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the 3-D display was now showing a flashing red dot that hadn’t been
there before. The dot was on the very edge of Empire space and the Rift between
the adjacent section of the Orion spiral arm. He heard Hiakawa clear his
throat. Evidently he was now finished speaking privately.
     
    “My Emperor, I have just been informed that
Empire ships have been attacked by unidentified forces. I’m going to ask
Admiral Remington to repeat to all of us what he’s just told me. Go ahead,
Admiral.”
     
    “Yes, Sir. I’ve just received a very detailed
After Action report via L-wave transmission from our Tango Delta 39 starbase.
The report was written by SubCommander Tyler Logan, who is the Executive officer
of the light cruiser, Bird of Prey. That ship is part of the 915th light
cruiser squadron, which was assigned the task of finding a path that crossed
the Rift to the opposite side.” The resulting surge in chatter around the table
caused Remington to pause until Hiakawa gestured for him to continue.
     
    “The 915th had managed to get roughly half way
across the Rift when they encountered five ships that look as though they came
from the opposite side. Those five ships attacked and destroyed the light cruiser
Black Eagle and then attempted to block the rest of the squadron from
retreating back towards Empire space. Bird of Prey seems to be the only ship to
successfully force its way past the blockade, but the ship did suffer some
damage which killed her Commanding Officer, Commander Montoya, and his entire
Bridge crew. Three hostile ships chased Bird of Prey all the way back to the
system one wormhole removed from starbase Tango Delta 39. That means that these
aliens now know how to reach our side of the Rift. SubCommander Logan is
recommending that we reinforce all our starbases along the Rift, and the
starbase commander concurs with that recommendation. That covers the essential
elements of the report.”
     
    Before either Hiakawa or DeChastelaine could
say anything, the entire room exploded with voices, some of them shouting in
rage and indignation.
     
    “QUIET!” Hiakawa’s amplified voice made
DeChastelaine jump in surprise. When the chatter had died down sufficiently,
Hiakawa continued. “All of you will receive a copy of the AA report. I want the
Strategy Board to make recommendations as quickly as possible. How soon do you
think that might be, Admiral Rostakova?”
     
    The answer came from a woman who was seated to
DeChastelaine’s left. “Well ah…I would say that the SWG will need at least a
week, perhaps two, and then the full Board will review their recommendations
and given the importance of this new situation, I can promise that we won’t
take longer than another week, Admiral.”
     
    DeChastelaine was expecting Hiakawa to reject
that timetable as too long and was stunned when the admiral nodded and said,
“That’s fine, Admiral Rostakova, but I’ll hold you to that one week.”
     
    Before Hiakawa could say anything more,
DeChastelaine interjected. “No, it’s not fine! How can you possibly justify
waiting two to three weeks before taking any action? We need to start moving
squadrons to the Rift edge now.”
     
    DeChastelaine could see Remington shake her
head in obvious dismay, but it was Hiakawa who spoke. “That is quite out of the
question, my Emperor. You see, the reinforcements that we would normally send
to the Rift edge are the very same squadrons that are on their way to the
fleets bordering Kravell Space. The Strategic Working Group will have to
carefully analyze how many of those reinforcements we can pull back from the
border fleets without tempting the Kravell to launch a pre-emptive attack.”
     
    “What about Capital Fleet?” asked DeChastelaine
before Hiakawa could go on. The admiral looked shocked at the suggestion.
     
    “Weaken our defenses around the Capital Planet?
I could not in good conscience agree to such an ill-advised course of action,
my Emperor.”
     
    “Oh? I