Then it fell back into a quivering crouch, snarling at Zak and Tash.

Zak and Tash backed away from the creature. The monster took one menacing step off its pedestal.

Zak felt his back touch a wall, and at the same time, he realized someone on the other side was pounding desperately on it. He turned, saw a door, and quickly slapped the opener. The door slid back.

Lando Calrissian leaped into the room, a small holdout blaster in his hand. The brain creature took another step forward, snarling at the newcomer. Without hesitating, Lando leveled his weapon and fired. An energy bolt pierced the creature's oversized head, shattering its skull.

"Lando!" Zak cried joyfully. "You're alive!"

The gambler's roguish grin was gone. "I could say the same for you, kid." He looked back over his shoulder. "Don't count your dragon eggs before they're hatched. We're not out of this yet."

"I'm afraid Master Calrissian is correct," said a familiar voice.

Deevee stepped into the room. The real Deevee, Zak knew. He did not bother to greet his two charges. "The stormtroopers are closing in."

"Stormtroopers?" Tash asked.

Lando explained in a rush. "When you and Zak went back into The Nightmare Machine, Deevee and I were locked out. I complained to Fajji, but he said it was simply a malfunction. He said you were safe, and the problem would be corrected shortly. Deevee and I decided not to wait. You had already been in here an hour. We tried to break into the building a few minutes ago, and a squad of stormtroopers appeared out of nowhere!"

"Wait a minute!" Zak sputtered. "We've only been in here an hour?

It seemed like days!"

"Days?" Lando asked. An energy beam shattered the wall beside him.

"Never mind!"

"SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED!" The voice that boomed over a loudspeaker was too powerful to be ignored. Zak peeked over Lando's shoulder as the gambler poked his head out of the building.

A hundred stormtroopers aimed their blasters at him.

They had no choice but to surrender. Lando dropped his blaster and stepped out into the open, followed by Zak, Tash, and Deevee.

Stormtroopers rushed forward, roughly searching them all for any hidden weapons. Then they slapped binders on each of their wrists, including Deevee's. When the prisoners were secure, the crowd of stormtroopers parted, and a tall, gray, scowling figure stepped forward.

Borborygmus Gog.

The evil Shi'ido stepped past them and peered inside The Nightmare Machine. When he returned, his scowl had deepened into seething anger.

"You," he began, his voice filled with rage. "You two pathetic human children have caused me more trouble than a dozen rebellious star systems. You have destroyed every stage of Project Starscream, and now you have destroyed my latest experiment!" He pointed at the building.

"The Nightmare Machine was a masterpiece of genetic mutation. A creature capable of entering into its victims' nightmares, and using their own fears against them."

"You were using Fun World as an experiment," Zak said.

"You were using it on us!" Tash added. "But we figured you out."

The Shi'ido's eyes narrowed. "Indeed. You two are most remarkable."

His dark eyes focused on Zak. "You are quite a resourceful young man, and you"-he glared at Tash-"this intuition of yours is intriguing. The Force, perhaps? We shall see."

Gog snapped his fingers, and the stormtroopers came to attention.

"Guards. Take them all back to my starship. I want them transported to my laboratory. I plan to perform some in-depth experiments."

The way Gog said the word "experiments" made Zak's blood run cold.

Stormtroopers grabbed their arms and dragged them to a nearby hovercar. The four prisoners were loaded into the car. One stormtrooper took the driver's seat while the other stood guard over the captives. The hovercar hummed away from The Nightmare Machine.

No one spoke as the hovercar carried them to a nearby airlock. The guarding stormtrooper grabbed the prisoners one by one and hauled them through the airlock and into a waiting shuttle craft.

Inside the shuttle craft, Zak and the others sat in the cargo area behind the two pilot seats. A black-uniformed Imperial pilot sat in one seat. The guarding stormtrooper took the other.

A moment later, the shuttle detached itself from Fun World. From the back of the shuttle, Zak could just see the darkness of s.p.a.ce through the front viewport. He watched as a tiny pinpoint of light grew into a ma.s.sive star cruiser.

Zak looked at his sister and whispered, "Tash, I-"

"Quiet!" the black-garbed pilot snapped. He looked at the stormtrooper. "If they speak one more word, turn them all into Sarkanian jelly."

The stormtrooper nodded and raised his blaster threateningly.

Then he smashed the weapon against the side of the pilot's head.

The pilot collapsed to the floor, unconscious. "What in the galaxy- ?" Lando gasped.

He was staring at the stormtrooper who was shimmering and twisting spasmodically.

When the stormtrooper stopped moving, Zak and Tash could not believe their eyes-the stormtrooper was Hoole!

Zak was the first to recover. "Uncle Hoole, how did you find us?"

"Time is short, Zak," the Shi'ido said tersely. "Let us say my investigation proved successful. I learned that Gog had come here. I raced to Fun World as soon as I could. Thanks to the distraction created by this gentle"-he pointed at' Lando-"and Deevee, I was able to disguise myself as a stormtrooper and infiltrate Gog's army."

Lando shook his head. "I've seen some pretty weird stuff in the galaxy," he murmured, "but this wins the prize. "

Hoole did not respond. With Lando's help, he quickly tied the unconscious pilot to a pa.s.senger seat, then turned to the ship's instruments and the shuttle roared into full power. The ship swerved off course and blasted away from Hologram Fun World and the waiting cruiser.

Aboard the starship, Gog's henchmen were startled to see their master's shuttle change course. But by the time they had turned their ship to pursue, the shuttle was gone.

EPILOGUE.

Hours later, Gog's shuttle had been abandoned to the depths of s.p.a.ce. Lando had summoned his own ship using his remote control device, and his s.p.a.ce yacht now hovered next to the Shroud.

Over the comm system, Lando spoke. "Isn't there any way I can help you?"

"We could not ask it of you," Hoole replied. "You will be safest if you keep your distance. I fear we have made a powerful enemy."

There was a pause, then Lando's voice came back. "I know where you can hide. I'm on my way to investigate a Tibanna gas mine on Bespin.

You'll be safe there."

Again, Hoole refused. Zak spoke into the microphone. "Thanks for everything, Lando, and good luck!"

Lando laughed. "And you remember, Zak, that luck's got nothing to do with it!"

Long after Lando's s.p.a.ce yacht had roared away, Hoole listened solemnly as Zak and Tash told them about their nightmare trip to Fun World and about the strange creature Gog had created.

When they were done, Hoole closed his eyes briefly and whispered to himself. "It is worse than I feared. Gog is farther along than I suspected."

Zak c.o.c.ked his head. "Did you know about The Nightmare Machine experiment?"

Hoole shook his head. "No. I've known very little about Gog's experiments until recently. After I left you two at Hologram Fun World, I called on some.. private sources. I learned that Gog's next experiment involved that creature. I also learned that he had discovered your location and was planning his revenge. As soon as I learned that, I rushed back to help."

"Did Gog create The Nightmare Machine just for us?" Tash asked in a frightened whisper.

The Shi'ido shook his head. "No. I think The Nightmare Machine was his next experiment. But he clearly planned to use you two as his test subjects. That way he could kill two mynocks with one blaster bolt-get his revenge and test his next experiment. But The Nightmare Machine is like all the things we've uncovered. The living planet, the zombies, the virus, and now The Nightmare Machine-they're all just small parts of a much larger plot."

"Project Starscream," Zak said ominously. "Uncle Hoole, I've got so many questions. Where did you go to get this information? And how long have you known Gog?"

"And," Tash added, remembering the file ForceFlow had sent them, "what happened during the missing years of your life?"

Hoole frowned. "We are still in too much danger to answer those questions."

Tash c.o.c.ked her head. "But, Uncle Hoole, you just saved us."

The Shi'ido shook his head sternly. "You saved yourselves from The Nightmare Machine. But none of us are out of danger, I'm afraid."

Zak blinked. "Why? We escaped, didn't we?"

Hoole checked the shuttle's instruments as it swerved off course and blasted away from Hologram Fun World. "For the moment. But Gog is extremely vengeful. I believe that our peril has just begun."