Kylo took off his helmet. He would never get to see his parents' home planet. All that survived of Mandalore were the people that escaped and the Darksaber.

"Ben, what happened?" Padme called out to him. "Both Ezra and I felt the cries..."

"Mandalore is no more. Hux just destroyed the planet," Kylo responded sadly.

"I am so sorry. This is all my fault..."

"No. Do not blame yourself. If you didn't make that speech, none of my people would have survived. Hux is evil. He didn't even warn me! He told me to sit down and look at the screen. Then I saw the planet blow up!"

He felt the sweet caress of Padme's fingers against his cheeks. Although it was brief, Kylo remembered the softness of her skin as he held her from behind. He recalled the initial fear in her eyes when she saw him. He was proud when she used the Force to shoot down the TIE fighters.

Padme brushed her lips against Kylo's. He loved it when she kissed him. It made him feel at peace, hopeful that one day, they would be together.

"I heard Kylo Ren helped you escape," he said to Padme.

"He did, but he scared me at first! He snuck up from behind and grabbed me. I thought he was going to take me straight to Hux. Ben, he knows I'm Force sensitive," she replied truthfully.

"Don't worry about Kylo Ren. He hates working for Hux as much as I do. He threw a fit when he found out what I have to do to protect you. He promised me he would help you if your paths should cross again. And I will continue to do what I need to do to protect you."

"Once the Senate declares war on the First Order, then it will only be a matter of time before we win. And we will finally be together."

"On Naboo, right?"

"Ben, I will be with you anywhere you want to be. But I always wanted to visit Naboo."

"Then we shall go to Naboo. Padme, did you hear anything about those who were on Polis Masso?"

"Yes. I heard from Luke Skywalker. They are alive, but scared of the fact that they will die from the radiation exposure. Luke is putting up a brave front, but I think he is scared, too." Padme frowned after she said this.

"I am sorry. I know you admire him, and I'm sure thinking about him passing away eventually hurts."

"Just as much as seeing your people perish before your eyes."

"Padme, we have been through so much..."

"Yes. But it is making us stronger. Ben, if we can get through this alive and in one piece, it will be a miracle. Which means there is nothing that can happen to us that will tear us apart."

Kylo did not want to disagree with Padme. But if she found out the truth about who he really was, she would leave him.

They broke off their Force connection. Kylo and the Order headed to attack the Rebel base at Lothal, and Padme and Ezra went to pick up Luke and Sabine, before travelling to Hosnian Prime.

Padme gave her uncle the biggest hug she could muster when she saw him.

"I need to breath," Luke teased her. "I won't have much of it left." Padme broke the embrace and stared angrily at him.

"How can you speak so glibly about this?" she snapped.

"Padme, everyone dies. But not everyone lives their life to the fullest. I can say that I have lived my life this way. And you need to live your life, after I'm gone."

"I will try..."

"Do or do not. There is no try. But I know you will do. There are happy times ahead for you, my sweet niece. But even with all the bad that's happened, there is good news."

"What good news?"

"My ex-student, the one that turned to the Dark side, reached out to try and warn us about the attack by Starkiller Base. He was very upset about what happened. He is still on the Dark side, but he vowed to find a way to destroy the weapon. I told him that I forgive him and that I love him. He just needs to forgive himself."

They stopped at Takadona to refuel the Ghost. They rented a cottage for the night. Ezra filled Luke in about the events on Mandalore.

"So you were able to posses the Darksaber?" Luke asked, when Ezra got to that part. Padme nodded her head. She knew what was coming next.

"She did. Which means..." Ezra said, turning to Padme. "She subdued the last person who possessed it." Luke had a puzzled look on his face.

"Emperor Vader was the last person to wield the weapon," Ezra added.

"I see," Luke uttered, glancing over at his niece.

"Padme, I must know. How did you do it? Did you kill Vader?"

Padme was not sure how to answer the question. She looked to Luke for guidance.

"It is your question to answer. If you feel Ezra is trustworthy. you can tell him," Luke instructed her.

She thought for a moment, then said,

"I did not kill him. Someone else did that. What I did was kill the evil that was in Vader, and brought the good out of the man he once was."

"Who was he?" Ezra questioned her. He always thought Vader was a machine, a monster.

"Is it okay if I tell him?" Padme asked Luke.

"Yes. As I said before, it is your place to answer Ezra's questions," Luke reminded her.

"Ezra, before he became Darth Vader, he was Jedi Knight Anikin Skywalker."

Ezta's mouth dropped open in shock. He remembered back to the time on Malachor, where Vader fought and almost killed him. But Ahsoka Tano came and distracted Vader. He never understood the conversation between the two, until now. Ahsoka was confronting her former master. They battled each other, and Ezra fled with Kanan in order to escape the Sith temple, before it blew up.

"Wait a minute!" Ezra exclaimed. "Luke, are you...?"

"Yes, " Luke replied. "Anikin Skywalker was my father."

"Wow! Have you always known?"

"My father told me after our duel on Cloud City."

"I don't understand. I know you tried to bring the good out of Vader, but you were not successful. How come Padme was able to?"

"Because," Padme interjected, hoping that revealing the truth was not a mistake. "He loved me."

"Darth Vader loved you?" Ezra uttered incredulously.

"Yes. Vader was my grandfather."

Ezra's eyes bulged in disbelief. To hear that Vader had a son and granddaughter in a span of a minute was shocking!

"So Luke is your dad?" Ezra guessed.

"No. He is my uncle," Padme replied.

"There's another Skywalker?"

"Yes," Luke chimed in. "You have known her for many years. She is my twin sister."

Ezra stared at Padme, looking at her facial features. He gasped.

"Leia! She is your sister!" he said to Luke. "Which means..." He faced Padme and added, "She is your mother."

"Ezra, promise me what you know does not leave this room. If the Order finds out Leia, Padme and I are related..." Luke warned him.

"I don't think they would believe me even if I did tell them. But don't worry. This conversation does not leave this room," Ezra promised.

"May I be excused?" Padme asked, before she yawned.

"Go and get some rest. I will see you in the morning," her uncle said to her.

"Good night, Lady Skywalker," Ezra teased Padme. She gave him a quick smile before going to bed.