Contained within the anthology From a Certain Point of View is the brief narrative "Contingency Plan." Penned by Alexander Freed, the story provides insight into the perspective of Mon Mothma as the Battle of Yavin unfolds.
Mon Mothma, the Rebel Alliance's leader, is portrayed wrestling with anxieties about the potential failure of the rebel assault on the Death Star leading up to the Battle of Yavin. To prepare for the possibility of a rebel defeat, Mon Mothma has created a detailed compendium of rebel cells, encrypted communication codes, secure locations, and pilfered Imperial documents. General Jan Dodonna cautions that even with a rebel victory, the entire base would need to be taken apart. He also warns that if the battle is lost, Mon Mothma will be the Rebellion's last hope.
Mothma, anticipating the arrival of Princess Leia Organa, directs every droid within the base to scrutinize the Death Star plans for vulnerabilities in the superweapon, confident in the Death Star's imminent arrival. Her assistant, Cianne, presents her with two bags filled with fresh clothing, handheld weapons, and sentimental keepsakes. As part of their contingency strategy, Mothma and Cianne board a shuttle in case the rebels are defeated. Before her departure, she requests General Dodonna to express gratitude to Princess Leia.
During their voyage, Mothma envisions a dire scenario in which the Empire relentlessly pursues and decimates the scattered remnants of the Rebel Alliance. She is haunted by the thought of a death squad discovering her and Cianne concealed within their shuttle, hidden in the radiation field surrounding a black hole. Her greatest fear is that the Rebellion she painstakingly built will be erased from the annals of history. Cianne, during their travel, pinpoints a minimum of five secure havens and a pair of isolated planets. However, she cautions that they cannot rely on the mobile squadrons due to their failure to regroup.
Mon Mothma dismisses both the idea of safe houses and the remote worlds of the Outer Rim, instead proposing a journey to Coruscant, the Empire's central world, should the rebels fail at the Battle of Yavin. She justifies this by asserting her unwillingness to subject other rebellious planets, including Mon Cala, Menthusa, and Denon, to further destruction. While she has grown accustomed to sending young people into battle, Mothma refuses to accept the devastation of entire planets. While they are waiting, Mon suggests that they should have waited for the Princess. Cianne disagrees and says that Leia would never have come. When Mon says that she owes Leia's father, Cianne responds that Bail owed her and that Leia is paying off that debt now.
Mothma, as she drafts her surrender address to Emperor Palpatine, conjures a worst-case scenario where she capitulates to the Empire to avert the annihilation of more planets. As Mothma grapples with her deepest anxieties, she is startled by laughter emanating from the cockpit. Cianne soon enters the passenger area to relay the news to the rebel leader that the Death Star has been obliterated and that the rebels have emerged victorious. As the shuttle alters its trajectory, Mon Mothma vows to never again speak of her contingency plan. Despite her confidence in their victory, Mothma is aware that the conflict will be prolonged and that countless more young lives will be lost in combat.