The other stormtrooper marched into the docking bay with one of the miners and reported. “I could only find this man. Hodge and the other miner are missing.”
“Where are they?” Jerec demanded.
“Here I am!” said Hodge. He came trotting into the docking bay already dressed in his flight suit. He smiled, but his eyes flitted nervously from person to person. He seemed to be looking for something.
“Where is your companion?” Jerec demanded. Hodge hesitated for a fraction of a second. “He went ahead to make sure it was safe.”
Tash could tell that Jerec was suspicious. He ordered one of his stormtroopers to remain behind and guard the Starflies to make sure no one left the asteroid. Then he led the way out onto the surface, with the others following. The second stormtrooper brought up the rear. Tash couldn’t help noticing that his blaster was set to kill.
They marched along, back toward the slug tunnel. The asteroid was as lifeless as before-except for one change. In the distance, near the tunnel entrance, they could see a small, white figure. As they got nearer, they saw that it was a man in a spacesuit.
“There he is,” Hodge said. “I told you he was just making sure it’s safe. “
They continued toward him. The man did not move. He stood there, waiting for them.
They drew nearer, and still the figure didn’t move. He stood perfectly still. Even from a distance, Tash could tell there was something strange about the way he was standing. As they came within a few dozen meters, she realized what it was. He was holding both hands above his head.
He had been holding them above his head the whole time.
They reached the mine. The figure still hadn’t taken a single step, and his arms were still reaching over his head.
Tash blinked. His arms weren’t reaching. They were floating.
Inside his space helmet, the miner’s face was frozen in an expression of horror.
Even though he was standing on his feet, the man in the spacesuit was obviously dead.
CHAPTER 7
By the look on the miner’s face, whatever had killed him had filled him with surprise and terror.
It reminded her of the look on the face of the Ithorian statue.
“But if he’s dead, how is he still… standing there?” she whispered.
“Gravboots,” Jerec said. He pointed at the miner’s feet. The mini-tractor beams in the victim’s gravity boots were still functioning. They had pinned his feet to the surface of the asteroid while the rest of his body tried to float away.
Taking command of the situation, Jerec approached the body. “So this is the man you sent out to make sure the trail was safe,” he sneered. “It would appear that it is safe. At least from space slugs.”
“What happened to him?” Tash asked.
Jerec reached behind the miner’s head and tugged at the hose connecting his air tank to his suit. It came away in two pieces.
“No air,” the Imperial said.
Fandomar whispered, “What a terrible accident.”
Jerec snorted. “This was no accident. Look at this air hose. It’s been cut through by something sharp. A vibroblade or a laser torch.” Jerec looked up. Even through his blindfold, he appeared to glare at them. “This man was murdered.”
“But there’s no one on the asteroid except us,” Hoole said. “And we were all in the mining facility.”
“Perhaps,” Jerec said. “Perhaps not. I obviously should have brought more guards with me. All of you were out of my sight during at least part of our wait. So unless someone else has sneaked onto the asteroid, I’m sure one of you is a killer.”
Tash shuddered as Jerec’s skull-like face turned in her direction. She could feel his dark-side power sweep over her like a scanner. Then it passed on to Zak and Hoole.
Tash wondered who could have committed such a horrible act. If it wasn’t Jerec himself (which was possible, she thought, since the Imperials had done worse things), then who? It obviously wasn’t Zak or Uncle Hoole. Hodge and the other miner weren’t likely suspects. Why would they kill their own friend, especially with so many witnesses around? That left only one person.
Fandomar.
Tash stole a glance at the Ithorian. She had certainly been acting strange since they’d discovered the warning and the tomb. Tash remembered how Fandomar had yelled, “No!” as Hodge tried to break through the sealed door. She’d seemed to know what would happen next. And once they were trapped, she had done nothing to help find a way out.
Then there was the connection between her husband and the Empire.
Whatever was happening, Tash thought, it was all connected to that strange room, or tomb, or whatever it was, at the bottom of the tunnel.