Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (3 page)

"Terril, I don't understand why you
and those five Scorpions are still
here
. I hope you're not AWOL," I said,
looking at her and the
corporal
standing against the wall behind me. The other
four were sitting at another table, eating. They seemed to be taking the
duty
in shifts.

"Admiral Plimson and General Garret
have not released me from my duty." A hologram sprang up from her SID,
displaying the letter signed by them, assigning me a security guard. "It
doesn't
stipulate
location
, so until I'm officially released from my duty, I stay. Colonel
Seng agrees."

"I'm thankful you're here and wish
you could stay forever. I just don't
want
you to get in trouble," I said,
wishing things were different.

"I'm here to keep you out of
trouble." She smiled. "Besides, you're the only
Si'jin
master
who can give
me a decent workout."

"Well, since you're here, why don't
you give us an update on what's happening upstairs." I nodded toward the
other Riss-humans sitting around the table.

"Admiral Wattson blew his top. He’s
had the Captain of the Hunter who challenged you relieved of command and put
under arrest, pending an
inquiry
. It's
probably
a smart move since the
army
and Shark
pilots are none too pleased the
navy
fired on a
ship
with their
friends aboard. Admiral Osborne returned yesterday from Fools Landing, which by
all accounts has escalated Wattson's
really
lousy
mood
to new
heights.
Admiral Plimson is due tomorrow, which has the fleet nervous.
The grumbling
and calls to
destroy
Freeland and the Riss have stopped.
Everyone knows something
bad
is going to happen and
is
trying to stay below the radar."

"I imagine we'll be seeing Plimson
and Wattson tomorrow,"
Pavao
said, taking another lick of her fruity ice
cream cone. "What have you
got
planned for them, Nadya? I'll bet it will
cause
a
Medusa
-sized headache."

Alena, Jaelle, and Elissa looked
nervous, watching
Pavao
and me. She was relaxed and smiling.

"Nothing. I think the bigger
question is ‘What are they planning for us and Freeland?’ The price may be
high."

"You could change your mind,"
Elissa said, in a whisper.

 
"We owe Admiral Plimson a
great
deal, but we cannot
partner
with people we don't trust. And I don't
trust
the assembled captains and their
crews."

"I’m looking forward to
tomorrow," Terril said to no one in particular.

"Why?"
Pavao
asked
,
looking
up at her.

"It's fun to watch masters
dance," Terril grinned.

Pavao
sat quietly
for a while, then nodded. "The Admirals and the
dybbuk
. I think
you're
right
, Gunny."

Image of a Riss sitting in
a lounge chair, watching me and two admirals throwing things at each other.

*
* *

As
Pavao
had predicted, the
Bateleur
hadn’t
even stopped decelerating when Terril's SID beeped. When she turned it on,
Bradshaw's face appeared.

"Yes?"

"Is the very attractive Captain
Reese available, Gunny?"

"For you, I'm sure she is."
Terril grinned and held out her SID towards me. "You must admit, Wattson
and Plimson are sneaky."

I had to
grin
. Yes, I would
never
refuse
a call, date, or
invitation
from Sean.

"Good morning, Sean. Wish you were
here." For
his sake
, I hoped
he wasn't on speaker with
others listening.

"Me too. Admirals Plimson and
Wattson would like to
speak
to you. They will
send
a shuttle for
you or meet with you on Freeland if you prefer." He looked
gorgeous,
even with the
worried frown.
For a moment
, I wished he and I could settle down on
Freeland and raise a family. A wonderful dream.

"Freeland. There are others who
need to be present."

"When? The
Bateleur
should
be in orbit within the next three hours."

"At Admiral Plimson's convenience.
I'm not
busy
," I said and couldn't
help
a laugh. Only a couple of weeks ago, I
was juggling what seemed like a hundred projects. Today I sat eating breakfast
with none. "Someone will
pick
them up at the normal landing pad. We can meet
at the
clan
’s administration building, if that's acceptable."

"I'll get back to you, Nadya."

"Terril, can you get a hold of
Ni'Shay
?"

She nodded. A few minutes later she
handed me her SID.

"Elder
Ni'Shay
, Admiral
Plimson wants a
meeting
with me. I've suggested the administration
building since I
believe
you and the elders should
attend
. Plimson will
have questions for you, and I cannot make decisions for the
clans
."

"You do,
dybbuk
, but I
understand we must figure it out for ourselves so that we own it." He
chuckled. "Let me know the time, and we will arrange transportation for
you and them."

* * *

The
time
was set for seventeen hundred hours
that
evening
. I dressed in
black slacks with a maroon long sleeved blouse I had purchased in
Rupea
the day after
we arrived. We had each purchased a complete wardrobe, including winter
clothing for
time
in the wilderness with the Riss.
Ni'Shay
was aboard
the shuttle that arrived to pick us up.

"I'm looking forward to the meeting
as are the other elders,"
Ni'Shay
said as he exited the Shuttle and
waved
for us to
enter
. I had asked
all the Riss-humans to attend.

"Yes, everyone seems to be, except
me. Maybe I should stay here, and you can all go."

"Then it wouldn't be as
interesting." He gave a slight
bow
as I entered the shuttle followed by
Terril and the others. The
ride
was made in silence. When we entered the
meeting
room,
Plimson, Wattson, Stenberg, Zann, and the elders were present.
Except
for the quiet, it didn't appear we had interrupted anything.
The
clan
had provided
snacks and drinks,
and
everyone had something to eat or drink. I went straight to Plimson.
I know my eyes were
misty
, and I hated what I was about to say.

"I'm sorry, Admiral Plimson. I
would
gladly risk
my life to
support
you and your
cause
, and the Riss would follow. But we have more
to fear from the SAS than the Aliens. Your
military
has lost
control of its
discipline
and are acting like thugs."

There was stunned silence.

Plimson surprised me by nodding. "I
wish I could
disagree
, Nadya, but I can't. However, you and I are going to
fix
it because
the alternative isn't acceptable. I'm shamelessly calling on whatever credits I
have with you," he said.

Wattson hadn't said anything but was
watching Plimson intently.

Pavao surprised me by handing me a cup
of kaffa as I sat.

"What I'd love to do is give
everyone in Freeland
space
a
survey
, asking on a scale of one to five
whether they think they need the Riss and their technology, whether
overwhelming force will suffice to
win,
and whether they
trust
the Riss to
fight alongside them. Then
make
up a task force of twenty cruisers, crew them
with the lowest scoring personnel, and
send
them to clean up Fools Hope."

"You don't think they could win
with twenty cruisers, including Hunters and Heavies?" Wattson asked.

"Without the Riss, the current Riss
technology, and people like Captain Gardner leading them? No. If anyone
returned, it would be the few remaining because they couldn't stop the
Medusa
—the
name Pavao has given the Aliens' mother ship—from leaving to
get
reinforcements." I took a sip of kaffa. "Take a look at the
Mnemosyne
and
Eirene
. Nance and I were next to the
Medusa
for five seconds—five—and
it inflicted
major
damage. Humans can’t respond in that short a time. I doubt our
automatic
systems could
have reacted that fast. And if you
plan
to slug it out with a
Medusa
, it
has thirty-two missile tubes and thirty-two banks of fifty and ninety-centimeter
lasers. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they couldn't reload within thirty to
forty seconds."

Wattson nodded. "Admiral Osborne's
assessment was pretty much the same, except he didn't realize the amount of
damage the Riss cruisers took when they skipped next to the…
Medusa
."

"Plus the
Medusa
would be sitting dormant and
could pick the best time to engage the task force.
No, sir. I doubt but a few would return
and not
unscathed
. And no, neither I nor the Riss would
wish
that on any
of your officers. Not even
MacLin
who shot a defenseless Riss, Gardner who
wouldn’t
support
us in trouble, or the Hunter
captain
who wanted to restrict our access to
Freeland. But we do not want to fight alongside them."

"What's the answer then?"
Stenberg asked, his voice filled with
frustration
.

"The answer is simple if you are
going to have any chance of repelling the Aliens."

"Then why haven't we
seen it
? Are we
stupid
?"
Stenberg asked, his
tone
harsh.

Plimson looked to be
ready
to say
something until I shook my head.

"No, sir. In peacetime, seniority
means
experience
and is,
therefore
, a
good
thing. In war, peacetime experience is
of little value.
The leaders need tactical experience or
,
lacking that, tactical judgment like that
learned
at the War College and
recognized by
With Comment
grades."
I looked to
Wattson, who gave a slight nod of agreement.

"If we promote those with tactical
judgment over those with seniority, there will be mass revolt and chaos."
Stenberg said.

"What do you plan to do with MacLin
and the Hunter Captain?"

"Court Martial," Wattson said.

"Many in the fleet will
perceive
that as an
unjust punishment, since many distrust or
hate
the Riss. Why not
retire
them? The
Riss do not wish them punished. They just don't want to
serve
with them. So
rather than promote the
right
officer over one with more seniority, either
retire
the senior officer
or
assign
him or her to the Home fleet." I looked around the table and
almost laughed watching the facial expressions change as they each considered
the ramifications. "I would think the younger officers would be delighted,
as it would open up opportunities for
promotion
and advancement.
Others would
realize they were in the military, and if they wanted to fight for the SAS,
they had to conform or be moved out."

Stenberg frowned.

Wattson smiled.

And Plimson laughed. "I had
expected one hell-of-a-headache from you, Reese.
Of course
, it's early,
but I like what you're suggesting. Sending people home who aren't
fit
for war will
not only save lives but
improve
our effectiveness and
maybe
improve
morale if enough opportunities open up." Plimson turned to face the elders.
"What about the clans?"

Ni'Shay
nodded.
"We elders of the clans have understood from the beginning we could never
be part of the SAS. You would never
trust
us again, so we chose to align
ourselves with the Riss, who held no malice towards us, and by extension the
SAS. We will continue to support the Riss and honor their
decision
." He
looked to each elder, who nodded in
turn
.