Jedi Voyage #5 - The Academy Of Fright

Chapter Nine

  Anakin met Ferus at their prearranged spot in the computer lab during their free time before lights out. Most of the students were in their own rooms, studying or talking. No one liked to venture out into the halls at night, no matter how good security was now. The computer lab was open but empty. They spoke in low voices in a corner.
  "Reymet keeps dropping hints," Ferus said without waiting for Anakin to speak. "He says he knows something about some secret goings-on at the school. He even has hinted that it has something to do with Gillam's disappearance. I know he's trying to impress me, but I still think he knows something. Maybe about the secret squad. If we could infiltrate it, we'd finally have something to tell Obi-Wan."
  "I did infiltrate it," Anakin said.
  Ferus looked startled. "Why didn't you tell me?"
  "You didn't give me a chance," Anakin said. As usual, Ferus got under his skin. "It just happened today."
  "How? Who is it? This is great news," Ferus said approvingly.
  Anakin wasn't sure what annoyed him more – Ferus's lack of envy at his progress, or the way his approval sounded just a bit condescending, as though Ferus was his Master.
  "I was approached by Marit Dice," Anakin said. "She and her friends are all scholarship students here at the school. That's the key. They feel that they won't be treated fairly when it comes to positions after graduation, so they decided to strike out on their own. The school doesn't help them. They only help the sons and daughters of the important people."
  "Sounds like an excuse to me," Ferus said.
  "No," Anakin said, annoyed. "I'm sure it's true. Haven't you noticed that the other students don't talk to the scholarship students?"
  "Not really." Ferus said. "After all, I talk to Reymet."
  "Only because you have to."
  Ferus sighed. "So they picked you because you're a scholarship student."
  "They picked me because they thought they could trust me," Anakin said. "I don't have a reputation as a snob."
  If Ferus felt the sting of Anakin's remark, he didn't show it. "Did they say anything about Gillam? Do you know if he was in the squad?"
  "They didn't say a word about Gillam," Anakin said.
  "That's strange," Ferus said. "It's all everyone else at school talks about."
  "They have more important things on their minds," Anakin said.
  "Is Marit the leader?"
  Anakin gave this some thought. "She did most of the talking. But I didn't get the feeling that she was the leader. They say they vote on everything."
  "Do you know if they're going out on an assignment?" Ferus asked.
  Anakin shook his head. "Not yet. I'll find out."
  Ferus frowned. "So do you think there's a connection? And if there is, what could it be?"
  "I don't know," Anakin said. "I can't imagine them kidnapping a fellow student. They seem straightforward. They take on good causes. They're almost like Jedi, in a way. Think about it, Ferus. Can you imagine being able to pick and choose your own missions?"
  Ferus looked at him curiously. "No. That's why we have the Council."
  "But if we didn't, we could use our skills on missions that we decided were important."
  "If we didn't have the Council, we wouldn't be Jedi." Ferus gave him the severe look that always got under his skin.
  Anakin decided to change the subject. "Do you know anything about the planet Tierell?"
  "There was a coup there. It was a repressive government. The leader was assassinated two weeks ago. The rebels are now in charge. Why?"
  "The squad said they were involved," Anakin said.
  "In an assassination? Do you call that a good cause?"
  "I didn't say that they assassinated the leader," Anakin argued. "I just said they were involved."
  "Anakin, they are mercenaries," Ferus said, exasperated. "What exactly do you think they do?"
  "Not cold-blooded murder," Anakin said decidedly.
  "You've made a lot of conclusions considering you just met them," Ferus said.
  "It's an instinct," Anakin said. "That doesn't mean they can't be hiding something. I'm not totally in their confidence yet. I need to gain their trust."
  Ferus nodded slowly. "I agree. But be careful."
  Anakin said good-bye and was halfway down the hall before he wondered what exactly Ferus wanted him to be careful of.

  The secret squad had a secret signal, of course. Many of the students had holographic displays outside their doors. When a hologram of a detailed topographical map of Marit's homeworld of Hali was outside her door, a meeting was scheduled. If the moons of Hali were shown, the meeting was in the free evening hours. If the three suns were shown, the meeting would take place before the morning meal.
  They met almost every day. Anakin was surprised at the number of proposals for help they received, from groups and individuals all over the galaxy. The squad had only been in operation for six months, and the word of mouth had spread. Rolai received the requests on a datapad Ze had tweaked so that the routing system was too complicated to trace. Credits were deposited in a secret account in an Andoran bank known for discretion. Anakin admired the group's professionalism. They discussed the proposals seriously, and he was impressed at Marit's knowledge of galactic politics and history. It was obvious that they needed a mission soon, for their treasury was low and they needed supplies.
  Anakin was heading to his last class when he saw the signal for an evening meeting. As soon as the free period began, he headed for a storeroom located near the students' rooms. The storeroom wasn't used at such hours and they did not have to pass through security checkpoints to get to it from their rooms. It was a private place to meet.
  He slipped inside the room to find the others waiting. He got the sense that they had been talking before he entered. "Do we have a proposal?" he asked, sitting down on the floor next to Hurana.
  "No," Rolai said. "It's just a general meeting. Anybody have anything?
  "Just stuff we can't afford," Ze said. "I haven't wanted to bring this up, but we've got to upgrade our comlinks. We've got to get some holographic capabilities pretty soon. And if we don't up-tech the drivers, we'll be blasting static when we go past the Core. I have an idea how I can do a basic upgrade without dipping into the treasury, but it's going to be complicated." Ze launched into a highly technical discussion that obviously left the rest of the squad behind.
  "So if I patch into the C-board here and steal some juice from the circuit, I can maybe extend the range from meta to mega if the systems don't chatter and I don't pulverize the school mainframe," Ze concluded cheerfully.
  "Affirmatively good work, Ze-tech." Tulah nodded his head in approval, but it was obvious he hadn't a clue as to what Ze was talking about. By the looks on the faces of the rest, they felt the same.
  "Don't forget to bypass the transit sensor when you patch," Anakin said. "Otherwise you'll end up with a cinder instead of a comlink."
  "An excellent point," Ze said, impressed.
  "I was going to say that transit thing," Tulah said. "I mean, I would have if I'd known what Ze was talking about."
  Marit gave Anakin a sidelong look. "You know comm systems?"
  "Some," Anakin said. As a slave at Watto's shop, he had learned how to fix anything. He had kept up the hobby as a Jedi student. "I know droid circuits better."
  "That's good, because we might be in the market for an astromech," Tulah said. "Love those little guys. Hurana has been shopping for a couple of used A-6 interceptors, and a couple of astromechs are key. By the way, we really need to get some starfighters soon. This hitching rides on freighters has got to stop."
  "I agree," Rolai said. "They're slow."
  "Right. But what I really meant was, the food is terrible," Tulah said. "Bleh."
  "What's the weapon capability of the interceptors?" Rolai asked Hurana.
  "Turbolaser cannons, very sweet," Hurana said. "Both ships are in good shape. The only problem is that one of them has a tendency to cut out during dives."
  "That could be a minor inconvenience," Tulah said. "Remind me to fly in the other one."
  Everyone laughed, but Anakin noted how their intent looks never changed. He was impressed with their focus.
  "I've gone on a couple of test flights and it's a pretty consistent problem," Hurana admitted. "Last time I came within twenty meters of complete annihilation on the planet surface before I was able to pull out."
  "That sounds dangerous," Anakin said. The flow of conversation was fast and decisive. It told him better than words what a tightly knit team this was.
  She flashed him a grin. "That's what made it fun."
  "What about a hyperdrive?" Marit asked.
  Hurana shook her head. "We might be able to add it. But that means major investment capital."
  "Don't worry about that," Rolai said.
  "Why not?" Marit said. "The treasury is completely zilched."
  "I'm working on it," Rolai said. "Just draw up your wish lists, and I'll let you know what we can handle."
  "Sounds like my speed," Tulah said. "Numbers are not my thing."
  "I've got a wish list, too," Rolai said. "Speaking of upgrades, our weapons are sad. A couple of blasters aren't going to get us very far. We need some secondary weaponry. Some thermal detonators, a flechette launcher, maybe some missile tubes –"
  "Hang on," Marit said. "We're not an army."
  "Sure we are," Rolai said. "If we act like it, we'd better have the stuff to back it up. Things would have gone a lot better on Tierell if we'd had the firepower –"
  "Or a lot worse," Marit shot back.
  "Not this again," Rolai said, rolling his eyes. "Six blasters for six members is the bare minimum. If we'd had a flechette launcher –"
  "You're right, Rolai," Marit said. "We've gone over this too many times. Let's just be glad the mission was a success. Now we'd better get back to our rooms."
  Anakin hung back as the others slipped out the door. He closed it behind them and turned to face Marit.
  "We'd better get going," she said. "Lights out will be soon –"
  "What was that about?" Anakin asked.
  "What?" Marit said evasively.
  "He said six blasters," Anakin said.
  "What?"
  "He said you had six blasters for six members. But there are only five."
  "Six, counting you."
  "But I wasn't on the mission to Tierell."
  Marit shrugged. "Rolai meant now, not then. Six blasters for six members."
  Anakin let it pass. "Tell me about Tierell."
  Marit turned away. "I don't want to tell you about Tierell."
  "Something's bothering you about it," Anakin said. "Maybe if you tell me, I can help."
  "I don't need help," Marit snapped.
  "Okay," Anakin said. "Then let's say I deserve to know. I'm putting my life on the line, too, you know."
  Marit's brown eyes studied him. He knew the moment she decided to trust him. It took only a few seconds. He was beginning to see that Marit didn't like to waste time. "We had trouble. We'd been hired to slip into the Leader's Advisors' Chambers and dismantle security. The room was supposed to be empty, but the advisors were having a meeting. We had a battle with some security droids. The blaster fire was incredible. We could barely handle it. And... in the confusion, the leader of Tierell was killed."
  "Who did it?" Anakin asked.
  Marit hesitated. Then she took a deep breath. "I did."
  Slowly, she sank back down to a crouching position on the floor. Her hands dangled between her knees. "I've gone over it and over it, and I still don't know why or how it happened. The success of the mission depended on it. The freedom of the beings of Tierell depended on it. Maybe my friends' lives depended on it. Maybe mine. In other words..." Marit shrugged. "Everything depended on it. But I can't stop thinking..."
  "That it could have gone another way." Anakin knew that feeling. He, too, had taken a life. More than one. He didn't like to think about it. Those experiences were locked in a place in his mind where he did not go.
  He crouched down in front of her. "If everything depended on it, you did the right thing. If you can't make yourself believe that, you'll drive yourself crazy."
  She looked into his face searchingly. "You seem to know how I feel."
  "I do," Anakin said. He stood and held out his hand. She took it and he helped bring her to her feet.
  "You see?" he said. "Everybody needs help sometime."

  "I think she lied about the blasters, but I don't know why," Anakin told Obi-Wan in their next communication.
  "Do you think Gillam was once part of the squad?"
  "That doesn't make sense. He's not a scholarship student. But something is up, I can feel it. Something with Rolai isn't right. Maybe he knows something. He's in charge of security, and also the treasury. None of the others seem to care about how he handles it. Maybe... I don't know, maybe he decided to raise money by kidnapping Gillam and holding him for ransom, but he didn't tell the others."
  "Maybe," Obi-Wan said doubtfully. He sounded distracted, as though he weren't really listening to Anakin. "But Tarturi hasn't received a ransom demand."
  "Yet. I'm not sure what to think," Anakin confessed. "I can't imagine the group kidnapping Gillam. They're all pretty dedicated. Marit has an incredible grasp of galactic politics. She knows what's being debated in the Senate right down to the subcommittee hearings. And she always comes in on the right side."
  "And how do you know it's the right side?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice dry. "Because you agree with it?"
  "Because they are against violence and oppression," Anakin said. "They're like the Jedi."
  "Yet they are operating against school rules," Obi-Wan pointed out. "If you are willing to violate trust, you cannot claim virtue."
  "The school doesn't deserve their trust. It let them down."
  "Nonetheless, they are attending the school and agreed to abide by its rules," Obi-Wan said. "I can understand the attraction they have for you, Anakin, but I fear you are getting too involved. You must be a Jedi at all times. You must constantly strive for inner balance. This includes being swayed by the ideas of others. They often mask a different purpose."
  "What purpose could they mask?"
  "That is your job to find out. Do not forget that you are trying to find a missing boy. Anakin, the fact that you are a Jedi is what will keep you steady always. That is something to hold on to. If you know your first loyalty, the rest falls into place. Do you understand?"
  "I do, Master. Have you made progress in the Senate?"
  Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes and no. Nothing to report yet. I'm sure there is a connection between Rana Halion and Sano Sauro, but I can't find it."
  "Rana Halion?"
  "Ruler of Ieria. The leader of the countermovement in that system. I think she might have something to do with Gillam's disappearance. Keep me informed if you learn anything more, Padawan."
  "Yes, Master." Anakin frowned as Obi-Wan cut the communication. His Master had not been very forthcoming with information. And he did not seem interested in the secret squad. Anakin had the feeling that Obi-Wan didn't think they were involved in Gillam's disappearance.
  But Anakin felt differently. And here, he could follow his own rules.
  All his life, he had known only two ways to live: as a slave, or as a Jedi. As a young boy on Tatooine he had looked to the Jedi as the most free beings in the galaxy. Even before he knew much about them, he had dreamed of being a Jedi.
  But was being a Jedi being free? Or had he traded one form of slavery for another?
  The thought was so shocking that Anakin couldn't face it once he dredged it up. He tucked it away in the place in his mind that he did not visit. It was a place where fear ruled. He never went there, not even in the middle of the night when he woke, his head full of dreams, and did not know where he was or why his mother was not near.
  Anakin put his comlink back into his tunic. For the first time since entering the school, returning to comm silence did not make him feel cut off. He was glad not to answer to anyone, even for twenty-four hours. He headed out to find Marit and the squad, where there were no Masters to chide him.