CDRE TAGON: Any colony here is in immediate peril.
But... can we really provide life-support for an evac of tens of thousands of sophonts?
KATHRYN: Esspererin are small.
CDRE TAGON: How small?
KATHRYN: Small enough. Also, they don't need air. If we run out of room inside they can just hang out on the hull.
CDRE TAGON: I...
The hull...
CDRE TAGON: How do the esspererin not already rule all of space?
KATHRYN: The answer to that question is probably worth a doctorate.