Riss Series 3: The Riss Survival (18 page)

"Captain Reese, Ba'Tasuo returned early this morning. I've debriefed him and notified Admiral Butler. He informed me, Admiral Plimson is scheduled to arrive in two days, and we’ll be expected to meet with him and his staff as soon as he arrives."

"I'll be right down, Iglis. Please authorize Commander Bradshaw access. I'm bringing him along," I said and heard a noise much like a snicker in the background.

"Yes, Captain. I'm sure he'll be helpful." She cut the connection before I could respond. When we arrived, security was thorough identifying Bradshaw before we were allowed to proceed. Iglis met us at the door and led us to her conference room.

"Ba'Tasuo said the JPU sent three Lights and one Heavy to Baraz. That was twelve days ago. It's only two days travel to Baraz. When he left four days ago, there had been no word from the task force. The Papak Sector is on alert and the sector government is having an emergency meeting on Zhuben. They hadn't reached a decision by the time he left. They were considering quarantining Baraz and Alborz." Iglis looked up from her notes. "What do you think, Captain?"

"It won't work. Besides, it's too late." I shrugged. "Sean, let's go. I'll give you a tour of Freeland."

"You can't! Not at a time like this," Iglis shouted.

"She's right, Nadya," Sean said.

"Come." I grabbed his arm and steered him into the hallway. "There is nothing Iglis, you, or I can do today. Plimson and his staff will decide what the SAS will do, not us. Until then, there is nothing to do but worry, and Thalia doesn't like me worrying."

Bradshaw followed me, like a man in a trance, back to my room. While I changed uniforms, I contacted Alena who was several meters away on the Bridge.

When Sean saw me dressing, he shrugged and changed uniform.

When we arrived in the hanger, Alena was there and the shuttle ready to go. Ten minutes later, we were exiting the shuttle in the Eirene's shuttle bay. Surprisingly, Da'Maass was waiting.

"Dybbuk, to what do I owe for your presence. And who is this?" He turned towards Sean and blinked several times before he stuck out his hand.

"This is Commander Bradshaw, Sean this is Da'Maass the project manager for the Riss cruisers. An excellent one I may add." I nodded to him. "Da'Maass, is the Eirene operationally ready?"

Da'Maass gave me a strange look before answering. No wonder, I liked him and was usually more relaxed and easy going.

"Yes, Captain Reese. We have corrected the minor problems we had on the shakedown cruise last week. And have just finished loading the missiles."

"Alena, as of this minutes, you have resigned your commission in the SAS Navy and have been returned to the Riss, since this is a Riss Nation ship. You're to assume command of the Eirene effective immediately. Contact Colonel Seng, Commanders Byer, Iglis, and Doctor Dayton. They are to expedite loading the assigned personnel onto the Eirene. Contact me when the
Eirene
is operationally ready."

"… Yes, Leader."

With that, Alena turned and headed for the Bridge.

"Well, Da'Maass, how long before … Minerva is finished?" For the first time I saw him speechless. I took pity on him. "An estimate, my friend. The need is great."

"With a Captain like you and me as XO, we could rule the universe." He laughed ruefully. "We have already begun preparations and have the experience of building two, so maybe six months to first trials."

"I trust your judgment, Da'Maass. You're a seasoned Captain and understand there is no substitute for quality in a battle. Do what you can."

"Then the
Minerva
will begin her life sooner, dybbuk." He gave a small bow and walked away already busy on his handheld.

"This wasn't a sightseeing trip, was it?"

"I know this quiet little town, on Freeland, where there are snowcapped mountains and the Riss run free. And there are quaint hotels and restaurants." I laughed dragging him towards the shuttle.

We spent the next two days at Snowtop. There was no talk of wars, navy, careers, or futures. We spent some time with the Riss in the backcountry, eating at restaurants, talking with the residents, and hours of glorious lovemaking. Our alternative reality ended the morning of the second day, when I was notified the meeting with Plimson and his staff would convene at nine hundred hours. I had the shuttle take Sean back to the Golden Eagle and me back to the Mnemosyne. We both needed to get ready for the meeting. Back on the Mnemosyne, I waved Terril into my room as I prepared for the meeting.

"You have everyone excited with your order to begin transferring people to the Eirene." Terril dropped into my reading chair.

"You did say you were bored, and I owed you," I said as I prepared to cleanup.

"I'd expected something a little less exciting." She smiled but her eyes didn't. "You're expecting a war. A rather large war, aren't you?"

"I think some nation has wandered into our space. Whether they are friendly or war-like, I don't know. But they are at least as technologically advanced as us, and there has to be a lot of them."

"I'm glad I'm guarding you. Otherwise, I'd have to rely on rumors as to what the Admirals were doing." She laughed.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Needing more information

Iglis and I arrived seconds before Plimson and his staff. Pavao was already there with a cup of kaffa. Plimson strode in and waved everyone to his or her seat. He did the introductions, naming each individual and their position: Vice Admirals, Stenberg (Fighters), Wattson (War college), Butler (Intelligence), Patterson (Personnel), Vaneck (Medical), Willars (Logistics), Zann (Riss consultant), and Major General Garret (Commandos).

"I'm not sure why Patterson, Willars, or I are here," Vaneck said, while looking around the room. "We are unlikely to be helpful in deciding what action to take."

"Your thoughts will be appreciated, but that's not the reason. I want each of you at this table to prepare a plan for total war with another nation equivalent to or larger than the SAS," Plimson said, looking around the table. Stares of disbelief greeted him. "Each of you owns a piece of the whole and is the best judge of that piece. Therefore, I want you to be part of this discussion so that you’ll understand how you fit into the strategy." He turned towards Butler and nodded.

"I've talked with Commander Iglis, my intelligence chief on Freeland, and her latest information indicates the JPU sent a task force of three Lights and one Heavy to Baraz to investigate the situation. They haven't been heard from since." Butler had no sooner finished than side conversations began around the room. After a minute, Plimson rapped a spoon against his glass of water and the room quieted. He nodded to Wattson, who ran the War College, Camalus, and was the SAS's top military strategist.

"Captain Reese has conjectured that we are being invaded by an Alien nation—someone other than the JPU or UFN. I concur. That is the only scenario that fits what we know today, and we believe our intelligence is reliable. The lack of word from Fools Landing lends support to that explanation. This meeting is to decide how we should proceed." Wattson looked to me and smiled. "For example, judging by the recent activity, Captain Reese has activated the second Riss cruiser and notified Freeland that the schedule for the third Riss cruiser needs to be tightened."

I nodded.

"Those are the kind of actions I expect from all of you when you get back. Try to do so in a manner that doesn't illicit panic. Maybe indicate there is unrest in the JPU, and you are just updating contingency plans," Wattson said.

"I agree. Now I'd like to get back to the problem at hand. How do we proceed?" Plimson looked around the table.

For the next two hours, multiple suggestions were discussed in detail and dismissed. The idea of sending a task force into Fools Landings, Wattson dismissed as foolish based on the JPU's action in Baraz. In fact, he rejected any idea that required entry into Fools Landing. The room lapsed into silence when
do nothing
was rejected as a solution.

"Sir," I said and waited recognition by someone. Wattson nodded.

“The clans may be able to help."

"How?"

"The Aliens seem to be occupying planets close to each other without regard to the empire. So, either they have acquired a star map of the empires, it's hit-or-miss, or they are allowing a ship to escape and following it to the next inhabitable planet. If they had a star map of the empires, it would make more sense to attack the major military installations. Hit-or-miss would seem odd for a technically advanced force. If it's the latter, one of the merchants may know the most logical planet ships from Fools Landing are likely to visit. In that event, we could be waiting for whomever follows the ship."

"What if it’s a large task force?" Stenberg asked.

"It's unlikely to be a task force, more likely a scout to acquire information about the planet so that they can send an appropriate force," Wattson answered. "I like Reese's proposal."

"Sir," I said looking at Plimson. “Can you get me a line to the Eirene?"

He opened his SID. " Fredrick, open a line for Captain Reese to the Eirene."

A few minutes later Alena's face appeared on my SID.

"Yes, Leader?"

"Alena, contact Ni'Shay. Tell him I would appreciate it if he would at his convenience determine if any of the merchants would know anything about Fools Landing. Specifically, which planets ships leaving there would be most likely to visit? If so, we'd like to talk with them when they are available. Let me know when Ni'Shay responds."

"Yes, Leader," Alena said and disconnected.

"That's ridiculous, Reese. They aren't our friends. They're prisoners. They don't do things at their convenience. They do things at our convenience!" Willars shouted pointing a finger at me. "They've killed and kidnapped thousands of our citizens."

"Excuse me, sir," Pavao said before he could continue. "I felt the same way when I arrived at Freeland and heard Reese and her people. But don't confuse polite with soft. Her security is top notch. If she treated the clans as prisoners rather than on parole and had ordered Ni'Shay to do what she asked, he'd have complied. In that case, I'd bet we would be lucky to get a response within a day or two. I'll wager she'll get a response within two hours and have someone here within four. She has their respect and trust."

"Sir," Iglis said, "It’s true. I've followed her example. Rather than going onto the merchant's ship with guards and drill him on some standard set of question and request specific records, I go alone. The Captain provides lunch and usually some food I've never tasted or some kaffa I enjoy. We sit and talk for hours. He tells me everything I would have asked plus a hundred other things. He has all his records ready for me to take back to my office and inspect. I wouldn't have a quarter of the intelligence I have today without their unconditional cooperation. I wouldn't get that kind of cooperation from the SAS."

"Sir, I'm a Riss-human—I reside in two worlds. As a human and SAS officer, it is my responsibility to enforce the Treaty and make sure the clans remain unable to make war. As a Riss, I do not wish revenge for the past, only to see them at peace with humanity. That is the Riss way."

"Enough. Reese's Riss way is unorthodox at times, but they produce results without compromising the SAS. And there might be something to be said for turning enemies into allies." Plimson paused, and looked at his SID. "Yes, transfer the call, Commander."

"Yes, Alena?" I said as her face appeared on my SID.

"Boris and Ivan La'Vali have information about Fools Landing and the other planets in the area. They’re here on the Eirene. What do you want me to do?"

"Send them up," Wattson said.

"Send them up, Alena. Thank Elder Ni'Shay for me."

"I was an hour off," Pavao said to no one in particular.

* * *

Plimson called for a break while we waited on the La'Vali brothers to arrive. When they did, I thanked them for coming. After that, everyone seemed to take that as a queue and the talk became casual. After a while, the brothers loosened up and we learned a lot about the planet and its environment. Apparently, a lot of mercenaries used the planet for smuggling operations out of Baraz and Alborz. Their first stop was Kamboja, which was a distribution point into the SAS. The colony was affluent and its families had good connections throughout the SAS. After they left, Patterson laughed.

"Reese, that was amazing. I understand why so many hate you and so many want to sail on any ship you're on. Iglis was right. Once they relaxed, there was no attempt to avoid any question, and their responses went well beyond our specific question."