Free Riss Series 3: The Riss Survival by C. R. Daems Page A

Captain, this is the group who will be working on your missiles." As Da'Maass finished, a tall, frowning man with a black, neatly trimmed beard on a narrow face spoke.
    "I understand you like dumb missiles. That doesn't sound like the future, relying on luck to hit your target."
    "Yes, one of the options on the SAS cruisers I flew was dumb missiles—with very advanced mathematics developed by the Riss. They proved effective in battle. You are going to help me develop the next generation. They won't be dumb, just a little retarded." I stopped to let the room quiet. Da'Maass smiled at my remark, some were speechless, and others immediately began lively conversations with the people around them. I held up a hand for quiet.
    "First, we need missiles that can be launched unpowered so they can't be detected. For now, call them Dragonflies. They will provide the eyes for our retarded missiles with the warheads. Call those Demons. The Dragonflies will be able to adjust our Demons vector by a degree or two.”
    "Why can't we adjust them from the ship?" A tall good-looking redhead asked.
    "Because our third missile, call them Dusters, will be set to explode at some predetermined distance between us and the enemy, discharging a cloud of chaff debris similar to the ash from a volcano. The purpose will be to blind the enemies' missile-tracking sensors. The Dragonflies will be our eyes, over, under, and around the debris." I still liked dumb missiles but a slight adjustment would make them much more effective. But that wasn't enough. I wanted to decrease the effectiveness of the enemies' missiles. Ironically, the sophistication of their missiles was their potential weakness. Again, the conversation and questions went on for some time.
    The sessions took three days by which time I was mentally exhausted. I had sketched out my concepts but it would be up to others to implement them.
    
     Thalia projected an ancient-looking woman in an old-fashioned rocking chair. She and I loved taking things apart to see how they worked—not watching others.
    
    
    Pavao’s voice shook me out of my exchange with Thalia. "You have my head spinning. I don't know what I expected a Riss ship to look like. I guess a smaller version of a raider ship, since you agreed not to use SAS technology." She laughed. "Our high-tech geniuses are going to be devastated when they find out their latest smart missiles are less effective than old-fashioned cannon balls."
    "I certainly see a future for the clans developing and building your Riss cruisers." Da'Maass gave me a hard look. "But I'll bet I don't see all you see."
    "When do you plan to share this with the SAS?" Pavao asked, her smile gone.
    "When it has been tested and we know it works. Then we will have something to demonstrate. The Riss want to be allies with the SAS and will share anything we develop. We've proved that with our navigation and missile algorithms and the fact that I've welcomed you and Corbitt to participate in every phase of the Mnemosyne's development. We have no secrets, but I don't want to set the wrong expectations or start rumors that may offset any advantage the new concepts may produce."
    "Sorry, Nadya. You're right on all counts. We still have to produce a prototype system and then prove it works."
    * * *
    As Pavao had predicted, two Light cruisers arrived bringing one hundred Riss and replacements for the Merlin and the Lynx. The number of replacements was moderately large, since no shore leave was possible personnel were allowed to transfer after a year on station. The next replacements would require a Heavy, since neither the Merlin, Bobcat, nor Lynx was being rotated.
    The Merlin had one hundred eighty replacements, the Bobcat twenty, and the Lynx one hundred sixty, which included three on the Bridge: Skadi on Helm, Parsen on ECM, and Gelman on Communications. I immediately, called a