Star Wars_ Fate of the Jedi 08_ Ascension - Christie Golden [95]
“Why was that area so special?” Vestara asked.
“The abundance of volcanoes,” Natua replied promptly.
“Yeah, that sounds about right for the Sith, jumping into volcanoes,” said Ben softly to Vestara, his voice playful. She shoved him, but she was smothering a smile.
“More specifically,” Natua continued, “they valued what the volcanoes left behind. Volcanic caves, caverns, tubes—all formed when lava continued to flow beneath a top layer that cooled faster, forming a crust. The Sith thought these caves significant, and when they ventured to explore them, many Sith suffered hallucinations.”
“From various fumes contained in the caves?” asked Jaina.
“No.” Natua shook her head, her fingers tapping on the console to call up another holographic image. It was a sort of insect, with six legs, a multisectioned body, antennae, and what looked like a two-pronged tail extension.
Ben’s eyes widened. “I know what that is,” he said solemnly.
Vestara glanced at him. “You do?”
He nodded. “It’s … a bug!”
“Your sense of humor is almost as bad as Jacen’s was,” muttered Jaina. Ben smiled a little. He realized that he was starting to let Jacen Solo replace Darth Caedus in his mind—and in his heart. And he was glad of it. Of course, ever since Vestara had told him she wanted to become a Jedi and they had begun exploring what “relationship” meant, he’d felt happier and more confident than he had in a long, long time.
“What type of bug, Natua?” Jaina asked.
“It’s a variety of diplura. A type of hexapod, which is a …” Natua looked at the blank expressions around her and smiled a little. “… a bug. Variations of diplurans are found on almost all habitable worlds. It’s this particular species that is interesting. During various parts of its life cycle, it excretes a certain fluid rich with pheromones. These pheromones happen to be a powerful hallucinogen for some mammalian species. From what records survive, the hallucinations were terrifying.”
“And of course, the Sith believed it was the work of the dark side,” said Vestara.
“Was it? In part?” asked Ben.
Natua nodded. “Yes to both. At first, the Sith had no idea what was going on. Later, once they understood, they deemed the volcanic caves special places, and conducted initiations and other rites of passage without protection from the pheromones. The caves were, if not a dark-side nexus precisely, definitely a site in which the dark side flourished. Centuries of rituals imbued with the power of fear and anguish induced by the pheromones only strengthened that. Also—while the Sith did not live in the lava tubes, their interactions with the bugs became the foundation of their culture. They dwelled close to the five major places where they performed their Mysteries. Each settlement was located near an elaborate lava cave system that had a specific focus.”
She indicated various areas on the image as she spoke. “The one located here, near its south pole, was for Cold Rites—presumably focusing on tempering emotions, hardening hearts, and so on. The one on the equator, for Rites of Fire. This might be where the Sith focused on their anger and passions, how to use them to serve the dark side. However, I believe that this one here, in a very temperate zone—the one that hosted what was called the High Rites—might be the most significant area to explore. Only the highest-ranking Sith—the ones strongest in the Force—conducted rituals here. And correspondingly, the most powerful Sith on Upekzar lived only a few kilometers away from this cave system, in a city that lies in the shadow of a dormant volcano.”
She touched the screen, and a map of the area replaced the image of the planet.
“Ben, you first found Ship on Ziost,” Natua said. “He was … docked, for a better word, below an abandoned citadel, in the ground. What remaining documents there are indicate that this site was ‘the nest of the future Sith.’ I thought it was a nursery or a school