He wanted to go back to Earth, too, by now, he even missed the academic grind. He had spent years working on a biography of his parents, the famous xeno-archaeologists Louis and Margaret Colicos, before accepting this 'temporary' assignment to Ildira, the only human scholar ever allowed full access to the billion-line epic. That alone would have established his career, but again and again the Ildirans had distracted him.

He and Vao'sh followed Yazra'h into the audience chamber. She tilted her face up toward Mage-Imperator Jora'h, who sat in his chrysalis chair atop a dais. The green priest Nira was next to him, as she often was, - the two of them shared a strange, strong, and definitely non-Ildiran love. Anton thought it quite a romantic story.

In full military regalia, Adar Zan'nh stood at the bottom step of the dais. 'Liege, the extent of our Empire is drawn in the Hall of Rememberers, recorded on the great crystal sheets. Before the hydrogues reappeared, we had not lost a world in recorded memory. But as the attacks began, Mage-Imperator Cyroc'h consolidated our defences, pulled our smaller colonies together, and abandoned some Ildiran planets.'

'Yes, I remember what that did to our psyche.' The Mage-Imperator looked troubled.

Adar Kori'nh told me of the evacuation of Crenna during the blindness plague, and of our withdrawal from Heald and Comptor. I was there myself when the hydrogues and Klikiss robots devastated Hrel-Oro.' He shook his head. 'And Designate Rusa'h's rebellion nearly cost us the worlds in the Horizon Cluster. Much work remains before we can bring them back.'

Yazra'h joined in, her voice more urgent than her half-brother's. 'Think of how our great Empire has been diminished in a single generation. Can we allow this? We are Ildirans.'

The Mage-Imperator agreed. 'Each time we lose a planet, for any reason, we are weakened.'

Yazra'h's lips quirked in a feral grin that showed a bloodthirsty eagerness. She glanced back at Anton and Vao'sh. Another world was heinously attacked as well, its population slaughtered: Maratha. That is where we should start.'

A shudder went down Anton's back at the mere mention of the place. Escaping from Maratha had been the most terrifying incident in his life.

Adar Zan'nh nodded. 'The Klikiss robots broke their ancient promises to us. They eradicated the Ildirans who stayed at Maratha Prime. Anton Colicos and Rememberer Vao'sh are the only two who survived to describe what had happened. The black robots are building some sort of major base there. Allowing them to continue can only harm our Empire further. We should return to Maratha in force and recapture it.'

Rememberer Vao'sh's skin turned grey at the memory of what had happened there, and Anton couldn't find anything reassuring to say to him.

'We have enough warliners and firepower to conquer Maratha,' Yazra'h pointed out. 'And we should move immediately before the robots get more deeply entrenched.'

Jora'h sat up straight, obviously interested. 'Is this possible?'