The Riss Enemies: Book VI (The Riss Series 6)
Page 2
"By now, I'm sure you all know I was trying to determine the current size of the Riss population and how it was distributed. It's a problem that haunts me—how many baskets should there be and how many Riss in each basket?" I paused to take a drink of kaffa. "Too many baskets increases our exposure and makes it increasingly difficult to defend; too few baskets increases the potential for genocide. The JPU's invasion of Freeland is a good example. Even if they had succeeded in capturing Freeland and committing genocide, the Riss would have survived because of those on Dunn, Saipha, the red planet, and on the surviving Riss cruisers. On the other hand, in the early days, an attack on Saipha would have annihilated the Riss Nation. So, it's not only how many baskets and how many Riss in each basket, but where the baskets should be located."
"You're giving me a headache," Sheva said, rubbing her temples. "No wonder nobody wants the position of Leader."
"Nadya, I suggest you drag your fiancé, Commander Bradshaw, back here and produce the next Leader, just in case, because none of us want to be stuck with the position," Pavao said, smiling.
"Iglis, what's the Intelligence group hearing?"
"It's funny. When I was part of the SAS, I thought we were the smartest and brightest of the empires. Now that I'm looking at the SAS as an outsider, they appear dysfunctional. For example, the war with the JPU. Most agree the JPU deserves to be quarantined; however, that's not to imply they wouldn't support the Riss and Freeland being quarantined. Most feel the SAS should have let the JPU destroy Freeland. They believe the Riss started the war with the JPU and dragged the SAS into it." She raised her hands and shrugged. "Then there is the matter of the SAS fleet. Since they couldn't agree on the size or functionality of the fleet, they did nothing. They provided no money to fix the ships damaged in the war or to modernize the fleet, which means a lot of the ships will be scrapped. The numbers suggest three fleets instead of the original five."
"What about the funding for Irises?" Sheva asked—the obvious question, given they didn't seem to like us and were being tightfisted.
Iglis gave a chuckle. "They kept that the same, sighting the Irises as a reason for not needing to maintain five fleets."
"Who knows we have Riss in the Red Dwarf system?" I asked, suddenly concerned over Iglis's report. Old prejudices appear to wane in wartime but resurface in peacetime.
"The elders, the Riss, and probably a few Freelanders," Da'Maass said, frowning in thought.
"We can't keep it a secret, but let's not talk about it to anyone else. Pavao, you're Leader on Freeland while I'm gone. I'm going to visit the Red Institute of Discovery and check out Hayjar and maybe Sarosh or Ormazd."
CHAPTER TWO
Confrontation at Hayjar
We entered Hayjar four days later. A scan of the area detected no sign of activity, but we were a long way from the planet.
The situation couldn't be avoided any longer. If the Riss had enough Cerberuses to station one in each system, that might avoid confrontations by convincing the intruder it was in his best interest to leave. Without a cruiser, the merchants thought it was worth the gamble and probably didn’t believe they would get more than a warning. In a way, I was glad it was me and not one of my Riss brothers or sisters who had to make the decision.
"What are you going to do?" Terril asked as we exited the Bridge. She had taken seriously my comment that she might one day have to command a Riss ship, and thus spent considerably more time with my security detail when I was on the Bridge.
"I've no idea," I said, hoping the solution would be obvious when we arrived.
"The Eiris notified them that the system was under quarantine and gave the consequences of violating Hayjar space. Seems you've no choice," Terril said.
"There is always a choice," I said, knowing she was right while hoping there was a good alternative available.
"Anake just pointed out that you convinced the Riss there was no choice." Terril gave me a wry smile.
"Alright, Terril, what would you do?" I asked, curious now that she was a Riss-human and had a Riss companion to consult.
"Give them eight hours to evacuate their ship and then destroy it." She shrugged. "That makes it their choice, not ours."
"That's splitting hairs." I snorted.
"They made a choice to enter quarantined space, knowing the potential consequences. You… We would be justified in destroying their ship with no notice, since they were warned. So, giving them a chance to leave the ship is both humane and more than they have a right to expect. Besides, we can't selectively enforce the quarantine."
* * *
When the Mnemosyne reached the planet Hayjar, the Mayflower was still in orbit.
"Colonel Seng, send as many Kraits as you need to board the Mayflower and secure the crew. Commander Byer, dispatch Wraiths to support Colonel Seng."
"Rules of engagement?" Seng asked. I understood his uncertainty. The Mayflower is an SAS merchant, we aren't at war with them, and this is our first enforcement of the quarantine.
"Whatever force necessary to secure the ship and its crew."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Mayflower, this is the Riss Cruiser Mnemosyne." I hoped a warning would preclude any heroics or knee-jerk reaction. "You knowingly violated the Riss quarantine of JPU space after having been warned of the consequences. I have therefore dispatched a detail of commandos to seize your ship. Any attempt to stop them will be met with deadly force."
"You can't do that. I'm Captain Leggat and this is an SAS registered merchant ship!" the voice shouted. I cut the connection.
"Why?" Terril asked, frowning in thought.
"I've decided to make the captain a spokesman for the quarantine." I grinned at the thought. "If we left him and his crew on Hayjar, it might be months or longer before anyone knew of his fate. In that case, others will continue to violate our quarantine, unaware that we are enforcing our edict. However, if we take the captain and his crew back to…" I stopped to check the system to determine where the Mayflower was registered. "…Fools Landing, then he will spread the word of what happened to him and the consequences of violating the quarantine."
"So there was a choice." Terril gave me a wry smile.
"There are always choices—like in Si'jin. The trick is to find the one that best accomplishes the objective. Is it to kill, to subdue, or to teach a lesson? In this case, I would rather not use force when a lesson might work. Besides, this is notice to the SAS that we mean to enforce the quarantine."
"That may inflame factions within the SAS."
"It might. But hopefully less than stranding SA
S citizens on JPU soil would."
* * *
It took the marines eight hours to secure the Mayflower, round up the crew, transport them back to the Mnemosyne, and secure them in the shuttle bay used for non-combat shuttles, which I had cleared to hold them. When I entered, a broad shouldered man with a rugged square face stood and shouted.
"I demand to be returned to my ship. I'm an SAS citizen, and you have no right to arrest me!"
"Who am I speaking to?" I asked, somewhat amused by his attempt to simultaneously plead ignorance and having been wronged.
"Captain Leggat, a registered SAS merchant."
"In JPU space without permission."
"I don’t need Riss permission. I'm an SAS citizen."
"Captain Leggat, that logic would play well in the SAS, but you are in JPU space. Even so, you're not under arrest, and you and your crew are free to leave if you wish. In that case, we will transport you to the Mayflower and then give you eight hours to evacuate. Because at the end of the eight hours or if you try to leave, your ship will be destroyed."
"You can't destroy my ship!" he choked out, fear replacing his previous anger.
"You were warned and chose to ignore the warning. I would be justified in leaving you on Hayjar. But since you're the first to be caught, I'm willing to return you to Fools Landing in the hope other merchants will realize the Riss intend to enforce the quarantine." I paused, waiting for Leggat to respond.
"The SAS will take retribution when I report what you have done!" He stood there shaking a finger at me.
"I take it that means you want to go to Fools Landing," I said. Leggat stood there, his lips moving but no coherent sound emerging. I turned and exited the bay.
It took half a day to move the Mayflower several light seconds from Hayjar and destroy it, and three days to reach Fools Landing. At the space station, we released the crew of the Mayflower and departed immediately, wanting to avoid any discussion of what we had done or why. This issue would not be resolved on Fools Landing but on Eden.
"Nadya, what do you think will happen now?" Terril asked, choosing to speak out loud rather than telepathically.
"What do you think?"
"Since a large segment of the SAS appears to hate Freeland and the Riss in almost equal measure, I think they will ignore the fact that the JPU intended to crush them and would have if the Riss hadn't intervened. I think they will consider your action," Terril smiled, "an affront to the SAS."
"I agree. A confrontation is coming, which may be a good thing if we can contain their response and get the SAS to agree formally to the quarantine."
"And if we can't?"
"Then times are going to get interesting."
The Red Institute of Discovery
Travel to the Red Dwarf system took five days, and it took an additional ten hours to reach the Aliens' orbiting space platform, which was several times the size of the largest SAS station. The structure was cylindrical, rising close to one thousand five hundred meters and having a diameter of nearly seven hundred meters.
When I exited, r-Saga stood waiting to greet me. She managed operations at the institute.
**Welcome, Leader. Your timing is fortuitous. We have made significant progress in the past two months. If you will follow me, I'll take you to our conference room, where we have snacks and drinks, and I can bring you up to date,** her voice box translated her signing. She then led Terril, the two cobras, and me through the bay and into a circular hallway.
A black-rubberized material covered the floor, deadening the sound. Pictures of galaxies, strange landscapes, and ultra-modern cities with exotic-shaped structures poking into the clouds lined the forest green walls. Interestingly, none of the pictures had people or robots. I thought the colored walls and pictures strange for robots until I realized the robots were metal hosts for intelligent life. R-Saga interrupted my musing.
**The structure is basically the same on all levels. Each unit is attached to a central cylinder that has eight lifts. You can use any one by pressing the plate next to the lift door.** She pressed the silver plate and waited. Less than a minute later, the door slid open, and we stepped into a circular compartment. The inside walls was painted lemon yellow and also decorated with scenes of landscapes and cities. A recessed area next to the door had a three-dimensional hologram of the structure. R-Saga somehow rotated the hologram and touched one of the boxes. When she did, the door closed and the lift began moving up. A minute later it stopped and then moved sideways.
**Yes, the lifts can rotate, delivering you to the exact compartment you requested,** her voice box said when she saw the look of concern on several faces, including mine. When the door opened, she led us across the hallway and into a unit the size of a shuttle bay, which had a conference table and chairs in one corner. Computer stations and other equipment were scattered around the spacious area. **We use this unit for conferences as well as documenting our findings, observations, and research. Help yourself to refreshments, and I will bring you up to date.**
I fetched a cup of kaffa and sat.