Written before RotS came out, although I think the point of it still stands...
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Alderaan is a lovely planet, manicured and pruned within an inch of it's soul. It exudes a sort of civilized beauty, tame and submissive, and the people of the planet were much the same. But despite that, they could be stubborn. He was making no headway against the Bail Organa's insistence on disarmament. The suggestion of a popular referendum was brusquely pushed aside, and he was realizing that when people called Alderaan a pleasant dictatorship, they weren't joking. The parties were deadly boring, filled as they were with Seperatists or flaming pacifists. The gardens were quite peaceful, though.
At least, they were.
The little girl who ran into him pushed herself to her feet, apologizing profusely until she actually looks at him, sees his uniform and the ranking on it. Then she frowns.
"Hey, you're the Imperial!"
He looks at her sternly, raising an eyebrow.
"And you're thechild who ran into me."
Her face scrunches up in displeasure.
"Hey! I have a name, you know!"
He stares at her evenly.
"Hay is for horses, and I have a name as well."
A stare-off commences, and after two minutes, the girl looks away sullenly.
"Fine. What's your name, mister?"
He bows to her.
"My name, miss, isMajor Pelleaon of the Imperial Navy. And you?"
The girl clumsily curtsies to him, returning the courtesy.
"I am Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan."
His eyes widen as he looks at the girl. This was Bail's daughter?
"Well, Princess, it appears we are both cut off from the rest of your father's guests. Shall I return you to them?"
She shakes her head impatiently at him.
"They're boring. Why do you think I ran away?"
He smiles at her.
"And here I thought that the princesses of Alderaan fulfilled their responsibilities."
She glares at him.
"I'm the only princess of Alderaan! Stop making fun of me!"
He lifts his hands as if to ward off a fearsome attack.
"Don't you want to be Queen?"
"No! I wish I were like everyone else!"
He pats her on the head comfortingly.
"Well, when you're Queen, you can abdicate and make Alderaan a democracy, like Corellia did."
She looks up at him, disbelievingly.
"But I can't. Who will tell the people what to do?"
He frowns at her.
"Well, missy, most people know exactly what to do and don't need any help from above."
Leia closes her eyes in concentration.
"But we let the Emperor tell us what to do."
"Chancellor Palpatine is only the executive. He is still subject to the laws of the Senate, which represents the people of the Republic."
"Then why are we called the Empire now?"
He looks at her, discomfited.
"Names are just names, Leia. They don't change what a thing is."
But by then her face is hard and closed to him, and he wonders what he has said wrong. He leads her back to her father, and thinks of Organa's close friend, the Senator of Chandrila – a woman named Mon Mothma – and the company they both keep. Bel Iblis, Dodonna, certain notable names of non-human and Jedi-friendly sections of society…
But he doesn't speak of his suspicions, because after all – what business is it of his?