CHAPTER 1
“Welcome to Koda Spaceport. Welcome-zzzzz! to Koda Spzzzzzz! port…”
The hospitality droid was programmed for one simple task-to welcome visitors to Koda Space Station. But one of those visitors had fired a blaster shot through the droid’s main computer, frying its circuits. The tall, humanoid droid shuffled back and forth in the huge gateway, repeating his welcome over and over again.
Tash and Zak Arranda, along with their uncle Hoole, stood at the entrance to the spaceport.
“I can’t believe no one’s even bothered to fix him,” Zak
said sympathetically.
Tash looked past the droid into the passageway beyond. Blaster burns and scrawled graffiti covered the walls. Trash littered the floor. She couldn’t tell exactly what kind of trash it was, but from the smell, she guessed it was old food, spilled drinks, and other things she didn’t want to think about. “Looks like no one’s bothered to fix a lot of things around here.”
Hoole frowned. The lines on his long, gray face deepened. “I did not suspect Koda would be in such a state of disrepair. Still, it is a busy port, and a good place to hide. Let’s proceed.”
The tall Shi’ido led them past the shuffling droid and into the spaceport.
Koda was a tiny, insignificant spaceport in a small, backwater corner of the galaxy. The nearby planets were sparsely inhabited by a few poor settlements. The only people who came to Koda were local farmhands looking for excitement and bored smugglers looking for trouble.
“Stay close to me,” Hoole ordered his niece and nephew.
Zak glanced back down the hall at the damaged droid. He sighed. “I miss Deevee.”
Tash nodded. “I do, too. But he’s happier now.”
DV-9 had been their uncle’s research droid. He had also been Tash and Zak’s caretaker and friend. The droid had been heavily damaged during some recent adventures. They had been able to repair him, but Deevee told them, “I believe I’ve had all the excitement my servos can take.”
Hoole had agreed to free the droid from service. It wasn’t fair to keep dragging him around the galaxy-especially since they were still wanted by the Empire. With Tash and Zak’s help, Hoole had been able to destroy a secret scientific experiment run by the Empire. Unfortunately, their victory had also made them a terrible enemy: Darth Vader. Zak, Tash, and Hoole had managed to escape his clutches, but now they were on the run, wanted in every star system in the galaxy.
All this was too much for the damaged droid. Deevee had retired to the Galactic Research Facility on the planet Koaan.
“I wish I was with Deevee now,” Zak muttered as they waded through the trash-covered hallway.
“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Tash said. “A little garbage won’t kill you.”
Tash saw her younger brother scowl at her. She shrugged. Lately, he’d seemed awfully immature to her. After all, she was thirteen heading toward fourteen-and he was only twelve, not even a true teenager yet.
“Anyway, we’ve been through worse,” Tash went on confidently. “This place is nothing we can’t handle. Right, Uncle Hoole?”
“Wrong.”
Hoole had just stopped at the entrance to the spaceport’s cantina. It was made of a hard, see-through material called transparisteel. On the far side of the entryway, they could hear screams, shouts, and laughter mixed with the sounds of glasses shattering and furniture smashing. Something-Tash couldn’t tell if it was a very large person or a very large couch-banged into the transparisteel door like it had been thrown by a giant.
Zak started to speak. “It’s like-“
“-the end of the world,” Tash interrupted.
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“No, look,” she said, pointing at the sign on the door. “This place is called ‘The End of the World.’ “
“Aptly named,” Hoole said. “This is the worst-run establishment I’ve ever seen. Even more dangerous than a cantina I once visited on Tatooine. I think you two should return to the ship.”
“Why?” Tash objected.
Hoole turned his steady gaze on his niece. “Tash, I need to make sure there is no Imperial activity at this spaceport. I also need to decide what our next move will be. A cantina like this is the best place to acquire information. However, it is not the best place for children.”
“Children!” Tash blurted out. “Uncle Hoole, we’re not kids and we’ve been through worse than this.”
Hoole paused. It was true. Tash and Zak had been through some frightening adventures. But all that was behind them now. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
“Please return to the ship. I will meet you there shortly,” he said. Then he turned and walked into the End of the World.