one?”
“The first one,” Dan said. “It’s when they rescue Princess Leia and they are trying to escape from the storm troopers.”
He pointed at a piece of panelling on the wall and tore it loose. A shaft, descending into darkness, lay beyond. Brodie didn’t feel comfortable about jumping into the unknown, but the Tagaar troops were growing closer with every second.
“All right.” She made a snap decision. “Let’s do it.”
Bax and Zena went first. They were followed by Dan and Ebony. Brodie grabbed Ferdy’s arm and pointed down the tube.
“Okay, Ferdy,” she said. “It’s your turn.”
He looked down the shaft. “It is very dark.”
“Now is not the time to be a scaredy cat.”
“I am not any sort of feline. Cats are descended from –”
“Take my hand.” Brodie dragged him to the gap. “We’re going at the count of three. One, two –”
She jumped, dragging Ferdy down the tube behind her. The shaft closed in around them. It fell straight down for several metres before they hit a bump and it angled out into a steep incline. A stench hit her. It smelt like garbage.
It’s just like Star Wars , she thought. We’re going to land in a garbage dump. Wait a second. Wasn’t there a monster in –
A red glare appeared ahead of them and in the next instant they fell through a gap. For an instant they were in mid-air. Then they rebounded off some kind of roof and fell through a hole into what appeared to be the living room of some sort of shanty hut. Brodie looked up to see everyone standing around, rubbing their bumps and bruises. Ebony helped her to her feet.
“Ferdy was in the air,” Ferdy said. “Ferdy was flying.”
“You were indeed,” Brodie said. “Now, where are we?”
“You are in Sartaria,” a voice said from behind them.
The man in the doorway was humanoid in shape, but he was covered in a fine light brown fur. He had a snub nose and eyes set widely apart.
“I have heard of this place,” Zena said. “It is the slave section of this Tagaar ship.”
He nodded.
“There are people from a hundred different worlds in this place,” he said. “My name is Tomay. I am a member of the Council.”
“You said this is the slave section,” Ebony said. “What do you do down here?”
“We work in the foundries for the Tagaar,” Tomay said. “We build parts for cannons and other equipment.”
For the first time, Brodie noticed the heat. It was stifling, and the smell in the air –
Her thoughts about the garbage dump were not so far from being true. She peered upward, realising they had smashed through the roof of a makeshift home. The darkened shaft lay behind them. Returning through it would prove impossible; it was too steep to climb.
“We need to get out of here,” Brodie said. “Can you help us?”
Tomay shook his head sadly. “There is no escaping from Sartaria.”
“The guards must come down here sometimes,” Dan said. “Surely we can overpower them –”
“They have weapons,” Tomay said. “They will simply kill anyone who stands against them. Sometimes they kill someone at random to simply set an example.”
That’s terrible , Brodie thought. The Tagaar are monsters!
A chill ran down her spine. Now they intended to do the same thing to Earth! What role did the Bakari play in all this? Wasn’t there supposed to be a Union of Planets? What was the Union doing?
She asked Tomay about this and was surprised by his response.
“The Union is mostly ineffectual,” he said. “They meet and set rules and make laws, but they lack the military might to enforce their rulings.”
“So they’re like a toothless tiger,” Brodie said.
Tomay looked at her in confusion.
“It sounds tough,” Brodie explained. “But it has no bite.”
The alien nodded. “And now you’re in Sartaria. The land of the slaves.”
They followed him out of the dwelling. They stood in a narrow alley with similar falling-down buildings lining both sides of it. The roof
“The first one,” Dan said. “It’s when they rescue Princess Leia and they are trying to escape from the storm troopers.”
He pointed at a piece of panelling on the wall and tore it loose. A shaft, descending into darkness, lay beyond. Brodie didn’t feel comfortable about jumping into the unknown, but the Tagaar troops were growing closer with every second.
“All right.” She made a snap decision. “Let’s do it.”
Bax and Zena went first. They were followed by Dan and Ebony. Brodie grabbed Ferdy’s arm and pointed down the tube.
“Okay, Ferdy,” she said. “It’s your turn.”
He looked down the shaft. “It is very dark.”
“Now is not the time to be a scaredy cat.”
“I am not any sort of feline. Cats are descended from –”
“Take my hand.” Brodie dragged him to the gap. “We’re going at the count of three. One, two –”
She jumped, dragging Ferdy down the tube behind her. The shaft closed in around them. It fell straight down for several metres before they hit a bump and it angled out into a steep incline. A stench hit her. It smelt like garbage.
It’s just like Star Wars , she thought. We’re going to land in a garbage dump. Wait a second. Wasn’t there a monster in –
A red glare appeared ahead of them and in the next instant they fell through a gap. For an instant they were in mid-air. Then they rebounded off some kind of roof and fell through a hole into what appeared to be the living room of some sort of shanty hut. Brodie looked up to see everyone standing around, rubbing their bumps and bruises. Ebony helped her to her feet.
“Ferdy was in the air,” Ferdy said. “Ferdy was flying.”
“You were indeed,” Brodie said. “Now, where are we?”
“You are in Sartaria,” a voice said from behind them.
The man in the doorway was humanoid in shape, but he was covered in a fine light brown fur. He had a snub nose and eyes set widely apart.
“I have heard of this place,” Zena said. “It is the slave section of this Tagaar ship.”
He nodded.
“There are people from a hundred different worlds in this place,” he said. “My name is Tomay. I am a member of the Council.”
“You said this is the slave section,” Ebony said. “What do you do down here?”
“We work in the foundries for the Tagaar,” Tomay said. “We build parts for cannons and other equipment.”
For the first time, Brodie noticed the heat. It was stifling, and the smell in the air –
Her thoughts about the garbage dump were not so far from being true. She peered upward, realising they had smashed through the roof of a makeshift home. The darkened shaft lay behind them. Returning through it would prove impossible; it was too steep to climb.
“We need to get out of here,” Brodie said. “Can you help us?”
Tomay shook his head sadly. “There is no escaping from Sartaria.”
“The guards must come down here sometimes,” Dan said. “Surely we can overpower them –”
“They have weapons,” Tomay said. “They will simply kill anyone who stands against them. Sometimes they kill someone at random to simply set an example.”
That’s terrible , Brodie thought. The Tagaar are monsters!
A chill ran down her spine. Now they intended to do the same thing to Earth! What role did the Bakari play in all this? Wasn’t there supposed to be a Union of Planets? What was the Union doing?
She asked Tomay about this and was surprised by his response.
“The Union is mostly ineffectual,” he said. “They meet and set rules and make laws, but they lack the military might to enforce their rulings.”
“So they’re like a toothless tiger,” Brodie said.
Tomay looked at her in confusion.
“It sounds tough,” Brodie explained. “But it has no bite.”
The alien nodded. “And now you’re in Sartaria. The land of the slaves.”
They followed him out of the dwelling. They stood in a narrow alley with similar falling-down buildings lining both sides of it. The roof
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