"Burden's Put Down"

Sequel scenes to "Burdens of Secrets"

Star Wars and all characters are the property of Lucasfilm and Disney…I am just playing here.

I wanted to continue my "Burden's of Secrets" Fic. I have always been intrigued by the personal conversations regarding the Skywalker family that were never showed on screen. These are just my interpretations. The opening scene of this pulls a bit from "Truce at Bakura" as well.

Morning after the Battle of Endor, destruction of the Second Death Star

Leia awoke and unzipped her sleeping bag. She lay in the tree hut for a few moments then looked at her chrono. Only a few minutes till sunrise, she thought to herself. Han was still slumbering away, he had drank quite a lot with Lando and Wedge at the victory party last night. She crawled out of the bag, put on her boots and camouflaged poncho to help ward off the early morning chill. She couldn't explain how exactly, but she new Luke was away from the camp and she walked in the direction she felt him to be.

Luke had said she had the ability to harness the same power he had. She believed him, but was still shocked at that….and that Luke was her twin…..and that Vader…..she pushed that thought away not wanting to deal with it. Although she knew she would need too. She just had so many questions and Luke's revelations before the battle was devoid of any specifics.

She kept walking as the darkness turned to predawn twilight. Soon she saw Luke sitting on the ground in the middle of a field, which appeared to have the remnants of a bon fire.

"Good morning Leia" Luke said softly, almost stoically. Every day he seemed to take on more of the persona of what she assumed was that of a Jedi Knight. She knew a little of the Jedi, more than most in the last 20 years. Even discussing the Jedi was virtually forbidden, although Bail Organa, her real father, made sure she had at least a basic working knowledge of what the Order was and represented. And based on that she was sure "Farm boy" and "Kid" no longer described her brother.

Leia didn't respond at first. Luke could feel the tempest of emotions broiling from her. The two sat quietly for awhile, as the sun rose over the forest.

"I have questions" Leia said plainly.

Luke took in a breath, "I will answer whatever you ask. I likely have as many questions as you do though".

"Well, let's start with this….have you known since we met that you were Vader's son?"

Luke thought for a moment, "No…..I only found out when Vader and I fought on Bespin. After he…."

"After he cut off your hand", Leia interjected.

"Yes after he had disarmed me he told me it was my destiny to join the dark side, to rule the galaxy with him…and then he told me Obi-Wan lied to me. Obi Wan had told me that Vader killed my father…..then Vader told me the truth".

Leia was stunned. "Obi Wan Kenobi … lied about that?!". She only knew Obi Wan from the things her adopted father had told her but she couldn't imagine that. From the stories she had heard Kenobi was one of the most honorable and wise of the Jedi.

"Well…..after Bespin, Ben said he told me the truth from a certain point of view. That when our father turned to the dark side of the force it consumed him and essentially murdered the man he had been, which was an honorable and powerful Jedi Knight". Luke smiled at the last part.

"Wait….when did Obi Wan tell you this?...He's dead". She looked confused, Luke couldn't blame her.

"Ben appears to me occasionally, he can manifest himself through the force. He, and Master Yoda, confirmed to me right before Endor that Vader was my father, and that's when they told me that there was another Skywalker….which was you. Apparently, Obi Wan and Yoda thought because we were strong in the force that the Emperor might be able to sense us if we remained together so they chose to separate us. I went to my Aunt and Uncle on Tatooine…you went to Alderaan." He chuckled…."you got the better end of that deal I think, sis…working on a moisture farm isn't the high life…..".

She smiled at that….she liked being called "sis". It made her realize she still had family. After Alderaan, she was afraid she would never have another true family member.

"I don't understand this force…..it seems so strange, yet I realize it's there." she whispered:

"Your just now beginning to feel it, I can train you…when your ready…the force is with you Leia, it's why you could hear me at Bespin…..your taking your first steps into a larger world." Luke smiled as he remembered the same words from Ben.

"So...what happened after you left…you said you felt good in him…..which by the way I don't think I can accept that… that Vader…..had any good in him".

Luke took another breath. "I surrendered to an Imperial patrol and they took me by AT-AT to the shield generator landing platform. He was there. This time I tried to get him to come with me. I could feel the conflict in him. Like two people warring inside that armor…fighting for his soul. He told me that I didn't understand the power of the Dark Side, that he had to obey the Emperor, and I would join them or die. We went to the Death Star….to the Emperor. He tried to goad me into attacking him unarmed, and pitted me against my father, in the hopes I would kill Vader and become his new apprentice. I kept trying to refuse to fight. Finally Vader used the force to read my thoughts….and though I had thought I had buried my knowledge of you deep, he discovered it."

Leia gasped….it was one thing to know Vader was her biological father…and she was recoiling from that. It was another to realize he knew of their relation. "What did you do?"

"He said Ben was wise to hide you. And that if I wouldn't turn to the Dark Side, then he would turn you….I screamed at him that I would never allow that…..I became furious…..I briefly came dangerously close to using the Dark side, and I attacked him with a fury that surprised and scared not only me, but him as well. I could feel his fear as I defeated him…I had my lightsaber to his throat when Palpatine came down and told me to kill him and take his place".

Leia could barely contain her pride, she could almost see in her mind the image of Vader being defeated, a lightsaber to his throat and by none other than Luke. He truly was a Jedi Knight.

" I realized my fathers fate was about to become mine. I told him I would never turn to the dark side…that I was a Jedi….like my father before me."

Leia was somber, but slightly chuckled, "I don't think Palpatine liked that."

"Yeah, all of a sudden lightening shot out of his hands….direct power from the dark side and hit me. He was going to kill me right there….except I called out for help from my father." There was a pause. He had tears in his eyes but was also smiling. "He got up and attacked the emperor and threw him down a reactor shaft".

"He…..he…..he saved you?" Leia was astonished…she assumed that somehow Luke had defeated them both and that was that.

"He not only saved me, he saved himself….I could feel him turn back to the light side of the Force…it was Anakin Skywalker in that armor, not Darth Vader" . She could feel the happiness coming from her brother.

She wasn't sure she was going to buy this, but she wasn't going to ruin his feelings on this either. "So what happened after he killed Palpatine".

"I drug him to a shuttle…the attack on the Death Star had already started and it was pandemonium. I was weak though from the effects of the lightening, and he had been hit by it too…..it had damaged his respirator. He finally told me he wanted me to take his mask off….that he wanted to look at me with his own eyes. I protested, but he insisted he was dying and I could sense this was a final wish. He told me to tell you….that I was right about him, that there was good in him…we had saved him, then he died. I brought him back here and burned his body and armor the way the Jedi traditionally cremated their dead. I could sense tremendous guilt and sorrow coming off of him….particularity in regards to you." Luke was relieved yet saddened at retelling the events of the last day or two.

"I don't know what to say or feel. I am happy for you, I know you always wanted to know about your father. I just don't know if I can accept all this right now. But I am glad your ok, and I am thankful Vader turned on Palpatine and saved you. I have another quick question…you mentioned a Master Yoda, who is that?" She wanted to keep talking to her brother, but wanted to change the subject somewhat.

Luke was glad for the question. He had never really mentioned or talked to anyone in the alliance about Yoda, wanting to keep his exile a secret.

"Yoda was the grand master of the Jedi order up until the fall of the republic. He is mentioned briefly in the very few files the Alliance has on the Jedi. After Hoth…while you and Han were evading the Empire I went to Dagobah to train as a Jedi. I returned to Yoda after we freed Han from Jabba. He died from old age after telling me about Vader being my father. Obi Wan appeared in spirit form and told me the rest. Yoda and Obi Wan were the only Jedi Masters known to have survived the Jedi Purge, and their final mission was to make sure you and I were kept safe from the Empire. I am honored to be Yoda's last student. He told me I must pass on what I have learned, and I don't know how, but I plan to restart the Jedi order" confidence and purpose flowed from him. She was proud of what her brother, the farm boy kid, had accomplished in so short of time.

The twins were quiet and finished watching the sun rise. Finally Leia spoke.

"Well, now what? I will need to tell Han, we are….well I don't know what we are, but we are." She chuckled.

"I know, and that's fine, but I would imagine we should not tell too many other people, being the children of the most infamous man in the galaxy could be problematic".

"Mon Mothma will want a briefing, we could keep it vague…with you being a Jedi, you could simply say the force compelled you to face Vader." Leia looked apprehensive for an answer that would prevent anyone from knowing her relation to Darth Vader.

"I don't know…I don't like lying to Mon Mothma, but I am not sure how she will react to all this, and she is smart I am sure she will want better reasons why I essentially went AWOL to chase after Vader on my own."

"True….let's get some breakfast…and get you looked at medically….plenty of time to worry about the rest." Leia helped Luke up and they walked back towards the village. They found Han, Chewie, Lando and the driods, and took off with the Falcon back to the fleet.

Back on Home One:

"How ya feelin' kid? You winding up in the med bays seems to be becoming a common occurrence…..let's see if we can prevent that in the future!" Han rustled the "kids" hair.

"HAN!, Luke is a Jedi Knight and not a kid!" Leia suddenly felt protective of Luke, and while she knew that was Han's term of endearment for him, she felt it slightly unbecoming now.

"Sorry sweetheart, but he is like my kid brother…..and speaking of brothers….you two have alot of explaining to do! Spill it".

Leia and Luke exchanged glances, "What have you told him" Leia was a bit startled at hearing Luke's voice in her head, "Just focus on me, then think your answer".

"Just that you're my brother, I am not sure I am ready about the other part….." Her relationship with Han was just becoming "official" and she didn't know how he would take their parentage. She was also stunned by how easy communicating through the Force with Luke suddenly was.

"Sooooooooo?" Han said mysteriously.

"Han, Leia and I only recently learned of our relationship. After Hoth, I went to train to be a Jedi with a Jedi master in exile on Dagobah. During and after that time I learned that our father, Anakin Skywalker was a great Jedi Knight. But as the Empire rose to power, Obi Wan Kenobi was concerned that the Empire, in its quest to wipe out the Jedi would find his friend's children. To keep us safe we were separated at birth, and neither of us had knowledge of each other or our true parentage. There is probably more to the story that we hope to find out, but that's the short of it."

Han was satisfied with their explanation, although he felt there was more to it, but chose to let it be for now. "Well, I am just glad to have a brother, and he isn't competition for this fair lady…..although I feel like the guy who got the joke late!" He took Leia in his arms.

"Mon Mothma is doing a debriefing and status report of the battle this afternoon….make sure you attend….she will probably have questions for you about what transpired on the Death Star, 21B told me you checked out ok and you can go." Leia smiled and turned to go.

"Yeah what did happen up there kid?" Han started to say but Leia interrupted him.

"Later hotshot, later."

In the Home One briefing room the briefing had about run its course. Han had explained about the delays and difficulties on taking the shield generator down. Admiral Ackbar had described the fleet action and reviewed the fleets current combat status and preparedness for future operations. Lando and Wedge briefed everyone on the fighter attacks and the status of the surviving ships. General Madine and Mon Mothma summed it all up, and gave a brief outline of future operations. There was still a sizeable Imperial Fleet to worry about, not to mention Coruscant would be a mess in the wake of Vader and the Emperor's Death. While a major battle had been won, there was still more to be done in the coming months.

Finally, as the briefing was winding down Mon Mothma went to the podium again. "Jedi Commander Skywalker…it has come to my attention that you were captured at some point and taken aboard the Death Star?". Luke and Leia looked at each other….neither of them had mentioned this to anyone. Han knew but had not mentioned it in his briefing, and so they were caught off guard by this. "I assume as a Jedi that during this incarceration you had interactions with Vader and possibly with the Emperor himself? Can you enlighten us on their current disposition? We have no way of knowing if they escaped or not."

Luke took a deep breath. "Yes, I was on board the Death Star. I can confirm that both Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead."

"And would it be safe to assume that, as a Jedi, they died in confrontation with you?". Mothma pressed.

Leia's thoughts were banging into Luke's head; fear, nervousness, and apprehension rolled off of her. While Luke had no issue telling the truth, he did not wish to state in front of a large audience the complexities of the entire situation.

"Senator Mothma", Luke began slowly but respectfully, "I would prefer that at this time, with all due respect, that my experiences on the Death Star are essentially, Jedi business, and at this time should remain confidential." There was murmuring and quizzical looks around the room. Luke Skywalker had never been anything other than honest and relatively open. A few knew he was not only a training to be a Jedi, but that his father had been a relatively important and famous Jedi. Most knew little of his ties to the Jedi, but as the pilot who destroyed the first death star and commanded Rogue Squadron, was practically the poster boy of the Alliance. Not being forthright was not in his usual character. Luke continued.

"You can rest assured though, that Vader and Palpatine are dead, and are no longer a threat".

Mon Mothma looked at Luke Skywalker with her usual stoic expression.

"Very well. This briefing is adjourned. Princess Leia, Jedi Commander Skywalker, may I speak privately with you in my office."

Luke and Leia looked at each other with some confusion. Luke could understand her wanting to see him after the exchange, but found it odd she asked Leia as well. They got up, informed Han and Lando they would see them around, and walked down the deck that held Mothma' s private office.

"Come in Jedi Skywalker, Princess Leia….please have a seat". She gestured towards, and the twins sat on, a sofa in a meeting area off to the side of the Alliance Leader's main desk, in a more informal area.

Mothma stared out the window at the stars, her mind drifting towards a conversation in the mountains on Alderaan more than 5 years ago. She moved to sit down on the sofa opposite the twins.

"Jedi Skywa….Luke…..I need you to tell me what happened on the Death Star." Both twins were somewhat surprised at her using Luke's first name, and her informal, almost family like tone.

Luke sat for a moment, and proceeded cautiously. "Darth Vader took me aboard and to the Emperor, their intent was to turn me to the dark side of the force and become Palpatine's new apprentice. I declined their offer, and was forced to battling Vader in lightsaber combat. I defeated him, and when I would not kill him or join the dark side the Emperor used the dark side of the force to try to kill me."

Mon Mothma pondered this….not sure where to proceed. No wonder Bail struggled telling me, I don't even know how to broach this with them, or even how much they already know. "What happened next….you are obviously alive."

Don't tell her….not yet anyways rang through his head as fear and anxiety flowed from Leia.

"Vader killed the Emperor, he picked him up, and stopped him from killing me, and threw him over the reactor shaft…he took a fatal dose of force lightning." Luke picked his words cautiously.

So Vader saved his son…interesting. "Why would he do that, Vader was a Seth, he spent two decades trying to wipe out the Jedi and nearly succeeded, why would he spare you?".

Luke sat there and looked at Mothma, and then back at Leia, unsure of what to say next. "Madam Mothma, as I stated before, there are some things about the Jedi, that for the time being I feel should remain Jedi business".

Mothma was about to blurt out that she knew, but she didn't know what they knew and didn't think it wise to reveal just yet. However; she did feel it wise that they know. She was confident Luke probably knew Vader was his father, but the decades long standing rumor was Vader killed Anakin Skywalker, so there was no way of knowing what he knew, or Leia. Bail had feared for Leia's mental health about learning of her true father's identity. She decided to change approaches in order to probe deeper and gain a bit more insight before proceeding with the truth.

"Very well…Leia, did Bail Organa ever speak of your birth parents?".

I think she knows something Leia, I am sensing mostly concern for us from her. This line of questioning is starting to get too coincidental. Luke's thoughts appeared in Leia's head again, and the twins looked at each other not knowing where this was going or where to take it.

Mothma noticed this as well. They know something…..they looked at each other like the Republic Jedi did, as if they were communicating silently. I think they know some of the truth and are skeptical or afraid of my response. Well here goes nothing.

"I know. I know of your parentage, both of you. Your twins, but I think you know that….don't you?" Leia, just nodded, and Luke simply stared intently. "I also know that your father was Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, apprentice to Obi Wan Kenobi. And I know he betrayed the Jedi….and I know who he became."

"H..h…how…..when?" Leia stammered. She had known Mon Mothma for years. She was a mentor…a family friend and she knew this?

Almost 6 years ago your father….your adopted father, told me the truth. That Skywalker turned against the Jedi…..became Darth Vader, that the Jedi separated his children to protect them. Leia to Alderaan, and Luke to Obi Wan to watch over him. He told me because he wanted someone else to know should something happen to him or Obi Wan. I have watched you both grow and mature to the remarkable people you are now." The room was quiet….Leia fought back tears, Luke sat their astonished.

"He turned back to the light…..to save me…..he died as Anakin Skywalker, not Darth Vader." Luke finally said…maybe he could change the legacy, the memory of what his father became. Mothma simply nodded.

"Do you know why he turned…to the dark, to Palpatine?" Luke continued.

"No. Bail stated he did not know either. Anakin Skywalker was one of the Republic's Heroes during the Clone Wars, and was known as one of the most honorable, albeit unconventional of Jedi. It is unfathomable to me that he could turn. I didn't know him well personally…..but a friend and colleague of Bail and I did. In fact, I found out later that this colleague was secretly married to Anakin Skywalker. Bail thought this secret marriage might have likely part of the reason he turned."

"You knew our mother?!" Leia asked with shock and emphasis. Her hand reached for Luke's thinking of their conversation just a few nights before. "I have no memory of my mother, I never knew her." The pain in that statement from Luke killed her.

"Why were our parents married secretly?" Luke questioned. "Ben, how much more do you have to tell me?" Luke thought.

Mon thought this a strange question since Luke was a Jedi, but his path to being a Jedi was not the normal path of the Republic Jedi, (and neither was Anakin's for that matter) and with the Order gone, perhaps the past traditions were not taught to him by Kenobi. "It was not permitted for members of the Jedi order to have any possessions or attachments, and this included marriage." Luke nodded, and Mothma turned back to Leia as she reached to her data pad and produced a hologram of a beautiful and regal young woman.

Leia flashed with recognition, "That is the late Queen and Senator of Naboo…Padme Amidala. Father had me study her when my political education started, I practically idolized her….." and then Leia gasped realizing why Mon had produced the hologram and why Bail had her study her so intently. "Our mother…..Padme Amidala is our mother!" Tears flowed from Leia. Luke realized he was looking at his mother, but the significance she had with Leia was unknown to him.

"I have several of her surviving political speeches on holo, I will let you have these. I would imagine that at some point the Naboo government will give you all the access you would like. Some of your mother's family still live there I believe".

At this point Leia was near breaking, and tears were forming in not only Luke's eyes, but Mothma's as well. Mothma broke with protocol and embraced them both. "She would be so proud of you both. She was on of democracy's greatest champions….and you, her children are helping to restore it. I have watched over you without your knowledge in honor of my dear friend Padme. I am so happy you found each other, I cannot describe it. I wish Bail, and Obi Wan could be here, as they were as much your family as Padme and Anakin." She turned to Luke, "I don't know what, if any words, you exchanged you're your father, but the Jedi he was before….Vader, that Jedi would have been proud as well, as would the whole of the council.", Mothma regained her composure. "I will be happy to tell you more about your parents….but we do have a war to complete and time will be short. We all have our duties to return to so let us retire for the moment." They all embraced again, and Luke put his arm around his long lost sister. A family member so many had sacrifice for, and was grateful they were together again. As they walked down the corridor they ran into Han. He looked at them both, especially Leia, with concern.

"Sooooo, how is everything?"

"Come' on flyboy, we have a lot to talk about". Leia said.

END? I have toyed with Leia's conversation with Han, and possible Ghost appearances...not sure if this is a good finish or to continue.