"I wasn't really sure what to think of them at first," Mindy said honestly. "Truthfully, I've been hoping all the people suspecting them was wrong: I didn't want to go have to fight another war with another species, not when the Ohm were going to be hard enough to begin with."

She flushed a little, tugging Ruff's braid. "Anything worth having is more trouble than its worth. If it isn't, then it was too easy. Anyone can go and lay siege to lands and oppress people. But that always leads to people fighting against you. I should know: people were running things crooked in my world, and we had to stop them, even though doing that is against the law."