Eaten Alive Page 3

  The Enzeen bowed low. "I would be honored to assist."

  Chood led them down a flight of wide stairs and out of the spaceport.

  Just outside the exit stood a large sign in Basic, the common language most

  species in the galaxy used. It read: WELCOME TO D'VOURAN. OUR GOAL IS TO

  SERVE.

  "Now that's a friendly sign," Zak said.

  "I guess," Tash responded glumly.

  Her brother leaned closer and whispered. "What's the matter with you?

  This Chood is doing his best to make us welcome here, and you look like

  someone's planning your funeral."

  "I can't help it," she whispered back. "I just have a bad feeling about

  this place."

  "You always have bad feelings," he muttered.

  Chood led them through a little town next to the spaceport. It seemed

  primitive to Zak and Tash. They saw no vehicles, and most of the houses were

  small, one-story structures made of mud. They passed several people. Most of

  them were human, but there were some aliens among them. Every now and then

  they would see another Enzeen, and Tash noticed that they all looked very much

  like Chood, with chubby blue bodies, spikes on their heads, and wide, friendly

  smiles. Each Enzeen they saw stopped to say hello and welcome them to

  D'vouran, as though they were old friends.

  "Is this the' whole town?" Zak snorted. "There's not even a good

  skimboard run!"

  "This is it," Chood said. "There are a few homes closer to the forest,

  but most of the houses are here, in town. It's more like a village really."

  Chood cheerfully explained the recent history of D'vouran. Ever since it

  was "discovered" by outsiders, the Enzeen had encouraged people to come to the

  planet. "There aren't many of us Enzeen," he explained. "And we don't like to

  travel. Inviting others to D'vouran is our way of learning about the galaxy."

  "How was D'vouran discovered?" Zak asked.

  "A cargo ship," Chood answered. "It wasn't expecting D'vouran to be here

  and was surprised by the planet's gravity. It crashed. When a rescue flight

  from offworld came to investigate, they discovered our planet, and our

  hospitality. The word spread from there."

  Tash noticed that Uncle Hoole wasn't asking questions. So she decided to

  ask one of her own. "Were there any survivors of the original crash?"

  Chood paused. "Only one. The rest died in the crash."

  "Have many settlers come here since then?" Zak asked. "I mean, this place

  sounds pretty boring."

  "Zak!" Tash scolded.

  But Chood didn't seem offended. At least his smile never wavered. "There

  are a few hundred here. It's not a bad start for a planet that still hasn't

  been put on the official star maps. But there will be more. D'vouran has

  perfect weather and plenty of natural resources. We expect to have thousands

  before too long."

  "Don't you worry about D'vouran becoming overcrowded?" Tash added.

  "Oh, no," the Enzeen replied cheerily. "We enjoy it. We could never get

  our fill of visitors."

  He led them down a short dead-end street. At the end of the street was a

  squat building with a wide-open door. Loud noise-music mixed with laughter and

  shouting-came from inside. A sign over the door revealed the cantina's name:

  THE DON'T GO INN. Tash and Zak both laughed when they saw the sign.

  So far, Chood told them, most of the settlers who had come to D'vouran

  were explorers and treasure-seekers, hoping to strike it rich on an uncharted

  planet. "But," he added, "we are encouraging families like you to join our

  happy planet. D'vouran is paradise."

  At that moment, someone came flying through the Don't Go Inn's front

  door, landing face-first in the dusty street.

  "Do you think he feels that way?" Zak joked.

  "I'm afraid," Chood admitted, "we also have our share of ruffians."

  "And there they are," Deevee noted.

  A crowd of thugs poured out of the Don't Go Inn. They stood on the

  cantina's porch, jeering down at the man they had just thrown into the street.

  "And stay outta here, Bebo!" one man called.

  "Stop coming around here with your crazy stories!" another yelled. "We're

  tired of hearing about invisible monsters!"

  "Yeah," snarled another, "we don't need you causin' us problems!" They

  hurled a few more insults and warnings at their victim before fading back into

  the shadows of the cantina.

  Tash bent down next to the man, who had just crawled to his knees. "Are

  you all right?"

  "They won't listen!" the man croaked. "They just won't listen."

  His clothes were filthy rags. His hair was gray under a layer of dirt,

  and his beard was ragged and thin. He looked like a wild man who had just come

  out of the wilderness.

  "I'll listen," Tash offered.

  The man glanced at her suspiciously. He clutched his worn shirt collar.

  "I won't have you mock me, too! I'm safe enough! I don't have to try to help

  them or anyone!"

  Tash looked at Chood. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

  "Pay him no attention," Chood said apologetically. "His name is Bebo. He

  is harmless, but not completely rational."

  The wild man, Bebo, stared at Tash. "I should bring Lonni. They may

  believe her. Yes, that's it. But I don't think she'll come. She's too afraid.

  But I've got to try. Yes. That's what I'll do. Lonni."

  The man got to his feet and walked off, still muttering to himself.

  "I'd say he's a few starships short of a fleet," Zak said.

  Chood pointed at the door. "This is the cantina I told you about," Chood

  explained. "I'm afraid the Don't Go Inn is not the nicest place on D'vouran,

  but you did want to find a starpilot who could help with your ship. Also,

  inside you will find all the free food you can eat. Compliments of the Enzeen.

  "

  Zak's eyes lit up. "Free food! I like this place already."

  "It will do," Hoole said. "Thank you for your help."

  "Please consider yourselves our honored guests on D'vouran. If there is

  anything we can do, please let me know."

  "There is one more thing," the Shi'ido replied. "I will be conducting

  some... business... starting tomorrow. Zak and Tash will need a place to stay,

  under the supervision of their caretaker, Deevee." Deevee stifled an

  electronic screech.

  Chood held up one hand. "Please. Say no more. It would be an honor if

  they would stay with me. My house is not far from here."

  "What!" Tash cried. "Uncle Hoole, you never said you were going to leave

  us!"

  Hoole said calmly, "I have anthropological research to do, Tash. I will

  have no time to watch over you."

  "But... but you're going to leave us!" she said.

  "It won't take long," her uncle promised. "You can obviously rely on

  Chood, here, and you'll have Deevee. What could be the problem?"

  Tash's mouth tightened into a thin straight line. How could she explain

  it? How could Hoole not understand? Her parents had left them in a stranger's

  care, and then they died. Now Hoole was doing the same thing. And that feeling

  of being watched still bothered Tash. But she knew she wouldn't be able to

  make Hoole understand, so instead she said nothing.

 
Hoole turned back to Chood. "Then it's settled. Again, I thank you."

  Chood bowed. "Our goal is to serve." He told them where he lived, and

  turned away.

  Tash and Zak had been in cantinas before, but never any place like this.

  Instead of a brightly lit room where people could see what they were eating

  and drinking, the Don't Go Inn was dark and smoky. Tash couldn't tell how many

  people were inside because everyone kept to the shadows. Half of them

  whispered to each other, while the other half shouted loudly around sabacc

  tables or at the bar.

  Once their eyes adjusted to the gloom, Zak and Tash could make out some

  of the figures in the bar. Most of them were human, but there were a few other

  species mixed in. They recognized a horn-headed Devaronian, and a wolf-headed

  Shistavanen, and a gigantic Wookiee towering over a few humans in a corner.

  Hands, or tentacles, or flippers were wrapped around mugs filled with alien

  drinks. Every drinker had the hard look of someone who'd been in a lot of

  fights, and was looking for another one.

  The newcomers were about to sit at a small table when a voice boomed,

  "Hoole!" At the same time, Tash felt a huge hand grab her by the shirt and

  slam her against a wall.

  Someone was pointing a blaster right between her eyes.

  CHAPTER 5

  The hand and arm that held the blaster were almost as big as Tash, and

  the body they were attached to was even bigger. Looking up, Tash recognized

  the square, ugly face of a Gank.

  A Gank killer, as they were usually called. She could see why. Its square

  yellow face was twisted into a permanent snarl, topped by cruel beady eyes.

  Its massive shoulders looked like small hills, and its arms were as thick as

  tree trunks. Ganks usually worked as hired guns and bodyguards for rich crime

  lords. Why had this one decided to pick on her?

  Tash got her answer in the next moment. The cantina had fallen silent and

  still as everyone watched and waited to see what was going to happen next. Out

  of the corner of her eye, Tash saw that Zak, too, had been grabbed, and there

  was a blaster pointed at his head as well. Someone was even pointing a blaster

  at Deevee. Only Uncle Hoole had not been touched. He stood face-to-face with

  the most disgusting creature Tash had ever seen. It was a giant slug, with two

  pudgy arms sticking out of its fat, fleshy body. Slobber trickled from the

  edges of its wide mouth when it talked. It was this creature that had yelled

  Hoole's name. A moment later, Tash learned who the creature was.

  Smada the Hutt.

  "Hoole!" Smada the Hutt bellowed again. "What a pleasant surprise this

  is."

  "Tell your thugs to let my niece and nephew go, Smada," Hoole said in a

  low voice.

  "No," the slimy Hutt replied. "Not until we've had a chance to talk. And

  by the way, the minute you use any of your shape-changing powers, my

  bodyguards will blast your small friends to bantha fodder."

  "Leave us alone!" Zak demanded.

  "What do you want?" Tash called out.

  Smada the Hutt's flesh jiggled as he chuckled and looked at Tash.

  "Simple. I want your uncle to work for me. I have need of an assassin to

  eliminate some of my enemies, and Hoole's shape-changing powers will make him

  the perfect weapon."

  "You're crazy!" Tash replied. "Uncle Hoole's a scientist, not a killer!"

  Smada the Hutt laughed. "Ho, ho! Is that so? Well, I'd say there's a lot

  about your uncle that you don't know."

  Tash was taken aback. What did he mean by that?

  "You are wasting your time, Smada," Hoole said. "What are you doing on

  this backwater planet anyway?"

  Smada wiped a line of drool from his fat face. "Gang wars on my home

  planet have made it necessary for me to take a short vacation."

  "You mean hide, I'll bet," Zak interrupted.

  Smada continued. "In fact, those gang wars are the reason I need a new

  assassin. Until I found one, this new planet seemed like the perfect place to

  lie low for a while." Smada leaned forward until his putrid face was only a

  few inches from Hoole's. "And I was right. Because a stroke of luck brought

  you here, too. And now you will work for me."

  Hoole shook his head. "I told you no the last time we met, Smada."

  The Hutt growled. "And I told you that no one defies Smada the Hutt. I

  also told you that if we ever met again, I wouldn't ask so nicely. So if you

  don't agree to work for me right now, I'll have your little brats vaporized."

  Suddenly a tall man stepped out of the shadows, pointing a well-worn

  blaster at Smada. "I don't think so," he said.

  "This is none of your concern, stranger," Smada growled.

  The tall man answered with a cocky grin. "I'm making it my business."

  "And mine," said a young woman, who appeared beside the man.

  "And mine," said another man with blond hair. He ignited a strange,

  glowing weapon that looked like a sword made of. pure energy. Tash gasped. A

  Jedi lightsaber!

  "And his," said the tall man, pointing to the huge Wookiee Tash had seen

  before. The furry Wookiee let out a threatening roar.

  If looks had been lasers, Smada would have incinerated them all. But he

  obviously didn't want to fight. "D'vouran is a small planet, Hoole. We'll meet

  again."

  Smada signaled to his thugs, who freed Zak and Tash. Tash saw that Smada

  had been sitting on a hover-sled, a long platform that floated in the air.

  With his bodyguards around him, Smada the Hutt floated out of the cantina.

  Since there was nothing left to watch, the rest of the cantina patrons went

  back to their business, and the noise resumed.

  The tall man and the woman holstered their blasters, while the blond man

  deactivated his lightsaber. Behind them hovered two droids, a stocky R2 unit

  and a golden protocol droid.

  "Oh, what a relief! I was about to short circuit!" the droid said.

  "Shouldn't we notify the authorities?"

  "Pipe down, Threepio," the tall man said. "There aren't any authorities

  on D'vouran. Just the Enzeen, and they're too friendly to do much about Smada.

  " He looked at Hoole. "Everyone okay?"

  "Yes," Hoole said. "Luckily Smada was more interested in making threats

  than hurting anyone. Thank you for your help."

  "What was that all about?" Tash asked her uncle. "He seemed to know you,"

  the young man with the lightsaber observed.

  Hoole hesitated. Finally he said cautiously, "Yes. He... offered me a job

  several years ago. When I refused to accept, he swore that he would have his

  revenge. It was a coincidence that brought us together on this planet."

  "An unhappy one, I'd say," the woman added. "That Smada's pretty foul-

  tempered, even for a Hutt."

  "I've known worse," the tall man said.

  The Shi'ido introduced himself. "My name is Hoole."

  "I'm Han Solo. Call me Han," said the tall man. He had the casual

  confidence of a starpilot. "This is my partner, Chewbacca," he added,

  indicating the Wookiee. Then he pointed at the woman. "And this is-"

  "Princess Leia," Tash finished.

  The woman blinked. All the newcomers looked around to make sure no one

  had overhe
ard. Han Solo's hand crept toward the blaster slung low on his hip.

  The young man with the lightsaber saw the movement and said, "It's all

  right, Han."

  But Han growled, "I'm not taking any chances."

  The woman,. Leia, gently put her hand over Han's. "Let me handle this."

  To Tash, she said, "What makes you think that's my name?"

  Zak shook his head. "It's gotta be. Tash is always right about stuff like

  that. It's weird."

  Tash said, "It's not so weird! Zak and I live on Alderaan, where you're

  from. I mean, we did... before it... well, you know."

  She could see from the woman's face that Leia knew very well what had

  happened to Alderaan.

  Beside her, Zak almost shouted, "Hey, are you guys Rebels?"

  "Zak!" Tash hissed.

  Han's face turned to a scowl. "We're minding our own business, kid, which

  is what you should be doing."

  "We're... researchers," Leia interrupted gently. "We're looking this