"Breakfast is over," Eyan's voice reverberated through the cafeteria. "Head over to the conference chamber. Across the hall from Aks' office."
Shilah cocked her head to one side and squinted at Asia. The younger quintuplets and the twins stood up in sync. Sixteen cafeteria trays were deposited into nearby receptacles.
"It's history class," Asia explained. "Remember?"
Moments later, the group peered into the conference chamber from the hallway. Ten chairs surrounded a long table. Darrion shook her head and looked at her sisters, then at Relda.
"Mama," she said. "There's sixteen of us here."
"Fifteen if you don't count the teacher," Anniston added.
"And ten chairs," Daly chimed in.
"How are we gonna make this work?" Annika asked.
Relda surveyed the room for a few seconds. She jabbed Raylay with her elbow. He rubbed his upper arm.
"Sheesh, Relda!" He scolded. "What? What do you want?"
"First of all, thank you for not calling me Princess," Relda said. "Second, can we add two chairs?"
"Coming through!" Ty called from behind them.
Raylay jumped to one side, and Relda to the other. Ty pushed in a stack of disc-shaped chairs with slight indentations in the centers.
"I brought five," he said. "One for me. One for Relda. One for Raylay. Two for the clones."
Eyan strode to the end of the table, pushing a viewing screen. He powered it on, and a picture of a planet chart appeared. He paused until all seats were positioned to face him.
"Part of our battle strategy is learning about the enemy," he told the group. "We once referred to the Dialorians as a race. That is inaccurate. Many types of creatures make up the Dialorians. There are pure Dialorians, and there are loyalists."
He tapped the screen, and the picture changed to a group of different creature kinds.
"They are not a race," he said. "We could say they're an alliance. That would also not be accurate, because civilians can also be Dialorians."
Relda crossed her arms and leaned her head against the wall. She studied the fiber optic lights. The lecture would be over soon at least.
"The Dialorians came from a galaxy known as Dialore. The creatures there were one of the most medically, scientifically, and technologically advanced anywhere. One day, they put out an intergalactic ad for a new antiviral shock treatment. It reached the ears and eyes of Quadrant 3, who was buckling under the weight of a plague. Dialorians agreed to help them, but it would be a small fortune. Quadrant 3 said to name the price. The price they named was forced servitude. It was to last one year. One year became a decade. A decade became a century, and then a millennium. Now, an eon later, the people of Quadrant 3 are still enslaved. And that's why we're here."
He wasn't a poor storyteller. He had that in his favor.
"Now, does anyone have any questions?" Eyan concluded his lecture.