South Sea, on North Island, in the Presidential Office1

A tall man in his thirties stood before a wall-sized map of the Southern Sea, eyes fixed on the 13 islands marked in different colors.0

Broad-shouldered, dressed in an old Orbital Force uniform, his gray brows were drawn together into a single hard line. His eyes burned like steel. His name was Mongo, the first President of the Southern Archipelago Federation, and Supreme Commander of its navy.1

Behind him stood his Chief of Staff, Chalas, also head of the Presidential Office, and Mongo’s most trusted aide.0

The Federation had existed for barely two months. Its organization was still rough, its parliament not yet functional, and yet the war with Shelter 70 waited for...0