[ Leia jolts a little, wrapped up in her own memories enough not to expect the question. When she'd first arrived, she'd thought it too much to burden her eventual Inmate with, that they'd feel too much pressure to graduate on her behalf and it would just be cruel. But in the month and change she's been here, Leia's realized that perspective is a bit egotistical.

She's hardly the first, or only, Warden to have a deal on that scale. And it's not like she could possibly keep the destruction of Alderaan a secret. That was never the idea. ]

The whole planet, [ she says plainly, without reservation or grief. The likes of Tarkin, Vader and Palpatine are not going to cow her, not then and not years later. But she does sneer faintly in disgust as she goes on, ] It was destroyed as a demonstration, because of me and my family's actions against the Empire.

I won't do whatever it takes to get it back, but I'll put up with this circus.