Galaxy Of Fear_ Planet Plague Part 6

She didn't hear her own door open.

And she never saw the figure that crept up behind her until it was too late.

CHAPTER 10.

A shadow fell across her computer screen, and Tash started. She turned around and found Wedge standing in her room. Behind him stood two other figures: One was a human with a scar running from the corner of his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, and down to the right side of his jaw. The other was a Bothan, a humanoid with blue fur that ruffled nervously.

They were the pirates Tash had seen on the data screen. She backed against the wall of her room. She was trapped.

"Tash, don't be afraid," Wedge said calmly. "We're not here to hurt you."

"What do you want? Stay away from me," she said thickly. Her heart had begun to beat rapidly.

"We're not going to hurt you," Wedge repeated. "In fact, we need your help."

"You're pirates!" she snapped.

Wedge shook his head. "We're not pirates. We're Rebels." Wedge pointed to his two companions. "We were spying on Imperial activities here in Mah Dala when the Empire clamped down and blockaded the system.

Now we're stuck."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"I know I'm taking a risk," Wedge said, "but we're running out of options. The Empire knows we're here. They've already captured one of our group." Tash remembered the Rodian. "It's only a matter of time before they find us, unless we get offplanet. Your s.h.i.+p is the only one that's landed or departed from Gobindi in weeks. We need it."

"You're going to steal the s.h.i.+p!" she said. "You are pirates!"

"If we had wanted to steal it, we would have done that already,"

Wedge replied. "We just need a ride offplanet. You'll be doing the galaxy a favor- unless, that is, I'm wrong, and you really are part of the Empire."

"Well, I'm not!" Tash snapped. She was no longer nervous, but she still felt strangely warm, and her breath was short. "I hate the Empire.

They killed my parents. They were on Alderaan when it was destroyed by the Death Star."

Wedge frowned. "You're from Alderaan?"

"Yes, and I'll bet I have more reason than you to hate the Empire."

Again the venom in her words surprised her. But she did hate the Empire. She had every reason to hate it. She felt hot tears form in her eyes. She didn't mean to speak these words-she was hardly aware that she had thought them-but they came out of her mouth. "I want revenge on them for what they did to my parents."

"I'm glad you're on our side," the other human joked.

But Wedge's eyes grew soft. "I'm glad we agree that the Empire's bad, Tash. But didn't you say you admired the Jedi Knights?"

She nodded.

Wedge considered. "My people, the people I work with, we believe in the Jedi, too. I've read a lot about them."

"Me too!" Tash exclaimed.

Wedge continued. "Let me tell you one of the things I learned about the Jedi. It has to do with that word revenge. Don't use it. Don't even think it." He looked hard at Tash. "The Jedi fought in many wars, but do you know what truly made them great?"

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"They were warriors, but they weren't violent. They never forgot that their enemies were living beings, just like they were, with their own beliefs in right and wrong. They didn't get angry. They didn't hate their opponents. The Jedi always kept their minds on what they were fighting for, rather than what they were fighting against."

Tash listened to the words. They sounded like good advice. But they didn't sink in. Not hate the Empire? Not hate the people who had destroyed her family and her entire planet?

"I-I'm not sure I can do that," she admitted. If anything, she realized, her anger was growing by the minute. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. The blood throbbed in her veins. Her bruised left arm ached.

Wedge shrugged. "I'm not sure I can either." He grinned. "But then, I'm just a starpilot. I'm happiest behind the controls of a snub fighter, not trying to use the Force."

Wedge paused again. "Tash, we have information we need to get offplanet. All transmissions are blocked. No s.h.i.+ps can fly. Except this one. This s.h.i.+p's registry has unlimited landing clearance for this dock.

We can fly out of here and no one will question us."

Tash recalled how easily the Shroud had docked on Gobindi, once they'd activated their telesponder code. How did Hoole manage to do it?

she wondered. Is he an Imperial after all?

She never got the chance to answer. Behind Wedge, the other human cried out.

Something had grabbed him.

CHAPTER 11.

Wedge and the Bothan jumped out of the way as the scar-faced human went down. Thick streams of slime had wrapped themselves around his legs.

A blob had crept aboard the s.h.i.+p.

The man cursed and tried to get up. He pounded a gloved fist into the blob. His hand sank partway into its gooey flesh, doing no damage. As he pulled it out, the glove stuck in the slime.

Recovering from shock, Wedge and the Bothan leaped into action.

They, too, wore gloves. They used their hands to pry the blob loose from their comrade's legs.

Wedge and the Bothan pulled the blob away. It was heavy, but they managed to carry it to the hatchway and toss it outside.

"Are you all right?" Tash asked the scarred man.

"Fine, I think," he replied as his friends returned. He wiped his hand on his pant leg.

"I can't believe no one has tried to destroy those things," Tash said.

"The Empire won't destroy them," Wedge said quickly. "We think the Empire is creating them."

"What?"

The Bothan helped the scarred man to his feet. "The blobs appeared at the same time the blockade began. We think there's some connection."

"That Infirmary is more than just a hospital," Wedge explained. "We think it may be the home of the-"

"Imperial Biological Weapons Division," Tash finished for him.

All three Rebels looked as if someone had just stunned them with a hold- out blaster. Wedge looked at Tash. "Who told you that?"

"No one," Tash replied. "I found out for myself."

Getting over his surprise, Wedge continued. "What we can't figure out is why the Empire is creating them. The blobs are hard to kill, but they move slowly and they're no great threat. If the Empire is creating biological weapons, I'm not sure what danger these things pose."

Suddenly, without warning, the scarred Rebel collapsed. The blood drained from his face, and he lost consciousness.

They checked his hands and arms for injuries but found none. The blob hadn't bitten or wounded him in any way.

The two Rebels were confused, but to Tash, the man's appearance looked familiar.

"He looks sick," she said, then told Wedge and the Bothan about the virus Zak had.

Wedge's face grew pale. "That's it! That's what these blobs are for. These creatures must be carriers." He looked at his Bothan partner.

"The Empire is creating a plague, and these creatures are delivering it."

"Do you think we've contracted it?" the Bothan asked.

"No," Wedge replied. "It must be pa.s.sed by touch, or we'd all have fallen sick by now."

"Why would they be releasing it here, in the city?" Tash wondered aloud. Carefully she touched the lump under her sleeve. Could she have the virus?

But no, she hadn't touched one of the blob creatures. She hadn't been infected with anything.

"Test cases," Wedge said. "They're using the city to see how effective the blobs are, I'd guess. We're all lab rats." He nodded to his Bothan companion. "Come on, we've got to get back to the safe house."

Careful not to let their bare skin touch him, the two Rebels pulled their friend up and supported him with their arms.

Wedge looked back at Tash. "Please help us, Tash. We'll be watching. When your s.h.i.+p is ready to leave, we'll know."

Wedge and the Bothan carried their comrade out of the s.h.i.+p, first checking for danger. But the blob was gone.

A small hovercar was parked nearby. They slipped inside and skimmed quickly away.

The Shroud suddenly felt very empty. Hoole and Deevee were gone, and Zak was...

Tash almost dropped to the floor in panic when she realized.

Zak was still in the hands of the Imperial Biological Weapons Division.

CHAPTER 12.

Tash slowly returned to the Infirmary. She wanted to hurry, but her legs would barely move, and she was sweating. Her discomfort only made her angrier. And she found that the angrier she got, the more energy she had. She could feel her heartbeat all the way down to her fingertips. The brown lump on her forearm thudded against her skin.

Staring at the Imperial Infirmary tower, Tash wished once more that she were a Jedi. She wanted to ignite her lightsaber and storm the Infirmary. She wanted to save Zak. But she also wanted revenge on the people who had hurt him.

"Well, why not?" she said out loud. Her voice, if she had stopped to listen to it, hardly sounded like her own. "After what the Empire's done to me, they deserve it!"

But Tash had never even held a blaster, let alone a lightsaber. As much as she wanted to fight her enemies, she would have to use stealth instead.

She rode the lift up to the tenth floor, where Zak was being treated. She hurried to the bacta tanks.

But the bacta tanks were empty. Tash thought quickly.

Deevee said he was going to check on Zak. So where are they?

Tash saw the same medical technician who'd been attending Zak's bacta tank earlier. He was busily examining the bluish, liquid contents of a gla.s.s beaker.

"Excuse me," Tash said.

The technician glared at her, obviously unhappy to be interrupted.

"What? "

"Do you know what happened to the boy who was being treated here?"

The technician looked at the bacta tank. "No, I don't." He turned back to his work.

"Was he scheduled to be released so soon?" she asked.

With undisguised disgust, the technician put down his beaker and called up information on his datapad. "No," he said tersely, reading Zak's chart. "He was supposed to receive treatment for another hour."

"Well, where could he have gone?" she asked irritably. She didn't like the way this technician was treating her.