Kid gazed at the human female in front of him for a few seconds before nodding. He could use the Force...He didn't like to, but he could.

The white-haired human male chose that moment to enter. He held his hands up in a way that Kid knew was meant to show that he intended no harm. "Hello, there," he said warmly. "Where are you from, young one?"

Kid felt as if he were being pulled in two directions. Part of him was reminding him that this was a Force user and the situation thus required caution, but another part of him was telling him that these two humans were trustworthy and he had nothing to worry about.

But though looking at them warily, he considered the question that had been put to him. Where was he from?

He tentatively reached out to the Force, transmitting an image to the two humans of sand and suns and death and life. Then he sent another image to the two of noise and light and darkness. Finally, he sent a picture of hard metal and warm faces. He had no real home. He had lived on Tatooine, Coruscant, and the Falcon...But where did he really belong? Did he belong in any of those places?

He concentrated on the humans' faces, using the Force to help him pinpoint their exact emotions. The female seemed intrigued, while the male seemed surprised.

"Is it really you?" the male whispered.

But Kid simply stared at him in bewilderment.

****

Blue eyes...Force sensitive...Tatooine...It must be him!

Obi-Wan reached up a hand, as if to touch the boy, but the youth flinched backwards as if burned. "Who were your parents?" the Jedi whispered. And why was he afraid of being touched?

The boy hesitated, but then Obi-Wan saw in his head two proud Tusken Raiders.

"Luke," Obi-Wan rasped disbelievingly. "Luke Skywalker."

****

Kid contemplated running toward the cockpit for refuge, but after looking closely at the Jedi's face, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He flashed an image of the Tatooinian suns into the Jedi's head, and the Jedi whispered, "Light."

The female finally spoke. "Obi-Wan, do you know him?"

The man turned to her. "I thought I had lost him...I thought Vader would have turned him..."

Kid flinched at the dark man's name, and the Jedi looked at him.

"Darth Vader was my apprentice until he turned to the Dark Side," the man said quietly. "Now, he is nothing but a monster."

Kid immediately found himself wanting to agree with the human, but then a strange feeling tugged at him. Was that all Vader truly was? A monster?

And then Kid felt himself wanting to talk, wanting to say that perhaps Vader still retained a glimmer of good, that perhaps there was hope for him yet, but he remained silent. How could he support such an argument? Vader was consumed by anger...He killed innocents...He felt no love for anyone...

"I held you both as babies," the man said. "You looked so much like your parents..."

"Obi-Wan, what are you saying?" the female queried. Kid thought she looked almost frightened.

"Baby Luke and Leia Skywalker," whispered the Jedi.

The female gasped, and Kid looked at her. "Are you saying we're siblings?" she sputtered.

The white-haired male nodded sadly before looking at Kid intensely. "Luke, can you forgive me for not saving you?"

Kid scratched his left leg nervously. What was this Jedi talking about?

The man—Obi-Wan—must have sensed his confusion, for he began to explain. "You two were separated at birth...Leia, you were taken to Alderaan to be raised by Bail Organa...Luke, I took you to Tatooine to be raised by your aunt and uncle...I was going to stay there to watch over you, Luke, but Leia was in danger, and I had to go protect her...By the time I returned to Tatooine, you had been taken by Tusken Raiders...I had to let you go, Luke, or risk falling to the Dark Side...Your mother, Padmé Skywalker, named you both right before she died...I wish the two of you could have met her."

Kid's eyes moved from one human to the other. His name was Luke Skywalker, and he had a sister? He rubbed his arm. It was all too much to take in.

"You probably need some time to think, young Luke," the man said quietly, "so Leia and I will return to saber practice." He turned to go, but the former Tusken Raider pulled on the sleeve of his robe.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the boy gave the man a one-armed hug. He felt it was the human thing to do.

****

Leia's head was spinning, and she knew she couldn't simply go back to saber practice, so instead she went to the cockpit to sit and think. How could she have had a sibling all this time? Why wasn't she ever told about it?

But despite the hurt she felt, there was a rightness in being told she had a brother. It was as if she had always known in the back of her mind, as if the Force had been connecting her to someone much like her and yet also very different.

She was only seated for a minute before the smuggler came in. She suspected the Wookiee had asked him to check on her.

"What do you want?" Leia asked quietly.

The rogue shrugged. "Just making sure you aren't hurting my ship."

The princess rolled her eyes. "I am quite familiar with ships, Captain. You have nothing to fear from me."

The man—Han Solo, wasn't it?—grinned and sat down beside her. "I guess you aren't exactly a rancor when it comes to threats."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "I can be quite a threat when I want to be."

Solo laughed. "I'm sure you can." Leia glared at him, and he queried, "So, what's wrong, Your Highness?"

Leia started. "How did you—"

"Look, I may not know any of that hocus pocus stuff, but I can tell royalty when I see it." The man looked smug.

"Oh, really?" Leia said, straightening with a glint in her eye. "And can you tell family when you see it?"

The man looked a little uneasy; it was obvious he didn't know what she was talking about—apparently, Chewbacca hadn't been very thorough in briefing his friend—but the smuggler didn't seem to want to back down from a challenge either. "Sure can, Your Worship," he retorted.

"Then did you know that I'm related to your one-armed mechanic?"

"Sure d—" he cut off. "What?"

Leia smirked. "Your clairvoyant powers have their limits, I see."

The smuggler stared at her incredulously. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm quite serious. You aren't as good as you think you are."

The man scowled. "Not that."

Leia decided to give the guy a break. "Apparently, we were twins separated at birth."

Rolling his eyes, Solo stood up. "I'll come back when you're being serious."

"I'm not lying to you, Captain. Obi-Wan says his name is Luke...Apparently, we're both Skywalkers."

Looking suspicious, the man queried, "That your last name?"

"It's his last name, I guess. But I would rather be known as Leia Organa than Leia Skywalker...I never knew my real parents."

"You and me both, sister," muttered Han Solo. He gazed at Leia for a moment before asking, "What's going to happen now with the kid?"

Leia shrugged. "I don't really know. Obi-Wan is more likely to know than I am."

He gave her a contemplative and almost sad look. "I do want the kid to be happy, you know. I have the feeling he's been through some rough times."

"With the Empire still in place, I doubt his times are going to get any better." Leia stared down at her hands. They were so different from the smuggler's. His had been roughened by working on his ship and wielding his blaster, but hers were smooth from mostly handling datapads and fine silverware...But Leia had the feeling that it wouldn't be long before her hands became rough, too. She was ready for it.

The smuggler placed his hands upon hers, and she looked up with a rebuke in her eyes that died unsaid.

"Somehow I get the feeling that you aren't going to let his times get much worse," he said softly.

Leia trembled for a few seconds before withdrawing her hands. "You're right, Captain Solo. I'll try to help him, and the galaxy, as much as I can." She stood up and left the cockpit. She could feel the man's eyes on her as she left. For some reason, knowing that he was watching her sent shivers down her spine.

****

Obi-Wan was coaching Leia in more lightsaber techniques when he noticed Luke come in and sit down. The boy watched them quietly, and Obi-Wan gave him a sad smile. "What happened to your arm?" he queried, though he was afraid he knew the answer.

An image flashed into the Jedi's mind of his former pupil dueling with Luke.

"I am sorry he hurt you, Luke," Obi-Wan said quietly. "Did he try to turn you to the Dark Side?"

When Luke just looked at him sadly, the Jedi queried further, "Did he try to get you to use your anger?"

The boy nodded.

"You do not have to use your anger, young one. The Jedi use the Light Side. If you are at peace, the Light Side will flow through you."

He could tell he had captured the boy's interest, so he continued talking. At this point, Leia shut down her lightsaber, quietly watching and listening. "Try to levitate my lightsaber, but let go of your anger, let go of your fears...Simply let the Force flow through you." He held the lightsaber out in his palm.

The youth looked at the lightsaber. Then a small grin spread across his face. The lightsaber lifted, but so did several other objects in the room, including the two droids.

Artoo squealed in surprise, and Threepio exclaimed, "Oh, my! Please, do put me down, sir. I simply detest flying!"

Obi-Wan could sense the youth's mischief through the Force, and he chuckled as he watched the boy send the protocol droid spinning throughout the room. As the astromech droid began to fly across the room, its squeal of surprise turned into a whistle of excitement. It seemed the small droid was willing to have a little fun.

Chewbacca roared in amusement. It seemed as if he had seen Jedi before, Obi-Wan noted with some interest, wondering if the Wookiee had come across Yoda on Kashyyyk.

Luke finally set all the objects down, much to Threepio's relief, and Obi-Wan tried to hide his grin. "Very good, young one. You have your sister's ability, it seems."

"Or I have his," Leia inserted. "It seems like he's stronger than I am."

"What matters is not potential but inner strength," Obi-Wan stated calmly. "It is more important to be able to resist the lure of the Dark Side than it is to be able to lift an entire ship in the air."

Upon seeing the interested glint in her brother's eye, Leia added quickly, "Which you shouldn't try any time soon, Luke."

The boy smiled.

****

They finally made it to Toprawa. If what Leia's father had told her was correct, the Red Hand Squadron was supposed to infiltrate the Imperial facility on Toprawa and transmit the stolen Death Star technical readouts to the Falcon. The technical readouts were incomplete, however, and while they were receiving the Toprawa transmission, supplemental plans were being beamed to them.

Leia wasn't quite sure whether to feel sad or triumphant. Receiving the Death Star plans would be a major accomplishment for the Rebellion, but this was basically a suicide mission for the Red Hand Squadron. She knew, however, that they were glad to die for such an important cause. Still, she wasn't exactly happy about it.

Soon, they were receiving the transmission. Artoo was hooked up to the ship so that they would have two copies of the plans, and he whistled softly as he received data.

"Come on, come on," Leia gritted, trying to will the transmission to go faster.

Chewbacca roared and pointed at a screen. Han moved to look at it. "Ah, Sith," the smuggler cursed. "Imperial Star Destroyer."

A voice came on the communications unit. "This is the Immortal. Unidentified freighter, you are suspected to be involved in Rebel activity. Prepare to be boarded."

"Not in my lifetime," Han muttered to himself. "Chewie, get ready for hyperspace and evasive maneuvers. This is gonna be a fun ride."

"We need to compute the coordinates to deliver the plans to the Liberty—" Leia protested.

"It ain't happening this time, Your Worshipfulness," the smuggler told her under his breath. "We need to make a brief jump first."

Suddenly the Falcon was moving and the Immortal was shooting. Chewbacca roared in excitement.

"Goodness gracious!" Threepio exclaimed. He wasn't a fan of excitement.

And then they were in hyperspace.

Looking smug, Han patted the console in front of him. "I told you she was a good ship."