So Yan’wal had come to lead the search. And his first task was to debrief Giodol, who was now seated to the Overlord’s right, while all the other Jurieans seated around the massive conference table were staring at him.

There were twenty-two Juireans seated at the table, more of his own race together in one location than he’d seen in over ten standard years. Being so small and inconsequential to the affairs of The Expansion, The Fringe had never had more than ten Juireans in the entire Sector. Until now.

As they stared, Giodol began to experience that strange feeling again, and he actually began to sweat…

“We have all spent a very long time getting to this point,” Lord Yan’wal began. Instantly, all eyed locked on him. “I will now summarize our tactical plans for the benefit of Lord Giodol and his staff.”

A screen on the wall behind Yan’wal came to life, displaying a graphic representation of The Fringe. Highlighted was the planet Nimor, near the center of the spread of twelve named planets forming a crude crescent and bordering the vast emptiness of The Void. There was a short red line running to the left of Nimor on the inner edge of The Void, then a dotted straight line running from the solid red line until it intersected with the planet Dimloe.

“If we assume that the Klin ship continued on a straight-line course from the point of the attack,” Yan’wal continued, “we would place Dimloe as its final destination. We cannot be sure, since the ship may have taken evasive action once confronted by the pirates.

“So our strategy will be multi-fold. Fleet Commander Siegor will take a contingent to Dimloe and look for any trace of the Klin there. Meanwhile, Senior Guard Commander Lod’fin will take a force into the Far Arm and begin a systematic survey of the worlds there, ranging out to ten light years from The Barrier.