Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (8 page)

Donnchadh looked down at his holopad to read
all of the current news. He saw Gaea had just been ravaged and
taken over, but before he could read the article and look at
pictures, new urgent news streamed across his device. This wasn't
news from the angry races of Orion, it had been posted by Merikh
himself. Donnchadh clicked the news article and saw it was a video.
He watched it and immediately got up to see what he rest of the
crew was doing. Unfortunately, they’d all seen the video too and
weren't happy in the least bit.

“What's this?” One of the races yelled. “We
don't want peace! We want revenge! We want to kill!”

“Calm down,” Donnchadh urged. “This doesn't
mean that there will be peace.”

“Who would be foolish enough not to take a
peace offering from the crodillians?” Another asked. “Look what
they’ve done to the planets they’ve already taken over.”

“Yes, but that will be even more reason for
the rest not to come peacefully,” Donnchadh told them all. “Do you
really think these races will lie down and be taken over
peacefully
after witnessing the death of close friends and
family? I don't think they will. In fact, I know they'll all
rebel.”

“Donnchadh is right,” Kellagh said. “I’ve
been keeping up with reports of planets and so far every one of
them has had some type of rebellion. You'll get your bloodshed, as
will I and the crodillians.”

“And look at the Queen in the video,”
Donnchadh pointed out. “She looks frail, beaten, and is chained
like a slave. This isn’t what she wants, she was forced to say it
and every race can tell by one quick glance. Just be patient and
you’ll get your bloodshed.”

Once Donnchadh saw his crew calm some and he
went back into his bunker. He sat at his desk and stared at the
wall blankly. If Merikh really did want peace, this could change
things quite a bit. The Queen would most likely stay alive, even if
Jahdiel did want her dead, and Donnchadh could just bring back
Kirill. He could let the Deimos Brotherhood stay under the radar
for a while, claiming they were all gone. There would be larger
rebellions eventually, if not right away, and the Deimos
Brotherhood would be a good ally to have against the
crodillians.

Donnchadh got out of his chair and started
to pace the room. He wanted to help aid in a rebellion and being
inside with the crodillians would give Orion an advantage. It would
be dangerous for him, and if he got caught he would surely be
killed, along with anyone he contacted. It’d be worth it though,
especially if the crodillian leader thought peace was a
possibility. Donnchadh knew what the chances of that would be, but
if Orion could fake it, they could strike with the element of
surprise.

Pyrrhus stood with the Prime Minister as he
called the Queen's Council to discuss the rebellion plans. They’d
all just seen the message from the Queen, and deep down, he
believed it was a message with a message with hidden meaning.
Obviously she’d been forced to say what she did, but the way she
said it and the look in her eyes, told him all he needed to know.
Several things she’d spoken could be taken one of two ways and he
was going to take it the way he thought best for Orion.

As of right now, things were bleak, but it
was only the beginning. With that speech, she’d bought not only him
time, but the entire galaxy. He needed to relay to all races to
abide by what she’d ordered so that they’d stand a chance. If they
could trick the crodillians into thinking they’d lay down their
weapons, all the better. For the first time in several weeks,
things were starting to look good for the rebels.

Aldrick’s image appeared on the screen
displayed in front of all races that’d wanted to listen in. “How’d
you know we weren't killed on Hera, Prime Minister Gidon?”

“He didn't. I did,” Pyrrhus said. “I knew
that you were on Nesoi and I'm trying to make sure that the leaders
gathered here on Ares make the right choices in our upcoming
rebellion.”

“Pyrrhus?” Hildereth, the quierleon Council
member asked. “We all thought that you were dead. How did you
survive? We had multiple reports that all fleets were destroyed and
survivors were hunted down.”

“I left my ship before the battle was over,”
he hung his head. “It was apparent we were greatly mistaken about
their power, as they quickly took ships down with ease. I was able
to escape before my ship was destroyed and I came straight to
Ares.”

“You were right to leave,” Aldrick said.
“You didn't believe that all the ships should have been brought to
Hera in the first place. If not for you, we wouldn't even have
ships hidden on Ares. We should’ve pressed the Queen harder to heed
to your advice.”

“Well, that's why I'm contacting you. I
think it’s time we prepare for the inevitable.”

“You want to use those ships already?”
Reginold asked. “Even after the Queen just sent out the message for
peace?”

“No,” Pyrrhus assured them. “But there are
others here on Ares who want to foolishly send out the last hope we
have. If I hadn’t made here when I had, every one of those ships
would be on their way to Hera.”

“The ships stay on Ares,” Aldrick said
sternly. “The Queen put us in charge and that's what all of the
Council will want. If any on Ares have questions or concerns, then
send them here to speak with us. We’ll give you our location if you
really need it.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, but I
want to use those ships soon,” he said. “First, I want to get a
rebellion force established throughout Orion, then we can worry
about the ships.”

“You want to rebel after the Queen said not
to?” Alura asked, coming into the screen for the first time.

“I believe that the Queen is only buying us
time. She knows we’ll rebel, and by giving that speech, she’s
allowing Orion to recover from recent attacks and band together for
one last fight.”

“The only message she sent to us was to be
at peace with the crodillians. How hard is that to understand?”
Alura asked.

“Adira would never want us to lay down and
surrender,” Aldrick looked to Alura. “I believe that Pyrrhus may be
right. We know Adira well, and I promise you, she’d rather die than
hand over the Throne to monsters.”

“Even if he is right, they said that they
haven't shown their true power yet. How are we to stand a chance
against them when they have only been toying with us?”

“Anlon is getting information that may help
us if we do end up needing it,” Reginold revealed to Pyrrhus.

“Yes, you’re right,” Alura nodded. “But you
seem to have forgotten he has the Princess with him. Once the
crodillians find out, what are the chances he returns to us?”

“What are you talking about?” Pyrrhus asked.
“What did you send them to get?”

Alura let out a breath. “They think that the
Elders can help by revealing information about how the crodillians
were defeated last time. It’s a long shot, but they were never
going to stay here.”

“That was a long time ago,” Pyrrhus
said.

“Even if none of the originals are alive,
they'll have passed the information down to the other Elders,”
Hildereth replied. “They pride themselves in their history, but
rarely take part in the present.”

“Why don't you just contact them by
comlink?” Pyrrhus asked. “It’d save a trip and you’d get your
information much quicker.”

“They like to stay completely secluded from
the rest of Orion,” Aldrick said. “Even if we tried, we’d never get
through to them. The only way to speak to them is in person. That's
why we sent Anlon and his friends, though the Princess was never
supposed to go along. She defied out direct orders.”

“Do you believe the Elders will have any
valuable information?” Pyrrhus asked all of them. “I can't remember
the last time anyone mentioned them contributing to the good of
Orion. This is the first time I’ve heard of them since I was a
child.”

“We don't have many other options right
now,” Alura said. “Maybe with their lives on the line they will
help us.”

“If you sent Anlon to get information on how
to defeat the crodillians, that means you’ve planned to use the
ships on Ares the entire time.”

“Yes. We have been contemplating about it,”
Alura nodded. “But that was before the Queen's message. We’ve
spoken, and we believe it's best that we follow what the Queen has
told us. If Anlon does get information, we’ll have it for later
use, if need be.”

“Let me set up rebellions!” Pyrrhus urged.
“The crodillians will never stay peaceful for long, no matter what
you tell yourselves. Adira bought us time and spared millions of
lives! She wants us to rebel, I promise you that. We can't squander
our chance because the crodillians claim that they want peace. By
the time other realize it was a lie, it’ll be too late to stop them
from killing every last one of us.”

“They'll burn our planets if we rebel!”
Alura stared with fear in her eyes. “Look at what happened to Gaea
because
they
rebelled! That was only a small group willing
to risk their lives and they lost not just theirs, but thousands of
others who wanted no part.”

“They were seen,” Pyrrhus said. “If they let
us live our lives normally, I can set up hidden bases on the
planets. If they don't see they rebellion forming, how are they
going to punish us? They don’t know this galaxy like we do.”

“I'm sorry Alura, Pyrrhus is right,” Aldrick
said. “Things have changed since we spoke last about what course of
action to take. We need to be ready when the crodillians do decide
to change their minds.”

“It's foolish,” Alura shook her head.
“What’ll happen to all of the innocents if we get caught? Have you
that about that?”

“What will happen when the crodillians
decide to break their promise and we aren't prepared?” Hildereth
asked this time. “Look what happened to us last time we weren't
prepared. We barely survived! How are we supposed to sit around
while we have a chance to take our homes back and save millions of
lives?”

“We won't get caught,” Pyrrhus said. “I know
of many hidden military bases where we can gather thousands of
rebels without raising any suspicion. Once the rebels are there,
they'll never have to leave for anything. There’s only a slim
chance we will get caught, but it's what Adira wants us to do. She
doesn't want us to wait idly, she wants us to prepare for war.”

“How are you going to do this?” Alura asked.
“I mean, setting up rebellion forces? That’ll take months of
traveling from planet to planet.”

“If they're really going to let us live out
our lives normally, that means that we can travel right?”

Alura shrugged. “I guess so, go on.”

“That means that I can travel to planets as
a merchant and find those who want to rebel. I'll gather them up
and send them to bases to get ready to strike when the time is
right.”

“How are you going to find these races
without the crodillians finding out?” Alura asked. “Word will
spread you're gathering rebel forces, and don’t be fooled, the
crodillians will catch wind of it.”

“Do you really think that it'll be that hard
to keep quiet?” Aldrick asked. “Families have been torn apart and
homes have been destroyed. There will be more than enough races
that want to rebel, and no race would dare speak about this where a
crodillian can overhear.”

“He's right,” Pyrrhus said. “I'll be able to
find races fairly easily, and from there they can find others. I
don't need to find every rebel, or go to every corner of every
planet, I just need to find a few and be certain they’re able to
lead.”

“So I guess that means there’s no chance you
send someone else to do this in your place?” Alura asked.

“That’s correct,” Pyrrhus nodded. “I need to
make sure that this is done without mistakes. There’s no margin for
error, not now, not ever.”

“You do know you’re the best General we
have, and if you die, the only military leader with a
ny
experience in fighting the crodillians will be gone. There’ll be no
way we stand a chance in winning this war if that happens.”

“If Anlon is able to get information from
the Elders, any General should be able to lead an attack, you won't
need me. You already have everything you need to win.”

“We would prefer to have you leading the
attacks,” Aldrick said. “You'll know what to be prepared for.
Information will only go so far.”

“If the crodillians are true to their word,
then I'll be fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“You're willing to put your life on the line
because they gave their word?” Alura shook her head. “I don't think
they're very trustworthy.”

“They're not,” Pyrrhus agreed. “But they may
keep their word long enough for me to get done what needs to be
done.”

“Fine,” Alura raised up her hands. “Go set
up rebellion forces, the rest of the Council will get together and
talk about changing our plans now that you’re alive. You seem to
have convinced two already, and I'm sure others will agree with you
once we speak.”

“Thank you,” Pyrrhus smiled. “I’ll let the
other leaders know what I'm doing and what you've ordered. I’ll set
up the forces as quickly as I can.”

“Good luck, Pyrrhus,” Aldrick said. “You're
going to need it.”