The Followers Read online

  THE FOLLOWERS

  CHAPTER 1

  The hologram flickered and the ghostly figures of Bant Eerin and her

  new Jedi Master Kit Fisto appeared in the Temple map room. Qui-Gon Jinn

  studied Bant's image carefully, looking directly at her silvery eyes. He

  was glad to see the sensitive Mon Calamarian Padawan again. Not only was

  she a good friend of his own eighteen-year-old apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi,

  but ever since the death of her Master Tahl years ago, Qui-Gon found

  himself feeling protective of her.

  Bant and Qui-Gon had both suffered when Tahl died, and both still

  felt the loss. Qui-Gon knew Bant had continued her training despite her

  grief.

  But she still does not seem herself, Qui-Gon thought.

  Looking closer, Qui-Gon saw that there was something in Bant's eyes

  that was not quite right. It wasn't the profound sadness he'd grown used to

  seeing when Bant mourned at the Temple, when the pain was still fresh. This

  was something else. It took Qui-Gon a second to recognize the emotion.

  It was fear. Bant was afraid. The question was, of what?

  "Hello Master Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan," Kit Fisto greeted the team, bowing

  slightly so that some of his yellow-green head tendrils fell forward around

  his shoulders. "I have heard much about you from my Padawan. I am pleased

  to have the opportunity to speak with you, though I am afraid what we will

  be discussing will not be pleasant"

  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had been summoned by the Council the day before.

  Nobody had told them why they were to meet Bant and Kit Fisto. Since Kit

  Fisto was contacting them from the largely deserted planet of Korriban,

  Qui-Gon had at first assumed that the task would be routine.

  It only took one look at Bant's expression to know that this would

  not be so.

  The Sith. Qui-Gon had heard stories about the Sith since he was a

  young boy. Every generation of initiates at the Temple knew Sith stories

  and legends. They thrilled in telling them to one another late at night

  when they should have been sleeping. Qui-Gon's generation had been no

  exception.

  Although the stories were terrifying enough to have kept young Qui-

  Gon awake on more than a few nights, he had always felt that they were

  largely invented - myths designed to scare and not inform. Even after

  studying Sith history and learning that the Sith had existed and had been

  powerful, Qui-Gon remained skeptical.

  But his recent conversation with Jedi Master Kit Fisto forced Qui-Gon

  to reexamine his beliefs about the Sith.

  "Master, do you believe - " Obi-Wan hesitated.

  "Do I believe in the Sith?" Qui-Gon finished his apprentice's

  question before answering it. Clearly Kit Fisto's report had opened up

  questions for Obi-Wan as well.

  "Of course I do. You and I have both studied their history enough to

  know that the Sith threat was once very real. But we also know that they

  were a culture that could not survive. They killed themselves off long ago.

  The question remaining is whether or not they pose a current threat." Now

  it was Qui-Gon who hesitated.

  "How can they pose a threat if they no longer exist?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "The danger lies not in the Sith themselves, but in their teachings,

  and the ability of those teachings to inspire others to evil. As long as

  the Sith teachings survive, there is a potential threat."

  "And if someone is spreading those teachings..." Obi-Wan trailed off.

  Qui-Gon knew he must be thinking about what Kit Fisto and Bant had found on

  Korriban. How could he forget the look of terror on Bant's face as she

  described the horrors she and her Master had seen in the valley? Or Kit

  Fisto's dark eyes as he told them about the dwelling they had found... and

  its chilling contents?

  Inside the crude shack were tomes of Sith lore and models of ancient

  Sith weapons. It appeared that someone had been compiling every scrap of

  information to be found about the Sith, both truth and myth. And scrawled

  on one wall was a crude drawing of a Sith Holocron beside a message written

  in Sith code. Location known. Follow the leader.

  A simple Holocron was not necessarily dangerous. The crystal

  information-storage devices were even used by the Jedi. Palm-sized and easy

  to transport, Holocrons were an excellent way to store vast amounts of

  knowledge.

  But the Jedi Holocrons that Qui-Gon had seen were square. The

  Holocron drawing on Korriban was pyramid-shaped, a formation unique to the

  Sith. And the knowledge contained in a Sith Holocron was infinitely more

  dangerous. It focused on dark power and how to gain, use, and manipulate

  it.

  If one existed, and if it fell into the wrong hands, a Sith Holocron

  could be more than deadly.

  "We have knowledge of several Sith Sects operating in the galaxy,"

  Jedi Archivist Jocasta Nu reported. "We monitor them, but until now they

  have never given us much cause for alarm. They've never gained large

  followings, and their activities are not unlike those of other small

  criminal groups. They have always been more of a nuisance than a threat."

  Though it had taken him a little while to get used to working with

  her, Jocasta Nu was beginning to grow on Qui-Gon. He generally did not like

  to use the usual channels for obtaining information. But he'd come to

  appreciate Jocasta's straightforward manner. She never failed to provide

  Qui-Gon with the information he needed.

  "Lately there has been increased activity at one of the higher

  learning institutions right here on Coruscant," Jocasta said. "According to

  our sources, this is due to a professor named Murk Lundi." She flashed an

  image of the Quermian professor onto a screen.

  It was not the first time Qui-Gon had heard of Professor Lundi. An

  infamous galaxy historian, Lundi was popular with students and admired by

  his colleagues. Qui-Gon had even heard him called one of the finest

  historians of the era. But he did not understand what Lundi had to do with

  the dwelling found on Korriban.

  "For the past several years Lundi has been narrowing his focus,"

  Jocasta explained. "Now all of his research and lectures revolve around the

  dark side of the Force. As his focus has narrowed, his student following

  has grown."

  Jocasta pushed several student texts toward Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

  There were posters for Sith rallies and hand-drawn story strips showing

  Sith battles. "His classes are among the most popular on campus. His texts

  are so sought after they are difficult for students to obtain." She paused

  for a moment. "But there were several of them among the items found on

  Korriban."

  So that's it, Qui-Gon thought. The Council believes one of Dr.

  Lundi's followers gathered the information that was found on Korriban.

  Qui-Gon looked up to find Obi-Wan already gazing at him knowingly.

  Neither of the Jedi needed to say a word - their next mov
e was clear.

  It was time for a crash-course on the Sith.

  CHAPTER 2

  Obi-Wan pushed his way through the crowd of students and toward the

  back of the room without worrying about being spotted. It was not hard to

  lose himself in the throng.

  The students on Coruscant were so varied that you would have had to

  be on fire to get even a second glance. Besides, Obi-Wan and his Master

  were the only ones not desperately pushing forward, trying to get a word

  with Professor Lundi before class started.

  From his spot against the wall, Obi-Wan could just make out the

  Quermian teacher's head swaying slightly on its long neck in the middle of

  the crowd. Apart from his advanced years and the small black apparatus

  covering one of his eyes, Murk Lundi looked a lot like the Jedi Master

  Yarael Poof. He was the same species, and had the same commanding presence.

  But there was something very different about Dr. Lundi, something chilling

  that Obi-Wan couldn't put his finger on.

  Across the room, Qui-Gon was also watching the professor, his eyes

  narrowed in steady focus. Had he noticed something else? In the din Obi-Wan

  considered contacting Qui-Gon on his comlink to hear his thoughts. But at

  that moment Dr. Lundi raised several of his arms, signaling that class was

  about to start.

  More quickly than Obi-Wan could have imagined, the hoard of students

  found seats and the room fell silent. The course hall was enormous, yet

  every chair was taken. Every spot to stand or lean or sit was filled by a

  student, and at least a dozen hovercams recorded the professor's every word

  for the students who could not fit inside the room.

  Obi-Wan surveyed the crowd. Not only was the turnout impressive, but

  each student sat with rapt attention. After half an hour they remained

  riveted - there was no sign of drifting or feeling drowsy. Obi-Wan had

  hoped to spot a few students who seemed unusually drawn in or somehow

  conspicuous. As it turned out, he was the conspicuous one for looking

  around while the professor was speaking.

  At the front of the room, Dr. Lundi paced in the narrow space not

  taken up by students. Taking small steps on his long legs, his body seemed

  to float as he spoke. Every now and then he paused, clearly enjoying his

  position and his ability to make the crowd hold its breath in anticipation

  of his every thought.

  Murk Lundi was not at all like the teachers Obi-Wan had at the

  Temple. In the Temple, Obi-Wan's instructors were like partners in

  learning, guides who wanted to help him discover things for himself and not

  just force their own opinions.

  Obi-Wan did not appreciate the learning style he was seeing today.

  Yet the more he listened to Dr. Lundi, the more he wanted to hear. Soon he,

  too, was waiting for the professor's next word.

  "No being besides the Sith themselves has ever seen a Sith Holocron.

  There are rumors. Yes. There are also drawings and legends and myths.

  However, most historians believe that the Sith were so protective of their

  knowledge that they destroyed it themselves before letting it fall to the

  unworthy. After all, we are talking about beings who killed their Masters

  when they had learned all they could from them." Lundi paused and looked at

  his students with a sly smile. "Should I be nervous about graduation day?"

  Then he went on.

  "Some scholars contend that the Sith did not use Holocrons at all,

  that they would not have been so foolish as to store so much power in a

  crystal that I could hold in my hand." The professor paused, gazing at one

  of his outstretched palms. "More power than this galaxy has known in a

  long, long time.

  "However, if there is one thing I have learned from my lifelong study

  of history, it is this: Every myth is based on a small seed of truth. One

  has to delve deeply to find it. But it is there, below the surface, waiting

  to be discovered."

  Obi-Wan was not sure how much time had passed before he forced

  himself to close his eyes and bring his mind back to the task at hand. Murk

  Lundi made the Sith more real than any late-night ghost story, but that was

  not why Obi-Wan was here. He had to stay focused.

  But by succumbing, even for a short time, Obi-Wan understood Murk

  Lundi's hold over his students. Dr. Lundi's fascinating subject was made

  even more so by his own intelligence and charisma. Lundi's power over the

  students was impressive. And more than that, it was dangerous. Lundi's

  students seemed likely to believe anything their teacher said without

  question, and the way he spoke about the dark side made it sound enticing.

  Could they be inspired to delve too deeply?

  Obi-Wan focused once more on the students. It had to be one of them,

  or someone like them, who had assembled the Sith lore on Korriban.

  A small group in the first row captured Obi-Wan's attention. The four

  students sat front and center, leaning forward whenever the professor

  spoke.

  The first, a dark-haired humanoid, nodded at the end of each of

  Lundi's statements. Next to him, a redheaded boy was so riveted that he

  held his hands just above his desk as if he had been about to fold them in

  his lap but froze when the professor began to speak. The third boy was

  transcribing every word on a datapad, in spite of the fact that he had his

  own small hovercam recording the entire lecture. Last was a girl who clung

  protectively to a coat and document case that Obi-Wan guessed belonged to

  Dr. Lundi.

  Suddenly a yellow light went on over the desk of the dark-haired boy

  in the front row. Obi-Wan quickly realized that the light alerted the

  professor that a student wished to ask a question.

  Dr. Lundi stopped in mid-sentence. His head swiveled on its long

  neck, and Obi-Wan caught an angry gleam in the Quermian's uncovered eye.

  But the anger disappeared when the professor saw who had dared to interrupt

  him. The humanoid boy was obviously a favorite. Dr. Lundi even called him

  by name.

  "Yes, Norval?" he asked.

  Norval stood. "Please forgive the interruption, professor. I only

  want to know if it is true that the Sith were more powerful than the Jedi."

  Dr. Lundi laughed lightly, as if Norval's question was childish. "Of

  course," he said. "Power and vengeance are much stronger motives than peace

  could ever be. The Sith could have easily controlled the entire galaxy had

  they not made their one mistake - "

  Dr. Lundi was interrupted by a tone signaling the end of class.

  Students sat silently in their seats, hoping the professor would

  finish his thought. But Dr. Lundi was already collecting his coat and case

  from the girl in the front row.

  "There will be no class next week," the professor announced. The

  class groaned. Lundi smiled at their disappointment. "I am taking a small

  sabbatical."

  Yellow lights went on over desks throughout the room.

  "When I return I may have exciting information to share with you."

  Dr. Lundi smirked mysteriously. "Until then, my assistant Dedra will answer

  any after-class questions."


  The girl who had been holding the professor's things stood at the

  front of the room. Obi-Wan thought she looked overwhelmed as Dr. Lundi

  moved smoothly out of the course hall followed by Norval and the redheaded

  boy, who Norval called Omal. Obi-Wan noticed that the redheaded boy had

  bright, sharp-looking eyes. He was clearly excited, and talked animatedly

  with Norval about the lecture.

  Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon exchanged a glance before they, too, made their

  way toward the door and slipped out of the hall. It looked as though they

  would be taking a little sabbatical of their own.

  CHAPTER 3

  Qui-Gon would have liked to stay and talk to the students in Dr.

  Lundi's class, but the professor's surprise announcement changed

  everything. Dr. Lundi was up to something, and the most important thing was

  to find out what it was and where he was going.