Star Wars: The Last of the Jedi, Volume 5 Read Free

gathered in the caverns of
the underground oceans. She’d personally taken down squads of stormtroopers. It was truly too dangerous for her to be here.
    An Imperial officer met him at the ship and told him the coordinates were already entered into the nav computer. The ship would need no refueling. He was not to stop at any space station. They
were awaiting him in Sath. He was to land directly on the prime minister’s landing platform.
    The officer turned away as Ferus started toward the ramp. Suddenly another pilot accosted him.
    “Don’t think you’re jumping the fueling line, fella,” she said in a grating tone. “I’ve been here for twenty minutes.”
    It was Solace. She had disguised herself so well he didn’t think he’d have been able to pick her out if she hadn’t said something. She seemed taller and broader. She wore a
black helmet and gloves up to her elbows, and tall boots.
    “Got all the info,” she told him quickly. “I’ll take Trever and Oryon to Bellassa to track Roan and Dona. Trever knows the ropes there. Keets and Curran will stay on
Coruscant and dig for information. Clive will follow you to Samaria.”
    Her calm dark eyes met his for a moment. “I will find Roan and Dona. I’ll bring them to safety.”
    It was a promise, from one Jedi to another.
    They didn’t say it, but their gazes sent the message:
May the Force be with you
.
    Ferus turned and strode up the ramp. Moments later, the ship shot out into the space lanes. He headed for the hyperdrive ring, and he was off.

Samaria was a small planet in the tiny system of Leemurtoo, in a strategic area of the Core Worlds. After receiving permission to land, Ferus buzzed over the city of Sath to
get an airborne view.
    The Samarians had manufactured a huge bay that was channeled into large canals that ran though the city. Along the edges of the bay, the engineers had built fingers of white sand that flung out
into the aquamarine water, forming flowerlike designs. On these fingers were the most exclusive buildings, primarily residences and offices for the rich. The buildings were topped with domes that
competed for attention, each with its own rich color and metallic inlays.
    The complex of buildings that comprised the royal court of Samaria took up one whole flower made up of ten long petals with gleaming white buildings built of synthstone.
    Ferus decided to ignore his instructions to land on the private landing platform of the prime minister of Samaria. Instead he headed for the main spaceport of Sath. He could always claim
ignorance, and he wanted to get a feel for the city on his own, before he was briefed by some Imperial or government functionary.
    “Boots logic,” his Master, Siri Tachi, had called it. She meant get your feet on the ground, look around, and get a feel for the place yourself, instead of relying on the data you
were given.
    After landing, he activated the ramp and received a blast of heat from the dry air. He headed over to register with the dockmaster, a Samarian who waved him off. “You’ve already been
cleared. The spaceport is closed to all vehicles but those with Imperial registration,” he said. He turned back to the pile of durasheet records on his desk. “Can’t believe I have
to do this without a computer,” he muttered.
    “Why don’t you just wait until the data is up and running again?” Ferus asked.
    The Samarian looked up and blinked his mild blue eyes. “But then I’d be behind.”
    “True,” Ferus said. He recognized a dedicated bureaucrat when he saw one.
    “Take the turbolift down to the city levels. If you take an air taxi, you take your life in your hands. Space lanes are free-for-alls now. No controls at all.”
    Ferus nodded and walked to the turbolift. He took it down to the main level of Sath. It was a three-level city, with buildings of various sizes punching through the main street levels. Laid out
on a grid, it had numerous ways for pedestrians to navigate with lift