deadly creatures....
In the violet illumination, Jacen spotted glinting eyes and flashing fangs.
He swallowed hard. With his Jedi senses he detected skittering movement and the
sudden sharp focus of predatory attention.
"Blaster bolts!" he said as the young Jedi Knights skidded to a halt,
wondering which direction to go next. "Maybe this wasn't such a good hiding
place after all."
Before he could worry further, bolts of sizzling light streaked across the
room.
Flashes of destructive fire spat from high-powered cannons carried by the
assassin droids as the machines marched into the chamber where Jacen and his
companions had hoped to hide or make their last stand.
With a thrumming of metal and a powerful whine of servomotors, the
murderous droids attacked. The young Jedi Knights had no place to run.
As one, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, and Jacen lit their lightsabers and prepared to
fight.
Tyko Thul stayed beside them, muttering that he wished he had thought to
stash a few weapons outside his ship before the droids destroyed it.
IG-88 himself clomped into the musty chamber and fixed his quarry with his
flashing scarlet optical sensors. The chief droid swiveled his body core
sideways, bringing up his arm and focusing its built-in laser rifle. He targeted
on Jacen and fired.
But Jacen reacted in a flash. Flowing with the Force, he brought up his
lightsaber blade in the same instant that Tenel Ka reached out to protect him,
crossing her turquoise blade with his emerald one.
IG-88's deadly bolt struck both lightsabers and ricocheted off, splashing
its fire into one of the darkened side tunnels.
A roar of pain exploded from the shadows, and seconds later a mass of
jointed legs and flashing eyes and smashing jaws clattered out with a bellow, as
if sounding a call for other monsters to join it. The huge combat arachnid
launched itself into the fray while other spider beasts stormed out of the
surrounding tunnels, disturbed by the battle and hungry for fresh prey.
"Oh dear, not again!" Em Teedee shrilled.
"I detest those cream."
"This was definitely not a good idea," Uncle Tyko Said. His face had turned
a pale gray, and he seemed much more concerned about the arachnids than the
deadly droids.
"I suggest we discuss the merits of our escape plans aftch for Raynor
Thul's father continues, the young Jedi Knights turn for help to a most unusual-
-and dangerous--source: the reprogrammed assassin droid IG-88. They think they
can keep him under control. But can one of the most feared bounty hunters in the
galaxy be trusted?
Inside the bustling, hollow asteroid of Borgo Prime, signs along the
walkway fluoresced and flickered, leading Zekk back to Shanko's Hive. The dark-
haired young man had received his first bounty assignment inside that popular
cantina--and he had come back empty-handed.
Zekk rehearsed various ways of telling this to the blue-skinned bartender,
Droq'l, who had hired him to find a scavenger and his cargo.
But Fonterrat, the missing scavenger, was dead and his cargo of precious
ronik shells destroyed. He had no idea how his employer would react to the bad
news.
How would Boba Fett have handled this situation?
Zekk asked himself. Fett, one of the most respected (and feared) bounty
hunters in the galaxy, would waste no energy on lengthy explanations or excuses.
Fett would come straight to the point. Zekk decided he would have to do the
same.
Tossing his ponytail over his shoulder, Zekk stopped before the entrance to
an enormous cone-shaped building with horizontal ridges like smooth circular
waves up its sides. He took a brief moment to perform a Jedi relaxation
Academy.
Then, projecting all of the confidence a professional bounty hunter ought
to feel, Zekk strode into Shanko's Hive.
Air clouded with exotic scents and flavors enveloped him in a pale gray
haze. Though the interior of the hive cantina had no flat edges, the contrasting
islands of sound and silence, of light and dimness, gave the illusion of dozens
of shadowy corners. A quick glance at the bar told Zekk that the insectoid
proprietor Shanko had emerged from hibernation and was in no mood to humor
fools.
Brief, confident, professional, Zekk reminded himself.
His steps did not falter as he walked toward the bar and tossed a credit
chit on it. "Osskorn Stout," he said without preamble. "I have business with
your bartender."
Dark, foamy ale sloshed onto the counter from the flagon Shanko thunked
down in front of him. As Zekk scooped up the tankard to take a gulp, one of
Shanko's many glossy arms roughly swept out to mop up the spill while another
gave an abrupt jerk, indicating an area to Zekk's right.
Still drinking thirstily, he looked over to see Droq'l in conversation with
a patron who stood just outside the circle of light cast by the bar's
globelamps. Zekk nodded his thanks, and with renewed confidence he 'strode
toward the three-armed bartender. As if he had an extra eye in the back of his
head--which he did, Zekk now recalled--Droq'l turned just as-the young bounty
hunter approached, tankard in hand.
"Did you find what I sent you for?" the bartender asked, his blue face
eager.
"Fonterrat is dead." Zekk reached into his vest pocket and produced the
holocube that contained the scavenger's final message.
Droq'l watched the entire holomessage and grimaced, showing his shiny black
teeth. "Gammalin, huh?"
Zekk shrugged. "Fonterrat was imprisoned there when the plague hit. The
frightened colonists destroyed his ship and burned his cargo, but the sickness
swept through the colony. It killed every human."
"Fonterrat wasn't human," the bartender mused, "so he starved alone in
prison after those colonists ruined my shipment of shells." A glint of pleasure
replaced the disappointment in his eyes. "At least it was a slow, lingering
death."
Zekk nodded warily.
Droq'l sighed and spread all three hands in a gesture of resigned
acceptance. "Just as well. I might've been tempted to terminate Fonterrat myself
for his incompetence."
Then, to Zekk's pleasant surprise, the bartender paid him in full.
"Glad to see a young trainee with some presence of mind," he said.
"You finished what I sent you to do, and you had the good sense to bring
back proof of it.
That's more than I could say for some bounty hunters two or three times
your age."
A thoughtful look crept over the bartender's blue-skinned face, and he
drummed the fingers of two hands on the bartop. "Come to think of it, I may have
another job for you, if you're interested. Got a client who's looking for a
bounty hunter, wants someone who's resourceful and trustworthy, but unknown.
That might just be you."
"You seem to be a good enough judge of character," Zekk said, crossing his
arms over his chest. "After all, you judged me correctly."
The bartender chuckled at his bravado. "You'll take the job, then?"
Zekk didn't dare let his excitement show. "Of course.
May I speak to him?" He felt a sense of exhilaration.
He'd fully expected to come away in disgrace, without pay, after reporting
his failure. But now, because of his own sense of honor--something he feared the
dark side had stolen from him forever a new job had dropped right in his lap!
The bartender grinned. "He's pretty particular, even a little skittish I
think he'll want to talk to you himself before you're hired."
Zekk could learn nothing for certain about his prospective employer.
Sitting at a low table in the shadow of a staircase that spiraled up the inner
wall of Shan-ko's Hive, Zekk stared at the... creature in front of him.
"My name is Zekk," he offered. "I hear you need a bounty hunter."
"You come well recommended," the creature replied. "Call me... Wary. Master
Wary. Yes, that will do."
Zekk shrugged in amusement. "Whatever."
Wary's voice was masculine, but synthesized. His body and arms were
engulfed in gray robes and furs that made it impossible even to guess the
creature's species or probable shape. He wore a holographic mask set to
randomize so that his features changed constantly. A reptilian tail coiled out
from beneath the robes and furs, but this could have been part of a disguise.
For all Zekk knew, he could be talking to a female Wookiee, a Jawa on stilts, or
even his friend Jaina Solo.
The thought of Jaina made him smile again, and he patted his vest pocket in
which rested two message packets--one from Jaina and one from old Peckhum; the
bartender had found them for Zekk in the general delivery message area behind
the bar.
"And who exactly do you want me to find, Master Wary?" Zekk asked, deciding
on a direct approach.
Wary looked around, as if to be sure no one was listening in.
Zekk glanced unobtrusively toward the nearby tables. A Devaronian played
Sabacc with a pair of disreputable-looking spacers; a Ranat consulted a Hutt
information broker; a furry white Talz and a hammerheaded Ithorian drank
colorful intoxicants and sang duets to the accompaniment of a nine-stringed
wrist harp. No one paid any particular attention to him.
"I want you to find a man who's been kidnapped," Wary said beneath his
mask. "His name is Tyko Thul."
Zekk's entire attention snapped back to the creature in front of him. "Did
you say Tyko Thul?"
The holomask blurred and shifted. "Yes, Tyko Thul," he repeated. "He was
recently abducted by several assassin droids. I want you to find him."
"Every other bounty hunter in the galaxy is out looking for Bornan Thul,"
Zekk said. "Are you sure it's Tyko you want?"
Wary nodded. "The two are brothers. I have reason to believe the
disappearances are... related--just as the two men are.
An interesting twist, Zekk thought. Finding one brother might lead to
information about the other.
After failing to find Fonterrat, he had intended just to strike out on his
own, looking for clues to Bornan Thul, hoping to repair his reputation. But this
direct commission was a much better prospect.
"I'll take the assignment," Zekk said. "How much are' you paying?"
Wary quoted him a generous figure. "But only if you find him."
Zekk tried not to show his surprise. Wary stood to make a lot more credits
than that if Zekk retrieved information that led him to Bornan Thul.
"But that is not all there is to the task," Master Wary cautioned.
"I also need you to send a message for me. I have other urgent business to
attend to that prevents me from sending it myself. I will give you instructions
on how to transmit it." He slid a hololetter packet across the table toward
Zekk. "Do not try to listen to the message. It would mean nothing to you."
"That's it?" Zekk accepted the packet and slid it into his vest pocket.
"Not as simple as it would seem," Wary said. "The message is for the
Bornaryn fleet. All the ships went into hiding shortly after Bornan Thul's
disappearance, and they are impossible to locate."
"How do you expect me to get the message to them?"
Zekk asked, a little exasperated.
"I ask only that you broadcast the message to the following locations." He
listed several sites along major trading routes, many of which Zekk was already
familiar with from his days with the old spacer Peckhum. "I will meet you here
again in ten days--to learn of your progress, and to pay you if you have already
achieved both of your goals."
Zekk still wasn't sure why Wary would want to send a message to the
Bornaryn fleet. Did,he hope to flush them out of hiding? To question Thul s
employees and family members in hopes of locating him?
Just as Zekk opened his mouth to ask, an explosion erupted at a nearby
table. Zekk blinked to see what had happened as a cloud of white smoke billowed
outward from where the Talz and the Ithorian had been sitting.
Droq'l bustled up with a disgusted snort, sweeping broken and steaming
glasses away. "I told you two not to let your drinks come into contact with each
other," he growled in exasperation. "You should know they're chemically
incompatible!" With a big paw, the Talz batted at a smoldering patch of its
white fur.
Amused, Zekk turned back to the conversation with his new employer--only to
find Master Wary gone.
Apparently the assignment was made and the interview had ended.
Zekk shrugged. He had his commission, and he knew what to do. He might as
well stay to view the new hololetters from Jaina and Peckhum.
Calling Droq'l over, Zekk ordered another Osskorn Stout, drew one of the
message packets from his pocket, and slid it into the reader slot on the table
in front of him. He waited eagerly for the image of Jaina to appear--then
blinked in disappointment. "ENCRYPTION PROPRIETARY MESSAGE UNREADABLE". Why
would Jaina or Peckhum have sent him a message in code that no standard reader
could decipher?
He realized his mistake as he pulled a second hololetter from the pocket of
his vest and then a third.
He had accidentally tried to view the message from Master Wary.
But how could the disguised man expect an encrypted message to get through
to the Bornaryn fleet?
And how would the fleet read it unless they already knew the key?
Perhaps they did, Zekk thought. Maybe this was code that belonged to the
Bornaryn trading Wary might be a former employee... or even Bo nan Thul himself!
As the thought occurred to Zekk, he suddenly the truth of it. He felt it in
his bones music of the Force that sang through all things.
Wary's synthesized voice had held an urgency spoke of the need to find Tyko
Thul and a tender quality when he spoke about the fleet.
Zekk shook his head to clear it. Bornan Thul been here, right in front of
him!
He jammed the message packets back into his and jumped to his feet just as
Droq'l carrying a fresh tankard of ale in his middle arm.
"Which way?" Zekk asked, breathless.
"You go?"
The bartender didn't pretend he had no idea Zekk meant. He
jerked his head
toward a small beneath the stairway in the wall of Shanko's Hive.
Dashing out into a tiny alleyway, Zekk looked and right, but saw no sign of
his new employer.
His heart raced with the realization that he had been than a meter away
from the most sought-after in the galaxy!
Farther down the alley, Zekk was not surprised find a pile of gray rags and
furs along with a thetic reptilian tail where Bornan Thul had his disguise.