“But that tree almost killed Zak,” Tash said, a little more gently.
Patiently, Fandomar opened her delicate fingers in a gesture like a human shrug. “The vesuvague is not dangerous. At least not to Ithorians.”
“Vesu-?” Tash tried to repeat.
“Veh-soo-vog,” Fandomar repeated slowly, pronouncing the word for her.
Zak coughed. When he felt that he could talk normally, he said, “Thanks, Fandomar. If you hadn’t come by, I would have been plant food.”
“What did you say to the tree?” Tash asked Fandomar.
The Ithorian replied, “It’s not what I said, but how I said it. Ithorians-especially the High Priests-are very connected to the Mother Forest. They know how to speak to the trees.”
“Then you’re a High Priest?” Tash asked.
Fandomar waved her fingers again. It is a shrug, Tash thought. It’s what she does when she doesn’t want to say anything.
Fandomar walked them back to their skimmer. To Tash’s surprise, she had landed her own little ship under the same overhang. Had Fandomar seen them land? Or was she just trying to hide her ship, too?
“I know we’re not supposed to be down here,” Tash quickly told Fandomar. “I’m sorry. We-I mean, I-just wanted to see the forest. We didn’t realize-“
“I understand,” Fandomar interrupted. “No harm has been done.”
Tash thanked the stars that ithorians were so understanding. She’d met plenty of species who would have screamed at them for disobeying local customs. She decided to push her luck.
“Urn, there’s one more thing. Do you think-I mean, would you mind not telling our uncle about this? As long as no harm was done.”
The Ithorian nodded. “I agree. As long as you promise not to tell anyone that you saw me down here.”
So Fandomar had wanted to hide her ship.
“You aren’t a High Priest, are you?” Tash guessed. “You’re not supposed to be down here, either.”
Fandomar nodded. “That is correct. I think it’s in both our interests to keep this secret to ourselves.”
“Secrets,” Zak groaned. On a recent visit to the planet S’krrr, he’d kept a secret that nearly cost them all their lives. “I swore I’d never keep a secret like this again.”
“To seal our agreement,” Fandomar said, “let me show you something few offworlders have ever seen.”
They were standing at the edge of an enormous grove of trees with shining black bark. They weren’t vesuvague trees. This was like a forest within the forest-a wood so thick and deep that Tash could hardly see beyond the first few branches.
“This is the oldest grove of Bafforr trees on Ithor,” Fandomar explained. “Bafforr trees are sentient.”
“Sentient?” Zak repeated.
“That means they can think. They’re intelligent,” Tash explained.
Fandomar nodded. “The more trees there are, the more intelligent the forest becomes. It’s as though one mind connects them all so that they can all work together.”
“Work together,” Tash repeated. “Like a team. That’s what I want.” More loudly, she asked, “Can we talk to them?”
Fandomar shook her head. “High Priests can. They are very sensitive to the Bafforrs’ thoughts. But without that sensitivity, you cannot hear them.”
Tash said, “It sounds like you’re talking about the Force.”
Fandomar’s two mouths turned down. “No. The High Priests aren’t Jedi Knights. Their sensitivity is different.”
Tash wondered if she could reach the trees anyway. She’d only learned a little bit about the Force, but according to what she had read, the Force connected all living things. If that was true, why couldn’t it connect her to the Bafforr trees?
Focusing her thoughts, she reached out with the Force. She took a deep breath to clear her head and then felt it-like an invisible hand stretching toward the forest. For just a brief instant, she felt something reach back in response. An excited tingle ran through her arms. The Bafforr trees were aware of her!
For that moment, she felt a powerful connection with the trees. She couldn’t have described it if she tried. It was like… It was like playing speed globe with a really good team, with everyone working together. Only it was a thousand times more satisfying than just playing a game.
Excited, Tash pushed harder. She wanted to be a Jedi Knight. She needed to be one, but she had no way of testing herself. If she could communicate with the Bafforr trees, that might mean the Force was still with her, that her power was growing.
But she tried too hard. The more she thought about trying to use the Force, the harder it became to use it, until finally, it just slipped away.