Something
of Value
By: Seldes Katne
Captain Panaka stared over the communications
officer's shoulder. "Still nothing?"
"No, sir."
Panaka was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"All right. It may be nothing, but we're going to have a look anyway.
Contact Team One and have them meet me in the central courtyard." The
officer acknowledged the order, and Panaka left the communications center.
A dark-skinned, powerfully built man, Panaka had
trained offworld and served for a time with a Republic Special Task Force. He
had returned to his native world to join the Royal Naboo Security Force and had
eventually become Head of Palace Security. Most of the time he dealt with
matters at the Palace and the spaceport, but a message had come in that morning
that turned his attention further afield.
According to the message, a farmer had reported
seeing smoke coming from the woodlands to the west of Naboo's capital city of
Theed. The local constabulary, which consisted of three, had sent a party of
two to investigate. That had been yesterday; as of this morning neither man had
returned, and the remaining officer had radioed for reinforcements.
That far from Theed there were only a few farms,
and not much in the way of civilization. The area was at the edge of
human territory on Naboo. It was also, Panaka
knew, the closest human habitation to the territory claimed by the Gungans.
Living almost entirely under water, the non-human inhabitants of the planet
kept mostly to themselves, with only a few individuals from either race having
much contact with each other.
Until recently. Five months ago when Naboo had
been invaded by the Trade Federation's droid army the humans and Gungans had
become allies in a three-pronged battle to reclaim their world. For the most
part successful, the event had at least set the stage for increased contact and
cooperation between the two races. So far both sides had been more concerned
with rebuilding what had been lost, the few reports from the Gungan city of
Otoh Gunga positive, passing on good news of restoration and a continued suggestion
of cooperation.
Panaka found the speeder parked outside the
palace in the courtyard. Lieutenant Delinar, a sturdy woman approaching middle
age, was already standing at the driver's side of the vehicle. She saluted, a
gesture Panaka returned. "Lieutenant Frenz is getting supplies
ready," she reported. "Once that's done, we'll be ready to go."
"Good enough."
Panaka stepped back inside and flagged down a
member of the palace guard. "Tell Her Highness that we'll be out for the
next three or four days," Panaka said. Then he related the account of the
radio message and sent the man on his errand.
A lean, dark-haired young man, Lieutenant Frenz,
was loading two bundles into the speeder as Panaka walked outside. The back
seat of the speeder already held four assault guns, which were heavier issue
than usual, along with ammunition and some smaller arms. The three officers
climbed into the vehicle and Lieutenant Delinar drove out the palace's main
gate.
Normally a matter this far from the palace would
be handled by civilian law enforcement. Thanks to a long period of peace,
coupled with a general philosophy of pacifism, there hadn't been much need for
a police force on Naboo for decades. However, after the battle with the Trade
Federation a number of people had felt a need for more of a military presence.
Officers who would normally be assigned to the
area around the capital had been sent to more outlying areas to supplement or
reinforce the local police. Maybe, Panaka mused as the speeder left the central
part of the city and headed for the outskirts, the Queen and her advisors would
finally see the need for more officers and more training.
The ride to the constabulary outpost was
uneventful. By early afternoon the three officers had met with Lieutenant Ebri,
the remaining member of the local guards. She'd informed them there had been no
contact with the missing men. The woodlands were quiet, with no signs of
activity.
Panaka took over the radio
and relayed orders to the remainder of the palace guards back in Theed.
"We'll be moving the command center," he told them. "I'll have
Lieutenant Delinar standing by, with a portable unit we'll set up part way back
to the capital. If our party fails to check in or a confirmed situation occurs,
send out a squadron to assist. Notify the pilots and a medical team that
they're on standby." Panaka signed off.
Sending Delinar to set up her listening post,
Panaka commandeered a second speeder. He and his officers divided up the
supplies and weapons. "All right; we'll come in from two different
directions. Radio channels are to be left open at all times - no more
'disappearances'. Use your discretion about when to contact me." He
paused. "It could be a brush fire, it may be the Gungans, it may be
something else. Let's find it and deal with it."
"Yes,
sir." Lieutenant Ebri, a trim young woman who had only been with the
guards for a couple of years, saluted crisply and settled herself into the
driver's side of the speeder. Lieutenant Frenz saluted as well and got in on
the passenger side.
A couple of hours later Panaka was easing his way
through the underbrush on foot. He had driven the speeder as close as possible
to the target area, then had shouldered his pack and hiked into the woods. He
was beginning to understand why the Gungans continued to use pack animals. Most
of the humans' ground-based vehicles were too large to use in the woods, and
frankly worked better on paved roads or, at least, level ground.
This was untamed wilderness - old growth trees
several meters in diameter were common, the trunks hosting clumps of vines and
creepers. Brush, weeds, and wisps of grass grew in abundance. There were no
signs of trails, and only small, intermittent clearings broke up the foliage.
Several times he heard things moving around him, and once he startled a flock
of peko-pekos that erupted from the grass into a frenzy of bright feathers and
shrill calls. He crouched for a while, listening, but heard nothing to suggest
that the birds' flight had alerted anyone or anything else to his presence.
Ten minutes later Panaka caught the sound of
small branches snapping, as through something were being dragged or pushed
through the brush. He began easing forward a few steps at a time, careful where
he put his feet in an effort to make less noise than whatever was ahead.
There was a mutter of voices, and Panaka slid
into a crouch in the middle of a grove of bushes. Carefully reaching forward he
parted a handful of leaves with his fingers. Off to his left a figure moved,
and Panaka recognized the shape - Gungan. The creature seemed to have tossed a
strap or a belt of some kind up into the branches of a tree and was pulling at
it with both hands.
Panaka squinted at it. Another figure stepped
into his limited line of sight. As it turned sideways to face the Gungan Panaka
could see that this was a humanoid. Short tentacles rippled at the bottom of
its face, and its hand was clawed. It was a Quarren, a native of the watery
world of Mon Calamari.
What's a Quarren doing here? Panaka thought, and then the creature
brought its other hand out where he could see it. It was holding a rod - a
Gungan energy pole - and as he watched it touched the pole to the Gungan's
side. Panaka caught a glimpse of a spark, and the Gungan squealed and twisted
away, getting only as far as the length of the strap. Someone shouted in the
distance, and the Quarren repeated its action, forcing the Gungan up against
the tree trunk. The Quarren turned in the direction of the voice, paused, and
then lowered the energy pole. The Gungan sank against the tree, panting.
He needed to get around this pair and see where
the voice was coming from. Only when he had a clear picture of the
whole situation could he even consider a rescue.
Although it was clear that the Gungan was a prisoner, Panaka had no idea how
many comrades the Quarren had with it, how many other Gungans might be their
captives, or what exactly was going on.
Easing the leaves back into place Panaka slipped
out of his hiding spot and retreated back toward the speeder. When he was
certain he was out of earshot of the Quarren he unclipped the communicator from
his belt.
"Panaka to Team One. Over."
An open comm line hissed back at him. He repeated
the hail, with no response. A dampening field, he supposed, which made sense,
given what he had seen the Quarren doing.
Circling around the area would accomplish two
things: give him a better idea of what the Quarren and its friends were up to,
and bring Panaka around to Team One's position, or at least the place where they
had entered the woods.
Panaka rose and skirted around the Quarren and
its captive, far enough away so that (he hoped) neither would hear him. The
brush was beginning to thin, and visibility increased. One hundred paces past
where he had first hidden to watch the Quarren Panaka got his first good look
at what had caused the smoke.
A mid-sized transport ship
sat in a clearing next to the edge of a lake. In the open space between the
lake and the ship four Gungans crouched, spreading what looked like kelp out
onto the grass. All four were dividing their attention between their work and
the being (apparently human) who stood watching them. The human held a
standard-issue pulse rifle.
As he crept forward Panaka caught glimpses of
other beings, either human or humanoid, either watching the Gungans or working
with them. There was at least one other Quarren in the group.
Panaka paused in his place in the brush.
Obviously these people were interested in something under the surface of the
lake; that would explain both the Quarren and the captive Gungans. The four
Gungans working on shore wore collars -probably Slavers. While serving with the Republic
Special Task Force, he had fought and captured a number of pirates and
smugglers, and had seen some of the tools they'd carried. Among them were
Slavers, restraints that could deliver a painful shock or cut off an air
supply. The Gungan tied to the tree hadn't worn a collar; possibly the slavers
hadn't planned on taking captives, and had only a limited number of collars on
hand. Some of the smuggling community weren't too picky about what kind of
merchandise they bought and sold, and would likely be carrying a few collars on
board just for a situation like this.
Besides, the Gungans maintained a warrior tradition.
A Gungan might fight against a slave collar in spite of the pain, but by
keeping one or more Gungans hostage, the slavers had effectively
"persuaded" the others to cooperate.
Panaka had counted six smugglers, but there might
well be others in the water. He glanced around at the water a few paces to his
right, briefly considered using the lake to get around the encampment, then
rejected the idea. He wasn't carrying a breather, and he had no idea where the
rest of the work was being done under water. It would have to be back the way
he came, then. And fast - the smugglers had to know that someone would come
looking for the missing officers sooner or later.
About twenty paces back
toward his original position a Quarren rose from the woods ahead of him, rifle
trained on him. Panaka froze. The Quarren didn't say a word, but the gun made
the creature's intent clear. Panaka raised his hands.
The Quarren came forward, circling around behind.
It shoved the barrel of the gun into his back, then grabbed him by the scruff
of the neck and swung him around, propelling him toward the lake. At the bank,
it shoved him again, so that he stumbled into the water. Panaka suspected that
he knew what had happened to his two missing officers; a drowning was less
suspicious a cause of death than a blaster shot at close range. The smugglers
could take what they came for and be off-planet with no one the wiser. He
wondered briefly whether they planned to kill the Gungan captives, or just
transport them off-world and sell them.
The Quarren waded into the water and, turning the
rifle sideways, rammed it into Panaka's stomach. As the human doubled over the
Quarren seized the back of his head and shoved it underwater.
With no chance
to catch a breath of air, Panaka struggled, grabbing for the Quarren's leg. The
Quarren responded by slamming the butt of the gun into the back of his head.
Dazed, Panaka still twisted, instinctively trying
to reach the surface. His fingers closed around fabric. The Quarren held him
under with its weight - and suddenly the weight was gone.
Panaka clawed his way to the surface, gasping and
coughing. Beside him the water churned with another struggle as the Quarren
wrestled with a lean, leather-clad shape. Gungan, Panaka thought weakly as the
Gungan punched his opponent in the forehead. The Quarren staggered and went
down, the blaster nowhere to be seen. Still panting, Panaka managed to stay on
his feet as the Gungan turned toward him, only to whirl at the sound of
shooting. The fight had caught the attention of some of the rest of the
smugglers.
"Need - to get -" Panaka gasped, but
never finished his sentence. The Gungan seized him by the front of his shirt,
right fist clenched. The blow caught the human in the chin hard enough to daze
him. Clamping a hand over Panaka's mouth and nose the Gungan took them both
under water.
For a few moments Panaka
couldn't move. Sounds under water were muted but he thought he heard gunfire.
He had no air; his hands clutched at the Gungan's arm, and then tore at the
fingers over his face. Kicking and struggling, his vision darkening, he fought
both the Gungan and a growing weakness in arms, legs and shoulders.
Suddenly he was shoved upwards. Gulping air, he
felt ground under his feet as someone grabbed the collar of his shirt and
pulled him into shallower water. Coughing, he stumbled toward land. They were
in a dimly lit pool leading up to a dirt floor. Panaka collapsed onto the bank,
finding a dirt ceiling over his head. They were underground.
The Quarren erupted from the water, blaster in
hand. The Gungan promptly put his head down and charged, slamming
into his opponent at waist level. The Quarren
tumbled over backwards still clutching the blast rifle. The Gungan pounced on
the weapon and twisted it away from its owner. He backed up two paces, brought
the rifle up and pulled the trigger. The blast caught the Quarren in the face.
It went down and didn't get up again.
Half sitting, half lying on the bank Panaka
managed to catch enough of his breath to demand, "Why did you do that? He
had information we needed!"
The Gungan threw him a look over his shoulder
before diving below the pool surface, taking the dead Quarren with him. Panaka
staggered to his feet, looking around the small chamber. A globe of light provided
the only illumination in the cavern. There were a few tools Panaka didn't
recognize, an energy pole, and not much else. He glanced toward the back of the
room, where the light was dimmest, and realized he wasn't alone.
One look at the Gungan lying in semi-darkness,
and Panaka knew the human security forces on Naboo weren't the only ones
suffering the loss of an officer. The Gungan was stretched out on his back, the
blackening hole of a blaster shot leaving the upper torso open. This one, at
least, had died fighting, wounds in front.
The first Gungan's head broke the surface of the
pool, and Panaka rose from his place beside the corpse. The Gungan was panting
as he stood in the shallows. "Wesa needsa watch for a while. There may be
more commin."
"You had to shoot him?"
The Gungan nodded. "Hesa followed us'n.
Besides, this way mebbe hiss friends will think they shot 'im temselves."
He stumbled up onto dry land and stood leaning against the wall of the chamber,
breathing deeply.
Panaka peered
at him closely. He recognized the Gungan from the strategy session over the
Battle for Naboo and the parade afterward. "Captain Tarpals, isn't
it?"
The Gungan nodded wearily. "Yessah. My
remember yousa, Panaka - that's why yousa down here and not still uppa
there." He shook himself and stood away from
the wall. Tall and lean, even for a Gungan, the Captain wore the same leather
uniform of most of the Gungan soldiers, including the piece that fit over his
face. Tarpals also sported a set of whiskery growths on his upper lip. Panaka
couldn't tell if they were a racial characteristic or whether they constituted
the Gungan equivalent of a mustache.
Panaka pulled himself into a sitting position.
The Gungan waded back into the water, reaching down to pull the blast rifle out
of the shallows. He studied the gun for a moment, and then offered it to
Panaka. The human accepted it and examined the settings while the Gungan walked
back to the shore and bent down to pick up the energy pole. He glanced at the
grip, grimaced, and then crouched beside Panaka, pole held in both hands.
"Theysa not much charge left." He nodded at the rifle. "Howsa
that?"
"It should work - these things are built
pretty tough. It would be better to take it apart and let it dry out,
though." Panaka pulled the power pack out. "You wouldn't happen to
have a dry cloth here, by any chance?"
Tarpals glanced over his
shoulder at the dead officer, and then shook his head. "Not much inta line
of supplies down here."
Panaka began disassembling the rifle. "I
guess air drying will have to do." He spread the pieces out on the bank.
Then he glanced at the body behind them. "I'm...sorry about your
officer." The Gungan nodded, saying nothing. "What can you tell me
about what's happening on shore?"
Tarpals was silent, studying the water. Then he
sighed. "Mesa t'inks a dozen Outlanders uppa there. Theysa got four of
our'n folk, plus one'a my's officers prisoner. My've seen them tekkin watcherim
outt'n the water and dryin' it on shore."
"What's this watcherim?"
"Issa food plant. Wesa grow it in small
patches in the outlying villages." The Gungan shook his head. "Why
anyone wansa steal it, mesa not know. Iss not very valuable."
Panaka frowned. "Not to your people, maybe.
But plants can have different effects on different beings. Something you eat
on
a daily basis may turn out to have medical uses on other planets, or be
poisonous for others, or even be a narcotic on some worlds. That would make it
extremely valuable to the right people."
"Yousa t'inking these Outlanders iss drug
runners?" Tarpals mused.
Panaka thought for a moment. "It would make
sense," he replied finally. "I suspect that during the Occupation,
some, ah, enterprising member of the Trade Federation took samples of the local
plant life, or talked to prisoners about it, or found records someplace. They
need to be stopped, and fast. If they get away with this, you can bet there'll
be more smugglers coming to get their piece of the profit."
The Gungan stared thoughtfully at the far wall
across the pool. "My agrees with yousa," he said finally. "Wesa
needsa stop them. There's reinforcements commin, but theysa tekkin' three,
mebbe four days to get here. If'n what yousa saying is right, wesa needsa do
something now."
"Right. My patrol and I brought a pair of
speeders and left them well out of the target area. Unless these off-worlders
hike in the right direction and know exactly where to look, they're not likely
to find our transportation." Panaka shifted position. "The speeders may
be far enough outside, or can take us outside the dampening field. Then we
could communicate with the capital and get a couple of aircraft out here to
disable the smugglers' ship. That would keep them stranded on Naboo until we
could round them all up."
"Yousa brought a patrol?" the Gungan
asked, finally easing out of his crouch and sitting on the bank next to Panaka.
"What happened to dem?"
Panaka shook his head. "I don't know. They
may still be alive and mobile, but I have to assume they're not and that
everything depends on us. What we need now is to get from here back to our
speeders. I suspect our smugglers may have sensors set up around the
ship."
"Ssensorss," Tarpals echoed. "What'n that?"
"They're...devices that tell you what's
going on in a specific area." Panaka's hand moved in a circle. "They
can detect movement, sometimes body heat - it depends. We may be able to slip
past them. What do you think our chances are by water?"
The Gungan considered. "My've seen three of
dees-" here he wriggled the fingers of his left hand under his chin to
simulate tentacles, "swimmers."
"They're called Quarren. They come from a
planet that's almost entirely water." He'd have to explain Mon Calamari in
more detail sometime; he suspected Tarpals would appreciate the information and
be sharp enough to understand it. The only Gungan who had ever been off the
planet had been Jar Jar Binks, and that mostly by accident.
"Quarn," Tarpals
echoed. "Mm. If'n they's smart, theysa have at least one in the water to
keep watch. If'n wesa wait 'til dark, wesa could get out by water, swim long
way 'round to the shore, then wesa be outside their," the Gungan's upper
lip curled slightly at the unfamiliar word, "ssensors."
"I don't think we should wait that long.
Aside from your people being captives, the smugglers could up ship at any
time." Panaka thought for a moment. "Although at this point there's
not much we could do to stop them, is there?"
Tarpals shook his head. "Wesa needsa wait.
My've been waiting for almost two days. Theysa prob'ly still searching for us'n
out there. B'sides, yousa can't swim very far under water. How's yousa goin'
get pasta guards if'n yousa in plain sight?"
Annoyed, Panaka had to agree. "We'll still
have to hike to the speeders," he pointed out. "Depending on how far
out we get, that could take more time than we have." He looked at Tarpals
as the Gungan smiled and shook his head. "What?"
"Mesa got that problem solved. Wesa get to
land, my'll tekk care'n the rest. Yousa no worry 'bout that. Shesa still out
there somewhere."
Panaka stared at him. " 'She' who? I thought
you said there were only three of you when you got out here." He glanced
at the body at the back of the cavern.
The Gungan snorted softly through his whiskers.
Panaka suspected his companion was laughing. "What, yousa t'inkin' wesa
walked here? Wesa mounted patrol. Theysa least one kaadu out there in the
woods. Wesa find her, shesa carry us'n."
"Okay, we've got a plan. All we need to do
is wait until dark." Panaka thought for a moment. "On the other
hand... I hate to say this, but I think we might better wait until just before
dawn. We're going to need to see where we're going, not just in the water, but
when we get to shore. I have a homing beacon for my speeder, but there's no way
I'll be able to see it in the dark."
Tarpals considered. "Thassa mekkin' sense.
Wesa take turns sleeping, then head out in the early morning."
Before lying down to sleep, Panaka related the
tale of his patrol's activities. "We still don't know what happened to the
two officers who originally came to investigate, although I suspect they're
both dead," he concluded. "That Quarren was certainly ready to kill
me."
The Gungan nodded. "Mesa no think these
smugglers have much use for the Naboo," he agreed softly, looking down at
the ground between them. "But wesa don' know that for sure." Changing
the subject, he told Panaka some of what had brought the Gungans to the site.
"Wesa were on patrol through our outlying villages, four of us'n. Farmers
tol' us'n 'bout strange noises inna water. Wesa thought mebbe it was sea
monsters come through the repellent fields.
"Mesa sent one soldier, 'long with one'a the
farmers, back to Otoh Gunga to tell the Bosses what happened, then the three of
us'n headed this way. Wesa found a homestead, abandoned wesa thought.
"The Outlanders surprised us'n. Theysa fired
at us'n, killed one'a the kaadu and tekking the rider pris'ner." Tarpals
sat blinking in silence for a moment. "The two of us'n fought back, but
there were too many of them." The Gungan glanced
89
over his shoulder. "Eldess was killed in the
water. By then wesa both been thrown, and the kaadus fled into the woods."
Panaka looked around. "How did you know this
cave was here?"
The Gungan snorted again. "Thissen the guard
post for this area. Wesa use this for patrols. Wesa built this."
"You've got more of these around?"
"Wesa got posts all 'round the p'rimiter of
the swamplands. Patrols are scheduled regular. Theysa good for training."
"I'll bet." Panaka paused. "Well,
I guess we've done all we can for now. We probably should rest while we've got
the chance. Do you want the first watch, or shall I take it?"
"My've got it." Tarpals rose and waded
into the pool.
"All right. Wake me in a couple of
hours." Tarpals stared back at him. Panaka realized the Gungan probably
had no idea how long an hour was. "Or whenever you need a break." He
laid the rifle on the ground, stretched out beside it and closed his eyes.
They traded watches twice
during the night. Panaka woke an indeterminate time after the second switch
with Tarpals's wet, whiskery face peering at him. "My've been up
already," the Gungan told him. "Issa getting light soon. Wesa go
now." Panaka rose and stretched, then set about reassembling the rifle.
"The
smugglers don' seem to know wesa here, and no'un entered the pool,"
Tarpals continued as he picked up the energy pole. "Yousa ready?"
"Is it much of a swim?" Panaka asked as
they waded into the water.
Tarpals shook his head. "Iss no' far to the
surface. But wesa needsa swim as far underwater as wesa can, so's wesa surface
'way from the ship. Yousa needs hang onto my belt?"
"Guess I'd better," Panaka answered.
"Once we're outside, I can surface if I really need to."
90
When his head broke surface Panaka took a moment
to get his bearings. Only the dimmest light showed that sunrise was on the way;
even better, there seemed to be a fog over the water. Tarpals had surfaced an
arm's length away, only his eyes showing, his long haillu trailing in the water
behind him like weeds. Panaka suddenly realized how the Gungan could have spent
two days watching the smugglers virtually undetected; by floating close to
shore among the water plants, Tarpals blended in with the stalks and floating
vegetation.
The Gungan's head cleared the water just enough
to murmur, "Wesa going," before ducking back under and turning away.
Panaka followed.
There was plenty of light by the time Tarpals
headed toward the bank, well away from the smugglers' ship. The sun was just
below the horizon, the sky turning from charcoal grey to light yellow. The
Gungan floated in the shallows, listening. Then he crept out of the water and
onto the bank.
Panaka joined him in the underbrush. "Now
what?"
Tarpals glanced around, then placed one hand over
his muzzle and produced a warbling sound. "Now wesa wait," he
whispered back. Panaka spent a few minutes looking the rifle over while Tarpals
repeated the sound several times.
Finally in the distance there came an answering
warble. Tarpals called again.
From the brush
to their right came a telltale whine, and the grass burst into flame.
Crouching, both human and Gungan scrambled in the other direction.
"The smugglers know we're here!" Panaka
snapped. "They may have had a sentry in the water."
"Deesa way!" Tarpals rose from his
crouch and broke into a run.
"You think you can catch a kaadu like
this"" Panaka was running hard on the Gungan's heels. "They're
shooting at us!"
91
"Shesa no be carrin' 'bout that,"
Tarpals called back. "Shesa trained for battle - shesa be there." He
warbled again, and the answer came back much closer. "Wesa needsa keep
moving!"
They burst through the brush and skidded to a
halt as the kaadu - a two-legged animal with leathery hide and a duck-billed
muzzle - almost ran then down. She still wore saddle and bridle. Tarpals
grabbed the reins and clucked at her. The kaadu sank into a crouch and the
Gungan swung into the saddle. He held out a hand to his human companion.
Panaka dodged around the kaadu suddenly, aimed
the blast rifle into the trees, and fired twice. Someone screamed. The human
slung the strap of the rifle over his shoulder and all but ran up the kaadu's
leg to fling himself into the saddle behind the Gungan. Tarpals clucked again,
and the kaadu rose. Shouting, he slapped the reins against her neck. The kaadu
leaped forward.
"Head north!" Panaka shouted.
Tarpals half-turned in the saddle. "Yousa
hang onto mesa, now!"
Panaka gripped the Gungan's belt as the kaadu's
gait jounced them both. He unlimbered the rifle and held it in a firing
position. "Don't worry - I'll be right behind you all the way!"
The Gungan threw him a look over his shoulder. He
still carried the energy pole in the hand not gripping the reins.
The bushes and trees blurred past. In a few
minutes they had outdistanced any pursuit on foot, but Panaka kept looking back
over his shoulder. One of several things could happen now. The smugglers could
break out whatever speeders or other personal mechanical transportation they
had and come after the escapees, or recall all personnel and take off with
their cargo, or lift off now and leave behind anyone unfortunate enough to
still be out in the woods. Unless Panaka's two officers were still alive and
free, only he and Tarpals would know what was really happening here. If the
smugglers knew it was just one human and one Gungan, their best bet would be to
eliminate the two witnesses, finish loading the contraband as quickly as
possible, and then lift off. Not only would killing Panaka and Tarpals buy the
smugglers
92
more time, it would also remove the only two
people that could identify the ship and various crew members.
Panaka laid the gun across his lap and reached
into his belt pouch for the tracking device. "Start working your way
west," he shouted to his companion, and the Gungan nodded. "At this
pace, it won't be long at all."
The kaadu's pace slowed as she plowed through
small bushes and skirted trees. Her riders had to duck branches. Panaka jounced
in the saddle, but Tarpals seemed to have no trouble keeping his seat, swaying
with the rhythm of the kaadu's footfalls. Occasionally Tarpals would raise the
energy pole to push branches out of the way.
"A little more to the
north," Panaka called forward. He was hearing a strange droning noise. For
a moment he thought the jolting might be affecting his ears; then the sound
deepened into the whirring of a motor. The smugglers were after them.
A kaadu might be the fastest animal on land,
Panaka thought, but it would be no match for a speeder bike or other machine.
"Tarpals!" The Gungan glanced over his shoulder. "In a couple of
minutes we'll be at the spot where I left my speeder. I'm going to jump!"
The Gungan shook his head. "Thass a bombad
idee," he shouted over his shoulder. "Yousa gonna brekka you
neck!"
"You'll have to slow down a little -"
Panaka broke off. Once again the brush nearby exploded into flames, and the
kaadu suddenly swerved to the right to avoid it. Panaka clamped his knees
against the kaadu's flanks, whipped around and snapped off a shot at their
pursuers. He caught a glimpse of a two-man bike behind them.
"You'll need to slow down. When I'm off,
take them around in a circle and bring them back to the speeder. I've got a
weapon mount - I can get them off your tail." The Gungan opened his mouth;
but Panaka cut him off. "Just do it!" He twisted in the saddle to
fire again at the bike. The driver swerved and disappeared between the trees. "Now!"
Tarpals hauled back on the reins, and the kaadu
slowed. Panaka jumped, rolling to absorb the force of the landing.
93
With
a shout, Tarpals urged the kaadu back to full speed and vanished into the
brush. Panaka heard the telltale whir of the engine as the bike shot past in
pursuit.
Shoving the blast rifle into the crook of a tree,
Panaka scrambled for the speeder, which stood mostly hidden among the bushes.
He stabbed the power button, then flung himself into the back seat and
unlimbered the gun, swinging it around to face the direction in which Tarpals
had disappeared. For a few moments there was no sound other than the rustle of
leaves. Then he caught the snapping of branches and the roar of an engine.
The kaadu, rider still mounted, burst from the
bushes to his right and shot past him. Panaka hastily swung the gun around and
opened fire, strafing in a sweeping arc. Someone yelled, and the speeder bike
materialized in the same place from which the kaadu had appeared. Panaka fired
at it, trying to match the bike's momentum as it passed. The bike slammed into
a tree a few meters away and exploded. Panaka ducked into the back seat to
avoid the heat of the fire.
A few minutes later
Tarpals reappeared from a different direction, the kaadu now moving at a walk.
He pulled up next to the speeder, where Panaka was scanning the surrounding
area for any survivors. "Thass fine shooting!" the Gungan remarked,
eyeing the wreckage. Panaka managed a tired grin.
"Thanks. Now, let's get some back-up."
He reached into the driver's side of the vehicle and unhooked the remote
comlink. Adjusting the frequency, he spoke into it. "Panaka to Delinar."
A burst of static followed, then a fuzzy voice
answered. "Captain Panaka! I've been trying to reach you!"
"Report, Lieutenant."
"Sir, when you didn't check in, I ordered
the pilots to wait in the hanger bay in pairs. We're less than an hour from
sending out aerial search parties."
"Launch a pair of
fighters to our position." Panaka craned his neck to read off the
coordinates on the speeder's control panel. "Send the best pilots we've
got. We have one mid-sized freighter on the lakeshore and probably a dozen
-" he glanced
94
at Tarpals for confirmation and the Gungan
nodded, "-smugglers manning her. They've got hostages, at least five
Gungans and maybe some of our people as well. Tell the gunners to cripple her
on the ground if at all possible. Send a squad of ground troops to the same
coordinates. Once the ship's disabled, we'll still need help dealing with the
smugglers."
"Yes, sir!" There was a pause on the
other end as Delinar relayed the orders. Then her voice returned.
"Captain, what will you do now?"
"I'm going back to the freighter,"
Panaka replied. "I've got some help on this end. We're going to try to
keep the smugglers busy. Panaka out." He reached back into the speeder and
tapped a security code into the keypad on the storage compartment's door. Inside
sat the spare weapons he had locked in before he'd headed into the woods, along
with a set of spare energy packs. One blaster went into his empty holster and
an energy pack into a pouch on his belt. A moment later he fished a handheld
computer unit out and tucked that into a pouch. Then he pulled a second blaster
out and offered it to Tarpals, who accepted it with a pleased look on his face.
Although the Gungan didn't have a holster, the blaster could be thrust firmly
through his belt.
"When you're ready to shoot, press
this," Panaka said, indicating the safety switch, "then aim using
this," he tapped the sighting scope, "and pull the trigger
here." He demonstrated, and the Gungan copied his moves. Tarpals tucked
the blaster into the back of his belt
"Ready?" Panaka asked.
By way of reply, Tarpals clucked again to the
kaadu, which obediently sank into a crouch and allowed Panaka to climb back on.
A few moments later they were trotting through the brush toward the smuggler
ship.
"Our pilots will be here in a few
minutes," Panaka explained. "If they can hit the ship while it's on
the ground, it'll be up to us to keep the smugglers from killing the hostages.
You've been around the ship for the last two days. What can you tell me about
the exits?"
95
"My've been in the water for the last two
days," Tarpals corrected him. "Thesa one main ramp leading to the
shore side of they'n's ship. If'n thesa more exits, my've not seen them."
He pulled back on the reins, bringing the kaadu to a stop, then turned slightly
in the saddle. "Wesa might'n have problems with dees... sssensors. My
could come in by water, but-"
"Wait. You take the weapon, come in by
water, and start shooting. While you're drawing their attention, I'll try to
slip in by land and use this," he pulled the handheld computer unit out of
his belt pouch, "to open the lock on a back hatch."
The Gungan eyed the computer doubtfully.
"This'n explosive?"
"No, actually, it's a lock-pick."
Panaka grinned. "It's a standard issue for law enforcement. We use it
mostly to help people who lock themselves out of their houses, but it has other
uses, too. And if that doesn't work," here he patted the blaster in its holster,
"I've got a couple of other tools. Once I'm inside the ship, I can either
take out the engines or members of the crew." He paused thoughtfully.
"You said one of your officers is being held prisoner? Too bad we couldn't
get him a weapon, too."
"Yousa no
worry 'bout that," Tarpals replied, as the kaadu crouched to let Panaka
off. "Mesa sure the smugglers will have alla the weapons wesa
need'n."
"I'll get as close as I can, and then wait
for the blaster firing," Panaka told him. "Good luck, Captain."
"Yousa the same," the Gungan replied,
and the kaadu rose and carried him out of sight. Tarpals rode the kaadu
straight for the lake at a dead gallop, pulling to a stop just short of the
edge. Flipping the reins up onto the animal's neck, the Gungan paused to power
up the blaster rifle, then dismounted and jogged into the water, diving as soon
as he was far enough out.
The smuggler camp was
roiling with activity. Three of the captives were rushing bundles up the ramp
and into the ship while two others sat to one side under guard. Tarpals
surfaced amid the same clump of water plants that had shielded him for the past
two days, and waited. A third captive was added
96
to the two sitting on the bank, and then a
fourth, and finally the fifth. Tarpals stood up, swung the barrel of the rifle
at the guards now leveling their weapons at the prisoners, and opened fire.
The first guard collapsed, mortally wounded; the
second was cut down as he swung to fire at Tarpals. Two more figures appeared
around the side of the ship, closely followed by a third, and the two men who
had been overseeing the loading of the contraband sprang into sight in the
opening at the top of the ramp. All five of the captive Gungans had thrown
themselves on the ground.
The smuggler guards opened fire. Tarpals dove and
immediately twisted to avoid the shots, eeling through the water. He surfaced
close to shore, put a hand to his muzzle, and made a trilling call.
Crouched just beyond what he thought was the edge
of the sensors, Panaka waited. At the first sounds of fire he sprinted for the
ship, watching the guards pelting toward the action on the lakeshore. Finding
the closest exit hatch he slapped the lock pick over the keypad, and the
computer began cycling through number codes. Panaka's gaze flickered back and
forth between his wrist chronometer and the computer's display panel. He'd
decided on a thirty second deadline to break the code; after that, he'd shoot
his way in.
Three humans and a pair of
Quarren bore down on Tarpals's position. As the first man brought his rifle
down to take aim the brush nearby burst apart and the Gungan's kaadu, drawn by
her rider's call bounded over the prone captives to land squarely on top of the
smuggler. The man didn't move as the kaadu, bawling loudly, slammed into two of
the remaining smugglers, aimed a vicious kick at a third, and then broke into a
gallop across the clearing in front of the ship.
One of the captives rolled to where the dead man
lay and snatched up his weapon, barking an order to the Gungans still on the
ground. All four of them scrambled for the woods on hands and knees.
A high-pitched mechanical scream in the distance heralded the approach
of two Naboo fighters, and suddenly the smugglers abandoned their attack on the
Gungans and fled
97
toward their freighter. Tarpals scrambled up the
bank to join his officer, but both were forced into the woods by covering fire
from the two men crouched at the top of the boarding ramp.
Panaka jerked his head up at the sound of his
approaching pilots. He took two steps back, aimed the blaster and fired into
the hatch's keypad, which exploded in a shower of sparks and metal. He shoved
the blaster back into its holster and reached into the keypad opening, singeing
his fingers on the burning wiring within, and twisted a metal rod. The hatch
slid open a hand's width - and stopped.
Conscious of the fact that he'd probably just set
off half a dozen internal alarms, Panaka braced one hand and foot against the
open edge of the hatch and shoved. The door slid laboriously open. Once inside
the hatch he shattered the red plastic covering of the emergency controls, and
a moment later was drawing his pistol in the dim light of the ship's corridor.
Explosions sounded from outside, and the ship's
deck pitched under his feet. Panaka braced himself against the corridor wall.
If that hadn't been a direct hit, it had certainly been close. Pistol held in a
firing position, Panaka started forward. He needed to find the cockpit or the
engine room and get control of the ship as soon as possible.
Footsteps rang on the metal floor and a Quarren
burst into view at the end of the corridor. Gun already in position, Panaka
fired; the Quarren went down and stayed there. Panaka leaned forward to relieve
the creature of its gun, and caught the sound of faint shouting.
The door ahead on to his right opened to reveal
what were unmistakably captives - two small Gungans huddled on the floor of a
cage, and Lieutenant Ebri shackled to the wall beside them.
"Captain Panaka!"
"Get your head
down." Panaka fired a single shot to shatter the bolt holding his officer
in place. Ebri slid to the floor, metal cuffs still on her wrists, but no
longer bound.
98
"Mostly,
sir. I'm just bruised in a few places." Ebri was trying unsuccessfully to
slide the bindings over her hands. The cuffs wouldn't fit, no matter how she
tried to tuck her thumbs in.
Finally she gave up and ran one had through her
hair; the blond strands had come loose and were straggling into her eyes.
"I think they kept me alive because they thought they could sell me
off-world after they were done here."
"Is anyone else -"
"I - I don't think so, sir," Ebri's
eyes closed and she dropped her hands into her lap. "I haven't seen anyone
except these two." She opened her eyes and turned her head toward the two
small Gungans. The larger of the two drew itself up onto its elbows and blinked
weakly at Panaka. The smaller one made no movement at all.
Panaka's mouth thinned as he turned back to Ebri.
"Can you move?"
"Yes, sir -"
The ship lurched, throwing Panaka to the floor
beside his officer. The larger Gungan pressed back against the wall.
"Are we - did they -" Ebri was scanning
the ceiling.
"I think we're off the ground," Panaka
responded grimly. He gripped the blaster tightly. "We need to get forward
to the cockpit -"
An explosion rumbled from the rear of the ship.
The deck tilted sharply, forcing both officers to scramble for the nearest
solid object. There was a crash and a shriek of metal; the deck bucked several
times beneath them, then came to a shuddering stop for a moment before
beginning a side-to-side rolling motion. The roaring of the engines had faded
to almost nothing.
"Is that -"
"Re-enforcements," Panaka told her,
scrambling to his feet. "Sounds like our pilots hit the engines, and we're
in the water.
99
Ebri nodded grimly. "Let's go."
Out in the corridor Panaka and Ebri stepped over
the dead Quarren and headed forward, Panaka leading. Water was already
beginning to slosh along the floor plates.
The freighter's deck design was simple: two
decks, each with a main corridor. Several ladders connected the two decks.
Panaka paused at the bottom of one ladder and peered upward. He glanced back
over his shoulder at Ebri, who nodded and stepped closer, pointing her weapon
up to cover the opening above. Blaster clutched in his right hand, Panaka
scrambled upwards.
Ebri began firing past him as he neared the top
of the ladder. He gathered himself and sprang over the last two rungs to land
on the deck in a crouch. He could hear Ebri's boots on the ladder behind him,
and a moment later she was crouched in the corridor with her back to him,
firing toward the rear of the ship.
"Forward!" he shouted over his
shoulder, and sprinted toward the front of the ship.
Two men materialized out of a doorway to his
left. Panaka shot the first one, and the second halted, dropped his weapon on
the deck and raised his hands. "Don't shoot!" Panaka shoved him back
into the room, reversed his grip on the blaster, and slammed it against the
side of the man's head. The smuggler collapsed.
At the end of the
corridor, a pair of metal doors stood firmly closed. Panaka fired into the
center of the door seam; the shot left barely a blackened mark. "We need
to find something to pry these open," he told Ebri. Both officers began
moving along the corridor, opening hatch doors in search of tools, Ebri finally
locating a long piece of metal that would serve as a crowbar. Several more
shots put enough of a dent in the seam to force the crowbar between the doors.
"Sir, if we don't do something soon, we're
going to be trapped in here with the smugglers," Ebri pointed out as she
and
100
"Know how to hold their breath under water,
just like the adults," Panaka finished for her. "If we're in the
water, Lieutenant, I think we have help on the way. Now, push."
Sparks erupted from a wall panel as the officers
shoved against the crowbar, and the doors began to inch open. A stream of water
poured out of the crack. Panaka let go of the metal and braced himself in the
door opening, shoving with both hands and feet. Ebri stepped back and lifted
her gun.
The control room was a
shambles. One human was slumped in a chair at the control panel, a second
stirring feebly on the floor. The front view plate was cracked, water running
in rivulets down the walls and across the deck. Outside, the water level lapped
about two-thirds of the way up the view plate.
"This ship's going down fast," Panaka
remarked as he stepped forward to check the unconscious man for a pulse. Ebri
stood back and covered him. Panaka holstered the blaster and grabbed the seated
smuggler under the arms. "Let's get them out into the corridor," he
ordered, and Ebri motioned with her weapon to herd the second man outside. From
somewhere in the back of the ship came the shouts of other surviving
crewmembers.
With both men out in the corridor Panaka stepped
back into the cockpit, cast around for the intercom controls, and spoke into
the loudspeaker. "Attention all personnel. This ship is under the control
of Naboo security forces. All remaining crewmembers are ordered to leave your
weapons behind and come to the forward cockpit immediately. Bring all
underwater breathing apparatus with you - the ship is sinking fast and we will
need to swim to shore." He switched off the intercom and stood peering
into the water, which was creeping up the view plate. "Come on, Tarpals,
we could use some help here."
Outside in the corridor the remaining members of
the smuggler crew had arrived, climbing up from the lower deck. Ebri stood with
her back to the cockpit door, weapon trained on the new arrivals, both of whom
dropped their weapons back down the ladder on her order.
101
"There's
another of your people in the room down the hall," Panaka told them. He
relieved the smugglers of the breathers they'd brought; there were plenty of
the devices to go around. "Get the last man up here, and get a breather
into the mouth of anyone who's unconscious. Where's the nearest airlock?"
"Emergency exit at the end of the
corridor," one of the men replied, jerking his head aft.
"Get everyone down
there," Panaka said. Two of the men began dragging their unconscious
shipmate toward the rear of the ship; a third, still staggering, stumbled to
the room that held his last crewmate. Panaka motioned to Ebri. "Can you
get below and free those Gungans? I want to keep an eye on this lot."
"Yes, sir." Ebri slung the gun strap
over her shoulder and trotted to the ladder, disappearing below decks. A few
minutes later the sound of a single shot echoed up from below.
Panaka motioned everyone
to the end of the corridor and waited, but Ebri did not reappear. Finally, he
retreated back to the ladder and called down, "What's taking so long,
Lieutenant?"
There was a pause. "I'm sorry, Captain. I
had to shoot the lock to get the cage open. The littlest Gungan isn't moving at
all, and I can't convince the bigger one to come out of the cage. It's probably
scared to death."
"Bring the smaller one," Panaka shouted
back. "Maybe the bigger one will follow." A few moments later Ebri
appeared at the ladder, the Gungan slung over her shoulder. The water on the
lower deck was almost to her waist. Bracing the Gungan against her shoulder,
she began to climb, struggling to balance herself with her free hand.
"The other one's still down there," she
told him as she stepped onto the deck. "Sir, maybe I should stay -"
"No," Panaka
replied. "I'd rather you go with this one. I don't know if it'll wake up
once you're outside or not, but if it doesn't, you'll need to get it to the
surface right away. I'll take care of the other one." He looked up at the
group of
102
smugglers
standing warily at the escape hatch. "You. Out. Get to the surface and go
straight to shore. We've got Gungan allies outside, and they are not happy with
any of you right now. If I were you, I wouldn't do anything to aggravate
them." He nodded to Ebri and put the breather into his mouth. She copied
his motions.
One of the men pressed the emergency switch, and
the escape hatch blew open, disappearing in a cloud of bubbles as a great rush
of water flooded the corridor. The smugglers vanished into the wave, struggling
against the flow. Panaka nodded to Ebri, who, carrying the Gungan, plunged
under the water and swam for the opening.
A series of agonized
squeals rang from the lower deck. Panaka jerked the breather out of his mouth,
and clung to the ladder as he bent over the opening in the floor, where the
water was rushing downward in a whirlpool. "Look, if you can hear me, I'm
not going to hurt you," he shouted. "We need to get out of this
ship." The squealing continued unabated.
The water was now almost chest-high, and Panaka
slid the breather into his mouth. He made a move to swing himself onto the
ladder - and a long grey shape slid through the hatchway and plowed toward him.
The Gungan surfaced an arm's length away, bracing itself against a support
beam, and eyed Panaka distrustfully. The human gestured forcefully down the
ladder. The Gungan dove and, ignoring the ladder completely, dropped through
the hole and splashed into the water below. The wailing of the younger Gungan
abruptly ceased.
A second grey shape shot through the emergency
exit, and a familiar face emerged from the water. "Yousa needsa go,"
Tarpals barked over the sloshing of the rapidly rising water.
"There's -"
"My will take care'n them." The Gungan
jerked his head toward the rear of the ship. Panaka dove beneath the water's
surface and sculled to the hatchway, braced his legs against the outer hull and
pushed out into open water.
The smugglers' ship was almost completely
underwater by the time he surfaced and began the swim to shore. Midway there,
103
the two adult Gungans
appeared. The unfamiliar one surfaced briefly and blinked at Panaka a couple of
times before diving again; he caught a glimpse of the youngster below it in the
water. Shortly thereafter Tarpals himself appeared almost at Panaka's elbow.
The human stopped swimming and tread water. "Is everyone all right?"
"Theysa fine," Tarpals replied.
"Yousa the last." The Gungan captain accompanied Panaka until the
human stumbled out of the water and collapsed on the bank.
Someone had radioed an "all clear" to
the medical rescue team, Panaka thought wearily as he caught sight of a pair of
small crafts winging their way toward him over the water. The tiny ships
hovered for a moment over the open bank, then settled near the water's edge.
One ship dispatched a pair of medical officers; the second held half a dozen
security officers. The lieutenant in charge eyed the Gungans uncertainly until
Panaka hailed him.
"Leave them alone for now," Panaka told
him. He indicated the smugglers. "Take these people into custody. Charges
of murder, smuggling, kidnapping…. And whatever else I can think of when I've
had a chance."
He spent the better part
of an hour fending off the doctors as he organized search parties to begin looking
for the three missing officers. One of the physicians finally forced him to sit
down and eat, for which he was secretly grateful. The rest of the medical staff
was busy treating the smugglers for assorted injuries before they were shipped
back to Theed. The pause gave him time to talk to Lieutenant Ebri, whom he had
ordered off duty. The woman was sitting with her back against a tree, legs
drawn up to her body and arms folded on her knees.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said as they sat
on the bank, gazing out over the water and trying to politely ignore the knot
of Gungans off to one side. "I just - it's not fair that the only reason
I'm still alive is because someone thought of me as a valuable commodity. And
the smugglers didn't spare anyone else, except those two Gungan children, who
they kept alive for the same reason."
104
"First
of all, we don't know for certain that you are the only survivor," Panaka
told her. "There's a chance that we may find one or more of the others
still alive out in the woods. And the fact that you were alive and on that ship
meant that there were an extra pair of hands to capture the rest of the
smugglers, and give those two youngsters a chance to survive."
Both humans found their attention drawn to the
Gungans as the group rose, almost as an individual, and waded into the water.
One of the adults was carrying the smaller of the two children. Tarpals and the
larger child stopped midway out, but the rest of the Gungans kept wading until
they were nearly chest-deep in water. The Gungans not holding the child began
dipping their hands into the water; they alternated between trickling the
moisture over the youngster, and rubbing handfuls of water over the child's
face, arms, and haillu. After a few minutes, the adult holding the child eased
into the water and disappeared from sight, resurfacing again to allow the other
adults to resume stroking the child.
Panaka and Ebri sat watching. "Do you know
what they're doing, Captain?" Ebri asked finally.
"No. I don't know any more about the Gungans
and their rituals than you do."
Ebri sighed. "We've shared the planet with
them for millennia, and we still know next to nothing about them. You known,
one of the reasons I asked to be assigned to this area is because it was so
close to the Gungans' territory. I wanted to get a look at them, maybe even
meet one. This wasn't what I had in mind at all." She gazed at the group
out in the water. "I hope - I hope this doesn't mean the child's going to
die. That would just be too much after everything else that's happened
here."
A few minutes later Tarpals bent down to say
something to the second child, and then came wading back to shore. The child
looked over its shoulder uncertainly at the bank, and then turned its attention
back to the adults in the water.
Panaka gestured the Gungan over. "What's going on?"
105
Tarpals sighed heavily and
settled himself in the grass next to the humans. "The littlest one, hesa
not doing well. If'n hesa stays close to hiss parents, mebbe hesa realize hesa
safe now."
"And the water?" Ebri asked, craning
her neck to watch the Gungans.
"The same. Water is very important to us'n.
Wesa sleep in'a, travel in'a, live in'a. Mebbe if'n hesa feel water 'round him,
hesa realize hesa not in the ship any more."
They were silent for a moment, then abruptly Ebri
stood up. "Excuse me." She strode toward the water's edge.
"Lieutenant!" Panaka called after her.
Ebri turned back. "I want to go help, sir.
He's the only one I feel like I can do anything for right now."
Panaka glanced at Tarpals,
who looked from him to Ebri and back. The Gungan shrugged slightly. "Shesa
no can hurt." Panaka nodded permission, and Ebri proceeded to wade out to
where the Gungans were standing. As she passed, the second child shied away,
but soon moved back to its former position. The adult Gungans paused in their
ministrations as Ebri approached. Panaka thought they were eyeing the woman
suspiciously. Ebri spoke, her voice lost in the distance from the shore to the
small party's position. As she spoke, she was showing the Gungans her wrists,
still raw from where the bindings had been cut away by the doctors. Finally the
adult Gungans turned their collective gaze to Tarpals, who nodded in an
exaggerated motion so they could see his approval. The Gungans moved aside for
Ebri, who began carefully rubbing wet hands over the child's haillu.
By late afternoon the
first of the search parties had located and brought back the bodies of the
first two officers to go missing. Both had apparently been drowned, then buried
in shallow graves over which brush had been loosely laid. Less than an hour
later, a more positive report came in: Lieutenant Frenz had been found, badly
injured but alive and hiding a fair distance from the clearing. Panaka watched
as two more members of the medical team hurriedly shouldered
106
To add to the excitement, Tarpals's kaadu was
spotted lurking on the edge of the clearing, apparently torn between wanting to
rejoin her rider and wanting to avoid the humans. The Gungan rose and warbled
to the animal, which responded by trotting into the clearing and almost running
one of the smugglers over again. Panaka watched as Tarpals pulled the saddle
off the kaadu and led it into the water, where it drank and submerged several
times. Finally the Gungan led it back to the shore and took the bridle off,
letting the animal wander around the clearing and graze.
By now the knot of Gungans in the water had
dwindled; only one adult continued to stroke the child, while another adult
held it. The Gungans had begun trading off positions; allowing each adult time
to swim and, apparently, forage in the water for food. Lieutenant Ebri had let
the Gungans move her away from the child; one of the other adults was carefully
cleansing the woman's wrists. Finally the adult holding the child let Ebri
approach and take the youngster for a while. A second adult took up the task of
washing.
"What will yousa do with the
smugglers?" Tarpals asked finally, still watching the movement out on the
water.
"They'll be shipped off-world to a Republic
Court and tried under Republic law," Panaka replied. "The charges we
made against them will be heard by a tribunal, and the men will probably serve
the rest of their lives in a prison colony."
The Gungan
nodded slowly. "P'raps issa just as well." He fell silent and watched
Ebri trade places with the Gungan adult in the water. "Wesa never goin'
back to bein' left 'lone again, are wesan?"
"Probably not completely," Panaka
replied. "But I think trying and convicting these smugglers will convince
most of the rest of the galaxy that we can take care of ourselves. I don't
think too many people will want to pay that big a price," he gestured to where
the smugglers' ship lay under the water's surface, "for drugs, no matter
how valuable."
107
"Captain?
Captain!" Ebri's shout carried across the water. Both Panaka and Tarpals
turned in her direction. "Look!"
The Gungan holding the child was wading slowly
back toward shore. Under the adult's chin, the youngster was moving, rubbing
one hand over its face, eyes still closed. As the Gungans and Ebri neared the
bank the child opened its eyes and huddled, blinking, against the adult's neck.
Then it extended its neck forward and delicately ran its nose across Ebri's
cheek, sniffing at the human. Finally it tucked its head back under the adult's
chin and lay watching as the rest of the Gungan adults clustered around it.
"Thass'n good news," Tarpals remarked,
and rose to join his people in the water.
By sunset, Panaka was preparing to return to the
capital with the remaining members of the medical team; the other ship having
departed earlier with Lieutenant Frenz. The security personnel had left at the
same time, and a couple of officers had been sent to retrieve the ground cars.
The Gungans were apparently going to stay in the underground guard post until
the rest of Tarpals's patrol arrived in the next day or so. Led by Tarpals's
remaining officer, they were wading out into the water and disappearing beneath
the surface, until only the Gungan captain and his kaadu remained.
"You're sure you'll be all right?"
Panaka asked. Tarpals nodded.
"Wesa bein' fine, so long'n thesa no more
unwelcome guests." Tarpals gestured at the sky.
Panaka grinned. "No
arguments here." He hesitated, then held out a hand to the Gungan, who
eyed it, clearly puzzled. "It's a ritual among the Naboo," Panaka
explained. "Usually it's just a greeting or a farewell, but at one time it
was used between two people to show each that the other wasn't carrying a
weapon, and that they wanted to be friends. It's called a handshake."
Tarpals's hand was larger than a human's, and
they ended up gripping one another's wrists. When Panaka let go, the Gungan
turned to Ebri, who smiled and took his hand in the same gesture.
108
"Thass'n current that flows both ways,"
the Gungan told her. He turned to Panaka. "Wesa workin' together again,
mesa thinks."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"It's been an honor," Ebri added.
The Gungan bowed slightly, then gathered up the
kaadu's reins and led the animal into the water. They waded away and submerged
with barely a ripple. Panaka indicated the medical transport with a nod of his
head, and he and Ebri turned their backs on the water.
"I'm glad this is over, sir," Ebri
remarked as they boarded the craft. "I mean, I'm not sorry we worked with
the Gungans, and stopped the smugglers, but what we had to go through..."
"I know." Panaka settled himself in a
seat as the transport's doors closed behind them. "Good people died for
this, both ours and the Gungans'. But we've forged closer ties with our
neighbors, and we're showing some powerful people that we're not helpless.
Hopefully, the gains will eventually outweigh the losses. But I agree, it's a
high price to pay." Both fell silent as the transport lifted off and set
course for the city of Theed.
No comments:
Post a Comment