[Galaxy Of Fear] - 03(15)
The doctor chuckled. “Gobindi will do that to you. I wouldn’t worry about that bump. It should go away soon enough.”
Tash watched the doctor as he put away the visor. The warnings she had received still echoed in her head, and she wondered if she could trust him. Maybe he had injected her with something. He could have given her some sort of drug….
Tash stopped herself. He had given Hoole the same injection. He and Hoole were friends, and Hoole was fine.
“I have to go check on several other patients.” Kavafi pointed to a computer terminal built into the medichamber wall. “Tash, while you are waiting, why don’t you look at a rundown of our research program? You can see a complete presentation of the Infirmary’s goals.”
Tash shrugged. “Okay.”
At the computer terminal, Kavafi punched in a code and the computer displayed a description of the Infirmary. Above the display, the initials “IBWD” appeared. Below the initials were the words “WELCOME TO TILE IMPERIAL BIOLOGICAL WELFARE DIVISION.”
“Enjoy yourself,” he said as he left the bacta chamber.
As Kavafi left, Tash began to punch absentmindedly through the computerized tour. Most of the commentary was about the benefits of Imperial research and the wise Imperial scientists who were devoted to improving life for all species.
“Yeah, right,” Tash muttered. “Except on Alderaan,” she said, thinking of the Empire’s destruction of her homeworld.
Disgusted, she slapped the controls to wipe the lies off the screen. A moment later the computer exited the tour program and returned to the main menu. The screen went dark except for the command “ENTER PASSWORD” followed by ten blank squares. Tash was about to call for Kavafi’s help, then decided not to.
Uncle Hoole had told her she was looking for conspiracies where they didn’t exist. He was probably right. But she had nothing to lose by typing the word that came into her head.
Tash looked around. No one was watching her.
She typed in the letters “S-T-A-R-S-C-R-E-A-M.”
The screen remained blank. Tash was just about to cancel the entry and start again when an image popped into the center of the screen. Tash’s heart skipped a beat-until she recognized the same image she’d seen before. She was looking at the familiar display of the Infirmary with the letters “IBWD” appearing at the top.
But when Tash looked more closely, her throat tightened. Underneath those large letters, the text no longer read, IMPERIAL BIOLOGICAL WELFARE DIVISION.
Now it read, IMPERIAL BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS DIVISION.
CHAPTER 9
Tash read the words over and over. Biological weapons. Biological weapons.
She shuddered. The lump on her arm throbbed and stretched. Tash almost thought she saw it quiver under her sleeve.
The medical technician came into the room, and Tash quickly hit the computer’s Escape button, wiping the image clear.
She walked back to the bacta tank in which Zak was being treated. He smiled at her again; then he put two hands together and laid his head on them as though napping.
This is a bore, he was saying.
Tash had no way to mime her own message. She looked to make sure the medical technician was not watching, and mouthed the words, Zak, we’re caught inside a biological weapons plant!
Inside the bacta tank Zak raised his eyebrows and shook his head. He didn’t understand. Tash mouthed the words slowly.
Bi-o-lo-gi-cal weapons!
Again Zak did not understand. Tash decided to try a different, simpler word.
Tash pointed to a picture on the wall. It was a plain piece of artwork, a painting someone had done of a starfield. She put a finger on the painting itself and pointed to one star in the starfield. Zak nodded vigorously that he understood. A star.
Tash walked back to the tank, put her hands on her head, and opened her mouth wide as if she were yelling. Star. Scream.
Starscream.
Zak nodded again. He understood.
Tash spread her hands wide, trying to cover the entire room, the entire Infirmary.
Over the air mask, Zak’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. The Infirmary was connected to Project Starscream.
Tash knew Zak understood. She motioned to Zak to remain calm. She would be back as soon as she could.
Tash hurried to the turbolifts, passing Dr. Kavafi in the hall. “Tash, where are you going?”
“I’ll be back!” she said. “I need something from the ship!”
“Lobby,” she said as soon as she had stepped into the lift. As she rode down, Tash suddenly felt so dizzy she had to lean against a wall for support.
They had gotten the name Project Starscream from the Shroud’s computer files. ForceFlow had suggested that Starscream and the planet Gobindi were connected. And now she knew for sure the code name Starscream was a password into secret files inside the Infirmary.