[Galaxy Of Fear] - 06(23)

A few minutes later Deevee joined them, stumbling into the room as he dragged one useless leg behind him. He was still active, but his chestplate had been pried open and some of his wiring had been damaged.

“Inhospitable brutes!” the droid moaned. “I tried to help them so that they would do as little damage as possible, but they deactivated me! When I was turned back on, they had done this! My left arm is malfunctioning, and my leg servos barely function.”

Zak checked the damage. “These wires are blown.” He looked around the cockpit. The stormtroopers had locked them in there because, thanks to Gog’s blaster fire, the cockpit was useless. The ship was too damaged to fly. The console had been blasted, and loose wires and melted computer terminals were all that remained of the control panels.

“Maybe I can use some of this scrap to repair you,” Zak offered. Using his bare hands, he tore a few lengths of wire from the shredded control consoles and began working on Deevee’s circuits.

Meanwhile, Tash sat huddled in a corner, her head in her hands. The other two left her alone for several minutes before Deevee finally asked, “Tash, are you all right? Did those Imperials hurt you in any way?”

Tash looked up. “No, I’m okay, Deevee. To tell you the truth, I was thinking of Uncle Hoole.”

“Me too,” Zak put in. “I just… I’m confused. I don’t know how to feel. I mean, we owe him a lot, and I know it was an accident, but I can’t stop thinking about the fact that he destroyed this whole planet. Millions of people wiped out, just like that!”

“Just like Alderaan,” Tash whispered. “Accident or not, it was a terrible thing to do.”

“Well,” Deevee said indignantly, “if there’s one thing you two should have learned by now, it’s that one should never jump to conclusions.”

“I don’t understand,” Tash replied.

The droid gave an electronic version of a sniff. “Of course you don’t. That’s because you only know half the story. I learned the other half from Artoo-Detoo’s files. I tried to tell you earlier, but we were interrupted.”

“Tell us now,” Zak said.

“Yeah,” Tash agreed, looking around the room that had become their prison. “It doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere soon.”

As Zak continued his repairs, Deevee told them what he knew. “It’s true that Master Hoole is Mammon. And everyone knows that Mammon is the scientist who did experiments on Kiva. Everyone also knows that those experiments destroyed the entire planet. But what no one knows is that Master Hoole had no idea of the danger. He thought the experiments were totally safe. It was his partner who was in charge of making sure the experiments stayed within safe limits.”

“His partner,” Tash repeated.

“Gog,” Zak said.

“Exactly. When Artoo plugged into the laboratory’s computer systems, he discovered more files. He relayed the information to me before we were separated. Apparently, Gog knew that the experiments would destroy the people of Kiva, but he convinced Hoole that they were perfectly safe.”

Zak stopped working on Deevee for a moment. “How come no one else knows this? All I’ve ever heard is that Mammon was in charge of the experiments.”

Deevee shrugged. “If I were to venture a guess, I would say that the Empire hid the truth. They needed someone to blame for the disaster, and they placed the blame on Master Hoole. Gog’s name was wiped out of all the records except his own personal files. Those are the ones we found in the fortress.”

Tash looked suspicious. “But why did they pick on Uncle Hoole? Why didn’t they blame both scientists?”

Deevee was eager to explain. “Now we come to the part that will interest you the most. After the disaster at Kiva, Master Hoole became disgusted with himself and with the Empire. He decided to work for them no longer. Gog, apparently, continued to work for the Emperor, so the Imperials protected him, while at the same time purposely destroying Master Hoole’s reputation.”

Zak started working on Deevee’s wires again. “Why didn’t Uncle Hoole tell us this?”

Deevee explained. “I suspect that Master Hoole still blames himself for what happened to the Kivans. He is too proud to lay the blame elsewhere. He still accepts responsibility for what happened, even though Gog is really to blame.”

Tash wavered. Long ago she had been suspicious of Hoole. Then she’d become convinced that he was on the side of good. Now, her faith in him had been shattered. She wasn’t certain what to believe. “Are you sure Hoole quit the Empire? What happened to him after that?”