“How could they create the Dark Nest without knowing it?” Raynar’s voice was doubtful. “We don’t see how that could work.”
“By accident,” Han said, picking up on Leia’s plan. “That’s the only way it could happen. The Chiss would never intentionally do something like this to themselves-not even to volunteers. They have too many honor codes.”
“That’s right,” Leia said. The weight inside was decreasing. “Chiss society is defined by war. They’re always fighting - against the Vagaari, the Ssi-ruuk, even each other.”
“And the Qoribu nestz are filled with Chisz Joinerz.”
Saba let the statement hang, leaving it to her listeners to draw their own conclusions. Under normal circumstances, it would have been perfect persuasive technique. But with Raynar, Leia did not want to take any chances. There were too many dangerous turns available to a dissociative mind-especially a dissociative collective mind.
“Remember what Han said about Cilghal’s theory?” Leia asked. “She believes that when a Killik nest absorbs a Force-sensitive being, the nestmates assume a portion of that being’s personality.”
“When the Yoggoy absorbed you,” Han added, “they started to value individual life. When they absorbed Lomi Plo and Welk, they assimilated the desire for secrecy and-“
“We are not responsible for the Dark Nest!” Raynar protested. “Lomi Plo and Welk died in the Crash!”
“That’s right,” Leia said, cringing inwardly. “Welk and Lomi Plo died in the Crash.”
It was growing more apparent that dragging Welk and Lomi Plo out of the burning Flier had been just too much for Raynar to bear; that whenever he remembered it, he also remembered how much he had suffered-and all that he had lost-by doing it.
Leia continued, “But the Yoggoy absorbed your respect for living things, and it wasn’t long before their success led to the creation of the Colony.”
“That is how we remember it,” Raynar agreed. “But we do nor see what that has to do with the Dark Nest-“
“Everything!” Saba waved her scaly arm at the nursery again. “Look at how many Chisz Joinerz they had!”
Raynar’s eyes brightened with anger. “The Kind are not cannibals. Our nests do not feed on our own Joiners.”
“Something happened in this nest,” Saba pointed out.
“And the Chiss are bloodthirsty warriors,” Leia added. It was a wild exaggeration, but one that Raynar would be eager to believe. “Really, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened to the other Qoribu nests.”
“This?” Raynar shook his head. “This could not happen to another nest of Kind.”
“It happened here,” Saba pointed out.
“Maybe there’s some sort of balance point,” Han added, feigning contemplation. “When a nest gets too many Chiss Joiners…”
He let the sentence trail off and turned toward Raynar, his expression growing steadily more concerned.
Raynar finished the thought. “It becomes a Dark Nest?” The Unu broke into a distressed drone, and he nodded. “That could explain what happened here.”
“The Chisz are great believerz in secrecy,” Saba offered helpfully.
“Yes.” Raynar spoke with an air of certainty. “The Kind will take no more Chiss into our nests.”
“That’s one solution,” Leia agreed. She caught Han’s eye, and they shared one of those electric moments of connection that made her wonder if he was Force-sensitive after all. “But what are you going to do with all your prisoners?”
A nervous clatter rose among the Unu, and Raynar asked, “Prisoners?”
“Chisz prisonerz,” Saba said. “As the war spreadz, you will have hundredz of thousandz. Millionz.”
“Only one thing to do.” Han shook his head in mock regret. “Of course, that’ll only make the rest of the Chiss fight that much harder.”
Raynar turned to glare at Han. Leia found herself holding her breath, hoping she had not made a mistake reading Raynar’s warped psyche-that he had not grown ruthless enough to accept Han’s suggestion.
At last, Raynar said, “The Colony does not kill its prisoners.”
“No?” Han returned the glare for a moment, then shined his helmet lamp on a half-eaten body. “That’ll change soon enough.”
The Unu entourage erupted into an angry buzz, but Raynar said nothing.
“Maybe it will not be so bad for the Colony,” Saba said. She turned to address the Unu. “Soon, all your nestz will be like the Gorog. The Kind will become great fighterz.”