'Was Siri Tachi there?' Tru asked.
'I saw her go in with Ferus,' Darra said, nodding. 'With Ferus?'
Anakin asked. A jolt of jealousy made him straighten. 'Why is Ferus there when we're not?'
Darra shrugged. 'They asked for him. Rumors are going around — something about the apprentices. I don't know what.'
'But why is Ferus there?' Anakin asked again.
Darra shot him a curious look. 'Do I look like a Council member? Moons and stars, I hope I'm not that grim. You're just going to have to wait and find out.'
'I don't think it will be long,' Tru said, trying to reassure Anakin.
Tru was Anakin's best friend, and he knew that Anakin and Ferus had clashed in the past. Although they got along better now, there was still a rivalry between them.
Just then, all three of their comlinks buzzed at the same time.
Darra consulted her message. 'Well, whatever it is, we're about to find out.'
Anakin was used to standing in the Council room by now. He wasn't nervous, the way he'd been as a ten- year-old refugee from Tatooine. He was almost nineteen now, close to being a Jedi Knight. Yet still, this time something was different. He felt a heavy presence in the room. The Council members sat in their various chairs, waiting for the three Padawans to step forward next to their Masters. Usually Anakin could count on a nod or a smile from a Council member or two, but today everyone looked, as Darra had said, grim. He felt the Force in the room, humming underneath and through them. He imagined that this concentration of energy was similar to what a war council might feel like.
Ferus stood to one side, next to Siri. He did not look at Anakin, or at the other Padawans. Something trickled down Anakin's neck, a foreboding he didn't want to name. Suddenly he had a feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
'And now, to begin,' Mace Windu said, once the Padawans had taken their places. 'First, the Council wishes to apologize to Master Kenobi, who has warned us many times of the danger of Granta Omega. We did not take the warnings as seriously as they were given. You were right, Obi-Wan. Omega should have been our first priority. He is now.'
Obi-Wan nodded.
'You will be the first Jedi coalition to go after him,' Mace said, looking at each of the Masters and Padawans in turn. 'You may contact the Temple at any time to ask for any degree of help or any number of Jedi to join you. We leave these decisions to you. The Council feels that there is Sith involvement, but to what degree we do not know. Therefore we urge each of you to weigh every move you make with care.'
Mace steepled his fingers together. 'We have located Granta Omega and Jenna Zan Arbor.'
Anakin saw his Master give a start.
'They are on Korriban.'
Anakin felt the dread in the room. He knew of Korriban only through legends. Thousands of years before, it had been the seat of Sith power. The tombs of the ancient Sith Lords were there, and it was still a source of the dark side of the Force. It was a place no Jedi wanted to go.
'Of course,' Obi-Wan said. 'He has strived to be noticed by the Sith, and at last he has succeeded. Now he goes for his reward.'
'Whatever that may be,' Mace agreed. 'Certainly protection is part of it.' Mace's intense gaze moved from Tru to Darra until it came to rest on Anakin. 'And now we come to a piece of news for the Padawans. Because of our concern for the state of the galaxy and evidence that the dark side of the Force is gathering, the Council has made a decision to speed up the process of apprentices becoming Jedi Knights.'
Anakin found it difficult to keep his face neutral as excitement surged through him. He knew what was coming. He was going to be allowed to undertake the trials!
He was ready. He was more than ready.
'This is a major decision, and so we have decided to proceed cautiously, with one test case,' Mace went on.
Anakin's heart swelled. Of course it would be him. He was the Chosen One, the one with the greatest skills, the greatest Force connection.
'After much discussion, and consultation with all Jedi Masters, the Council has chosen Ferus Olin as the first Padawan to undergo the trials.
After this mission, he will begin the trials.'
For a moment, Anakin heard nothing, just a blank where his name should have been. The words Ferus Olin seemed to have no meaning, like they were part of a language he hadn't learned. That was how unreal it felt.
He wanted to move, wanted to cry out. This couldn't be true! It couldn't be happening!
He glanced at his Master. Obi-Wan was looking at Yoda.
'We want to make it clear that our decision, while unanimous, doesn't reflect on any Padawan's fitness to be a Jedi Knight. We believe in each of you. Yet we had to choose someone, and this is a way to begin. You will each be ready in your own time.'
My time is now! Anakin wanted to shout. Disbelief and anger coursed through him.
Mace rose. 'The ships are ready for your journey to Korriban. May the Force be with you.'
Anakin did not know how he was going to get out of the room without exploding. His emotions were too wild
