Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge (33 page)

"Hope for peace, but expect war. It's in our DNA. That's why humans are the captains of the Riss ships."

A chill went through me as we faded in and out of reality. My eyes sought the place where the VTH would appear. When it did, tags began to appear about a light-second away. A typical JPU squadron with two heavies and eight Lights.

Immediately, seven tags appeared.

Six faces soon appeared.

"Sheva and Alena, prepare to take out the two Heavies on my command. Use the red-Wraiths. I want it quick. Then skip to join us. We will be about four light-seconds from Ormazd." When they nodded, I continued. "The rest of us will proceed at stealth speed to the four-light-second mark."

The time dragged by as we crept toward the planet. Once we were within four light-seconds, I had a good picture of Ormazd's defenses: three squadrons—one to two short of what I had estimated—so it might work.

Sheva and Alena appeared.

"You are free to proceed when ready."

They cut the connection, and fifteen seconds later, cruisers tagged JH1-1 and JH1-2 went red. JH1-2 disappeared several seconds later, and JH1-2 immediately afterward.

Sheva appeared and the others soon afterward.

"Must be scary having two of your big cruisers explode without an apparent reason," Sheva said, sweeping a hand through her curly, dark-brown hair. "Very."

"I hope so. That's the strategy—scare them into submission." I paused for a drink of water. My mouth felt dry. "It looks like three squadrons within two light-seconds of Ormazd and a super-Heavy." The last of a dying breed, I mused. "That's perfect. One Heavy each, and I'll take the super. Pavao, tag JH2-1, Damaass, tag JH2-2, Sheva, tag JH3-1, Jaelle, tag JH3-2, Elissa, tag JH4-1, and Alena, tag JH4-2. Send, O.K., when you are in position. I will send K.O. when everyone is in position. You will release your red-Wraiths. They will begin their attack thirty seconds later. Skip away from the Wave after you retrieve your Wraiths. Understood?" Receiving various signs of understanding, I cut the connection.

"Why do you always take the most dangerous one?" Terril asked, clearly frustrated.

"Because my position is Leader."

"Leaders usually stay well to the rear."

"I'm new to the position." I saw Terril's lip twitch.

"And damn lucky to be alive."

An hour later, the O.K. signals began coming in. Elissa's was the last. When I clicked on Byer's channel, he appeared immediately.

"Commander Byer, prepare your unit to take out JSH-1. They will leave on my command and will not begin the attack for thirty seconds."

"Understood," he said, leaving his channel open as he supervised the preparation.

I wanted the Mnemosyne separated from the taskforce in case something went wrong.

Four minutes later, "Ready, Captain." Byer's voice.

"Commander Byer, release your unit!" I said, turning to the VTH. The thirty seconds seemed like an eternity, then simultaneously the Heavies' tags either disappeared or went red.

"Leader, my unit's safely home." Byer reported.

"To the units guarding Ormazd, you are the last cruisers in the JPU navy. We could easily kill you but would ask that you await the decision of the Supreme Council," I began, hoping to prevent the captains of the Lights—junior officers in the scheme of things—from having knee-jerk reactions. "Jahaba Supreme Council, we would like to save the lives of those crew remaining. If you will abandon your remaining Light cruisers, which stand no chance against us now that we have destroyed your Heavy and super-Heavy cruisers, we will permit the fifteen thousand crew to evacuate to the planet. If not, we are going to be in an ugly mood and may decide to take it out on the Supreme Council. I will give you an hour to decide."

It didn't look like any of the cruisers had changed positions or fired any missiles, although most had their weapon systems hot. No sense taking chances. Each minute seemed like an hour. Finally, a broadcast from Ormazd.

"We need more time," the voice almost screamed.

"Time's up. Order them to evacuate, or we will take care of it for you. But it won't be pretty. Your admirals have been ugly in their conquests, and my troops are in a mode to get even. I can hold them in check, but if fighting starts, I will lose control. Decide. Now!"

Silence followed for several minutes.

"We'd like to sit down and discuss the terms," the same voice said.

"You are in no position to negotiate. You have the choice of ending this peacefully, or in chaos. My commanders will tolerate no more delays."

"Alright, we will give the order to evacuate."

"Immediately. All systems on minimum power for life support. They have six hours to abandon those cruisers."

"I don't believe it," Pavao said. "I was positive they were too stupid to surrender. Of course, you did sound like Admiral Haddad. I doubt they cared if you killed the troops, but their city..."

"Let's divide up the Lights. I want the Kraits to inspect each ship. If it is empty, we will ferry it twenty light seconds away from the planet and blow it up. I want it out of the reach of their shuttles and in unusable pieces."

* * *

"Now you know how it feels," I said to Terril as we sat listening to the communication link with the Kraits entering the first of the Lights the Mnemosyne had responsibility. "You'd love to be there leading them."

"I have the experience..." She laughed. "That doesn't excuse you. I'm just an old Gunny Sergeant, while you are the leader of a nation."

"You're the colonel in charge of keeping her alive. We are who we are, Terril. We aren't the kind to sit while others are in danger—"

Gunfire jarred me back to the assault team.

"Fred, you alright?" a voice said.

"Yeah, the bullet caught my armor. That bastard came out of nowhere."

"You were sightseeing instead of watching for assholes who stayed. They didn't stay to escort you around." More gunfire sounded this time, an automatic weapon.

"Medic, I've got a man down. "Gero, we have a group in the engine room."

"Colonel Seng, withdraw your detail," I said.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. Ten minutes later, they were back on board.

I watched as the Mnemosyne slowly moved away from the Light cruiser. When we reached ten thousand kilometers, I gave the order.

A second later, twelve missiles slammed into the cruisers and a series of explosions ripped through the ship.

Six more missiles hit the cruiser, opening more of the ship to space.

"Colonel Seng, if you would take another look." I was being overly cautious, but I didn't want anyone else killed. I wanted the cruisers flown out of reach and their critical systems destroyed beyond repair or cannibalization. It took four days to complete the operation, and with all our caution, ten Kraits were wounded and four killed.

"I hope when you look at the skins of my sister Riss you will someday begin to understand the evil you condoned on a peaceful nation: aliens, but aliens who never meant you or anyone else harm. Even now, they do not wish harm on you or the JPU people. You are free to live your lives as you see fit, so long as you do not attempt to leave your planet. Any attempt to enter space will be met with deadly force."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

JPU: The Riss Obligation

"How are you going to keep them contained on their planets? There must be one or two cruisers or merchant ships still operating," Blue Admiral Iwata said after listening to the summary of our action at Ormazd.

I had assembled the senior officers of the units stationed on Freeland. One, to keep them informed, but secretly to send a message—war had it costs, or maybe, that the Aliens had the right idea. The message would undoubtedly be forgotten over the years, but it was worth saying again and again.

"Over the next two years, we will be stationing one of the new Cerberus cruisers in each system. It will be manned by Riss and Freelanders. Their only task will be to monitor that system for space activity and destroy any spaceships or attempts to build space platforms that they find. In the meantime, a taskforce will visit each system without a permanent Cerberus on duty once each quarter."

"Sounds like there is no need for the Riss to be creating new technology," Gebauer said, watching me closely.

"Weapons of war, no, but new technology, yes. Like humans or any intelligent race, the Riss are inquisitive. They would someday like to explore the galaxies. I doubt we are capable of doing that today. It will require more knowledge and new technologies."

* * *

"That was quite a revelation, exploring the galaxies." Zhang's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Yes, while we struggle with today, our dybbuk is looking at tomorrow." Damaass raised his ubiquitous wine glass to me. I had to admit, although he was always with a glass of wine, he didn't drink a quarter of what he had prior to becoming a Riss-human.

"I'd like time to catch up with today's list of things-to-do, before starting on tomorrow's." Pavao smiled. "Never a boring moment around you, Nadya. Alright, what's on your...our to-do-tomorrow list? Of course, you know you are never going to lose the Leader position like that."

I protested to Thalia.

Amusement tingled through me, and I relaxed. I didn't like the responsibility of being Leader, but I did want the Riss to become the people they were capable of being. In a sense, they had been locked in a room for thousands of years. This was their opportunity to get out.

"The Riss need to start a Riss University and a Riss Research Committee for advanced research and studies. One hundred percent Riss run and managed. The Riss need to be encouraged to reproduce, along with the Riss-humans—"

"What?" several people exclaimed at once.

"Thinking about Bradshaw?" Pavao snorted.

"No, thinking about the next generation of Riss-humans. Freeland is surrounded by three empires of humans, and it's obvious from the Aliens we encountered that there are other human-like creatures out there in the galaxies. The Riss will need humans when they encounter them, Riss-humans who understand both the Riss and human natures."

"By the space gods, Nadya, you already have us dead and gone and our children wandering the galaxies. And I don't even have a boyfriend," Elissa said, laughing.

"You have time," I smiled. "You are likely to live another couple of hundred years."

"Any other revelations? I'm taking notes for my children," Sheva asked, hand poised over her SID.

"We, today's Riss-humans, might have the most challenges. The SAS and the UFN may be friends with us and each other, today. Over time, when their need for us fades, so will the strong bond that friendship requires. And we, as a neutral nation, will be viewed as suspicious. We can try, and should, but in the end that cannot be avoided. So we must remain strong and watchful until that day when we leave.

The End.

Thank you

I hope that you enjoyed reading The Riss Challenge. This ebook is lending-enabled, so feel free to share with a friend.  And if you have time, help other readers find The Riss Challenge by telling them why you liked this book by writing a review on Amazon.com. And I’m always interested in hearing your comments and answering any questions you may have at crdaems.com.

Novels by C.R. Daems & J.R. Tomlin

Talonnovels.com

Science Fiction

Riss Series:

The Riss Gamble

The Riss Proposal

The Riss Survival

The Riss Accession

The Riss Challenge

The Black Guard

Fantasy: Epic

The Shadow Sisters Series:

The Shadow Ryana

The Shadow Gypsy

The Seer Renee

Talon of the Unnamed Goddess

Women of Power

Scales of Justice

Blood Duty

Urban Fantasy:

Kazak Guardians Series:

Lynn's Rules

The Unthinkable

Supernatural/Horror:

Laughing Hounds

Historical Fiction:

Freedom's Sword

Black Douglas Trilogy

A Kingdom's Cost

Countenance of War

Not for Glory

The Stewart Chronicles

            A King Ensnared

            A King Uncaged