A/N: Events referenced in Chapter 20 of Purpose of Heritage (this can technically be read alone, but, you know, it connects with PoH).

Wedge Antilles had flown across the galaxy and back on many occasions and in many different ships, but transporting Bail Organa was the only situation in which he'd had to regularly check for stowaways.

Or, rather, stowaway. One specific stowaway. Seventeen-year-old Princess Leia Organa had apparently ended up on more than one mission she wasn't even supposed to know about, and before his first flight with Wedge, Bail had given strict instructions to run through what came to be known as a Princess Check.

"Look anywhere big enough for a tooka to fit," Bail had said. When Wedge laughed in response, the viceroy had regarded him soberly. "I am entirely serious, Antilles. My daughter is more resourceful than most. And if she is aboard the ship and you happen upon her, be forewarned: She looks innocent, she is charming, she will convince you she is doing me a favor by coming along on the mission, and she won't even lie to do it."

Wedge never actually happened across Princess Leia when she was actively stowing away on a transport. He had met her on a handful of other occasions and had found her charming and witty, though he had yet to see her alleged duplicity in action. Until he let Hobbie Klivian take over Princess Checks.

Hobbie misunderstood the first Princess Check. In retrospect, Wedge probably should have made sure Klivian knew what he was being asked to do. Apparently, when he had stumbled upon the young princess sitting on her own duffel bag in a storage compartment, she had apologized politely for startling him and informed him that she usually liked to find someplace quiet to settle in before take off. Having located the princess and ensured she was well and good, Hobbie reported back that the Princess Check had been completed. It wasn't until they were hours away from Alderaan that Leia made her presence known to the rest of the crew, at which point Hobbie found out that the entire point of a Princess Check was to make sure the ship was princess-free.

The second time Hobbie performed a Princess Check on his own, Leia had apparently greeted him with a brilliant smile.

"It's Ensign Klivian, isn't it? I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm Leia Organa. This is my father's ship. It's so fortuitous that my calendar cleared up just in time for this mission!"

Not a lie spoken by the princess, and Hobbie believed every word said along with every intended implication.

Bail had been understandably furious both times, and though Wedge didn't fly the viceroy often, he took personal responsibility for the Princess Checks from then on out. He wasn't superstitious…Well, he wasn't any more superstitious than the standard Alliance pilot, anyway, but there was something to be said for patterns. When he performed Princess Checks, the princess didn't pop up; when Hobbie was left to his own devices, Princess Leia made it onto the ship. So, Wedge decided he would be in charge of Princess Checks. He added them to his list of routine pre-flight checks, and Princess Leia seemed to remain where she was supposed to be — or, she at least didn't climb aboard his ship without his knowledge.

Two-and-a-half years of flying with the Alliance and several dozen Princess Checks later, Wedge was again running through his pre-flight checks, this time speeding through the list while planning a course from Coruscant to Yavin. The rest of the group was headed to Alderaan with the majority of the princess' belongings. Wedge and Hobbie had been nearby on other business, and had helped ransack her apartment per Bail's instructions, the knowledge that she had been captured and likely murdered weighing heavily on them all. They had ended up with two crates when the group had to scatter, but they needed to head back to Yavin — Dodonna's orders — before they would be able to deliver the items to Bail and Queen Breha.

Wedge made it halfway through his pre-flight checks before calling Hobbie into the cockpit. "Will you run a Princess Check while I get us ready to go?"

Hobbie frowned and inhaled sharply, meeting his gaze with pain-filled eyes. "Wedge—"

Wedge wasn't superstitious. But there was something to be said for patterns. And maybe, just maybe if Hobbie was left to his own devices…

He shook his head and spoke, voice thicker than he anticipated. "Just do it, Hobbs, okay?"

Hobbie nodded and left.