[Last Of The Jedi] - 06(8)

The grand reception room at the Hall of Ministers was a fifty-story lobby, a soaring structure fashioned from arching struts and slender beams. Pale-rose synthstone walls met a blue tiled floor the exact color of the artificial sea glimpsed out of the tall windows. In the center of the room was a circular platform with a repulsorlift motor.

Ferus tried to stay in the back of the crowd, but the Emperor signaled to him, and he found himself standing next to Darth Vader on the platform. Exactly where he didn’t want to be.

Slowly, the platform rose in the air and hovered about a meter above the floor. Since this was a political gathering, Ferus prepared himself for one long stretch of boredom. These ceremonies could last longer than a Bespin sunset.

He saw the delegation from Rosha at the very back of the crowd. Roshans were tall, with four antennae as delicate as tendrils and sensitive to light, shrinking back against their heads during the day and unfurling in darkness or with anxiety. Most of them had light eyes of blue or green, and strong, flexible bodies. He was surprised they’d shown up at all, considering all the lies Bog Divinian was spreading about them. Bog had made it sound as if Larker’s support of trade between the old rivals was a big mistake.

Ferus’s opinion was that Bog was a dim-witted, conniving dolt, but he had to reluctantly admit that he was clever about trying to win over the population. Bog had taken credit for fixing the computer virus that had paralyzed Sathan society, and never stopped praising the planet and its citizens. The Sathans were won over with flattery and given a reason to despise a rival, and that was an irresistible combination.

Aaren Larker, the prime minister of Samaria, gave a short speech thanking the ministers for attending. It was clear the man was pained to have to praise Bog Divinian. All he wanted to do was kick the Empire off his planet.

Ferus wondered how long Larker would last. Already there were calls for a vote of no confidence. He was sure Bog was behind the movement to remove Larker. When he’d arrived on the planet, he thought Bog was foolish to expect that he could rule Samaria. Now he saw that Bog hadn’t been overconfident in the least.

“And now we come to the reason we are here,” Larker said. “Due to the unanimous vote of tile ministers, I would like to present the Award of the City of Sath to our Imperial advisor, Bog Divinian, who aided us so capably during the crisis. To show our appreciation, we bestow upon him this gift of his own personal droid, manufactured here on Samaria.”

Ferus watched Bog’s smile broaden. He probably wasn’t quick-witted enough to realize that Larker had called him only “capable.” That was hardly high praise.

Yet here was Bog, acknowledging the applause, smiling broadly and stepping forward. Larker handed over a personal droid, which Bog plopped on his shoulder as if he’d been doing that all his life, giving it a small pat that sent the ministers into more applause.

“You know, I always wanted one of these fellows,” Bog said. “My very own Petey! I’m hoping he’s going to reform me. Get me to meetings on time.”

A chuckle ran through the ministers.

“Better yet, maybe he’ll tell me when to take a break!”

Scattered claps and a great hoot of laughter from the ministers. Bog was working the crowd.

“But seriously …” Bog paused to let the noise die down. “I’ve only been here for a few months, but I feel like I’ve lived here all my life. You Samarians, you work hard, you play hard, and you make things happen. Now, other planets might have a hard time with that —” Bog held up a hand as murmuring swept through the audience. It was an obvious reference to Rosha. Larker frowned and looked as though he wanted to shove Bog off the repulsorlift platform. “— but the Empire doesn’t. Some other planets might want to bring you down, make themselves feel smarter. I’ll tell you this — it’s not going to happen. Because Samarians always win!”

Cheers rose from the ministers. Ferus couldn’t believe they were buying this. Bog was making interplanetary relations seem like a Podrace.

“And that’s why —” Another pat for the personal droid on his shoulder. “— I’m proud to be an honorary Samarian!”

The hall went wild. The ministers pushed forward as the platform lowered, all anxious to shake Bog’s hand. The HoloNet cameras zoomed in as reporters began to talk excitedly about Bog.

Ferus saw Vader move closer to the Emperor. Using his old Jedi training, he screened out the noise around him and honed in on only two voices.

“He was promoted beyond his competence, we thought,” Palpatine said. “But look at him.”

“He is a fool,” Darth Vader said.