[Last Of The Jedi] - 07(12)

“We like it that way.”

Trever had exited the airbus two stops away from his destination, just to be sure the approach was safe. He led Flame through the dark streets and down an alley. At the alley’s end, he pushed open a door to what seemed to be an empty, abandoned warehouse. Inside, however, there was light and activity. A makeshift city had been set up within the warehouse’s four walls. Tents had been pitched, temporary structures thrown up, black market goods catalogued and stored in durasteel bins. As Trever walked in, all eyes turned to him. A tall, muscled man, with a heavy beard and a chest holster filled with small but deadly vibroshivs, stood up. Flame tensed.

The menacing man threw open his arms. “We thought you were dead!” he bellowed. “C’mere, you black-hearted scampweasel!”

Abashed, Trever walked through applauding thieves and claps on the back to the man, who lifted him off the ground and squeezed him in a bear hug that almost knocked every trace of breath from Trever’s body.

Trever pounded on the man’s shoulders to release him. “Glad to see you, too, Ptor,” he choked out.

Ptor dumped him down on the floor and gave his head a pat. “I’ll get a tarp for you and your friend so you can stake out a patch of floor. Plenty of food to go round, too.”

Trever took the tarp that Ptor tossed him, and Flame helped him spread it on the ground. “When I first started living on the street, Ptor watched out for me,” he told Flame.

“Seems like a good guy to have watching your back,” she observed.

“Sure helped the transition,” he agreed.

Someone had set up a large holoscreen, hanging from the ceiling. It was broadcasting Imperial Holovision. Ptor looked over and his face darkened. “Only thing we can get on Bellassa now. Still, they promised to broadcast some archives of the Galactic Games tonight. They’re good for something, I guess.”

Suddenly Darth Vader filled the screen. The room slowly quieted as the commentator’s voice came through.

“Lord Vader has been specially appointed as the Imperial liaison to the Bellassan drive to convert all factories to productive end,. The crash of the Bellassan economy has been a personal concern of the Emperor …. “

Darth Vader Was shown standing in a room, Surrounded by men and women in somber tunics.

“. .. gathered the best and the brightest of human scientists in the galaxy … “

“What’s the matter with the rest of us?” someone called out from the back, a Dornean, a Bellassan immigrant.

“The Empire doesn’t like other species,” Flame muttered. “They’re starting to fill all staff Positions with humans.”

Suddenly Trever froze. Up on the screen was Ferus. He was in Ussa.

The room fell completely silent.

“… has called upon the Bellassan hero Ferus Olin for assistance. Ferus Olin has pledged his own considerable energies to the task of retooling Bellassan factories and bringing new life to the planet’s economy …. “

Suddenly the room erupted in jeers and boos. Someone threw something at the screen. “Traitor!” someone shouted. The word was taken up until it made the walls shake.

Traitor! Monkey-lizard!

Ptor spit on the ground.

“I wouldn’t think a group of thieves and black marketers would care so much about politics,” Flame murmured.

Trever looked around the room. “All Bellassans care about politics,” he said.

He felt the contempt in the room. He looked up at Ferus again.

Betrayal. How could Ferus do this? Even as a double agent? He had been an inspiration. Now he was the worst of the worst. A traitor.





CHAPTER EIGHT


The Orange District on Coruscant had deteriorated even further. It seemed to contain more lowlifes, more menace, and more debris. It seemed more dangerous, more seedy, and more …

“Orange?” Clive wondered aloud. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, but it was never this orange.”

Solace strode a half step ahead, as she usually did, her eyes constantly moving, checking for trouble. “The Empire has left it alone, so it’s just gotten worse.”

“That’s good for us,” Astri said. She had a grip on Lune’s hand. She hadn’t let go since they’d left the air taxi.

“Yes and no,” Solace said. “They won’t let it alone for long. They can’t afford to be seen as weak. And Ferus told us that their ambition is to control Coruscant all the way down to the crust. If that’s their ambition, they’ll follow through.”

“Maybe Coruscant wasn’t such a good idea,” Astri said, shooting an annoyed glance at Clive. He pretended not to see it.