Den Siva studies a holo of Dani, marveling at her strength and vowing to find her. Knife calls him to interrogate an Alliance prisoner. Finding Knife seated near a human male, Den is relieved to see him fully recovered. He tells Knife that two days prior, the Twelfth Squadron sent word they were about to engage "the old enemy" on a dead Alliance world in the Twelfth Sector, then were not heard from again. Knife orders posthumous commendations, then turns his blades to his "new enemy." Meanwhile, attempting to return Bahb, Jahn, Marruc, and Rahuhl to Zeltros, Leia's ship exits hyperspace amidst a battle in the long-dead Trenwyth System between Nagai and another race. Spying bodies of both races among the rubble, they land to effect repairs. Leaving the boys on the ship, she looks for parts but comes face-to-face with a young Nagai, who pulls a gun, then collapses. She brings him to the ship, where he awakens, terrified. She questions him, but neither understands the other. Letting him rest, Leia and Jahn see fat, hairy humanoids resembling sea-pirates herding Nagai slaves. The youth looks for a gun, but collapses again. Later, as she brings him a tray of food, he jumps and chokes her, but the boys beat him down and tie him up. This frenzies him as he recalls being tied and abused by "the old enemy," the Tofs. Unable to calm him, they return to dinner, but when Leia takes pity on him and removes his bonds, he prostrates himself in gratitude. Days pass and he heals, no longer fighting them; in fact, he develops a "crush" on her. She fixes the engine and plans to leave, relieved when Rahuhl reports the Tofs are moving out. They watch from afar, filled with pity, as Tofs kill the remaining Nagai. Jahn passes time by telling the youth he and the boys fled Zeltros when a governor caught them drunk with his five daughters, four Hiromi, a Stenax, two Lahsbees, and six Hoojibs. He doesn't understand but is amused by the tale. When it's time to leave, they give him food and supplies to last until he can fix his own ship. Before they go, he reveals his name: "Tai." Touched, Leia tells him hers, then departs with the boys, who have grown attached to him. He later returns to Knife's ship and reports in, but to Den's disbelief, when Tai tells how he survived, Knife is furious at his weakness and executes him where he stands.

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