Eaten Alive Page 4

  planet over for some friends of ours. We were just about to leave, but we

  couldn't sit back and let that Hutt threaten you."

  Tash heard Uncle Hoole reply, "I am a researcher, too." But she

  remembered the Hutt's words: There's a lot about your uncle that you don't

  know.

  There's a lot about everyone I don't know, Tash thought. Leia had been a

  princess on Alderaan. Whatever she was doing with these people was a lot more

  important than "research."

  "Maybe," Tash said hesitantly, "we could sit down for a while. You could

  tell us about your research-"

  "Of course we will," Leia interrupted with a quick glance at Han. "We'll

  stay at least until we're sure that Hutt doesn't come back around."

  The two parties sat down together. Han Solo propped his feet up on an

  empty chair. "Order anything you want. The food's free you know. These Enzeen

  will feed you till you're ready to burst."

  Uncle Hoole nodded. "We've only met one, but he seems extremely friendly.

  "

  To Zak's delight, they did order food from a passing waiter. Moments

  later the Enzeen reappeared with plates piled high with all sorts of exotic

  meats, pastries, and fruits. Zak wrinkled his nose at a dish full of eight-

  legged insects covered in a pink sauce. But when he dipped a finger into the

  sauce and tasted it, his eyes lit up and he began shoveling it in. The only

  one at the table who kept up with him was the Wookiee.

  Tash had no appetite. Her stomach was in a knot-the feeling of fear had

  not gone away. She was trying to ignore it. It was probably just her

  imagination anyway, and she refused to make a fool of herself the way she'd

  done when the Enzeen put the flowers around her neck.

  As they began to eat, everyone relaxed. Even Han Solo seemed to be

  interested as Uncle Hoole and Zak described their journey. But Tash drifted

  from one conversation to another, unable to concentrate. Deevee had been

  cornered by C-3P0 and his companion, R2-D2.

  "... and then I found myself alone on the planet Tatooine, wandering

  through that terrible desert!" Threepio was saying. "It was perfectly

  dreadful."

  "Fascinating, I'm sure," Deevee replied. He looked as bored as a droid

  could look.

  "Wait until you hear what happened next!" Threepio trilled.

  "I don't suppose you were deactivated or anything convenient like that?"

  Deevee asked.

  "Well, no."

  "Too bad," the unhappy droid muttered. "Well, you might as well go on,

  then,..."

  Tash could barely pay attention. Maybe it was the exotic food, or maybe

  the feeling of being watched was growing stronger, but she thought she might

  be sick. The sensation was so strong that she had actually forgotten about the

  blond man with the Jedi lightsaber, until he leaned across the table to speak

  to her. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

  "Um, yeah. Fine," she said.

  The young man smiled. "Your name's Tash, right? I'm Luke. Luke Skywalker.

  "

  Something about him made her feel strange. Not "strange" like the crushes

  she'd had on boys back on Alderaan-she had outgrown crushes anyway. This was a

  sense of... relief. Tash felt as if she'd been waiting to meet someone like

  Luke Skywalker all her life.

  His blue eyes stared at her like a scanner reaching into her deepest

  thoughts. "Something's troubling you."

  "I guess," Tash began. She never liked telling people about the feelings

  she sometimes got. But she found herself confiding in him easily. "I guess I

  feel a little uneasy here. I don't know what exactly, but something's

  bothering me. It's probably just my imagination." She didn't expect him to

  understand, since no one ever understood.

  To her surprise, Luke said, "Not too long ago, a good friend taught me a

  very important lesson: trust your feelings."

  From the next chair, Chewbacca barked a question at Hoole, and Han

  translated. "So you say you dropped out of hyperspace fifteen minutes too

  early?"

  "Uncle Hoole nodded. "It caused a great deal of damage to our ship."

  "The same thing happened to us. My ship, the Millennium Falcon, got

  shaken up pretty good." The starpilot shook his head. "I don't know, maybe

  it's just an error in the star charts."

  "Perhaps," Uncle Hoole agreed. "But in our case, I think it was some

  problems we had on board." He glared at Tash.

  Zak laughed. "He means Tash. She was playing Jedi Knight in the cockpit."

  Tash felt her face grow red. Luke Skywalker raised an eyebrow and gave

  her a knowing smile. "So you want to be a Jedi, do you?"

  "I've read about them," she confessed. "My parents were on Alderaan when

  it... you know. I always thought that if there were more Jedi, they wouldn't

  have let it happen."

  "They do their best, Tash," Luke said. "That's all any of us can do."

  "Are-are you a Jedi?" she asked almost in a whisper, pointing at his

  lightsaber.

  Luke shook his head. "I wish I could say yes. But no, I'm not. This

  lightsaber belonged to my father."

  Tash nodded sadly. "They say all the Jedi are gone now. So I don't know

  how I'd ever find one to teach me."

  Luke put his hand on her shoulder. He whispered, "Don't give up hope yet.

  You might be surprised. A Jedi might come looking for you someday."

  Tash wanted to know what he meant by that. But she didn't get a chance to

  ask. Because at that moment, someone screamed.

  CHAPTER 6

  The scream came from outside, somewhere near the cantina. Most of the

  patrons looked up just long enough to make sure they were in no danger, then

  ignored the cries. They had come to this new planet to escape trouble, not to

  find it.

  But everyone at Tash's table jumped up and ran toward the door. The cries

  were coming from behind the cantina. Their new friends-Tash was now sure they

  were Rebels, because they acted with so much courage-drew their weapons.

  But the street was deserted except for the wild man, Bebo. He was on his

  knees, scratching at the dirt and shouting. "No! No! No!"

  Tash was not afraid of Bebo. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

  "She's gone! She's gone!" The madman croaked. "My friend Lonni was

  standing here a minute ago, and she just vanished!"

  "What do you mean 'vanished'?" Hoole asked.

  Bebo stood up. The light in his eyes had become fierce. "I mean vanished!

  Gone! Disappeared! And it's all my fault! I convinced her to come out of

  hiding. To warn everyone! They didn't believe me, but they might believe her.

  She came because I told her she'd be safe! But she's gone. She was standing

  here, and then she wasn't!"

  Although no one from the cantina had come out, a few settlers had come to

  investigate the shouting. These people were a more wholesome-looking crowd,

  Tash noted. Probably the families and pioneers Chood had mentioned. But they

  seemed as uninterested in Bebo's ravings as the cantina patrons. In fact, most

  of them were laughing.

  Someone called out, "Go ahead, Bebo! Tell us another!"

  "Yeah," someone added, "Tell us about vanishing people!"

  "And invisible monst
ers!"

  "Or was it invisible people and vanishing monsters?"

  The crowd laughed at the joke. Chood appeared, and for a split second,

  Tash thought she saw the smile leave his face at the sight of Bebo. But it

  reappeared again, as bright as ever. "May I be of service?"

  Tash pointed to Bebo. "He needs help. A friend of his disappeared."

  Chood sighed. "I'm sorry if this has troubled anyone. Unfortunately Bebo

  has done this many times before. I assure you that no one has disappeared."

  "Lonni disappeared!" Bebo's voice dropped into a whisper. "She was my

  only friend."

  Tash felt something tug at her heart. She knew what it was like to lose

  someone.

  One of the settlers called out, "You're crazy, Bebo!"

  Chood nodded. "Sadly, it's true. Ever since he came here, poor Bebo has

  been ranting and raving about disappearances."

  "It's true!" Bebo responded. "They died. The entire crew of the

  Misanthrope! They disappeared!"

  Chood gazed sympathetically at Bebo, then turned to Hoole and the others

  and said softly, "This is a sad tale. The Misanthrope was the cargo ship that

  first crashed here. Bebo, here, was the captain and the only survivor. I'm

  afraid the guilt was too much for his mind. It snapped."

  "No, no, no!" Bebo argued. "They disappeared. All of them!"

  "He should be treated at a mental facility," observed Deevee.

  "It's not that simple," Chood replied. "The official report said that he

  was responsible for the crash. If he leaves the planet, he'll be thrown into

  prison. But we Enzeen are a little more sympathetic, so we let him live here,

  despite the fact that he continually disrupts the environment we try to create

  for our settlers."

  "Have you followed up on his claims that there were other survivors?"

  Hoole asked. "Who is this Lonni person he talks of?"

  "There was a full investigation of the crash," the Enzeen replied. "And

  the Imperial officials declared no survivors. This person Bebo is raving about

  could not have lived."

  "That's a lie!" Bebo snapped. "She was here!"

  "Oh, really?" Chood said. His voice was still very calm and pleasant.

  "Then, please tell me, Bebo, where was your friend when she disappeared?"

  Bebo pointed at the ground. "Right there! Right there! We were walking

  along, and poof! she was gone!"

  "Walking along, you say? Are those your footprints, then?" Chood pointed

  at a line of footprints in the dirt road.

  "Yes! That's where I was."

  "Then where are your friend's footprints?" the Enzeen asked.

  "Why they're right..." For the first time, Bebo stopped muttering to

  himself. There were no other footprints on the ground. There was no sign that

  anyone but Bebo had been standing there. "But she was right there! Right

  there!"

  Chood shrugged. "You see. He is quite mad. It is most regrettable."

  "Can't you help him? At least search the village?" Tash asked.

  "We can, but we won't find anything," Chood says. "People who wish to be

  found on D'vouran are easy to find. Those who wish to hide, well, it's a large

  planet."

  By this time, most of the settlers had lost interest and gone about their

  business. Uncle Hoole, too, wanted to move on. "Let's go, Tash," he said.

  "These people have offered to help us fix the Lightrunner, and we can't keep

  them waiting."

  As the others turned away, Tash said softly to Bebo, "I'm sorry I can't

  help you. I wish there was something I could do for you."

  Bebo gave her a cold, hard look. "It doesn't matter. Before long you'll

  be dead. You're all going to die."

  CHAPTER 7

  The look on Bebo's face still haunted Tash as she followed her brother

  and the others back to the spaceport. Han and Chewbacca examined the

  Lightrunner's engines, and Han nodded confidently. "Don't worry. We'll have

  her asteroid-hopping in no time."

  "He means it," Leia said. "If he can keep his own scrap pile in the air,

  he can sure handle your ship."

  Han looked hurt. "The Falcon is the best ship in the galaxy." He pointed

  his finger at a saucer-shaped freighter across the landing bay.

  "That's your ship?" Zak asked. "I thought it was a garbage scow."

  "Zak!" Tash chided.

  But Han had obviously met with this reaction before. "Tell you what, kid.

  You keep quiet for about half an hour while I work, and I'll show you some

  things about the Falcon that the Imperial engineers would love to get their

  hands on."

  As they went to work, Tash paced about anxiously. She couldn't get Bebo's

  hurt, angry look out of her mind, and his voice whispered in her ear: You're

  all going to die!

  Luke Skywalker appeared beside her. "Still have that feeling?"

  "Yeah," she replied, once again surprised at his perceptiveness. "I

  couldn't help feeling sorry for Bebo. I don't know why, but I felt like he was

  telling the truth. I feel like I should check out his story."

  Luke said seriously, "I meant what I said. You should trust your

  feelings."

  She thought for a moment. "For what I want to do, I need to get on the

  HoloNet, and I can't do that until the Lightrunner is up and running again."

  "Why not use the computer aboard the Millennium Falcon?" Luke offered.

  A few minutes later, Tash was sitting at a cluttered computer station

  inside the battered freighter. She studied the computer setup. Han Solo wasn't

  kidding about modifications. Even the computer looked rigged.

  "What's that?" she asked, pointing at a small black box attached to the

  computer terminal.

  "I'm not sure," Luke said. "But I think it's a trace detector. It signals

  you whenever someone is locking on to your computer signal."

  "Why would you need that?" Tash asked.

  Luke grinned. "Let's just say Han doesn't always work with the most

  trustworthy people."

  Tash left it at that. Powering up the computer, she entered a few quick

  commands and logged onto the HoloNet News Service. Then she typed:

  SEARCH REQUEST: MISANTHROPE.

  The computer responded quickly.

  SEARCH WORD MISANTHROPE RETURNED SIX HUNDRED ITEMS. DISPLAY ALL?

  Tash groaned. That was far too many. She had to narrow down her search.

  She typed again.

  SEARCH REQUEST: MISANTHROPE AND D'VOURAN.

  The computer responded: TWO ITEMS FOUND. DISPLAY?

  The first item looked like an official Imperial report. Tash displayed

  it. The report described the loss of the cargo ship and the subsequent search.

  She was hoping to find something in the report that might prove Bebo's story-

  that there had been survivors. But she lost hope as she read the report.

  THE MISANTHROPE WENT DOWN WITH ALL HANDS ABOARD. ONLY THE PILOT, CAPTAIN

  KEVREB BEBO, SURVIVED. BEBO IS CURRENTLY WANTED FOR QUESTIONING, BUT IS AT

  LARGE.

  She sighed. "Oh, well, I guess that's it, then. He really is mad from

  guilt."

  The second file, oddly enough, was in code. "That's strange. Why would a

  news-service report be in code?"

  "That's an Imperial code," Luke noted. "You'd better not mess with it."

  Tash smirked. She started to enter signals, trying to brea
k through the

  security system that kept her from reading the Imperial messages. But she had

  only entered a few commands when the little black box screeched an alarm.

  "What's that?" she cried, almost jumping out of her seat.

  Luke replied, `The trace detector! Someone's trying to track you down."

  "What do I do?" she asked in a panic. The alarm grew louder.

  "Shut it down!"

  She slapped the Off key. The computer screen faded to black, and the

  alarm cut off. Tash felt her heart flutter. "What was that all about?"

  "I don't know," Luke said. "But obviously the Empire wants to know about

  anyone asking questions about D'vouran."

  Tash and Luke returned to the Lightrunner to find Chewbacca sitting with

  Zak, who was tinkering with a flat board. It was a little over one meter long

  and a half meter wide, and filled with intricate circuitry.

  "Hey, Tash!" Zak said happily. "Chewbacca here is helping me rewire my