The vast spaceship cut through vacuum with an ominous grace that reminded Prince Barrak of the sharks that prowled Terra's oceans. It looked predatory and dangerous.

And hungry.

Based on everything he'd heard, the Zytellians were sharks, avaricious hunters bent on taking over this sector of the galaxy. It was his duty to make certain they didn't take over his empire as well.

He looked at his first officer and saw the man's nervousness, clearly evident in the tense line of his shoulders. "Don't worry, Ama," he said, although the truth was he was quite nervous himself. "They agreed to these talks. They're interested in negotiating."

"The Zytellians don't negotiate," Ama said. "Everyone knows that. So why did they agree to negotiate with us?"

"They're afraid of our navy," Barrak replied, hoping he'd instilled the right amount of confidence into his answer. Although looking at the size of the ship gliding toward them, he found his own words a little hard to believe. He loved his small, sleek cruiser, the Heron, but the unfortunate truth was that the entire Royal Navy could be contained in the giant vessel approaching them. And could his people, long accustomed to peace, possibly hope to defeat the predatory Zytellians in battle?

Somehow he doubted it.

Which made the outcome of these talks even more important. He needed to convince their Leader that they would make a better ally than a conquered people. And he had to convince them of that before the Zytellians moved into the Terran sector.

Ama's fingers flew over his keyboard. "There's the ship's designation," he said, enlarging part of the view, so that a series of black symbols appeared.

Barrak frowned at the viewscreen. He had learned to speak Zytellian for this mission, but the written language still eluded him. "What is the name of the vessel?"

Ama looked back over his shoulder. Fear flashed in his dark eyes. "The Dominant."

According to Barrak's briefing, that was the name of the flagship, and it was a singularly appropriate name. Barrak mentally reviewed what he knew of the Zytellian Leader, Tiryl, as the vast silver ship glided toward them. He had read a great deal about her, although no picture had been available, and based on what he'd read, he had formed an unattractive mental image of her. He envisioned her as an ugly, excessively thin woman with a perpetual sneer. Although still a young woman, she was said to be cruel and heartless to conquered peoples, forcing them to accede to the same harsh matriarchal system the Zytellians had used for centuries.

On Zytellia, men were nothing but sex toys.

That would make his job that much more difficult, he admitted to himself. It was hard enough to negotiate with a war-hardened leader. To negotiate with a leader who thought of him as inferior would be nearly impossible. But for the sake of his people he must find a way, or the world his parents ruled wisely and well would crumble before the onrushing Zytellian fleet.

He stood up, smoothing his clothing self-consciously, and approached the viewscreen. Due to the importance of this first contact, he'd worn his most formal ceremonial robes, dark green and ornately embroidered with herons--the tall, stately bird that was the ancient symbol of his family. His long black hair fell loose around his shoulders, as the custom of his people dictated, and a simple silver circlet around his forehead showed his rank.

"Open communications," he said, hoping the nervousness he felt didn't show in his voice.

Ama's hands flew over his keys, but the image on the front screen remained unchanged.

"Is there a problem?" Barrak inquired.

"I don't know," Ama answered, his eyebrows drawing together. "They don't seem to be answering our hails..." He broke off, then yelped, "Sir, there is an energy build-up in the Zytellian vessel!"

Barrak jerked to attention. "A weapon?"

"None that I am familiar with, sir. It--" His words halted as a yellowish light lanced out from the great ship.

Barrak saw his first officer fall from his chair, hitting the deck plating hard, and around him other members of the crew collapsed to the floor.

And then everything went black.