Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession (31 page)

The next month was organized chaos. The
command was moved to Zigzag, as that
system
was the most central to the three empires, Riss technology at Freeland
and Dong, and the designated staging systems for training: Lycus, Fools Hope,
and Fools Landing. The final upgrade strategy was to designate as many Riss
certified crews as possible, upgrade the remaining ships with consoles for Duster
and Dummy missiles, and provide all Heavies with the new Ghost fighters.

Admiral Stenberg managed to get the new JPU
Fleet Commander Serhat to agree to provide the Alliance with ten task forces
each consisting of two Heavies and six Lights. He learned that since the
alliance talks had broken down, contact with
Ibsan
had been lost. Although Salazan had managed
to liberate
Baraz
, Alborz and
Hayjar remained quarantined.

The JPU task forces would be assembled at
Ormazd
. Admiral Serhat resisted all modifications
except for the new missiles.
Each week, one task force would fly to
Freeland, where it would be modified and issued Duster and Dummy missiles,
modified to fit their missile tubes.
Afterward, they would assemble at one of the three designated staging sites for
training.

 
The
UFN forces
would
send to Dong,
where Riss certified crews would be identified, task forces assembled, and the
non-Riss certified ships upgraded with Duster and Dummy missile boards.
Accordingly, another two hundred Freelanders and two hundred Riss were moved to
Dong. The UFN had committed fifteen task forces to the Alliance—one
hundred twenty cruisers.

The SAS forces were being assembled in Eden
and released at a rate of twenty-five at a time to Freeland to identify Riss
certified crews. As a task force was formed and upgraded, it was sent to one of
the staging systems. The remaining ships were then either retained with the new
incoming ships or returned to Eden as unsuitable. The SAS had also committed
fifteen task forces to Operation Red.

* * *

I recalled all Riss cruisers to Freeland for
a meeting, which included all Riss-humans and commanders of the detached units,
Admiral Zann, and the Freeland elders—thirty individuals.

"Good morning," I said as I entered
with Terril, who backed up against the wall behind me. Seven other Scorpions
stood against walls, one for each Riss-human. The hallway outside the
conference had another nine waiting. "I've called this meeting to make
sure everyone has up-to-date information, make assignments, and hear any
concerns or issues. The Alliance is putting
together
forty task forces—three hundred twenty
cruisers—for an assault on Red..." I went on to explain the
procedure for assembling the task forces, the upgrades and where they would
take place, and the staging systems. "Ironically, the actual strategy for
the invasion of Red has not been finalized, awaiting the results of the task
force certifications and upgrades. The time to complete assembly of Operation
Red is estimated at six months." When no one commented, I continued.

"Elders, I'll need a contingent of your
people who are familiar with manufacturing missiles and missile boards to go to
Dong. I'll be sending a hundred Riss to support the operation."

"We've already put
together
a tentative plan. We can have one hundred
ready to leave in a week, if that's acceptable," Ni'Shay said.

"It is. I wish I could send you humans
to supplement your workforce,
but
I'm reluctant for a number of reasons. But I'm arranging to send for a couple
of hundred Riss from Saipha to help."

"We would prefer that. Meeting the
current schedules will be difficult even if there are no problems. Besides, the
Riss learn much quicker than humans and never make the same mistake
twice."

"What about new Riss cruisers?" I
hated to ask and secretly hoped they would say they couldn't produce any
considering their workload.

"One more I think," Ni'Shay said
looking at Rodica, who nodded.

Riss population in danger.>

I hoped she was right. The Riss deserved to
be free of humans and their chaotic ways. I shook myself free of my musing.

"Now I'd like to hear from our detached
units—questions, concerns, issues?"

"My impression is that the Riss captains
have kept us all well informed of everything that's happening." Byer barked
a laugh. "Much better than we would be on a normal SAS or UFN cruiser. My
folks and I are happy where we are."

Everyone nodded in unanimous agreement.

"Now for assignments. We need at least
two units at Freeland and at Dong since the crews will need to be certified.
It's best not to make waves at a time like this, so Zhang and Alena, Dong. Pavao
and Jaelle, Freeland. Damaass, Sheva, and I will be in Zigzag for now. When the
task forces are all assembled, we will rotate, leaving only one Riss cruiser on
Freeland and on Dong at a time."

"Why three Riss in Zigzag?" Seng
asked.

"In case it's necessary to kidnap
Wattson, Zhu, and Serhat. Their deaths would set back the invasion with
unpredictable results."

* * *

I arrived at Zigzag five days later and was
invited to attend the Alliance's daily meeting, which included all of the task
force commanders, Wattson, Zhu, and me.

"It's time for us to begin thinking
about an invasion strategy while you are all here. In four weeks, Vice Admiral Sakaata
will leave for Fools Hope with Admirals Botos,
Javie
,
Modero
, and Chen. She will be in charge of the training there. Senior Admiral
Ba Li will leave for Fools Landing with Admirals Unger, Quinerly, Ueno, and
Himura. He’ll be in charge of training there. Admirals
Osburne
,
Blayer
, and Kwok will remain here as a precaution," Wattson said, I
suspected more for my benefit than the others’, who probably already knew their
new assignments. "Any questions?"

"What assumptions are we making?"
Unger asked.

"We should assume they know we are
coming and that they will have
two
additional
Medusas
operational,"
I said. Silence followed for several minutes.

"I agree," Sakaata said. "I
remember us rushing into Freeland believing our numbers guaranteed a victory. They
did; however
,
if we hadn't
assumed they were expecting us, our losses would have been much heavier. Better
over prepared than under."

"I concur," Zhu said,
and
Wattson nodded. "Although we see
robots, let us not forget they have human-like minds inside. They know
something came and left. What would you do in their place?"

Everyone agreed,
but
that made the situation even worse. The Wave
wouldn't allow a hundred cruisers to exit at one time. More like a task force
every thirty to sixty seconds.

"We can assume that when the first group
exits the Wave, the
Medusas
will
launch their cruisers. That could be up to thirty-six cruisers, an initial
launch of one hundred forty-four missiles, and three hundred sixty fighters
against eight cruisers!" Admiral Kwok said, putting into words what
everyone was coming to realize. "And by the time the second task force
exited
, the Aliens would be prepared for a second
missile launch, and the fighters would be on top of them."

After several
hours
,
it was clear that task forces wouldn't be entering as units. It would
have to be specially configured groups. Initially, the idea of sending in
groups of Riss-certified ships was rejected as putting all our most effective
weapons in one basket. The most dangerous minutes of the war would be after
leaving the Wave, and the highest casualties those in the first several groups.
By the end of the week, everyone understood the problem, but no one had a
solution. By the end of the second week, everyone agreed we needed a
distraction, and lots of ideas were proposed.
By the end of the third
week
, Wattson and Zhu called a halt to
the meetings.

"We are all brain-dead at this point,
trying to force a
square
solution into a round hole. We need to step back away from the problem for a while
and concentrate on developing functional task forces for the invasion. That may
help us approach the problem with fresh eyes. Prepare to leave for your
assigned systems tomorrow."

* * *

"I want to go into town," I said,
rising from the captain’s chair. As I passed Terril, she was on her SID.

"Commander Byer, this is Gunny Terril.
The captain wants to go into town... Yes, sir. I believe she means now... Thank
you, sir." Tapping on her SID. "Sergeant Harold, get three Scorpions
ready to accompany the captain to town. Meet us in the shuttle bay... Yes, ten
minutes ago."

avoid
solution.>

<
r-Galene
, r-
Arawn
>

I tapped my SID.

When I took my seat in the shuttle, I waved
Terril to the seat next to me while the other security guard, the four extra
Terril had requested, and the two Riss entered.

"Something up, Captain?" Terril
asked as we left the shuttle bay and were immediately joined by two Ghosts.

"Yes, death."

<
Leader
's decision.>

Of course
, Thalia was right. I had the position;
therefore
, whatever I decided was the word of the
Riss. And doing nothing was a decision and had consequences.

<
Co-pilot
position not fight.> An image of me flying a combat shuttle with
enemy fighters shooting missiles and lasers at it, and a Riss sitting in the
co-pilot seat reading a maintenance manual.

I was feeling a bit guilty as Sheva's shuttle
landed and
four
Scorpions
exited
with her. Two more Ghosts glided in for a
landing.

Sheva asked, her voice
tinted with amusement. I'd wager she had deduced the reason for my erratic
behavior on the ride down.

"I want to see the town and need family..."
I looked around at the humans who guarded us with their lives as though we were
royalty. "And friends along."

"Lead on. I'm up for a little fun,"
Sheva said. Actually, as I looked around there were a lot of smiles. I invited
the pilots along, so Seng sent a shuttle of Scorpions to guard the shuttles and
Ghosts.

The day turned out to be a party of sorts. We
stopped in shops, ate in restaurants, and spent hours talking with citizens,
police, and even government officials, once the word spread that the Riss were
in town. It was what I needed, relief from thinking about the invasion of Red
and the part the Riss should play.

* * *

Wattson and Zhu were conducting staff meetings
once a week, receiving status briefings from Freeland, Dong, and the three
staging systems. I rotated Pavao, Damaass, Zhang, and Alena to Zigzag twice
each for discussions on the invasion of Red. I was surprised during the fifth
month, when I received an unscheduled visit from Wattson and Zhu. I met them in
the shuttle bay, escorted them to my office, and got them settled with kaffa
and tea.

"Well, Leader Reese, have you decided
what part the Riss will play in the upcoming invasion?" Zhu asked.
"It cannot be an easy decision."

"No, it wasn't. No death should be taken
lightly. But view it from a numbers perspective. The SAS has ten billion
citizens. The UFN and JPU similar numbers, I would imagine. So if a ship is
destroyed with three hundred, it's a small number—one in thirty-three
million of the empire's citizens. If a Riss ship with two hundred is destroyed,
it is—one in fifteen. Or the equivalent an empire losing six hundred
sixty million citizens. That may sound academic to you—"

"No, it sounds like a decision no one in
the galaxy would want to have the responsibility of making. I see why no one
wants the position of Leader."

I took a deep breath. The time for wavering
was over, but my stomach still clenched as I said, "As hard as it was,
I’ve made my decision. The Riss will commit six cruisers. I'm leaving the
newest, commanded by Jaelle, in Freeland. I propose
two
Riss cruisers enter Red sixty minutes prior
to the Alliance. Like last time, that should cause the Aliens to launch a
search party. We will skip-attack the two
Medusas
in the rear, which should draw all the attention away from the Wave exit."