"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.