“The observable universe alone contains several trillion galaxies,” Nadine jumped in helpfully.
Ella blinked. “Right. What she said.”
Nadine slipped into full lecture mode now. “Statistically speaking, multiple advanced civilizations evolving simultaneously is not improbable. What is improbable is prolonged complete isolation.” She gestured vaguely between Naeris and the rest of us. “Interstellar expansion patterns should eventually overlap. Trade routes emerge. Signal leakage occurs. Even hostile species tend to leave detectable astrophysical signatures.”
Naeris stared at her.
Nadine kept going. “The probability of two technologically advanced civilizations developing in relative proximity to the same planetary system without prior contact is astronomically low. Especially when both apparently interacted with Earth independently.” She frowned thoughtfully. “Earth appears to function as a kind of anomalous convergence point.”
Silence.
Then Ashley muttered, “I understood maybe four words of that.”
Nadine looked genuinely surprised. “Really? I simplified considerably.”
Dravok rubbed a hand down his face.
“She did,” he confirmed grimly.
Naeris’ gaze sharpened. “Wait. What about Earth?”
Ashley answered this time. “The Pandraxians didn't know about Earth,” she admitted. “Not until recently.”
“What happened?” Naeris asked carefully.
Ashley exchanged a quick glance with Xandros before continuing. “Earth was attacked.”
The chamber temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Naeris looked intrigued, but if possible, even warier than before. “Again? By who?”
“The Cryons,” Ashley said grimly.
Confusion flickered briefly across Naeris’ features, and Ashley deduced, “You haven’t heard of them either?”
Ella laughed humorlessly. “Wish I hadn’t either.”
Xandros stepped forward, and I willed him to step back. This was between the females. The less we got involved, the better. He threw a glare at me, sensing I had just given him a mental command, but he stepped back.
“The Cryons harvest worlds,” Ashley explained. “They are traders of… commodities.”
"It's a long story," Ella interrupted. "In essence, Earth was attacked, the Pandraxians saved the humans, and they found their soulmates with them. Then the Arkhevari showed up and?—"
"It's been a clusterfuck ever since," Ashley added dryly, earning her a suppressed laugh from Zapharos.
Naeris’ gaze shifted toward Zapharos, the Praetor of War, standing outwardly silent and immovable between Dravok and Xandros.
I watched the exact moment another piece shifted inside her mind. The moment she realized we weren’t merely strange aliens dragging her across space. There was something that had pulled all of us here.
"They're Sythari," Naeris offered. "Alsotraders. At least that's how it started."
Xandros straightened away from the wall, folding his massive arms over his chest. “You hate them.”
It wasn't a question.
Naeris looked directly at him. For the first time since entering the chamber, real emotion surfaced openly across her face. Not fear. Not confusion. Hatred. Pure and ancient. “Yes.”
The room stilled. Even Ashley seemed caught off guard by the intensity behind that single syllable.
“What are they?” Ella asked carefully.
