Was he twins?
But Dr’uun the Sullustan had had a twin. What was the chance of there being two sets of twins on a supposedly abandoned Rebel base?
Finding her pendant, Tash jumped to her feet and ran toward the base. Around her, the Rebels were still bustling to and fro, but she managed to stop one, a woman with curly golden hair, and ask if she’d seen any of the other visitors. The woman pointed toward the nearest building, then hurried on her way.
Tash ran to the building. It was dusty inside-so dusty that she noticed several sets of footprints on the ground. She followed them to a room where she found Hoole staring thoughtfully into a computer screen.
“Tash, there you are,” Hoole murmured. “Where’s Zak?”
“I don’t know,” Tash replied. “He was with you.”
“No,” Hoole answered. “He said he saw you standing in the doorway. He went to follow you.”
Tash looked at her uncle as if he were crazy. “What do you mean?”
“There you are!” Zak said, hurrying back into the room. Then he stopped. “How did you change clothes so quickly?”
Tash gave him a blank stare. “Change clothes? What are you talking about? “
Zak told her what he’d seen.
“It wasn’t me,” Tash explained. “I was down by the bridge. Maybe there’s a Rebel who looks like me.”
“This is getting weird,” Zak said. “I’m beginning to think that the Dantari were right to avoid this place.”
“Perhaps,” Hoole agreed. “But we are here now. Our only other option is to return to the Dantari camp, where we’d be forced to deal with Maga. I suggest that we simply stay here in this room until the ship arrives. Once on board, we will be safe.”
Tash still felt the urge to return to the ruins. “Do we have to stay in here?”
“We do not seem to be in any danger here,” Hoole said, “while Maga is a definite threat in the Dantari camp. Is it a problem to remain?”
Tash didn’t like the idea of being so close to the ruins and the dark-side feeling she was getting, but Hoole was right. There were no better options. “No,” she finally answered.
She plopped down on the floor of the computer room while Zak and Hoole continued to work at the one terminal. She didn’t bother to look. She could tell from their conversation that there wasn’t anything interesting.
Tash.
She felt something call to her.
Tash.
It didn’t say her name exactly. It was more like a feeling of someone, or something, thinking of her. It was like feeling someone’s eyes staring at your back.
Tash.
She stood up quietly. Zak and Hoole were still staring at the computer.
As quietly as she could, Tash slipped out of the
MOM.
It was a short walk over the bridge and into the ruins. The maze of walls and giant stones wasn’t quite as confusing as before. She found her way to the center of the ancient fortress with only a few wrong turns and reached the short round tower.
The feeling of the dark side grew stronger. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room. Once more, Tash felt as if she were being watched. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Something was here.
Tash was focused on her feelings now-on her sensitivity to the dark side. As she concentrated on the Force, she began to relax. But then
Wham! Someone struck her from behind.
Tash fell forward, sprawling on the dusty stone floor of the room. Whirling around, she looked up and saw a teenage girl with blue eyes and blond hair pulled back in a neat braid.
She looked into the face of her attacker.
It was her own face.
CHAPTER 9
Tash couldn’t believe her eyes. It was her. For a moment she couldn’t accept it. It had to be her imagination. Or maybe a hologram.
But the hologram was holding a rock in both hands. The other girl-the other Tash-raised the rock over her head and brought it crashing down.
At the last moment Tash rolled out of the way and the rock broke against the hard floor.
Her twin was trying to kill her!
Tash tried to scramble to her feet, but her twin was already attacking. The other girl shoved her backward, pinning her against the curved wall of the round room. The other Tash’s fingers curled around her throat and started to squeeze.
Tash gagged as her air was cut off. She clutched at her attacker’s hands, but the other Tash only squeezed harder. Desperately, Tash curled her hand into a fist and punched. She felt her fist make contact. The other Tash grunted and let go.
Tash slid along the wall, trying to stay out of reach of her attacker.
“Who-Who are you?” she gasped.
The other girl touched her jaw where Tash had hit her. Then she grinned. Although she was an identical copy, Tash had already seen a difference between herself and her mysterious twin. The other girl had a wicked gleam in her eye. She started toward Tash again without answering.