“Seventeen ships.” Tessa shook her head, silicon note ‘puter shaking in unsteady hands. “My god, Ben. They took out seventeen ships and burnt everything in the system. Toliman is a cinder.” Shifts of her retina picked up by the silicon triggered more images, more footage, more headlines. “Nine more systems have reported the appearance of Coralate forces since Command issued the recall of the fleet.” She swallowed, hesitated, looked up. “Everyone is being ordered back to Earth. We’re abandoning the colonies.”

“We’re what?” Ben asked hurriedly, leaning over to glance at the ‘puter in her hands. “How. . . how can they. . .”

“The Coralate has proven that they can hit us hard anywhere and at any time.” She managed, her voice coming weak but building steel slowly, hardening to a point of immovable strength. “First the fleetyards at Sirius, then the retro and refit stations at Procyon. . .” She met his eyes again. “Ben, there isn’t enough of a fleet left anymore to defend anything but Earth. Command knows that the homeworld and the yards there are our only chance to save what is left of the species.”

“So they’re just going to abandon everything from here to Luna?” He stared back, then broke away, stalked off, hands going up in frustration. “They’re just going to abandon all those colonists, men and women who can’t even defend themselves from the local wildlife, much less even one Coralate warship– ”

“I don’t know, Ben!” Tessa all but shouted, eyes dropping blankly to the floor as the ‘puter hung limply from her hands. “Look, maybe some of them will be evacuated. We have the civilians from the station– I’m sure we’re not the only ones with noncoms on board.”

Ben shook his head, sighed, turned back, met her eyes. “It’s a crime,
Tessa.”

Swallowing, nodding weakly, she managed a quiet: “I know it is.”

“And what if the Coralate shows up at Earth?” He sat on the bed, put his head in his hands, sighed, eyes only meeting hers again after a long, frustrated pause. “We lost seventeen ships at Alpha Centauri. Seventeen, Tessa.” He shook his head, looked away. “We have what, twelve ships left in the entire fleet? Twelve, if everyone makes it back to Earth without hitting one of those blueskin bend-mines.” He breathed another sigh, followed Tessa with his eyes as she crossed the distance between them, sat down next to him, arms finding his shoulders. “We aren’t going to make it, Tessa.” He said quietly as she let her head come to rest on his shoulder. “We haven’t got a prayer.”

Tessa closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to grow there, to break and drop down her cheeks. Holding him, feeling him reach out to hold her, Tessa buried her face in his neck, breathed a broken sigh. Lips trembled, struggled with words that felt false, broken.

“Ben.” She managed. “There is a way.” He glanced up slowly, eyes red and wet as she pulled away along his shoulder just far enough to look up at him, to meet his gaze. “I have a plan, but first I have to see. I have to make sure.” She swallowed, sat up slowly, then turned away, eyes finding her hands as words came hoarse, broken. “The admiral, she– she wouldn’t tell me, but I have to know.” She closed her eyes. “I have to know how this war ends.”

Ben swallowed reflexively. “What do you have in mind?”

“I. . . I’m predisposed for VP.” She managed, offered the edge of a smile. “I’ve seen things in the past, like that day when I ran into you, when we first met, or in the wire chambers when I was in the TALENT program...” She swallowed, shook her head. “Sometimes, when I push myself, when nothing else matters, I can punch through, see things.” She hesitated, locked eyes with him. “I saw Izzy’s wake before it even happened.”

Dimitrov swallowed, nodded almost imperceptibly.

“And if it works this time, if you see. . .”

“If I see the outcome of the war,” she swallowed “and we’ve lost. . .” She hesitated, pulled in a shaky breath, looked away. “Then I’ll bug out. I’ll go through with my plan.”

“Your plan?”

“I. . .” She looked up at him again, breathed against the fear rising in her chest. “I’ll be going back in time, Ben. I’ll be taking the Seindrive V back to a time when it will make the most difference.” She paused, hesitated. “When it will make the most difference to me, to you and to the way the war turns out.”

Dimitrov hesitated. “You’re serious.”

The look in her eyes was as hard as steel.

“It’s the only way, Ben.” She swallowed, forced resolve into her tone. “It’s the only way.”

“Yeah.” He said shakily, swallowed. “Okay. Lets do this. What do you need?”