Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge (25 page)
I had laid out a general strategy for Thalia: the Lights would fire a full load of eight at a designated target. Since the expected targets would be arriving in groups of eight to ten every thirty seconds or so, the second squadron would have to take on the next group leaving the Wave while the other squadron reloaded. The Hunters and Heavies would be assigned the JPU Heavies, firing a full load ten and twelve. I decided to let Thalia make the assignments independently while I monitored the status of the hits and assigned the Irises to target Heavies and super-Heavies that were still functional. R-Asdis on Radar was maintaining the color of the tags: green—operational, yellow—minor to major damage, and red—major damage. I had my attention on the Heavy and super-Heavy cruisers as the first priority, with red-tagged as my second priority.
It seemed like only seconds had passed when the message appeared.
The code for the alpha-taskforce to retreat back three light-seconds. A second message, Advance, had gone out to the beta-taskforce, second row, to replace the first.
Reviewing the board with Thalia, it appeared ten JPU squadrons had exited to date—one hundred cruisers: ten super-Heavies, ten Heavies, and eighty Lights. We had destroyed twenty and caused major damage to thirty-five, but forty-five remained operational. The beta taskforce couldn't expect similar results, as the new squadrons entering had some support. Dusters and Dragonflies would play a much bigger part in the battle with incoming squadrons.
I sat watching as the Eirene moved past us with the beta taskforce.
"How did it go, Leader Reese?"
"I believe we did extremely well, especially considering that the JPU cruisers were built for war, whereas the SAS cruisers were built more to support the planets and for confrontations with mercenaries. We destroyed twenty cruisers—including three of their super-Heavies—and caused significant damage to thirty-five. However, although I have complete faith in Captain Damaass, I doubt the beta taskforce will do as well, since the JPU has forty-five fully functional cruisers safely in Freeland space to support the subsequent waves of cruisers."
"The alpha taskforce did very well, but unfortunately, we have to continue doing very well if we are going to survive, especially if Haddad has added cruisers to his original one-hundred-sixty fleet," Wattson said. "When the last of the JPU have exited, I'm calling everyone back to regroup and consider our options."
* * *
I sat watching the VTH, which left a lot to be desired, since the Dusters interfered with the reception and Damaass had elected to blanket the area with them. I assumed he intended to use the Dragonflies to monitor the JPU activity and use Demons with Riss solutions against them.
But only minutes later, the JPU cruisers appeared and the beta taskforce disappeared. I shook my head as if that would help, trying to understand what I was seeing.
The forty-plus cruisers exiting the Duster debris would only see alpha-taskforce cruisers, since Damaass had entered the Duster debris and would be exiting on the other side—closer to the Wave exit.
We only had ten cruisers in alpha taskforce but did have five Irises and the Mnemosyne, which made for poor odds. My head spun as I fought to come up with a strategy.
I turned my attention to the Irises and set up four Demons rotating from one thru six. I hoped to monitor the VTH and would change assignments as the damage reports came in.
The Mnemosyne shuddered as the first six missiles raced toward JSH1—time to impact, approximately one-hundred-sixty seconds.
I estimated we were roughly three-and-one-half light-seconds from the oncoming cruisers, which if SAS Intel were right put us just outside their maximum missile range—two-point-eight light-seconds. Since we were using Riss solutions, the distance didn't matter to the alpha taskforce. By now, the JPU cruisers would have selected targets. Within less than a minute, hundreds of missiles would be racing toward the alpha taskforce. It wouldn't be long before the Mnemosyne's position would be noted, as our weapons were hot.
The initial encounter was surreal, in that the alpha taskforce had three missile launches before the first launch made contact, and the JPU had two launches—over a thousand missiles hurtling through space. Ironically, the alpha-taskforce missiles were evenly targeted, whereas the JPU couldn't help but be disproportional, since each captain made independent choices. Therefore, one cruiser might have been selected by eight captains and another by only one.
The first round of hits was encouraging, one to three hits on every JPU cruiser. The second round was equally good; several tags disappeared from the VTH, and several went red—non-operational.
Right on time, as the JPU missiles were within thirty seconds of reaching us, and they were sensor-driven. Pulling back would also help, as the JPU missiles would lose power when the distance exceeded two-point-eight seconds—their first load. None the less, one Heavy disappeared, 3 Lights when red, and the Mnemosyne shook as multiple missiles scored direct hits. My eyes flew to the damage monitor: battle metal had contained three hits, but three had breached the hull, opening several compartments to space and killing... I hated war... Several fighters destroyed, partial loss of ECM, and three missile tubes damaged.
The battle raged on for another five minutes, but the Duster clouds and increasing distance reduced the carnage. Then it stopped when beta taskforce emerged, retreating back with us toward the main group. The fighting was ferocious when beta taskforce appeared behind the JPU ships that were harassing us, but after two loads, beta taskforce skipped out of range. When that happened, all new activity seemed to stop, and both forces formed up.
"It appears Haddad has stopped to reorganize. We did very well, but I'm not sure that is enough. Haddad brought in close to two hundred cruisers, an extra forty. It appears we destroyed forty-six and caused major damage to another seventy-four, leaving Seventy-seven. We lost thirty-eight and are left with fifty-seven. Unless one side or the other does something really stupid or has a surprise, it looks like we are in a position to annihilate each other," Wattson said, looking at one of his monitors.
"I would imagine that is exactly what Admiral Haddad is debating," Zhu said, stroking his beard. I agreed with Wattson and Zhu, and I could just imagine Admiral Haddad's conflicting thoughts. He had a higher loss ratio than he had assumed, which left him with a smaller margin than he would like, especially considering the demonstrated effectiveness of the Riss technology. It would be an all or nothing gambit, not an ideal situation for an advocate of overwhelming force. And although the super-Heavies were effective, they were not invincible—thirteen of the twenty were either destroyed or non-operational—which meant he was vulnerable, as his force wasn't overwhelming. I didn't feel sorry for him, but I thought he must have a monster of a headache.
"I'm surprised the SAS and UFN decided to support the animals. You will find it was an unfortunate choice. Although you did well, you are going to lose, and the Jahaba Supreme Council will consider it an act of war, since you are in JPU space. However, if you leave now, before my reinforcements arrive, it may make the treaty talks easier. Take your time, I'm in no rush."
That was an interesting twist, I mused. The closest base is two days away. Of course, he has destroyed the Comstats and is blocking the Wave, so neither Wattson nor Zhu can call for reinforcements. Haddad is implying we are all going to die regardless of what we do because even if we can defeat him before his reinforcements arrive, they will finish off whoever survives. His further implication is it's in our best interest to leave now.
"What do you think, Admiral Zhu, Reese?"
"Clever move, whether it's true or not, intimidating and impossible to verify or disprove," Zhu said. "Whatever else he is, he isn't stupid."
"He's bluffing," I said, unsure why but positive it was true.
"How do you know, Leader Reese? Not that I doubt you," Zhu said with a small amused smile.
"He doesn't want an all-out battle because the odds aren't good, yet he doesn't want to back down and look weak. He knows that without overwhelming force, his super-Heavy will be involved, and that he could be killed regardless of the final outcome." I said, voicing my intuition.
Zhu clapped. "I see what people mean when they call you a dybbuk. Most leaders who believe in overwhelming force tend to be cowards, or at the very least, self-interested."
"Well, dybbuk, what do you think he would do if we attacked?" Wattson asked with a snort.
"If we give him time, I'd think he'll retreat."
"Alright. Let's decide on an attack strategy, while alpha-and-beta taskforces are making repairs and restocking.
* * *
My head snapped toward the VTH. How had Haddad gotten reinforcements so fast? It should have taken several days—travel to wherever and back. I had been so certain...
Tags began appearing: UH1-1, UH1-2, UL1-1...Admiral Zhu's forces from Dunn had arrived. Soon afterward, the JPU force began a race toward the Wave, and Wattson ordered all squadrons in pursuit, although too far behind to be effective unless Haddad chose to stop and fight, which he would be insane to do. The UFN's six squadrons and the JPU's roughly eight squadrons were in missile range of each other for thirty-six minutes. The UFN did extremely well, as many of the lightly damaged JPU cruisers only needed a few additional hits to become non-functional. The UFN reinforcements lost twenty-three cruisers, but they destroyed or inflicted major damage on twenty-nine of the JPU fleet. Admiral Haddad's invasion force of two hundred was left with forty-six functional and a handful of non-functional cruisers, all of which managed to enter the Wave. The coalition was left with eighty-two functional cruisers, not including the six Riss cruisers.
* * *
It took two weeks to recover. The sick and wounded had to be identified and treated; many were sent to Freeland facilities. Each disabled JPU cruiser had to be inspected for survivors, which sometimes resulted in major in-ship battles. The JPU wounded were treated, and the prisoners were moved to makeshift detention facilities on Freeland. Non-functional ships had to be moved to an out-of-the way graveyard; and salvageable ships repaired enough to be returned home.
Toward the end of the second week, Wattson called for a dinner meeting with Zhu and me.
"Admiral Zhu, Admiral Wattson, I want to personally thank you on behalf of the Riss Nation. Without your help, Freeland would not exist today. Our six cruisers and the nine Irises could not have survived Admiral Haddad's invasion fleet. At some point, I would have had to abandon the millions on Freeland and a thousand Riss."
"You would have abandoned them?" Wattson asked in shock. Zhu only nodded imperceptibly.
"The Riss are not heroes. If it became clear—which it would have at some point—that we would lose, we would have left to regroup. What good would it do to die? Honor? The Freelanders and the Riss on the planet understand that. The Freelanders would rather we seek revenge; the Riss that we stop the violence to others."
"Makes sense, but I would think most commanders wouldn't consider leaving an option," Wattson said, then gave a short laugh. "We like heroes."
"Yes, our societies tend to have only heroes and cowards. Leaving people to die would be considered cowardice. But the Riss are wise, having neither heroes nor cowards. It allows for smarter choices." Zhu said.
"What now?" Wattson asked, looking to Zhu.
"I feel we should free the SAS systems Haddad captured and begin providing them support to rebuild. I know both Admiral Plimson and I feel guilty that we didn't do more to protect them."
"What about you, Leader Reese? What does the future look like?" Zhu said, tilting his head as if to hear better.
"I would impose on the SAS and UFN to continue to honor the MSA."
"You think Haddad will attack Freeland again. However, between your sojourn into the JPU, the coalition tour, and the battle of Freeland, we have devastated the JPU fleet. It will take years for them to recover," Wattson said in his old instructor mode.
"It will take him time to recover, but if we leave him alone, then a year or two from now he or another admiral will be back with an invasion force of two hundred super-Heavies, a hundred Heavies, and what is left of his current fleet. And how will the Riss, the SAS, or the UFN stop him? You think Haddad or the Jahaba Supreme Council will forgive your involvement in the Freeland defeat? They mean to dominate the three empires."