Riss Series 3: The Riss Survival (22 page)

We went around the table. Everyone wanted some number of cruisers at each inhabitable planet to destroy the Aliens' scout before it could leave. Wattson seemed to have left me for last.

"Well, Reese, what's your version?"

"I agree in part," I said looking back at him. "We would need several cruisers at each inhabitable planet, since it's unlikely one or two could guarantee destroying a scout based on what we already know. That isn't feasible and would only slow the inevitable. They will eventually obtain a star map of the SAS and attack in sufficient strength to destroy our squadrons, one planet at a time."

"What part do you agree with?" Wattson asked, his eyes alive with amusement, although the situation wasn't amusing.

An image of Wattson watching us from a balcony as we tried to find our way out of a maze.

"I believe we should select six to twelve of the most logical planets for merchants leaving the currently quarantined planets. Station a medium-sized squadron at each system that has a military or strong mercenary presence. And a single light cruiser at each of the others."

"But we all agree, a single cruiser is very unlikely to be able to stop an Aliens' scout ship," Gabisi said with a sigh of resignation.

"Reese doesn't want to stop the scout ship at those locations. Do you?" Wattson said. It wasn't really a question. I shook my head in the negative. "She wants them to send a task force back to quarantine the planet."

"Isn't that what we're trying to avoid," Corbitt asked. Obviously, a question several had from the puzzled looks on their faces.

"Reese." Wattson nodded to me.

"We have to engage the enemy eventually. The more we know about them the better chance we'll have of winning. A small planet with few defenses should only require a few cruisers to quarantine it. That will provide us with our best opportunity to determine what they do to quarantine a planet and for a successful engagement."

"So, our cruiser lets the scout go and returns here where we send a large task force to wait for the Aliens to arrive. We watch to see what they do and then engage them." Pavao said rather distractedly.

"They will send a larger force, once they realize their force was destroyed," Iglis said.

"Doesn't matter, we won't be there. The object, as harsh as it sounds, is not to defend the planet but to acquire information about our invaders. This is a war. No one battle will determine its outcome," Wattson said. "Surprise is our best weapon and our worst enemy."

The discussions continued late into the early hours of the morning. Iglis would determine the most likely planets to be discovered. Wattson would contact Plimson with our recommendations. Freeland was about to become a staging area for our engagement, and the facility for Riss upgrades. As the meeting broke up, Pavao pulled me aside.

"I might be interested, but I'm not ready to say yes or no."

"I understand. I'd like to select a group of Riss volunteers and have you meet with them. You and they will have hundreds of questions that need answers, before you and they can make a decision. If at that point you decide to proceed, I think we should involve Wattson."

"It's probably a stupid question, but how do you get a Gorillai inside you?"

"Think of your body as a Shark and the Gorillai's body as a Striker. The Gorillai will leave his Striker and join you in the Shark."

"Our bodies are vehicles we use to move and manipulate things. They are not us," Pavao said just above a whisper. "Let me know when you're ready."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

A new Riss-human

Over the next two days, I contacted the Riss assigned to ships, those helping on projects, and those on Freeland without assignments. It produced a surprising thirty-one volunteers. I suspect it was a combination of the success of the six Riss-humans, the meteoric progress the Riss project had propelled the Riss into space, and a sense of keeping the SAS and the Riss from becoming enslaved. I contacted Pavao and arranged for a meeting the next day on Freeland.

* * *

Terril had joined the detail for my fight to Freeland. I waved her to sit beside me.

"Terril, not a word of this meeting is to be leaked. Is that clear?" I said, as the shuttle descended towards Freeland. Terril turned in her seat and looked at the two scorpions on duty.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes, Gunny!"

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"Yes, the enemy is more advanced than us, and I doubt this is the first star system they've invaded. If it isn't, the combined SAS, JPU, and UFN forces may not be enough to stop them."

"That maybe more excitement than even the Scorpions want," Terril said lapsing into silence. When we landed on Freeland, Pavao entered and took the seat Terril had vacated.

"I'm terrified and excited alternating each second," she said as she sat. I nodded and the rest of the flight was made in silence. We arrived at the town of Rupea and spent an hour trekking into the wilderness. When we reached the clearing, thirty-one Riss sat in a circle. To her credit, Pavao didn't run and managed to find a seat facing them. Using the new voice boxes, the Riss began the questioning, which soon encouraged Pavao to begin asking her own. As the day wore on, the meeting became very informal and the questions more spontaneous and random. I called a halt when I decided Pavao had enough for one sitting.

"That was not what I expected, Nadya. I had heard it said each Riss had a position and thought I knew what that meant. But I didn't realize that meant disciplines like mathematics, biology, medicine … They don't talk—out loud—so you don't think of them as having individual personalities. I should have, since you are always talking about Thalia thinking everything is fun and Alena saying Ma'at is serious, responsible, and dependable. If I decide, how do I pick one?"

"I'd suggest you don't. Admiral Zann and Thalia claim the Riss always pick the right person for the task at hand. I believe that's true. There were ten of us in the Riss Project and twenty Riss volunteers. They selected who we would host."

"But didn't four drop out?"

"Yes, but that wasn't the Riss' fault. They originally picked six of us out of the ten but the SAS insisted they pick ten. The six they picked survived the other four didn't for one reason or another."

We slept in Rupea for the next three nights and continued the discussions each day. Much of the discussions were interesting stories about the Riss and their lives going back hundreds of years, and their thoughts about humans and space. On the last day, I was notified three of the volunteers were willing to accept Pavao as a host and who was the most interested.

"What now?" Pavao asked. “I'm scared but willing. The threat facing the SAS was my main reason for considering it, but the last few days has me cautiously excited for other reasons."

"I think we need to talk to Wattson, not for his approval but for his insights. He's a very astute individual."

"I agree. We're focused on the result, whereas he will be able to see the bigger picture and help us avoid any potential problems.”

When I arrived back at the Mnemosyne, I contacted Wattson and setup a meeting. It surprised me when he didn't ask why and scheduled us to have dinner with him that evening.

* * *

Terril was again on my detail and sat next to me when I nodded.

"This is exciting," she said as she sat. "I'll bet Wattson will have a Plimson headache by the end of the meal."

"I somehow doubt it. Wattson is a very strategic thinker. It's why he's the head of the War College. It won't surprise me if he already suspects or has guessed the topic tonight."

"That will take a lot of the fun out of it." She snorted and relaxed back in the seat.

Bradshaw was there to meet us as we exited the shuttle. I melted under his gaze and felt guilty I hadn't made time for us to get together. To his credit, he didn't seem to hold it against me. Pavao had arrived earlier but waited for me rather than meet Wattson alone.

"Captain Reese, Captain Pavao, if you'll follow me, Admiral Wattson is expecting you in his office." He smiled and let us out of the bay and up to the second level. The guard at Wattson's door knocked when he saw us coming and after a brief exchange held the door open for us.

"There is wine, kaffa, and snacks in the back. Help yourself," Wattson said, waving a glass of wine in the general direction. He sat in a comfortable, tan, leather-looking chair, looking relaxed and smiling. "I see you've made up your mind, Captain Pavao."

Pavao spun around, spilling the wine she had just poured. "How did you know?"

“It didn't require much imagination. Reese has the unique ability to see the future and act on it, whereas most concentrate on the present. She sees the Aliens as an advanced, war-like force with superior technology. The Riss cruisers must be captained by Riss-humans because the Riss lack the aggressiveness one needs in battle. But while Alena and the others can captain a Riss cruiser and will grow into the position, they don't have the experience to effectively fight the ship. You're a logical choice, since the Riss-human concept doesn't bother you, you admire the Riss, and you have battle experience. And you've spent the last four days at the Riss compound on Freeland."

"Admiral, do you have any concerns?" Pavao asked, as she refilled her glass and sat in one of the two extra chairs Wattson had provided.

"No, I agree with Reese. These are extraordinary times, and we don't have time to seek consensus or look for conventional solutions. If there is a solution, it's here at Freeland." He was silent for a moment, sipping his wine. "There is already a Riss Project. I will get you on their books and authorize you to serve on a Riss cruiser."

We spent an hour discussing the Riss Project and its early years. Afterward, Pavao and I flew straight back to the
Mnemosyne
to make arrangements for the transfer. Once Pavao made the decision she wanted to get started immediately, because she knew from our discussions the adjustment would take time.

"Nadya or is it Leader?" Pavao asked, tentatively.

"Nance, on a Riss ship everyone is equal, as strange as that sounds. Your position will be Captain in charge of making decisions on the wellbeing of the cruiser you’re on. But the Riss at the weapons board, ECM, Comm, or the mechanic working in the environmental section are all equal to you. They will defer to you because of your position not because you out rank them."

"I'm entering a whole new world. It's scary."

"You'll stand in two world. When you come to fully understand the Riss, you will become Riss, but you will always remain human. You will have dual loyalties."

"What if they conflict?"

"You can always have your Riss companion removed. But I believe the SAS and Riss loyalties will never be in conflict, although the Riss may choose to take a separate path, like what happened after the battle of Freeland. The Riss could not participate in a massacre, but that did not mean we wished to abandon the SAS."

"You said there were three Riss willing to let me host them. Am I supposed to choose one of the three?"

"You can, but I would let the one with the most interest in you be the one. The Riss made the choices for the Riss candidates and it worked out well for the initial six they wanted. You've talked to Alena and the others. You know none of us would give up our companions."

"All right then. What’s her … name?"

"Her picture name is Sitting on top of White Capped Mountain. You will soon see it. It's beautiful, but you should pick a human name for her. Our convention has been the name of a goddess." While we made our way to Doctor Dayton's office, I called Alena,

"Alena, have someone pickup Sitting on top of White Capped Mountain and bring her to the medical unit on the Mnemosyne." I had just finished when we saw Doctor Dayton. She looked excited.

"I just talked to Admiral Wattson. He authorized the tattoo and the transfer," she said in a rush. “Reese, I don't know what to do. Oh, I know how to do the tattoo, as silly as it is. We both know any of you can get rid of it anytime you want. It's obvious from what the Riss are able to do with your chemistry." She laughed. "The SAS's clever solution isn't so clever after all." Dayton got Pavao settled on a steel table, took a picture of my tattoo, entered into the computer, and used a graphic machine to create the tattoo. As she finished, Sitting on top of White Capped Mountain appeared.

I smiled in relief. I knew how much the Riss wanted to remain Riss in their Gorillai host. But I also knew Thalia had been interested in joining with me, and it had been a good match.

I noticed Pavao and Dayton standing there looking at us.

"Sorry. We'll need a quiet room for the transfer." Dayton pointed to a room towards the end of a hallway. Once everyone was inside, I closed the door. "This part is simple. Take off your shirt," I said, as Sitting on top of White Capped Mountain went to a vacant corner and sat.