Jesson looked back at Obi-Wan. The nozzles at the edges of the room opened like sunblossoms welcoming the dawn. Obi-Wan suspected-no, heknew that if the session was terminated, so were they. And so were the eggs.

"Sit down, " he said quietly. And Jesson did. The nozzles seemed to track their motion.

Obi-Wan had no interest in discovering what might flow through them at a moment’s notice.

"Do you wish to continue the sequence? "the machine asked.

"Do I have a choice? " Jesson said miserably.

"Yes. You may choose personal termination. If you choose this option, the eggs will not be damaged. "

"I’ll try again, " he said, and swallowed hard.

"Very well. "A pause. The pause lasted for so long that Obi-Wan wondered if it was going to speak again, but then it did.

"Who lived and now stand still? Who cared not for acclaim, but are idolized by all? Who carried weight and now ring hollow? "

"You speak Basic and X’Tingian, " Obi-Wan said to Jesson. "Are the words accurately translated? "

The warrior’s serrated teeth clattered. "I think so. There is a certain poetry missing from the Basic translation. "

" ’Who lived and stand still, ’ " Obi-Wan went on. "That could have two meanings: to be motionless, or to persist, to ’still stand, ’ if you get my meaning. Do you understand this one? "

"I believe so, " Jesson said, but he no longer seemed so confident.

"Then do you think you know the answer? "

Jesson stared at the spilling sphere. Just two layers left. "I think so. "

"Then answer, " Obi-Wan said, trying to give the X’Ting confidence that he himself did not entirely feel.

Jesson took a deep breath. "I am ready to proceed, " he said.

"Answer, "the machine said.

"The heroes of the hive. The Hall of Heroes. "

The seconds ticked past, and nothing happened. Then the sphere began to rotate more swiftly, and the second, orange layer peeled away and vanished.

"Incorrect, "the voice said.

Jesson shivered in the seat, and Obi-Wan detected a sharp, sour odor in the air. Fear?

"They should not have sent me, " the X’Ting said.

Self-pity? Jesson did not seem the type, but . . . Then the warrior went on, haltingly, "I can’t do this. Because of me, the eggs will be destroyed. "

There it was. The reaction hadn’t been self-pity at all. It was concern for the eggs Obi-Wan had heard in Jesson’s voice, seen in his body, smelled in the air.