“But what if I break a rule while I’m trying to find out what the rules are?”
Maggis’s smile grew broader. “I guess you’re out of luck.”
Trever swallowed. He hadn’t signed up for this crazy talk. Not at all.
“We do recognize, however, that you might need some help from time to time. We assign you an older recruit who will serve as your mentor while you’re here. I see you’ve already met him.”
Trever had a sinking feeling.
“Recruit Kestrel. Apparently you had a problem with your cap. Well. I’m sure he’ll be helpful to you despite the fact that he shot you this morning. And then one day, if you’re very, very good, you’ll get to have a fake blaster and scare new recruits yourself.” Maggis clicked a few keys. “You’re due in advanced piloting in two minutes. Lateness gets you docked another degrade.”
“Can you direct me to the class, sir? I wasn’t given a printout of the building.”
“Do I look like a traffic control droid?”
Great. Just great. Trever turned to go.
“And Fortin?”
“Sir?”
“You’ve got another five degrades on your record. I’d put back those pillows, if I were you.”
CHAPTER TWO
Ferus Olin was having trouble with his concentration. He was losing track of things, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing while he was doing it. His surroundings no longer seemed vivid. Voices seemed to come at him from far away. Sometimes someone would speak for minutes at a time, and though he thought he’d been listening, he would have no idea what had been said.
It was not a good situation for a double agent.
Was this what grief was like? This wasn’t sadness like he’d felt before, when a friend or someone he’d known well had died. It wasn’t how he’d felt when he’d learned the fate of all the Jedi. That had been a blow he’d felt keenly, as though he’d been split open.
This was worse.
He’d stood by and watched, too slow to react, as Darth Vader had casually flipped his lightsaber and ran it through his best friend, his partner, Roan Lands. He had watched Roan die. Had held onto him, locked eyes with him, and said a private good-bye.
He didn’t think he had ever hated anyone this much before. It wasn’t part of what he was. Being trained by Jedi bred detachment into his bones. But as he had learned to love in a personal, particular way, so had he learned to hate. Learned in one instant when Vader struck.
It was amazing that he was still alive. He had attacked Vader, and Vader had handled him with ease, left him hanging in the air helplessly, even laughed at him. He had been thrown in a cell and was waiting to die when the Emperor had visited him. Ferus didn’t know why the Emperor had offered him a way out. Maybe he wanted to play with Vader, irritate him by pardoning Ferus. Maybe he had bigger plans. Ferus didn’t care. He’d been allowed to walk out of a prison cell. Right now that was enough. He’d deal with the rest later.
Emperor Palpatine had offered him training in the dark side of the Force, and he had accepted. Because he knew there was only one way to eliminate his pain. One way to get his revenge. Take what the Emperor offered, learn how his power worked, and then use it against Vader.
If he’d still been a Jedi, if he’d been able to talk to Mace Windu or Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi about the offer of a Sith Lord, they all would have said the same thing: Do not listen. Walk away. He will corrupt you.
But that was the old way. That was the way of the Jedi who were gone now. All powerless. Because they didn’t believe the Sith had anything to teach them.
What if that wasn’t true? What if a Jedi could learn from a Sith, gain power and multiply his gifts, but remain a Jedi?
When he’d been alone in that cell, his cheek against the floor, Ferus had not wanted to live. The only thing that had raised him up from the floor was Palpatine’s offer. The only thing that gave him life was the possibility of revenge.
The Emperor had also offered him a job he couldn’t refuse. He was now in charge of the effort to find Force-sensitive beings or Jedi who had escaped Order 66. The Emperor had dismissed ex-Senator Sauro from the task, saying it took one Force-sensitive to find another. Ferus would soon have access to the list.
He had already created a secret base on a constantly traveling asteroid that was surrounded by a dense atmospheric storm. His friends Raina and Toma were building shelters, setting up defense and comm systems. So far he’d only brought them Garen Muln, but soon - as soon as he was sure he’d helped all the Jedi he could - he would retire there with the ones who wanted to come. They would wait there until it was time to strike back at the Sith.