Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (13 page)

Xun wore similar pants, shirt, and boots
but was dressed entirely in black. Like Terril’s, the material was silk, and on
each sleeve a long red-dragon. Terril’s hair was dark brown and short. Xun’s,
by contrast, was long, black, and tied in a knot at the back of her head.

It was so quiet, if I had closed my eyes,
I would have thought I was alone. The spectators, which must have included
everyone not on duty, were lining the walls, providing a large open area in the
center. When Terril and Xun reached the center of the area, they separated,
gave a nod of their heads, and stood. They stood like statues as the minutes
ticked by—five, ten…

Then Terril exploded into Xun, who
barely seemed to move as she somehow avoided the attack and countered with lightning
fast strikes, which Terril blocked. Even knowing what to look for, the strikes
and counters came too fast to follow. I saw blows that scored, but knew they had
been barely felt as the force was absorbed or substantially deflected. Suddenly,
they stopped and bowed. It had been a magnificent performance by true masters.

 
"That was beautiful, Admiral Zhu.
I’ve only seen one other as
graceful
and
deadly
as Xun: my
idol, Master Wei, who holds the highest Si’jin rank. "

 
"Yes, Xun is exceptional. She is
definitely the best of the red dragons—our elite guard. Your Terril is
also an exceptional fighter to hold her own against Xun. "

 
"I’m surprised one of them wasn't
killed. They weren’t wearing protective gear. " Wattson said, shaking his
head in disbelief.

 
"No, they are both masters of their
art. They have learned to negate the force of the blows their opponent manages
to land. Much like punching a rag hanging on a string. It moves but is
undamaged, " Zhu said, while watching Xun exit the room.

 
"Well, Reese, are you ready to
continue our discussion? " Wattson asked.

 
"Yes, as soon as Admiral Zhu and I collect
our advisors, " I smiled. Zhu nodded.

* * *

 
"I loved your outfit, " I said
to Terril when she joined me and my two Scorpion guards.

 
"It was a gift from Master Wei when
he gave me my ninth knot. It's strictly for show, so I never thought I'd wear it,
but I love looking at it. He said the design dated back to the original masters
who developed the art. They wore it for formal events and contests. "

 
"What did you think of Xun? "

 
"Like fighting Wei or a ghost. We
each scored several blows. None were significant enough to get an opening for a
kill or disabling blow. But I think she chose not to take a killing blow. I
knew I was vulnerable, and so did she. At very least, it would have ended the
match. "

 
"That’s what I suspected, " I
said.
 
"Xun and Zhu are like
ying and yang—opposite but complete together. She has mastered the art of
fighting; he has mastered the art of a mind at peace, much like when we prepare
to fight. "

The rest of the walk to the conference
room was made in silence. When I entered, Wattson, Stenberg, Zhu, and Xun were
already sitting with drinks. I fetched a cup of kaffa and
sat
. I looked to
Wattson, who nodded.

 
"I cannot make the final decision,
since I’m committed to supporting the SAS; however, we cannot be allies in name
only. We must agree to
support
and share information and technology. I became
a Riss-human for selfish reasons with no thought about the Riss. I’ve found I
was given a gift far greater than my initial reasons for agreeing to host a
Riss. We must share now for selfish reasons—to protect ourselves from the
Aliens. I would like to think this may be a gift, bringing two nations together
as friends. " I looked to Wattson, then Zhu, who said nothing.
 
"We must establish a Freeland-like
base in the UFN, not only to provide the UFN with the technology, but to
provide adequate and timely support to whatever strategy we develop. "

* * *

By the time we reached Echo, Wattson and
Zhu had worked out a framework for an overall strategy to combat the Alien
threat and for a Freeland-like facility to be constructed on Dong, in the Song
sector of the UFN. The specific details for implementing the strategy still
needed to be worked out, but in general, the alliance would concentrate on
destroying
Medusas
, rather than their
Light cruisers, based on my theory that they were being cautious because they
were still in the building up process and had limited mother ships. The longer
ranged strategy was to find their main base, which would hopefully have few
Medusas
,
and destroy it. I would be in charge of
starting and overseeing the new facility on Dong, which already had a small
manufacturing complex for repairing and upgrading UFN cruisers. Echo was
selected to be the Alliance command center because it was halfway between Dong
and Freeland. Wattson was happy with the Alliance but not with a Freeland-like
facility in UFN territory or me having to spend time there. But Thalia’s
high-Commander
comment had made him
realize it was one of those Plimson-like
I’m a
genius or a fool
depending on how it turns out
decisions,
and his responsibility alone to make.

 
"I’ve always admired Admiral
Plimson, but today, I realize what a truly remarkable man he is. Time after
time, he has had to make risky decisions that could not only adversely impact
his career but the SAS, and he never asked anyone else to share the
responsibility. I hope I’m as insightful as he has always been. I think the
deciding factor was that he has always trusted you, and you support the
facility on Dong. "

the success of the Alliance.>

<
High-Riss
higher.>
Image of me sitting on a platform five steps higher than Wattson.

* * *

We docked at the Echo station around
noon. Wattson, Stenberg, and I stood in the exit
bay
as Salazan
and Nelem arrived with their Scorpion guards a short time later.

 
"Well, Admiral Wattson, you will
regret refusing the JPU support. " He grinned as he stood looking down at
Wattson.

 
"Admiral Salazan, we did not reject
your support. We just didn’t believe one empire should have exclusive command
of the other empires’ navy. We remain committed to assisting the JPU in any way
we can. "

 
"It’s you who will require
assistance. And when you come to realize that, I and my forces will
lead
you to
victory
over the
Aliens. But, do not bring the cowardly Riss. " He sneered in my direction.

Having nothing to say, I smiled.

This twisted his sneer into hate, and
his face flushed. He turned and exited the ship.

Zhu and Xun appeared shortly afterward.
 
"Good day, " he said and gave a
small bow.
 
"Admiral Wattson,
Admiral Ba Li will escort a force of forty cruisers and will arrive here forty-five
days from now. It would be
good
if you were here to greet him since Echo is in
SAS territory. My staff and I will join you as soon as I ensure
Leade
r Reese has what she needs to
begin construction of the new facility. Leader Reese, I can expect you and your
people to begin arriving within the next thirty days? "

 
"Yes, Admiral Zhu. I hope to arrive
with the team who will be able to outline what we will need in facilities,
manpower, and equipment. There is little need for the workers until that phase is
underway. "

 
"Good, Xun has provided you with the
codes you will need to enter Dong without creating unnecessary alarm. And I
will ensure everyone is aware of your pending arrival. "

* * *

The trip back to Freeland took six days
and was uneventful. Even the entry into Freeland went smoothly. I dropped off
Wattson and Stenberg at Stenberg's Command ship, the
Horned Owl
, and proceeded to the docking station. Rather than tell
the story ten times, I immediately called a meeting of the Riss-humans, the
Elders, Ta'Lona, and the senior officers on the Riss cruisers. The meeting had
over twenty people present when I arrived.

"Good afternoon. I apologize for the emergency meeting and not
providing an agenda, but I have information that affects everyone and didn’t
want to have to repeat the story multiple times." I walked over, fetched a
cup of kaffa, and returned to the only empty seat. "First, the Alliance meeting
at Hayjar. We arrived…"

It took over an hour to tell about the meetings, the encounter with
the
Medusas
, and Aliens at All Flags as
they had a lot of questions.

"You kidnapped the delegation?"
Colonel McTosh as
ked, wide-eyed.

"She sure did, and assigned Scorpions to guard them, including
Admirals Wattson and Stenberg," Colonel Seng said.

Pavao grinned. "I’ll bet they loved that."

"Riss ship, Riss rules." I smirked. "Now, for the proposed
Alliance…" I spent another hour talking about the participants and the
various discussions.

"So, the JPU isn’t going to participate. That will weaken our
ability to fight the Aliens," Commander Clarkson, Pavao's Ghost commander,
said, nervously chewing on his lip.

"I don’t think so. The Aliens aren’t going to
leave
the JPU alone because they aren't in
the Alliance. They will just have to fight them without the Riss technology or
the support of the SAS and UFN. Besides, I think Fleet Admiral Salazan would
have been disruptive. He thought he should be the Alliance leader and in sole
command. The sad part is that his losses will be greater than they would be if
he had access to the Riss technology."

Pavao gave me the evil eye. "Alright, now for the good part,
which I’ve noticed you’ve left for last."

"Yes, Admiral Wattson has agreed to create a Freeland-like
facility in the UFN at Dong—"

The room erupted into chaos as everyone began talking, some jumping
up from the table to talk to someone several chairs away. It took a long while
for the conversations to stop and everyone to get
reseated
. Then the questions began.

"What does that mean?"

"How?"

"When?"

I waited for quiet before speaking. "That is really the main purpose
of this meeting, and what we will have to work out over the next week. I
envision a smaller version of the facilities here on Freeland to manufacture
the weapons and provide the modifications we are currently delivering to the
SAS fleet. In addition, I see a school to certify Riss qualified crews, and a
program to evaluate potential Riss-human candidates."

"I’ll bet Wattson didn’t think that up on his own. I can just
imagine the Plimson-sized headache that produced," Pavao said, shaking her
head. "You’ve opened Pandora’s box. I hope we can close it afterward."

high-Riss
answer?> I asked with an internal grin.

 
"I hope the elders will
support setting up such a facility in the UFN," I said, looking towards
Ni’Shay and the elders. I had volunteered them without asking, and they didn’t
report to me.

Ni’Shay seemed to survey the elders with his eyes before turning
back to me. "We are tied to the Riss. If you believe a base in the UFN is
necessary, then we will help make it happen."

"Thank you. We might be able to defeat the Aliens without the
Riss technology, but it would be costly. I’ll leave it to you to create a plan."
I stood. "I’d like to see the officers of the Riss ships back on the
Mnemosyne
in four hours, and for the Riss-humans to return with me on my shuttle."

* * *

"Well Nadya, what’s the game plan?" Pavao asked as we got
settled in the conference room and a
steward
laid out platters of a light lunch I’d ordered served.

"In order to make the UFN a viable ally, it's not only
necessary to provide them with Riss technology, but also Riss to support it. The
new facilities will require Riss to help the clans set up the new factories and
afterward, to be involved in the manufacturing process. In addition, we need to
begin the certification process."

"This Admiral Zhu has agreed to us certifying his people?"
Pavao asked, looking towards Terril, who stood leaning against the wall.