| Author |
Topic:
Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Updated 8/16
|
DarthIshtar
Title: Former CR
Star Wars Trivia Hostess
Registered:
Mar '01
|
Date Posted:
5/20 12:23am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS
|
It was not until the third day, when the initial sweeps had ended and there were no further attacks on the Royal Family that they were allowed to return to their normal duties. Only Bail had left the secure quarters after that first night and even then, he had only done so to meet with the Council of Thanes.
The decision to involve the Empire had been a reluctant one, since most of the Council members opposed it. On the other hand, it had been pointed out that they would be more suspicious if they concealed the disappearance of a Core World ruler than if they allowed the IBI to lend their dubious assistance.
The request for assistance went out to IBI within twelve hours of Leia's disappearance and they received an immediate response. By the beginning of the second day, there were military forces in orbit to prevent unauthorized ships from leaving. Inbound ships were stopped for inspection and registration. There were any number of disgruntled merchants who filed formal complaints with the Aldera Port Authority.
For the most part, those complaints came to a halt late on the second day. Bail's press secretary and the leader of the IBI team announced the disappearance and suspected kidnapping of the heir apparent to the Alderaanian throne. Leia became case Aurek-9-forn-22915 rather than Her Royal Highness and the investigation became a full-time pursuit. Winter was questioned yet again, but the scope of the investigation now presumed that this could be a foreign threat.
"Can you think of any enemies who might have done this?" Agent Markhens asked.
Bail flashed a mirthless smile. "I am a Senator of the Empire and Leia is the princess of Alderaan," he answered. "I can list a hundred different enemies who might have done this. Disgruntled refugees, Rebel extremists, political rivals..."
"Anyone in specific?"
He did not want to contemplate the possibility that this had been an Imperial operation. Vader had never been a friend of Alderaan and Grand Moff Tarkin had repeatedly threatened them all. It could be that someone within the ISB had taken Leia to use as a bargaining chip. It could be that this was simply an elaborate plot to blackmail him.
"Your Excellency?"
"No," he said quietly. "I cannot think of a specific group or individual who would have done something such as this."
The man gave him a chastising look as if he were being a difficult child rather than a frantically worried parent. "Please let us know if you or your staff come up with something," he said in an imitation of politeness.
"We will," he promised.
Markhens left out of courtesy's sake. Winter was giving the constabulary artist a description of each person she had seen in Leia's vicinity. Breha was tied up with the effort of running a functioning government in the midst of the family crisis. And he was relegated to narrowing down a list of likely perpetrators.
Under normal circumstances, he would have rather been condemned to the seventh hell before he cooperated with the Empire. This was far beyond his control, however, and he was not entirely certain that this was not the seventh hell.
"Your Excellency."
This came from a less familiar face. Instead of the hard-faced IBI agent who was leading the team, it was one of the young women who seemed entirely out of place in the investigation. Her name was Melina and he was not sure she had ever given a surname, but she had treated them all with more compassion than the rest of the team put together.
"There is a message from orbital defense."
That was the very polite term for a blockade. No one wanted to admit that they were effectively under siege.
"What is it?"
"A drone attempted to pass through the blockade on a course for the Aldera Spaceport," Melina reported. "The broadcast signal indicates that it is from the Princess' captors."
That was nothing new. There had been twelve separate attempts to claim responsibility and none of them had resulted in anything but a threat to put the next person who made the effort in prison for obstruction of justice.
"Anything?" he asked wearily.
"The broadcast is on the same channel as Leia's emergency commsignal."
That brought him to his feet. "Where is it now?"
She stepped in front of him. "A shuttle is bringing it down from the Defender," she assured him. "Give us ten minutes and we'll be able to give you an accounting of everything it contains."
"Does Breha know?" he demanded.
"She's being informed and brought here at her earliest convenience."
True to character, Breha arrived within two minutes with a full guard complement. "Where is it being inspected?"
"Forensics at Port Constabulary," Markhens supplied. "We will let you know if it's safe to enter..."
Breha was already on the move and Bail fell into step with her without further comment. Melina was not so restrained.
"There is the possibility that the drone could contain anything from a biological weapon to an explosive," she pointed out. "I don't think it's advisable..."
"It's the first thing we've heard from our daughter's captors," Breha snapped. "I will wait for the results of the inspection, but by the stars, I won't be waiting halfway across the city."
"If you say so, Your Majesty," Markhens sighed.
They arrived at the forensics lab within seven minutes of the news coming through. The inspector sent a slightly murderous look at the agents, but finished his work efficiently. When he finally emerged, he was holding only two things.
"Do you recognize this?" he asked, handing over a folded garment.
"Leia's jacket," Breha said breathlessly. "It has a tear in the collar that we were supposed to have mended..."
She fingered the rip in the shimmersilk almost reverently before passing it on to Bail. He held it up on the pretense of inspecting the familiar article of clothing, but instead breathed in the scent of his daughter. It was a mixture of her soap and the lorna-blossom perfume that she used copiously against her mother's advice.
"It's hers," he confirmed. "What else was there?"
The inspector handed over a vial that might have been at home in a medical lab. Instead of the usual flimsistiker indicating which doctor was handling the case or who the patient was, there was a single word scrawled on a sticker.
"I'm not familiar with that term," the inspector said. "It's in Taiald, yes?"
It was in Taiald, the language of their people. It might indicate that the perpetrators were Alderaanian or simply that they wanted to make sure that the message was understood.
"It is," Bail agreed. "It says Ma'sper. Wait for more."
-----signature-----
"I feel like a more down-to-earth Pink 5 when I'm writing Leah. Same attitude, less lip gloss." ~Me on how to get in the right mindset for Twilight fanfic.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Fortherea
Registered:
Feb '03
|
Date Posted:
5/20 3:09am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
Woah, there I was, not really expecting my stimulus to work... or was it coincidence?
Pretty big thing to let the Imperials get involved and establish an "orbital defense". But I hope Melina, at least, can really help them. Is she based on someone from the West Wing episode or is she your idea?
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
LASOS
Registered:
May '08
|
Date Posted:
5/21 6:52pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
|
Wow. Chilling last line. This is excellent!
-----signature-----
I can engage in lightsaber duels with my 5 year-old nephew while playing catch with my 2 year-old nephew.
Wearing stilettos.
Take that, Luke Skywalker.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
zsuzsa
Registered:
Mar '03
|
Date Posted:
5/24 11:09am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
-Delurks after thousand years of lurkdom-
Hey Ish!
Very good story.
I am a bit afraid of our Princess but Hey is't Leia after all!
Surely that kidnappers did not get the "Don't mess with Princess Leia" information. They are in a big truble...
Zs.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
JediNat
Registered:
Jan '08
|
Date Posted:
5/26 7:24pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
Nice update! 
The last line is freaky! I'm worried for Leia and her family! 
-JediNat-
-----signature-----
May the Force be with you!
I'm a little teapot short and stout here is my handle and here's a note from my shrink he says I'm getting better. Last week I thought I was a toaster oven *crazy laughter* -Dot
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Idrelle_Miocovani
Title: Solar Power loving Scattergories Hostess
Registered:
Feb '05
|
Date Posted:
6/6 4:54pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
|
Interesting developments, but I'm getting really concerned for Leia, Bail and Breha! Why do I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon?
-----signature-----
"Shouldn't we be doing something... constructive?" "What did you have in mind? A short, blunt human pyramid?" NaNoWriMo: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/462992 This Time Around: http://boards.theforce.net/ASP/user.asp?usr=1162416 Ish's Padawan
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
winterseh
Registered:
Jul '01
|
Date Posted:
6/9 8:31pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
|
More soon?
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
DarthIshtar
Title: Former CR
Star Wars Trivia Hostess
Registered:
Mar '01
|
Date Posted:
6/11 5:34am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--16.5 years after ROTS--Updated 5/20
|
nabooqueen2008--Yes, it's good for Leia to stand up to them, though what good it'll do is yet to be seen.   Thanks!
JediNat--Just a bit. The main purpose of this story is to flesh out the family dynamic of Bail and Breha in a time of crisis. When it makes you sad, it's doing its job. You're welcome and thanks for reading.  \
canadianjedimama--Thanks, CJM. That's very kind of you to say.
RK_Striker_JK_5--Don't you mean beat up? Glad it was a bit tense. Glad you're still enjoying this.
Idrelle_Miocovani--No, not very nice at all... /Gollum voice. You might expect them to be sweetness and light... "But we kidnapped her to take her to Disneyland!" LOL, yup, the OGOD works every time. Thanks for reading and the kind words.
Fortherea--I will...soon. And I appreciate the stimulus.
Fortherea--LOL, beware your own powers, punk. Not coincidence at all. Yeah, it's a major thing to have the Empire involved. Melina is completely a creation of my own and not based on anyone in the WW episodes. I wanted someone redeeming in the ISB.
LASOS--Thanks, LASOS. Glad it was chilling.
zsuzsa--*delurk* HEY, ZSUZSA! Thanks. Yes, it's Leia after all, but this is a few years before she's the kick-butt Leia of ANH. The kidnappers don't know better yet.
JediNat--Thanks, Nat! It was supposed to be. That last bit was *shudder*... for me as well.
Idrelle_Miocovani--Not bad, just intense. Or potentially bad. Depends on your POV.
winterseh--Possibly today.
-----signature-----
"I feel like a more down-to-earth Pink 5 when I'm writing Leah. Same attitude, less lip gloss." ~Me on how to get in the right mindset for Twilight fanfic.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
zsuzsa
Registered:
Mar '03
|
Date Posted:
6/21 5:52am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Nommed for Best Drama and Best Canon Female (Le
|
Can we get an update about Leia's situation? 
Poor girl shoudl be sent to the med ward.
Zs.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
angry_bendu1
Registered:
Apr '07
|
Date Posted:
6/21 7:48am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Nommed for Best Drama and Best Canon Female (Le
|
Just read through this and it is great! 
“Yes, but this is Leia,” Breha reminded him. “Has she ever shown any signs of rebellion?”
Ummm... you might want to hold that thought.  
Great job!
-----signature-----
Ramblings of a Jedi (snarky Jesika's diary- filled w/ romance, sarcasm, etc.): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28753761/p1/?0 I was staring at the orange juice because it said "concentrate". Proud owner of a '96 Geo Metro. "To the Crapmobile!"
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
DarthIshtar
Title: Former CR
Star Wars Trivia Hostess
Registered:
Mar '01
|
Date Posted:
7/5 10:36am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Nommed for Best Drama and Best Canon Female (Le
- Date Edited:
7/5 10:43am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
DarthIshtar
|
zsuzsa--Coming up, yes. She should be.
angry_bendu1--Thanks, angry! Yes, hold that thought. Then again, she's only 16. According to canon, she's mostly been a courier at this point. Thanks!
*****
Bail had never been to the forensics department of the Alderaan Department of Intelligence, but it took a surprising amount of self-restraint to keep himself from barging in. The agent assigned to Leia's case was barely older than Leia herself, but the director of ADI had assured the Royal Family that he was the most capable analyst that they had. The IBI had offered their own people and Bail had grudgingly allowed them to have access to the same samples, but he would not rely on any truth that the Empire offered.
Breha had not visited personally--she was still constrained by the duties of office--but she had commed twice in quiet exasperation to demand a status report.
"Does he have nothing for us?" was the opening line that replaced a more traditional greeting.
"He's being thorough," Bail had explained the last time. "Every time I've asked the same thing, he would sigh and ask me if I wanted the right answer or just any answer."
She sighed almost inaudibly. "I want to know if she's all right."
"I know," he assured her.
The analyst had Leia's jacket and a sample of the blood. A separate sample had gone to the medical examiner. He did not want to consider the fact that the medical examiner was more adept at determining a time of death than anything else.
If Leia had been here and in some trouble, he would have kept a vigil at her bedside or held her until he could find a solution to the most basic of her problems. Instead, he stood in impatient anticipation for a man half his age to finish looking for blood markers that might identify where his daughter was being held.
"Your Highness."
He turned to find Melina standing at a respectful distance. He nodded in greeting.
"Is there any news?" he asked.
"Our analysts have finished with the samples," she explained. "They will be contacting your people shortly to corroborate their findings, but we should be able to brief you in about ten minutes.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “Has anyone told my wife?”
“One of her aides has been sent to deliver the message,” Melina answered. “She will be meeting us here if she has time to hear the results.”
Of course Breha would be here. In spite of the fact that she was carrying on with her duties, she had eschewed all unnecessary meetings. The both of them had become reclusive, but so far, no one had questioned their right to put the crisis ahead of the niceties of office.
Through the transparisteel window, he could see that the analyst had answered a comm call and was studying readouts.
“Where can I wait?”
*****
Leia could no longer remember when the last time she had eaten was. The pain of the neglected wound kept her unconscious for most of the time, but she had no way of marking the passage of time.
They had finally removed the blindfold. Through a haze of disorientation and aches, she memorized the pattern of tiles on the ceiling. Her tongue was too swollen for her to call out for help or to beg for mercy and she was not sure that she would do either.
At some point, she could remember trying to crawl the perimeter of her room, looking for hiding places or potential escape routes. Those memories were mixed in with things that made no sense, however, so she couldn’t tell if she had done so or just imagined it.
After her first encounter with her captor, no one had bothered with her. There had been no shortage of threats and jokes on her behalf on the way back to her holding cell, but for all she knew, they could have left her for dead here.
Maybe that was their intention. Since she had not been treated, her wound was undoubtedly festering. She knew little about medicine, but knew enough about biology to remember the dangers of infections spreading to vital organs.
There was undoubtedly the option of cooperating, but she no longer knew what that might entail. Maybe she had done all that she could by simply letting them threaten her. Maybe she was already of no use to them at all.
It was possible that the only use she had left was as a martyr.
*****
“It’s not that bad,” he muttered.
“Not that bad,” his partner scoffed. “Didn’t they teach you anything about human medicine in the Navy?”
“They taught me enough that I know how far we can go,” he pointed out. “We have enough bacta to bring her back if things get bad.”
“You don’t know that,” she argued. “You haven’t been in there in over a day and you couldn’t tell me anything except what is probably happening to her. We don’t know if there are viral spores on this world or if she’s bacta-resistant…”
She trailed off as he inhaled sharply. Immediately, she circled to his side so that she could read the data that he had been studying.
“Systemic infections,” she read. “Well, we knew that.”
“That’s not what interests me,” he retorted. “I ran all the standard tests on the blood sample. I didn’t think to edit out the midichlorian count.”
It was such an old-fashioned reading that she hadn’t bothered to look for it. Near the bottom, he had highlighted a five-digit figure.
“Over seventeen thousand,” she breathed.
For the first time in days, he grinned. “I wonder if the Empire knows.”
“They can’t,” she insisted. “She’d have been dead long ago if they knew she had a terminal case of Jedi potential.”
“Unless they want to use it,” he rejoined.
“Do you think we should leak it?” she asked. “Last we heard, the IBI was helping the Organas track us down.”
“The IBI, yes,” he agreed, “but I think Vader would be very interested in knowing about this.”
This was an unmistakable change in plans and she wasn’t sure she liked it at all. Vader wasn’t known for his forgiving nature and trying to haggle the price of a prisoner wasn’t likely to get them on his good side.
“Are you sure?” she asked anxiously. “I thought we were going to ransom her.”
It went unspoken that their prisoner was little more than a child. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way, much less be turned over to the man who would kill her for latent powers.
“That’s our Plan B,” he said without a hint of reassurance. “For now, the plan is that we let the Organas know that we’ve noticed it and see just how much they’ll be willing to sacrifice to keep us quiet.”
-----signature-----
"I feel like a more down-to-earth Pink 5 when I'm writing Leah. Same attitude, less lip gloss." ~Me on how to get in the right mindset for Twilight fanfic.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
LASOS
Registered:
May '08
|
Date Posted:
7/5 2:30pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Updated 7/5
|
|
Wow, you are really building the suspense here! I think Bail and Breha would sacrifice everything for Leia, but she might not be willing to let them. Can I have PMs for this, please?
-----signature-----
I can engage in lightsaber duels with my 5 year-old nephew while playing catch with my 2 year-old nephew.
Wearing stilettos.
Take that, Luke Skywalker.
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Idrelle_Miocovani
Title: Solar Power loving Scattergories Hostess
Registered:
Feb '05
|
Date Posted:
7/5 2:44pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Updated 7/5
|
Tense, short chapter, Ish. Glad to see this updated again!
“That’s not what interests me,” he retorted. “I ran all the standard tests on the blood sample. I didn’t think to edit out the midichlorian count.”
It was such an old-fashioned reading that she hadn’t bothered to look for it. Near the bottom, he had highlighted a five-digit figure.
“Over seventeen thousand,” she breathed.
For the first time in days, he grinned. “I wonder if the Empire knows.”
“They can’t,” she insisted. “She’d have been dead long ago if they knew she had a terminal case of Jedi potential.”
“Unless they want to use it,” he rejoined.
“Do you think we should leak it?” she asked. “Last we heard, the IBI was helping the Organas track us down.”
“The IBI, yes,” he agreed, “but I think Vader would be very interested in knowing about this.”
Uh-oh.
Now what?!
Can't wait for this to to be updated again!
-----signature-----
"Shouldn't we be doing something... constructive?" "What did you have in mind? A short, blunt human pyramid?" NaNoWriMo: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/462992 This Time Around: http://boards.theforce.net/ASP/user.asp?usr=1162416 Ish's Padawan
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
JediNat
Registered:
Jan '08
|
Date Posted:
7/6 6:29pm
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Updated 7/5
- Date Edited:
7/7 3:15am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
JediNat
|
Intenese update! Bail and Breha would give up everthing for Leia, but I hope they don't have to.
-JediNat-
-----signature-----
May the Force be with you!
I'm a little teapot short and stout here is my handle and here's a note from my shrink he says I'm getting better. Last week I thought I was a toaster oven *crazy laughter* -Dot
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Fortherea
Registered:
Feb '03
|
Date Posted:
7/7 11:39am
Subject:
RE: Dogs of War--An Organa family crisis SHORTstory--Updated 7/5
|
|
Woah, EVIL to bring that into play as well! The plot thickens, as they say
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
