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“He certainly is damaged, Threepio, but I suspect we can repair him.” She reached inside one of Artoo’s panels and hit a reboot switch. The little droid screamed. The President backed away and the protocol droid toppled over. Then Artoo rocked back and forth on his wheels.

The President patted him on the head. “It’s all right, Artoo. It’ll be all right.”

But the little droid kept screaming. The high-pitched wailing sound had the guards cringing and the general placing his hands over his ears. Cole felt as if his insides were being wrung out. He had caused the damage to the little droid by getting him into this mess.

The protocol droid sat up. “Artoo, if you don’t cease this needless screaming, Mistress Leia will have to shut you down again.”

Artoo’s head swiveled, and he quieted. Then he saw the Kloperian and beeped. The beeps grew in intensity until they began to sound like a linked scream.

“Stop, stop, stop!” the protocol droid said, scrambling to its feet. “I’ll translate. He says he was attacked by a Kloperian, that this is the second time, and that he will not be responsible for what happens if another Kloperian gets near him.”

“You’re dismissed,” General Antilles said to the Kloperian guard.

“But, sir, you might need me. This man was committing sabotage—”

“You are dismissed. I would advise you to leave before I have to take your name and guard number.”

The Kloperian’s fishlike mouth pursed. Then it nodded its head. “As you say, sir.”

It waddled out, its tentacles wrapped around its body in true Kloperian high indignation.

“Whyever did he hurt Artoo?” the President asked. She was looking at the general.

“I was just getting to that,” the general said. “Apparently the guards found this young man and Artoo working on this X-wing. The guards claim they were sabotaging it.”

“Artoo would never do that,” the President said.

“Nonetheless, there is an Imperial detonator inside the computer.”

“A detonator?” The President’s voice had gone down to a whisper. She hurried across the room, and leaned into the X-wing with all the assurance of a pilot. Then she looked at Cole. Her gaze was even more demanding than the general’s. Suddenly Cole understood why no one crossed Leia Organa Solo.

“You’re the one who sabotaged this X-wing?” she asked, her voice cold.

He shook his head. His mouth was suddenly dry. “No, ma’am. Artoo and I found the sabotage.”

“Artoo? And where did you get him?”

Artoo beeped, and chirruped.

“He says that Master Luke left him here to work with Master Fardreamer,” the protocol droid said.

“You’re Fardreamer?” the President asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And what’s your connection to my brother?”

“I was repairing his X-wing.”

“This isn’t his X-wing.”

“No, ma’am.”

“What’s wrong with Luke’s X-wing?” the general said.

Cole swallowed. Having the two of them stand over him was almost worse than facing all the guards’ blasters. “Nothing, sir. It was being reconditioned as per your orders and then Jedi Master Skywalker came here, complaining that we had tampered with his X-wing. He said his was special, and that he didn’t want it overhauled, and would I put it back the way it was? He left Artoo to help me. As I was removing the computer, I found a detonator. Since the computers come as one piece, preassembled, I thought perhaps the detonator wasn’t targeted at the Jedi Master, but at X-wings in general. So I looked at the computer on another reconditioned one and found the same thing. Then I wondered if the new ones had the same device, and the only new X-wing I had access to was the prototype, so I came in here.”

“Artoo,” the President said without turning around. “Is this true?”

Artoo wobbled on his wheels. He tried to come toward her, but his circuits groaned. He beeped softly.

“You had best answer her and worry about your health later,” the protocol droid said.

Artoo beeped, then chirruped, then rocked on his wheels as if he was emphasizing his point.

“Artoo confirms the young man’s tale,” the protocol droid said. “He is worried that these new computers are part of a plot to destroy the best