The Desperate Mission

  Dr. Antin said. "I have to get you out of here."

  "I can get myself out."

  "No, they have the place in lockdown. I have a way."

  "He threatened your son."

  The color had drained from her face. Her lips were almost white as she

  said, "Yes. That was his mistake. Before, I tried to be neutral. I am no

  longer."

  She glanced at the med couch. "And we must take Roan."

  "Take him where?"

  "To your safe house, of course. To the Eleven."

  Obi-Wan only hoped that Dr. Antin knew the way.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  With the help of Obi-Wan, Dr. Antin loaded Roan into the med cocoon.

  The room opened directly onto a small landing platform, where a medical

  speeder waited. Dr. Antin deftly removed a panel on the side of the

  speeder. There was just enough space for Obi-Wan to crouch.

  "I had it built during the Clone Wars," she said. "Comes in handy from

  time to time."

  Obi-Wan slid into the space, tucking his legs in.

  "Hang on," she warned. "I like to drive fast."

  She slid the panel back into place. He felt the engines rev underneath

  him, and then they shot forward.

  Apparently there was a checkpoint, because she slowed a moment later.

  "Patient transferring to contagious disease clinic," he heard her say.

  "Authorization?"

  "Here."

  He waited.

  "All clear."

  The speeder shot forward again. He felt it twist and turn, the engines

  running fast. After a time, the engines powered down to a purr. Then they

  stopped.

  The panel was lifted off. "Welcome home," Dr. Antin said.

  Obi-Wan could see that they were in a small interior holding pen.

  Several other speeders, most of them battered older models, were scattered

  around the space.

  "I think it's time I told you," he said. "I'm not - "

  Suddenly a door burst open, and a Bellassan stood there, blaster rifle

  in his hands. He was short and compactly built, with graying hair. Obi-Wan

  tensed, but the man merely frowned at Dr. Antin.

  "Arnie. I didn't expect you."

  "We couldn't warn you. I had to bring him back quickly. The clinic

  went into lockdown."

  The man's silver gaze traveled to Obi-Wan. "Who's he?"

  "Isn't he... one of you?" For the first time that day, Dr. Antin

  faltered.

  The man held his blaster rifle on Obi-Wan. "I'm afraid not."

  Dr. Antin backed away and went to stand beside the man. "I'm sorry,

  Wil. I just assumed..."

  "Later." Wil walked a bit closer to Obi-Wan, the blaster rifle still

  aimed at his head. Obi-Wan could tell by the way he handled the weapon that

  he was an excellent shot. "Why don't you fill us in?" he said.

  "My name is Ben," Obi-Wan said. "I am an old friend of Ferus Olin. I

  heard about his difficulties and came to help him, if I could."

  "Who sent you? Who are you working for?"

  "I work alone," Obi-Wan said. "I heard Roan Lands was in the clinic,

  so I went to see him. I thought he might give me a clue."

  "How did you know Roan Lands was in the clinic?" Dr. Antin asked

  sharply.

  "A boy I met on the street told me. His name is Trever."

  "Trever Flume?" Dr. Antin looked truly startled. "You saw him? Is he

  all right?"

  "He seems to be able to fend for himself."

  "I knew him years ago," she said to Wil. "His family was all killed.

  His father was a colleague." Wil still had not lowered the rifle.

  "Wil, I must see to Roan," Dr. Antin said. "He's in the med cocoon."

  "You brought him here?"

  "I can treat him here just as well," she said. "I think the Emperor's

  forces were planning to take him back to prison. They'd given up on keeping

  him alive."

  "All right." Wil looked at Arnie Antin searchingly. "And you? Are you

  going back?"

  "No. I am one of you now. Malorum threatened Adem, and that was the

  final straw."

  "We will protect your son. I will send someone now"

  "Thank you."

  Wil turned his attention back to Obi-Wan. "I'll call the others. We'll

  deal with the prisoner."

  Prisoner? Obi-Wan thought. That didn't sound good.

  He sat in a small room with five men and five women, one of them Dr.

  Antin. Ten hostile gazes were now trained on him along with one blaster

  rifle.

  "Why did you say you were with the Eleven?" one of them asked.

  "I didn't," Obi-Wan said. "I just. arrived on your world today. I

  don't even know what the Eleven is."

  "We are a group dedicated to fighting the Empire," Wil said. "Eleven

  of us began the group, but now we number many more. We - " Wil gestured

  around the room " - are the core."

  "I'm afraid I can't take that distinction," Arnie Antin said quietly.

  "I have joined the Eleven today. I should have joined before."

  "We accepted your reasons to stay neutral, Arnie," Wil said. "They

  were good ones." He turned back to Obi-Wan. "We began by operating a

  shadownet - news that goes out to the rest of Bellassa. We transmit news of

  what is happening - what is really happening, not what is on the Empire-

  controlled HoloNet broadcasts. We also do targeted raids. This is no

  secret. It's why the Empire wants to find us. They've tried to infiltrate

  us with spies before."

  "I told you, I'm not a spy. Just a friend. Is Ferus one of the Eleven?

  "

  "Ferus and Roan began the group," Wil said. "This is well-known, even

  by the Empire. That's why they were targeted. We don't know how the Empire

  found out they were in the group, but we know we weren't infiltrated. Until

  now."

  "I don't want to infiltrate you," Obi-Wan said. "I want to help you."

  "We can't let you leave here."

  "I'm afraid you can't stop me."

  Wil pointed his blaster rifle. "Bravado is stupid when one is looking

  down the barrel of a blaster."

  "You will be making a great mistake," Obi-Wan said quietly.

  Wil pondered for a moment. "If you truly know Ferus, you know his

  secret. He shared it with us. You know how he spent his early years."

  Obi-Wan hesitated. "Ferus had special gifts...." He saw the others

  exchange glances. They knew. He would not be telling them anything Ferus

  had not already confided. Ferus trusted these people. "He was studying to

  be a Jedi. He lived at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."

  "And you know this because..." Wil stopped. "There is only one way you

  could know it. You are a Jedi."

  "If he were really a Jedi he could have disarmed you in two seconds,"

  a dark-haired woman said scornfully. "I don't believe - "

  Obi-Wan waved his hand. Wil's blaster flew from his hand into Obi-

  Wan's. Obi-Wan then tucked the blaster rifle into his utility belt, and sat

  down again. He would only use his lightsaber if he had to. And he didn't

  have to yet - that much was immediately clear.

  "Oh," the woman said, her eyes wide.

  Wil's look of dumbfounded surprise slowly changed to a grin. "Welcome

  to the Eleven," he said.

  "You have trusted me with your secret," Obi-Wan said. "Now I have

  trusted you with mine."

&nbs
p; "We will keep it," Wil said. "But we don't know where Ferus is. I,

  too, suspect that Roan might know."

  "He and Ferus were very close," a woman with crisscrossing blaster

  holsters across her chest said. "Roan once told me that they had a plan if

  they were forced to go underground."

  "The Empire has made him a priority," Obi-Wan said. "Already today I

  have seen two raids."

  "They've closed down the whole city," Dr. Antin said. "They won't give

  up."

  "We have to find him before the Empire does," someone said. It was a

  tall man with a grave face who had not spoken before. "They are widening

  the net. Starting with Ussa and working outward to the countryside. They

  will cover all of Bellassa if they have to. They want to send a message

  with Ferus - that rebellion will not be tolerated, that resistance will be

  overcome. This is much bigger than one planet. This is how the Empire

  expects to control the galaxy. Bellassa is just a first step among many

  first steps."

  This made sense to Obi-Wan. And now he knew why he had to be here. He

  wasn't just helping an old friend. He was helping to start the spirit of

  rebellion. If Ferus was caught, it would send the message throughout the

  galaxy that all rebels would be captured. But if Ferus could remain free...

  well, then hope would also remain free.

  "We had not heard this, Loran," someone murmured. They all exchanged

  worried glances.

  "Ferus is more than a man to the Bellassans. He is a symbol," Wil

  said.

  "And he is our friend," the dark-haired woman said softly. "We have no

  leader, we are all equal here, but..."

  "Yes, Rilla, Ferus was our leader," Wil said, nodding. "He was the one

  who bound us together."

  "I miss his jokes," the woman with the holsters said.

  "He made us brave," a man said. "I joined because of him."

  Obi-Wan couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Ferus he had known

  as a boy had been a careful rule-follower. His skills had been excellent,

  but his style lacked Anakin's brilliance. What had Ferus said to him once'?

  Everyone liked him, but no one was his friend. This sounded like a

  different Ferus. Ferus a magnetic leader? Ferus with a sense of humor?

  Yet it was Ferus who had seen into Anakin's heart.. It was Ferus who

  had stood up to him, to Anakin's Master, and said, Something is not right.

  here. It had been a brave move for a Padawan, to challenge a Master about

  his own apprentice. Perhaps it shouldn't surprise him that Ferus was now

  capable of this. The seeds for leadership had been there. He just hadn't

  seen them....

  Because he'd always been thinking of Anakin. He had been the Chosen

  One. And their closeness had blinded him.

  "Ferus will return for Roan. He thinks he's still in prison. We must

  find him and tell him not to return."

  "Roan knows where he is," the woman named Rilla said. "I know he does.

  "

  Everyone looked at Dr. Antin. She spread her hands. "I'm sorry. The

  best. I can do is keep him stable and hope he fights his way out of it.

  Neurotoxins are tricky. Antidotes are powerful. I could kill him."

  "So if you knew what they gave him, you could save him," Obi-Wan said.

  "I think so," she said.

  "Arnie Alain is one of the top experts in the galaxy in neurotoxins,"

  Wil said. Obi-Wan heard the pride in his voice and saw the way his gaze

  softened when he looked at her. "If she can't save him, nobody can."

  "And I could save others, as well," Dr. Antin said. "These fiends will

  use anything to get what they want. Our prisons are crowded with political

  prisoners."

  Obi-Wan fingered the Imperial code cylinder in his pocket. "I will get

  you what. you need." He looked up at the ten troubled faces around him.

  "All I have to do is break into the Imperial garrison."

  There was a shocked pause.

  "Ah," Rilla said. "Now I know you're a friend of Ferus."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Ferus Olin had always promised himself to take a vacation in the fresh

  mountain air. Now here he was. A mountain cabin, a sky full of stars. He

  should be thankful. Take the time to breathe, rest, get strong.

  Yeah, he'd be thankful, all right. If he weren't about to go stark

  raving insane.

  Ferus stretched out one leg, then the other. The wound was almost

  healed. The dizziness every time he'd stood had passed. Every day he felt

  stronger. Dona had brought him medicine - bacta and Polybiotic for his

  wound, as well as herbs and tonics from this mountain culture. She'd

  brought him food - too much food. She cooked soups and breads and roasts,

  and was always trying to tempt him. He'd eaten so much soup his eyeballs

  were floating. She'd ministered to him with great patience and kindness,

  and he wanted to repay her care by busting out of here as fast as he could.

  Ferus groaned softly as he rose from his sleep couch. If he stayed in

  one position for any amount of time, his leg stiffened.

  The room was spare, with only a chest of drawers and a place to sleep.

  It was dark, even though it was midday. Dona had made curtains out of

  armor-weave and kept them tightly closed.

  Dona didn't believe in ornamentation. She spent her days on the

  mountains, gathering herbs and hunting, or making the long trip down the

  mountain to the village for supplies. Ferus couldn't go, couldn't even help

  her gather wood for the fire, because to step outside could mean death. He

  had been trapped in this tiny stone cabin for a week now.

  It was like being in prison again, without the torture. That is, if

  you didn't count Dona's constant chatter.

  They didn't get much news from Ussa here. They were so isolated that

  it took days, and the connection to the HoloNet went in and out. There was

  no shadownet for real news, only the Imperial-controlled information, so he

  didn't know what was true. As far as he knew, Roan was still in prison. He

  did not like to think of what was happening to him there. But he was. Every

  moment.

  Ferus waved his hand over a sensor to crack the heavy curtain. He

  stood by the window that looked down to the valley. He opened it slightly

  to take a breath of the frosty air. The snow was deep in midwinter, dimpled

  and splashed with blue from the light bouncing down from the sky. They were

  above the treeline here, surrounded by rocks and cliffs. The native pinir

  trees were far below, magnificent specimens with straight trunks extending

  hundreds of meters into the air, punching the sky with their spiky tops.

  Down the mountain was a small collection of dwellings that was barely

  a village. This used to be a mining town in the old days. When the ore had

  run out, the people had left. But some had stayed, for some reason Ferus

  could not fathom. The winters were harsh, the summers brief. The nearest

  village was an hour away.

  A little too much isolation for his taste. He liked cities.

  Funny, Ferns mused, staring down at the winter landscape. As a Jedi,

  he really hadn't known what he'd preferred. Jedi didn't care about choices.

  They were sent here, or sent there. They took a space-l
iner or a crowded

  freighter. They ate fine food or they ate slop. None of it mattered. The

  only thing that mattered was the mission.

  It had taken him months and months as a private citizen to figure out

  that he could make choices. That he could prefer one thing over another.

  The city to the country. The color blue to the color red. Every day he made

  thousands of decisions, and he had to think about every single one of them.

  In the beginning, it had been exhausting and infuriating. He had hated

  himself for his hesitations; he used to he so decisive. He had met Roan one

  morning in a caf©, when Roan had burst out laughing at Ferus's long

  consideration of whether he wanted a muffin or a roll. Roan had tossed both

  on Ferus's tray with such genial good nature that they had taken breakfast

  together and talked until lunch.

  The memory of Roan's booming laugh made Ferus's chest feel tight.

  After leaving the Jedi, he had felt as though the ground was dissolving

  under his feet. He had wandered from planet to planet. The Jedi had given