“So you landed anyway,” Anakin said.
Klay nodded. “I know we shouldn’t have. We thought we could get away with it because we landed at night with our running lights off. We thought no one would spot us and we weren’t going to stay long. We never meant to anger the Nallastians. After they took my parents, I didn’t know what to do or where to go, so I ran and ran until I saw your fire. I’m so afraid of what the warriors will do to my mom and dad. Can you help me?”
Listening to Klay’s plea, Anakin could not help but think of his own mother. To the best of his knowledge, Shmi Skywalker was still a slave on Tatooine. He often worried about her and wondered who would come to her aid if she were ever desperate for help. It was with these thoughts in mind that he looked into Klay’s eyes and said, “Do you know the way to the Skull Queen’s fortress?”
“Sure!” answered Klay. “I memorized a map of the region before I landed. I can take you there.”
“No, just give me directions. You’ll stay here while I search for your parents.”
“But I can help you!” Klay protested. “I know lots of things about Nallastia, probably more than you. Here, watch this.” Klay reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a rock. Without warning, he quickly whipped the rock over Anakin’s head.
Above Anakin, there was a dull smack. He looked up in time to see that the rock had struck a large purple snake that dangled from a limb above him. The snake twisted reflexively up against the limb, and the rock fell into Anakin’s waiting hand.
“It’s a venrap,” Klay said. “If its poison doesn’t kill you, it’ll just crush you to death.”
“Maybe you do know more about this world than I,” Anakin admitted as he stepped away from under the snake. “And even though you seem to be able to defend yourself, I probably shouldn’t leave you alone out here, so…”
“You’ll let me help?”
“All right,” said Anakin, his earlier thoughts of sleep now forgotten. “I’ll put out my campfire, then we can get moving. Just keep watching out for snakes.”
“We’re picking up the CloakShape’s homing signal,” Bultar Swan said from the Nallastian shuttle’s comm console.
Obi-Wan had just reentered the shuttle’s bridge from a small vestibule, where he had changed from his g-suit to his traditional Jedi garb. The shuttle was a combat-class Nallastian V-wing with two bulbous repulsor-lift engines. Its bridge was only large enough for a pilot and three passengers. Margravine Quenelle sat behind the pilot, turning in her seat to watch Obi-Wan move beside Bultar Swan and examine the comm console’s sensor screen. On the screen, a faint blip of light was steadily blinking.
“There’s still quite a bit of static,” the Margravine commented to Obi-Wan. “But it seems your Padawan reached Nallastia’s surface after all. However, according to our sensor readings, he landed in the foothills of Mount Octan.”
“Is that bad?” Obi-Wan asked. Glancing at the cockpit’s viewport, he saw that they were descending into the darkness of the moon’s night-side.
“It is not good,” the Margravine replied. “Many dangerous creatures live in the foothills.” She ran her fingers down the collar of her lizard-skin robe and said, “This hide, for example, came from a wild grillik—a large, six-legged reptile. Grilliks are generally peaceful, but they can be extremely territorial, especially toward those who wander too close to their nests.”
Eyeing the cut of the Margravine’s robe, Bultar asked, “You hunt them?”
“No,” replied the Margravine. “This particular grillik was mortally wounded during her attempt to prevent alien poachers from stealing her offspring. When I found her, she was in agony.” The Margravine rose from her seat and pulled back her robe to reveal a bone-handled vibroblade lashed to her side. “With this weapon, I ended her pain. I wear her skin so her death was not in vain.”
“Did you ever catch the poachers?” Bultar asked.
“Yes,” the Margravine answered as she covered her vibroblade. “Their deaths were not in vain, either.”
“How so?” Obi-Wan asked coolly.
The Margravine smiled. “Because they served as a warning to others, and we haven’t had any visits from poachers since.” She turned her attention to the cockpit’s viewport.
Bultar leaned close to Obi-Wan and whispered, “I hope Anakin doesn’t trip over any grilliks.”
“I hope he doesn’t move a muscle,” Obi-Wan whispered back.
The shuttle descended fast, heading for the source of the transmitted signal. As the pilot brought the shuttle in low over the jungle canopy, he activated a spotlight and trained it on the treetops. Shooting past the trees and over a grassy field, he saw a rising trail of thin smoke. “Found the CloakShape,” the pilot said. “What’s left of it.”
The pilot landed the shuttle a short distance from the remains of Anakin’s starfighter. The shuttle’s landing ramp was still extending when Obi-Wan leaped to the ground and ran toward the smoldering debris.
“Anakin!’ Obi-Wan called. No answer came, but he noticed Anakin’s boot prints around the crash site. From what he could see, Anakin had worked fast to extinguish the flames from the wreckage.
Bultar exited the shuttle, carrying a pair of glow rods. She handed one to Obi-Wan, then pointed to an area southeast of the crash site. “The homing signal is coming from this direction.”
They found the ejected seat, and then followed a path of bent and crushed grass into the woods until they came upon Anakin’s camp. Bultar looked at the small pile of dirt that had been kicked over what had recently been a campfire and commented, “It appears your Padawan leaves quite a trail wherever he goes.”
“As I said, he has much to learn.’ Obi-Wan squatted down and placed his hand on the pile of dirt. “Still warm. He left less than an hour ago.”
“And he didn’t leave alone,” Bultar added. “Look here. Another set of boot prints. Substantially smaller. They lead off this way.”
“Find anything?” asked a voice from behind the Jedi. Obi-Wan and Bultar turned to see the Margravine, who was also carrying a glow rod.
Obi-Wan said, “We found Anakin’s tracks, along with someone else’s boot prints. No sign of a fight. It appears they left within the past hour and headed northeast. Is there a settlement within walking distance?”
“Yes,” the Margravine replied. “The fortress of the Skull Queen.”
“Doesn’t sound very inviting,” Obi-Wan commented.
“On the contrary,” said the Margravine, “I expect your Padawan will be most welcome there, as will we. If he has not arrived already, he will shortly. I suggest we return to the shuttle and fly directly to the fortress.”
“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said.
The Margravine turned to head back to the shuttle and the Jedi followed her at a discreet distance. Bultar Swan whispered to Obi-Wan, “Get the feeling she’s hiding something, too?”
“Absolutely,” Obi-Wan whispered back.
They followed the Margravine onto the shuttle, which then lifted off into the night, heading northeast.
“Does this region of Nallastia have a name, Klay?” Anakin asked as he followed the boy up a steep incline through the dark jungle.
“We’re on Mount Octan,” Klay replied. “It’s a volcano.”
Anakin recalled that the owner of the original Sun Runner had been named Octan. He asked, “Is the volcano active?”
“I think it’s dormant. We should be able to see it and the Skull Queen’s fortress when we get to the top of this hill.”
At the hilltop, they pushed their way through thick foliage to emerge before a wall made of black volcanic rock, about three meters high. Anakin said, “So much for the view of the volcano.”
“We just have to get over this wall,” Klay said. He spotted a vine that snaked up from the ground to the top of the wall and gave it a tug. Climbing handover-hand, Klay scampered up the wall. When he reached the top, Anakin was already standing there.
“How’d you get up
here so fast?” Klay whispered.
“I jumped,” Anakin answered. From their elevated position, they saw that the wall established the perimeter of a large compound. Within the compound there stood a massive fortress that appeared to be about ten stories tall. Like the wall, it was carved from volcanic rock. Anakin could make out staggered rows of battlements on the fortress’s roof, silhouetted against the night sky. Beyond the fortress, the conical top of Mount Octan impaled the heavens. Both the mountain and fortress were bathed in a bluish glow that Anakin mistook for moonlight, until he saw its source was the planet Fondor, which had risen over the jungle to reflect the light of the Fondor system’s sun. Anakin had heard the phenomena referred to as planet light.
“Keep low,” Anakin said. Klay followed Anakin’s running crouch along the top of the wall. The wall curved around a megalith and, as they rounded the curve, they found themselves overlooking a long field.
In the field, fifty Nallastian warriors stood at attention. The warriors were clothed in reptile skins and armor made from the bones of animals. Most of the warriors carried primitive energy-projectile launchers, but a few wielded relatively new blaster weapons. They all faced a woman who stood on a platform that jutted out from the fortress. The platform ended near three megaliths, massive stones that stood about eight meters tall and were separated by a distance of three meters. The three stones had been arranged in a triangular formation to face one another like looming sentries, and the plot of land between the stones was littered with bones, both human and alien.
Like the warriors, the woman on the platform was also dressed in reptile skins. Apparently the leader, she gripped a long staff that was topped by a gleaming, golden human skull. Anakin could not determine whether it was an actual skull that had been painted gold or merely a sculpture, but either way, it looked quite sinister.
The woman rapped the skull-topped staff against the platform and said, “Two outlanders have been apprehended. They claim they are not poachers, but we found evidence on their ship of their interest in the sacred creatures of Nallastia. The outlanders will now be brought forward.”
An arched doorway opened at the side of the fortress. Through the doorway, Anakin glimpsed a modest starship that was parked in a courtyard.
“That’s my family’s ship!” Klay whispered.
Through the fortress’s arched doorway, six warriors escorted a heavy gravsled onto the platform. The gravsled supported a crane with a winching mechanism, and from the winch a large metal cage dangled near the triad of glowing megaliths. Inside the cage were a man and woman who wore clothes similar to KLay’s fatigues.
“My parents!” Klay whispered, tensing for a spring.
“I gathered,” Anakin whispered, holding him back.
On the platform, the woman with the skull-staff faced the caged captives and said, “Do you have any last words?”
“We’re innocent!” said the man in the cage. “My name is Hondu Firewell, and my wife is Tattyra. We’re zoologists from Corulag. We only wanted to study the animals of your world.”
Tattyra Firewell said, “Please…contact Senator Rodd’s office. They will confirm that our expedition was authorized. We’re sorry we landed without your permission, but we—”
“Enough!” interrupted the woman on the platform. “I tire of the outlanders and their lies.” She nodded to the warriors beside the gravsled. One warrior tapped a control that extended the crane’s arm, and the cage swung toward the three megaliths. Suddenly, the cage’s bars retracted and Klay’s parents toppled out of the cage. As their bodies hurtled through the gap between two of the three megaliths, there was a bright flash of light, and then, incredibly, the Firewells came to a stop in midair, hovering above the scattered piles of bones.
“No!” Klay shouted. Every warrior in the field turned to see where he and Anakin were crouching on the wall. Several warriors readied their weapons.
Anakin grabbed Klay around the waist and leaped just as the wall was bombarded by a hail of arrows, spears, and energy bolts. Klay gasped as Anakin landed in the midst of the warriors and then flung him across his shoulder.
Carrying Klay, Anakin sped through the warriors, dodging them before he bounded up past the glowing megaliths and onto the platform. In a single swift motion, he pivoted his body to place Klay behind him while he drew and activated his lightsaber. With his free hand, he reached out to the woman with the staff and grabbed her upper arm so she could not flee, then angled his lightsaber so it hummed dangerously near her neck. It was in this close proximity that Anakin realized the woman was probably not more than eighteen years old.
All of the Nallastian warriors turned their weapons on Anakin. Calmly, Anakin said, “If they blast me, they might hit you.”
The woman called out, “Hold your fire!”
“Tell them to lower their weapons,” Anakin added. Despite the fact that he was vastly outnumbered, a flicker of menace in his gaze assured the woman that he was prepared to fight.
The woman’s lips trembled as she said, “Lower your weapons.” The warriors obeyed.
Anakin looked at Tattyra and Hondu Firewell, who wore dazed expressions as their slack bodies continued to hover in the air between the three glowing megaliths. Anakin asked the young woman, “What have you done to the Firewells?”
“There is an energy field between these stones,” she answered. “The criminals are in a state of suspended animation.”
“Release them at once,” Anakin commanded.
“That may be impossible,” the woman replied.
Before Anakin could demand an explanation, the sound of a repulsor-lift vehicle came from overhead. Anakin maintained his position on the platform as a V-wing shuttle descended and touched down on the field beside the fortress.
The shuttle’s hatch opened and Margravine Quenelle stepped down the landing ramp, accompanied by Obi-Wan and Bultar Swan. The Nallastian warriors stood aside, allowing the Margravine and the two Jedi to pass. Anakin tightened his grip on the young woman’s arm and said, “Don’t make any sudden moves. Skull Queen.”
Unfazed, the young woman replied, “You are mistaken. I am Princess Calvaria.”
Confused, Anakin asked, “If you’re not the Skull Queen, who is?”
“I am,” said Margravine Quenelle as she strode toward the platform. “And I insist you release my daughter immediately.”
“You’re the Skull Queen?” Bultar Swan said with surprise.
Margravine Quenelle replied, “Only to the warriors stationed at this fortress. The rest of Nallastia recognizes me by the title of Margravine.”
On the platform that extended from the fortress to the three megaliths, Anakin kept his grip on Princess Calvaria’s arm. His lightsaber did not waver. Looking down at the Margravine, who stood with Bultar and Obi-Wan on the ground below the platform, he said, “I’ll release your daughter after she releases her captives.”
“Explain yourself, Padawan,” Obi-Wan said.
Without unhanding Calvaria, Anakin nodded toward Klay and said, “This is Klay Firewell. He found me after the warriors captured his parents.”
Calvaria protested, “The Firewells are poachers.”
“They’re not poachers!” Klay shouted from behind Anakin. “They’re just zoologists!”
The Margravine then asked, “Calvaria, do you have any proof that the Firewells trapped or harmed any creatures on our world?”
Calvaria scowled. “Their ship contained many holograms of the creatures they planned to kill.”
“Zoologists typically possess holograms of animals,” the Margravine allowed. “Did you also find weapons and traps and cages on their ship?”
Calvaria swallowed hard. “No, Skull Queen.”
The Margravine’s eyes widened. “Calvaria! Do not tell me you may have wrongly accused this family!”
“They admitted they landed without our permission!” Calvaria retorted.
“That crime does not merit the Trinity Stones!” the Margravine s
aid. “You should have simply ordered them to return to their own world.” The Margravine turned to Obi-Wan and said, “I regret my daughter has acted immaturely and in haste. She has placed the Firewells between the ancient Trinity Stones, which contain a lunar gravity vortex. The stones are bound by a powerful magnetic energy field that can be entered but not escaped. After something enters the field, the stones become magnetically drawn to one another. In ninety minutes, they will meet, and then they will repel back to their original positions.” She pointed to the bones that rested on the ground below the hovering Firewells and said, “Everything within the field, between the three standing stones, will be crushed.”
“What?” Klay gasped.
“Hang on, Klay,” Anakin said. He deactivated his lightsaber and unhanded Calvaria. “I had no intention of harming your daughter, Margravine…I mean, Skull Queen. I merely sought to prevent injustice.”
“Of course,” said the Margravine.
Anakin looked to Obi-Wan, who nodded with approval. He then turned to the Trinity Stones and asked, “How strong is the gravity vortex?”
The Margravine answered, “If even one of the Trinity Stones is toppled or damaged, the release of energy could be cataclysmic to our world. That is why the warriors are stationed at this fortress, to protect the Trinity Stones.”
Anakin turned to Calvaria. “Princess, you said it may be impossible to release the Firewells. Do you know of any way to save them?”
Calvaria replied, “It is written that the only way to deactivate the energy field is by placing the Lost Stars of Nallastia atop the Trinity Stones.”
Bultar Swan said, “I have informed my companions of the Lost Stars—three power gems with auras that can disrupt magnetic defense shields and shatter force fields.”
The Margravine nodded. ‘My ancestors, the Octans of the Darpa sector, used the power gems to raid ships and amass wealth. Four thousand years ago, Margrave Octan brought the gems to this moon, which he named after his wife. After the Margrave vanished with the Sun Runner, it was long rumored that the gems were still with him. In fact, he had left them with Nallastia. It was she who built this fortress and arranged the Trinity Stones, using the gems only for good. But after a gang of pirates tried to steal the gems, Nallastia hid all three in the Cavern of Screaming Skulls.”
Star Wars Adventures 002 - The Cavern of Screaming Skulls Page 2
