Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (30 page)

* * *

power.>

I planned to increase the power slowly until
the
Medusa
detected us, then exit
quickly. If the
Maat
were
in the area waiting for us, I hoped it would
detect our power before the Aliens.

third power.> I said a half hour later.

Maat
.>

"Echo?" scrolled across the
monitor.

seven, full power.>

* * *

All I saw were smiling faces on the ten days of
travel back to Echo. We had found
the Aliens
, and the war had a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Well you did it, Nadya," Terril
said as we sat in my office relaxing.
 
"You found Freeland and now... the
Aliens' home base."

"Yes, that's the good news..."

"And like Freeland, there is a cost. "

"But unlike
Freeland, I don't think there is any room for compromising with the Supreme
Council of the Gods."

The entry into Echo space went smoothly. I
think the entire fleet had been holding their collective breath waiting to hear
something about our fate. They obviously knew the scout had fled
and
the
Maat
and
Mnemosyne
had followed it. Seeing
us return was considered a good sign, and the space-waves were alive with
chatter. Comm had already received twenty
Welcome
Back
and
Well Done
messages. It
only took Wattson a half hour to request a meeting, not that I blamed him.

Eurasian
.>

"Request meeting at your earliest
convenience. Wattson," scrolled across the monitor.

following message
: Request SAS and UFN Fleet Admirals meet on
Mnemosyne
for
overview
before determining subsequent meetings.
Reese.>

Ten minutes later.

Eurasian
.>

"Estimated rendezvous with
Eurasian
in four hours. Wattson."

I smiled. He was obviously coming to meet us,
as we were at least eight hours away from the
Eurasian
.

Elpis
. Sheva, meeting in four hours on
Mnemosyne
. You should attend.>

Maat
. Zhang, meeting in four hours on
Mnemosyne
. You and your staff should attend.>

* * *

Commanders Iglis and Byer, Colonel Seng, and
I were waiting when Zhang and his staff, Jaelle, Colonel Hakon, and Commander
Henya entered the conference room. It was like a family reunion as they shook
hands and gathered in pairs or groups to talk.

After Zhang
collected
a cup of tea, he and Jaelle came over to me.
"Going to war with the Riss is an interesting experience. It's so easy to
think when everyone around you is calm. And the fact we didn't have to kill
anyone made it a delightful adventure—like a tour of the seven wonders of
the old world," Zhang said, his eyes bright and face smiling.

"I admit I started to panic when the VTM
lit with all those cruisers headed straight for us. But Zhang and the Riss were
so calm I couldn't help but relax. Then it was easy to focus on
the
problem
, not all the terrible things
that could happen," Jaelle said with a big smile. "I know I could
never captain a human ship, but I believe someday I will be right for a Riss
ship."

"Good. I plan for you to command the
next Riss cruiser after the Themis." I smiled at Jaelle's rapidly changing
emotions: shock, fear, resignation, and finally satisfaction.

"Thank you, Leader, I won't let the Riss
down," Jaelle said.

Just then, Sheva appeared. "Bendis and I
can't wait to hear what you found. I wish we had been along," she said.
"The
Eurasian
and the
Dynasty
shuttles are only minutes behind
me."

"Yes, Sheva, you missed the experience
of a lifetime. A scenic tour of an Alien civilization," Zhang said.

Wattson entered with Zhu. I imagined he had
waited in the shuttle bay for Zhu to arrive before being escorted to the
conference room. They came directly to me.

"Why the secrecy, Reese? Everyone in the
fleet wants to know what happened,
and
the task force commanders need to be in on the planning."

"I just
felt it was better to give you and Admiral Zhu an overview of what we found and
let you decide who should be involved and how to disseminate the
information."
When Wattson nodded,
I continued. "If everyone will please be seated, I'll get started. I
invited the attached units from the
Mnemosyne
and the
Maat
because they saw what we
did and might have a unique perspective based on their expertise. It's my assessment
that had we continued to destroy
Medusas
,
they would have stopped their campaign within another loss or two. They are
keenly aware of security and would have had to weaken it to send out more
Medusas
." My assessment was greeted
with nods of agreement from around the table.

"What kind of force are we facing?
Wattson asked.

I nodded to Zhang, curious as to what he’d
seen since I hadn't had an opportunity to talk to him.

"We saw seven functional
Medusas
and two under construction.
Judging by the
Medusas
on guard at
the Wave exit, we would have to assume they carry the maximum
capacity—twelve cruisers. Therefore, eighty-four plus another twenty or
so at the space platforms or in between planets."

"And that means over a thousand
fighters," Byer said absentmindedly as he stared at his SID.

"Planets?" Zhu asked.

"Yes. They have planet-side facilities
on three planets and multiple space platforms. It appeared that all three
planets were being mined for raw material, but one had an installation of some
sort. The space platforms looked to be construction facilities where they were
assembling cruisers and
Medusas
. Only
one looked like a headquarters or command center, although it was large enough
to be research and development, system engineering, and robot production combined.
I'd wager it's where they store all their
people
."

We spent the next four hours reviewing the
information the sensors had collected from both ships.

"I'm glad you decided to brief Admiral
Wattson and me before anyone else. The fleet will need to know,
or
the rumors will get out of hand. But it
needs to be filtered. Simple truths that are easy to digest—the security
at the Wave
,
estimated number of
Medusas
and cruisers, and the fact
they have a mining operation and space platforms. I believe the information to
the senior commanders needs to be structured so as to focus one issue at a
time, rather than give them everything at once," Zhu said, directed at
Wattson.

"You're right, Admiral Zhu. I'm having
trouble focusing. I suggest you, Reese
,
and I sit down and develop a briefing for the captains for general
release to their crews. And then the issues we will need to address with the task
force leaders and their captains," Wattson said. "Several of the
issues go well beyond the task force commanders."

* * *

Over the next eight
hours
, we worked on a briefing for the
captains and a written handout for their crews. The information was general and
without a lot of details. We stated we had found the system the Aliens were
using as a main base, that three
Medusas
guarded the entrance to the system, and that three planets had mining
operations, space platforms, and one or two
Medusas
each. Then we turned to the issues facing an invasion of the system.

* Stenberg would have to discuss our finding
with the JPU and their potential participation.

* The force needed to gain entrance to the
system.

* The force needed to hold the Wave exit.

* The force needed to destroy the Aliens.

*
Given the above, we needed a
strategy which would determine each nation’s participation
.

An hour after returning to their command
ships, Wattson and Zhu sent out our prepared briefing to all captains and scheduled
a meeting for the next day with the task force leaders. Iglis was allowed to send
the general briefing information to Admiral Butler, and Wattson requested Admiral
Plimson come to Echo to attend a
special
meeting.

The first meeting with the task force
commanders was chaos, as everyone had questions he or she thought more
important
than the problem at hand—the force
necessary to enter the
Alien
's
system, referred to as the Red Dwarf or just Red.

Wattson would not allow me or Zhang to answer
any question that did not relate to the basic problem.

Finally
, Zhu quieted the room. "Quiet,
please
. It should be obvious by now
that we will accomplish nothing if we spend the day answering random questions.
In time, all of your questions and concerns will be addressed. But for now,
each meeting will address one issue, and your focus must be on that issue only."
He made eye contact with each individual. "When we enter Red, there will
be three
Medusas
with twelve cruisers
each with ten fighters. What force will we need to gain entrance? First, let's
consider brute force."

The discussions went on for over two hours.
In the end, it was decided we would need two Alliance cruisers for every one Alien
cruiser, which would require around seventy unmodified Light cruisers, and six
to one unmodified Heavy cruisers for each
Medusa
.
That was about one-third of the SAS Navy just to get into the system. They
further estimated that only twenty percent of the armada would be left
operational.

Then Wattson pushed for the next phase. What
did we need to destroy the Aliens’ remaining fleet? Given four additional
Medusas
with twelve cruisers each and
approximately twenty to thirty around the platforms, they figured we would need
one hundred fifty Lights and twenty-four Heavies.

The room was silent when the exercise
finished. That was approximately two hundred forty to two hundred fifty
cruisers. Throw in another fifteen percent for unknowns, and you had the entire
SAS or UFN Navy.

"Why did I have you estimating the worst
case when we have Riss technology? Because I wanted everyone to see the
magnitude of the problem. That we could win with overwhelming force, but the
cost would be the destruction of the SAS or UFN navy and the loss of over one
hundred thousand lives. Even if we shared the burden equally, neither navy
would be able to meet the needs of its empire afterward. Overwhelming force is
not and cannot be the solution. That's enough for today. Tomorrow, we will
begin to examine our alternatives."

* * *

"That was a depressing meeting,"
Sheva
said as we sat having a late-night snack in
my office.

"I suspect tomorrow will be worse,"
I said, fearing the tone of tomorrow's discussion.

"You mean everyone will want the Riss to
be the solution," Zheng said.

"Yes, what matters if a thousand Riss
die if it saves several thousand humans?"

At the realization of what Zheng and I were
thinking, Jaelle's hand jerked, splashing her wine on her shirt.

"Yes. Never mind that it's a fifty-to-one
relationship, one Riss being equivalent to fifty sailors. Worse yet, one Riss
is equivalent to ten million civilians." My eyes stung with tears at the
thought.

"We could leave," Zhang said.

I knew he was questioning himself as well as our
dual loyalties—we were humans—and me as I spoke for the Riss.

Image of
Riss sitting with ice-pack on her head, dark circles under blood-shot eyes, and
thinning gray hair everywhere.

When I looked around, everyone was smiling.
Thalia had broadcast the image to the other Riss.

"No, we can't leave. We owe Plimson for
helping us achieve the stars. We will share in the risk and the solution, but
we will not be the total solution," I said, speaking for the Riss.

* * *

The meeting the next day was subdued. Wattson
began by taking an inventory of the ships that had been modified for the new
missiles, the number of Riss certified cruisers, the number of modified
fighters, and an inventory of each Riss missile type. The results weren't very
impressive. Counting the task forces at Echo and the currently configured two
at Freeland, the two nations had fourteen Heavy cruisers, nine Hunters, and
eighty-nine Light cruisers.

The SAS had twenty-seven Riss certified
cruisers and the UFN
four
, for a
total of thirty-one. The SAS had thirty nine cruisers modified for the Riss
missiles and the UFN six, but without a Riss on board that limited the useable
missiles to Dusters, Dummies, and only the partial use of Dragonflies. To make
matters worse, most ships didn't have the full capacity of the Riss missiles.
Even the most optimistic didn't think we could do more than get in the front
door with our current forces. The day again ended in a deadly silence, like in the
eye of a hurricane.

* * *

The next day started about as I had expected.
Wattson and Zhu had barely sat down when Admiral Botos demanded, "What
about the Riss? Aren't they part of this alliance?"

Before Wattson could speak, Zhu said, "We
already know the status of the Riss. They have five operational cruisers that
are Riss-certified, each with detachments of fifteen Ghost fighters. They are
ready. The question is, ‘How ready are we?’"

I was surprised but shouldn't have been. He had
a better overall understanding of the situation than almost anyone.

"Unless we are expecting them to solve
our problem," Zhu added.

"Well, it's their problem
too
," Admiral Modero said, looking towards
Botos. They had obviously talked this over beforehand.

"Actually, it's not. Unless I'm wrong,
the Riss would not be fighting the Aliens if they didn't have a mutual support
agreement with Admiral Plimson. They don't consider fighting the Aliens self-defense,
as the Aliens do not want to kill us. They merely want to confine us to our
planets, and being confined to a planet wouldn't bother the Riss, who are an
outdoor race." Zhu looked at me.

"Fleet Admiral Zhu is correct," I
said, and bowed in his direction.

"They're cowards!"
Quinterly
shouted.

I chose to ignore the stupidity of the
remark. I normally would have left the meeting, but everyone, except for the
three SAS task force commanders, looked shocked at the outburst.

"
Quinterly
, please see me after the meeting," Wattson said with a sigh.
"Admiral Zhu is correct. We know the status of the Riss cruisers. What we
need to determine is the status of the SAS and UFN fleets and what we must do
to get them ready for an assault on Red. Because as the last two days have
shown, we're not ready."

* * *

Admiral Plimson arrived on the Bateleur the
next day and promptly called for a meeting with Wattson, Zhu, and me. When I
strode into the room, Wattson and Zhu were already there.

"Good day, Admiral Plimson,
gentlemen," I said. Plimson always made me feel good. I poured myself a
cup of kaffa and sat.

"Congratulations, Reese, on finding the
Aliens’ base of operations. You appear to be their
dybbuk
too," he smiled. "From Admiral Wattson's briefing,
this isn't like Freeland. Overwhelming force would require the equivalent of the
SAS navy. And today, we aren't ready for anything other than throwing enormous
numbers of cruisers at them and hoping we win by attrition. Am I wrong?"
He looked at Wattson and Zhu.

"Your assessment is correct. The
potential solution is the Riss technology and the Riss," Zhu said.

Plimson frowned. "Potential?"

"Yes. We have to address several issues.
How fast can the Aliens produce
Medusas
?
Which Riss technology should or can we introduce within our fleets? And what is
the net benefit given any period of time?" Zhu paused and sipped his tea.

"Admiral Zhu is right. We cannot
introduce all of the Riss technology into our fleets. The best example is Riss
certified cruisers. We’ve proven we don't have enough qualified personnel. And
then there are the Riss missiles. Without a Riss on board, only the Dusters and
Dummies are usable. The time tradeoff is also an issue—is the time to introduce
X
modifications worth the time we are
giving the Aliens to produce additional
Medusas
and cruisers?" Wattson said.

"Thorny questions, which will determine the
cost of winning. You have already established the cost of using overwhelming
force if we could assemble two hundred and fifty cruisers today. We can't. It
would take months, meaning the cost would be higher. You three will have to
decide on the number and type of upgrades to achieve optimum results—the
minimum loss of life. Stenberg has arranged for a meeting with the JPU to
discuss them joining the Alliance and has alerted them to the presence of the
Aliens in their space." When no one said anything, Plimson looked at me.
"Reese?"

"I stand by my agreement to share
technology and to support the SAS and the Alliance against the Aliens; however,
the Riss cannot be 'The' solution."

"I agree. We must share the risk
equally. Too many see the Riss as being able to save human lives but forget, or
more likely don't care
,
that it
costs Riss lives,
which are no less precious and also
far
rarer
."

Zhu nodded. "I agree. They must be used
sparingly and then only where they can provide the maximum benefit."

"What I’m expecting from you is a plan
that tells me what resources you need, when you need them, and where they are
to be delivered. Then, I will do my best to make it happen. As of today, the
Echo Operation is terminated,
and
Operation Red is now underway. Actually, if the Aliens send a
Medusa
or two to quarantine a system, that
would be welcomed since it’d be one less you will have to face at their home
base."

"I'll need a complete inventory of the
SAS fleet," Wattson said, then nodded at Zhu. "And you will need one
for the UFN navy. And Reese, I'll need the status of Freeland and Dong."