"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 sent to Terril.
Amusement filled the sending.
I sent.
* * *
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.
One by one, their faces appeared in boxes on the monitor.
"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.
Terril asked, obviously having taken my earlier remark seriously.
* * *
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.
Five faces appeared in separate frames. They all had black hair and narrow faces, but the expressions varied from angry to confused.
"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.
"Damaass, what's your assessment of the red-Wraiths?" I asked.
"They aren't perfect yet, but they are deadly. I examined one of the super-Heavies afterward. It had twice the armament of a normal Heavy, yet the red-Wraith caused massive damage. One or two more reds would have completely destroyed it. The pilots guiding them said the controls were easy. They had some suggestions, which we will incorporate with the next generation." He laughed. "Give me eight Riss cruisers each with ten Red Fighters, and twenty Irises, and I could defend Freeland against an invasion by the SAS."
"For a peaceful nation, we are becoming a military super power," Zhang said, some concern evident in his voice.
"You are right, Zhang, and it bothers me as much as it does you and the others. I don't want the Riss to be seen as the two-ton gorilla in the room. That just tends to create a military arms race. I'd like the Riss to be seen as good neighbors and helpful in times of need. Like this time, I think we saved the SAS and UFN from losing a war to the UFN." I paused for a drink of kaffa and to think about my next words. "I've always tried to be honest with everyone and our allies. And I want to continue that policy...but...there are some secrets that would not be received well. For example, our ability to sense others' emotions. That would alienate us from everyone. The chips are another. We need to downplay their usefulness. They are for maintenance records primarily, although they can be queried over limited distances. The ones we put on the JPU planes were longer ranged. Spiders in the Riss technology and red-Wraiths are two more. The Spiders we can ignore, since they are invisible. On the other hand, the red-Wraiths are going to need some explanation. I think for now, we can say we are experimenting with the Wraiths and carrying additional laser-directed bombs.
was the unanimous response.
"Where next, Leader?" Jaelle asked. She tended to be a bit shy but was coming into her own, and I felt confident in her ability to captain the Druantia. All she needed was some battle experience.
"Any suggestions?" I asked, knowing it was my responsibility but using Wattson's technique of asking questions. Even though he usually had the answer already, it caused the students to think rather than just be given the answer, and it did on occasion lead to better solutions.
"Ihsan then Usak," Damaass said. "Except for Ihsan and Usak we have been to every other system."
"What about Baraz and Alborz?" Sheva asked. "Alborz had two squadrons, and Baraz had one when we looked. It would be nice to know if they were still there, and they would be easy systems to quarantine."
"Baraz and Alborz are close to Freeland. We could get resupplied with missiles and red-Wraiths and get the latest information for SAS and UFN," Zhang said.
I agreed.
"Alright, Ihsan then Baraz, where we can make a decision on Freeland before moving on to Alborz then Usak.
* * *
Later than day, I held my second meeting with my Mnemosyne staff.
"What kind of missiles did the Freeland fighters use on those super-Heavies?" Commander Byer asked. Since he had my VTH feed, the results were obvious.
"The Freeland fighters are new, so we have been experimenting using them more against cruisers rather than other fighters. And I think we've had some luck. Our search of the super-Heavy manufacturing platform revealed the physical layout as well as their specifications. Based on those designs, I think we got lucky with our missiles. Commander Iglis has a copy of the specifications. Iglis, please download them for Commander Byer and Colonel Seng, so their troops can get acquainted with them. Admiral Haddad has at least five or six more. Our fighters should know the best places to attack and the commandos the general layout in case they have to board one," I said, knowing that what Byer really wanted to know was what kind of missiles we were using, and when the SAS would be getting them. For now, experimental and luck would have to do for an explanation.
"Commander Iglis, did you find anything else interesting?" I asked.
"I haven't finished sorting it all out, but it appears they produced twelve this past year and planned to produce around twenty-four next year, forty-eight the following twelve months."
"Imagine a hundred of them in an invasion force. We wouldn't have stood a chance," Byer said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Let's hope that's their only manufacturing plant.
"I also found a design for a portable Comstat. That would be good for an invading force to coordinate with other taskforces. There could be other goodies in what I collected, but it will take time to sort through it."
"Our next stop is Ihsan, then Baraz, where I will send one cruiser to Freeland for supplies and anything our detachments may need."
* * *
When we entered Ihsan, we
discovered only one squadron, guarding a space-station-and-manufacturing platform for Light cruisers. I hated to chide good luck, but I wasn't sure whether to feel worried or fortunate. Worried that Haddad was consolidating his force for another attack or a trap for us, or fortunate that our raids and the battle at Freeland had all but destroyed the JPU fleet. The latter didn't seem right. If he recalled all of his squadrons from SAS space—there could be as many as sixty-six—and all but one squadron at each system, then I thought his fleet would number well over one-hundred-twenty. Not enough to attack the SAS or UFN capitals, but maybe enough for another attack on Freeland, which seemed to be his obsession.
"Since there are only two Heavies and eight Lights, and six of us, I'd like to save the red-Wraiths if possible. Damaass and Alena, take the Heavies. Zhang, those tagged JL-1 and JL-2. Sheva, JL-3 and JL4. Jaelle, JL-5 and JL-6, and I'll take JL-7 and JL-8. I suggest we make our attack from just outside one light-second range. Six missiles at each assigned Light and twelve on the Heavies. Unless they are really alert, I doubt they can target us and get missiles to us before our second round of missiles. Launch Dusters to disrupt their missiles, and Dragonflies to target and guide our subsequent launches. Of course, you are free to adjust as necessary," I said, setting up the attack. I would have loved to have given the Lights warning as we had in Tokat, but without the surprise element the Red-Wraiths provided, it was too dangerous. And something told me we needed to save the Red-Wraiths for later.
I sat watching the countdown clock on the monitor as the taskforce moved into position.
Terril sent, obviously taking my remarks seriously.
‹ Prev Next ›
