Star Wars_ Rebel Force 06_ Uprising - Alex Wheeler [6]
Ferus peppered him with questions about the weather and his recent bout of Balmorra Flu. Gradually, he moved the conversation in the direction he needed it to go. "Things must be busy over at Massassi Station, given what's going on now?" It was a safe question—things were always busy at the Rebel Base station.
Jono nodded eagerly. "Course, I shouldn't talk about it."
But Ferus needed him to talk about it. And so he reached out with the Force and loosened Jono's tongue. "You'd like to tell us about it," Ferus suggested pleasantly.
"I'd like to tell you about it," Jono echoed in a fuzzy voice.
Div looked disgusted. It was one thing to use the Force against one's enemies. Using it to wring information from a friend…Surely that wasn't the Jedi way. But Ferus wouldn't allow himself to feel guilty. He couldn't help the Rebels unless he knew what help they needed.
Still, such decisions were easier to make in the old days. As a Jedi Padawan it had been simple to know the right thing to do. Right was whatever his Master told him it was.
Only after leaving the Temple had Ferus learned the joy of deciding such things for himself. But, like all true joys, it came with a healthy dose of terror. Div knew that, too, in his own way.
"Could be I heard something, while I was mopping up," Jono said hesitantly.
Ferus gave him an encouraging nod.
"Rebel scouts intercepted an encrypted Imperial transmission," Jono confided. "The Imperial High Command is having some kind of top secret meeting in a few weeks, out in the middle of nowhere. Emperor's going. Darth Vader, too. And because they're doing it in secret, they're traveling light. Only a couple Star Destroyers. Sounds like General Dodonna thinks this could be our chance to take down the Empire, all in one shot."
Div scowled. "Great. A top secret mission to take out the Emperor and Vader, and you know where we'll be? Building 'freshers."
Ferus frowned, but for a different reason. "Thank you, Jono. Always good to talk to you. Now it might be nice for you to go back to your quarters and lie down for a bit."
Jono furrowed his brow, looking slightly confused. "Kind of hot out here," he said.
"Think I might head back to my quarters and lie down for a bit."
"Sounds like a good idea," Ferus said. I'm sorry, friend, he thought, as Jono wended his way through the forest and disappeared into the trees. You deserve better.
But he'd learned something—possibly something crucial. "What do you think?" Ferus asked Div.
"I think we're wasting our time out here when we could be—"
"No," Ferus said impatiently. It was growing harder and harder to remember the sweet, young boy Lune Divinian had once been. He'd grown into a hardened, cynical young man. A good man—but often, it seemed like he wanted to pretend that goodness didn't exist. Much as he wanted to pretend that his connection to the Force no longer existed. Ferus could understand that. When you'd had great power as a child, only to watch it disappear as you grew, it was tempting to forget you ever had it at all. Ferus had spent many years trying to rebuild his connection to the Force, but he knew he would never regain all he'd lost. "Put aside your impatience and your bitterness. Take a moment.
What do you think about what we've just learned? What do you feel? "
Div sighed with irritation, but he did as he was told.
He closed his eyes and bowed his head. When he looked up, a few moments later, his eyes were bright and clear. "Something's off," he said. "But I can't put my finger on it.
That kind of information, just falling into the Rebellion's lap…?"
"I agree," Ferus said. "It's almost too easy."
"We are due for some good luck," Div pointed out.
"Not likely," Ferus mused. It would be nice to believe that the galaxy had finally smiled upon the Rebellion.