Obi-wan was pleased when he sensed Luke had made his way to the medical wing and managed to engage Leia Organa in conversation. They would be good for each other, he thought, even with the secrets that yet lay between them. Now he would tie up the remaining loose ends.

He found Bail Organa alone in his office, which suited his purposes well.

The man glanced up, nodding that Obi-wan should join him. "Greetings, Master Jedi." Bail said with a small smile. "It is good to be able to say that again. I wasn't sure I'd have the chance."

Obi-wan sat, smiling wryly, "It was touch and go there for awhile, but my mission succeeded."

Bail raised an eyebrow, "Did Vader ever really buy the line that you were responsible for Scarif?"

Obi-wan laughed, "No. But he mostly wanted to talk about the past. It was… I suppose 'good' isn't quite the word. But it was interesting to see him again after all this time."

"He tortured you." Bail stated.

"He always was difficult." Obi-wan replied dismissively. "And I was able to take some of his attention off of Leia…"

Bail smiled, the edges of his eyes crinkling. "Thank you for bringing her home, Obi-wan. I didn't dare hope for your success."

"I understand you were informed Leia had died, and shared certain information with Luke."

Bail raised his chin, "The boy deserved to know what he had lost."

"And now that Leia is back?"

"We'll tell her once she has recovered. She's been withdrawn and is avoiding our company. We are hoping the medics will be able to help her."

Obi-wan nodded, "I'm sure they will. And Luke's gone to visit her. He won't say anything he shouldn't."

Bail's shoulders relaxed, "He's a fine young man. Like his father used to be, but with less of the dark edge."

Obi-wan agreed, though it gave him little pleasure. "The boy knows about Anakin, too."

Bail's eyebrows shot up.

"Ahsoka hates secrets." Obi-wan continued with a smile. "I'm not at all surprised she told him."

"And Vader, does he have any knowledge?"

Obi-wan hesitated, "I don't think he would have let Leia go if he knew what she was to him. Anakin's weakness was always his attachment to his family. I dare say in that regard Vader would not be much different. No, I believe he is unaware. If anything, his attention will first fall on Luke."

"He bears the Skywalker name, that's risky." Bail agreed. "It is good you are training him."

"Ahsoka will be training him." Obi-wan corrected. "It will be good for her to guide a Padawan, especially that particular one."

.

.

.

Leia thought about the last day she had spend aboard the Devastator.

I don't think you are going to let me leave this ship alive. She had said.

Vader's reply had been cryptic. Then you are beginning to understand. You are not yet twenty years old, but life is punctuated by these moments where the past dies so that the future may be born. Your father died so the Empire could rise.

He'd also told her her biological parents had been on opposite sides of the war. How could that have been true? No, that wasn't quite right, he'd avoided the question. But he had known them, and though she had claimed she didn't care who they were, she wished, now, that she had pressed Vader for more information.

Your father died so the Empire could rise.

And her mother had died to prevent that from happening…. whatever that meant.

Because it had happened. The Empire had risen, and Vader had been at the heart of that. He'd appeared on the galactic stage as Palpatine's Sith henchman only after Palpatine had declared himself Emperor. He'd had no history before that moment. Anyone could be inside that suit.

Vader said he had been injured by Obi-wan Kenobi, that the suit was keeping him alive. That meant he had nearly died at some point…. And that Obi-wan Kenobi very likely knew exactly who Vader had been before the Empire rose.

Leia sighed. Kenobi was the last person she wanted to talk to. She was sure he had noticed when she'd used the Force during their escape. She'd had to, because she hadn't believed it was real, that Vader was actually letting them escape.

So she'd reached out to him, to gauge his intent, to see if he lingered nearby, waiting to spring some kind of trap, but there had been nothing like that.

Go. He had said to her. She hadn't even known it was possible to speak mind-to-mind using the Force, and she hadn't known how to reply.

But she wasn't stupid. She'd taken the chance to get away, promising herself to think about the strangeness of it once she was safe.

And it still didn't make sense.

Vader had invited her to help him overthrow the emperor. She'd said she'd like nothing better than to do so but that she doubted Vader's own intent.

And then he had let her go.

He had let her, as well as the very man who had put him in that suit, walk free.

Was there a message in that? A declaration of intent? The proof she had said she needed? For it was no doubt treason for the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military to release a Rebel spy and a notorious Jedi Master back into the galaxy.

Vader had proved he was not completely loyal to Palpatine by releasing her.

Or was that just her wishful thinking, because, perversely, she missed their conversations?

.

.

.

His master had been amused that Vader had dared let Obi-wan Kenobi leave the Devastator alive. Palpatine had not said as much. He'd said Vader was weak, sentimental, and lacked the mettle to overthrow even the weakest of adversaries. He'd said Vader was merely a shadow of a true Sith, and unfit to be second in command of the Empire. He'd said a lot of things. But Vader knew Palpatine well, after all this time, and the mere fact that he had said so much meant he took pleasure in the situation. If he had been truly displeased he would have called Vader back to Imperial Center and tortured him.

As it was, Vader had been commanded to Lothal, to investigate the disappearance of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Not long before the attack on Scarif, there had been an uprising on Lothal and somehow the alien Grand Admiral, along with his precious ship, the ISD Chimaera, had disappeared.

Vader was not bothered. He'd known Thrawn too long to think him easily killed, and his prolonged absence from the emperor's court could only be a good thing for Vader. In fact, with Tarkin gone, and Krennic reportedly killed on Scarif, it was unique moment. All of Palpatine's most loyal men were dead, or missing, except for Vader himself.

And Vader would hardly count himself among the loyal. In the days since Leia's departure he'd begun to understand what he had lost due to Palpatine's lies. Clearly Padme had lived long enough to give birth to their child, a remarkable, Force-sensitive child who should have been his all these years. But Palpatine would never have allowed that. In those early days of the Empire, Palpatine would not have tolerated Vader's attention on anything but his mission to eradicate the Jedi.

But the core belief that had ensured Vader's enslavement to his master had been the belief he had killed his own wife. That simply was not true, and it changed everything.

He saw a clear path forward, now. He would defeat the Emperor, and he would not be alone. His daughter would stand at his side, and she would be there by choice.

He had not told her the whole truth, it had not been the right time. But he'd given her everything she needed to make the realization on her own. Then he'd let her go, with the protection of his former master, out into the vast galaxy with the hope she would understand, and if the Force willed it, she would return.

It was a risk, but in the moment he'd known it was the will of the Force and he'd done the most difficult thing imaginable, he'd let her go.

He found himself seeking out her presence now, trying to find her mind amongst the stars, but though he was sure she was out there, alive, somewhere, he could not reach her.

.

.

.

Luke Skywalker found himself eager to speak to Leia again. That pleased her parents, among others, because she'd refused to speak to them, or her medics, about what had happened to her. But he wouldn't push her on specifics. He'd been perturbed by what she had said about Vader so far, and, though the day might someday come when Luke would have to face his father, he hoped it wasn't any time soon. Leia was lucky she didn't know the truth that the monster who had tortured her and kept her prisoner for weeks was her biological father. How much worse it would be if she knew the truth. So Luke was now a member of the conspiracy of secrets, some of which Breha knew, others which Ahsoka knew, but only he, Bail, and Obi-wan knew the whole terrible truth.

He pushed all of this out of his mind, determined to focus entirely on Leia.

He found her again at the massive round window in her room which was sectioned off from the medbay proper.

She heard him come in and turned, smiling slightly. "Hi Luke, how's your training going?"

Luke sat down opposite her. "Good. I've been sparring with Master Tano with live blades. It's a bit terrifying, actually."

Leia grinned, "I'm sure she's too skilled to let you hurt yourself."

"Yeah, we can only hope. I don't want to loose any of my limbs if I can avoid it." Luke quipped.

Leia's expression changed, growing distant and slightly pained. "Yeah, be careful." She said finally.

Luke wondered if she was thinking about Vader, but he did not press, and he understood from Ahsoka's teachings never to try to invade another person's mind.

Leia's eyes focused back on him. "How much do you know about Obi-wan Kenobi?"

"Well, I always knew him as Ben." Luke replied eagerly, "He was always nearby while I was growing up."

"Because you're Force-sensitive?" Leia asked.

"Yeah." Luke agreed, realizing that had to be part of the truth. "To keep me safe from the Empire."

Leia looked pensive, "Have you heard about the Inquisitors?"

Luke shook his head.

"They are Force-sensitives that the Emperor and Vader have trained hunt down Jedi, and other young untrained Force-sensitives. I haven't seen one in the flesh, but I've heard they are terrible."

"That's what would have happened to me if I'd ever shown signs of the Force?" Luke asked, chilled.

"Maybe." Leia agreed. "But before the Republic fell, the Jedi used to take children, too."

"What?" Luke hissed.

"You should ask your Master. Ahsoka Tano was one of them. My father told me stories of her, growing up. Her master…" Leia's face lit up with realization. "Was Anakin Skywalker!"

Luke smiled, "Small galaxy, huh."

"And now she's training you!" Leia looked genuinely delighted.

"Maybe when she has children, I'll train them when I'm an old man." Luke put in.

Leia shook her head, "Jedi don't have children. They were forbidden to marry. Didn't you know?"

Luke blinked, "Huh. I'll have to ask Master Tano about that, too."

Leia nodded, "I might be good to know what you've signed up for."

Luke blushed.

"But tell me about Kenobi. I know he's a hero, but is he a good man?"

Luke shrugged, "Well, he's a Jedi. He's the one who trained my father. He, Anakin, and Ahsoka were together all through the Clone Wars."

"What happened to him, to Anakin, do you know?" Leia asked.

Luke sighed, uneasy about lying. "I was sent to Tatooine just after I was born. I think my mother died giving birth, and well… Ben always said that Darth Vader killed my father."

Leia's eyes grew moist, "I'm so sorry."

Luke shut his mouth, feeling a complicated sadness radiate from Leia.

"I was an orphan, too." She told him. "I was adopted into the Royal House of Organa."

Luke nodded.

"But the the Clone Wars took many lives." Leia said softly. "Not just our parents."

"Do you think the Alliance really can defeat the Empire?" Luke asked as the question popped into his mind.

Leia drew in a sharp breath, her eyes not meeting his."We have to try. Even though we are few, and far between, we have to keep fighting, no matter what."

.

.

.

Alone in the medbay during the night cycle, Leia could not sleep. It had been a simple, naive question Luke had asked. Could the Alliance defeat the Empire?

But she had not been able to say 'yes'. There was a chance. There was a possibility. But did she really believe that the war would some day end and the Alliance to Restore the Republic would actually be able to restore the Republic?

The tears she had held back in front of Luke fell now. She found she couldn't imagine it. She couldn't imagine an end to the war that didn't involve the gradual annihilation of every last person in the Alliance. At some point, she had to admit, she had lost hope.

As long as Palpatine held the Imperial throne there would be no change. He had the endless resources of the Empire and its military to throw against... What? A few hundred Alliance ships scattered through the galaxy? Independent bands of Rebels hiding on war-torn worlds?

Vader had described how he could destroy the Emperor with her help. He'd believed he could make her so powerful that together they'd be able to kill Sheev Palpatine.

And she'd laughed because the idea had been ludicrous. Vader would never turn on his master. Would he?

At some point she fell asleep and dreamed. She dreamed she was back aboard the Devastator, in her simple room, meditating with no concern for the past or the future, just immersed in the Force. And in the starry galaxy of her mind, Vader was there, like a black hole. Everything else was brighter because of the contrast he provided.

.

.

.

Obi-wan Kenobi lingered at the entrance of the medbay. There were few personnel, but he knew Leia Organa was present. He dismissed his doubts and walked in, finding his way to the alcove where the Princess of Alderaan sat reading a data pad.

She looked up at him with big brown eyes, a near copy of her biological mother. "Hello General Kenobi." She said, but he could tell she wasn't entirely pleased to see him.

"Hello, Leia. I've been meaning to check in with you. How are you feeling?"

Leia shrugged, "I'm fine now. I just like the quiet of the med wing."

Obi-wan sensed mild deception but smiled at her kindly, "I'm glad. Not many meet Darth Vader and live to tell the tale."

Leia's mouth was a flat line, "He let us go."

"He did." Obi-wan agreed. "You must be glad to be back with your parents."

Leia Organa gave him half a smile, "Of course. I should thank you for bringing me back to them. I think it was quite insane of you to surrender to Vader. He was planning to kill you."

Obi-wan inclined his head, "I know. He and I have a long history."

Leia looked at him levelly, "You knew him before the Empire?"

Obi-wan nodded. "I did."

"He told me you put him in that suit." The girl said with unexpected coldness. "I didn't think Jedi did things like that."

Obi-wan bowed his head. "That was the worst day of my life."

"His too, don't you think?" Leia Organa's eyes were narrowed in condemnation.

"You spoke with him at length, I see." Obi-wan concluded, feeling shame begin to burn through him.

Leia shrugged, "Not really."

"What else did you speak about?" He asked carefully.

But the girl's impression was impassive, "Nothing."

"Did he teach you anything?" Obi-wan asked, knowing he was on thin ice already.

Leia shook her head, somehow shielding her mind as she did so. It could have been just a reflex, as using the Force on the Devastator also might been. It was very possible she didn't know she was using the Force.

"Could you leave me alone, please?" Leia asked icily. "I'm tired."

Obi-wan rose, his old bones protesting. "I've disturbed you. I'm terribly sorry."

But Leia Organa merely turned back to the viewport, evidently fascinated by the blur of Hyperspace.