Star Wars_ Young Jedi Knights 03_ The Lost Ones - Kevin J. Anderson [10]
Zekk's voice sounded taunting. "He'll never go anywhere, because his dreams are small."
Just then ceiling panels smashed down from above them, and a dozen wiry young men and women dropped to the floor. They looked scuffed and dirty, with hard, lean faces; each held an interesting cobbled-together weapon scavenged from sharp pieces of scrap.
"You trying to annoy me, trash collector?" the biggest burly young man said. His face was broad and dark, his eyes close-set, his teeth crooked as he ground his jaws together and spread his lips in a sneer.
"It's not polite to eavesdrop, Norys," Zekk said.
Then the gang leader's eyes fixed on the precious hawk-bat egg that Zekk cradled close to his chest. "What has the little trash collector found?"
Norys said. "Hey, everybody! Looks like we're gonna have fresh eggs for morning meal."
Lowbacca growled loudly enough to startle the Lost Ones, baring his long Wookiee fangs. Zekk looked suddenly nervous, as if the valuable hawk-bat egg made him vulnerable in new ways.
"What do you want the egg for?" Jacen said.
"He only wants it because I want it," Zekk said. "He'll probably smash it, not knowing what it's worth."
Tenel Ka now held a throwing dagger at the ready in each hand. The Lost Ones looked at her and Lowie, then at the three seemingly easier targets of Zekk and the twins.
"In a case like this," Zekk said, moving slowly, extending the mottled egg gradually, as if reluctant to surrender it to the brawny gang member,
"the most sensible idea is to... run!" He whirled and dashed onto the rickety walkway. The vibration of his running knocked loose a broken wall plate, which dropped silently into the murky depths below. The young Jedi Knights reacted quickly and scrambled after their friend onto the covered bridge. The gang members howled and gave pursuit, clattering their crude weapons against the walls.
Out in the middle of the dilapidated walkway Zekk suddenly pulled to a stop as a gang member-an angry young woman who looked even tougher than Tenel Ka appeared from the opposite building and stood ominously at the far entrance.
"We're trapped," Jaina said with a hard gulp.
This did not seem like a good place for a standoff. Zekk looked back and forth, as if seeking inspiration in the middle of the swaying bridge. The cold wind sighed through the broken windows and gaps in the flooring.
"Just to be fair, " he said, crossing his arms with feigned good humor,
"I'll let you guys solve this one. Got any ideas?"
Jaina tried to think of something she could do with what Uncle Luke had taught them at the Jedi academy. With uninterrupted concentration she could manipulate objects with the Force, but she couldn't think of any way her fledgling powers could help them escape.
Norys strode forward, his chest puffed with confidence. "Now give me that egg, trash collector, and maybe we won't throw you over the edge!"
Just then a screeching sound came from above, a blood-curdling animal shriek. A predator's heavy shadow swept like a dark blanket over the cracked windows of the walkway. With another loud scream, the mother hawk-bat struck the side windows, smashing against the wire mesh that barely held the frames in place. She spat and hissed, her sharp beak ripping at the wires, her forked tongue thrashing as she dug her claws in, trying to get at Norys. The gang leader staggered backward with a surprised yelp.
Zekk protected the egg again, holding it to his chest. At the same time, Lowie-focusing on the lone woman guarding the opposite end of the walkway-let out a ferocious roar and charged forward.
"Oh, my!" Em Teedee squeaked. "Would anyone object if I switched off my optical sensors again so I don't have to watch?"
Distracted by the attacking hawk-bat and startled by the snarling battering ram of Wookiee fur, the gang member backed off and leaped aside.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaina cried.