New Moon
by Red (dzohhar@yahoo.com)
Rating: PG
Summary: Bail Organa's POV.
Warnings: another horror story
Feedback: always
New Moon:
Bail Organa's POV
It was evening on this side of Alderaan. I walked alone by the ponds in the Royal Gardens. Another day had passed in incessant political squabbling – as if it mattered any more. The Republic was no more, the Senate was being disbanded. Sitting in a political meeting for hours, listening to the endless drone of voices speaking about how to obtain more influence in one or another Committee, all I could think of was Leia. So I escaped from the side entrance of the palace as soon as the meeting was over, seeking solitude in the gardens, to be able to hear myself think.
Truth to be told, I was worried. My daughter – my adoptive daughter was out there somewhere. Every day, every hour that she was away, it was a great effort for me to ignore this nagging fear for her and to concentrate on my daily tasks. And with each passing day the fear grew.
Calm. That was what I needed.
The only thing that could truly calm me now was reassurance that my daughter was alive and well.
Where are you now, my child?
There had been no word from her for some time now. She was up there, somewhere, among the stars – or I hoped so.Three weeks ago word had reached us that the mission to steal the plans of a new Imperial murdering device had been successful, but the agents were being tracked down one by one and destroyed by the Empire. Four attempts to forward the information to the Alliance had failed. It was then that Leia undertook it to deliver the information herself.
I had seen Leia in action. She was brave, yet not reckless; she was wise beyond her years, which gave her an advantage, because imperial officials always tended to underestimate her. And she was a perfect diplomat. She could always find the right words and the right tone to make her point, strike the right chord when addressing the press, speaking to people or just making a busy senator impression. The latter amused me sometimes, yet I'd also seen one or two times when her "Senator Organa" impression had proven useful. Few officials dared to stop and question her then.
Surely Leia was well. She had to be. It could not be otherwise. That she had not sent word was her normal caution. Messages could be traced and if she was with the Alliance, she wouldn't want to give away their location. The night before she left we were sitting on that very same bench here – it was another moonlit night – and she laughed at my worry, saying it was useless. I asked, smiling, do you honestly hope to make a parent stop worrying for his child? She hugged me and said, don't worry until you hear from a trusted source that something has happened to me. Then you have my permission to start worrying. I had to laugh.
The moon was different today. I frowned. True, I was not one to contemplate moons and stars, therefore I was not sure. But last time I saw the moon, it was much bigger, and more yellow. I shook my head. I must be truly tired to be thinking such nonsense. New moon always looked smaller.
My mind returned to my daughter. I was not afraid of the usual dangers that she could encounter in space, like pirates or petty crime lords. Leia was protected by her immunity as Galactic Senator, and that still meant something in the Galaxy. And I knew she was careful. But diplomatic immunity meant nothing to the Empire, even if it had reserved the right to violate it to its officials. And should something go wrong, should the true nature of her missions be discovered, her senatorial status would no doubt mean torture and death in imperial hands, and most probably not only for her, but for the whole family, friends, as well as many other senators.
I wasn't afraid for myself. I mean, of course I'd try to avoid Imperial prisons and torture chambers – anybody in their sound mind would. But it was her who I worried about most. I knew her so well. She always considered the safety of her family and friends before herself, she wouldn't want to hurt anybody. If something happened, she would blame herself, and that would be the worst torture for her. But she knew that more lives where at stake, now that the Empire was about to complete the most horrible weapon of mass destruction ever. Leia had always shown very much responsibility, maturity, forethought. That should have reassured me, but somehow, it only served to remind me how much she was the daughter of her parents.
She was so young. Too young to take such risks. Every time she went on another mission of hers, my mind said that she'd be the only one who can complete it successfully, but my heart cried, this is not fair! Young people should be happy, enjoy themselves, go out and meet people! Not fight the Empire and die, before they ever learn the taste of happiness. Legacy or not, Leia had done nothing to deserve such life. Yet I could not give her a better one.
I reached the other end of the ponds. There was a small bench where I sat down, listening to the frogs croak and late birds chirp. A nightbuzzer flew past my head, almost touching my ear. I followed it with my eyes as it veered towards the rose bushes, the pale blue light of the new moon reflecting on its wings.
Stop.
Suddenly I realized what had been nagging at the back of my mind. It was not yet time for new moon. It should not be for another three days.
My knees went weak when I realized what I was seeing.
I jumped up to run back to my office, to contact the Empire, to demand, to negotiate, to warn, to evacuate, to do something... when I saw a green dot of fire emerge from the moon. In an instant it grew, grew and engulfed
...
FIN