[Last Of The Jedi] - 07 (9 page)

They looked at each other over Lune’s head. It hardly mattered that they’d escaped. Lune had been noticed.

Ferus slipped back into the garrison and went to the quarters that had been assigned to him. He sat on the chair, thinking.

Conduits and modular components for artificial atmospheres on an unprecedented scale.

Ferus knew that artificial atmospheres could mean anything. It could be a small city or a large ship or a building. Was the Empire building a massive prison? New headquarters?

Not headquarters, Ferus thought. The Emperor had retooled the Senate to his liking. He had no need of new headquarters. And besides, such a project wouldn’t have to be secret.

… an unprecedented scale…

Ferus didn’t like the sound of that.

For the next three days, Ferus was escorted to the factory along with the scientists. Bellassan factories had always combined their research laboratories with their manufacturing facilities in the same compound, so the scientists already had some resources to begin. Ferus found himself with the menial tasks of checking off the delivery of various supplies to the labs, like dataports and durasheets. Since nothing classified had begun, reporters from the HoloNet were given free rein.

Ferus was along as a “facilitator,” meaning that he attended meetings where nothing much was decided in order to be in more news reports about the amazing Empire and what it could accomplish on Bellassa. Nowhere was it mentioned what the scientists would be working on, except in the vaguest terms.

At least in his position he was able to watch. He noted that Moff Tarkin often went into one particular office, where senior officers sat in front of computer consoles. He guessed they were setting up programs and organizational structures. A nervous-looking team of Bellassan architects were brought in, no doubt to “facilitate” the conversion.

Ferus tried to find a way to be alone with the scientists, but they were closely guarded. He could sense the misery of some of them, but he could tell that several others had volunteered for this mission. One scientist from Eriadu seemed especially eager to impress Tarkin. The sad-faced woman in the burgundy tunic kept to herself, but her misery was like a cloud around her.

Ferus’s only hope was to get into that room.

On the third afternoon, he was beginning to despair when, on his way to leave with a troop of officers, he saw the factory caretaker passing on a repulsorlift cart. Ferus made a small sign of acknowledgment, but the caretaker turned his head.

Puzzled at his reaction, Ferus walked out with the officers to the main docking bay. It was empty.

“The ship was supposed to be here waiting,” the senior officer said, annoyed. He took out his comlink. “What’s the status on the transport back to the garrison?” he barked.

“There was a shutdown on all air traffic while they made the trial run of supply ships for the Despayre run,” a voice said.

“Get a ship here now!” the officer ordered testily.

Despayre. Ferus had heard that name before, when he’d been at the Imperial prison planet in the Outer Rim. The prisoners had worked in a huge factory. They never knew what they were working on, but he’d discovered that the parts were being shipped to a facility on Despayre.

It was too much of a coincidence. Was it a piece of the puzzle?

Ferus’s gaze wandered over to the translucent doors at one end of the platform. They opened into the deserted garden.

“I’ll wait in there,” he told the officer, who grimaced but nodded.

Ferus waved his hand over the sensor and walked into the garden. In a moment, another door opened, and, just as he’d hoped, the caretaker entered. He didn’t glance at Ferus but immediately put down his tools and knelt down to weed around a grouping of tender plants.

“I’m glad they let you keep the garden,” Ferus said, coming up behind him.

The caretaker didn’t look up. “They? Seems to me you’re one of them now.”

Ferus couldn’t miss the contempt in the man’s tone.

“I didn’t recognize you at first,” the caretaker continued, his hands in the soil as he carefully pulled out a weed. “Now I know who you are. You fought them and defied them and made them look like fools. And now you’re one of them.”

Ferus took a breath, considering. He was getting nowhere here. He had to find a way. He had to trust someone.

The caretaker stood, dusting off his trousers. “We were a unique world. We resisted to every last man, woman, and child. They couldn’t find their spies here, their betrayers. We protected you and all of the Eleven, even as they grew to number hundreds. Every family had someone working for the resistance. Maybe …” — The caretaker looked steadily at his flowers, never at Ferus, and shook his head — “… maybe you were only the first to fall. But that doesn’t mean I have to be civil to you.”

“I don’t expect politeness,” Ferus said. “Just honesty. And maybe… help.”

“I have no help to give you.”

Ferus bent down and carefully placed his hand near a small lizard that was sitting on a leaf. It crawled onto his palm. Bright green, it blinked at the two of them. Ferus brought the lizard over to a bright orange blossom and placed it there. The lizard’s skin began to blush. Its pigment changed until it blazed in the same bright color as the blossom. The transformation was so complete that it was impossible to pick out the lizard now. He’d disappeared against the flower.

Ferus looked steadily at the caretaker. “It looks like a blossom,” he said. “But the lizard is still a lizard.”

He saw that the caretaker knew what he was trying to tell him without words. The lizard could change his skin, could blend in, in order to survive. So could Ferus. But that didn’t make him part of the Empire.

“Don’t you wish,” Ferus said, “you knew what they were doing here?”

The caretaker didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he bent down to pull up a weed. “I know there are droids who do this work,” he said. “But I don’t trust them to do the job right. Droids can malfunction.”

Ferus nodded. “Happens all the time.”

“Even security droids. They can go off-line for no reason, for fifteen minutes at a time. Takes me that long to reset the system.” He tossed a weed into his basket. “They have me in charge of security here, mostly because there’s nothing to steal, so far, I’m at the east end of the factory. It’s quiet down there. I just monitor the security system. Round about three in the morning, I get too tired to even make my rounds.”

He picked up his tools. “Got to take work where you can get it, these days. I just keep my head down and don’t make a fuss. About anything.”

“Good policy.” Ferus glanced over at the loading dock as a transport began to land. “Well, I’d better get going.”

“My name’s Russell,” the caretaker said. He looked at him for the first time. “I’m glad to meet you, Ferus Olin.”

Flame was meeting with Wil, Amie, Trever, Dona, and several members of the Eleven when Roan and Dona returned to the safe house.

“This is remarkable,” Amie told him when he came in. “Flame has enormous resources at her disposal. Her ideas about networking planetary resistance are quite detailed.”

“I can go over what you missed, if you’d like,” Flame told Roan.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time. I need to ask you to leave for a few minutes.”

Roan’s authority was absolute, and no one questioned him. Flame stood and walked toward the door, but hesitated. “I can help,” she said. “Whatever it is, I can help.”

“This is Bellassan business,” Roan said.

“But my point is that it’s not just Bellassan business,” Flame said. She linked her hands together and held them up. “Every planet’s resistance should be part of the next one, and so on.”

“She’s right, Roan,” Amie said.

“I appreciate your philosophy,” Roan said. “It’s a subject for discussion. But right now I need a closed meeting.”

Flame nodded her head and slipped out the door.

“Why’d you have to do that, Roan?” Trever burst out. “She could help!”

Roan gave him a look that silenced him. “This is too important to risk, Trever. Ferus has contacted me.”

“Maybe Ferus shouldn’t be the one that you’re trusting,” Trever said heatedly.

“He had to send you away, Trever,” Roan said.

“That isn’t what this is about.”

“He thought he was protecting you. You were the first thing he asked about when he saw me.” Roan’s voice was gentle. “If trust were easy, it wouldn’t be so valuable. Think of the man you know, and ask yourself if he could betray us.”

Trever couldn’t hold Roan’s gaze. He ducked his head. He felt ashamed. There was so much trust in this room that he was able to connect with it again.

Wil and Amie looked at Roan. “What happened?” Wil asked him.

“Ferus contacted me. It’s tonight,” he said. “He has some sort of contact at the factory who will help us.”

“Good,” Wil said.

“The question is, who should go? We only have a fifteen-minute window. Ferus’s contact will shut down security at three in the morning. We could open this up to more members of the Eleven, but it would take time to set up. I think a three-person team makes sense. We can do more exploring that way. We’ll hit the computer system and search the main office. Wil, you’re out because of your injury. And, Dona, there’s nobody better I’d want watching my back, but you don’t have experience with this kind of thing. So anybody want to volunteer?”

Everyone raised a hand. Even Dona.

Roan smiled and leaned back. “All I can say is, it’s good to be back on Bellassa.”

“I should go,” Trever said. “I know how to work with Ferus. I know what he’s thinking, and believe it or not, I can obey orders.”

“I want to go,” Amie said. “I have got the most scientific background. If we’re lucky enough to get into the computer files, I can translate any technical jargon.”

Amie and Roan looked at Trever.

“Don’t say I’m too young, because that always sends me into a full-scale laser cannon mode,” Trever said. “Besides, I’m better at sneaking in and out of places than all of you put together.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Roan said.

“All right, it’s decided,” Wil said. “Roan, Amie, and Trever. Tonight.”

In his rough traveler’s clothes, Ry-Gaul looked like countless others, beings uprooted by the Clone Wars and the Imperial takeover and looking for a place to call home again. But as she walked beside him, Solace could feel the strength of the Force.

“How did you escape Order Sixty-six?” Solace asked.

“I was on a secret mission,” he said. “Only Yoda knew about it. I was on a world in the Outer Rim, under cover. I left Tru Veld at the Temple. He was working on a valuable research project.”

“The Temple was invaded,” Solace said. “Everyone was killed.”

Ry-Gaul closed his eyes for a moment. “I thought he’d be safer at the Temple. If he’d come with me, he would be alive.”

“Decisions are not for regret, but for understanding ” Solace said. The familiar words of a Jedi saying felt soothing in her mouth.

“I heard the lies the Empire was spreading about the Jedi one day in a cantina,” he said. “I realized that everyone I knew was dead.” He looked down at his large, white hands. “I wanted to go back to Coruscant immediately, but I was almost caught at a checkpoint as I tried to make my way there. A couple — a man and wife — rescued me. They smuggled me back to their homeworld and offered me a place to stay. They were scientists. They found me a new identity, and I was readying myself to leave again when they disappeared. I’ve been looking for them ever since.”

“Well, you’ve attracted the notice of the Empire,” Solace told him.

“I know. But I couldn’t stop looking. The more I looked, the more I uncovered. Other scientists are missing. Some go willingly. Others seem to have been forced. And I’m sure the Empire is behind it.”

“They’re using them for something,” Solace said, looking at the others. “We have to tell Dex about this.”

“Ferus should know about it, too,” Clive said. “It might help him on Bellassa.”

“We’re close to the Orange District,” Solace said. “You’ll be safe there.”

They took a lift tube down a hundred levels to the Orange District. They walked quickly through the passages, taking the smaller streets. They approached the long, serpentine alley where Dex’s safe house was located.

“Look, there’s Lune,” Astri said, a surge of happiness lighting her voice.

She started toward the group. Solace tensed. She noticed that Curran and Keets were careful to keep him in front of them, shielding him from the street. Instead of turning into the alley, they went left.

“Astri, wait,” Solace said. “Something’s wrong.”

It was an absolute rule that anyone who suspected they were followed must not turn down the alley. It could expose Dex’s safe house.

Worried now, Solace split off from the group and quickened her pace.

She was too late.

The stormtroopers burst out of an unmarked airspeeder and released seeker droids with blasters into the air. The blasterfire caught Curran, who went down. Keets wheeled around, holding Lune tightly against him. Solace leaped toward the airspeeder, her lightsaber held aloft.

Behind her she could sense Ry-Gaul moving. She knew he was positioning himself to flank her.

But they were too far away, and too late. Keets was overpowered by the stormtroopers. Lune was wrenched away. The boy didn’t make a sound.

It was Astri, on her knees, whose wailing cry of anguish split the air as Lune disappeared into the crowded sky.

Ferus waited by the garden wall. It didn’t take long until three shapes materialized out of the darkness. Roan, Trever, and Amie.

“You took your time finding me again,” he told Trever. He squeezed the boy’s shoulders, glad to see him looking so well.

“You’re the one who keeps disappearing.” Trever felt better, just seeing Ferus once more. He couldn’t believe he had suspected him. One suspicion had led to another until his mind was crammed full of doubt. He didn’t know how it had started, but he was glad it was over.

“This door,” Ferus said, leading the way.