Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (11 page)

Maolmordha had four orange eyes, and his
skin was a burnt black with some hues of yellow visible underneath.
His skin was scaly and cracked with red fluid seeping through the
gaps. The crodillian’s body was disproportionate, with one arm
twice the size as the other, and it looked more like an oversized
club than an arm. Maolmordha was a monster, by looks and on the
inside, but he was exactly what Jahdiel needed.

“We're going to leave now, Maolmordha,”
Jahdiel told him. “We're going straight to Ovrea. I've already
marked it on your map for you,” she looked over to the other two
General's. “You can go up to your ships and make sure your crew is
ready for war, if it comes to that.”

They nodded to her and she got on her
transport ship without another word. She flew up to her Colchian
and prepared to leave for Ovrea. She’d already called ahead of time
and told the Captain that they’d be leaving today, but she wasn't
sure at the time if she would be conquering planets alone or not.
Unfortunately, she wouldn't be, but that wasn't her call and she
wasn't going to argue it any further. Once on board, she made her
way to the Command Deck where the crodillian crew was eagerly
waiting for the orders to depart.

She stood in front of her seat with her arms
behind her back. “Get the Colchian ready to go to Ovrea at once.
Once we arrive, we’ll wait for Maolmordha's Colchian to exit his
jump. You’ll receive further orders at that point.”

She sat down in her chair and prepared for
the jump. It was going to be slow conquering one planet at a time,
especially if rebellion broke out. It’d be very boring going from
planet to planet if there was no action, so she hoped there was
rebellion, but if there wasn’t she’d make sure it was done right.
She felt the ship starting to engage and prepared to see what, if
anything, was waiting for her at Ovrea.

Donnchadh called Kirill for the first time
since his failed assassination attempt on Queen Adira. He never
thought he'd talk to him again, but he needed to warn Kirill not to
attack. If his crew had been disappointed with the Queen's message,
he didn't want to see the crodillians' reactions when they’d seen.
It was his job to make sure Kirill was aware that the surrender
wasn’t an actual surrender, it was a strategic move. If he wasn't
smart and ignored his advice, all of the ships would destroy the
Deimos Brotherhood in the blink of an eye before moving on the rest
of Erebos.

Kirill's image popped up on the comlink.
“Donnchadh? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” he replied. “I need to tell
you something important and you need to listen carefully.”

“How'd you survive?” Kirill ignored him. “I
thought you were sent to Keres. How did you get off alive?”

“The crodillians took any prisoners willing
to help them and killed all of the others.”

“You're with the crodillians? I didn't think
you were one of the lucky ones,” Kirill grinned. “Is that why
you're contacting me? Are you going to get me in there with
them?”

“Not the way that you're hoping. But if you
listen to me, I’m sure you can get what you want.”

Kirill's grin disappeared. “What do you
mean? Why are you contacting me?”

“I've been sent to capture you and bring you
to Merikh, where Jahdiel will end up killing you,” Donnchadh
skipped all the other details.

“So, you're coming to kill me is what you're
saying?”

“No,” Donnchadh shook his head. “I’m buying
time. The Queen needs it if we’re to start a rebellion.”

“You’re what?” Kirill's face started to
redden. “You're helping the Queen? How dare you betray me and work
for the Queen after I sent you to kill her. Why would you even
contact me?”

“Because I’m trying to save Orion,”
Donnchadh tried to calm him down. “I have something else planned
that may work now that Merikh seems to want peace, though I highly
doubt that that’s long term.”

“What are you waiting for? Tell me before I
hang up.”

“We're almost to Erebos right now,” he said
quickly. “The crodillians have been ordered to take you peacefully
unless you resist. If there’s any sign of resistance, they’ll kill
you and every member of the Deimos Brotherhood. I need you to
surrender peacefully.”

“Why? So you can transport me easier and
have me killed?”

“Hear me out,” Donnchadh urged him. “If you
come peacefully, then the Deimos Brotherhood won’t be wiped out.
You can try to cut some type of deal with Merikh since he wants
peace. That’ll buy me time to organize a rebellion and the Deimos
Brotherhood could be a valuable asset to a successful
rebellion.”

“You want me to pretend to make a deal with
Merikh so you can start a rebellion?” Kirill started to laugh. “You
really think that's going to work?”

“They trust me,” Donnchadh said. “I'm
leading the ships that are coming to take you. They’ve put me in
command.”

Kirill thought for a moment. “I guess it
could work. Do you think Merikh will actually listen to me and
strike a deal?”

Donnchadh nodded. “Convince him that you
have services he can't live without. If you do that, there's no
reason for him to kill you.”

“Then there's Jahdiel,” Kirill pointed out.
“I kind of screwed her a while back. That’s something that can’t
really be forgiven.”

“I'm sure you two can work something
out.”

“I can always have her killed, I guess,”
Kirill shrugged. “I’ll have it made look like an accident.”

Donnchadh ignored the comment. “Just know
that whatever deal you make is only temporary. We can't let the
crodillians take total control of Orion. I'm sure that even you
know that.”

“How much longer until you arrive on
Erebos?”

“Soon,” Donnchadh answered. “Are you going
to do what I told you?”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Kirill waved his hand.
“Surrender peacefully so we can get rid of the crodillians once and
for all.”

“I'll call you again right before we land,”
Donnchadh hung up.

He’d expected Kirill to follow along with
his plan. Though he wasn't much different than Merikh deep down,
he’d always be up for a plan that had the potential to put him in
power. With the crodillians in control, he had absolutely no chance
to be in power. They were much more powerful than any enemy he had
ever faced. Kirill wasn't old, but Donnchadh knew that he couldn't
be patient much longer. He’d never truly get the chance to rule,
but he was needed in order to put together a rebellion, and if he
thought there was a chance for power, Donnchadh would allow him to
think it.

He let out a breath and sunk his face into
his black hands. He was scared and wanted to do what the
crodillians told him and be done, but he couldn't. He’d followed
twisted, cruel, orders enough in his life. He was treading very
dangerous waters right now, but if he didn't, who would? The videos
of Gaea were only a small example of would happen to rebellions. He
was sure almost every race would obey any order give, so that left
only him. Races couldn't give up like this and someone had to risk
their life to save Orion, otherwise they were all doomed. Pasts no
longer mattered, even if he was one of the biggest traitors in
Orion's history.

Kirill immediately called his contact who’d
been out of touch with him since around the time of the attack on
Hera.

The contact's blue image popped up. “It's
not safe to be contacting me, Kirill. There's a reason I haven't
reached out to you yet.”

“I think it's safe.”

“They've killed everyone else in the Palace
except for the Queen! Please tell me how I'm safe from these
monsters.”

“They haven't killed you yet, you'll be
fine.”

“The only reason they haven't killed me is
because they haven't found the secret tunnels yet! If they find
them, then I'll end up like the rest of the Palace. Tortured to
death in the dungeons and left to rot away.”

Kirill ignored him, knowing he was blowing
things way out of proportion. Sure the crodillians were probably
killing everything they saw, but his contact was safe from harm.
The tunnels were well hidden. “We have more important things to
discuss. If you want, we can talk about your tragic situation
after.”

“Don’t mock me! You have no idea what it’s
like hiding like a rat,” the contact let out a long, exasperated,
breath. “What do you need to talk to me about? If you’re still
thinking about taking Adira’s spot on the Throne, I hate to tell
you, but that’s out of the question.”

“No. No. I don't want to discuss that quite
yet,” Kirill waved his hands. “Donnchadh is still alive. The
crodillians freed him from his imprisonment.”

“What? You've seen him?”

“He just contacted me!” Kirill revealed. “He
wants me to surrender to the crodillians.”

“He's working for the crodillians now?” The
contact asked.

“I'm not really sure who he works for,” he
shrugged. “He said they freed him from Keres and now he's leading a
bunch of ships to capture me. Maybe he’s just helping them, but I
know him, he has other motives driving him.”

“Why would the crodillians send him to get
you? They have their own for that. They’ve proven to be more than
capable of doing near anything.”

“He said they're going to kill me. But that
was until the Queen released a message for peace. Things may have
changed since Donnchadh left to get me.”

“So that was a public message,” the contact
mumbled. “I wasn't sure what they were doing in that room.”

“You heard it?”

“Just because I've been hiding in the
tunnels, doesn't mean that I haven't been listening in on things,”
the contact a sly grin crossed the image’s face. “I missed the
whole Donnchadh thing, but I heard the Queen's message. I wasn't
sure if it was really being sent to all of Orion or if they were
just playing her.”

“Well, it was definitely real, and Donnchadh
wants to use it against them.”

“How exactly would he use that against
them?”

“He wants to take me to the leader so I can
strike a deal,” Kirill answered. “He said that it'll buy him enough
time to start a rebellion.”

The contact's head nodded. “I do think
that's a good idea. It's the best chance we have to get out of this
mess. Unless we do something, this entire galaxy will fall
apart.”

“No,” Kirill shook his head. “I think it’s a
terrible idea. The plan is foolish and reckless.”

The contact looked at Kirill with a look of
confusion. “You don't think his plan is a good idea?”

“No,” Kirill laughed. “It's awful, but
Donnchadh thinks it's great, which I can play against him.”

“I'm kind of lost here. Where are you going
with this?”

“I told Donnchadh I'd follow along with his
plan. I'm not.”

“You don't plan on attacking the crodillians
without any type of assistance, do you?”

“Hell no!” Kirill chuckled. “Even I'm not
that
dumb. I know what I have on hand and it's no match
against the crodillians. My men will be best fit fighting on the
crodillians’ side and that's what I'll propose to their
leader.”

“Their side?” The contact leaned forward.
“You can't be serious. Oh, Kirill, don’t do this.”

“I'll strike an alliance with the
crodillians,” he lifted his chin proudly. “We have almost the same
goals in mind, so why not work together?”

“I can give you plenty of good reasons why
not to work with them!” The contact said.

“Well, I don't want to hear any of them,”
Kirill glared. “Just because we strike an alliance doesn't mean I
can't betray them later. I’ve been patient this long, I can be
patient some time more.”

“You really don't want to mess with the
crodillians, Kirill,” the contact warned. “I've seen what they do.
You don't want any part of it. If you were wise, you’d get off of
Erebos as quickly as possible.”

“I've seen what they can do,” Kirill said.
“And they seem to be doing almost exactly what I want to do. We
have many things in common. I believe we’ll get along just
fine.”

“Since I'm apparently not going to talk you
out of it, how are we proceeding?”

“I'll surrender when Donnchadh comes to get
me,” Kirill nodded to himself, already falling in love with his
plan. “But I'll reveal his betrayal to the crodillians and let them
kill him for it. It’ll gain the trust I need in order to speak to
Merikh. From there, I'm sure we can work some things out. I’m a
flexible man, I’ll make something happen.”

“Your plan sounds like may work, but are you
sure that's what you want to do?”

“Of course I'm sure that's what I want to
do. Donnchadh came to kill me, now I'll make sure the crodillians
kill him. He’s failed me and he’s crossed me, for that, he’ll pay
with his life.”

“I don't care about Donnchadh,” the contact
said with a flick of the wrist. “I'm talking about working with the
crodillians. You won't win the hearts of Orion teaming up with
them. These creatures have torn apart families and ravaged planets.
When they catch whiff of this, it’ll be seen as betrayal. Any
chance you had that they’d follow you would be gone.”