There was silence and confusion on the Aurora bridge. "Dilgar?" Meridina frowned. "I am not familiar with this species."

Julia was. "They were supposedly wiped out almost thirty years ago," she said. "They were an aggressive, genocidal species that attacked virtually every race in what is today the InterStellar Alliance. They might have conquered them all if the Earth Alliance hadn't joined the war." Seeing Meridina's curious look and figuring what it meant, she preemptively answered the question that was coming. "Last summer, while the Aurora was in the repair yard, I attended a command seminar at Defense Command where an Earthforce officer who served in the war spoke about Earth's mobilization efforts against the Dilgar, and the scope of the battles with them. The Dilgar and the Liberation Navy fielded thousands of ships at some battles. The war had gone down to the knife due to the sheer bloodyminded behavior of the Dilgar. Some of the things the Dilgar did to the other species…" Julia trailed off.

Meridina nodded quietly. "I sense what you mean. And it does not bode well for the colonists if they are truly Dilgar. What happened to them, then, that we have not been fully briefed about such a vicious species?"

Julia's look was somber. "A few years after they were defeated and forcibly repatriated to their home system, the primary shed its outer layers in some bizarre natural disaster and killed the entire population."

"So they are presumed extinct." A thought occurred to Meridina. "Is there a record of any other species using their ships?"

Jarod provided an answer. "No. In fact, the records suggest every single one of their battlecruisers was accounted for in the war. But we've got two of them over Gamma 12 right now."

"Who else is in range?" asked Julia. "Can another ship make it there before we do?"

Meridina turned to her small station and checked fleet operation logs. "Just the Heerman, Captain. She is at Alpha Sextus."

Commander Imra's as solid as they come, Julia thought, feeling her skin chill. Although I would prefer more than another attack ship against a force of that size and power. We'll have to make it work… "Tell the Heerman to make best possible speed."

"I am relaying the signal." After a moment Meridina nodded back. "Commander Imra acknowledges. Her message states that she is already underway. Their ETA is now nineteen minutes."

"And ours?"

"Eighteen," said Locarno.

"Good. We'll need every ship we can get. Set running status to Code Yellow." At that command's implementation, yellow lights activated at points on the bridge to indicate the heightened alert level for the ship;. "We'll go to Red in ten minutes."

Jarod was still looking over the relayed visuals from the Colony. "Lieutenant Delgado, I want you to analyze these images from the colony. They're only eighty percent matches for Dilgar ships and some are showing energy signatures different from those reported in the files we have."

"On it," Caterina replied.

Julia allowed the others to get to work. At this point, her biggest worry was that they'd arrive far too late and find the colony a twisted wreck. The Dilgar reputation for atrocity and genocidal behavior was the stuff of nightmares. The Nazis and SS couldn't hold a candle to some of the things the Dilgar did to the other species in the League. Savage medical experiments, massacres, torture… if a crime existed against thinking beings, the Dilgar committed it.

Everything said they were dead. How are they still around? thought Julia. How could they hide for all these years? One way or another, she would have to find out.

The Aurora dropped out of warp in the Gamma 12 system primed for battle, with raised shields and armed weapons. The moment the ship decelerated her fighter launch tubes lit up. Mongoose starfighters moved into squadron formations to fulfill mission orders in the prospective battle. From the rear of the primary hull the Koenig emerged and backed its way out off its dock. Once the ship was clear it flew "above" the Aurora, raising shields and arming her own weapons.

On the Aurora bridge everyone was secured into their seats. "Put the Dilgar squadron back onscreen," Julia ordered. She leaned forward, watching the starscape around Gamma Twelve.

"Putting them on," Jarod said.

The image flashed to showing the squadron holding position, much as they had been in the last image received from Gamma 12. Julia glanced to Caterina. "What's their status?"

"I'm detecting energy signatures broadly consistent with Abbai-standard grav shields at standby on the three largest ships. No weapons charge." She glanced up. "They haven't even moved toward the colony, Captain. They're holding high orbit. I can confirm the ship types from the records, too. One Mishakur variant, two Sekhmets, two Tikrits, five Ochlavitas. It looks like they've been modified with warp drives." Cat was checking her readings again. "The seven smaller ships… are showing deflector shields with energy signatures consistent to Klingon D-7 model cruisers. And their warp drives also have intermix ratios comparable to Klingon ships."

"That's a hell of a mishmash of technology." Julia thought of how the Batarians also widely adapted technology from other universes whenever they got their hands on it. Wherever these Dilgar were… That thought prompted Julia to ask, "Can you verify their species from the life sign readings?"

"They're not Human. I'm cross-checking with the library records now…" Cat looked back to her and nodded. "I'm reading all the crews as Dilgar, going by the Earth Alliance records."

Julia's curiosity at that point became overwhelming. "Hail them," she said.

Jarod nodded. "It looks like they've implemented Multiverse-standard communications. I'm already getting a return signal."

"Dilgar Commander, this is Captain Julia Andreys of the Alliance Starship Aurora, representing the United Alliance of Systems. Identify yourselves and your intention."

The holo-viewscreen removed the image of the Dilgar ships. Replacing it was an image showing the Dilgar bridge. Two unambiguously female humanoids were in the visible image, one sitting down in the command chair and one standing at her side. They possessed a dun-brown fur that looked like brown skin if Julia blinked too hard, classic sharply raked pointed ears and yellow, broadly-set feline eyes. The woman in the command chair had a sort of dirty blonde hair, and was dwarfed by the second, a tall and massively built woman standing to her side in a grey uniform to contrast the dark blue with ornate decorations of the tiny, sitting woman's. Both had tinges of gray hair, the woman in the command chair more, and they shared a crimson sash across their uniforms which was counter-wrapped about their necks like a scarf as well, despite the different colour of the uniforms.

The woman spoke without preamble, and the translators did not kick in: She spoke fluent English in a neat, clipped accent which Julia started at, for it was almost identical to that of the Aurora's JAG officer Lieutenant Vajpayee, though her voice had an unpleasant rasp, a bit like that of a lifelong smoker. "I am Warmaster Shai'jhur, Head of State of the Honourable Union of Tira and Rohric. I have arrived here with this squadron to ask for your help, intervention, and mediation, in the interests of galactic peace and of the protection of innocent civilian life. On those grounds, I would treat with you and your people, Captain Andreys."

Of all the things she had expected to hear… Julia sank back in her command chair. "Hold position and don't make any sudden moves with your ships. I will confer with my staff and government and reply shortly."

"Of course, Captain Andreys. Thank you for the courtesy. We will hold position."

At a nod from Julia, Jarod ended the communication. "That wasn't what I expected," he admitted.

"I didn't either."

"Funny how they thought the best way to ask for our help was to show up at one of our colonies with a full squadron of warships," Angel noted dryly.

"Maybe they were afraid of being attacked if they only sent one?" Cat asked.

Julia was already looking to Meridina. "I do not sense immediate danger," said Meridina. "But if you are asking me to read their minds, all I can say is that they were very well-disciplined mentally. I would need to be closer, and more direct, to reach their thoughts."

"Right."

"The Heerman just signaled," Jarod said. "They've dropped out of warp under cloak and are ready to begin an attack run."

"Have them hold position," Julia said. "And get me Admiral Maran."

"The Dilgar." Admiral Maran seemed to be considering the very sound of their name when he said it. The Gersallian admiral was at his desk in Defense Command. The skyline of Portland was visible behind his head of gray-streaked dark hair. "I have heard only stories about them. Remarks from representatives of the ISA races, usually in reference to atrocities by the Nazi Reich. Apparently even the Nazis can compare favorably to the Dilgar."

"I've heard the same," Julia said. "And suddenly they still exist."

"Warmaster Shai'jhur mentioned two members of a union, likely worlds," Meridina noted. "Tira and Rohric."

Jarod tapped away at his omnitool control. "We've got nothing on Tira. But apparently Rohric was a colony world of the Dilgar before they were forced to return to their homeworld Omelos. It's remained unsettled since the Liberation forces made the Dilgar abandon it."

"It sounds like they missed a few," Locarno remarked.

"What would you like me to do, Admiral?" Julia asked.

"For now, talk to them. Try to find out why they came out of hiding so blatantly. But be careful with making any commitments. As things stand, we can expect the E5B1 species to be watching our interactions with the Dilgar like hawks. And that is if they give us the benefit of the doubt."

"Yes sir. Anything else?"

"The fighting at Argolis and Alpha Cassiopaiea has drawn in all of our available reserves. I may be able to find a ship or two to send your way, but don't expect significant reinforcement. Be careful. Maran out."

Maran's image disappeared from the screen. Julia looked over the others. "Jarod, Meridina. According to fleet logs, what ships can render us assistance in a pinch?"

"Just a few," Jarod answered. "All light vessels."

"Nothing to help us fight a dreadnought, then."

"Well, if they're here to talk, we won't need it," Cat said.

"Given their reputation, I'm not putting a lot of faith in that," Julia admitted. "So it's nice to know our options."

"Even when they all suck," Barnes muttered.

Julia grinned wryly at him. "Especially when they all suck," she corrected. "Go ahead and re-establish communications with the Warmaster."

Jarod did that deed using the conference lounge's controls. A few moments later Shai'jhur's image appeared over the table courtesy of the holo-emitter in the middle. She faced the image directly. "Warmaster, my government has authorized me to speak to you on your request."

"The reputation of the Alliance is deserved, then," the raspy voice answered. "The rumours of our demise may be greatly exaggerated, as you humans would say, but our enemies are working on 'fixing' the problem. To put it bluntly, Captain Andreys, my people are going to be slaughtered without your assistance."

Julia showed no reaction to that announcement. "I'm listening."

"A force of Brakiri and Hyach ships has seized Tira. The Drazi are sending a fleet to exterminate the population. I request the aid of the Alliance in protecting my people."

"There's no record of the Dilgar ever possessing a world called Tira," Julia said.

"Nor would there be. It was a… desperate gamble, founded by Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan's forlorn hope of sending civilian ships randomly into hyperspace to seek new worlds." Shai'jhur stopped speaking long enough to cough. "Captain, all will be explained. I am not here to deceive. But time is of the essence. Our sources, what little of them have escaped notice by our enemies, have already confirmed the gathering of the Drazi fleet. They are intent on extermination."

"How do you know that?" Angel asked. "What proof do you have? For all we know, they're just out to make sure you're not preparing for another attack. Given the stuff your people did to them, I know I'd be sending the biggest fleet I could find to keep an eye on you."

Julia watched to see what Shai'jhur's reaction to Angel's remarks could be. At first, she was too busy coughing to give a reply. Julia wondered how ill she might be. Or is it an act to play for sympathy?

Once Shai'jhur was able to stop the hacking cough from interrupting, she gave a reply. "I do not deny we have earned distrust, or that your argument is a valid one. But the Drazi are not a kind people either. The Enphili can testify to that fact, for instance."

Julia looked to Jarod. He looked up from his omnitool a few moments later and nodded. "They're a low-tech species along the Drazi frontier," he said. "Before the start of the InterStellar Alliance, the Drazi sponsored raiders that attacked them and other worlds like them to keep them from becoming a potential threat to Drazi expansion. ISA intervention put an end to that."

"They were also complicit in the orbital bombardment of Centauri Prime," Shai'jhur observed with a kind of dry humour infecting her voice. "Against the wishes of President Sheridan and the InterStellar Alliance leadership, naturally. They will not hesitate to attack civilian targets, Captain. Of course I could go on and talk about the virtually enslaved population of Shambah, but really, the point's been made."

Julia didn't need Jarod to confirm that for her. She remembered the story of Centauri Prime all too well. Because of that violent attack, the Centauri withdrew from the InterStellar Alliance completely and had turned themselves into a hermit kingdom. "As you said, the point is made," Julia conceded. "But if I'm going to confront member races of the InterStellar Alliance like this…"

Before she could finish, a tone filled the room. "Bridge here," said Lieutenant Sabiha Neyzi, Jarod's primary backup at Operations. "Captain, the Shenzhou just dropped out of warp. Captain Ming-Chung wishes to speak with you and Warmaster Shai'jhur urgently."

Julia blinked and gave Jarod a look. "What's the Shenzhou doing here? I thought they were on rotation over the Darglan homeworld?"

"That's what they're listed as doing," Jarod said.

Julia knew there was one way to quickly find out what was going on. "Tie them in with our current communication, Lieutenant."

"Aye ma'am."

The holo-screen expanded to show a second image. Captain Li Ming-Chung of the Starship Shenzhou appeared on the screen. She was Julia's age and a veteran of the pre-Alliance days of the Darglan Facility. Her name broke the usual Chinese naming conventions as part of her rebellion from the patriarchal nature of that culture, placing her personal name first like a European name and then the family names of her slain mothers.

To one side was her First Officer. Commander Tuyan Otiros was a blue-skinned, teal-spotted Dorei of the Yenmar Republic. On her left the viewing seat was taken up by a woman of dark brown complexion, a human with a bindi on her forehead that marked her as a practicing Hindu. Her hair was gray with time, her skin healthy and young from being sheltered in starships but her physique frail from accumulated years of zero- and low- gravity.

"Captain Andreys," Captain Ming-Chung greeted her, the urgency tight in her voice. "We tried to arrive before something irrecoverable had happened. The lady to my left is Captain Kaveri Varma, Earthforce Retired. She has important information about the Dilgar situation."

Julia couldn't hide her surprise, nor the sheer bewilderment - and suspicion - of the timing. "Oh? Go ahead, Captain Varma."

"Captain Andreys, the attack on the Dilgar world of Tira consisted of twenty Brakiri and twenty Hyach vessels which were sent after a Dilgar supply-purchasing network was unraveled. I don't understand how or why, but Mister Arthur Gagnor, arrested on Babylon 5 several weeks ago, was actually an agent of the Dilgar government of Tira-who had previously provided assistance to groups working in concert with your Captain Dale and Commander Meridina, I might add."

Julia glanced to Meridina. "I recall the name," she said. "It was through observing him that we located Lyta Alexander."

That matter settled, Julia returned her attention to the screen. This prompted Kaveri to continue. "The Brakiri and Hyach sent high-level communications to the Drazi homeworld and a first wave of more than sixty Sunhawks is enroute and will arrive at Tira in another twelve hours. Captain, there are only twenty million Dilgar on Tira-but that is half the surviving species, and there's no substantive war industry. There are mercenaries, hired by the Brakiri, who have already rigged flood-gates with explosive charges which could flood the entire capital. Some of the information is from Warmaster Shai'jhur, certainly, but I have independent verification on other parts and it is frankly imperative that we act quickly to avert genocide."

Shai'jhur took a breath and looked up briefly to the massive Dilgar woman at her side, before addressing Julia. "Well, Captain Andreys. You have heard Captain Varma. May we meet? Time is of the essence, but I wish to verify to you and your people … That we are a nation in distress. Despite being a flagship variant the One-who-fights-alone is not well suited for a conference, so I don't mind presenting myself aboard either of your fine ships."

Julia considered the request quietly. When she spoke, it was with her eyes on Li. "Captain Ming-Chung, have you been able to verify any of Captain Varma's statements? Do you trust her as a source?"

There was a moment of consideration from Li before she nodded. "Captain Varma approached us in a manner that justifies some of her claims, yes. And on our way here we passed close enough to Drazi space to detect definite signs of fleet mobilization. Her story is… credible, at least."

"Alright." Julia looked to Meridina next. Meridina's only reply was a moment of consideration followed by a quiet nod. "Very well. Warmaster, you may come aboard and meet with myself, Captain Ming-Chung, and Captain Varma."

"We are thankful for your consideration, Captain. One-who-fights-alone out."

Captain Ming-Chung and Captain Varma arrived first on the transporter. Julia and Meridina were waiting with Lieutenant Commander Phryne Richmond, the ship's Chief of Security. The Australian woman had a complexion close to porcelain. Her black hair was cut short around her head and her eyes, a brilliant green in color, were fixed on the transporter pad. "Permission to come aboard, Captain?" Kaveri was certainly traditional.

Julia nodded. "Welcome aboard, Captain." She stepped forward and offered her hand. Varma accepted the handshake cordially.

"We are receiving a telemetry signal from the Dilgar flagship, Captain," said the technical officer manning the station, a young Human woman of East Asian ancestry. "Four life-forms."

"Go ahead, bring them aboard."

There was another series of bright bursts of light accompanied by a light buzz. The form of the Dilgar leader appeared on the transporter station with another of her officers at her side. For a brief moment she seemed genuinely disconcerted. The other Dilgar, a female who seemed much younger and had a remarkable shade of long red hair on her head that contrasted with her dun light fur on the rest of her body like a mane, did not. If anything the younger Dilgar seemed more intrigued than put off by the transporter. Behind them stood two more officers, the towering, heavily built female in grey that had been seen in the viewscreen and a young male in blues who stepped forward.

"Here stands a Warmaster!" The junior officer shouted.

"Warmaster Shai'jhur, welcome to the Aurora," Julia said with a formal tone as she recovered her surprise from the shout.

For a long moment, Shai'jhur's eyes lingered on Kaveri, before they flickered to Julia. "Thank you, Captain. The introduction is-traditional, I confess. My officers are Battle Captain Fei'nur," she gestured to the massively built woman in green, "Combat Master Tra'dur," a nod to the redhead, "and Combat Expert Can'ur. Respectively they are my security and reconnaissance chief, my operations officer, and what you humans would call my Flag Lieutenant."

"My first officer, Commander Meridina, and my chief of security, Lieutenant Commander Phryne Richmond."

"A pleasure to meet you all," she said, shaking hands down the line in the human fashion. "Captain Ming-Chung," she added, and then paused… And gently took Kaveri's hands in her own. "It's been a long time, Kaveri."

"Namaste, Shai'jhur. It has indeed. I hope you have been as well as you could, with all that has happened."

"It has not been an easy time, Kaveri, but dharma laid our path, and more often than not since those terrible dread days, we have walked in hope."

"I am gratified to hear it. Would that we had more time, but… matters press upon us urgently."

All of the Alliance officers were staring at the two by the time the exchange finished, save Meridina, who was not so much staring as quietly observing and sensing the interplay.

Kaveri glanced around, and offered with a wry smile, "I know what you're probably thinking, and the answer is simple enough. If you've ever seen an old, rather intellectual American-Japanese War movie called 'Hell in the Pacific', that's our story-well, except the ending. That was pretty bloody different."

"I am familiar with the existence of such 'movies'," Meridina said, "although I have only viewed a few at the insistence of Lieutenant Barnes."

"His taste in movies doesn't quite go toward that one," Julia observed. She tried to remember if that was one of the old movies her father loved to watch when she was little, and a dim memory of an American and a Japanese soldier castaway on an island came to her. It certainly made as much sense as an explanation as anything else would. "My senior officers are gathering in Conference Room 1. We'll meet them there."

The Aurora Conference Room was no longer made up for the formal gathering that the Gorn-Federation treaty had called for. A number of tables were set up in a half-circle around a central holotank. The Aurora bridge officers were at one table, the Koenig officers at another. Seats for Captain Ming-Chung and Commander Imra of the Heerman were provided beside Julia. This left a third table for the Dilgar to take up. Everyone noted that Varma stood with Shai'jhur as the Dilgar clustered around the replicator.

Cat took a breath and approached them, offering a small smile. "You can order some snack food by voice command, though I'm not sure we have anything compatible with Dilgar digestive systems."

"Most Earth proteins are," Shai'jhur answered.

Her utterly massive grey-uniformed subordinate stared at the hole in the wall suspiciously. "Replicator. Provide meat." She ordered in English.

The replicator beeped. "Insufficient detail," answered the feminine computer voice.

Fei'nur looked half-crestfallen as she looked past Cat toward Shai'jhur. "Warmaster, it doesn't seem to be working."

"Try asking for …" Shai'jhur glanced from Kaveri to Cat, and offered a reassuring little wink to Cat. "...Turkey jerky."

"Replicator, give me turkey jerky," Fei'nur asked. Her look grew only more perturbed as it beeped again.

"Specify flavor."

This time, Fei'nur had a solution: "Default." A bag of turkey jerky strips materialised in the air, and with a child's wide eyes she tore it open and began to eat, her expression growing brighter as she did. "This is utterly incredible. It tastes like meat."

Cat was trying to hide a grin. The Warmaster grinned back, making her own selection and then going to sit down with the rest of her staff, save Fei'nur who remained standing.

Julia had almost giggled at the strange scene between the Dilgar, Cat and the replicator, but it was clear time was of the essence and after she sat, she turned to Jarod and whispered, "Did you get through to Maran?"

"No," he whispered back. "He's gone. According to Admiral Tsu, the Kentan is off to join the fleet at Argolis."

Julia nodded grimly. The Reich's offensive there must have become especially fierce if Admiral Maran was bringing the Kentan into the battle. "So he didn't leave any instructions?"

"Admiral Tsu relayed a message. He's trusting your judgement."

"Ah. It's good to be trusted," she noted, with some sarcasm. All the pressure was on her yet again.

Aside from Meridina nobody paid much attention to their exchange. The rest of the command crew were obviously curious about what was going on with the Dilgar. Meridina gave Julia an urgent look, one matched by Lucy. Both sensed the quiet impatience in the Dilgar. A fierce worry for the fate of their fellows. Understanding that, Julia nodded to the Dilgar table. "Warmaster, if you would please? Give us the specifics."

"But of course," the Warmaster replied. "I am sure there is a great deal that it would be nice to cover, but suffice to say, I will cover the historical particulars for now in the interest of brevity. In the closing year of the war I was a Battlemaster and an escort forces commander with a pentacon of destroyers. At Third Balos I organized the rearguard and fought to the bitter end to allow as many of our ships to flee back to Alaca and Omelos as possible. As a result, Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan, who had recovered from a sustained illness, resumed direct control of the remaining war effort, as Warmaster Jha'dur had disappeared. He promoted me to War Captain and put me in charge of a special squadron of captured ships, testbed prototypes, and other vessels of that sort, as well as new construction. The One-who-fights-alone is an example of the later, a Mishakur incorporating the technology of what you call the Sekhmet-class. We were almost out of fuel and the enemy was constantly raiding Omelos at that point, so my force worked up into an effective combat group back at Rohric."

"I am actually a native Rohrican, not born of Omelos. Before the build-up to the war the world had a population of about two million; we were one of the Forty Families, the original landowners who had homesteaded the planet in the first wave of colonisation. The government sent about another twenty million colonists during the runup to the war, but they were not Rohricans, not culturally. A bit more than a month after Third Balos, the Liberation Navy made its final push on Omelos. I was recalled to support the fleet at Omelos and die in glory. May we be blunt, Captains? It was the Führerbunker at that point! Der Untergang! The Supreme Warmaster promoted me to Warmaster in the recall message, likely enough to drive me to obey the orders-no Warmaster had ever surrendered to the enemy. I disobeyed anyway."

As Shai'jhur was talking, Cat kept glancing to the replicator. Jarod noticed it, and his eyes followed her's, widening fractionally as he watched Fei'nur stuff a bag of jerky into a uniform pocket, push the repeat button on the replicator, stuff another bag into another part of her uniform, and keep going, with some kind of single-minded fanaticism about acquiring as much replicator jerky as possible.

Whatever else, though, Shai'jhur appeared serenely oblivious, and carried on with her story. "Well, we are all a very stubborn lot on Rohric, so we moved the orbital infrastructure of our outer colonies-Innata, Wahant and Rohric-into orbit of a distant Brown Dwarf almost a lightyear from the Rohric primary where they could be hid from casual sensor tracks. I held my fleet there. The Rohricans..." Shai'jhur dissolved into a brutal series of coughs that ended with something that looked much like blood hacked onto the scarf around her neck, her entire tiny body shaking from top to bottom.

"The League never landed troops to force your people back to your homeworld?" asked Julia. She felt a little guilty pressing the woman, but as a negotiator she also wanted to know how serious the illness was. Leo was quietly scanning in the background.

"You've just seen the reason why." Kaveri had a sympathetic look on her face as she stepped in to reply. "The Dilgar, you see, had a very poor selection of colonies when they went into the stars. Two marginally habitable worlds they had to wrest from the Drazi in violent border skirmishes and that were constant sources of conflict with the Freehold, one volcanic hell with a corrosive atmosphere too thin to allow life outside of domes, one world that was so inhospitable that they sent prisoners there to farm or die, and… Rohric. Which looks like a somewhat arid but otherwise acceptable enough world. Until you land. Then you find out that the entire planet is infested by a particular strain of spores, produced by a very resistant species of the local flora. They burrow into the skin and the lungs, producing bleeding sores from a virulent allergic reaction in every known species. Who would want to expose their people to such a thing? They bombarded the visible signs of habitation and then departed. I assume the population took shelter from observation in the caves and wadis of the desert, Shai'jhur?"

Shai'jhur had recovered in the meantime. "Exactly, Kaveri. We learned to live underground while the fleet sheltered at low power, orbiting the Brown Dwarf until the League stopped coming around. Then we built a distant station infrastructure there. There were about three million counting the populations from Innata and Wahant, the new settlers we'd managed to keep, and the fleet. To that, well… Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan's notional plan was to buy time for as many colony ships loaded with sleeper pods as possible to leave Omelos-traveling randomly through hyperspace. They went in two broad directions. I thought the plan was insane and managed to intercept enough of the ships in one direction to save three-quarters of a million."

"During the brief window between the League withdrawal and the destruction of Omelos, we rescued more from the surface. But the real surprise came later on-Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan's second thrust had borne fruit after all. Battle Captain Fei'nur was on a reconnaissance mission and discovered another Dilgar organization operating. They called themselves the Ghosts of Omelos and had found a water world roughly beyond Tal'kona'sha space, and settled a million Dilgar, using cloning to recover their numbers. Unfortunately, there was a dispute over political authority which contributed directly to this incident and was only resolved by it. To put it very simply, I had been pursuing democratic reforms and education to create a legitimately Dilgar society broadly compliant with the norms of sapient rights practiced by the Earth Alliance and now ISA. They hadn't, and they didn't like that I had. But the occupation made them finally sign the union out of desperation."

"That sounds like it could be trouble," Jarod said. "If they're unreconstructed elements, I'm sure they'll want to reconsider once they're out of danger."

"They're not quite that bad. They were all carefully selected to be part of a New Dilgar that were to be a meritocratic society beyond the old honor and old nobility which enabled so much destruction and amorality. They have simply not had opportunities for open dialogue on the past or participatory politics. And, to be frank, I have always been the lawful government of all surviving Dilgar. Warmaster is a military-political title; as the only Warmaster I am the Head of State. Period. And I am committed to sapient rights and democratic reform. Period."

Julia glanced toward Meridina. Meridina nodded once. "I sense her sincerity." A few seats down Lucy did as well.

"Alright," Julia said. "And you want our help. I suppose the question then is if we can talk the Drazi, Brakiri, and Hyach into a compromise solution."

"Given the history, that's going to be a pretty tall order," Locarno said.

"Still, we can't let them perform genocide," Leo added. "Their own Declaration of Principles makes it clear they're supposed to pursue another way."

The mention of the ISA Declaration of Principles prompted Julia to look to Meridina. "Do you think we could get G'Kar to help? They should respect him."

"I am uncertain as to his whereabouts," Meridina admitted. "But I will attempt to contact him and inform him of the situation."

"Either way, if we're going to stop this, we need to get to Tira," Li observed. "But the Drazi have a several hour head start on us, and it's going to take us nearly eighteen hours to get to Tira at our highest warp speed."

"The Drazi will arrive several hours before then," Varma pointed out. "That's enough time for them to wipe out the entire population."

"Mister Scott, do you think the Aurora could make it to Tira in eleven hours?" Julia asked. "At our highest warp velocity?"

"I wudnae recommend it, Cap'n," the old engineer said, shaking his head. He stood out among the Alliance officers for his choice of engineering uniform, a black engineering vest over a white jacket. The beige trim of operations was visible on the vest, as well as the three gold strips of Commander rank. "Ye'd have t' maintain our highest warp speed for th' entire run. Ye're more likely t' burn out th' drives before we get there."

"What if you warp in hyperspace?" Varma asked. "Isn't that possible?"

"It'd be daft, ma'am," Scotty insisted. "Th' warp field cannae form properly in th' energies o' yer hyperspace layer. Even if we managed it, we'd lose track o' th' beacon network in th' first second."

"He's right about that." Jarod was resting his chin on his hand. "But there's another way to cheat. We use interuniversal jumps."

"You mean we set the anchors to pull us closer to Tira's coordinates with each jump?" Cat asked. "Because it could work."

"But ye cannae jump often enough, Mister Jarod, ye know that," Scotty said. "Two jumps, maybe, but after that ye can burn out th' drive if ye dinnae give it time t' cool down."

"We've done two jumps before," Julia noted.

"Aye. An' it puts strain on th' drive each time. An' ye're lookin' at three jumps, minimum, just t' get us close enough t' warp in."

"If it is at all possible, an entire world rests on the attempt," Varma insisted.

Varma's plea caused Scott and Barnes to look at each other and then Jarod. "We'll need ships or other anchors at the right points," Barnes said. "Otherwise, no anchor, there's no telling how far off the jumps will take us."

"I'll calculate the best possible courses," Jarod said. "And on the bright side, we might pick up a few ships on the way."

"So if we do this, we'll get there in time?" Julia asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Jarod shook his head. "I can't tell you for sure that we'll get the spatial aspects we need to make it in time. We could still be two or three hours late."

"It's still our best option," Locarno insisted.

"If we sent a signal ahead, maybe we could warn them to stop?" Cat asked. "Maybe buy us some time?"

"Dilgar and Drazi were in a blood feud long before the Imperium attacked the League, I fear…" Kaveri trailed off for a moment, as her face paled and her voice grew softer; "...but my daughter, Zheng-li, may be in position to buy you a little time. If I may have access to your com array?"

"How?" Julia asked.

"She is the captain of a new Earthforce destroyer on patrol in the coreward League. I sent her a message before I set out for my rendezvous here."

Bringing Earthforce into the affair made Julia wary. It seemed like a complication that could make the politics of the situation even more explosive. But there was no denying that they needed someone to get there before the Drazi. If they could be made to consider holding their fire for just an extra hour…

"Alright," Julia said. "Mister Jarod, please assist Captain Varma in sending her message, and then report to the bridge. We need to get underway immediately."

"One final thing," Shai'jhur remarked as she was getting up. "I think for purposes of coordination between our squadron and your own during what will be a very complex set of maneouvres, I should have an officer aboard the Aurora. Combat Master Tra'dur is one of our best astrophysicists, may she remain?"

Without hesitation Julia nodded. "Yes. Lieutenant Caterina Delgado, our science officer, will coordinate with her."

It said a lot about Caterina's development during her time with the Doctor - a year for her, four minutes for everyone else given the Doctor's time traveling ship - that instead of seeming flustered or worried, she nodded and gave a professional reply of "I'll take her to Science Lab 2. We can use the simulation systems there to plot the best course with the possible spatial aspects of our jumps in mind." Caterina stood and moved toward the door. Tra'dur followed.

"If everything is settled, I should return to my ship to prepare for these jumps," Li said.

"We'll keep in touch through a tactical commline," Julia said. "This meeting is dismissed."

"I will be traveling with the Warmaster," Kaveri said, softly, as she prepared to follow Commander Jarod, "so there will be a second transport to the Magaratha."

"Is that the name of Warmaster Shai'jhur's ship in Dilgar?" he asked as she walked. Kaveri nodded in the affirmative, but the look on her face told him everything about she was thinking about.