The next evening, a large Saelis ship had drifted toward Mayvel and Wix, hovering almost within firing range of the two planets. Wide-scale panic had thrown everyone into chaos. Hybrid murders escalated. Mind-I malfunctions increased. This was it - the end of the Black War, and we might only have a few hours to stop the likely outcome. Maybe less.

Underneath the shocked murmurs from those sitting around the dining room gurney, Parker's ship's engines purred. Finally, we were ...