Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (36 page)

“We're going to lure them into the forests.
We've scouted them, and we’ve found many spots where we'll be at an
advantage. We’ll finish setting up traps throughout and lead them
right into the war vehicles,” Ludwig said.

“We’ll scatter our rebels throughout the
entire forest. That's where we feel where we'll be at our biggest
advantage,” Yvette continued. “We’ll keep most of the rebels hidden
until the crodillians have run into the war vehicles. Once they see
they've run into that trap, they'll be boxed in when they try to
retreat. There will be no way for them to escape and they’ll have
to face us on our terms. Hopefully the panic makes them think
irrationally for some time. If so, we should be able to eliminate a
good number of them before they get somewhat organized again.”

“I like the idea. It’s actually pretty
similar to what we came up with here,” Pyrrhus said. “But there’s a
part of my plan that may hurt yours. I don’t know if you planned
for it, but you need to know about it.”

“What do you mean?” Zarah asked.

“Our plan on Ares, is to get all but one of
the fleets to leave us, which means one will most likely head to
Hermes. You don't have an entire fleet of crodillians on your
planet right now, only a few thousand. Once the fleet arrives, that
few thousand will go up quite a bit. You’ll be greatly outnumbered
and you’ll be on your own for some time.”

“Why would they come back here? There’s
other planets they could go to,” Zarah replied.

“Your base is one of the two biggest
rebellion forces we’ve established. Once you rebel, they’ll quickly
find out you pose one of the greatest threats. Our plan is for one
of the fleets to attack you on Hermes.”

“You actually want them to attack us?” Zarah
exclaimed.

“You won’t fight them on your own for long.
We’ll come to your aid once we’ve won here, but it’ll still be a
good amount of time to hold them off.”

“We could already be wiped out by then!”
Yvette said. “Are we just here as some sort of distraction?
Bait?”

“No!” Pyrrhus replied. “You will be
successful. You can hold them off until we arrive. I truly believe
you can. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't have come up with
this plan. Everything that’s been put together depends on trust and
all the rebellions acting as one. None of us can give up hope or
doubt the other. We must trust one another and believe we’ll get
through.”

“We can hold them. We’ll have to change our
plan some, but we can still use the forest to our advantage. The
only thing we really need to change is how soon we reveal our true
numbers and maybe expand how much forest we fight over. Thin the
enemy out some,” Ludwig stroked his chin.

“Dorjan is also helping us,” Zarah said.
“He's going to bug the crodillians' base. We'll know what they're
doing as they're doing it. We’ll be outnumbered, but knowing there
moves could allow us to hold them off until you finish your
battle.”

A sly grin inched across Pyrrhus’ face.
“See, I knew you'd be able to handle it.”

“We have yet to see if we can handle it. You
should've told us much sooner than now what your plan was,” Yvette
said.

“We’ve only just now finished it. Ares is
the only planet left to be conquered and I believe it was
intentional. The time is near for our rebellion to spring into
action and the enemy can feel it.”

“We'll be ready to strike when you give the
word,” Zarah said. “We’ll make our adjustments quickly.”

“The Princess will be giving a message soon.
Let your entire base see it. It’ll give them hope. We’ll send it
out to every planet in Orion in hopes that it brings in more rebels
to the fight. Once it's sent out, be prepared to fight. Kanti’s
speech will be the signal for the beginning of the rebellion.”

“We'll be ready. Don’t you worry,” Zarah
smiled widely.

The image of Pyrrhus blinked off the wall
and left Zarah alone with her officers. She could see the fight
burning in their eyes, despite what Pyrrhus had just told them
about the fleet and how long they’d have to hold enemy back. They
were ready to fight, and she knew they'd fight well. All of their
training would finally get to be used and they'd get revenge on the
crodillians for killing loved ones and destroying homes.

“Go tell all of the races to get ready for
the rebellion,” she told them. “The second Pyrrhus gives us the
word, we’ll strike, not one moment later. Prep the vehicles and
update all on the battle plan. The time is near.”

Ludwig and Yvette gave her a quick nod and
left the room, with the others following close behind. She hadn't
been prepared for what Pyrrhus had told them, but she believed in
her officers and rebels. Though they would be in combat with more
forces than expected, she truly believed they stood a chance if
Dorjan succeeded in bugging the crodillians' base. Without the
bugs, winning would be hard, no matter what Pyrrhus tried to tell
them. Either way, she was ready to lay down her life so Orion could
be freed of these monsters. She knew every other rebel on the base
felt the same way. There was no other group of races she'd want to
lead into this rebellion. This was now here family.

Jahdiel saw Hermes quickly approaching
through the cockpit. The planet was illuminated with light, but
seemed quieter than it should be for the planet of trade. Not a
single ship was in orbit and from where she was at, she couldn’t
see any in the planet’s airspace either. No commotion on land nor
air. Calmness was all she saw and that wasn’t a good sign of things
to come for the crodillians.

Mixed feelings had washed over Jahdiel since
last talking to the Queen on Hera. When she’d first arrived, she
wanted to burn every planet, but now, she knew her mind had been
clouded with hate. She’d lacked facts, and for fifteen long and
brutal years, she knew nothing but hate and lies. In only a few
short months, all of that had changed. Fighting for the crodillians
was something she no longer wanted to do, but she was shackled.
There was no other option but to play along for the time being.

It wasn't until Merikh had started treating
her differently did she realize her grave mistakes. Luckily, she
still had a chance to live, unlike the Queen whose death she was
ultimately responsible for. It was her who’d led the crodillians to
victory in the last galaxy, and it was her who’d brought death and
destruction to this one. For fifteen years she’d been a puppet,
always in the claws of Merikh. Only one choice stood before her now
and it pained her more than she could’ve imagined months ago. She
had to finish what she started and take over the remaining planets
in Orion. If she didn’t, she’d be killed and the crodillians would
finish the job.

“Tell the pilots to man their ships,” she
said down to the deck below her. “They are to take the planet
peacefully. Do not engage unless engaged upon.”

The crodillians below her relayed the
message to the pilots and fighter’s and bomber’s streamed from the
Colchian, quickly descending upon Hermes. From here, she saw no
resistance, but she couldn't see on the planet itself. She pulled
up imagery on one of the bombers and watched his feed.

Hermes was eerily quiet, not a race to be
seen for as far as the eye could see. She didn't think there'd be
many out after Merikh's message, but being this quiet was quite a
surprise. The bomber continued to fly over the land, only to find
more empty cities and green forests. Every race had either gone
into hiding or they’d abandoned the planet.

She saw a bomber begin to drop bombs on the
city her feed was approaching. “What are they doing!” She shouted,
standing up and grabbing the rail in front of her. “Tell them to
stop now!”

The crodillians below sent a message to the
ships, but the bombing took several minutes to seize. She clenched
her fists, knowing that whoever was in that bomber had deliberately
disobeyed her. This was no accident and she wouldn't let it slip.
It was time for her to make a point. This was her fleet and she was
ready to let them all know it, even if they wanted to kill her for
it.

“Call them back,” she ordered.

One of the crodillians looked up. “You want
us to stop the invasion?”

“Yes! Tell them all to come back to the
Colchian now! And whoever was flying that bomber is to report to
me
as soon as they arrive back.”

She saw the crodillians reluctantly send the
message to the invading fighters and bombers and they obeyed the
order and docked the Colchian within minutes. Jahdiel sat in her
seat and stared out to Hermes. She waited for the crodillian who’d
defied her to come, but after several minutes she knew he wouldn’t
see her. The crodillians below were whispering softly, as if hiding
something from her.

“Do you not think I can hear you? Is there
something you want to tell me?”

Several of them looked up to her, but none
responded. They knew something she didn't and they were obviously
trying to keep it from her. Leading them was becoming more
difficult every day. Somehow, they’d all forgotten who helped them
win their war back in the other galaxy, and now she was about to
remind them of that ruthless woman. What they thought of her no
longer mattered to her. Only a short time remained for her to lead
and she was going to make sure each one of them obeyed future
orders without a second thought.

“Where is the pilot that broke my order?”
She demanded. “
Why
isn't the pilot here in front of me?”

“We aren't sure who dropped the bombs. There
was so much going on that we weren't able to pinpoint it,” one of
the crew responded.

“Then I suggest you find out quickly,” she
glared. “Starting now.”

The crodillians looked back and forth to
each other and then each looked up to her simultaneously. “There's
no way we can find out, Jahdiel. The ships are unmarked and we
can’t know for certain who did it.”

She turned around to leave the cockpit.
“Then I’ll find out for myself who did it.”

Jahdiel marched down the halls to the hangar
where all the pilots were gathered, waiting for her to arrive. One
stood out from the rest, and she immediately knew he was the one
who had defied her. He stood in front of the others, chest puffed
out, and eyes drilling through her. Obviously, he thought he was
above her, but was he wrong.

“Which one of you fired after I gave
specific orders against it?”

“You said we could engage if engaged upon
first,” one of the crodillians in the group said.

“I did say that,” she nodded. “But do you
think I'm dumb enough to believe that rebels engaged you? There
wasn't a single race to be seen! You disobeyed a direct order and
now you’re trying to cover it up by lying to my face.”

“The Queen called for a rebellion. This is
what Merikh would want,” the pilot standing at the front of the
group said.

“Merikh demanded peace, and unless my eyes
were deceiving me, and I promise you they weren't, there
was
peace! Not a single rebel even emerged to fight you. You fired upon
them without being provoked.”

“We are carrying out Merikh's direct orders.
We’re doing his will and we don't care if we kill your kind,” he
replied.

“
My
kind?” She repeated in a mocking
tone. “Do you not remember who led you to success back in your home
galaxy?”

“I remember very well,” he nodded. “Merikh
did, not you. It was him who led us to victory. You did no more
than the rest of us.”

She clenched her fists and took in a deep
breath. “You see me as weak now, don't you? I’m no longer fit to
lead because I'm not burning and killing every living thing there
is. Well, get used to it. That's what
your
leader
wants.”

“You show your weakness by not allowing us
to bomb a planet that will aid the Queen's rebellion. If you were
strong, you would side with us. Merikh won’t care if we bomb one
planet in order to make a point.”

Jahdiel walked towards him, pulling a blade
from her side, and drove it through his heart. “Am I weak now? Am I
no longer fit to lead you?” She looked around the group with fire
in her eyes. “This is
my
Colchian and you will follow
my
orders. If you disobey one of my orders, I will kill you.
There are no more second chances.”

She pulled the blade out of the pilot and
moved out of the way as his lifeless body dropped to the floor with
a thud. She glared at the other crodillians and saw a new look in
their eyes: hate. Rage was burning in their eyes and she knew they
wanted to kill her, but they couldn't. They had to obey her. This
was her ship and she’d just shown what happened to any that defied
her.

“Go back down to Hermes and take it over
peacefully
. Don’t make me use another one of you as an
example because I have no problem with killing any of you.”