“Four Star Destroyers,” Uncle Hoole murmured to himself. “Almost a fleet. Something important must be happening in the area to attract so many ships.”
But now that the Shroud was broadcasting its telesponder code, none of the Imperial war ships challenged them again.
Finally the Shroud plunged toward Gobindi, the fifth planet of the system, a massive green globe half covered in thick cloud layers. From orbit, Gobindi looked like a huge jungle.
As they approached, Tash felt the planet’s gravity grab hold and draw them in quickly. Hoole handled their ship expertly, guiding it toward a growing spot of white in the thick carpet of green vegetation. “That is Mah Dala, the capital city of Gobindi,” Hoole said. “I sent a message ahead to Dr. Kavafi, my colleague at the Imperial Biological Welfare Division. He is expecting us.”
The Shroud swooped down over Mah Dala. The city seemed to be made up of many-leveled pyramids with flat tops. Elaborate bridges connected the buildings in beautifully intricate designs.
“The Gobindi are amazing architects,” Tash observed.
“Were,” Hoole responded. “The Gobindi themselves vanished years ago. No one knows what happened to them. The only city they left behind was Mah Dala. I’ve always wanted to visit the ruins here but never found the time.”
“Who lives here now?” she asked.
Hoole banked the Shroud, headed toward a landing bay, and answered, “The Empire opened the planet up to colonization a few years ago, and many different species moved into Mah Dala. This area of space gets a lot of traffic, and the hyperspace lanes are quite close. It’s something of a cosmopolitan place now, I believe. And, of course, the Imperials are here.”
“Of course,” Tash muttered.
The Shroud settled onto a landing platform that sat atop one of the flat pyramids. The minute the ship rested on its landing gear, Tash unbuckled her crash webbing and hurried back to the main lounge. Deevee was holding Zak in his mechanical arms. Her brother was wrapped in a blanket, still sweating and mumbling to himself. He looked half-awake.
“Zak?” Tash said softly. “How do you feel?”
In misery he looked up at his sister. “My head’s on fire, Tash.”
Hoole activated the hatchway. The door flew open, and Tash found herself looking into the concerned face of a human male about fifty years old. He had brown hair, lightly salted with gray, and warm blue eyes. He wore a brown Imperial uniform with the letters “IBWD” stitched over the left breast, and he was holding a medical datapad in one hand. Behind him stood two technicians pushing a hover-gurney.
The man looked past Tash and smiled. “Dr. Hoole. It’s good to see you again.”
Hoole reached forward and shook the man’s hand quickly. “Dr. Kavafi. I know you are busy. Thank you for seeing to this personally.”
“Think nothing of it. Let’s see the patient to the Infirmary, shall we?”
He nodded to the two technicians, who quickly took Zak from Deevee’s arms and laid him gently on the hover-gurney. Kavafi quickly examined Zak, then grabbed a comlink from his belt and spoke into it. “Medichamber six, this is Dr. Kavafi. I’m bringing in a patient with a high fever. From the looks of things, I would say it is a low-grade virus. Have the diagnostic droid standing by.”
Quickly the technicians grabbed hold of the hover-gurney and pushed it toward a waiting medishuttle. Tash, Hoole, and Deevee followed Dr. Kavafi.
“Is he going to be all right?” Tash asked Dr. Kavafi. The doctor smiled. “Don’t worry, young lady,” he said. “Everything is going to be just fine.”
Tash suddenly remembered ForceFlow. Had he ever replied to her message? If he did have information regarding Project Starscream, they might use it to help the doctors cure Zak.
“I, uh, forgot something,” she told Hoole, then quickly turned back toward the ship.
“Hurry,” Hoole ordered. “We need to get Zak to the hospital right away.”
Tash leaped back into the ship and headed straight for her cabin. Inside, she powered up her computer terminal.
There was a message waiting for her. It had arrived just before their encounter with the Star Destroyer.
Tash’s blood ran cold when she read the words on her computer screen.
SEARCHER, THIS IS FORCEFLOW. HAVE INFORMATION REGARDING PROJECT STARSCREAM. WHATEVER YOU DO, STAY AWAY FROM GOBINDI. STAY AWAY FROM GOBINDI!
CHAPTER 4
Tash stared at the words on the screen, hoping that somehow they would change. But they didn’t.
STAY AWAY FROM GOBINDI!
Why?
What did Project Starscream have to do with Gobindi? Tash needed to communicate with ForceFlow again, and quickly.