Surprise. Luke's life seemed to be full of surprises lately. Lord Vader was his father. Princess Leia was his sister. What was next? Han was his cousin? Yoda was his grandfather? And yet, he always felt a connection to her, didn't he? And even when he found her attractive, hadn't there been a feeling of wrongness to the whole thing? He briefly thought back to the kiss in the medical center, then promptly decided that some memories were best left permanently buried. He really wished the Force warned him about certain things.

If. He supposed that feeling of wrongness was the attempt to warn him. Maybe if he had been properly trained. He felt a brief, familiar flash of anger that immediately turned to ash. While before killing Vader drove him, now the idea held no fierce joy, empty despair stood in its place. If he had been better trained he wouldn't have rushed off to Bespin. If he had known more he would have sensed Ben's "truth from a certain point of view". But the word if was dangerous. If he knew at the beginning, he might have left to find his sire immediately, uncaring of dark and light. If he was better trained, he might have killed the man, forever unknowing of his mistake. If he knew about Leia then the Sith might have found out about her though him. In the end who could say which future was best?

Safety. With a ripple of fear he realized he just compromised his sister's safety. Now there were two Skywalkers that the Emperor could try to lure to his side. Now it was more than his soul, his future in danger. Twenty-three years of protection and now his feelings might hand her over. Reluctantly he admitted that they were right to keep the two of them apart and unknowing. What if he faced his father with thoughts of his sister? The older man could have easily gleaned the knowledge from him. Luke was not cocky enough, now, to believe that he was strong enough or skilled enough to stop the Dark Lord. What if he knew about her and chosen to go with him? The galaxy would have lost its last hope. Leia's safety was paramount. As was his. Luke went cold as he realized Ben's purpose on Tatooine. To guide and teach him no doubt. To poison him against his father as well, clearly. And to protect him. He would have done so to, probably did so – at least one time Luke knew about, when the Tusken Raiders would have killed him. Were there other threats dealt with that he never knew about? Luke wondered how far Ben would have gone to protect the Light's hope. Would Ben have killed him or tricked Vader into doing so before letting his sire claim him? That, he supposed, depended on whether Ben was protecting a tool to be used to destroy the darkness, or his old apprentice's son. Leia surely had a Jedi guardian as well. Luke wondered what happened to him or her. Did he or she die on Alderaan? Would she have done anything to keep Leia from her birth family? Had he known Anakin personally? Not like it mattered any more of course. It wasn't like her protector did enough to keep his sister safe from his father's torture. Luke was the one who had saved his twin sister.

Truth. Luke would need to tell his sister the truth. He almost laughed. The truth. How could he when he barely knew the truth himself? What did he know? He and Leia were twins. Vader was Anakin who turned to the dark side. That was about it. Tremendous revelations in and of themselves, but lacking so many answers. He didn't know anything about their mother. He didn't know why his father turned. He didn't really know much of anything. He closed his eyes to ask the Force for answers, but how could he know if what he learned was the truth? He would have to know the truth before he went before his father. Last time the truth was on the side of the Dark Lord. Compounding his difficulty, the dark side breed deception. From what Leia said Palaptine deceived the Jedi, the senate, and the citizens of the Republic all. He wasn't a trained Jedi nor experienced politician, he had but one advantage they lacked, he knew who Palpatine was and what he wanted from him. Still it was just one advantage against a man who held most or all of the cards. Luke could not go before the Emperor with anything more than certainty or he would fall. Leia, Leia might know more and Leia might actually tell him the truth; unless of course she knew most or all of the deceptions and participated in misleading him. No. Partly trained he might be, wrong he might be, but he felt certain that she was kept as ignorant as he. Luke wondered how she would react. "Hey Leia, guess what I found out. We're brother and sister! Surprise! Oh yeah, and you know Vader, guy who tortured you, second-in-command to the bloodthirsty Emperor, helped found the Empire that we've been fighting, in control of the Imperial Nave, froze Han on Bespin, that Vader. Well you'll never believe it, but he's our father! Isn't that great! Leia. Leia?" That would go over well.

Empathy. Well, at least he could empathize. His reaction was a little on the extreme side. Force it took him almost a year to get used to the idea and he hadn't truly accepted it until Yoda's confirmation. They had been or would be presented with the same revelation even if she would learn differently so they would know what the other went through even if that whole "twin empathy" thing was just the produce of imaginative writers. But Leia heard him when he called for her after the debacle on Bespin so maybe there was some truth there after all. Maybe their bond would be stronger if they had a chance to develop it. They were twins. They should have been raised side by side instead of on opposite sides of the galaxy. They should know each other as siblings instead of strangers who became friends. They grew up as opposites: outer-rim farm boy and core world princess. (Well he supposed that if they were outer-rim slave and core/mid-rim queen they might be more different, but now he was edging toward ridiculous.) It shouldn't be this way. But then, nothing was the way it should be in their family. They should have known about each other. Their father and mother should have raised them. Their father shouldn't have hurt them or turned to the darkness or, well, that's where it all began really. Their father's turning was what caused everything else to go wrong. Well, he didn't cause everything. Palaptine certainly held some of the blame and Luke was sure that many people played a role. But his sire was the one who made the choice. Luke now had that same choice. No. He had decided as well. It was Leia who now had that same choice. Luke would tell her the truth and allow her as much freedom as she could have with twenty-three years of bias. Then, when all deceptions were revealed, when there was only truth, he would make that his foundation and go to face the emperor. After he reunited with his sister he would seek out their prodigal father.

Resolution. Luke nodded, firm. But immediately thoughts of what could go wrong entered his head. What if he fell? What if his father was truly unredeemable? What if Leia fell? What if she didn't want him as a brother? For a moment he rethought his recent decision. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. Ignorance is bliss and all that. Surely it was better not to risk it. She didn't know before and it didn't hurt her. The knowledge was dangerous. If he had just been another Jedi upstart his situation would be much different and in some ways much less dangerous. Once she knew she would go from rebellious princess to potential Sith. Without her consent or worse, with it. No. That was the decision that Ben and Yoda made as well. To not tell him so he would not be tempted, because they were not sure what he would do… but truth will out. Better for her to know now. Whatever happened it was her right to know and hear it from him. It was the right thing to do. Fear did not determine right and wrong. What had Ben said so long ago? "You must do what you feel is right of course". He would. He released his fear into the force. With a clear head he resolved not to let his fear control his actions. It was time to return to his family, to speak to his sister, to reveal the truth, and trust in the force.

It was time to do what he felt was right.