“And Tesar became angry with us.”
“Exactly,” Cilghal said. “Of the three, he was the only one who had even a vague understanding of his motivations. Barabels are usually in touch with their unconscious.”
Luke thought of the mysterious attacks on him and Mara, and of the Killiks’ absurd insistence that they had not occurred. “And the conscious Will wouldn’t be aware of the unconscious Will, would it?”
“It is the nature of the unconscious mind to remain hidden,” Cilghal said. “That is why the Gorog are so hard to sense in the Force. They use it to hide-not only from us, but from the rest of the Colony as well.”
“Gorog is part of a secret nest,” Luke said, making sure he understood what Cilghal was telling him. “The Colony wouldn’t be aware of it-“
“And might well fool itself into believing it doesn’t exist,” Cilghal said. “We’ve more or less proved that, and it explains the Killiks’ reaction to the attacks on you.”
“It all makes sense, except for one thing-why does the secret nest keep attacking us?” Luke asked. “Raynar seemed to want our help.”
“But Lomi and Welk are threatened by you.” It was Jacen who asked this, his voice coming from the data-holo. “And they ‘re the ones who control the Gorog nest.”
“You know that for certain?” Luke turned toward the data-holo and, finding himself being addressed by a row of colored bars, frowned in irritation. “And I thought I told you to stop playing with Cilghal’s brain scanner. Come out here, if you’re going to be part of this conversation.”
“I know that Raynar dragged Lomi and Welk out of the burning Flier.” Jacen pushed the scanner helmet up and, now projecting his voice into the air in front of Luke, began to remove the electrodes attached to his body. “And we know that Saba was attacked by a disfigured Jedi Knight-almost certainly Welk. I’m willing to take a leap of faith and guess that Lomi survived, too.”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “I guess I am, too.”
“Then only one question remains,” Cilghal said. “Why did Alema join the Gorog, while the rest of you-“
“Them,” Jacen corrected. “In case you haven’t noticed, my mind remains entirely my own.”
“Very well,” Cilghal said. “Why did Alema join the Gorog, while everyone else joined the Taat?”
Luke knew the answer to that, and he wished he didn’t.
“Because of Numa.” He was remembering the time he had stood outside Alema’s bacta tank, awash in the guilt the Twi’lek felt for allowing the voxyn to take her sister. “When Numa was killed, Alema turned a lot of her anger inward-and anger has always been fertile ground for the likes of Lomi Plo.”
“You saw this coming, didn’t you?” Jacen asked. He stepped out of the isolation chamber, pulling his tunic over his head. “Even before the mission to Myrkr, I mean.”
Luke turned to look at the unconscious Twi’lek, held prisoner by nylasteel and tranqarest. “Not this-not Gorog,” he said. “But I knew Alema would fall.”
THIRTY
“Elders, welcome,” Leia said, bowing.
She stepped away from the door and waved her Ithorian guests into the Rhysode Room. With a costly roo-wood serenity table surrounded
by extravagant flowfit armchairs, the chamber was a conspicuous departure from the sparse decor of the rest of the Jedi academy. Being the designated receiving area of an institute that cordially discouraged visitors, it was also one of the least used rooms in the facility-and one that reflected the sensibilities of its Reconstruction Authority builders far more than it did those of the order itself.
“I hope you’ll forgive the room,” Leia said as the Ithorians filed into the foyer. “It’s the best I could do under the circumstances.”
Ooamu Waoabi-the eldest of the Ithorian elders-politely swung his ocular nodes around the room, his small eyes blinking gently as they observed the
automated
beverage
dispensers,
the
state-of-the-art holotheater, the transparisteel viewing wall that overlooked the academy’s training grounds and low-slung instruction halls.
“Your presence would make any room pleasant, Princess Leia.” Waoabi spoke out of only one of the mouths on his throat, a reflection of the poor medical care aboard the Ithorian refugee cities. “But we thank you for your concern.”
“And thank you for coming to Ossus.” Leia could barely contain the excitement she felt-nor her fear that the Ithorians might balk at settling outside the Galactic Alliance. “I know it was an unexpected journey. But Han and I must return to the Unknown Regions as soon as the Falcon is ready, and there is something I wanted to discuss…”