A Galaxy Far, Far Away. The Death Star. Friday.
Leia had no idea how much time had passed after Vader finally gave up and left her cell. She curled into a ball, trying to ignore the pain that still shook her small frame. She hadn't broken. She hadn't revealed any of the secrets of the rebellion. She'd never break.
A guard brought her food at some point, but she ignored it. Torture didn't give her much of an appetite. The next time the door slid open, it was Vader again, and she braced herself for another round of interrogation. Instead, he had her hands bound again -- because if they were free she'd surely grab a blaster from one of the guards and shoot him with it -- and escorted her to the bridge of the ship. There was a blue planet on the viewscreen, but they were still too far away for her to identify it.
She recognized the man who was waiting for her there. "Governor Tarkin," she said coldly. "I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."
"Charming to the last," Tarkin declared in a fashion which suggested he was anything but charmed. He caught her chin in his hand and studied her face. "You don't know how hard I found it to sign the order for your termination." His expression changed to one of mock sorrow. "Of course, had you cooperated in our investigation, things might be otherwise. Lord Vader has informed me that your resistance to our traditional methods of inquiry...."
"Torture, you mean," she countered a trifle shakily, jerking her head away.
"Let us not bandy semantics," Tarkin smiled.
"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility for issuing the order on yourself," she said. At the same time, her mind was racing. She wasn't going to die this way, was she? She still had to find her twin brother and help bring about the fall of the Empire, not to mention meet her future husband and become mother to Jaina and Anakin. It couldn't end now.
Tarkin sighed reluctantly. "I am a dedicated man, and the pleasures I reserve for myself are few. One of them is that before your execution I should like you to be my guest at a small ceremony. It will certify this battle station's operational status while at the same time ushering in a new era of Imperial technical supremacy. This station is the final link in the new-forged Imperial chain which will bind the million systems of the galactic Empire together once and for all. Your petty Alliance will no longer be of any concern to us. After today's demonstration no one will dare to oppose Imperial decree, not even the Senate."
Leia looked at him with contempt. "Force will not keep the Empire together. Force has never kept anything together for very long. The more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers. You're a foolish man, Governor. Foolish men often choke to death on their own delusions."
Tarkin smiled a death's-head smile, his face a parchment skull's. "It will be interesting to see what manner of passing Lord Vader has in mind for you. I am certain it will be worthy of you -- and of him. But before you leave us, we must demonstrate the power of this station once and for all, in a conclusive fashion. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan."
"No!" Leia said, horrified. "You can't! Alderaan is a peaceful world, with no standing armies. You can't..."
Tarkin's eyes gleamed. "You would prefer another target? A military target, perhaps? We're agreeable... name the system." He shrugged elaborately. "I grow tired of such games. For the last time, where is the main rebel base?"
Leia took a step back, desperately trying to decide what what to do, only to find herself bumping into Vader, who stood directly behind her. She couldn't betray the rebellion -- its goal was more important than her own life, but this was her home. There were billions of lives on the blue world in the viewscreen, including her adoptive parents. Her aunts. Winter. Friends and classmates and teachers and palace guards who looked the other way while she'd slipped outside for mischief while she'd been growing up.
A voice announced over a hidden speaker that they had approached within antigrav range of Alderaan -- approximately six planetary diameters. That was enough to accomplish what all of Vader's infernal devices had failed to. "Dantooine," she whispered, staring at the deck, all pretense at defiance gone now. "They're on Dantooine."
Tarkin let out a slow sigh of satisfaction, then turned to the black figure nearby. "There, you see, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable. One needs only frame the question properly to elicit the desired response." He directed his attention to the other officers. "After concluding our little test here we shall make haste to move on to Dantooine. You may proceed with the operation, gentlemen."
It took several seconds for Tarkin's words, so casually uttered, to penetrate. "What!" Leia finally gasped.
"Dantooine," Tarkin explained, examining his fingers, "is too far from the centers of Imperial population to serve as the subject of an effective demonstration. You will understand that for reports of our power to spread rapidly through the Empire we require an obstreperous world more centrally located. Have no fear, though. We will deal with your rebel friends on Dantooine as soon as possible."
"No!" Leia started to protest. But she'd known when she'd named Dantooine that Alderaan was doomed anyway. Her homeworld had been headed for this fate ever since Bail Organa had been exposed as a leader of the rebellion. She lunged toward Tarkin, as if she could somehow stop him by strangling him with her bound hands, but Vader grabbed her shoulder and jerked her back.
"The only words which have meaning are the last ones spoken," Tarkin declared cuttingly. "We will proceed with the destruction of Alderaan as planned. Then you will enjoy watching with us as we obliterate the Dantooine center of this stupid and futile rebellion."
He gestured to the two soldiers flanking her. "Escort her to the principal observation level and," he smiled, "make certain she is provided with an unobstructed view."
Leia could only watch helplessly as green beams of light shot from the Death Star, merging into one beam that struck Alderaan. A second later, the planet was gone, exploding into fiery debris. Leia looked away, ignoring the sick feeling inside her, refusing to scream or cry or beg. She wasn't going to let Alderaan's sacrifice be in vain. And she'd make Vader and Tarkin pay for their part in this.
[Adapted from "Star Wars: A New Hope" the movie and Star Wars: A New Hope the novelization. THANKS, DAD.]
A guard brought her food at some point, but she ignored it. Torture didn't give her much of an appetite. The next time the door slid open, it was Vader again, and she braced herself for another round of interrogation. Instead, he had her hands bound again -- because if they were free she'd surely grab a blaster from one of the guards and shoot him with it -- and escorted her to the bridge of the ship. There was a blue planet on the viewscreen, but they were still too far away for her to identify it.
She recognized the man who was waiting for her there. "Governor Tarkin," she said coldly. "I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."
"Charming to the last," Tarkin declared in a fashion which suggested he was anything but charmed. He caught her chin in his hand and studied her face. "You don't know how hard I found it to sign the order for your termination." His expression changed to one of mock sorrow. "Of course, had you cooperated in our investigation, things might be otherwise. Lord Vader has informed me that your resistance to our traditional methods of inquiry...."
"Torture, you mean," she countered a trifle shakily, jerking her head away.
"Let us not bandy semantics," Tarkin smiled.
"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility for issuing the order on yourself," she said. At the same time, her mind was racing. She wasn't going to die this way, was she? She still had to find her twin brother and help bring about the fall of the Empire, not to mention meet her future husband and become mother to Jaina and Anakin. It couldn't end now.
Tarkin sighed reluctantly. "I am a dedicated man, and the pleasures I reserve for myself are few. One of them is that before your execution I should like you to be my guest at a small ceremony. It will certify this battle station's operational status while at the same time ushering in a new era of Imperial technical supremacy. This station is the final link in the new-forged Imperial chain which will bind the million systems of the galactic Empire together once and for all. Your petty Alliance will no longer be of any concern to us. After today's demonstration no one will dare to oppose Imperial decree, not even the Senate."
Leia looked at him with contempt. "Force will not keep the Empire together. Force has never kept anything together for very long. The more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers. You're a foolish man, Governor. Foolish men often choke to death on their own delusions."
Tarkin smiled a death's-head smile, his face a parchment skull's. "It will be interesting to see what manner of passing Lord Vader has in mind for you. I am certain it will be worthy of you -- and of him. But before you leave us, we must demonstrate the power of this station once and for all, in a conclusive fashion. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan."
"No!" Leia said, horrified. "You can't! Alderaan is a peaceful world, with no standing armies. You can't..."
Tarkin's eyes gleamed. "You would prefer another target? A military target, perhaps? We're agreeable... name the system." He shrugged elaborately. "I grow tired of such games. For the last time, where is the main rebel base?"
Leia took a step back, desperately trying to decide what what to do, only to find herself bumping into Vader, who stood directly behind her. She couldn't betray the rebellion -- its goal was more important than her own life, but this was her home. There were billions of lives on the blue world in the viewscreen, including her adoptive parents. Her aunts. Winter. Friends and classmates and teachers and palace guards who looked the other way while she'd slipped outside for mischief while she'd been growing up.
A voice announced over a hidden speaker that they had approached within antigrav range of Alderaan -- approximately six planetary diameters. That was enough to accomplish what all of Vader's infernal devices had failed to. "Dantooine," she whispered, staring at the deck, all pretense at defiance gone now. "They're on Dantooine."
Tarkin let out a slow sigh of satisfaction, then turned to the black figure nearby. "There, you see, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable. One needs only frame the question properly to elicit the desired response." He directed his attention to the other officers. "After concluding our little test here we shall make haste to move on to Dantooine. You may proceed with the operation, gentlemen."
It took several seconds for Tarkin's words, so casually uttered, to penetrate. "What!" Leia finally gasped.
"Dantooine," Tarkin explained, examining his fingers, "is too far from the centers of Imperial population to serve as the subject of an effective demonstration. You will understand that for reports of our power to spread rapidly through the Empire we require an obstreperous world more centrally located. Have no fear, though. We will deal with your rebel friends on Dantooine as soon as possible."
"No!" Leia started to protest. But she'd known when she'd named Dantooine that Alderaan was doomed anyway. Her homeworld had been headed for this fate ever since Bail Organa had been exposed as a leader of the rebellion. She lunged toward Tarkin, as if she could somehow stop him by strangling him with her bound hands, but Vader grabbed her shoulder and jerked her back.
"The only words which have meaning are the last ones spoken," Tarkin declared cuttingly. "We will proceed with the destruction of Alderaan as planned. Then you will enjoy watching with us as we obliterate the Dantooine center of this stupid and futile rebellion."
He gestured to the two soldiers flanking her. "Escort her to the principal observation level and," he smiled, "make certain she is provided with an unobstructed view."
Leia could only watch helplessly as green beams of light shot from the Death Star, merging into one beam that struck Alderaan. A second later, the planet was gone, exploding into fiery debris. Leia looked away, ignoring the sick feeling inside her, refusing to scream or cry or beg. She wasn't going to let Alderaan's sacrifice be in vain. And she'd make Vader and Tarkin pay for their part in this.
[Adapted from "Star Wars: A New Hope" the movie and Star Wars: A New Hope the novelization. THANKS, DAD.]