by John Whitman
and prepared to bring it crashing down on Hoole's skull.
CHAPTER 16
"Stop!"
The voice came out of Tash, but even Tash didn't recognize it. It was
commanding and very forceful.
The wraith hesitated. Whispers whipped around the dark circle.
The child has returned.
Why?
Why interrupt the execution?
The execution!
Kill the murderer!
"No," Tash countered. "You can't kill him!"
To her surprise, Hoole lifted his head from the rock. He said quietly,
"Tash, do not interfere. I have lived with this guilt for years."
"But it wasn't your fault, Uncle Hoole!" she argued. "I know you blame
yourself, but it was Gog's fault. Deevee found the records. Gog knew that the
experiment would go wrong, but he didn't tell you!"
Hook sighed heavily. "I should have known, Tash. I should have realized
the experiment was a disaster. I am also to blame."
"Maybe a little," she admitted. "Maybe it was wrong to experiment with
life on someone else's planet. But you didn't know things would go wrong!" She
turned to the wraiths. "Did you hear me? It wasn't his fault!"
Liarliarliarliarliarliarliarliar.
"We are not lying!" Deevee replied. "I can show you all the evidence you
need. It's back at the laboratory."
"Besides," Tash continued, "Uncle Hoole has spent years paying for his
mistakes, and he's risked his life to make sure it never happens again."
But it happened once! It happened here! Because of him. Mammon must die!
"We can show you the real killer!" Tash pleaded. "He is still alive. Gog
is still alive!"
Nonononononono! came the whispers. Mammon! Mammon must die! We will have
our vengeance!
With a violent hiss, the solid wraith brought the stone crashing down.
But Hoole wasn't there.
The instant before the stone struck, Hoole had shapeshifted into a tiny
rock rat and skittered out of the way. He hurried toward Tash, shapeshifting
as he ran. By the time he reached her, he was a Shi'ido again, and his stern
gray face glowered at Tash.
"Did you say Gog was still alive?" he growled.
"Yes, and he's got Eppon. You were right, Uncle Hoole, Eppon is Project
Starscream. He's some kind of monster!"
Hoole frowned. "There is little time. We must hurry."
He took Tash by the arm and started forward, but he'd gone only a few
steps when something hard and invisible flew out of the darkness, hitting him
on the chest. Hoole landed heavily on his back.
Noescapenoescapenoescapenoescape! the voices cried. You will not escape
our vengeance!
Hoole tried to stand up, but a dark claw slashed out of the shadows,
drawing a ribbon of blood along his arm.
Tash could feel the wraith's hatred pulsing around them. She knew that
even Hoole could not fight shadows. They were going to die.
The wraiths pressed in for the kill.
In the next moment, they were scattered by a blinding flash of light.
Wraiths screamed and fled among the rocks, letting gray light flood into
the valley, as though a great black cloud had moved away from the sun. Except
that this sun was Zak, who stood nearby with a grin on his face and a small
device in his hand.
He held it up. "One of the Rebels must have left this in the Millennium
Falcon. It's a thermal detonator," he explained. "Except that I took out the
explosives and replaced them with a small ion charge."
"Excellent," Deevee said admiringly. "That worked just as the ion cannon
did earlier."
Tash was surprised. "I knew you were good with gadgets, Zak, but how-"
"Hey," Zak bragged, "you're not the only one who reads books. It's just
that I prefer tech manuals."
Hoole got to his feet. "We will discuss your choice of reading material
later, Zak. For now, we must leave before the wraiths reassemble. Take me to
the laboratory."
They hurried into the Falcon. For the first time, Zak and Tash sat at the
controls, while Uncle Hoole stood behind them. Zak glanced at his sister, who
returned his wry smile. So many times, they had stood behind while Hoole led
the way. This time, they were in charge.
Their second landing was only slightly better than the first. Hoole
leaped out of the hatchway before it had opened completely, with Tash and Zak
close behind him.
"The place still looks deserted," Tash whispered.
"Let's hope so," Hoole replied.
They reached the front door of the fortress. All was dark and silent
inside. Creeping as quietly as possible, they made their way down the hallway,
until they reached the central chamber.
The room looked undisturbed. The doors to the room stood open, since they
had been damaged by the Rebels earlier. The enormous command chair still faced
the bank of video monitors, its back toward them. Beyond, the door to the egg
chamber was still open.
"Okay, we're here," Zak said softly. "Now what?"
"Now," Hoole replied, "we look for any information that might help us
destroy Gog's monster."
"Let me save you some trouble."
The voice was high-pitched and shrill-a weird combination of evil
pleasure and utter hatred.
The command chair in the center of the room swiveled around, and they saw
Gog grinning at them. He looked confident and secure. Even though his
laboratory had been abandoned and damaged by Rebels, it was still the center
of his power.
"Let me save you some trouble," Gog repeated. "There is no way to destroy
my creature."
Hoole's face was stern and threatening. "Then surrender him to me, Gog. I
won't let you use this creation to hurt anyone else. Give him to me."
Gog smiled again. "Why, of course, Hoole. He's right behind you."
CHAPTER 17
They spun around to see Eppon looming over them. Even Hoole let out a cry
of alarm.
Eppon no longer looked even vaguely human. He was over two meters tall,
and covered in purplish scales. The remnants of the jumpsuit he'd worn hung in
tatters around his waist. His thick arms reached almost to the floor. His eyes
were blood red, and his mouth had become a slavering, tooth-filled maw.
"Eppon-" Tash started to say.
Eppon roared and lunged forward.
They backed away as Hoole put himself between Eppon and the others.
"Don't let him touch your skin, Uncle Hoole!" Zak warned.
Hoole shimmered for a moment, and suddenly a huge Wookiee stood in his
place. The Wookiee snarled. Eppon roared in reply and lunged forward, and the
two huge figures crashed together.
Tash and Zak cringed, waiting for Hoole to turn to jelly... but nothing
happened. Eppon clung to the Wookiee, trying to touch exposed skin, but he
could not dig past the thick layer of fur that covered the Wookiee's body.
"The creature can't absorb him!" Deevee realized.
Eppon was as surprised as Zak and Tash. That gave Hoole the upper hand.
Powerful blows from his Wookiee claws rained down on Eppon, beating the
monster back. Tash and Zak thought Hoole would actually win, until Eppon
changed his tactics. Wit
h brute force, he started to trade blows with the
Wookiee.
A powerful blow of Eppon's arm crashed down on the Wookiee's head,
stunning Hoole. Losing his concentration, Hoole shimmered and shifted back
into his own shape. Quickly, Eppon grabbed hold of Hoole's arms. Then Eppon's
flesh began to ooze and slither. Strings of slime grew out of his skin and
started to crawl up Hoole's arms toward his open mouth and his eyes.
"Ooze," Tash said with a shudder. "Just like the virus creatures we saw
on Gobindi."
Struggling to escape, Hoole fell on his back with Eppon crashing down on
top. As the strings of slime touched Hoole's bare skin, the Shi'ido cried out
in pain and fear.
Just then, a black shadow fell across the two combatants. An incredible
force lifted Eppon up and hurled him against a nearby wall. Eppon struck the
wall with such force that the entire building shook, and the ceiling above
them cracked.
Darth Vader had come.
Vader glanced down at Hoole. "You are fortunate that I have not yet
questioned you."
Sitting in his command chair, Gog shrieked like a madman at Eppon. "Kill
Vader! Kill Vader!"
Eppon leaped to his feet and threw himself at Vader. He slammed into the
Dark Lord with the sound of a mountain falling. Vader took half a step back to
keep his balance, then lifted Eppon up over his head. Eppon tried to clasp his
opponent, but Vader's armor covered every inch of his skin. With the help of
the dark side of the Force, Vader sent Eppon crashing into the egg chamber,
ten meters away.
Schrrrummmmm!
Vader ignited his lightsaber.
Zak and Tash stared, entranced by the battle, until Hoole and Deevee
touched their shoulders. "Run," Hoole said quietly.
They turned toward the exit, but before they could take even one step,
the doors crashed closed.
"What!" Zak cried in surprise, pounding on the heavy metal. "I thought
the doors were broken!"
They turned back around to see that Vader had momentarily focused his
attention on them. He had used the Force to shut them in. "You will not escape
me this time. When I have finished with this creature, I will deal with you."
They watched Vader stride toward Eppon, who was just climbing out of the
wreckage of the egg chamber. Eppon tried to grab Vader, but the Dark Lord
slashed with his lightsaber, cutting off Eppon's right arm just above the
elbow. Eppon howled in pain and backed away a step. Even as he did, his right
arm quivered and shifted, and a new arm quickly grew to replace the one he'd
lost.
"What shall we do?" Deevee moaned. "Whoever wins this fight will turn on
us next."
Zak was still pounding on the door in frustration.
To his surprise, someone on the outside pounded back. "Let us in!"
It was Han Solo.
"Vader sealed the door. We can't get out!" Zak called back.
Han's voice leaked through the heavy door. "Get back! We're going to blow
it open!"
Zak and the others hurried away from the door and crouched down.
Meanwhile, Eppon had grabbed Vader again. This time the Dark Lord did not
hold back. He called on the dark side of the Force and used it to lift Eppon
five meters into the air. With a strangled cry, Eppon hurtled like a missile
straight at the command chair where Gog sat, knocking him over with a loud
crash.
Then, BOOM! The door was blown inward and flame and smoke poured into the
room as the Rebels set off several explosive devices.
The heavy door flew across the room and crashed against the wall near
Darth Vader.
The echoes of the explosion died, but a deep rumbling continued. "The
walls!" Hoole warned. "Watch out!"
The walls had been weakened by Vader's battle with Eppon. The Rebels'
explosion had weakened them further. A large section collapsed inward, and
part of the ceiling came crashing down as Zak, Tash, and the others used their
arms to protect their heads from the falling debris.
When the dust had settled, Tash realized that they were doubly lucky.
Rubble covered the far end of the room, making an impassable barrier between
the egg chamber and the laboratory.
"Vader's sealed in there!" she cried. "He's trapped in the egg chamber!"
Nearby, Gog had climbed to his feet. Beside him, Eppon panted and
drooled. "It won't help you," the evil Shi'ido said. He motioned Eppon
forward. "You are still doomed!"
"Not if we can help it," Leia said.
The Rebels surged into the room. Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and the
remaining Rebel commandos aimed their blasters and fired, pouring energy beams
into Eppon's grotesque body. The creature squealed as he was struck again and
again. He spun around, and collapsed on the floor.
"Cover him!" Leia ordered, pointing at Gog. "Check the creature."
Most of the commandos kept their blasters trained on Gog. The evil
Shi'ido merely grinned and did not move. He leaned forward, eagerly waiting
for what he knew would happen next.
One of the Rebel soldiers crept forward. Eppon's purple body lay
unmoving, his lifeless face pointed toward the ceiling and his eyes closed.
The commando jabbed Eppon with the end of his blaster rifle.
No movement.
"All clear," he called out. "The creature is-uurrk!"
He could not finish his sentence.
Eppon had reached up and grabbed him by the throat.
CHAPTER 18
No one could move quickly enough to save the Rebel commando. Eppon
grabbed the soldier by his bare hands, and the soldier turned to jelly before
their eyes. Seconds later, the commando's body had been sucked into Eppon.
The creature leaped to his feet, looking stronger than ever.
The Rebels fired again. The blaster bolts burned gaping holes in Eppon's
body, but hardly made him flinch. They did slow him down, though. Instead of
charging, Eppon stalked slowly forward.
"Can't this creature be killed?" Luke wondered.
"No," Tash said as the last pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together
for her. Eppon was the end result of Project Starscream. All the terrible
experiments they had discovered were elements of the project. Each one
reflected some part of Eppon's power.
"Just like the undead on Necropolis, he can't be killed!" Tash explained
quickly. "He's like all the creatures we've faced! Like the virus creature on
Gobindi, he absorbs his victims. And he grows stronger with every creature he
eats, just like D'vouran!"
"Sounds like we're in trouble," Han said, still firing at the approaching
creature. "We can't hold him off forever!"
Although the Rebel weapons did not stop Eppon, the blaster shots came so
fast and furiously that they prevented the creature from coming too close.
Again, Eppon changed his tactics. His red eyes flashed, and one by one he
gazed directly into the eyes of the Rebel fighters.
"I don't want to fall, I don't want to fall!" one commando pleaded, as
though he were hanging from a steep cliff.
"I don't understand," Deevee said in confusion. "He seems to be afraid."
"That's
it, Deevee," Zak guessed. "Eppon has the same powers as the
Nightmare Machine. He's gotten inside their minds. He's attacking them with
their worst fears."
Han, Leia, and the others were soon in the same state, cringing in fear
and crying out at things no one else could see.
Luke Skywalker was on his hands and knees. He seemed to be fighting hard
against something. He whispered over and over again: "Ben! Ben!"
Leia dropped her blaster. "No, the Rebellion can't fail. It can't!"
Han had fallen to his knees. "I'll pay you back, Jabba," he muttered to
himself. "I'll pay you back, I swear it!"
Beside him, Chewbacca was growling angrily, trying to fight off some
Wookiee fear.
Even Hoole fell under its spell. He rocked back and forth, his arms
clutched about his shoulders, whispering apologies for the destruction of