[Last Of The Jedi] - 04(25)

Suddenly her eyes opened, giving him a shock. He’d thought she was dead. Her life force was almost extinguished.

Her eyes widened just slightly when she saw his lightsaber. He felt her fear dissolve and she looked at him with something like friendship. With that one glance he knew Padme’s family did not blame the Jedi for her death.

“He suspects,” she whispered.

“Malorum?”

A nod. Then suddenly she seemed to gather strength. Strength enough to grab his tunic. “He can’t tell anyone what he knows. You must protect …”

She lost her breath. Her fingers opened and she fell back.

“Protect what?” Ferus felt the urgency. He was lost in implication and mystery and everything he didn’t know.

“For Padme,” she whispered. “For Padme.” Life left her then.

He turned. Solace sat behind him on her haunches as easily as if on a chair.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.

Ferus looked at her helplessly. “I can’t. I don’t even know. I just know there’s a secret that threatens the galaxy. Ryoo knew it, and now Malorum does, and we have to stop him. Obi-Wan Kenobi warned me.”

She rose smoothly, quickly. She didn’t need any more information. What he said was enough. “Kenobi? Then let’s do it.”

They ran out the door. The others were just hitting the top step.

“It’s too late,” Ferus said. “He’s gone. But I think he’s around here - we would have seen him take off.”

“He must have hidden his craft,” Oryon said.

“This flaming coastline is full of coves,” Clive said. “But we should send the signal now!”

As soon as that was done, Ferus said, “Let’s split up into twos. Malorum is a handful. Stay here, Trever.”

“No.”

Clive whistled. “It’s so inspiring how he follows orders.”

Ferus couldn’t wait to straighten it out, so he took off alone. He knew Trever would follow, and he also knew the boy would stay undercover. His heartbeat drummed inside him with urgency. The future of the galaxy is at stake, Obi-Wan had said. The secret can’t get out.

Luckily the communications were being jammed, so Malorum couldn’t share his information. Until the hour was up.

Ferus leaped to a spot on the steep side of the cliff, then jumped again. His boots landed in soft sand.

He heard the lapping of the blue water. The song of a bird. He felt the Force gather and now he could not only hear everything with crystal clarity but feel it as well, pulsating through him.

The Living Force was near. The dark side of the Force pulsed. He raced down the beach in that direction. A cluster of large rocks was scattered in the bay, and he Force-leaped onto the first, leap-frogging from one to the other until he was past the point of the land. Now he could see Malorum in a speeder gondola, ready to take off. Malorum looked over and saw him and the craft shot forward over the lake.

Ferus vaulted into the air and soared toward the craft. Malorum suddenly yanked on the steering mechanism, so the craft was headed straight toward him now at top speed. Ferus reacted as a Jedi. He did not retreat. He used the advance of his enemy to his own advantage.

He stopped his momentum in midair, waiting out the microsecond it took for Malorum to reach him. Then he somersaulted neatly over the craft. He used the updraft to power himself out of harm’s way, then dropped onto the gondola.

Well - not dropped, exactly, in the neat way he could have accomplished even as an apprentice. Rather, he fell awkwardly, sprawling on the hull.

Sometimes the Force worked for him. Sometimes it didn’t.

Malorum yanked the craft to the right, dipping it close to the water. Ferus flipped over, his feet skipping over the surface. At this speed, the water felt like permacrete.

“Ow,” Ferus grunted through his teeth as the gondola bumped along and he hung on for his life. “Ow, ow, ow.”

Using all his strength, he flipped himself back into the boat. This time he was able to access the Force with more precision, pivoting on his hands and delivering a well-placed kick to Malorum’s chest. Malorum was knocked backward, loosening his grip on the controls. The gondola began to spin crazily. Ferus was almost thrown off the craft but reached out and grabbed on to the curved stern to steady himself. He reached for his lightsaber and activated it just as Malorum began to pepper him with blasterfire.

It was impossible for the Inquisitor to aim in these conditions, but he was doing a good job of trying. Ferus used the curved stern as a fulcrum, swinging around it as the gondola bounced, his lightsaber fending off the red and orange blaster streaks.

Off in the distance he saw the other gondolas approaching. Solace piloted one with Oryon hanging on grimly. Curran and Keets were in the other. Where were Trever and Clive?