“Power up?” Zak asked. “Where are we going?” Hoole paused. A frown pulled at the edge of his mouth. Hoole rarely explained to Tash and Zak what he was planning and where they were going. But this time, his expression seemed to suggest that Zak and Tash had a right to know.
“We are going to end this mystery once and for all,” the Shi’ido declared. “I know where Project Starscream is located.”
CHAPTER 2
“What!” Zak shouted in surprise
“H-How?” Tash stammered. “Where?”
Hoole looked at them closely before speaking. “I found some data stored in the computers on Nespis 8. It suggested that the main headquarters for Gog’s experiment are on the planet Kiva. It’s only a short hyperspace jump from here, and I want to go there and make sure everything Gog was doing is destroyed.”
“But-But what if we run into other Imperial scientists there?” Zak stammered.
“We won’t,” Hoole promised. “Trust me.”
Stunned, Zak and Tash could only stare as Hoole added, “Now please make sure that Deevee is fully operational.”
Before Zak and Tash could ask any more questions, their uncle had already glided past them.
Zak and Tash were still shaking their heads as they reached the small maintenance room at the center of their starship. The door to the room slid back, revealing a tall, humanlike droid. DV-9’s once-silver body was covered with scratches and soot, and several dents pockmarked his metallic shell. A long, black streak ran across his chestplate. The droid had obviously tried to polish it away, but the scar could still be seen in the cabin lights.
“How are the repairs going, Deevee?” Zak asked.
The droid sighed heavily. “Well enough, I suppose. I’ve corrected all the internal damage that blaster bolt caused, but I’m afraid I’ll bear this scar forever.”
“I’m sorry, Deevee,” Tash said sincerely. Deevee was the one who had saved her from Gog. He had jumped in front of a bolt from Gog’s blaster meant for her. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be nothing but a vapor cloud back in that space station.”
Deevee sniffed. “Think no more of it, Tash. I was doing my duty as your caretaker.” He looked at his battered body and sighed again. “Besides, although my outer shell has become rather unsightly, that blaster would have done you far more harm than it did me. Now, if it had been an ion cannon, that would have been another story.”
“Ion cannon?” Tash asked.
Zak, a starship engine and weapon fanatic, jumped in. “An ion cannon attacks circuitry and electronics. Blasters just punch their way into whatever they hit. But ion weapons can really shred computers and servos.”
Suddenly, the Shroud’s power systems kicked in. Tash and Zak blinked and Deevee readjusted his photoreceptors as the main lights came on and the ship began to hum with energy. Seconds later, without warning, the Shroud lurched away from its asteroid hideout and pushed its way into open space.
“Weird,” Tash noted. “He must be in a hurry. He didn’t even ask us to strap ourselves in.”
Zak shook his head. “Figures. The one time he tells us where we’re going, he finds some other way to be mysterious.
“Where are we going?” Deevee asked, as he tried to close a small panel on his chestplate.
Zak helped him close his chest panel. “Uncle Hoole says he’s figured out where Gog’s headquarters are. He’s taking us there now. Someplace called Kiva. “
The droid tilted his head to the side. “Kiva? How fascinating. I’ve wanted to visit Kiva from the moment my anthropology research program was installed!”
“What’s there?” Tash asked.
“Nothing!” Deevee said excitedly. “Well, to be precise, there’s nothing there anymore.” The droid slipped into his teacher mode, which meant a lecture was coming. He began: “Kiva is an example of how science can do great harm if caution is not taken. Years ago, there was a thriving culture on Kiva. The Kivans were known as the best artists and builders in the galaxy. There was also an Imperial base there, where scientists conducted secret biological experiments.”
“Experiments,” Tash groaned. “I’ve had enough of experiments, thanks.”
“What kind of experiments?” Zak asked. He soaked up technological information like a sponge. But he was disappointed by Deevee’s response.
“No one knows. The experiments were being conducted by a scientist named Mammon, but no one ever found out just what he was doing on Kiva. What we do know is that whatever he was doing went terribly wrong. There was some sort of accident, and the entire civilization on Kiva was wiped out.” Deevee paused to let the terrible information sink in.