Star Wars - 210 - Jedi Prince 01 - The Glove of Darth Vader (4 page)

Swishing his great tail fin, Leviathor felt an invisible fire burning within him as he remembered the many learned and wise Whaladons who were now gone forever. No longer would they teach or sing songs-there was nothing left of them but their bones. Leviathor knew he had to save his endangered species before it was too late.

Just then a bright yellow light flashed behind Leviathor. He had been targeted. They were coming for him now!

The mighty Whaladon turned in the water and saw the huge new vessel-the biggest Whaladon-hunting submarine ever built-tracking him, following him with his every dive. Leviathor raced for his life, his huge heart pounding fast.

There was a roar behind him and the water swirled with foam. A great suction was pulling at his tail, suction as if from a whirlpool.

Leviathor dove again. Swimming as he had never swum before, he sailed into the seaweed forest and down into a wide coral cave.

There he hid until the death machine had passed by. Then Leviathor swam toward the Domed City of Aquarius, the undersea center of civilization on Calamari. He had to find someone who could help the Whaladons, and soon!

Aboard Command Speeder 714-D the recently installed shield that protected the spaceship against radioactivity did its job. It helped Luke and Admiral Ackbar navigate safely out of the dangerous asteroid zone, where they had maneuvered to get away from the prying eye-sensors of the Imperial probe droids.

"We’ll go to Calamari, Luke," Admiral Ackbar said as he programmed the command speeder on an automatic course toward his home planet. "When we get there, we’ll transfer Artoo-Detoo’s spy data about Trioculus and the Imperial officers into a computer that will analyze it."

"But Mon Mothma and Princess Leia are waiting for that information now" said Luke.

"At the moment we’re likely to be spotted by Imperials if we fly near Yavin Four," explained Ackbar. "We’ll wait on Calamari for a while, then send a Calamarian cargo cruiser on ahead of us with the coded data."

"When we get to Calamari," Threepio asked anxiously, "will there be time for Artoo and me to be modified back to our usual-looking selves at the Droid Repair Shop in the Domed City of Aquarius?"

"Are you sure that’s what you want, Threepio?" said Luke with a grin. "I’m sort of getting used to you being green-and mean-looking."

"Honestly, Master Luke, sometimes your sense of humor astounds me." A short time later when they came out of hyperdrive in the region of Calamari, Admiral Ackbar contacted Pisces Base, one of the Calamarian cities on a platform that floated on the ocean. He alerted Pisces that Imperial Command Speeder 714-D was a friendly ship of the Alliance and requested permission to land.

From Pisces Base Admiral Ackbar took Luke, Threepio, and Artoo aboard a Calamarian shuttle submarine that was heading for the Domed City of Aquarius.

Though there were many other cities on platforms above the waters, the Domed City of Aquarius was the only one that was located entirely under the sea. It was encased in a gigantic bubble, with the lower half containing rocks, coral, canals, and seawater and the upper half containing air. In Aquarius air-breathers and water-breathers lived above and below one another, in a spirit of brotherhood and equality.

The Calamarian shuttle sub approached the domed city and entered the wide undersea tunnel entrance. Then it surfaced inside the bubble and docked.

As the spy mission team disembarked, Admiral Ackbar stopped suddenly. Luke wondered what was wrong. Finally Ackbar said, "Listen to that sound-it’s a Whaladon song." Luke noticed it, too. It was a faint, haunting melody, echoing between the tall buildings on both sides of the biggest canal in the city.

Making his way through the crowd, Ackbar led Luke and the droids toward the canal. There they saw Leviathor, his big white humps sticking out of the water. Admiral Ackbar was one of the few air-breathing fishmen who understood Whaladon songs. As Leviathor sang about how the Whaladons were threatened with extinction because of Captain Dunwell’s new Whaladon-hunting submarine, the admiral hung his head in sorrow.

"Wise One of the Calamarian Seas," said Admiral Ackbar, "you have my solemn promise that I will do everything I can to save you and your valiant species."

"Tell him he has my promise, too," Luke Skywalker added.

CHAPTER 5

Captain Dunwell’s Discovery

Intent on learning what Captain Dunwell had found, Trioculus left for Calamari in an Imperial strike cruiser that had been modified to travel both in outer space and undersea. Soon after the strike cruiser penetrated the atmosphere of Calamari, it plunged underwater. In the cruiser’s forward observation room Trioculus peered with all three of his eyes at the misty, dark ocean bottom.

He could make out the outline of a crater. And moments later, inside the crater on the ocean floor, he could see the faint white outline of Captain Dunwell’s Whaladon Processing Center.

"We’re in contact with Captain Dunwell, sir," said Grand Moff Hissa. "He’s planning to greet you with a thirty laser-cannon salute and a military procession."

"Absolutely not," said Trioculus in a stern voice. "If I had wanted to be noticed, I would have asked for a parade, not a private meeting."

"As you wish, my Emperor."

As the Imperial strike cruiser approached the Whaladon Processing Center, Trioculus could see Captain Dunwell’s new, immense Whaladon-hunting submarine stationed at an open undersea docking bay.

"It’s equipped with whirlpool generators," explained Grand Moff Hissa, "for sucking the Whaladons right out of the ocean and into big storage chambers. The generators are powered by an antimatter furnace,"

"Impressive," said Trioculus.

As the Imperial strike cruiser entered another of the docking bays at the huge underwater facility, Grand Moff Hissa assisted Trioculus’s crew with the docking procedures.

GRONGGGG!

A clang sounded as a large metal door closed behind Trioculus’s Imperial strike cruiser. Then seawater was quickly pumped out of the docking bay, making it safe for Trioculus, Grand Moff Hissa, and the droid Emdee to climb out and enter the Whaladon Processing Center.

There they were met by Captain Dunwell, who knelt on one knee and bowed his head before the Imperial leader. "Lord Trioculus," he said, "a most Imperial welcome to you." Then he glanced up and smiled proudly.

Trioculus didn’t like the way the captain seemed to be staring at him. It was as though the captain were repulsed by Trioculus’s third eye.

"I trust you had a safe and comfortable journey," Captain Dunwell offered, nervously tweaking his short white beard.

"You need not worry about my comfort," replied Trioculus. "I want to know what was so urgent that I had to come all the way to Calamari for you to show it to me."

"Certainly, your lordship," said the captain, fidgeting with the medals on his bright blue uniform. "Come, we should speak in the privacy of my office." Together they climbed up some stairs, then walked along a metal balcony that overlooked an enormous work area. Down below, dozens of Aqualish were skinning several Whaladons that had been killed, chopping the meat into huge slabs and loading it into carts. The walrus-faced alien race of Aqualish, who had smooth, tough skins and large eyes, was a stubborn and tough fighting breed. They worked as bounty hunters, mercenaries, and as ruthless Whaladon killers.

The Whaladon meat they were chopping would soon be transported to the Whaladon Meat Quality Control Division.

Trioculus’s three eyes peered down at the workers as he walked slowly from one end of the balcony to the other. He nodded approvingly, but his mind was on other things. In fact, he was in such an impatient mood that his right hand had begun twitching.

"I hope you’re finding this instructive," said Captain Dunwell. "My office is just a little farther."

They continued walking through cold corridors and across wide work platforms until they reached the building’s largest office, which belonged to Captain Dunwell. It had a gigantic window with a wide, sweeping view of the ocean and its enormous seaweed forest containing exotic Calamarian fish of every size, color, and shape imaginable. When the Imperial leader entered the office, followed by Grand Moff Hissa and Emdee, Captain Dunwell locked the door and pointed to a navigation chart.

"This chart shows the route I took when I made my last journey to the Valley of the Giant Oysters, located on the other side of the Seascape Mountains. And this area here," Captain Dunwell continued, pointing out a small region of the undersea valley, "is where I discovered debris from an explosion."

The captain showed Trioculus the few metal scraps that were on his desk. "This is some of the debris I brought back with me. I’ve had it analyzed by an engineer-it’s from the Death Star. I could hardly believe it since the Death Star blew up millions of miles away, near Endor."

"The intense gravity of black holes and other interstellar forces cause warps, folds, and buckles in space," explained Grand Moff Hissa. "Asteroids and spaceships have tumbled into these space warps and have suddenly reappeared millions of miles away. The same thing must have happened to this debris from the Imperial Death Star."

"Enough theories, Hissa," said Trioculus. "Continue with your story, Captain Dunwell." He stared at the captain with his third eye, sending out hypnotic waves. A stare like that could make a man very truthful. The captain turned slightly pale.

"One of the chunks of the Death Star lying in the valley was huge-bigger than a Y-wing fighter, all melted and fused in a twisted shape. It was too large to bring back in the vessel I was in, so I suited up and examined it on the ocean floor. I tried to blast a hole in it, but my small laser couldn’t do the job.

"I suspected that it was hollow, so I used my portable X-ray scanner to find out what was inside," he went on. "Allow me to show you what the scanner revealed." The captain opened a drawer and took out several X-ray negatives. He studied first one image, then another, and then another. "Here," he said at last. "Look at this one." He touched his forefinger to the shadowy negative.

Trioculus leaned forward for a closer look.

Shutting his two lower eyes, he stared at the image with his third eye. The spot that Captain Dunwell was touching showed an object that seemed to have five fingers. Was it a hand? Or a glove?

Trioculus glanced at his right hand, which was trembling once again as he dreamed of fulfilling his goal. No human hand could have survived the heat of the Death Star explosion, he thought. And only one glove was known to be totally indestructible. This had to be it. A short undersea journey away. Almost within his grasp.

"You were correct to request that I come here, Captain," said Trioculus. "You have done well."

"Thank you, your lordship," said the captain, his voice booming with pride.

"How soon can you get us to the Valley of the Giant Oysters?" asked Grand Moff Hissa.

"I’ll tell my crew to power up the Whaladon-hunting submarine immediately," Captain Dunwell replied.

Even sooner than Trioculus had expected, they were ready to depart. KRR-RR-AAAAAAANG!

With a mighty roar the Whaladon-hunting submarine pushed away from its undersea dock. Bubbling foam churned behind it as the huge submarine picked up speed. Captain Dunwell pointed out to Trioculus each of the vessel’s special features. Trioculus’s face darkened with a nasty smile. "With so much advanced technology aboard, you’ll have to make sure this ship is never captured by the Rebel Alliance."

"Have no fear of that, Lord Trioculus," replied Captain Dunwell. "If there’s ever an undersea battle on Calamari, I’ll destroy this ship myself before I’ll ever let it fall into the hands of the Rebels."

Luke Skywalker’s heart was pounding with excitement as Threepio translated Artoo’s high-pitched beeps. All of Artoo’s intelligence data about the meeting of Imperials in Kessendra Stadium was now at Luke’s fingertips.

Luke and Admiral Ackbar soon hurried to the Calamarian office of SPIN. For months Luke had received intelligence reports about the Empire’s many denials concerning the rumor that Emperor Palpatine had had a son. But at the big Imperial meeting in Kessendra Stadium the Empire had suddenly admitted that all its denials had been false. Just thinking about it made Luke shake his head in frustration. How could anyone believe anything the Empire said, when the Empire changed the "official truth" day by day to suit its convenience? While Luke and Admiral Ackbar took care of the urgent business of contacting Mon Mothma about Trioculus, Threepio and Artoo checked into the Droid Repair Shop. Threepio was given another head cover that was exactly like his old one, except that this one was shinier, without any scratches, nicks, or dents. He admired his replating job, looking at his golden color from every angle.

Artoo-Detoo also underwent a change back to his usual color. But it was his brand-new blue and silver R2 dome that made the little barrel-shaped droid spin in circles, showing how happy he was to be back to normal.

When the droids came out of the Droid Repair Shop, Luke, Threepio, and Artoo boarded a fish-shaped Calamarian minisub with Admiral Ackbar, who navigated the vessel toward the ocean floor.

"Now that we’ve sent the news to Mon Mothma about the Imperial leader Trioculus, it’s time we tried to help the Whaladons," Ackbar told them. "And the best way for me to explain the Whaladon crisis is to show you the Whaladon graveyard. From there it’s a short trip to Captain Dunwell’s undersea Whaladon Processing Center."

"Dzneeeeek?" beeped Artoo.

"Artoo wants to know what they do there," translated Threepio.

"That’s where they take the captured Whaladons and butcher them," said Admiral Ackbar.

"There they turn those beautiful, intelligent creatures into food for Imperial officers!"

"Perish the thought," said Threepio, shaking his head in dismay.

"For many years we’ve had a law on Calamari making it illegal to hunt Whaladons," explained Admiral Ackbar. "But no matter how hard we try we cannot control Captain Dunwell. He does whatever the Central Committee of Grand Moffs wants, and they want Whaladon meat, even if it means destroying the ecology of Calamari."