Read Online Riss Series 5: The Riss Challenge by C. R. Daems - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: C. R. Daems
Tags: Science-Fiction
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window, who may be adequate commandos eventually," she said, grinning.
"I wanted fifty, but if you feel more than fifty qualify, keep them. We may need them. I leave it to you to pick who will lead the unit and the teams." I looked to Sorin and nodded.
"We are down to twenty candidates for pilots, twenty for weapons operators, and thirty for mechanics. Like Terril, Anca and I believe we will have a functional unit of approximately fifty-five within the next four months. We are in a very remote part of Freeland, but we are still limited in the kind of training we can perform without being detected. Anca and I do not believe we will produce the equal of a JPU or SAS trained fighter pilot, but we think the new missile software will give us an advantage," Sorin said.
"Have you and Anca decided on your positions?"
"I would like to command the group, with Anca second-in-command and Command Leader of the pilots," Sorin said. Anca nodded agreement.
"Ni'Shay, what do you hear from the space station?"
"You were right. Admiral Neifeh appears to have relaxed somewhat. I'm told he is releasing modified cruisers weekly. Can't be positive, but we believe he has released four squadrons, of eight Lights and two Heavies each, over the past month. If we are correct, that would leave one hundred seventeen in Freeland space."
"At the current rate of upgrades, we could see another fifty released over the next six months, depending upon the force he intends to keep in Freeland, and whether he will be sending more cruisers for upgrades," I said, trying to guess the status of things six months from today. "Liviu, maybe we should increase the schedule. That might cause Neifeh to release more cruisers or at least have more modified cruisers remaining when Damaass returns six months from now."
"What are you planning, Ioana?" Ni'Shay asked. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, awaiting the answer.
I sent to Thalia, not really sure myself. I had set lots of wheels turning, and everyone had performed better than could be expected, but...
I whined. Sometimes, everything seemed too much, and I just wanted to let someone else take over.
An image of a Riss with sunglasses in a hammock strung between two palm trees on a sandy beach.
"To tell the truth, I'm not sure. Much will depend on Admiral Neifeh and our ability to keep him thinking he has Freeland under his thumb. We just have to be ready when an opportunity arises.
"Ni'Shay, have your people send the following message to the Mnemosyne when it's in position six days from now:
Repeat procedure sixty days from today.
* * *
It surprised me, although it shouldn't have, that I hadn't heard from Neifeh, I mused while lying in bed unable to sleep. The factories had increased production, and although they weren't going to meet his original schedule and finish in twelve months from the invasion, they were only going to be one month short. And he continued to send squadrons of eight Lights and two Heavies off, but no new ships had arrived to replace them. That had me puzzled. If my rough calculations were correct, the JPU had a one-hundred-cruiser advantage over either the UFN or SAS before and after the invasion of the Red planet.
However, I now realized that although the number of that advantage afterward remained the same, the quality of that advantage had improved. The JPU had lost slightly fewer cruisers, and those had been the older ones in their fleet; whereas the SAS and UFN had committed and lost newer, upgraded ones.
I screamed, jerking up to a sitting position.
An image of me shouting into a megaphone stuck next to the ear of a Riss.
"I wanted fifty, but if you feel more than fifty qualify, keep them. We may need them. I leave it to you to pick who will lead the unit and the teams." I looked to Sorin and nodded.
"We are down to twenty candidates for pilots, twenty for weapons operators, and thirty for mechanics. Like Terril, Anca and I believe we will have a functional unit of approximately fifty-five within the next four months. We are in a very remote part of Freeland, but we are still limited in the kind of training we can perform without being detected. Anca and I do not believe we will produce the equal of a JPU or SAS trained fighter pilot, but we think the new missile software will give us an advantage," Sorin said.
"Have you and Anca decided on your positions?"
"I would like to command the group, with Anca second-in-command and Command Leader of the pilots," Sorin said. Anca nodded agreement.
"Ni'Shay, what do you hear from the space station?"
"You were right. Admiral Neifeh appears to have relaxed somewhat. I'm told he is releasing modified cruisers weekly. Can't be positive, but we believe he has released four squadrons, of eight Lights and two Heavies each, over the past month. If we are correct, that would leave one hundred seventeen in Freeland space."
"At the current rate of upgrades, we could see another fifty released over the next six months, depending upon the force he intends to keep in Freeland, and whether he will be sending more cruisers for upgrades," I said, trying to guess the status of things six months from today. "Liviu, maybe we should increase the schedule. That might cause Neifeh to release more cruisers or at least have more modified cruisers remaining when Damaass returns six months from now."
"What are you planning, Ioana?" Ni'Shay asked. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, awaiting the answer.
"To tell the truth, I'm not sure. Much will depend on Admiral Neifeh and our ability to keep him thinking he has Freeland under his thumb. We just have to be ready when an opportunity arises.
"Ni'Shay, have your people send the following message to the Mnemosyne when it's in position six days from now:
Repeat procedure sixty days from today.
* * *
It surprised me, although it shouldn't have, that I hadn't heard from Neifeh, I mused while lying in bed unable to sleep. The factories had increased production, and although they weren't going to meet his original schedule and finish in twelve months from the invasion, they were only going to be one month short. And he continued to send squadrons of eight Lights and two Heavies off, but no new ships had arrived to replace them. That had me puzzled. If my rough calculations were correct, the JPU had a one-hundred-cruiser advantage over either the UFN or SAS before and after the invasion of the Red planet.
However, I now realized that although the number of that advantage afterward remained the same, the quality of that advantage had improved. The JPU had lost slightly fewer cruisers, and those had been the older ones in their fleet; whereas the SAS and UFN had committed and lost newer, upgraded ones.
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