[Dark Nest] - 3(10)
“It convinced the Chiss they couldn’t win with a quick strike,” Han said, coming to Jacen’s defense. “At least now there’s some chance you can bring this mess under control before it erupts into a galaxywide bug stomp.”
“Han is
right,”
Corran
said.
“Besides,
debating
our
past mistakes-whether or not they were mistakes-won’t solve this problem. We need to talk about how we’re going to stop this war before it gets out of control.”
The Masters nodded their agreement, but fell silent and stared at the floor, clearly reluctant to launch into the same argument that had been threatening to tear the order apart for several months. After a few seconds, Corran, Kyp, and even Saba began to cast expectant glances toward Luke, clearly hoping he would take the lead. He remained silent, determined to force the Masters to work through the problem themselves and develop their own consensus.
Finally, Jacen spoke up. “I know how to stop the war.”
Everybody’s brow-including Leia’s-went up.
“Why am I not surprised?” Kyp asked. He ran a hand through his unruly hair, pausing to scratch his scalp. “Okay, let’s hear it. You seem to be the only one with any ideas.”
Jacen stepped over next to Luke, placing himself squarely in front of the Masters. His determination hung heavy and hard in the Force. He was going to stop the war. Too much would be lost if he did not.
“We kill Raynar Thul.”
“What?”
This was cried by several Jedi at once, among them Tesar Sebatyne and the other young Jedi Knights who had accompanied Jacen on the raid against Supply Depot Thrago. Even Leia found herself wondering if she had heard Jacen correctly.
“Did you see that in your vision, too?” Corran asked.
He turned to the other Masters, shaking his head in disapproval. “We talked about this before.”
Luke frowned. “We did?”
“When you and Han were captured on Woteba,” Mara informed him. “It was our backup plan.”
“And now it should be our primary plan,” Jacen said calmly. “It’s the only way to prevent the war.”
“Go on,” Luke said.
“Most insect species have an immense mortality rate,” Jacen explained. “One egg out of a thousand might produce a larva that survives to become an imago and produce young of its own. When Raynar became a Joiner-“
“But killing Raynar would destroy the Colony!” Tesar rasped.
“I believe that’s the point,” Kenth said. “They have declared war on two other galactic civilizations.”
Lowbacca roared an objection, protesting that the Dark Nest was causing all the trouble.
“Jacen has obviously given this a lot of thought,” Luke said, raising his hands for quiet. “Why don’t we hear him out?”
“Because hearing Jacen out is dangerous,” Tahiri said, glaring at Jacen. “He says one thing and means another.”
Coming from Tahiri, whom the Solos had considered practically their own daughter since Anakin’s death, the comment was especially stinging. Leia would have admonished her for her rudeness, had Luke not done so first.
“That’s enough!” Luke scowled first at Tahiri, then at Tesar and Lowbacca. “This debate is among the Masters, and when we ask for your opinion, you’re going to give it in a civilized fashion. Is that clear?”
Tesar’s scales stood on end and Lowbacca’s fur ruffled, but they joined Tahiri in nodding. “Yes, Master.”
“Thank you.” Luke looked back to Jacen. “You were saying?”
“When Raynar became a Joiner, the Killiks began to value the lives of individual nest-members,” Jacen continued. “Their population exploded, they began to strip their own worlds bare, and that’s when the Colony was born and began to infringe on Chiss space.”
“But will killing Raynar change that now?” Saba asked from the front bench. “The Killikz have already changed. This one does not see how removing Raynar will change them back.”
“Because the change is a learned behavior.” Jacen was obviously ready with his answer. “Raynar is the only element of their personality that innately values individual life.”
“So we remove Raynar, and they unlearn the behavior?” Kenth asked.
“Exactly,” Jacen said. “Raynar’s ability to project his will through the Force is what binds the individual nests into the Colony. If we remove that, the nests will need to survive on their own.”
“The nests will either return to their normal state or starve,” Kenth said. “Either way, the problem takes care of itself.”