by John Whitman
sad sigh. "Come with me!"
Tash followed Bebo down a flight of stairs that led deeper underground.
"We found the laboratory soon after the crash. The Imperials came after me.
They wanted to arrest me."
"They blamed you for the crash," Tash said. "I read it on the HoloNet."
"They blamed me, but it wasn't my fault. D'vouran wasn't on the charts!
It wasn't my fault!"
"I believe you," Tash said, although the truth was she wasn't sure what
to believe.
In all the excitement, Tash seemed to have shaken the feeling that she
was being watched. Though now, as she descended beneath the surface of
D'vouran, the feeling came back stronger than ever. Whatever it was, she was
drawing close to its source.
At the bottom of the stairs was a cavernous underground chamber, large
enough to house a dozen star freighters. The steel walls were lined with more
decrepit scientific equipment, and in the center of the room was a vast pit.
It must have measured twenty meters across. It led down even deeper into the
planet... so deep that Tash could not see the bottom. The hair on the back of
her neck rose.
Whatever was in the pit was pure evil.
"What is this place?" she whispered.
Bebo whispered, too. "We only found the top chamber at first. I didn't
uncover these stairs until recently. This place must have been here before we
came."
There was a winch and a crane attached to the side of the pit. Obviously,
at some point, things-maybe even people-must have been lowered into the pit by
whoever ran the laboratory. Tash couldn't imagine who would have the courage
to go down there. She peeked over the edge of the pit and shuddered. There was
nothing there, but the feeling of overwhelming dread was so powerful, it made
her dizzy. Yet, at the same time, it triggered something else inside her, a
powerful and comforting force that seemed to fight against her fear and give
her strength. But the feeling of terror grew stronger. Whatever was making
people disappear, it had started here. She was sure of it.
"Maybe the Enzeen built it," she suggested. "Maybe. But what's that?"
Bebo pointed at markings on the wall. Tash gasped.
Carved into the wall was the insignia of the Empire, old and worn but
unmistakable.
Everyone in the galaxy recognized that symbol. It looked like a wheel
within a wheel-like a star inside a black circle. But everything about it was
rigid and mechanical, as though declaring that even the stars obeyed the
Emperor.
Tash was jolted by a sudden roar. Her heart stopped and she scurried away
from the pit, thinking that whatever lay down there was coming up. Bebo
squealed and cowered, covering his ears as a second roar echoed through the
underground laboratory. Tash frantically looked around for the source of the
terrible noise.
And saw Deevee standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Deevee!" she cried. "Did you do that?"
The droid stepped between Tash and Bebo. "Don't worry, Tash. I am fully
capable of protecting you."
"Protect me? From what'?"
"From this madman," the droid said. He glared at Bebo, who still lay
trembling on the floor, his hands covering his ears. "He tried to kidnap you.
Luckily I am equipped with infrared sensors and was able to follow you through
the forest."
Tash couldn't help but smile. This was a side of the droid that she'd
never seen before. "Why D-V9, you actually came to my rescue!"
The droid seemed to straighten a little. "That is my job.
"I thought you hated taking care of us," Tash pointed out. "Maybe you
decided we're not so bad after all, hmm?"
Deevee sniffed. "Nonsense. I just try to do a good job, whatever it is."
He looked at Bebo. "I take it, then, that you are in no danger?"
"Not from him. What was that sound you made?"
Deevee pointed at his mouth-the tiny speaker on the front of his face.
"Part of my job as a research unit is-was, I should say-to record sounds that
I hear. Once, on a visit to the planet Tatooine, I heard a krayt dragon. I
thought it might come in useful."
Tash coaxed Bebo out of his shock while Deevee examined the room. "This
equipment is in poor shape," he observed, "but it is very complicated
machinery. Whoever built this must have been working on a highly advanced
experiment."
"What do you think they were doing?" Tash asked.
"I cannot say," the droid replied, examining an old computer terminal.
"Most of the equipment is gone, and the computer files have been destroyed.
But it was something important. Master Hoole will want to know about this
immediately."
Tash turned sharply. "He will? Why? Deevee, what is Uncle Hoole up to?
Why did Smada the Hutt say there's a lot about our uncle that we don't know?"
"I could not tell you," Deevee replied quickly
"Couldn't?" Tash accused. "Or won't?"
Bebo piped up. "Don't argue! There's no time. Don't you see?"
"No, I do not," Deevee answered. "I see nothing but an old hermit, half
out of his mind, who lives in an abandoned laboratory. And if people have been
disappearing for so long, why haven't you gone with them?"
In answer Bebo removed a small pendant from around his neck. "Look! Look!
" he urged.
Taking the pendant, Tash saw that it was a tiny device encased in
crystal.
"What is it?" she asked.
"This," Bebo said, "is protection."
"From what?" Deevee asked.
"I don't know," the madman replied. "The technology is too advanced for
me, but I think it makes some kind of energy field. I found it here in the
laboratory and kept it to study later. Ever since then, I've been safe from
whatever is causing people to disappear."
Deevee was skeptical. "Which is what?"
"I wish I knew!" Bebo said.
"Then how do you know you're safe?" Deevee scoffed.
"Because I'm still here," Bebo rasped. "I have not disappeared. Others
have. Many others."
Many others? Tash wondered. "What do you mean? Tell me what happened."
Bebo sighed. Finally he said, "D'vouran wasn't on the charts. We crashed.
Twenty of us survived, including Lonni and me. We sent out a distress signal
and waited. But we were fine. The Enzeen had welcomed us. They treated us
well, and they fed us." His eyes grew distant. He was remembering something
terrible. "Then people started disappearing. At first, just one or two. We
thought they'd gotten lost in the forest. Then another, and another. Then in
groups of two or three! They just disappeared!"
He shuddered in fright. "We didn't know what to do. We searched for them
but never found a trace. Instead, the last few of us found this place. We
stayed here. As long as we were here, no one disappeared. But we had to check
the distress beacon. And every person who went out, never came back."
"What about the Enzeen?" Tash asked. "Couldn't they help?"
Bebo twitched. "I don't trust them." He continued. "Finally only Lonni
and I were left. The Enzeen told us that the Empire had investigated the crash
and blamed me. I had to
hide here. It was the only safe place. Then when I
heard that settlers were coming to D'vouran, I had to warn them. I had to tell
them about the disappearing!"
His shoulders slumped. "But they won't listen. I didn't have any proof.
Not until now."
Although they were alone, Bebo's voice had become a whisper.
Deevee examined the pendant. "There is some kind of circuit inside," the
droid announced. "It appears to be a kind of tiny energy generator. I'd say it
creates a small force field, like the starship shielding used to deflect
blasters. But this one is much smaller. And it's been tuned to a very unusual
frequency. I'm not sure what it's for. However, it does match the design of
the equipment around us."
Tash concluded: "So whatever it is, this pendant was left by the same
people who built this place. The Empire. Maybe Bebo's right, Deevee. Maybe
people are disappearing. And I bet this laboratory has something to do with
it. You're right, Deevee, we should tell Uncle Hoole."
Tash and Deevee wanted to return to the village, but Bebo wouldn't
follow. "Stay here!" he pleaded. "It's not safe outside. That's how people
vanish. That's how everyone goes. In here, it's safe."
"I'm sorry, Bebo. I have to go."
"Then take this." He put the pendant back into her hand. "It will protect
you out there."
Tash tried to refuse. "I can't take it, Bebo. It's yours."
"Take it!" Bebo insisted. "They think I'm mad with guilt. Maybe they're
right. But you believe me. So you must convince them. There is a danger!"
Tash slipped the pendant over her head and hid it under her shirt. "Thank
you."
"We've been gone too long, Tash," Deevee urged. "I must report to Master
Hoole."
Tash suddenly realized that Uncle Hoole and Zak were in danger. They were
out there on the planet, without the protection of a device like the one Bebo
had given her. They had to hurry. "Thanks, Bebo," Tash said to the man. "I
still don't know what's going on here, but at least I do know there's a bigger
mystery than Smada the Hutt."
Tash and Deevee climbed out of the laboratory and hurried through the
shadows under the trees.
Back in the laboratory, Bebo huddled near the edge of the terrible pit.
He was afraid of it, but he knew that somehow it was the cause of all the evil
he had seen. Now, at last, someone else believed him.
There was a rumble from deep within the dark abyss. The rumble became a
groan.
Bebo leaned over the edge of the pit. For just a moment he thought he saw
something moving down there.
But he did not see the Gank killer creep up behind him until it was too
late.
"This is from Smada the Hutt," the Gank snarled, raising his blaster.
"It's your turn to disappear." He fired. The bolt struck Bebo and sent him
tumbling into the pit.
Halfway back to the village, Tash asked Deevee, "Do you think Uncle Hoole
will believe me now?"
"I cannot say," the droid replied. "There is certainly a laboratory here,
but what does that mean? It was abandoned long ago. If there is foul play
about, I'd say it has far more to do with Smada the Hutt than with an
abandoned laboratory. He is the real danger on this planet."
But Tash had stopped listening. Another sound had reached her ears.
Slurp-Slurp.
The same sound she had heard last night. "Do you hear that?"
Slurp-Slurp.
"Yes," the droid replied. "A most unusual sound. Not unlike the
bloodsucking leeches of Circarpous Four-"
"It's coming from over there."
With Deevee close behind, Tash crept toward the sound.
Slurp-Slurp. Slurp-Slurp.
Not only did the sound grow louder, but it multiplied many times.
And it was coming from just beyond the next tree.
Tash cautiously pulled a branch out of the way and peered into a small
clearing. At first she was relieved. All she saw were a few Enzeen standing
around the clearing. As Tash watched, she saw another Enzeen step into the
clearing. It was Chood.
Tash opened her mouth to call out to him. Then she gagged.
Chood opened his own grinning mouth and stuck out his tongue. It was
surprisingly thick, and incredibly long, and wriggled out of his mouth like a
long, thick snake. It squirmed in the air for a moment, then plunged deep into
the ground.
Slurp-Slurp.
CHAPTER 12
Slurp-Slurp.
The sucking sound filled the air.
What was Chood doing?
Tash pulled the tree branch even farther back to get a better look. But
the branch snapped with a loud crack. The startled Enzeen looked right at her.
She saw Chood's face clearly. The friendly smile fell away, revealing a
hate-filled glare. "She has seen us. Get her!"
The group of Enzeen started toward them. Tash was confused. Why were they
angry?
"Run!" Deevee yelled, pulling Tash away from the clearing.
For the second time in two days, Tash was running for her life.
Tash and Deevee rushed away from the small clearing. But the Enzeen were
much too fast. They came up quickly from behind, and Tash could see them
slipping through the trees on either side. Soon they would be surrounded.
Beside her, Deevee's mechanical joints whined as he tried to keep up with his
human companion. He was not designed for sprints through the woods. Tash
leaped over a tree root. Behind her, Deevee tripped and fell clattering to the
ground. The Enzeen were on him instantly. "Deevee!" Tash yelled, slowing down.
"Run!" the droid cried out. Then he was buried beneath a pile of Enzeen.
Tash heard them pounding mercilessly on his metal body. As she ran, she
looked back over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of the droid.
When she looked forward again, an Enzeen was standing in front of her.
Tash dodged to the left. But there was another, and another. Everywhere
she looked, there were Enzeen. She was surrounded.
She struggled, kicking and punching as the Enzeen grabbed hold of her.
But there were too many of them. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Why are you
making people disappear?"
One of the Enzeen laughed an evil laugh. "We have harmed no one."
"Then what's going on here?" Tash demanded.
The Enzeen laughed again. "You will never know." He looked at his
companions. "Chood will catch up in a moment. We'll hold her until then. -
Tash gave up struggling. The Enzeen were too strong for her. She started
to tremble as the feeling of dread began to overwhelm her. And yet, as it had
in the laboratory, her fear sparked another feeling, a sense of peace and
calm, powerful, like some kind of force.
The Force.
Tash had searched for it. Hoped for it. Longed for it. But she never
actually thought she had it. But she felt something. Didn't she?
"You've got nothing to lose," she told herself.
Tash closed her eyes. She tried to call on the Force. Taking a deep
breath, she remembered what the Jedi had written about the Force. The Force
surrounds us, she had read, it binds us together. It can draw objects to us,
&nbs
p; or push them away. It is the most powerful force in all the galaxy. The
strength of armies, of starfleets, even the strength of planets, is nothing
compared to the power of the Force.
Tash imagined the Force as a field of energy pushing the Enzeen back. At
first she felt foolish. But slowly her embarrassment gave way to calm. She
forgot about her fear. A warm tingle spread through her body. She imagined the
energy field expanding, driving the shrieking creatures farther and farther
away. As she did, the tingle in her body grew into a strong electric current,
running from the top of her head down to her toes. For just an instant she
felt a sense of connection with something larger than herself, larger even
than the planet on which she stood.
That's when the ground began to move.
It started as a low rumble. The ground started to tremble beneath their
feet. In seconds the rumble became a roar, and the trembling turned into a