"Leia, thank you for coming up. This way." Lyra stood in the doorway and motioned over to the makeshift shaded patio.

Wary but determined, Leia and Han followed Lyra out with Luke right behind. Smiling, Lyra motioned for Leia to sit near Anakin while she and Luke and Han took chairs to the side. Leia sat on the edge of her seat and stared straight at Anakin. Judgement Day.

Anakin held out a data chip to her. "Contact these people. The Nabarrie family of Naboo. Your mother's family. I've been in contact with them, and they're expecting your call. You deserve a parent you can be proud of. Padme Amidala Naberrie. Your mother, Queen and later Senator of Naboo, and my first wife - and a good friend of Bail and Breha Organa. What you tell them of me is up to you. All I've told them is that I've been hiding out on Tatooine. I let them assume the rest."

Dumbfounded, Leia hesitated, looked over at Luke, who was just as puzzled, and then accepted the chip.

"I told them that good friends protected and hid you and Luke as infants, and then put me in touch with the two of you after the Empire fell."

"I don't understand…"

"You're so much like her, and you look so much like her, with a bit of me around the eyes, and you can definitely give my mother's disapproving look." Anakin smiled slightly. "My story starts with her, with Padme. When I was ten, the Jedi knight Qui Gon Jinn, Lyra's father in fact," Anakin nodded over to Lyra, "found me and bought me out of slavery to be trained as a Jedi. Even though I was committed to the Jedi order, my heart always belonged to Padme. Jinn and his padawan, his apprentice, Obi Wan Kenobi were escorting the young Queen Amidala of Naboo to Coruscant when their ship was forced to land here on Tatooine. Here they met my mother and me, who were slaves of..." And so on well into the afternoon, Anakin spoke of Jedi training, secret weddings, premonitions, fears, temptations, arrogance, pride, loss of friendship, tragedy, regret.

The next day, with the sun blazing overhead, a hurricane blew in. Lyra jumped at the loud knock at the door. Peering through the peephole, she sighed, and hit the open button.

"We have arrived," said Jael.

Well, obviously.

Jael entered and stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Lyra in shock. Right behind her, Amera ran into Jael and then stopped and stared.

"Yes," Lyra said, "but I'm not sure what it means."

"What's going on?" Luke said, coming up behind Lyra.

"She's a repeller. She repels the dark side of the Force." At the sound of his voice, the group turned towards Anakin, standing in the opposite doorway.

"I sensed it for a long time on Coruscant, but I didn't realize what it was. I was drawn to Lyra, then felt a strong urge to leave. I thought she was corrupting the dark in me, and I needed to leave to renew the darkness. I was right."

"So you are Force sensitive." Amera happily said.

"Oh, and does that raise my value in your eyes?"

"Of course not! You are my daughter and I am proud of you no matter what!" Amera said, uncharacteristically rattled.

"I'm sorry, that was unfair of me." Actually not. "I am glad you're here. I just haven't told anyone why you're here." Lyra turned to Luke. "Luke, since Leia and Han are still here, can you invite them up? I hope they'll come; they need to be here to hear this."

After Luke returned with Leia and Han, still awkward around Anakin, Lyra introduced everyone and ushered the group into the small inside sitting area. Jael and Amera settled in two chairs and looked at everyone expectantly. Lyra pulled up the remaining chair for Anakin. Anakin settled in the chair, placing at his feet a small portable oxygen unit he was using less and less. He adjusted the hood of his robes as it threatened to slide off his head. Luke offered Lyra and Leia two stools. Han stood off to the side, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Speak," Jael demanded of Anakin. "What are you now in relation to the Force?"

"Look, I think Father is tired. I'm not sure why you're here, but maybe it can wait." Luke said, moving forward.

"Trust me Luke, this is important. We need them right now," Lyra said indicating to Jael and Amera. "Have a seat. Anakin, tell us, well, anything. What happened, there at the end?"

Anakin related the events on the second Death Star, corroborating everything Luke had relayed days before. "After rejecting the light for years, I finally admitted my foolishness and how I had been deceived. I gave in to the light and saved Luke. I killed Palpatine in the process, but my focus was on saving Luke and stopping evil. So yes, I embraced the light. Now, I have to live with what I've done in the name of the dark."

Jael stared intently at Anakin while he spoke. She slowly nodded her head. "Truth, he speaks the truth."

"Yes, no doubt about it. You have thoroughly rejected the dark." Amera agreed.

Lyra smiled and looked around. "We've had our own secret for years, hidden so that the Empire wouldn't hunt down Jael and Amera and the others. They're truth sensors. That's their Force talent. They can sense truth and deception. That's why it was so important that they be here today. They can confirm that Vader is truly gone."

Jael crossed her hands on top of her walking stick. "So," she began, "what is to be done?"

Luke looked around at the others, feeling a cross between schoolboy and defendant on trial. "Uh, well, we're here while our father focuses on utilizing the light side of the Force to heal himself."

"And can you?" Jael said, looking at Anakin. "After so many years following the dark side, can you fully harness Ashla?"

"Ashla?" Luke asked.

"That's an ancient name for the Force. The order of Kir Zaleh, their order," Lyra gestured towards the two women, "still uses that term."

"Well, I'm glad you haven't forgotten everything we taught you. All right, and then what?"

"And then I turn myself in," Anakin said.

Lyra and Luke looked sharply over at him. Leia remained expressionless. Han said nothing.

"Uh..." Luke asked.

"Anakin, let's just pause and think this through. I know you're remorseful and feel the need to pay for your crimes, uh, Vader's crimes, but there's more at stake here than you."

Anakin looked over to Lyra and frowned, puzzled.

"Think of Luke and Leia. How would your going public affect them if it got out that you're their father? Think of Leia's career, what would happen to it?"

"And to you?" Amera said.

Lyra shook her head. "I'd be fine. If anyone in the Alliance finds me and wants information on my time as Lady Vader, I'll tell them the truth, for the most part. I've committed no crimes, and my conscious is clear. If they press for more, I'll note how I met Luke through you two and am helping him and his father Anakin rebuild the Jedi order."

Luke nodded. "Right, we decided that we'd say that Anakin Skywalker fled the Emperor's purge and hid on his home world of Tatooine."

"And was gravely injured fleeing Coruscant when the Empire took over," added Lyra.

"When was all this decided?" Anakin said looking at Lyra and Luke.

"Lyra and I worked on the story right after she arrived. Father," Luke said, leaning forward, "think about it. We can set up a new order, this time correcting many of the mistakes the Jedi made, mistakes like demanding that the Jedi give up all attachments to others."

"Young man, you believe that you can do better than the order of the Jedi and its thousands of years of practice?" Jael peered at Luke.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Grandmother," Lyra laughed. Even Amera smirked at that.

"I just want to hear his reasoning. Continue, please."

"Well, Father explained the Jedi's teaching on how fear and anger lead to the dark side as do attachments to people. But, all of these things are a part of human nature. We have them for a reason. Denying them just leads to shame, like that wouldn't lead to the dark side, and caused many, like our parents, to have to sneak around and live a lie."

Amera nodded. "That's exactly what happened. Qui Gon confirmed our theory that there was a hushed-up problem with Jedi secretly frequenting brothels and strip clubs desperately trying to satisfy their need for romantic attachment when all they were doing was satisfying a temporary physical need."

Lyra looked over at Luke, "So what would you do differently?"

"I know it's going to be a lot harder than it sounds, but we'll teach our students how to properly handle these emotions, how to use them for good. So instead of all anger being bad, use anger to work for good instead of anger leading to the dark side."

"Righteous anger," Lyra said, "That's actually what all of us non-Jedis learn, and that's what the Kir Zelah teaches."

Luke nodded to Anakin. "Father, what do you think? Will you help?"

Anakin sighed. "Maybe this is what Master Yoda referred to when he said my path would be revealed. I'll explain later," he added to everyone's questioning looks. "But, I don't know if I can; if I should!" Anakin exclaimed vehemently. "Who am I to be teaching anyone about how to handle the Force? Luke, I'll support your plans, but I don't believe I should be involved."

Jael leaned forward and gave Anakin her best stern look. "Young man, who better than you? Take all that you have done and have learned and use it for good. Do not waste your experience. Are you doubting the will of the Force?"

Anakin's eye widened. She called the former Darth Vader "young man!" "Yes ma'am," he replied meekly. "I mean, no ma'am... All right, I'll think about it. If I do this, if, I'll need plenty of guidance."

"Guidance and oversight and accountability." Jael nodded.

Amera looked over to Luke. "We can certainly help with the organizing and curriculum. We're experts at making fine citizens out of unruly children."

Lyra sighed. "I hate to agree with my mother, but she's right. They do a good job and can help. Now, before we go any further, lunch!"

For the next half hour, everyone focused on the hot vegetable soup that Lyra had made. Han took his bowl and an extra large bowl for Chewie back to the Falcon while Luke entertained everyone else with the story of first meeting Lyra on Tatooine.

"So here she is at the Mos Eisley spaceport, this very elegant looking woman standing there by this extremely expensive looking speeder, stuffed to the gills, with a crowd of Tatooines' finest staring at her and her ride. A Dandroolinan even got up the courage to run up and touch it!"

Lyra laughed. "Yeah, that was weird. I don't know what he thought my speeder was going to do."

"He probably hasn't washed that hand since."

"Luckily Luke came along right then because I was getting really nervous with that crowd. It wouldn't have taken them any time to overpower me and steal everything."

"She let me drive it here. Nice ride." Everyone laughed and continued eating.

"Mmm, wonderful," Amera reached over to help herself to a second slice of bread. "So, tell us more about what you'll say about Anakin Skywalker."

"Well, Anakin Skywalker," Luke explained, "escaped Coruscant and along with his friend and former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hid on his homeworld of Tatooine. His children were hidden when their mother Padme died so that the Emperor would not find them. He knew they were strong in the Force as Anakin was, Anakin the Jedi the Emperor had tried to turn."

"And his injuries?"

"Suffered in the fight to escape Coruscant. We'll need to flesh that part out a bit," Lyra noted.

"There's something else." Luke nodded over to Leia. "Leia?"

Leia paused while buttering a piece of bread and set her knife down. "When I went back to the Alliance, I found that the Alliance had gained access to many if not all government databases. I discovered that the person of Anakin Skywalker still exists legally. He was never declared dead, and there are no records that connect him to Vader. There's a government ID that's expired, but that's it. That means, with the proper ID, Anakin can do anything as himself. So, he can go to a local records office, submit a sample for a genetic screen, and when it proves that he's Anakin Skywalker, he can get a new ID and any other legal documents that might need to be renewed."

"So, is there anyone who would know that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker?" Amera asked.

Anakin thought through a short list of people. Most were dead. He looked around. "The only people who know are here. Those who knew before are all dead, and the Emperor purposefully kept no records about my identity, Vader's identity. That made Vader seem much more mysterious and powerful."

Lyra thought for a moment. "There is one thing. After Luke contacted me the first time, I had a sudden thought, and then went back to Vader's palace. I put all of Vader's medical droids in a storage unit on Coruscant. I took their data chips and placed them in the medical droids here. The data about Vader's injuries might be stored elsewhere, but I doubt it given how secretly held the information was, and could anyone use it to link Vader with Anakin Skywalker? I don't think so."

Amera paused before dipping her spoon into her soup. "Speaking of Vader, forgive me for being intrusive, but what happened to Vader's money?"

"I have it," Lyra said.

"All of it?"

"All of it."

The group sat in stunned silence as Lyra explained how she moved the money into her accounts during the trip back to Coruscant. "So, there is some that I'll hold onto, like revenue from certain planets, accounts that were confiscated. In case these were accounts from innocent people, then they might come looking for them, and I'll need to be able to hand them back over. I would already do that if I knew where or from whom these came from originally, but I don't."

"Most if not all did come from criminals, so don't feel guilty about keeping them," Anakin added. "When you feel it's the proper time, maybe you can donate that money to charities on the particular planets. I'll let you handle that; in fact, you can deal with anything financial. One Jedi lesson that did sink in was to have no attachment to financial gain."

"No problem, without those accounts, you'll still have plenty of money to fund the new Jedi academy."

Jael regarded Leia. "And you my dear," she said kindly, "how are you doing?"

Leia sat up straight, looking every bit the princess and leader. "By all rights, I shouldn't be here given my history with Vader. But I have heard him out. Anakin told me everything and asked for my forgiveness. That will take some time, but...but I know that he's changed. I don't just know, I have a deep certainty. It's hard to explain."

Amera beamed. "You too have the talent of sensing truth and discernment. That's why you know things, know with absolute certainty. It's the Force giving you this knowledge. You're just like us." Jael nodded happily.

"Oh Leia, run for your life," Lyra sighed.

"And you, my dear," Amera said, nodding towards Lyra, 'tell us what happened with you in regards to the Force."

Lyra told the group about her experience on the trip to Coruscant. "Could it have happened when the Emperor died? Was he blocking the Force in me?"

"The Force was blocking itself in you. The Emperor would have killed you if he had known what you were," Jael said, staring at Anakin.

"The Emperor never gave any indication that he sensed something in me, so I guess that's good."

"I think, though, that you were corrupting the dark side in me." Everyone turned to look at Anakin as he continued. "I can now see what was happening. As I said earlier, I was naturally drawn to Lyra, then repelled, not by her but by something. It was the Force in her, and I think it was gradually chipping away at the dark in me, very subtly as it needed to be. Now I can look back and see that Lyra was the constant dripping that weakened the dark in me while Luke was the final straw that broke the dam."

"Great, I'm a drip. Thanks," Lyra sighed.