[Galaxy Of Fear] - 07(7)

“Quiet,” Hoole replied softly. “Listen.”

“One more thing,” Fuzzel said before leaving the audience chamber. “There’s a rumor that the killer Karkas is on Tatooine. I want him. I’ll pay double.”

“Double’?” Jabba mused. His voice sounded like a rumbling stomach. The alien crowd watching the conversation also murmured in surprise. “I will put my best people on it,” Jabba replied. “Good day.”

This time the Imperial official took the hint and turned around, carrying his rolls of fat out of Jabba’s audience chamber. As he left, Hoole led Zak and Tash before the throne while Bib Fortuna whispered in the Hutt’s ear.

“Well, well,” Jabba growled. “What brings you three back to my doorstep?”

“Jabba,” Hoole began. Jabba’s seedy henchmen leaned forward to listen. So did Zak and Tash. Hoole hadn’t told them what he planned to ask. The Shi’ido continued, “Years ago you did me a favor. When I was on the run from the Empire, you managed to erase my name and records from the Imperial networks so that I could continue to move around the galaxy without arousing suspicion.” He paused. “I’d like to ask-as a favor-if you could do that again.”

The crowd rumbled. Hoole had used the word favor. It was very dangerous to owe a Hutt a favor, because a Hutt always collected.

Jabba stared at Hoole, and a broad smile crossed his slimy face. The Hutt’s thick pink tongue slithered out and ran along the edge of his lips.

“This can be done,” he gurgled, “for a price. I have a job that requires someone with your particular talents.” Tash saw Hoole tense. This was the most dangerous part of the bargain. For years, she knew, Jabba had wanted to get Hoole on his payroll. The Shi’ido’s shapechanging powers would make him an excellent spy, or even an assassin. She shook her head slowly. What if Jabba asked for something Hoole could not-or would not-do?

“Relax!” Jabba snorted. “I see the fear even in your stone face, Hoole!”

The crime lord waved toward Boba Fett, who had appeared near the Hutt’s platform. “As you can see, I have all the assassins I need at the moment. No, this task is a little more… scholarly.”

Jabba thumped his thick tail on the stone platform, and Bib Fortuna slithered forward. Carefully, he held up an ancient scroll. Both Tash and Zak gasped. They had grown up on computers, datadisks, and holographic projectors, just like their parents and grandparents before them. Paper books were rare treasures, and something as old as a scroll was almost unheard of.

“That has to be as old as the stars,” Tash whispered. Hoole looked down at the document without touching it. His eyes had barely skimmed the first few lines before they blazed with interest. “Do you know what this is’?” he asked Jabba the Hutt.

Jabba shrugged his fat shoulders. “I know it’s valuable to the B’omarr monks. I found this scroll-along with a dozen others-in one of their tunnels. They’ve been begging to get it back ever since.”

“Are you going to give it back?” the Shi’ido asked.

“Maybe,” Jabba gurgled. “But first I want you to translate it. Translate this document for me, and I’ll erase your names from the Empire’s computer banks forever.”

Tash had known Hoole long enough to read at least a few of his moods. Although his face was stern and motionless, she could tell by the way he leaned slightly forward, never taking his eyes off the scroll, that he wanted the job.

“Agreed,” Hoole said, after waiting for almost a full minute.

“Excellent!” Jabba roared. “It will take a few days to break into the Imperial computer. That should give you time to do your research. Fortuna, show them to their rooms!” The Hutt thumped his fat tail on the stone platform, dismissing them.

As they left Jabba’s throne room, Tash felt dread creep into her stomach, as though they had just made a deal with the dark side.

Fortuna showed them to their quarters. Hoole was given his own room, and Zak and Tash shared a small bedchamber next door. Without wasting a moment, Jabba’s servant then escorted them through one of the many dark hallways in the palace. But unlike the others, this one led down into the cool darkness of Tatooine, far beneath the hot sand on the surface.

“Who are these B’omarr monks, anyway?” Zak whispered in the dark.

Tash clicked her tongue. “If you read more, you’d know they’re the ones who built this place. This was their fortress, before Jabba came and took it away from them. Now Jabba lets them live only in the lowest levels of the palace.”