Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two)

by Conner Walworth

  War for Orion

  Rise of the Resistance

  by

  Conner Walworth

  War for Orion Copyright © 2014 by Conner Walworth.

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information contact; address www.connerjwalworth.wix.com/author-page

  Book and Cover design by Conner Walworth

  ISBN: 123456789

  First Edition: June 2016

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Characters

  Chapter 1

  Gaea was quickly looming into view as Anlon walked to the cockpit. His home planet looked serene from above, but he knew chaos was ensuing below. The Queen’s entire fleet had been obliterated during its last stand on Hera, and now the crodillians controlled the galaxy. The only hope left were the three hundred or so ships waiting on Ares, but anyone who knew about them didn’t count on them saving Orion.

  The crodillians had shown Orion how monstrous and bloodthirsty they were in Demeter’s demise. Many races had been filled with rage, but it had struck fear in many more who knew their homes could be next. Anlon wasn't sure how many would be willing stand up against the crodillians before it was too late and that's why his mission was so vital. If he couldn't find a way to defeat the enemy, there was no chance any race stood up for their freedom.

  Anlon plopped down next to Falcone who turned to him. “Put on the stealth field just in case there’s people watching for incoming ships. I don’t want to take any chances of getting shot down because someone thinks we’re crodillians scouts.”

  Anlon reached up and pushed some buttons above his head then pulled a knob. “If there's someone watching for us, they'll never see us coming.”

  Drakos Mavros entered Gaea to an empty airspace. It was the only ship in the sky for as far as Anlon could see. The sky was calm and blue with a few white clouds scattered far apart. He’d never seen the sky so lifeless his entire life on Gaea, and it turned his stomach over seeing it like this. The planet was defenseless, and those who could stand up to the crodillians, appeared to have gone in hiding, leaving the entire planet vulnerable to attack.

  “I didn’t think the Queen actually took every ship to fight at Hera,” Falcone said under his breath. “There's nothing left here. These races will be slaughtered if there’s a fight.”

  “Is there any chance they have stealth fields on?”

  “Doubtful. Even the spaceport is empty,” Falcone pointed as they passed. “Everything is just gone. It’s a ghost town.”

  Anlon looked out the window. Not only were there no ships, there was absolutely no activity on the surface. The last time he had been to the spaceport it was teeming with life. Now, not a single living thing could be seen roaming the streets. He’d expected to see at least a few races walking the streets, most likely putting together a plan for rebellion, but it was clear no one wanted to stand up to them. Instead, they’d chosen to hole up wherever they thought they were safe.

  Camillus approached from behind. “I'm picking up a few transmissions of races gathering in case of a crodillians attack.”

  “Where are they gathering?” Anlon asked. “Neither one of us has seen any sign of life yet.”

  “Around the Capitol building in downtown Hassental, though there are some other more remote places I've picked up too. It sounds like the biggest group will be centered there.”

  “That's suicide,” Falcone shook his head. “After what they did at Hera, everyone here should be gathering in a hidden spot, not in an open public place for the crodillians to pick them all off.”

  “You can’t expect them think anything different,” Nimesha approached from behind. “This is their planet and their galaxy they’re standing up to defend. None of them were on Hera, so none of them have any idea what the crodillians are capable of. Seeing and hearing are two very different things.”

  “They should still be smarter than to gather in someplace so obvious,” Falcone piloted the ship hard to the right. “It's survival. What they're doing right now will make it that much easier for the crodillians to kill them. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that.”

  “They don't know any better. They've never seen a war. This generation has only heard of war,” Camillus said. “There is no military left here to guide them. All that are gathering are common races with families they want to protect.”

  “They should know better, even after only hearing what happened at Hera. There were countless ships defending it and it still went down,” Falcone turned and nudged Anlon. “Your house is coming up. Where do you want me to land the ship?”

  “Right there, by the shed,” Anlon motioned. “Everything we need will be in there.”

  “I hope you're joking,” Nimesha looked at him. “We're going to need a lot more than what's in that little shed if we're going to help Orion. I thought there were cruisers and racks of weapons for us to pick up.”

  “You'd be surprised at what's in that little shed,” Anlon grinned. “Where do you think those weapons came from that we used on you during our first encounter?”

  Nimesha rolled her eyes. “Don't remind me.”

  “I haven't heard anything about this yet. Come on Anlon, remind her so we can all hear it,” Falcone smirked. “I want to know every detail of what happened.”

  Nimesha pushed his head the other way. “All you need to know is Anlon is a horrible shot. Don't ever count on him to save your life.”

  “Hey!” Anlon interjected. “You should be happy I missed you.”

  “Never said I wasn't,” Nimesha winked. “Just said I'd rather put my life in someone else's hands. How many times did you fire at me?”

  Falcone landed the ship on the lawn and lowered the ramp, letting in a fresh gust of warm air. It was calm and silent outside with slight breeze. This didn’t seem like a planet about to face a devastating war.

  “It's good to be back on actual land instead of being underwater or cramped in a ship,” Falcone stretched his feathery arms out.

  As Anlon was exiting the ship, he heard a crash come from behind and he instinctively pulled his laser pistol from his side and aimed it towards the sound. He lowered the weapon when he saw a familiar person with long blonde hair looking right back at him. A smile stretched acro
ss her face and her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight streaming in the ship.

  “You think you were cramped, try hiding in that small compartment the entire trip,” she walked down the ramp.”

  “I definitely wasn't expecting to see you anytime soon,” Falcone chuckled and embraced her. “So you decided to come after all?”

  “You didn't expect me to stay behind and let you guys have all the fun did you?”

  “Can't say I did,” Falcone winked. “Who brought you up to the surface to sneak you on the ship?”

  “I persuaded Bimisi it was in the best interest of Orion that I go on this trip,” she flashed a smile. “I am the Princess after all, so I should know what's going on in Orion.”

  “I can’t wait until he sees you’re here,” Anlon pointed to a silver humanoid emerging from the ship. “His face will be priceless.”

  Camillus’ body immediately slumped upon seeing Kanti and he dashed to her, arms flailing and eyes red.

  “What are you doing here Kanti?” Camillus exclaimed with anger in his voice. “You're supposed to be on Nesoi with the Council! You can't be here with us. Not now, it’s too dangerous.”

  Kanti rolled her eyes. “You really thought I was going to stay hidden there while you all went out to save Orion?”

  “You're the Princess!” Camillus threw his hands up. “Of course I thought you’d have the common sense to stay there!”

  “Your point is?” Kanti shrugged. “Up until not too long ago, I didn't even know I was the Princess. There was no possible way that I was ever going to stay hidden there. Princess, or no Princess, I'm helping you on this mission. I refuse to watch in hiding as my friends put their lives on the line to save the galaxy I’m supposed to lead.”

  Nimesha walked up to her. “Kanti, this is going to be dangerous, you really shouldn't have come. The crodillians are poised to start taking over all of Orion. If they find out there's a Princess, they're bound to start hunting you down,” she took her hand. “I respect your decision, but it’s reckless.”

  “If they’re really are going to take over all of Orion, how would I be any safer on Nesoi?” She raised her eyebrows. “They’d find me sooner or later, and honestly, I’d rather it be sooner.”

  Camillus grabbed her with both hands. “The city was hidden underwater! They never would’ve found you there!”

  “Then I suggest that we not be found while we're trying to save Orion,” Kanti grinned.

  Nimesha looked back at Camillus and couldn't help but laugh. “You're braver and more defiant than I thought Kanti. I would've never guessed you would defy your own Council to come with us. You'll be fine with us though, no matter what Camillus or the Council tries to tell you. You have some of the best races in the galaxy protecting you, at least one anyway, I don’t know about anyone else here yet.”

  Falcone shrugged and turned. “No changing that she's here with us now. So what are we waiting for? Let's go see what's in that shed.”

  Anlon wrapped his arms around Kanti. “I'm glad you came. I just hope Nimesha is right about us being okay. If the crodillians do find out about you, they’ll send out everyone to find you.”

  “We've been fine this far. I'm sure we'll be fine a little longer.”

  “The Council isn't going to like this one bit,” Camillus pushed his way past them. “Imagine what they're going to say when they find out the Princess is with us,” he continued to mutter. “They're going to kill us!”

  Anlon and Kanti followed Camillus to the small shed. Nimesha and Falcone entered before Anlon could show them in and he laughed when he saw them standing next to each other dumbstruck. It wasn't much different than the look he had given Moran his first time and he knew that they'd be just as amazed when they saw what was hidden underneath.

  “Uh... I think someone stole all of your weapons and replaced it with a bunch of junk,” Nimesha tossed a screwdriver. “There's nothing here that's going to help us.”

  “No, it's all here,” Anlon walked past her. “You just have to know where to look is all. My dad did a really good job of hiding this stuff.”

  “Please, show us where to look,” Falcone put his palms out. “Because right now, I'm not seeing anything at all that's going to help us against the crodillians.”

  Anlon pulled open a drawer and took out a picture of his family. He took the back of the frame off and touched a black bug that pricked his finger for blood. Shortly after, a monitor protruded from the ground, making Falcone and Nimesha jump back.

  “Definitely didn't see that coming,” Falcone said.

  “Welcome Anlon Valens. I'm glad you're back,” the monitor said.

  Anlon walked over to it and placed his hand on a pad and stated his name. A rectangular opening appeared in the ground and Kanti pushed her way past Falcone and Nimesha to go down.

  “Excuse me you two, Princesses first,” she winked. “Have to make sure I get all of the best stuff.”

  Anlon followed her down the stairs. “Don't worry there's more than enough for everybody,” he said over his shoulder. “I don’t think we’d be able to bring everything that’s down here even if we tried.”

  Anlon led them down the bluely lit tunnel and to a steel door. He placed his hand on a pad and stated his name, which was followed up by a hissing noise as the steel door opened. Anlon followed Kanti who’d immediately dashed into the enormous room.

  Nimesha and Falcone stood behind Anlon motionless. “Why is this underneath your home exactly?” Falcone asked.

  “My Dad put it here. Moran told me the Queen let him keep a few things from some past missions. He never told me about it, so to answer your question, I don’t really know.”

  Nimesha walked forward. “A few things? There's enough stuff down here to supply a small army.”

  “It may have to if the crodillians attack,” Falcone walked toward a section with pistols. “Is everything here categorized?”

  “Everything,” Anlon nodded. “You haven't even seen the good stuff yet. Just keep going further down and you’ll find it.”

  Camillus walked past Anlon. “Got anything down here for humanoids?”

  Anlon shrugged. “There's a bunch of stuff down here I've never seen before, so I'm sure there are a few things that would be useful to you.”

  Anlon parted ways with the others and walked over to a section with different body suits. He saw one similar to the one Moran had given to him when he’d broken into the prison and took it off the rack. After that, he made his way over the gadgets, which everyone else had seemed to skip over in favor of larger weapons, and started to go through the rack. He pulled off a bracelet and turned it over, unsure of what it was, surprised when a flame shot out from it. Without thinking, he dropped it and backed up, not immediately realizing he’d pressed a button to cause the flame to shoot out. Anlon bent over and picked it back up to take a closer look. A holodisplay came up giving him options to cut, freeze, electrocute, and burn. He put it on his wrist and continued to go through the shelves of gadgets. There were countless small things he knew would come in handy, so he pocketed as many as he could.

  After finding all the gadgets he wanted, he walked over to the pistol and rifle section. This decision was much easier because he knew exactly what he wanted. The matte black pistol and rifle had immediately caught his eye upon entering the bunker. The weapons were cold to the touch as he lowered them from the shelf and flipped them over in his hands to examine closer. They were different than what he’d trained with. The weapons were lighter and heavily modded with scopes, lasers, and longer ammunition magazines.

  Anlon slung the rifle over his should and hung the pistol from his belt before heading towards the section with specialty weapons. He walked down and looked at each weapon before picking up a black bow. It was half as tall as he was and there was a scope fitted on the front. He’d never seen anything like this, so he was unsure of how to use it, but he couldn't turn down taking it. He hung it on his shoulder by the strings and then grabbed a
cannon launcher from the shelf to add to his stockpile of weapons.

  “Almost done getting stuff?” Kanti said from behind him. “Looks like you quite a few things there.”

  Anlon quickly turned around, setting down the cannon launcher. “Yeah. Just a few more things and I'll be done.”

  “A few more things? You don't have enough already?”

  “We don't know if we can come back,” Anlon shrugged. “May as well make sure we have more than enough stuff to last us for the mission.”

  “Well, I guess you're more prepared than them,” she motioned towards the others. “They look like they're kids in a toy shop and can't figure out what they want.”

  Anlon laughed. “It's cool stuff Kanti!”

  “Yeah, yeah. What else are you getting over here?” She picked up a cannon launcher.

  “Nothing. I think I have everything I need. I’m sure Camillus will find things the rest of us forget about,” he replied.

  “As long as you can hit what you aim at we’ll be fine,” she winked.

  “That's not cool,” Anlon muttered. “We ended up needing her help, so it all turned out okay that I couldn’t hit her.”

  “Don't expect the crodillians to change sides if you can’t hit them.”

  “I don't expect them to do anything short of killing everything that breathes,” he led Kanti deeper into the bunker.

  “What’s this way? It's pitch black.”

  Anlon turned around and walked backwards. “Follow me and I'll show you!”

  He led Kanti into the darkness and the lights slowly started to flicker to life as they progressed deeper. Different types of cruisers and gliders emerged from the darkness and he could hear Kanti's pace start to pick up from behind until she was leading him.

  “This is what is further down in the room,” he jogged to keep up. “Cruisers and gliders for all types of terrains and missions.”

  “What ones are we going to take?” Kanti asked, looking around at all the different options. “We don't even know what we'll need.”