it would knock down the black wall he hated
.
Soon he, Lord Nyax, would have everything he wanted—which was everything. All beings would do his
bidding. Except, perhaps, those whom his senses could not detect; they were surprisingly resistant to pain. Them he would kill, every one
.
Coruscant
“You found a tank of goo,” said Mara.
They stood on a metal walkway high over a deep, vast chamber. They’d descended through several levels of ruined factory machinery to reach it. Now, their comparatively tiny glowrods illuminated tiny patches of the floor far below.
Not that there was much detail to illuminate. The greater portion of the floor was dominated by a gleaming white metal tank, dozens of meters wide and long, but only a meter and a half tall, and filled nearly to its rim by some reddish fluid.
Most of the others looked disinterested, or immediately cast about for another place to sit down and rest.
Not so the scientists. Baljos and Danni immediately pulled out sensor devices and began sampling the local environment.
“Definitely a living thing,” Danni said. “A large quantity of monocellular life-forms.”
“This chamber is unusually high in oxygen, unusually low in carbon dioxide and world-shaping toxins.” Baljos pulled off his helmet and tugged the perfumed patches of cloth from his nose; he took several deep breaths, and a smile broke out on his face. “Clean air. Thought I’d never experience it again.”
The others followed suit. Luke took in several breaths free of the stench of decay; he felt his spirits lift.
He checked himself before congratulating Tahiri on finding such a useful resource. She hadn’t been happy when she’d returned to the others, and she wasn’t happy now. She stared down into the red muck with an expression suggesting suspicion, even dread.
Luke extended his own Force senses in that direction.
He could immediately feel the life-form in the tank. It was simple, undifferentiated. It was also comparatively healthy, though he thought he felt the slightest tinge of hunger to it.
But there was something beyond the life-form, something below. It was a twinge of dark side energy. No, not a twinge—though not strong, it was constant.
“Did you find a way down from there?” Luke asked.
Tahiri shook her head. “I looked around for about an hour but couldn’t find the access.”
“What access?” Danni asked.
There was no power in this chamber, but a surviving metal ladder gave them an easy descent to the floor level. Up close, the tank was no more impressive; it was a rectangular pond of villainous-looking slime.
“I think,” Luke said, “that this is a devourer tank.”
Mara nodded soberly. “Based on your extensive knowledge of factories and city engineering.”
“
Based
on something Wedge Antilles said to me once.” Luke gave his wife an expression of simulated sternness. “There was a time, a few years ago, when he thought he wanted to give up the life of a fighting officer and turn his skills to building things, fixing things. So he headeda military crew that was deconstructing portions of Coruscant that were falling apart. So new portions of Coruscant could be built there and fall apart later. He described something like this. A huge flat area filled with a living material.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Face said. “You mentioned that the first time I met you.”
“Years ago,” Luke said.
“Yes.”
“But you still can’t tell me when.”
Face shook his head. “Official secrets. If you were to remember what I looked like, who I was then, I still couldn’t admit it to you.”
Luke sighed.
“What’s it for?” asked Danni. “The tank.”
“It’s one type of garbage disposal.” Luke held a hand just above the red surface. In the light from Mara’s glow rod, he saw the fluid swell, just slightly, toward his hand. “Anything organic that gets thrown in here is consumed. Every so often, they pump out the goo and scrape out the material
.
Soon he, Lord Nyax, would have everything he wanted—which was everything. All beings would do his
bidding. Except, perhaps, those whom his senses could not detect; they were surprisingly resistant to pain. Them he would kill, every one
.
Coruscant
“You found a tank of goo,” said Mara.
They stood on a metal walkway high over a deep, vast chamber. They’d descended through several levels of ruined factory machinery to reach it. Now, their comparatively tiny glowrods illuminated tiny patches of the floor far below.
Not that there was much detail to illuminate. The greater portion of the floor was dominated by a gleaming white metal tank, dozens of meters wide and long, but only a meter and a half tall, and filled nearly to its rim by some reddish fluid.
Most of the others looked disinterested, or immediately cast about for another place to sit down and rest.
Not so the scientists. Baljos and Danni immediately pulled out sensor devices and began sampling the local environment.
“Definitely a living thing,” Danni said. “A large quantity of monocellular life-forms.”
“This chamber is unusually high in oxygen, unusually low in carbon dioxide and world-shaping toxins.” Baljos pulled off his helmet and tugged the perfumed patches of cloth from his nose; he took several deep breaths, and a smile broke out on his face. “Clean air. Thought I’d never experience it again.”
The others followed suit. Luke took in several breaths free of the stench of decay; he felt his spirits lift.
He checked himself before congratulating Tahiri on finding such a useful resource. She hadn’t been happy when she’d returned to the others, and she wasn’t happy now. She stared down into the red muck with an expression suggesting suspicion, even dread.
Luke extended his own Force senses in that direction.
He could immediately feel the life-form in the tank. It was simple, undifferentiated. It was also comparatively healthy, though he thought he felt the slightest tinge of hunger to it.
But there was something beyond the life-form, something below. It was a twinge of dark side energy. No, not a twinge—though not strong, it was constant.
“Did you find a way down from there?” Luke asked.
Tahiri shook her head. “I looked around for about an hour but couldn’t find the access.”
“What access?” Danni asked.
There was no power in this chamber, but a surviving metal ladder gave them an easy descent to the floor level. Up close, the tank was no more impressive; it was a rectangular pond of villainous-looking slime.
“I think,” Luke said, “that this is a devourer tank.”
Mara nodded soberly. “Based on your extensive knowledge of factories and city engineering.”
“
Based
on something Wedge Antilles said to me once.” Luke gave his wife an expression of simulated sternness. “There was a time, a few years ago, when he thought he wanted to give up the life of a fighting officer and turn his skills to building things, fixing things. So he headeda military crew that was deconstructing portions of Coruscant that were falling apart. So new portions of Coruscant could be built there and fall apart later. He described something like this. A huge flat area filled with a living material.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Face said. “You mentioned that the first time I met you.”
“Years ago,” Luke said.
“Yes.”
“But you still can’t tell me when.”
Face shook his head. “Official secrets. If you were to remember what I looked like, who I was then, I still couldn’t admit it to you.”
Luke sighed.
“What’s it for?” asked Danni. “The tank.”
“It’s one type of garbage disposal.” Luke held a hand just above the red surface. In the light from Mara’s glow rod, he saw the fluid swell, just slightly, toward his hand. “Anything organic that gets thrown in here is consumed. Every so often, they pump out the goo and scrape out the material
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