The Shattered Empire (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 2) by Kal Spriggs

system, and hopefully avoid emergence on top of a minefield.”
    “Sir, the plan right now is that we will begin the attack down the Melcer corridor.  Once we kick that off, the Chxor will know where we plan to attack and we can begin scouting operations,” Captain Doko said.
    “So... we'll assault a prepared force, in a system that’s defeated three significant attempts by the Nova Roma Fleet,” Admiral Mund’s voice dropped by habit into his lecture mode, a tone that Lucius remembered too well.  “This doesn’t seem to be… well conceived.”
    “Sir, the fact remains that the Chxor have far more naval production than any other power and massive reserves of capital ships.”  Anthony Doko stood straight.  “If we give them time, they can overwhelm even Admiral Dreyfus’s ships with numbers, just as they did to the Nova Roma Imperial Fleet.  But… that’s only if we allow them the time and strategic initiative to do so.”
    He typed in a command in the arm of his chair and the hologram shifted to show the distorted map of shadow space.  “Danar and Nova Roma are the keys to that.  If we hold both systems, we can threaten a vast region of recently conquered worlds.  From Danar, we can, in fact, threaten their core worlds.  If we can put them on the defensive, we gain time and, most importantly, prevent them from taking the offensive with their numbers.  The key to taking Nova Roma is Danar... the key to turning this war around is Danar.  We have no other option as we see it.”
    Admiral Mund cocked his head.  He rubbed a hand across his bald head and rested his chin on his hand.  “Very well, I accept your point.”  He pursed his lips, “I really don’t like this, but despite my objections, I agree with you.  We do, indeed, have very little choice, we must take Danar to liberate Nova Roma.”
    Captain Doko cleared his throat.  “Thank you, sir.  Now, the best way that we’ve found to do this is the seizure of Melcer, with a follow-on attack on Tehran and then Danar.”  Captain Doko turned to face down the table at Captain Franks, “Captain Franks will now brief the breakdown of forces.”
    The hologram shifted again to show the two pronged attack.  “Now, then ladies and gentlemen, I'll show you the initial breakdown of our forces and how we intend to coordinate our forces.  As you can see, the balance of our current forces allows us…”
    ***
     
    Shadow Space
    Second Chance
    July 13, 2403
     
    Lauren Kelly looked up from cleaning her weapons as Mason stepped into the galley.  He glanced at the galley table and frowned, “I didn't think you'd packed that much of an arsenal.”
    Lauren looked down at the disparate parts, laid out neatly in orderly rows across the oil-stained towel.  “I like being prepared.”
    Mason sat down across from her and watched as she meticulously cleaned each part.  He rubbed his stubbled jaw in a thoughtful manner before he spoke.  “You know, for someone who hates the Chxor as much as you do, I would almost figure that you'd be less organized, maybe as a result.  You know, rebellious nature and all.”
    Lauren shook her head, “I'm very orderly, especially about killing Chxor.”  She was obsessive about it, she would admit.  She had only fired the pistol, but she still broke down and cleaned all of her weapons.  The stubby-barreled submachine gun especially.  She loved that weapon, in particular.  The suppressed weapon had been a last minute purchase as they left Faraday, but the soft chatter it made when she fired it gave her a rush... especially when she thought about what the large bullets would do to a Chxor.
    “I might have noticed that,” Mason said, his voice droll.  “So, we need to talk about what happens when we reach Anvil.”
    Lauren looked at him suspiciously.  He raised his hands, “Look, I know I said we're partners and all that... but this isn't something you really want to be involved with.”
    “You're right,”