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

two
Scorpions stood guard in the hallway. Olson also stayed in the hallway when Terril
and I entered.
    "Well, Reese, who's your…"
Wattson took a few steps towards Terril, then stopped. "I guess I
shouldn't be surprised. I thought you might have brought Pavao." He gave a
short laugh. "Who's in the other cruiser?"
    " Damaass . I
thought it better to bring him than leave him at Freeland."
    "I see your reasoning, but he makes
me nervous. This meeting is crucial to winning the war.
Any—"
    " Damaass is a
Riss-human. As such, you can trust him to support the SAS. He is neither a
hothead nor foolish, and he understands loyalty—better than most."
    "Here." He handed me an SID.
"You want a connection to Damaass ?"
    "Yes."
    "Captain Dannatt, connect Leader
Reese's Sid to the Minerva ." He paused, staring at me. "It's
connected."
    "Yes, Leader ?" Damaass's face appeared
on the screen.
    "The protocol requires each nation
to have a live connection while they are on board the Eagle . If the
connection is broken, you will declare Battle Stations on the Minerva and Mnemosyne and use your discretion on how best to support Admiral
Wattson, SAS, and the Riss."
    "Yes, Leader . I understand."
    As I finished two men in Black uniforms
entered. The one who entered first stood a good head taller than Wattson. He surveyed
the room, stopping to examine each of us. His narrow face was a
mask, but his eyes were not friendly . The man accompanying him was
shorter and a little overweight. His stare seemed more of an evaluation than a
challenge.
    Immediately afterward, a man and a woman
entered. The man resembled Wattson in height and build. He had a well-trimmed
beard and gave us little more than a glance. The woman was tall, thin, and
spent several seconds evaluating each person in the room.
    Stenberg entered last and closed the
door.
    "On the side table, there are
plaques with your names and SIDs—System Interface Devices—which we've
connected to your cruiser. If you would please: collect them, verify your
connection, and have a seat, I will do the introductions," Stenberg said,
pointing to the table.
    It took several minutes for everyone to
get seated, check their connection, and stop their side discussions.
    When they did, Stenberg stood. "Your
host today is Admiral Wattson." He nodded in his direction. "He is
the SAS Fleet Admiral, who will direct the SAS fleet against the Aliens. I'm
his designated advisor. To his right is First Fleet Admiral Salazan , the head of
the JPU Navy."
    Salazan gave a sharp
nod. His black hair, narrow clean-shaven face, and black uniform combined with
his predatory eyes to give him an assassin-like appearance. His shoulder boards
were black with five red six-point stars, and his sleeve held a five-centimeter
red band. From his neck, a red cross hung from a black ribbon. In
contrast, his advisor's uniform had no shoulder boards or ribbons, only a
two-centimeter red band with two half-wreaths forming a circle with a sword
in the middle pointing down toward the band. Both men had dark olive complexions.
    "His advisor is Nelem . To his right
are the UFN Imperial Fleet Admiral Zhu, and his advisor, Xun."
    In contrast to Salazan , Zhu was a
thin frail-looking man with thinning gray hair and a goatee. He wore a white
uniform with yellow shoulder boards that had three gold star clusters and a
gold wreath with a red star in the middle. On the sleeve was one four centimeter
gold band with a red cruiser. Around his neck, a five-point star on a star
cluster hung from a red ribbon with a gold border . His advisor was a tall thin woman
whose only decoration was two red dragons on one collar.
    "To the right of advisor Xun is Leader Reese, speaker for the Riss
nation, and her advisor, Terril."
    Terril and I had on dark gray uniforms.
On my sleeve were three silver five-point stars in a triangle, and on the
shoulder sat a sunburst with an outline of the Mnemosyne in the center with two scrolls saying Riss Nation and
Navy. The only