Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge (20 page)
The Bridge faded, and we turned into ghosts, and just as suddenly solidified.
Blue lights flashed, and SIDs broadcasted the change in status.
"Tradition and your strong fear of failure. It wouldn't work against the Riss since they don't punish failure or reward success. Success or failure may get you another position, but since all positions are equal..." I laughed. Zhu closed his eyes, which I thought meant he was digesting what I had said and the ramifications. Nothing happened for the next six hours.
* * *
"I never realized how much Si'jin is like war," Terril said as we sat eating. It was like a mini staff meeting, with Byer, Seng, and Iglis there along with Terril and Zhu. "You and Erdogan are two masters trying to get into each other's minds."
"Whoa!" Iglis said, looking down at her SID. She turned it toward me. "Emperor Okuda has ordered a ceasefire. He's arriving tomorrow."
"What do you think, Captain?" Seng asked.
"I think the waiting is over," I said smiling. Unless I was wrong, Admiral Erdogan had gone too far to back down now. Better it was only him to relate what happened. Sure enough, I had just finished my kaffa when my SID lit with r-Galene's face.
"Leader, a message from the Golden Tiger," his voice box said.
The recorded message played. "Admiral Erdogan is demanding a ceasefire, but you must make your cruiser visible to show good will. If you do not, he will begin killing the Riss on board the Riss certified units."
"The endgame is about to begin. I will be calling Battle Stations when I reach the Bridge."
"Stealth mode?" Byer asked.
"No. Weapons hot. The Emperor has just pushed Admiral Erdogan into stupid-mad." I rose, with Terril, Zhu, and Cobras following. At the Bridge, I took my seat, my eyes misty.
Red lights flashed, and klaxons sounded as the Mnemosyne came to life—radar, weapons, fighters, combat shuttles. My eyes—dripping with tears—went to the monitor I had started when we went active.
Forty seconds later, it happened.
Zhu interrupted the silence with a laugh. "Yes, stupid-mad. So mad, he would order the Riss to do the one thing they would logically never do—put their Leader in danger."
Blue lights flashed, and notice went out over SIDs.
"Now we wait," I said, wondering who would replace Erdogan and what surprises the Emperor would bring.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
UFN - Dunn: Emperor Okuda
R-Galene's alert stopped my speculating about what was going on within the red, yellow, and green fleets. I had expected to hear from someone, but not so soon. It had only been four hours since the Golden Tiger had disintegrated as the six cruisers collided into a gargantuan explosion that looked like a miniature supernova.
Immediately, Captain Hang appeared.
"Greeting, Leader Reese. I apologize for lying to you last time. Admiral Erdogan's commandos had control of the Dynasty and threatened to kill Admiral Zhu if I didn't. I'm afraid my allegiance to Admiral Zhu was greater than to you. The senior captains in the green fleet have conceded command to me as the senior captain on Dunn. The Admirals of the red and yellow fleets have always been loyal to Admiral Zhu. If you would permit, I would like to bring Admiral Zhu up to date," Hang said.
I nodded and put Zhu on one monitor.
"Captain Hang, what is the situation on the Dynasty?" Zhu asked.
"Colonel Machi has surrendered the Golden Tiger's commandos and agreed to confinement by Red Admiral Quan until an Imperial Inquest can be convened. He believes he acted appropriately under orders by Admiral Erdogan. I thought it best that he and his troops were confined on another ship."
"Very good, Captain Hang." Zhu turned toward me. "Leader Reese, I'd like to return to the Dynasty in preparation for the Emperor. What do you suggest?"
"I'll drop you off, if we can agree on a ceasefire," I said. Zhu might have trusted Hang; however, I couldn't after his lies, although I understood his reasons for them. But I trusted Zhu and thought he would know who he could and couldn't trust.
"Thank you, Leader Reese." Zhu looked back to the monitor. "Leader Reese has agreed to drop me off. Captain Hang, make sure all weapons systems are offline."
* * *
It took most of the day in stealth mode to reach the Dynasty, transfer Zhu, and get several light-seconds away from all UPN ships. Zhu thought it best I stay out of sight until he met with the Emperor, since neither of us knew who or what had provoked Admiral Erdogan, nor the Emperor's position. While we waited, I called a staff meeting to keep everyone up to date.
"Iglis, anything new?" I asked when everyone had been seated.
"I've gone from knowing everything that was happening to blind and deaf. I don't have access to SAS Comstat here in Dunn, and the UFN Comstat is eerily quiet since the Emperor said he was going to Dunn. Even the chatter between ships has decreased. It feels like the entire UFN is holding its collective breath, waiting to see what the Emperor is going to do—and anticipating it won't be good."
"We are all sorry about the Riss killed on those ships," Seng said. "I understand why you have always been so reluctant to put Riss on foreign ships. Not only are they isolated from friends and family, but they're potential hostages."
"And thus your...concern over Riss technology being used to kill Riss and Riss allies," Byer said. "Those UFN fighters would have been better off without the Riss technology." His face frowned with concern. "I've been with you and the Riss for many years, yet it's still a bit creepy knowing what your technology could do to us in a war."
"That is the trouble with technology and weapons; it doesn't care who developed it, who it's used against, or the reason. Maybe it's time for technology to care—Riss technology should not be used to kill Riss or Riss allies." I said, liking the concept: the Riss would share its technology to repel Aliens, to defeat an invasion, and for protection, but not to harm Riss.
"What now?" Byer asked.
"We wait for the Emperor. He will determine the next move."
Terril sent with a strong sense of condemnation. I laughed.
* * *
Eight hours later, the Emperor's Heavy cruiser, the Imperial Dragon, arrived along with a fleet of forty-eight cruisers: six squadrons consisting of two Heavies and six lights each. Four hours after that, Fleet Admiral Zhu was invited to the Imperial Dragon. The meeting lasted three hours.
Zhu's face appeared.
"Leader Reese, the Emperor would like to talk with you. I cannot know what is in his mind, but I believe he is interested in resolving the current issue. He has expressed a willingness to ensure your protection."
I looked to Terril, who frowned, then nodded.
"The meeting will be aboard the Dynasty. I will be allowed armed security and will be in communication with the Mnemosyne at all times. Those are my conditions, Admiral Zhu." I said. After a long pause, Zhu nodded.
"I will discuss them with the Emperor," he said and cut the connection.
I took another hour arranging the proximity of other cruisers, the Mnemosyne remaining in stealth mode, transfer protocol, size of security...
"I wonder if it would cause a lot of paperwork if I shot an Emperor," Terril quipped as my shuttle approached with four Ghosts as escorts.
"None. At least for you and me. Others might find their days busy writing the historical version." I smiled.
"Good, I hate paperwork," Terril said as the door-light turned green and we rose. The two Cobras were the first out, with Terril standing watch in the doorway. After a long look, she nodded, and I followed down the steps. When I reached the bottom step, a bugle sounded and twenty plus commandos came to attention.
"Welcome aboard the Dynasty, Leader Reese," Captain Hang said after a snappy salute. "I hope the Emperor, Fleet Admiral Zhu, and you have a productive meeting. There has been enough killing of friends." He stepped back, and Zhu stepped forward.
"Welcome, Leader Reese. If you don't mind waiting, the Emperor will be arriving in the next few minutes," he said and handed me a SID-like device. "This has been connected to the Mnemosyne."
I looked at the screen and saw r-Kharis's face. "If we lose contact, you are in command of the Mnemosyne, Sister Kharis," I said, and clipped the unit to my belt. A few minutes later, one of the Bay's locks opened and a luxury shuttle entered bearing the Emperor's seal, one golden and one silver dragon inside a circle, facing each other. Ten imperial guards exited first, then a thin, frail man a head taller than me. When he stepped off the stairs, a bugle sounded, the commandos braced to attention, and everyone else bowed low. His eyes locked on me as he approached Zhu and me with four Imperial guards following.
"Emperor Okuda, welcome to the Dynasty."
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral Zhu." His eyes turned toward me. "We are living in interesting times: discovering the Riss are an intelligent race, invasion by robotic Aliens, and now a power grab by the JPU. People are scared and driven to do foolish things."
"Leader Reese, I'd like to introduce you to the Emperor Okuda, Imperial Head of the United Free Nations," Zhu said.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Emperor Okuda." I gave a small bow out of respect for his position.
"Emperor, since it will only be the three of us, I thought my quarters would be comfortable. The servants await your approval to deliver refreshments," Zhu said. When Okuda nodded, Zhu spoke into his SID and waved for us to follow him. Okuda motioned for me to walk with him.
"You are not what I expected, Leader Reese," Okuda said as we walked. "Your uniforms are unique. Most want their uniform to proclaim their...accomplishments, importance."
"The Riss believe each position is essential for the success of the people; therefore, all positions are equal. Our uniforms don't indicate our importance, only our current position: two stars a Riss captain, and three stars Leader."
"But as I understand it, you speak for the Riss. You are the leader of the Riss Nation."
"For the Riss, it's merely a position. Someone has to speak for them, and for now that's me. Between you and me, Emperor Okuda, I'd gladly give it to someone else. Except, no one wants it," I said, meaning it.
Okuda laughed. "In the UFN, everyone wants to be Emperor, and if they don't die when their usefulness has ended, we assassinate them. We sometimes do that with Fleet Admirals. Yes, a small group within the Imperial Parliament decided Admiral Zhu had outlived his usefulness and was using Admiral Erdogan to replace him," Okuda said after we had entered the room.
Terril and two imperial guards were allowed to be inside the room. Everyone was served tea, and the servants left before Okuda spoke again.
"The rumors are many about you, Leader Reese, and I have no way to tell which are true and which false. But I believe I can tell truth from lie, so I've come in person to speak to you," he said, leaning back and taking a sip of his tea.
"There can be many truths in a story, so let me begin with the alliance against the Aliens. I knew there could be no alliance without trust, so..." I went on to explain why I lobbied for a Riss technology center on Dunn, UFN Riss-humans, UFN detached units on Riss cruisers, and Riss on UFN and SAS cruisers. "I've trusted Admiral Plimson and Admiral Zhu with Riss and Riss technology, hoping that someday that would lead to the UFN and SAS being trusted allies."
I waited for Okuda to nod before continuing, realizing he was like Zhu and took time to consider what had been said and his subsequent response.
"Well over a year ago, Admiral Neifeh invaded Freeland. I didn't invoke the MSA with either you or the SAS since I didn't believe the three empires destroying themselves a reasonable solution. Instead..." I went on to explain how we had upgraded the JPU fleet but made it more vulnerable. I implied I managed the effort from the background, not wanting to give away the Riss ability to manipulate its host.
"Very clever...and our upgraded ships?" He smiled, a cat watching a mouse.
"Not necessary. Our stealth coating allowed me to get in position to target a few ships in each squadron and skip quietly away. My object was not to destroy the green fleet, but to get Admiral Erdogan to think with his emotions."
"Emotions?" Okuda said, leaning forward for the first time.
"Do you think it right that he should use the technology I freely gave the UFN to kill Riss? I did not attack Admiral Erdogan. His men boarded my ship and attacked my crew. His cruisers were searching Dunn space for the Mnemosyne to destroy us. He declared war on the Riss and its SAS attached units."
"If you didn't tamper with the technology, how?"
"The two Riss assigned to each UFN cruiser implemented the installed technology. The Riss had to compute the vector for Admiral Erdogan's Riss-certified cruisers to skip into attack position. Erdogan's emotions overruled his logic—expecting the Riss to help him kill Riss."