Inheritance (Rise of the Empire Book 5) by Ivan Kal Page A

apartment complex that currently housed around a million people, all part of the Empire’s Fleet. Beth would need to find an apartment there too, seeing as the home she’d shared with Harry was no longer hers. She didn’t feel sad about it; she hadn’t stepped foot inside it for years, and Harry deserved to have it.
    She had spoken with him a couple of days ago. The two had met at what used to be their home. They had spent almost the entire day talking, and at the end they’d decided to get a divorce. They didn’t love each other anymore. The process of getting the actual divorce didn’t last more than a couple of minutes. Together they had called, and after a few questions and their consent, they were divorced. They didn’t have any joint possessions except the house, and Beth let him have it. And so, more than thirty years of marriage had ended in an afternoon.
    But since then, Beth couldn’t help but feel elated, free. She had dreaded that moment for so long, and when it had finally come, it had been anticlimactic. They’d spoken as two old friends, both understanding that there was no point in keeping up with the charade. They had no kids together; there was no need to try and fix something that had probably never worked in the first place.
    Now, after she was done with her personal stuff, she could focus completely on Fleet. After reporting to the headquarters, she had been given a few days’ leave. The ships she’d brought with her had been sent to the shipyards orbiting Thanatos for quick upgrades before the offensive. And now with her leave over, she had to report to a meeting with the Fleet’s leaders.
    She reached the meeting room and entered. The first person she saw when she stepped inside was Fleets Master Laura Reiss, who sat at the head of the holo table, her black hair pulled back in a tight bun. Next to her on her left was Oswald Mein, Commander of Fleets, who was Laura’s second-in-command. Across from him sat Fleet Commander Nair Hakeem of the Third Fleet. He and Beth were good friends, one of the few she actually had. They’d been the two commanders in charge of the invasion on the Sowir territories, and they had talked almost daily over the past three years. She nodded at him with a smile, which he returned. She then turned to look at the last person in the room, who was standing on the right side of the room, and froze.
    Adrian smiled uncomfortably at her as she continued not to move. The Fleets Master saved her by speaking.
    “Take a seat, Fleet Commander Jones,” she said, gesturing for her to take a seat by Nair’s side.
    Beth saluted and took a seat. She watched as Adrian walked and sat down next to Oswald across from her.
    “Well, now that we are all here, let’s start with the briefing,” Laura said. Then she reached to her overcoat and brought out a small data chip. She placed it on the table and the holo table turned on. Images of three Sowir systems started spinning above the table.
    “These are our first three targets. The most important one is this one.” She pointed, and the holo changed to show only one system. “The Guxaxac system. This is where we will hit them the hardest. The Army is ready to take the fight to the ground; our job is to make sure that all Sowir forces in orbit are dealt with. To that extent, we will be sending most of our forces there.” She turned to look at Bethany. “Fleet Commander Jones, we will be sending you and the Second Fleet. In addition to your current ships, we will add another one hundred Kraken-class and eighty Furious-class missile ships.”
    “Thank you, Fleets Master, I won’t disappoint you,” Beth said.
    Laura nodded. “The forces in the Guxaxac system are not as large as in other systems, but we can’t risk them doing something rash once they realize that they will lose the system. We don’t want another situation similar to Earth,” she said grimly, then added, “The forces on the ground are much more formidable than