But Ram had to reluctantly acknowledge that it did cover the basics. The room’s only source of light was the camping lantern in the middle of the bedrolls. The duracrete surfaces - floor and walls - were covered in white chalk writing and diagrams. A pair of crates in the corner held provisions. Three small bedrolls were laid out haphazardly on the floor, a datapad lying on each one. It was a converted service area, a place where zookeepers would prepare food and use the overhead trapdoor to clean up after the creatures. “Behold, our hideout!” Gavi announced proudly, sweeping his arm out toward the room beneath the acklay habitat. Ram shook his head and followed Gavi through the hidden gap in the exhibit’s main rock formation. “They took over all the exhibits on the north side of the zoo, and they’re not very friendly.” The creature flipped over on its back, wiggling in the dirt. ![]() She tickled one of the acklays under the chin. “I would stay away from the hragscythe nest, too,” Tep Tep advised. That’s why our hideout’s here no Nihil ever make it past the acklay pack. Last week, they ate a couple of Nihil who wandered too far into their territory. They’re not going to hurt you while she’s around.” Now they prowl around the area and protect us from the Nihil. She was able to calm them down and soothe their pain. When we first set up in the zoo, Tep Tep used her Force gifts to tend to the injured animals here. “That’s Tep Tep’s thing-animals love her as much as she loves them. He shrugged, bright orange eyes glinting in the dark. “That one’s Dewflower, that’s Posypetal, this is Moonbloom, and the biggest is Puffball. They shoved their massive heads into Tep Tep’s palm, snarling and fighting to get the best position. It would be cruel to keep only one.” She held out her hand, and four more acklays appeared out of the night, their bladed legs stabbing down with each step. ![]() Sure enough, he heard more clack-clacking all around him. The acklay bared its teeth at Ram, its three predatory eyes tracking his every movement. It bumped its face happily against her hand, basking in the attention. Tep Tep petted it affectionately on its green-scaled snout. The acklay made a horrible hissing, clacking noise, baring its needlelike teeth. ![]() “Blueblossom!” she cried, hugging the giant six-legged reptilian creature behind Ram. Hot fetid breath washed over him.Īnd then Tep Tep raced past him, arms extended. The unmistakable clack-clack of pointed deadly legs grew louder. “You’re sure the acklay isn’t coming back?” he asked.Ī low rattle above him made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. How could he not smile at the enthusiasm of these young Jedi? He followed them through a gap in a high fence and into an abandoned exhibit, watching nervously for the creature that was supposed to be living there. Ram shook off the never-ending sense of sorrow as best he could. “Come on,” Tep Tep squeaked, excited to show off where they’d been living. Ram had sought refuge in there during the attack on the Republic Fair, alongside Lula Talisola, who was gone, too, for all Ram knew - lost amid the shattered, sunken debris of Starlight Beacon. Creatures roamed the zoo, no longer confined to their overgrown habitats. Greenery sprawled over the wreckage, thick woody vines heavy with leaves and blossoms, different species twining together and creating new ones. It had been partially destroyed two years earlier in the first Nihil attack, and now it was all rubble, twisted metal gates and fences, and ripped-up brick paths. In 's exclusive excerpt from the book, which arrives January 30, return to Valo for a surprising encounter with a fearsome acklay. Now, amid the rubble, hope emerges in the form of three feral Jedi younglings.Īs Phase III of Star Wars: The High Republic continues with the upcoming middle grade novel, Escape from Valo by Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong, fans will reunite with Ram Jomaram from Phase I of the multimedia initiative, still fighting the good fight. The last time we saw the Lonisa City Zoo, the Valo attraction was under attack by the Nihil.
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