Star Wars - [Galaxy Of Fear 03] - Planet Plague (by John Whitman)
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Star Wars - Galaxy Of Fear 3 - Planet Plague
By John Whitman
PROLOGUE
With a crackle of energy the image solidified before the scientist's eyes. It was only a hologram, but it
was a hologram of the most powerful being the galaxy had ever known. It was the Emperor himself.
Although the scientist was seated at his control module, at the center of his own network of power, he
trembled. He could order the deaths of hundreds if he wished. With his terrible knowledge he could
engineer nightmares. But as powerful as the scientist was, the Emperor could snuff him out with little more
than a thought. "What is thy bidding, my lord?" the scientist asked in a trembling voice. "Your enemies
have gained a distinct advantage." Beneath the hood of his plain black robe, the Emperor's ancient face
looked wrinkled and frail. But his voice, even though it was beamed from a thousand light-years away,
still had evil power. "Failure has become a possibility." The scientist shuddered. As always the Emperor
seemed to learn of events almost before they occurred. He already knew that an intruder named Hoole,
along with his droid and two young humans, had ruined the scientist's experiment on D'vouran, the living
planet. They had also destroyed his work with the undead on Necropolis. "M-My lord," the scientist said
as confidently as he could manage. "I assure you these incidents have not delayed my work. Hoole is
only an overly curious anthropologist, and the two humans are only children. They cannot possibly know
our intentions." "Do not underestimate the resourcefulness of your enemies." The Emperor's eyes
darkened. "That was Grand Moff Tarkin's mistake when he built the Death Star." The scientist bowed.
The Death Star a battle station equipped with a planet-destroying laser was supposed to have been the
cornerstone of the Empire's Doctrine of Fear. But the Rebels had managed to destroy it. The scientist
would not make the same mistakes as the Death Star's creator. "My lord, I swear, the next phase of
Project Star- scream will be delivered on schedule." The Emperor gave a slight nod. "See to it.
Personally." The ruler's image vanished. The scientist stood up and regained his composure. He dared
not disappoint the Emperor. He would handle the next phase of Project Starscream personally. And if
Hoole somehow interfered, the scientist would deal with him personally, too. The scientist smiled. He
knew that Hoole would never suspect that he was the enemy.
Someone was pounding on the door. "Tash, open up!" It was the voice of her brother, Zak. "Go
away," she warned. "Come on, it can't be that bad," he argued. "You think?" Tash yelled through the wall
of the room. "Wait until you start getting them." She heard Zak sigh and walk away. Tash stared at her
reflection in the small mirror and groaned. Tash was thirteen years old. She'd always thought it wouldn't
happen to her until she turned fifteen or sixteen. "There you go," she muttered, "before your time as
usual." She stared at the four red splotches on her face as if glaring would scare them away. But they
weren't going here. They sat in the middle of her face, framed by her blonde hair. They were as
noticeable as orbital beacons. To Tash, it was amazing that the intelligent species of the galaxy had
learned to travel from one end of the stars to the other, create droids that were as intelligent as humans or
any other organic creature, but still no one had come up with a cure for every teenage human's night-
mare. Zits. She was in the main refresher on board the ship Shroud, on which she traveled with her
brother, Zak, 'their uncle Hoole, and his assistant droid DV-9, or Deevee for short. The main 'fresher
had the best lighting, and Tash wanted to see just how big her pimples had grown. Someone pounded on
the door again. "Tash!" Zak was back. "Come on, I'm not feeling well. I need the medkit." "All right!" she
said. She opened the door and stared, daring Zak to say something about her face. But Zak hardly
noticed. He went right to the medkit, opened it, and took out two pain relievers, which he quickly
swallowed. "Did Uncle Hoole say you could have those?" she asked. "Yeah." Zak nodded. "I asked
him." She noticed that her brother's face looked flushed, and
he seemed a little sluggish. Zak was a year younger than she was. Normally he was chaotic,
unpredictable, and fun- loving. Not sluggish. "Are you getting sick?" "No way," he responded. "Just a
headache from listening to Deevee's lessons. I'm going back to the cockpit. By the way," he added as he
went into the hall, "that pimple on your chin is about to go nova!" Tash grimaced. So much for
sympathizing with him. If he was feeling good enough to insult her, he was feeling good enough, period.
Tash went to her cabin and shut the door. The best thing to do about pimples was to wait them out. She
had some important work to do in her cabin anyway. She sat at her small desk, skimming the galactic
communications network called the HoloNet on the computer terminal. It was sometimes hard to get a
connection in deep space, but Tash had spent hours Net-skimming, and she'd found a way to bounce a
computer link off of a deep-space station thirty light-years away, then to planetary antennae in the
Corellian system, and finally into the Deep Core Worlds, where the central HoloNet was established.
Tash typed her code name into a message: SEARCHER CALLING FORCEFLOW.
Forceflow was another HoloNet explorer whom Tash had met over a year ago. Forceflow had
introduced Tash to Forceflow was often hard to reach, and always very secretive legends of the Jedi
Knights, who had been the protectors of the galaxy before the rise of the Empire. She didn't know
Forceflow's real name, but she did know that he or she had access to a lot of information. Tash wasn't
looking for information on the Jedi today. She had decided to ask about something more personal. She
was going to ask Forceflow about her uncle. In the six months that she and Zak had lived with him,
Hoole had refused to tell them anything about himself or his work. But over the past few weeks several
people had hinted that Hoole was involved in the Empire's shadow world of criminals and assassins.
Contacting Forceflow was a long shot, but people in strange places seemed to know their uncle, and
Tash's curiosity had gotten the better of her. After a moment, a line of text appeared on her computer
screen.
FORCEFLOW HERE.
HI, she typed. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU. IT S PRIVATE.
A line appeared in response.
WAIT. I AM CODING OUR TRANSMISSION. There was a pause.
When the text continued, it was highlighted in blue, indicating that the HoloNet link had changed.
IMPERIAL WATCH-
DOGS ON MY TAIL. CAN T TAKE ANY CHANCES.
Tash knew that Forceflow often posted information on the HoloNet that the Empire considered illegal.
Even the Jedi lore that she had first discovered was outlawed, but Forceflow had uploaded it anyway.
For that reason
tive. Tash typed back, IS IT SAFE FOR US TO TALK?
FOR NOW. NO ONE CAN BREAK MY CODES. GREAT. I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT
But Tash was unable to continue. She nearly fell off her chair as the Shroud lurched crazily in space.
For a split second the power was cut off and lights
went out, plunging as in 1 ' T h into darkness. A moment later the
lights came ac on, u t her delicate HoloNet connection
had been lost. "Oh, laser burn," she muttered under her breath. "Zak, you're going to get it for this."
Zak had no interest in piloting, but he was a born tinkerer. Tash would have bet a year's worth of
Octavian fruit pudding that he was up in the cockpit right now, taking the console apart. The ship shook
again, and Tash jumped up from her desk, slipping out the automatic door as soon as it opened and
hurrying toward the cockpit. "What's going on up here?" she demanded as she entered the control room.
She half-expected to see the navicomputer spread out in pieces on the floor. Instead she saw Zak
slumped over the controls. His head was buried in his folded arms, his face hidden behind his
uncontrollable mop of brown hair. "Zak!" she yelled. At the sound of her voice, Zak slowly lifted his head
and blinked. "Hey, Tash," he said drowsily. "I must have dozed off" "By the look of things, I would say
you fainted," said a low voice behind Tash. Uncle Hoole had come up behind her without making a
sound. Hoole was a member of the Shi'ido species. They were tall, gray humanoids, and stealth was the
least of their gifts. The Shi'ido were shape-shifters. The Shi'ido studied Zak with his dark eyes, and his
narrow gray face wrinkled into a frown. "Are you feeling all right?" Zak sat up straight. His eyelids
drooped, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He still managed a smile. "Me? Sure. I'm
prime." The Shroud's engines let out a groan of distress. Hoole slipped past Tash and examined the
readouts quickly. "You laid your head down on the reverse-power coupling controls," Hoole said. "You
are flooding too much fuel into ~he hyperdrive system." Hoole flipped a few switches, and the Shroud
settled into a smooth flight pattern.
Zak opened his eyes and tried to shake his head clear "Wow, talk about an afternoon nap." "Try
midmorning nap," Tash replied, pointing at the chronometer. Although they were in deep space, the ship's
chronometer kept GST, or Galactic Standard Time. Zak shrugged. "I haven't been this tired since we
hiked to the top of the Triplehorn mountains back on Alderaan." Tash and Uncle Hoole exchanged
concerned glances. Zak had been through a lot recently. On their last planetary stop, he had been
kidnapped by a wanted criminal named Evazan who was working on some bizarre experiments to bring
the dead back to life. Eventually Tash and Hoole had been able to save Zak and to defeat Evazan with
the help of the bounty hunter Boba Fett. In fact, they had gotten away in the criminal's own ship, the
Shroud, in which they now flew. Despite the terror he'd witnessed, Zak seemed to come out of that
frightening experience without any serious harm. Now, however, he looked terrible. "No way," Zak said,
-when Tash suggested that what he'd been through might be making him sick. "I'm telling you, I'm as
shipshape as an Imperial cruiser." He jumped up and spun unsteadily around on one foot, turning back to
face his sister. "I just needed a little sleep, that's all." As if to prove it, Zak wriggled his way past Tash
and Hoole and bounded down the corridor to the Shroud's main lounge.
Hoole stared after him. "I'm afraid I have not been around humans long enough to understand your
physiology," he said to Tash. "Is this common?" "I don't know," Tash said. "Back on Alderaan, Mom
always seemed to know if we were sick or not." Tash felt a twinge in her heart when she mentioned her
mother. Her parents were dead, thanks to the Empire. They had been on the planet Alderaan when it
was blasted into rubble by the Death Star six months ago. Tash tried to swallow a sudden lump in her
throat. "I think... I think if she were here she'd say Zak was coming down with the Ru or something." "Let
us hope it is nothing worse than that," Hoole said. "Zak was in Evazan's hands for some time before we
reached him." "Do you think Evazan might have done something to Zak that we don't know about?" "I'm
not sure," the Shi'ido said, almost to himself. "Let us go see what DV-9 has found in Evazan's computer
files." Evazan was also known as Dr. Death, and his mark was everywhere on the ship he had once
owned. The corridors were dark and gloomy. The simple couches in the main lounge were torn and
gouged. Beyond the lounge lay a small science laboratory. Hoole and his assistant droid, DV-9, had
thrown away specimen jars full of strange matter and cleaned up as much of the lab as they could, but
the walls an countertops were still stained with things
Tash did not want to think about. Mechanically, however, the Shroud was a first-rate ship, with a
high-powered computer system and memory banks filled to capacity with information. Entering the lab,
Tash and Hoole found Deevee at work on the computers, with Zak hovering behind him. "Zak, you
should be in bed," Tash said. "But look what Deevee's found," he replied. Deevee had been designed to
imitate human functions. He cocked his silver-plated head to one side. "Indeed, this is extremely curious."
"Have you been able to access the files?" Hoole asked. "In a manner of speaking," Deevee replied. "The
files were protected by a security password. My complex logic circuits were a bit rusty from lack of use."
The droid glanced disapprovingly at Tash and Zak. Deevee had served as Hoole's research assistant for
years. But the day Hoole had volunteered to be guardian of his niece and nephew, Deevee had been
assigned as their caretaker, a job he didn't enjoy much. He jumped at any chance to perform the real
scientific research he was programmed to do. "But I managed to get some real work done." The droid
straightened with pride. "It was an extremely complex and difficult password to decipher, but, as you
know..." Here it comes, Tash thought. "... my computer brain is extremely adaptable to
real work such as this, and I was able to decode the pass- word." "It's something called Project
Starscream," Zak said. "Then we can read the files?" Tash asked. Deevee looked suddenly deflated.
"Well, no. This Evazan must have been quite paranoid. Not only did he install a password, he wrote all
the files in code." Tash peeked around Hoole's shoulder as he studied the computer screen. Lines of
gibberish and strings of numbers ran from left to right continuously. "Can you break this code?" Hoole
asked. "I'm uncertain," the droid confessed. "What?" Tash couldn't resist joking. "Even with your
supercomputer brain?" Deevee sniffed. "Not even a protocol droid could trans- late this language. It's far
beyond my capacity. I'm afraid I couldn't get any further than the words Project Star- scream." ' "What
do you suppose Project Starscream is?" Tash asked. "Probably none of our concern, I'm sure," Hoole
said. "I bet I could break the code," Zak bragged. "No problem." "You can barely stand up," Tash said.
"Tash is right," Hoole said. "Zak, I suggest you go to your room and lie down. A real rest may do you
good." To Tash's surprise, Zak didn't argue. He just nodded and left the lounge. As soon as Zak was
gone, Tash turned to Hoole. "If Zak is really sick, the cure might be in the files." She didn't mention her
other reason for wanting to de- code the files: Zak had learned that Evazan was con- ducting his terrible
experiments for someone in the Empire. It had occurred to her that the files might contain information
about Imperial activities, information she could use for revenge. Revenge was not something Tash had
ever thought about before. At home on Alderaan, she had never had any enemies, and she always tried
to forgive friends who acci- dentally hurt or upset her. But that had been before the Empire ruined her
life. In one merciless moment, the Emperor's Death Star had wiped out her friends, her family, her entire
world. As the shock of the tragedy wore oA; Tash's grief had started to turn to anger. Lately she had
begun to think about ways of getting back at the Empire. For some time now she had been dreaming of
becoming a Jedi Knight and waging a war to defeat the Empire. But the Jedi were extinct. They had been
hunted down and destroyed by the Empire. Tash knew she would have to find a different.way to battle
the Imperials, and she thought the files might give her a weapon. If she could decode the documents, then
give them to the Rebel Alli- ance, she could strike a blow against the murderers who had destroyed her
homeworld.
"You are right about Zak, of course," Hoole replied. "But I'm not sure how we will break this code." "I
know someone who can do it," Tash said. "Forceflow." Hoole's face grew sterner than usual. "Tash, I
know the HoloNet can be a source of entertainment and education, but I can't say I approve of the
friendships you acquire. You never know whom you may be talking to. This ForceQow may be a
prankster or a troublemaker." "No, he's not!" Tash said. She stopped herself. She knew Forceflow was
honest, but she also knew that Uncle Hoole would only tolerate so much arguing. "He does know a lot
about codes. It can't hurt to try," she told him. "Very well," Hoole said with a sigh. "But I insist that you
immediately come to me with whatever information he gives you." He gave Tash a datadisk filled with the
coded files. Returning to her cabin, Tash sat down at her computer screen. Punching in commands, Tash
tried to regain her con- nection to the HoloNet. She typed in her HoloNet code name, and then typed a
message:
TO FORCEFLOW. I NEED YOUR HELP.
If anyone could help her, ForceAow could. He or she often broadcast information about illegal
Imperial activities and other political messages. Forceflow was the
kindind of person Tash would have ignored six months ago.
But six months ago her parents were alive.
ace, an e was drenched in
Tash was sure that Forceflow was a Rebel on the run from the Empire. r.azEmxos, sEARc~ER. The
message flashed across the
screen. GLAD YOU RE BACK. Tash typed quickly. NEED FILES DECODED. ALSO NEED
INFOR- MATION ON PROJECT STARSCREAM. MAY BE IMPERIAL DOCU- MENTS.
There was a pause. Then a return message Aashed: NOT
sweat. blood had drained from his face and h
SURE IT S SAFE. IMPERIALS MAY BE MONITORING MY FREQUENCIES.
Tash was in a hurry to learn who was behind the experiments, and she wanted to know if Zak was in
serious
danger. She typed, THIS IS URGENT.
UPLOAD NOW. BUT IF I M DETECTED, I LL HAVE TO CUT OFF.
Tash inserted a datadisk into her computer and punched a key. Instantly, a data signal was beamed
across the gal- axy. Somewhere, on one of a hundred thousand worlds, the mysterious Forceflow was
receiving her data. Suddenly her computer emitted an electronic scream. Her'screen went dark. When it
came back on, the words seemed to shake on the screen.
I M BEING SCANNED! RECEIVED PART OF YOUR FILES. WILL GET
BACK TO YOU!
The message ended there. Tash wanted to send another message. What if ForceAow needed help? If
he was caught, it would be her fault. But before she could type in another word, the door to her cabin
slid open. Zak stood in the doorway. All the
"I think...
,*' he said weakly. "I think I'm not feeling well." Then he collapsed.
Less than an our a er h h later Tash sat at her brother's bedside,
watching him toss an d turn in his sleep. She had cried out
when he fell, which brought Hoole and Deevee running. They had quickly carried Zak to his bed. "Isn't
there anything we can do?" she asked.
Deevee rep ie, "There are many medical devices on
board this ship, but considering the fact that Evazan was called Dr. Death, I don't think we should use
them on Zak."
"What about you, Deevee? Don t you have a medical
program?" The droid shook his silver-domed head. "I have data files on the medical practices of
thousands of worlds, but my own skills are limited to the first aid I learned when Master Hoole adopted
you."
Hoole's rigid face softened slightly. "Tash, I'm reluc- tant to bring up a painful subject, but do you
recall what your mother did when you were ill?" Again Tash felt a twinge. If only her mother were here!
She replied, "I don't know. I was never really sick." "Never?" Hoole questioned. She shook her head.
"Not that I remember. I just never seemed to catch anything. But when Zak wasn't feeling well, she used
to check his temperature." Tash put her wrist against Zak's forehead. His skin was hot, and damp with
perspiration. "He's burning up. I think he's got a fever, Uncle Hoole." The Shi'ido put a hand on her
shoulder. "We mustn't take chances, Tash. We are less than fifteen hours away from the Mah Dala
Infirmary on the planet Gobindi." "Infirmary?" she asked. "You mean, a hospital?" - Hoole nodded. "The
Infirmary on Gobindi is said to be the finest medical facility in this part of the galaxy. It is also run by an
old colleague of mine in the Imperial Bio- logical Welfare Department." Imperial Biological Welfare
Department? Tash wanted nothing to do with Imperials.
But beside her, Zak moaned in his sleep. His tempera- ture seemed to be rising by the minute. He was
definitely iH, and any help even Imperial help would be wel- come. Hoole turned to his assistant droid.
"Deevee, program
the Shroud's navicomputer to take us to Gobindi immedi- ately." "Right away, Master Hoole." The
droid hurried to set the coordinates as Hoole said, "Tash, I have some things I must do before we reach
Gobindi. Please call me at once if there is any change in Zak's condition." Tash nodded. Alone, Tash
watched her brother's fitful sleep. She couldn't help thinking that the Empire was responsible for this in
some way. Minute by minute, Tash felt her anger grow, until it burned hotter than Zak's fever. "You're
going to be fine, Zak," she whispered, pattin-g his hand. "You're going to be just fine. And I promise that
somehow I'm going to make the Empire pay for this." After a while Deevee came to replace Tash. "We
are still several hours away from Gobindi. Why don't you rest for a little while?'* he said, his electronic
voice imitating concern so perfectly that Tash was sure the droid felt emotions. "I have added some basic
medical skills to my program, and I'm confident I can care for young Zak." Reluctantly Tash allowed
Deevee to take her place, but she did not rest. Instead she went straight to her cabin and logged onto her
computer.
MESSAGE TO FORCEFLOW.
She waited. There was no response. She decided to post a message anyway, hoping that he would
pick it up soon and send a reply.
FORCEFLOW. I NEED INFORMATION RIGHT AWAY. WILL TRY TO CONTACT YOU
AS SOON AS WE REACH THE PLANET GOBINDI. REPLY SOON!
She transmitted her message, hoping that her mysteri- ous contact would receive it before Zak grew
any sicker.
Three hours later, the Shroud prepared to drop out of hy- perspace into the Gobindi system. Tash sat
next to her uncle. He had asked her to act as his copilot, while Deevee remained by Zak's side, ready to
use the new skills he had just programmed into his computer brain. Uncle Hoole deactivated the
hyperdrive, and Tash watched out the forward viewport as the stars changed from the white streaks of
hyperspace to the twinkling pin- points of realspace. And then they were blotted out by the shadow of an
Imperial Star Destroyer. Collision alarms blared in the Shroud's cockpit. Tash stifled a cry as Hoole
jerked the ship's navigational stick hard to the left and the Shroud plunged down and away from the
Destroyer. The Star Destroyer's huge, wedgelike shape cut through the fabric of space like a blade as it
passed above them. Hoole was still trying to regain control of the Shroud when the first laser shot
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StarWars-GalaxyOfFear3-PlanetPlagueByJohnWhitman PROLOGUE Withacrackleofenergytheimagesolidifiedbeforethescientist'seyes.Itwasonlyahologram,butitwasahologramofthemostpowerfulbeingthegalaxyhadeverknown.ItwastheEmperorhimself.Althoughthescientistwasseatedathiscontrolmodule,atthecenterofhisownnetwor...
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