The Unincorporated Woman (70 page)

“He played us beautifully, that’s how.”

Cyrus’s face registered confusion.

“Once the Alliance had switched on the transponders within the ice blocks surrounding Ceres, Trang attacked the fake fleet as if he thought it real. Naturally, Ceres took advantage of his massed UHF Fleet by grouping a large number of their orbats to do some serious damage to Trang’s forces. And Trang, playing right along, had turned his fleet and used atomic acceleration to get out of danger. But not all of Trang’s ships accelerated away from the orbats.”

Cyrus shook his head and read, in growing horror and admiration, the rest. Trang’s auxiliary ships had accelerated
toward
the concentrated orbats and then exploded en masse. In mere moments, 43 percent of Ceres’s defenses were destroyed. The remaining orbats were too few to provide adequate cover for the whole asteroid and its support facilities.

“But he sacrificed all of his auxiliaries,” wailed Cyrus in confusion. “How can he hope to maintain his position so far from his supply base with all his support ships gone?”

“Because, Cyrus, he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about holding his position. All of his warships are relatively intact. He emptied most of the supplies from those supply ships before loading them up with enough ordnance to blast the crap out of our orbats. I figure he has a week’s worth of maneuvering fuel and ordnance before he’ll be forced to head home.”

“But he can’t take Ceres in a week with the forces he’s got.”

J.D.’s lips, now pressed tightly against her teeth, formed into a stiff and bitter smile. “He has no intention of taking it, Cyrus.”

“Jesus Christ.” And then Cyrus Anjou’s voice trailed off. “He’s going to destroy it.”

“My fleet is two weeks away. By the time I arrive, he’ll be long gone and Ceres will be a pile of rubble floating its way to Saturn.”

“But if we lose Ceres after losing Jupiter…”

“We won’t lose Ceres,” J.D. said with certainty.

“But you’re two weeks away,” cried Cyrus.

“And Trang needed two weeks to destroy the Cerean orbat field,” she said humorously. “That didn’t stop him either.”

“You should have left two days ago like you wanted,” Cyrus said. “I insisted you stay. This is my fault.”

Now J.D. smiled. “Cyrus, if I had taken the fleet out two days ago, the war would be over. It’s because we stayed, it’s because we’ve been helping those most in need that Allah has given us a small chance to save our capital.”

“How long do you think before Trang destroys it?”

“If it was me, given the defenses that are left and how they’re likely to be deployed? Five days.”

“How are you going to get to Ceres in five days? It’s impossible.”

J.D.’s lips curled back into a snarl. “Who said anything about getting to Ceres in five days?”

“You did!” snorted Cyrus.

“No. I said that’s how long it’ll take Trang to destroy it. Me? I plan on getting there in four.”

Cyrus’s lower lip dropped.

“Of course,” added J.D., “I’ll need to steal a plow.”

Orbit of Jupiter, AWS
Warprize II
:
Hour One

J.D. was sitting at a small grid table in the heart of the engineering department. She loved this part of her ship. Its massive fusion reactors, the massive hydrogen feeder lines—all that raw power under the most responsive controls. Being in this place made her content in a way few other places could. Except for now.

“By using atomic acceleration, we can slingshot the fleet toward a rendezvous with Ceres by way of Saturn—if it’s still there when we arrive,” she added with dark humor. “The orders have already gone out for the Saturnians to prepare blocks of frozen hydrogen for launch. They’ll fire them at the precise course and speed needed for us to intercept as we leave Saturn’s orbit. Without that fuel, we will not be able to slow down enough to be effective when we reach Ceres at the intercept point.”

Tawfik looked at her calculations and nodded. “Trang would be most pleased if we arrived at Ceres going too fast.”

“Yes, he would,” agreed J.D., “though I suspect we’d at least get a wave from him as we shot past.”

Tawfik twitched a smile. “Admiral, by my calculations, we’ll arrive at Ceres with barely fifteen percent of our max fuel load, and that’s
if
nothing goes wrong, and as you and I both know, something
always
goes wrong. I’d hate to have to face Trang’s fleet with a fifteen percent or less fuel load.”

“We have no choice, Tawfik.”

Tawfik nodded, mouth locked in a tight grimace. “But we do. Why not go directly there? It’s the fastest route.”

“Because it’s the only obvious route. Forgetting the fact that we’d be transmitting our arrival. And even if we found another way to get our fuel, don’t you think Trang’s already mined that route? Don’t forget he’s got enough ships to spare. Thirty would be all he’d need to shoot at us like apples in a barrel as we decelerated down the pike.”

“Admiral, he won’t have to fire a shot,” Tawfik objected. “If we go the way you’re proposing, the solar system will be doing his shooting for him. The route you propose is not a via. It’s not even near one except for when we actually get to Saturn. It was going to be one, but the loss of the Belt and the Diaspora put it on hold.” Tawfik stepped back a little and put his hand on his chin, viewing the route through doubting eyes. “You’re correct in that it would take almost no effort for Trang to shoot all sorts of nasty detritus into the more direct route now that Ceres has moved. Truth is, the route was too dangerous to use unless absolutely necessary, even when Ceres was there. Trang was always too close, and all he’d have to do to truly screw us up was empty his garbage into the via’s lane. It’s no different now. It’s a devil’s choice. We either fly down Trang’s gullet and face his war machine or travel through an uncharted, detritus-filled via and get chewed up and blasted to pieces long before Trang has to fire a shot.”

J.D. crossed her arms, sporting a look of profound satisfaction. “I have stolen a via plow.”

Tawfik’s face lit up. “You what? You did? How?” J.D. had referred to the huge ice barges used to sweep the vias clear of debris, making the high-speed corridors possible.

“The Jovians had plans for a Via Jovia. However, after the evacuation, that is no longer going to be a priority.”

The light of understanding appeared on Tawfik’s face. “You’re going to create a brand-new via as we go.” He studied the path again. “The barge should intercept most of the debris. But what are you going to do about objects shearing in from the side?”

“Not much,” J.D. said grimly. “The fleet will launch every shuttle and combat transport it has and keep them moving in a pattern on the sides of the fleet. If we’re lucky, they’ll intercept some of the stray debris coming in, but the truth is, we’ll take hits and lose ships along the way. We can only pray we won’t lose too many and that the ones we lose will only be damaged and not destroyed.”

“May it be the will of Allah,” Tawfik said.

J.D. nodded. “Now, make sure the rest of the fleet’s engineers understand the plan. Their ships are going to undergo the stress of a high-speed jaunt through an uncharted via and arrive at Ceres to take on the one admiral in the UHF who’s actually worth a damn.”

“Well,” offered Tawfik, “it’s not as if Trang’s going to be at full loads. Plus we’ll be arriving with a ton of something he’ll be well short of.”

J.D. merely nodded. They both knew Trang would be low on ordnance by the time they arrived. Unfortunately, he’d be low because of what he’d have expended it on.

“Not the best way to gain an advantage,” admitted J.D., “but it’s an advantage nonetheless. So our battle plan will make use of the fact that we can fire our guns until the angels sing and he’ll have to count every shot.”

Tawfik nodded. “All will be as you wish, Blessed One.”

*   *   *

It did not take J.D. long to reach the shuttle bay, because unlike many other admirals, she had no trouble running flat out if the situation demanded it—decorum be damned. Besides, with her crew and the crews of every ship in the fleet running around like crazed weasels, why should she be any different? But when she got to the shuttle, she was annoyed to see Brother Sampson—standing alone.

“Where is she?”

“In her room.”

J.D. looked coolly at the Brother and then spoke softly to her avatar. “Avatar.”

“Yes, J.D.”

“Have two assault miners bring—”

Brother Sampson put his hand on J.D.’s shoulder, causing her high cheekbone to twitch slightly.

“You must not,” he intoned.

She glared at him, deciding.

“At least hear me out. You owe me that.”

An angry blast of air puffed from J.D.’s nostrils.

“Belay that order, avatar.”

The admiral attached the DijAssist to her belt. To few others would she have acquiesced, but she’d come to trust the Brother. His courage, she’d noted, was often equaled by his wisdom. “This ship is not a safe place for a little girl,” she offered flatly.

“Then why did you bring her, Admiral?”

“She had no other place to go. You
know
that.”

The Brother tipped his head.

“And I couldn’t just leave her.”

“Then why would you do so now?”

“Because she might die if she stays on this ship, damn you!” J.D.’s answer had leapt from her mouth as a harangue, causing the heads of a few technicians to turn in her direction. She lowered her voice. “That doesn’t explain why you disobeyed my order.”

“I disobeyed your order, Admiral, because as much as you’re concerned for Katy’s physical well-being, there is her emotional state to consider as well.”

“She won’t have any state, physical or emotional, if Trang blows this ship to pieces—and don’t think he won’t be gunning for it.”

“She can be put on a support ship or even an escape pod if it comes to that, Admiral, and I doubt very much that Trang would shoot her or any other defenseless ship—he’s no Gupta. But if you leave Katy here, you will be doing more damage than you can imagine.” Brother Sampson then dispensed with his admonishing tone. “I think you’re making a mistake.”

“Katy is
not
your responsibility, Chaplain.”

“No, Admiral, she’s yours—by the will of God—and she’s bonded to you.”

J.D. grimaced. The girl
had
taken to her, regardless of the fleet admiral’s less-than-motherly instincts. J.D. had found it odd at first, but as it had been with Manny, she went along because it felt right. She’d had to give in to the notion that there were just some things that rationalizing couldn’t explain—no matter how hard she tried.

“And I don’t think you realize how much you’ve bonded to her,” suggested the Brother. “Katy has lost everything meaningful to her, just as you once lost everything meaningful to you. I realize this may sound sappy, but screw it, the two of you have found each other in as odd a way as you once found Manny. And how it was with Manny—as you’ve confessed to me—it is with Katy; you both see in each other the hope you long for. Now, I know you don’t think of yourself as the mothering sort, in fact—call me old-fashioned—you’re about as far from a mothering role model as I think a woman should be, but it’s not what you
think,
J.D., it’s what that child
needs
.
You
, for her, offer physical protection as well as the sanity of her soul. You’re the only thing she has that she feels she can trust. If you send her away, you’ll crush her, and this time I don’t think she’ll ever come back.”

“But what if she gets hurt?” J.D. pleaded, her bravado suddenly failing. The thought of Katy being harmed seemed infinitely more disturbing to her than even the loss of Ceres itself.

Brother Sampson went to her then, first softly caressing her shoulders and then grasping them firmly. “Blessed One,” he said with utter calm, “she has lost her family and home. Despite the story you’ve created for her, in her own way, Katy knows her parents are dead and not coming back, even if she’s incapable of putting it into those words. Katy is still an open wound, desperately needing to heal. I repeat, send her away now, and you will finish the death of her spirit that Gupta’s evil started.”

“She deserves more than this—” J.D. indicated the loading bay they were standing in “—than life on an Alliance heavy cruiser.”

“And when God decrees that for her, you’ll give her such a life, but you and she are joined, Admiral. Now my orders for you are to go to Katy and reassure her that she’s not going anywhere. I cannot begin to describe the look of terror on that poor girl’s face when Fatima informed her of your decision.”

“Really?” J.D. asked, feeling an uncustomary stab of pain.

“Really.” Brother Sampson then pointed a finger to the blast doors leading from the shuttle bay. “What God has joined let no one sunder.” Then in a softer voice, “She’s waiting.”

“You know I’ll never forgive you if something happens to her.”

The Brother nodded with a saintly smile.

J.D. shook her head in disbelief and then headed out the bay door to her quarters. She failed to notice the entire crew of the shuttle bay break out into a wave of satisfied grins and then just as quickly dive back into their preparations. They’d come to like Katy, and many viewed her as a portent of good-luck.

Thirty minutes later, the last fleet of the Outer Alliance began blasting out of the orbit of Jupiter.

Tor Books by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

The Unincorporated Man

The Unincorporated War

The Unincorporated Woman

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.

THE UNINCORPORATED WOMAN

Copyright © 2011 by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

All rights reserved.

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