Women of War

Table of Contents

 

“Shouldn't you be at the first level by now?”

“Sir!”

Torin fell into step at the lieutenant's right shoulder as Franks hurried off the concourse and out onto the road that joined the seven levels of Simunthitir into one continuous spiral. Designed for the easy transportation of ore carriers up to the port, it was also a strong defensive position with heavy gates to close each level off from those below; the layout ensured that Sho'quo Company would maintain the high ground as they withdrew to the port. If not for the certain fact that the Others were traveling with heavy artillery—significantly heavier than their own EM223s—and sufficient numbers to climb to the high ground over the piled bodies of their dead, she'd be thinking this was a highly survivable engagement. Ignoring the possibility that the Others' air support would get off a lucky drop.

“Well, Staff, it looks like we've got the keys to the city. It's up to us to hold the gates at all costs.”

And provided she could keep Lieutenant Franks from getting them all killed—but
that
was pretty much business as usual.

—From
Not That Kind of a War
by Tanya Huff

Copyright © 2005 by Tanya Huff, Alexander Potter and Tekno Books

 

All Rights Reserved

 

DAW Book Collectors No. 1335.

 

DAW Books is distributed by Penguin Group (USA).

 

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.
All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

 

 

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Printing, July 2005

 

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED
U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES
—MARCA REGISTRADA.
HECHO EN U.S.A.

S.A.

eISBN : 978-1-101-49852-1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction
copyright © 2005 by Tanya Huff and Alexander Potter

Fighting Chance
copyright © 2005 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Painted Child of Earth
copyright © 2005 by Rosemary Edghill

She's Such a Nasty Morsel
copyright © 2005 by Julie E. Czerneda

The Children of Diardin: To Find the Advantage
copyright © 2005 by Fiona Patton

Not That Kind of a War
copyright © 2005 by Tanya Huff

The Black Ospreys
copyright © 2005 by Michelle West

The Art of War
copyright © 2005 by Bruce Holland Rogers

Geiko
copyright © 2005 by Kerrie Hughes

Shin-Gi-Tai
copyright © 2005 by Robin Wayne Bailey

The Last Hand of War
copyright © 2005 by Jana Paniccia

War Games
copyright © 2005 by Lisanne Norman

Fire from the Sun
copyright © 2005 by Jane Lindskold

Sweeter Far Than Flowing Honey
copyright © 2005 by Stephen Leigh

Token
copyright © 2005 by Anna Oster

Elites
copyright © 2005 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

—C.S. Lewis
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

 

 

I'VE ALWAYS HAD TWO REACTIONS to Lucy's conversation with Father Christmas.

First: of course battles are ugly when women fight. War is ugly when anyone fights. There's no such thing as an un-ugly war.

Second: of course battles are ugly when women fight. Historically, anthropologically, by the time women get involved in war we've moved past the posturing and the rhetoric and gotten down to the ugly business of survival.

We did wonder, way back in the beginning before the stories started coming in, if the gender of the authors would make a difference in the approach. Fourteen stories is definitely too small a sample for any kind of social commentary but it was interesting to discover that the majority of the writers involved in this anthology—all women—didn't actually include a war. Wars had happened or were about to happen but generally, the stories deal with women warriors. Women who were about to be warriors, women who were warriors, women who had been warriors and the personal costs they paid for taking up arms.

It was just as interesting to find that almost all the men who contributed did include a war. The exception being Steve Miller who wrote, as usual, with Sharon Lee. The only thing I, personally, am willing to conclude from this is that women, as a rule, take war more personally than men.

As for the actual stories, well, there are warriors you know, equally memorable warriors you'll be reading about for the first time, and ways of waging war that will almost seem like art.

 

Tanya Huff

 

 

Historically, war has been defined as largely the province of men. This has always been something of a mystery to me. I was raised in a largely female enclave—five older sisters and a very strong mother. As such, the power of the female has always been obvious to me. I remember being in first grade and finding it patently absurd that anyone anywhere would judge women unfit for combat. Anyone who didn't believe women could and would fight, as well if not better than men, simply hadn't met my family.

From a biological standpoint, testosterone (among other things) has an obvious effect on men, leaving us with a higher tendency toward aggression, physical violence, and territorial behavior. Granted, we are not necessarily dictated by biology, but neither should we discount it and assume it powerless. The biological evidence points up an obvious question. If biology presents us with men who are more likely to gravitate to warlike behaviors and reactions, does it automatically follow that women are more peaceful? Over the years of studying feminist theory and gender differences, I've heard a number of arguments to that effect.

I'm not convinced. I think I've spent too much time surrounded by women to truly believe women are
by nature
more peaceful than men. React differently, fight differently, resolve conflict differently? Definitely. But by nature less inclined to fighting and war? Not only am I not convinced, I'm incredibly drawn to female characters in fiction who explore this topic.

Throughout those years of shifting pacifism and feminist studies, I've remained fascinated by the concept of female warriors and how gender plays out in the human phenomenon of war. This interest is one of the many reasons for my attraction to the fantasy and science fiction genres. Where patriarchal human history defined war as man's territory, and woman as having no place there, fantasy and science fiction broke down those walls. The plethora of strong female characters in traditionally male domains captured me from an early age, and the genre has never failed to deliver.

Women of War
grew out of these interests. A collection of stories from all over the fantasy and science fiction continuum, with one driving theme—the main character must be a female warrior. Her circumstances could vary, but she must be at heart a warrior—trained for and suited to battle, however that battle might be defined by the individual author. The results have been everything I could have wanted.

The stories that follow explore women in war from a number of perspectives—from god-touched warriors to enlisted personnel, from officers to new recruits to veterans—and from a number of worlds. What links each to the next is the strength of that central female, as she goes about doing what must be done, however she must do it. Each story offers insight not only into an unforgettable female fighter, but also into how war is experienced by these women, and by their respective societies.

I hope you enjoy as much as I did the intense women who explode off the following pages, and the worlds to which they take you.

 

Alexander B. Potter

TRY IT NOW,” Miri called, and folded her arms over her eyes.

There was a couple seconds of nothing more than the crunchy sound of shoes against gritty floor, which would be Penn moving over to get at the switch.

“Trying it now,” he yelled, which was more warning than his dad was used to giving. There was an ominous sizzle, and a mechanical moan as the fans started in to work—picking up speed until they was humming fit to beat.