beams in the victim's gravity boots were still functioning. They had pinned

  his feet to the surface of the asteroid while the rest of his body tried to

  float away.

  Taking command of the situation, Jerec approached the body. "So this is

  the man you sent out to make sure the trail was safe," he sneered. "It would

  appear that it is safe. At least from space slugs."

  "What happened to him?" Tash asked.

  Jerec reached behind the miner's head and tugged at the hose connecting

  his air tank to his suit. It came away in two pieces.

  "No air," the Imperial said.

  Fandomar whispered, "What a terrible accident."

  Jerec snorted. "This was no accident. Look at this air hose. It's been

  cut through by something sharp. A vibroblade or a laser torch." Jerec looked

  up. Even through his blindfold, he appeared to glare at them. "This man was

  murdered."

  "But there's no one on the asteroid except us," Hoole said. "And we were

  all in the mining facility."

  "Perhaps," Jerec said. "Perhaps not. I obviously should have brought more

  guards with me. All of you were out of my sight during at least part of our

  wait. So unless someone else has sneaked onto the asteroid, I'm sure one of

  you is a killer."

  Tash shuddered as Jerec's skull-like face turned in her direction. She

  could feel his dark-side power sweep over her like a scanner. Then it passed

  on to Zak and Hoole.

  Tash wondered who could have committed such a horrible act. If it wasn't

  Jerec himself (which was possible, she thought, since the Imperials had done

  worse things), then who? It obviously wasn't Zak or Uncle Hoole. Hodge and the

  other miner weren't likely suspects. Why would they kill their own friend,

  especially with so many witnesses around? That left only one person.

  Fandomar.

  Tash stole a glance at the Ithorian. She had certainly been acting

  strange since they'd discovered the warning and the tomb. Tash remembered how

  Fandomar had yelled, "No!" as Hodge tried to break through the sealed door.

  She'd seemed to know what would happen next. And once they were trapped, she

  had done nothing to help find a way out.

  Then there was the connection between her husband and the Empire.

  Whatever was happening, Tash thought, it was all connected to that

  strange room, or tomb, or whatever it was, at the bottom of the tunnel.

  But Tash couldn't believe that Fandomar had killed the miner. Fandomar

  seemed so dedicated to the Ithorian Law of Life. Not only had she saved Zak

  from the vesuvague tree, but she had also defended the actions of the tree

  itself when Tash thought it should be destroyed.

  Besides, Tash didn't get the same sort of dangerous feeling from Fandomar

  that she got from Jerec. She didn't know if it was her Force sensitivity or

  just plain common sense, but Tash could tell that Fandomar simply wasn't the

  kind of being who could kill.

  These thoughts raced through her head as they traveled through the

  tunnel. Jerec did not wait for a glowrod-maybe he didn't need one. He walked

  ahead of the others, muttering, and soon was out of sight.

  At the end of the tunnel, Tash could see indentations in the floor where

  the stone barrier had fallen. Beyond it stood the weird statue, and beyond

  that, the tomb. There was no sign of Jerec.

  But the door stood open.

  Cautiously, they approached the door. Hodge looked frustrated, like a man

  watching someone else steal his treasure. Fandomar didn't move at all. Hoole

  crept forward, with Zak and Tash right behind him.

  In the silence of space, Tash thought she could hear her own heart

  pounding more loudly than a ship's engine. Hoole's words ran through her mind:

  This tomb was not meant to be opened.

  But someone-Jerec? - had opened it.

  Hoole reached the half-opened door. Carefully, he leaned inside to try to

  get a better look around. Suddenly, before Tash and Zak could even blink,

  something grabbed hold of Hoole and pulled him into the room!

  Tash lunged forward without thinking, slipping through the doorway to

  help her uncle.

  She didn't get a good look at the room beyond. She was too surprised at

  what she saw in front of her.

  Jerec had grabbed the front of Hoole's tunic and lifted him off he ground

  with one hand. Tash realized that the Imperial must be immensely strong to

  overcome the force of the gravboots with just one arm.

  "Where is it?" Jerec demanded angrily.

  Hoole's calm face stared directly into Jerec's. "I do not know what 'it'

  is. I told you, we are here by coincidence. I have no information."

  Jerec looked as if he was trying to control his rage. Finally, he set

  Hoole down on the floor. Hoole's face remained calm, but Tash thought she

  detected an angry fire in her uncle's eyes.

  "If I find out you were involved in this, I'll have you skinned alive,"

  Jerec growled.

  Hoole straightened the front of his spacesuit. "Perhaps if you tell me

  what has happened, I can be of service."

  Jerec snarled and pointed to the center of the room. For the first time,

  Tash looked around. She was in a small circular chamber. The room was bare

  except for a pedestal in the very center.

  "When I got here I found the door to the tomb open," Jerec snarled. "And

  it was completely empty!"

  CHAPTER 8

  As Jerec had stated, the tomb was bare. Tash could see that the pedestal

  had once held something, but the something had been removed.

  Hoole considered. "Obviously, whoever murdered that miner came here and

  stole the contents of this room. Do you know what was here?"

  Jerec sneered. "That is none of your concern."

  By now the others had entered the room. Fandomar pushed her way past the

  others. Staring at the empty pedestal in wide-eyed horror, she let out a

  scream with her twin mouths that nearly shattered Tash's eardrums through the

  comlink. "Nnnnnnoooooooooo!"

  Then Fandomar fainted.

  It took a few minutes to revive her. When she came to her senses, Tash

  could see that her eyes were full of fear. They darted frantically from one

  person to the next. When Fandomar's eyes fell on her, Tash knew that Fandomar

  was looking for something. Not something on Tash's face, but something inside

  her. But she didn't know what.

  "What is wrong with you?" Jerec demanded scornfully.

  Fandomar studied Jerec carefully. Earlier, she had timidly avoided

  staring at him. Now she looked into his face. Again, Tash had the eerie

  feeling that Fandomar was trying to see something that was underneath Jerec's

  skin.

  Finally, Fandomar answered in a whisper, "I'm sorry. I don't know what

  came over me. I apologize."

  Jerec ignored Fandomar and turned to Hodge. He loomed threateningly over

  the chief miner as he growled, "And you. I delayed reaching this place on your

  advice. If I find out that you are involved with this, I'll have you

  vaporized."

  Hodge only shrugged.

  While Jerec raged and the others tried to console Fandomar, Hoole studied

  the pedestal. Like the statue, the pedestal was decorated with carved designs.

  These had been hastily scraped away, but again, just as at the statue, a few

  symbols remained.

  "See anything, Uncle Hook?" Tash asked.

  Hoole studied the remaining symbols a moment longer. "I am not sure.

  Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to remove any clues as to the

  nature of this tomb. But I suspect that there was never any treasure here.

  There are no indications that there were any containers or devices in here. If

  there was nothing valuable, why would anyone hide this room? Yet someone

  obviously thought it was important enough to kill for. For once," the Shi'ido

  admitted, "I seem to have more questions than answers."

  "Speaking of questions," Zak added, "I have one. Has anyone else noticed

  the door?"

  They all turned. Zak pointed at the heavy durasteel door that had sealed

  the tomb. Zak explained, "Look. The door opens outward, into the tunnel. But

  don't swinging doors usually open in, especially when they're locked?"

  "Right!" Tash agreed. "Like in a house, the door opens in so that the

  people inside can lock it and keep strangers out."

  Zak nodded furiously. "But this door opened into the tunnel. Which means

  that it wasn't designed to keep people out-"

  "It was designed to keep something in," Tash said. Her face turned pale.

  Hoole frowned. "And whatever it is, it is now free." Tash felt a cold

  shadow pass over her and realized that Jerec was standing behind her. She

  shuddered, wondering if he could sense her tiny Force power the way she could

  feel his dark side.

  "Your detective work bores me," the Imperial sneered. "And it is not

  needed here. I suggest you end it. Or I shall end it for you."

  The stormtrooper fingered his blaster, leaving no doubt in Tash's mind

  just how Jerec would end things.

  Jerec led them back to the mining facility at a rapid pace. Again, the

  stormtrooper brought up the rear... but this time Tash felt sure he was

  waiting eagerly for Jerec's order to shoot them all in the back.

  They passed the body of the miner, still held in place by his gray-boots.

  Hodge and the other miner wanted to take the body with them, but Jerec refused

  to let them stop.

  Tash stared straight ahead, fixing her eyes on the mining colony in the

  distance. It was the only safe place to look. She dared not glance up, where

  the storm of asteroids continued to spin crazily in the darkness of space.

  Looking to either side, all she could see was the lifeless rock of the

  asteroid. And behind her marched Jerec's stormtrooper.

  She found herself wishing she were back on Ithor. The forest had been so

  beautiful, so full of life. Remembering her brief experience with the Bafforr

  trees, she felt a warm glow spread through her, right down to her fingertips.

  She suddenly felt stifled inside the bulky spacesuit. She felt trapped. She

  wanted to get out of this place. Everything would be all right if she could

  just get off the asteroid.

  But until then, the closest thing to safety was the mining colony. Then

  they could take the cargo ship back to Ithor. If Jerec didn't kill them

  outright, or discover who they were first.

  Finally they reached the airlock that led into the miners' outpost.

  Jerec's other stormtrooper was waiting there. By the time Tash stepped through

  the airlock, Jerec, Hoole, and Zak were already inside the docking bay.

  Although they all still had their space helmets on, Zak had removed his gray-

  boots.

  "I always wondered what it was like to fly!" he joked. He kicked his feet

  off the ground and floated toward the ceiling. "This is prime!"

  "I'm repressurizing the airlock," Hodge said, once everyone was inside.

  He pulled a large handle. There was soft click, a rush of air...

  ... and an enormous explosion.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tash and the others were thrown to the floor as a loud BOOM! echoed

  inside their space helmets. The deafening sound seemed to go on forever.

  Then Tash realized that the sound she heard wasn't a continuing

  explosion-it was the howling of air rushing out of the airlock. The explosion

  had blown a hole through the airlock door, and the sealed atmosphere of the

  mining facility was now being sucked into space.

  "Helmets on!" Hoole commanded. Tash had just started to remove hers, and

  had barely snapped it back into place before the wind tried to tear it right

  off her head.

  The howling wind tugged at her, but she quickly grabbed hold of a metal

  rail along the wall. The combination of her tight grip and the gray-boots held

  her in place. The others, too, grabbed hold of the closest thing they could

  find to keep from being sucked out of the airlock.

  Zak was not so lucky.

  He had still been floating in the zero-gravity room without his boots

  when the explosion happened. He hovered in the air long enough to make eye

  contact with his sister before the wind grabbed him with great force and sent

  him tumbling through the hole in the wall.

  "Zak!" Tash screamed. Releasing her grip on the railing, she let the

  powerful wind push her toward the hole, the gray-boots slowing her movements.

  When she reached the hole, she braced herself on the wall and looked out into

  space. By the time she spotted him, Zak was a small white dot tumbling head

  over heels into the asteroid field.

  "Tash, help!" she heard Zak's voice inside her helmet's comlink.

  Then he vanished from sight.

  Tash turned to the nearest person, Jerec, and pleaded, "We've got to help

  him!"

  Jerec ignored her. He had hardly noticed Zak's disappearance. The

  Imperial was scanning the room. "The Ithorian," he muttered. "That Ithorian is

  missing." He turned to his stormtroopers. "This must be her doing. Find her! I

  want that Hammerhead!"

  Most of the mining station's air had escaped by now. With less oxygen

  sealed inside the walls, there was less pressure, and the wind died down. By

  the time the two stormtroopers churned into motion, there was hardly a breeze

  left, and then nothing at all.

  The stormtroopers opened the inner door of the airlock and hurried into

  the facility with Jerec close behind them.

  That left Hoole, Tash, and the two miners. But Hodge and his partner were

  unwilling to help. "We've got to try to contain this explosion. We've got a

  fortune in minerals in this place!" the chief miner apologized as they hurried

  out of the room.

  "Uncle Hoole, what do we do?" Tash started to ask. She stopped. Hoole was

  already halfway to the row of yellow Starflies parked along one wall.

  "I've never flown one of these before!" she said as her uncle climbed

  into the nearest craft.

  "Neither have I," Hoole replied grimly. "I suspect Zak would tell us we

  were going to take a crash course. Get in."

  Tash jumped into another of the tiny ships. She was surprised to find the

  cockpit was quite large-until she remembered that the Starfly didn't carry its

  own oxygen. The pilot had to wear space gear, so the designers had added extra

  room to fit the bulky suits.

  The controls were basic, and Tash had the engines fired up in seconds.

  "Tash, do you copy?" Hoole's calm voice came over the comlink. It steadied her

  trembling hands.

  "Yes," she said into the microphone. "What are we going to do?"

  "We must fly into the asteroids and grab him with the ship's tractor

  beams, just as the miners rescued us," her uncle explained.

  We must fly into the asteroids.

  Tash shuddered. It was bad enough to have the asteroids rocketing through

  the sky over her head. Flying through them-that was like daring the space

  rocks to smash them.

  Hoole seemed to read her thoughts. "Don't worry, Tash. Starflies were

  made for this type of work. Keep your eyes open and trust your skills. Let's

  go."

  Hoole's Starfly lifted off the deck and accelerated toward the hole in

  the wall.

  For an instant, Tash was frozen. She tried to force her hands to work the

  controls, but they wouldn't move.

  Think of Zak, she told herself. She took a deep breath, the kind that had

  always made her feel calm. Relaxed. Closer to the Force.

  Her hands moved.

  Before she knew it, her Starfly had slipped out of the docking bay and

 

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