Prologue:

The earliest memories Leia had were of the evenings on Alderaan. She would sit on her mother’s lap and watch the sunset from the balcony of their home, the lake surrounding their city reflecting the soft red orange hues of dusk. She could feel the tenderness of her mother’s fingers running through her hair, the soft beating of pulmonodes through her mother’s dark blue gown.

“Alderaan,” Breha spoke almost dreamily, as if it were something imaginary and not right before her, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Leia?”

Leia was half asleep, but she nodded, pulling herself closer to the warmth of her mother’s chest.

“It’s easy to forget the rest of the galaxy doesn’t have what we have…” The words were pitying, but there was fire beneath them. “One day, Leia, every star and all of their worlds will have peace. I know it.”

Leia could remember her eyes closing as the sun settled behind the valleys and grasslands.

“Until then, the galaxy is going to need us around to get them there, hm?” Her mother laughed quietly to herself. She was careful not to wake her daughter.

“Until then…” Breha sighed, the last trails of sunlight fading from Aldera.

Chapter One:

The shadow of the moon fell over the planet of Alderaan.

Slipping silently through the blue-green planet’s orbit, it eclipsed the sun, looming overhead. It would have been a spectacular lunar phenomenon, but Alderaan had no moons.

Princess Leia Organa could make out her homeworld through the Death Star’s viewport. From where she stood, she could see the lush green valleys and snow-capped mountains lining Alderaan. Its rivers seemed to outline the numerous cities and population centers before joining to fill the planet’s deep blue oceans.

In the back of her mind, a thousand miles away, Leia felt like she could sense the panic and fear of her people as they stared up at the sky, wondering what the source of this darkness could be. She wondered if they would have felt any comfort knowing someone just as scared was looking back at them.

“Welcome home, Princess,” The cold voice of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin came from behind Leia, “Admiring the view? It pains me to say it, given the circumstances, but Alderaan truly is one of the better worlds this galaxy has to offer; pity it’s rife with treachery.”

Leia didn’t respond as the Moff placed a calloused hand on the shoulder of her white dress and came to stand beside her. She could see his wiry figure in the reflection of the viewport, his vicious eyes were trained on the planet before them. She could make out the dull grey-green of his uniform, and the frosty white smattered amongst his aged brown hair. Everything about him, from the way he carried himself, to the way he dressed, to the way he spoke, it was all so calculated.

“Truth be told, we had expected Bail Organa of sedition long before this,” His voice oozed with satisfaction, “To think he’d give himself up by giving us his own daughter.” The Grand Moff’s hand moved a loose strand of Leia’s hair behind her ear. His finger lingered a moment longer than necessary on her neck, and Leia pulled her head away from his hand just enough to send the message.

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Lowering his hand and stepping away from the view, Tarkin took his place in front of a line of stormtroopers. A dozen of them standing like an armored wall, motionless until given permission to move. Leia watched them from the reflection in the window. Tarkin turned his head just enough to address the troopers on his right side, “Bring me the Queen and her consort.”

Leia’s eyes widened as she tore herself from her world, “No!” She exclaimed, moving towards the Moff as much as his stormtrooper guards would allow.

Tarkin’s lips formed a thin smile.

“Is something the matter, Princess?”

“My parents,” Leia tried to mask her fear with guilt, “they had nothing to do with this. This was my plan--my idea.”

Leia tried to look as culpable as possible under the pressure of Tarkin’s hawkish gaze, it wasn’t hard.

“A confession? That’s good, I’m sure the Emperor and Lord Vader would love to skip the trials and move straight ahead with your execution, but…”

His smile fell.

“Do you really expect me to believe that a 19-year-old senator organized a coordinated attack against an Imperial research facility without the knowledge, or acquiescence, of her politically capable parents?”

The tone of his question was rhetorical. Leia knew he was daring her to answer but staying silent was practically admitting that her mother and father were members of the Rebellion. She couldn’t betray them to this man…

She took a deep breath, straightened herself, and put on the most regal voice she could manage in stun cuffs.

“Yes. I, Princess Leia Organa of the planet Alderaan, organized and perpetrated the rebel attack on Scarif by myself, and without the knowledge of any other.”

Leia held her ground, it was all she could do. Maybe if she could save her parents, then she wouldn’t have completely failed her mission...

“Interesting thing about rebels, Princess,” The Moff mused, “You’re like vermin: when one is found, there is sure to be a nest of a dozen more nearby. Or in this case,” Tarkin smiled again looking past Leia to the planet behind her, “2 billion more. Bring me Bail and Breha Organa.”

Leia wanted to yell out again, to do something, but she was powerless to stop the Grand Moff. She had failed her father aboard the Tantive IV, Darth Vader and his contingency of stormtroopers had captured her before she could finish planting the Death Star plans on an old artoo unit.

With her capture, the rebellion’s only chance at destroying the Empire’s superweapon had slipped away and, with it, the hope of fighting the empire.

All those people who had risked their lives to stand up to the cruel reign of Emperor Palpatine…their sacrifices had been for nothing because she…she had failed.

A cold sweat worked its way down Leia’s back and she blinked, not realizing that the Grand Moff was standing over her, the towering angle creating shadows on his face that made his features even more severe. He grabbed her chin with his hand and moved an icy thumb across her cheek, brushing away a tear she didn’t know she had shed.

“Don’t cry, princess. We haven’t even gotten to your punishment.”

With a wave of his hand, two stormtroopers left the line and made their way towards her. Tarkin moved to the side as the troopers grabbed Leia by her arms and escorted her out of the viewing area. Tarkin watched the princess leave, his eyes only leaving her after the doors slid shut.

Stepping once again to the center of the viewport, he crossed his arms over his chest, positioning a hand slightly above his chin. His eyes studied the features of the planet as it continued along its shadowed rotation. He savored the sight, knowing he’d be one of the last in the galaxy to see it.

“Governor,” A grey suited technician approached him, interrupting his silent revelry, “The station is ready to fire, sir.”

The Grand Moff’s eyes glinted with sadistic anticipation, “Set for standby. Be ready to fire on my orders.”

“Yes, governor.”

The technician moved away, and Tarkin returned to his silence.