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It took traveling at warp nine to reach the rendezvous point at the edge of the Neutral Zone, but they managed. Idran had been given a precise set of coordinates at which to position the Para'tar, and they moved slowly to take up their ordered position.

Jekri was now dressed as a low-ranking bridge officer. While her name was known, and her former tide feared, because of the nature of her position her face was not immediately recognizable. She had wanted to be on the bridge and though there was a risk of someone speaking with Idran identifying her, it was a slight one. She managed to keep her shock from showing, but she was flooded with disbelief and not a little apprehension as the Para'tar moved toward its position.

She had never seen so many ships in one place in her entire life. They stretched for thousands of kilometers along the Neutral Zone. The Para'tar threaded its way delicately, slowly moving past ship after ship after ship in a languid dance that might have been beautiful had not its significance been so deadly. Finally, they were in position.

Jekri tapped up a map on the screen. There was their target-the Talvath, positioned several hundred kilometers away. It was dwarfed by the mighty warbirds that surrounded it, yet it was perhaps the beating heart of the entire invasion plan. It was the only vessel that had been equipped with Shepherd technology to augment Telek R'Mor's own; the only way that the wormholes could be opened. Without that tiny ship, the invasion would be crippled.

She swallowed hard. They would succeed. They had to. She did not know precisely what hinged on their victory, but she knew it was awesome in its magnitude.

Kelleh Taklarin had replaced the traitorous Sharibor, and while he was not as adept as his predecessor, he was good, and he was loyal. Presently, Jekri knew, he was hard at work intercepting messages, breaking codes, and creating new, false messages of his own.

The first one flashed across the screen. It was allegedly from the third-highest commander of the invasion. "Para'tar and Khalvur exchange positions." To divert attention, Kelleh had several other ships exchange positions as well. Slowly, the mighty warbird moved into position. This single move closed the distance between the Para'tar and the Talvath by nearly three-quarters.

They waited. Jekri thought the seconds crawled by like hours. Another message came from Kelleh, this one ostensibly from the Praetor to all vessels: "Prior to the implementation of the invasion, Subcommander Verrak will assume position as commander of the Talvath. Nonessential personnel aboard the vessel shall prepare to be transported to the Para'tar until such time as Subcommander Verrak deems it safe for them to return. The Talvath is a science vessel, not a warship."

Even as she marveled at its brilliance, she caught her breath at its daring. With one order, the Para'tar would pull into position beside the Talvath, Verrak would secure it, and they would capture all personnel-for Jekri did not think for one moment that, granted the opportunity, Idran would not beam everyone over and put them into the brig. The Talvath was a small ship, meant to be crewed by only one person. Under her command, there had been six crammed into the tiny space: herself, Verrak, and four lesser officers. And Lhiau, but he did not require quarters.

She wondered if Lhiau was aboard. There was no way to tell. Any scan to see if he was present would seem to confirm it, as the Talvath was crammed to the gills with Shepherd technology. She desperately hoped he was not. Things were difficult enough as it was.

She cursed how slowly they had to move in order to not give the appearance of haste. Any moment now, someone would realize that these messages had been forged. The mighty warbird settled into position alongside the Talvath. Jekri, Verrak, and two of her most trusted men hurried to the transporter.

The young woman at the transporter gave her a brief but sincere