[Last Of The Jedi] - 06 by Return Of The Dark Side (Jude Watson)

Author:Return Of The Dark Side (Jude Watson) [Side, Return Of The Dark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-10T13:36:31+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ferus was put through to the Emperor immediately. The hologram floated in front of him, full-size. Palpatine’s hood was drawn over his head, and Ferus could only see a trace of the yellowish skin, the slash of a mouth.

“I have located the resistance and delivered your message.”

“Excellent.”

“They will consider your offer.”

“Will they accept?”

Ferus was expecting this question. He thought the chance was zero, but he had to keep Palpatine happy and Vader away. “I think there is a slim chance,” he said. “They are disheartened because the majority of Samarians don’t support resistance. So they feel isolated. I don’t get the sense that there are very many of them. They don’t trust me, of course.”

“Continue to monitor the situation. Did you gain any information that would be helpful to Lord Vader?”

“Just a drop. The used speeder stand on Telos Street. But I’m sure they’ll change it now. I haven’t told him about it — my orders were to report to you first.”

“I will inform him. You have done well, Ferus Olin.”

“Lord Vader isn’t happy that I’m reporting to you,” Ferus added. He was hoping to probe Palpatine a bit.

“That is not your concern.”

“It makes it hard to work together. Perhaps if I knew more about him …”

He saw Palpatine pause. He’d interested him. “So, you are becoming curious about Lord Vader.”

“Everyone is curious about Lord Vader.”

“He prefers mystery. It is helpful. You have something else. Uniqueness. You were trained in the Force, and you rejected it. All the Jedi have been eliminated, but the Force remains. You could use it again.”

“I’m a little rusty,” Ferus said. Palpatine thought he was corruptible.

“You managed to find a lightsaber.”

“Lots of weapons around for sale after the Clone Wars. I managed to get my hands on one. It’s a dangerous galaxy out there.”

“You could have more power than any officer. More power,” Palpatine rasped, “than even Lord Vader himself.”

Here it was. The beginning.

“I’m not interested in power,” Ferus said.

“Everyone is interested in power,” Palpatine said. “But not everyone has the vision to see what real power can accomplish.”

Ferus rested his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. The Jedi hadn’t been about power. They’d used the Force to bring justice to the galaxy. But in truth the Force gave them great power, and many Padawans wrestled with the concept of it. When to use it, when to retreat, when to advance, when to demolish an enemy, and when to let them go. It was a constant struggle. And what every Padawan could not admit, even to each other, at night on their sleep couches, for even a whisper might bring the dark side too close — power felt good.

Ferus had fought against that feeling, had denied it existed, had thought he’d conquered it … but had he really?

He had brought up the topic with Siri — because Siri was the kind of Master you could talk to about anything. One of the countless things he missed about her was how nothing he could ask could possibly shock or disappoint her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.