Here it is Snippet # 4 from the Upcoming Athena Lee Book 9

“What else have you heard?” This day just gets worse and worse. Miguel needed to get a handle of things before any Earth forces showed up.

“No very much. Mars has deployed the same sort of anti-spy system that Hong Kong is using. All of our intel sources are drying up and many of our agents have been captured. Sam 0256 has showed up on Mars. He was spotted in the company of the Primus’s security forces.”

“There is an example for you Roger. Never show any sort of weakness because it will come back and bite you in the ass every time. I should have killed him like I was ordered to. Instead I reprogrammed his systems and put all the worst troublemakers on board his ship. Once upon a time he was my friend, my brother, and my commander. Now he is just my enemy. Add his name to the hit list. Tell our operatives on Mars to take out the command group whatever the cost. Send a similar message to Hong Kong. We need to cut the head off the snakes or we will all be doomed.”

“Yes, Sir. I will send it right now!” The man ran from the room.

“Good help is so hard to find these days!” He pressed a button on his console. “Send in Jeremiah!”

Jeremiah 117 was a tall man with bushy eyebrows. “Sir!”

“Sit down Jeremiah. Now, what is our Fleet status.”

“We control about eighty-eight percent of the Fleet at this time. Admiral Kane escaped with a scratch squadron build from three fleets. Other than her forces there is a small scattering of random ships here and there. Mostly they are supply ships or anti-piracy patrols. We are accounting for as many as we can. All of our shipyards are in full swing building the next generation ships from our ship designers.”

“Did the shipyard guilds give you any trouble?”

“Not after we sent the first group of protesters and the guild leaders for a walk outside. I have a vid of the the second meeting as they drift past the office windows. So far there have been no further issues.”

“Good. Try and keep it that way. Do we know where Admiral Kane’s fleet went?”

“We think they went either out to the rim or one of the underpopulated systems. We are checking.”

“Tell your scouts to keep an eye out for unknown ships. Roger just reported to me that some of Earth’s fleet may have survived the Martian ambush and may travel straight to us. Make sure our ships are informed. How goes the rest of the Empire?”

“Most of the Imperial Senate has joined us. Any that didn’t have been retired. So far the Maskirovka is holding.”