Star Wars_ Rebel Force 06_ Uprising - Alex Wheeler [25]
Closer than anyone knew, Ferus had once admitted to Div. It was Div that had saved him—Div, and everything he had once represented. Hope for the future: innocence and light. That was a long time ago, another life, when Div was known as Lune, when Ferus was a leader. It was a long-dead past, but maybe Div wasn't the only one who still bore the scars.
"Luke has great power," Ferus said. "If he succumbs, and the Empire gains control over him…"
"He won't," Leia said firmly. "They won't."
"How can you be sure?" Ferus asked.
"Because I know Luke." Leia glared at him for a long moment. It seemed like Ferus was wrestling with a response. But ultimately, he stayed silent, and looked away.
Div cleared his throat, hoping to cut through the tension. "We have to warn the fleet,"
he pointed out. "They're flying into a trap."
"What do you think we've been trying to do?" Han said. But their weak distress signal had barely made it out of the atmosphere. And accessing the Millennium Falcon's communications system was out of the question. Once the prisoners had escaped, Soresh had tripled the guard on the ship.
Now they had the Firespray. Leia fired up the comm system and contacted Yavin 4.
The news wasn't good: The fleet was already on its way. There was no way of warning them while they were traveling at lightspeed.
"This is my fault," Ferus murmured. "I delayed too long. Again."
Div wanted to reassure him, but didn't have the words. And really, Ferus was right.
They had both delayed too long—and now the entire fleet could suffer the consequences.
"So we do what we can from here," Div said. "I figure we're nearly a day ahead of the fleet. That gives us time to find out exactly what kind of trap Soresh is setting—"
"—and shut it down," Han said, his fingers already itching for his blaster. Div suspected the spacer was as eager for action as he was. The two of them understood each other—in another life, they might even have been friends. But Div had long ago vowed to have no more friends. You couldn't lose what you didn't have. Now he only had comrades in arms, and he was glad to count Han among them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I am nothing.
I am no one.
I belong to you.
The mantra ran through Luke's mind on a constant loop. It was the only way to keep his eyes blank, his voice flat, his face clear of anything that might give away the truth.
Even now, Soresh watched him carefully for any flicker of independence or disloyalty. But Luke had gotten good at walking through the motions of slavery. He didn't know how he'd found the strength to resist Soresh's brainwashing, just as he didn't know where he'd found the strength to keep up the act for this long. But somehow, he had. Somewhere, deep in him, there was something that refused to bend. A voice that told him to hold on, no matter what. It was no voice he'd ever heard before—more than anything, it sounded like his own. Only deeper. Stronger. Sometimes Luke wondered if it was his father, helping him from beyond the grave.
"Welcome to my greatest masterpiece," Soresh said, ushering Luke into a large room lined with computers. A giant viewscreen covered one entire wall. "Today I reclaim my rightful place at the Emperor's side. All thanks to you."
Soresh loved nothing more than boasting about his plans to the obedient guards who followed him everywhere. Ever since Luke's final "proof" of loyalty, he had been Soresh's favored audience. And yet Luke still had no idea what he was planning for the Rebel fleet—or how to stop it.
The Commander activated the comm unit. Moments later, Darth Vader himself appeared on the screen. The image was larger than life, nearly three meters high. Luke suppressed a shudder. Even through a screen, the Dark Lord was a terrifying sight. And it wasn't just terror Luke needed to suppress. It was rage. Every time Luke saw that dark mask, every time he heard that deadly even breathing he saw the red blade of a