Prisoners in Cell 986

Robert, Pardon the repetition. The short form: I think that a warship was sent one year ahead of the semi-military colony ship. Maybe they were meant to go together--didn't Mrs. B say her ship was delayed? I think the war at Sts. Croix/Anne was short and ugly. The warship wiped out any orbital/space force and then nuked at least one city. Which makes for a military victory, but a warship doesn't have the wherewithal to impose more than a garrison. To secure the peace you need a whole bunch of instant loyal citizens to occupy the conquered territory. To deal with the twenty or twenty-one year time lag such a thing would probably have to be done. Otherwise you win the war but lose the planet. I don't think Mrs. B's mom and her friends were exported criminals, nor were they full soldiers. They might have been lower class/hill billy/welfare buyout or other marginalized group(s). Mrs. B's mom definitely wanted to go--otherwise she could've told 'em about the baby and gotten the waiver. But you're right, that collusive doctor makes it sound more military (if it is possible to transport the baby then why would they have a rule against it unless the mission has some initial military angle) and secret agenda at the same time ("heh-heh, this is supposed to be a ship full of Normans but we are Bretons!"). Just a thought. =mantis=