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Luke had said Obi-Wan believed that moment made him stronger, but really it had only made him dead.

Dead.

Leia stumbled a few steps forward. Luke didn’t see her in the growing darkness. Kueller hesitated as Luke slowly raised his lightsaber blade toward his face.

Just as Obi-Wan had.

Kueller smiled.

Just as Vader must have.

“Luuuuuuuuuuke!” Leia screamed as Kueller brought his lightsaber up, preparing to strike.

Fifty-one

The Star Destroyers continued heading for the Yavin. The Wild Karrde fired at them, as did the Calamari, their shots missing the soft spot and ricocheting off the deflectors.

“Sir,” Ean said. “They’re heading directly for us.”

Wedge watched them, still clutching his hands together. He was gambling so many lives on a hunch. But if he followed the normal attack patterns, they would all be dead. He knew that much.

“Sir,” Sela said. “If they get in too close, we won’t be able to hit the targets. Our short-range weapons don’t have the kind of power—”

“I’m aware of that,” Wedge said. “I want you to shoot at the Calamari again.” He didn’t want to shoot at the Wild Karrde, afraid that the smuggler would stop helping altogether.

Shots streamed past the Calamari, and the nearby TIE fighters joined in the shooting. The Calamari rocked as the blasts hit the deflectors. Wedge wasn’t even sure if his shots went wide.

“They’re just outside our short-range weapons, sir. If we’re going to shoot—”

“We’re not going to shoot,” Wedge said. His hands had grown cold. The silence in the command center was frightening. Even Karrde had stopped cursing him. The other ships probably thought he was dead.

The Star Destroyers filled the dome overhead. They had ancient blast scars on their bottoms and their white lines were marked with rust.

“Sir, I think with our short-range fighters—”

“No,” Wedge said. “Ean, I want you to go to the top gunpods. I want people there, with blaster cannons in hand.”

“We could reactivate the droids, sir.”

“No. This is one-time precision shooting. Any A-wing or old X-wing pilots will go there as well.” He should be there too, but he didn’t trust his command crew with this assignment. They were already close to mutiny. If he abandoned them now, they would completely ruin his plan, such as it was.

“They’re overhead, sir. If they fire now, even our shields won’t hold.” The man who spoke was visibly shaking.

“They won’t fire,” Wedge said. “Let me know when those gunners are in position.”

The Star Destroyers looked massive, both on the screens and through the domes. The TIE fighters had redirected their assaults on the Wild Karrde and the Calamari. Both ships were shooting back, taking out TIE fighters as quickly as they could. The remaining B-wings were buzzing the TIE fighters, but the fighters had augmented weapons. The slaughter continued.

“Sir?” Sela said. “The Star Destroyers. They’re flanking us.”

“They’re going to shoot?” Wedge asked.

“No, sir.” Sela sounded puzzled. “I mean they’re flanking us. Like one of our ships would do.”

Then Wedge grinned. His hunch had been right. Those ships were piloted by droids. And since his action was illogical for a New Republic commander, they assumed he was one of theirs.

Now. If only his luck held …

“Are those gunners in place?” Wedge asked.

“Yes, sir.”

He hurried to the gunning console, and positioned the target map. “Using that,” he said, “they need to hit the precise point I’ve marked. No other spot. You got that?”

“The precise point?”

“They’ll only get one chance at this each. Because if they screw up and hit the shields, those ships will turn their fire on us.” Wedge stood, his heart pounding. “The moment those shots are fired, I want open channels to the Calamari and the Wild Karrde. I also want us to dive at two point six three on my mark. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Wedge glanced up. He could see nothing except the bottom of the Star Destroyer.

All or nothing on one gamble. One hunch.

He took a deep breath, and said, “Fire!”

Luke was raising his lightsaber, his heart pounding. He was reaching