Underworld

by Jude Watson

  others.

  He stopped by the head of the sleep couch, his eyes gleaming.

  "I know where to find Solace," he said.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "It was when the slug started to pull me down - "

  "Trever, I'm sorry I - "

  "Enough with the guilt wallow, Feri-Wan - I'm trying to tell you

  something. I dropped an alpha charge and when it went off, the light showed

  me something. More than a ten-foot predator chewing on my ankle, I mean.

  There's something down there."

  "Something?"

  "Something more than a duracrete slug nest. I was thinking about it.

  There was a glint... like there was metal or something, or water. I'm not

  sure, but it was like there was... space. Like a room. Or something. It's

  just that... remember when some of the rumors said below the crust?"

  Ferus didn't have to ask if Trever was sure. He trusted this boy's

  perceptions.

  "I'll wake the others. Let's go."

  It was now what many called the empty hours. Too late for even those

  who walked these dangerous areas at night, too early for those who rose

  before dawn. They kept close together as they walked.

  Trever led a yawning Keets and the others to the spot where the

  duracrete slug had tried to pull him through the crack. Ferus leaned over

  and shined a glowlight down into the space. He couldn't tell, but he

  thought Trever was right - there was something down there.

  "I think I can fit," Ferus said. "Let me go down, and if I see

  anything, I'll call up."

  Keets leaned against a column and yawned. "Take your time."

  Ferus eased into the opening. There was a crumbling half-wall once he

  got below, he saw. It was deeply gouged with the tracks of a slug, but that

  gave him toeholds and handholds. To his surprise, Trever began to climb

  down after him.

  "Stay up there," Ferus told him.

  "No way. I found this place, I'm coming."

  Ferus knew it would be a waste of breath to argue. He continued to

  climb down slowly. He jumped the last few meters. His boots hit solid

  ground. Trever jumped next to him a moment later. He held a glow rod over

  his head for illumination.

  Ferus could see now that they were in a tunnel.

  Gigantic blocks of stone formed the walls and ceiling. The floor was

  deeply grooved and he could see the remnants of machinery buried in the

  tracks.

  "That's what you saw glinting," he told Trever. "This must have been

  some kind of transportation system."

  He shouted up to the others that the way was clear, and they began to

  climb down, one after the other.

  Hume avoided a steaming yellow pool that released a rank odor.

  "Careful," he said. "Looks like some toxic waste down here."

  "The system must have been primitive," Rhya said. "They used rails for

  transport."

  Keets looked up. "There are still conduit lines in the ceiling. I

  wonder where they lead."

  "It sure doesn't look like Solace," Hume said. "But the tunnel could

  lead us there."

  Ferus heard a whisper above. That was his only warning as a black

  shape suddenly dropped from the ceiling into their path.

  He didn't have time to grab his lightsaber hidden in his cloak. That's

  how fast the creature was.

  He was a short being, with compact muscles, and wore a close-fitting

  helmet over his features. His waist was tightly cinched with a belt that

  held a variety of weapons. He didn't assume a threatening pose, however. He

  seemed casual as he watched them move closer, the Erased all holding their

  weapons and training them on him.

  "You mentioned Solace," he said.

  Ferus nodded, watching him warily. "We want to go there."

  Gilly and Spence moved to the man's rear, and Keets, Oryon, Hume, and

  Rhya moved in even closer. The intruder didn't seem rattled in the least.

  "I can take you," he said. "It will cost you."

  "Why should we trust you?" Trever asked.

  "Because your choices are limited here at the crust," he replied.

  "Either find it yourself, or use me."

  "How do we know you can find it'?" Keets asked. "Because I've been

  there. I'm the only one who's been there and has come back."

  They knew part of what he said was true. They had heard of those who'd

  gone to Solace, but they'd never heard of one who had returned.

  "You've got to do better than that," Ferus said.

  "What many don't know is that long ago, before Coruscant was a city-

  world, it had vast oceans," the intruder said. "The oceans were drained and

  pumped into caverns below the crust. That's where you'll find Solace."

  The others exchanged glances. It sounded real to them. It made sense.

  That was why it was safe, why even the Empire would have a hard time

  finding it.

  "What's your name?" Ferus asked.

  "Just call me Guide," the intruder replied. "I left my name behind

  long ago. Like you, I have wiped out all traces of my past."

  Something is off here, Ferus thought. There was something odd about

  Guide. But then again, there was something odd about everyone down here.

  Guide was right. They didn't have much choice. It was the only lead

  they'd found since they started. Slowly, Ferus nodded.

  "Take us there," he said.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Guide held up a glowlamp. "Best to keep close down here. Watch out for

  duracrete slugs. They're especially aggressive."

  "I think we've already been introduced," Trever muttered.

  They kept to the middle of the tunnel as they walked. The walls

  dripped moisture. Occasionally they would pass a reeking toxic pool,

  glowing strangely in the darkness. They heard slithering noises, but no

  creatures appeared.

  "The original cities of Coruscant were built on the crust, centuries

  ago," Guide explained as they walked. "Much of the infrastructure is still

  underground. Most of the water and power tunnels have caved in, but there

  was a people-moving system that relied on some sort of primitive engine

  that connected to a track in the ground. These tunnels were built out of

  blocks of stone, and some are still intact.

  Later they were used to pump the oceans into the caverns. That's where

  we're going."

  They walked until they lost a sense of where they were and whether it

  was day or night above them. Ferus began to feel the lack of sleep and

  decent food. He pushed on.

  Suddenly he heard the echo of lapping water. Guide stopped. "The water

  will grow deeper, but we'll come to catwalks that will take us above it."

  Soon they splashed through ankle-deep water. Up ahead he saw a crude

  stairway, and as Ferus followed the stairs with his eyes he saw that it

  connected to a series of platforms and more stairs. When Guide reached the

  stairs, he began to climb.

  They climbed from platform to platform in the darkness. Ferus didn't

  know how deep the water was below them, but he could sense it: It was

  almost as though it still had tides, for it seemed to roar and recede as

  though it were constantly moving. He couldn't see it, he could only smell

  it and hear it now.

  They heard a splash
and looked over the side. Far below they could

  just make out a huge sea creature turning and slipping under the water

  again.

  "Oh, yes," Guide said. "I should warn you - don't fall in."

  The scaffolding suddenly opened out into a wide space that ran the

  width of the cavern. Planks of plastoid and wood were laid in a pattern.

  Structures had been built in separate circular encampments that connected

  to each other through metal walkways. It was like a small city.

  In several of the structures Ferus saw lights come on. Whoever was

  inside was waking up.

  Guide held up a small device, and an electronic noise pinged.

  The denizens began to emerge from the structures. They were from many

  worlds, and all were armed with weapons. They slowly walked toward Guide.

  The Erased found themselves pressed together in a small group as the

  settlers ringed around them.

  Ferus began to feel uneasy. They were completely surrounded.

  Outnumbered.

  A murmur began, some words passing from being to being. Guide held up

  a hand for silence.

  "I brought them to you from above," he said.

  Then he suddenly turned on his heel and merged with the crowd. "They

  are yours now."

  The crowd began to move closer. Ferus, Trever, and the Erased backed

  up. But there was nowhere to go. Only the thin railing of the catwalk, and

  the long drop to the black ocean below.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It wasn't as though he didn't see this one coming from a kilometer

  off. Ferus had been poised for Guide to betray them. He would have been

  stupid not to expect it.

  But it turned out he was foolish anyway. He had thought Guide might

  lead them into an ambush of some kind. He didn't expect the ambush to come

  from the members of Solace.

  "Solace takes care of us," a woman said.

  "Solace brings us what we need," someone called.

  They were talking about Guide, Ferus realized. Solace wasn't a place -

  it was a person.

  This was how they survived. They were scavengers. They spread the

  rumor of Solace above, and when Guide led a group back, they stole from

  them and used their credits or items of value to buy supplies. That was all

  painfully clear.

  He felt the steady support of Keets, Oryon, and the others next to

  him. Trever's fingers appeared to be hooked into his belt, but Ferus knew

  he was fishing for a small explosive device. Maybe a smoke grenade.

  The first line of settlers charged. Trever tossed the grenade, and the

  smoke rolled toward their attackers. At the same moment, Ferus drew his

  lightsaber, ready to deflect the blaster bolts he was sure would be

  streaking toward him.

  He saw someone somersaulting through the smoke and air, and he held

  his lightsaber ready. "Wait!"

  The command came from Solace, who landed directly in front of the

  group. Everyone froze.

  He walked forward. It was so quiet they could hear his boots click on

  the walkway.

  He came close to Ferus, so close the glowing tip of the lightsaber was

  only millimeters from his chest.

  "Jedi," he said.

  "Unfortunately for you, yes," Ferus said.

  Solace held up the glowlamp and examined Ferus's features. "Not quite,

  I think."

  "Not quite what?" He wasn't supposed to be having a conversation, he

  was supposed to be fighting, but he certainly didn't mind the delay. It

  gave him more time to look for openings, avenues of escape, individuals who

  looked more competent than others, hidden weapons.

  "You should have done that already, Not-Quite-a-Jedi," Solace said.

  "You should have done it the first moment you arrived."

  "Are you giving me lessons?"

  "Obviously, you need them. Padawan."

  Admittedly, Ferus's instincts seemed to fail him at the worst times.

  But he suddenly understood what was off about their guide, and what he

  should have guessed all along.

  "You're Fy-Tor," he said. "You're a Jedi."

  "It's about time." Their "guide" slowly removed his helmet. Ferus

  recognized her now. Fy-Tor had pitched her voice deeper, moved differently,

  but he knew her.

  She was gaunt, her cheeks hollowed. Her forehead marking was still

  there, but it was faint now, a faded tattoo. She had shaved her dark hair,

  but her blue eyes were still piercing.

  She held up a hand.

  "These are not for you," she called to the settlers. "Disperse."

  The crowd melted away, except for one man who remained a few steps

  behind her. His hands rested on his thick utility belt as though he was

  prepared to defend Fy-Tor at any moment.

  She spoke to him without turning. "Donal. Can you get Ferus's

  companions some food? They've been walking most of the night."

  "Of course."

  "No one will hurt you now," she told them.

  The Erased moved off, but Trever stayed stubbornly by Ferus's side.

  Fy-Tor raised an eyebrow. "Your apprentice?"

  "I wouldn't say that," Ferus said.

  "Me either," Trever said.

  "We've been looking for you, Fy-Tor," Ferus continued.

  She held up a hand. "Don't use that name. I've left it behind. I'm

  Solace now. You left the Jedi. Some sort of spat between Padawans, I heard.

  "

  A spat? Ferus remembered the depths of his heartache, his guilt.

  "Hardly a spat."

  "So you say. Where did you find that light-saber?"

  "It was a gift from Garen Muhl. The Jedi you left in the cave at Ilum.

  The one you said you'd return for."

  "I tried."

  "So you say."

  They faced each other, close to adversaries now. Ferus didn't know how

  it happened, but it had. He wouldn't back clown, although he could tell she

  was waiting. Either she still thought of him as a Padawan, or she was used

  to subservience from the settlers here. That was apparent in the way she

  gave orders, the way she expected them to move when she told them to move.

  "I see we're off to a good start," she said. "Come on, Olin, let's sit

  and you can tell me why you were looking for me. Step into my office."

  She sat astride a bench fashioned from what appeared to be a reclaimed

  speeder seat. Ferus sat, too. Trever crouched on the floor. The expression

  on his face was wary; he didn't trust Solace yet. Neither did Ferus. The

  reunion he'd imagined taking place had been filled with relief and emotion,

  the core of understanding between Jedi. This wasn't even close. Solace was

  unreadable to him, and she seemed to have no wish to connect, Jedi to Jedi.

  Instead, so far she'd taken every opportunity to remind him that he wasn't

  one.

  "I know of another Jedi who is alive, besides Garen," Ferus said.

  Although Obi-Wan had given him permission to tell other Jedi that he was

  alive, Ferus elected to wait with details until he had a better grasp of

  what Solace was like. He was still bothered by the fact that she had led

  them here and then turned her back indifferently to their fate. Whatever

  had happened to her had pushed her very far from the Jedi path.

  "He is in exile, but Garen and I have established a secret base for
<
br />   any Jedi I can find. If we gather together again, we can become stronger."

  Solace took this in. "You're serious? You're going to travel the

  galaxy, picking up stray Jedi - who may not even exist - and bring them to

  some camp?" She gave a bark of a laugh. "Count me out!"

  "If we stay together, we'll be better able to fight when the time

  comes."

  Solace shook her head. "The galaxy is controlled by the Sith. They've

  killed us all. Your plan is doomed, Ferus, and I want no part of it." She

  spread her arms. "I've got everything I need here."

  "Beings who worship you," Ferus said. "Yes, I can see you have all the

  attention and service you could want."

  She refused to be baited. "What's wrong with that?" she asked. "I've

  taken those who the Empire would have squashed like slugs and given them a

  safe place to live. What makes you think your plan is so much better than