[Dark Nest] - 3(68)

Wuluw splayed her limbs, lowering herself to within a few centimeters of the water, and followed close behind. The banging of the catapults and trebuchets continued unabated, filling the jungle with the simmering pressure of a star waiting to go nova. When the enemy islands came into view, Jaina stopped and lifted the electrobinoculars to her eyes again.

This time, she was doing more thinking than observing. After hearing about the trouble her parents had been causing the Squibs, she found herself wondering whether she really did need to develop a plan. If her parents were close to ending this war, perhaps the best thing to do would be to stall. The lives she saved would number in the millions-and that was Killiks alone.

But if Jaina was wrong about the reason the Squibs had put a hit on her-or if her parents failed to move quickly enough-a relief force would arrive to spoil UnuThul’s trap. The Chiss would grow even bolder and attack deeper into Colony territory. Trillions of Killiks and millions of Chiss would die, and the war would continue more ferociously than before.

Fortunately, Jaina had a way to find out. She reached out to her mother in the Force and felt a jolt of happy connection-not as clear as a battle-meld, but stronger and more permanent. She filled her mind with thoughts of peace, then added curiosity. Her mother seemed at first relieved, then puzzled, then worried.

Clearly, Leia did not understand at all. Jaina tried again, this time filling her mind with hopefulness. Her mother seemed more confused than ever, and Jaina gave up in exasperation. Some things never changed.

She felt Leia touching her through the Force, urging patience, and suddenly Jaina had the feeling that she would be seeing her parents again soon.

That was all she needed to know.

Jaina lowered her electrobinoculars and turned to Wuluw. “Have the trebuchets start dropping short, into the water,” she ordered. “We’re going to fill that channel with boulders-and we mean that literally.”

“Burubr?” Wuluw demanded. “Ubru urb uburb!”

“Then we’d better get started, hadn’t we?” Jaina said.

Actually, Jaina thought it would take even longer than a week to fill the channel with stones. But if she could make it appear to Wuluw and the rest of Great Swarm that she was preparing a foolproof attack across a broad front, she hoped UnuThul would sense the swarm’s confidence and be patient.

But the banging of the trebuchets continued to echo through the jungle. Boulders continued to sail over the channel onto the Chiss islands, and the pressure inside Jaina began to grow more powerful. She found herself on the verge of ordering an all-out assault. Her plan had created more impatience in the Great Swarm than confidence, and now UnuThul was warning her to get the assault going-or he would.

Jaina took a moment to perform a deep-breathing exercise, gathering herself to oppose UnuThul’s Will.

Her meditations came to an abrupt end as a series of high-pitched squeals echoed down from the treetops. At first, she thought it might be a missile or a bomb dropping from orbit, but then she realized that the squeals were moving across the sky, flying from the direction of the Killik trebuchets toward the Chiss islands.

Jaina spun around in time to see a pair of spread-eagled forms spinning through the air toward the Chiss islands. “What are those?” Jaina demanded.

“Burru.”

“I know they’re Squibs.” Jaina watched as the two figures arced down toward the island and landed about thirty meters inside the

Chiss breastworks. “Why did they fly across the sky like that?”

“Ruru bu rur,” Wuluw reminded her.

“Trebuchets!” Jaina gasped. “I didn’t mean get them out of here like that. Wait here.”

Jaina climbed out of the stream and started up a mogo tree, staying on the back side where she would be protected from Chiss snipers. When she judged she was high enough to see over the breastworks, she used the Force to stick herself in place, then raised her electrobinoculars and cautiously leaned out to peer around the trunk.

To her surprise, Jaina found both Squibs back on their feet, staggering around, wiping their eyes and spitting something dark from their mouths and nostrils. She thought for a moment that both rodents had suffered grievous internal injuries when they landed-until a squad of Chiss came staggering up to take them prisoner. The soldiers were smeared head-to-foot with mud, and every time they took a step, they sank knee-deep into the wet ground.

The island was practically underwater.

A circle of coldness suddenly formed between Jaina’s eyes, and she pushed off the mogo, launching herself into a backflip just as a laser beam scorched past the trunk. She sensed more beams flying in her direction and dropped the electrobinoculars, snatching her lightsaber off her belt and activating it in the same swift motion.