This record is for my nephew, Anakin Solo.

Anakin, I speak to you from the planet Onderon, where your parents, siblings, and I are the guests of Modon Kira and his warrior clan. At this very moment, you are sleeping peacefully in a crib in your parents’ suite. This is a wonderful thing for you to be doing, Anakin. It is how every baby should sleep, softly snoring without fear or concern. And yet yesterday, we came so close to losing you.

I have no doubt that you will grow up good and strong and that by the time you review this recording, you’ll already have heard something about the events of yesterday. Because the Force is so strong in you, I suppose it’s possible that your inchoate memory may preserve some aspects of what happened. But I want you to know - know from me - about what happened, as best as I can tell it. And afterward, I’ll tell you why I want you to know.

For more than two decades, the galaxy was controlled by Emperor Palpatine, a Sith Lord who had conquered the Republic and virtually destroyed the Jedi Order. To say that Palpatine was evil, and would stop at nothing to accomplish his goals, is an understatement. He annihilated entire civilizations and left worlds ravaged beyond salvation, all in his ongoing effort to achieve greater power. He was also responsible for luring my father, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, to the dark side and transforming him into a Sith apprentice named Darth Vader. I will tell you more of my father another time, but for now, know that he renounced the Sith, and that it was he who killed Palpatine seven years ago at the Battle of Endor. Know that your grandfather, your namesake, died as a Jedi. 

… 

So now, Anakin, I shall tell you why it’s important to me that I relate this story to you. It’s not because I want you to remember your place in history at the moment Palpatine died. I want you to remember Rayf Ysanna and Empatojayos Brand, two men who fought to save you. I also want you to remember Rayf’s sister, Jem, who died while defending your mother and me against Palpatine’s minions on New Alderaan. I hope you will honor them by living a good, long life, as this is what they would have wanted for you.

Now that Palpatine is finally gone forever, I feel a great relief. I don’t know how long this relief will last, and I can only  imagine what your future holds. But with the last Sith Lord dead, the future of the Jedi Order has never looked brighter.

May the Force be with you, Anakin.

Nothing felt right–being away from Leia and the kids, going off alone without Luke or Chewbacca, resenting Leia for asking when she knew he could not refuse her, hating his own inability to say no. Somewhere he had lost the independence he had once cherished as his most precious possession, and the worst part was that he knew he had given it up freely.

No– the worst part was that here he was, on his own, and he couldn’t remember how to enjoy it. It didn’t feel right to be alone.

Tarkin said I had dictated the choice of targets for the Death Star’s demonstration,“ Leia said softly. "I haven’t been able to make myself stop hearing that. I still see the explosion.” She looked away. “And sometimes I can’t help feeling as though they died because of me. That I survived because I betrayed them. And what kind of qualification is that?”

“Nonsense. They died because of Tarkin,” Han said. “He only said that to manipulate you. I hate to see that it’s still working.”

“Memories have a long reach,” she said, settling back against her pillows. “I just realized something else, Han. About why this matters. And it’s a better answer to your question than my doubts about belonging where I am.” She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes. “My father did so much to divide the galaxy. I feel as though I have to do what I can to unite it.

My children are going to have normal family stories to tell their children, little funny stories about everyday nothings, stories where no one dies too young or has to carry a burden of shame. I’m going to see to that, with your help or without it–“ 

Han approached from the doorway. “Leia–”

“Nothing matters more to me, do you understand?” she deamanded, jabbing a finger in Luke’s face. “Nothing. So you do what you think you have to, brother– go wherever you have to with whoever you want to, chasing whatever shadow of a hint of a promise of a clue you like. I don’t care about any of it. Don’t ask for my help again. And don’t bring the past into this house. It’s all just pain and death. You wallow in it if you want to. I’ve had enough of it for ten lifetimes." 

Stunned by the vehemence of her outburst, both men stared mute as Leia stalked out of the kitchen. 

"I’m sorry,” Luke said at last. “You were right. I let myself think I know her better than you do.”

“I don’t know who’s right and who’s wrong, kid. I just know you’re both stubborn as tauntauns,” Han said. “And that this would probably be a good time to be leaving.

I just have to know the truth,“ Luke said. "I don’t understand why you don’t feel the same way–”

“Listen to me– we’re never going to have a tidy family tree,” Leia snapped. “Why can’t you realize? We’re never going to know our parents better than we do right now. We’re never going to hae fond stories of our grandparents to tell our children. We’re better of telling them about Owen and Beru, about Bail–the real people who cared for us, protected us, loved us like we were their own. You make too much of blood.”

“It’s more than blood-” Luke began.

“I don’’t care,” Leia said, slapping the top of the bar with the flat of her right hand. The noise was so sudden and loud that it made Han jump. “You can’t invent a normal childhood for us, no matter how much you turn up about Mother and Father. And if you do find the truth, as you call it, you just might find you don’t like it very much. You might end up wishing you’d let them stay dead.

On the morning of her first meeting with Nil Spaar, Leia climbed out of bed with an aching shoulder, tired eyes, and a blanket of fatigue in her limbs that made her feel as though she was on the verge of being ill. 

Anakin had awakened from a terrifying nightmare in the small hours, and Leia had allowed him to climb into bed between her and Han in the hope that it would help him sleep. But the unfamiliar presence of a third little body had forced her into unnatural sleeping postures. Worse, Anakin had become a restive sleeper, and she had found herself aware of his every move, coming fully awake time and again as he turned and squirmed beside her. 

Han, Leia had been annoyed to discover, slept through it all, including his own snoring.