Grol shifted, a scowl lengthening his square face. My head of war didn’t trust the humans, even for this peace accord. And why should he? The duplicitous aliens had already proved willing to stoop to the lowest level to get what they wanted. The memory of my ship’s Healing Hall flashed through my mind—every bed and spare cot filled with one of my people. Each fought her final battle against an implacable enemy. They had been proud warriors—I had hated how the human virus rampaging through their bodies made them cry out in distress. The silence afterward had been far worse.
