[Last Of The Jedi] - 06(12)
He pressed the release. To his relief, it squeaked open. It didn’t slide all the way down, but that wasn’t a problem. He wiggled to the top and jumped. The forest floor was like transparisteel, smooth and cold.
Flame had given Toma the coordinates where she would land and said she’d wait there for at least two hours, in hopes that Toma could send someone to meet her. The two hours were up about a half hour ago, but Trever hoped she hadn’t given up yet. He got his bearings on his datapad map and struck out for the coordinates.
Although the surface temp readout on the ship had prepared him for heat, the hard crystal formations and the forest floor radiated coolness into the air. Trever kept up a good pace. The place was quiet. No forest creatures could live in this environment; there was no vegetation, no water. Trever hoped he’d bump into Flame soon. This place was starting to spook him out.
Suddenly the quiet was broken by a soft whirring he recognized as a speeder engine. Trever wanted to rush forward but he had learned caution on Bellassa. He slipped behind one of the formations and waited.
Two airspeeders zoomed out from between the formations. Imperial stormtroopers, four in each vehicle. He could tell they were tracking someone. They made a hard right and streaked off.
After another moment he heard another speeder. He flattened himself against the crystal, feeling the points against his back.
The silver speeder flew by, going at top speed. He had only a flash of an impression, a figure in a black flight suit with a shiny black helmet.
It had to be Flame.
Trever had to take the chance. He stepped out from behind the crystal formation and tried to signal the speeder with the glowlight from his utility belt.
He was too late. The speeder took a sharp turn around a gnarled crystal ten meters wide and disappeared.
Trever sprang back toward the rock, but the Imperial speeders had circled back and he was too late. He made a dash for cover, but one of the Imperial speeders peeled off and came straight for him.
He’d been spotted.
Chapter Seven
Ferus faced the alley wall. The blaster was held right at the tender part of his neck, and his companion wasn’t shy about pressing the barrel hard into his flesh.
“Do you think we’re stupid?” his assailant asked.
“Who’s we?”
The barrel was pushed even deeper. Ferus tried not to wince. He was getting annoyed. He knew he could disarm whoever it was behind him in seconds, but he also knew that aggression at this point wouldn’t get him what he wanted.
“Do you think we’re stupid?” the assailant repeated.
“No. I don’t think you’re stupid. A little short on manners, maybe. But if I thought you were stupid, I wouldn’t be here trying to find you.”
“So you admit you’re trying to fund us.” The barrel angled toward Ferus’s head. “You are an agent of the Empire.”
“Well,” Ferus said, “technically, that’s true. I guess that sounds bad. But it doesn’t mean I can’t help you.”
The assailant gave an incredulous laugh. “I should just shoot you now.”
“But then you wouldn’t find out what I came to say. Why don’t you hear me out, and then shoot me if you want to?”
“Because I don’t have time to waste.”
Ferus could feel that despite his tough talk, his assailant didn’t want to shoot him. He wasn’t dealing with a hardened killer.
“Look, this might go easier if I introduced myself.”
“I know who you are. Ferus Olin.”
“I was one of the founding members of the Eleven on Bellassa.”
“I’ve heard of Ferus Olin. But I’ve never seen him.”
“So you think I’m an impostor?”
“I think the Empire is capable of anything. I was warned about you.”
“By Dahl. Larker’s aide. I saw the drop.”
He heard his assailant suck in air through his teeth. “Larker only helps us from time to time. He’s not one of us. And he doesn’t know Bellassa like I do. The real Ferus Olin could be trusted. The real Ferus Olin wouldn’t work for the Emperor.”
“Things change. Listen, I’m just a contract employee. Think about it. What better way to find out how the Empire works than by working for them?”
“Are you saying you’re a double agent?”
“Now you’re catching on.”
There was a pause. “What’s the location of the safehouse of the Eleven?”
“Aw, c’mon. That’s a stupid test.”
The barrel pressed into his flesh again.
“Okay, okay, not stupid … a, not helpful? You know I can’t tell you that, even with a blaster at my head. Ask me something else.”