Free Battleship Furiosa by Michael G. Thomas Page A

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 If it comes to it, all forces can be withdrawn to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