Free Battleship Furiosa by Michael G. Thomas

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