Apocalypse by Troy Denning

Author:Troy Denning [Denning, Troy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, SciFi, Star Wars, Legacy Era, Fate of the Jedi
ISBN: 9780345509222
Publisher: Del Rey

Chapter Twenty-One

If the Killiks of the Celestial Palace truly believed the End OF Time was upon them, they had a strange way of preparing for it. Upon hearing of Abeloth’s escape, the nearly dormant hive had burst into action, preparing the nursery comb to receive new eggs and rushing out to prepare for planting. In just days, they had cleared the scrub from their fields and partitioned them into rock-walled plots, and now they were busy opening a giant web of irrigation ditches already beginning to shine with the silver gleam of sunlight on water.

Even Raynar, who understood the unlimited potential of Killik industry better than anyone, found the progress astounding. They had prepared over five square kilometers for planting, and they were already bringing out seed casks to warm in the sun.

But none of that meant their crops would grow. From what Raynar could see, the land surrounding the Celestial Palace was a dust bowl. The ground was so powdery that even a gentle breeze sent clouds of it dancing across the plain, and if the dirt held any humus, it was not enough to be called soil.

A soft rustle sounded in the corridor behind Raynar, and his Killik guide stepped to the window next to him. She braced her upper hands on the sill and leaned out to study the fields below, then began a conversational rumble.

“Little grows here without the Force to help it,” she thrummed. “Still, the hive must prepare and be ready.”

To Raynar’s surprise, he understood every word.

“Because the Force will come again soon,” the Killik continued.

Raynar did not answer, for a cold knot had formed in his stomach. Maybe he was just remembering a foreign language, the way anyone might after returning to an alien culture in which they had once lived. But the Killik language was incredibly subtle and complex, with touch- and stress-dependent meanings, and over thirty different vowels that all sounded like the letter U to the human ear. So as much as he wanted to believe the language was just coming back, it seemed far more likely that he understood Thuruht because he was becoming Thuruht—because his pheromone counteragent had worn off and he was becoming a Killik Joiner again.

“That is why you have come, to share the Force with the hive,” Thuruht said.

“I see,” Raynar said, finally beginning to understand why Thuruht had been so circumspect about sharing the hive’s knowledge. “And that’s why you have been so slow to tell us about Abeloth. You’ve been stalling until we become Joiners.”

“Thuruht is not stalling!” the guide protested. “How can Thuruht show the Jedi what the Jedi have not prepared themselves to see?”

“What does it take to prepare?” Raynar asked, fairly certain that he already knew the answer. “Becoming Joiners?”

Thuruht circled her antennae in a negative gesture. “You are ready now,” she said. “The other Jedi require more time.”

“The Jedi can’t wait until we’re all ready,” Raynar said, anticipating the Killik’s next excuse for continuing to withhold the hive’s knowledge. “Abeloth is free now, and our friends are hunting her now.

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