John Ringo - Islands of Rage and Hope

“H7 doesn’t like me, remember?” Faith said. “I’m not so sure about some of the rest of my guys. They might be immune, they might not. And I’m not losing Jan. I’m not, Sophia. I’ll help.” She wrung Trixie until the water ran red on the deck.

“You may not be able to make it, Ensign,” Dr. Rizwana Shelley said, walking up and holding her hand out for a package. “ I can. And test it. And make sure it’s right. I’ve already started the lab up. All I needed was the gel. And, of course, the biological material.”

“I take it you’ve decided to assist, Doctor?” Sophia said.

“Yes,” Dr. Shelley said. “Entirely.”

“What changed your mind?” Sophia asked.

“Your sister’s helmet camera,” Dr. Shelley said. “Not the fight. Or that as well, perhaps. The destruction. The devastation. It is not necessary to have an additional flight to check on my daughter. Her neighborhood is gone. Everything is gone. It has all been destroyed. Not, truly, by people, even insane people. By this horrid disease. Which must be ended. Forever. Whatever it takes.”

“Good thing we brought back some nice fresh spines,” Faith said, pulling a plastic bag out of her soaking assault ruck. “You might want to wear gloves.”

“I’ll grind them for you,” Sophia said, taking the ziplock bag. “I’ve done worse.”

“That, right there, is a beautiful sight,” Steve said as the crew of the SSGN USS Florida started landing at the pier in Guantanamo. Dr. Shelley had a full lab set up in the Grace Tan , still anchored in the Thames, and was cranking out vaccine like there was no tomorrow. Among other things, if the Marines might be a bit squeamish about stripping out the spines of infected Gurkhas had no problems with it. And there was a copious quantity of available infected in London. As well as survivors.

Subs were proceeding to the Thames to pick up their vaccine and then delivering it wherever it was needed. And at “in excess of 20 knots,” attack subs could deliver it all over the world in record time. The crew of the Florida had been subsisting on coconut and fish, and not much of either, for most of the last year on a desert island in the Indian Ocean. There was the best meal the cooks in Gitmo could make for them awaiting their arrival. And the Alexandria was alongside taking on stores, the crew as thin as death camp survivors but pitching in with a will. They had more missions to accomplish and now at least they had supplies to do it.

General Montana had declined to take command from either General Brice or Steve. He had taken a voluntary demotion to colonel, “’cause colonel’s more fun than being a general,” and was slated to move to the Pacific as CINCPAC as soon as all the subs were vaccinated. He and his command team were going to take one of the SSGNs for the voyage.

Nobody was arguing.

“Over a thousand survivors from London alone,” Stacey said, holding Steve’s hand. “Four thousand sub crewmen. And seventy Gurkhas.”

“Survivors self-extracting in the sub-arctic,” Steve said, looking out at the rising sun. “About to have a baby boom. All the boat corpsmen are about to be very busy. We’re pulling out of the dive, finally. Now we can really get started. Now we can fly…”

“Liiiisten Up, maggots! This is DEVIL DOG RADIO, an official station of the You-nited States Government, transmitting from sunny and zombie-free Guantanamo Bay. To catch all you yardbirds up on what’s been going on in the world since the Fall…”

From: Collected Radio Transmissions of The Fall

Last listed transmission of this compilation.

University of the South Press 2053

John Ringobrings fighting to life. He is the creator of the Posleen Wars series, which has become a New York Times best-selling series with over one million copies in print. The series contains A Hymn Before Battle , Gust Front , When the Devil Dances , Hell’s Faire and Eye of the Storm . In addition, Ringo has penned the Council War series: There Will be Dragons , Emerald Sea , Against the Tide , and East of the Sun, West of the Moon . Adding another dimension to his skills, Ringo created nationally best-selling techno-thriller novels about Mike Harmon ( Ghost , Kildar , Choosers of the Slain , Unto the Breach , A Deeper Blue , and, with Ryan Sear, Tiger by the Tail ). His techno-thriller The Last Centurion was also a national bestseller.

A more playful twist on the future is found in novels of the Looking-Glass series: Into the Looking Glass , Vorpal Blade , Manxome Foe and Claws That Catch , the last three in collaboration with Travis S. Taylor. His audience was further enhanced with four collaborations with fellow New York Times best-selling author David Weber: March Upcountry , March to the Sea , March to the Stars and We Few . There are an additional five collaborative spinoffs from the Posleen series: The Hero , written with Michael Z. Williamson, Watch on the Rhine , Yellow Eyes and The Tuloriad , all written with Tom Kratman, and the New York Times best seller Cally’s War and its sequels Sister Time and Honor of the Clan , all with Julie Cochrane. In addition, Ringo’s Princess of Wands and Queen of Wands broke new ground in contemporary fantasy adventure. And his science-based zombie apocalypse Black Tide Rising series includes Under a Graveyard Sky , and To Sail a Darkling Sea .

A veteran of the 82nd Airborne, Ringo brings first-hand knowledge of military operations to his fiction.

BLACK TIDE RISING: Under a Graveyard Sky * To Sail a Darkling Sea * Islands of Rage and Hope * Strands of Sorrow (forthcoming)

TROY RISING: Live Free or Die * Citadel * The Hot Gate

LEGACY OF THE ALDENATA: A Hymn Before Battle * Gust Front * When the Devil Dances * Hell’s Faire * The Hero (with Michael Z. Williamson) * Cally’s War (with Julie Cochrane) * Watch on the Rhine (with Tom Kratman) * Sister Time (with Julie Cochrane) * Yellow Eyes (with Tom Kratman) * Honor of the Clan (with Julie Cochrane) * Eye of the Storm

COUNCIL WARS: There Will Be Dragons * Emerald Sea * Against the Tide * East of the Sun, West of the Moon

INTO THE LOOKING GLASS: Into the Looking Glass * Vorpal Blade (with Travis S. Taylor) * Manxome Foe (with Travis S. Taylor) * Claws that Catch (with Travis S. Taylor)

EMPIRE OF MAN: March to the Sea (with David Weber) * March to the Stars (with David Weber) * March Upcountry (with David Weber) * We Few (with David Weber)

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: Princess of Wands * Queen of Wands

PALADIN OF SHADOWS: Ghost * Kildar * Choosers of the Slain * Unto the Breach * A Deeper Blue * Tiger by the Tail (with Ryan Sear)