Chapter 111

Dear Marissa,

Wow. Some of your letter I didn't understand. Remember I'm a fifteen year old pregnant girl who never took a single high school class. High level multi-dimensional physics is not exactly something I'm good at. Ask me to point out the best route to drive a tank and I can do that with no problem, but the concepts you are writing about might as well be Arabic or Chinese. I'm just glad that the computers of the Confederacy are powerful enough to solve the equations required to navigate in space. If you asked me to do it, I'd get more lost than my brother's ship.

I guess I did understand that he's safe and healthy and missing you. But that because he's out of the areas claimed by the Confederacy the ship's computer is trying to compute a new course that will allow them to refuel and get home. I always thought the ships used hydrogen skimmed off of gas giant planets, so that unless he's somehow in a sector with no stars, his ship should be able to fuel. It might take some time to spot the right system, but from what I understand many systems have gas giant planets.

I can't say all, because I found out a bit more about one of the systems in Borneo District. I was sitting in on a briefing. Yes, I do go to briefings even though I'm on pregnancy leave. Erica and I like sitting with the men of the company, both to show solidarity with them and just for the companionship of other sponsors. I don't know if you notice, but sometimes you want to talk to another sponsor about your day. I love all the concubines in the household, but there are some things I can't really talk to them about.

Anyways, the briefing was held so that Colonel Frost could present the latest intel on the sector. Darling Downs has fallen. Not a surprise since Erica and I remember our experiences there. The others in the company feel the same, and there was a lot of dark humor about how Colonel Yarnway should have gone down with the planet. Of course, the man has already been sent from the district in disgrace, but I can tell you that the Charging Rhinos really hate the man.

Oh, I can't remember if I told you, the unit, Third Company, has finally settled on the Charging Rhinos as a unit nickname. Several of the tank captains put a horn near the end of the gun of their tank, and others gave us the nickname. It's silly, it doesn't really fit our style of fighting, but everyone loves it. It has definitely helped morale. The fact that Fabio's tank now flies a flag that Alexis made based on the nickname helps. She created a picture of ten Sa'arm warriors formed up in a triangle. They are small, like you might see in an animated comedy out of Japan. Heading right toward them with the horn leading is this massive Rhino that has a cannon attached to his back. She made another one right after impact showing the Sa'arm scattered like bowling pins after a strike, but the men wanted the one from just before the impact.

Yes, we have esprit de corps. I've told you about the fish baking after someone goes out on the boat and the volleyball tournaments. We are still recovering a bit after losing so many members on Darling Downs, but Alexis' little gift to the company had a huge effect. A large version of the flag flies at our headquarters pod, but its been modified. Admiral Himmel and General Montgomery found some historical record of "battle stars" where a unit that had fought in a significant battle was allowed to add a star and the name of the battle to their flag. We have two on ours. They are for the initial defense of Wadi, and then the Darling Downs Resistance. The only marine unit with more is the Roughnecks. They have five stars. I think some of the naval ships have more, but I don't ask very often. Char would know; she's great friends with some of the navy captains.

One thing that does puzzle me quite a bit is the level of paranoia you and Will have about the Confederacy and the computers that run it. Everyone in the Borneo District appears to trust that the Confederacy AI units are bound by laws that must be similar to the ones Asimov thought up back on Earth before computers were really common. I never read them, but Professor Corporal Kenneth Strong. (really just Corporal Kenneth Strong, but he was a professor of cultural anthropology back on Earth). He talked about them after a briefing. I guess the primary one basically commanded that a computer could not by action or inaction cause harm to a human. He guesses that the Confederacy units must have a similar command in their programming and if they have accepted humanity then they would be bound by the rule to protect humanity. Of course, he does point out that there is some level of interpretation and that an extreme one could result in attempts to reduce the natural aggressiveness of humans, but that right now, with a war on, that would potentially harm humans, so he thought the fear to be exaggerated.

I guess the fact that we are on the front and have fought the Sa'arm directly makes us much more willing to accept the AI units. We can't afford to mistrust them with how much they help us hold back the tide of six limbed warriors threatening to overwhelm us during every fight.

But I can understand your position a bit. On Trinary Island, thanks to the huge number of seeds Meiling brought and then the miracle fertilizer that John developed, we actually have enough food to feed everyone. Well, we have to fish, but we are slowly learning ways to fish that are safe for the fisherman and will actually bring in fish rather than a broken line or the skeleton of a fish after the other predators in the ocean enjoy a snack. People still use the replicators to obtain items we can't grow, but its mostly used to get raw meat that they will cook themselves. There is something truly wonderful about grilling on one of the many barbeques we have set up around the island. And it almost always results in a huge party.

In fact, we used those parties to introduce Violet's latest songs. She even did a live concert, with most of the other concubines participating. Jen and Katya are sitting out because they are pregnant, but all the other girls joined in and they talked Frodo and Vincent into joining in a couple of the songs. Frodo is great on the saxophone and Vincent knows how to play the trombone (in both senses. giggle)