"Success breeds success," or so Admiral Tracy Jackson recalled the Earthers saying. His fleet took control of two Elite worlds, Da-fer and Jot-ma, the first of ten Elite worlds. However, Admiral Jackson recognized that his thought about success was merely a saying, and they weren’t always true.

Volunteers from other races descended on the Elite worlds by the hundreds of thousands. Many were drawn to help the hamlet subs by the conclave’s generosity. They left difficult home world circumstances to earn conclave credits with personal services provided free.

The flow of volunteers was courtesy of Admiral Mila Pappas and the Storyteller’s team, especially that of the defenders. Their tasks weren’t easy. The mercenary races with their deadly fleets created dangerous encounters.

The home worlds of the mercenary races depended on the bounty that their military forces provided the citizens. When Admiral Pappas and the first wave ended those supply lines, the home worlds were put in great jeopardy.

As for the other denizen in this area of space, the Messinants, the protectors vigilantly seek them out. The passage to find the Messinants is deliberately obtuse. The paranoid race fears one of their genetic uplifts will come for them.

Unfortunately, as brilliant engineers and scientists as the Messinants are, they failed to take into account the possibility of SADEs. Miranda, Z, and their companions are relentless in pursuit of the Messinant leaders and their home worlds.