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Luke had appeared so badly injured in that holo. Perhaps he was dead. Perhaps he hadn’t survived the explosion of his X-wing.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. She couldn’t live with perhaps. Her brother had been given up for dead many times. She had learned to believe that he could survive the most impossible circumstances. She had learned that when she and Lando had found him hanging upside down from a weather vane below Cloud City.

She sent a final coded message along all computer channels, trying to find Artoo. He was probably still in repair. Those Kloperians had nearly destroyed him twice, and she had left an order—one of her last official acts—that the Kloperians who worked in the ship docks be relieved of their duties until she was certain that they were not guilty of any tampering. She suspected them because of their behavior toward her droids. If they had left the droids alone, she would have thought them innocent victims, like everyone else.

If Artoo didn’t arrive soon, she would go alone. Time was the most important factor here. If Luke was alive, but badly wounded, he might not be able to defend himself. Sometimes his powers seemed magical to those around him, but she knew beneath it all that Luke was as human as anyone else.

And as vulnerable.

Death took even the greatest Jedi Knights. She had watched Obi-Wan die, raising his lightsaber, and allowing Vader to slice him through.

That image had stayed with her all these years. For while Luke had come to see that moment as a sign of Ben’s power, Leia had always seen it as an example of power’s limitations.

She had never spoken to Obi-Wan Kenobi when he was alive. Only when he was a ghostly vision, like her real father and Yoda. Obi-Wan hadn’t seemed strong then. A guide, a teacher, and little more.

A knock on the hatch made her whirl. No one knew she was here, except Mon Mothma, and she wouldn’t come here. Artoo, if he had received Leia’s message, wouldn’t knock.

She tapped her exterior screen. Wedge stood there, wearing his general’s uniform, his hair slicked back, his hat tucked under his arm. He looked very official.

Her mouth went dry. Silly to be afraid of a friend, but she was suddenly. She didn’t want him to tell her to stay, and she didn’t want him to notify anyone that she had left—at least not this early on.

Still, she couldn’t deny him. She opened the hatch and waited for him in the cockpit.

He had to duck under the door as he stepped in. “Leia?” he said. “Mon Mothma sent me.”

“I’m not staying, Wedge,” she said. “No matter how much you argue. Luke is in trouble, I can’t raise Han, and by the time the Senate votes to help, Luke will be dead.”

Wedge put his hat on the copilot’s chair. “I know, Leia. You don’t have to justify your actions to me. Mon Mothma didn’t send me here to prevent you from leaving. She sent me to accompany you.”

Leia shook her head. “That won’t be necessary, Wedge. It’s better for me to go alone. But if you can find Artoo, I’d appreciate that.”

“You don’t understand,” Wedge said. “Mon Mothma is sending me and a fleet with you.”

Leia’s legs felt suddenly weak. She leaned against the controls. “A fleet? She can’t do that. It takes full approval of the Senate.”

“Technically,” Wedge said. “There are always ways around that, as you well know.”

“But she doesn’t dare. The Imperials in the Senate will crucify her.”

“They won’t know if we do it soon,” Wedge said. “The fleet will be long gone by the time they object.”

“And then they’ll throw her out. Wedge, this is precisely the kind of thing I wanted to prevent when I asked her to take my place.”

“Trust Mon Mothma, Leia. She managed to unify a diverse group of Rebels and make them into a real government. She has a devious side.”

That caught Leia. She frowned. “What’s her plan?”

“To let us go. The ships are already being prepared. She believes we need to get rid of this Kueller as quickly as we can. Under your leadership, we can do that, Leia.”

“What’s so devious about that?”

“If we win, you’ll get the credit. It will stop the no-confidence vote when you return. It’ll allow