A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. I'm really grateful that you're still here reading this. I've been doing a lot of revisions over the past few months, and I think that while I'm still planning to finish this story, I'm going to basically start over. This chapter is a product of my new thinking, so you may find Leia to be a little harder/darker. Feedback is always appreciated.

XxXxX

At some point Leia must have fallen asleep, because the next thing that she was aware of was a violent jolt and a roar as the tranquil silence of lightspeed vanished. They must have re-entered real space. Several moments later, Leia could hear the characteristic shrieks of rebel X-wings and the Falcon shook as its shields were met with blaster fire. She also heard Han arguing with someone on his comlink.

"No, I don't have a clearance code! I've been trying to tell you, I've got an imperial defector on board that you're going to want to talk to!"

Leia sprang to her feet and sprinted down the corridor to the cockpit. The jungle moon of Yavin 4 loomed close in their view. There were no less than eight X-wings darting in and out of view, and they all seemed to be taking turns firing on the Falcon. Between the sound of blaster fire, Chewbacca's howls, and Han's swearing she could barely hear the crackling voice on the comm. "Millennium Falcon, you are entering restricted airspace. Turn back immediately."

"Have you not contacted these people?" Han yelled at Leia.

"And how was I supposed to do that? On the imperial network?!" She snapped back.

"So you've been making this up as you go along?"

"Pretty much."

Han rolled his eyes. "Great. You know what? If we manage to get out of this without getting blown apart, forget my payment. I'll be happy just walking away from you in one piece, Lady Vader."

"Leia!" She corrected as the ship rocked again.

Chewbacca let out another howl.

"Millennium Falcon, this is your last warning. If you do not break off from your present course your ship will be disabled and you will be taken into custody."

"Oh, Sith." Leia muttered. She grabbed the comlink from Han. "Attention Yavin 4. This is Leia Skywalker. Cease fire immediately. I have the copy of the Death Star plans that you have been looking for." She took a deep breath. "Lord Vader does not know I'm here."

There was a long silence on the other end of the comm. Leia and Han looked at each other nervously.

Then suddenly, the X-wings pulled back. "Millennium Falcon, you have permission to land. Follow your present course to the Massassi Valley and docking bay 5."

Han closed his eyes and exhaled. "Thank you." He said under his breath. He signaled to Chewie, who began the landing protocols.

As soon as the ship landed Leia exited with Han and Chewbacca behind her. At first it seemed there were only two men there to greet them, but as she took a few more steps, about thirty rebel fighters came into view, their blasters ready to fire.

"I knew this was a bad idea." Han muttered.

Chewie woofed in agreement.

"Drop your weapons, put your hands above your head, and slowly walk down the hatch." The man closest to them ordered.

Han and Chewie immediately dropped their blasters and raised their hands, but Leia only narrowed her eyes. She had not been raised as the daughter of Darth Vader to meekly obey anyone who tried to order her around. "Is this how you welcome defectors that come in peace?" She asked.

"That remains to be seen." The first man responded. "Put your hands up where we can see them. Now."

Slowly, Leia raised her hands. But then her lightsaber leapt from her belt into her hands, and she ignited the blade. "Do you really think you could stop me from destroying this entire base if I felt like it, General Rieekan?" She asked him, letting them know that she knew exactly who they were.

"Spoken like the daughter of Darth Vader." The second man, who Leia recognized as imperial defector Crix Madine, said sharply.

The barb hit home. She bit her lip angrily and tightened her grip on her lightsaber. She looked around, all of the fighters had their blasters trained on her but she wasn't afraid. She knew she could kill every one of them if she wanted to.

The venom in that one thought made her stop. She forced herself to look past the blasters to the men holding them. In every single face she saw fear. Fear of the weapon she held that they probably all associated with Darth Vader, fear of her and what they knew she could do to them. And just like that, the anger melted away from her.

She deactivated her lightsaber and threw the hilt towards General Rieekan, who immediately gave the signal and four rebels surrounded her. Her hands were forced behind her back and into binders. The metal cut into her skin, but she barely noticed. She was forced forward as another group of fighters took Han and Chewie into custody. "They're innocent!" Leia said sharply, fighting back for a moment as they were lead away. "All they did was get me here. They deserve to be allowed to go in peace."

"That remains to be determined, Lady Vader." General Madine said crisply. A gesture from him signaled the men surrounding her to search her. She stiffened at the intrusiveness of so many hands, and the one to her right stood up with the data chit that had been hidden in her boot. Madine took the chit and examined it closely. "Is this it?"

"Yes." Leia said through gritted teeth.

The two generals conferred quietly with each other for a moment before turning back to her. "You will remain in the detention block while we review the data on this chit to see if it's what you claim it is. If so, you will be released. If not, you will be subject to further interrogation. Is this clear?"

She glared at him, but she refused to argue with him. If he got some perverse joy from locking up Darth Vader's daughter, then let him. She knew they were all aware that they couldn't keep her locked up if she really didn't want to be held.

XxXxX

For the first time, Leia had an idea of what it was like on the other side.

Not that the Empire and the rebellion could really be compared. While the rebellion was small and scared, which could make them desperate, Leia knew firsthand how the Empire made fear and torture its' trademark. But still, being confined to a small cell with her fate in someone else's hands was making Leia crazy.

The cell she was in was small, only about three meters square, with a bench that served as a cot and a chair in the opposite corner that was bolted down. All four walls were opaque so she couldn't see outside her cell, but she knew that she had round the clock guards because she could hear them change about every six four hours. She was slipped a meal tray through a slot at the foot of the door, but that was the only time she caught a glimpse of anyone. She felt like she was being treated like a bomb, and the rebels were afraid she'd explode if they got too close.

I guess I can't really blame them for that.

The guards had changed four times and Leia estimated she'd been there for approximately a full standard day when the door to her cell opened and a woman stepped in. Her hair was a rich auburn and cut very short, and she wore flowing white robes accented by a hanna pendant . "Senator Mothma." Leia said, recognizing her from the Senate.

"Lady Vader." Mon said calmly as the door shut behind her.

"Leia, please." Leia said. She gestured at the door. "No guards?"

"I don't think I need them." Mon smiled wryly. "Thank you."

Leia shook her head. "For what?"

"For not leaving."

"I'm in a cell." Leia said drily.

"We both know that wouldn't stop you." The older woman said evenly. "So why didn't you?"

Leia shrugged. "Because if I did, it'd only confirm me as a monster."

Senator Mothma nodded at the truth in Leia's words as sat down in the chair opposite her. "We've finished going through the data chit. The information you've provided is extremely thorough."

"Your spies are very thorough. All I did was intercept what they managed to steal."

Mon smiled at that. "Yes. Leia, against the advice of some of the others, I am prepared to let you walk out of this cell, but first I must ask you. Surely you know what this data means to us and what we plan to use it for. Do you really have nothing to lose?"

"No." Leia said firmly.

"Luke…"

"Is not on the Death Star."

"What about your father?"

She looked Mon Mothma directly in the eyes. "I said no. What about my pilot and the Wookiee?"

"They have already been released and heavily compensated for their troubles."

"Are they still planetside?"

Mon nodded. "Making some kind of repairs to the ship, I believe."

"Good. I will be leaving with them, then, as soon as I am released."

Mon leaned a little closer towards Leia. "Why leave? You've done the rebellion a great service today. We could use a fighter like you."

Leia looked away from her then. "Like a Force user? I won't be a figurehead for the rebellion against my family."

"But I thought you just said you had nothing to lose." Mon pointed out mildly.

"That doesn't mean I don't know what they're capable of!" Leia yelled, suddenly furious. "You have no idea! I've spent my entire life in the shadows of the Empire! I've seen things you couldn't even begin to imagine! Do you know what will happen to everyone here if you do manage to blow the Death Star up? There will be no quarter, there'll be no surrender. They won't stop until every single one of you has died screaming on a prison planet so far away that the galaxy has already forgotten about you. They've already shown they're willing to blow up a planet…"

"And that is exactly why you should stay." Mon interrupted. "You can help us make sure that what happened to Alderaan can never happen again. You can ensure that Bail Organa and the rest of the Tantive IV didn't die in vain."

Confusion jolted Leia out of her furor. Then she remembered; the rebellion thought Bail Organa had died on the Tantive IV. They didn't know he'd been taken captive. They didn't know that she'd tried to break him out. She took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll help you destroy this thing. Because I saw what it did to Alderaan, and I won't let them destroy any more worlds. But that's it. Once the Death Star is gone, so am I."