* * *
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.
A Tor® eBook
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kollin, Dani.
The unincorporated woman / Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin.—1st hardcover ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-1904-3
I. Kollin, Eytan. II. Title.
PS3611.O58265U56 2011
813'.6—dc22
2011013447
First Edition: August 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-8103-3
First Tor eBook Edition: August 2011
Look for the next book in the saga of The Unincorporated Man:
The Unincorporated Future
The Unincorporated Woman Page 55