Chapter 21:

Zara cursed under her breath when she reviewed her messages. She had sent a status report to her contact within the Rebellion three weeks ago and had not yet received a reply. Like most undercover operatives they employed, the handmaiden was sent orders through encoded HoloNet communications.

She did not expect an immediate reply, but after so long Zara was beginning to panic. It was possible that there was an increased crackdown on illicit communications back on Coruscant. However, she feared that the silence either meant that her contact was dead or it was decided that the Alderaanian situation was a lost cause.

Zara did not want to think about the possibility of the Rebellion abandoning the queen. They promised her that they would do what they could to rescue Bail Organa's wife, but so far nothing had happened. The handmaiden wanted to have faith in them; but hope was eroding daily.

Leaving her own quarters, Zara made her way toward the royal suite to see if the queen needed her for anything. As she traveled the vast hallways of Aldera Palace she saw something in the distance that made her wish that she had gone another way.

Directly in front of her she spied Moffs Malix and Terik having a conversation in the hallway. All hopes that she could exit the premises without being seen were dashed when she saw Moff Terik's leering grin.

"Ah, the beautiful handmaiden, what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Terik believed himself to be quite the ladies man; he was well known in the Coruscant gossip mill as having an almost insatiable appetite for pleasures of the flesh.

Zara knew that she had no choice but to acknowledge their presence. "Good evening Governor Terik, Governor Malix."

Terik's hand grasped hers as she passed, "Just where are you running off to?"

The handmaiden only spared Malix a momentary glance. She knew he would be the last one to rescue her from Terik's attentions. "I must attend the queen."

He laughed and turned to Malix, but did not let go of Zara's arm, "These Alderaanians are certainly duty bound."

Malix did not return the jest; Zara could feel his cold stare upon her, "They have proved to be a stubborn lot, especially this one."

"What trouble could she give you?" Terik asked. "Malix, I think you are taking this Alderaanian resistance a bit too seriously."

"Many do not know their place."

"As long as they pay their taxes, send their quota of conscripts, and don't cause too much trouble, what does it matter what they think?"

Zara wondered how long she would have to endure this. She could see that Malix was increasingly agitated at Terik and it would only be moments before there would be an outburst. The handmaiden hoped she was away from them when it happened. The last time Malix wanted to prove a point, it ended with her receiving a black eye.

Finally Terik let Zara go but not before planting a courtly kiss on the back of her hand, "You must excuse Governor Malix, my dear handmaiden, he takes things far too seriously. You go attend to your duties."

Zara never thought she would ever be so grateful to an Imperial Moff. Giving a quick curtsy, the handmaiden walked as quickly as she could without making it too obvious she was in a rush to leave. As she went down the hall she could hear Malix continuing to argue and Terik trying his best to lighten the mood; Zara actually felt sorry for the other man.

When she reached the royal suite, the queen appeared very nervous. "Is there something you need Zara?"

"No, I was coming to ask you the same question." When Breha came into full light, Zara gasped when she saw her. "My Queen! Are you all right? What happened?"

Breha looked away, "It's nothing."

"Your skin is bright red." In fact, it was more than that. Her face, hands, and arms appeared as if they had been scalded.

"The water was a little too warm."

Zara reached out and took the queen's hands. Further inspection revealed that her first assessment was right. "You are burned. By the Maker, your skin has been rubbed raw!"

Breha snatched her hands away quickly, "It's fine; it was just a vigorous shower."

The handmaiden immediately headed toward the suite's comm unit. "I'm contacting a doctor."

"No!" Breha exclaimed. "It's fine."

Zara could not understand why she was acting this way. She wondered why there was so much fear in the queen's eyes. It then dawned on her what might have happened. "Did Malix do something to you?" She asked softly.

When Breha did not answer immediately, a sob caught in the handmaiden's throat, "He didn't..."

"No," the queen answered quickly. If Malix had done something to her, Zara wondered if Breha would even tell her.

The handmaiden led the queen to a chair and they sat down together. "You seemed so much better earlier." When she saw her just hours ago, the queen actually appeared happy. There was a genuine smile on her face that Zara had not seen in so very long.

That smile was long gone. "I saw a glimmer of hope."

"What was it?"

Breha shook her head, "It's nothing."

"My Queen, you can tell me."

Breha did not speak for several moments; it appeared she was working something out in her head. Finally, she responded, "I'm just out of my depth."

"What is it?" Zara asked. "Let me help you."

The queen stood and walked to the window, "I found a message from Bail."

The handmaiden quickly joined her mistress, "You did, that's incredible! Where did you find it?"

"Hidden in that hideous statue that art dealer brought."

She remembered that piece very well. "Oh my, the Senator was right."

Breha nodded, "Yes, I lost faith in him; and that may have cost me Leia."

"What do you mean?"

The queen pulled out a small datapad from her pocket and handed it to Zara. "There is someone that may be able to help her; but I may have waited too long."

"Who is he? Let's contact him!" The handmaiden now understood the reason for the queen's earlier mood, but she still did not know what caused her odd behavior since then.

"Bail left instructions on how to contact this man, but they are rather complex and I cannot do it alone."

Zara glanced through the instructions; she could see why the queen felt out of her depth. "I will help you. When I trained, one of the subjects covered was electronics."

"If you help me and Malix finds out..."

She knew the danger, the governor already hated her and something like this would definitely be cause in his mind for her execution. "Malix won't find out," vowed the handmaiden.

"Zara, if I weren't so desperate, I wouldn't have even told you. It's my last chance. If this doesn't work...I don't think I'll be able to bear it."

"We must get hold of this man then." Zara did not want to think about what Breha would do if they could not contact him. "If Senator Organa believed in him, then he must be trustworthy."

"I know; I'm sorry to bring you into this."

"My Queen, I'm already committed. Let's send that message."

Lissa Malix had feared this moment ever since she first learned she was to go to Alderaan. She toyed with the idea of avoiding it altogether, but her conscience would not allow it. The woman was torn by her fear of her brother's reaction and her deep concerns. She had to know what his plans were, and she could no longer afford to delay.

Getting into the wing of the palace that was set aside for Malix and the other Imperial staffers was easier than she thought. Apparently, the guards had been told that she was to be allowed entry. When she arrived at his office, she found her brother sitting at his desk working intently on some project.

When he saw her, he met her with a warm smile. "Lissa, such a wonderful surprise!" He exclaimed as he got up to greet her.

Lissa was relieved that he appeared to be in a good mood, but she knew that could change very quickly. She had to proceed with caution. "I hope I'm not intruding; I know you are busy."

"I am never too busy for you. Come in."

She loved it when he was like this: happy and content. In those times she was reminded of the boy that she once knew. However, no matter how much she wanted to sometimes, Lissa could never forget what he was capable of.

Instead of taking the chair offered, she immediately went to the large window that overlook one of the palace gardens. "Such a magnificent view."

Fius came over to stand next to his sister, "Isn't it, that's why I chose this room. You can see for kilometers with nothing obstructing the view."

"Alderaan is truly a gem." The planet was one of the most magnificent worlds that she had ever seen. She understood why her brother raved over it.

"I'm glad you think so," said Malix. "I want you and Nora to be happy here."

An icy hand gripped Lissa's heart. To most, Fius' words would be considered kind and loving, and his own way, they were. However, she was well aware of the implications. "It is a great place to visit." She stressed the last word in the hope that he would understand that she did not want to live here, but she suspected it would do no good.

"I've been meaning to speak with you about that. I want you to stay here permanently."

Lissa sighed, "Fius, I already have a home on Coruscant."

Malix scoffed, "A residence maybe, but not a home." He then gestured toward the view before them. "Alderaan is a place of new beginnings for our family."

"I have a career."

Fius shook his head, "You have a job to keep you busy; it isn't like you need the credits."

"It is important to me." He was partially correct, neither of the remaining Malix siblings needed to work to support themselves. Their father's investments were off-planet and they survived the destruction of Luskan.

Her brother regarded her with a pitying expression, "I know that you believe so, but you can do so much more here."

"What would you have me do?"

He then broke turned away from the window and sat down at his desk. "You can help me, be one of my advisors."

Lissa seated herself in the chair in front of him. "Fius, let's be honest, you would give me busy work so I wouldn't feel useless. You don't want me advising you on anything."

"I value your opinion," Fius declared.

"Really?" She knew from experience that her brother only valued the opinion of those that agreed with him. "Well then, since I'm your new advisor, let me give you some advice: tread lightly around Breha Organa."

After the words left her mouth, Lissa immediately wanted to take them back. She was upset and careless; this was not the way she wanted to approach this very delicate subject.

The change is Fius' demeanor was instantaneous. "What?" His features immediately hardened into a mask of anger and outrage.

Even though she wished she had not said it that way, Lissa knew she was now committed. She decided to proceed and take the consequences as they came. "You heard me, I'm telling you this because I love you. I've seen the way you look at her, and I've seen the way she looks at you."

"I love her and she will love me!"

She noted his choice of words, he did not say that she already loved him. It was different than before. "Fius, she is terrified of you; and I don't really blame her."

In agitation, Malix ran his hands through his short hair. "She only fears her own feelings. She believes that loving me is a betrayal to her dead husband; so she buries her feelings. Soon, she will not and we will be happy together, forever."

While some of the verbiage was different, his demeanor was all too familiar. "Years ago you said the same about Larie."

Fius' agitation was instantly gone; in its place was cold rage. "I thought I told you to never speak that name again." He demanded in a voice barely above a whisper.

Lissa continued. "You said she was the love of your life."

Malix slammed his hand on the desk and the room reverberate with the sound. "She betrayed me!"

She shook her head as the few tears that she could no longer contain fell down her cheek. "She broke off the relationship with you; that was her only crime."

"I would have given her anything had she asked, but she decided to make a fool out of me!"

"She was only sixteen, Fius." Lissa had met the girl once on a visit to Fius' prepatory academy. Unlike the other students in the academy, she was from a middle-class Corellian family that had no political influence. In a gesture of goodwill, the school awarded scholarships to a few exceptional young people who would not have been able to afford the tuition otherwise.

"I don't want to talk about her."

"Is the queen going to end up like she did?" Like Breha, Larie was the object of her brother's obsession. They even dated for several months, but for reasons that Lissa could very well imagine, she broke it off. Fius never forgave her for that slight.

He shook his head emphatically, "Breha is much smarter than...that girl."

"You can't even say her name, can you?"

"This is irrelevant."

As the memories that she had tried so hard to forget began flooding back, all of Lissa's tightly held emotional control vanished. "No, it isn't. Fius, you killed her because she refused to be controlled by you!"

She could barely breathe as she remembered reading the report of the law enforcement officials that found Larie's raped, battered, and almost unrecognizable corpse in the lake near the campus of the prepatory academy.

When it first happened, she did not want to believe her brother could do something like that, but the evidence was clear. There were several witnesses that heard him brag about the murder and there was literally a trail of blood from his dormitory to the shore of the lake. Had the case went to trial, it would have been open and shut.

"I ask you again, is that going to be Breha Organa's end?" Lissa implored.

Malix leaned back in his chair and gave a slight smirk, "I don't recall ever being convicted of any crime."

"Don't insult me Fius!" She shouted, "You know the reason why there was no conviction." Her father's vast reserve of credits made it possible for his son to avoid going before any judge. The middle-class status of Larie's family made certain that their demand for justice would be ignored by the corrupt officials of the latter Republic.

"We are not talking about this anymore."

"Was Larie the only one, or has there been others? Were there other women that did not survive being your obsession?"

"Stop talking!" He shouted as he stood and raised up a fist.

"Or what? You'll beat me to death too? I am not yours to command."

In Lissa's experience a challenge such as that would be met by her brother in one of two ways, he would either lash out with physical violence or he would show even more cruelty without touching laying a finger on her.

Malix chose the latter. He calmly sat back down at his desk. "I disagree, I am the head of our family, and Imperial Governor of the planet on which you are residing."

"So I'm residing here now?"

Fius nodded, "Yes, I finished the paperwork two days ago, you and Nora are now legal residents of Alderaan."

She wished that she could be surprised, but she was not. "Keep me hostage as long as you like; but please leave my daughter out of this." She wanted Nora as far away from him as possible.

With the mention of Lissa's daughter, Malix's face twisted into a cruel smile. "I am in the process of securing a suitable match for her. In a year, when she is of legal age, she will marry."

She felt sick. Arranged marriages were common in Luskanian elite families such as the one she grew up in and also within the class of the Coruscanti hyper-rich, but Lissa did not want to fathom the kind of match her twisted brother would arrange for Nora just to get back at her. "Do I want to know who you are selling my daughter to?"

"Moff Pre'Lot has a son just a few years older than she. The match will benefit our family greatly."

In the little time that she had known Governor Pre'Lot, Lissa already despised the man. He was a tyrannical and violent dictator of the planet he had been appointed to rule. She could not imagine his son being any better. "And you expect Nora to just go along with it? You expect me to as well?"

"What I say is law, she will have no choice in the matter." He informed her with a smug smile. "However, I believe a reasonable compromise can be made."

She then realized that this was his intent all along; Fius knew this was the only way that she would cooperate with him. "What do you want?"

"First, you are to apologize to me for bringing up topics that I had expressly forbade you from mentioning."

He stood up and made his way to where his sister was sitting. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Malix continued, "Second, you are to stay on Alderaan and support me and my efforts here. I do not want to hear Nora or especially Breha mentioning anything about what may or may not be in my past. In return, I will tell Moff Pre'Lot that the match between Nora and his son will not be possible."

"Just when I think you cannot sink any lower, you blackmail me with the happiness of my child. What happened to you, Fius?" She implored. "You weren't raised like this."

The grip on her shoulder tightened, "Statements like that will not be tolerated."

Lissa hung her head in defeat. "I won't tell them."

"Now apologize."

"I'm sorry Fius, I shouldn't have brought it up. I will not do so again." The words were difficult to utter, but she could not risk her daughter.

With a broad grin, Malix sat back down at his desk and acted as if the last few minutes had never occurred. "Very good Lissa, I do have much to do. I think it's best if you run along. I will see you and Nora tonight, we're having dinner with just the queen. She'll be your sister-in-law eventually, and I want the two of you to be close."

"Yes Fius."

Vader was assigned the suite adjacent to his daughter's as a training and meditation space. The Imperial Palace was literally soaked in the dark side, and while the Sith did not want to be here, he was not against utilizing it to renew his strength and connection to the Force.

He had not been in meditation long before he heard the screams of his daughter. In truth, he did not need to hear them to know of her terror; though the Force she called out in desperation. Her father answered.

Thinking that she was being attacked, Vader immediately activated his lightsaber and ran toward Leia's suite all while planning the slow execution of anyone who would dare touch his daughter. His mind raced with the possibilities: an assassin, an Imperial malcontent...Darth Sidious himself.

The locked door was not even a minor annoyance. With a slight flick of his wrist, and a powerful wave of the Force, Vader obliterated the obstacle in his path and rushed to Leia's bedroom.

When he arrived, he did not find what he expected. Instead, he saw Leia thrashing about in her bed, locked in a nightmare that she could not escape. After de-activating his lightsaber, he came up to where the terrified child was sleeping, placed his artificial hand on her shoulder and shook slightly. "Wake up Leia."

Immediately, the child's tear filled eyes opened. Even though she was awake, her mind still had not yet processed that fact. When she saw her father, she cried out to him, "He's going to kill me! Help me father!"

"Hush child, you were merely sleeping."

Leia began sobbing even more, "Please don't let him hurt me."

Vader was at a loss as to what to do, something that he despised. If it were an actual attacker that was trying to harm his child, there would be no doubt as to what he would do; but now he felt completely out of his depth.

As he was considering his options, Leia did something that she probably would never have done if she were fully awake. She grasped onto his armor and embraced the Dark Lord of the Sith.

He could not remember the last time someone had hugged him. He knew the last person was most likely his wife, but those memories were hard to grasp. Vader was torn between unwanted feelings and his true desire to do something to help his child.

It had been a long time since he had thought about how to bring comfort to anyone, it was an unfamiliar and very uncomfortable situation that he had been placed in. He knew what he could do to help her, but he had sworn himself against all forms of Jedi teaching.

However, he could not bear to see Leia so afraid. Vader closed his eyes and accessed a part of his being that had been locked away for a long time. With a calmness of mind that he could hardly believe that was possible again, he reached out to his troubled daughter and sent waves of peace and comfort directly into her mind.

Not surprising to Vader, the Dark Side only relented for a few seconds before the moment of clarity was over. Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

It was enough at least to at least stop Leia from crying, but she still clung to her father as if he were a lifeline in a dark and turbulent sea. Vader felt that he should say something, "My daughter, are you all right?"

Leia finally let go of him, "Why are you here?"

"You were distressed; I believed you were being attacked."

"I'm sorry," the girl seemed incredibly embarrassed.

"Do not apologize," said Vader. "What were you dreaming about?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Vader was reminded of his own nightmares of his mother and his wife. "Sometimes dreams are much more than they seem; it could have been a premonition."

Leia sat in the middle of her bed and drew her knees to her chest, "It's nothing, it was just a dream."

"Tell me," Vader demanded.

"I was in a room, hiding behind a chair," Leia began. "I wasn't alone, there were other kids with me. We were all hiding together. It was so loud, and it kept getting louder."

The Sith turned away from the girl and stared out the window. He could see the massive city in all its finery, but for the first time Vader noticed something in the distance. One of Leia's bedroom windows looked out to the Jedi Temple; the spires of the abandoned empty building could clearly be seen in the distance. It was no coincidence that his daughter had been given this suite.

For the first time in over eight years, Darth Vader felt cold. "Continue," he ordered.

"The door opened and I saw a man come though. I didn't know who he was, but the other kids trusted him," She recounted with increasing emotion as the memories returned.

It was all he could do to suppress a shiver. Vader still did not turn around, instead he focused on the sight before him. He did not have to hear any more, he knew what happened but he could not find the resolve to tell Leia to stop.

"One of them said his name, but I don't remember what it was."

"Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?" He had done the right thing, the Jedi were traitors and it was dangerous to leave any of them alive; even the younglings. However, hearing the story recounted by his eight-year-old daughter brought up feelings...dangerous feelings.

Leia was not oblivious to her father's unease, but she had been given an order. "He had a lightsaber." Her breathing became erratic as she recalled her experience. "He...he started killing us. We ran and screamed, but no one was there to help us."

Vader then turned back to face his daughter. As expected, her face was streaked with tears and her hands were shaking. Part of him wanted to silence her, another part wanted to escape the room, and a tiny but growing part of his being wanted to embrace the child.

"I called out to you, but you weren't there." Sobs racked the child's small frame and she held onto her knees even tighter. "I didn't know where you were. If you were there, you would have stopped him."

"How did it end?" In hindsight, Vader wondered why he even asked that question; he already knew the answer.

"His lightsaber was raised above me, and he was about to strike. Then I woke up."

Of all of the things that he had done in the service to his master, the killing of the Jedi younglings was the last thing he wanted Leia to know about, let alone experience. He was torn between competing emotions, one of them was unfamiliar the other was very familiar. Vader chose to focus on the easiest...rage.

He did not have to probe Leia's mind to know who planted that dream inside her head. He knew if he looked hard enough, he could find his master's footprints all over his child's mind. Vader was angry and desired nothing but his death. However, the one vestige of rational thought he had left told him that there was nothing that he could do. Darth Sidious was far too powerful.

As Vader considered his few options, he felt Leia begin to use a Sith meditation technique to convert her fear into power. He had taught it to her many months back; but for reasons that he could not full grasp, he did not want her to use what she had learned--at least not tonight.

"That will not be necessary," Vader stated in reference to her meditation. "Go back to sleep."

Leia opened her eyes, "I don't understand."

"There is no time for that, you need to sleep."

"But what if the dream returns?" she implored.

"I do not believe it will." Vader suspected that Sidious had gotten everything he wanted.

"Will you..." Leia trailed off before looking away from her father.

"What is it?"

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone."

He did not want to coddle the child. She would need to learn to conquer her fears; but as he stared into the eyes that so reminded him of her mother, Vader could not bear to leave her. "I will stay with you."