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Jekri, Verrak, and the two officers materialized inside the Talvath. She stifled an instinct to contact Idran. Their communications would be monitored. She had to leave that to Verrak, whose confirmation of a safe transport would not arouse suspicion.

"Subcommander Verrak to Para'tar," said Verrak, slipping into a chair at the console. His voice was utterly calm, almost bored-sounding. "I have assumed command of the Talvath"

"Nonessential personnel have arrived safely," responded Idran, sounding as neutral as Verrak. / hope they enjoy their stay in the brig, Jekri thought.

Verrak thumbed the channel closed and turned to her. "Six minutes before the order to attack is scheduled to be given," he said.

"Do you remember how to do this?" she asked with a half-smile.

"I burned it into my brain," Verrak replied. Together, they set the coordinates. There would be no more conversation with Idran. There was no need. The commander would know what to do when the time came.

"Coordinates set," said Verrak, and his voice trembled ever so slightly.

Jekri took a deep breath. They would have to move fast from here on in. With a deft touch, Jekri activated the Shepherd device.

"Commander Stahl to the Talvath. Why have you activated the wormhole technology? Stand down and prepare to be boarded."

"He's fast," muttered Verrak. "Hurry."

Jekri needed no urging. She tapped in the controls and at once a purplish cloud swirled in front of them. The wormhole yawned open.

"Let's go!" cried Jekri, and the Talvath surged forward at full speed. Behind them, so close as to almost touch, was the Para'tar.

And behind them, swooping through just as the wormhole closed behind them, were three other warbirds.

INTERLUDE

THE PLANET'S SURFACE WAS HARSH, UGLY, AND FILLED THE Entity with a sudden, unpleasant shock of remembrance. It had been here, and the experience had been a difficult one. But what? What was that experience?

It floated swiftly along the planet's surface, seeking out the dark matter that called to it. In the earth, in crops that had been ominously left untended, in some of the tough creatures that managed to find food, creatures that seemed almost as bad as the mutated dark matter itself.

The carnivorous kai plants. The "sand that eats," which were more than simple quicksand, but actual living creatures. The Xians, whose complex brains were geared toward harsh survival and who reveled in brutality.

Had the Entity possessed a corporeal body, it would have shuddered.

Yet nothing was completely evil, not even here. There were more benevolent beings as well, though they were being affected by the dark matter and were sometimes behaving in as cruel a fashion as the Xians.

It was pulled to the pain of one such species, the kakkiks, small, gentle, and oh so intelligent. The dark matter had not corrupted them, not these tittle beings, but it was kilting them. As the Entity floated along the surface, it grieved at the number of small, winged bodies that were rotting on the earth.

They sensed the Entity at once. Of course they would. They flocked to it like a moth to fire, seeking its benevolent aid. They knew it would help. Their large, soft, dark eyes held a world full of torment, and they beat their wings frantically, hovering, sending messages that the Entity could understand all too clearly: Something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong, and we do not know how to stop it Help us. Save as. Save this place.

It sent back thoughts as full of love as it could manage as it gathered up the dark matter from their beleaguered bodies. Their tittle hearts calmed, and they fluttered away, singing joyfully as their bodies were purged of the evil that had been destroying their entire species.

On to the other beings. It knew their names, too; had known them ere now. They were wise and good, though their fearsome, ursine bodies belied such statements and their minds had been ravaged