[Galaxy Of Fear] - 07(4)

“Still, there’s got to be something unique about the place. Otherwise, why would Jabba the Hutt make his home there?” Tash asked herself.

She found a computer file that contained a detailed report on Tatooine. “Aha! I’ll bet I can find something here Uncle Hoole doesn’t know.”

But her hopes were dashed when she saw who had written the report. It was Hoole! He had studied the planet years before and written an eyewitness account of its inhabitants. Tash knew that Hoole was an anthropologist and that it was his job to study different cultures. But there were so many mysteries surrounding her Shi’ido uncle that she’d nearly forgotten he had a job.

“He really does study people,” she reminded herself. She skimmed the report, but read more closely when she found mention of a group of people called B’omarr monks. They seemed to be religious students, seeking knowledge and trying to understand the mysteries of the universe. Tash wondered if their studies included the Force. Tash was fascinated by the ancient Jedi Knights and the Force that gave them their power. And even though she’d recently learned that the Force was with her, too, she had no one to teach her how to use it.

Now that I’m getting older, she thought, I’ll need a teacher. Maybe the B’omarr monks can help.

Reading on, she smiled. Uncle Hoole had called his research work boring, but his report was filled with drama. On Tatooine, he had been chased by tribal savages called Sand People and had nearly been captured by Imperial stormtroopers. Wherever Uncle Hoole went, Tash thought, trouble seemed to follow.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

Suddenly, the lights in her cabin went out, and the small red emergency light blinked as alarms blared in her ears. Tash leaped a full meter out of her seat.

That was the collision alert! They were going to crash!

Scrambling to her feet, Tash threw herself at the door. As it slid open, she stumbled out into the hallway to find…

… Zak, standing in the corridor, laughing hysterically.

There were no alarms in the hallway. No emergency lights.

No crash.

Just Zak, giggling and holding two wires that were connected to a panel in the wall. He had cross-circuited the alarm system in her cabin.

“Gotcha!” he said, tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks.

Tash scowled. “Grow up!” she snapped angrily.

Zak chuckled, but the look on his sister’s face took the fun out of his prank. “Hey, it was just a joke.”

“Yeah, funny,” she said coldly, “if you’re in preschool.”

She turned and stalked down the hallway toward the cockpit, leaving her brother standing there with his crossed wires.

Tash trudged into the cockpit and slumped down in the copilot’s seat. At first, Hoole ignored her as he busily punched commands into the ship’s console. Finally, without looking her way, the Shi’ido said, “There was a disturbance back there. What was it?”

Tash gave her head a world-weary shake. “Zak, trying to play an immature joke.” She sighed. “Kids.”

Hoole glanced at her out of the corner of his dark eye. “Indeed.”

Tash waited. When her uncle said nothing more, she added, “Why is he such a child? I mean, by the time I was his age I had already read half the library on Alderaan. Mom and Dad were talking about sending me to an academy for advanced students.” Tash felt her throat tighten when she mentioned her parents. They had been killed when the Empire destroyed Alderaan, turning Zak and Tash into orphans with one blast of the Death Star’s superlaser. “I mean,” she went on, “why doesn’t he just grow up?”

Hoole turned toward her, his long gray face unreadable. “He is growing up, Tash. In his own way.”

“Well, he’s sure taking his time about it,” she said, looking down at her boots.

The Shi’ido cast a meaningful glance at her, but she missed it. “Perhaps he is in no hurry,” Hoole said. “One should never be in a hurry to grow up.”

He was about to say more, but a signal from the ship’s hyperdrive indicated they were leaving hyperspace. They had arrived at Tatooine.

Hoole took the ship smoothly to sublight drive and steered it toward the giant yellow planet that appeared before them.

“Is it safe for us to visit Tatooine?” Tash asked as the ship entered the hot atmosphere. “We are wanted by the Empire, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” Hoole agreed. “But the Empire is a big place, and news doesn’t always travel quickly. Besides, Tatooine is so remote, I doubt the Imperials here would even care about us.”

The flight controllers at Mos Eisley gave them permission to land at Docking Bay Ninety-four, and Hoole guided the Shroud down to the landing platform. No one had asked them their business, and no Imperial ships had appeared to intercept them. Tash and Hoole met Zak in the corridor.