important things in his life take a backseat. Probably making him soft too, he grumped to himself. Not that he'd trade it all for anything in the galaxy, but it was more than a little unnerving. And right now, something was terribly wrong with her, no matter how hard she was trying to hide it. He could read those deep brown eyes like a datapad, and after an intense conversation he'd seen her have with Luke tonight - the second in two days - those eyes were filled with pain. The kid had left the celebration soon after.

Ah, hell, what was going on? Shouldn't they all, just for this one moment, be happy? Vader and the Emperor were dead. That seemed reason enough to celebrate. He especially wanted to raise a glass or six to Vader's demise, as that black-helmeted sonofabitch had nearly killed Han and everyone he cared about over the last few standard years. In fact, his only regret in this whole thing was that he hadn't pulled the trigger on the Death Star himself. Madine's decision to take his best pilot out of the sky hadn't made much sense to Han at the time, but given how much hot-wiring and sneaking around he'd done in the last two days, he realized Madine was shrewder than he thought. Not many Alliance generals had a significant background in breaking-and-entering.

Han came to a stop as, through the fog of the Endor night, he saw Leia standing on one of the rickety suspension bridges in the Ewok village. As always when he saw her alone, he was reminded of how delicate she was, something that never crossed his mind when they were fighting side-by-side. Then, he considered her the equal of any sentient, male or female, on his team. But when he saw her like this, sad and small, every protective instinct he had kicked in. She may not appreciate his need to protect her, but he couldn't help it.

"Leia?" he called, wondering if she was as upset as she'd been last night when he'd...well, acted like a jealous idiot when he'd seen her with Luke. He tried to wrap his head around the idea that it was only last night that he'd barged in on that conversation like a rancor in a Jerumian crystal shop. It had been a hell of a long and confusing day.

She looked up at him. "They're all celebrating as if the Empire has already fallen."

"It was a big win. Biggest we've ever had."

"We've?"

"Looks like I'm stuck with your crazy Rebellion now, Princess," Han grumbled, confident that Leia would know he didn't mean a word of his complaining.

"Coruscant hasn't surrendered."

"I have a feeling that we'll all be back at our posts soon enough. Let them blow off some steam tonight."

"Yes, General," she managed a small smile. "Why aren't you blowing off steam?"

Tread carefully, Han, he thought. "Because I'm feelin' like we need to talk."

She nodded, but gave him nothing more.

"Leia, I'm real confused here. I still haven't managed to get my brain around you and Luke-" She nodded again, but still said nothing. Han felt a prickle of annoyance; was she going to talk to him or not? He couldn't be expected to guess-

Suddenly, before he even realized it, she was in his arms, her lips pressed against his and her hands locked in his hair. She pulled him closer as she deepened their kiss, her tongue exploring his mouth until he was sure he was seeing the stars of Vanek. But this was only more proof that something was tremendously amiss. Leia, with her deeply ingrained Alderaanian conservatism, never initiated kisses like this one; he always had to coax her into it, and even that coaxing didn't always work. Now there was something desperate in the way she clung to him. It was as if they were back on Bespin and breaking this kiss could mean breaking apart forever. So he was not going to be the one to let go. Then, just as suddenly as she kissed him, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, blushing furiously.

He tried to catch his breath. "I'm not."

"I just wanted to kiss you once more before-"

"Dammit, Leia, what is it? Do you want me to go? Are you telling me we're done?"

"No, I-" she struggled.

"Then what is it? What could be so horrible that last night you couldn't even tell me and tonight you're out here looking like your heart is broken? The Emperor is dead. That black-robed bastard Vader is dead." He didn't notice her flinch at the name as he continued on, gaining steam. "We're both alive, your Rebellion is actually winning this thing, I finally get to stop worryin' that you're going to end up with Luke no matter how much I love you and now -" he stopped, slapping his hand against the wooden railing. "I'm sorry...I promised myself I wasn't gonna get angry, but Leia, you got me lost here. I'm worried, I don't know what the hell is going on, and it feels a hell of a lot like you're ending us."

Her heart skipped a beat at his use of "us" to describe them. It was so tempting to keep her secret hidden and be the "us" that he described, but she couldn't let him go on in the dark. "I need to explain what Luke told me last night. Then you get to decide if you still want there to be an 'us.' And I will understand, and I won't blame you, if you don't."

He shook his head. The girl must have gone battle-mad. "Leia, I can't think of anything you could possibly say that would make me walk away."

She smiled grimly. "You haven't heard this," she replied. Resolving herself to get this done as quickly as possible, she called on every ounce of her diplomatic instinct and training to block out her wildly churning emotions. "Can we speak on the Falcon? I want to discuss this in private."

Han saw the change come over her as she assumed the role she had to play in public but no longer chose to play around him. That worried him too. But he nodded and offered his hand. After a brief hesitation, she took it and followed him toward the landing platforms.

NNNNNNNNNN

Moff Zakine stood on the bridge of the Punisher, the newest Executor-class Star Destroyer in his fleet, sensing that something very bad had happened. It had been two days since he'd received any communications from Imperial Center on Coruscant, and the last deep space transmission he'd sent to Emperor Palpatine on the Death Star had gone unreturned. He'd heard the rumors of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust, but he regarded those traitors as little more than resp gnats: annoying but easily slapped. And yet...no communications for two days.

"Commander, we have an urgent message for you from Imperial Center," called the young officer working the comm center. "From Grand Moff Essag."

Stranger still, thought Zakine. The Grand Moff rarely had reason to communicate directly with Imperial governors, especially those stationed in the Outer Rim. Something was definitely amiss.

"Forward the communication to my personal holo and order Admiral Samsa to join me in my quarters."

"Yes, sir," the officer saluted as Zakine hurried from the bridge.

NNNNNNNNNNN

Han spotted the missing sensor array as soon as the Falcon came into view. So that was why Lando had avoided him. He sighed; so much for not a scratch.

"What is it?" Leia asked.

"Nothin'. Just a little battle damage on her. It can wait." He didn't notice that he'd minimized his beloved ship's importance once again, but nodded in the direction of Luke, who was standing near the Falcon's gangway. "What's the kid want?"

"Probably to resolve an argument he and I had earlier."

"I saw that. What was that all about?"

Now it was Leia's turn to sigh. "We have vastly differing opinions on a very important issue."

"And in Basic, Your Highness?" Han couldn't resist gently needling her.

She didn't take the bait. "You'll understand soon." She dropped Han's hand and strode purposefully to Luke. "Luke, I meant what I said."

Luke nodded. "I just want you to consider what I said, too."

"Duly noted." Leia's face hardened as Han did a double-take. He felt like the galaxy was being flipped on its head. She sometimes shut him down with ice-cold composure when they argued, which, thankfully, they didn't do all that much anymore. But he'd never, ever seen her use the tactic on Luke.

"Leia, please. Let me be there when you tell Han. Because you're going to put this in the worst possible light."

"There is no other light, Luke." Leia felt herself caving to his desire to be present and she hated herself for it. But she was too tired and sad to fight, and she never really could fight with Luke anyway. He might be a Jedi Knight now, but to her Luke would always be the wide-eyed farmboy who rescued her from the Death Star, and it was impossible to feel she was fighting fair with that gentle soul. She considered that, given everything she now knew, and what it could mean for their future, she'd have to learn how to argue successfully against Luke – and fast. "Fine. We tell Han together. But you are going to listen this time - really listen - to what I'm going to say."

She hurried up the Falcon's gangway, trying to regain control of her emotions. This was just fantastic. She could lose Han and alienate Luke all at once. A perfect way to end a day that should have been one of the best of their lives.

"Whatever you did, kid…" Han mumbled to Luke as they followed Leia onto the Falcon,''...welcome to my world."

Disturbed as he was by Leia's intransigence, Luke couldn't help but smile as he followed Han onto the ship.

The two men joined Leia in the Falcon's main hold. She stood with her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, her forehead creased with the effort of holding back her feelings. She managed one quick glance into Han's worried hazel eyes before she turned away.

Just tell him, she thought. Don't couch this in the language of diplomacy; he won't appreciate that. Don't try to soften the blow; there is no softening this blow. Just tell him and let the chips fall where they may.

She turned back and cleared her dry throat. "Han, you know that I was adopted by the royal family of Alderaan as a baby; I'm not, by birth, of the House Organa."

He nodded.

"I have…I think I have…vague memories of a woman I believe to be my mother. I never knew my father."

He nodded again.

"Last night, when Luke explained that we were twins, he also told me the identity of our father."

Han saw the unshed tears forming in Leia's eyes. He moved towards her, but she blinked the tears back and raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, looking at him sadly.

Han felt his blood turning cold as he met her pained gaze. What in the seven hells of Corellia-

"Han, Darth Vader is my father."

NNNNNNNNN

Zakine exhaled sharply as the transmission came to an end. It hardly seemed possible. Palpatine, Vader, and the Death Star. Gone in one fell swoop. He turned to Samsa, who was rooted to the floor, staring at the empty air where the transmission had been.

"Your thoughts?"

"According to the rules of succession, Grand Moff Essag now becomes our Emperor."

"Yes," Zakine nodded. "And both the Rebellion and every ambitious Moff in the Empire will now challenge that succession. The Rebellion with their fantasies of re-establishing the Republic and the Moffs with their dreams of becoming the Emperor themselves."

"And you, sir?"

"Me, Admiral Samsa? I'm a servant of the Empire. I'm afraid I have no dreams of glory." It was quite obvious that the next battle would be over the Imperial Center. Zakine didn't have a Death Star at his disposal, but there were other ways to wreak havoc. The four Executor-class dreadnaughts and one hundred Star Destroyers in his fleet were more than capable of causing mass casualties wherever necessary. And Essag wanted his fleet there. So be it.

"Your orders, then, Moff Zakine?"

"We do as Grand Moff Essag ordered. Set your course for Imperial Center and order the rest of the fleet to do the same."