Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge (8 page)
"Have you and Anca decided on your positions?"
"I would like to command the group, with Anca second-in-command and Command Leader of the pilots," Sorin said. Anca nodded agreement.
"Ni'Shay, what do you hear from the space station?"
"You were right. Admiral Neifeh appears to have relaxed somewhat. I'm told he is releasing modified cruisers weekly. Can't be positive, but we believe he has released four squadrons, of eight Lights and two Heavies each, over the past month. If we are correct, that would leave one hundred seventeen in Freeland space."
"At the current rate of upgrades, we could see another fifty released over the next six months, depending upon the force he intends to keep in Freeland, and whether he will be sending more cruisers for upgrades," I said, trying to guess the status of things six months from today. "Liviu, maybe we should increase the schedule. That might cause Neifeh to release more cruisers or at least have more modified cruisers remaining when Damaass returns six months from now."
"What are you planning, Ioana?" Ni'Shay asked. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, awaiting the answer.
"To tell the truth, I'm not sure. Much will depend on Admiral Neifeh and our ability to keep him thinking he has Freeland under his thumb. We just have to be ready when an opportunity arises.
"Ni'Shay, have your people send the following message to the Mnemosyne when it's in position six days from now:
Repeat procedure sixty days from today.
* * *
It surprised me, although it shouldn't have, that I hadn't heard from Neifeh, I mused while lying in bed unable to sleep. The factories had increased production, and although they weren't going to meet his original schedule and finish in twelve months from the invasion, they were only going to be one month short. And he continued to send squadrons of eight Lights and two Heavies off, but no new ships had arrived to replace them. That had me puzzled. If my rough calculations were correct, the JPU had a one-hundred-cruiser advantage over either the UFN or SAS before and after the invasion of the Red planet.
However, I now realized that although the number of that advantage afterward remained the same, the quality of that advantage had improved. The JPU had lost slightly fewer cruisers, and those had been the older ones in their fleet; whereas the SAS and UFN had committed and lost newer, upgraded ones.
Consciously or unconsciously, invading Freeland had been a declaration of war. The only question had been how the SAS would respond: would they counterattack Freeland, negotiate a treaty, or wait to build up their force. Although the JPU would have incurred heavy losses in any counterattack on Freeland, because of the disparity in numbers it may well have ruined the SAS navy and left them vulnerable. Conversely, Admiral Neifeh would interpret negotiating or waiting as a sign of weakness and an invitation to invade the SAS—which he had been preparing to do. The question then was when would the transition to an occupational force occur, how many would come, and what would be their orders?
* * *
At ten months, I held another meeting with the same key players who had been present at the six-month meeting.
"Time for phase two," I said as they settled down with drinks and snacks. "One week from today, the Mnemosyne will approach close enough to Freeland for you to board your detached units. It will then recede into the system far enough for the fighters to get in some serious training. If I'm right, Admiral Neifeh will be leaving two months from now, to be replaced by another Admiral commanding one or more squadrons of older JPU cruisers."
"Why? No more upgrades?"
"Admiral Neifeh is planning on invading the SAS—"
"What?" Was the almost unanimous outcry.
"That's my guess. He had the numerical advantage to begin with. With the upgrades, he now has the technological advantage, and if he proceeds without a declaration of war, he will have the element of surprise." I was greeted with silence. Except for Terril and myself, there was little love toward the SAS. "We must support the SAS, if for no other reason than having the JPU as masters would be a disaster. I believe we have upheld our MSA by what we have done during the upgrades. But before we can help directly, we must free Freeland space of the JPU. That will depend upon the transition force that replaces Neifeh. I suspect the new Admiral is not going to be as lenient as Neifeh, since he won't have the need to compromise. His squadrons will be an occupational force."
"But if Freeland refuses to cooperate, he will have no choice, like Neifeh," Liviu said.
"You could be right, but I doubt it. The JPU commanders and leaders believe they are the superior race and that it is their right to use force to achieve their goals. If I'm right, the Riss technology is only a temporary solution to take advantage of the SAS and UFN weakened positions. They believe that once they have won, their engineers will be able to produce better technology. They are not going to admit the Riss are anything but dumb animals and will not accept ex-Raiders as JPU citizens. Freeland will be not only expendable, but overdue punishment for its arrogance against Admiral Neifeh and the JPU."
"If you are right..." Ni'Shay looked pale.
"You need to create an underground militia," Terril said.
"I guess that means you aren't going to the Mnemosyne," I said, understanding but wishing she would lead the Kraits.
"My orders are to protect you," she said. Knowing I had been out of her sight most of the time since the JPU arrived, she wasn't going to budge on her position. She went to the door and waved a tall middle-aged man into the room. "This is Eugen Ja'Shar. I'm recommending he command the Kraits. He and I have discussed the potential organization and additional training needed. I'll be more use here." The fact that she wasn't smiling was a clear indication the decision had been made and was final.
"Congratulations, Colonel Ja'Shar, and welcome aboard. Sorin La'Kazak will be the Commander of the Wraiths. You and your unit need to be ready to leave in six days.
CHAPTER NINE
Freeland: Damaass arrives
"Elder Ioana," a voice said following a pounding on my bedroom door. "The Mnemosyne has sent a tight-beam message for you."
"I'll be right there," I said, jumping out of bed and throwing on yesterday's clothes. I didn't know what time it was, but judging from the darkness of the room and my grogginess, it must be the very early hours of the morning. When I entered the communications suite, several Ja'Tuva clan members were gathered. From the silence, I assumed they waited on the news. "Well, Costin?"
"Here." He handed me an electronic tablet. I tapped the screen, and an encrypted message opened with two boxes: one with a string of symbols, and a second box that was empty.
<62391699> Thalia sent, and I entered it in the second box. Immediately, the symbols changed into Eden standard:
The Minerva entered Freeland space at zero hundred hours and established tight beam communication with the Mnemosyne based on Leader Reese's previously arranged protocol with Captain Damaass. We are proceeding to the backside of Freeland and will contact you in six hours forty-seven minutes, and thirteen seconds.
"Da'Maass is back in town. Must be time to party," I said, which was greeted with clapping and cheers.
* * *
When Damaass contacted me, I arranged to meet him at the Rupea facility. When he entered the office, he stood mouth open, speechless, looking from me to the two men who had brought him.
"Well, dybbuk, I've seen spaced bodies that look better than you. I thought they were playing a joke on me when I saw you. What happened?"
"Thalia." I laughed. "I needed a disguise if I was to stay on Freeland and interface with the JPU invaders. Who would suspect an old looking hag was a Riss-human in her early thirties? I pretended to be an elder. After a few days of hunting...Riss for their skins, I convinced the Admiral in charge that only the Riss could install the Riss technology, that they refused to communicate with his people after being hunted, and that only I knew their sign language. So after some discussions, I became their spokeswoman..." I went on to explain the events of the past year. "Three weeks ago, a Heavy and two squadrons of older JPU Lights—without the normal two Heavies in each—arrived. I suspect the Admiral in charge will be the new station commander, and that Admiral Neifeh will be leaving with the last of the upgraded cruisers to invade the SAS."
"Will this new Admiral want his squadron upgraded?"
"No. I think Freeland is now redundant to them. They've sent some low-level Admiral to ensure we don't communicate with the outside universe and to destroy our industrial complex."
"The price of cooperating with the JPU." Damaass took a drink of his red wine. "When Sheva and the others arrived in Dunn without you, all hell broke loose. Admiral Zhu called for a meeting with Admiral Plimson, and they met a week later on Echo. Their immediate reaction was to ignore your refusal to invoke the MSA, until the size of the JPU task force sunk in and they realized it would be a war that could destroy the SAS and UFN even if they won. Zhu was quicker than all of us to understand what you envisioned—a chance for them to prepare for a possible war, and that the Riss weren't going to help the JPU. I don't think he quite envisioned what you actually planned. Dunn has tripled its manufacturing capability and now has two UFN fighter and commando units, thanks to help from the SAS. The empires have established major military bases at Huan, Chao, and Dong in the UFN, and Echo, Wahoo, and Blue Canyon in the SAS."
"I'll wager the UFN Imperial Parliament and SAS United Council dictated those systems, since they form a perimeter protecting the capitals of Daiyu in the UFN and Eden in the SAS—and leave the Darkov and Chiyoko Sectors wide open for invasion."
"You're right, neither Plimson nor Zhu were happy when their governments insisted on those selections. Well Leader, what do you want me to do?"
"You will join with the Mnemosyne and pick me up the day before Neifeh is due to depart. We will need to be in position shortly after he leaves. Our job will be to destroy the new Admiral's fleet. Until then, have your detached units work with the Freelanders on the Mnemosyne."
"Sounds like fun. I'm looking forward to parting with you and the JPU." Damaass raised his glass to me and gulped down the remaining contents.
* * *
A week later, I sat in Admiral Neifeh's shuttle on the way to the Invincible. Lieutenant Henrick had shown up without notice and invited me to a meeting with Neifeh. When I exited the shuttle, I was led at a quick step to a conference room, where Neifeh and another Admiral of lower rank sat. When Henrick closed the door behind us, Neifeh rose.
"Admiral Huber, this is the old bitch Ioana. Although she has been a pain in my ass, I have to admit she did help to get the Riss and Raiders to cooperate in upgrading my fleet." He sneered in my direction. "Admiral Huber commands the Sentinel and is the new Freeland station commander. I will be leaving as soon as the last two Lights are finished being upgraded. If they are on schedule, that should be in five days."
"I'm sure Ioana and I will reach an equally agreeable arrangement," Huber said, in a tune dripping with sarcasm. "It's my understanding that the Riss have voice boxes that speak standard. You might want them to find those boxes."
"They have been destroyed. They decided if you were going to treat them like dumb animals, they would act accordingly."
"They and the Raiders will do as they are told and will speak when spoken to. Is that clear bitch Ioana?"
"Very, Admiral Huber. But the Riss don't listen to me. I'm just their spokesperson."
"I'll kill every Riss that won't answer when spoken to. Is that understood, spokeswoman?" Huber eyes shined with excitement.
"I'll tell them, but I've no control over what they will do—"
Neifeh grabbed me by my jacket and jerked me off the floor. It took every bit of self-control not to rupture his eardrums with my open palms, as my arms were free to move.
"Look bitch, if my cruisers aren't ready to leave in four days, I'll have you skinned alive and mounted on my cabin wall." He drove his fist into my side, and I felt a rib crack. Hanging like a rag doll, I couldn't avoid the full impact of the blow. Blood trickled from my mouth, and I produced a weak smile.
"One more should do the trick, Admiral. I'm more than ready," I said, wrapping my arms around me. He seemed to get control of himself, realizing I meant he could kill me, and knew if he did, the Riss would stop working, and his schedule would be interrupted.
"Henrick, take her back to Freeland."
"I'll make sure the universe knows the price of defying the JPU..." I heard Huber saying as Henrick supported me out the door and into the hallway.
