Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge (27 page)
"I imagine the JPU would also have a good laugh over the idea if they knew what we intended. Of course, I'll wager Admiral Neifeh thought he had annihilated the Riss and would have conquered SAS by now. And that Admiral Haddad thought he would be in control of Freeland and that Riss skins would be piled to the ceiling in his super-Heavy. In the end, the Riss will succeed, whether it takes a year or ten or a hundred. Failure is not an option." I said, speaking for the Riss although I was responding to Sakaata, and every Riss-human knew it.
"Ironically, I don't think I'd bet against you, Nadya," Sakaata said with a laugh.
"Nor me," Admiral Kishi said. "Three squadrons of green cruisers lost to one Riss cruiser. Leader Reese is one very clever commander."
"Well, I wish you luck. I suspect my tour on Freeland will be boring. Those Irises are nasty, and whoever invades Freeland has to pass twenty of them before they can get to Admiral Kishi and me. I'll bet the SAS will be ordering hundreds before long. Freeland is going to be a very rich nation." Sakaata nodded knowingly.
"And the UFN. Small systems are going to want them as protection against mercenaries. Cheaper than maintaining a fleet of cruisers," Kishi said. He laughed. "Freeland will become the peace keepers of the empires."
I hope the space gods are listening, I mused. That would be a dream come true.
* * *
"Well, Leader, where are we going?" Jaelle asked at our pre-departure meeting.
I had thought long and hard about where to start but still hadn't made a decision.
"The easiest system would be one that either we or the coalition visited over the past six months. However, since we destroyed their space stations and any military spacecraft, it wouldn't be productive. At best, those systems shouldn't have more than one or two cruisers or other spacecraft."
"The real prize is the super-Heavy manufacturing facility, but that is more than likely where you will find Admiral Haddad and his fleet," Pavao said.
"It seems we can rule out Baraz and Alborz since the Aliens had quarantined both systems and they are too close to SAS space," Alena said, frowning in thought.
"That leaves Sarosh, Usak, Ihsan, and Tokat," Sheva said. "Haddad waited to ambush the coalition at Sarosh. Maybe he was there to protect their super-Heavy manufacturing platform from the coalition."
"Whether he was or not, that rules out Usak, since it is so close to Afyon. Haddad couldn't take the chance we would go there rather than Sarosh," Zhang said, eyes downcast in thought.
"I agree. If that logic holds, then it has to be Sarosh, Ihsan or Tokat. I would tend toward Sarosh, which is central to the Papak Sector, or Tokat which is the furthest from the SAS," I said, still not sure.
"And the closest to the Red planet that the Aliens were using," Jaelle observed.
"Yes. Thank you, Captain Jaelle. Tokat, unless someone has a better idea," I said. "It would be a good place to keep a secret and a good reason to kick the coalition off the Red planet."
"I agree, dybbuk." Damaass smiled. "JPU logic."
"I also agree," Pavao said, to nodding heads.
* * *
"How long?" Terril asked as we sat eating a late-night snack after teaching Si'gin and a light workout.
"Six days and a few hours."
"If Haddad is there, it will be six against sixty. Are you worried? When I was a gunny in the SAS and you a lieutenant, it seemed to me two-to-one odds were a concern." Terril sat staring at me, her sandwich frozen halfway to her mouth.
"Worry? Yes, I worry about the Riss, those on Freeland, Saipha, and on UFN, SAS, and Riss ships. Each death breaks my heart, because each death is the result of a decision I made for the Riss as their Leader. But that is my position. All I can do is my best and hope it's enough. That someday, the Riss will be free to seek their destiny."
"Ananke just reminded me that my position is to keep you and the other Riss-humans alive to realize that future. A stark reminder of the difference between SAS rank and Riss positions—every Riss position has the potential to impact the Riss Nation." Terril laughed. "And that all we can do is our best, which is all the Riss expect."
* * *
I felt the Mnemosyne come alive as everyone reported to their duty stations and prepared for any action.
* * *
I watched the VTH as we exited the Wave into Tokat and was surprised to see nothing.
That wouldn't help identify any older JPU cruisers lying with minimum power, but it was the best I could do. The VTH immediately lit with the Riss taskforce...and a modified Light cruiser.
"Admiral Haddad is copying the Aliens' strategy and has a stealth cruiser waiting near the Wave exit. Jaelle, that cruiser is your responsibility. Take no action until I signal. Whether we destroy it or not will depend upon what we find farther into the system."
"Yes, Leader," Jaelle said.
"The rest of us will proceed at stealth speed toward Tokat," I said, and cut the connection.
Blue lights flashed and SIDs buzzed with the change.
* * *
As we slowly approached the planet, the VTH began identifying cruisers, merchants, and space platforms. To my surprise, Admiral Haddad's fleet was not in system. But Tokat was a beehive of activity, emanating from three massive manufacturing platforms. Each had a super-Heavy cruiser within fifty kilometers of the platform. Several merchants and three light cruisers were parked at the space station, and five Lights and a Heavy orbited the planet.
With the embedded chips, tight-beam connections were easy, as the exact position of each ship was easy to determine.
"Remind me to thank Admiral Haddad for not being at Tokat when I see him," I said as all the faces appeared on the monitor.
"Maybe he didn't have a choice," Sheva said.
"Or he is faced with too many decisions and has had to make assumptions about what the Riss, SAS, and UFN are most likely to do next," Damaass said and laughed. "Like whether to attack Tokat or Sarosh. Fortunately, he's not a dybbuk."
"This is a good opportunity to test the new red-Wraiths. Damaass, you are assigned the super-Heavies tagged JSH-1 and JSH-2. Alena, you are assigned the super-Heavy tagged JSH-3 and the Heavy tagged JH-1. We need to test the impact of just one red-Wraith and follow up with regular missiles if necessary. We only have eight red-fighters, and if possible I'd like to save as many as we can because we can't be sure what we will encounter later. Sheva, you will backup Alena, and I will backup Damaass. We will give you two hours to maneuver into position." I paused, awaiting questions. When no one had any, I continued. "Zhang, you and I will be responsible for the five Lights. You take the Lights tagged JL-1 through JL-5. I'll back you up on JL-4 and JL-5. It's dangerous, but I'd like to try and get them to surrender after the super-Heavies are destroyed. So, don't fire unless they decline our offer."
"Understood. I hope it works," Zhang said, looking pleased. Zhang was the most sensitive to killing. We all were, but being too generous with the enemy could result in the additional deaths of Riss.
"Me too," I said, hoping it wouldn't cost lives. "Damaass, Alena, time your start for sixty minutes from now. Zhang and I will do nothing until we see the results." I cut the connection.
A minute later.
I sat back with mixed emotions as the Mnemosyne came alive and the ten-minute pings showed the taskforce moving into position. We had been lucky to find the super-Heavy manufacturing facilities and luckier yet that there was relatively little military support. Damaass was right: leaders had to make assumptions since they didn't have infinite resources and couldn't be everywhere at once. Haddad must have assumed no one would look at Tokat. It was a small system and not central to anything. If nothing else, this would set Haddad's plan for military superiority back a good year or two.
Riss solutions would be simple as the ships were in orbit and barely moving. It meant the missiles would have no sensors active for the ECM to detect and target.
As the countdown clock approached sixty minutes, my eyes drifted back and forth between the VTH and the clock. Seconds after the clock clicked on zero, the tags JSH-1 and JSH3 went red—major damage.
Jaelle's face appeared, a bit flushed.
"Are you in position?"
"Yes, Leader. The scout still hasn't moved."
"Destroy it and the Comstat," I said, and cut the connection.
Seconds later, JSH-2 and JH-1 blinked off—destroyed. Only the serenity of the Riss kept me from jumping up and shouting. Terril couldn't resist.
"Yes!" she half shouted, then gave me a sheepish look.
I gave her a thumbs up. Damaass would finish JSH-1, so I turned my attention to the Lights.
The VTH now showed JSH1-3 and JH1 destroyed.
"You want us to surrender. Show yourselves, and we will talk."
"Nine minutes." I said. My connection did not show a face, only a blank screen. "This is not a negotiation. It is an opportunity for you to save thousands of your crews' lives. Not to mention your own."
They must have cut the sound to our connection, as I could see them in animated conversation but could hear nothing.
Two seconds later—Riss missiles were a bit slow but at almost seven thousand kilometers per second, it was like shooting someone at two feet—JL-3 went yellow then shortly afterward red, probably missiles from Damaass or Zhang.
"I warned you. No active weapons. Eight minutes," I said. There was no immediate answer, then a middle-aged man spoke.
"We will comply," he said.
"Would you inform the space station and the manufacturing platforms they have twelve hour to evacuate. After that time, we will destroy them and anyone remaining."
"Who are you?" he asked. I couldn't think of a reason not to tell him. At least he had given some consideration to his people, because the natural instinct for a captain of a ship is to fight no matter how stupid or senseless.
"I'm Captain Reese, Leader of the Riss Nation. For crimes committed against the Riss people by Fleet Admirals Neifeh and Haddad under the authority of the Jahaba Supreme Council, the Riss intend to quarantine the JPU."
"But the Riss are animals...people collect their hides."
"Then you can understand why they are in such a bad mood," I said, feeling sorry for all those people who would suffer for evil they knew nothing about. "I'm surprised that Admiral Haddad isn't here in Tokat." Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"He was, but I understand he was called back to Ormazd."
"Keep your crews from doing something stupid, and you might live to a ripe old age." I cut the connection. It made sense that the Supreme Council would want to talk with Haddad after his defeat at Freeland, and that explained his absence.
* * *
It took four days to first: check out the manufacturing platforms, collecting the documents detailing their current super-Heavies' specifications and some papers on what they had learned at the Aliens' Red planet, and second: make sure we had not only wrecked the space station and the manufacturing platforms but destroyed them. New platforms would have to be started from scratch.
I held two staff meetings, the first with only Riss-humans.