CHAPTER EIGHT
The only sound that could be heard was the breathing of the three life forms in the med bay and the air coming out of the ventilation shaft.
"What?" Leia said, gaping at Yoda. If the Jedi Master was telling the truth, that would mean that Vader was her..., father.
"Yes, Princess," Yoda said softly. "Twenty-two years ago, born to Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, you were."
Leia froze, trying to make sense of what Yoda was telling her. She had always known she was adopted, her parents had never been shy about it, but they had always been rather cryptic about who her biological parents were. And now to find out her biological sire was none other than Darth Vader?
"Who did you say my mother was?" Leia breathed, pushing the thoughts of Vader from her mind. She could not, she would not think of what had happened on the Death Star.
"Padme Amidala," Yoda answered, his eyes seemingly staring into Leia's soul.
"Padme Amidala?" Leia echoed. Why did that name sound familiar?
"She was a queen and a Senator," Obi-Wan continued, a smile appearing on his face. "You look just like her, it's a wonder I didn't see it before."
"She was the Senator from Naboo during the Clone Wars, my parents worked with her," Leia said, the realization slowly dawning on her. "They told me she was killed during the Jedi Purge."
"That's what we wanted everyone to believe, and for a while we had thought it had worked," Obi-Wan said morosely. "After Vader was... created, your mother wasn't safe. Communication was spotty at best across the galaxy, and we knew that the Emperor had placed a hit out on her. She was his last connection to the Light Side, the only thing that stood a chance of bringing him back."
"Can we please not talk about him?" Leia snapped.
"Of course. Your father, Bail, supplied us with information he had intercepted regarding the attempt on Padme's life. In advance we prepared for the assassin to believe he had succeeded, but then the unexpected happened. Your mother went into labor sooner than we anticipated, and we had to adapt. I was on Alderaan at the time helping Bail, Yoda was with Padme on Naboo. I was always told that Padme had given birth to Luke sooner than expected, and he was discovered by the bounty hunter during the 'assassination'. After that Yoda and I decided that it was unsafe to keep the two of them together and I was to take him to Tatooine straightaway and watch over him. I remained there ever since, and everything I know of after that is only what Yoda told me. I was told Padme went into hiding on Jedha, a planet remote enough to avoid the most of the Imperials, yet crowded enough to blend in. Unfortunately they began strip-mining operations four years later, and that's when Imperial intelligence found out she was alive and well."
Leia took a deep breath, knowing what Obi-Wan was about to tell her. She had thought she had lost everything to the Empire, her parents, her planet, only to find out that she had lost her birth mother and her brother to the Empire as well. It was terrifying how a regime could wield such power, destroying families for generations at the flick of a switch or the push of a button.
"Difficult it was, to reach your mother under martial law. Thought the Empire had become slow, we did, when only more subtle they had become. A powder keg, the city was, a spark it could not take. When coming back from work, 'malfunctioned' your mother's speeder did. Unknown, your existence was, so to Alderaan I took you, to the friends of your mother. When safe, I knew you were, exiled myself, I did."
Again the room fell silent, each party mulling over the past.
"We have to find Luke," Leia finally said, rising from her seat.
"More, we must discuss, Princess," Yoda said.
"What more is there to talk about? He's the only family I've got left in the entire galaxy, I won't let the Empire take him too!"
"Of your training, we must speak."
"My training?" Leia echoed.
"Your Jedi training," Obi-Wan elaborated.
"Why in the galaxy would I become a Jedi?" she scoffed.
"Strong with the Force, you are."
"I'm not the one who blew up the Death Star without my targeting computer."
"But no one can seem to shoot straight when you're in the room," Obi-Wan commented.
"Not every stormtrooper I've come across is the best the Empire has to offer."
"Difficult to see, even when young you were," Yoda said calmly, slowing down the conversation. "Shielded yourself for years you have."
"Yoda I doubt I could learn such a skill when I was barely able to form memories," Leia countered. She looked to Obi-Wan for moral support, and noticed the old man looked a tad paler than he had earlier.
"Obi-Wan are you alright?" she asked, moving a little closer.
"I'm fine, I just need my rest," he said quietly, settling himself on the cot.
"Discuss this another time, we will," Yoda said, hopping down from his perch.
"Rest well Obi-Wan, we need you," Leia said softly. Quietly the two filed out of the room, returning to the cockpit.
"Everything alright back there? I thought I heard some shouting," Han said, turning away from the controls for a brief moment.
"We're fine," Leia said, sinking into the back seat.
Looking between the two's solemn faces, Han decided now wasn't the best time to press them and faced front.
Lantillies, Mid Rim
Luke Skywalker enjoyed the feeling of wind rippling through his hair and sending his robes flying as he sped over the grassy hills. The ship building world hosted an Imperial base on the other hemisphere, but Luke felt weightless. It reminded him of flying his skyhopper through Beggar's Canyon back home with Biggs, before the Empire had become a cruel reality.
On this side of the planet settlements were few and far in between, and the only way to get around was on an off-road landspeeder like the one Luke was riding right now. On the bag he had a bag packed of few essentials he needed to make a home in the hills, away from the Empire, away from the Rebellion, away from the Jedi. The Force had guided him to this world, as he had gotten there just in time before the winter systems would make travel between the two hemispheres impossible anywhere in the atmosphere.
Coming to a stop on top of the hill, Luke dismounted from his speeder and looked about. Here he had a clear vantage point for miles, with a small cluster of trees to provide him some cover. A river ran along the base of the hill, weaving through the valley. Satisfied, Luke tossed his bag down onto the ground, ready to get to work.