[Galaxy Of Fear] - 08(9)

The morning mist was already lifting and the sun had started to warm the ground. To his surprise, Zak found Tash and Hoole already up and sitting on the grass outside the ship. Bowls and containers were laid out in front of them.

“There you are!” Tash called. “Since the ship’s power isn’t working, and it’s such a nice day, we thought we’d have a picnic of leftovers.”

Zak plopped himself down beside his sister and picked up a bowl. It was full of leftover Circarpian snake eggs. They were cold, but scrambled just the way he liked them, and Zak dug in.

He felt better. As long as he did the work the shreev would have done, no one would know he’d broken any local laws. He scooped up another spoonful of eggs, telling himself that everything was going to work out just fine.

As he put the eggs in his mouth, he felt something wriggle against his lips.

Lowering his spoon, he looked into its bowl. A drog beetle was digging its way out of his breakfast.





CHAPTER 5


Zak grabbed a napkin and wiped the egg off his face.

“Yuck!” Tash said, scrambling out of the beetle’s way. The insect scurried into the grass and vanished. “How’d that get into our food?”

“We are on the edge of the garden, remember,” Hoole said calmly. “We are bound to encounter some of the more uncomfortable aspects of nature. It is nothing to worry about.”

Zak shuddered. He could still feel the drog beetle’s legs scratching against his lips. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t almost eat one!”

Suddenly, Tash looked up. “Uh-oh, it looks like that’s not the only pest in the garden.”

A high-pitched whine grew louder as she spoke. In the distance, an Imperial shuttle glided toward them. It passed directly over their heads, then over the garden wall, and settled to a landing inside the garden.

“Vroon’s not going to like that,” said Zak.

“Neither do I, if the Empire’s after us,” Tash replied.

“Remain calm, Tash,” Uncle Hoole advised. “If the Empire knew we were here and wanted to arrest us, they would have sent an armored gunboat and stormtroopers, not a shuttle. This could merely be a coincidence.”

“But what if it’s not?” she asked.

Hoole gave a slight shrug. “We would not have a chance to escape anyway, since our ship is not functional.”

Zak felt a twinge in his chest. It was his fault the ship was grounded. And it was his fault the shreev had died. He almost wished he were a drog beetle, so he could crawl underneath the nearest rock and hide.

That feeling only grew stronger as three men appeared. They walked out of the garden through the arch, and marched directly toward the Shroud. Zak, Tash, and Hoole tensed. Even from a distance, Zak could see that all three men wore the uniforms of Imperial officers. Beside him, Uncle Hoole gave a slight shiver. A weird ripple drifted across his skin, and Zak knew that his uncle was preparing to use the Shi’ido power that had saved them so many times before-the power to shapechange into any creature in the galaxy.

The Imperials reached them moments later. Two of the officers were typical sharp-eyed, hard-nosed human Imperials. But the third, who seemed to be the leader, was very unusual. He looked human, except that his skin was pale blue, and his eyes were as red as blood.

“You there,” the blue-skinned Imperial said. His speech reminded Zak of Hoole’s-short, precise sentences spoken in a hard voice. But unlike Hoole, this Imperial’s voice was cold. “I am Captain Thrawn, commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer Vengeance. I am looking for the caretaker of this garden. Where is he?”

Zak and Tash both sighed with relief, and even Uncle Hoole relaxed slightly. So this Captain Thrawn wasn’t coming for them after all.

“The caretaker’s name is Vroon,” Uncle Hoole replied. “His workshop is half a kilometer to the west, alongside the garden wall.”

Thrawn nodded. “Excellent. I must speak with him immediately.”

“Why? So you can tell him he’s out of a job?” Tash said. Zak was surprised at the forcefulness in her voice. He knew how much she disliked the Empire, but he couldn’t believe she would be so outspoken before the captain of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

But she wasn’t done. “Are you going to let Vroon know that the Empire is on its way to take over S’krrr?”

The two junior officers growled irritably. “Wolver, Tier, at ease,” Thrawn ordered. The Imperial captain merely gazed at Tash with his bright red eyes. “If the Empire ever decided to take over S’krrr, no such warning would be given,” he stated. “We would simply take it. But I assure you I am as much a visitor to the Sikadian Gardens as, I assume, you are. I have come to study S’krrr art-especially the garden.”