Free Riss Series 4: The Riss Accession by C. R. Daems

surprises the
upcoming meeting had in store.
    * * *
    The Golden Eagle had exited first as a
precaution, in case someone managed to detect us exiting the Wave and thought
it was the Aliens. We followed in the Eagle's wake ,
decelerating towards the agreed-upon meeting coordinates. Four cruisers were
there when we arrived.
    
    
    Damaass'sbushy , smiling face
appeared. "Nadya. Feels strange calling you by your first name. What can I
do for you?"
    "Keep the Minerva in stealth
mode and on Standby."
    "Expecting trouble ?"
    "Being cautious. Everyone is
nervous, and we are aliens, who were worth millions of credits not too long
ago."
    "Strange thought, being considered
an alien." He paused, then smiled. "If we removed the Rh tattoo..."
    "I used to hate the tattoo and wished
I could get rid of it because of the fear and hate it caused. But now, I
wouldn't. It identifies me as Riss, and it makes me proud."
    < High-Riss .>
    
    "I understand . We're unique
and special . Have fun at the meeting." Damaass broke the
connection.
    
    
    Shortly afterward, Captain Dannatt's
face appeared. "Captain Reese, what can I do for you?"
    "I’ll be leaving in a few minutes
for the Eagle . I’d like to go to the meeting with Admiral Wattson. For
now, I'd like to avoid coming out of stealth mode. It might provoke an unwanted
response."
    "I can see your point. It is
ugly." He laughed. "For your information, the first meeting will be
on the Eagle ." He cut the
connection.
    I left the Bridge with two scorpions
following. When we arrived at the Shuttle, Terril stood waiting with a smile on
her face.
    "Attractive, isn't it?" She
turned her head so I could see the Rh Doctor Dayton had tattooed on her
cheek. Dayton had done the same thing a t Hephaestus for
the students of my Peoples Dynamics class, to give them a firsthand experience
at prejudice. The tattoo was real but shallow and could be removed in an hour.
I entered and handed her a Riss uniform.
    "Get changed." I knew the JPU
and UFN weren't going to let a guard, armed or not, into the meeting. And I
knew Terril wasn't going to let me go without her, so we decided she would attend as my
advisor. She stood examining the uniform before changing.
    "Not very stylish and no place for
weapons," she said as she sat.
    "Do you need weapons?" I
grinned.
    "Depends upon what the others bring
to the party. Whether I do or not, it feels like I'm naked."
    I could hear the two scorpions behind us snort .
We were each lost in thought as we entered the Eagle's shuttle bay.
Admiral Stenberg and his aide, Commander Olson, stood waiting as we exited.
    "Welcome aboard the Eagle , Leader Reese," Stenberg said, looking
hard at Terril. "Advisor?"
    "Terril."
    "Isn't she… Oh, I see.
Commander Olson will take you to Admiral Wattson's conference room. Your
Scorpion guards will be taken to the army area to wait until you're
ready to leave. I need to stay and welcome the JPU and UFN delegation. They are en route and should be here within
the next half hour."
    "This way, please," Olson said
as he led us out of the bay.
    "Anything exciting been happening,
Commander Olson?"
    "No, Admiral Stenberg has been
doing all the work, making arrangements for today's meeting and setting up the
protocol. Except for your guards, all others will remain with their shuttles.
Each delegation will have a live connection to their cruiser the entire time
they are on board. Any leader may call for a break or adjournment at any time.
The next meeting will be hosted by the UFN and the subsequent one by the JPU."
He smiled. "I do have one bit of news for you. Admiral Wattson gave
Commander Bradshaw the position of XO on the Eurasian ."
    I was delighted for Sean. He had earned
the promotion, although I would have loved for him to be here. Still, that would
have been a distraction neither he nor I could afford right now.
    When we reached the conference room,