Author's Note: Warning: Senator Chuchi may seem OOC in this chapter but I promise you there is a reason for her behavior that I believe is very in character. This is a bit different from what I usually write but it's been running around in the back of my head for a bit and I've decided to give it a try.

CHAPTER ONE

Leia stood before the sealed prison wing door deep in the late Emperor's dungeon and shivered in trepidation. What could possibly have frightened the Sith Lord so much that he had personally ordered the entire wing sealed?

The end of the war had only been the beginning of the work. The return to a democracy from a tyranny required changing procedures, laws and returning buildings such as the Senate to their original function. Old documents had to be reviewed to find all of the Emperor's secrets because you couldn't fix a problem you didn't know about.

Of the things to be reversed, the prison on Coruscant was a definite priority. In the cells resided many people whose only crime was to speak up against the tyrant's regime or who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had already freed one family who had been guilty solely through association; a cousin had been a member of the rebellion. In other cells, though, they had found prisoners so vile and evil that not even a Sith would allow them to walk free. Those had been near labs where Palpatine's scientists had sought to make something useful of them.

This wing, though, had been sealed with the Emperor's mark and the data of what might be behind the door had been removed from the roster. Something behind this door had scared, or at least unnerved, the Emperor enough to try to erase its existence. Logically, it meant whatever was there could be an even greater threat to the New Republic or a great benefit. Either way, it was important to find out and, since there was a large possibility of it being linked to the Force in some way, it was Leia's responsibility to oversee the investigation.

Though she did not have the training of her brother, her own strength in the Force would help protect her and give her the ability to assess if there even was a threat. Her political experience and acumen would enable her to discover how far the secrets behind this door reached. After all, whatever else the Emperor had been, he had always been an amazing politician.

"I managed to resurrect some of the deleted data." The slicer that had been working on the security terminal outside the sealed door turned a view screen towards her to ease her viewing. "Not much here, they scrubbed it pretty good, but...at least it's a start."

Leia moved forward to view the file open on the screen.

Wing A223

Cells Occupied: 1

Cell: B273

Prisoner: Senator Riyo Chuchi

Personnel Access Recor*&Gh`123%

The slicer shrugged. "Like I said, not much, the rest is too corrupted for me to do anything with."

"Unfortunate but at least we know who was interred here." Turning to look at the Senate Guard Commander assigned to this endeavor, she stated, "Signal the workers to bring the jacks. She was a monster but not a Sith so the possibility of a Force based threat is minimal."

The black haired human commander bowed briefly in acknowledgement before issuing orders into his com.

Leia turned back toward the sealed door. Senator Riyo Chuchi in a cell? The blue woman had been renowned for her dedication to the Empire, sending entire ships of her own people to die on a barren, frozen moon for speaking out against the Emperor, all in the name of keeping the peace on her home planet and others. She had disappeared sometime after the Clone Wars and most people had assumed she had been assassinated and it had been covered up to prevent others from getting ideas.

Having essentially grown up in the Coruscant political climate under the tutelage of her adopted father, Bail Organa, Leia had known all the senators on sight.

She could remember Senator Chuchi, a small blue woman always accompanied by at least three armed troopers. Her father had always warned her to keep her distance from the small entourage as the troopers did not step around people and were not known to apologize or even acknowledge the situation when they knocked people down.

When she was still young, she had asked her father why he did not approach Senator Chuchi for support for the various bills he tried to push through the Senate. The woman obviously had power to be able to rate her own armored guard separate from the Senate guards. Bail's eyes had darkened as his mouth turned down in a sad frown.

"Once...she would have been one of the first I would have sought out. She was as committed to peace and diplomacy as I. Unfortunately, now...well, her idea of peace is that, if you kill everyone that disagrees, then what is left will be peace. I will not ask for support from a woman who murders the very people she claims to represent."

The interaction had both disturbed Leia and made her curious. She had watched Senator Chuchi closer and had noticed several things.

One, the senator's expression was almost always remained placid, calm and unreadable. No frown, no smile, no narrowing of eyes.

Second, she always voted the way the Emperor voted but never made speeches.

Three, the only times her eyes showed emotion was during speeches about the rights of all sentients. Her mouth would quirk on side, and her eyes would sharply narrow.

So, what was the name of one of the Emperor's devoted lackeys doing in a cell later sealed by the Emperor.

The workers had managed to break the seal and the door was sliding open. Lights flickered on along the hallway except around the area of Chuchi's cell. Approaching carefully, following two guards with hand lights, Leia quickly realized why. The cell and the surrounding area had been destroyed in some kind of large blast.

Even more strangely, the Force was strong with emotion here but it was not dark. The cell was overflowing with a brightness of love, devotion and joy.

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoy the intro to the little mystery of what happened to change Riyo from shy and retiring to vilified and feared.