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was also far enough from any trees to avoid harming them with the skimmer's

  exhaust, which made Tash happy. Although she wasn't supposed to be in the

  forest, she was determined to follow the Ithorians' customs as much as

  possible.

  Popping the hatch, she hopped out of the skimmer with her brother right

  behind her. She breathed deeply. "Smell that? The air here's so fresh and

  clean..."

  She trailed off. The deep breaths she was taking had focused her mind

  just like the few times she'd used the Force. Tash suddenly felt something tug

  at her. Not at her clothes or her hands-at her heart. It was as though there

  were a string attached to her chest that pulled her toward the forest.

  "You okay?" Zak asked.

  "Yes," she answered. "Let's play."

  Speed globe was a team sport, but Zak and Tash did their best. They found

  an open meadow covered in short green grass, and Tash flicked a switch on the

  globe. It hummed to life, trembling in her hands. She flicked another switch

  and the globe shot out of her hands, bouncing to a stop a few meters away.

  "Go!" Zak shouted, and dove for the ball. He was fast, but the ball was

  faster. Just before he could grab it, the speed globe jumped out of the way,

  powered by its internal engine.

  "Nice try," Tash yelled, jumping past her brother. "It's mine!"

  But the speed globe dodged away from her, too.

  Laughing, Tash and Zak raced across the meadow after the globe. Catching

  it was nearly impossible-they needed teammates to help corner the globe and

  grab hold of it. They might never have touched the globe again if it hadn't

  bounced against a tall tree, coming to a stop in its thick roots.

  Tash started forward.

  "Hold on," her brother said, tromping up behind her. "What if it's

  dangerous?"

  Tash looked around. Nothing was moving except some of the vines on the

  tree, stirred by the wind. "What if what's dangerous?"

  Zak held up his finger. "The tree. Remember that alleth plant that stung

  me? What if its parents live here?"

  "They won't bother you," Tash said, grinning. "Unless you consider

  yourself a small rodent." She looked around. "It's so peaceful, I'm sure

  there's nothing dangerous here."

  The sentence had barely left her mouth when a bunch of vines wrapped

  themselves around Zak and pulled him into the air.

  CHAPTER 2

  It happened so fast, Tash thought she was seeing things.

  One moment, Zak was standing next to her.

  The next, he was up in the branches of a nearby tree. For the first few

  seconds, Tash's brain couldn't figure out how it had happened-she thought her

  brother had somehow jumped up into the tree, and all she could do was wonder

  why he was thrashing around up there.

  Then Zak managed a strangled cry of "Help!" and she knew he was in

  trouble.

  The vines of the tree were moving. Sharp, jagged leaves protruded from

  the vines like claws. Several of the vines had already,wrapped themselves

  around Zak's waist, and more were now encircling his neck and throat. When he

  tried to pry the vines away, tree branches whipped against his arms. "Hel-!"

  Zak started to yell again before a vine covered his mouth.

  "Zak!" Tash shouted. She ran toward the tree.

  Which was just what the tree wanted. The moment she stepped within range,

  a vine stabbed out to loop around her ankle. But the Force was with her. She

  moved as the vine moved and jumped back just in time.

  The tree pulled Zak in even farther, and he nearly disappeared beneath

  the vines. But Tash could still see his feet kicking, and the thrashing vines

  told her that her brother was putting up a good fight.

  Again and again Tash tried to rush forward, but each time the tree was

  waiting for her. Tash picked up a rock and threw it at the tree. The stone

  bounced off the tree's hard trunk-nothing happened. But she had no other

  weapon to use. In frustration, she picked up a larger rock.

  "That won't help," said a deep, calm voice. Tash nearly dropped the rock

  on her foot.

  Standing behind her, gazing with kind, friendly eyes, was Fandomar the

  Ithorian.

  "Help!" Tash insisted. "It'll kill him"

  Without answering, Fandomar stepped past Tash and walked right into the

  shade of the thrashing tree. Over the hissing sound of scraping leaves, Tash

  heard Fandomar talk to the tree in a soft, throaty whisper. Tash couldn't

  understand the words, but the voice was so soothing that she felt instantly

  calm.

  Fandomar's voice had the same effect on the tree. Its moving limbs became

  still. A thick bunch of vines suddenly unrolled toward the ground, revealing

  Zak, who had been wrapped up as tightly as a mummy from Necropolis. His face

  was a deep shade of red and his eyes looked as if they'd almost been squeezed

  out of his head.

  Still frightened of the tree, Tash kept an eye on its branches as she ran

  to her brother's side. She caught him just as his knees gave out.

  "Are you hurt?" she asked.

  Zak shook his head. "I'm okay." Then, with a gasp, he added, "Breathing-

  it's a very good thing."

  "He should recover shortly," Fandomar said.

  Tash moved quickly out of the shade of the predatory tree. "Your planet

  looks so peaceful," she said to the Ithorian. "I can't believe you have such

  dangerous trees. You should cut them down."

  Fandomar stiffened, and Tash realized she had offended the Ithorian, who

  said, "We obey the Law of Life. We do not harm living things."

  "But that tree almost killed Zak," Tash said, a little more gently.

  Patiently, Fandomar opened her delicate fingers in a gesture like a human

  shrug. "The vesuvague is not dangerous. At least not to Ithorians."

  "Vesu-?" Tash tried to repeat.

  "Veh-soo-vog," Fandomar repeated slowly, pronouncing the word for her.

  Zak coughed. When he felt that he could talk normally, he said, "Thanks,

  Fandomar. If you hadn't come by, I would have been plant food."

  "What did you say to the tree?" Tash asked Fandomar.

  The Ithorian replied, "It's not what I said, but how I said it.

  Ithorians-especially the High Priests-are very connected to the Mother Forest.

  They know how to speak to the trees."

  "Then you're a High Priest?" Tash asked.

  Fandomar waved her fingers again. It is a shrug, Tash thought. It's what

  she does when she doesn't want to say anything.

  Fandomar walked them back to their skimmer. To Tash's surprise, she had

  landed her own little ship under the same overhang. Had Fandomar seen them

  land? Or was she just trying to hide her ship, too?

  "I know we're not supposed to be down here," Tash quickly told Fandomar.

  "I'm sorry. We-I mean, I-just wanted to see the forest. We didn't realize-"

  "I understand," Fandomar interrupted. "No harm has been done."

  Tash thanked the stars that ithorians were so understanding. She'd met

  plenty of species who would have screamed at them for disobeying local

  customs. She decided to push her luck.

  "Urn, there's one more thing. Do you think-I mean, would you mind not

  telling our uncle about this? As long as no harm was done."

  The Ithorian nodded. "I agree. As long as you promise not to tell anyone

  that you saw me down here."

  So Fandomar had wanted to hide her ship.

  "You aren't a High Priest, are you?" Tash guessed. "You're not supposed

  to be down here, either."

  Fandomar nodded. "That is correct. I think it's in both our interests to

  keep this secret to ourselves."

  "Secrets," Zak groaned. On a recent visit to the planet S'krrr, he'd kept

  a secret that nearly cost them all their lives. "I swore I'd never keep a

  secret like this again."

  "To seal our agreement," Fandomar said, "let me show you something few

  offworlders have ever seen."

  They were standing at the edge of an enormous grove of trees with shining

  black bark. They weren't vesuvague trees. This was like a forest within the

  forest-a wood so thick and deep that Tash could hardly see beyond the first

  few branches.

  "This is the oldest grove of Bafforr trees on Ithor," Fandomar explained.

  "Bafforr trees are sentient."

  "Sentient?" Zak repeated.

  "That means they can think. They're intelligent," Tash explained.

  Fandomar nodded. "The more trees there are, the more intelligent the

  forest becomes. It's as though one mind connects them all so that they can all

  work together."

  "Work together," Tash repeated. "Like a team. That's what I want." More

  loudly, she asked, "Can we talk to them?"

  Fandomar shook her head. "High Priests can. They are very sensitive to

  the Bafforrs' thoughts. But without that sensitivity, you cannot hear them."

 
Tash said, "It sounds like you're talking about the Force."

  Fandomar's two mouths turned down. "No. The High Priests aren't Jedi

  Knights. Their sensitivity is different."

  Tash wondered if she could reach the trees anyway. She'd only learned a

  little bit about the Force, but according to what she had read, the Force

  connected all living things. If that was true, why couldn't it connect her to

  the Bafforr trees?

  Focusing her thoughts, she reached out with the Force. She took a deep

  breath to clear her head and then felt it-like an invisible hand stretching

  toward the forest. For just a brief instant, she felt something reach back in

  response. An excited tingle ran through her arms. The Bafforr trees were aware

  of her!

  For that moment, she felt a powerful connection with the trees. She

  couldn't have described it if she tried. It was like... It was like playing

  speed globe with a really good team, with everyone working together. Only it

  was a thousand times more satisfying than just playing a game.

  Excited, Tash pushed harder. She wanted to be a Jedi Knight. She needed

  to be one, but she had no way of testing herself. If she could communicate

  with the Bafforr trees, that might mean the Force was still with her, that her

  power was growing.

  But she tried too hard. The more she thought about trying to use the

  Force, the harder it became to use it, until finally, it just slipped away.

  "What's wrong, Tash?" Zak asked.

  She sighed. Zak wouldn't understand. "Nothing. Come on, let's go."

  She turned away from the forest, feeling lonelier than ever.

  Fandomar followed them back up to the Tafanda Bay and walked them to

  their quarters. Uncle Hoole had returned from his errands.

  He studied his niece and nephew for a moment, as though he were bracing

  himself for bad news. When none came, his gray face twisted into a look of

  amusement. "This is a pleasure," he said. "I have left you alone for several

  hours, and nothing eventful has happened. No Imperial invasions. No dangerous

  criminals."

  "We haven't uncovered one evil plot," Tash agreed, casually tossing her

  speed globe from hand to hand. "Did you get everything we need'?"

  Hoole frowned. "Unfortunately not. The Ithorians do not do much mining. I

  need a supply of the mineral ethromite."

  "What's ethromite?" Tash asked.

  Zak answered, "It's one of the minerals used to create the fusion

  reactions that power starship engines."

  "And it seems to be in scarce supply here," Hoole added.

  Fandomar raised one long finger to get their attention. "I believe I can

  help."

  Not only did Fandomar know where they could acquire more ethromite, but

  she also offered to take Hoole and the two Arrandas there. Not far from the

  planet Ithor was a large asteroid field where a group of humans had set up a

  mining colony. Fandomar's job aboard the Tafanda Bay was to pilot a shuttle

  that ferried supplies to and from the mining colony. Although she was not

  scheduled to return to the colony for several days, she would be happy to take

  Hoole and the Arrandas out on a special mission.

  A short time later, they climbed aboard an old but well-kept cargo ship

  and streaked out of the planet's atmosphere. Through the viewport Tash watched

  the stars rush toward the ship.

  A short journey took them into a wide band of rocks whirling through

  space-asteroids. Some of the asteroids were as small as Tash's head; others

  seemed as big as moons. Some drifted by slowly while others flashed by as fast

  as comets. Tash had still been holding the speed globe, but now she dropped it

  and gripped the edge of her seat until her knuckles turned white. One wrong

  turn in an asteroid field would convert them into an exploding fireball.

  "This is dangerous work," Hoole stated.

  Fandomar nodded, concentrating on the deadly rocks spinning past the

  ship. Tash closed her eyes.

  "It seems like you get stuck with all the jobs no one else wants," Zak

  noted. "Greeting people at the space dock, piloting shuttles. Don't you want

  to be doing something more important?"

  Hoole winced at Zak's impoliteness, but Fandomar only nodded. "I am...

  doing penance."

  "Penance?" Tash asked, opening one eye. "You mean you're being punished?"

  "In a sense," the Ithorian explained. "Only... I have chosen these tasks.

  I have volunteered to make this run."

  "Why'?" Hoole asked. "I thought Ithorians preferred not to travel too far

  from the Mother Forest and their herd ships."

  "True," Fandomar replied. "But my husband was exiled from Ithor several

  years ago. Although he would not let me go with him, I swore to myself that I

  would not sit comfortably aboard the Tafanda Bay until his return."

  "What did he do?" Zak asked.

  Fandomar opened her twin mouths to reply. But instead, she suddenly

  jerked the controls hard to one side, throwing the ship into a confused spin.

  For a moment Tash thought the Ithorian had gone crazy.

  Until she saw the sharp teeth of the giant worm that was lunging to

  swallow their ship!

  CHAPTER 3

  "Space slug!" Hoole warned.

  Tash's eyes went wide with fear. She had never seen a space slug before.

  The slug had sprung from a cave in a nearby asteroid. The hole in the flying

  rock was large enough to let a starship through, and the slug filled every

  meter. Tash caught a glimpse of the thick, gray body slithering out of its

  cave, and its huge eyeless head. But then the slug's body, the asteroids, even

  the stars around them, vanished as the space slug opened its huge jaws to

  swallow them.

  Fandomar jerked on the controls again and the cargo ship lurched in the

  other direction. Tash's crashwebbing snapped and she went flying, slamming her

  shoulder against the side of the ship.

  Fandomar's move saved their lives. Instead of chomping on them, the space

  slug only tapped their ship with the side of its massive head. Their shields

  held, but the ship spun wildly out of control.

  "We've got to get out of here," Hoole grunted. "Out of its range."

  "No good," Fandomar replied. "The engines aren't responding."

  Tash pointed to the asteroids rocketing through space around them. "We're

  drifting! One of those asteroids will hit us!"

  "Not if the space slug gets us first!" Zak yelled.

  They were still in the huge slug's range. Its head and part of its body

  twisted wildly from the cave, trying to reach them. The slug turned its head

  toward them and opened its mouth again to strike.