The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)

by John Scalzi

This world was found by humans nearly seventy-five years ago; the Ealan had a colony there but the Colonial Defense Forces corrected that.

The story of how I left Huckleberry begins—as do all worthy stories—with a goat. Savitri Guntupalli, my assistant, didn’t even look up from her book as I came back from lunch. “There’s a goat in your office,” she said. “Hmmmm,” I said. “I thought we’d sprayed for those.”

At the stop in the village of New Goa in the Huckleberry colony, Savitri stood up and called me a tool of the imperial and totalitarian regime of the Colonial Union. I liked her immediately.

“Everything about our little family is complicated,” Zoë said. “You’re eighty-eight years old. Jane is a year older than I am. I’m the daughter of a traitor.” “You’re also the only girl in the universe with her own Obin escort,” I said. “Speaking of complicated,” Zoë said. “By day, typical kid. By night, adored by an entire alien race.” “There are worse setups,” I said. “I suppose,” Zoë said. “You’d think being the object of worship for a whole alien race would get me out of homework now and then. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that it doesn’t.”

“You’re going to a new colony,” I said. “Not the afterlife.” Zoë smiled at this. “You weren’t paying attention to the gravestone,” she said. “I’ve been to the afterlife. Coming back from that’s not a problem. It’s life you don’t get over.”

“As much as I’d like to peg Trujillo as just another self-aggrandizing prick, we have to work on the theory that he might actually have the interests of the colony at heart. It’s galling, all things considered.” “There’s the possibility he’s a self-aggrandizing prick and he has the interests of the colony at heart,” Jane said. “You always look on the bright side,” I said.

Teenagers can be idiotic and stupid, but teenagers also model their behavior from the signals they get from adults.

“I think it’s interesting that in the middle of a crisis you can still think of ways to hamstring a boy sweet on your daughter,” Savitri said. “In a twisted way it’s almost admirable.”

When you control communication, you can hide anything you want.”

“The hell you say,” Trujillo said. “The hell I do say,” I said. “No joke. You talk about any of this before Jane and I are ready for you to talk about it, and you’ll be in deep shit.” “Define deep shit,” Gutierrez said. “I shoot you,” Jane said. Gutierrez smiled uncertainly, waiting for Jane to indicate she was kidding. He kept waiting.

I went to Zoë and gave her a fierce hug; she accepted it, but didn’t return it. “Oh, sweetheart,” I said. “I’m so sorry.” “I’m all right, Dad,” she said, in a tone that made her words a lie.

“You’re blackmailing them,” I said. “I made them aware that every action has a consequence,” Szilard said. “And in the fullness of their consideration they preferred the consequences of allowing you to return to Roanoke as opposed to the consequences of keeping you here.

The Colonial Union was wounded and shedding blood in the water, and the lesser fish were coming up from the depths to get a taste.

“We need to discuss your treason problem,” Manfred Trujillo said to me. “I don’t have a problem with treason,” I said. “I can stop anytime.”

The little joke didn’t go over well.

I came because I felt I owed it to you to say it to your faces.” “I don’t know how to feel about the fact you’re more comfortable lying to us up close than far away,” I said.

“Fair point,” Gau said. “But that’s not what I meant. I meant you’re not a traitor because your allegiance was to your colony. To your people. You’ve never betrayed them.”

“Look,” I said. “Something that needs your attention. Over there. Away from here.”

“Earth,” Rybicki said, and anything he meant to say after that was lost in his need to stare at the world he left behind.

The truth, as near as I could tell it. My gift to the world that had been my home, and which I hoped would be again.

“I know about the moratorium,” I said. “I’m asking why you.” “I seem to be good at speaking the politicians’ language,” Szilard said. “Apparently there’s an advantage around here to being mildly socially retarded, and that’s the Special Forces for sure.”

Your wife is many things, Perry, but subtle is not one of them. You, on the other hand. You would stew. You would look for a long-term solution, to punish those who used you, and to make sure that humanity wouldn’t face the same threat twice.”