Little Miss Inalienable Rights

Leia was exhausted. It had been a year since Han had been frozen in carbonite by Vader and taken by Boba Fett, and since she'd found out the truth of her and Luke's parentage. She'd devoted as much time as she could to finding Han, and while she ached to do more, the Rebellion had to take priority.

This last mission had been especially troublesome. She'd gone to Aargau, the banking world, to secure funds to get more X-Wing fighters. Unfortunately, Vader had been there. She'd been sorely tempted to throw his true name in his face to let him know she knew exactly who he was, but she couldn't risk him realizing just who she was to him. He knew his son lived, but he had no idea about the daughter, and she and Luke had agreed it was best to keep it that way for now. So she'd covered her thoughts and her anger with sass, taking pleasure in outwitting Vader on neutral planet and getting the money she needed by pawning the Crown Jewels of Alderaan. She hated to part with them, but the funds they'd bring were worth so much more to the Rebellion.

And then she'd found out Vader was after the jewels all along, for reasons she couldn't begin to fathom. She was sorely tempted to contact Anakin in Fandom and ask him why, but she hadn't talked to him since confronting him about being Vader, and that would be an awfully strange way to re-establish contact.

[Yeah. The comics are really weird. ;) Open for anyone who wants to get in touch with her.]

Leia stood before the viewport on the medical frigate, leaning against Luke as they watched the Falcon disappear into the stars. "We'll find him," Luke said as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

She nodded, tired and drained but still clinging to hope. Jaina was proof of that, and Anakin, too, right? As long as everything happened the same. She was just glad Luke was in one piece -- so to speak -- and that Vader hadn't gotten his hands on him. The trap had failed, but she was still aching with grief over being unable to save Han.

( And here's where canon makes a *slight* change.... )

Luke had gone missing in the icy wastelands of Hoth, and Leia had been frantic with worry. Fortunately, Han had found him and kept him alive, giving her another reason to be grateful for his continued presence.

( But she was positive he'd do something to ruin her good will within a short time. )

Leia wasn't sure what made her pick up Luke's lightsaber. Pure desperation, she supposed, since she didn't have a clue how to use it. She knew she'd be a Jedi some time in the future, but even in Fandom she'd been too busy with reports from the rebellion and locating safe bases and troop movements and finding resources to insist on being trained then (if any of her alternate universe relatives would have even taken her up on the early instruction).

But she didn't have a choice right now. She and Luke had been forced to make an emergency landing en route to a meeting on Circarpous IV, which turned into a crash landing on Mimban, which turned into sneaking around a secret Imperial energy mine, no small feat for two of the most wanted rebels in the galaxy. From there it became a search for a crystal that could allegedly magnify the Force, but considering the tale came from a crazy old woman, Leia wasn't totally buying it. There was, for anyone keeping track, a distinct lack of mud-wrestling.

Except then everything went to hell when Imperial troops arrived, led by none other than Darth Vader. And he'd found her and Luke, and her twin was pinned down in some rubble, leaving it to her to stop Vader.

( I have a bad feeling about this. )

[ooc: Some text and dialogue lifted from Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the first EU novel. And it's completely ridiculous and clearly shows Lucas was making shit up as he went along because Luke is totally putting the moves on Leia, and is just as smooth as his father. And Vader spouts off lines like "one can do some interesting things with a saber, you know. I'll do my best to show you all of them if you'll cooperate by not passing out."]

The ancient temple throne room had been cleared of creeping jungle growth and debris, and it was perfect for the celebration to honor the heroes of the Battle of Yavin. For the first time in thousands of years the spacious chamber was full. Hundreds of rebel troops and technicians stood assembled now on the old stone floor, all of them still filled with excitement over their recent victory.

( Death Star went boom! )

After the destruction of Alderaan, Leia had been taken back to her cell. She had the small satisfaction of knowing she'd sent them on a pointless search for the rebel base, but that was little comfort. Faces flashed through her mind whenever she closed her eyes as she lay on the cold, hard bench. Bail, Breha, Winter. Her heart ached for them and all the people of Alderaan, but she couldn't let herself lose hope. There had to be some way out of here. This wasn't going to be the end.

( I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you! )

[Adapted from "Star Wars: A New Hope" the movie and Star Wars: A New Hope the novelization.]

The holding cell Leia had been placed in had no way out from the inside, at least none she had found after hours of searching. She'd finally retreated to sit on the low bench along the far wall to think about her situation. Was this how things had happened for the other universe versions of herself, Luke's sister and Jaina's true mother? Had her father known and didn't warn her? But even if he had, it might not have changed anything. She'd still have risked everything to get the plans to the Death Star, and now she could only hope that somehow the droids had found Obi-Wan and delivered them to him, and he in turn to Bail Organa.

The metal door on the opposite wall began to rise. Two imperial guards stepped inside and assumed positions just inside the doorway. She eyed them defiantly, but that defiance gave way to fear when Darth Vader entered the cell, followed by the hovering black orb she recognized as an interrogation droid.

"And, now Your Highness," Vader said, "we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel base."

Leia studied the contraption fearfully as it drifted closer to her. She had heard rumors of such machines, but had never really believed that Imperial technicians would construct such a monstrosity. A hypodermic needle emerged from the droid's body, and she tensed, preparing to do whatever she could to fight the thing off. Of course, she ultimately didn't have a choice when the soldiers at the door moved to hold her still to allow the the droid to inject her with drugs that would amplify her pain.

The drug also wouldn't let her escape into unconsciousness when the torture began. For the next two hours Vader questioned her as the droid did its work. But she refused to speak. She wouldn't even give him the pleasure of her screams.

Leia had somehow managed not to have any wee visitors this weekend, which was actually a good thing since she'd been buried in work.

But she was finally taking a break (mainly so she didn't try to throttle one of the other senators she was opposing, which would've been impressive if she could've done it through a holograph) (then again, she was her father's daughter). The door was open.


[Open, particularly for wee GFFAers, since I was made of fail in getting Leia out this weekend.]

Leia had taken her time returning to the palace, spending the day and the following morning enjoying the Alderaan countryside. When she finally came home, a palace servant told her that her father had made a secret visit to Alderaan and left strict instructions for Leia to see him as soon as she arrived. She didn't really need any instructions, but the fact that he'd left them made her anxious about the nature of his visit. She wondered if the information Basso had carried had already been recovered.

( Wherein Leia learns two very important words. )

[NFB due to distance. From the Star Wars Radio Play episode 2, "Points of Origin."]

Leia didn't go directly back to Alderaan from Ralltiir. Instead, she had the Tantive IV divert to the planet Kattada's main spaceport of Haloeda, so she could meet with the ruler of Kattada, Madam Mia Ikova, a rebel sympathizer. She may not have been able to get the supplies to Ralltiir herself, but she wasn't ready to give up yet, and she requested Mia's assistance in getting the items to the rebels on Ralltiir. The rebel they'd rescued, Basso, was still healing in the bacta tank, so she hadn't been able to speak to him yet about the information he claimed to have.

( She was preparing to depart Kattada when a report arrived than an Imperial patrol ship was landing. )

[NFB due to distance. From the Star Wars Empire comics #5 & #6 "Princess...Warrior, Part 1" and "Princess...Warrior, Part 2."]