Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (14 page)

Terril nodded in agreement. "A ten-knot performance."

"And I suppose you are going to accept UFN volunteers as
candidates for the Riss-human program?"

"Yes, I wish I didn’t have to ask the Riss to give up their
freedom, but…"

I objected.

Image of a line of Riss stretching into the
distance.

"You know that’s not dangerous. We've a Raider captain, a
particular nasty one I've been told, sitting among us. Does anyone of us distrust
him?" I asked. Damaass looked nervously around the table, and then smiled
when everyone shook their head in the negative.

"Pavao’s concern, and mine, is about after we defeat the
Aliens. But as Thalia has so elegantly pointed out, we cannot solve the problem
until we know what it is." I laughed and took a sip of kaffa.

"Nance, I'm going to take Damaass with me. He’s a point of
contention here on Freeland, but he won’t be in the UFN. Besides, you’re the
best person to speak for the Riss here."

"I guess I can’t refuse since Cethlion is giving me the
standard
high-Riss
response we’ve all come to love." Pavao grinned.

"I’ll take Jaelle and leave Alena and Elissa to captain the…"

<
Maat
.>

I asked.

"The RNN
Maat,
and before you ask, Thalia informs me she's
the Egyptian goddess of truth, balance, order, law, and justice. Speaking of
the
Maat
, when will she be ready, and do we have any candidates?"

"Admiral Zann has given me five names. She says they should be
arriving at Freeland over the next couple of weeks. What do you want… Oh, my
responsibility." She grinned.

"Yes, you will need to set up an equivalent of Zann House to
test and evaluate the candidates. Alena and Elissa can explain exactly what was
involved."

* * *

After an hour break, the senior officers began arriving. I waited as
they got settled.

"Gentlemen, I need you to put together a plan for deployment to
Dong and the crewing of the new Riss cruiser, the
Maat
. The
Mnemosyne
and the
Minerva
will be deployed to Dong."

"You want to know about rotations, replacements,
certifications…" Commander Byer asked to general nods.

"And your concerns and any potential problems you foresee. I
believe the crews will be allowed planet-side time on Dong."

"That will help," Seng said. "Combat?"

"In the near future, I’d expect we won’t see much action, as we
will be helping the UFN develop the infrastructure to implement the Riss
technology within their fleet. And here on Freeland, we’ll be trying to put in
place the structure to build the Riss Nation Navy. We must expect to lose
cruisers, captains, Riss, and attached personnel, so we must have a way of
replacing them. That assumes you want to remain attached to the Riss cruisers."
I crossed my fingers.

 
 
"I think I speak for everyone here.
I wouldn’t want to be anyplace else. " Byer said, scanning the people
around the table.

 
"Agreed. "

 
"Yes. "

 
"Of course. "

Followed Byer’s comment.

 
"Thank you. "

Two weeks later, Pavao and I met with
Admiral Wattson and Stenberg on the
Eurasian
,
which had arrived from Eden as a replacement for the
Golden Eagle
, lost at the battle of Hayjar. Wattson had included
his current task force commanders.

I was just about to go over to Sakaata
when Sean shouted,
 
"Attention,
" as Wattson, Stenberg, and Zann entered the room.

 
"At ease, " Wattson said and
took a seat at the head of the table as everyone found seats.
 
"I’ve already discussed it with my
task force commanders. I’m sending six of the current seven task forces to
Echo. Admiral Gebauer will be in charge. He and I discussed a tentative
strategy, which he and Admiral Ba Li can begin to implement while waiting on
Imperial Admiral Zhu and me to arrive. Eden has been recalling cruisers from
around the three sectors and will be sending some to Freeland. I’m staying temporarily
to
organize
the arriving cruisers. I plan to create another task force which
will accompany me to Echo to fulfill our commitment of seven. "

Wattson stopped to take a sip of the kaffa
that Gerald, his new aide, had set next to him.
 
"Admiral Sakaata’s task force will
accompany Leader Reese to Dong and remain to support her. Since you two worked
together before, I don’t think I need say more. Admiral Stenberg will be station
commander, and Admiral Zann will continue to be in charge of upgrading the
fleet. Whomever you appoint,
Leader
Reese, will be in charge of the Riss projects and security on Freeland. "

 
"I’m leaving Captain Pavao, whose
new position is
Leader
in
Freeland. I’m also leaving Alena to command the
Maat,
which will be
operational within a few weeks. Elissa will be her XO. In addition to
monitoring the Riss projects and Freeland security, Captain Pavao will be
conducting the evaluation of the Riss candidates, who will be arriving within
the next two weeks. She will also continue to certify Riss-qualified teams and
assign Riss to those cruisers. If, for whatever reason, Captain Pavao is
unavailable, Alena will be in charge. "

Pavao sent.

wanted it.>

I felt a wry
smile.

When Wattson nodded, I continued.
 
"The elders chose a total of one
hundred engineers and designers to go to Dong, and I have chosen two hundred
Riss. I and Captain Damaass will provide their transportation. We plan to leave
in one week. "

 
"Excellent. Are there any questions?
" Wattson asked, while scanning the room.

 
"Don’t take it as an accusation,
Leader Reese, but will Riss cruisers be assigned to support the
Medusa
strategy? " Admiral
Quinterly asked.

 
"I understand the question and the
reasoning behind it. Thanks to you and Admiral Wattson, I believe we are
trusted allies, and as such, my goal would be to have a Riss cruiser with every
task force. " I shrugged.
 
"But I'm unable to because of
production limitations and even more critical, the lack of captains. Today,
Captain Pavao needs to be here on Freeland and I need to be on Dong.
Consequently, Captain Damaass is the only captain available, and I know most of
you would be uncomfortable with him in your task forces. "

 
"You trust him? " Modero asked
in a neutral tone.

 
"With my life. He's Riss as much as
Captain Pavao is, or me, or any other Riss-human. He would not only defend you
with his life, but you couldn’t ask for a better tactician at your side. "

 
"I attest to the latter. The man is
good, " Sakaata said with a shake of her head.
 
"It’s like he has a spy on your
Bridge. "

 
"I trust your word,
Leader
Reese, but I would be afraid to
trust everyone in my task force. I will attest to the fact that prejudice is
hard to shake. "

 
"Let me assure everyone here that
the Riss will support you in any way Admiral Wattson feels necessary, and that
Captains Pavao and Damaass will be available if the need is more urgent than on
Freeland and Dong. "

 
"I’m pleased with everyone here and
finally feel we are a united force. I agree with Reese, right now the priority
for the Riss is getting more of those ugly, " Wattson grinned,
 
"ships they call cruisers produced
and manned with combat-ready captains. I too would like to see one with every
task force. Pavao, see what you can do to speed up production. I’d rather have
cruisers temporarily without captains, than captains without ships. "

* * *

Seven days later, we left for Dong, a
nine day trip. I called a staff meeting the next morning and included Ta'Lona,
who would be the project leader on Dong.

 
"Well, Ta'Lona, how are the
Freelanders
doing on
level three? " I asked after everyone was settled.

 
"Everyone is enjoying the ship. It’s
like
being
outdoors, and we haven’t encountered any hostility from the other
humans on the ship. In fact, most have been friendly. Of course, we are a
little apprehensive about Dong. "

 
"You have Commander Byer and Colonel
Seng to thank for the atmosphere on the
Mnemosyne
. They are the best of
the best as are their troops. " I nodded to them.

 
"I think we have the Riss to thank.
This is a Riss ship, and
everyone is
equal
is a contagious concept. It’s going to be hard for anyone assigned to
a normal SAS cruiser after this. "

Byer said and Seng nodded agreement.

 
"Not to mention the accommodations,
" Seng added.

 
"I'm hoping that Admiral Zhu will
allow shore leave while we are on Dong. If he does, Commander Iglis, I want you
to appoint a few people to work with whomever Zhu designates to learn the local
taboos. Then I want you to conduct a mandatory seminar before anyone is allowed
to go planet-side. "

 
"What about us? " Ta’Lona
asked.

 
"I don’t want you to delay getting
started, so I’ll allow a small team to look over the current facilities and
determine what will need to be done to replicate your Freeland structure, until
the seminar is ready. They know they
need
us, so they will be accommodating, but
the fewer
misunderstandings,
the better it will be for everyone. "

 
"What about training? " Byer
asked, obviously concerned about flying in Dong airspace.

 
"I’ll talk to Admiral Zhu. If it’s
possible, I'd like joint exercises with their navy and commandos. "

 
"Wow! I would never have thought of
that, " Byer said, shaking his head.

 
"We must trust each other if we are
going to be an effective force. And trust takes time to develop. What better
way than to work together? Besides, it will reduce the boredom. "

I couldn't repress a laugh, which by now
everyone knew was in response to Thalia.

 
"Normal work shifts for now. I’ll
probably go to a modified ship alert after we arrive. We’re allies, but it would
only take one fanatic to destroy what we are all working toward. "

* * *

I stayed after everyone had left,
drinking kaffa and wondering what it would be like on Dong. Hopefully, we
wouldn’t find hard-core prejudices against the Riss, Riss-humans, or clan.

 
"What do you think, Leader? "
Terril said, breaking me out of my musing.
 
"About partnering with the UFN.
"

 
"Come sit down, Terril. " I
would have offered them all to sit, but I knew Terril wouldn’t allow everyone
to relax, although the odds of something happening were close to zero.
 
"What did you think of Xun, as a
person? "

 
"Yes. Their leaders are the key.
Just as you set the tone for everyone on the Riss cruisers, Zhu and Xun will
set the tone for those on Dong. " She sat quiet for a few minutes.
 
"I liked her. She's intense, but I
think that has a lot to do with her training. It began when she was very young.
But her choosing not to deliver an embarrassing blow when she could have, says
a lot about her. She’s not driven by ego and content that I knew she could
have. Like you with the clans, she will treat us honorably. "

 
"Yes, I
believe
the same is true
about Zhu. He’s a very shrewd man who knows an Alliance is not only critical
but in the UFN's long-term interest. Plus, I think he's fascinated with the
Riss. "

 
"And you. " She laughed.
 
"Well what are we going to do for
nine days? "

 
"I guess we could go see if you can
reproduce Xun’s attack and develop a counter move. "

 
"Good idea, Master Reese, " she
said, rising with a smile.

* * *

The nine days to Dong were boring, as
Thalia kept reminding me. I held a short staff meeting to hear what was going
on—nothing—walked around talking with the engineers and designers,
taught Si’jin class, and worked out with Terril.

Battle stations. Weapons off. Sensors active. All engines half speed. Broadcast
entry codes.>

Immediately, lights flashed and SIDs
buzzed with notification of the status change.

< Engines half speed.>

I sat back, hoping Admiral Zhu had
notified everyone of the good aliens’ arrival.

culture.>

Image with a Riss with
fingers crossed.

broadcasted.>

The radar monitors immediately lit with
multiple ships, and the VTM sprang to life, and tags began appearing: UL1, UL2,
UH1… Within several minutes, more than sixty Light and Heavy cruisers had been
identified. Close to the Wave exit, several cruisers' weapon systems went
active shortly after we exited but quickly went off. Sakaata’s task force
followed minutes later with no trouble.

Dynasty
requesting a connection.>

Zhu’s face appeared on the monitor.
 
"Good day,
Leader
Reese. As you probably surmised, Dong is the staging area
for Admiral Ba Li’s task force to Echo. Plus, I added three additional task
forces to protect Dong as it is going to host the Riss upgrade facility. I
would like to invite you and your staff to dinner, if you are not otherwise
engaged. "

 
"We would be honored, Admiral Zhu.
"

 
"Would twenty hundred hours be
acceptable? And if I could
impose
, would one or more of your Riss join us? I
wish my people to get to know the Riss as I have—as an extremely
intelligent and gentle people. "

 
"We will see you at twenty hundred
hours, Admiral. "

 
"Who? " Jaelle asked.

 
"Commanders Iglis, Byer, Colonel
Seng, and r-Kharis. And get me a connection to the
Condor
. " I’d left Damaass off the list, as I felt one captain
should remain on duty at all times—at least for now. The monitor soon lit
with Sakaata’s face.

 
"Leader Reese, are you inviting me
to dinner? " she grinned.

 
"No, Admiral Zhu is inviting us. If
you would like to bring one or two guests, I don’t think he will mind. He’s
asked for a Riss to attend. "

 
"I imagine you aren’t bringing
Damaass. "

 
"No, old phobias die slowly.
Nineteen hundred hours on the
Dynasty
.
"

 
"If you don’t object, I’ll join you
on the
Mnemosyne
for the trip to the
Dynasty
. With the amount of cruisers in
the area, I think we should limit the number of shuttles in the air. Besides, I
doubt Commander Byer is going to let you go without a Ghost escort. " She
laughed.
 
"See you at eighteen
hundred hours. "

* * *

Sakaata had been right; Byer was
insistent
that I have a
Ghost escort
,
and of course, Terril insisted I have guards. The only
concession
I could
get
was that the
Ghosts would have their systems
active
and Terril and two guards would go
unarmed
. I was glad
they wouldn't compromise on the escorts. If someone made an unsuccessful
attempt on my life, the consequences could be managed; however, if I were
killed, the consequences could escalate out of control.