Chapter 14

After he finished tying up the boat, Han made his way up the steps where he was met by a fair young woman. "Are you Han?" she asked him as he approached.

"Yeah," he replied, instantly on guard. "How do you know who I am?"

"Your friends asked me to wait for you," she said simply. "Follow me."

Confused, Han followed the young woman into the house. She led him down a hallway to a circular room with high arching ceilings. In the center of the room there was an oval table. Luke and Leia were seated on one end facing an elderly couple and a middle-aged woman.

"Welcome to Varykino," the middle-aged woman said to Han when he entered the room. "My name is Sola and these are my parents Ruwee and Jobal. This young woman is my daughter Pooja. My other daughter Ryoo is away with her father on a business trip"

"Charmed," Han responded, giving Luke and Leia a look as if to ask what's going on?

"Han, this is our mother's family," Luke explained. "Please join us," he added, gesturing to the open seat next to him. Obliging, Han sat down, intimidated by the suspicious looks he was receiving from the opposite side of the table.

"How come you took so long to find us?" Ruwee asked accusatively.

"Luke and I didn't know about either of our parents until very recently," Leia replied. "In fact, we didn't even know we were related when we first met."

"How is that possible? Why were you two separated?" Sola asked.

"To protect us from the Emperor," Luke answered.

"Why would you need to be protected from the Emperor?"

Luke hesitated briefly. "Our father was a very powerful Jedi," he said. "When the Jedi were destroyed, those who survived thought it best that we be hidden from the Emperor since we presented a great threat to him."

"What made you such a threat to the Emperor?" Jobal asked in a less derisive tone than her husband.

"Leia and I are both powerful Force sensitives," he replied. "I assume the Jedi were afraid that we could have been used by the Emperor."

Ruwee scratched his chin pensively as he scrutinized Luke. The young man was giving no indication that he was lying, but his story still seems suspicious. "Why is it that you think Padme is your mother?" he asked after a few moments of tense silence.

"We don't think it, we know it," Leia said defensively.

"Our father told us," Luke answered. "From beyond the grave."

Ruwee sat back in his seat, shaking his head. "You can't be serious," he said incredulously. "You expect us to believe that?"

Luke shrugged. "It's the truth," he said simply.

"No," Ruwee said, standing up from his chair. "I want to know why you're really here. What do you want? Money? Is that it? You thought you could con us into believing that you are our daughter's long-lost children? Well I'm not buying it."

"Ruwee, sit down!" Jobal told him severely. "They look just like their parents, can't you see that?"

"You're lying to yourself, Jobal!" he replied. "You're so desperate to bring Padme back that you'll do anything to believe that these two scam artists are her children!"

"Dad, please," Sola pleaded. "Just hear them out." Ruwee grumbled something unintelligible, but eventually sat back down.

"Sir, If I may say something," Han said, injecting himself into the conversation. "I've known Luke and Leia for a long time now, and I can assure you that they are two of the most exceptional people I have ever met." Luke gave Han a smile, touched by his friend's glowing endorsement. "I guess that isn't saying much considering the people I've met in my life, but it is something," he added.

"I understand why you are suspicious of us, sir," Leia said. "But we truly have no ulterior motive. We didn't even know that our mother had a family."

"We believe you, Leia," Sola said, speaking on behalf of herself and her mother. Leia gave her aunt a smile, grateful for her support.

"How did you find each other after being separated?" Jobal asked.

"Well that's a long story," Luke said with a smile. "But the short of it was that Han and I rescued Leia when she was imprisoned on the Death Star."

Jobal gasped. "Why were you imprisoned?" she asked.

"I was a leading figure in the Rebel Alliance," Leia explained. "The empire captured and tortured me in order to find out where the Rebel Base was. They were going to execute me when I didn't tell them anything."

"That's horrible!" Sola exclaimed aghast. Leia looked down at the table, feeling conflicted about not telling them the truth about Vader. She certainly felt no qualms about revealing what Vader had done to her, but she didn't want to ruin her mother's family's opinion about Anakin. Knowing the truth about what he became would be too much for them.

"Leia and I were close friends for three years after that without knowing we were related," Luke said. "Although we always felt connected to each other for a reason neither of us could explain."

Sola shook her head in awe. "It's so horrible that the Jedi did that to you." Luke frowned, uncomfortable with criticizing the Jedi yet also unable to deny that Sola was at least partially correct.

"Why don't you stay with us for the night at least," Jobal offered after a brief silence, ignoring her husband's scowl of disapproval.

"We'd love to if it's not too much trouble," Luke answered for the group.

"None at all," Jobal insisted with a smile. "It's not every day that you meet grandchildren you didn't know you had." Luke returned the smile, charmed by his grandmother.

"Pooja, could you show our guests to some rooms?" Sola asked her daughter. "Afterward perhaps you could accompany us for dinner? I'm sure you have a lot of questions as well."

"We'd be delighted to," Leia said. Giving Sola one last smile, Leia stood up with her companions to follow her newfound cousin to their quarters.

"Come with me," Pooja said coldly, still suspicious about their true identities. "We have plenty of rooms for you to choose from," she informed them. "We used to have a lot more guests come up here, but ever since Aunt Padme died we haven't been coming here that often.

"This isn't your main home?" Han asked incredulously.

"No, it's a summer retreat that our family has owned for decades." Han and Luke both shook their heads, boggled by the wealth of the Naberries.

"Did you know our mother?" Leia asked Pooja suddenly. The young woman stopped walking and turned around to face the trio, her demeanor still cold and distant.

"Yes," she replied curtly. "I was six when she died."

"What was she like?" Luke asked earnestly.

Glancing at Luke, Pooja hesitated before answering. "Perhaps we should discuss this over dinner," she said flatly. Dejected by Pooja's evident distrust for them, Luke merely nodded. Surprised by Luke's clear disappointment, Pooja faltered. "I'm sorry for not being as forthcoming as you might have wished," she said in a warmer voice. "You must understand why I'm hesitant to believe you."

"We understand," Leia told her. "We recognize that this is all very sudden." Pooja smiled faintly at Leia, unable to not like her despite her reservations.

"Come on, let me show you your rooms," she said. Nodding, Leia followed after her thawing cousin.