Rebellion Ebook Full by B. V. Larson

seven ships I sent back to the ring we had just come through. They were to grab every living man they could and bring them back.
    “Sir?” Gorski asked, trying to get my attention.
    “What is it, Captain?” I snapped.
    “I’m not sure, sir…”
    “Not sure about what?”
    “Not sure this will work. I’m still toying with the math. You might have to abort the rescue effort at the ring.”
    “Clarify. And do it fast.”
    Gorski shook his head and worked at his screen where he had a big spreadsheet app displayed. Calculus functions were everywhere, displaying large numbers.
    “The invasion ship is not decelerating. If we send back our assault shuttles, they might not be able to get to the marines, pick them up, and then turn around and chase us down before we’ve reached our destination.”
    “Which is?” I asked.
    Gorski tapped his board. “I’ve plotted that out. Given our course and the time-frame the Macros provided, we are heading for one of the big satellites orbiting the outermost warm-water world. There are factors I’m not sure of, but if the Macros keep to their schedule and launch us about four hours from now, we will be going pretty fast when we get there as it is.”
    “Just do the math, and give me the answer.”
    “I can’t give you a definitive answer, sir,” he said. “There are unknowns.”
    “Such as?”
    “The big one is our launch point: How far out do the Macros expect to be when they launch us at the enemy?”
    I nodded. I could see that. If they intended to move right up and dock with these satellites…that was a far different set of circumstances than firing us out of the hold at a safe distance. Possibly, they intended to pass by and shoot us out laterally, like drive-by bullets fired out a window. Not being able to ask your commander a legitimate question about the grand plan was painful when setting up an assault.
    “What’s your call, sir?” Gorski asked.
    “What’s a safe point of no return?” I asked.
    Gorski didn’t ask what I meant. He knew well enough. I watched him tap at his screen. I needed to know how long I had in the worst case to make my decision.
    “You should have two hours, Colonel,” he said. “After that, we are taking the risk of not having the assault ships with us when we have to make our attack—given that the macros won’t adjust their timetable.”
    I thought about it, and the more I did the more I didn’t like it. The Macros had never been easily diverted from their plans—even when they were suicidal. They’d rather see us all die pointlessly than be a few minutes late. There was a certain beauty in their approach, from a commander’s point of view. These heartless robots were very good at motivating people to be on time.
    I listened for a second to the SOS calls. I ordered Sandra to hook me up on an open transmission channel to my drifting marines. At least, with the hold door open, we could do that much.
    “Echo Company,” I said. “This is Colonel Kyle Riggs. We are in contact. We have your positions mapped. We are coming to get you, boys…one way or another.”
    There was a lot of cheering after that. Only Major Sarin and Captain Gorski stared at me worriedly. They knew I was splitting my forces in the face of an unknown enemy. I was changing the plan midstream. Possibly, this was a foolish error, but I couldn’t bear the thought of sailing on by my own men and leaving them hanging out there in space, watching us. I knew they were dying gradually in the cold. Call me a sentimental fool, if you wish.

-6-

    Out of the seventeen marines who were sucked out into space, we recovered all but two alive. Three of the survivors were too banged up to fight, but they would heal fast in tanks of nanites. They would have to sit out this assault, but if there was another one, they would be ready to go by tomorrow. Our medical nanites were now better than ever before. They seemed to be learning and getting better at bodily repair each