The following day Luke had recovered well enough to be able to listen to what Obi-Wan had to say him.

Obi-Wan told Luke to meet him on the observation deck of the ship and asked Leia to join them. Both the youths were surprised by his request of seeing them together, but they did as asked.

Once they were all gathered, Obi-Wan used the Force to lock the door, so that nobody would disturb them. Then he indicated the twins should sit on one of the plush divans there, as he lowered himself on an armchair he had pulled closer.

When they were all comfortable, Obi-Wan said, "Luke, Leia, I know it won't be easy for you to hear what I am going to say, but it is important you let me finish. Then I will answer all the questions you may have, all right?"

The twins nodded.

Obi-Wan rubbed his beard, gathered his thoughts and began his story. "About twenty-four years ago a young Jedi Knight who had been my apprentice, met and fell in love with a Senator named Padmé Amidala. You've probably heard her name, Leia; she was a well known figure during the Clone Wars age. At that time, Jedi were forbidden from having romantic relationships because of the risks they involved, but this Knight ignored the rules and secretly married Padmé. With time, this attachment and the fear he had of losing his wife, turned into an obsession. He became jealous, paranoid, mistrusting of the Jedi and hungry for power. I don't know exactly what happened next but one night he betrayed the Jedi and sided with Chancellor Palpatine who, in reality was, and is, a Sith Lord."

Obi-Wan paused and looked at his audience, seeing the horrified expression on Luke's face. Leia instead looked speculative, as she was wondering what all of this had to do with her.

"The Sith Lords are the natural enemies of the Jedi. They use the Force for personal gain and power, not to help the others as the Jedi do. Palpatine knew the Knight was extraordinary gifted and he had been after him since he was a child. The Jedi Council and I didn't realize until it was too late who the Chancellor really was, and I never thought to keep my Padawan away from Palpatine. It is a mistake I've had to live with for the past twenty years."

Obi-Wan shook his head and breathed deeply before continuing with the hardest part of his story.

"One night the former Jedi, now a Sith led a massive assault against the Jedi Temple. None of the Knights in the building was spared, not even the children. In the meantime Palpatine ordered the Clone Troopers to revolt against their Jedi commanders and kill them. Only a few Jedi, Master Yoda and myself included, escaped the slaughter. Thanks to the help given us by Bail Organa, Yoda and I returned to Coruscant, to the Temple and discovered what had happened. My heart…my heart broke when I watched a security recording and saw the fallen Jedi, the man I had raised since childhood, my friend and brother, kneel in front of Palpatine and call him Master. I knew it was my duty as a Jedi to eliminate him for he had become a terrible threat for the galaxy, but I didn't know where to look for him."

The Jedi Master looked again at the twins. Luke was pale as a sheet and Leia, who apparently had not yet made the connection, between Darth Vader and the fallen Jedi, was looking at Obi-Wan with an enraptured expression.

"I knew of the friendship between the Senator and my former apprentice and I went to visit her, asking her to if she knew where he was. It was then I realized the children she was pregnant with were my Padawan's. In truth, I probably had always known, but I had chosen not to see because I didn't wish to report my best friend to the Council. Senator Amidala refused to tell me where her husband was, but scared by what I had said her, she went to find him, and I hid on her ship. The fallen Jedi was on a volcanic planet called Mustafar, and it was there he was confronted about what he had become by both his wife and myself. He was so far consumed by the Dark Side he tried to kill the woman he professed to love and then attacked me. We fought and he lost. I cut three of his limbs and left him near the shore of a lava river, trusting his fate to the will of the Force."

Obi-Wan grimaced. "It was a great mistake, because the Emperor found and saved him and made him his second in command." The Jedi looked sadly at the two young faces staring at him. "Yes, that man is now called Darth Vader. I will never forgive myself for leaving him alive thus allowing him to commit such atrocities in the galaxy. But that day, I didn't see him as Darth Vader. To me, to my broken heart he was still the young man I had raised from childhood to manhood and I could not bring myself to kill…Anakin Skywalker."

Leia gasped aloud as Luke bit his lower lip, trying to prevent it from trembling.

"Vader…Vader is your father?" she finally asked.

Luke could only nod and stare at his new prosthetic hand.

"Yes, Leia, Anakin Skywalker was his father—but there is more."

"More?"

"As I said before, Padmé was carrying twins when her husband tried to kill her. That act broke her heart and she completely lost her will to live. She died on Polis Massa, after giving birth to her children. First a boy, whom she called Luke and then a girl, whom Padmé named…Leia."

"What?" Luke exclaimed, looking at the woman by his side. "You…she is my sister?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan confirmed gently. "You were separated after birth. The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him." He turned to look at Leia, "You knew you had been adopted, don't you?"

Leia nodded. "Yes. Father told me when I was ten, but he didn't tell me who my real parents were. He said he didn't know."

"He wanted to protect you. Since the moment you and Luke were born, Yoda, Bail and I did everything in our power to keep you two safe. This is one of the reasons I did not join the Rebel Alliance, Leia. My place was on Tatooine, near Luke. I have watched over him for nineteen years, waiting for the moment the Force would bring him to me."

Silence fell on the room, as its three occupants lost themselves in thought.

Obi-Wan was aware the twins would need time to cope with what they had learned. They needed time to digest it, and then the questions would come.

For the moment, he could only hope his past mistakes had not killed the bud of his and Leia's love.

He would not blame her if she decided she did not want to have anything to do with the man who had played such a big part in the destruction of her family and the fact Vader was still alive and terrifying the galaxy.

A soft noise, very close to him, made Obi-Wan raise his head. Leia had left her seat and was now standing in front of him.

He rose to his feet and seeing the tears pouring from her eyes he opened his arms. The young woman lost no time in accepting his offer—and so did Luke a few seconds later.

Obi-Wan embraced the twins and then, for the first time, he let his tears fall, as they mourned together the loss of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala.