Jedi Prince_ The Glove Of Darth Vader Part 4

CHAPTER 6.

Ten Minutes to Self-Destruct A hatch on the escape sub opened and Trioculus emerged alone, while Grand Moff Hissa and the others remained behind.

Trioculus wore a diving suit of the most advanced design, equipped with a helmet that had a miniature arc light. He took a supply of thermal detonators with him.

KABRAAAA-AAM!.

The thermal detonators blasted a hole in the side of the large chunk of the Death Star sprawled across the ocean floor. Then Trioculus pulled himself through the hole into the big, hollow piece of metallic debris. He adjusted the arc light on his helmet so that he could examine the crushed mechanical parts that surrounded him.

He found a large lump that looked like the remains of a melted energy dish. He also found a maze of mashed turbolaser cooling tubes and ion equalizers, scorched and clumped together so that they were almost unrecognizable.

And then his third eye noticed three black fingertips sticking out from beneath a mashed ion deactivator.

He pushed aside the ion deactivator, and there it was: a five-fingered black gauntlet, in one piece, undamaged by heat or water.

In fact, the glove looked just as it must have looked when Darth Vader had worn it on his right hand!

Luke bit his lower lip as he kept staring through the front porthole of the Calamarian minisub. Using underwater macrobinoculars, he could see that the diver had three eyes-Trioculus! The Imperial tyrant was reentering the escape sub, and Luke wondered whether Trioculus had just found the glove of Darth Vader.

"Ackbar, can we catch up with that little sub before it gets back inside the Whaladon-hunting submarine?" Luke asked.

"I don't see how," Ackbar replied somberly. "If we get too close, we'll be discovered. One blast from their laser cannons and we'll be finished."

"I say it's time to retreat then," said Threepio.

Luke remembered the words of Yoda, his Jedi teacher: Luke, the coming fight is yours alone. There is no avoiding the battle-you cannot escape your destiny.

"We're not going to retreat, Threepio," said Luke. He turned to the Calamarian fishman beside him. "Admiral Ackbar, is there any way we could signal Trioculus and communicate with him somehow?"

"You mean let him know that we're here?"

"Exactly. If we surrender to him, then he'll take us aboard to question us, right? But that will be the biggest mistake he'll ever make."

"Or the biggest one we'll ever make," said Ackbar.

Another thought struck Luke. "The other thing we could do is attack."

"Attack!" exclaimed Threepio.

It was an old Jedi rule of thumb to attack when the odds were overwhelmingly against you, and when there was no other possible way to save your own life or the life of an ally.

Luke had used that strategy aboard Jabba the Hutt's skiff when Luke and his friends were about to be executed.

"Ackbar, let's get closer to them," said Luke. "Full speed ahead."

"Full speed ahead," repeated Admiral Ackbar reluctantly.

"Oh, dear, I do hope you know what you're doing, Master Luke," said Threepio in a whining voice. "Don't say I didn't warn you-"

Admiral Ackbar pushed hard on the overdrive booster, making their Calamarian minisub go at maximum speed.

FAZHOOOOM!.

Their sub lurched forward in the water, then the power suddenly failed. It was totally dark.

"I tried to accelerate faster than we can go, triggering a systems shutdown," said Ackbar.

"Threepio, reach up and put your hand on the emergency control lever just above your head.

And yank hard."

Threepio did as he was told. The backup generator turned on, and an emergency steering unit popped out of the ceiling, practically landing in Threepio's lap.

"Just push up on that red k.n.o.b, Threepio," Ackbar continued.

"Pus.h.i.+ng as instructed," said Threepio. "Oh, dear."

"Now just hold it steady and steer us on a straight course. The main pilot control should automatically switch on again in about one minute."

"But I haven't the faintest idea how to pilot this thing," Threepio protested.

"It's easy, even a housekeeping droid could do it," said Ackbar. "Just hold that red k.n.o.b steady."

Threepio tried his best, but the Calamarian minisub tilted on its side, then flipped upside down and plunged straight for the bottom. Then, just seconds before it was about to smash on some rocks, he pulled it out of its nosedive.

"Bzeeech! Chnooooch!" beeped Artoo frantically.

"Well, you try to steer it, then, if you think you're so smart," said Threepio. "Hmmph.

'Even a housekeeping droid could do it'!"

At that moment the main pilot control switched back on and Admiral Ackbar took over once again.

"If I could make a suggestion, Master Luke," said Threepio, "I really think we ought to head back. We can return to see the sights down here some other time."

"Zgoonukooo!" squealed Artoo.

"Yikes!" shouted Threepio. "A giant squid!"

He was right. Luke glanced out the front porthole and saw a squid larger than any he could ever have imagined. It had long, writhing, twisting tentacles with big, grotesque suction cups. The squid jetted through the water just overhead and pa.s.sed them.

Suddenly the Whaladon-hunting submarine created another whirlpool, which churned like an angry tornado, going right toward the squid.

FWISHHHHH!.

The squid was caught in the whirlpool, but then so was the Calamarian minisub! Around and around they spun, tumbling and falling as they felt the whirlpool sucking them through the opening of a storage chamber right along with the giant squid.

"Oh, nooooo!" shouted Threepio. "Master Luke, we're dooooomed!"

No one aboard the Whaladon-hunting submarine even realized that the Calamarian minisub had been sucked into the hold along with the giant squid.

The crew members were more concerned with a game that had just begun, a gambling game known as sabacc. Sabacc was a card game that had become very popular in the casinos of Cloud City on Bespin, and now it was played by both humans and aliens on dozens of planets.

A few Aqualish with big tusks began the game, and soon they were joined by others, as they crouched in the main corridor not far from the decompression chamber.

But the game wasn't going smoothly. The Aqualish began growling and pus.h.i.+ng, calling each other cheaters and opening their mouths, flas.h.i.+ng their teeth and tusks, even spitting at one another.

Trioculus, whose body had just returned to its normal pressure, came out of the decompression chamber. With his black uniform properly in place again, he turned his attention to the glove of Darth Vader.

The droid Emdee had cleaned away the grime and then brought the black glove back to his master, whose right hand trembled as he reached for it. Trioculus put the glove on slowly, regally, like a king setting a crown on his head. An image of Darth Vader flashed into Trioculus's mind, and at that instant the evil of Vader seemed to pour through him like a sudden surge of power from the Dark Side.

"It fits your hand perfectly, your lords.h.i.+p," said Grand Moff Hissa, flattering Trioculus, "as though it were made for you to wear!"

They proceeded to Captain Dunwell's cabin.

When they approached the part of the corridor where the sabacc game was being played, Grand Moff Hissa cautioned Trioculus, telling him that the noisy Aqualish gamblers in their path seemed to be out of control.

As Trioculus drew closer, the gang of Aqualish didn't even look up, let alone step out of his way. They were as rude and stupid as any Aqualish he had ever encountered anywhere in the galaxy.

Grand Moff Hissa clicked his heels to get their attention. "Why aren't you Aqualish at your work stations?" he demanded.

But there was no reply, only a snarling growl from the loser and a coa.r.s.e laugh from the winner as he picked up his credit chips. Trioculus's three eyes turned fiery.

"You are blocking the path of the Supreme Ruler of the Empire!" Grand Moff Hissa shouted.

"Clear a path and get back to work now or you'll all be executed!"

The one with the thickest tusks just sneered, then spit on the floor and hissed at the Imperials.

"How dare you!" an enraged Trioculus boomed, raising the glove of Darth Vader and pointing it at the Aqualish who had just insulted him.

But to Trioculus's amazement nothing happened.

The glove didn't work for him the way it had worked for Darth Vader, who had been able to choke the life-breath out of his victims by pointing the glove in their direction.

Scowling, Trioculus raised his other hand and lightning bolts flowed from his fingertips, causing the offending Aqualish to crumple to the ground, kicking and writhing. The electricity quickly reduced him to an unrecognizable heap.

The remaining Aqualish scattered at once, without any further incident. Moments later Trioculus, Grand Moff Hissa, and Emdee arrived at the captain's private quarters.

Captain Dunwell agreed to depart so that the Imperial leader could confer with his most trusted advisors without being disturbed.

Shaking his head in disgust, Trioculus sat down in the captain's favorite chair. "When Darth Vader pointed this glove, he had the power to choke his victims," he said. "The glove is useless if it no longer has that power."

"The important thing to remember," said Grand Moff Hissa, "is that the glove is a great symbol of evil. As we know, the Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side, Kadann, prophesied that the new Emperor would wear that glove. And now that you wear it, none of the Imperial warlords can question your claim to be our new Emperor. And Kadann won't be able to question your authority, either, once we go to s.p.a.ce Station Scardia and prove to him that you have found it."

"I'm not interested in symbols," said Trioculus. "I want the same power as Darth Vader!"

Grand Moff Hissa continued. "My lord, you must realize that, though you are a great slavelord, it could still take many years for you to become a True Master of the Dark Side. Don't forget, the lightning bolts don't flow naturally from your fingertips like they did with Emperor Palpatine. Emdee had to implant a cybernetic device inside of you so that you could appear to have the lightning power. But if you use it too many times, all that electricity could prove fatal to you. You mustn't use it anymore. Fortunately, however, the lightning device has already served its purpose. It helped us to convince everyone that you are the Emperor's son, which is exactly what the Central Committee of Grand Moffs wanted to do."

"Never forget," Trioculus said with a blaze of anger in all three of his eyes, "that when the Central Committee of Grand Moffs proposed to me that I be the one to declare himself the Emperor's son, you grand moffs swore you would keep the plot a secret. And in turn I agreed that when I became Emperor, I would share my rule with the Central Committee of Grand Moffs."

"And I hope you shall never forget," said Grand Moff Hissa, bearing his pointy teeth, "that we dreamed up this plot only because we had absolutely no choice. The Emperor's real three-eyed son, Triclops, is hopelessly insane, and all of our attempts to cure him have met with failure. Obviously it's better that a trusted three-eyed mutant, such as yourself, should take his place, my lord. If we were to permit Triclops to rule the Empire, his madness would surely bring about the end of us all!"

Emdee removed a small utility case from his left side. He opened the case, then carefully took out five very tiny mechanisms, each the size of a man's fingertip.

"I can put one of these inside the tip of each of the glove's fingers," Emdee said, holding one of them up. "When your fingers press against these devices, they will give off a piercing, high-frequency sound, an earsplitting pitch heard only by the one you've aimed the glove at. It will make your victims gasp and fall to their knees. Their eardrums will explode and their brains disintegrate, just like Darth Vader was able to do with his own natural power."

Luke stared through a minisub window down at the giant squid, which lay almost lifeless in a huge, cube-shaped Whaladon storage chamber. He breathed a sigh of relief that the squid had been stunned into a state of unconsciousness by the whirlpool. However, there was no relief at all for him when he realized that the minisub was trapped inside the same storage chamber as the squid. Although Luke, Admiral Ackbar, and the two droids were safe for the moment, they had to find a way out-fast.

Ackbar piloted their minisub to the top of the storage chamber, which was filled with seawater. Then he attached their sub magnetically to a hatch that led into the main corridor of the Whaladon-hunting submarine. Artoo sent an electronic signal that caused the hatch to pop open.

"Good work, Artoo," said Luke. "Admiral Ackbar, I think you should wait here and be ready in case we need to make a quick escape."

Moments later Luke, Artoo, and Threepio walked cautiously down the corridor. Pa.s.sing several other Whaladon storage chambers, they looked down into them and saw a trapped Whaladon in each.

Then they saw the chamber where Leviathor was imprisoned. Leviathor was flapping his tail aimlessly, moaning sadly.

Luke spied Captain Dunwell, who was standing alone, armed with a standard blaster, staring down at Leviathor. Luke recognized Dunwell immediately from the WANTED holograms that Ackbar had projected for him.

The captain was stroking his beard. He was deeply disturbed because he had overheard the conversation between Trioculus, Grand Moff Hissa, and Emdee. Captain Dunwell had deliberately bugged his own quarters with hidden microphones. And Trioculus, in his haste to find a private place to talk, had forgotten to have Grand Moff Hissa check for any listening devices.

The captain now knew some very dark and dangerous secrets. But what should he do with this information?

As Captain Dunwell glanced up, he suddenly noticed Luke, Threepio, and Artoo. He pulled out his blaster and fired two short blasts, one of which struck Artoo and sent the little droid spinning around and around in a circle.

Luke instantly drew his lightsaber. He struck the blade against Captain Dunwell's blaster, and the weapon tumbled out of the captain's hand.

"Who are you?" the captain demanded. "And how did you get on board this s.h.i.+p?"

"I'm asking the questions and giving the orders now, Captain," said Luke. "And here's order number one. You're going to find us a computer terminal so we can hook up with this s.h.i.+p's master control system."

"A computer terminal won't do you any good," replied the captain. "You could never decipher our data codes."

"I seriously doubt that Artoo here will have any problem with your codes," said Luke.

"Kill me if you want. But I'll never help you!"

Using a Jedi mind trick that Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi had taught him, Luke looked Captain Dunwell straight in the eyes and said, "You've mistaken us for your enemies."

"I've mistaken you for my enemies," a dazed Captain Dunwell repeated in a soft voice.

"You wanted us to come here so we could help you."

"I wanted you to come here," said the captain.