by Jude Watson
“All right, I’ll come,” she said gruffly. “But just to check it out.”
Oryon looked at Keets and Curran. “We’ve been talking. As the Erased, we’ve hidden away for too long. We want to return to Coruscant. But we would welcome a place to be quiet and make plans.”
“After this little adventure, I could use a rest,” Clive said.
“You’re going to come?” Solace asked disdainfully. “I thought you were a solo act.”
“Must be your sparkling personality,” Clive said.
Ferus’s comlink signaled. That was strange. There were only a few people in the galaxy with access. He walked a few steps away from the others. The message played, a miniature hologram.
He stared, listening, and ice entered his veins.
He walked back to the others and placed his comlink on his palm. He held it out. “I think you need to see this.”
An image of Emperor Palpatine shimmered in the air. “Greetings, Master Olin, for I think you deserve that title. Times have changed, and you’ve changed with them. I think our departed Inquisitor Malorum was a bit too hard on you. On behalf of the Empire, I’d like to offer you amnesty.”
“Hey, what about me?” Clive demanded of the message.
“And I’m issuing you an invitation,” Palpatine’s message continued. “Come visit me on Coruscant. I give you my personal word that you will have safe passage. Let us speak together, and if what I offer doesn’t interest you, you may take your amnesty and go. This offer stands for twenty-four hours from the receipt of this message. I hope to see you soon. We have much to discuss. Until then, farewell.”
The hologram faded.
Ferus looked at his friends. “So,” he said, “what should we do? Accept a date with the Emperor?”
