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But it was no use.

His mind was too clouded by grief, by fear, by exhaustion. There was too much noise in the cell and in his head. Ben was gone, like Han and Leia were gone, like everyone was gone. The only voice that could help him was his own.

"You need me."

Ferus smiled at the familiar voice. "How did you know?" He had been lying in his bunk, eyes closed, trying to sort through his dilemma. Now he sat up to face the flickering, translucent spirit of a fallen Jedi.

"When your heart and mind are open to the Force, they are open to me," Obi-Wan said.

Ferus still didn't understand how the Jedi Master was able to speak to him from beyond the grave. But he was grateful. Knowing Obi-Wan was out there, watching, made every challenge easier to bear.

"Luke is in trouble," Obi-Wan said. "And I fear for his sister, too."

Ferus stifled his irritation with the old man. Obi-Wan would never have admitted it, but for him, Leia always came second. An afterthought.

"I know," Ferus said. "They've been missing for nearly a week. I've begun to fear the worst."

"You can help them," Obi-Wan said. "You know the way."

"I know the way?" Ferus repeated. This wasn't exactly the help he'd been hoping for.

"You're the mysterious spirit who knows all—don't you know the way? Tell me how to help them. Tell me where to find them!"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "There is a disturbance in the Force surrounding Luke. His connection to it is growing weaker. I cannot help him. Only you can."

"I have no idea where they are," Ferus said. "If I knew, don't you think I'd be halfway there by now?"

"But you have your suspicions," Obi-Wan said. It wasn't a question.

Ferus hesitated. He had drawn the connections in his mind, but hadn't yet said them out loud. It was as General Dodonna said—he had no evidence, only his instincts. And his instincts had been wrong before, with dire consequences. "I fear the Rebels are walking into a trap," he said slowly. "And that Luke and Leia's disappearance has something to do with it. This deserted moon where the Rebels hope to ambush the Imperials…"

"You believe that to be where you'll find Luke and Leia," Obi-Wan finished for him.

Ferus nodded.

"And yet you sit here, doing nothing."

Obi-Wan had always known how to make him feel better—and how to make him feel the opposite.

"The things I've done in the past…" Ferus broke off. It pained him too much to think about the choices he'd made—choices that had led to the death of his best friend, Roan Lands. To the death of so many others. He had trusted his instincts; he had trusted the wrong people. They had paid the price for his mistakes.

"Sometimes not choosing is itself a choice," Obi-Wan added. "By not acting, you act."

"Tell me what to do," Ferus pleaded. He felt like a Padawan again, scrambling for crumbs at his Master's feet. And part of him wished for those old days, when the way ahead had seemed so certain. When every question had an answer.

Obi-Wan favored him with a familiar wry smile. "You know I can't do that. I can only tell you to believe—"

"—in the Force," Ferus cut in, irritated. "I know."

Obi-Wan's smile widened. "Actually, I was going to suggest you believe in yourself.

But then, I suppose in the end, it's all the same thing."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Luke sat perfectly still as Soresh strapped him into the chair. The durasteel was cold against his skin. Sharp-edged restraints wrapped around his ankles, his wrists, his waist, his neck, and his forehead, holding him in place. Slowly and carefully, Soresh attached a series of sensors to Luke's forehead. "Nothing to fear," he said. "This won't hurt at all."

Luke was far past fearing pain.

Soresh raised an injector. "This is just something to ease the process along and make everything go more smoothly. You want that, don't you?"

Luke stared blankly ahead. Soresh smiled as if he had responded. "Good." He injected the serum into Luke's neck.

There was a faint pinprick of pain, and then nothing.