An unsteady and uneasy peace swathed the planet Earth for more than two full years following the events at Canberra in March, 2033. It had taken a glimpse over the edge of the precipice for both sides to see how deep and dark that chasm really was.
Disarmament began in 2034 and was finished by early 2035 when Bzadians and humans signed the final treaty.
But to get to that point took a lot of trust, and spontaneous outbursts of hostility flared up like spot fires in various parts of the globe as tensions rose and waned.
Two species, like twins separated at birth, gradually got to know each other.
The treaty-signing ceremony was held in the shadow of the great rock at Uluru. A place that had once been the heart of the Bzadian military machine.
It was attended by most of the top dignitaries from either side.
But there were some unexpected and uninvited guests also.
The immense spaceship that descended slowly through the clear blue skies was easily visible to the naked eye, yet had not been picked up on radar. This was later confirmed to be due to the design of the spaceship, pyramidal in shape, without any surface to reflect radar back to the transmitter. It was the original and the ultimate in stealth technology.
All the participants at the signing ceremony, waiting patiently in the cool July sun, found their eyes drawn to the sky as the craft descended.
What they saw – humans with shocked, awed expressions, Bzadians with smiles of understanding and recognition – was merely the base of the pyramid: a circle of blue fire inside an enormous square.