* * *
Using crutches, although it was barely necessary as Thalia had managed to fix most of the damage by now, I followed Lieutenant Henrick out of the hospital to the waiting shuttle. When we arrived, he was told Neifeh was an hour from arriving. At Henrick's nod, the guard opened the gate into the compound, and I wandered in and sat. Soon, I was surrounded by Riss. I waved my fingers, hands, and arms in motions that sort of mimicked sign language.
It had been a fun hour. When I saw Neifeh exit his shuttle, I made some more hand gestures, rose, and exited the compound.
"Well?" Neifeh said.
"They are very talkative now that they aren't being treated like cattle."
"And?"
"They would be willing to cooperate if they...and the Freeland humans…stopped being treated like slaves," I said, knowing he wasn't going to give in that easily, but it planted the seed. Neifeh stood quiet for a few minutes, and then a smile creased his lips. Well, not exactly a smile, more like he had developed stomach cramps.
"I'll make them a deal. You and the Freelanders claim the Riss are more intelligent than the humans. You find software...Riss to show us the code. If we can't figure it out, then we can discuss a...compromise. That's fair, isn't it?"
"I think so. Let me go ask." When he nodded, I strolled back into the compound, sat, and began my signing.
When we arrived back on Alesd, the engineers had already gathered, having been made aware of our return. Sailing on the wind, walked over to one of the keyboards, typed for a minute, and symbols appeared on the monitor. She then turned to me and signed something.
I pretended to sign, and then turned back to Neifeh. "She says this is the Dragonfly code."
"It's symbols," one of the engineers said, barely above a whisper.
"That's all any language is. Let me know when you have it deciphered," Neifeh growled before turning to me. "Enjoy the next few days, Elder Ioana." He laughed, spun on his heel, and left.
* * *
Ni'Shay kept me informed on the activities at the Alesd over the weeks that followed. Neifeh visited the plant after the first week, threw a fit, and fired the senior engineer. He visited again at the end of the second week and dismissed the entire team, after demoting them. The next day, two teams of six men each arrived. They had been working nonstop for the past three days, eating at their work stations and taking only short breaks to sleep.
I had spent my time preparing for the Freelanders and Riss to cooperate with the JPU when the time came. Ni'Shay arranged for the project leaders at the various manufacturing facilities to visit me at the Ja'Tuva complex, where I was recovering from my injuries. We discussed the chips I wanted embedded in the stealth material, the installation of the panels for the missiles, and the missiles. There was to be no sabotage of the hardware. I wanted the JPU to think they had won and to relax their guard—feeling safe to release the upgraded ships from Freeland.
When Neifeh fired the original team, I got permission to visit the various groups of captured Riss and to get their conditions improved. At the same time, I spent time discussing Spiders with each group, under the guise of finding out each Riss's position at the various plants. I was updated on what they had already created, what had been tested, and possible additions. At the end of the fourth week, Lieutenant Henrick notified me Neifeh wanted to see me on the Invincible.
"I'm coming along," Terril said. "The man can't be trusted."
"And what could you do? No, Terril. This is a Si'jin match, and you can only watch as a bystander. Your appearance could lose the match. You'll have to be patient, like the rest of us. Your time will come," I said, giving her a hug. Henrick arrived an hour later.
"You appear to have been right, Elder Ioana. Force is not the answer to every problem. But I wouldn't smile, yet," he said quietly as we sat sipping a hot spiced drink similar to kaffa.
"No, that would be in bad taste. Besides it's not about winning, just surviving," I said. Although I doubted he liked Neifeh, the man was his superior, so Henrick couldn't be counted on not to repeat what I said or did. The Invincible was a similar design to Salazan's Fearless—a Heavy, Heavy cruiser. Henrick escorted me to Neifeh's conference room and stayed.
"I don't know who created the software used to drive the SAS modifications, but the engineers here are taking longer than I want to understand it enough to modify it to our needs," Neifeh began. "Since I have a schedule I'm working to, I'm willing to reach a compromise with the Riss, if they prove they can successfully install the equipment on my ships."
"The Riss are not like humans. They are a gentle people who merely want to live in peace. If you will stop your troops from abusing the people of Freeland and release the Riss, they are willing to provide you the same support as they did the SAS."
"They don't care?" he asked.
"Why should they? They supported the SAS because they had little choice. The SAS stayed off Freeland, and Riss-humans commanded their ships."
"You want no guards?" He snorted a laugh.
"Post guards at the plants, if it makes you feel better, but the people and the Riss need to be free. What do you have to lose? They will install the equipment, and it will work or it won't. It can't be faked. If it doesn't, they lose their freedom. So they have much to lose. You, on the other hand, have nothing to lose."
"If I agree, they will teach my engineers the code."
"Fleet Admiral Neifeh, I know you think them animals, but they are not stupid. They know you want to kill them, and if they teach your engineers the code, you will. So their agreement with you is mutually beneficial while mutually unsatisfactory."
Neifeh sat staring at me for a long time, sipping a glass of reddish liquor. Eventually, he laughed. "Very well put, Ioana. We both benefit but neither of us is happy. Was this your idea?"
I laughed. "No, this is typical Riss logic. We humans tend to be more...emotional. Our first thoughts are of killing, revenge, and getting even."
He laughed and slapped his desk. "Yes. Much more satisfying. Henrick, pour my new project manager a glass of my wine." He waited as Henrick handed me a glass, then raised his to me. I did the same, and then took a sip. Smooth and strong. I felt my whole body turn warm. "The wellbeing of your clans depends upon you seeing that the Riss and your factories deliver quality and on-time."
"If you restrict access to Freeland, I will make sure you get what you want."
"When can you start?" he asked, leaning forward.
"Get me a list of what you want done to say...the first twenty cruisers, and I'll have someone get you a schedule. I'll need all the Riss released so I can have the Riss tell me which workers your troopers killed. Then they can begin getting replacements. And you need to show good-faith and recall all your troops, except those you feel necessary to guard the plants."
"Remember Ioana, presently we are equally unhappy with this agreement, but we both benefit. If you fail, neither of us will benefit, but you, your countrymen, and the Riss will live in perpetual torment—Freeland will become known as Neifeh's Inferno." He laughed, finished his drink in one gulp, and then waved to Henrick to see me out. My legs felt weak as I left.
CHAPTER FIVE
Freeland: Upgrading the JPU Fleet
"I can't believe you got him to agree to those concessions," Crina La'Teppel said after hearing a synopsis of my meeting with Neifeh.
"Don't get me wrong. He fully intends to kill the Riss and make Freelanders slaves in the long run, which will be sooner rather than later if we don't deliver."
"But, if we do deliver..." Vali Ba'Tasuo said angrily.
"We will deliver working systems." I paused. "And they must appear to work as they are supposed to. We must get them to believe they have beaten us. If we can do that, they will reduce the number of cruisers in our space, relax their guard on our plants, and get careless. In the end, those systems will degrade their effectiveness and lead to their defeat. So the more we deliver, the better."
* * *
"I'm bored," Terril said as we sat in my room at the Ja'Tuva clan house. "We can't even practice. Your skin looks like it would tear if I brushed against it, you can't stand up straight, and you've lost your stamina. If that weren't bad enough, I can't even protect you, since I can't keep you in my sight."
"Good, I have something for you to do," I said, stopping to take a sip of kaffa. "We have three hundred volunteers to be Scorpions, Ghost pilots, and mechanics. Sort them out, and train me fifty to seventy-five Scorpions. I want them ready in ten months."
"You're kidding... No, you're not, are you? Why ten months?" She stood staring down at me, firing question after question without waiting for an answer.
"Are you planning on staying here for the rest of your life?" I asked, maintaining a serious expression.
"No. I thought the SAS...the MSA... How?"
"Damaass will be coming in less than a year. He's good, but he may need some help."
"You're serious!" She sat and stared at me.
"Yes. As the head of my security, I want you to create a Scorpion-like unit—name them what you want—ready to conduct boarding actions and to provide me twenty-four-hour security."
"I guess I'm not bored anymore."
* * *
"Of the three-hundred candidates I've accepted, the elders say you are the best combat shuttle pilots in the old-raider fleet," I said to the two men and one woman standing in front of me. "Have a seat and get comfortable. This will take a while." I had been given each individual's background. Anca Sa'Velte was a small petite woman in her late twenties. Although she looked sweet and innocent, she had been crew on the Taipan and Fer-De-Lance and participated in several planet raids. Sorin Ja'Kazak was a big man with a bushy beard that made him look like an old-fashioned pirate. He was in his late thirties and had been crew with Anton Ja'Tuva on the Puff Adder and had seen considerable action on planet raids before being promoted to lieutenant and second in command. Losif Ba'Tasuo was the youngest of the three. He had only participated in one planet raid but was considered an excellent shuttle pilot. He was tall and lean, with a trimmed mustache on a long narrow face.
"The woman sitting over there…" I nodded to Terril. "…is a Gunny Scorpion. She and the three of you are going to sort the group of candidates into those best suited to be pilots and mechanics and those best suited to be commandos. Then you are going to make them into fighting units capable of taking on any JPU units we encounter. Your units will be operationally ready in ten months," I said sitting back, preparing to answer questions.
"We don't have fighters to train with," Iosif said, giving me a smug smile.
"That's the good news," I said, and Terril choked on her kaffa. "You'll get to help design them." I held up my hand to stop comments. "You will have to create a simulator to begin training. I expect ten fighters to be operational within eight months."
"That's impossible!" Sorin said, eyes cast downward as in thought.
"Impossible, no. Difficult, yes. Impossible if you are content to live as slaves under JPU rule. Difficult if you intend to support the Riss in kicking the JPU out of Freeland space in ten months," I said. The three sat silent, looking back and forth from me to Terril.
"I agree with you. It seems impossible," Terril said, looking back at the three and laughing. "But if Leader Reese is planning on kicking ass, I'm going to be at her side with a unit of...Blue Kraits."
"Well, I'm tired of being grounded and wouldn't mind kicking JPU ass," Anca said looking toward Sorin and Iosif, who nodded.
* * *
I sat reading Neifeh's proposed schedule, wondering if he really expected us to be able to meet it or was looking for an excuse to get nasty.
"Costin, can you connect me to the Invincible? I need to talk to Admiral Neifeh," I asked, sitting down where the camera could record me.
"Sure, Ioana. I'm sure the Admiral would love talking to you," he said with a grin. A few minutes later, the Admiral's face appeared on the monitor.
"What is it, Ioana. I hope it isn't upsetting news." He sneered. "I've lived up to my end of the bargain. I had to reluctantly admit he had recalled the troops from Freeland, except for reasonable security at each of the three main industrial facilities: Alesd, Bacau, and Rupea.
"You will have to be the judge of that, Admiral Neifeh. The plant at Bacau was geared to producing missiles for the SAS, UFN, and JPU cruisers in the recent war against the aliens. Its total capacity could meet your schedule if your cruisers can use the six different sizes those ships required." I paused to take a drink of kaffa and await his reaction.