John Ringo: East of the Sun, West of the Moon

“I like it here,” Megan said.

A large, heavily muscled male arm terminating in a prosthetic appears over the side of the hammock. The prosthetic encounters the remaining goblet, closes on the rim and the goblet is lifted over the side of the hammock. There is some movement and the female ankles, reluctantly, separate to let the male feet rearrange. A blue parasol flies over the side of the hammock to litter the sands. There is a sucking sound.

“Yup,” Herzer replied.

There are some thoughtful sucking sounds from the hammock.

“What is this stuff?” Megan asked.

“Piña colada,” Herzer replied.

“’S good.”

“Yup.”

“I could get used to this.”

“Yup.”

“We should move down here after the war. Get a little place.”

“Yup.”

Slurp.

“Where’d you learn about piña coladas?” Megan asked.

“Edmund,” Herzer said. “He likes the islands.”

“Me too,” Megan said, musingly. “I wonder how much of the ship survived.”

Picture a space ship, its hull wracked by the titanic forces of reentry. Two of its massive fuel bladders are punctured as the weight of its hull drags the shattered ship into the third deepest oceanic trench in the world.

The third, however, is unharmed and brimming with enough helium three to run all the world’s reactors at full output for a year.

“I really wonder what happened to Reyes’ Key. You think it survived?”

“Dunno.”

Picture a half-melted armored body drifting in space. Picture a chain around the neck of the body and on the end of the chain a strip of titanium. Picture the long, slow, orbit that the body describes around the Earth, approaching, then swinging back out, over and over again in an extended elliptic.

Picture an electronic entity, her processors and memory ranging from the most advanced nanochips to the mating flight of bees, metaphorically stroking her chin as she considers the ramifications of the sinking ship and watches the long flight she is constrained not to interrupt.

There was another thoughtful silence, punctuated by the occasional slurp.

“So,” Megan said, “heard from Bast lately?”

“Megan?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Picture a tropical beach, light waves of aquamarine water washing pink coral sand. Palm trees. Sea breezes carrying the scent of clean water and a hint of ozone and salt. A volcanic cone rises in the background, its sides cloaked by virgin tropical forest speckled by waterfalls. Two stemmed goblets litter the ground, the remnants of piña colada melting into the pink sands.

Picture a hammock gently rocking back and forth as dolphins, dragons and mer-folk disport in the waves.

Team Herrick

Team Leader: Commander Herzer Herrick

Mission Advisor: Countess Megan Travante

Pilot: Joie Dessant

Comp Tech: Courtney Boehlke

Engineer: Evan Mayerle

Two Blood Lords:

Sergeant Layne Crismon

Corporal Yetta Barchick

Team Van Buskirk

Team Leader: Captain Arthur Van Buskirk

Pilot: Michelle Lopez

Comp Tech: Jacklyn Pledger

Engineer: Linda Donohue

Three Blood Lords:

Triari Sergeant Callius Doclu

Corporal Lief Mota

Private Ignacy de Freitas

Team Van Krief

Team Leader: Lieutenant Amosis Van Krief

Pilot: Kristina York

Comp Tech: Richard Ward

Engineer: Paul Satyat

Three Blood Lords:

Line Sergeant Doo-Tae Rubenstein

Sergeant Eaton Yamada

Private Silvano Bijan

Team Cruz

Team Leader: Lieutenant Brice Cruz

Pilot: Irvin Sanchez

Comp Tech: None

Engineer: Geo Keating

Four Blood Lords:

Triari Sergeant Ferdous Dhanapal

Line Sergeant Gyozo Nasrin

Corporal Manos Berghaus

Private Gustave Sesheshet

Team Massa

Team Leader: Lieutenant Michael Massa

Pilot: Josten Ram

Comp Tech: Manuel Sukiama

Engineer: Nicole Howard

Three Blood Lords:

Line Sergeant Arje Budak

Corporal Feng fu Nordbrandt

Private Rashid Whitlock

New Destiny Key-holders

1. Chansa Mulengela, Minister for Frika and Ropasa, Marshal of the Great Army of Ropasa

2. Celine Reinshafen, Minister for Ephresia (Stygia), Chief of Research and Development

3. Lupe Ugatu, Lord of Slavia

4. Reyes Cho, Minister of Myana

5. Jassinte Arizzi, Minister for Tairea

6. Demon, lone actor

Freedom Coalition Key-holders

1. Sheida Ghorbani, Her Majesty of the United Free States, Chairman of the Freedom Coalition.

2. Ungphakorn, Lord of Soam

3. Ishtar, Counselor of Taurania and the Hind

4. Aikawa Gouvousis, Emperor of Chin

5. Edmund Talbot, Duke Overjay, Baron Raven

6. Megan Travante, Countess Stone Hill

Neutral

The Finn