Why was Maggis nervous? Why did he keep looking back at Lune?
He’s doing something he knows isn’t right.
“Where am I going?” Lune asked. For the first time, he was afraid.
“Shut up.” Maggis didn’t say this in a mean tone. It was more like Lune was reminding him of his own unease.
The retractable roof opened, and an airspeeder zoomed in, a sleek black number with red chromium trim. The closed cockpit rolled back and a man got out.
It was his father.
Lune stopped walking.
“No,” he said.
“Your father needs you, Divinian,” Maggis said. “And,” he added, “I need you to follow orders. Remember, I’ve got your friend here. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to Fortin, would you?”
Lune’s mouth set. Trever could take care of himself.
Probably.
“And if you don’t go, do you know who your dad will be most angry at?”
“You.”
“Try again. Your mom. He blames everything on her, right? I got that much after ten minutes with him. He’ll blame this on her, too.”
Lune looked at Maggis. He felt the truth of what he said. It made him feel trapped.
“Son.” Nervous at the delay, Bog walked forward. He smiled. It was his fatherly smile that was so fake. All Lune saw in that smile was a big empty hole.
“Don’t worry, I have good news,” Bog continued. “Take a ride with me and I’ll tell you about it.”
Dread settled inside Lune. He knew he was trapped. There was nowhere to go. He walked forward and climbed into Bog’s airspeeder.
“Let me know how - ” Maggis started to say to Bog, but Bog ignored him.
He settled behind the controls. The cockpit canopy slid closed and sealed Lune in.
“Hang on,” Bog said with a satisfied air. “I bought this baby after I became Imperial governor. It moves.”
The craft shot out into the black night, Lune didn’t know Coruscant well, so he wasn’t sure where they were going. He just saw a blur of skylanes and millions of lights, each of them a life going on quietly around him. He could feel them. He envied them. They were living their lives, but they weren’t at the mercy of someone else. Or at least, that was what he hoped.
In his training, Garen had spoken to him about the Living Force, how some Jedi were more connected with it than others. He had talked about the great Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon Jinn. He had said that he felt a similar thing with Lune, that he could connect to the Living Force If times were different, if he’d been identified earlier, if the Clone Wars hadn’t come along… he could have been at the Temple, too.
The Temple was now rising in front of him, a ruin of its former self. Lune could feel the dark side of the Force in its presence, feel all the lives that had been snuffed out.
Bog chortled as he zoomed around the Temple. The Senate complex was below them now, and Bog guided the craft to a tower that rose in a far quadrant. Was his father taking him to the Senate? Lune couldn’t figure it out.
Bog parked the vehicle on a landing stage, a long narrow platform that extended out like a horizontal spire.
“Don’t look so nervous,” he said. “This is your moment, Lunie.”
Lunie. He’d always hated that nickname. He had told his father that. Many times.
Bog leaned in closer. His eyes were intense. “You get this? This is your big chance. 1 arranged it. Why do I bother, you ask. Because I’m your dad. Simple as that.”
Bog exited the airspeeder and waited for Lune to get out. Lune followed him past a set of double doors. They entered a white hallway. He smelled medicine and cleaner. He knew this smell. He was in a hospital.
“This is where the Emperor’s friends come for treatment. It’s an honor to be chosen for this,” Bog said. “Understand?”
Lune shook his head. He understood nothing. Except that he was in big trouble.
Amazing that Bog Divinian’s kid could have a Force connection. It must have come from Astri Oddo, not Bog. The man seemed to wear stupidity like a hat. Darth Vader watched as Bog hustled importantly into one of the EmPal conference rooms. He’d left Lune with the med droids in the adjoining examination room. They were in the main complex here and would take care of the initial steps. Then Lune would be taken to the secret rooms at the top of the tower. And Bog would go away.
Sano Sauro had told him that Bog had volunteered his own child for this assignment. Vader didn’t care who Zan Arbor used for her subject, so he’d allow it. No doubt Bog would think that he would gain points for Lune’s participation. Instead, he’d just added to Vader’s contempt.
Bog eagerly came forward. “When I told my son the Empire needed him, he stepped up,” he said. “Didn’t hesitate a moment. But now that we’re here, I’d like to know what exactly it is that he’s volunteering for.”