The Unseen Queen Read Online Free PDF Page A

causing.”
    Raynar’s eyes snapped back toward Leia. “What trouble?”
    “Don’t play dumb with us,” Han said, unable to restrain his anger any longer. “Those pirates you’re harboring are raiding Alliance ships, and that black membrosia you’re running is eating the souls of whole species of Alliance insect-citizens.”
    Raynar lowered his fused brow. “The Colony kills pirates, not harbors them,” he said. “And you must be aware, Captain Solo, that membrosia is gold, not black. You certainly drank enough on Jwlio to be certain of that.”
    “The Dark Nest’s membrosia was dark,” Luke pointed out. “And Alliance Intelligence has captured dozens of pirates who confirm that their vessels are operating out of the Utegetu Nebula.”
    An ominous rumble rose from the thoraxes of the Unu, and Raynar turned on Luke with blue eyes burning. “Pirates lie, Master Skywalker. And you destroyed the Dark Nest on Kr.”
    “Then why did you say
is
?” Saba demanded. “If it’z still hunting Mara, then it hasn’t been destroyed.”
    “Forgive our exaggeration.” Raynar returned his attention to Luke. “You destroyed
most
of the nest on Kr. What remains couldn’t supply a starliner with black membrosia—and certainly not whole worlds.”
    “Then where is it all coming from?” Leia asked.
    “You tell us,” Raynar replied. “The Galactic Alliance is filled with biochemists clever enough to synthesize black membrosia. We suggest you start with
them
.”
    “Synthetic membrosia?” Han echoed.
    He was beginning to feel as if they had had this conversation before. The Colony’s concept of truth was fluid, to say the least, and its peculiar leader was incredibly stubborn. Last year, Raynar had literally had to be hit in the face by a Gorog corpse before he would believe that the Dark Nest even existed. It had been just as hard to convince him that the mysterious nest had been founded by the same Dark Jedi who had abducted him from
Baanu Raas
during the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. Now Han had the sinking feeling it would prove even harder to convince Raynar that the Utegetu nests were misbehaving.
    Han turned to Luke. “Now
that’s
something we hadn’t thought of—synthetic membrosia. We’ll have to check it out.”
    “Uh, sure.” Luke’s nod could have been a little more convincing. “As soon as we get back.”
    “Good.” Han turned back to Raynar. “And since you’re so sure that the Utegetu nests
aren’t
doing anything wrong, you shouldn’t have a problem sharing a log of your legitimate traffic with the Galactic Alliance. It would really help them out with the pirate problem.”
    Raynar’s eyes grew bright and hot. “We are telling the truth, Captain Solo—the
real
truth.”
    “The
Jedi
understand that,” Mara said. “But the Galactic Alliance needs to be convinced.”
    “And Chief Omas is willing to make it worth your while,” Leia added. “Once he’s convinced that the Utegetu nests aren’t supporting these activities, he’ll be willing to offer the Colony a trade agreement. It would mean larger markets for your exports, and lower costs for your imports.”
    “It would mean regulations and restrictions,” Raynar said. “And the Colony would be responsible for enforcing them.”
    “Only the ones you agreed to in the first place,” Leia said. “It would go a long way toward bringing the Colony—”
    “The Colony is not interested in Alliance regulations.” Raynar signaled an end to the subject by stepping closer to Luke and Mara and presenting his back to Han and Leia. “We invited the Masters Skywalker here to discuss what Unu has learned about the Dark Nest’s vendetta.”
    Leia refused to take the hint. “Strange, how you can remember the vendetta,” she said to Raynar’s back, “and still not know what’s really happening here inside the nebula.”
    Raynar spoke over his shoulder. “What are you saying?”
    “You know what she’s saying,” Han said. “The Dark