Star Wars.

Galaxy of Fear.

The Doomsday Ship.

by John Whitman.

PROLOGUE

The door slid open.

A man stepped into a room that bristled with electronic equipment.

Working quietly and quickly, he set a large portable computer down on a control console, then pulled a connection wire from his pocket.

His hands worked almost as swiftly and efficiently as the computers that surrounded him.

The man plugged one end of his wire into the portable computer and the other end into the computer system.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed a b.u.t.ton on the control pad. At this command, ten trillion bits of information zipped from one computer into the other at nearly the speed of light. It would take ten thousand beings, studying all their lives, to memorize all the information stored in the computer program he was downloading.

The transfer was complete in seconds.

The man disconnected the portable computer. Then he removed a tiny comlink from his pocket. He turned it on and whispered to himself: "Doomsday has begun."

CHAPTER 1.

Zak and Tash Arranda were playing hologames in the lounge of their starship, the Shroud, when it suddenly dropped out of hypers.p.a.ce.

Zak felt the ship's hyperdrive stop and he glanced out a small viewport in time to see that they were hurtling toward a huge star cruiser. It was a thousand times larger than the Shroud-so big that it blotted out the stars.

"We're gonna crash!" he shouted to his sister. Startled, she braced against her chair.

But there was no collision. The Shroud slowed down and glided up alongside the giant ship. Tash straightened her neat single blond braid.

"Thanks a lot, Zak," she said. "Next time I feel like having a heart spasm, I'll know who to ask."

Zak shrugged. "Well, it looked like we were going to crash."

"Not with Uncle Hoole piloting. Let's go to the c.o.c.kpit."

By the time Zak and Tash reached the Shroud's control room, the ship had come to a complete stop. Their uncle Hoole was sitting in the pilot's seat and speaking into a comm unit. "Shroud standing by, waiting for docking orders."

Zak beat his thirteen-year-old sister to the copilot's seat by a half- step (just because she was a year older didn't mean she was any faster!) and dropped down into it. "What's going on, Uncle Hoole? Is the ship okay?"

"Whose cruiser is that?" Tash added.

Hoole turned his stern gray face to them. "There is nothing wrong with the ship," he replied in his usual flat-toned voice. "But to get to Dantooine we must pa.s.s through some heavily populated Imperial sectors. I saw this cruise ship on the sensors and it gave me an idea."

The two Arrandas and their uncle needed to avoid the Empire at all costs. And the planet Dantooine was about as far from the Empire as they could get. A few months before, they had stumbled upon an Imperial experiment to create a new, living superweapon. They'd helped destroy the experiment but had drawn the attention of the Emperor's right-hand man, the Dark Lord known as Darth Vader. Now they were wanted for crimes against the Empire, and they were looking for a safe place to hide.

Tash and Zak felt as though they'd been on the run forever. Almost a year earlier, their parents and all their friends had been killed when the Empire destroyed their home planet, Alderaan. Now Hoole was their guardian. From a distance, you might believe they were part of the same family, but up close, even a stranger could see that Hoole wasn't a blood relation. In fact, he wasn't even the same species. Zak and Tash were human, and Hoole was a Shi'ido. He was taller than most humans and his skin was a light gray. But the most important difference between humans and Uncle Hoole was the Shi'ido's ability to change shape. Hoole could morph into any living creature in the galaxy.

"That is the luxury cruiser Star of Empire," Hoole told his nephew and niece. "I just booked rooms for a two-week trip."

Tash's eyes lit up. "For us? Great!"

But Zak wasn't nearly as excited. He looked out the Shroud's main viewport and got his first good look at the star cruiser. It was shaped like an egg nearly two kilometers long and laser-painted a brilliant blue. Forty rows of portholes ran the length of the ship, with light beaming from every one of them. Lights also glowed on the bridge high at the top of the ship. The vessel seemed to be moving slowly, like a giant teardrop trickling through s.p.a.ce.

"Yeah, great," Zak grumbled. "Another adventure."

CHAPTER 2.

"Welcome aboard the cruise ship Star of Empire. My name is M-4D0.

You may call me Fourdee. May I help you'?"

The protocol droid that had spoken stepped forward, its servos whirring as its golden arms and legs shuffled across the deck of the cruiser.

"Urn, we're just waiting for our uncle," Zak replied. "He's registering the ship with the deck officer."

"I see," the droid said. "I am a porter droid, programmed to a.s.sist you while you are on board. I shall wait." M-4D0 froze in place, humming pleasantly.

"It can't be that luxurious a cruise ship," Tash chuckled, "if all they send to greet us is a droid."

"No problem for me," Zak said darkly. "I'd rather deal with a droid than some other being any day."

Tash shook her head. "What's draining your power cells, Zak? We're on a cruise ship! We can actually relax for once. Everyone who works here is paid to give us anything we want!"

"That's the problem," Zak grumbled. "We'll have to deal with everyone here. I was kind of looking forward to a nice long trip on the Shroud-alone."

"Well," Tash said, "if you want to avoid other beings, you'd better find a new galaxy. This one's got billions."

Zak nodded vigorously. "Yeah, and every time we meet one, something bad happens. What about Sh'shak on S'krrr? We met him and were almost eaten alive by the bugs in his garden. And our friend Fandomar from the planet Ithor-after we met her, I became a Spore zombie! And do I have to remind you about that little brain surgery you had done on Tatooine?" Zak was almost shouting now. "And that's just in the last couple of months."

He knew his sister couldn't argue. Their entire time with Hoole had been a string of adventures. "But that's exactly why I'm looking forward to this trip," Tash replied. "This isn't some Imperial plot, Zak. It's just a cruise ship."

"But it's still full of people," Zak insisted. "And other beings are what keep getting us into trouble, whether they mean to or not. All in all, I'd rather deal with machines like M-4D0 here."

"Thanks a lot," the droid intoned.

"No offense," Zak added.

"I don't think we will have much to worry about here, Zak," Hoole said, gliding gracefully up behind them.

"This star cruiser is as ordinary a place as you will find in all the galaxy. We will be safe."

Twenty-four hours later, Zak still hadn't seen any more of the cruise ship than the docking bay, the turbolift, and his cabin. He'd spent all of the previous day and night dismantling the microprocessors in his cabin computer. He had always liked machines-everything from the reheating units in his parents' kitchen to a starship's sublight engine.

Lately, he'd become interested in computers and wanted to find out more about how they worked.

He stared at the jumble of wires, connectors, and microchips spread out across his cabin table. "Now all I have to do is figure out how to put it back together."

His cabin door slid open and Tash walked in, wearing a poncho made of fluffy white material. She was holding a portable heating unit in her hand, using it to dry her wet hair.

"Zak, you should see the swimming pool on this deck!" she said.

"It's as big as B'jorring Pond back home!"

"No thanks," Zak said.

"Come on, Zak," Tash pleaded. "You're missing all the fun. There's a rec room full of hologames, gym rooms, a big park they call the Atrium-there's even a menagerie!"

"A what?" Zak asked.

"A menagerie. A zoo," Tash explained.

"I'll bet there's a library, too," Zak guessed, glancing at his sister, "because I don't think even you knew that word yesterday."

Tash's eyes lit up. "There's a great library. In fact, I found something there you wouldn't believe." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I was skimming through the ship's computer library and I found an article on the Jedi Knights."

Zak stopped working. "I thought the Emperor had erased all mention of the Jedi Knights."

Tash nodded. The Jedi Knights had defended the galaxy and fought for justice for thousands of years, using a mysterious power called the Force. But when the evil Emperor rose to power, he and Darth Vader hunted down and killed the Jedi Knights. Once all the Jedi had been destroyed, the Emperor ordered all mention of them to be erased from every computer in the galaxy.

"Well, he tried," his sister replied. "But it's a big galaxy and they must have missed this one. This article was listed under another subject. I almost didn't see it." She lowered her voice even more. "If the Emperor knew it was here, he'd probably destroy the whole ship to get it."

"I knew it!" Zak said. "We're here one day and you're already involved in more trouble! Next thing you know some evil Jedi is going to show up and try to wipe all the memories from your brain and we'll have to save you."

Tash laughed. "Would you relax? I haven't told anyone about the article. You know why?" She lowered her voice again. "It's about a Jedi philosophy called 'action through inaction.' The whole idea is that sometimes, when your instinct is to charge right into a problem, the real solution is to sit back, relax, and be patient. Let the problem solve itself."

"You mean getting somewhere by doing nothing?"

"Exactly."

"Good," Zak said, "because that's what I plan on doing."

Tash shook her head. "Oh no you don't. I wouldn't be doing my job as a big sister if I didn't make you leave your cabin once in a while.

Hey, Fourdee!"

As soon as she called out, the cabin door slid open and the golden droid they'd met the previous day stepped inside. "Everything is ready, young lady."

Zak eyed his sister. "What are you up to?"

Tash shrugged. "I want you to see more of the ship. You want to work on computers. I thought I'd find a way to make us both happy."

Thirty minutes later Zak was standing in a turbolift, just outside the most amazing room he'd ever seen. The walls were lined with computer banks. There were scanner screens everywhere. Some of them displayed images of places inside the ship, and others gave details of objects light-years away. Wires, cables, and machines were everywhere. Tash would have hated it-which is why she'd gone back for another swim. But for Zak, who loved technology, it was a dream come true.

"Welcome to the control center of the Star of Empire," Fourdee said. "If the ship were a living creature, this room would be its brain."

"Are you... are you sure we're allowed in here?" Zak asked.

"Absolutely," the droid replied. "Your sister informed me of your interest, and I requested a visitor's permit from Captain Hajj."

Fourdee led Zak to the center of the room. There, separated from all the other equipment, stood a single computer. It was set in a gleaming black case almost as tall as Zak and as wide as a landspeeder.

Lights flashed along its surface, and it hummed quietly.

Near the computer sat the only technician in the room. He was human, with dark, stringy hair and dark circles beneath his eyes.

"Crewman Malik," the droid said. "This is your scheduled visitor.

His name is Zak."

Malik looked at Zak as if he were a Kowakian monkey-lizard. "Go away."

Fourdee chimed in, "I'm afraid the captain has issued Zak a pa.s.s.

You are to be his guide."

Malik glared at Fourdee. "You go away, too."

"Well, I can see you two will get along just fine," Fourdee hummed.

"I'll be on my way."

The droid shuffled back into the waiting turbolift and zoomed away.

Zak watched the technician, who ignored Zak as he studied the readouts on the surface of the big computer. Zak looked around, trying to make sense of the complex machines. Something scuttled across the floor.