Star Wars - [Galaxy Of Fear 09] - Spore (by John Whitman)

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Star Wars

Galaxy of Fear

Spore

by John Whitman

source : IRC

uploaded: 13.II.2006

PROLOGUE

In a dark place, it waited.

It had been waiting for hundreds of years.

It couldn't move. Not yet. But soon it would be free.

It could sense living, breathing creatures on the other side of its

prison. There had not been living, breathing creatures near it for a very long

time. But now they were close.

The thing in the prison could almost smell them. Taste them.

More than anything, it wanted to make contact with them. Come to me, it

thought. I want to join you. To join all of you. To know you.

That was the truth. It wanted to know everyone and everything, to join

every living creature.

It sensed that what it wanted was moving closer. Soon it would be free!

But suddenly the creatures moved away. They left without opening its

tomb, without coming close enough for the imprisoned thing to join them.

A feeling of disappointment passed through the thing in the prison. But

the feeling did not last long. The thing's home, its tomb, had been

discovered. Eventually, someone would open the door. It was patient.

It could wait.

CHAPTER 1

HELLO.

ANYBODY OUT THERE?

ANYBODY AT ALL?

Thirteen-year-old Tash Arranda leaned back and stared at the words on her

computer screen. She had been using the galaxy-wide communications network

called the HoloNet. Most people used it to do research. Tash used it to chat

with anyone else who was as bored and lonely as she was.

But no one answered.

Turning away from her computer, Tash looked for something else to do. She

kept her cabin neat and usually put things away, so there wasn't much in

sight. But her eyes did find an object she hadn't put away.

It was a red ball, about the size of her own head, made of a soft,

flexible material. It was a little heavier than it looked, because there were

a small computer and an engine built inside.

It was called a speed globe, and it was one of the few objects Tash

treasured.

Speed globe was once Tash's favorite game. In speed globe, two teams

competed with each other, trying to chase down the fast-moving, computerized

globe, which was programmed to avoid everyone. Once one team had caught it,

they had to form a chain, handing the globe from one person to another, until

they finally bounced it into the goal. The other team would try to stop them.

Tash wasn't the greatest athlete, so she was never the best player. But

playing speed globe had been fun. She liked being with her friends, and being

part of a team.

Sighing, Tash looked away. She didn't play speed globe anymore.

Remembering her old friends was just too painful.

Tash clicked off her computer. She didn't feel like talking to anyone,

anyway. If that was all she wanted, she could step outside her cabin door. Her

twelve-year-old brother, Zak, and their uncle Hoole were both with her on

board their ship, the Shroud. The trouble was that Zak would jabber about the

latest servo motor he had built, and Uncle Hoole would discuss the populations

of planets she'd never heard of. They never wanted to talk about the things

she wanted to talk about.

Besides, Tash didn't just want company. She wanted to be part of a team,

like when she'd played speed globe. She wanted to be with friends her own age.

She wanted to feel connected to something.

Of course, it was tough to find another thirteen-year old girl who'd lost

her parents and her friends when her homeworld of Alderaan blew up, been

adopted by a Shi'ido uncle who was a shape-shifter, and then learned that she

was sensitive to the power the old Jedi Knights called the Force.

She scowled at her reflection in the dark computer screen.

"No moping," she said to herself. "Jedi Knights do not mope."

Of course, she wasn't even close to being a Jedi Knight. That took years

of training, and there weren't any Jedi left to teach her. They'd all been

killed by the Empire. Just the way her parents and friends had been killed.

There was one person she thought might understand her feelings-a Rebel

named Luke Skywalker. She'd met him twice, and she'd had the feeling that he

understood the Force, too. But she had no way to contact him. Knowing that

Luke was out there somewhere, but unreachable, made the cloud over Tash's head

grow darker.

"Aren't you cheerful today," she told her reflection sarcastically. "You

need something to shake you out of this gloomy mood."

Suddenly, a voice roared behind her: "Watch out for the hammerhead!"

She jumped up and spun around, just as something slammed at full speed

right into her stomach. She cried out in surprise and hit the deck in a pile

of arms and legs.

When she sat up, rubbing her stomach, she found Zak beside her, rubbing

his head. "You okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Tash replied. "You?"

"I'm prime," Zak said, grinning. "Your stomach isn't nearly as hard as

the wall I ran into on the way here."

"What in space are you doing?" she asked as they got to their feet.

Zak shrugged. "Uncle Hoole said we had to stop for supplies, and the

closest planet is Ithor. He mentioned that the Ithorians are also called

Hammerheads..."

. so you decided to ram everything on the ship," Tash concluded.

"Sometimes I can't believe you and I are related."

Zak pretended to be offended. "It beats boredom."

And loneliness, Tash thought. "I take it back. We're related after all."

She added, "Besides, Ithorians are about the last species that would go around

ramming people in the stomach."

Zak blinked. "Then why do they call them Hammerheads?"

"You will see momentarily," said the stony voice of Hoole.

The tall Shi'ido seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Their uncle moved

so quietly that he often surprised them. In his long robes, he seemed to float

across the floor.

Hoole probably could float across the floor if he wanted to, Tash

thought.

"Are we going planetside?" Zak asked.

"We have already landed," Hoole responded. "I believe you were too busy

harassing your sister to notice our descent."

Tash and Zak nearly bolted for the hatch that led outside. They lived

aboard the Shroud, and any chance to get off the ship was welcome. But Tash's

common sense caught up with her at the door, and she turned back to her uncle.

"Is it safe?"

"You mean, is there a chance the Imperials might be here to arrest us?"

Hoole replied. "It is unlikely. The Ithorians obey Imperial rules like

everyone else, but they are not loyal to the Emperor. We should be safe here

as long as we do not attract too much attention."

"Gotcha," Zak said as the hatch opened. "We'll just blend right in."

"You think so, huh?" Tash grinned.

"Sure!" Zak stepped out of the ship and his jaw dropped. "Um... or not."

An Ithorian waited to greet them. Tash was almost as startled as Zak.

She'd seen pictures of Ithorians, but this one's unusual appearance still

surprised her.

The Ithorian was just under two meters tall and had two arms and two

legs, but that was about as far as the resemblance to humans went. Its bare

feet were splayed out and its legs looked like thin tree trunks. And on each

hand the Ithorian had three long, delicate fingers and one thumb.

But it was the Ithorian's head that was the most different. Jutting from

its thick shoulders was a long, curved neck. Its head was a wide, flat bar and

did, indeed, look just like a hammer.

The Ithorian had one eye on each side of its head. Those eyes blinked

slowly at Tash and Zak. "Wwellccoomme."

Now Tash's jaw dropped. The Ithorian had two mouths, one on each side of

its head. Both mouths spoke at once, giving the creature an unbelievably deep,

powerful voice. The sound was unusual, but after a moment, Tash's ears

adjusted to it.

"Welcome to the Tafanda Bay," the Ithorian said.

"Many thanks," Hoole replied, stepping forward. "I am Hoole. This is Tash

and Zak Arranda."

The Ithorian nodded solemnly. "I am Fandomar." The Ithorian said the name

so delicately that Tash guessed it was female despite the low-pitched voice.

"What brings you to Ithor?"

Hoole gave few details about himself or the Arrandas. He was a private

person by nature, but since they had been wanted by the Empire he'd become

hypercautious. To Fandomar he said only that he was an anthropologist

traveling with two young students.

"We need supplies," Hoole added. "May we find them here?"

Fandomar nodded. "The herd ship should have everything you need."

Herd ship? Tash wondered. A ship for a herd of what?

But as she stepped away from the Shroud, Tash realized what Fandomar

meant. She thought they'd landed on a planet. Instead, they had landed inside

a gigantic floating city.

Their ship was in a small docking bay covered by a transparent dome. The

dome reminded her of the Hologram Fun World, but the Fun World's dome was much

smaller. The space dock had been built on a higher level, and Tash could look

down and see the rest of the floating city spread out below. Dozens of other

domes sprouted around them, connected by bridges and walkways. All the domes

rested on a giant floating platform that was dozens of kilometers long.

Rushing to the edge of the dome, Tash looked down. Half a kilometer below

the city was a forest-covered planet. She could see waterfalls, lakes, and

tree-covered mountains.

"It's beautiful," she said. "Why does everyone live up here? If I were

Ithorian, I'd live right in the middle of those forests."

Fandomar replied, "No Ithorian would ever set foot on the surface."

"Really?" Tash asked skeptically, for just then she thought she saw three

or four figures scurry out of sight on the ground below the hovering city.

"Then who was that?"

Fandomar peered down. A deep, musical noise sounded from her twin mouths.

Then she said, "All Ithorians love the forests. That is why we live in these

floating cities, which we call herd ships. Living up here, we can make sure

that no harm is done to the planet. But for some Ithorians, the connection to

the planet is too strong. The Mother Forest calls to them and they go back.

They live very simple lives, the way our ancestors did. They have no

technology, no machines, and no contact with the herd ships. Officially, what

they do is against the law, but we all understand how hard it is to resist the

call of the Mother Forest, so they are not punished."

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