Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (9 page)

“Tell the rest of the Council to get in here
quickly,” Alura ordered. “We need to make sure this is what we want
to do before we commit to it. Once we begin, there won’t be any
turning back.”

Aldrick nodded and pulled out his comlink.
He sent the remaining members a message to arrive as quickly as
possible. It didn't take long for them to arrive, considering they
were in an underwater Palace with few places to wander off to.

Aldrick looked around to make sure that they
were all present before he spoke. “We’ve just received a call from
Pyrrhus.”

“He's alive?” Bertrade asked. “I thought
that he died back on Hera with the rest of the military.”

“As did we, but we just saw him and spoke
with him,” Alura said. “I can assure you that he is very much alive
and well.”

“Pyrrhus insisted the Queen doesn't want us
to lay down our weapons and surrender to the crodillians. Instead,
he believes, as do I now, that the Queen wants us to rebel against
this enemy.”

“Then why would she send out a message for
peace?” Aida asked. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“So we have time and assurance that we won't
be killed,” Saidi said aloud.

“So, you believe it to?” Hildereth
asked.

“Yes,” Saidi shook her head. “I’ve been
listening to the speech over and over, and the more that I listen
to it, the more I think she wants us to rebel. The way she said
things, voice inflections, gestures, it all leads me to believe she
wants us to take back what’s ours.”

“What things makes you think that?” Alura
asked. “I heard or saw nothing that encouraged rebelling.”

“She said small rebellions will lead to
death, that was her trying to say, create a large, strong,
rebellion that stands a chance. I think that, because at the
beginning of the speech, she said we don't have a chance
right
now
. If we can establish a strong rebellion on every planet,
then we do stand a chance,” Saidi said. “The last thing she said
is,
if
we get caught then they'll be merciless, so we have
to keep the rebellion hidden from them. Nowhere in her speech did
she tell us to give up all hope, she was telling us discreetly to
be smart and not get caught.”

“She bought us time,” Aldrick said. “Pyrrhus
believed the same thing and contacted us so that he could
personally start forming a rebellion force.”

“That's great,” Saidi said. “The crodillians
will never expect it after the message the Queen sent out, not if
all stay calm.”

“What about if we get caught?” Alura
asked.

“It's a risk we have to take. It's also a
risk that Adira would want us to take,” Saidi said. “She brought
almost every ship to Hera to take the crodillians out in one flail
swoop, so I know she wouldn't want us to give up hope.”

“There are risks in war,” Hildereth said.
“Right now, we don't have a choice but to take big risks. There are
no small risks in any decision we make from here on out.”

“But the crodillians have asked for peace,”
Alura said.

“They demanded peace or death,” Aldrick
said. “They didn’t ask us anything. Adira took the chance to buy us
time. There’s no other reason why she’d request we all surrender
without a fight.”

“If the crodillians think the peace is real,
they'll never see us coming. Especially if they don't know about
the few hundred ships on Ares. I promise you, she’d give her life
before revealing that.”

“I'm guessing that the rest of you are also
sided with Pyrrhus?” Alura asked.

The entire Council shook their heads. Alura
let out a deep breath and shook her head. “Then let's make sure
this rebellion is done right and succeeds. I’ll contact Anlon and
tell him to get to his information quickly.”

“Alura?” Anlon asked. “We haven't gotten the
information yet. We're still traveling without sonodrive.”

“Well, initiate sonodrive and get to Ovrea
as quickly as you can and find the Elders,” she ordered him.

“What about the crodillians? What if we get
out of the jump in the middle of a fleet? Falcone hasn’t received
any responses from other ships in the area yet.”

“They've just said they won't kill any more
races, you'll be fine. Just get there as quickly as you can.”

“What are you talking about?” Anlon asked.
“They want peace?”

“The Queen sent out a message to Orion
requesting peace on behalf of the crodillians. They want no more
bloodshed, which gives us the chance to set up rebellion forces,
but we also need that information from the Elders.”

“What are we...,” Anlon started to ask,
before he was cut off.

“Just get to Ovrea as quickly as you can and
we'll answer all of your questions when you get back. Travel is
safe again in Orion, and that's all that you need to know for the
time being.”

Anlon nodded and hung up the comlink. He
quickly left the room he was training in and rushed to the cockpit
of the ship where Falcone and Nimesha were bragging to each other
about their pasts. He pushed his way in-between them and cleared
his throat obnoxiously when they didn’t respond to him.

“What do you need?” Nimesha asked. “When I
said it was going to be a while before we got there, I meant
it.”

“We need to initiate sonodrive now,” Anlon
told them.

“I'm not initiating sonodrive until I get a
response back from another pilot. I’m not going to be locked up in
some crodillian cell so they can eat me.”

“It's fine,” Anlon assured them. “They've
asked for peace. We can travel safely now.”

“The crodillians asked for peace?” Nimesha
laughed. “Who told you that?”

“Alura just called me and told me the Queen
sent out a message for peace all over Orion,” Anlon said. “Alura
said we need to get the information from the Elders as quickly as
we can. Time isn’t something we have to waste anymore.”

Nimesha looked to Falcone. “That was
unexpected. Why does Alura want us to get the information so
quickly? If they want peace, does it really matter how long it
takes us?”

“I don't know,” Anlon shrugged. “She won't
tell me anything else until we come back with information.”

“Well,” Falcone looked to Nimesha and
shrugged. “Initiate sonodrive. We're about to find out what's on
the other side.”

Nimesha chuckled and pressed the button to
activate sonodrive.
Drakos Mavros
lurched forward and white
lines streamed past them through the cockpit window in blurs. Anlon
turned around and took a seat close to the cockpit. He knew it
wouldn't be much longer until they arrived on Ovrea now that they
were using sonodrive and he wanted to be ready to go as soon as
they touched down. He didn't trust the crodillians would be
peaceful and didn't want to take any longer than he had to get this
information.

Pyrrhus and Prime Minister Gidon called
everyone into the Debate Hall to discuss battle plans. Many
gathered already knew what was going to be said because the leaders
present during the call had told others and it’d spread like
wildfire. Still, there were some who didn't believe and the meeting
had to be called to make sure everyone was on the same page.

Pyrrhus stood on the stage behind a podium
with the Prime Minister close by his side. Leaders were quickly
filing into the room, trying to get the best spot possible to see
those on stage. All the tables and equipment that had been
scattered around the room were now moved out of the way to create
as much space as possible. Once Pyrrhus saw that leaders had
stopped entering the room, he got ready to make his speech.

“A lot of you already know what's going on,
but I still have to make sure that everyone us up to date,” he
started. “I’ve talked with the Council and they’ve sided with me in
not attacking the crodillians right now, as those who were present
can confirm. I did tell them that we’ll eventually attack, but a
few things must be done first.”

The room darkened and a screen came on
behind Pyrrhus. He moved over so that everyone could see a map of
Orion displayed. It was zoomed out, making every planet visible.
Several areas were marked red, Demeter being completely crossed
out, and a skull in Hera’s place.

“The crodillians have taken over four
planets already and will take over the remaining planets very soon,
including Ares. I’ve decided that instead of waiting around for
that to happen, I'm going to start getting rebellion forces
established on as many planets as I can,” he pulled out a laser and
pointed to a planet. “Hermes will be the first planet I travel to
following this meeting. It hasn't been conquered yet, and there is
a concealed base in the woods where all rebels will be safe. My
plan is to get there before the crodillians so I can get as many
races moved as possible,” he looked around the room to look for any
who were against his idea, but found none. “After Hermes, I’ll go
to Gaea. Though it’s already been conquered, the crodillians have
said that peace will ensue on every planet. I know an excellent
base where survivors can gather without crodillian knowledge. From
there, I’ll travel to the remaining planets and set up base after
base until I feel we are strong enough to put up a fight.”

“If the crodillians find out, they'll kill
you and anyone that’s planning to rebel,” someone in the audience
said.

“Yes,” Pyrrhus nodded. “But it is only a
matter of time before the crodillians break their promise of peace
and start killing innocents again. When they decide to do that,
we'll be prepared. Either way, we're going to strike them, so if
you’re not with us, I suggest you leave now and find someplace
where neither of us can get to you. The Queen has bought us time
for one reason, and one reason only. We’re going to fight. We’re
going to take our homes back.”

“How soon will we strike them?” Another
member of the audience asked.

“As soon as we can,” Pyrrhus told them.
“We're gathering information right now on possible ways to defeat
them. By the time that's done, I should be close to finishing the
establishment of bases. We won't strike as soon as I'm done because
we'll have to get a battle plan in place, but we’ll attack soon
after I’ve wrapped up,” he looked around the room for anymore
questions. “Prime Minister Gidon will be in charge while I'm gone.
He knows what the Council wants, so don't push for things that
won't happen. When the time to strike comes, you will all know. Be
patient and don’t give up hope.”

Pyrrhus stepped down from the stage and made
his way through the thick crowd of leaders. He exited the Debate
Hall and headed directly towards the hangar without a word to
anyone. When he arrived, he saw his ship already fired up and ready
for take-off. He boarded and sat down next to the pilot.

“Where are we headed to?” The pilot
asked.

“Take me to Hermes,” Pyrrhus answered. “We
have a rebellion to start.”

Anlon stood up when he felt
Drakos
Mavros
decelerate from sonodrive. He quickly ran up behind
Falcone and Nimesha to see if there were any enemy ships already at
Ovrea. All that loomed before them was a bright white and blue
planet.

“Well,” Falcone said. “Looks like we got
lucky. No crodillians in sight.”

“You're saying,” Nimesha smiled and let out
a laugh. “There's not a ship to be seen for miles, but that could
change at any moment.”

Camillus and Kanti approached them from
behind. They both looked out the window over his shoulder and were
also surprised that there were no ships. The area was lifeless,
silent. It was the complete opposite of the rest of the galaxy, but
Nimesha was right, it could change in the blink of an eye.

“Now that we're here, where do we go,
Camillus?” Falcone asked. “It was your idea to come here, now tell
me where to land this beauty.”

“It's right there,” Camillus pointed to the
South end of Ovrea covered in the whitest snow. “Just land there.
I'll direct better once we're in Ovrean airspace.”