[Dark Nest] - 1(43)

“We know enough,” Han grumbled. “We know that Raynar joined minds with a bunch of bugs, and that if we don’t get to Jaina and Jacen and the others soon, the same thing’s going to happen to them.”

“Han, we have time,” Luke said. “A Jedi’s mind is not easily dominated.”

“Oh, yeah?” Han glanced back. “Raynar was a Jedi.”

“A much younger and inexperienced Jedi-and a grievously wounded one,” Mara said. “Luke and Leia are right. We need to answer some questions before we go.”

“Yes,” Saba said. “This one would like to know why they are lying about the Dark Jedi.”

Mara nodded. “I noticed that, too.”

“Even I picked up on it,” Han said. “But I don’t see what difference it makes to finding Jaina and the others.”

“That’s what we need to find out,” Leia said. Han’s mind ran as straight as a laser bolt when he was worried about his children - and she loved him for it. “Trust me, we’re better off knowing if Lomi and Welk are mixed up in this.”

“And we need to talk to Raynar some more,” Luke added. “I don’t want to leave him here like that. I’m sure Cilghal knows someone who can repair that burn damage.”

“That choice may not be ourz,” Saba said. “He is the heart of the Colony. This one does not think the Kind will let him go easily.”

“Even if he wanted to, which he won’t,” Mara said. “Power is addictive, and he’s the king bee of a galactic empire.”

“If power was the only appeal, we might have a chance,” Leia said. The passage divided about twelve meters ahead, and C-3PO and the guide vanished down the right branch without looking back. “But Raynar is responsible for the Colony. It wouldn’t exist without him, and he won’t abandon it lightly. “

“Now I really have a bone to pick with those Dark Jedi,” Han said. “And with Raynar, too. Why couldn’t he just let bugs act like bugs?”

“Because he’s a Jedi.” Luke sounded almost proud. “And he was trained in our old tradition-to serve life and protect it, wherever he found the need.”

“Yeah, well, he won’t be protecting much life when that border conflict gets out of hand,” Han said.

“Yes, now many more livez are at risk,” Saba said. “Nature is cruel for a reason, and Raynar has upset the balance.”

“The law of unintended consequences,” Mara said. “That’s why it’s better not to intervene. A modern Jedi would have held himself apart and studied the situation first.”

“And we’re sure that’s a good thing?” Leia asked. She was as surprised as anyone to hear herself asking this question, for the war had hardened her to death in a way that she would not have believed possible twenty years before. But the war was over, and she was tired of death, of measuring victory not by how many lives you saved, but how many you took. “How many beings would have died while a modern Jedi studied the situation? “

Luke’s confusion filled the Force behind her. “Does it matter? A Jedi serves the Force, and if his actions interfere with the balance of the Force-“

“I know,” Leia said wearily. “I just miss the days when all this was simple.”

Sometimes, she wondered whether the tenets of this new Jedi order were an improvement or a convenience. She worried about what had been sacrificed to this new god Efficiency-about what had been lost when the Jedi abandoned their simple code and embraced moral relativism.

They came to the divide in the passage and started down the right-hand branch. C-3PO and the guide were waiting about five meters ahead.

“Buruub urub burr” the guide droned.

“Yoggoy asks that you please try to keep up,” C-3PO translated.

“Rurr bururu ub Ruur.”

“And she politely suggests that you start your investigations at the Crash,” C-3PO continued. “That way, you can see for yourself that UnuThul is not lying about the Dark Jedi.”

“Urr buub ur bubbu.”

“Or anything else.”

Leia’s stomach tightened in surprise, but she wasted no effort trying to figure out how the insect knew what they had been discussing.

Instead, she smiled calmly and said, “That sounds like an excellent idea, Yoggoy. Thank you for the suggestion.”

By the time they reached the hangar a few minutes later, another Yoggoy was waiting for them with a battered hoversled.

“Burnt urr burrr ubb,” it explained, pointing toward the Shadow with one of its four arms. “Burrrr uuu!”