Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession Read Online Free Page A

the Shuttle and waved for us to enter . I had asked
all the Riss-humans to attend.
    "Yes, everyone seems to be, except
me. Maybe I should stay here, and you can all go."
    "Then it wouldn't be as
interesting." He gave a slight bow as I entered the shuttle followed by
Terril and the others. The ride was made in silence. When we entered the meeting room,
Plimson, Wattson, Stenberg, Zann, and the elders were present. Except
for the quiet, it didn't appear we had interrupted anything. The clan had provided
snacks and drinks, and everyone had something to eat or drink. I went straight to Plimson.
I know my eyes were misty , and I hated what I was about to say.
    "I'm sorry, Admiral Plimson. I would gladly risk
my life to support you and your cause , and the Riss would follow. But we have more
to fear from the SAS than the Aliens. Your military has lost
control of its discipline and are acting like thugs."
    There was stunned silence.
    Plimson surprised me by nodding. "I
wish I could disagree , Nadya, but I can't. However, you and I are going to fix it because
the alternative isn't acceptable. I'm shamelessly calling on whatever credits I
have with you," he said.
    Wattson hadn't said anything but was
watching Plimson intently.
    Pavao surprised me by handing me a cup
of kaffa as I sat.
    "What I'd love to do is give
everyone in Freeland space a survey , asking on a scale of one to five
whether they think they need the Riss and their technology, whether
overwhelming force will suffice to win, and whether they trust the Riss to
fight alongside them. Then make up a task force of twenty cruisers, crew them
with the lowest scoring personnel, and send them to clean up Fools Hope."
    "You don't think they could win
with twenty cruisers, including Hunters and Heavies?" Wattson asked.
    "Without the Riss, the current Riss
technology, and people like Captain Gardner leading them? No. If anyone
returned, it would be the few remaining because they couldn't stop the Medusa —the
name Pavao has given the Aliens' mother ship—from leaving to get reinforcements." I took a sip of kaffa. "Take a look at the Mnemosyne and Eirene . Nance and I were next to the Medusa for five seconds—five—and
it inflicted major damage. Humans can’t respond in that short a time. I doubt our automatic systems could
have reacted that fast. And if you plan to slug it out with a Medusa , it
has thirty-two missile tubes and thirty-two banks of fifty and ninety-centimeter
lasers. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they couldn't reload within thirty to
forty seconds."
    Wattson nodded. "Admiral Osborne's
assessment was pretty much the same, except he didn't realize the amount of
damage the Riss cruisers took when they skipped next to the… Medusa ."
    "Plus the Medusa would be sitting dormant and
could pick the best time to engage the task force. No, sir. I doubt but a few would return
and not unscathed . And no, neither I nor the Riss would wish that on any
of your officers. Not even MacLin who shot a defenseless Riss, Gardner who
wouldn’t support us in trouble, or the Hunter captain who wanted to restrict our access to
Freeland. But we do not want to fight alongside them."
    "What's the answer then?"
Stenberg asked, his voice filled with frustration .
    
    
    
    
    "The answer is simple if you are
going to have any chance of repelling the Aliens."
    "Then why haven't we seen it ? Are we stupid ?"
Stenberg asked, his tone harsh.
    Plimson looked to be ready to say
something until I shook my head.
    "No, sir. In peacetime, seniority
means experience and is, therefore , a good thing. In war, peacetime experience is
of little value. The leaders need tactical experience or , lacking that, tactical judgment like that learned at the War College and
recognized by With Comment grades." I looked to
Wattson, who gave a slight nod of agreement.
    "If we promote those with tactical
judgment over those with seniority, there will