Haze Gray 84

Taylor watched as the other ships made it to the dock and things settled. She arched a brow at her crew running out hoses and workboats and barges showing up. She sighed and changed to her khaki uniform going face down in the doc.

She looked at Lisa in her at sea cabin. "Amy is going to kill you."

"Nah, she is going to give me to you for your thirtieth birthday. So, lots of people highly upset with us." Lisa offered.

Taylor snorted "Sure, ok, worry about that in the next lifetime. Why?"

"They don't see how the vote can be free and fair." Lisa shrugged.

"Let the EPWs vote. Not like I am taking them back to Hispaniola. It's up to their soon to be government what happens to them, I'm not even taking them to Navassa."

"Aside from those few Johan wants to put in front of Meili's tribunal. Well yours but she4 is really looking forward to it." Lisa smiled.

Amy came in "You're early. Hmm this could work though." She looked at Taylor and Lisa's face and broke up laughing.

Taylor sat on the bunk in her navy-blue panties and bra and reached out with a long leg and pulled Amy in. "Whoa Babe, I need a shower. I've been up to my elbows in people half the day."

Lisa nodded vigorously "And I need the hell out of here."

Amy fixed her with a glare "Wait a minute. So, what's up with the international community?"

Lisa sighed and gave a rundown while Amy stripped and showered, finishing as she trotted over and dove on Taylor. Amy nodded "Yeah, let the EPW vote. That will confuse the idiots for years. Not enough of them to affect the outcome either."

Taylor blinked "We have like a hundred thousand prisoners."

"Ten or eleven million people Babe. Drop in the bucket sort of. Soon as they get a government running, we can hand this off and go to the west coast."

Taylor snapped her fingers "What about Unryu?"

Lisa shook her head "Please don't, a SCB 125A Unryu class is a little much to be dealing with, even if it did come without escorts. I can't read Ziz at all, apparently she is joining the fleet?"

Amy nodded "Which pitched them a curve ball, them being the National Command Authorities."

"Phhtttt! Us too, I mean it is full size all the time, and needs oil, jet fuel, which what? And aviation gasoline, in vast quantities. Never mind the bombs and ammo, spares, any of that. How are we going to keep up with that thing?"

Lisa looked sheepish "A supply convoy of Ziz's transited the canal."

Taylor groaned "OK, we are going to need some volunteer crew to go aboard and start sorting that thing out."

Lisa nodded and made a note "As for aircraft, F16N and F4 in addition to late war propellor planes. Those freaking Reppu are cool."

Talor sighed "Which they had like three of at the end of the war. What is she doing?" The other two girls shrugged, and Amy gave Lisa a look. Lisa fled, blushing and giggling.

Haze Gray

The girls watched Taylor sit upon the dock l9ooking like she had licked an outlet. They turned to Amy who sat up and looked around smugly. Leslie rolled over and took this scene in. "Congratulations, you put the overall commander on evasive only in the middle of a war."

Amy grinned "Pashaw. She'll be fine in a minute." The girls watched as Taylors crew wrestled her hair into shape and then into a bun. A crowd of Yeoman in boiler suits worked her face, neck, and cleavage, over and then disappeared into that cleavage and a Chief came out on her shoulder with a sextant for a morning sun sight.

Her turrets all started elevating and traversing, exercising they called it, warming up the motors and the hydraulics and checking for faults is what it really was, and all the others turned to and they and their crews started work on getting to underway condition. While watching Taylor and chuckling. Amy had really tumbled her stable element.

The G Five showed up just about the time Taylor got ready for the day and Amy stopped smugging everyone in range. Barack eyed her "Dona."

Taylor rolled her eyes "Oh boy, one of those meetings.

Angela chuckled and Mozah looked at Taylor, then Amy and narrowed her eyes. Amy spluttered and blushed. Mozah grabbed her by an arm and led her off Barack sighed "Yes one of those. So, what possessed you to attack Cuba at three in the morning?"

Taylor looked around and spied Dreadnaught "Go find Maria and her prisoner, lets wake him up and ask him, one of the Chinese Havens can do it, Amy is busy." She had glanced over to where Mozah had Amy digging a toe in the granite surrounding the dock.

Barack blinked, then blinked again as the Cuban girl swam up with a workboat towing a floating stokes litter with an unzipped body bag in it. "What in the world?"

Johan showed up "Oh, we are interrogating the Russian? Wait a moment please." He got on his phone and people started showing up.

When the General regained consciousness he was facing an audience. Then the articles of court martial were read. The first questions flew out from the prosecutor, no not an audience, a trial. He explained his and the Russian forces actions as well as he could. He denied any responsibility for the Cuban military engaging the protestors.

Meili nodded and looked at the US, Canadian, and British, genral officer. Angela raised a hand "Excuse me Chief Justice, however we have a member on the way, he should be here in a few minutes. If you could wait and then catch him up, then we could have a full panels judgement on this important case."

Meili conferred with her colleagues. The consensus was that it couldn't hurt. "We will wait."

Taylor huffed and sent an affirmative over the ship to ship and excused herself to rescue Amy. Meili seemed to have this well in hand.

Mozah smiled at Taylor as she walked up "Dona, I was just discussing propriety with your wife." Taylor looked at her wide eyed, then looked at Amy, then she nodded. Amy turned a megawatt second of smile power loose on her then Mozah, who chuckled "So a blaster after all. At least you didn't jump on your wife, so my lecture seems to have worked. Good."

Amy hugged Taylors arm, still beaming at her. Taylor grinned, Amy was infectious, "So what is the deal with this Daughter of Abraham thing?"

Mozah sighed "Western education, it's your liberals trying to delude themselves that religion, as practiced by billions of people, doesn't matter. And then they wonder why the problems in the middle east are so 'intractable,' at least to their limited world view. Let me tell you a story, one I told the world leaders earlier."

Haze Gray

Stephen watched Mozah and the girls, now most of the ship girls. "She's telling her the same story."

Barack nodded. David added "Someone should tell the poor girl. A prophet, can you imagine?"

Barack chuckled "And an absolute monarch, monarch in parliament my butt."

David frowned "Yes, more like Victoria than Elizabeth II.

Haze Gray

Taylor walked down the dirt road surrounded by smiling Cuban children. "So, this is going good."

Tammi nodded "Suspicious."

Rachel rolled her eyes and whistled. A hundred dogs trotted off exploring. Stephanie grunted "Don't be a pessimist. This will let us get back on track to go to California."

The girls watched a Tradewind land. Tess nodded "Those things are impressive."

Taylor nodded "I know right? You know, we could go, the staff has this, Maria, your Cuban associates are good? I know the Cuban Abuela are up and running."

Maria nodded at the group of teenaged girls mixed in with the children and ship girls "And the Cuban Kanmusu hopefuls are already lined up." She smiled.

Taylor looked around and sighed "You know you won't be quite human if you ship right? You might never have families?"

Amy waved her off "Nah, I got it. Steph and Theo work out and we will have a test case."

Stephanie huffed "Hey! Never mind me and Theo. You work out you and Taylor."

Amy grinned lasciviously. Taylor blushed. The girls all made surprised faces then giggled madly. Taylor stripped off her T shirt and shorts to her less modest bikini and trotted into the ocean, in her heels. The others followed her. A bunch of drones got great pictures of proximity fused rounds going off. Leslie looked at Amy "Dat ass."

Amy flushed scarlet "Hush you."

Haze Gray

Nancy Pelosi watched the screens and wanted to scream, this idiot girl! She had taken out one of the few socialist, true socialist, governments and now she was playing in the ocean like it was nothing! She picked up her phone.

Several minutes of argument later she growled and slammed the receiver down. "Shortsighted! He is black for god's sake! Can't he see socialism is the only way to get his people what they want?" One of the younger workers in her office sighed, 'or you know, get a freaking job and pay freaking taxes. Who does this idiot think is going to pay for this utopia she plans to build? Never mind the Kanmusu just stopped him from machinegunning his own people. I wonder what she thinks of Tiananmen Square? Was that perfectly acceptable?

'Hmm, with the Cubans gone Venezuela was the next most fucked up socialist country in the America's. Hmmm, oil was that countries only hope, and they had fucked that up by the numbers, plus embezzled the proceeds from oil sales and Chavez friends and relatives were suddenly millionaires. Ray Charles could see what was happening there.

'Probably won't be long, time to get a book together for Nancy, maybe with a few months prep they could actually get her to say shit that made sense. Fucking San Francisco was going to keep electing Nancy forever. Hoping for a female socialist president any kind of way. First the democrats had to take back the congress though. One more face lift and it would be a female president with a van dyke. He chuckled to himself, you did not see many skeletor looking women in Tidewater where he was from.

'Brockton Bay though. These latest images, holy fuck. Girl would give a pedophile priest wood.'

Haze Gray

John Boehner watched the combined video and thought. Obviously, they would have to condemn the violence. Pelosi was probably losing her shit. Some concessions could be wrung from the stupid crazy cow. Woman was a walking advertisement for term limits. Her district just kept electing the piece of shit though. Didn't want her back in the district obviously, same reason Arkansas unanimously voted for Clinton, twice!

Not official condemnation. Obama would just veto it and start a fight. And right now, everyone loved this girl, ship, ship girl, whatever. Hmm, must tread lightly here.

Haze Gray

Taylor skated up the canal dodging Cuban women swimming in it on the way to the dock. "So, the canal and locks work just like a dock?" One of the Chinese Havens nodded. Taylor scratched her chin, "Unexpected?"

The Haven, Changchang, nodded "Very, though it is all connected and using water from the buffer? It is being looked at."

Taylor nodded "How many of these are going to trigger as ships?"

Noelle answered "Betting is no odds on a task group like the Chinese girls. High odds on more or less. The more extreme the higher the odds."

Taylor nodded "Hey ChangChang, any attempts by the Yangban?"

ChangChang laughed "No, neither of them have tried anything. We do get letters from the false emperor though. I'll be glad when we get to go establish Democracy in China."

Lisa arched a brow "Not socialism with Chinese characteristics?"

"Fat cats lining their pockets at everyone else's expense as long as they pay the party you mean." Changchang said.

Lisa shrugged "Yes? Better than having to pay off both parties?"

Changchang skated for a moment "They can join the USH." Taylor stumbled and nearly fell over. The others laughed.

Hong, one of the LHD asked "Are we waiting on Meilei to finish playing with the Cubans before we go to California?"

Taylor arched a brow "Playing?"

Hong waved "Everyone knows what they did. This is just to get them to cough up all the money to keep us from hanging them."

Taylor facepalmed "How did you all get so cynical?"

Hong looked at her "We can read, history is a thing? Socialist millionaires? Really? Marx, Engles, Lenin, all wealthy men from wealthy backgrounds, isolated and insulated by that wealth and their position from the grind that is socialism, a grind that if implemented fully means no one gets ahead, or gets wealthy, or even comfortable, every man's privations are everyone's. Let's not even talk about communism. Mao was from a wealthy peasant family. He should have known better. Beijing 1917 beautiful? Only privledged person could think so.

"If they were truly socialist or communist, they would have no more money or property than the poorest person in their country."

Hong blinked "They would be you! They'd spend all their money on the people, give away all their property."

Lisa looked at Taylor "Don't worry, I hide most of your money and property." She submerged when Taylors red eyes turned to her.

Taylor looked around the canal "How the faff does she disappear like that?"

Amy skated up and hooked her arm "Never mind, leave Lisa alone. You have enough to give away with what she hasn't hidden. The kids will need some resources."

Taylor rolled her eyes "Uh, wait, how many kids?"

"Alternating, me then you, for a few hundred years, barring twins, a thousand or so? Then the grandkids of course, great grandkids. It will be a fair few."

Taylor blinked "Wut?"

Amy rolled her eyes now "We've had our last upgrade Taylor. One more service life extension overhaul and we will be ready to bear children. Then well, we are mostly collapsed exotic alloys in some part of the multiverse. Not like we will age much." Taylor blinked. "I'm working on making normal, well normalish? Capes and regular people live a long time too. Lobsters are amazing, did you know?"

"Arglebargle."

"That isn't going to get you out of this conversation Babe." Amy grinned at her.

Lisa surfaced "Plus Prophet, chosen of the Abrahamic God."

"Faff, my life." Taylor pouted while all the others laughed.

Rachel shrugged "Alpha."

Taylor eyed her for a minute, then nodded.

Haze Gray

The discussion reverted a bit at dinner. The girls had been watching the tribunal work while monitoring the situation in Cuba and its surrounding waters, which had turned remarkably calm really. Taylor said "The problem with Marxist Leninist socialism, or communism, is a lack of input by the proletariat. Direct input. The state was dictating all things with input from intellectuals, not the people on the production line, or in the fields."

Amy nodded "And those same quasi intellectuals determining use value and therefore production for use. Intellectuals who were not engineers, or agronomist, or even production workers and farmers, and had never been. No one in most of their families had not been. They were generally petty nobles with too much time on their hands."

Lisa nodded "And no TV."

Juggernaut piped up "Nothing wrong with TV."

Taylor sighed "Not this again. Let's move on, we already decided that mindless entertainment in moderation can have utility.

"So, are the Congo societies just more intimately connected socialism?"

Maria shook her head "They suggest, there is no five-year plan. People listen to them because they are general headed by the oldest people in the area, the ones with the most experience."

Taylor nodded "So what did us showing up and changing Hispaniola do to them?"

Nadege sat "The weather didn't change much, still have the dry season, just not as dry. Still get hurricanes, just the houses are hurricane proof now." Taylor gathered her in a hug and produced a tube of sunscreen. Nadege snorted "Still have La Dona greasing us all the time. Candace making the fields and Amy making the seeds made life a little easier, at some point we might have people making surpluses, at the national level, then we will see how they do with handling free market forces."

Taylor looked thoughtful. "Kind of hoping for surpluses soon. Not that I mind, but what if something disrupts our transport? Food would get tight immediately."

Cassidy laughed "Disrupts our transport. For what, two days, until you, and consequently the rest of us, close with them and blow the crackers out of them? If the people driving our 'transport' leave anything? Plus, raw materials, including food, can come through the portals now, they would have to interdict the ships, aircraft, and transporters, so the stores and the yards. I think we are going to know and react if that happens Taylor."

Taylor nodded thoughtfully "Well, we have been purchasing a lot of raw material, like wheat for the flour mills, everyone has their own, uh, grinds maybe? Anyway, they would rather grind it here. Lisa bought mills all over the place and those are suppling their local areas, corn and wheat. Oats too, though that's a rolling mill? Some rice too, some, tons of it.

"Hopefully next year we will supply the mills from our own farms. Buying that stuff on the spot market is a bit chancy. People will speculate on anything.

"Oh, Lisa, cotton?"

Lisa nodded "We use a cracker load, and the ground was damn cheap. Same story, kids left the farms, more machines, better machines, then wham, four dollar a gallon diesel. Put a lot of the marginal producers out of business. We have cheaper diesel, but those folks were pretty old. Couldn't run any other crop either because there are no crops that make enough money between even no or low tillage and harvesting to pay the fuel bills.

"Plus, Cotton uses up the soil rapidly. So, Constance got on it and we planted thousands of acres of our nitrogen fixers and will plant cotton next year. Planted some this year in some cases but that's with us putting down all kinds of our nitrogen fixers and loads of n, p and k.

"Then, of course, the stores sell fuel at way less than the oil companies so some of the producers are getting back in the business. Don't think they will be able to compete with our farms but maybe?

"Which meant we had to buy gins. Old El Cheapo has mills, don't ask, I still haven't unraveled that. Government owned contractor operated mills which were BRACed and the government was only too glad to unload on us for a song."

Taylor was reviewing the relevant documents in ship space as they talked. She nodded "The mills can do wool too."

Lisa nodded "Poor naked sheepies."

Amy laughed "They will love it for the summer. I want to get a hold of a few of those too."