[Galaxy Of Fear] - 02(2)

Zak was fascinated by his uncle’s appearance. At first glance, Hoole looked like a tall, thin human being-until you noticed that his skin was a light gray color, and his fingers were incredibly long. Hoole, who was only their uncle by marriage, was a member of the Shi’ido species. Although Zak knew that most Shi’ido were quiet and reserved, he could never quite get used to his uncle’s grim, brooding personality.

There was another thing about Hoole that Zak couldn’t get used to. His uncle was a shape-changer. Like all Shi’ido, Hoole could transform into almost any living creature. Zak had seen it happen more than once. The memory made him shudder.

“Good. You’re up,” Hoole said. “We will be landing momentarily.”

“Landing?” Tash asked.

Hoole nodded. “We need to purchase a new ship. This is the closest inhabited planet.”

“What’s it called?” Tash asked.

“Necropolis.”

“Necropolis?” Zak said. “What a strange name. What does it mean?”

“It means,” Hoole said as they felt the Millennium Falcon descend into gravity, “City of the Dead.”

The Millennium Falcon plunged through a swirling mist and landed on a dark platform. With a groan, the ship’s hatchway opened, casting pale light onto the ground. The landing pad was built of ancient stone blocks. In the mist-shrouded distance, Tash and Zak could see the shadowy outlines of tall stone buildings crowded together like rows of headstones.

Beside Zak and Tash stood Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the droid companions C-3P0 and R2-D2, along with the other friends they had made: Princess Leia, who was from Zak and Tash’s home planet, Alderaan, and a young man named Luke Skywalker.

“Boy, you sure can pick them,” Han said. “Look at this place.”

It was gloomy and depressing. Mist hung heavily in the air, and the darkness gave way reluctantly to light from the Falcon’s landing gear.

“Necropolis is a very ancient civilization,” Hoole explained. “It has traditions that are thousands of years old.”

“Yeah,” Zak said, “and it looks like the buildings are even older.”

“Look, I hate to say it, but this is as far as we can take you,” Han Solo said, patting Zak on the shoulder.

Princess Leia frowned. “Han’s right. We’ve delayed too long already.”

“We understand,” Tash said. She and Zak suspected that the crew of the Millennium Falcon were part of the Rebel Alliance. In fact, Zak had even asked them if they were. None of them admitted it, but the way they had acted and the fact that Leia was from Alderaan made Tash and Zak pretty certain that their new friends were Rebels.

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” Luke Skywalker asked. “We don’t want to just abandon you here.”

Uncle Hoole answered. “We will be fine. We’ll be able to buy a ship here and continue on our way.” Goodbyes were said and thanks were given all around. The droid Artoo-Detoo whistled sadly.

“You’re quite right, Artoo,” replied his golden counterpart, Threepio. “It is a sentimental moment.”

“Touching,” Deevee said dryly. “My circuits are overloading with emotion. “

Luke said a special goodbye to Tash. She was fascinated by the ancient warriors known as Jedi Knights, and she had taken a liking to Luke since the moment she’d seen his Jedi lightsaber.

He shook her hand respectfully. “Good luck, Tash. May the Force be with you.” Then he and his friends returned to their ship.

Zak, Tash, Deevee, and Uncle Hoole watched as the Falcon’s hatch closed. Then, with a roar of its powerful engines, the Falcon rose into the atmosphere and vanished.

“They were a strange bunch,” Zak said. “Nice, but strange. I wonder if we’ll ever see them again?”

Tash nodded. “We will.”

“How do you know?” her brother asked. But Tash only shrugged. “I just know it.”

Zak shook his head. “You’re strange, too.”

He and Tash followed Uncle Hoole toward one of the dark alleys that led away from the landing pad. The cobblestones beneath their feet were old and slick with moisture. The alley was narrow and lined with what looked like tall, narrow boxes. But as they entered the alley, Zak saw that they weren’t boxes. They were very old coffins, open and standing up on their ends.

And they were full.

Inside each coffin Zak saw a human shape draped in a gray burial shroud.

“Ugh!” Zak wrinkled his nose. “Are these.. mummies?”

“Nonsense,” Hoole replied. “Necropolis has an ancient and respected civilization. You must learn to appreciate alien cultures.”