Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 01_ Outcast - Aaron Allston [88]
He looked down upon them, his expression quizzical. His voice was reedy but not infirm. “Why are you here?”
Luke gave him a nod of greeting. “We are here in search of answers.”
“Ah.” The enthroned Kel Dor nodded as if satisfied. “A worthy goal at the end of one's life.”
Luke frowned. “You intend to kill us? For what?”
“No, certainly not. You have come here. This is the place after life. The world below, the world after. You are already dead.”
Ben spared a look at the other Kel Dors present. None of them reacted to the statement.
Luke clearly decided not to pursue that subject further for the moment. “May I assume you are Master Koro Ziil?”
“I was, in life. Now I am hu'aac-du'ul-staranjan.”
Luke frowned, considering. “That does not sound like a name, especially a Kel Dor name.”
It didn't to Ben, either. Kel Dor names tended to follow a pattern similar to that found among Coruscanti humans—personal name first, clan name second, with both names tending to be short, usually one or two syllables; three or more was a rarity. The Kel Dors whom Ben had met always referred to themselves and one another by their full names or by a title and a clan name.
“It means ‘the one who dwells in darkness’ in our language. Or ‘the hidden one.’ It is my title, for I have no name at all. I have transcended not only life but identity. You, too, will have to choose new names now that you are among us.”
Luke gave him a look that suggested he regretted being displeasing. “We won't be staying.”
The former Koro Ziil smiled. It was not a cruel smile, but a sympathetic one. “There is no way to leave. You are with us forever. Seek your answers among us, but become reconciled to the fact that you will never take those answers away from here.”
JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT
Swearing under her breath, Jaina pulled on a robe and moved to the door of her quarters. She nearly tripped over a waste receptacle in the darkness, and decided that it was good her observer hadn't seen that; it wouldn't do for word to spread that the Jedi could be klutzes like anyone else.
In the outer chamber, at the door to the hall, she hit the button to turn on the lights and another to open the door. It slid up, revealing Jedi Tekli in the act of pressing the door-chime button for the third time.
Not waiting for an invitation, the Chadra-Fan Jedi—fur-covered, with big ears and gnawing upper incisors that gave her a cute, pet-like appearance that caused her no end of trouble with children—rushed in. “Darkmeld, darkmeld,” she said.
The word sent a thrill of coldness through Jaina's insides. Dark-meld was a word of Jaina's own invention, part of a plan she'd put into motion after her last conversation with Master Hamner. Only a few Jedi whom Jaina trusted, and who were not Masters, knew the term—knew that it referred to Jaina's new circle of conspirators. An even smaller number of non-Jedi knew it.
Jaina hit the button again to slide the door shut. She found herself whispering without meaning to. “What is it?”
Tekli stood before Jaina's desk, putting her weight first on one foot, then the other, an unconscious dance of agitation. “I saw him.”
“Who?”
“I was at the prison. Master Cilghal has a plan to keep pressure up on the authorities to let us examine Valin. She visits once per day, staying for an hour or two to annoy them, and I do so in the evenings.”
“So you saw Valin.”
“No, Jedi Hellin.”
Jaina blinked. “Seff Hellin? He's in prison?”
“No, he's outside it. Dressed as a workman, entering the underground through a workers' access hatch.”
Jaina whistled. “He has to be evaluating the prison defenses. So he can break Valin out.”
“That was my thought. He didn't see me. I don't think he even felt me. I wasn't using any Force abilities. I felt surprise when I saw him, but I suppressed it