[Dark Nest] - 3(11)

“Not exactly,” Corran said. “You’re forgetting the Dark Nest. By all accounts, they’re already running the Colony from behind the scenes. If we take out Raynar, what’s to prevent Lomi Plo from taking over?”

“We have to take her and Alema Rar out, too,” Jacen said. “I’m sorry, I thought that was a given.”

When no one objected, Luke asked, “So everyone agrees on that much, then? The Dark Nest must be destroyed.”

“Assuming we can,” Han muttered. “We’ve tried that before, remember?”

“We’ve learned a lot since then,” Jacen insisted. “This time, we’ll succeed.”

“I’m glad you’re so confident, Jacen,” Kyp said. “How about letting the rest of us in on the secret?”

“I already have,” Jacen said. “We’re going to eliminate Raynar and his nest, too.”

This drew a pair of snorts from Tesar and Lowbacca, but a warning glance from Luke was enough to silence the two Jedi Knights.

“Now I’m really lost,” Corran said. “If we have to destroy the Dark Nest anyway, why don’t we just stop there and reason with Raynar?”

“I wish we could,” Leia said. “But Raynar’s mind was shattered by the Flier’s crash, and the Killiks have a very fluid concept of truth. When you put those two things together, you can’t count on him to behave rationally. We only persuaded him to abandon Qoribu by convincing him that if he didn’t, all of the nests there would turn into Dark Nests.”

“That’s true, Mother,” Jacen said. “But the real problem is you can’t destroy the Dark Nest without killing Raynar. As long as there is an Unu, there will be a Gorog.”

“That’z zilly,” Tesar scoffed.

“Not at all.” Cilghal spoke in a soft voice that had a quieting effect on the whole argument. “I began to suspect the same thing myself when the Dark Nest reappeared in the Utegetu Nebula.”

Corran, Kenth, and even Luke looked stunned. “Why?” Luke asked.

“Do you remember our discussion about the conscious and unconscious mind?” Cilghal replied.

Luke nodded. “I believe you put it this way: ‘Like the Force itself, every mind in the galaxy has two aspects.’ “

“Very good, Master Skywalker,” Cilghal said. “The conscious mind embraces what we know of ourselves, and the unconscious contains the part that remains hidden.”

“I thought that was the subconscious mind,” Corran said.

“So did I, until Cilghal explained it,” Luke said. “The subconscious is a level of the mind between full awareness and unawareness. The unconscious remains fully hidden from the part of our minds that we know. Right, Cilghal?”

“You have an excellent memory, Master Skywalker,” she said.

“Wait a minute, Cilghal,” Kyp said. “You’re saying that Jacen is actually right? That even if the Dark Nest didn’t exist, the Colony would create one?”

“I am saying that Jacen’s theory fits what we have observed,” Cilghal replied. “To the extent that the Colony is a collective mind, it makes sense for it to create an unconscious. And you cannot destroy an unconscious mind without also destroying the conscious mind.”

Cilghal paused and swiveled one bulbous eye toward Tesar, Lowbacca, and Tahiri. “I am sorry, but if this theory is correct, it is simply impossible to destroy the Dark Nest without destroying the Colony. One accompanies the other.”

“Then Jacen’s theory is wrong!” Tesar rasped.

“That is always possible,” Cilghal admitted. “But

it

explains everything we have observed, and that makes it the best working theory we have.”

“So we kill one of our own?” Corran shook his head harshly. “I can’t believe that’s our best option. It goes against everything I feel as a Jedi. We’re not assassins, we don’t betray our own, and we don’t destroy entire civilizations.”

“Corran, we talked about that, too,” Leia reminded him. “It’s because Raynar is a Jedi that we must act. He’s become a threat to the galaxy, and it’s our responsibility to stop him.”

“I understand that he’s a threat,” Corran responded. “But if he’s as shattered as you say, we shouldn’t be trying to kill him-we should be trying to help him.”

“May the Force be with you on that!” Han scoffed. “You’ll need it. Raynar’s more powerful than Luke, and he doesn’t want your help.”

Luke cocked his brow at Han’s assessment of his relative strength, but looked more surprised than insulted and did not protest.