Chapter 2

Early chapter! I'm posting a chapter for this story as well as Shockwaves today. Enjoy!

The Hope Lions: Thank you! Be assured, I will attempt to have updates for both this and Shockwaves in a timely manner.

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"Mother?" Han asked.

"That's my...our...mother," Leia said softly.

"Then who's the guy?" Han asked.

"Anakin. That is Anakin Skywalker. That is what Artoo was trying to tell us. Our parents, our birth parents...they were married." Luke had said this while gazing at the holographic projector with what could only be called wonder and longing. Leia was also staring, so intent on the image of her mother that she never bothered to respond to Luke's statement.

"How did you get this image, Artoo?" Luke asked.

Artoo trilled several beeps while Leia finally broke her reverie to catch the answer. Luke's brow furrowed as he tried to translate and then his eyes went wide.

"Artoo! You knew the whole time!?" Luke exclaimed to the mutual confusion of Han and Leia.

"What, Kid?" Han asked.

Luke's mouth was set in an uncharacteristic angry look before he breathed out and settled himself. He really isn't the same, Han thought, just a bit sadly, he really did come into his own while I was an ice cube.

"Artoo said that he was one of the witnesses at the wedding of one Anakin Skywalker and one Padmé Naberrie," Luke said, his calm restored.

"A witness?" Han asked, "You mean this little droid knew your father?" Han's question was never answered by Luke as Artoo gave an affirmative beep.

Leia's gasp had them all turning to her then.

"You said, Padmé Naberrie, Luke?" At Luke's nod, she turned towards Artoo, "Is Padmé Naberrie also known as Padmé Amidala?"

Another affirmative beep.

"You know her?" Han asked.

"No...but the name is one my father...Bail Organa," she amended, casting a look at Luke, "She is someone my father encouraged me to learn about. He said that she had been a great friend of his and was one of the primary members of the Delegation of 2000, many of whom later became leaders in the Alliance."

Artoo turned off the hologram then and began beeping somewhat wildly. The others waited for Luke to translate. Finally Luke said, "Artoo wants us to travel to Naboo. To meet with relatives that may be alive."

"Pooja!" Leia exclaimed.

At Luke and Han's look, she explained, "I knew her from my days in the Senate. Her name was Pooja Naberrie. Artoo...is she part of that family?"

Artoo beeped a few times which Luke translated. "Artoo says 'yes, she is 'your' first cousin.'"

"She was a good friend..." Leia murmured.

"Hate to break it to you Artoo, but Naboo is under the Empire's rule, plus, we'd have to get permission from High Command," Han said.

"With the Emperor and Darth Vader dead, the Empire will be in disarray, and Han, don't tell me that a planet being under the control of the Empire is enough to stop you from sneaking in," Leia said with a smirk. "We should ask Mon. As a senator, she must have known Padmé, though I'm not sure about Pooja."

"So you want to go and meet the family?" Han asked.

"And to learn about our mother," Leia said softly.

"And father," Luke added. At Leia's look, Luke stated somewhat testily, "You saw that capture, Leia. That man loved that woman. That man was Anakin Skywalker, not Darth Vader. Whatever he became later in his life, that man was a man in love."

"Fine," Leia said, sounding somewhat petulant.

"This is a critical time for the Alliance, Commander Skywalker. Today we are announcing that the Alliance will be declaring the formation of the New Republic. We already have many systems ready to sign, and many more will do so when word of the Empire's defeat here spreads throughout the galaxy. Now is not an appropriate time to be requesting leave, especially not after your recent sojourn to rescue Captai-excuse me, General Solo." Mon Mothma was quiet and dignified as always, and Leia almost capitulated right then and there, but she saw Luke staring at her from the corner of her eyes, and she remembered the image of her mother wearing that white wedding dress.

"Mon...I received some troubling information recently. Information that concerns my family and heritage," Leia said hesitantly.

"Bail and Breha?" Mon asked.

"No," Leia responded quickly with a look of pain on her face. "No, my birth family."

At Mon's raised eyebrow, she cast a somewhat desperate look at Luke. Luke cleared his throat. "Senator Mothma-"

"Mon, please, After all you have done, Commander, think you have the right to call me that."

"Mon then, and you may call me Luke, if you so desire. I recently discovered that Leia is my twin sister."

"Twin!? But on Hoth-"

"Hoth never happened!" Luke and Leia said simultaneously, interrupting Mon Mothma's question.

Han, who had been standing quietly nearby, snickered, and received a dirty glare from Leia.

"Twin sister, then," Mon said, a twitch in one of the corners of her lips.

"Our mother, we recently discovered, was one Padmé Amidala. We believe you knew her."

"Padmé!" Mon gasped. "But when she was buried, she hadn't yet given birth!"

"A ruse," Luke said, "to protect Leia's and my life. If the Emperor...or Darth Vader...ever discovered our existence, we would be hunted down, to be either killed or turned to the Dark Side."

"Turned...Leia?"

"Luke informed me yesterday of my family as well as my own latent powers in the Force," Leia responded to Mon's question.

"Padmé was your mother then. That explains while Bail would have taken you in, Leia. They were good friends of one another. Oh Padmé...the father was Anakin Skywalker, I suppose."

Leia didn't respond, but Luke answered with a nod.

"Know that now, it's almost obvious. The two of you are almost the spitting image of Padmé and Anakin. I didn't know of any relationship between the two, but I know Anakin could often be seen with her when he was on Coruscant. Oh Padmé. She was a good person, Leia, Luke. A good person in dark times, an incorruptible spirit who would have fought tooth and nail against this Empire. What does she have to do with taking leave?" Mon asked.

"Artoo is the one who informed us about the identity of our mother. He says we may have family by blood on Naboo," Leia replied.

"Pooja?" Mon hazarded a guess.

"Among others, possibly," replied Leia, surprised by Mon's insight.

Mon Mothma remained silent for a time before standing up and looking out the viewport. Luke, Leia, and Han waited as Mon came to a decision. "I shouldn't allow this. This is a crucial time for the Alliance and going to Naboo constitutes a dangerous risk for you, for all three of you. But for Padmé, I will allow this."

She paused and seemed to consider something. "Of course, you should avoid getting caught at all costs, but the Moff in charge of the Chommel sector once served your mothers as her security adviser. Panaka, I think his name was. He's fairly well regarded and for an associate of the Emperor, he's not nearly as vile as you'd think. He's a genuine believer, I think."

"I don't get how people can buy into the junk. Even when I was just a smuggler, it was pretty easy to see the problems in the Empire," Han said.

"I don't think he's a fanatic, but he, if memory serves, blamed the Republic for some of the troubles that Naboo suffered, or for the chaos the galaxy underwent during the Clone Wars and its aftermath. There is likely some justification for that; in the final days of the Republic there was a lot of corruption. Nevertheless, I brought him up because if things go bad and you are caught, it is possible that you may find leniency with him. It's nothing I'd count on, but it's something to keep in mind if your presence is detected," Mon said.

"We'll keep in touch, Mon. I don't expect us to be gone for too long, but if we do have family there, I think we'd like to be there for at least a week," Luke said.

"Very well, Luke. Don't worry Leia, the Alliance will still be here when you get back. And if we are not, then the New Republic will. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Mon," Leia said with a smile.

"You told me 'not a scratch'."

"Look Han, I'm gonna get it fixed, I'll even make it better than before," Lando said with his hands raised in the universal 'don't blast me' position.

"You told me...'not a scratch."

"Han, I was leading that attack in the Death Star. The superstructure made the path real tight real fast. It's a miracle I'm not space dust."

"'Not...a...scratch."

"Han, I've already got a line on a replacement sensor dish. It's got a smaller profile and is even more effective. It'll be fixed within a couple weeks."

"There's a scratch, Lando. On my ship."

Luke and Leia looked at each other with amused smiles as the two bickered. Luke could feel that Han was pissed, but he was milking this for every second he could. I guess he's still a bit pissed because of the carbonite, he thought.

"Han, I'm replacing it, and I'm not gonna make you pay a thing. Alright?"

"Fine...but it better be fixed by the time I get back, or it's your ass!" Han shouted as he walked away, leaving Luke and Leia to follow him.

They walked in silence for a moment before Luke started chuckling.

"What?" Leia asked.

"Han. You just wanted to make sure you didn't have to pay for anything, didn't you?" Luke asked, still laughing.

Han just smirked.

Leia rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "So if the Falcon is down for the count, how are we getting there?"

"I contacted an old colleague of mine. A smuggler, another scoundrel like me," Han said, shooting a smile at the now scowling Leia. "Don't worry. Karrde is an interesting individual. He's neutral between the Aliance and the Empire, walking the line between both. But he can be trusted to keep walking the line. He also has an information network that possibly rivals the Bothan's spy network."

Luke whistled. He smiled and started to ask a question before he paused, grimacing.

"Luke?" Leia asked.

"Will this 'Karrde' be here soon? I think I need to rest. I'm still seizing up every now and then...it's not pleasant."

"He should be here within a few hours. What happened?" Han asked.

"The Emperor happened. I did exactly what Master Yoda told me not to do and underestimated him. He used the Force to shoot...lightning, I guess, at me."

"What?" Han yelped.

"The Emperor was torturing me because I refused to turn, because I refused to kill my father. So he tortured me."

Leia's eyes were wide and she wrapped her arms around him, as if she were afraid he'd disappear.

"That's when he saved me, Leia," Luke said quietly.

Leia leaned back to look at him questioningly.

"Who saved you, Kid?" Han asked, echoing her look.

"Vader...Anakin. I could feel it, the moment he turned back to the Light Side, the moment when he returned to his true self. I would be dead now, Leia, if not for him," Luke said at their looks of disbelief.

"What did he do?" Han asked, seeing Leia still frozen.

Luke chuckled slightly. "I saw him. I saw him pick up that vile creature known as the Emperor and I saw him throw him down a reactor shaft."

Leia and Han gaped at him.

"The Emperor was still throwing lightning at me, and that turned against Anakin when he picked him up. It fried his survival suit." Luke had a sad smile on his face. "He sacrificed his life to save me, Leia. Whatever else he's done Leia, at that moment, Anakin lived again. He had me take off his mask, said he wanted to see me 'with his own eyes.' Oh Leia, if you had seen him, so scarred and so sad. He knew of you, at the end, felt you in my thoughts. He told me to tell you that I had been right about him. That there had still been some good in him."

Luke glanced down as Han and Leia both remained silent.

"The lightning the Emperor used, the medic I saw earlier said that it had caused calcification in my bones but that rest would be enough to alleviate the effects. I can use the Force to augment my healing, but I still need that rest."

With that, Luke left for his quarters, leaving the stunned Han and Leia behind.

Author's Notes: I've always loved the character of Talon Karrde. I don't plan for him to be a major character, but I thought throwing him in would be okay. I have no plans for incorporate Mara Jade.

On a side note, for those curious. Mon Mothma did declare the beginning of the New Republic almost immediately after the victory at the Battle of Endor. (In both EU and the new Canon). Also in EU, Leia did know Pooja from her days in the Imperial Senate, but they never knew they were actually related until 36 ABY, thus making Artoo's revelation the significant departure here.

I don't actually know where I'm heading with this fic and am making it up as I go along. I don't anticipate it being a novel length story, but I thought I'd have fun with a 'meet the family' prompt. This isn't likely to be action-packed and is very likely to be mushy with a happy ending, so beware!