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ISBN 978-1-368-00893-8
Cover art by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Interior art by David Buisán
Visit the official Star Wars website at: www.starwars.com.
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1: The Distress Call
Chapter 2: The Shipwreck
Chapter 3: The Lodge
Chapter 4: Stinkers
Chapter 5: The Cave
Chapter 6: Lair of the Beast
Chapter 7: The Beast
Chapter 8: The Fight
Chapter 9: Milo’s Plan
Chapter 10: A New Destination
“COME ON, OLD GIRL,” Lina muttered as the Whisper Bird groaned and shook around them. “Keep it together.”
She couldn’t help wondering what would happen if the ship came apart in hyperspace. Would they be trapped forever in this spinning tunnel of light, or would they explode back into space, a sudden flare in the blackness between the stars?
Lina sat upright in the copilot’s chair, alert to every rattle and groan. If anything went wrong it would be her fault. Disabling the hyperdrive’s safety systems had been her idea. She could hear Morq chattering nervously in her brother’s lap and Milo whispering softly to keep the little Kowakian monkey-lizard calm.
Lina felt like she’d barely taken a breath since they blasted off from Thune. It had been a mistake to go there; she knew that now. The Empire had been waiting for them.
But why? What were they carrying that was so valuable? CR-8R floated silently beside her, his lower limbs weaving in complex patterns as he scanned the navicomputer. Lina wished she knew what information their parents had uploaded into the old droid’s circuits before the stormtroopers dragged them away. She wished she knew why the Empire was so eager to get their hands on it. But most of all, she wished she knew where her parents were and what she could possibly do to get them back.
Suddenly, there was a loud metallic snapping noise from somewhere beneath them and Lina heard her brother gasp.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” CR-8R said. “It’s just a loose landing strut. The integrity of the hull has not been compromised.”
There was another pounding thud.
“Yet,” CR-8R added.
“How much longer?” Lina asked him.
“How much longer until we reach the source of the transmission?” CR-8R replied. “Or how much longer will the Whisper Bird hold together?”
“Both,” Lina and Milo said together.
“Not long,” CR-8R said. “In either case. But I don’t believe there’s any need to…wait.”
Lina leaned closer to look at the readout. Milo leaned in behind her, his hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.
Without warning, the panel in front of CR-8R erupted in a spray of sparks. Lina covered her eyes as the smell of burnt metal filled the cabin. Morq squealed.
The ship shook violently, and then, suddenly, they were falling. Lina’s stomach turned as the Whisper Bird tumbled, and she was thankful for the safety belt around her waist.
Through the viewscreen she could see stars and the bright glow of a green world. They had dropped out of hyperspace.
“We have arrived,” CR-8R announced, his metal hands locked around the steering controls. The panel still sparked, with the flashes reflecting in his black eyes. “I apologize for the lack of warning. Removing the safety systems somewhat confused the navicomputer.”
“Confused it?” Milo said. “The navicom blew up!”
CR-8R tapped the panel. “It’s only an electrical short,” he said. “Nothing I can’t fix. And it brought us here in one piece. Mostly.”
“What’s the damage report?” Lina asked as the ship steadied.
“Minimal, surprisingly,” CR-8R told her. “One shaky strut, and two of the power couplings on the hyperdrive have depolarized. They’ll need to be replaced before we can make another jump.”
“You did it, Sis,” Milo said, wrapping his arms around Lina’s neck. “You saved us.”
Lina blushed. “I nearly killed us,” she said, shuddering. “We took a risk and it paid off, but we can’t keep relying on tricks and chance.”
“And I doubt Captain Korda is going to stop looking for us any time soon,” CR-8R added. “Whatever your parents transmitted into my memory appears to be highly valuable.”
“Well, you still got us out of there,” Milo said appreciatively. “And you managed to bring us here. Wherever here is.”
They looked through the viewscreen at the emerald planet below. The surface was covered by drifting clouds, but the vibrant green surface shone through.
“Are you still picking up the transmission?” Lina asked. “Can you lock on to the source?”
Milo tapped the screen and a look of confusion crossed his face. “That’s odd,” he said. “The signal’s gone.”
Lina’s heart sank. “But that’s not possible,” she said. “Crater, could the navicomputer have brought us to the wrong planet?”
The droid shook his gleaming head. “The odds against a computer malfunction bringing us this close to a habitable world are approximately 3.76 million to one,” he said.
“Wait!” Milo said, pressing hard on his earpiece. “I’m getting something. Let me try and boost the sound.”
He tapped the screen and a voice echoed through the cockpit, calm but insistent: “…reports continue to come in of internment camps on multiple worlds,” the woman was saying, almost inaudible through the static feedback. “On Kashyyyk, the Wookiees who fought so bravely against the Separatist army are now being enslaved by the Empire.”
“And here’s a transmission from Dinwa Prime,” a man’s voice cut in. “Terrible atrocities have been committed in the name of the Emperor. We urge all people on these occupied worlds to…” The signal faded back into static.
“So there is someone down there,” Lina said, breathing a sigh of relief. All their hopes depended on that mysterious signal. Someone out there was determined to resist the Empire. If anyone would be willing to help find their parents, surely it was them.
“I’m picking up massive life readings,” CR-8R said. “But scans can’t detect any evidence of major settlements and there aren’t any other ships on the ground. Or elsewhere in the system for that matter.”
“But a ship on the ground could be hidden,” Lina pointed out. “Whoever’s sending the signal could be down there right now.”
“Or the Empire could already be here,” CR-8R said. “Trying to lure us into another trap.”
Lina glared at him. The droid was right, but sometimes she wished he would just keep his metal mouth shut.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Milo said. “We won’t get very far without a functioning hyperdrive.”
Lina’s own words echoed in her head. Could they really keep relying on luck? But her brother was right. They were out of options.
She tightened her seat belt. “Take us down slowly, Crater. And be prepared to leave at the first sign of trouble.”
The droid hesitated for a moment, and then he gripped the steering controls. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
It was Milo who spotted the settlement. It stood on the
edge of a high rocky ridge overlooking a thickly forested valley. A broad low-roofed building with sheer metal sides and floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the pale light of the rising sun. It was obscured by shifting mist and surrounded by a defensive wall that towered over the structure itself.
“It looks new,” Lina observed. “And pretty expensive.”
She was right. The main settlement was built of high-end black durasteel. The flat roof was painted with the golden symbol of a hunting bird, its wings spread wide. A glass platform extended out over the ridge, offering spectacular views of the valley below. A fast-flowing river had been diverted into smaller streams around the central building, creating a pair of magnificent waterfalls that plunged over the cliff into the jungle.
“The signal’s getting stronger,” Milo reported. “That building has to be the source.”
“But I don’t understand,” Lina said. “Why would the person who sent those transmissions live in a building like this? Whoever built this place isn’t trying to hide from anyone.”
“It’s hideous,” Crater agreed. “Precisely the kind of tasteless display one would expect from an Outer Rim trader or a successful spice mine owner, not a revolutionary.”
“We’re so far out in Wild Space,” Milo offered. “Maybe they think no one will come looking for them. Let’s fly lower and investigate. Maybe we’ll get some answers.”
They descended slowly to get a better look as CR-8R angled the thrusters. A broad path led from a gate in the perimeter wall and weaved down through the jungle to a large clearing on the hillside below. A landing strip.
“Is that a ship?” Milo asked, pointing.
CR-8R focused the scanner. “It was,” he said. “What a mess.”
Lina looked through the viewscreen. At the base of a narrow canyon between the landing field and the main structure, she could make out a black shape. It was the square metal frame of a transport ship. One wing hung limp at the side and the other was nowhere to be seen.
The surrounding trees had been shattered and uprooted, but there were no burn marks. The ship looked like it had been ripped to pieces and thrown away.
“Could that shipwreck have the parts we need?” Milo asked.
“It’s possible,” Lina admitted. “But we’d have to set down on the landing strip and make our way to the crash on foot.”
“We still have no idea what happened here,” CR-8R pointed out. “What if someone blasted that ship out of the sky?”
“The scans found no nearby ships,” Lina objected. “And we can set the Whisper Bird to warn us if it picks up so much as a stray asteroid in the area.”
“And remember the signal,” Milo pointed out. “That’s why we’re out here. We should at least try to find the source.”
Lina nodded. “Agreed. Once we’re on the ground I can have my comlink track it.”
CR-8R angled the controls reluctantly. “Okay, Mistress Lina,” he said. “But if we all end up dead, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
AN EERIE SILENCE hung over the landing field as they hurried down the Whisper Bird’s ramp. The air was hot and humid and a thin layer of mist hugged the muddy ground.
The landing strip had been carved out of the jungle. It was a small patch of shortly cut grass, and a wooden shack stood at the far end. Milo spotted the path that led up to the settlement, winding into the trees. He hoped they would be able to explore the jungle once they checked the shipwreck for parts.
CR-8R drifted ahead of them, a murky shape in the gloom. Lina and Milo followed, their boots squishing into the soft mud. Morq clung to Milo’s shoulder, his tail anxiously slapping against the boy’s back.
“Look,” Milo said, spotting a patch of burnt grass flattened into four large circles. “The ship must have taken off from here and then crashed for some reason.”
“Engine failure?” Lina suggested.
“It is possible,” CR-8R agreed. He paused for a moment. “I’m not sure we should all go wandering off into the jungle. Maybe someone should stay with the ship.”
“That might not be a bad idea,” Lina said. Milo saw the flicker of a smile cross her face. “Crater, you go ahead and check out that crash. Then radio back here to us.”
“Great plan, Sis,” Milo agreed. “After all, one of us could get hurt. A droid is much more durable.”
CR-8R spun around to face them. “I know you think you’re being funny,” he said. “But I don’t appreciate it. At all.”
“Don’t worry, Crater,” Lina said. “We wouldn’t let you go off alone. Anyway, I don’t like the idea of splitting up. This planet is creepy enough as it is.”
CR-8R nodded in agreement.
The shadows darkened as the group made its way into the trees. Leafy limbs hung overhead, blocking out the sun. A swarm of tiny blue insects spiraled into the light as Lina accidentally disturbed their nest. The air was damp and filled with the musty smell of rotting wood.
Morq clung to Milo’s shoulder, looking around nervously. The boy was surprised. Normally, the little monkey-lizard would have been off exploring, scurrying up trees after ripe fruit and unguarded eggs. Something must have spooked him, but Milo had no idea what it could be.
They paused on the bank of a stream and Lina crouched down, splashing her face with the cool water. Dead leaves fell onto the stream’s clear surface and giant webs shimmered in the dim light.
Suddenly, they heard the cry of a hunting bird piercing the still air. Milo realized that aside from the humming of insects, this was the first creature call he’d heard since they touched down. The jungle was so quiet that it was starting to become unsettling.
“Something has been this way before us,” CR-8R said, floating over to the far bank. “This tree trunk did not snap in two by itself.”
“You sure it wasn’t the wind or something?” Milo asked, hopping from rock to rock across the shallow brook. “If it was some creature that did it, it’s keeping awfully qui—”
AHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
An unearthly howl rang out through the jungle. Its source was impossible to pinpoint in the thick brush. The sound grew louder and louder, then suddenly it stopped. Silence fell once more.
“My bad feeling just got a lot worse,” CR-8R said, turning his vocabulator down a few notches.
Lina dried her face on her sleeve. “Milo, do you have any idea what that was?”
He shook his head. “It sounded big.”
“And angry,” CR-8R agreed. “Might I suggest we get what we came here for and then make a quick departure?”
“Let’s grab what we need and run. Sounds like a great plan.” Lina nodded.
They left the stream, scrambling down the last rocky incline to the base of the ravine. The shipwreck loomed over them.
Milo looked up and spotted the word Venture branded on the ship’s side. It was the kind of craft that was common in the Outer Rim—a bulky freighter built for transporting heavy loads.
But he doubted it would ever fly again. The wing closest to them was almost completely torn off and its black cables were exposed. The landing gear had crumpled and the body of the ship jutted forward awkwardly at a steep angle. Three twisted cuts ran along the length of the hull, from the cockpit to the rear loading hatch. They almost look like claw marks, Milo thought. But that was impossible.
CR-8R rose on his repulsors, peering through the mud-streaked windows. “It looks deserted,” he reported. “The pilot must have abandoned the ship.”
The droid glided down and landed gently on the roof. The metal groaned and shifted under his weight but only a little. “It’s stable,” he told them. “You can climb on up, both of you.”
Milo took hold of a dangling cable and pulled himself into the rear hangar before turning to help Lina up. CR-8R drifted through the jagged hole in the roof, activating his glowlamps. Morq scampered down from Milo’s shoulder and hid in a pile of scrap metal.
“Are these cages?” Lina asked, pointing to a twisted steel frame hanging against t
he far wall. She peered closer, then drew back. “Milo, check this out.”
There was a large figure slumped in the bottom of the cage, a creature almost twice the size of a man. Its thick brown fur looked almost black in the light of CR-8R’s beams. Milo noticed the blood on its jagged white claws.
Lina nudged the cage cautiously with her foot. The creature did not stir.
“I think it’s dead,” Milo whispered.
CR-8R swept one of his lower limbs into the cage and a faint blue light flickered over the motionless form. “My bio-scanners confirm it,” he said.
“It looks like some kind of primate,” Milo said, crouching beside the cage. The creature lay sprawled on its side. Its mouth gaped open, revealing rows of yellow teeth. “A veermok, or close to it. But they’re native to Naboo, so what is it doing out here?”
“And more importantly, what could have killed it?” Lina asked.
“I don’t mean to alarm you,” CR-8R said, pointing to the right. “But look at this.”
In the shadows, a second cage lay wide open, its bars bent. Around it, the floor of the hangar was ripped up and splattered with black droplets.
Milo touched one of the drops, his fingers coming away red. It was blood! “There must have been two creatures,” he said. “Maybe one got loose and attacked the other.”
“It could still be around,” CR-8R said nervously. “Maybe it was the creature that made that awful howl.”
“Veermoks are strong,” Milo observed. “But this cage has durasteel bars. A veermok wouldn’t be able to do this kind of damage.”
“This place just keeps getting weirder,” Lina said firmly. “But we came here for a reason. Crater, can you go and see if there’s anything we can use up front?”
“Of course, Mistress Lina,” CR-8R replied. He used his powerful load-lifting arm to clear a path toward the cockpit.
Milo followed the droid, ducking under a leaning hull plate. Suddenly, Morq ran toward him, clutching something to his chest.
“What have you got there?” Milo asked the monkey-lizard. “Come on, drop it.”
Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space: The Nest Page 1
