“Our way is hard, Kat. Yet, it is the way. But you’re right…not a day goes by I don’t think of Lucius, or remember some adventure we shared.” Vennius stared down at his desk for a few seconds, silent.

“I sense more than sadness about the past in your words, Uncle.” Kat lowered her head, drew the commander’s eyes up with her own.

“I’ve never been able to hide anything from you, my dear Kat.”

“What is it, Uncle? Are you unwell?”

Vennius laughed softly. “Long life runs in my family, and the multitude of enemies I’ve faced have failed to put me down. I fear that my destiny is to survive to dotage.”

“Then what?” Kat’s voice was soft, her concern evident.

“I have orders for you, Kat.”

She sat unmoving, holding his gaze. “Orders you disagree with?” A pause. “Dangerous orders?”

“Both, though it’s dangerous to say so. This assignment comes directly from the Council, and it’s signed by the imperatrix herself.”

Kat could feel the tension building inside her. It wasn’t the exalted source of the assignment as much as the discomfort she could see in Vennius’s expression. She sat silently, waiting for him to continue.

“As you’re no doubt aware, intelligence reports suggest that the Confederation and the Union are on the verge of war.” He hesitated. “I can now confirm that both powers have mobilized their fleets to their respective borders.”

“The history of the two powers left little doubt there would be a rematch, Uncle. But such a war will be far from the Alliance. Does it involve us in some way?”

Kat couldn’t imagine what a Confederation-Union war had to do with the Alliance, at least not in the short term. The Confederation and Alliance didn’t share a border. The remaining independent Unaligned Systems lay generally between the two powers. And the Union was clear on the other side of the Confederation.

“The Council has decided that it does.” He paused. “I can’t over-emphasize the sensitivity of the information I am about to share.”

Kat nodded. “You needn’t have told me that, Uncle.”

“We’ve received a proposal from the government of the Federal Union, one that calls upon us to join them in their attack the Confederation.”

Kat felt herself shaking her head, an involuntary response she stopped as soon as she realized she was doing it. “But Uncle, our losses…they were considerable. I fear no enemy, but we need time to rebuild, to refit.”

The Alliance had always been aggressive, but not foolhardy. And taking on an enemy like the Confederation while half the ships in the fleet were still being repaired…