#ferus olin

“Everything’s fine,” Skywalker said, trying to convey his confidence through his voice. “It was just some kind of glitch.”

Tru nodded at him. Anakin didn’t even glance at Ferus. He sensed his victory and savored it for a brief moment.

Anakin knew that Ferus was staring intently at him right now, but he pretended not to care.

Ferus said nothing; he just watched. Anakin thought he’d like to know what Ferus was thinking at that moment. The tension eased, but still, for some reason, he felt uneasy.

And then Anakin suddenly remembered that he had felt something like this before—but in a dream.

A fragment of a recent dream flashed before Anakin’s mind’s eye. It wasn’t a nightmare, but it was an unpleasant dream.

He was wandering somewhere in the deep basements of the Temple, cut off from the other Jedi, and constantly sensing someone's presence. Someone was following him everywhere, and that presence was not benevolent. Anakin tried to move faster, but he couldn’t shake off the pursuit because his pursuer was also speeding up. But the most unsettling thing was that he couldn’t figure out who this person was. This entity, as if invisible, vanished every time Anakin tried to turn around to reveal the identity of the unknown enemy. And moments later, it would instantly reappear somewhere behind him.

Anakin’s face was covered in sweat from exhaustion and irritation. The skin on his face felt like rubber. That nasty aftertaste from his sleep still lingered.

He glanced at the main screen, but the diagnostics showed no results—the system had either frozen again or was running very slowly.

“Damn it! What the hell is going on?”

Skywalker glanced to the side, his gaze landing on Ferus. The senior Padawan had his arms crossed over his chest and, leaning back against the control panel, was talking to Tru.

“Do you remember the person who gave you the ship’s access codes? Didn’t anything seem strange to you?” Olin asked.

“You mean the race organizer’s assistant? Well, yeah. He told me the ship had some problems with the landing gear, but the hyperdrive works—though it needs a little tweaking—and a few other minor things… What surprised me most was how big the ship is. After all, we were promised a small two-seater ship. So, we got an outdated transport model, and it's spacious enough for a crew of ten.” Veld mused.

“So you don’t think he cheated you?”

“I can’t accuse him of dishonesty. He openly warned that the ship was old and would need repairs. And he assured me that I and the incredible winning racer would be able to fix any problems quickly and easily, so we could go to the edge of the Galaxy.

“It seems he flattered you a bit after all, doesn’t it?” said Ferus. “And can you get in touch with him?”

“Um… No. He was the one who contacted us or left a message. He didn’t give us a way to reach him.”

“And what about the main organizer of these illegal races?”

“We’ve never seen him. He didn’t show his face, for obvious reasons—you understand.”

Anakin frowned. Olin’s sharp yet calm voice drilled into Anakin’s head like a drill bit. It was extremely annoying.

Olin asked new questions, the gist of which Anakin didn’t catch, but none of Veld’s answers satisfied the nasty know-it-all.

“Sorry, Tru,” said Ferus, “Everything you’ve told me means nothing good. I don’t understand how anyone could agree to participate in the event like this, but I’m more concerned about something else. The organizer of your races, as well as his assistants, are nowhere to be found. It’s also impossible to contact them until they themselves decide to get in touch with you to retrieve their ship. But if that ship, for example, falls apart along with us, our Masters will have no one to hold accountable.”

Anakin felt a migraine coming on in the front of his head. He had so many objections and emotions swirling inside him that he couldn’t focus enough to figure out why he was so nervous and angry. But one thing he knew for sure—this idiot Ferus should have studied to be a lawyer, someone who would pounce on every little violation and sue everyone in sight.

“What does that matter now? We’re so far from Coruscant!” Anakin finally chimed in. “We’re not kids. We can decide for ourselves when and how to repair the ship. And by the way, all three of us are capable of solving problems on our own. But you, Olin, can consider yourself a child who can’t do a single thing without the Master’s permission.”

“I’m of legal age, in case you didn’t know,” Olin replied coolly and rudely. “Unlike you. You’re the child.”

Anakin bristled. He sensed he’d gotten under Ferus’s skin, but his rival had struck back.

“That doesn’t do you much good when it comes to handling things on your own, ‘adult’.” Anakin smirked triumphantly.

Ferus’s face flushed slightly.

“It seems the fact that the reboot control system happened to you, and not to me or Tru, gives you an extra point on your self-esteem scale.”

“My self-esteem is none of your business!”

“Of course.” The nasty man agreed readily. “Because I’m not interested in either your self-esteem or your personality.”

Anakin thought that he would beat Ferus after all. Maybe not right now, but a little later. Neither the Code, nor his Master, nor his best friend would stop him from doing it. Because that insolent, arrogant idiot was asking for it.

Meanwhile, Olin, unaware of Anakin’s thoughts, gave Veld a piercing look.

“Information sharing in the criminal underworld works the same way as so many other things. No one knows anything until you pay; no one turns in criminals; and, of course, no one takes responsibility for anything, even if you pay the asking price. This way of life is familiar to Anakin. But what about you, Tru? Don’t you find this system repulsive?”

“Anything concerning my ship and how we acquired it is none of your business!” Anakin interjected again, unable to restrain himself. He could see that Ferus was trying to manipulate the situation and didn’t want to let him drag Tru into such schemes. But what angered him most was Ferus’s insinuation about his childhood on Tatooine.

“It’s my business as long as I’m here,” Olin retorted.

“You can jump overboard, right now!” Anakin snapped.

“Stop it, both of you!” Tru said irritably. “Let’s agree that we won’t argue or insult each other anymore. Besides, we’re a team.”

“We’re not a team,” Skywalker retorted contemptuously. “Not with him, anyway.”

“Anakin! You were the one who decided to bring Ferus along on this trip. It was entirely your decision.” Veld said reproachfully.

“But I didn’t know he’d be such a jerk!”

“So, Anakin, cut it out. Everything’s fine. We have no reason to argue.”

“Sure!” Anakin hissed, “but that smooth-talking jerk is going to find them, because he can’t help himself. As you can see, I didn’t start this.”

“Ferus?” Tru turned to his friend.

Olin held out his palms to Tru, gesturing that he was giving up. And at that moment, Anakin suspected that Ferus had always simply loved feeling like the person who did everything exactly right. For him, being the most righteous meant being better than everyone else.

And then it dawned on Anakin.

It was simply pride, sometimes manifesting as self-admiration!

How had he not realized this about Ferus before?

Anakin looked at his rival and saw that Ferus was accepting Tru’s arguments only to appear as the most virtuous Jedi.

It wasn’t as if Anakin was surprised by his realization now. He’d always known his rival was a hypocrite at heart, but still… Anakin was glad he’d correctly assessed this man long ago, and now his pattern of behavior in any situation became clear. Olin would avoid direct confrontation for as long as possible. And simply because a Padawan who is confrontational and fights with his rival cannot serve as a role model for others, that’s why he agreed with Tru.

“I promise to exercise restraint until someone once again crosses the line of what constitutes reasonable behavior,” Ferus said calmly. “But I’ve taken note of your insult, Anakin, and you’ll answer for it later.”

“And I’m not promising anything. Especially not to him,” Anakin declared resolutely, feeling contempt for the arrogant snob as he pointed his finger at the idiot. The pompous fool in the snow-white robe was, of course, offended. Well, what would he do now that he couldn’t complain to the Master? Maybe he’d challenge him to a duel? That would be great, because he was always ready for that!

“That’s too much, even for the two of you! Something tells me I’ll have to report your feud to your Masters…” Tru suddenly declared.

Anakin and Ferus whipped their heads around in unison and glared at Tru. Their gazes at that moment were as similar as those of predatory snakes before an attack. It seemed as though 'the snakes' had reached an instant consensus to devour Tru Veld right then and there.

Tru immediately held out his palms and shook them.

“But of course I won’t do that,” Veld explained right away.

Anakin and Ferus relaxed, but the mood was still somber.

The three of them suddenly felt awkward. It seemed as though they now shared a little secret.

“This is strange,” Ferus thought.

In fact, the two Padawans had broken several rules for Padawans. And they’d decided to hide it from their Masters, trusting that they could resolve their differences on their own.

They were both sitting on either side of their mutual friend. Both felt resentment. And at that moment, Ferus suddenly realized that he himself would tell his Master about it.

Because he didn’t want to keep a secret with Anakin—not even a small one.

It was never easy with Skywalker. It was time to get used to it. Olin knew that the most important thing was to remain true to himself. But what if the animosity overwhelmed him again so strongly that he could no longer remain impartial?