“It’s not. A representative of the countermovement came to us and asked for our help.”
“Who?”
“You don’t need to know that yet.”
Anakin started for the door again.
“All right!” Marit’s voice was amused, and she was smiling when he turned. “You’re very tough.”
He grinned. “Yeah. But isn’t that why you recruited me?”
“It’s Rana Halion, the leader of leria. She approached us through Rolai. The countermovement is willing to negotiate with Berm Tarturi, but the Senator hasn’t taken them seriously enough. They want to show him how powerful they are.”
Rana Halion! This could be the connection Obi-Wan was looking for.
“How?” Anakin asked
“They want to conduct a passive strike on the Andaran security transport landing platform,” Marit said. “Passive strike?”
“We’re just going to penetrate their airspace and then get out. Buzz the starfighters. Show Tarturi that we could have destroyed his fleet if we’d wanted to. That way he’d be forced to join negotiations. We need to get in and get out quickly. There could be some antispacecraft fire.” She hesitated.
Anakin waited.
“We were going to vote on whether to include you tonight,” Marit said.
Anakin said nothing. He had learned from Obi-Wan that not asking a question sometimes got you more information.
“We need a pilot,” Marit said. “Hurana is good, but she’s not as good as she thinks she is. She takes too many chances. We need a lead pilot. But this won’t be on a simulator. leria is loaning us the air transport. I don’t expect you’ve ever flown a starfighter, have you?”
“As a matter of fact, I have,” Anakin said.
“Are you as good in a starfighter as you are in a swoop?”
” Better.”
“I can talk to them… convince the others… if you’re sure you want to go.”
“I’m sure,” Anakin said. He wanted to go on the mission. If the planets in the Andaran system were being exploited, they should have a voice in their destiny. Marit’s ideas made sense to him. He had been a witness to the greed of Senators. It sounded as though leria needed help.
“Well, I’m not authorized to tell you that you can go,” Marit said. She grinned. “But you’re on board. We’re scheduled to leave tomorrow.”
Elation roared through Anakin. Then he realized something startling. He hadn’t been glad because of the Jedi mission. He’d been glad because he wanted to go. Not for the Jedi. For himself.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Anakin was filled with excitement about the coming mission. He had a strong feeling that not only would he help the Andaran system, he would also discover the key to Gillam’s disappearance. Rana Halion must be behind it. Her cause might be just, but her methods could be ruthless. Anakin felt sure that Gillam was on leria.
He saw Ferus in the hall between classes and signaled that he needed to talk to him. They met in Ferus’s room and closed the door. They had a few minutes before the midday meal before they needed to pass the checkpoint to the dining hall.
Anakin quickly filled in Ferus on what had happened.
Ferus frowned. “You told Marit that you would go?” “I think I should,” Anakin said. “I still have a feeling about Gillam.”
“That’s fine,” Ferus said. “But penetrating a planet’s airspace? You can’t do that.”
“No one will be hurt.”
“How can you be sure of that? Are you saying that no one will fire their laser cannons? Are you saying that if they fire on you or the others, you won’t fire back? Think about it, Anakin! And what about the reaction in the Senate? This will be seen as an unprovoked attack on Andara.”
“Not unprovoked,” Anakin argued. “Senator Tarturi refuses to negotiate a compromise. This will force him to.”
Ferus shook his head. “Jedi can’t take part in such things. Have you told Obi-Wan this?”
“No,” Anakin admitted. “Our next scheduled communication isn’t until tonight.”
“We can use the emergency signaling system,” Ferus said.
“But that could blow our cover! We’re on comm silence. The school could trace the frequency.”
“We have to risk it,” Ferus said. “I can’t believe that you even considered going without consulting him. Even you should know that - “
“Even me?” Anakin took a step toward Ferus, angry now. “What does that mean, Ferus?”
Ferus went very still. “A personal argument is not productive,” he said stiffly. “Will you meet me later and contact Obi-Wan?”