The Riss Enemies: Book VI (The Riss Series 6)
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The Thor returned to Alexandria and was off again within hours.
* * *
We exited the Wave into Alexandria behind the Thor six days later. The result at the last system had been the same as the previous one, except this time the Issog scored several hits on the Thor before it entered the Wave. Still, the Thor captain's performance had been impressive.
"Fancy meeting you here," he said, raising a glass of wine in salute.
"How?" I asked, wondering how he found me.
"I arrived a few days ago and pinged for chips. To my surprise, I found the Elpis. Those chips were a stroke of genius. They not only help to locate our ships, but make it easy to establish a tight beam."
"Is Bradshaw with you?"
"No. Utopia was a beehive of activity, so we stayed over a week. The system turns out to be the capital of the Commonwealth of Stars and the airwaves were almost as good as having access to their daily news channels. When I thought we had collected the latest news, Bradshaw left to follow a Heavy cruiser. I stayed, awaiting something interesting to follow. A week ago, a Heavy cruiser arrived. I later found out it was an Admiral Simons, whom the news stated was a war hero. The news was all about her for the next week. She has been promoted to COS Fleet Admiral. Again, according to the news at Utopia, the COS has seven operational fleets. So I followed her when she departed, and here I am." He smiled, swinging his arm wide.
"From what I've seen, the Issog have pulled back and have consolidated their forces at two systems: Hydera and Kammu. They have about eighty Light cruisers," I said.
"Interesting, the COS's typical fleet has twenty-one Lights and one Heavy. That would give them one hundred forty seven cruisers. Given that, the COS would be lucky to have two or three fleets left after they engage the Issog, which would leave them easy prey for the Arrith."
* * *
Nothing happened over the next three days, then the fleets formed up and prepared to leave. This time the Thor left with the first line. We followed at the rear. I knew when we entered the Wave that we weren't going to either Hydera or Kammu, but back to New Hope. I was wrong. Six days later, we exited at Utopia.
"Let’s return to our rendezvous. It's decision time." I wasn’t sure what it would be but thought we had sufficient information to make a decision.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ostriches or Eagles
When we arrived, Bradshaw, Gebauer, Alena, and Kishi were waiting. I promptly called a meeting on the Mnemosyne. I had a special array of snacks and drinks provided and the meeting felt like a celebration, although nothing had been decided. Eventually, a silence descended on the area and everyone settled down in a large circle.
I rose. "Well, r-Saga, this was your idea. Did you discover what you hoped?"
She rose and bowed. **My team has answered several of the questions we had and believe within a month or two, we can significantly improve the clarity of the Aliens picture-grams. That may also allow us to begin to interpret the software we discovered. But the tour proved exciting and interesting. The Riss have begun our sojourn of the galaxy. And someday we will travel between galaxies.**
"And meet the Aliens." Sheva snorted. R-Saga nodded her head in acknowledgment.
My head spun with the enormity of their dream for the Riss to See the Stars.
"Then you have no need to stay longer?" I asked r-Saga to make sure I understood.
**That is correct, Leader.**
"R-Saga and the Riss appear satisfied…for now. They have what they came for. The question for the humans is whether we should stay or leave. But before we take up that question, I'd like to review what we know about the current situation. Toward that end, I'd like to hear from each captain. Please keep the questions to a minimum, because each of us has only a piece of the puzzle. When we have all the pieces, then it will be time for questions and conclusions. Captain Gebauer, would you like to start?" I had to smile to myself at the frown on his face when I called him captain—and then an ear-to-ear grin appeared.
"Yes, Leader. I stopped at three systems, which my Intel group believes are called Sa'Mug, Sa'Maag, and Ha'Tuu. Two had major factories building the equivalent of our Heavy and Light cruisers. I counted fifteen in various stages of production. The three systems had a total of forty functional cruisers. My staff and I agree they are preparing for war."
"Captain Kishi?"
"I stopped at two systems, Ha'Hoo and Ha'Raa. No evidence of staging for war, but like Captain Gebauer’s systems, they appear to be preparing for war. Ha'Ras has a major factory for Lights and had eight in production. Functional cruisers totaled thirty." He looked to Alena and smiled.
"I visited Ga'Sith and Ga'Kiss. Both systems had factories with twelve in production and thirty-five functional cruisers with an eight to one ratio of Lights to Heavies. Ga'Kiss appeared to be the capital, at least compared to Ga'Sith. It looked to have a population about half the size of Eden and had two manufacturing platforms with thirty cruisers in production and forty-five functional. I can't be positive but think the Heavies had extra plating." She looked to Da'Maass with raised eyebrows.
"Captain Bradshaw and I began in the system called Utopia. Turns out that is the capital of the Commonwealth of Stars. Lots of activity, merchants and cruisers, and information. They thought they were on the verge of destroying the Issog and placed the COS's seven fleets under an Admiral Simons for the final battle—about one hundred forty seven cruisers. There is a major manufacturing plant in Utopia with five Heavies and three Lights in production, and five undergoing repairs. The First and Eighth fleets were in residence when I left for Alexandria and found our Leader. Captain Bradshaw followed a Heavy cruiser leaving Utopia our first week." He took a drink of wine and nodded to Bradshaw.
"The Heavy travelled to Rockland, Burning Sands, New Faith, and Delhi over the next couple of weeks. Rockland had a small manufacturing plant with three Lights in production. The Seventh Fleet was in residence when I visited. Burning Sands had no manufacturing facilities and no fleets, although they seemed to be building a platform of some kind. It was in the early stages of construction. New Faith had a manufacturing facility with six Light cruisers in production and four undergoing repairs. Fifth fleet was there. Delhi had the Second Fleet and a Manufacturing platform, which appeared to have been damaged and was under going repairs. Even so, they had three Lights in production and several undergoing repairs. That was the only system where I saw any evidence of a battle." He took a drink of kaffa as he looked around the circle, then smiled at Sheva.
"I visited the same sites as Captain Reese, but she visited several systems I didn't, so I'll let her summarize the action. New Hope had a manufacturing and repair facility, but it appeared to be doing primarily repair work." Sheva looked toward me with raised eyebrows.
"We began in New Hope, which turned out to be a good choice, since two fleets were gathering for an offensive against the Issog. We followed them to Berlin and later to Alexandria. But the Issog had apparently decided to consolidate their forces, and they encountered only four Light cruisers in each system. They later discovered the Issog had retreated to Hydera and Kammu. Each system had forty Light cruisers." I stood. "Let's take an hour to eat, refresh ourselves, and think about what we have collectively discovered."
* * *
"I don't guess we have time for a little rest a
nd relaxation?" Sean whispered as we approached the table loaded with a variety of foods in serving trays and hot and cold drinks.
"I'd love to but I doubt an hour is enough." I sighed, loving the idea.
"You could have given them several hours instead of one," Sean said, amusement in his voice.
"We will have time tonight. Lots of time," I said, pinching his butt and winking as I made for the table. He caught up.
"We could refresh together," he said, running a finger down my back. My body tingled all the way to my toes and my hair felt alive with electricity. By the space gods, the man was gorgeous.
* * *
I stayed standing as everyone sat again, forming a circle. "Would anyone like to address the question of going or staying or helping or not helping?" I had made up my mind but wanted to hear everyone's opinion.
"The humans are between a Light cruiser and a Heavy," Sheva said, shaking her head slowly. "If they attack the Issog, they could win but would be left with only a few functional fleets to face the fifteen or more Arrith fleets. And I think I saw an Arrith cruiser watching at Alexandria, so they undoubtedly know the status of the war with the Issog. If the humans leave the Issog in control of Hydera and Kammu, they still have only seven fleets against a minimum of fifteen, and they can't stop the Issog from expanding their control."
"The question I have is whether we can make a difference. The Arrith have at least an eight fleet advantage," Alena said. "And at what cost?"
"We know nothing about the humans in this sector of the galaxy. Are they worth saving?" Da'Maass asked, amusement dancing in his eyes though he remained expressionless. "With those odds, we can't expect to get away without major casualties."
"Interesting observation, Da'Maass. One I would never have considered a couple of years ago. They are humans like us, and therefore we feel we owe them support. But after the recent incidents with the JPU and SAS and considering we are carrying close to forty percent of the Riss population… You have a valid point."
"Humans are humans," Kishi said, his eyes closed. "But under the right conditions… Consider Freeland, Emperor Okuda, and Admirals Zhu and Plimson…and Captain Gebauer." He bowed in Gebauer's direction. Gebauer bowed back deeply.
"We humans came here to find out about our neighbors and to determine if they were a potential threat. I doubt they could be a threat in less than five hundred years. Even if no one tries to rout the Issog out of Hydera and Kammu, whoever wins, the humans or the Arrith, have the Issog stymied. And a war between the humans and the Arrith will last for years and leave the winner weak," Alena said. "Not much of a threat."
"Yes," I said, considering the short sightedness of the human race. "Five hundred years is far into the future for humans—twenty-five generations. But only one generation for the Riss. And much could happen in five hundred years. An attack by an Ecitoni-like species, Robot-aliens returning, a conquering horde like the Huns on old earth, wanting to rule the galaxy…"
I stopped, realizing I had already decided. "We must decide whether the Riss will be Ostriches or Eagles." I walked over to the table to fetch a cup of kaffa and to give everyone time to think. Everyone was quiet when I returned. "We may fail like we did with the SAS and the JPU, and we could win like we did with Freeland and the UFN. But it's worth the risk. If we can build strong alliances, we will be better prepared to handle whatever comes along a thousand years from now. And maybe with our help, the Riss can be the peacekeepers of the galaxy."
"WOW!" Sheva said. "I wish Zheng were here. He would love that idea. I kind of like it myself, even though it seems impossible. But then I would never have believed Freeland would have turned out the way it did or that ex-SAS, ex-UFN, and Freelanders could crew a Riss ship without chaos. Count me in." She laughed, raising her hand.
Seeing nods and hearing words of agreement, I spoke. "It may be an impossible dream, but if we don't try, we will never know." I paused to consider the next step. "I think our first move is to contact the COS—carefully. One ship. The question is, who would be the best person to contact?"
"COS Fleet Admiral Simons," Da'Maass said. Gebauer nodded and soon others did as well.
"I agree," I said. "Let's take a few days to rest and consider what-if scenarios, should things not work out well."
Five days later, the Riss fleet left for Utopia.
Continued in the novel Desperate Measures, due out in early May 2017.
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[CK1]Above, it’s implied the SAS fleet will be destroyed in two minutes, so why would she stay for two days? I figure the two days is an error and it should be two minutes.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE Decision time
CHAPTER TWO Confrontation at Hayjar
CHAPTER THREE An Unexpected Visit
CHAPTER FOUR Surprise Developments
CHAPTER FIVE Candidate Bradshaw
CHAPTER SIX Preparations for war
CHAPTER SEVEN Candidate Katlin
CHAPTER EIGHT Candidate Ja'Sai
CHAPTER NINE A war of wits
CHAPTER TEN A meeting of friends
CHAPTER ELEVEN Ossicwater – Nadya & Pavao
CHAPTER TWELVE Port Lost - Bradshaw
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Sparrow’s Nest – Ja'Sai
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Earthol – Katlin
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Hayjar - The grim results
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Hayjar - Agreeing on a strategy
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Port Lost - First encounter with the Ecitoni
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Hayjar - Reevaluation
CHAPTER NINETEEN Freeland - Déjà vu
CHAPTER TWENTY Military Free Zones
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Hayjar - Reevaluating the strategy
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Lord’s Landing
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Earthol - The Belly of the Beast
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Earthol – Touring a mini-Mother ship
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Decision Time
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Sector HS78 - Sojourn to the Unknown
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Ostriches or Eagles