"The secret to understanding humanity," Grethar mused, "Is that there is no understanding humanity."

"Humanity?" Vinarl asked, "Why are we talking about humans?" The young G'Dar raised one furry ear and lowered the other, signaling confusion. She tore her gaze from the HoloView to glance at her Sire. Grethar sat on his haunches, relaxed but dignified, as befitted the ruling caste. Beneath his robe of office gleamed the silver of nanomail armor. Vinarl noted that her Sire's eyes never left the HoloView, giving the lie to his air of calm indifference.

"Why not?" Grethar countered. "There are no more decisions to be made. No speeches, no orders to give. Our fate lies in the hands of the Hunter caste, now. We have done all we can. All that is left is to watch, and to speak of other things."

"But why humans?" Vinarl asked again. "They have no part in this conflict." She struggled to emulate her Sire's semblance of calm. "We have no trade or treaty with them. If our Hunters succeed, we will have much to decide very quickly. If they fail..." Vinarl struggled to keep her fur from bristling.

"If they fail then we will become food, and have no need to decide anything." Grethar agreed. "The Nell will consume this world as they have so many others, and move on to the next, until there are no more G'Dar." His tail twitched once, then went still. "On the other hand, if we survive, then someday you will take my place as Pride, and you will need to know about humans."

Vinarl stared at the HoloView, pensive. Every ship the Hunters could muster from every world the G'Dar had left had rallied to this place, but they were vastly outnumbered by the Nell Swarm. Six more ships fell as she watched. "Very well, Sire. Why is there no understanding humans?"

"Because humans are variable," Getha answered. "This is what so many species fail to understand. They argue over whether humans are cruel, or benevolent, or wise, or foolish, but the truth is that humanity is all those things. Because every human is different from every other human."

"Every being is different from every other being." Vinarl pointed out.

"An excellent point." Getharl tilted his head in approval. "But the differences in humans are vastly greater than you see in other species. They have no caste system, and they have made no use of the eugenics commonly used among advanced races."

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"No caste system?" Vinarl's fur bristled at the thought. "How do they know their function in society?"

"They don't." Getharl's ears flicked up and down in amusement. "Each human is left to find or make a place on their own. They call it 'freedom,' and it is a thing they are proud of."

"Proud of not having a place? That just seems so..." Vinarl trailed off as another battlegroup fell on the HoloView.

"Alien?" Getharl suggested, ears flicking. "It's even worse than that. The humans have no single, unified culture, and several competing systems of government. And the cultures and governments they do have are subject to constant change, often at the hands of a single human who isn't even in charge."

Visarl's pupils widened at that. "Chaos!"

"Indeed." Getharl agreed. "But it works for them. It makes them adaptable. This 'freedom' of theirs allows anyone to accomplish anything within reach of their talents at any time. It forces rapid innovation on a scale we've never seen. In less than a century, these creatures went from a barely spacefaring race to one of the great powers in the universe, They've dominated economically, militarily, even socially in some cases. I was listening to human music this morning."

More ships fell. The Hunters were fighting with ferocity and desperate skill, destroying dozens of Nell for every ship lost, but the swarm was too large. Vinarl knew the Hunters would fall. it was only a matter of time. Vinarl promised herself she would die as they did, with her teeth in the throat of her enemy. She tried to keep emotion out of her voice as she stated, "If they're so dangerous, and they can't be understood, only a fool would engage with them. This lesson is pointless."

"Is it?" Grethar's voice was sly. "Are you sure?"

"Very." Vinarl knew her answer was childish, but she couldn't bring herself to muster proper decorum in the face of impending death.

"How about..." Grethar drew the word out, staring at the time display of the HoloView. As it reached 0913 he finished, "Now?"

More ships appeared in the system. Thousands, no, tens of thousands. They tore into the flank of the Nell Swarm, weapons blazing. Vinarl stared in shock as the tide turned. She had never seen ships like these.

"Dangerous and unpredictable," said Grethar. "Only a fool would engage with them. Or someone very desperate."

"You made a pact with the humans!?" Vinarl sputtered. Her careful composure in the face of death shattered in the face of sudden salvation. "How? I thought they rejected us, like every other species we asked for help."

"They did." Grethar smugly tapped Vinarl's nose with his tail. "So I reached out to a different group of humans. I told you they're not as united as other species."

Vinarl stayed silent, trying not to shake with the relief and joy at the destruction of her enemies. Her tail curled in satisfaction as humans ships destroyed the Nell with swift, brutal efficiency.

"Humanity," Grethar mused again, "cannot be understood. But a human can. Or a human government. That is the secret. You don't need to understand the humans as a species. You only need to understand the one in front of you.