by John Whitman
on cue, the music stopped, the cruel game of tag ended, and all eyes turned to
the newcomers. The massive Hutt let out a deep, rumbling laugh and stared down
at the Shi'ido and his companions.
"Well, well!" boomed the creature on the platform. "If it isn't Dr. Hoole
himself! I always knew that someday you would fall into my hands once more!
Welcome back to the palace of Jabba the Hutt!"
CHAPTER 2
Jabba the Hutt.
The name boomed through Tash's brain and sent a tremor down her spine.
Jabba the Hutt.
Everyone in the galaxy knew that name. Jabba was legendary. He was a gang
boss and a crime lord. Ruler of an underground empire of smugglers, thieves,
and assassins. Older kids used his name to scare younger children: "You'd
better watch out or Jabba will come and grab ya." Jabba's name was a code word
for every danger that lurked in the shadows of the galaxy.
To Tash, Jabba had always been just that, though-a word. She had never
thought he was real. Yet now she stood before the mighty Hutt himself, who
rolled in his folds of fat.
And Uncle Hoole knows him!
Tash looked up at her uncle, a thousand questions threatening to pour out
of her mouth. But she bit her lip and held them back. This was no time to
interrupt.
"Greetings, Jabba," Hoole said in a clipped voice. "It has been a long
time."
"Not long enough," the Hutt rumbled. "Hutts have long memories. I don't
forget that you walked out my door years ago."
"I assure you, great Jabba, that it was nothing personal," Hoole replied.
"I walked away from many others, including some enemies of yours." Hoole's
voice was measured. The Shi'ido did his best to look polite and friendly, but
he made sure to meet the intense gaze of the crime lord.
Tash sensed that an important game-maybe even a game of life or death-was
being played. If Uncle Hoole offended Jabba, the Hutt might lose his temper
and have them killed. But if Hoole showed any sign of weakness, Jabba might
lose respect, and have them killed out of sheer boredom.
Jabba reached into a water-filled bowl and pulled out a toad-like
creature. It squealed loudly as it struggled to escape Jabba's grasp. The
squealing stopped as the massive Hutt dropped the live toad into his mouth.
Jabba licked his fingers. "Now then, what brings you to my humble abode?"
Hoole said, "I need your help."
"Ha, ha, ha!" The entire room erupted into laughter, with Jabba's voice
booming over the others. Weequays, Rodians, and a dozen other species
chittered and gurgled in amusement.
"I do not understand what is so humorous," Deevee whispered.
"It's like the whole galaxy's laughing at us," Zak muttered.
Hoole glared at his nephew. Then he turned back to Jabba, who said, "And
why should I help you? I could just as easily feed you to the marvelous rancor
I just acquired."
Hoole swallowed. Zak thought he looked like a gambler about to play his
last card. The Shi'ido said, "Because I'm worth more to you alive than dead.
Besides, if you help me, you know I'll owe you a favor."
The creatures surrounding the Hutt murmured. Jabba lowered the heavy lids
of his bulging eyes and rumbled "Hmm..."
Tash looked at Deevee and whispered, "What did he just do?"
Deevee's circuits seemed to be shaking. "Master Hoole has just offered to
put himself in Jabba the Hutt's debt. Hutts always collect on their debts."
When Jabba finally spoke, his voice was triumphant. "I am inclined to be
generous today, Hoole. Especially since you did me the favor of eliminating
one of my rivals when you destroyed Smada the Hutt."
Tash blinked. They had encountered Smada the Hutt on D'vouran, the living
planet. But they hadn't told anyone. How could Jabba possibly have known?
Jabba seemed to read her mind. "Information travels far, and it all ends
up here," he said, tapping his chest with one plump finger. "I know you caused
Smada's very timely death."
"No, we didn't!" Tash blurted out. Then her throat tightened up as she
felt all the eyes in the room turn toward her. "I mean... that is... he... we
all needed to work together to get off the planet, but he only thought of
himself. He killed himself. Uncle Hoole would never kill anyone."
"Indeed?" Jabba rumbled with amusement. "Are we speaking of the same
Hoole that-"
"Great Jabba!" Hoole said quickly. "We would not want to take up more of
your time than necessary. Will you give me the information I need?"
The Hutt smiled a slimy smile. "Perhaps, Hoole. Ask your question, and I
may do you this favor."
Hoole nodded. "If it is true that all information ends up in your palace,
then I want you to tell me how to contact the Rebel Alliance."
Once again Jabba's gang burst into laughter. Hoole stood stone still, but
Tash and Zak fidgeted anxiously as Jabba's roaring continued. Finally, the
Hutt calmed down. "You amuse me, Hoole. Even I do not know where the Rebels
are hiding. If I did, I would have sold the information to the Empire long
ago, and made a nice profit."
Hoole frowned. "Then you cannot help me, and our bargain is cancelled."
He turned to go.
"Wait!" the Hutt boomed. Tash could tell that, despite his arrogance,
Jabba wanted to do Hoole a favor. He wanted to have the Shi'ido in his debt.
The crime lord continued, "I don't know where the Rebels are, but I have heard
stories of strange activities in the Auril system. Rumor has it that the Jedi
are somehow involved."
Tash's heart skipped a beat. The Jedi! Ever since she first heard of
them, Tash had been fascinated by the Jedi. She had read everything she could
about them and their control of the mysterious Force. She had even dreamed of
becoming one-but the Jedi were supposed to be extinct, wiped out by the
Emperor. Could there still be Jedi Knights left in the galaxy?
Hoole studied the Hutt closely. "There are no Jedi left. Are you
seriously suggesting we look for help from the Jedi?"
Jabba raised his fat hands. "I am merely passing along information.
Unusual events are taking place in the Auril system, and they are said to have
something to do with the Jedi. That is all."
Hoole considered a moment longer, then gave a slight bow. "You have my
thanks."
Motioning for Zak, Tash, and Deevee to follow, Hoole turned and left the
room. Just as they reached the exit, they heard Jabba's voice thunder after
them, "And remember, Hoole, you now owe me a favor!"
The Hutt's laughter seemed to follow them out into the open air.
CHAPTER 3
The rented landspeeder hummed across the sands of the desert planet as
Hoole sped back toward their waiting ship.
"The Jedi!" Tash said, unable to contain herself. "Could there really be
Jedi out there somewhere? Do you think it's true?"
"No," said Hoole flatly.
"Why not?" Tash challenged.
Hoole kept his eyes on yellow dunes before them as he said to his niece,
"Tash, you know as well as I do that the Emperor destroyed the Jedi. There's
nothing left of them but the illegal stories you
've collected from the
HoloNet."
Tash frowned. "But then why would Jabba the Hutt tell you to go there?"
Hoole shrugged. "It is true that Jabba knows a lot about what happens in
the galaxy-that is why I risked this visit. But I find it difficult to believe
that he has located Jedi Knights that the Emperor doesn't know about. I doubt
we would find anything useful if we followed his advice."
"Then what are we going to do?" Zak asked. "Gog is still out there
somewhere." He looked at Tash. "Maybe we should try to get in touch with
ForceFlow."
ForceFlow was a contact Tash had made over the galaxy-wide computer
network called the HoloNet. She had never met him, but she had exchanged
messages with him many times. He was a mysterious figure who spied on the
Empire. When the government erased all information about the Jedi from the
HoloNet, ForceFlow continued to upload stories and legends of the Jedi Knights
for people to read. That was how Tash first learned of the fabled Jedi.
Deevee shook his silver-domed head. "That certainly wouldn't get us very
far. We have very little information about this contact. We don't even know
where he is located. It sounds too risky to me."
Zak scowled. "It's not any riskier than going to see Jabba the Hutt."
"Zak has a point," Hoole mused, "I don't entirely trust this ForceFlow.
But he seems to know a great deal about recent events. And we are running out
of options." Hoole glanced at his niece. "Perhaps, Tash, it is time we met
your friend."
They reached the Shroud just as Tatooine's twin suns had begun to set,
turning the yellow sand the color of blood. Several small, brown-robed figures
scurried around the base of the ship as if sizing it up.
"Hey, get away from our ship!" Zak yelled.
The dwarfish creatures looked up with surprise in their glowing yellow
eyes, then scurried into the shadows. "What were they?" Tash asked.
"Jawas," Hoole replied. "Scavengers. They're cowards, and usually
harmless."
Deevee huffed, "Cowards? They seemed rather bold to me. It is not as
though our ship were abandoned."
"They may have thought it was." Hoole punched in the code that opened the
ship's hatch. He ushered them all in. "Many who go into Jabba's palace never
come out again."
Hoole's comment brought all of Tash's unanswered questions back to mind.
How did Uncle Hoole know Jabba the Hutt? Had they worked together in the past?
Had Hoole been a criminal? Was he still a criminal? If so, why was he pursuing
Gog and Project Starscream?
"Tash?"
Uncle Hoole's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she realized that he
had been speaking to her. "Hm? What, Uncle Hoole?"
"I said," the Shi'ido repeated sternly, "do you think you can get in
touch with ForceFlow over the HoloNet?"
"It's hard to say," Tash replied as she headed for the computer terminal
in the ship's lounge. "Sometimes he responds right away, and sometimes it's
like he's hiding. I think he has to be careful that the Empire doesn't track
his signal."
Tash dropped into the chair and started punching commands into the
computer terminal. She loved exploring the HoloNet. Although she was sitting
at a computer terminal inside a small ship, the entire galaxy lay at her
fingertips. With the push of a button she could listen to music from the
planet Bith or study documents from the archives on Coruscant. Even these
days, when the Empire restricted access, the HoloNet was still exciting.
Tash typed in her HoloNet code name at the computer's prompt:
MESSAGE FROM: SEARCHER1
Next she typed in ForceFlow's name:
MESSAGE TO: FORCEFLOW
And finally, Tash keyed in her message:
NEED YOUR HELP IMMEDIATELY.
She punched in the code to send the message, then turned to Hoole, Zak,
and Deevee, who waited anxiously behind her.
"You might want to sit down," she suggested. "He never responds right a-"
Bleep! Bleep!
A beeping interrupted her as a message appeared on the computer screen.
MESSAGE RECEIVED, SEARCHER. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?
"You were saying?" Zak laughed.
Tash raised an eyebrow. "That was quick." She turned back to the control
panel.
PROJECT STARSCREAM HAS GOTTEN TOO HOT FOR US. WE NEED A SAFE PLACE TO
HIDE FROM THE EMPIRE AND WE NEED INFORMATION.
ForceFlow responded: YES, I HEARD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT HOLOGRAM FUN
WORLD. I WARNED YOU NOT TO GET INVOLVED WITH PROJECT STARSCREAM.
"How does he get his information?" Zak muttered. "He knows as much about
us as we do."
"Getting information is his specialty," Tash told her brother.
Tash replied: IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT. CAN WE MEET WITH YOU?
There was a pause. The computer's screen's cursor blinked rapidly in time
with Tash's fluttering heart. She had been in contact with ForceFlow for over
a year now-since before the Empire had destroyed her homeworld-but she had
never asked him his real name, nor where he lived. He had given her volumes of
information about the Jedi Knights and their ways, and he'd never asked for
anything except privacy. Now she felt like she'd asked for too much.
Finally, a stream of words flashed across the computer screen.
AFFIRMATIVE. I THINK IT'S TIME WE MET FACE TO FACE. I'M SENDING YOU MY
COORDINATES NOW. I'LL BE WAITING.
A moment later, a line of stellar coordinates appeared on the screen.
Tash sighed. "That's it. We're going to meet ForceFlow at last."
Deevee gave an electronic sniff. "I hope that we can trust him."
Zak snorted. "It can't be any worse than Jabba's advice."
Hoole examined the coordinates. "Let's hope you're right, Zak, because
they've both given us the exact same advice. These coordinates will take us
right to the Auril system."
Like Tatooine, the Auril system was in the deserted Outer Rim sector of
the galaxy. Once the Shroud blasted out of Tatooine's atmosphere, the trip
only took a few hours. But it seemed longer, because Deevee took it upon
himself to educate Zak and Tash on the history of that entire quadrant of the
galaxy. Even as Uncle Hoole prepared to drop the ship out of hyperspace,
Deevee continued talking:
.. and finally, the Auril system was completely abandoned when the Empire
took power," the droid droned on as the hyperdrive engines cut off. "These
days, there is nothing for a thousand light-years. No developed planets, no
Imperial colonies, not even reports of smugglers in the area. There is
absolutely nothing out here."
"Oh yeah?" Zak gasped. "What's that?"
The Shroud exited hyperspace and cruised into star‑specked realspace-but
all the stars had been blotted out. Some huge object filled the view screen-an
enormous, shadowy object drifting through the cosmos. The massive object
loomed larger as the Shroud hurtled toward it.
"Look out!" Tash yelled.
They were on a collision course.
CHAPTER 4
"We're doomed!" Deevee screeched.
Hoole kept calm. Pulling hard on the ship's controls, he veered left. The
Shroud's hull gro
aned under the strain, and they heard the sound of rivets
snapping in the metal walls. Despite Hoole's efforts, for a few moments it
looked like Deevee had been right. The ship was too close to the side of the
massive structure.
"We're not going to make it!" Deevee moaned, covering his photoreceptors
with his silver hands.
The Shroud scraped along the side of the barrier; the shriek of metal on
metal sent shivers down Tash's spine. But then the starship curved up and away
from the dark wall and back into the safety of space.
"Great flying, Uncle Hoole!" Tash cheered.
"Yeah, and a great ship too," Zak said, giving the hull of the Shroud a
friendly pat.
"Indeed," Hoole agreed. "Now, let's have a look at this object. It looks
very old, but it does not appear on any of the star charts."
Hoole turned the ship around and this time he approached the object more
slowly.
It was a space station, but not one of the small orbital platforms that