Chapter 86

Dear sister-in-law,

Will is out of communication with me and for some reason your last letter was forwarded to me. Just to introduce myself I am Marissa, originally I was your brother's sponsor. But now I'm his spouse and quite glad for it, except for the part of him being away from home helping people. Not that I think or even imagine that he will remain 'true' to us even when I sent Holly along with him. But just his presence here was a calming influence from the moment I picked him up. He may not know that is the reason that I picked him over other people but it is.

In some ways I'm sure that Will would be insulted that I expect him to sample the concubines that he will be bringing back here. However knowing your brother, if they approach him correctly he will do just that to give them comfort. The question really will be whether or not the women and men that he picks up will come to see him as a protector. That was the second thing that made me want your brother above all the other candidates who stood in that line that day. Sure I could have picked another woman and enjoyed her body quite easily. But our pod, our family, if I was to make the mish-mash of being tossed together randomly and make it into one.

I'm not sure how to approach you or address you in this time of distress. Yet at the same time I wanted you to know that from reading your letters I believe that I've come to know you fairly well. And because I know you I hope that I may be allowed to share your pain. If you were here, I would surely invite you to be hugged by all of the family. Then we would all descend upon Borneo command like avenging Furies!

That is because I sense that you, like Will, are a person of intense loyalty. And being very loyal you find the sorts of games that people play in the name of politics to be at best distasteful. At worst they are fully evil. I know that only Will's commitment to me is keeping him from commandeering the Aer Lingus and showing up to rescue your lady love. I say that because if there is one person in the universe who he loves more than me it is you. Therefore I expect that he is experiencing an intense bout of cognitive dissonance as his instinct to protect you wars with his duty to me.

The only thing I can say is this. Trust in the system. The AI should have shipped off an encapsulation of all of its inputs when the Colonel demanded a trial. You and your ladylove are not concubines to be cavalierly executed. But rather both of you are combat soldiers who were acting in the heat of battle. Further if the situation is anywhere near as bad as you indicated then every ship's captain who entered the system should have recorded their observations with regard to the situation.

I'm including some pictures of the family, so that you will be able to see your nieces. I must say that when Lily was very distressed to deliver her baby early. First because she thought that certainly she would lose the child, and then when the little girl did survive Lily was upset that Will and I had decided that she should have Ron's child instead of your brother's.