Morgan finished off a bite of steak. "Delicious," he said aloud, mostly to himself, but audible to the the others at the table in the Avalon's dining hall.

The room was spacious and classically designed, with wooden tables, carpetting, and chandeliers—unlike anything he had ever seen in Federation ships. There were four other seated at the table with Morgan: the ship's captain, Mariam, Emily, the Federation ambassador to the Catechumen, and two Avalon officers. "Someone could get used to this ship."

"Well," Captain Mariam Lancaster smiled, "it's a long trip ahead of us... and you're always welcome aboard."

"Thanks for the offer, but once we get moving I should really be on my ship." Morgan chuckled. "I am the Captain, after all."

"It's your call to make."

"Say," Morgan looked around the dining hall, "I can't help but notice this room. Isn't it a bit much. I mean, for a starship?"

Captain Mariam laughed. "I can see why you would say that. But then again, you must be used to military vessels."

"But even for a research vessel."

"Well, the Avalon isn't simply a research vessel."

"What do you mean?"

"We've got a population in excess of three thousand. The Avalon is long term living space for many of these people—only a fraction of whom are trained for starship operations. We have researchers, their families, trainees for academic programs. We have visiting guests, ambassadors from other species, politicians, foreign dignitaries. The Avalon is, more or less, a star-faring university, and an intellectual hub for the Alliance."

Two men walked towards their table from the entrance across the room—a security officer escorting a thirty-something bearded man wearing the Alliance Dragoon uniform. The distinctive military uniform had blue pants with a deep purple suit-top, all of it with gold trim and buttons. The officer motioned to Morgan's table, and the Dragoon stepped forward, removing his black cap.

"Captain Mariam Lancaster?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Dragoon Lieutenant Jovel Luper. I've been temporarily stationed on board the Avalon."

"Pleased to meet you," Mariam stood. "This is lieutenant Joseph, and ambassador Primakov." She motioned to the Alliance officers as she introduced them, and they stood to shake hands with Jovel.

Emily and Morgan rose from their chairs as well. "Captain Morgan Gaisler, Hellbent Federation Excalibur."

"Welcome aboard, Jovel," Mariam said, "please join us."

As the group sat back down, Jovel pulled in a chair from an empty table and joined them.

Emily looked in his direction. "So, Lieutenant, why the need for a Dragoon posted on the Avalon?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself," Mariam added.

"I'm here for security assessment," Jovel said perfunctorily.

"I wasn't informed," Maraim peered at the Dragoon.

"Well, it was meant to be a surprise assessment. Protocol and tactical readiness."

"You're sure it has nothing to do with the Catechumen?"

"Those are my orders," the Dragoon answered simply.

"Alright." Mariam leaned back and smiled. "Well now that the topic is in the air, perhaps we should discuss it?" She looked across the group, and back to Lieutenant Luper. "Jovel, what is your opinion on the Catechumen?"

"My opinion?"

"Yes—are they a potential ally, a threat? They're in another galaxy now, but surely you have an opinion on the matter?"

"It's not my job to have an opinion."

"Your job is one thing, your opinion is another."

"If and when I receive orders about the Catechumen, that will be my opinion."

"Careful with that attitude you might just get promoted," Captain Lancaster joked. Lieutenant Joseph. "In all seriousness, Jovel, as the Captain of the Avalon I am interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. This is an important issue and there are concerns about what should be done—your military perspective is valued, and you can talk freely here."

"As I've said, my perspective is the same as the Dragoons. Until they have an official position, I have no position. It would be inappropriate."

"And you have no personal thoughts about the Catechumen?"

"Why should I? I don't need to think about these things. I'm a Dragoon: I follow my orders, I serve the good people, I fight the bad people. Simple."

"But the world is not that simple... it's not black and white."

"It's close enough. I can let other people sort out the nuance. My orders come from smarter and better men than me, so there really is no point in coming to my own conclusions, is there?"

Mariam turned to Morgan. "What do you think?"

Morgan continued chewing on his steak. "If I knew what to think we wouldn't be on this mission. My orders are to make contact and assess the threat."

"What's to assess?" Emily put her fork down to her plate. "Unprovoked attacks on defenseless colonies."

"But we don't know that they were unprovoked," Mariam interjected. "The attacks could have been preceded by disputes."

"What sort of dispute warrants the destruction of an entire colony?" 

"Who knows?" Emily calmly replied. "But it's in our interest to find out before we come to any conclusions. If the conflict was nothing more than a territorial dispute, then the Federation has nothing to fear. We need to understand the motivations of the Catechumen before we act."

"But you already have something to fear, and you already know their motivation."

"And what is that?"

"Their religion," Primakov answered confidently.

"I fail to see how their religion is relevant."

"Well," Primakov began, "surely you recognize that military conflicts almost always occur near borders?"

"I suppose that's right. And what's your point?"

"Sometimes the borders are between states. Sometimes they're between cultures. But historically, the most volatile borders have been the ones where religions clash."

"I don't believe that's correct. All wars have economic explanations. States go to war because of the economic circumstances, not because of their culture, or their beliefs. Nearly every war in human history was fought for one of only a small handful of reasons: food, water, territory, energy—lack of resources, generally."

"You're talking about the proximal causes of conflicts. Yes, it's true that most wars happen to be preceded by disputes over limited resources, but it is because of ideological divisions that the situation devolves into a war between two parties, instead of being approached as a problem that can be solved together."

"But there are always going to be divisions between groups. Forget religion. There's culture, species, geographic location. Even if all these differences disappeared, people would still find a way to divide themselves... religion isn't the problem."

"I agree with you that all wars have economic explanations," Primakov conceded. "That's almost true by definition. But religion changes the economic calculus. It changes the way that actions and outcomes are evaluated by the people involved. If you studied religious history, then you are aware of the Crusades—a series of religious military campaigns. They were caused by a change in religious values. It was almost as though killing of outsiders had become intrinsically valuable... a service they paid to their god. What if the Catechumen are now returning for another crusade?"

Emily looked quizzically at Primakov. "I did study religious history. The Crusades were an anomaly and I don't know of any religion that values death. In fact, most religions, including the Christian religion have prohibitions against killing."

"Prohibitions against murder," Primakov clarified.

"What's the difference?"

"Murder is an impermissible killing. And who do you think gets to determine what counts as permissible in their faith?" Primakov asked. "What's important isn't whether or not they have a religious prohibition against murder. All religions preach peace in one way or another. The real question is what exceptions they allow for violence."