"They'd probably been planning it for months," Kaiden muttered, gazing out of the window into the hall. Herculaneum's fall must have been executed from the inside at nearly all levels of the administration, like Mithridates and the Asiatic Vespers of old earth. It must have taken an extreme amount of precision and discipline, which only made Kaiden even more wary of the Alliance's capability for subterfuge. If he wasn't absolutely certain of his crew's loyalty, he would be sweating cold. 

What [i]were[/i] they supposed to do? They could try and make it back to command, but could they do more good out in the boonies of K-12? Alliance forces were likely close, and he doubted the Delta-3-7 was useful for anything but resupply. They didn't wish to lead anyone here because it wasn't a very defensible cluster of asteroids. Every rock was thousands of kilometers apart, Higgs report he had given Kaiden had said. Belts could be good defensive measures, and only madmen or ambitious miners delved into them. 

"Or insurgents," Kaiden mouthed, pondering. 

The Delta-3-7 wasn't too far from the Sega Cluster, which, if he recalled correctly, was a dangerous lane for ships for more than just the rocks. Alliance insurgents turned pirate had taken up residence there, the Republic's main interest in their existence before the conflict was protecting their own shipping, but maybe they could use them to their advantage. They like as not held no love for the Republic, but chances are they loathed their previous government. Kaiden wasn't insane enough to try and recruit them into the military, but perhaps if he knew the Alliance shipping lanes, they might wreak some havoc before they themselves hit them hard. 

"The what?" Sabatine asked, raising her head curiously. 

"I need a map of the system, if at all possible. Lieutenant Rachet, do you have any information on Alliance routes close to the neighoring systems?" He inquired. Captain Rachet inclined his head thoughtfully, confusion on his face. 

"Lieutenant, you're not planning on launching an attack with our relative strength, right?" He tried to confirm. 

"If I was, you would do well not to question that." Kaiden reminded him, and the Captain gulped audibly. Kaiden was correct. During times of full-scale war, some more ornery or stern superiors might consider that insubordination. "As it stands, no. But we can't sit here and wait for orders. I want to know where the nearest alliance forces are." 

"Unfortunately, sir, they are merely a quick jump away." Rachet replied. "Perhaps not the main body of any real force, but a small fleet is located at the Hytegero Sector, not a week's sail from Delta-3-7. They've begun to flourish in activity, so the Bureau has told me. They were surprised I made it in undetected, as they were about you. I don't think we should fight fate and try our luck thrice, but I'm with you whatever you decide, sir." 

"What are you planning?" Sabatine asked. Kaiden would explain in detail, once he had that map.