“We do not wish the Kind to be great fighters,” Raynar said. “We have seen what happens to great fighters. Anakin was a great fighter.”
A pang of grief struck Leia, but she forced herself to continue. “I’m sorry, UnuThul. I don’t see how you can avoid it.”
“Too bad there’s going to be a war,” Han said. “If there wasn’t, the Colony could set up some sort of buffer zone and keep the Chiss away from their nests.”
“That might work,” Leia said. “But Qoribu is too close to Chiss territory. The nests are bound to keep coming into contact with Chiss exploration and mining crews. Sooner or later, they’ll reach the balance point.”
“Qoribu is too close,” Saba agreed. “The Colony would have to move itz nestz.”
“Impossible,” Raynar said. “It cannot be done.”
“That’s very unfortunate.” Leia said this to the Unu entourage. “Because Han and I found this paradise world-“
“Several worlds, probably,” Han added. “All empty, lush with foraging grounds, just waiting for a species to come along and claim them.”
The entourage began to rustle with interest.
“Tell us more,” Raynar said.
“It’s in a subsector on the edge of Colony territory,” Leia explained. “We didn’t have time to do a complete survey, but the world we visited would be perfect for the Taat nest. There were at least two other habitable planets in the same system, with another dozen systems nearby that gave every indication of being just as profuse.”
“We were thinking the Colony would want to have a look,” Han said. “But if you guys aren’t interested, there are still plenty of displaced species in the Galactic Alliance-“
“We are interested,” Raynar said. “We always have need of new territory.”
“Good,” Leia said. “I’m sure the Chiss could be persuaded to stand down long enough for you to organize a relocation.”
The corner of Raynar’s mouth turned down. “I’ve told you, that is impossible. There’s no way to transport the Qoribu nests. They are too large.”
“Really?” Han flashed a smug smile, then asked, “So large they couldn’t be temporarily rebuilt in the hangars and launching bays of, say, a few Hapan Battle Dragons?”
Raynar’s jaw dropped. “The Hapan fleet would help us escape the Chiss? “
“Sure, why not?” Han retorted. “That has to be easier than defending you.”
“And they would let us build nests in their Battle Dragons?”
“This one thinkz they would.” Saba sissed in amusement. “In fact, she is sure of it.”
The Unu thrummed their chests and tapped their mandibles for a long time, then Raynar finally said, “We understand what you are doing. You’re just as bad as Jaina was.”
“Was?” Han scowled and looked back toward the other room - the one he had departed without even greeting his daughter. “If you’ve-“
“Relax, Han.” Leia touched Jaina through the Force, then said, “She’s fine. She’s still with Luke and Mara.”
“Of course she is,” Raynar said indignantly. “We meant that Jaina is no longer welcome in her nest.”
Han raised his brow. “I’ve been kicked out of a few saloons in my time, but a nest? What’d she do?”
“She’s too much like you,” Raynar said. “She is stubborn and tricky, and she cared about nothing but preventing a war.”
“You don’t say.” Han smiled proudly, then asked, “Does this mean she’ll stop being a bughugger?”
Raynar’s eyes flashed in anger, and Leia began to have visions of her carefully crafted peace initiative falling apart.
“Han,” she said. “Remember, UnuThul hasn’t agreed to our proposal yet. “
“Well, he hasn’t disagreed, either.” Han turned to Raynar. “What’s it going to be, kid? A nasty war and a Colony full of Dark Nests, or a free ride to a free world?”
The Unu erupted into a riot of chest drumming and antenna waving, but Han ignored them and kept his eye fixed on Raynar. The entourage kept the racket up for a few moments longer, then abruptly fell silent and began to stream out of the vault.
Leia frowned. “Are we to take that as a yes?”
“Of course,” Raynar said. He rubbed his arm down the antennae of a small, red-eyed Killik about half the size of an Ewok, then turned and started after his nest. “Wasn’t it our idea?”