Battleship Furiosa (9 page)

He then shook his head and
turned his attention to Captain Galanos. Before
she could speak, Captain Ontarus of ANS Vigilance spoke
up.

"I've lost all of my
drones
and sustained major hull damage.
Many of the ships from our Battlegroup are in similar condition. We
cannot pack up and leave without resupply and a few days in port.
In my opinion, we should withdraw from this system and ready
ourselves at Helios Prime."

"I second that," said Captain
Achilles of ANS Dauntless. We've secured this sector, and helped
bring Prince Kratha and his entourage to safety. Is taking Alliance
ships into the unknown wise, especially with such an unstable
element involved? We must prepare for what is to come. I do not see
how seeking battle with the Star Empire is a wise strategic
move."

He was referring to the enigmatic
Tahkeome, a shadowy figure who always seemed to be behind the
machinations of the Star Empire, but never close enough to see or
reason with. The Admiral looked away for a few seconds and spoke to
unseen officers. The Captains all waited patiently until he
returned.

"High Command remains unconvinced
on the actions that we have proposed. We have the rebels contained
and sufficient numbers in place to repel any attempt to breach our
defences. Helios is safe, and so is the Alliance. We cannot and
will not send in an entire Battlegroup without a firm reason to do
so. This is from the top, and gives me no room for
manoeuvre."

The c
aptains were clearly not happy at this, and few tried to
hide their feelings.

"Remember,
" said the Admiral, "We are not here to engage in battle
for no reason. The ultimate goal is peace, not war."

Captain Galanos already knew
she'd
overreached with her request, but
her basic premise remained valid. The Admiral took a breath before
adding one last point.

"Therefore, until we have contact
from Makos, or a detailed assessment of what exactly is going on
inside this Star Empire, our ships will stay exactly where they
are. We cannot allow ourselves to be separated and picked off by
superior forces."

Captain Galanos paced inside the
briefing room
as the Admiral continued to
explain the situation. She could see his side of the argument,
especially when his one job was to protect the Alliance. By
protecting this main route into the Alliance, he safeguarded their
own territories, while providing their own threat to the Star
Empire.

The
re's more than
just this system, though.

"
You
have been deceived, Admiral."

The Prince rubbed his head in
frustration.

"All of us have been being
tricked by Tahkeome, my own family included. He is a Half-Blood and
has managed to draw in radicals from both the Anicinàbe clans and
the young people from my own."

The Prince looked sad as he
spoke, and though the translator hid much of his emotion, when he
was forced to use it, it was clear the loss of so much was hitting
him hard. The young Prince's voice was stern and filled with
emotion.

"Our people were wrong to come
down so hard on the
reform movement. I
can see that now. Tahkeome has capitalised on that and taken those
that lack status, money, and position and offered them the
world."

He then pointed to the
map.

"
With
contact inside the Empire gone, we now have no idea where enemy or
loyalist ships are."

"I understand," said the
Admiral,
"But your message made it
through the Empire before the network was shut down. Any loyalists
that remain know to head for any remaining border colonies and
bases and to report in. Have you heard from them?"

Kratha's face contorted for a
moment. They all knew the answer, but the Admiral clearly wanted to
make a particular point.

"The last messages were from
Makos. He said seventeen more ships had joined him, and that he was
preparing to join me
here."

"And since then?"

Kratha continued shaking his head in
frustration.

"Without a full reconnaissance in
force, we will have no idea as to the strength of Tahkeome's force,
or even if Makos remains in the field. Instead, I am left with nine
ships, and only four of those are fully manned. If I had the
manpower, I would do this myself."

"Qu
ite," Admiral Churchill agreed, "And you lack both infantry
and fighter pilots. I tell you again, in your current shape you
need to stay under my protection, unless you desire to see the last
of your forces destroyed in a final battle around a random,
abandoned planet."

Prince Kratha muttered bitterly.
A
t the same time, a simplified map of the
territory around the Alliance system of Helios appeared. Of all the
systems present, this particular one looked like a spider, with
Spacebridge connections heading away in all directions, several
into the territory now controlled by the Star Empire. He pointed
his hand at the centre of the map.

"
I
suspect in a matter of days, Tahkeome will bring his full might to
bear. He has already shattered those loyal to me, and soon he could
be coming for yours."

This time his hand lingered over
Helios.

"This system is the heart of your
holdings in the Orion Nebula, is it not?"

The Admiral nodded slowly.

"Indeed. Since the end of the war,
Helios and its former colonies have become an important part of the
Alliance. They are the most populous and important of our systems
in the Orion Nebula."

He
pointed to the central planet in the system.

"Helios Prime is the Alliance
capital in this part of the space and controls the
Nexus."

That would carry a lot of weight
among the captains present. There were a number of locations in
space where multiple Spacebridges came together, but few could
match the significance of the Helios Nexus. Dozens of Rifts filled
what had been the Helion League and linked scores of star systems
in every direction.

"Exactly,
" said Prince Kratha, "And whoever controls the Nexus gains
access to the Khreenk, Klithi, Taxxu, and even your homeworlds at
Sol and Alpha Centauri. Tahkeome is no fool. His ships are
somewhere, and they will strike when it suits them. If you will not
help, then I will return to my homeland and look for any allies I
might find."

Admiral Churchill remained silent
for a few seconds, and Captain Galanos saw this as the perfect
opportunity to speak again.
The chance of
losing Prince Kratha was too much for any of them, especially after
they'd fought so hard to bring him away safely.

"We have lost the
initiative,
Sir, and now we even lack
strategic intelligence. We have no idea where the Star Empire
forces are, or what they intend to do. We must know what has
happened to General Makos and his loyalists. Without his strength,
Tahkeome will outnumber any fleet we can muster."

She then pointed to Prince Kratha.

"The Prince has a plan. You have
seen it, and it will not require us to leave this position
undefended. All he asks is..."

Admiral Churchill lifted his hand.

"Yes, I know what you have asked
for. I have spoken to High Command, and I have been told that under
no circumstances am I to remove any Alliance Navy vessels from this
system until we have hard data. That is especially true with the
latest news from the Tenth Quadrant."

Fleet indicators lit up on the
map.

"As you know, we have forces here
at the entrance to the Tenth Quadrant Spacebridge and a reserve at
Helios Prime. If it comes to it, all forces can be withdrawn to
Helios Prime to mobilise for a full-scale operation. I have little
doubt we are secure in this position."

His hand then moved past the
S
pacebridge on the left of the map and to
the exit point at the Tenth Quadrant.

"In the last
hour, we've lost contact with our operatives in the
disputed territories. Last thing we heard, Byotai ships were
massing at the Spacebridge to the Serpentis System so that they
could head directly to us, and to you."

He nodded at Prince Kratha.

"Now we have no idea what is happening
to your people, or to mine."

Captain Galanos listened
carefully. She was intrigued as to what exactly
constituted an operative. It was a well-known fact that
Alliance-sanctioned mercenaries were operating in that region, but
operative suggested something else, something more significant.
Either the Alliance had a network of agents throughout the disputed
territories, or more likely, they had a substantial military
presence that was off the books.

The IAB, it has to be.

Like many of the senior officers,
she'd heard rumours about the
Alliance's
highly secretive military unit that operated out of the former
homeworld of the Biomechs. The Interstellar Assault Brigade was
technically part of the Alliance military, but operated its own
small fleet of ships and used robotic war machines built and
supported by the CTC mega corporation. Some stories even suggested
that a large proportion of the IAB's numbers were made up with
mercenaries and bipedal combat drones. They were considered by most
in the Navy a wild, unruly organisation, and one that should be
absorbed into other units. Some said they made use of Biomech
technology and advanced equipment that moved them apart from the
rest of the military. There was one more thing that everybody in
the Navy knew about; the war hero Brigadier Black and his entourage
of famous warriors commanded the unit.

"Now we have no idea what has
happened. Is Makos still coming here, or has something happened to
stop him? What if Tahkeome has mobilised his forces to end the
fighting at Karnak once and for all? Without access to our
operatives, there is no way for me to tell."

Captain Galanos could still think
of little else other than the infamous IAB. As her eyes rose to the
Admiral's
, she could see he was
waiting.

Surely not?
It can't be!

Admiral Churchill rubbed his chin
before speaking.

"Now, events are moving fast, and
your need for information is not unfounded. It is clear that the
Spacebridge to the Tenth Quadrant has been shut down for some new
plot or scheme, and with it our ability to monitor the
region."

Prince Kratha looked to the other
officers and began to wave his arms frantically. Captain Galanos
wasn't quite sure of his intentions, but he was clearly becoming
agitated.

"Like most Rifts from the Nexus,
it is volatile and requires access to the Rift Control station on
the other side to activate it. Unfortunately for us, few of our
neighbours took us up on the offer to use the captured Biomech tech
to create permanent and stable Spacebridges."

Prince Kratha laughed bitterly.

"Can you blame any of us? Internal
bridges between stars and planets is one thing, but it is always
useful to be able to shut a Spacebridge to a neighbour in times of
crisis."

"Like the Trusska?"
Captain Galanos asked.

Admiral Churchill lifted his
hands.

"Today is not the time to discuss
that old chestnut. Lost civilisations and technologies are for
another day. Right now, we have a job to do, and with the Rift shut
down I think you might be right."

He looked
directly at the reptilian noble and bowed slightly. The
Prince should have remained calm, but he had already lost any
chance of remaining so.

"You see? This is Tahkeome. His
forces have taken the station
, and they
will spend the next days and weeks consolidating their position. We
must act!"

Admiral Churchill nodded.

"Yes, we must do something. We
will do something, but my hands are tied."

Kratha lifted up his hands.

"
I am
confused. You want to do something, but will do nothing. If you
will not act, then I will. What about my ships? You do not need
them, correct?"

The young P
rince did his best to hide his impatience, but now he had
reached such a point that it was proving nearly
impossible.

"
True,"
said the Admiral, "I do not need all of your ships, and I still
need information if I am to stabilise the situation. Above all,
High Command wants to avoid a full-scale war with Tahkeome. I
cannot send any of my ships, but I can give you other
support."

Every one of the
c
aptains, as well as Prince Kratha looked
to him in surprise.

"Yes?" Prince Kratha
asked.

Admiral Churchill grinned, but it was a
subtle gesture, bordering on a smirk.

"I suggest we compromise, to
ensure that this reconnaissance in force can be completed
successfully."

None were as surprised as Prince
Kratha, and he watched with his mouth wide open. Even the other
captains were surprised by this sudden turn of events. Sensing the
mood, the Admiral continued.