The Cold Page 4

  Bang.

  Bang.

  The sound of boots crunching on ice far below nearly stopped her in her tracks. She imagined Korda, stepping out of the passage, finding her glowlamp at the bottom of the wall. What was he doing now? Looking up at her? Watching her hang from the ice like a spider? Was he reaching for his blaster, lining up a shot?

  Keep going, Lina. Keep going!

  She swung her right arm, but was too tired. The drill bit bounced off the ice, the handle slipping from her aching fingers. It tumbled away, and for the first time since she’d started her ascent, Lina looked down.

  Korda was there, glaring up at her. She panicked, her feet scrabbling at the ice as she lost her grip on the remaining bit driver.

  Lina slid down the slope, screaming all the way. Her gloved hands desperately searched for a handhold, anything to stop her from falling.

  And then she was caught by a pair of strong arms. She looked up to see her terrified reflection staring back at her in Korda’s metallic jaw.

  “Got you!” he snarled triumphantly.

  “Get off me!” she screamed, kicking her legs wildly. “Let me go!”

  Korda staggered back, dropping her. She slammed against the ground, winding herself. Fingers grabbed the back of her jacket just as her own hand found something hard on the floor. One of the bit drivers!

  She wheeled around, raking the drill bit through the air. Korda stepped back, easily dodging the clumsy attack. He reached for something behind his back. Lina had no idea what until the end of a force pike appeared in front of her face.

  She dropped the bit driver and froze.

  “Smart girl,” Korda snarled. “This pike contains enough power to stun a dewback, let alone a little runt like you.”

  Lina glared back. “What do you want?”

  Korda laughed as if that was the most idiotic question he had ever heard. “Your droid, of course. Or rather, all those maps in his head. Where is he?”

  “At the bottom of the ocean,” Lina said. “He’s gone, along with the maps. Do you understand? The Whisper Bird. Milo. Crater. They’re all under the ice and there’s no way to get them back!”

  Something buzzed on her belt. Korda’s eyes flashed toward the sound and then widened as a voice crackled over the comlink.

  “Sis? Can you hear me? It’s Milo. We need your help.”

  A terrible grin spread across Korda’s face. “Did you hear that? Your brother’s in need of assistance.”

  “LINA, PLEASE. Can you hear me?”

  Milo flopped back into his seat and let his head fall into his hands. He was trying really hard not to cry. At his feet, Morq nuzzled into his leg and whimpered. Milo reached down and ruffled the monkey-lizard’s tuft of red hair. “It’s okay, boy. We’ll get through to her. Maybe the signal isn’t strong enough.”

  “Or Mistress Lina has moved out of range,” CR-8R suggested, hovering into the cockpit.

  “Any luck?” Milo asked.

  “With the propulsion systems? If you ask me, the Whisper Bird will never fly again. I estimate we have roughly thirty minutes before the shields collapse.”

  “Could we swim to the surface?”

  “You’d freeze. I’m afraid I’m quickly running out of—”

  The ship bucked and Milo tumbled out of his chair. Morq squealed in alarm, but CR-8R nimbly shot out a manipulator arm to catch his young master.

  “Thanks. Was that the cliff?”

  Outside, something scraped along the hull. Something very, very long.

  “I don’t think so,” the droid replied.

  The Whisper Bird rocked again, the noise coming from all around.

  “Something’s wrapped itself around the ship,” Milo said. “Can we get the external sensors working?”

  “I’m almost too afraid to look!” CR-8R admitted as he reached for the controls. The entire ship was creaking around them.

  “It’s like we’re being crushed,” Milo said, jumping out of the way as a new leak appeared above his head.

  “Well, surprise, surprise,” said CR-8R with an electronic sigh. “None of the sensors are working. We’re as blind as an Ithorian bat!” A sharp scraping noise had joined the creaks and groans. “Now what?”

  “It sounds like claws,” Milo said. “What is it out there?”

  CR-8R didn’t reply.

  “Crater?”

  The droid was looking over Milo’s shoulder. “Now, don’t panic, Master Milo.”

  “What is it, Crater?”

  The droid’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Don’t look now, but I think we’re being watched.”

  He pointed with a trembling finger. Milo turned and gasped.

  A vast unblinking eye was staring at them through the canopy window.

  “He’s not paying me enough for this,” RX-48 complained as he launched a surveillance probe. Lights flashing, the spherical drone hovered down the ship’s ramp and headed toward the hole in the ice. RX-48 watched its progress, checking the probe’s data feed as it dropped into the water.

  “I should be piloting pleasure liners for the Galactic Tourist Bureau, not freezing my antennae off in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know, you crash one tour bus into a space station—”

  A buzz from the comlink stopped the droid’s moaning. Oh, good, Korda wanted a word. That was all he needed.

  He flicked the switch. “Yes, yes, I’ve launched the probe,” he said before the captain could start shouting. “It’s on its way to the Whisper Bird’s watery grave.”

  “We need the exact location of that ship,” Korda said. “The boy and the droid are still on board.”

  “And what exactly are we going to do when we find it?”

  “Rescue them, of course!”

  “Rescue them? We shot them down!”

  “You shot them down,” Korda reminded the droid. “This is your last chance, droid!”

  The line went dead, leaving RX-48 glaring at the speaker.

  “He really is the rudest person I’ve ever met, and I’ve worked for Jabba the Hutt!” He flicked a control, activating the probe’s floodlights. “I should contact Jabba when this is all over,” he added wistfully. “Maybe old slug-face needs a pilot for his sail barge.…”

  Morq squealed and leapt from Milo’s neck to scamper out of the cockpit.

  “Morq, it’s all right!” Milo called out.

  “All right?” echoed CR-8R. “How can you say it’s all right. Just look at that thing!”

  The giant eye continued to peer at them.

  The ship groaned again, the pressure on the hull increasing.

  Milo took a step forward.

  “What are you doing?” said CR-8R.

  “Taking a closer look,” Milo replied, nearing the window.

  “Isn’t it big enough already?”

  Milo reached up to touch the canopy. The creature outside jerked its head back, the sudden movement rocking the ship again.

  It had not one but four eyes, each a different size, and a long slit of a mouth. Its skin was milky white and looked incredibly smooth, as if it were carved from polished marble.

  Long fingers appeared, each tipped with a sharp claw. They raked against the window, setting Milo’s teeth on edge.

  “It’s trying to get in!” CR-8R said.

  “I don’t think so,” Milo replied. “It’s just curious. It doesn’t know what we are.”

  The creature jolted again. Milo stumbled as the ship moved and threw out an arm to steady himself. When he looked up again the creature was looking over its huge shoulder. Beams of light were sweeping through the gloom, reaching down from above.

  “It’s a probe,” CR-8R said, craning his telescopic neck. “Someone’s looking for us! Thank the Maker!”

  But Milo had spotted something else in the water, illuminated by the probe’s searchlights. “Crater, there’s another creature out there. Just look at it! It’s beautiful!”

  “Beautiful? Are you sure?” The droid followed Milo’s gaze and
fell silent.

  The second creature was huge, much bigger than the Whisper Bird. It had the same bulbous head and long clawed fingers, but this time they could see its snakelike tail writhing in the water.

  “That must be what’s around the ship,” Milo said. “It wrapped its tail around us.”

  “What if I electrify the hull?” CR-8R suggested. “We could scare the hideous thing off!”

  But Milo wasn’t listening. He was watching the creature in the distance. Its body was glowing, colors rippling along its tail.

  All at once, the creature that had grabbed the Whisper Bird released its grip. The ship pitched forward, and for a moment Milo was convinced they were about to topple over the edge of the cliff.

  Then they rocked back, settling into place.

  The creature swam back to its mate, its own tail flashing bright orange. The two monsters swam around each other and then back away.

  “The probe’s frightening them away.” CR-8R said, sounding relieved. “Good riddance!”

  “No, don’t you see it, Crater?”

  “See what?”

  Milo pointed at the sea creatures. “The colors on their tails. They aren’t random. They’re following a pattern.”

  “All very interesting, but—”

  For a machine with an IQ the size of the known galaxy, CR-8R could be very dumb sometimes.

  “They’re talking to each other!” Milo said, turning to the droid. “Crater, remember those octopoids Dad studied on Mannius Eight.”

  “Of course I do,” CR-8R said. “There’s nothing wrong with my memory banks!”

  “So how did they communicate?”

  “By changing the patterns on their skin! Of course. Your father conducted an intriguing study into the language and vocabulary—”

  “Yes, yes, yes.” The last thing Milo wanted was a lecture. “Don’t you see? That’s what they’re doing. They’re communicating using the lights in their tails.”

  CR-8R stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

  “Perhaps we can talk to them, too, use lights to send them a distress message or something. They may be able to help us!”

  CR-8R turned to see the creatures rushing toward the probe. The drone swung around, as if trying to dazzle the advancing monsters with its floodlights. The nearest creature opened its gaping maw, revealing row after row of gigantic teeth. A second later the probe had been swallowed whole!

  “Still think they will help?” CR-8R asked.

  RX-48 banged one of his rusted pincers against the monitor screen. The probe had stopped transmitting just as things were getting interesting.

  “Right when I thought today couldn’t get any worse,” the droid muttered. “Old chrome-jaw’s not going to like this, not one little bit.”

  The pilot flicked switches and pressed buttons, anything to reestablish the link with the probe. “What in the name of the Maker were all those colors, anyway? And I’m sure I saw the Grafs’ pathetic excuse for a starship.”

  Still there was no response.

  “Come on, come on. What’s happened to you?”

  The floor creaked behind him. RX-48 sighed and started to turn around.

  “Look, before you start yelling, it wasn’t my fault. The stupid probe just cut off, and…”

  The droid stopped talking when he saw a row of blasters pointing toward him. He whirled around, reaching for the pistol he’d taped beneath the controls just in case Korda turned nasty.

  Well…nastier.

  He never got the chance to use it. Blaster fire slammed into RX-48’s robot body, disintegrating it on contact.

  The droid’s metal head bounced once before rolling across the flight deck to be stopped by a white-booted foot.

  “I told you it wasn’t my day,” RX-48 whined before deactivating forever.

  “GET BACK!” Korda commanded, dragging Lina from the mouth of the cave.

  “Were those blasters?” she asked as he pushed her flat against the wall.

  “Yes,” he hissed, peering around the edge of the rocks. “Snowtroopers. They’ve found me.”

  “Found you? They’re not with you?”

  Lina took another look at the man. Suddenly, everything made sense. His unkempt appearance. The battered body armor beneath the furs. “You’re not with the Empire anymore, are you? They threw you out!”

  Korda whirled around and grabbed her wrist, pulling her close.

  “Yes, they threw me out. Because of you and your brother.”

  “Because you couldn’t catch us!”

  Lina felt a swell of pride. They had done this to him.

  Korda let go of her arm. “Imperial High Command discovered that I’d hired a bounty hunter to find you. I was court-martialed, stripped of my rank, and condemned to a life harvesting spice on Kessel.”

  “But you escaped.…”

  Korda’s top lip curled up in a disgusting mockery of a smile. “I stole the Star Herald. A fine ship. A prototype that the Empire obviously wants back.”

  “But if you’re not with the Empire…”

  “Why come after you?” Korda said, finishing her question.

  Lina nodded.

  Korda sighed. “Consider it a matter of pride. I’d vowed to recover your parents’ maps. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like being publicly disgraced stand in my way.”

  “Plus, you could always sell them to the highest bidder.”

  Korda looked at Lina with something approaching respect. “You really are smarter than you look.”

  “Thanks…I think.”

  There was a noise from outside, booted feet approaching the caves.

  “How many are there?” Lina asked.

  “Snowtroopers? A small section—maybe two or three.”

  “Then we need to get away.”

  Korda’s hideous grin returned. “I’m done running. It’s time to fight!”

  Beneath the water, Milo watched as the two creatures swam back and forth in front of the Whisper Bird.

  “They’re going to attack!” CR-8R whined.

  “Then we have to stop them.”

  “How?”

  Milo glanced at the lanterns he had strewn all over the cockpit. “Crater, those things can change color, right?”

  The droid looked confused. “Yes. Your mother designed the bulbs to flash in time with music.…” He paused as he realized what Milo was planning. “It will never work.”

  Milo wasn’t about to be discouraged. “Can you link them to the comms system?”

  Muttering to himself, CR-8R set about creating a wireless network between the lights. Milo urged him on, aware that the bizarre sea creatures were swimming closer with every passing second.

  “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” came the droid’s reply.

  “Try a simple sequence first.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, three flashes of blue, and then one red.”

  CR-8R pressed a sequence of buttons on the comms console and the lanterns flared to life exactly as Milo had instructed him.

  Blue.

  Blue.

  Blue.

  Red.

  The response was instantaneous. The two monsters thrashed in the water, almost turning somersaults.

  “That certainly attracted their attention,” CR-8R said.

  “Try again,” said Milo. “Three flashes of green.”

  CR-8R did as he was told.

  Green.

  Green.

  Green.

  This time, both creatures propelled themselves forward, heading straight for the Whisper Bird. Milo jumped back, thinking they were going to ram the ship. Then, right at the last minute, they peeled apart. They whooshed past the cockpit, one to the left and one to the right.

  When they reappeared a moment later, both tails were a livid purple.

  “They’re looking angry,” CR-8R said. “I hope we didn’t just insult their mother!” />
  Milo ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s the problem. We don’t have a clue what we’re saying. We’re probably talking gibberish!”

  CR-8R slapped a metallic palm against his forehead. “Of course! I’m such an idiot.”

  “What is it?”

  “We don’t know their language, but the computer might. Your father used translation software to understand the Mannius octopoids. If I run the same program…”

  “We’ll be able to understand what they’re saying! Yes!”

  CR-8R started busying himself with the computer. “There’s a chance at least. We just need to keep them talking.”

  Milo looked through the window. The creatures were glaring angrily at them, their tails now a brilliant scarlet.

  “Crater, I honestly don’t think that will be a problem!”

  Lina held her breath, worried that the sound would give her away. The snowtroopers were almost at the mouth of the cave. Korda was lying in wait, his force pike gripped in both hands. His face was like stone, but his eyes sparkled. It was almost as if he was enjoying himself!

  She caught a glimpse of the first snowtrooper. His face was protected by a long fabric mask, black goggles shielding his eyes. The white armor was a perfect camouflage for arctic conditions, an insulating cape hanging from an equipment belt slung around his waist.

  The trooper paused for a moment, peering into the cave. Lina shrunk back into the shadows as he continued, ready for action.

  Korda sprang without warning, jabbing at the armored man with his force pike. The trooper threw up an arm, deflecting the weapon’s glowing tip. Korda responded by reeling around, the other end of his staff finding the snowtrooper’s chest. The force of the blow knocked the trooper onto his back. Korda leapt back as the snowtrooper brought up his blaster. A bolt of sizzling energy shot from the barrel of the rifle, narrowly missing Korda. It slammed into the roof of the cave. Stalactites rained down on Korda, but he didn’t seem to mind. The force pike spun in his hand and came down hard. The snowtrooper’s gun clattered from his grasp and the armored man lay still.

  There was no time to celebrate. A second snowtrooper approached the cave, his blaster raised. Before he could fire, Korda threw the pike like a javelin. It stuck the trooper in the chest, discharging in a brilliant flash of light. The trooper collapsed, a wisp of smoke rising from his chest plate. Lina called out a warning. A third armored figure was crouching behind a rock. Blaster shots burned through the air, and Korda barely managed to throw himself out of their path in time. Shielding himself behind the entrance, he pulled out his own blaster. The two men exchanged shots, but Korda’s luck eventually ran out. A bolt smashed into the wall beside his head. The captain cried out as he was struck by flying rocks. He went down and didn’t get up again.