[Last Of The Jedi] - 07 (5 page)

“The Empire doesn’t like other species,” Flame muttered. “They’re starting to fill all staff Positions with humans.”

Suddenly Trever froze. Up on the screen was Ferus. He was in Ussa.

The room fell completely silent.

“… has called upon the Bellassan hero Ferus Olin for assistance. Ferus Olin has pledged his own considerable energies to the task of retooling Bellassan factories and bringing new life to the planet’s economy …. “

Suddenly the room erupted in jeers and boos. Someone threw something at the screen. “Traitor!” someone shouted. The word was taken up until it made the walls shake.

Traitor! Monkey-lizard!

Ptor spit on the ground.

“I wouldn’t think a group of thieves and black marketers would care so much about politics,” Flame murmured.

Trever looked around the room. “All Bellassans care about politics,” he said.

He felt the contempt in the room. He looked up at Ferus again.

Betrayal. How could Ferus do this? Even as a double agent? He had been an inspiration. Now he was the worst of the worst. A traitor.

The Orange District on Coruscant had deteriorated even further. It seemed to contain more lowlifes, more menace, and more debris. It seemed more dangerous, more seedy, and more …

“Orange?” Clive wondered aloud. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, but it was never this orange.”

Solace strode a half step ahead, as she usually did, her eyes constantly moving, checking for trouble. “The Empire has left it alone, so it’s just gotten worse.”

“That’s good for us,” Astri said. She had a grip on Lune’s hand. She hadn’t let go since they’d left the air taxi.

“Yes and no,” Solace said. “They won’t let it alone for long. They can’t afford to be seen as weak. And Ferus told us that their ambition is to control Coruscant all the way down to the crust. If that’s their ambition, they’ll follow through.”

“Maybe Coruscant wasn’t such a good idea,” Astri said, shooting an annoyed glance at Clive. He pretended not to see it.

“No, it’s the best place for now,” Solace said. “Dex has a good setup. And he keeps his ear close to the ground. When it’s time to move, he’ll be ready. The asteroid was no place for Lune. And he’s the most important thing.”

Astri and Clive exchanged a surprised look. It seemed so out of character for Solace to demonstrate concern for a child. Astri hadn’t even been sure that Solace remembered her son’s name.

Or maybe Solace only cared about him because he was Force-adept.

Clive grinned at Astri, and she ducked her head before he saw her answering smile. She was still trying to sort out if she liked him. She certainly didn’t trust him. According to Trever, Clive had been something of a con man before the Clone Wars, despite all his boasts about being an industrial spy for the good guys – whoever they were. As a slicer, Astri hadn’t always been on the proper side of the law, either, but she’d been on the run from a nasty ex-husband and had her reasons.

The last thing she needed in her life was another smooth-talking charlatan. She’d made the mistake of marrying one once. Bog Divinian had swept her off her feet – straight into a life of misery. All Bog cared about was climbing the ladder to political power, and once he’d gotten a taste of Success, he did anything to keep it. He prided himself on loyalty, but basically that meant that others had to be loyal to him. He’d failed at every business he’d tried, but he turned out to be a genius at politics. Relying on his wealthy friends, keeping grudges, paying back favors, speaking sentences with all the right words but without any real meaning, he’d succeeded past anyone’s expectations. Including her own. It infuriated her that Bog had turned out to have the last laugh.

She couldn’t believe what a dope she’d been to fall for him in the first place. Her father had tried to tell her, in his sweet, bumbling way, but she hadn’t listened.

A longing for Didi swept over her, almost blinding her for a moment with sudden tears. Her adopted father had always run a scheme, usually behind her back. He’d been a gambler with a loose connection to the truth who’d won his business - a cafe - in a game of sabaac. He was an unscrupulous liar, a delightful person, and a wonderful father.

“Dex’s alley. Don’t make any sudden moves, they can get touchy around here,” Solace warned. “We’re under constant surveillance.”

Astri brought Lune closer. He was as necessary to her as breath, but she had to admit that he had basically made her a coward. When she remembered the girl who had shaved her head and gone off with a Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to track a bounty hunter, she could hardly believe she was the same person. Now she never put herself in danger. She would never risk her life again. Her life was Lune’s life.

The alley was narrow, the buildings around them seeming to crouch over it protectively. They had no windows, only slits, which gave them an ominous air. The alley twisted and turned, leading to dead ends. There was only one way in and one way out as far as Astri could see.

Solace stopped in front of a door that seemed indistinguishable from any of the dozens they’d passed. She stood in front of it for a moment. Then she heard a slight click, and the door slid open. They walked into a small, dark entryway. A short flight of stairs led to a closed door. Astri shivered. What if it was a trap?

Suddenly a door opened, and a column of yellow light shined down. Dexter Jettster’s massive bulk filled the doorway. He rested on a large lounge with a repulsorlift motor.

“Welcome, welcome,” he boomed. “Come upstairs where you’ll find friends.” He powered away to make room for them to ascend.

“Good to see you again, Solace, it is,” he said, nodding at her. “And Clive Flax - you may not remember, but we’ve met before.”

“I do remember,” Clive said. “I’m still digesting your sliders.”

Dex chortled a laugh. “They stick to your ribs, that’s for certain.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

Dex then turned to Astri. He cocked his head to one side. Astri couldn’t believe that such a massive creature could project such buoyant charm.

“And there you are, prettier than ever,” he said. “I remember the day I bought the diner from your father. I heard of his passing. I’m sorrier than I can say. He was a good man. You must miss him dearly.”

“I do,” Astri said with a smile.

Dex chortled. “Left me a good business. I changed a few things, but everyone who came in still asked for you and Didi!”

“Thank you for taking us in,” Astri said.

Dex bent over. “And this is your son.”

“My name is Lune.”

“And so it is, and I’m Dexter, but you can call me Dex, like everyone else does. You may not remember, but we’ve also met before. You were only two years old.”

“I remember very well,” Lune said.

“So he does, so he does!” Dex chortled. “Now. Let’s get the tyke something to eat, and the rest of us will talk. There’s much to say.”

Within moments Lune was whisked off to the kitchen by WA-7, the antique droid who had worked for Dex in his diner. The others went to the conference room, where Keets and Curran were waiting.

Quickly, Solace outlined where the others were, and the fact that they’d had to smuggle Astri and Lune out of Samaria. Keets and Curran listened intently.

“You can stay here as long as you like,” Curran said, bobbing his head toward Astri. “It’s safe for now.”

“We can be on the lookout for planets where you can lie low,” Dex said. “Start over again with your boy. You’ll have to choose carefully. Bog Divinian has plenty of connections, now that he’s the ruler of Samaria. He’s been appointed the acting ruler of Rosha, too. A governor of a system now, he is. Very important.”

Astri nodded.

“Now I have something to tell you,” Dex said, nodding to Clive and Solace. “Something Ferus needs to know. There’s a new head Inquisitor, name of Hydra. He’s taken over from Malorum - he was his assistant. It looks like he might have the same interests as Malorum. He’s investigating a human male with unusual powers who keeps popping up and disappearing.”

“Unusual powers?” Solace asked.

“He’s been seen in key areas in the Galactic Empire. Made some trouble for the Empire, I guess, and they want him bad. We don’t know why, exactly. Thing is, these ‘special powers’ sound a lot like using the Force to me. I thought you should know that.”

“Our contact is trying to find out more information,” Keets reported. “But everyone likes to keep their heads down, these days. Things are locked down tight. I’m sorry to say that Curran and I worked every connection we have and came up dry.”

“So let’s stick with what we know,” Dex said. “Word is that the order came down from high above - maybe even as high as Vader - to trap this fellow and bring him in for questioning. The last sighting was right here on Coruscant.”

“Do you think he’s a Jedi?” Solace asked.

“I think he could be,” Dex said. “Ferus ought to know.”

Solace frowned. “He’s in deep cover right now. We can’t get the information to him. I’m going to have to check it out myself.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Clive said. “I owe Ferus a favor. More than one, actually, but don’t tell him I said that.”

Astri hesitated. She had vowed to herself to lay low here on Coruscant. She couldn’t risk exposure. She had to protect her son.

But Ferus had saved her life, and Lune’s. He would do it again and again if he had to.

It was time to find her courage.

“I’ll help,” Astri said. “You might need a good slicer.”

Dex tilted his head at her. “You came here for a place to hide, not to get involved in this.”

“Ferus needs help. He saved my boy’s life. And I’ve always been ready to help the Jedi.”

“I still have some contacts,” Clive said. “If yours have run dry,” he continued with a nod to Keets and Curran, “I might be able to dig something up.”

Solace nodded. “I still can work some angles.”

“What about us?” Keets asked. “There must be something Curran and I can do.”

Dex’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, I have the perfect job for the two of you,” he said.

It felt good to Roan to get his boots back on his homeworld. No matter what, he was home.

Roan told himself this, but he knew he was just searching for something - just one thing - to make himself feel better. All around him he sensed Bellassa crumbling. His beloved city of Ussa - the city that had Come through a war and an occupation and still found the will to resist down to the last citizen - had now fallen to its knees. He could feel it. “As goes Ussa, so goes Bellassa” was a saying on his homeworld. Everyone had looked to the capital city for trends, for signs, for direction, for courage.

And it was dying.

He felt displaced. It was almost a physical sensation, as if the gravity on the planet had changed. Or as if the thin air of the mountains had seeped down to the plains where Ussa was cradled, invading the city slowly until every citizen felt a little dizzy, a little short of breath.

Could he be losing his nerve?

He wished he could see Ferus again. His partnership with Ferus grounded him. Ferus was playing a dangerous game now, and for the first time Roan truly feared for the future.

He walked with Dona through the familiar streets of his old neighborhood. They had been to three diners already, searching for something to eat. Supplies were low. There was water flavored with the annisa herb from the mountains. But there was no tea. There was root paste but no fruit. Finally they found a kind Ussan who had set up a stand near the park with dried fruit and flatbread. She was almost sold out but gave them the last of what she had.

Dona looked somber as they ate their meager meal. “When people get hungry, resistance can fade,” she said.

“With winter coming, how long can the Ussans hold out?” Roan wondered aloud. “If they agree to recognize the governor and obey the laws of the Empire, the Imperial army will lift the blockade.”

“Soon mothers will see their children crying,” Dona said. “Do we really want to sacrifice our children?”

The Empire had strangled the port, strictly regulating what came in and out. It had closed the theatres and museums and entertainment complexes that had given the city such vibrant life. It had filled the green parks with its black garrisons. It had taken away all the things that made life worth living. Except life itself.

Dona brushed the crumbs from the rough linen tunic she wore. “I’m not going back to the mountains,” she told Roan.

He was surprised, but he didn’t show it. For Dona, the mountains were sacred, the only place she felt at home. “Why?” he asked.

“I’m staying here to help the Eleven,” Dona said. “Not by offering sanctuary now and again, or a guide if they need one. But real help.”

“You do help,” he said. “You’re our contact in the mountain area, and that’s become more important than ever.”

Dona turned to him impatiently. “You have other agents in the mountains, good ones, and you know it. I’m an old woman, is that it? You think I can’t be helpful?”

Roan laughed. “I don’t think of you as an old woman, Dona. I know you’ll be helpful. I just … “

“Want to protect me?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Well, you’ve done enough. You and Ferus. I owe you both my life, and I owe my homeworld. Here’s the thing you might not realize: No one looks at an old woman. I can do more for you than you know.”

“All right,” Roan said. “We’re honored that you’ll stay.”

She inclined her head.

He put a hand on her shoulder. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

“You and me, we’re too tough for them to catch,” Dona said with a smile.

Truth be told, he was glad. Dona was a link to Ferus. Before the Clone Wars, they had visited her in the mountains and stayed in her cabin. It was among their happiest times.

Roan had grown up in Ussa in a large extended family. He was used to noise and movement and laughter. His parents still lived in Ussa, but he rarely saw them, afraid he would endanger them. Two of his brothers had emigrated to other planets, and his sister had been killed in the Clone Wars, but his relatives - cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents - were still sprinkled around the city. He could walk down any street in Ussa and it would spark a memory, usually something that would make him smile.