Morq did as he was told, looking up eagerly at Milo. It was a boot. Milo turned it over in his hands. Could it have belonged to the pilot? And if so, where was he?
Milo tossed the boot aside and Morq darted after it, ripping the leather to pieces with his beak and swallowing it. “Gross!” Milo said. “You don’t know where that’s been. Put it down.”
Morq looked up at him and growled defensively. He backed away and climbed up the side of the loose hull plate. The plate shuddered beneath his weight.
“Morq, careful,” Milo said. “You don’t want to—”
With a crash, the plate fell to the ground, barely missing Milo before the sharp edge sliced into the floor. The boy sprang backward, his heart pounding. Morq cried out and jumped out of the way, the boot forgotten.
“What did I just say?” Milo shouted. “I could’ve been crushed.”
Morq flattened his ears and whimpered an apology.
“If your little friend has finished creating chaos,” CR-8R called from the other side of the barrier. “I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?”
“Good news first, I guess.” Lina shrugged.
“The good news is that the cockpit is mostly undamaged,” the droid said. “The hyperdrive appears to be in one piece and the couplings should be compatible with the Bird.”
“That’s great,” Lina called out. “What’s the bad news?”
“I’ve been able to communicate with the ship’s computer,” CR-8R reported. “It didn’t like me prying. These old freighters can be so rude. If you could have heard some of the language, it was—”
“What did it tell you, Crater?” Lina interrupted impatiently.
“It told me that the crash was not a result of engine failure, or of anything inside the ship. It said it was not its fault.”
“Why is that bad news?” Milo asked.
“Because of the final report from the external sensors,” CR-8R told him. “The Venture was hit in the side. A physical blow knocked the ship out of the sky.”
“A laser blast?” Milo asked.
“I didn’t see any blast marks,” Lina said. “Just those weird scratches on the outside of the ship.”
“It is my belief that—Wait,” CR-8R said sharply. “I’m receiving a signal from the Whisper Bird. Another ship just came out of hyperspace above the planet.”
Milo tried to reach the cockpit but the fallen hull plate blocked his path. “Imperial?” he asked.
“Can’t tell,” CR-8R replied. “The model does not appear to be in my records. But a shuttle has just detached from the main ship and is rapidly descending.”
“The Empire,” Lina said. “They’ve found us. Crater, move your circuits.”
CR-8R’s servers strained as he tried to shift the plate that Morq had brought down. But it wouldn’t budge.“It’s too heavy,” CR-8R said. “I’ll have to cut through it. Both of you, go, now.”
“I won’t leave you,” Lina insisted. “What if the stormtroopers find you?”
“I will disguise myself as part of the wreckage,” CR-8R said. “It shouldn’t be too hard.”
Milo looked up into the murky sky. He could see a black speck high above them, getting bigger as it came closer. His heart pounded.
Morq squealed and ran toward him. Milo shooed him away. The monkey-lizard would be safer in the wreck than out in the jungle. “Stay, boy,” he said. “Look after Crater.”
“I’ll keep him safe,” the droid called out. “Now, Master Milo and Mistress Lina, please run. Before it’s too late.”
Milo and Lina dropped to the dirt and ran for the tree line.
LINA AND MILO climbed up the rocky slope into the jungle. They could hear the rumble of engines behind them. Lina glanced back through a gap in the branches as a shadow fell over the shipwreck. The trees shook, and the siblings shielded their eyes as a wave of heat rolled over them.
A sleek blunt-nosed shuttle descended toward the crash site. It was black and gold, with platinum bearings and eight ion engines. It looked just as expensive as the settlement they’d seen from the air.
Lina breathed a deep sigh of relief.
This wasn’t an Imperial vessel. Through the glass of the cockpit she could make out a tall figure bent over the controls.
The pilot fired the thrusters and the ship hovered above the wreck. The rear hatch slid back and two figures emerged, crouching on the edge. One was slender and clad in black, face covered by a close-fitting mask that was oddly familiar. The other was shorter and heavier, tightly gripping the side of the shuttle.
The tall one jumped off first, landing upright on the roof of the shipwreck with ease. The second was clumsier, dropping awkwardly onto the wreck and rolling on his back. The first figure looked around, scanning the tree line.
Lina pulled herself and Milo back into the shadows, cursing her own foolishness. They could easily have been spotted. Just because the newcomers weren’t stormtroopers didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous.
Milo and Lina scrabbled up the slope. Leaves stung their faces as they ran. Lina heard the ship rising back into the air. Glancing up, she saw it fly overhead toward the landing strip. So much for their getting back to the Bird unseen.
Just then, there was a muffled crackling noise. “Mistress Lina,” someone said, startling her. “Mistress Lina, can you hear me?”
Lina reached into her pocket and pulled out her little comlink. “Crater, what’s happening?”
“I am still inside the Venture’s cockpit,” the droid replied. “Two people have entered and are inspecting the shipwreck.”
“Don’t let them hear you,” Milo warned.
“Don’t worry, Master Milo,” CR-8R told him. “I have disconnected my exterior vocabulator and linked directly with the comlink.”
“Smart.” Milo grinned.
“Could you also reroute your aural sensors?” Lina asked. “That way we can hear their conversation.”
“Good idea, Mistress Lina,” CR-8R agreed. “I’ll do so now.”
There was a click, then a long silence. After a few minutes, they heard the distinct sound of footsteps.
“Someone’s definitely been here.” A man’s voice came through, dull and echoing. “Look, boss. A shoe.”
“That’s Meggin’s boot, laser-brain,” a woman snapped, her voice muffled. “I’d recognize those clodhoppers anywhere. But you’re right. Whoever landed in that craft has been snooping around in here. I can smell them.”
Lina shuddered. She knew they probably still reeked of Thunian bug spray, but still, that was unnatural.
Then she remembered the mask the woman had been wearing. She knew she’d seen one like it before, and now she remembered where. On that trip to Ikari about a year before, the village elder had owned a mask that allowed him to see, hear, and smell more keenly than any of the other tribesmen. It had made him a fearsome hunter. The woman had the same mask!
“Corin,” the woman said into her comlink, “is there anyone on the other craft?”
“There’s no sign of life,” a male voice crackled back. “The hyperdrive is also badly damaged.”
“Scavengers,” the woman said. “They must be looking for spare parts on my ship. But who would be scavenging all the way out here?”
“And why would they do this to the Venture?” the first man asked.
“Don’t be a fool, Bort,” the woman said. “They didn’t do this damage. Look, these are clearly claw marks. This was the work of one of Meggin’s monsters.”
“Do you think it’s still out here?” Bort asked, and Lina could hear just a hint of worry in his voice.
The woman snorted. “Don’t be so pathetic,” she growled. “I thought you were supposed to be one of the best mercenaries in the galaxy. You told me you were wanted in seven systems. You’re not afraid of some clumsy beast with more teeth than brain cells, right?”
“Yes, boss,” Bort replied nervously.
“Now let’s head down to the landing fiel
d and take a look at that ship,” the woman continued. “These scavengers won’t get away with stealing from me.”
“What are you going to do?” the man asked.
“Do I have to spell everything out for you?” The woman sighed. “Blast them, of course.”
They heard footsteps retreating, and then CR-8R’s voice cut back in.
“Well, she seemed most unfriendly,” he said. “And I’m afraid her companion didn’t look much better. He wasn’t a large man, but he appeared to be carrying a blaster approximately the size of Master Milo.”
“So what do we do now?” Milo asked. “We can’t get back to the Bird. They’ll be waiting for us.”
“Then there’s only one place to go,” Lina said. “We follow that transmission. It’s our only hope.”
Lina and Milo walked through a last wall of trees and found themselves on the edge of a broad grassy path—the same one they’d seen when they had flown in. Lina knew if they followed it uphill, they’d find the settlement.
Together, they trudged up the slope, shielding their eyes from the glaring sun. The building stood hunched on the horizon. Its black roof curved away from them and was shrouded in mist from the waterfalls on either side. Below it stood a tall durasteel fence, creating a seemingly impenetrable protective barrier.
Except that something had managed to penetrate it. On the side farthest from the path, a jagged hole stretched from the top of the fence to the ground. The steel had been pulled back, and Lina saw three huge scratches in it. It reminded her of the marks on the Venture’s hull.
“What could have done this?” she asked Milo as they approached.
He shook his head. “I have no idea,” he admitted. “But whatever it is, it must be big. Really big.”
They climbed cautiously through the hole in the fence, looking for any signs of movement. Lina drew out her comlink, trying to pinpoint the signal. The transmission faded in and out, but when she pointed her comlink directly at the structure up ahead, the signal was the strongest.
“…Empire will do everything they can to hunt us down,” the woman was saying, her voice loud in the stillness of the jungle. “But we will stand firm, resisting all efforts to—”
Lina clicked off the comlink. “This has to be the place.”
As they crept forward, Lina smelled something rotten in the air. She saw Milo covering his nose and grimacing.
“What is that?” Lina asked. “It’s disgusting.”
“It’s this slime everywhere,” Milo observed. “I wonder what could’ve made it.”
Lina looked down at the puddles of pale sticky liquid splattered on the grass and shuddered. “Just when you think this planet can’t get any stranger,” she said, narrowly avoiding a large puddle.
“That’s nothing,” Milo whispered. “Look at this.”
Lina raised her head and stifled a gasp. From the air, they’d been able to see only the front of the black structure, with its plate glass windows and durasteel roof. The rest had been cloaked in mist. If we had seen the whole structure, she thought, we might have thought twice about landing.
It looked like something had taken a bite out of it. The rear side was a twisted mess of shattered wood and steel debris. The roof had been ripped open, just like the perimeter fence, and the windows were shattered from floor to ceiling.
“I’m starting to think this was a bad idea,” Milo whispered.
“Me too,” Lina said. “Are you saying we should go back?”
Milo shook his head. “I don’t hear anything moving around,” he said. “I think whatever did this is gone. And we have to find the source of that signal.”
“But how are we supposed to get inside?” Lina asked, looking up at the ruin.
“Down there,” Milo suggested, pointing to a narrow shaft in the ground that was set apart from the worst of the destruction. “It must lead down to a cellar of some kind. Maybe we’ll go down and then come back up inside.”
With her comlink, Lina scanned the metal steps leading down into the earth. The signal was still coming through loud and clear.
Milo and Lina had almost reached the steps when a sudden flash of movement made them both look up. A bunch of bricks fell to the ground. The siblings heard a faint chattering and then were hit with a blast of that ripe, foul smell.
“There’s something here,” Lina said. Milo nodded.
“I thought I saw it before,” he agreed. “Some kind of rodent, I think. No bigger than my hand. It didn’t look dangerous.”
Lina frowned. “Well, if something tries to bite me, I’m blaming you.”
A door at the base of the steps was ajar and Milo pushed it open. On the other side was a large room. The low steel walls were lined with rows of computer screens.
White lights flickered on automatically as they entered the room, but it was deserted. Like everywhere else on this planet, Lina thought. In the center of the room was a deep pit. Together, Milo and Lina peered over the edge, gripping the handrail tightly. Pale blue light radiated from below, and they could hear a deep hum. A power source.
“This must be the control center,” Lina said. “Look, here are the lights and the heating and the security systems. But I don’t see the communications system. There must be a second hub somewhere else in the building.”
Together, they went through a narrow doorway on the far side. It led to a long concrete hallway with buzzing lights hanging from the ceiling. Through a window in the wall, they could see an enormous kitchen. It was a maze of gleaming metal surfaces, and everything looked spotless and unused.
An imposing pair of wooden doors faced them. Milo pushed them open to reveal a huge, high-ceilinged room with dark varnished wood floors. A massive chandelier hung overhead, sparkling with gold and glass.
“Whoa, look at that,” Milo said, pointing to the walls. They were lined from floor to ceiling with the heads of every size and species of creature imaginable. There were furry nexu, scaly dewbacks, magnificent varactyls, and savage rancors. It seemed as though heads of creatures from every sector of the galaxy had been stuffed, mounted, and put on display there.
Some of the smaller specimens had been kept intact. Lina saw a mynock suspended from the ceiling, its wings spread as if in flight. And there was a rearing narglatch with its claws bared as though ready to attack. Their glassy eyes seemed to stare at Lina, and she shuddered. She pulled the comlink from her pocket, but Milo quickly grabbed her arm. “Don’t switch it on,” he hissed urgently.
“Why not?” Lina asked.
“Because of that,” Milo said, pointing a trembling finger.
Lina looked in the direction he was pointing, but all she saw was another stuffed creature. It was huge and hairy, with sharp teeth and hazy bloodshot eyes.
“What?” she said. “I don’t see any—”
The creature blinked.
Lina jumped backward, hitting the wall and biting back a cry of surprise.
“Stay still,” Milo hissed. “Maybe it won’t see us.”
Lina clutched his hand, frozen in place. The words of the masked woman echoed in her head. What had she said? “Meggin’s monsters”?
“It’s a veermok,” Milo whispered. “This must be the one that escaped, back at the Venture.”
“Are they aggressive?” Lina asked.
Milo nodded. “Very.”
The creature on the ship had looked almost pitiful, sprawled out on the floor of the cage. But this veermok was very much alive. It snapped its huge teeth menacingly as it eyed them.
The veermok stepped forward, sniffing the air. Its powerful black forearms thumped on the floorboards as it took another step toward them. Then the veermok lowered its head.
“Go!” Milo cried, grabbing Lina and shoving her back into the hallway. The veermok roared as it thundered after them, its huge fists splintering the wood floor. Milo and Lina sprinted back into the control room and around the central pit toward the steps on the far side. The veermok shoved through the narrow do
orway, bellowing as its shoulders got stuck. Then it shook its massive body and the door frame shattered, raining down splinters and debris on the beast as it fought free.
Lina followed Milo up into the light, glancing back to see the veermok jumping over the central pit in a single bound. But as she reached the top of the steps, her foot slipped in a puddle of goo and she fell.
Lina cried out in pain as she hit the floor hard. She expected to feel the creature’s paw tightening around her ankle at any moment.
But the feeling never came. Lina rolled onto her back, lifting her head. The veermok had paused at the base of the steps, looking into the light. For the first time, Lina saw that its fur was soaked with blood. A jagged wound ran from its neck to its arm. It looked as though something had slashed it with sharp claws. There were more marks on its chest and legs.
The veermok’s eyes were red and damp. There’s something in them, Lina thought. Something more than just hunger and anger. Could it be fear? But what could possibly scare a beast this size?
The veermok lowered its head, taking a tentative step into the light. Lina knew she should try to run. But she also knew it was no use. They were out in the open now. There was nowhere left to hide.
The veermok climbed to the top of the steps, towering over her. Lina drew back, holding her breath. Milo gasped.
Suddenly, a blaster shot rang out. The veermok jerked back, a look of confusion crossing its face. Then it fell, toppling forward like a falling tree. Lina rolled clear just as the beast crashed face-first into the steps.
She heard footsteps and turned to see a figure in black striding toward them with a rifle raised to her eye. A golden bird, wings spread, was emblazoned across her chest.
The woman lowered the rifle and unclipped the sensor mask. Red hair tumbled down around her pale hard face. She looked down at the veermok, a smug smile of satisfaction on her lips.
Then she turned to Lina and Milo, her eyes a striking ice-cold blue.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “And what are you doing on my planet?”
“MOVE,” THE RED-HAIRED WOMAN growled, gesturing with her rifle. She marched Milo and Lina through the wreckage to where a pale figure stood waiting.
Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space: The Nest Page 2
