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came to this system seeking a rumor of a refugee ship that had come to this area.  We found this moon, and then an inhabited world.  The humans there call it Faraday.”
    Lucius had to interrupt, “There’s an inhabited world here?”
    “Yes... unfortunately.”  The Ghornath’s coloring switched to a brilliant crimson, “They told us the ship was damaged, but that they’d sent it away anyway, after allowing them to make some repairs.”  His skin practically glowed with anger, “They fired on us when we insisted they give us more information.”
    Lucius waited, watching the Ghornath’s skin darken back to a neutral brown.
    “It was… unexpected.  They didn’t have much of a defense force.  They claimed to be an Imperial world, but they did not show any of the known ship classes, just older warships, crudely made and armed.  Even so, they caused much damage to my ship.  We did not have weapons armed or defense screens raised.  My crew was not even in suits.”  The Ghornath’s skin turned a deep blue of sorrow.  “It was an act of treachery.  One that many of my crew believed deserved retribution.  I believed differently, I thought it was more important we discovered the refugee ship before its systems succumbed and more of our people were lost.”
    “ So they mutinied?” Lucius asked, shock in his voice.
    “ It was merely an excuse for some.” The dark blue skin lingered, as the alien remembered the past.  “We have done some damage to our enemies.  We have even had our victories,” the Ghornath mirrored a human smile, his shark-like triangular teeth glinting in the light, “But for some, the loss of our world struck too deep a blow.  There are a handful of refugee colonies, but their defenses lay in their own pitiful squalor.  They are not worth eradication.  Even the Chxor often ignore our enclaves in their expansion.  We pick at the scraps of other races and we barely survive.”
    “ They wanted to return and destroy the cities from orbit.  Nearly a quarter of the ship mutinied.  They seized the armory and the bridge before I knew what was happening.  I had only seconds, so I ordered our engineers to destroy the reactors.”
    Lucius winced, “You had to know that was a death sentence for all on-board.”
    The alien nodded, “We had already taken orbit over this moon.  I had hoped that many would abandon the ship, and survive below.  The loyal crew did descend.  Some stayed to fight the mutineers.”
    “ And the two groups have turned the Gebneyr into a charnel house.” Lucius shook his head, “I hope many took refuge on the planet below.  We’re finding less than thirty life signs remaining on the ship.”
    The alien hung his head again, “Then my crew are dead and I have failed them.”
    “You have not failed them, Maygar.” Lucius said, his voice firm.  “You helped me once.  I will help you now.  I need your help now,” Lucius stood, hands clasped behind him, “Tell my men how to identify your loyal crew, so we don’t shoot them.  Tell your people not to fight mine.”
    “ And then what?” Maygar stared at Lucius for a moment in silence, his stiff face and brown skin showing no sign of emotion, “Then we will be allies?”
    “ Maybe.  Maybe we’ll fix these two ships and fight out a last battle, finally finish our empires’ collapse.” Lucius sighed, “I hope that we could be friends.”
    Lucius held out his hand.
    “What do you say?”
    ***
     
    Lucius and Maygar rode the lone operational shuttle to the Gebneyr several hours later.  Lucius finally took the time to catch some sleep, though his mind had buzzed with partially formed ideas.
    The hatch cycled open, with a hiss of escaping air.  The rank fumes of stagnant air and the heavy metallic odor of the Ghornath filled the shuttle.
    There were several Ghornath on the far side, not quite armed to the teeth, but close enough to make no difference.  Lucius stepped forward, arms raised in the