After Bail Organa had been deposited back in his cell and left to contemplate his impending execution, Vader went searching for Leia. As soon as she'd regained her senses she had fled the viewing bridge and Vader had not wanted to make a scene in front of Wilhuff Tarkin by trying to stop her. Her location wasn't difficult to pinpoint; she was making no attempt to mask her emotions. She was in a righteous fury, and Vader couldn't really blame her. In all of her training, he had never taught her to deal with anything of that magnitude.
She shouldn't have needed to learn, a voice whispered accusingly in his head.
He found her down in the training rooms. Her blue lightsaber was powered up, and three training droids hovered in a circle above her. All of a sudden one of the droids dove at her, while the others bombarded her with blasters. She effortlessly parried the shots and sliced the first droid in half, pirouetting nimbly and sending the second droid flying into the wall with a wave of her hand. The third still hovered above her, and Leia spun her lightsaber in preparation as the droid finally decided to attack. It weaved left and right, firing shots in rapid sequence. Leia hopped back and forth avoiding the shots until she was backed up against a large block. She backflipped onto the top of the block and without pausing, leapt back into the air. The droid didn't know what hit it as she sliced into it from above. Leia landed with a soft thud, surveying the wreckage.
She walked over to a control panel on the far side of the room, and began violently punching in a code. As several droids came out of the storage room and began to clean up the mess, Vader reached out to Leia's mind. Through the cloud of her rage and confusion he felt something he didn't think he'd ever found before in either of his children: pain.
Sensing him, Leia immediately threw up her shields. "Leave."
"Leia."
She turned to face him. "What?" She said dangerously.
"I'm sorry that you had to endure that, but it was necessary. Traditional methods of interrogation weren't working, and we need the location of that base." Vader implored her.
Leia crossed her arms and glared at him. Outwardly she appeared frighteningly calm but inside, Vader could hear her screaming. Were he another man he might have gone and tried to comfort her.
"He gave you a system. And you still blew up the planet." Leia snarled. "Four billion lives lost in an instant just so you can prove that you have the bigger blasters."
"Sacrifices must be made in order to guarantee the safety and security of the Empire. You know this."
"Sacrifices?!" Leia said shrilly. "You felt them die as clearly as I did, Father. How can you stand there and try to justify it?"
She stood before her father, a full head shorter than him but her anger made her seem large. For a moment, Vader was proud of her.
"Your lightsaber is still ignited." He pointed out calmly.
And just like that, it disappeared. The anger melted away as she deactivated her lightsaber and changed back into the Leia that he knew. She pushed past him and got onto the turbolift. "Do not follow me." She said curtly as the doors closed.
XxXxX
"...I don't care what their excuses are. Nobody flies through this airspace right now, on the imperial prince's orders." Luke barked into his comlink.
"Of course, Your Highness. As you command." The voice on the other end stammered.
Luke paced back and forth on the viewing bridge. Most of the debris from Alderaan had settled into a pattern of movement; a newly formed asteroid field was all that was left to mark the existence of what had been one of the most cultured and educated planets in the galaxy. He had returned to the Death Star as quickly as possible after the planet exploded, but he had yet to see his sister. Knowing her, he was keeping his distance until she was ready to talk. But he couldn't sense her like he normally could. She was keeping her thoughts and emotions very heavily shielded, and it would have taken a braver man than Luke to try to break through.
"Your Highness."
Luke turned to see Tarkin approach. "Governor Tarkin." Luke replied evenly.
"Do you know the status of the scout ship that we sent to Dantooine?"
"They should be reaching the planet within the next few standard hours. We'll set our own course once was have confirmation that the rebel base is there."
"Very good, Your Highness." Tarkin said primly. He turned to look at the floating debris. "It's beautiful, isn't it? There won't be a star system anywhere in the galaxy daring enough to oppose us now."
"A masterpiece achievement." Luke answered flatly.
Tarkin caught the edge in Luke's voice. "Do you disagree, Highness?"
"Forgive me, governor, if I don't celebrate the senseless annihilation of four billion lives."
"Senseless?" Tarkin raised an eyebrow. "I prefer to think of as more of an insurance policy against any future insurrection."
"For the Empire, or for you?" Luke asked pointedly.
Tarkin managed to at least appear to look confused. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Luke leaned in close to him. "I mean that I think you are a sycophantic narcissist who has managed to weasel his way into control of this battle station and you're worried that…"
"Excuse me."
Luke and Tarkin both turned. Leia had appeared silently behind him.
"Lady Vader." Tarkin greeted her, inclining his head towards her.
Leia ignored him. She looked up at her brother. "How long have you been here?"
"A few hours. I didn't know if you were ready to talk." Luke said carefully.
"Oh." Leia seemed off, somehow. Her presence in the Force seemed hazy, like she wasn't fully aware of where she was. "I didn't sense you."
"My lady, if I have offended you in some way…"
"Governor Tarkin." Leia interrupted him. The haze suddenly vanished and a flash of rage emanated from her that was so strong even Tarkin took a step back. "If I wanted to speak with you, I would. As it is, you're lucky that I haven't sent you out to join Alderaan. Leave."
"My lady…"
Leia ignited her lightsaber and thrust the blade mere inches from the governor's neck. "I said, leave."
"Yes, my lady." Tarkin said silkily.
Luke watched him go. "He'll find a way to make you pay for that."
"I don't care."
She turned to the massive viewscreen and stared at Alderaan's remains. For a long time she was quiet. Luke could faintly sense her trying to keep her emotions under control.
"You know, I haven't been in space for a long time." Leia said quietly, not taking her eyes away from the vast emptiness. "I forgot how quiet it is. Imperial Center is always noisy, even in the middle of the night."
"Leia." Luke gently tugged on her elbow. "Alderaan's destruction wasn't your fault. You didn't cause it to happen..."
"...but I didn't stop it!" Leia interjected, suddenly furious again. "I barely even tried! I was so afraid of our father that I just froze!"
The chair that was standing next to her flew across the room and hit a large monitor with a loud crack. Luke ducked instinctively but Leia seemed to get herself back under control. She clutched the handrail tightly with both hands and Luke was startled to see her shoulders shaking with tightly controlled sobs. Slowly, cautiously, he reached out and gently touched his sister's back. "Leia…"
"I want to hate him." Leia murmured. "I want to hate them all."
"But you can't." Luke finished for her.
Leia looked at him. "Sometimes...I don't believe that what we've been taught is right. I try...the Force knows that I try. It's not that I don't feel the dark side and want the power sometimes. When I let myself go, when I let myself touch that power, it's engrossing. I feel like I could do anything I wanted. But when it's gone...I'm afraid of it. I'm not like you."
"I know." Luke said simply. "Nobody expects you to be."
"Father does." Leia said bitterly. "He told me I'm not strong enough."
"But you aren't me, you're you, and you're perfect the way you are. Once I am a Sith I can change the rules. There won't have to be just two. I will make things the way that I want. The way that we want."
She fixed Luke with a level gaze. "You know, I'm sure our father thought the same thing. Once."
XxXxXx
Leia sat with her brother and father in the council room awaiting the report from the scouts sent to Dantooine. While Luke and Vader were fervently talking back and forth, she was unusually quiet. Internally she was squirming because she knew in her core that Bail had lied, and the rebel base was not on Dantooine. She dreaded the storm that would come when he found out, and it was taking almost all of her concentration to hide the fact that she knew Dantooine was a dead end. If Vader found out he'd want to know why she'd kept quiet, and that was a discussion that Leia was absolutely not ready to have.
"Going forward, I am no longer concerned with the stolen plans." Vader was saying. "Once we have confirmation that the rebels are on Dantooine we will wipe them out before they have the chance to strike."
Leia shifted slightly in her seat. Neither her father or her brother seemed to notice.
"And if someone else does have them?" Luke asked. "Some lowly officer could easily have spirited them away in the confusion and sold them to the highest bidder."
Vader waved a hand dismissively. "Even if they did, the rebellion is the only collective large enough and strong enough to make any kind of trouble. Once they are eliminated, the stolen plans will be insignificant."
A commander walked into the room and snapped to attention. Immediately, Luke sat up a little straighter. Something was wrong.
"Yes?" Vader said.
The commander straightened up nervously. "Our scout ships have reached Dantooine. They found the remains of a rebel base, but it looks like it's been deserted from some time. We are preparing a search of the surrounding systems."
"He lied." Vader said, outraged. "He lied to us!"
Despite herself, Leia felt a flush of pleasure. Good. Vader looked at her suspiciously. "Did you know?" He asked.
"No. But I told you he'd never consciously betray the rebellion." Leia retorted.
Vader banged his hand on the table in frustration. "He's outlived his usefulness. He will be executed tomorrow."
Leia felt ill. There was a cold lump in her stomach. It had been there since Alderaan was destroyed.
She thought there was something wrong with her. Vader and Luke were so unaffected by the planet's destruction. Sacrifices had to be made. She knew that. A Sith lived their life with no regrets. They did what was necessary, and they did so without mercy.
And yet...
Leia was no Sith. She thought of all of the things she had been. Imperial Advisor in the Senate. Lady Vader. Daughter and sister of Sith Lords. They were titles without power. And without power, she'd never be able to change anything. She might wake up one day and find herself to be no different from her father: reduced to acting as a lapdog and always waiting for an opportune moment that was never going to come.
Without fully thinking about what she was doing, Leia rushed back to her chambers. She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes, drawing the Force around her to give her strength. She checked to make sure that her lightsaber was secure on her belt, and added a blaster to her holster. Before she left she grabbed a dark cloak and pulled the hood over her head.
When she got to the detention block, she was met by a frowning officer. "This area is restricted to authorized personnel only." He said firmly.
Leia reached out and nudged his mind. "This is a surprise inspection." She said.
The officer's eyes seemed to glaze slightly. "An inspection? Of course, my lady."
"You will evacuate this unit while I conduct my inspection." Leia continued. "You will delay your return for fifteen standard minutes."
"I will evacuate the unit for fifteen minutes." The officer repeated. He signaled, and the troopers in the control center followed him out.
Leia smirked. She loved that trick.
It took her only a moment to make her way back to Senator Organa's cell. When she got to the door she paused, asking herself for the thousandth time what exactly was she doing. But then the ache of millions of deaths echoed in her bones and she took a deep breath, steeling her resolve.
When she opened the door, Bail was laying with his back to her. He didn't react to her entrance, but Leia wasn't fooled. He wasn't asleep. "Get up." She said.
Hearing her voice, Bail turned to look at her. He seemed to have aged a hundred years in the span of a day. "What do you want?" He asked bitterly.
"This is a rescue." Leia said bluntly.
"What?" Bail asked, sitting up.
"This is a rescue. I'm getting you out of here." Leia pulled him to his feet. "Can you shoot?"
Bail stared at Leia in amazement. "Of course I can shoot."
"Good." Leia shoved the blaster in his hand and reached into her boot. "And take this. It's what everyone has been looking for."
In her hand was the drive of stolen plans.
"Where did you get that?" Bail asked quickly as he shoved the chit in his pocket.
"Your spies never had them." Leia said softly. "They only thought they did."
Bail looked stunned, but the look on Leia's face prevented him from asking any more questions.
Leia peered out of the cell. The control center of the block was still empty. "We've got about ten minutes before the guards come back. Now, I can get you to a ship but I can't go with you. I'll try to make sure that they don't fire at you, you just get those plans to the rebellion."
"Why are you doing this?" Bail asked her.
She turned back to look at him. "Your wife. Queen Breha. She was on the planet, wasn't she?"
Bail's voice wavered. "Yes."
"I felt her die. I felt every single one of them die, and I didn't stop it. Maybe I couldn't have, but I should have tried."
Bail touched her gently on her shoulder. "There wasn't anything you could have done."
Leia closed her eyes, remembering the pain. "But I can do this." She opened her eyes with a renewed determination. "Let's go."
"Wait." Bail stopped her. "In case something happens…"
"It wont'." Leia interrupted.
"But still." Bail said firmly. He looked around, and lowered his voice. "If the time comes, you should know where to go."
He whispered something in Leia's ear. Her eyes widened as she nodded in understanding and pulled him out into the prison block.
When they got to the hangars, Leia pulled Bail into a small alcove. There hadn't been any difficulty getting that far, but the hangars were always busy. Plus, she didn't want to risk running into Luke or Vader. Leia reached out, searching for them. Luke's thoughts were scattered and she had no difficulty finding him pacing back and forth on the bridge. Her father proved to be a little more difficult, but she finally found him in a deep meditation in his chambers.
"We should be clear from here." She murmured.
She felt a mental tug. There was a single blaster shot. A sudden feeling like she'd been punched in the stomach pulled her out of her trance and back to reality.
She turned around just in time to see Bail crumple to the ground.
Stunned, Leia stared at the lifeless form of Bail Organa. She slowly looked up at the platoon of stormtroopers that had stumbled upon them. The one in front still held his blaster loosely at his side. "Lady Vader, are you alright?" He asked her.
But she didn't hear him. Everything around her seemed to be going dark. Hatred - sticky, thick, and black - bubbled up in her core, rising hotter and faster than anything she'd ever felt before. She dimly heard her lightsaber ignite before everything went black.