The Rorlan turned and took Anne’s hand. “Welcome to you, Anne.”
“She should have been first,” said Ron. “Without her we would have gone home, failures.”
“No. Each of you had it in you to understand our need. It required only time and introspection to bring it out.” He gestured to the chairs. “Please sit down. We have much to talk about.”
“You are to be congratulated,” he continued when they had taken seats. “You are the second group in the whole colony to grasp what membership in the Federation means.”
“I’ll bet Borah’s group was first,” said Ron.
“Yes. They understood from the beginning. They always understood the Federation doesn’t need the outstretched hand, ready to receive the bountiful gifts of superior worlds. There are tens of thousands of such beggar worlds in every galaxy of
