"Just a common street thief, looking for something to sell on the black market."

"Is the womp rat in custody? I'd like to fry him up for breakfast."

A squeak came from the speeder. Luckily, Bog didn't hear it.

"No," Ferus said. "He dropped the droid, I caught it, and came back here. I guess he realized it was a stupid idea."

"Did you have any trouble . . . getting back here?"

"No."

Was that a flash of relief on Bog's face? He perched the droid back on his shoulder. "I thought coming here to speak to the delegation would make a difference. Bridge the gap." He shook his head. "I never expected they'd have the nerve to try to a.s.sa.s.sinate me."

"What?"

Bog leaned in. "Those droids . . . in the air? We ran a security check on them during the attack. They were Roshan. There was blasterfire coming from them, straight at me. Luckily, I have good reflexes."

"The droids didn't shoot at you. That blasterfire was from the stormtroopers. They were aiming at the thief!"

Bog frowned at him. "You couldn't know that."

"I was standing only a few meters away," Ferus said. "The shots came from the stormtroopers. They were shooting at the speeder."

He had the Roshan droids in his pocket. But they would prove nothing. Handing them over now would just confirm their existence and give more credibility to Bog's lie.

But now Ferus understood. This was all a ploy for Bog to gain sympathy. Bog had done this himself. He had set up the situation. The Roshan droids had been programmed to fire at his droid. It was Trever's bad luck that he happened to steal Bog's droid at the same time. But Bog had turned the incident to his advantage. He would claim the thief was part of the Roshan plot.

Ferus was trapped. He couldn't expose Bog without exposing Trever.

Bog leaned in toward him, his eyes like slits. Ferus found himself looking into a gaze empty of intelligence but full of menace. Ferus wasn't intimidated, but he did see that if he interfered with what Bog was planning, the politician would not take it lightly.

"Since there is no way for you to have really seen it, I hope you keep your mistaken impressions to yourself," he said. "You think that because the Emperor has given you amnesty that he can't revoke that order at any time? The Emperor came to my planet, to my ceremony. Who do you think he's going to believe?"

"Your planet?" Ferus said. "Since when?"

"Just don't get in my way," Bog warned.

Ferus watched as Bog turned away, the droid still on his shoulder. He walked back into the meeting room while the reporters scrambled to get close.

He was about to spin the story for all of Samaria.

Ferus had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

Bog overestimated his own importance. He was just a tool to the Emperor.

So was Ferus.

Trapped.

This time, Ferus signed out the airspeeder, which was registered to the Residence Tower. Trever hid in the back until they were safely away. Ferns pulled up at the Twilight Fountains.

Trever hopped out, a disgruntled look on his face. "I can't believe you took the droid back. I went to a lot of trouble to steal it."

"It was a stupid idea. If you want to help the resistance, you don't just b.u.mble your way in. You contact them first!"

"Flame thought they wouldn't take her seriously if she didn't pull of some kind of mission first -"

"Who's Flame?" Ferus interrupted.

"I told you, a contact of Toma's." The boy looked sulky now. "She had gravsleds full of wealth on Acherin - factories and businesses and all that -but she had one problem. She said no to the Empire, so they kicked her off the planet. But she was able to get most of her wealth out before that. She put it all into this group she's forming called Moonstrike. She has this idea to fund all the resistance groups on planets in the Core. And she's putting her own wealth and her own safety on the line. Plus she's one awesome pilot. She's galactic."

"So Toma set up this meeting? He sent you?" Ferus knew Trever well by now. He saw the lie beginning to form on the boy's face. "Toma didn't send you. You came yourself."

"Well, they weren't about to consider me. But it was too dangerous for any of them. So I I. . ."

"You . . ."

"Took the ship," Trever mumbled. "And came here."

"You left them without a ship?"

"So? They didn't have one before!"

"Where is the ship now'?"

"In the Crystal Forest."

"All right. As soon as we finish here, I want you to get back there, get the ship, and go back to the base."

"Yessir, General Ferus-Wan, sir," Trever said. "Except for one thing. There's no more ship."

Ferus closed his eyes. "No more ship?"

"I sort of crashed it."

Ferus didn't want to believe it, but could. "Did anyone see you?"

"Just a couple of stormtroopers. But I got away in Flame's speeder. It was one incredible ride, let me tell you. And this idea of the central funding of resistance groups - she's got all these plans to mobilize, and find other investors . . . we've got to bring her to the resistance here so that they can join Moonstrike."

"I'm not taking her to the resistance."

"Why not?"

"Trever, she could be anyone."

"But Toma knows her!"

"What you told me was that she contacted Toma. He doesn't know if she's for real, either. I can't endanger the resistance by bringing a stranger to them."

"She's not a stranger!"

"I'll bring them her message, that's all." Ferus looked at Trever carefully. "Did you tell her about the secret base?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't do that - I'm not completely stupid. But I do think she could help. We need more supplies there. Toma and Raina have been having a hard time. She could fund the base, fund your search. This could be our chance to really build something, riot just a base for a couple of Jedi."

Ferus shook his head through Trever's speech. "If the base is to succeed, it has to be small. And the fewer beings who know about it, the better. Even if Flame checks out, I don't want to link the base to a galaxy-wide resistance movement - not yet, anyway."

"But that's the only way we'll defeat the Empire."

"I know that. But moving prematurely could endanger all of us. I created the base in order to gather Jedi. Period. If we get too ambitious, we could risk everything. The base must remain a secret."

"You've got some weird wacky Jedi obsession, that's your problem," Trever grumbled. "They kicked you out, so now you have to prove that you're worthy or something."

"They didn't kick me out," Ferus said. "I left. And this search has nothing to do with me. It has to do with saving anything that might be left." Ferus struggled with his own annoyance at what the boy had said. "An alliance of resistance groups is necessary, I agree. But I am beginning to understand this: In the end, only the Force will defeat the Emperor."

Obi-Wan had tried to tell him that. He hadn't been ready to listen. He thought of Obi-Wan now, in self-imposed exile on Tatooine. The hardest thing to do, Obi-Wan had said, is to wait.

What was Obi-Wan waiting for'? Ferus had thought that it had to do with waiting in the abstract. Waiting for luck, waiting for chance, waiting for the galaxy to begin to rise up. Now he realized something: Obi-Wan was waiting for something specific. Ferns didn't know what. He wasn't meant to know. Obi-Wan couldn't tell him. But somehow, Obi-Wan had hope.

"Look, I've seen the Force work," Trever said. "I know it's full-moon amazing and all that. But it isn't everything. It's just a part of what can bring them down. You aren't giving Flame a chance."

"I will give her a chance," Ferus said. "But not with the base. I'll bring her message to the resistance."

"Take me with you."

"No. You know how a resistance works. A resistance can only operate if the fewest people possible know who is in the group."

"You don't trust me."

"Of course I trust you. But this is the best way, Trever. Now let me figure out how to get you another ship. You've got to get off-planet. There might be an Imperial crackdown on air traffic very soon. You're lucky you weren't blasted out of the sky."

"Is this what you were like as a Jedi Padawan? No wonder no one liked you," Trever burst out.

Ferus stopped short as Trever's words. .h.i.t him in the face. He stood still for a moment as the meaning sank in.

As much as he wanted to control this, he couldn't. He had to stop underestimating Trever. He was treating him like a child, and he wasn't. Siri would have known that. Obi-Wan would have known that. Trever had been through so much. He'd done so much. He was capable of so much more.

"Yes," Ferus admitted. "You're right. That's what I was like." Then he sighed. "Okay, I'll contact the resistance. I'll tell them about you. This is a meeting place, right here. They'll find you. You'll be able to tell Flame's story your own way, and they can make the decision whether to meet with her. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Trever said, but his jaw was still set.

Ferus's comlink signaled. He looked at it. He was wanted back at Imperial headquarters. He hated to leave things like this with Trever.

"I have to go," he said.

"Oh, is the Emperor calling you?" Trever asked in a stinging tone. "Ready to do his bidding?"

"You know why I'm doing this," Ferus said.

Trever looked at him, his expression clouded with his disappointment. "Not really. I know this, though: If you get that close to evil, it can rub off on you."

Ferus walked away, toward the speeder. He had no answer to give Trever.

Because deep in his heart, he suspected that Trever was right.

Chapter Fifteen.

Darth Vader wanted to avoid this particular discussion with his Master, but he could not. Palpatine appeared in hologram form, his hands tucked into the pockets of his robe.

"I received a report that there was an a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Divinian's life," the Emperor began.

"Doubtful," Vader replied. "I have received contradictory reports. Divinian wants to be a hero and is blaming the Roshans."

"I am starting to be impressed by our Bog."

Vader's voice remained cold. "He wants to rule Samaria. He wants real power."

"His personal droid was retrieved by Ferus Olin."

"I have requested a full report from him," Vader said.

"Your stormtroopers went after the thief, but it was Ferus Olin who was successful."

This was exactly why he didn't want to have this talk.

Vader decided to change the subject. "Roshan droids were spotted as well. I think they were set off by Divinian."

"Interesting." The Emperor laughed softly to himself.

"With the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, his support is greater than ever. Sathans will think Larker is a fool for trusting the Roshans."

"A good sign."

"My presence here is no longer required, then?"

"Wait and make sure Divinian is elected. I want an Imperial governor in every capital city."

"Divinian will be elected, just as you planned, my Master."

Palpatine continued, "In the meantime . . . Ferus Olin's power is growing. I sense great . . . uncertainty in him."

"Will he join us?"