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Picard shrugged. The names sounded familiar to him, but he couldn’t place them right away. Then it came to him.

“Two powerful, unaligned species in the Kellasian sector,” he said. “As I recall, they have been engaged in bitter territorial disputes over the last several years. Their governments have been trying to work toward a peaceful resolution, though there are some radical factions on both sides who don’t share that goal.” Something else occurred to the captain. “Unless I’m mistaken, Admiral, those factions have been responsible for some rather vicious incidents of terrorism.”

Amerman nodded grimly. “That’s essentially correct. Now jack up the viciousness of the attacks by a factor of ten and thin out the patience of both governments, and you’ve got an accurate picture of how badly things have fallen apart there.”

Picard ceased fiddling with his suit. “When did all this happen?” he asked the admiral.

“Over the last couple of weeks.” Ammerman rubbed his eyes. He looked tired. “It’s bad, Jean-Luc.”

“What about the Benniari?” the captain asked, referring to a neutral species in the sector. “It was my understanding that one of their number was acting as a mediator… that he had gotten the Melacron and the Cordracites to sit down together at an intrasector congress.”

“That’s right,” said Ammerman. “His name is Cabrid Culunnh, first minister of the Benniari.”

“Can’t he make any headway?” Picard wondered.

The admiral sighed. “It’s Culunnh himself who has contacted us, requesting Federation assistance. He tells us that the Benniari are starting to fear for their lives.”

Picard was disturbed by this, but kept his expression neutral. Had the Benniari been official members of the Federation, Cabrid Culunnh would have become a highly respected ambassador by now. Word had it that he had single-handedly prevented war in the sector by proposing and overseeing the Kellasian Congress. For him and his government to ask for official Federation aid made it clear to Picard just how dire the situation was.

“Interestingly,” said Ammerman, “it’s Culunnh’s opinion that this fresh wave of terrorist incidents isn’t the work of the Cordracite and Melacronai groups who’ve been responsible for the violence until now.”

That surprised Picard. “Who then?”

Ammerman shook his head. “He’s not certain, but he feels pretty strongly about it. I don’t know if it’s wishful thinking or what. If some third party is involved, flushing them into the open might help put negotiations back on track. But as it stands, the situation is pretty dicey.”

Picard nodded to himself. The Benniari were a peaceful, intelligent people, but their planet was not a wealthy one. They didn’t have the resources to search for an elusive third-party terrorist group-if it was even true that one existed.

“Unfortunately,” the admiral told him, “your ancient civilization will have to wait a while, Jean-Luc. We want you to take the Stargazer to the Kellasian sector immediately.”

The captain had already resigned himself. “I understand,” he answered.

“Assess the situation and cool things down if you can,” said Ammerman. “If you can’t… well, the Benniari are our allies. You’re authorized to do everything necessary to keep them safe.”

“Acknowledged,” Picard responded.

“And while you’re there,” Ammerman added, “see if you can find anything out about this third party. Identifying and exposing it could be the key to peace in the sector.”

And, perhaps, thought the captain, the key to opening the door to Federation membership as well. But he kept that observation to himself.

“I’ll have my navigator set a course for the Kellasian sector,” he assured his old friend.

A somber smile played about Ammerman’s lips. “Not quite yet. You need to come to Deep Space Three first. You’re scheduled for a passenger pickup-someone who has firsthand knowledge of the sector.”

“Cabrid Culunnh?” Picard guessed. At the same time, he wondered what the Benniari would be doing on a Starbase.

Ammerman shook his head. “No, Jean-Luc. An ensign, currently serving on the Wyoming. Seems he’s the