Part 1 (2/2)
If this was intended to demonstrate Ferus's growing influence, Ferus could have done without it. He didn't want to be a rival to Darth Vader. He wanted to keep his head down, gather all the information he could on the Empire, and get out.
The Emperor approached him. The Red Guards stayed a discreet distance away. The ministers hesitantly moved toward the turbolifts. Darth Vader had not moved.
”Ferus Olin, you have done well,” the Emperor said. ”I asked you to restore Samaria to a functioning power again, and you did so.”
”The saboteur escaped.” The saboteur had turned out to be Astri Oddo, an old friend of Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi's whom Ferus had known only slightly. He had let her and her son Lune escape with the help of his friends.
”Yes, but that was not your responsibility,” the Emperor said with a glance at Darth Vader across the platform. ”It belonged to someone else. You did what was required and you did it quickly. Your efficiency has been noted. We value efficiency in the Empire. It can be more valuable than strength.”
”Or perhaps it's a necessary component of strength.”
”Very true. Now,” the Emperor said, turning to walk toward the turbolift, ”come and walk with me. I have something to discuss with you. I'm glad you remained on the planet. It shows respect.”
”Or a lack of transport,” Ferus observed.
The Emperor ignored this. He wasn't one for jokes. But that didn't mean Ferus didn't derive some pleasure out of launching a few his way. One thing about the Imperials, they were a humorless bunch. ”I would like your a.s.sessment of the current situation here,” Palpatine said.
Ferus clicked into a businesslike mode. ”The infrastructure has been restored up to ninety-eight percent and by the end of today will be fully operational -”
”I am not talking about the infrastructure. I am not a bureaucrat. I am interested in your impressions of the situation.”
Ferus thought a moment. He knew what the Emperor was asking. ”The population was unnerved by the infrastructure crash,” Ferus confided. ”It left the city feeling vulnerable. Bog Divinian is exploiting the vulnerability. He's hinting that the delegation from Rosha is behind it.”
”They are here to negotiate a trade agreement.”
”The first ever. The two planets have been technological rivals for decades. Exploiting the Samarian distrust of the Roshans isn't a bad strategy to gain power, but it could backfire. Most Samarians now support trade with Rosha. If they discover that Divinian is manufacturing the charges against the Roshans, the whole thing could blow up in your face. You'd have unrest here, and distrust of the Empire will grow. That would feed the resistance.”
”I could simply blame Divinian, and then remove him from office.”
”Well, that's a strategy. But the Samarians wouldn't believe you. You'd have to use force to crush the planet.” Which you don't mind doing.
”What about this resistance?” the Emperor asked. ”They have struck a few Imperial targets and have been successful.”
”Their numbers are small,” Ferus said. He was treading on dangerous ground here. He had remained on the planet to help the resistance. He didn't want to give the Emperor a reason to crack down, but if he minimized their strength too much, the Emperor would become suspicious.
”They seem well organized.”
”Yes,” Ferus agreed. He had to. Both of the operations to knock out Imperial transports had been executed flawlessly. If he didn't admit that, Palpatine would suspect his involvement.
”You know more about resistance groups than Lord Vader. He wouldn't admit that, but it's true,” the Emperor said. By his tone one could almost think he was musing aloud, but Ferus didn't buy it for a minute. This whole conversation had been calculated, and Ferus had the feeling the outcome was inevitable. He began to feel nervous. Very nervous.
”Only Sath matters on Samaria,” Palpatine continued. ”If resistance is crushed here, it will be eliminated planetwide. And here is where the computer system crashed. Lord Vader tells me you have not been able to restore the records of any subversives on the planet.”
”That was the saboteur's first target, it turns out,” Ferus said. ”Those records are gone forever.”
”What the galaxy doesn't understand,” Palpatine continued, ”is that resistance results in problems for a society as a whole - there is property damage, restricted movement for all, an atmosphere of fear and distrust. The best outcome for this planet is that it continues to be a prosperous, well-run society.”
”Of course.” There really were times when Ferus felt he was in the middle of a dream. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be walking alongside Emperor Palpatine and agreeing with him.
He knew he was being manipulated. He was here to play out the game. He had to seem reluctant, but he also had to seem corruptible. But it had to be a challenge, or Palpatine would suspect him.
”I want you to find the leaders of the resistance cell in Sath and bring them a message,” Palpatine went on. ”I offer them amnesty, if they disband. We must maintain the peace.”
Amazing. Ferus wanted to shake his head at the sheer audacity of it. This figure of evil and destruction claimed to be carrying a message of peace.
”You forget I don't know who the resistance is,” Ferus said.
”I forget nothing,” Palpatine said, a hint of sharpness in his tone. ”That is a minor detail. And who better to bring them the message than one who has been granted amnesty himself?”
There it was. The inevitable trap. Ferus marveled at its cleverness, even as he winced as it bit into him. He had been given amnesty, so they'd trust him. He could rea.s.sure them of the Emperor's trustworthiness without saying a word. And then Palpatine would crush them. It might not be now, it might not even be soon, but it would be.
They were steps away from the turbolift. Darth Vader was still standing a hundred meters away, waiting. An Imperial officer stood by the turbolift, ready to activate the sensor. Ferus could see the darkening of his collar as the sweat had rolled down his neck and collected there. Palpatine was making them all wait. He was taking his time.
Palpatine stopped walking and turned to him. Ferus wished he hadn't. It was when he was staring into that ravaged face that he came closest to losing his nerve.
”You do not like to think so, but you're drawn to power,” Palpatine told him, inclining his head so that his voice curled around Ferus's ear. ”We are just beginning the new era. Make no judgments yet. The climb to power for any government takes some ruthlessness to ensure a just end. Things before were corrupt and breaking down. You must admit that to be true.”
”Yes.” But how much of that breakdown in stability was due to Palpatine's own maneuvering? Ferus didn't know. Palpatine had cleverly used the greed and corruption of the Senators - and the blindness of the Jedi - to build his power and then make his move.
”I am here to demonstrate that peace and stability in the galaxy are possible only through me.” The Emperor looked over the city of Sath below them, at the artificial fingers of sand that stretched out into the aquamarine sea. ”You are standing at a crossroads, Ferus Olin. You should consider where you truly belong. You flourished at the Jedi Temple. You thrived under its rules, its structure. What I am building is much better. A central clearing house in which the politics and stability of the galaxy are acted on by wise minds.”
Ferus didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Palpatine was drawing him in. It was a clumsy effort. Yes, he had thrived under the rules of the Temple.
But he wasn't that person anymore.
He wasn't crazy about rules anymore. And he definitely didn't like being told what to do.
He would never join the Empire, but it disturbed him that Palpatine seemed to know him intimately. When he spoke of Ferus's life as a Jedi student, he put his finger on exactly how Ferus had experienced it. How could that be? They'd barely had contact. Anakin Skywalker had been Palpatine's favorite, not Ferus.
”Will you do what I have asked?” Palpatine questioned.
”Yes,” Ferus said. At least the job would work with his own interest. He could contact the resistance and see what sort of help they might need.
Ferus started to move away, but Palpatine wasn't finished.
”One more thing,” the Emperor said. ”Contact me directly with your progress reports.”
Ferus nodded, trying to keep the surprise off his face. n.o.body reported directly to Palpatine except Darth Vader. Ferus had a.s.sumed that Vader would be his contact; after all, Vader was in charge of all the Empire's operations on the planet, though he came and went often. Was Palpatine hinting to Ferus that Vader was not quite the favorite he appeared to be?
The Emperor moved off toward Darth Vader, who was still waiting and had not moved a muscle. As Ferus walked toward the turbolift, he could feel Vader's anger like a shove against his back. Ferus hopped onto the turbolift and felt the rea.s.suring movement down toward the planet, away from the heavy Imperial presence.
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