Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (25 page)

Once they’d arrived at the base, she’d left
them alone to settle into their new home. Living underground like
this would take them all some getting used to and she wanted to
make sure they were comfortable before speaking to them. Settling
in was no over, though. It was time to bring their focus back on
the imminent threat. The crodillians were bound to be on Hermes
soon and she needed every race to be prepared for the worst.

She look down and cleared her throat once
all the races were silent. “I know that living down here may be a
little harder than you may have initially thought,” Zarah looked
around the room, seeing nods of agreement. “It’s hard for me too,
but we’ll all get used to it. We won't be stuck down here forever
in hiding, it is only temporarily.”

“How long is temporarily?” Someone asked.
“I’ve heard rumors that we’ll never be allowed to leave here. That
this rebellion you're talking of isn’t real.”

“Those rumors are false,” she assured them
all. “Bases, just like this one, are being established throughout
Orion. Races, like you and I, are abandoning their homes in hopes
this rebellion will pull together. I truly believe with all of my
heart, that this rebellion will be successful.”

“How much outside contact do you have?”
Someone else asked. “What’s going on right now? We can’t access
anything of the outside world from down here.”

“I'm not sure at this exact moment,” she
shrugged. “I can tell you the crodillians still haven't come to
Hermes. Dorjan, the man who was against coming here, agreed to stay
in Thermopylae with his rebels to gather intel. When the
crodillians arrive, I’ll let you all know. Now for the other stuff,
it’ll have to stay between myself and those I choose as officers,”
she looked around the room for any ready to speak out against her
decision to keep intel from them. “I’ve appointed ten officers to
assist me with getting the rebellion ready. You all know who you
are because you received a letter this morning. You will report to
me immediately after this meeting.”

“What about the rest of us?” A Filibian
asked. “What are we to do?”

“You’ll report to areas that fit your skill
set. I won’t determine what your skill set is or where you’re
placed, it will be up to you. Each of you know what you're good at
and I trust that you'll report to the correct area. At the front of
the Dining Hall, I’ve put a map of the base,” she told them. “Each
area is marked. For example, the kitchen. We need races to make
food for us, so if you’re a cook, you can report to the kitchen. If
you’re a nurse, you report to the medical room and so on and so
forth. I won’t force you to move anywhere, but remember, there’s
more to a rebellion than just fighters.
Every
job is
important, so I’m leaving it up to you to choose wisely,” she
paused a moment. “Are there any questions?”

She gazed around the room and didn't see any
races raise their hands or speak up. It was going much smoother
than she’d expected. Sure, some had spoken out, but none were
against her decisions. Allowing them to choose where they wanted to
fight in the rebellion had been a tough choice, but one she thought
would make them fight harder. None would feel as if they’d been
forced to do anything, making them fight as one and not just
individuals wanting to survive.

“The appointed officers can come to the
Command Center,” she said. “The rest of you can find your place
within this base. Once you’re in place, I’ll find leaders and
supervisors for every section. They’ll work with you to set ground
rules. Once they’re set, they’re to be followed unless an amendment
is made. We must all work together now, times may be hard, but
we’ll push through.”

Zarah left Dining Hall and walked down the
empty halls to the Command Center. She stood at the end of the
rectangular table once in the room and patiently waited as her
appointed officers filed into the room. Once she counted that all
were present, she began to talk.

“I’ve appointed you all for a reason.
Pyrrhus has given me detailed reports on every race, and you were
the most qualified to be officers. Now most of you, like me, have
never been in the military,” she saw nods from all but two
officers. “But you
all
possess skills vital to leading a
successful rebellion. Some of you are leaders. Some have knowledge
with weapons and fighting tactics. Others know how to put together
battle plans. Military experience is only a plus, but surely not
necessary in order to succeed,” she smiled widely, trying to make
them feel comfortable. “We’re
rebels
. We’re the last hope
for Orion and you ten are the best races there are to lead this
rebellion. All of us, even those out there, had to leave their old
lives behind and start a new one. Life after this war will never be
the same as before, but we can try to make it as close to the same
as possible. Right now, I want all of us to become acquainted. From
here on out, we eleven will always be together. We will train, eat,
sleep, and learn together. We’ll know each other inside and out,
and when the time comes to attack the crodillians, we’ll defeat
them as one.”

The races smiled to her and began to chatter
amongst themselves. She could see the enthusiasm and determination
in their eyes. They may have lost their old lives, but each and
every one of these ten races was willing to fight to the death in
order to get it back. She dug through a lot of background papers to
find these ten and her work was already paying off. They’d lead the
base to victory.

“It sure doesn't look like there’s a
rebellion being put together here,” Falcone flew the ship on Ares.
“It looks pretty peaceful, if you ask me.”

“The Council said that the three hundred
ships were here,” Kanti said. “The rebellion
has
to be here.
Maybe they're just concealing themselves from enemies. My mother
did send out that speech for peace.”

“I’d think they’d want to attack any
incoming enemies. This is the quierleons’ home planet after all.
They’re not known to give up anything without one hell of a fight,”
Falcone said.

“Not exactly,” Nimesha said. “They’re
greatly outnumbered. They’re most likely waiting for the right time
to strike. The quierleons are masters of war. Being predictable
isn’t something they’re known for either.”

“Well, where do I go?” Falcone asked. “There
are plenty of places the planetary leaders could be.”

“Lacedaemon,” Nimesha told him. “It's the
capital of Ares. Every leader from every planet in Orion is likely
to be hiding there.”

“All in one place?” Kanti asked.

“It's
very
heavily guarded. The place
always was when I was assigned to missions here. It'll be hard for
the crodillians to take the city, especially with the increase in
security.”

“Then to Lacedaemon we go,” Falcone piloted
the ship in the direction of the capital.

It took them fifteen minutes to see the city
approaching from the cockpit of
Drakos Mavros.
The city was
impossible to miss. A blue semi-circle force field covered the city
and a sea of lush green tress surrounded it. While the rest of Ares
had been quiet so far, Lacedaemon was booming with life. Small
fighter ships circled around the dome, and it wasn't long before
one of the fighters was alongside them.

“What’s your business on Ares?” A voice
asked on the comline.

“We're here to meet with the planetary
leaders,” Nimesha answered. “We have vital information on how to
defeat the crodillians.”

“Go ahead,” the fighter broke off.

Falcone piloted the ship over the massive
sea of trees and through the blue force field into Lacedaemon. He
found a spot at the ship dock and slowly took
Drakos Mavros
down, setting down with a light thud. The dock was teeming with
robots, mechanics, and pilots. Tools were scattered around ships
and large parts lay on the ground where someone was busy working
away on it. They were preparing to take their ships into battle. He
powered down the engines and lowered the ramp.

“Let's go tell these leaders what they're up
against. I'm sure that they aren't prepared for what they're about
to hear,” Falcone rose from his seat. “It sure caught me off guard
when I heard about their magic powers.”

“I would guess they don't even have the
slightest clue as to what they’re up against,” Nimesha followed him
down the ramp.

“Just where are they going to be? I doubt
they'll be somewhere where everyone can find them easily,” Kanti
said.

“That’s where you’re wrong. There’s no point
in them hiding. If the crodillians attack, every race here will
die,” Falcone said.

“They'll be in the Capitol building,”
Nimesha said. “It's where the Prime Minister stays and where I’ve
gone on every one of my missions. They're all very likely to be
gathered there. It’s one of the most secure places on the entire
planet.”

They walked through the busy dock and waved
down a bypassing taxi. It stopped and lowered to the ground. The
door flung opened and they all entered the back seat.

“Where are you off to?” The driver asked,
putting his arm over the seat and turning.

“The Capitol,” Kanti answered.

“Lots of races coming and going from there
recently,” the driver lifted the cruiser. “I'm guessing you won't
tell me what for, besides a rebellion of course.”

“We have information that’ll lead us to
defeat the crodillians,” Kanti said.

“Oh?” The driver grinned and laughed. “I
sure hope you're right. Have you seen what they did to Demeter and
Gaea? Pretty nasty stuff! They seem unstoppable.”

“Well, they aren't,” Kanti glared.

“Hey! I'm no military man or nothing. I
don't know what's possible and what's not possible. I just know
what I see, and so far,” he looked back, taking his hands off the
wheel. “Well, I think you know.”

“That's enough. Leave the girl alone,”
Nimesha said. “Just drive before you make the girl mad and I have
to kill you.”

The driver turned back around and focused on
the sky ahead. The city was bustling with races getting ready for
an attack. They all sensed impending rebellion and were preparing
themselves for invasion.

The driver landed the cruiser and opened the
doors. “Don't worry about the fare, it's on me.”

“Are you sure?” Kanti asked.

“I wouldn't want to charge the woman
responsible for saving Orion,” he winked and drove off.

“I don't think we're going to be able to
just walk in there,” Falcone said. “They look like they have things
locked up pretty tight.”

Kanti and Nimesha looked over to see he was
right. There were armed guards walking the perimeter out front and
war tanks were parked on the yard with the barrels aimed to the
streets. Barricades had been set up on corners and they only way
through was to cross over them.

“Lead the way, Princess,” Falcone held his
hands out.

Kanti walked forward and was met by a tall,
brown, human man. He was bald, with blue eyes and a black braided
beard. She’d never seen him in person, but she knew exactly who he
was.

“General Pyrrhus,” she held out her hand.
“It's an honor to finally meet you.”

“No,” he bowed. “The honor is all mine,
Princess,” he looked to the others. “I’m glad to see you got off
Ovrea okay. The Council and I were worried that something may have
happened to you.”

“We ran into a little bit of trouble on
Ovrea,” Nimesha revealed. “We lost Anlon on the way back.”

Pyrrhus looked to them worriedly. “Follow
me. Now what happened?”

“That woman named
Jahdiel
,” Kanti
spat the name with venom. “She forced us to surrender peacefully or
she'd shoot us down.”

“The crodillians got there right as we
located the Elders,” Nimesha interrupted.

“She let you go?” Pyrrhus asked.

“Are you kidding me? Nimesha broke us free
from the cell she put us in and we fought our way off the
ship.”

“You what?” Pyrrhus turned around. “How'd
you manage to do that?”

“We do have one of the best assassins in
Orion traveling with us,” Falcone grinned. “And Anlon took out the
guard that would’ve stopped us.”

“
The
best, Falcone,” Nimesha
corrected. “I’m the best assassin in Orion.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said with a flick of the
wrist. “Anyway, Nimesha, Anlon, and Camillus got us off that
ship.”

“So, you left without both Anlon and
Camillus?” Pyrrhus asked.

“We didn't have a choice. Security doors
blocked Anlon off. Even if we had time to get him, we would've
gotten caught. They somehow found out that Kanti was the Princess,
once they knew that, we knew we had to get off the ship. Camillus
sacrificed himself in order for us to escape,” Nimesha said.

“I’ve heard some about the humanoid, but not
much.”