A-ha! We knew J'Son was plotting something!
It turns out Torfa has vibranium, and J'Son struck a deal with one of the refugee races to mine it quickly, exposing the rest of the population to vibranium sickness. Carol discovers this connection after losing Tic on Ursor-4 and hurling a piece of said metal to the ground in frustration; when it escapes unscathed, she puts two and two together. On Torfa, the treachery of the one race is revealed. Its leader admits the deal with J'Son: they'd get the bio-engineering that their race needs to survive (their exo-skeletons are why they didn't get the sickness in the first place) and J'Son would be able to build vibranium-shielded starships. (I'm guessing that it answers the question why J'Son put the refugees on Torfa in the first place, so that this race could mine the vibranium.) Disgusted by the refugees turning on each other, Eleanides surrenders to the Spartax, knowing that a divided band of refugees can't possibly win against his fleet.
It's all a remarkable tight story. DeConnick lets it unfold organically, without relying too much on exposition. In fact, the only rough spot in the issue for me was that I couldn't remember some details from last issue, namely how the Haffensye wound up kidnapping Tic or how Carol wound up holding the vibranium in the first place. But, those are pretty minor details that I can clarify by flipping through last issue. I can't wait to see Carol take on the entire Spartax fleet next issue!
*** (three of five stars)
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