“Stormtroopers?” Tash asked.
Lando explained in a rush. “When you and Zak went back into The Nightmare Machine, Deevee and I were locked out. I complained to Fajji, but he said it was simply a malfunction. He said you were safe, and the problem would be corrected shortly. Deevee and I decided not to wait. You had already been in here an hour. We tried to break into the building a few minutes ago, and a squad of stormtroopers appeared out of nowhere!”
“Wait a minute!” Zak sputtered. “We’ve only been in here an hour? It seemed like days!”
“Days?” Lando asked. An energy beam shattered the wall beside him. “Never mind!”
“SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED!” The voice that boomed over a loudspeaker was too powerful to be ignored. Zak peeked over Lando’s shoulder as the gambler poked his head out of the building.
A hundred stormtroopers aimed their blasters at him.
They had no choice but to surrender. Lando dropped his blaster and stepped out into the open, followed by Zak, Tash, and Deevee. Stormtroopers rushed forward, roughly searching them all for any hidden weapons. Then they slapped binders on each of their wrists, including Deevee’s. When the prisoners were secure, the crowd of stormtroopers parted, and a tall, gray, scowling figure stepped forward.
Borborygmus Gog.
The evil Shi’ido stepped past them and peered inside The Nightmare Machine. When he returned, his scowl had deepened into seething anger.
“You,” he began, his voice filled with rage. “You two pathetic human children have caused me more trouble than a dozen rebellious star systems. You have destroyed every stage of Project Starscream, and now you have destroyed my latest experiment!” He pointed at the building. “The Nightmare Machine was a masterpiece of genetic mutation. A creature capable of entering into its victims’ nightmares, and using their own fears against them.”
“You were using Fun World as an experiment,” Zak said.
“You were using it on us!” Tash added. “But we figured you out.”
The Shi’ido’s eyes narrowed. “Indeed. You two are most remarkable.” His dark eyes focused on Zak. “You are quite a resourceful young man, and you”-he glared at Tash-“this intuition of yours is intriguing. The Force, perhaps? We shall see.”
Gog snapped his fingers, and the stormtroopers came to attention. “Guards. Take them all back to my starship. I want them transported to my laboratory. I plan to perform some in-depth experiments.”
The way Gog said the word “experiments” made Zak’s blood run cold.
Stormtroopers grabbed their arms and dragged them to a nearby hovercar. The four prisoners were loaded into the car. One stormtrooper took the driver’s seat while the other stood guard over the captives. The hovercar hummed away from The Nightmare Machine.
No one spoke as the hovercar carried them to a nearby airlock. The guarding stormtrooper grabbed the prisoners one by one and hauled them through the airlock and into a waiting shuttle craft.
Inside the shuttle craft, Zak and the others sat in the cargo area behind the two pilot seats. A black-uniformed Imperial pilot sat in one seat. The guarding stormtrooper took the other.
A moment later, the shuttle detached itself from Fun World. From the back of the shuttle, Zak could just see the darkness of space through the front viewport. He watched as a tiny pinpoint of light grew into a massive star cruiser.
Zak looked at his sister and whispered, “Tash, I-“
“Quiet!” the black-garbed pilot snapped. He looked at the stormtrooper. “If they speak one more word, turn them all into Sarkanian jelly.”
The stormtrooper nodded and raised his blaster threateningly.
Then he smashed the weapon against the side of the pilot’s head.
The pilot collapsed to the floor, unconscious. “What in the galaxy-?” Lando gasped.
He was staring at the stormtrooper who was shimmering and twisting spasmodically.
When the stormtrooper stopped moving, Zak and Tash could not believe their eyes-the stormtrooper was Hoole!
Zak was the first to recover. “Uncle Hoole, how did you find us?”
“Time is short, Zak,” the Shi’ido said tersely. “Let us say my investigation proved successful. I learned that Gog had come here. I raced to Fun World as soon as I could. Thanks to the distraction created by this gentle”-he pointed at’ Lando-“and Deevee, I was able to disguise myself as a stormtrooper and infiltrate Gog’s army.”
Lando shook his head. “I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff in the galaxy,” he murmured, “but this wins the prize. “
Hoole did not respond. With Lando’s help, he quickly tied the unconscious pilot to a passenger seat, then turned to the ship’s instruments and the shuttle roared into full power. The ship swerved off course and blasted away from Hologram Fun World and the waiting cruiser.