The problem was that-with UnuThul’s Will compelling them to attack almost mindlessly-the Killiks were a lot less efficient than the Chiss. They were running headlong into walls of charric fire, while the enemy remained concealed and protected behind their temporary fortifications, exposing themselves to attack only when there were so many Killik bodies piled in front of them that they had to withdraw to a clear position.
Jaina turned, looking for her newest communications assistant-she lost at least one Wuluw a day-and found only the two black-furred Squibs who had assigned themselves to watch her back.
“Wuluw?” she called.
A soft clatter sounded from the base of the mogo tree, and she looked down to find the little brown Killik crawling out from beneath a root-knee. “What are you doing down there?”
“Ubb.”
“Okay.” Jaina sighed. “Just don’t disappear entirely.”
Wuluw withdrew back under the root, leaving visible the tiniest tip of one antenna.
The rain-soaked Squibs snickered openly, mocking Wuluw for being a coward-until a passing charric beam singed a hand-wide band of fur off the side of Longnose’s head.
“Rurub,” Wuluw thrummed from her muddy hole.
“I know you’re not laughing at me, bug.” Longnose started to raise his repeating blaster. “Because you aren’t that brave.”
“Knock it off,” Jaina said. She used the Force to push both Squibs away, then addressed herself to the mouth of Wuluw’s hiding place. “Tell UnuThul this isn’t working. We have to slow down and fight from position-“
“Bb!” Wuluw relayed.
“We have to,” Jaina said. “At this rate, the swarm will run out of soldiers!”
“Bruu ruu urubu,” Wuluw thrummed, still relaying UnuThul’s message. “Ur bu!”
“Even the Colony’s army isn’t that big!” Jaina protested. “The Chiss are slaughtering us by the millions.”
“Ur bu!” Wuluw repeated. “Urub bub ruuur uur.”
“What do you mean you’re going to be out of touch?” Jaina demanded. “You’re the commander, UnuThul! You can’t just leave the battle!”
“Ru’ub bur,” Wuluw relayed. “Ur bu!”
The “trust me” command was accompanied by the dark pressure of UnuThul’s Will, urging Jaina to continue the attack, to overrun the Chiss lines. Everything depended on that.
“What choice do we have?” Jaina grumbled. “But before UnuThul goes, there’s something he should know about the Chiss.”
“Ub?”
“They’re not surrendering,” Jaina reported. “Even when they have no way to keep fighting, they make us kill them.”
“Uuuu, ” Wuluw rumbled. “Bu?”
“They seem to think we’re laying eggs in them,” Jaina reported, “and letting our larvae eat them, like what the …”
Jaina could not remember the name of the nest that had been doing those terrible things at Kr.
“Like what happened at Qoribu,” she finished.
Wuluw relayed UnuThul’s response quickly-too quickly. “Buub urr bubb.”
“It’s more than a rumor,” Jaina objected. “We saw what happened at Kr. So did you, UnuThul.”
“Ubbb ruur?” Wuluw asked for UnuThul. “Burrubuur rububu ru.”
“Maybe,” Jaina said. The pressure to attack had turned to a dark weight now, pressing down inside her chest, urging her to reexamine her memories. “It was dark in the grub cave. We could have misunderstood what we were seeing.”
“Buuu ururub,” Wuluw relayed. “Rbuurb u rubur ruu.”
“That’s probably it,” Jaina agreed.
She knew that UnuThul was forcing the conclusion on her, that somewhere down inside she remembered events another way. But Zekk was still hiding in the mountains with the airborne swarm, too far away to share her thoughts and bolster her resolve, and without him, she simply lacked the strength to resist UnuThul’s Will.
“It would be just like the Chiss to make that up,” Jaina said. “That must be what happened. They must be afraid their soldiers will surrender and join the Colony.”
“Bur.”
Wuluw went on to reiterate UnuThul’s orders, instructing Jaina to continue pressing the attack on all fronts. Of course, it was not actually necessary for her to issue the order herself. The entire swarm simply felt the same pressure in their thoraxes that Jaina did in her chest, and they began to redouble their efforts, the Rekkers springing over the Chiss breastworks in waves, the Jooj swarming through the jungle in a droning brown-green cloud.