Riss Series 3: The Riss Survival (8 page)

"I hadn't thought that far ahead, which has to do with my lack of experience. But I saw no reason not to include you, in fact, I thought it would help having your experience to draw on."

"That's good, because I've requested to stay for an indefinite period, that is until I request reassignment. I want to see the finished product. Plimson thought it an excellent idea and agreed. As you know, Corbitt also plans to extend his deployment an extra year. I think he's enjoying being part of the project as much as I am. So they might only send a Heavy with supplies, personnel replacements, and another hundred Riss."

"I'm grateful you're staying. Not only do I appreciate your help and advice, selfishly, your presence is a significant factor in maintaining an increased level of stability. I'm always nervous with new captains and crews. Too many people would like to see the Treaty broken, Freeland isolated, and their industry destroyed."

"I can see why the clans like you so much. I doubt any station manager would have treated them with so much respect. I think Da'Maass is in love with you. He's working night and day to please you." Pavao grinned when I blushed. I liked Da'Maass and he was attractive in a strange sort of way. Not that I had considered it, but an affair with any Freelander would be a disaster, particularly with Da'Maass, who had been a ruthless Raider.

"At first I could understand Lavett's concerns, but I now see that it elicits their complete support. That benefits the SAS, Riss, and them." Pavao sat back and took a drink of her wine.

"I too thought the Skippers behavior strange at first. Sorry, Skipper," Varisko said with a sheepish look in my direction. "I felt they were the enemy and should be treated accordingly. But they have bent over backwards to be cooperative every time I've been on an unannounced inspection. They greet me and my team with courtesy and respect."

"Yes, your Captain is a pleasant surprise, Varisko. Changing subjects, the Mnemosyne's structure—strange name, Nadya—will be completely assembled in a few weeks. I wish the internal components were in place. I can't wait for the trials. It's truly unique. With the hull's outer material and angles, it will be almost invisible to radar even at close range, and with its ten small engines you could rig it for silent-running by using only passive sensors and one or two engines."

" I'd like to be able to choose our battles or avoid them altogether, like the Riss did when some of the people on Saipha hunted them for their skins. Sometimes it's better to wait for another day. Unlike humans who number in the billions, the Riss number less than three thousand." I held up three fingers for emphasis.

"Speaking of the Riss, how many will the next group of Riss make?"

"Four hundred and eighty-four."

"Are you going to assign more to Corbitt and me or are you planning on assigning them to the Lynx. That would eliminate all of the navy personnel, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea."

"I intend to keep the numbers the same, but I’ll be rotating the Riss and Riss-humans. Elissa will replace Alena on the Merlin. Jaelle will replace Elissa on your ship, and Alena will move to the Lynx. I'm trying to give the Riss-humans the maximum experience, since they will eventually be the captains of the Riss cruisers." I took and sip of kaffa, while I sorted through my planned changes. "I'm assigning fifty Riss to help the work on the Mnemosyne and to get them intimately acquainted with the working of the ship. Another one hundred and eighty will be assigned to Freeland for now, leaving half the Lynx manned by Riss.

"Why so many to Freeland?" Pavao asked.

"I've decided having all the Riss on ships risks their annihilation. I plan to leave several hundred on Saipha and on Freeland to be sure there will be a next generation."

"A wise decision." Pavao nodded. "Enough, when do we start on the inside of the Mnemosyne?"

"It's time. Varisko, schedule a meeting with Da'Maass two days from now and invite captains Pavao, Corbitt, Commander Byer, Colonel Seng, Sa'Arkadi, and the Elders. You’re welcome to come and Terril will be part of my security."

"Thank you, Skipper."

"When we originally became Riss-humans, we chose the names of goddesses for our Riss companions, so I thought I'd keep the tradition with the Riss cruisers. Mnemosyne is the ancient Greek Goddess of memory and time. Since the Riss have the memories of their mother's mother going back generations it seemed appropriate."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Designing a Riss cruiser

Well, Captain Reese, We haven't seen you down here in sometime. I was beginning to think you were afraid of losing your current rank. I have a six and a seven-knot student who thinks you might be over rated." Terril grinned. Si'jin rank was based on who you could consistently best and who could consistently best you. Consequently, your rank was subject to change. Terril was currently a nine-knot. Only Master Wei held a ten-knot rank. I was rated an eight-knot.

"And what do you think, Master Terril?" I said, knowing Terril looked forward to our matches as much as I did and was reminding me I haven't been working out much lately.

Thalia sent a picture of me lying in a hammock looking three stone overweight.

Thalia was right. I had been feeling burnt out recently. Maybe, I did need to work out more often. Si'jin had always been my way of releasing tension and renewal.

"Alright, Master Terril. We could start off with a six-knot," I said, feeling renewed just thinking about the upcoming workout. I changed and found a crowd of Scorpions gathered in a circle around our workout area.

Terril motioned to a young, medium height, muscular woman. "Osisa, why don't you show Master Reese how stale she's gotten over the past month."

Osisa stepped to the left of Terril and stood ready, although to the casual observer she looked to be standing normally. I moved to the right of Terril.

As I did, Terril stepped back and Osisa exploded towards me. I blocked her right arm strike and rotated around her, driving an elbow into her back. I then dropped, executing a leg sweep. She managed to roll away as my leg touched her.

The battle continued for several minutes. I scored a half-dozen times, but to her credit, Osisa managed two scores, which would normally have put most opponents on the mat. Thanks to Master Wei's training, they were feather light.

"Stop," Terril called. "Alright, Master Reese, I guess that performance was good enough to keep you a seventh knot." Her lip twitched. "Now, Edmann, why don't you show Master Reese what a real seventh knot master can do.  Edmann was a head taller than me, lean, with rip-cord hard muscles."

He stepped up to Terril's left looking relaxed but his eyes gleamed with excitement. Terril stepped back.

Edmann remained motionless, waiting for some sign of weakness. I approved. I made a slight forward movement and he spun with a back kick to my chest. I stepped in as the kick drove towards me. I spun sideways, and his leg slid by me. As it did, my left arm hooked under his leg, and I kicked out his right leg, driving him to the floor. I fell with him, landing an elbow into his spine before rolling off. Without protective equipment and my restraint, he would have had a broken leg and spine. With the equipment, the blow was without a doubt painful but not disabling. As I rolled to my feet, he spun to a standing position. Terril let us continue for several minutes, before calling a halt to the match.

"I guess you can keep your eighth knot, Master Reese. A bit sloppy but adequate. Why don't you give Osisa and Edmann some pointers and rest up.” She smiled. “Because I plan to give you some pointers before you leave."

I worked the two for over an hour. Terril was right. They were solid sixth and seventh ranked masters. Although they were officially Terril's students, anyone with a sixth or higher knot was considered a master and could teach Si'jin. Mostly we worked on counter moves to a couple of moves I had used during our matches. I knew Terril was getting ready for our match as the number of Scorpions watching dramatically increased.

"I hope you’re not going to disappoint me. You looked pretty slop…” She leapt at me with the speed of a Saipha snowcat. I wasn't prepared. She was right. Sloppy. But my reflexes limited the contact to two light scores. Time stood still as we lost ourselves in the beauty of Si'jin. Thanks to Master Wei, the blows we scored varied from soft to feather light. If we had been fighting Wei, our blows when we managed to get close, would have been like hitting a cloud of smoke. Terril scored three to my two, which I thought a respectable showing, considering I hadn't been working out for a while.

As we finished, the roar of stomping feet, clapping, and shouting greeted us. The Scorpions always loved a good fight, and I had to admit Freeland was a boring tour. As I left the area, two scorpions fell in behind me. Since the incident with Captain Lavett, they carried their hands closer to their shard guns. I wouldn't be surprised if Terril hadn't told them to shoot anyone who gave me a dirty look.

"Captain on the Bridge," Varisko said as I entered. I sat and waved her over.

"Have you prepared the list of personnel to be rotated?" Eden needed to know who was rotating so they could select appropriate replacements. Normally, one of the arriving ships would replace the ship that had been on station a year. That would have been the Merlin, if Corbitt hadn't chosen to stay. The Lynx remained on station permanently; therefore, this time personnel replacements would be necessary for the Merlin and the Lynx.

"Yes, Skipper." She handed me a chip, which I slid into my SID. Half of the primary Bridge crew would be rotated; however, they had requested reassignment back to Freeland on the next six-month rotation. Varisko nodded. "Most want to see friends and family, but want to crew with you, Skipper. And I've nobody I need to see, so if you don't mind, I've elected to stay."

"Thank you. You've proven yourself an excellent XO. I'd be glad to recommend you for a Captaincy. You've earned it."

"Thank you, Skipper, but I'm not ready. I have a lot to learn and this is the place where things are happening. Everyone feels the same."

"I certainly won't complain. I couldn't ask for a better group on the Bridge." The thought brought a warm feeling. They were loyal and good at their positions. I had hated the thought of replacing them. I settled back, feeling better about the upcoming rotation.

* * *

"Seng told me you're considering having special qualified Scorpion units aboard the Riss ships," Terril said as we waited for our shuttle to reach the Freeland space facility for the next phase of the Mnemosyne construction—internal functions. "I hope you're not planning to leave me behind."

"There is nothing in the world I’d love more than to have you with me. I struggle with the Riss Nation Navy concept every day. I'm high-Riss and sister to the Riss, but I'm also human and have many good friends—none better than you. I know I can count on the Scorpions with the help of people like you and Seng leading them. And I believe I will need combat troops in battle." I didn't believe the Riss were suitable in that role nor did I want them to become suitable. It was bad enough that they would be involved in space battles without hand-to-hand combat. And it would increase the risk of more dying. "The SAS is having the same problem with me. They understand that integrating the Riss into the SAS is not possible long term. Can I be a SAS officer and station commander, and the leader of the Riss? Or must I be one or the other? And if so, which? That is why the RNN Mnemosyne is so important. It'll separate the Riss Nation from the SAS and allow us to be allies. Then we can address the issue of how allies work together to our mutual advantage. In the end, it's a SAS decision not the Riss."

We lapsed into silence, each lost in our own thoughts.

I felt her understanding flow through me.

They had named me Leader; therefore, personal wants and likes would have to be second.

Da'Maass was there as I exited the shuttle. My cheeks felt warm when he smiled but I put it down to the brisk walk from the ship.

"Good morning, dybbuk,” he said. Everyone is here waiting on whatever surprises you have today."

"I have ideas, Da'Maass, but I'll need you and your team to bring them to reality. It's my hope that what we accomplish today will benefit the Riss, SAS, and the clans."

"I believe you. And I will do everything I can to realize that dream. The men and women here are the people who will work on the Bridge."

The room was crowded and every chair around the table filled except for two. I counted twelve people.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Good morning. You're going to be working on something new and hopefully exciting. The Riss are a small nation but I believe eventually we will need five to six cruisers. Hopefully that will keep everyone busy for several years." Pausing, I tried to gauge their reaction.

An image of me with tattoos on both cheeks, forehead, and running down both arms.

I agreed.

"I want seven panels, maybe six feet wide, to span a curved wall. Each panel will contains a full set of controls: radar, weapons, ECM—"