The Fractured Empire: A Tale of Downfall

Chapter 17

(The next day...)

"Why do I feel there's one detail you're leaving out on purpose," Boreas mused while lounging on his bed.

"No, what I've told you is everything I've come up with so far," I assured  him. Well, most of it anyway.

"So...what you're telling me is that you want to distract Admiral Silva's forces long enough for us to swoop in and deal with him," my partner inquired in an even tone, "Is that what you're getting at?"

"Yes. Since there's going to be other ships around him, I doubt we'd be able to board his vessel and assassinate him the old-fashioned way."

"But how would we know which ship he's on? What if he tries to dupe us?"

"For one, I doubt Admiral Silva is expecting us to come at him and blow his ship up. Additionally, I hope I got the Admiral so worked up he'll contact us again. In doing so, you'd be able to trace the origin of the broadcast."

"Well, yeah, I can do that...as long as our target's hardware isn't too terribly advanced," he answered, "While yes, it is easy for ships to pinpoint where other vessels are judging by the broadcasts traveling to and from it, some flagships have access to tech that allows them to hide their signals. Since our boy Silva went rogue about six months ago, I find it unlikely that he's managed to get his grubby paws on the latest and greatest the Federation has to offer. Now, that's a pretty ballsy assumption for me to make, but one can hope."

"I know you weren't up in the cockpit with me and Cylus, but please tell me I wasn't the only one who noticed just how shitty our enemies' ships looked?" Alannah inquired while running a brush through her curly mess of hair.

"No, you weren't. I saw the faded paint and dented exteriors of the Dreadknights and other fighters we engaged back when we were above Zeunia. Something tells me Admiral Silva's pilots don't take care of their ships," I replied.

"What we have to keep in mind is the fact the fleet we're dealing with has gone rogue," Alannah tacked on, "They may still pilot Federation ships, but I have a feeling Silva's keeping them in line. If we eliminate him, we'd effectively behead the fleet."

"That's a valid point, but we'd still be faced with a fleet of Federation flagships. While Silva is the fleet Admiral, there will still be an admiral in each of those ships with several squadrons of fighters under their control," my old friend pointed out, "In other words, we're still gonna have to deal with a messy space battle."

"We can debate this all day, or we can try to work with the Baroness and her forces," Raphael cut in, "You all have valid points, but what else can we do? Silva has his sights on conquering this system, so diplomacy is out of the equation." he turned to regard me and continued, "Do we have any idea how many planets are in this system?"

"Um...brilliant question," Boreas replied, rubbing the back of his head in thought, "I...can't remember right now. We'll make sure to ask Baroness Vlahos when we go talk to her."

I nodded in response and huffed to myself. "First thing's first, we need to gather up everyone else. I'm sure Jackson's been asleep the whole time we've sat around discussing this."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Alannah grumbled, "He sleeps like a fuckin' bri-whoa!"

My wife had tried to stand up, only to trip on...Alex?

"What the?" I breathed, rushing over to help Alannah up before turning to regard my son, "Alex, what the hell?"

"Didn't want to sleep on the floor over in the other room, so I took my chances over here," he grumbled, "Mom tripped on me, so that's her damn fault."