by Watson, Jude
“We have a sort of club,” Marit said. “Not a school club. A serious club. Are you interested?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Anakin said. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”
“We take on assignments from outsiders. Beings who need a little help. We use our skills to aid them. If my friends and I have one thing in common, we don’t like to see others get kicked around. I think you’re that way, too.”
“I am,” Anakin said. “What exactly do you do? Rescue fluffkits from trees?”
Rolai looked annoyed. “This isn’t a joke. Two weeks ago on Tierell, we changed the course of a planet’s history.”
“And made a bundle of credits,” Tulah said. “Don’t forget that.”
“We do whatever is needed,” Marit said quickly. She gave Rolai a warning glance, as if he’d said too much. “You’ll learn more if you join us. Look, I told you how it works here. They only run the scholarship program so that they’ll look good. They don’t care about us. They won’t help us. No one will. We have to help ourselves. Why should we wait around to get passed over for good jobs when we can start our lives now?”
“I agree,” Anakin said. “But how do you get off campus? You’d have to violate security.”
Marit shook her head. “We’re able to conduct the missions on our free days. We have permission to leave. We just have to be sure to be back in time. And there are ways to trick security.” She grinned at Rolai. “Rolai is our security expert and financial officer. Ze handles communications.”
Ze nodded. “Comlinks, datapads, holo transmissions. Traces and countertraces. There are plenty of frequencies to hide in, if you know how.”
Anakin was impressed. Even he didn’t know how to navigate the complicated process of concealing a transmission origin.
“I’m transportation,” Hurana said. “I get us in and out, and fast.”
Tulah lifted a finger. “I’m battle strategy. But mostly I’m comic relief.”
Tulah spoke lightly, but something in his face told Anakin that his joking was a pose to hide a serious purpose.
“And I research the proposals,” Marit said. “I’m the galactic politics expert.”
“So what am I?” Anakin asked.
“We need someone who knows something about sophisticated air transport like starfighters,” Hurana said. “I know some, but Marit has been watching you, and she says you know more.”
“I don’t know about that,” Anakin said. “But I did grow up fixing engines. So how do you decide what you’re going to do?”
“We consider proposals and vote on them,” Hurana said. “Everyone’s vote is equal.”
“And every decision is unanimous,” Tulah said. “If one of us doesn’t want to take an assignment, we pass on it. You’d get an equal vote, too, fly-guy. Just try to vote with me.”
Unlike the others, Rolai’s look was cool. Anakin had the feeling that he would have to prove himself to the Bothan before he welcomed him. It didn’t bother him. He might feel that way himself with an outsider.
“The kind of assignments we take on are important,” Marit said. “We’re just starting, but already what we can do has spread to the right beings. We’re on the side of justice in the galaxy. The powerful exploit the weak. We try to tip the balance. In one of our last missions we broke into the records of a company that was dumping its toxic garbage on a neighboring planet’s moon. We exposed them and got paid for it. We can get away with a lot because adults tend not to notice kids. They underestimate us.”
Rolai grinned. “Big mistake.”
To his surprise, Anakin found himself liking what he was hearing. It was almost like being a Jedi, but without Masters. No one told the squad what to do. They picked their own missions and were responsible only to themselves.
“Count me in,” he said.
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 only took 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.”
