[Galaxy Of Fear] - 09(18)

Hodge shrugged. “Hard to tell. Could have been a malfunction or sabotage. “

Tash couldn’t help asking, “Fandomar… where were you during the explosion?”

“I-I was-” the Ithorian stammered, “I was… a-alone.”

Tash swallowed. That wasn’t much of an alibi.

Hodge, however, didn’t seem concerned about who might have set off the explosion. “All I care about now is getting off this rock and down to Ithor. Fandomar’s going to take us.”

The six survivors hurried aboard Fandomar’s cargo ship as the Ithorian sealed the hatch. “Don’t remove your spacesuits,” she warned. “I managed to repair the damage done by the space slug, but this explosion has caused a loss of environmental controls. No air. Your suits must stay on until we reach Ithor.”

“Great,” Zak groaned, dropping down into a flight chair. “I’ll never get out of this suit.”

“Tash, Zak, would you come with me, please?” Hoole asked.

The two Arrandas followed their uncle out of the cockpit. Behind the pilot’s room lay one small cargo hold, then another larger one beyond that. Hoole passed through each cargo hold, shutting the doors tightly behind him. When they reached the back of the ship, Hoole spoke into his comlink. “Fandomar? Fandomar, do you copy?”

When there was no answer, he nodded. “Good. The cargo doors are blocking the signal, so she can’t hear us.” He looked at his niece and nephew. “Tash, Zak, I am afraid we must consider an unpleasant possibility.” He paused. “Fandomar may be a murderer.”

“No!” Tash replied. “She couldn’t be. She’s too gentle.”

Hoole nodded. “I know how she seems. But she is the only being without an alibi for the time the miner was murdered.”

Tash shook her head. “Hodge and the other miner were out of sight, too.”

Zak shrugged. “Yeah, but why would they kill their own partner? Especially with Imperials in the neighborhood?”

Hoole agreed with Zak. “And Fandomar was the only person not present when the explosion occurred. She must have slipped away as soon as we returned to the mining facility.”

“But why would she kill someone? And blow up the miners’ station?” Tash asked.

Her uncle replied, “I do not know. All of this is somehow connected to the tomb on the asteroid. Something was kept at the bottom of that tunnel. I am not sure what it was, but I have at least a few clues.”

Tash and Zak listened closely as their uncle lowered his voice even more. “The writing on the inner chamber was somewhat clearer than on the sign at the base of the statue. I read the word Spore.”

“Spore?” Zak asked. “What’s that? A person?”

“I’m not sure,” the Shi’ido admitted. “But there were dates written on the inner room as well. They were nearly destroyed, but I believe they match the dates Tash mentioned. The dates when all Ithorian records were missing.”

Zak wrinkled his brow. “I’m getting a headache. So we’ve got a mysterious time in history the Ithorians didn’t want to record, and something called Spore buried on an asteroid. Then we have an Imperial who wants this Spore, a miner who gets murdered for it, and an explosion that drives everyone off the asteroid.”

“Do not forget,” Hoole added, “that Fandomar volunteered to fly the shuttle from the planet to the asteroid. That meant that she could keep her eye on the miners…”

“To see if they discovered the tomb!” Zak finished. “Of course! She knows what this Spore is and wants it for herself.”

Tash clicked her tongue in frustration. “She’s an Ithorian. What about the Law of Life?”

“We must remember that Fandomar’s husband has already disobeyed Ithorian law,” Hoole replied. “He gave secrets to the Empire. Fandomar may be equally unpredictable.”

Tash didn’t agree.

“I just don’t believe it,” she said stubbornly.

“Help!” a voice suddenly shouted loudly enough to be picked up by their comlinks.

Tash, Zak, and Hoole rushed toward the front of the ship in time to see that one of the ship’s hatches had been opened. Stars twinkled in the darkness beyond.

Fandomar stood in the doorway, shoving one of the miners out into the void.





CHAPTER 11


The miner’s fingers clung desperately to the edges of the hatch. He tried to pull himself back into the ship, but Fandomar grabbed hold of his hands and pried them loose. Not until that moment did Tash realize that the long, delicate Ithorian fingers were also incredibly strong.

“Help! Help!” the miner cried, but it was too late. He was kicked free of the ship’s hull. Even on sublight drive, the cargo ship was traveling incredibly fast. He was floating through space ten kilometers behind the ship before anyone could move.