"Nor do I. All right. Good. We have our path of retreat secure . .

. I think. Let’s follow the map. "

They went back down over the rock tumble, and then farther down the ramp. Gleaming in the lamplight were more statues of various X’Ting in heroic poses. Jesson studied them carefully.

"This is what we need, " he said. Then he began muttering to himself in his people’s clicking, popping speech.

Several of the engraved images depicted X’Ting with primary and secondary arms crossed, legs spread. Some were in male mode, and some in female. Around the heads of these full-size images were clusters of miniature engravings of similar design.

Suddenly Obi-Wan realized what he was looking at: hieroglyphs, images extracted from pictographs of X’Ting and Cestian environments. This was very old, the beginnings of written language. Jesson was reading the wall.

"Sounds and smells, " Jesson said. "Our culture is based on both. There is a code at work here, and if I can only remember my Old X’Tingian will we be able to find the next passage. "

He sniffed along the wall, studied, backed up almost to the edge of the ramp. Obi-Wan looked down into an inky void. They were fifty meters from the ground below. A bad fall.

"Shine the light higher, " Jesson whispered.

Obi-Wan did. There was another level of images up above the lower, and Jesson smiled. "Do you see these images? This says: We are not individuals, but of the hive . We are not to struggle alone, but shoulder to shoulder, and upon the shoulders of past hive heroes . "

Obi-Wan nodded. A fine sentiment.

"Please. Elevate me, " Jesson asked, setting his spear aside For a moment Obi-Wan assumed that this was a request for enlightenment, but then realized Jesson was being quite literal. He cupped his hands, and the X’Ting climbed up, balancing himself with all four hands spread against the wall, feeling around. Then his fingers found their objectives, and Obi-Wan heard a sharp clicking sound.

The wall slid back, and an opening appeared. Jesson boosted himself up and disappeared into the hole. For a moment Obi-Wan was worried; then Jesson’s head reappeared. "It’s all clear. A passage between chambers. " He held an arm down, and Obi-Wan passed him the spear. Jesson gripped its shaft as Obi-Wan gathered the Force around him and leaped up to the opening. Then the X’Ting disappeared into the hole.

The hole was less than a meter wide, just large enough for crawling, but not much more.

Darkness swallowed them completely, but Jesson shuffled ahead of him, and Obi-Wan had no option but to follow.

They were deep in the hive. The walls and ceiling were all of chewed stone. The roughly pentagonal tube branched off into numerous side tunnels. Again and again Jesson sniffed the path and found an old scent marker telling the way.