Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (9 page)

"Reese?" Wattson said, looking
at me.

"I doubt we can convince navy
captains to surrender. They would think it cowardly—"

"Surrendering would be the coward’s
way,"
Salazan
sneered.

"But if anyone from this delegation
is killed, it will preclude any chance of an alliance. The governments will not
trust
the survivors."

"What do you suggest,
Leader
Reese?" Zhu asked.

"Since we can't stop them from
fighting, I think you and Admiral Wattson should direct your cruisers to
support the JPU fleet in the upcoming battle. And the delegation should
accompany me back to the
Mnemosyne
to witness the Aliens in
action."

"The cowardly Riss aren't going to
join us. Why would we want an alliance with cowards?"
Salazan
said loudly.

"The
term
coward
means nothing to the Riss, Fleet
Admiral
Salazan
. We will not participate today because it’s suicidal and will not
change the outcome. Even if we could win eventually, which we can't, the scout
ship sitting by the Wave
entrance
will return with reinforcements. You can't
call for reinforcements
,
since by now, your
Comstat
has been
destroyed."

"
Nelem
?"
Salazan
looked to his
advisor.

After speaking on his SID, Nelem nodded.
"Captain
Abbassi
confirms the Comcast is down."

"
Nelem
, we are
returning to the
Hammerhead
,"

"No!" I said, looking at
Wattson.

Terril stepped in front of me as
Salazan
took a step
toward me.

Xun began to move toward Terril and me,
but Zhu touched her arm, stopping her.

"Why,
Leader
Reese? Will you kidnap us?" Zhu's voice was
quiet
.

"If that will keep you from
committing suicide, then yes. This alliance is the humans' only chance of
repulsing the Aliens. And without you three, there will be no alliance."

"Captain Dannatt, cut all outgoing
connections, now," Wattson said into his SID, then looked towards Saladan
and Zhu. "Sorry, but I agree with
Leader
Reese. I will direct my two cruisers to support Fleet Admiral
Salazan
's plan of
attack, but agree we should reconvene on the
Mnemosyne
. "

 
"I find wisdom in
Leader
Reese's proposal. If you
agree, Fleet Admiral
Salazan
, I too will order my ships to follow your
direction.
If Leader Reese is right, we will live to fight again.
If our
combined forces prevail, then she must answer for kidnapping us."

Salazan
stood silent
for several minutes, glaring in my direction, then smiled. "I agree."

Wattson,
Salazan
, and Zhu
spent the next two hours positioning the assembled ships and ensuring Dannatt
and Huang understood that Captain
Abbassi
would be the
senior
Captain in
the upcoming battle. While they worked out the strategy for the upcoming
battle, I had Dannatt
connect
me to the
Mnemosyne
.

"
r-Galene
, contact
Commanders Byer and Iglis and Colonel Seng to meet my shuttle. I'm bringing
guests. Tell Colonel Seng to
bring
six Scorpions for guard
duty
for our
guests and to call Ship Alert as a precaution. The ship will remain on Standby
for now. And
get
me a
connection
to the
Eirene
."

"Connected."

"Yes,
Leader
. I see we have company. Glad I'm not on the Asp."

"
Damaass
, we are not
staying for the party. I'm transferring the delegation to the
Mnemosyne
.
We will stay only to watch
,
while slowly moving towards the Wave to Fools
Landing. If we can locate the scout, we can consider destroying it before we
leave. Brief your human units and remain in Standby. Right now, the priority is
the safety of the delegation."

"Yes,
Leader
. I will let you know if I find the scout. If not, see you
in Fools Landing." He cut the connection.

When they finished, we made our way to
the shuttle bay, where Salazan and Zhu directed their shuttles and guards back
to their ships. Everyone was quiet as we made our way towards the
Mnemosyne
.

"Is that the
Mnemosyne
? It's
the ugliest cruiser I've ever seen," Salazan said, peering out the window.
"It's a joke."

"Captain Huang would be very
distressed to find you were only a hundred kilometers away from the
Imperial
," Zhu said, smiling.

Image of Buddha, a
Riss and Zhu sitting side-by-side, lotus style.

When we arrived, Byer and Seng were waiting
with a detail of eight Scorpions.

"Commander Byer, Commander Iglis,
Colonel Seng, our guests are Fleet Admirals Salazan and Zhu and their advisors
Nelem and Xun. You know Admirals Wattson and Stenberg," I said, pointing
to each in turn. "They are each to be assigned a Scorpion while they are
here. Gunny Terril will provide the security on the Bridge. The Ship Alert is
for security reasons, and we are in Standby rather than Battle Stations since
we do not anticipate entering the upcoming battle. This delegation is far too
important to risk." I waited for the three to
nod
.

When Seng glanced towards Wattson and Stenberg,
I nodded yes—they
too
were guests of the Riss. At the moment,
several Riss were in the bay, working on one of the shuttles and drawing the
attention of the delegation.

"Given the circumstances, I'll
dispense with a tour for now, and we will proceed directly to the Bridge."
I led the way with Terril and another Scorpion directly behind me, and Terril
on her SID arranging for additional Scorpions for the Bridge. As we walked, I
heard Zhu speaking to Xun, loud enough to be heard.

"I understand why the Riss would be
hunted like wild beasts. Because they don't look like us, we would have trouble
imagining them being
intelligent
," Zhu said. "An inherent fault of
humans."

"I understand why
Leader
Reese doesn't want to fight,
with these beasts running the ship. Need humans to
do
the
real
work." Salazan
sneered. "Look at them. They lived wild because they weren’t smart enough
to build anything, and since they can't speak, how were we to know they had
some limited intelligence?"

Because I ignored him, I think Wattson
and Stenberg remained silent.

When we entered the Bridge, we met a
stunned silence.

"Please sit, and strap yourself in.
The VTM in the center will keep you up to date on the activity. " I took
the Captain's chair.

speed.>

three.>

Fools Landing.>

<
one-one-eight
by
zero-five-seven.>

As I gave directions, the VTM and
monitors came to life. The VTM showed three large, red bubbles for the
Medusas
with tags M1, M2, and M3. Then white
bubbles tagged RM, RE, S1, S2, U1, U2, and J1 through J9. The Heavies' bubbles
were slightly larger than the others.

As the hours passed, the two groups
inched closer together, until there was only five light-seconds separation.

<
Medusa
broadcasting wide band
message
.>

to attached units’ monitors, and put it on the Bridge speakers.>

 
"People of Hayjar, the Supreme
Council of the Gods placed Hayjar under permanent quarantine. We are here to
enforce their decree. You will be allowed twelve hours to
return
to the space
station and
abandon
your spaceships. At the end of that time, the space station and all
spaceships will be destroyed. From now on, you are restricted to the surface of
Hayjar
and forbidden from flying any object. Violating these restrictions will have
severe consequences."

The message continued to repeat every
five minutes.

I heard Salazan snort and whisper
something to Nelem.

Over the next two hours, the unified
JPU, UFN, and SAS forces executed Salazan's plan, forming a crescent formation
facing and partly enclosing the
Medusas
.
An hour later, they began a unified attack. As the attack began, small dots
began appearing on the VTM tagged M11, M12... M21, M22... M31 M32… until M1 through
M3 had discharged eight Light cruisers each.
For the next hour
, the
battle
raged on.

Slowly, tagged bubbles disappeared,
indicating they had been destroyed or, at very least, lost power. J4, M13, M15,
M21 were the first to disappear. Salazan had a smile on his face, probably
thinking the JPU cruisers were proving superior. Over the next half hour, he gave
me
frequent
sneers as J5, M28, J6, M31, M37, S2, M17, M32, U2, M14 Disappeared.
All eyes were glued to the VTM. The humans had lost five Lights and the Aliens
nine, which was a decent performance, except the Aliens' cruisers outnumbered
the humans twenty-four to thirteen, and the
Medusa
could have another
twelve in reserve plus, there were three
Medusas
,
which could pump out ninety-six missiles every thirty to forty-five seconds.

Another hour crawled by as more tags
disappeared.

When U2, M11, J3, M26, M28, M34, J7,
M35, M33, M27, and M25 disappeared, Salazan shouted,
 
"See? The JPU will triumph! "

Only minutes later, J1 disappeared.

"No!"
Salazan
screamed as
his Heavy blinked out.

No one said anything as the carnage
continued and the
Medusa
moved closer
and within missile range. Over time, tags M38, M12, J2, U1, J8, M36, and
finally S1 disappeared.

Half speed.>

seven.>

I sat, wanting to scream, to beat my
fist against the chair, to cry.

For what?>

"Terril, clear the Bridge. The
grand demonstration of human superiority is over."

An hour later, Damaass sent a tight beam
message to me.

"Located scout."

"Take no action. Meet us in Fools
Landing."

* * *

Two days into the Wave, Wattson asked
for a meeting of the delegation. I contacted the Scorpion guards, and an hour
later, we met in my conference room. I stood off to the side as people began to
arrive.

Zhu and Xun were the first. He smiled
and walked over to me.

"Being on the
Mnemosyne
is
like being in another world. I never knew war could be so peaceful." He
held up his hand to stop me responding.

I wasn't sure what I would've said. In a
way, he was right. The Bridge with my Riss-sisters was a peaceful place even in
war.

"Yes, the loss of so many was a
terrible waste of human life, but unfortunately, necessary. Just as kidnapping
us was necessary, if we are to form an alliance." Zhu shrugged. I could do
nothing but nod. He was right.

"I thank you for allowing Xun and I
to tour level three. We spent several hours there. It helped to quiet our minds
after the loss of so many friends and comrades."

"The Riss are an outdoor race. To
them, a cruiser is like being in a cage. Level three is a sanctuary."

"I find it interesting that you
allow humans to use it."

"This is a Riss ship. We are all
equal."

"An interesting concept. I would
like to
talk
with you, if you can find time to
satisfy
an old man's
curiosity," Zhu said just as Wattson and Stenberg arrived.

Xun had remained quiet but attentive.

As Zhu went to get something to drink,
Wattson and Stenberg approached.

"Reese, I object to a guard on Stenberg
and me. We are allies."

"Consider them an honor guard. They
are there to help you find your way, provide quick access to me, and make the
others feel they are not being discriminated against, making you and them
equal. The SAS did not kidnap them. The Riss did. The SAS stayed to fight. The
Riss didn't." I paused while they came to grips with my explanation.
"You and I know Colonel Seng and Commander Byer will obey any order you
give them. So if you wish to be in charge, tell Seng you don't want the
guards." I turned, and fetched myself a kaffa, and sat.