The Riss Enemies: Book VI (The Riss Series 6)

by C. R. Daems

 

  r-Olwen sent, and Sy'Dnar's face appeared on Bradshaw's SID.

  "Yes, Captain?"

  "Send out a few Wraiths to explore the area. We may have stumbled on the remnants of an old battle. I'd like to know if they were cruisers, merchants, or Ecitoni ships."

  "Yes, sir." Sy'Dnar cut the connection.

  An hour later, Bradshaw's SID buzzed and Sy'Dnar's face reappeared. "Captain, the Riss were right. My pilots found several merchant ships and several small … cruisers or maybe large combat shuttles in the area."

  Bradshaw sent, his mind racing. They were about halfway between the Wave exit and Port Lost—five light-seconds from each. While the shuttles weren't invisible on minimum power, they would be difficult to detect even if someone were scanning the area.

  he asked Athena.

  She sent a vid of a Riss looking like her surrounded by books, which she was desperately thumbing through. The vid had a hint of amusement.

 

 

 

 

  Bradshaw nodded and clicked on Colonel Sa'Telli’s name. His SID's screen split and Sa'Telli appeared.

  "Yes, Captain?"

  "Dispatch two shuttles and examine any ships you find in the area. Take a few Riss engineers in each shuttle. The shuttles are to proceed at minimum power, use only passive sensors, and no have communications unless it's an emergency. I would rather the Ecitoni didn't know we were in the area."

  "Yes, sir." Sa'Telli clicked off.

  "Any instructions for me?" Sy'Dnar asked.

  "Keep several Wraiths on alert just in case the space gods get bored." Bradshaw cut the connection. Nadya—Leader Reese, he corrected with a smile—wanted information, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity with minimum risk.

  Eight hours later, the Kraits had returned, and Cerberus-1 continued at stealth speed toward the planet.

  When Bradshaw entered his conference room an hour later, everyone stood, but no one called attention. He smiled at the difference between SAS and Riss cruisers.

  Athena sent.

  Bradshaw sent.

  she sent with a vid of me lifting a dumbbell with a thousand-pound weight on each end while the Riss were lifting five-pound weights. Bradshaw stood still for several minutes, eyes wide with confusion. Then slowly he nodded—he made decisions that determined the cruiser’s success or failure. Good decisions meant fewer deaths; bad decisions meant many deaths. The Riss performed only their specific functions.

  "Colonel Sa'Telli, what did you discover?"

  "The shuttles stopped at each of the merchant ships that were at least partially intact, a total of six. They believe there may have been as many as twelve originally. They found no one alive. As we thought, most of the ships were well armed with two to four missile tubes, thirty centimeter lasers, and lots of military-type weapons for the crew. They also found five intact Ecitoni combat shuttles and the pieces of ten to twelve others. They each had fifty centimeter lasers, two missile tubes, and troop capacity of between one to two hundred. And one light cruiser." He paused, giving Bradshaw a sheepish look. "They brought back several dead Ecitoni bodies."

  "Excellent, Colonel. That was good thinking. Have them frozen. Maybe the medical staff on the Mnemosyne can get useful information from an autopsy. Do they really look like…ants?"

  "Very much so. Of course, much bigger. Sort of like comparing us to monkeys—we bear a resemblance: arms, legs, head, and have similar organs. The same form but different." Sa'Telli tapped on his SID and a one meter hologram sprang to life and slowly rotated a few centimeters above his SID. He was right, the similarities were striking, like looking at an ant under a microscope—nothing he'd like to meet one-on-one even in daylight.

  Bradshaw asked as he made his way to the Bridge.

  Athena sent with no hint of amusement.

  Bradshaw stopped and closed his eyes as if that would enable him to see her. Then shook his head.

  he sent.

  Athena sent.

  Bradshaw sent with a got ya feeling.

 

  He conceded she had a valid argument and wondered if the Ecitoni were one of nature’s checks to keep the universe in balance—hyenas cleaning up the mess.

  he sent as he entered the Bridge and took his seat.

  * * *

  Four hours later, they were within one light-second of the planet and within a half-second of a cylinder capable of holding a good-sized city.

  r-Birgid sent with a hint of awe.

  Bradshaw agreed. And if there was any doubt, the hundreds of ships coming and going confirmed the damn thing was huge. They stayed in a concentric orbit a light second distant that kept the Mother ship's activities in sight. The mini-cruisers or large combat shuttles looked like a modern version of the old bucket-brigades at a fifteenth century fire—delivering something to and from the Mother ship—a shuttle-brigade. Bradshaw could only speculate: troops to the surface and captives to the Mother ship. He also noticed the steady line of ships dismantling the space station and collecting pieces from another area of debris closer to the planet.

  Bradshaw circumnavigated the planet several times, noting areas of activity. On the third day, one end of the cylinder appeared to break off. He watched the VTH in awe as it began to accelerate, passing within a half light-second of the Cerberus.

  he sent, knowing it was significant but not sure why.

  Several minutes later, r-Brigid sent.

 

  He wasn't sure what he had expected. The measurements confirmed what he thought he had seen, a piece broke off the main cylinder. Well, detached, he mused, since it had engines and was moving towards the Wave.

  Five days later, he decided he had seen enough and that nothing new appeared to be happening.

 

  r-Macha sent.

 

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Sparrow’s Nest – Ja'Sai

  r-Badb sent.

  Ja'Sai hadn't felt so alive in years. He was in command of a war cruiser, small but deadly, and this time his cause was honorable: saving Freeland, his clan, and the Riss—and as a bonus helping to save the citizens of the SAS and UFN. Adrenaline filled him as they exited the Wave. He was disappointed when the VTH failed to detect any activity. Of course, they were a long way from the planet. He perked up two hours into their descent to the planet when the VTH detected a large object, equivalent to a large space station. He concluded the object must be the Ecitoni ship. If it was, it was many times the size of a Medusa, which Da'Maass had described many times. If he was correct, the human race had problems. He smiled. At least, he would die happy, doing what he loved.

  Ja'Sai remembered the raids where he sat hours waiting for the crew to return, not knowing what was happening planet-side. But this was different. Then he didn't care to know. Today he was as hyper as an expectant father. He didn't dare leave the Bridge in case trouble raised its ugly head.

 
Devana sent, and he felt himself relax for the first time in hours.

 

  She sent a vid of an old man walking stiff legged with the help of a cane.

  He laughed. This time he had company to speed up the wait.

  * * *

  Cerberus-2 slowly circled the planet several times, monitoring its activity. He concluded the Ecitoni had devoured about forty percent of Sparrow’s Nest and would be finished in another fifty days, give or take a week. He didn't feel it safe to put troops on the ground and didn't think Leader Reese wanted him to stick around to see if his estimate was correct, so he decided to return to Hayjar.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Earthol – Katlin

  Katlin sat back, eagerly waiting to enter Earthol, hoping the Ecitoni were there. She had been disappointed when she had been assigned Earthol because there was no sign the Ecitoni had entered the system.

  She sent to Nidaba, unbounded sky goddess, realizing only she was excited.

 

 

 

  Katlin laughed. The unflappable Riss. Each had a job they did for the Riss. Worrying, speculation, solutions where someone else's job—hers.

 

  An image of a Riss with a huge magnifying glass watching her.

  r-Kadru sent, interrupting her discussion with Nidaba. When they exited the Wave into Earthol, there were no cruisers or other ships near the Wave, and the system looked normal. Even the Comrelay was working. Several hours later, they settled into an orbit two light-seconds from the planet. Since they were here to observe, Katlin stayed in stealth mode but changed the status to Standby.

  Nidaba sent along with a tingling sensation Katlin felt as amusement. An interesting phenomenon, feeling someone else's emotion.

  Katlin asked, curious to learn her companion's thinking.

  Nidaba sent a vid of a group of ants dancing.

  Katlin thought that a better image than ant shooting at humans—something she might have projected. Since Commander Iglis had thought Earthol would be the next planet invaded, she decided to wait at least seven days on the off chance Cerberus-3 had arrived a bit early.

  * * *

  Katlin's wish came true exactly seven days after their arrival. The Earthol’s Iris detected Wave exit by an unknown vehicle. But even without the Iris, the Cerberus’s passive sensors would have detected the gigantic object within a few hours. As it approached the planet, two merchants left the station. They didn't get far before the sphere disgorged hundreds of what appeared to be mini-cruisers or large combat shuttles. Most ignored the merchants; however, twenty of the mini-cruisers plus two the size of Lights descended on the two merchants. Each mini fired two missiles and the Lights four each. It was overkill. The merchants weren't built for war and were easily destroyed with two to four direct hits. Forty eight missiles was a fifty-foot Tsunami against an eight-foot sailboat. The twenty minis and two Lights then turned and followed the others, which headed toward the planet. The twelve Lights circled the planet while the mini-shuttles waited. When the Lights returned, several groups of fifty to a hundred minis broke off and joined several more Lights, heading for the planet. Each group went a different direction.

  Katlin sent.

  Looking like a flock of birds, the group descended on a large city situated on the tip of a long narrow continent. Radar showed that two smaller groups of the minis accompanied by Lights continued up the coast.

  she sent.

  Watching the minis make the surface of the planet and disgorge swarms of Ecitoni troops, Katlin fought the urge to do something. But what? Even if she could take out the Lights orbiting the area, then what? She couldn't stop the fighting, because the Ecitoni were in the city…killing the Earthol citizens so she couldn't use missiles or lasers. And she couldn't drop commandos because they would be greatly outnumbered. Besides, taking out the Lights would alert the Ecitoni to the Cerberus's presence. She was here to observe, not engage—although it felt like cowardice.

  Nidaba sent with a vid of Katlin steering the Cerberus while Riss were hanging out windows with cameras and magnifying glasses. Although comical, the vid conveyed a feeling of sadness. The real meaning of a Riss position was driven home at that moment. Each Riss had a position, and each position was equal because all were critical to the success of the Riss Nation. Therefore, one did her position as best she could because it could impact the Riss' future. Her current position was to observe the activity on Earthol. If she deviated, she could fail her position and the Riss Nation. Sobering thoughts—and the reason coward and hero weren't Riss concepts.

  Katlin sent, still feeling guilty as she followed the action below through telescopes and infrared images as the hours dragged by. She would never forget those images.

  The minis soon formed a line hundreds long, looking like an old-time water brigade between the Mother ship and the surface. Although she tried not to conjecture what could be happening, it was obvious—humans, alive or dead, were being sent to the Mother ship, and additional troops were being returned to support those on the ground. As she watched in horror, Katlin's whole body trembled and her head felt ready to explode.

  Just in time, she relaxed and her mind quieted.

  Katlin sent, knowing her Riss companion had worked some miracle to stop her from going crazy or doing something stupid. Feeling sane again, she knew her involvement could not change the final outcome but could result in the destruction of Cerberus-3, hundreds of Riss and Freelander lives, and in her failing her position and the Riss Nation.

  For six days she watched, changing positions to follow the Ecitoni migration around the four continents and multiple islands. Many cities remained untouched when she decided to leave. The process would remain the same and her presence wasn't helping the Earthols. Based on what she had observed, Katlin thought it would take the Ecitoni at least sixty days to finish their destruction, and she doubted Leader Reese wanted her to wait to see what the Ecitoni did afterward.

 

  r-Pallien sent.

  Katlin sat back, relieved to be leaving the death and destruction and smiling at the urge to send her two red-Wraiths into the Ecitoni's Mother ship.

  she sent to Nidaba, knowing the Riss didn't condone killing for revenge.

  Nidaba sent with a feeling of regret.

  Katlin felt confused until she realized the logic mimicked human rationalization through the ages—kill to stop killing.

  Half an hour later, the Cerberus slipped past the Ecitoni's Mother ship, a two kilometer long cylinder with a three kilometer diameter. Mini shuttles were coming and going from multiple landing bays in a constant stream, and although she couldn't make out any active weapons, she would wager hundreds existed—a super medusa.

 

  r-Pallien sent.

 

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Hayjar - The grim results

  When we reached Hayjar, the three Cerberus cruisers, Admiral Plimson's flagship Bateleur, and Admiral Zhu's flagship Dynasty orbited close to the planet while the UFN, SAS, and Riss fleets were in separate orbits a light-second or two from the planet. I scheduled a meeting on the Mnemosyne for four hours later. We agreed to permit a leader plus three ad
visors. Admiral Zhu had added Admirals Kishi and Husing. Admiral Plimson had added Admiral Gebauer, and I had added Da'Maass.

  When everyone had settled down with drinks, I began.

  "Captain Pavao and I went to Ossicwater, the first site to go dark. Captain Pavao described the planet perfectly when she called it creepy. We found bones and heads but no living animals above ground. There were a few animals that live in burrows scurrying around and others that live in the water, but nothing else. The bones we found were stripped clean. We concluded they had been eaten alive. The heads had been cut off but were otherwise left intact—"

  "They eat humans—alive!" Gleason shouted, his face filled with terror. "Eden…"

  I continued but changed the focus. "We found Ecitoni bodies, two types. A thousand or more the size of our standard twelve to fourteen-year-olds, and larger ones the size of a small adult man. We have no proof, but we believe the smaller ones were worker ants and the larger ones commanders, as there were fewer of them and they had more equipment, judging by the discarded harnesses we found.. There was no sign of rank on any of the bodies."

  "And we believe there are millions of them, since they managed to devour the Ossicwater population in less than thirty days," Pavao said.

  "Millions?" Wattson asked, looking for clarification.

  "The Ecitoni consumed, killed, or captured twelve million people in under thirty days, using ground troops. There was no evidence of cruiser type weapons being used except at the army bases on Longlee and Union. That would take millions to accomplish in the time frame we are discussing," Pavao said.

  Wattson slowly nodded agreement.

  "Captain Bradshaw, what did you find on Sparrow’s Nest?" I asked, wishing we were alone and in bed—but we weren't, and I closed my eyes, forcing myself to listen to the words and not the voice.

  "When we entered Sparrow’s Nest, there were no spacecraft near the Wave. However, even ten light-seconds from the planet the passive sensors detected the Ecitoni…Mother ship. We proceeded toward the planet at stealth speed, and halfway we found the site of an old battle—ten well-armed SAS merchants vs fifteen to seventeen Ecitoni combat shuttles and a Light cruiser. We also collected several Ecitoni bodies—"