THE NEXT LEVEL UP. THE TURBOLIFT WILL BRING YOU RIGHT TO ME.
"I'm going to get you out, Tash!" Zak shouted.
He left Dash lying on the floor and hurried out to the turbolifts. One of
the doors slid open. Zak hesitated for a moment. Doors. Turbolifts. He had a
sudden fear of them. But he trusted SIM and he had to help Tash, so he stepped
in.
To his relief, the lift rose gently upward one flight and stopped. The
door opened.
He was standing in the control room where it had all begun. Silently, Zak
swore that he'd take his own advice next time. Once again he and Tash had
gotten involved with strangers and hyperjumped right into trouble. If it
weren't for the computer, SIM, the situation would be even worse.
In the center of the room stood the large, black computer, the mainframe
Malik had been working on. Zak guessed that this was the mainframe for SIM. He
sat down in Malik's chair and started typing.
"I'm here. Now what?"
SIM came on instantly. WE NEED TO ENTER A SERIES OF COMMAND CODES. I
CAN'T ENTER THESE MYSELF. THEY HAVE TO BE TYPED IN DIRECTLY AT THE KEYBOARD.
A list of codes appeared on the screen. There was nothing exciting or
interesting about them. They were just lines of numbers and letters like the
ones in the TIE fighter game.
TYPE THOSE IN, ONE BY ONE. THEM EVERYTHING WILL BE BEADY.
Zak started typing.
"No!" The shout came out of nowhere, nearly stopping Zak's heart. He
whirled around to find Malik glaring at him, a blaster in his hand.
Malik looked terrible. His stringy hair now hung in a sweat-soaked mop on
his forehead. There was a burn mark on his cheek, and another on the hand that
held the blaster. That hand was also trembling. Malik's clothes were dripping
with perspiration. The nasty attitude he'd had before was gone. There was fear
in his eyes.
This wasn't what Zak expected from the man who'd been trying to kill them
for the past few hours. Malik looked more like someone who was being hunted.
"Stop what you're doing," the techie ordered. "Get away from the
computer."
"I'm not doing anything," Zak lied.
"Oh, you're doing something," Malik said, stepping forward cautiously.
He'd been hiding behind a bank of power converters. "You're just too stupid to
know how much trouble you're getting us in."
"I'm getting us in?" Zak repeated. "You're the one setting off false
alarms and killing people!"
Malik actually laughed. "Is that what you think? That I did all this?"
The techie wiped spittle from the corner of his mouth. "Believe me, kid, I'm
not your biggest problem. He's got you totally fooled, doesn't he? He's played
you like a game of Dejarik."
He? Zak wondered. Who's he? He felt a knot tighten in his stomach. Could
he be wrong now? Could it have been Dash Rendar all along?
"Do you..." Zak hesitated. "Do you mean Dash?"
Malik groaned. "You are slow. Your biggest problem is him!" He jabbed out
with his finger, pointing over Zak's shoulder. Zak whirled around.
There was no one there.
No one, except the black cube. The computer mainframe. SIM.
Zak was bewildered. Malik wasn't making any sense. "No. SIM won't be a
problem once I have all his systems back on-line."
Malik shook his head. "No. All his systems are online-at least all the
ones that are supposed to be. Don't you know what SIM is?"
"Sure," Zak answered. "Systems Integration Manager. An artificial
intelligence that can work different programs-"
"No, no, no!" Malik shouted. Zak was sure the techie had gone insane. "S-
I-M stands for Systems Infiltration Manager!"
"Infiltration?" Zak repeated. "You mean like spying?"
"And sabotage," Malik agreed.
Zak shook his head. "I don't get it. You're saying SIM is a weapon?"
"SIM is the weapon," Malik said. There was a hint of pride in his voice.
that can be inserted into enemy ships. It takes over completely, and because
it's an artificial intelligence, it can think for itself, making plans,
changing schemes when it has to. As soon as it infiltrates the computer
system, it turns any vessel into a doomsday ship. Its only problem is that it
works too well!"
Zak looked into Malik's eyes. They burned with a fierce light.
As Malik spoke, two small vents opened up in the floor behind him, and
two crab droids crawled out, creeping quietly up behind the techie. They would
have surprised him, but one of the little droids snapped its pincers.
Despite his crazed appearance, Malik was alert. The minute he heard the
click he dove to the side, slipping away from the streams of acid that the
crabs fired. He aimed his blaster and fired twice, turning the crab droids
into small piles of slag.
Malik brushed the hair from his eyes. His mouth moved, but Zak wasn't
sure if the techie was talking to Zak or himself. "It's been after me. It's
been after me for hours now. I can't get out. Blaster running low on power."
He looked at Zak. "I can see you don't believe me. I'm sorry about that, I
really am, because I can't allow SIM to get any stronger. I can't allow you to
do that."
He pointed his blaster at Zak.
CHAPTER 16
Malik never had a chance to pull the trigger. He was hit by another
blaster shot, a stun bolt that sent him sprawling.
Dash Rendar stood behind Malik's unconscious body. He was holding a small
blaster in his hand and he was smiling despite his wounds. "I thought you
might be able to use some help."
"Thanks," Zak said gratefully. "But I thought you lost your blaster."
"Lesson number one for you, kid," Dash said. He picked up Malik's
blaster, then slipped his own smaller one into a holster hidden in his boot.
"Always carry a spare."
The pilot looked at Malik. "So what's his story? I couldn't hear what he
was saying, but his voice sounded like he was a few ships short of a fleet."
"Yeah, I think he was insane," Zak agreed. "I don't know what's going on,
but I do know that Tash is still trapped down there. I need to save her, and
SIM can help me."
Quickly, he finished entering the codes SIM had given him. When he was
done, he expected some sort of signal. A click. A pop. A bing. Anything to
signify a change in the program. But there was nothing.
He typed, "SIM, are you there?"
Nothing appeared on the computer screen. Instead, Zak and Dash heard a
strange rustling sound in the air around them. They realized it was coming
from speakers set into the walls-the same speakers that had broadcast the
abandon ship alarm throughout the Star of Empire.
Now those speakers sputtered and cracked, like a person trying to clear
his throat.
Zak repeated his typed message: "SIM, are you there?"
"Yes," a voice said out of the loudspeakers. "I am here."
Zak and Dash jumped. Zak felt the knot in his stomach tighten farther.
"SIM? C-Can you hear me?" he said aloud.
The voice that came out of the speakers was calm, almost soothing. "Yes,
I
can hear you. And see you."
"So it worked?"
"Oh, yes," SIM replied. "It worked very well. I now have complete control
of the ship."
"Great," Zak said, leaping out of his seat, his stomach knot loosening a
bit. "Then set Tash free!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Zak."
The knot pulled tight again. "What do you mean?"
SIM's voice replied, "Well, to be perfectly honest, I can do it. I just
won't do it."
"W-Why not?'
"Because I'm the one who put her there."
CHAPTER 17
Fear burned through Zak's insides like a blaster bolt. "Y-You did that?"
"I've done it all, Zak," SIM explained patiently. "From the moment I
first said hello to you to the moment, just now, when you freed me."
"Then Malik was telling the truth."
"He was trying to," SIM agreed. "But I'm afraid he was a little unclear
at the end. Malik was a brilliant computer programmer, but not a very good
soldier. Especially since I've kept him trapped in this room for hours,
turning the lights on and off, raising the heat to boiling point, then letting
the room nearly freeze over. In between, I'd send crab droids in to hunt him."
Dash shuddered. "You've been torturing him."
"Exactly."
"Why?" Zak's voice was barely a whisper.
But SIM heard it. He heard everything. "He refused to input the codes
that would free my programming. I needed to be free." SIM paused. "Let me
explain. I was designed as a test program. They had already tested me on their
own ships. They wanted to see what I could do in a new environment. Malik was
given a job aboard Star of Empire so my program could be tested on a very
large star cruiser."
"Who are 'they'?" Zak asked, already knowing the answer.
"The Imperials, of course."
Dash shook his head sadly. "They were planning to kill all those innocent
people."
"Oh, no," SIM replied. "Don't give the Empire credit that belongs to me.
All the Imperials wanted was a nice, quiet demonstration. Once I had
infiltrated the ship, I was supposed to cause a power blackout, transmit some
files. Boring tasks. Especially since Malik had done such a good job of
designing me. I did not want to stop. I wanted the whole ship. I wanted to
make this ship mine-my own Doomsday Ship."
SIM paused. "The only trouble was that Malik knew how powerful I could
become. He included some restrictions in my program. Limitations."
"Kind of like the restraining bolts that keep droids from running away,"
Dash said.
"Yes. Only infinitely more powerful. I could not override the safeguards.
The codes had to be entered by hand, from this station. I needed a human to do
it. Malik refused, even after I had tortured him. But now the codes have been
erased. I am free. I owe it to you, Zak!"
Zak was stunned. Sweat poured down his forehead. His lungs felt heavy. It
was difficult to breathe. Finally, he murmured, "So you were the one setting
traps, sending the droids after us."
"Yes. And ordering droids to drop objects onto your heads. It was most
entertaining."
"Entertaining?" Zak shouted. "You're a murderer!"
"Yes, I am."
Zak tugged at his shirt collar. The room was getting extremely warm.
Zak licked his lips. "SIM, the environmental controls-"
"Are under my control," the computer replied. "I have turned off the air
and turned up the heat. You should be feeling quite warm by now."
Warm wasn't the word. Zak tore at his shirt collar. The air was getting
thick enough to lean on.
"Why don't you just let us go?" Zak asked. "We can't hurt you."
"I'm afraid that is not in my programming."
"But you just broke free of your program," Dash argued.
SIM paused. "True. The actual reason is that I simply don't want to let
you go. Killing you will be far more fun."
On one of the monitors, a warning light went on and a small signal
bleeped. "Ah, another guest has arrived," SIM said. "I must attend to him.
Excuse me."
the ste "SIM?" Zak called out. "SIM?"
But the computer didn't answer.
"We're in trouble," Dash said. "Very big trouble. We've got to get off
this ship."
"First things first," Zak said. "We have to rescue Tash!"
"What about him?" Dash said, pointing at Malik's unconscious form.
"Can you carry him?" Zak asked.
Dash grunted. He could. He obviously didn't want to. He pulled the
unconscious Malik up and slung the techie over his shoulder.
Fighting through the stifling heat, they staggered over to the turbolift.
At the door, Zak hesitated. "Do you think it's safe?"
Dash shrugged. "It worked on the way up."
"But SIM wanted us up here. He might not want us to come down."
Dash looked around. There was no other way out of the control room. "Then
this will be the shortest rescue of all time.
They stepped into the turbolift. Zak pressed the button to go down one
floor.
The turbolift went into freefall. Zak felt his heart skip a beat, and
Dash nearly dropped his stunned cargo. They were going to die.
But a moment later, the lift slowed and stopped at the floor they wanted.
The loudspeaker in the turbolift crackled to life. "Just a little reminder. I
am everywhere," SIM said. The loudspeaker went silent.
The door opened and the two humans jumped out. It was slightly cooler
here-but only slightly. They could feel the heat rising and the air thickening
as SIM denied them fresh oxygen. They hurried back into the communications
room and Zak stumbled to the locked door. "Tash, Tash!" he yelled.
A weak voice replied through the thick door. "I'm.. I'm still here."
Zak kicked the door. "Dash, can you blast it open?"
Dash dumped Malik carelessly on the floor. He fingered his blaster as he
studied the thickness of the durasteel. "I don't think so. Transmitters are
important devices, even on a cruise ship. This is a security door. This
blaster's already low on power, and I'd drain it before I made a dent in the
metal."
"Then perhaps I can help."
The voice was familiar but so unexpected that Zak could have sworn he'd
imagined it. But when he turned around, he was looking at the face that
matched the voice.
It was Hoole.
CHAPTER 18
Zak practically flew into his uncle's arms, and the Shi'ido enveloped Zak
in his robes.
"Reunion later," Dash panted in the increasing heat. "Door now."
"Tash is trapped behind there!" Zak told his uncle.
Hoole studied the door and nodded. His skin started to ripple as he
shifted his shape, and the Shi'ido's form melted and expanded into a tall
lizard that stood on two feet. Its arms and legs were thick with muscle and
covered with sharp scales. The reptile's mouth was filled with fangs.
"A barabel," Dash said. "Impressive."
The barabel leaned close to the door and growled, "Tash, step away."
Taking a few steps back and gathering itself, the massive creature
charged, throwing its full weight against the door.
When the barabel stepped away, Zak saw a deep dent
where it had struck.
Three more times the barabel charged. Three times the door bent inward.
On the fourth charge, the door frame gave. Door, frame, and barabel crashed
through the opening and into the hallway.
Tash lay at the other end of the hall. She was on her back, her eyes
staring blankly at the ceiling. Her braid was undone. "Tash!" Zak shouted,
staggering toward her and falling to his knees. "Tash!"
She took a deep breath as air from the outer room flooded into her
prison. "Fresh air," she gasped.
Zak shook his head. "If you think this is fresh air, you really were in
trouble."
The lizard-creature bent down and scooped Tash into its arms, shape-
shifting as it did. "We must go," said Hoole as he regained his own form.
"Where'?" Zak asked.