He heard something gurgle in the room, and thought that it was the Zeetsa version of speech. They were speaking to each other, wondering, perhaps, who this offworlder was . . .

No . . . not who, butwhat. If Jesson was accurate, no other offworlder had ever come this way, and that meant that in all probability they had never seen a human being at all.

The room was the size of a star cruiser docking bay: immense, and silent save for that constant murmuring. Obi-Wan had the feeling he was walking through a room of sleeping children, except for the disquieting faces that appeared on the smooth surface of the dangling, gravity-defying bulbs. One of them formed lips and a recognizable mouth, and he stopped for a moment, transfixed. As he watched, his own face appeared, complete with beard, etched into the surface of the blue sphere.

And then the corners of the mouth lifted. "It’s trying to communicate, " he whispered, astonished.

"It is dreaming, " Jesson said. "And you are a part of the dream. "

The bulb pivoted to follow them as they reached the far side of the cavern. The tunnel there was darker than the Lifemilk creatures’ place of resting, and Obi-Wan took that final image, the smile of a sleeping, mindless creature, with him into the darkness.

Chapter 3

The tunnel leading away from the Zeetsa chamber was narrower. If he had wished, Obi-Wan could have scooped blue-white fungus off both walls with his elbows as they walked. The mold here grew in wild patches, some of them slippery splotches underfoot, slick enough to make an unwary explorer turn an ankle. The wild moss gave a fainter light here, and from time to time Jesson used a glowlight to lead the way. The air itself felt musty and close.

Obi-Wan guessed no one had been here for years.

"Where are we now? " he asked.

"Beyond where I have gone, " Jesson replied. "But I know what lies ahead. "

"And that is? "

"The Hall of Heroes, " Jesson said. "This is where the greatest leaders of our people were honored, long ago, before the clans split after the plague. In that world, every warrior strove to perform great service for the hive, that his image might one day appear in the hall. "

"And what of the people who remained down there? " Obi-Wan asked.

"They are the true X’Ting, " he said, a hint of pride entering his voice for the first time. "Perhaps when this is over, I will stay with them. It is said they believe we

’surface’ X’Ting have forgotten the old ways. This is truth. "

"Will they try to stop us? "

"I think not. They, even more than those on the surface, have awaited the return of the royals. In fact, " he added, "once we have opened the vault, I can think of no safer hands in which to place the eggs. "

Obi-Wan stopped. "The eggs are to be taken to the council, Jesson. "