“Because he practices a little self defense?” Tash retorted.
“Self defense?” her brother replied, pointing to the tree trunk Sh’shak had scarred. “Tell that to the tree!”
By now the mist had cleared and the sun had risen high enough to light the entire garden. Tash and Zak hurried back to the Shroud, hoping Hoole might help them make some sense out of what they had seen.
But before they reached the ship, they met another figure strolling through the garden. Captain Thrawn stood at the edge of one of the many flower beds that dotted the landscape. In this bed, the flowers had been arranged in color patterns. Most of the flowers had white petals, but some with blue petals had been planted to form swirls in the white fields. Thrawn stood with his hands behind his back, studying the flowers as though they were the secret of the universe.
“Interesting,” he muttered to himself as they passed by. “Most revealing. “
“What do you know?” Zak whispered to Tash. “He really is a nut for flowers.”
Thrawn overheard him. Without looking at Zak, the blue-skinned Imperial replied, “You are only a child, so I will forgive your insolent behavior. This time.” He paused. “What you fail to realize is that a culture reveals itself through its art. If you know how to read the art, you will find everything you need to know about the people.
Tash frowned. “And that’s information you can use against them.”
“When necessary,” Thrawn replied. He still hadn’t bothered to look at them.
“I knew the Empire was up to something here,” Tash said.
Finally Thrawn turned. His red eyes burned into Tash so fiercely that at first she blushed, then her face went pale with fear. But when he spoke, Thrawn’s voice was calm. “I am waiting for a message from one of my officers, and I have little time, so I will be brief. I encounter civilians like you all the time. You believe the Empire is continually plotting to do harm. Let me tell you, your view of the Empire is far too dramatic. The Empire is a government. It keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, year after year, on thousands of worlds, people live their lives under Imperial rule without seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a TIE fighter scream overhead.”
Thrawn started to walk away, and motioned for Zak and Tash to follow him. They didn’t dare disobey. “I assure you, I am part of no plot against the S’krrr. I find them a most interesting race. I came here to study them because they are quite different from most humanoid species. I assume you know that the S’krrr evolved from insects?”
Tash and Zak nodded. Given the S’krrr’s appearance, it was easy enough to guess.
“Based on the art I’ve studied,” the Imperial continued, “and the way they use this garden as an expression of their culture, I’d say the S’krrr worship both beauty and violence. The garden is well-ordered, but it is also natural and wild. It shows the two sides of the S’krrr personality.
“But the most interesting thing about the S’krrr,” Thrawn continued, talking more to himself than to the Arrandas, “is that for many years a cult existed in S’krrr society that worshipped insects. This cult believed that insects were the S’krrr’s ancestors, and should be respected and revered. For a number of years, this worship became the center of their art. The S’krrr were forbidden to harm the insects, and the insects were encouraged to expand and grow.”
Zak spoke up. “We found a statue of a bug the other day. It was old and worn, but you could still tell what it was.”
Thrawn nodded. “This garden was originally the place where the insects were worshipped.”
“But the S’krrr don’t worship insects anymore,” Tash observed.
“No,” Thrawn agreed. “The cult was forbidden when the insects threatened to overrun the entire planet. But rumor has it that many S’krrr still follow the old beliefs.”
He paused a moment. “You see, that is all the information I’m looking for here. I simply believe in knowing as much about a culture as possible. And I assure you, that I have no intention of wasting my time with any fiendish plots.”
Tash started to respond, but the words caught in her throat and she gagged. Beside her, Zak felt his stomach leap into his throat as he saw what she was looking at.
Lying in the path before them was the body of an Imperial officer. They could barely make out his face, because almost every piece of exposed skin was swarming with beetles.
CHAPTER 7
Zak and Tash rushed forward to help the officer. Thrawn remained behind, studying the scene with cold efficiency.