by C. R. Daems
Chaos ensued, as everyone began talking at once. Plimson made no attempt to stop it, choosing to wait. It took several minutes for the room to return to quiet.
“Lieutenant Garret is passing around a document containing the implementation plan for you to study. Before we adjourn, I’ve asked him to give you an overview.” As Plimson finished, the lights dimmed, and monitors stationed around the room came to life. Garret then made his way to stand by the monitor at the head of the table.
“We’ve prepared a form that will be given to each individual on your ships. It explains that we are seeking volunteers to man two Hunters. The crew will consist of humans, high-Riss in their native Gorillai form, and Riss-humans. These ships will be tasked to hunt and destroy raiders.
“A mandatory orientation will be conducted over the next several days and personnel interested in volunteering will be interviewed. From them two crews will be selected. Obviously, the volunteers will create holes in their ship’s roster and personnel will have to be shuffled to ensure each cruiser is adequately manned. As soon as that process is complete, all but the Hunters will be released back to duty.
“Forty Riss will be assigned to each Hunter. Those two ships will then proceed to Tamerland. There the R&D department has agreed to create translator devices for the Riss. Although the Riss are capable of quickly learning our language, they cannot produce the appropriate sounds.
“When the devices are considered operational, the Hunters will proceed with their mission to seek out and destroy raiders wherever they exist. Any questions?” Garret asked when the lights came back on. There were lots of questions but few answers. The overall process had been defined, but the nitty-gritty details would have to be worked out as the process proceeded.
* * * *
The selection process began two days later, with a series of mandatory orientation sessions for the two thousand eight hundred navy and five hundred army personnel on station. There were four orientation sessions a day, and each session lasted one day. Elissa, Petar, Jaelle, and Alena each conducted a session. With slightly over two hundred per session, it took a total of three days. The orientation provided an introduction to the Riss and Riss-humans and ended with the same message:
“The purpose of this class was to give you the information necessary to make an informed decision. The Riss will be an integral part of the Hunter’s crew. We anticipate ten percent will be Riss or Riss-humans. Those who think they are interested in volunteering will be put on a list. The list will not be final, and you’ll have at least one more opportunity to opt out. This is a volunteer assignment—unlike the usual volunteering we’re all used to.” That always produced general laughter. “Those who aren’t interested will return to their current ship or may receive an assignments on another ship to fill essential positions.”
While the orientation sessions were being conducted, I flew to the Riss conclave in an army combat shuttle accompanied by Terril and several members of her Si’jin class. They had chosen to volunteer without the orientation classes, since they had significant exposure to me. At the conclave, eighty Riss were chosen to participate in the project. The selection was relatively easy. Although everyone was willing, those chosen had Riss positions and interests that most closely aligned with functions that would be needed on a spaceship. It took only a few days, and we managed to return just as the first round of orientations were concluding. Those sessions eliminated over fifty percent of the navy personnel but less than twenty-five percent of the army. Terril said most commandos wanted to be on a Hunter, because they were specifically tasked to hunt raiders and presented more of an opportunity for action. She also said I was becoming the army’s totem after the actions on Saipha, Tamerland, and Lords Landing.
Prior to starting the next round of lectures, a newly commissioned Hunter, designated the Snowcat, arrived. That added another four hundred navy and one hundred army personnel to the list. Their orientations eliminated a hundred and fifty navy and no army personnel.
The volunteers were then exposed to live Riss, since the volunteers would be working with, reporting to, or sharing responsibility with one. I gave those lectures and ended by asking, “You may be asking yourself, why you would want to volunteer? I’ll give you four reasons: it will make you one of the few to crew a Hunter class cruiser, give you the chance to hunt raiders, put your career on a fast track, and provide you with an opportunity to work with another intelligent race.”
Those lectures eliminated another twenty-five percent, leaving one thousand, two hundred and fifty navy and three hundred and seventy-five army. However, Hunters only required four hundred navy, and forty would be Riss, and one hundred army, meaning we had five hundred and thirty navy and a hundred and seventy-five army personnel too many. The last and final phase was a personal interview with Vice Admiral Zann, Colonel Seng, and me. One by one, we questioned each individual’s reason for wanting to volunteer. With Danu and Thalia evaluating the individual’s emotional reaction to the questions, we discovered a large number who were not suited. They either hated or were afraid of the Riss but wanted to be assigned to a Hunter, or they didn’t want to work under a Riss but thought they would be the exception and in charge. They were eliminated. The basis for selecting the remaining volunteers came down to their job specialty and experience. Where two or more qualified, the selection became somewhat arbitrary and based more on their answers to the questions. We selected fifty additional navy and twenty additional army personnel, anticipating the shakedown cruise would identify individuals who weren’t a good fit. With the selection process over, the remaining personnel were shuffled around to ensure each cruiser was adequately manned and subsequently all but the Hunters were released to resume their normal duties.
* * * *
“Reese, do you believe we’ve eliminated the clan's spies?” Zann asked after all of the assignments had been finalized. She and I believed there were raider spies acting as crew on one or more of the six cruisers. She had hoped our interviews would eliminate any who might have applied. I knew there was no way we could have.
“No, emotionally he or she would want to join, but not for the reasons we assumed. They would have prepared answers designed to impress us, probably close enough to the truth to make it difficult for Thalia or Danu to detect emotions that would signal they were lying.”
“Unfortunately, I agree.”
* * * *
A week later, the Snowcat and the Leopard departed for Tamerland for the development of a translation device for the Riss. If Tamerland’s R&D couldn’t produce a translation device, it would jeopardize the entire project. We’d selected Tamerland because they’d produced several such devices for merchants who roamed the outer reaches of the SAS and those who traveled between the SAS, JPU, and UFN empires. However, those devices involved spoken languages, whereas the Riss device would have to convert picture thoughts into words. The Riss could easily learn to understand human speech but couldn’t communicate with humans without the vocal support of a translator—human or mechanical.
* * * *
The flight to Tamerland took a week and provided an opportunity for the human crew to get used to having the Riss as crewmembers. It also provided an opportunity for the Riss, with the help of the Riss-humans, to assimilate human language similar to the way I’d taught Thalia, except it had to be spoken.
When we arrived at Tamerland, Zann and I spent the first week explaining the problem and discussing possible solutions. Zann suggested a hologram with keys equivalent an old earth’s stenographer shorthand, which would then be translated into spoken words. It could be implemented quickly, because the Riss had such fantastic memories.
Thalia loved to read about old earth’s people and their evolution. Few people were born deaf today but there were accidents, which couldn’t be corrected in a Rejuv unit. For them there were implants. Back on earth, the deaf had compensated by learning sign language. Of course, the person y
ou wanted to communicate with also had to understand sign language. In our situation, it wouldn’t be feasible to teach the crew sign language, but after suggesting the idea, the technicians were able to create a hologram area in front of the Riss that could interpret the Riss finger movements and convert them into speech. It took only two weeks to create the basic device and three weeks to develop a reasonable vocabulary, which we decided would be sufficient to get started. Riss-humans would be working with the Riss and others to teach them their new responsibilities and that would continue to expand the device’s database. It would grow exponentially as the individual Riss developed new words and the ship’s computer continuously updated each unit.
Everyone assigned to one of the Hunters received an acting, one-level promotion. During this phase, Vice Admiral Zann was the Captain of the Leopard and Sakaata the Captain of the Snowcat. I learned later that Zann had picked Sakaata to Captain the Snowcat because she knew her and thought she and I would be a good fit. She in turn had recommended Captain Zeller for Captain and Commander Graza for XO of the Leopard for when Zann departed. I was made XO, with acting rank of Commander. Mostly, I considered myself an arbitrator with authority.
* * * *
I sat in the Leopard’s conference room feeling very uncomfortable. Vice Admiral Zann had assembled all the senior officers from the Leopard and Snowcat. Not only was I the youngest, but I also had the least time in grade and was the only Riss-human in the room. If I could’ve sat somewhere I wouldn’t have been noticed, I would have. Of course, my tattoo made that impossible. The room suddenly became quiet as if someone had given a signal, which I missed. Zann looked at each person before speaking.
“I would’ve liked to spend months getting ready for this mission, but the longer we delay the more people the raiders will kill. I’ve had no report of real problems, only a few misunderstandings; therefore, this’ll be my final briefing. I leave tomorrow for Eden. Commander Zeller will replace me as the Captain of the Leopard and Commander Graza will be his XO. Captain Sakaata will command the Snowcat and is the Task Force leader. Commander Reese will be her XO.” She paused and looked around the room and then at me. “Reese is too young, has had very little experience as a lieutenant commander, and none as a commander. Then, why her? Because she has more battle experience than any officer on either Hunter, and more importantly, she developed the Riss mathematics that was responsible for our two successes against the raiders. Her two silver stars were for using those innovations, which proved the deciding factor during those engagements.
“On the Leopard two Commanders refused to learn the Riss equations and theory, because they said it would not work in a battle. Interestingly, neither Commander had any battle experience. I want to ensure in the heat of battle that she can’t be overruled by anyone except Captain Sakaata, who has also had battle experience. She was promoted to XO because she is the best person for this mission at this time and place. If anyone has any concerns or questions, put them on the table now, so that they can be addressed.”
“Most of us are acting commanders except for the XO on the Leopard and the Tactical officer. Why weren’t more commanders selected?” a tall, sandy-haired man asked.
“A combination of reasons. Some were prejudiced against the Riss. Others were too set in their ways, and many were too concerned with rank and seniority. The focus must be on finding and killing raiders, not on rank, or the worthiness of the Riss, or methodologies. If you are successful, you will have done the SAS a valuable service. In that event, you can expect your acting promotions will be made permanent, and you will be the first considered for future high profile slots.”
“Reese has replaced Commander Wang; why?” the Leopard XO asked. Ironically, it was the one area where I felt somewhat competent.
“For the same reasons that other commanders weren’t selected. You and the people, who report to you, are the best we could find. I expect you to prove that to all those who weren’t selected.”
* * * *
“Well XO, where do you think we should start hunting?” Sakaata asked. We were sitting in her office having lunch. It felt strange, like a little girl being quizzed by her mother. “I don’t expect you to have all the answers, Nadya. You’re my XO—my eyes and ears. I may not agree with you, but I’ll never punish you for your honest opinion. In this case, I don’t have a clue.” She laughed. Sakaata was in her mid-forties but was obviously in good condition and looked younger. She was a head taller than me with short curly black hair, long thin nose and jaw, and lean figure. Although she had an easy way about her, she was a no-nonsense type of person and didn’t smile often. However, she was smiling now. I took that as a good sign.
“Ma’am, I don’t believe they’re operating in this Sector any more. My guess is that they’re operating in the Darkov and Oracle sectors. They’re alternating back and forth to hide their scouts. They hit in the Oracle sector last. They may hit there again, but they’ll eventually move back into Darkov, if they haven’t already.”
“I’m impressed. I was half joking when I asked where. I thought you would want to stay in the Tragos Sector, since that’s where they’d previously been operating.”
“I think I have a feel for them. That may have been the reason for the two tries on my life.” I doubted they were all personal. At least two seemed professional.
“Zann said you suspected there was at least one raider spy on one or both ships. If so, you think they might try again?” She frowned and rubbed her jaw.
“Maybe. Or maybe they’ll try to sabotage the ship. I would.”
“Cheery thought. Army or navy?”
“Navy. They had access to my room. That meant access to the system computer or to someone who did.”
“Can Intel help?”
“They can try, but I doubt it.” A check of personnel records seemed unlikely to discover anything. He or she would more than likely have been a long time operative. Monitoring the system computer traffic may, but again a long shot. “I suspect we’ll have to wait on him to make a move, hope he screws up, and we catch him.” I shrugged. Sakaata reached over and activated her SID.
“Commander Palete, set us a course for the Darkov Sector.” She looked at me, as a hologram of the Darkov sector with its hundreds of colonies sprang to life from her SID, I shrugged and pointed to Ojos. From what I’d researched, it was a small but rich colony. “Ojos Cross.”
* * * *
Laughter filled me, increasing my frustration.
* * * *
Thalia had selected four of the Riss to learn the Bridge functions, and I spent four hours each day tutoring them along with the commanders assigned to those positions. I’d have spent more time, but they could assimilate only so much at one time. They needed time to digest the material and practice.
I explained the Symath we’d developed and how it applied to Navigation and the projectile equations to Tactical. In those areas, the Riss assimilated the concept faster than the commanders, which helped foster a growing respect for them. Every day I toured each section to answer questions and resolve any misunderstandings. The problems were mostly miscommunications. A number of Riss were assigned to work with the chiefs and section heads with the understanding that they would assume increasing responsibility over time.
“Hello, Commander Reese.” Terril grinned. “How does it feel?”
“Terrible. I feel like a little girl in grownup clothes. How is r-Anath doing?” To make it easier on the humans, we’d followed the tradition set by Zann fifty years ago and named each Riss with the name of a Goddess. I had assigned r-Anath to the Scorpions, not because the Riss would be assigned to the army permanently, but so the Riss would understand all facets of a ship’s operation.
> “She seems to be enjoying herself. More importantly, it’s helping to acclimate the Scorpions to the Riss. They seem to like her. Of course, they like anything big and strong like them.” Terril laughed. “Do you have time for a workout? I’ve quite a class now. After my war stories, I’ve gotten lots of interest, even a few navy because of Petar’s involvement.”
I had brought my workout clothes, hoping for a chance to workout. For the next hour, I helped Terril with her students. There I felt like a grownup. I had worked hard for my rank and understood Si’jin. Thanks to Master Wei, I could even hold my own against Terril. As we finished, Colonel Seng and r-Anath approached.
“Commander Reese, I can see you earned another knot from Master Wei.” He pointed to my latest black knot.
“Yes, if Gunny Terril and I weren’t such good friends, I would have begged Admiral Zann for him to be assigned here.” It was true. Wei was my idol. “How are you and r-Anath getting along?”
“I didn’t know what to expect in the beginning, but r-Anath learns with incredible speed and has a good grasp of command. Besides, the Scorpions love her.”
*Scorpions much fun. Many claws* r-Anath’s box translated. A flurry of pictures between her and Thalia followed, depicting the Scorpions in action with guns and hand-to-hand fighting.
After my workout and talk with Colonel Seng, I left feeling good. Except for a few minor misunderstandings, the integration appeared to be going well. I then headed over to Intel. The guards stopped me just long enough to show they were doing their job. I was listed as the Head of the Intel unit.
“Good afternoon, Ma’am,” Iglis greeted me as I entered the room.
“How is my acting Lieutenant Commander doing?”
“It’s hard getting used to it. I was surprised when you selected me... rather than Commander Wang,” Iglis said, her eyes downcast.
“You seemed a better fit for this mission. I felt we needed someone who would work rather than supervise and wouldn’t be unhappy with a Riss or me in charge. By the way how is r-Zaria doing?”