Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession, page 13
"True, " Sakaata conceded.
"I’ve heard that some of the Riss-attached units and clan people are being permitted planet-side leave, " a tall, good-looking man said. From his immaculate appearance, wavy red hair, and trendy pencil-thin mustache, I’d bet he was a lady’s man.
"Yes, right now it's a very limited experiment. If no problems result, I assume Admiral Zhu will extend it to the SAS ships on station. "
"Why allow the Riss and the clans— "
"Stop right there, Captain Sharpin. The Riss and the clan personnel are working on Dong, so it’s impossible to restrict contact with the general population. So the only people getting shore leave are SAS personnel, and that is on a limited basis. I understand everyone would like shore leave, but we are at war. If Admiral Zhu authorizes general planet-side access, no more than five percent of the task force will be allowed planet-side at any one time, and no personnel designated critical—like captains. "
His open-eyed look was priceless. The laughs around the table eased the tension.
Sakaata said, "Admiral Wattson is keeping us aware of the situation in the SAS. He has stationed a cruiser in each system he feels potentially vulnerable and equipped them with portable Comstats linked directly to Echo. The joint task force is poised to respond to any Medusa entering a system. Incursions by cruisers only are being ignored for now. They are operating under the premise that the Aliens are being cautious because they have a limited number of Medusas. Your theory, I believe. " Sakaata paused, looking to me.
I nodded.
Sakaata said, "They encountered one at Defiance, probably because it hosts a lot of for-hire mercenaries. The Medusa had eight Light cruisers. The joint task force lost one Heavy, six Lights… one a Riss certified Light, and had damage of one degree or another to the other eight cruisers. He said you were right about the cost to destroy a Medusa. He needs Riss cruisers as soon as you can release them. "
"What, Nadya? " Sakaata sat staring at me, forehead wrinkled in concern. I must have been quiet for a long time. "The loss of the Riss? "
"No, I weep for the Riss because we have become part of the insanity. "
"What insanity? " Captain Morley asked. "We are defending ourselves against an invading force. "
"We were defending ourselves against the clans because they were killing and destroying our ships. The Aliens merely want to confine us. They make no attempt to kill or injure if we cease flying. Nor do they intend to rule us. The Riss do not consider that defending themselves. " I held up my hand before the room could be filled with retorts. "I am not judging you. I’m telling you how the Riss feel. "
"They are cowards then— " Morley began. I stood and walked out of the room, with Terril and my escort on high alert. Fortunately, no one made any attempt to follow me.
CHAPTER TEN
Dong invaded
Over the next three days, I immersed myself in educating the three candidates in the Riss culture and what it would mean to be a Riss-human.
Sato seemed enthusiastic.
Chung seemed less interested each day.
Zhang was interested in every detail, as if he intended to write a book on the subject afterward.
I had found twenty Riss volunteers, which surprised me since it would mean giving up their freedom. Thalia pointed out that the Riss currently being hosted had found the experience exciting, and providing experienced captains for the Riss cruisers reduced the risk to the Riss on board and would eventually make the Riss independent. It still hurt to know my decision for the Riss had led us down this very steep path.
I was jerked out of my musing, as the emergency override on my SID brought it to life with r-Galene's image.
"Leader. Zhu wants conference with you, Sakaata. A Medusa just entered system, " her voice-box said.
"Tell him I'll be on the Bridge in a minute. Contact Damaass. Tell him what has happened and include him in the conference call. " I waved to the three men. "If a Medusa entered the system, then it's very likely a scout came with it. Sato, what would you recommend the Riss cruisers do? " I said as we headed for the Bridge.
"The Riss cruisers are best equipped to take on the Medusa. You should lead the task forces on Dong and as soon as you are within skipping range, take out the Medusa. "
"Chung? "
"I agree with Captain Sato, except I would position the fleet for an attack before you attacked the Medusa. "
"Zhang? "
He remained quiet for so long I thought he hadn’t heard me. I was getting ready to ask again, when he spoke.
"The scout first I think. " His voice was soft and relaxed.
When we reached the Bridge, the monitors showed Zhu, Sakaata, Damaass, and what I thought was the green-Admiral Erdogan, who would be commanding the current three green task forces on Dong: Green-1, Green-2, and Green-3.
"Leader Reese, a Medusa has entered the system. Since you are the only one here who has fought one, what would you suggest? "
"Admiral Erdogan, do you have forces in place to engage the Medusa? "
"Yes, Leader Reese. I have three cruisers, and they are moving into position as we speak. "
"I’d suggest they turn off their weapon systems and pull back— "
"That would be cowardly. We do not run from battle, " he said, his voice harsh and the meaning clear—you ran from the battle at Hayjar.
"Go on, Leader Reese, " Zhu said, ending further comment.
"The Aliens will not fire on us unless we attack or refuse their order to leave our ships. I would like to delay an encounter until the Riss can find and destroy the scout. It will be watching the battle and will report on our success and tactics, and more than likely bring reinforcements. If we keep all the ships where they are with their weapons systems off, they may delay releasing their Light cruisers. In that case, we may be able to damage some when we attack the Medusa. "
"I approve. Admiral Erdogan. "
"Yes, sir. I will notify the fleet immediately. "
"Good. Any other thoughts, Leader Reese? "
"Admiral Sakaata, I'd suggest your Riss-certified cruisers attempt a skip-attack against any Alien cruisers that have not released their fighters. Each Light cruiser has ten fighters, which are little more than manned missiles. The fewer the better. "
"You’re not going to kill them all, Leader Reese? " She grinned.
"No. I thought I’d save a few for you to practice on. " I grinned back. "Damaass, silent running, we have a scout to find before the party starts. Tight beam communications only. " I was about to cut the connection when Zhu spoke.
"Leader Reese, I would appreciate it if you would join me for dinner tomorrow night. " His image went blank. I shook my head until I realized it was his way of saying he was comfortable with the strategy and its probability of success.
For the benefit of the Riss-human candidates, I had Jaelle posting the essence of any Riss or Riss-human conversations to one of the unused monitors. Otherwise, they wouldn’t know what was going on. I wanted to be able to query them as part of my evaluation.
It took twelve hours to slide by the Medusa and approach the area near the Wave, where the scout would most likely be.
"Peeping tom at: 52.021, 8h 21m 15s, 2.02 au," appeared on the overhead Comm monitor.
"Twenty-five minutes, nine seconds," scrolled across the monitor.
Within seconds, their faces appeared on the Comm overhead monitor, in split frames.
"In just under twenty-eight minutes, the Mnemosyne and the Minerva will be launching a missile attack on the Aliens' scout. I don’t anticipate needing Ghosts or Scorpions, but you should be on alert. We cannot let the scout leave the area. Afterward, we will be launching an attack on the Medusa. I will let you know the time of the attack. "
"The Ghosts will be ready, " Byer said.
"And the Scorpions, " Seng added.
With nothing to do, I sat watching the VTM as we slid closer to the scout and the overhead monitor displayed the time remaining to launch. As the count hit zero, I felt a slight shudder.
And seconds later.
Not much wonder. Twelve missiles coming from two different directions from only one thousand kilometers would be too quick for even a computer to respond. Overkill, but necessary. The scout was potentially more dangerous than the Medusa if it got away.
I turned to the three candidates. "Gentlemen, what do you suggest? Sato? "
"As soon as we are in skipping distance, we should attack the Medusa. " he said with an air of excitement.
"Chung? "
"We are a long way from the Medusa and approaching cruisers. We are invisible to the approaching cruisers, so I would take them out, then contact the fleet to start an attack. When the Medusa is distracted, attack it. "
"Zhang? "
"From what you’ve said, the Medusa is a very nasty ship. One you would not want to stay near for long. So, I would suggest ignoring the cruisers so we can get close enough to allow a reasonable exit skip if necessary. The fleet will need to know the result of your attack before they can decide what to do. As will you, " he said as if talking to himself about an interesting problem. He was very much like his brother.
Damaass's face appeared on the monitor. "That wasn’t very exciting. Like target practice with a target an arm’s length. " The rogue smiled.
"Well, the next target shoots back, and you will be only an arm’s length away, " I said.
"That will be exciting, Leader. "
"Damaass, ignore the Light cruisers coming our way. We will make a slow, stealthy approach to within a three-second skip of the Medusa. The Minerva will approach from the port side, the Mnemosyne from the starboard. Skip to twenty-five kilometers from the Medusa. I'm hoping that will reduce the laser damage Pavao and I know they can dish out from only one kilometer away, and it won’t reduce the effectiveness of our missile attack. Fire all twelve and then take a one-second skip. We’ll evaluate our next move after we determine our and the Medusa’s condition. "
"r-Melete says four hours and ten minutes with two engines at half speed. "
"I’ll contact you then. " I cut the connection.
* * *
Sato and Chung were a bit agitated when I took them off to the dining bay. Even more so when they saw the number already there.
I was pleased to see the relaxed atmosphere.
Zhang was first to speak after we sat down with our food. "My brother was right. War on a Riss cruiser is peaceful. Even here, where everyone seems relaxed, but more so on the Bridge where there is no external noise. "
"A Riss ship is like your fighting art of Shuzen: no resistance. We are neither heroes nor cowards, we are just Riss. "
"The art of Shuzen has much to teach. " Zhang said and began eating.
Well into our meal, my SID buzzed.
When I switched it on, Jaelle's face appeared. "Leader, r-Asdis reports two Alien cruisers approaching at five hundred and thirty gravities. One is five thousand kilometers off to our port and the other nine thousand to our starboard. "
"Thank you, Jaelle. Make sure you and the others get time off to eat and refresh themselves. " I turned to Terril. "That includes you and my detail. "
"Yes, ma’am. " Terril waved the two Scorpions off but stayed.
After a refreshing shower and change, I returned to the Bridge.
I took the Captain's chair and sat watching the VTM. The fighters weaved back and forth in what looked like an organized search pattern across some unseen grid. The odds of finding us were small, but if they did, it would alert the Medusa and would be ugly, especially for the Ghosts.
Damaass appeared, smiling. "Leader. Fight, or play dead?" Damaass looked calm, like we were debating which restaurant we should eat at.
"I thought we should run," I said with a straight face.
I was rewarded with an open-mouthed stare. I noticed Sato looked angry.
Chung looked pale.
Zhang was expressionless.
Damaass laughed. "Dummies?"
"Yes. Cut your engines and release a Dummy on vector two-seven-zero by two-six-zero."
As I cut the connection, Damaass was laughing.
< One Dummy at zero-nine-five by zero-six-five.>
I sat back and watched the VTM as the Minerva’s and Mnemosyne's Dummies streaked away in what would appear an attempt to avoid the oncoming cruisers and their fighters. The Mnemosyne's Dummy vector was to the starboard side of the cruiser closest to it, and the Minerva's Dummy vector was to the port side of the cruiser closest to it. Thus, the bait would draw the cruisers and their fighters to the outside of our positions. Within seconds, the fighters took the bait, and soon the cruisers followed.
That was the result I had hoped for, but what I didn't expect was the deadliness of the Dummy. It took out two fighters with its fifty-centimeter lasers. Two rammed it, and another three were close enough that the resulting explosion caused them to fail. The results were similar with Minerva's Dummy. When the dust cleared, only seven fighters remained. The cruisers collected the fighters and headed in the direction of Dong. I waited ten minutes before contacting Damaass.
"That was spectacular," Damaass said as he appeared on the monitor. "I think I can hear the cheering all the way from the Ghosts' area."
"Yes, Freeland did it again. We owe the clans much," I acknowledged. "Now that we are rested, it's time to visit the Medusa. Contact me via tight beam when you are in position for a three-second skip."
* * *
On passive sensors, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening to the main force closer to Dong, but it was obvious the fight was still going on. I idly wondered if the Medusa had additional cruisers it was keeping in reserve. It knew the scout had been destroyed. Would the Medusa stay and fight or attempt to return to its home base with the information it was collecting?
"Minerva in position," scrolled across the monitor.
The Bridge personnel briefly faded into ghosts and then reappeared. The Mnemosyne shuddered twice as two banks of missiles exploded towards the Medusa, and we faded in and out almost instantly.
I had mixed emotions as I watched the results scroll across the screen. Three Riss wounded, one dead. It was far better than last time, but one dead Riss was one too many. One of the Ghost bays had been briefly opened to space and two Ghosts had sustained minor damage. A bank of lasers was destroyed. One engine had to be taken off line. Level three took several hits, but they would be easily fixed when time permitted.
The Aliens had fired sixteen missiles, too late. They might be hoping the missile sensors would find targets. I decided to do nothing. Our stealth coating should preclude any missiles finding us except by accident, whereas active ECM may give the Medusa a good location to target.
Damaass's face appeared, thoughtfully looking back.
"Damaass, damage report." I crossed my fingers mentally.
"Not bad. Several wounded, no deaths. Lots of minor damage, but we are fully operational."
"How do you feel about intuition? "
"Better than luck. "
