by John Whitman
Wedge and the Bothan jumped out of the way. as the scar- faced human went down. Thick streams of slime had wrapped themselves around his legs. A blob had crept aboard the ship. The man cursed and tried to get up. He pounded a gloved fist into the blob. His hand sank partway into its gooey flesh, doing no damage. As he pulled it out, the glove stuck in the slime. Recovering from shock, Wedge and the Bothan leaped into action. They, too, wore gloves. They used their hands to pry the blob loose from their comrade's legs. Wedge and the Bothan pulled the blob away. It was heavy, but they, managed to carry it to the hatchway and toss it outside. "Are you all right?" Tash asked the scarred man.
"Fine, I think," he replied as his friends returned. He wiped his hand on his pant leg. "I can't believe no one has tried to destroy those things," Tash said. "The Empire won't destroy them," Wedge said quickly. "We think the Empire is creating them." "What?" The Bothan helped the scarred man to his feet. "The blobs appeared at the same time the blockade began. We think there's some connection." "That Infirmary is more than just a hospital," Wedge explained. "We think it may be the home of the " "Imperial Biological Weapons Division," Tash finished for him. All three Rebels looked as if someone had just stunned them with a hold-out blaster. Wedge looked at Tash. "Who told you that?" "No one," Tash replied. "I found out for myself." Getting over his surprise, Wedge continued. "What we can't figure out is why the Empire is creating them. The blobs are hard to kill, but they move slowly and they're no great threat. If the Empire is creating biological weapons, I'm not sure what danger these things pose." Suddenly, without warning, the scarred Rebel col- lapsed. The blood drained from his face, and he lost con- sciousness. They checked his hands and arms for injuries but found none. The blob hadn't bitten or wounded him in any way,
The two Rebels were confused, but to Tash, the man's appearance looked familiar. "He looks sick," she said, then told Wedge and the Bothan about the virus Zak had. Wedge's face grew pale. "That's it! That's what these
rs." He
blobs are for. These creatures must be carriers.
looked at his Bothan partner. "The Empire is creating a plague, and these creatures are delivering it." "Do you think we've contracted it?" the Bothan asked. "No," Wedge replied. "It must be passed by touch, or
we'd all have fallen sick by now." "WhywOu1d they be re1easing it here, in t4e city. I77 7
Tash wondered aloud. Carefully she touched the lump un- der her sleeve. Could she have the virus? But no, she hadn't touched one of the blob creatures. She hadn't been infected with anything. "Test cases," Wedge said. "They're using the city to see how effective the blobs are, I'd guess. We're all lab rats." He nodded to his Bothan companion. "Come on, we've got to get back to the safe house." Careful not to let their bare skin touch him, the two Rebels pulled their friend up and supported him with their arms. Wedge looked back at Tash. "Please help us, Tash. We'll be watching. When your ship is ready to leave, we'll know." Wedge and the Bothan carried their comrade out of the ship, first checking for danger. But the blob was gone. A small hovercar was parked nearby. They slipped in- side and skimmed quickly away. The Shroud suddenly felt very empty.. Hoole and Deevee were gone, and Zak was... Tash almost dropped to the floor in panic when she realized. Zak was still in the hands of the Imperial Biological Weapons Division.
Tash slowly returned to the Infirmary. She wanted to hurry, but her legs would barely move, and she was sweat- ing. Her discomfort only made her angrier. And she found that the angrier she got, the more energy she had. She could feel her heartbeat all the way down to her fingertips. The brown lump on her forearm thudded against her skin. Staring at the Imperial Infirmary tower, Tash wished once more that she were a Jedi. She wanted to ignite her lightsaber and storm the Infirmary. She wanted to save Zak. But she also wanted revenge on the people who had hurt him. "Well, why not?" she said out loud. Her voice, if she had stopped to listen to it, hardly sounded like her own. "AAer what the Empire's done to me, they deserve it!" But Tash had never even held a blaster, let alone a light- saber. As much as she wanted to fight her enemies, she would have to use stealth instead. She rode the lift up to the tenth Aoor, where Zak was being treated. She hurried to the bacta tanks. But the bacta tanks were empty. Tash thought quickly. Deevee said he was going to check on Zak So where are they7 Tash saw the same medical technician who'd been at- tending Zak's bacta tank earlier. He was busily examining the bluish, liquid contents of a glass beaker. "Excuse me," Tash said. The technician glared at her, obviously unhappy to be interrupted. "What?" "Do you know what happened to the boy who was be- ing treated here?" The technician looked at the bacta tank. "No, I don't." He turned back to his work. "Was he scheduled to be released so soon?" she asked. With undisguised disgust, the technician put down his beaker and called up information on his datapad. "No," he said tersely, reading Zak's chart. "He was supposed to receive treatment for another hour." "Well, where could he have gone?" she asked irritably. She didn't like the way this technician was treating her. The technician turned back to his examination. "I don't know. I suggest you wait for him in the waiting room near the turbolifts." Tash stared at the technician's back for a moment, but
he did not turn around again. She could feel the blood pounding in her head. She felt angry. Too angry, she thought. Suddenly everything was aggravating her. Tash tried to calm down and think clearly. Deevee had come to see Zak, and now Zak was gone. But Deevee followed Uncle Hoole's instructions. Had Hoole ordered the droid to do something with Zak? Or Tash shud- dered do something to him? Tash looked at the computer terminal she had used be- fore. Everthing she needed to know was locked inside it. And Tash had the key: the name Starscream. But before she could reach the terminal, the medical technician appeared behind her. "I thought I told you to go to the waiting room. This is an Imperial facility. We don't allow people to simply wander around." Tash thought up a quick lie. "Um, I know. But I was supposed to meet with Dr. Kavafi, too. I thought he was at the bacta tanks." She could only hope that the technician recognized her from before. The technician said, "There are tanks at the other end of the hall as well. You might try there." "Thanks," Tash said, hurrying on. She wiped a drop of perspiration from her forehead. Had something happened to the climate controls? The building seemed especially hot. Her eyes clouded over for a moment, and the hallway seemed to tilt dizzily. Tash panicked. Had she caught Zak's illness? But the feeling quickly passed, and Tash hurried on. She would worry about herself as soon as she had found Zak and discovered what her uncle was plotting. At the other end of the hall Tash found the other set of bacta tanks, and to her relief, an unoccupied computer terminal. Someone had obviously just finished working at this station it was cluttered with datadisks, an electro- scope, and the leftovers of someone's lunch. Tash pushed them out of the way and was about to start typing. "Still looking for Dr. Kavafi?" asked an accusing voice. Tash whirled around. The technician had followed her. She was caught.
At that moment, Zak and Deevee were making their way toward the landing bay. "I still don't understand," Zak said to his droid com- panion. "I didn't mind getting out of the bacta tank early. Believe me, it was getting pretty boring in there. But why did we have to leave the Infirmary so soon? Why couldn't we wait for Tash?" "I'm afraid I don't know," the droid responded. "I am simply following Master Hoole's orders, and those orders are to get you back to the Shroud as soon as possible. Tash should be waiting for us there." But when they reached the landing bay, they found the ship empty. "I can't understand it," Deevee said. "I told her to wait." "Yeah," Zak replied, poking his head into Tash's room. "It's not like her to Yech!" Zak felt his boot sink into something soft and squishy on the floor. Lifting his foot, he saw long, sticky strings of ooze stretch between the bottom of 11is boot and a thin streak of slime on the deck of the Shroud. "What is this stuff?" Deevee recognized it instantly. "It appears to be the same material that those blobs were composed of. Tash and I encountered one when we first arrived." The droid quickly described for Zak the blob's attack and explai
ned how he and Tash were rescued by the mysterious man named Wedge. Zak's eyes lit up in alarm. "One of those things might have gotten Tash!" "Zak " the droid started to say. But Zak had already jumped out the hatchway and was searching the ground for more signs of the blob. By the time the droid had caught up to him, Zak had reached the edge of the ziggurat that the landing bay was
OIl.
"That thing left a slime trail," Zak said. "After it left the ship I think it crawled down the side of the ziggurat." He pointed down the steep slope of the pyramid, which vanished into the jungle steam far below. "Unfortunately the side of this ziggurat is far too smooth for either of us to negotiate," Deevee commented. "I suggest we wait for Master Hoole to "
"There's no time!" Zak insisted. "And there are stairs right over here. I'think they go all the way to the bottom." Zak hurried for the stairs on the side of the ziggurat, with- out waiting. "Tending human children," Deevee muttered to him- self. "I would rather herd a shipload of Gamorrean slime cats." He descended in pursuit of Zak. He did not see the two shapes that came out from the shadow of a nearby ship and follow them down the stairs.
Tash found herself growing uncomfortable under the Infir- mary technician's suspicious glare. "I thought you said you were looking for Dr. Kavafi," the technician growled after a moment of silence. Tash thought quickly. "I thought he'd be here," she said. "I was supposed to bring him this electroscope," she added, picking up the electronic v~sor. The story sounded lame. She felt a drop of moisture trickle down her back. The technician studied her a moment longer, and then said slowly, "Let's see if I can locate the doctor for you." He put one hand on Tash's arm and used the other to call up some information on the computer terminal. "There you go," he said. "Dr. Kavafi is in a meeting on the twentieth floor. You can wait for him up there." "Great," Tash said. "Thanks." But this time the technician did not leave her. He es- corted her back to the turbolifts and waited until one of the cars arrived. When it did, he watched Tash step aboard; then he leaned in and said, "Droid, take this young lady straight to the twentieth floor." The door closed on his irritating smirk. "Laser burn," Tash muttered as the turboliA shot up to the twentieth floor. Maybe she could find a computer terminal there. Still holding the electroscope, Tash stepped out onto the top floor of the Infirmary. The corridor was empty and quiet, lit by a few glowpanels and the light from a bank of viewports that looked out over the steamy floor of the planet. The hallway was lined with doors on either side, and the corridor curved away from her to the right and to the left, with no signs indicating where a computer termi- nal might be located. Tash guessed that this floor must be reserved for administrative of5ces. She had just decided to go left, when she heard a familiar voice approaching from that direction. "I can't thank you enough for letting me in on your secret, Kavafi," she heard Uncle Hoole say. Tash had never heard her uncle sound so friendly or relaxed. "I'm sure it is a worthwhile endeavor." "Think nothing of it, Hoole," Kavafi replied from around the corner. "There is no one I'd rather show my work to than you." Tash scurried down the hallway to the right until she
was out of sight. She listened as Hoole and Kavafi reached the lifts. "How do we get there?" Hoole was asking. "Right this way," Kavafi said. She heard them step onto the turbolift. Just before the doors closed, she heard Kavafi say, "Bottom Aoor." Quick as lightspeed Tash dashed for the turbolifts. Reading the indicator lights, she saw which lift Kavafi and Hoole had taken. It was moving fast. Tash jumped inside another turbolift. "Bottom floor," she said. A mechanical voice issued from a small speaker. "Ac- cess limited. Password required." "What?" Tash couldn't believe it. Access limited? "Incorrect. Correct p@ssword required," said the voice. Tash thought quickly. There must be a poor beneath the lobby a secret poor. One that requires a password to enter. "Password required," the mechanical voice re- peated. Tash braced herself. "Starscream." The turbolift began to descend. The lift moved at top speed, but the ride was very long. Tash felt the small chamber grow hotter, as if she was heading down toward the source of Gobindi's humid cli- mate. Finally the turboliA stopped. The doors opened, and Tash peered out. There was a long hallway outside, but it looked nothing like the Infirmary. The walls and floor were made of massive stones packed tightly together. Moss grew in thick patches on the walls. The air was heavy and so moist that puddles had formed on the Aoor. She was inside the ziggurat. Cautiously she crept forward. There didn't seem to be any guards or sentries. Tash's heart was pounding. The hallway was dim, lit only by small glowpanels placed far apart. She wondered how far she was inside the ziggurat. She guessed that she must be close to the bottom. Tash heard a soft, squishing sound echo faintly behind her. She quickly glanced over her shoulder. No one was there. She took a few more steps, and heard the squish again. She looked back. The hallway was still empty. Then, Tash looked up. Over her head hung several oozing blobs, ready to drop.
Tash turned to run back to tha turbolift, but one of the blobs released its grip on the ceiling and dropped. She jumped away, and the blob splattered to the floor. It shuf- fled toward her, and Tash backed up a few steps down the hallway. Tash knew she had to get to the liAs. She should never have come down here alone. Maybe I can jump over it, she thought. She never got the chance. A small slurp above her gave Tash just enough warning, and she scrambled out of the way as another blob dropped from the ceiling. And then another, and another. In moments the hallway floor was covered with blobs. Tash stiAed a scream and ran down the hallway as the blobs oozed toward her. She had no choice now. She turned and ran, knowing that the blobs were too slow to catch her. After a few moments the creatures lost interest in her and began to wriggle their way back up the walls. But they'd be waiting for her if she tried to go back to the liAs. She would have to face whatever else awaited inside the ziggurat. The hallway did not branch off, so Tash knew Hoole and Kavafi must have come this way. She crept along, trying to keep to the shadows and watching the ceiling for any more of the slimeballs. Tash's clothes were soaked with sweat. They stuck to her arms and legs like wet bandages. Her arm had begun to throb more violently. Peeling back her wet sleeve, Tash looked down at the lump that had grown on her arm. It was darker now, a dirty brown color that seemed to be spilling onto the rest of her arm. It seemed like hours, but finally Tash saw a brighter light up ahead. The corridor became a wide plaza with many channels branching in diA'erent directions. Although the plaza was empty, Tash could hear muf8ed voices and the sound of machinery coming from the hallways. Tash didn't feel safe, out in the open under the bright glowpanels of the plaza. The place could be crawling with stormtroopers, and she wasn't supposed to be there. But she had nowhere else to go. All she wanted to do now was get out of the ziggurat alive. Keeping to the walls, Tash reached the nearest hallway and slipped quietly inside. Like the tunnel from the
turbolift, it was dark, and she felt less exposed in the shadows. Now if only the hallway led to an exit. Up ahead, Tash could see that the stone walls of the tunnel had been replaced by a series of transparent plexi- form panels. As she approached, Tash peeked cautiously around the edge of the nearest panel. Through it she could see a small bare room with white walls, floor, and ceiling. There was no furniture in the room, and no access panels for comlinks or vidcams. It looked like a cell. In the center of it lay one of the blobs. Checking to make sure no one was nearby, Tash stepped in front of the plexiform panel. The blob sprang at her. It thudded against the transpar- ent 'barrier and slowly slid down it toward the floor. It was huge. The blob launched itself at Tash again. Tash continued down the hall. She passed six or seven more of the transparent panels, each one looking into an identical room containing a blob. Although the cells never changed, Tash noticed that the blobs did. They were growing smaller. It was as if the first cell contained a fully developed blob, while farther down the line they were still forming.' The largest blobs were the most violent, crashing against the plexiform that separated them from Tash. The smaller ones simply sat on the floor of the cells, quivering. Passing even more rooms, Tash saw a
blob that was just about the size and shape of a human man, lying on the floor. Tash could almost imagine a person underneath the ooze. The sight made her shudder. The next sight made her scream. The last room did not contain a blob. In it she saw a green-skinned Rodian the same Rodian who had been arrested the other day. He was lying on the Aoor, panting for breath. A thick layer of slime covered his chest and his back. Strands of ooze crept down his legs and up his