They suggested vek ea and yllis, and we even had a large supply of those rare herbs! People from Gowa cleared their fields and brought it here to trade, to Elshar Mashai!

Even after that, Farley was very sick, but he got up to help us herd scared Zheien onto ships. When he’s working, he looks and acts fine.

But, when we went back to Prov Nine to trade again, Council members gathered crowds onto ships. They shoved a bunch of scared Elshars and diplomats on ours! “We are going to D’gharr to fight! Stay with these diplomats. They will teach you to fight!”

Between us, we had gotten some weapons stolen from high-level Thordes diplomats. But, I think even Stepan De would say this was a time to forget ceremony. We gave weapons to anyone willing to learn how to use them.

Farley shocked all of us with how much he knew about them! One of his tutors in diplomatics worked at Esta Faho’s weapons facility. He showed us things about these weapons we didn’t know, and we studied advanced weaponry in Sigan Mas!

Farley had a set of green metal balls shaped like a plant Esteerrians have to eat, like Elshars need that fruit once a week. But these would kill them in a few days. Operatives knew Esteerrian ships landed on D’gharr in droves.

He taught methods that would kill Elshars quickly. I worried about him! Zheien can’t stand to see things like that, and he showed us detailed memories of battles from an Elshar! But he taught us all. Even the older Thordes diplomats of Ka were impressed! But my friend was in training to be a galactic minister before Marenalay. He didn’t get hurt, but Ashapat had to keep him two weeks before we left for Prov Nine. He wasn’t well.

Farley laid out plans to attack Esteerrian ships. Our Team would attack five ships, each of us, alone, ships marked with a certain symbol. Skilled soldiers manned those ships. I wondered how we’d get anywhere near them!

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But he led us off the ship past twenty guarding the Spaceport and they didn’t see us! I wondered who in the Diplomatic Link helped him? I didn’t get special help.

Farley kept contact with our minds. We each carried an armful of those balls, and Esteerrians grabbed ‘em! They gobbled ‘em, then fell over! But not one seemed to see that happen to another one.

The ship I was to go to had a lone Zbbat. Esteerrians apparently travel in groups of 20. Zbbat travel alone. They don’t need help.

He didn’t see me, just stood there. I took aim and threw the ball so it arced over and into where his six arms joined at the top. He startled, then jumped around wildly! Jammed all six tentacles into his top! They don’t have heads, but a mouth up there. His slaves ran and he didn’t even try to stop them!

Farley came to me with his arms bleeding and I carried him. Without our armful of weapons, I felt helpless! Kajarian soldiers shot people who didn’t board ships. But people we armed cut them down as we passed! They died, too. As we saw that happen, we picked up the weapons and armed someone else. We got people to follow us to the ships we captured and a lot of these people knew how to fly them. They boarded and took off. But they left weapons and we armed others again. I was amazed that they kept coming back to us, in that crowd! People fought as far as we could see! Our weapons were unique and not anything like what the few others carried, mostly captured Kajarian plasma weapons like eende’s.

D’gharrans and others who came off ships fought! Every slave freed who could stand fought! But, suddenly, all the Kajarians ran to their ships and left!

I thought Eriganh was about to aim his world destroyers. He sends troops to plunder and take slaves, then they destroy the world for minerals.

But, the red sky, filled with ships, went blue with portals, and they were gone.

People begged us for help, but there wasn’t much we could do. The herbs we had were mostly for Zheien, and Rahn Estar needed all of them. After a while, officials of D’gharr ordered people to begin searches for injured, or rebuilding. The Hub was down while we were there, and diplomats with the officials gave instructions.

Occasionally, someone led a dazed Zheien to us. We took all that we found with us, and some DS Teams. They carried Zheien.

Others led us to our ship and returned weapons to us, all they had left. Some had red blood on them and I felt bad. Tried to run hygiene when we got back to the ship.