“No,” Ludwig said. “You brought us here. When we win this rebellion, it’ll be because of you. You brought us together and you’ll lead us through to the end. We merely assisted you in achieving what you’d achieve without us by your side.”
Zarah blushed and nodded. “Call me when you’ve finished. I want to meet back up with you.”
She left the races to learn in quiet. Library sessions rarely resulted in group discussions until after time was up. Once that time came, Ludwig shared additional knowledge that he’d learned on Ares. His knowledge, paired with the information in the books, was preparing them well for the upcoming battle. The Queen had risked her life for every single rebel. She was selfless, and Zarah admired her for that. She knew if she was caught in the same position of life and death, she’d also choose death if it meant the rebellion would succeed. Only in such selflessness could this rebellion amount to anything. Lives would be lost and she was prepared for hers to be one of them.
Moran walked down the wide halls of Xiphos. All the survivors had been thrilled to come here and were pulling their weight. Each had been assigned a specific duty, and each and every one of them did it without hesitation. Most had continued to do what they’d been doing at his apartment, but new survivors had trickled in each day, and he made sure they were put to work. Too much still had to be done for any to sit around with the crodillians out there.
No race was too good for any job. Pasts were merely that, pasts. What they used to do no longer mattered. The only thing that did was survival and that meant doing things some may not want to do. Some races had approached him feeling they were better off somewhere else, but he’d put them back in line. With the rebellion on the horizon, there was no time for that attitude.
Every passing day new intelligence came in on the crodillians, and each time it made him feel better. It seemed they got more careless every day, and that gave Moran hope that the rebels could win, even with being outnumbered. He’d take precision and heart over sheer numbers any day. Bodies didn’t win wars and neither did weapons. Determination and heart is what won wars and he knew this was something his enemy didn’t fully grasp. Sure, you could kill hundreds of rebels, but hundreds more would come replace them. In the end, the side with the most heart would win and that’d be his side.
Since moving to the base he’d sent out several scouts, but the last one had almost been deadly. The races had been tailed by crodillians all the way back to Xiphos. Luckily, the snipers had seen it and were able to take the crodillians out, but that had only been the beginning. More crodillians had arrived several hours later, looking for their comrades and suffering the same fate.
Since that scout, he hadn't sent out any others, for fear they'd be found. The time for that was over. The rebellion was looming and they needed to know where every crodillians was, along with finding additional races to fight for them. Everyone had seen the Queen's message and it had inflated the confidence every race, especially those who’d gone into hiding.
He stopped in front of a group of races who were cleaning weapons and checking vehicles to make sure everything was functional.
“You guys up for doing something else for a while?”
A young boy nodded and stood up. “What do you need us to do General Borislav?”
He flinched at the word General. He didn't like it, but it was how the entire base referred to him. “I need a scout party to go out. We need to pick up a few hundred more survivors before the rebellion starts.”
“Do you think it's going to start soon?” A black Feleen asked.
“I believe so. Things appear to be coming together on all the planets,” Moran nodded. “You guys up for it?”
“Yeah!” The young boy responded.
“Take that vehicle,” Moran pointed towards a big bus. “Get as many in there as you can. Don't drive it back here, but get as close as you can and have them walk the rest of the way. Keep going back out until you can't find anymore. I don’t want any of our own left out there when this starts.”
“Yes sir!” The boy motioned all of the others to follow.
He didn't have any problems getting anyone to listen to him, even if it put their lives in danger. Scouting was no easy or safe task, and they could've said no, but they didn't. No matter the age, each race he spoke to was willing to lay down their life.
The races he’d sent out to establish bases had been just as selfless. Multiple reports flowed back from every one of them, none reporting anything but success. Several more bases had been set up on Gaea and at least three on every other planet. The crodillians had let them enter peacefully, and were just as careless on the other planets as they were here. They thought they were invincible and that all the races were cowering in the shadows from them, but they were making a fatal mistake. A rebellion was being set up right under their noses and they were too dumb to see it happening. Pride was blinding them and that pride would end up killing them.
Jahdiel sat next to the Queen, listening to Merikh, Kirill, and Abdul argue. Merikh was bent on killing Adira and refused to heed the advice of the others. She was personally on Kirill’s side because she’d seen the Queen’s true side. The side she hadn’t known before being outcast and it made her want to lay her own life down to save her and get her to the rebels. She’d fallen in love with the selfless leadership, wishing she’d never brought harm to this woman and the races she loved so dearly.
Unfortunately, all she’d known that past fifteen years was death and destruction and it not only fueled her to do regrettable things, it’d blinded her into destroying her true home. The hate had dissipated, being replaced by remorse. Not only was her leader going to kill an innocent woman, he was going to kill millions of innocent races.
“She will die, Kirill!” Merikh slammed his fist down. “She’s made me look weak, but when I kill her, I’ll reassert my power and spread even more fear throughout Orion.”
“That's what she wants,” Kirill pleaded. “Can you not see that she planned this all out?”
“I don't care if she planned it out! If her wish is to die, then I'll grant it!”
“It'll spark rebellions all over Orion,” Abdul warned. “It’s still peaceful right now, why not let it slide? You'll be showing mercy and the races may believe you’ll hold true to your promise of peace.”
“I won’t be seen as weak. If they want to rebel, we’ll crush them like we did when we arrived. Every last one of them will burn with their beloved planets.”
“If you kill her, you're going to give them hope! It’ll fuel them to fight even harder. You'll be lighting a fire that’ll be hard to extinguish,” Kirill said.
“If I kill her they will lose all hope!” He protested. “How will they fight without a leader?”
“There’s already someone else leading them. She said those things because there’s already a rebellion, they're just hiding from you,” Abdul said. “One wrong move and they’ll strike. They’re just waiting for you to do something.”
“Nonsense. If there was a rebellion, my men would know.”
Jahdiel looked to the Queen who had a grin on her face. How could she possibly be grinning now when they were talking about killing her? It only made Jahdiel admire her even more. She put her hand on the Queen's and gave a slight nod. She wanted Adira to know that she’d forgiven her before she died. It was the least she could do for such a selfless woman.
“I'm warning you. Do not kill Adira,” Kirill said.
“You warn me?” Merikh stood, clenching his fists and salivated from his long teeth. “And who are you to warn me? You’re nothing more than a weak human.”
“I'm an ally!” Kirill stood up and bumped chests with him. “We're in this together. If you screw up and start a rebellion by killing the Queen, I suffer too!”
“So you're afraid of a little rebellion?” Merikh mocked. “What about your invincible group of assassins? Why don't they do something about it? You promised me they could stop this from happening.”
/> “How are my few hundred supposed to stop thousands that’ll you’ll surely stir up by killing their leader?”
“So, they're not as strong as you claim? Then let me worry about the rebellion! It's my forces that I'll use to stop it, not yours!”
“You haven't finished controlling all of the planets yet,” Abdul said. “Wouldn't it be wise to finish conquering first? At least then, any rebellion would be minimal. You could always kill her once you have firm control.”
“Yes,” Kirill nodded. “If we conquer the remaining planets, we could possibly find the center of the rebellion. If neither of our men have found it yet, it’s on one of the remaining planets.”
Merikh thought for a moment. “How many planets do we have left, Jahdiel?”
She looked up for the first time. “We have four remaining planets. Apollo, Ares, Nesoi, and Plouton.”
“How fast can we take them over?” He asked.
“I don't know,” she shrugged. “Depends if you let me do it my way.”
“Whatever way is quickest,” he flicked his hand and turned from her. “Do what you have to do. Just conquer those remaining planets quickly.”
Jahdiel nodded and looked sadly to the Queen, letting out a silent breath. Merikh started arguing with the others again, oblivious to the Queen whispering something to Jahdiel.
“I will kill the Queen when the remaining planets have been conquered. You all have only delayed her death.”
“It was the right thing to do, Merikh,” Kirill said. “If they want to rebel, we need to be in full control. Acting too soon could be the end of us.”
“We'll be in full control very soon, don’t you worry about it.”
Merikh waved at Jahdiel, dismissing her from the room to take the Queen back to the dungeons. Somehow, Kirill and Abdul had delayed the Queen's death, but she knew that it wouldn't be for long. When Merikh wanted to do something, he did it. He was starting to get a bit careless, and more like the other crodillians. Or had he been like this the whole time and she just hadn't noticed until now? She’d become no more than a tool in his plan and no longer seemed like an integral part of anything he did, so maybe that’d opened her eyes to his true ways. He’d exhausted his use for her, and she could see the same happening to Adira. Unfortunately for him, killing Adira would be his one fatal mistake. It would fuel the rebellion far more than Merikh wanted to believe. There was just something about Adira that inspired as sense of hope. Her death would bring a fury that even his forces wouldn't be able to stop.
Chapter 23
Pyrrhus stood at the podium in the Debate Hall which was packed with leaders standing shoulder to shoulder. Since the Princess' arrival they’d all been working diligently to pull their weight and impress their new leader. Each group was working on a specific part of the battle plan, and when all were completed, everything would be brought together. Pyrrhus knew he never could've come up with this battle strategy on his own, no matter what any of the other leaders said. It was a group effort, starting with Anlon and the Princess, and then through all of the leaders. Everyone wanted to survive, and they had all put differences aside to ensure everyone’s survival.
“Our final plan has been put together,” Pyrrhus informed them. “You all acted quickly and I thank you for that. You’ve taken my original plan, and have improved it a hundred fold. What we have now, is the war plan that will lead us to victory!” He pumped his fist, gaining some cheers from the crowd. “It is risky, but I believe that it’s the only way that we’ll win this war.”
“When they come to Ares, they’ll have fallen into our trap!” Gidon said. “There will be no way for them to escape us!”
There were more cheers from the crowd and a lot of smiles as Pyrrhus looked around. Much had changed since he first arrived, but it was due to more than just him. They’d worked together in a time of need, instead of against each other as was so common in politics. They’d all realized the urgency of the impending invasions and did the right thing for their galaxy.
“They’ve been taking over planets with two fleets while leaving two back at Hera. We’ll only face one, no matter how many they send here at first,” Pyrrhus told them. “The rebellion forces that we’ve set up throughout Orion will act to our advantage, especially those on Hermes and Gaea. Zarah and Moran have been leading them well and have reported nothing but stellar progress since my departure. When the crodillians send their ships to attack us here, we’ll unleash the rebellion on every planet in Orion. They’ll have to choose how to proceed, and we’ll deceive them into the wrong choice,” Pyrrhus looked around the room and saw that he had the undivided attention of every leader. “When they arrive here, we’ll only show them fifty of our ships. The rest will be hidden using our stealth fields behind the enemy. When they hear of the large rebellions on other planets, they’ll surely leave only one fleet here to deal with the small number of ships they see. Little do they know, that’s exactly what we want them to do. Once there is one fleet left, we’ll engage, then retreat to the planet,” he looked to Gidon. “We’ll bring the fight to the land where the rebels will be at an advantage. They’ll use the forests as cover when we tell the crodillians we surrender. We’ll lure the monsters to the forests where the battle for Ares will begin. The moment we strike the ground forces, we’ll strike their ships in space. Our ships still hidden under stealth will converge to their commanding ship and take it over. There will be close to two hundred to do the job, and with a majority of the crodillians fighting on Ares, there won’t be many left to defend their ship from the ambush.”
Cheers and smiles emerged from all over the Debate Hall. It was a very risky plan, but none seemed to care. They truly believed it was the only way to win this war, even if it meant they could possibly die. There were thousands of rebels on Ares, but they still lacked numbers to fight the crodillians head on. The city was well defended, but they weren't going to fight in the city, they were fighting in the forests for one more advantage. A lot of lives would be lost, but there would be many more crodillians fatalities, he was sure of it.
“The rebels in the ships will kill all the crodillians and take control. Once they’ve accomplished that, they’ll send down half of their ships to assist with the battle on the land. They’ll take out any crodillian ships overhead and then fight side by side with all rebels on the ground. The crodillians may be strong, but we’ll see just how strong they are without their ships and Commander. This is our land, our home, and we won’t let them take it easily. Once we have defeated them here, we must quickly go to Gaea and Hermes. They too will be under attack, and though I believe they can hold up while we fight our battle here, I don't think they'll survive without our help,” he paused a moment to take a drink of some water before continuing. “We’ll use the captured command ship to our advantage. We’ll travel to Gaea in it, and catch the command ship there by surprise. We’ll exterminate any crodillians on the ground and assist with getting the injured medical care on the ship. The base there isn’t as well hidden as on Hermes, and I fear they may lose many lives.”
He looked up to see that many of the smiles had washed off the faces of the races. They were now realizing for the first time that many innocent lives would be lost. There was little that they could do to save those lives except hope the battle on Ares was a quick one. If not, Ares' races could be the lone survivors of this war.
“After we’ve defeated the crodillians there, we’ll go to Hermes and do the same. Hopefully, the command ship there won't have heard of our surprise attack, though we’ll be prepared if they have. Zarah will undoubtedly lead the rebels strongly until we arrive, and once we're there, we’ll help her finish off the crodillians. That will leave one enemy fleet left. Hera’s. We’ll take it back by brute force. We’ll kill their leader and reclaim our galaxy!” He pumped his fist.
Cheers erupted throughout the room as they heard the end of the speech. He’d made it sound simple, though he knew it was far from it. This plan was full of risks, hop
e, and luck. If the crodillians didn't choose to go to any of the other planets to stop rebellions, then there was little chance the plan would succeed. He was betting on the crodillians overestimating their strength as they had many times before. It was the only weakness he could find and he was going to try to expose it.
“There’s still one more part,” Pyrrhus silenced them with a motion of his hands. “The Princess is to make a speech that will be sent out to Orion. I know that it’ll mean the death of the Queen, but she's already dead. She was dead as soon as she told us to rebel. We need Princess Kanti to make a speech to encourage the rebels even more. Give them hope and fire that will push them even harder. When they see the Princess fighting alongside with them, they’ll fight until the end, no matter how hopeless it looks,” Pyrrhus looked to Gidon. “She’ll be arriving back on Ares soon. I’ll tell her to get her speech ready, and once it's sent, be ready for an attack. They’ll know our location and our rebellion will have officially started.”
Donnchadh lead the nomad group across the grey, desolate, wasteland of Erebos. They were close to the Deimos Brotherhood's base now. He could see the mountains and the lava lake slowly coming into view over the horizon. Reamonn had been silent the entire journey, as had been the rest of the tribe, except Leilah. She’d stood by his side the entire way while the rest lagged behind with Reamonn. They were reluctant, but she was with him all the way and was forcing the others to follow her lead.
If it hadn't been for Leilah, he wouldn’t be leading them to this base. He didn't know why she’d sided with him when her father hadn't. This probably wasn't the first time she’d questioned one of Reamonn's decisions, but it was clearly the first time she’d been vocal about it from his reaction. He also couldn’t help feel it was her who’d led the tribe to his body. Since waking, she’d been the one by his side, not the others.
Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) Page 23