The woman had listened, begrudgingly. She'd not appreciated Damien's help, but she'd taken it. Most of the women were the same way, they'd never been in a situation like this.

I had one tiny spot of relief. Both Hannah and Kennedy had left me messages. The girls were a little beaten up, but none were gravely injured. They had trusted the men's weapons, although it had taken Hannah and Ra longer to realize their effectiveness. My girls had become scavengers, destroying the aliens that were knocked down by the men. It became a good system.

“Tosu was here," Kennedy wrote me, “as were Nu-reeh and Dinah. Tosu took a direct hit from a beam so it would not hit me. I dragged her behind a large boulder myself and sent men to tend her later. She lives, but she was badly damaged."

I felt for my child. Guilt could not claim her. She had to stay strong in this fight.

“Tosu made her choice," I wrote to Kennedy quickly.

“Whether you would like it or not she promised Long ago to do this for me. Feel grateful and fight, but do not feel guilty. This was her choice."

I didn't hear back from my youngest daughter, but I hoped that she would not be affected by this badly.

In the quiet of the camp Rose and I settled on a warm stone to rest until the next battle began. No one believed it was over. We wanted to be at our post when we were needed. The warm stones were a fine place for us to rest until the next day started.

“You must eat," Rose whispered to me in the pre-dawn of the next day. She was right and we moved to the food area. Men were there already, eating quickly so they would be ready. No one was really talking, we were all just waiting. Rose and I picked out our meal and finished as fast as we could.

There was still no sound from outside. I saw men, heavily armed men, coming inside. They had obviously been on a night Long watch, waiting for the attack that didn't come. ALL of them wore the same frustrated scowl on their face. It gave them the image of a dangerous gang and not @ group of men we might have a pleasant meal with.

“Sirs, can you tell me what is going on?" I asked as they passed.

My voice came out more formal than I intended it to. The men's demeanor was unnerving. Even Rose, who was now usually calm and collected in the face of uncertainty and stress was cringing beside me and gripping my hand. Our fearful reaction to them seemed to startle the men out of their funk.

“Raif, rescued from the Barnas compound," one of the men said attempting to relax and smile, "there isn't much going on out there. We've been sent inside to rest until mid day. There is to be an announcement by the Administrators in a few moments.”

I thanked the men for the information as Rose and I headed for the Administrators’ area.

The announcement was brief. The Administrators Listed names of families that had been killed. They told us that the attack had subsided for the moment and they told us to be ready for more.

“Women on the other side of the world do not just build warships,” Hassar announced. "They also know how to operate them. It is not their favored way to fight, but the women have seen the devastation being done to our planet. They will take the fight to the warships above us."

The men and women around me murmured. This certainly was unusual. The women's weapons had always been the first line of defense. If they'd decided to use the ships, that indicated how fierce the battle was.

Everyone was dismissed. Those that had been on patrol or watch were sent to rest some. I was Learning Paterian men, if they were healthy, had a great tolerance for sleep deprivation. Their replacements had heard this already and were at their posts. Most of the men left in the camp were assigned to load transports with supplies. When the men on the front lines were sent home, their replacements should be ready to leave.

Rose and I were sent to the tailor's shop to work.

"I think they just want us out of the way, stitched and sewed.

Rose said quietly as we

It made sense. I was not allowed out of the safety of our camp and Rose was too weak to do much fighting. This little part of the cave was a safe, out of the way place for both of us.