by Cavan Scott
And with that, Nazgorigan was off, hovering toward more potential customers.
Milo shook the can and sprayed the contents over himself. A moment later, he was choking.
“Yuck!” he gagged. “That’s disgusting!”
Lina turned away, trying not to laugh. “You smell worse than usual. And I thought that stuff was supposed to keep the bugs away?”
Sure enough, even more flying insects were swarming around Milo now.
“Give me that,” CR-8R said, snatching the can from Milo’s hands with his manipulator arm. “I’ll just spray a little onto my sensor and…”
The droid let out a series of bleeps as he analyzed the sample.
“I thought so,” he finally said. “You’ve just sprayed yourself with stagnant water, probably from the canal system.”
“What?!” Milo spluttered. “He tricked me!”
“I told you that Jablogians were dishonest. If I had been allowed to continue, I would have added untrustworthy, unscrupulous, and downright criminal.”
Nazgorigan was halfway across the spaceport now, spraying himself with what was obviously a can of real insect repellent!
“We go to all the best places,” Milo moaned. He trudged up the Bird’s ramp. “I’m going to go shower.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Lina teased. “And while you do that, I’ll try to figure out what we’re going to do next….”
“I STILL REEK!” Milo complained, drying his hair as he walked into the Whisper Bird’s hold.
“No comment,” his sister replied. She had her head stuck in the workings of a small holo-table.
“What are you doing?” Milo asked.
“Just making a few adjustments. Crater won’t let me near the generator again,” Lina said. “Says it’s too dangerous for a human.”
“Quite right,” came CR-8R’s muffled voice from the engineering section of the ship.
Milo ignored the droid. “So you decided to take out your frustrations on the holo-table?”
Lina replaced the table’s access panel. “I’m going to contact Dil and don’t want anyone listening. I’ve rigged the transmitter so the signal can’t be traced back to the Bird.”
“Clever,” Milo said.
Lina smirked. “I know I am.”
Milo threw his towel onto a nearby seat, where it landed on a sleeping Morq. The monkey-lizard squealed as he woke up.
It had been a long time since the children had seen Dil Pexton. The alien was their mom and dad’s agent on Thune, a Sullustan who helped the Grafs sell the holo-maps and data they gathered while exploring Wild Space. He’d been a friend of the family since before Lina and Milo were born. If anyone could help them track down their parents, it was Dil.
“So what are you waiting for, genius?” Milo said. “Give him a call.”
Lina punched in a code and transmitted the call, waiting for Dil to respond. Amazingly, the Sullustan answered immediately. A glowing hologram of his face appeared in the air above the table.
“Lina! Milo!” the alien shouted, his large black eyes widening. Like all Sullustans, Dil Pexton had a domed head, oversized ears, and thick jowls around his mouth that wobbled when he spoke. “Thank the Warren Mother that you’re both safe. I’ve been worried sick. Your father hasn’t been answering my messages.”
“Mom and Dad have been taken, Dil,” Lina told the hologram. “By the Empire.”
“They’ve been what?”
Lina told him everything that had happened, how they’d found their parents’ camp deserted and discovered a holo-recording of them being kidnapped.
When she’d finished, Dil frowned. “This Imperial officer. Was it Captain Korda?”
The name made Milo shiver. Korda had come to the swamp world they had been exploring, demanding that their mom and dad hand over all their data. He was terrifying, a huge brute of a man with a hideous robotic jaw.
Lina nodded. “But we don’t think that Mom gave him everything he wanted. She sent us a batch of encrypted files before she was taken.”
“What kind of files?” Dil asked.
“We don’t know yet, but we’re working to decode them,” Lina replied.
“No!” Dil snapped. “That could be dangerous. Bring them to me. I’ll have a look and see what they are.”
“What we really want to do is find Mom and Dad,” Lina said. “We think they’ve been taken back to the Core worlds, but can’t be sure. Do you think you can find out?”
“That shouldn’t be too difficult,” Dil considered. “I know a few people in the Imperial Navy. I could call in some favors. Where are you?”
“On Thune,” Lina replied.
Dil’s mouth dropped open. “You’re here? Oh, that’s wonderful news. Come and see me, and we’ll see what we can do. Here, I’ll send you my location.”
The holo-table gave a beep and a map appeared on the small screen set into its surface.
“Got it,” Lina told him.
“Good girl. Follow the red dot.” The Sullustan sighed. “I’m really sorry about all this, kids.”
“It’s not your fault, Dil,” Lina said.
“Yes it is, Lina. I sent the Imperials to see your parents. I thought it would be a good deal for them—for all of us. I should have known. There was something about Korda that I didn’t like from day one,” Dil said.
“Can’t say I like him too much, either,” Milo admitted.
Dil gave them a comforting smile. “We’ll find them, Milo, I promise. Just remember—”
The hologram fizzed. Dil’s face distorted with static.
Lina worked the controls, trying to clear the interference. “Dil? Dil, can you hear me?” she called.
The image of their friend solidified for a second before vanishing. Then the holo-projector cut out.
“What happened?” Milo asked.
Lina checked the controls again. “We lost the signal,” she reported. “I’ll call him back.”
This time there was no response.
“Is there something wrong with the transmitter?” Milo asked.
“Possibly. Crater? Have you done anything to the comms-relay?” Lina called.
The droid hovered down from the engineering hatch. “I don’t think so. It’s a real mess up there. I’ll be able to get the Whisper Bird operational again, but it’ll take time.”
“While you do that, I’ll go and see Dil,” Milo said. Morq hopped up onto his shoulder.
“You will?” Lina said.
“Well, yeah. You can help Crater,” Milo replied.
“I am quite capable of repairing the ship on my own, thank you very much,” the droid answered.
“Milo, you can’t go on your own,” Lina said. “It’s not safe.”
“I’ll be fine,” Milo said confidently. “Morq will come with me, won’t you, boy?”
The monkey-lizard puffed out his narrow chest, trying to look brave, and nodded.
“No, I’ll go instead,” Lina insisted.
“Lina!” Milo protested.
“No arguments, Lo-Bro. Until we find Mom and Dad, I need to look after you. They’d never forgive me if something happened to you,” she said firmly.
“Nothing’s going to happen,” Milo argued. “We’ll go straight to Dil’s office, I promise.”
“You’re always getting lost,” Lina pointed out. “I’m going, and that’s that. Crater, you keep making the repairs. I’ll talk everything through with Dil and let you know what he says.”
Milo crossed his arms. “What about the files?”
“Crater can transmit them later,” Lina said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the droid advised. “They could be intercepted by Imperial agents.”
“I’ll send for you then,” Lina said. “Either way, you’re staying here, Milo.”
She turned to leave and Morq leapt from Milo’s shoulder and landed on Lina’s back. She laughed. “You’re coming, too, boy?”
The monkey-lizard
gave an excited warble.
“Traitor,” Milo hissed.
“It’s probably because Dil always gives Morq loads of treats,” Lina said. The monkey-lizard clicked his beak and chirped happily. “So, does everyone know what they’re doing?”
“Yeah,” Milo moaned. “Absolutely nothing!”
“Don’t worry, Master Milo,” CR-8R said. “You can watch me work, if you stay nice and quiet. You might even learn something.”
“I doubt it,” Milo growled as he watched his sister walk away.
LINA WAS GLAD she had Morq with her as she walked through Thune City. She had downloaded Dil’s map onto her datapad, but she was trying not to stare at the display too much. The last thing she wanted to look like was a tourist.
Narrow streets ran alongside the foul-smelling canals and were packed with aliens of all shapes and sizes. Lina had to weave in and out of the crowd, navigating around the busy market stalls and jumping out of the way of the speeder bikes that zoomed up and down with little regard for pedestrians.
There was noise everywhere, from the boats that chugged along the canals, adding thick fumes to the already smelly air, to the shuttles that roared overhead. At one point, a trio of TIE fighters had flown low over the imposing buildings. Lina had been convinced that they were searching for her and her brother.
And the whole time, bugs and flies buzzed around her, looking for a tasty snack.
“These things are disgusting,” she said, slapping them away. She was surprised when Morq reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a long silver canister.
“That’s Nazgorigan’s insect repellent!” she exclaimed, recognizing the tube. “The real one, not the stuff he sold Milo. How did you get it?”
Morq tried to look innocent.
“You’re such a little thief, Morq.” Lina laughed. “Although this time I won’t complain.”
Taking the canister from the monkey-lizard, Lina gave herself a quick blast of the repellent. The effect was instantaneous and the insects immediately kept their distance.
It wasn’t long before they found Dil’s address. Like the other buildings along the street, Dil’s building was made of a dirty yellow stone, rising three stories into the muggy sky. Lina walked up to the doors and pressed the buzzer. A camera on the porch turned to look at her. There were a series of beeps and the door slid open.
Morq hugged her close as she stepped over the threshold and entered the dirty lobby. Dust motes swirled in what little light squeezed through the narrow windows. The entire place smelled musty and there were patches of moss creeping up the stained walls. Why was Dil working in a dump like this?
A screen in the wall flickered on and Dil’s face filled the display. “Lina, I’m so glad you came,” he said. “Take the platform up to the top floor.”
Before she could answer, the picture disappeared again. With Morq whining nervously, Lina stepped onto an elevator. With the sound of grinding gears, they rose steadily up an open shaft. The second floor looked deserted, but light poured out of an open door on the third.
“Don’t worry, Morq,” Lina said, stepping from the platform and crossing the small landing. “This must be it.”
She opened the door and found herself in a large room. The only furniture was a rickety old desk in the corner and two wobbly-looking chairs. An ancient-looking air-conditioning unit in the ceiling didn’t help cool the place down. At least the wooden shutters across the windows kept a little of the street’s oppressive heat at bay.
“Hello?” Lina called, creeping into the room. Dil was nowhere to be seen, until a door slid open to her right and the alien bustled in.
“I’m sorry, Lina, I was just dealing with a little business,” Dil said.
He rushed over to her and gave her an awkward hug. Morq jumped from her shoulders and scampered over to Dil’s table.
“Ah, I know what you want.” The alien chuckled, walking toward the eager monkey-lizard. He opened one of the drawers and offered Morq a small bag. “Dried clip beetle?”
Morq snatched the bag from Dil’s pudgy hands and crammed a purple-shelled bug into his mouth. His tiny pointed beak crunched the shell. Lina grimaced.
“Oh, they’re quite delicious,” Dil said, ushering her toward one of the chairs. “They taste like colo clawfish. You should try one!”
“No, thanks,” Lina said, sitting down. “I’m not that hungry.”
Dil leaned forward on his desk. “It must be because of all the worry. I’m so sorry about your parents, Lina.” He glanced out into the corridor. “Milo’s not with you?”
“He’s still with Crater,” Lina replied. “You know Milo. He gets lost getting out of bed in the morning.”
Dil laughed and activated the computer on his desk. “What I don’t understand is how you got past the planetary defenses? If they thought the Whisper Bird was destroyed—”
“That was Crater. He transmitted a fake ID, overriding the IFF,” Lina said.
“But how did he get hold of…” Dil’s voice trailed off and his eyes widened. “Of course.”
“What?” Lina asked, confused.
“A couple of years ago, I did a deal with a Trandoshan smuggler. Your dad was furious, but as payment I received a stash of fake ship IDs. I sent them to Auric, just in case.”
“And they were in the data Mom sent to Crater!” Lina realized.
Dil nodded. “If she was about to hand over files to Korda, the last thing she’d want him to find was a bunch of fake IFF codes.”
“Crater’s search must have activated them,” Lina said.
“I told your dad they’d come in handy one day.” Dil looked at his computer screen. “Now, I’ve made some inquiries, but I’m afraid no one’s heard anything about your parents.”
Lina’s shoulders slumped. She had been sure Dil could help. The alien noticed her disappointed expression and tried his best to cheer her up.
“There’s no need to look so sad. I’ve only just started,” Dil said reassuringly. “Besides once you give me the rest of those files, I’m sure we’ll get somewhere.”
Lina narrowed her eyes. “The files? How will they help?”
Dil glanced over at the sliding door before looking back at her. “Let’s just say that they’re important. Wild Space is becoming desirable property you know.” He held out his hand. “Are they on that datapad?”
Lina looked down at the pad in her lap and shook her head. “No, I didn’t bring them with me.”
“You didn’t?” Dil snapped, a little too angrily. “I told you I needed them.”
“Crater’s still working on them,” Lina replied.
“Your droid? What’s he got to do with it?” Dil asked angrily.
“I told him to transmit them to you later,” Lina said. Dil slammed his fist down on the table, sending Morq jumping onto Lina’s legs. Clip beetles scattered all over the floor.
“But that won’t work,” Dil yelled, his voice suddenly harsh. “I need them NOW.”
Sweat had started to run down the alien’s jowls.
Morq scampered up onto Lina’s shoulder to hide behind her head. “Dil, there’s no need to shout,” she said. “You’re scaring Morq.”
The alien punched a control on the desk and a holo-projector activated. “Has Milo got them? Contact him now. Tell him to send them over, or better yet, tell him to come himself.”
Lina rose from her chair. “And now you’re scaring me. Maybe we should come back later.”
Dil stood up, sending his chair crashing into the wall.
“No,” he barked. “You need to stay.”
Clutching her datapad, Lina backed toward the exit. “Tell you what, you ask around about Mom and Dad, and we’ll transmit the files as soon as Crater has finished with them.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” boomed a deep voice to her right.
Lina spun around to see a man standing in the side door. He wore an olive-green uniform and smirked triumphantly at her from beneath a hat. His gr
in showed the metal teeth of his robotic jaw.
“Hello, Lina,” growled Captain Korda of the Imperial Navy. “How nice to finally make your acquaintance. Your mother has told me so much about you.”
Lina stared at Dil in disbelief. “How could you?”
The traitor stared at his desk, shaking his head. “I’m sorry,” he muttered weakly. But Lina didn’t wait to hear any more. She spun around, ready to run back out into the hallway, but her path was blocked by a pair of stormtroopers. They aimed their blasters right at her, ready to fire.
Morq cried out in panic and leapt from her shoulders. One of the stormtroopers turned and fired. The blaster sounded like thunder in the confines of Dil’s office. The bolt hit the floor, but Morq was too fast. He crashed past the blinds, escaping through the open window. The trooper moved to go after him but stopped at the wave of Korda’s gloved hand.
“That creature isn’t important,” the captain drawled. “All I want is the data.”
He stalked forward. Lina backed away as he moved closer.
“She hasn’t got it,” Dil said quickly. “D-don’t hurt her.”
The captain turned his head to look at the Sullustan. “Hurt her? Why on Coruscant would I do that?”
“I can’t believe you would sell us out!” Lina spat at Dil. “We’ve known you since we were babies.”
Dil still didn’t meet her gaze. “They threatened me, Lina. I was scared. I’ve…I’ve done some things in the past that I’m not proud of, before I met your parents. Your mom and dad straightened me out, but—”
“But his past crimes have come back to haunt him,” Korda cut in. “It was a simple choice—betray you or spend the rest of his days mining carbonite in a Kalaan prison camp. Don’t be too hard on him. He took all of two seconds to decide.”
Korda took a step closer and Lina bumped up against the wall. There was nowhere else to go.
The captain loomed over her. “There is nothing to be afraid of. As I told your parents, the Empire wishes to bring peace and order to Wild Space. To do so, we require their maps. It’s really quite simple.”
“Then why did you arrest them?” Lina blurted out.
Korda’s wolfish smile evaporated. “Your mother only gave me part of the data—maps of useless rocks. I thought Pexton might have the rest—how fortunate that you’re still alive. I trust you’d like to stay that way.”
