Fic: New Moon
Author: Red (dzohhar@yahoo.com)
Rating: G
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Bail Organa. I've borrowed him without
permission, and I do not  make money out of it. No infringmenet of
copyright intended.
Summary: Bail Organa's POV
Warnings: None, I guess.



New Moon


It was evening on this side of Alderaan. I walked alone by the ponds in
the Royal
Gardens. Another day had passed in incessant political squabbling – as
if it
mattered any more. The Republic was no more, the Senate was being
disbanded.
Sitting in a political meeting for hours, listening to the endless drone
of voices
speaking about how to obtain more influence in one or another Committee,
all I
could think of was Leia. So I escaped from the side entrance of the
palace as
soon as the meeting was over, seeking solitude in the gardens, so that I
could
hear myself think.

Truth to be told, I was worried. My daughter – my adoptive daughter was
out
there somewhere. Every day, every hour that she was away, it was a great
effort
for me to ignore this nagging fear for her and to concentrate on my
daily tasks.
And with each passing day the fear grew.

Calm. That was what I needed.

The only thing that could truly calm me now was reassurance that my
daughter
was alive and well.

Where are you now, my child? There had been no word from her for some
time
now. She was up there, somewhere, among the stars – or I hoped so.

Three weeks ago word had reached us that the mission to steal the plans
of a new
Imperial murdering device had been successful, but the agents were being

tracked down one by one and destroyed by the Empire. Four attempts to
forward
the information to the Alliance had failed. It was then that Leia
undertook it to
deliver the information herself.

I had seen Leia in action. She was brave, yet not reckless; she was wise
beyond
her years, which gave her an advantage, because imperial officials
always tended
to underestimate her.  And she was a perfect diplomat. She could always
find the
right words and the right tone to make her point, strike the right chord
when
addressing the press, speaking to people or just making a busy senator
impression. The latter amused me sometimes, yet I'd also seen one or two
times
when her "Senator Organa" impression had proven useful. Few officials
dared to
stop and question her then.

Surely Leia was well. She had to be. It could not be otherwise. That she
had not
sent word was her normal caution. Messages could be tracked and if she
was
with the Alliance, she wouldn't want to give away their location. The
night
before she left we were sitting on that very same bench here -- it was
another
moonlit night -- and she laughed at my worry, saying it was useless. I
asked,
smiling, do you honestly hope to make a parent stop worrying for his
child? She
hugged me and said, don't worry until you hear from a trusted source
that
something has happened to me. Then you have my permission to start
worrying.
I had to laugh.

The moon was different today. I frowned. True, I was not one to
contemplate
moons and stars, therefore I was not sure. But last time I saw the moon,
it was
much bigger, and more yellow. I shook my head. I must be truly tired to
be
thinking such nonsense. New moon always looked smaller.

My mind returned to my daughter. I was not afraid of the usual dangers
that she
could encounter in space, like pirates or petty crime lords. Leia was
protected by
her immunity as Galactic Senator, and that still meant something in the
Galaxy.
And I knew she was careful. But diplomatic immunity meant nothing to the

Empire, even if it had reserved the right to violate it to its
officials. And should
something go wrong, should the true nature of her missions be
discovered, her
senatorial status would no doubt mean torture and death in imperial
hands, and
most probably not only for her, but for the whole family, friends, as
well as many
other senators.

I wasn't afraid for myself. I mean, of course I'd try to avoid Imperial
prisons and
torture chambers – anybody in their sound mind would. But it was her who
I
worried about most. I knew her so well. She always considered the safety
of her
family and friends before herself, she wouldn't want to hurt anybody. If

something happened, she would blame herself, and that would be the worst

torture for her. But she knew that more lives where at stake, now that
the Empire
was about to complete the most horrible weapon of mass destruction ever.
Leia
had always shown very much responsibility, maturity, forethought. That
should
have reassured me, but somehow, it only served to remind me how much she
was
the daughter of her parents.

She was so young. Too young to take such risks. Every time she went on
another
mission of hers, my mind said, she's the only one who can complete it
successfully, but my heart cried, this is not fair!!! Young people
should be
happy, enjoy themselves, go out and meet people! Not fight the Empire
and die,
before they ever learn the taste of happiness. Legacy or not, Leia had
done
nothing to deserve such life. Yet I could not give her a better one.

I reached the other end of the ponds. There was a small bench where I
sat down,
listening to the frogs croak and late birds chirp. A nightbuzzer flew
past my head,
almost touching my ear. I followed it with my eyes as it veered towards
the rose
bushes, the pale blue light of the new moon reflecting on its wings.

Stop.

Suddenly I realized what had been nagging at the back of my mind. It was
not
yet time for new moon. It should not be for another three days.

My knees went weak when I realized what I was seeing.

I jumped up to run back to my office, to contact the Empire, to demand,
to
negotiate, to warn, to evacuate, to do something... when I saw a green
dot of fire
emerge from the moon. In an instant it grew, grew and engulfed

......





FIN


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"Maul halten und weiter dienen!"
-Svejk