Jesson laughed. "I think not. This door was designed to resist any known torch. Just give me a bit of time, and-"

But Obi-Wan had already triggered his weapon and was forcing the glowing blade into the door. "Turn your head away, " he warned. Jesson complied.

Within a few moments, Obi-Wan knew Jesson was right: this door was certainly tougher than the previous one. Regardless, the Jedi weapon blistered the durasteel, sending sparks flying and globules of glowing metal dribbling down to the floor.

The door was sandwiched with energy-absorbing circuits that slowed, but never stopped him.

Finally the door twisted free, metal droplets spraying as it clattered down. They stepped through the smoking entrance.

Within was another egg-shaped chamber with a three-meter pentagonal gold seal emblazoned on the floor. On the far side, a single molded chair sat before an array of . . . what?

Nozzles and beam projectors pointed menacingly at the chair, clear warning for anyone who would brave the challenge.

Rows of readouts and meters blinked to life as they entered, and Obi-Wan inspected them swiftly. Most of the controls were labeled in both Basic and X’Tingian. One of the most provocative labels read: WORM CALL/WORM SENSOR.

Worm call? Then one of his questions was more or less answered. The worms had not been natural to the cave. The security company had brought them here as a passive guarding device. But had something gone horribly wrong? Had the worms found a way into the Hall of Heroes, where so many X’Ting still lived?

That would explain much. What a moment of horror that must have been, when the mindless creatures appointed to guard their most precious treasure burrowed or found a way through the rock wall separating the egg chamber from the living settlement, and chaos reigned.

A hologrammic display caught his eye. A sonic gauge of some kind, labeled HYPERSONIC

REPEL. So . . . the worms were called by sound, and could be repelled the same way. A simple answer, but one unknown to the X’Ting.

Jesson had already eased his way into the command seat. Obi-Wan smelled the change in the room and guessed that the X’Ting was calming down, preparing to perform a task for which he had long prepared.

Jesson’s four sets of fingers interlaced, and there was aBRRRRAKK! sound as sixteen knuckles cracked in a whiplash.

The X’Ting began his sequence, first speaking in X’Tingian, then switching to Basic, perhaps in respect for Obi-Wan. "The start-up sequence is on record, " he said, his six limbs moving with insectlike precision as he manipulated the controls.

"What is all of this? " Obi-Wan asked, indicating the nozzles and ray projectors surrounding the seat in a halo. Was it possible that the legend, the fragmentary information available to Jesson, was incorrect, and it wasn’t the eggs that would be destroyed if three wrong answers were given-but the questioner himself?