Disclaimer: I'm not getting anything out of this but a sense of personal satisfaction

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Chapter 7

The second day without her father had been hard for Leia. Bo was company, but not great. He was so annoying. She couldn't stop thinking about the application she'd thrown away. Maybe it wasn't too late to turn it in. She really wanted to be a force for good in the Senate, like her father, but how could she feel good about turning it in if she did it without her father's knowledge and blessing? She'd be eighteen in just a few weeks. But by then, it would be too late for this season. By graduation, with all the extra credit she'd been doing, she'd have enough credits in political science to start an apprenticeship. However, she had to turn in her application beforehand. What a dilemma. If only her father would hurry up with that meeting and come home. What was it he'd said? A giant battle station being built by the Empire? Not good, but nothing much to panic about. Mobile battle stations were not all that new, or particularly practical. They required as much or more sustenance and fuel as an entire fleet, and arming a station with something other than defensive blaster turrets was a hassle. So. . . why was her father so worried about it?

Leia tossed her novel-pad on the side table and restlessly got up. The sitting room had a panoramic view of Alderaan's famous Aldera mountain range, and the sunset. But it was dark now and stars were coming out. They were beautiful as always, but failed to calm her restless heart. She'd finished her homework, her study, and had tried to finish a novel, but she was still bored. Then, as Leia gazed at the stars twinkling up in the sky in groups, she realized that she was just lonely. She missed her father. And wanted someone to talk to. Someone other than a protocol droid.

The doorbell chimed pleasantly. Leia ignored it and began to pace. She was wearing a loose gray dress and slippers, hardly guest-receiving attire. Bo would take care of whoever it was, telling them politely but firmly that Senator Organa was not home. How would it be, she wondered wryly, when there were two Senator Organas in the house?

"Am I intruding?" Leia jumped at the voice, which was not the voice of the Protocol Droid at all. It was the voice of a cocksure young man. She stared at the grinning fellow who stepped into the airy room and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"Who are you? How did you get up here?" Leia demanded coldly, her heart thumping steadily against her ribs.

"Your droid let me in." The young man smiled charmingly. "And as for who I am, don't you remember me?" Leia frowned. He did seem familiar somehow. And then she remembered. He looked different in such casual clothes, but it was certainly the same young Imperial Officer she'd danced with at the party on Serenno. That night seemed so long ago.

"Mell Krevett?" Leia relaxed only a little, but allowed herself to smile. He was an Imperial after all, but Bo let him up here. Maybe he still had hopes after that one short dance and conversation. She was no stranger to infatuated youths, (she'd only recently told Wedge she wasn't interested, poor guy) but Mell was. . . different. More exciting maybe. But definitely a better conversationalist than Wedge. "How nice of you to visit." Leia went on graciously. "Are you on leave?"

"Not. . . exactly." Mell smiled in embarrassment and gestured at a chair. "Er. . . do you mind?"

"No, no, of course not." Leia gestured invitingly to the chair and sat in one opposite. "So. . . what does bring you here?"

"You, mostly." Mell Krevett smiled bashfully at her. The Princess felt her cheeks reddening.

"I'm. . . not sure what you mean." Leia lowered her eyes. "My father. . . "

"Doesn't he approve of me?" Mell sounded like he was pleading. "I know I'm not much compared to a Princess, but I assure you, I could provide for a family!"

"It isn't that, Mr. Krevett." Leia objected a little hotly. "My father doesn't exactly see eye to eye with your father. And. . . you're an Officer."

"Not anymore, I'm not."

"What? Why?"

"I was. . . decommissioned, just a few weeks ago."

Leia smiled and folded her hands primly in her lap. "And it took you this long to figure out that you should come see me?"

"Not exactly." Mell Krevett chuckled uncomfortably and rubbed the arms of his chair. "But I'm sure I'm monopolizing your time. Were you waiting for somebody?"

"Only my father." Leia blushed and looked out the huge window. "He's been gone for almost two days now."

"Does he leave like this often?" Mell asked gently, knowing the answer, but trying to seem ignorant. Nobody would take kindly to being spied upon.

"No, not without contact." Leia sighed sadly and leaned back in the chair. "He hasn't called or sent a hyperspace message or anything. I hope. . . "

"That nothing happened to him?" Mell guessed, finishing her sentence for her.

"Yes." Leia let out a nervous laugh and turned back to her guest. "But I'm just talking about myself and my worries; what about you?"

Mell feigned surprise. "What about me?"

"What do you plan to do now that you've been kicked out of the Navy? Did you get into trouble for something?" Deep in her heart, Leia had begun to hope that maybe Mell had left the Imperial Navy because of moral convictions. Was he here to tell her he was becoming a Rebel? Wedge had left the Academy for the same reasons. So had many of the new young recruits for the Rebellion.

"No, not really." Mell smiled slyly. "But I think I can trust you."

"Thanks a lot." Leia smirked.

Mell winked secretively. "I've got new work to do. Better work. For the good of our Galaxy. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Relief flooded through Leia and she beamed. So she was right! "That is good news! I'm trying to get a place on a Senate Apprenticeship for the same reason."

This caught Mell by surprise. "Really? You're going into politics?"

"Why not?" Leia laughed lightly. "I'm good at it. A few weeks ago, I had a diplomatic dilemma and managed to talk my way around it. You remember Admiral Tarkin, of course. Well, I hate him worse than Dantooine slugs. But I managed to be pleasant enough, and a friend told me I had a gift."

Mell knew, alright. He remembered as well. She had been good. But had she been, unthinkably, leading them all astray? "That sounds fun." He laughed. "I wish I could have seen old durasteel-face Tarkin that day. Did he just let you go?"

"Of course." Leia chuckled with him. "We were able to take the supplies to the Mon Calamari without further incident. I wish you could have seen those people. They were so happy and grateful. Was that the reason you joined the cause?"

"Was what?" Mell sat up straighter. His heart thumped forebodingly. The cause?! She really was a rebel! Or at the very least, a sympathizer. The Mon Calamari were all rebels, every one of them.

"The tragedy of Mon Cala, of course." Leia explained with some annoyance. "Everyone in the Galaxy must have heard how the Empire destroyed their home and rendered them homeless refugees."

"Oh yes, that. Of course." Mell cleared his throat and smiled politely. "And your father. . . knows about your unpopular political views?"

"Why wouldn't he? He converted me."

"Ah. . . " He self-consciously touched the button recorder on his jacket. Leia had just condemned her own father, and herself. He could have excused himself, but he realized he couldn't let the misguided girl go to prison because of her father's brainwashing. Now that he was with her again, his thoughts of revenge and harshness and power were fading. He. . . liked her. A lot. Maybe not loved her, but if he could convince her to rejoin her Empire, so much the better for his conscience.

"Is something wrong?" The suspicion in Leia's tone made Mell jump.

"What? Oh, no. . . nothing's wrong. . . Except. . . "

"Yes?" Leia raised her eyebrows and stared at him. Unnerving, that. Like she was reading his mind.

"Well. . . I had an offer. . . for another position, you know. . . " Mell cleared his throat self-consciously. "Look, Leia. Let's not orbit around the moon anymore, alright? I think this rebel stuff is hokey. Seriously. And I don't really think you should get mixed up in it."

"But you don't agree with the Empire either." Leia pointed out.

Mell grimaced. Point taken. He didn't agree that they'd just shoved him into the ISB without so much as a 'by your leave'. But that was neither here nor there. A soldier obeyed orders, no matter how unfair. "That's not really the issue." He muttered stonily.

"Of course it is." Leia huffed. "You're probably just as upset as everyone else about that giant battle station the Emperor's building. I bet you could find a way to blow it up. You were in the Imperial Navy, so of course you'd know everything about it."

"What did you say?" Mell Krevett's heart turned to stone. She was not only a misguided rebel, but a spy. A traitor. The Death Star was a top-secret project. Only spies would know about it and blab the information to a silly little Princess. He had no more mercy for her. But she could still be useful. "Answer me!" He barked at her when she didn't respond. She stared at him with a sick look on her face. Maybe she realized she'd said too much. Maybe she had thought he was a rebel sympathizer and realized her mistake. Mell stood and marched over to her. The short young woman jumped to her feet as well, glaring defiantly up at him.

"Well, you got me." She said quietly, fire blazing in her deep brown eyes. "What are you going to do now, Officer? Shoot me?"

"No." Mell forced his anger aside and tried to smile reassuringly at the tiny Princess. "If you help me, and the Empire, I can assure your immunity, and that of your father. Darth Vader and I have known for a long time that he was a rebel, but we know he isn't in charge. So come now, your highness, tell me where your father keeps his private contacts, and I will make sure you and your father are safe when the Emperor punishes the traitors."

"You are asking me to betray innocent people to their deaths!" Leia hissed venomously. "I won't."

"You have to listen to me, Leia!" Mell pleaded with her and snatched her hand tightly. "This is not a time for heroics! Do you know how many people work on the Death Star? Innocent people like me who are only doing their job? People who will all die because of you and your stupid idealism?"

"What about all the people who continue to die, all over the galaxy oppressed by the Emperor and his regime?" Leia shot back with equal vigor. "Like the Mon Calamari? The Geonosins? The Gungans? Hasn't Palpatine already perpetrated genocide against them?! And let go of my hand!" She tried to pull away, but Mell was too strong, and he used his strength to grip her fiercely, mercilessly.

"You have no idea what the rebels are like!" He hissed in her face. "You've never fought them or tried to break up their mobs, which they dare call 'protests'. They are terrorists. Anarchists. Criminals. Traitors. And do you really want to see the inside of an Imperial prison? Do you want your father to be interrogated by the Empire's Torture Droids? Do you?!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Leia snapped and continued to try and twist her hand out of Mell's crushing grip. "But we will pay the price for freedom if we must! Listen to me now, Mell. You don't know what you're doing. The Empire is evil, you know that! Darth Vader is the worst of all, and you're working for him now? Please, Mell, reconsider! A free republic would be so much better for us all, I promise you! And there wouldn't be a need for bloodshed if Palpatine hadn't stolen his throne in the first place!"

"Our Galaxy was being torn apart by the Clone Wars and political ineptness, and Palpatine saved us from utter ruin." Mell countered fiercely. "You know that from Second Year history!"

"A history that was rewritten!" Leia shouted. "You're hurting me! Let go!"

"This?" Mell laughed harshly and twisted her wrist. She was so stupid. So stubborn. She'd never change her mind, he knew that. But she might be goaded into giving out a few more key bits of information, with the right motivation. "You think this hurts? Wait until you're in the hands of Darth Vader, little Princess. You don't know pain yet. But you can avoid it all if you just tell me where your father is now!"

Leia laughed sarcastically through her teeth, clenched in pain. "I thought you wanted his personal contacts, now you want to know where he is?"

"You're a fool!" Mell snarled and wrenched her arm hard. She spun out of his grasp and hit the floor hard. Winded, she stared up helplessly at Mell Krevett as he glared ferociously down at his victim. "You are at my mercy, Princess of Alderaan." He told her mockingly. "And whether you cooperate or not will seal your fate."

Leia scrambled up and tried to run. Mell grabbed her hair and arm and laughed harshly as she yelped in pain. "You have no right!" She gasped as she struggled against his superior strength. "And it's no use! You may as well kill me now. You know I'll never betray the Rebellion!"

"Oh, I know that now." Mell yanked her arm and spun her around to face him. He stared down into her face. His fury cooled somewhat as he gazed down at such a beautiful, sad face. There was pride in it, masking her fear. He remembered the first time he'd seen her, gazing defiantly up at Grand Moff Tarkin in the ballroom. Beautiful.

"Aren't you going to get this over with?" Leia demanded and squirmed against him, obviously uncomfortable with his scrutiny.

"Leia, Leia." He whispered and his heart pounded harder. "You could be so much more than a rebel, a traitor who will die and be forgotten in some forsaken mining colony. . . You could have been the wife of an Imperial general, Queen of Alderaan, leading your people into a new age of understanding and loyalty. But you're throwing it all away for lies."

"You're the one who's been lied to." Leia replied vehemently and tried to squirm out if his cruel grip, which was slowly and painfully tightening.

"You will be begging to tell all when I take you to my headquarters." Mell smiled with satisfaction and leaned down slowly toward her face. She tried to pull back, but he was still holding her by the hair and arm. "But right now, you're all mine, and there is no way anyone can accuse me of anything. Did I tell you I'm actually an ISB agent right now, little Princess?"

The slight against her size made Leia's blood boil. She struggled harder, and kicked the young officer where all males dread to be struck. His face, inches from hers, bumped her nose hard as he shrieked and doubled over in agony. She blinked stars out of her vision and darted away from Mell. He roared in fury and pain, pulled a blaster from the inside of his coat, and fired it at her. Leia fell hard on the slippery floor and the blaster bolt sizzled over her head to strike hard against the wall. Leia panted from terror and stared for several seconds at the palm-sized burn mark on her spotless wall.

"You almost shot me!" Leia gasped, unable to believe for an instant that someone had actually fired a blaster at her.

"I'll do better than 'almost', you wench!" Mell snarled and fired again. Leia almost had a feeling like the bolt flew in slow motion, giving her time to scramble out of the way and roll behind a chair. Leia huddled there while the furious young man emptied his blaster charge pack on the room. Nearly hitting her several times. But the Princess knew at once that he no longer wanted to shoot her. He wanted to make her suffer. She wondered desperately why none of the house droids had come to her rescue. Mell must have done something to them when he came in. That was why Bo hadn't announced him. Leia peeked around the chair one more time and nearly lost her head. A blaster bolt fried the side of the chair as she yanked her head back behind the chair. In that glance, she'd seen her com, still sitting on her little table next to her novel-pad. Useless. There was no way she could leave cover while Mell was shooting anything that fancied him. And he was slowly moving toward her, using his Imperial training in terrorizing, drawing out the suspense and fear with the slim hope that maybe he wouldn't reach her. It certainly worked. Leia quaked, and desperately wished she had a blaster of her own.

The shooting stopped. Leia cringed. She knew he was on the other side of the chair waiting for her move. In a heave that used most of her strength, Leia threw the chair up and over, knocking the young man down with it. When she attempted to run for it, Mell threw the blaster at Leia, hitting her squarely in the head, and started cursing. Leia fell down with ringing ears, glad for a moment that she couldn't hear his colorful Imperial Navy language. She tried to get up, but her head swam and she thought she might pass out from dizziness and nausea. The blaster was heavier than it looked, and she wondered if the liquid tickling her scalp might be blood. Mell Krevett descended on the girl like a monster. He had a temper. Nobody hit him without receiving very hard payback. And he kicked and punched her viciously.

Leia screamed and fought back as hard as she could, but he was intent on hurting her. Probably killing her. Was the young man a megalomaniac? She wondered. Or had Darth Vader done something to him, to turn him into the monster that was attempting to beat her to death?

Mell yanked her up by the throat, still squirming and kicking ineffectually. "You are like the Rebellion!" He panted with mad, bright eyes. "Weak! Ineffectual! You strike one blow, but what happens? You're beaten into a helpless lump of meat. I am the Empire, little traitor. I will beat you into a helpless bit of meat, so your father can see what comes of rebellion!"

"Mell. . . " Leia choked in his grip as her face turned blue. "Don't. . . do. . . this!"

In answer, Mell yanked her to her feet, turned, and slammed her against the blaster-scored wall, ripping her dress, the edge of which was trapped under one of his boots, in the process. After the ripping noise, all Leia could hear was the pounding of her own heart and the mad huffing of Mell, in front of her. And then, she heard a very different noise. A blaster pistol going off. Mell cried out and dropped her. Leia fell on the floor, coughing and wheezing as she tried to get her breath back. When her eyes cleared, Leia found herself staring at the frozen face of Mell Krevett, inches away from her. A strong arm went around her and lifted her up before she could scoot away in terror.

A deep, sad voice penetrated Leia's ringing ears. "Maybe you think yourself the mighty Empire, Krevett, but sometimes bullies get shot in the back."

Leia looked up at her rescuer with tears threatening to explode hysterically from her. "Father!" Her voice rasped, but it was full of relief and love. "I thought you'd never come home!"

Bail Organa smiled sadly down at his daughter. "I got here a few minutes ago and wanted to surprise you. But that sneaking little rancor left a mag-pulse generator in the front hall to disable the household droids and advanced electronics. I knew something was wrong even before I heard the blaster fire and his cursing. . . and you screaming. I'm just glad I got him in time. Are you badly hurt? Did he shoot you?"

Leia shook her head and the tears spilled down her cheeks at last. "I never want a boy that close to me again." She commented with a half-laugh. "And I almost betrayed the Rebellion." Leia choked on tears again and lowered her head.

"But you didn't." Bail kissed her bruised forehead and let her cry on his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, my little rebel princess." He whispered into her sweaty hair. "You're a true fighter."

Leia couldn't help herself. The emotional stress of the last few minutes poured out in sobs of relief and sadness. For lost innocence. For the fact that she was a real rebel now. There was no turning back. After she cried for a minute, she raised her head and looked over at what remained of Mell Krevett. He lay curled on his side with a smoking hole in his lower back. His eyes were still frozen open, staring at the wall. The image of the Empire, he'd called himself. Destroyed by the love of a father. "What are we going to do with him? He said he was ISB." She trembled as she thought of the investigation that would follow this. "The Empire has us now, Father."

"They don't have us yet. We'll figure something out." Bail murmured kindly and pulled her to her feet before gently guiding her to the door. "Let's get you cleaned up first."

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And there we have it. Basically the end of the story. I have never been happy with my final chapter, but I'll put it out tomorrow and see what you all think.