Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (34 page)

“And you look better in the cloth wrap,” she
joked and hit him. “Let's get some weapons and head to Ares. I can
feel things starting to brew in Orion. Tensions are rising and the
rebellion will start very soon.”

Donnchadh nodded and walked over to the
weapons rack, grabbing a few rifles, pistols, and knives. Once it
appeared that the tribe had grabbed everything they wanted, he led
them to
Cerberus
and the nomads boarded a ship for the first
time in their lives. Donnchadh went to the cockpit and pressed
several buttons, prompting the engine to roar to life. Leilah took
sat next to him in the co-pilot seat just as he was lifting
Cerberus
off the ground. The dock extended out of the
mountain and he flew the ship off, exiting Erebos for what he hoped
was the final time. He looked down at the grey and orange planet
below him, never wanting to return to it again for any reason. This
life was over and he wanted to leave any memories of it behind to
die. He initiated sonodrive and the ship lurched forward towards
Ares and the impending rebellion.

Abdul waited behind Kirill for an answer. He
was trying to convince him now was the time to get rid of Merikh,
yet again. The time for stalling had come to an end, but as usual,
Kirill wasn’t heeding his advice. Rarely did the man listen to
others, but this was something he really needed to listen to
because Orion was in more trouble than he could imagine. The
crodillians were reckless, and if not put to a stop, everything
would be decimated. If that happened, there would be nothing left
but dirt for Kirill to rule. That was if he was lucky enough to be
spared.

“Kirill, you need to kill Merikh
now
.
If you wait any longer, the rebels will find out that you're on the
wrong side of the rebellion and they'll come after you too.”

“Let them come after me,” he shrugged. “How
successful do you think they'll be? They have four fleets of
crodillians ships to defeat, and after that, they have to go
through my assassins. They can hate me all they want, but there’s
no way they can defeat me.”

“You're underestimating them. They have
nothing to lose, they'll keep fighting until they win. Right now,
they fear nothing because everything has been stripped from
them.”

“They have lives to lose. Homes, families,
and planets that can be destroyed, Abdul. Don't tell me they don't
have anything to lose.”

“You think they care about what little they
have left?” Abdul exclaimed. “The crodillians have destroyed and
taken everything! They’ve killed their families and friends! They
have
nothing
left to lose and everything to gain. I promise
you, they’re determined more than any of your men. Once the
rebellion begins, it’ll be unstoppable.”

“My men are just as determined as I am.”

“When the rebels find out you're helping
Merikh, you’re doomed. I don’t know how many times I need to drill
this into you. The rebels will claw and scratch until they’ve
killed every last crodillian, then comes you. You’ll be seen as a
traitor and they’ll come for you, along with your trusted
assassins. I wouldn’t count out your own turning against you, not
after siding with the crodillians.”

“Is there something you want to share with
me? Are you working with the rebellion forces and trying to turn my
own against me and my cause?”

“Kirill!” Abdul grabbed him with both hands.
“I’m begging you to listen to me before it's too late.”

“I’ll kill him when I am well and ready!” He
pulled himself from Abdul's grasp. “And I suggest you be fine with
my decision. I’m tired of hearing of this.”

“I’m trying to help you, but you’re too
blind to see it,” he turned. “Merikh will kill the Queen soon and
there
will
be a rebellion. Once the Queen is killed, you
can't switch sides, they'll see you the same as Merikh. After that,
your vision of a pure galaxy will never happen because you'll never
get the chance to rule them. They'll kill you first. Every last one
of them.”

“You had better watch it Abdul. Don't think
I won't kill you!”

“You won't touch me,” he said over his
shoulder. “I'm the only true friend you have left. I can see the
loneliness in your eyes, Kirill. If you would listen to me, you’d
have friends again.”

Falcone flew the ship over the lush forest
below and let off the throttle, getting ready to land at
Lacedaemon's spaceport. Defenses were at full force and the force
field was covering the entire city. Strike by the crodillians was
imminent after the Queen's message and the entire city was on edge,
ready to lay down their lives if it came to that.

“I don't think there's any safer place in
Orion right now,” Nimesha said.

“Right now, that is,” Falcone replied. “Just
wait until the crodillians get here. Then we'll see just how safe
it is.”

“The crodillians are the ones who need to be
worried,” Kanti came up from behind with Anlon close by. “Pyrrhus
knows what he's doing and I guarantee Lacedaemon will be ready for
the crodillians. They can bring everything they have and I’d still
pick our side to win this battle.”

“Still doesn't mean that I want to be
hanging around when they get here. I’d prefer someplace safe from
any chance of death,” Falcone winked. “Anlon's cave back on
Tartarus seemed pretty nice from what Fausto told me. Maybe I’ll
head there after dropping you guys off.”

“Why don't you ever take anything
seriously?” Kanti rolled her eyes.

“I take a lot of things seriously! All I’m
saying is that this is going to be a long, hard fought, rebellion.
I know what you have pictured in your mind and I’m here to tell you
it’s nothing like that. We’re going to be fighting in the bodies of
our fallen friends. Those around us will think about giving up and
even you won’t be able to blame them. When the time comes, you’ll
understand.”

Anlon put his hand on her shoulder. “It
looks like there are races waiting for us at the dock. Things must
be ready to kick off.”

They all looked out of the cockpit window
and saw Pyrrhus standing with the entire Council around him. None
on board had been aware of their arrival and each were surprised
the Council had left the safety of Nesoi.

Falcone softly touched
Drakos Mavros
down and lowered the ramp. Kanti and Anlon dashed down as soon as
it touched ground. They immediately went to Pyrrhus and the
Council, letting the others catch up on their own. Both could tell
something was up due to the members’ eyes. Each of them was looking
at Kanti with what seemed to be fear, and strangely, hope.

“Pyrrhus,” she nodded her head slightly.
“Council.”

“We're glad you made it back safely,” Alura
said. “You really shouldn't be leaving the protection of Ares for
any reason from here on out. This will be the safest place for you
when everything begins.”

“I couldn't resist going along to retrieve
Anlon. He
did
save my life on the crodillian ship, along
with Camillus. The least I could do was be one of the first to
thank him for his sacrifice.”

“Understandable, and we also thank Anlon
greatly for that. But now, you must remain here under the
protection of the quierleons,” Aida said.

“I’ll go wherever I'm needed,” she put her
hands on her hips. “The rebellion is about to begin and I'm not
standing on the sidelines watching my people die. I’ll be with them
in the trenches.”

“You won't be just watching. The fight will
be here, along with every other planet in Orion,” Pyrrhus said.

“You’ve completed the battle plans?” Kanti
asked.

“They’ve been finished and sent out to all
rebel bases,” Aldrick nodded. “Pyrrhus has gone over it with us and
we believe it’s the only chance we have at survival. It’s
brilliant, but it’s extremely risky.”

“What's the plan?” Anlon asked. “I've kind
of been stranded with Fausto on Tartarus, so sorry if I'm a little
behind you guys.”

“We’ll go over it later. Right now, we have
a request for the Princess,” Pyrrhus replied.

“What’s your request?” She asked.

“We would like you to give a speech,”
Bertrade answered. “A speech that we’ll play for every rebel across
Orion.
You
will give them the hope and courage that they
need to fight the crodillians. Many will die, but we need you to
make sure they never give up hope. It’ll be hard for them when they
see their friends fall in battle and you’ll be the one to make sure
they know all the lost lives are for a greater cause.”

“Do you really think
I
will give them
hope and courage? Why not someone like, Pyrrhus? The leaders here
may know me, but the rest of Orion has never heard from me.”

“They need you,” Aldrick put a firm hand on
her shoulder. “You're their Princess, and soon, you'll be their
Queen. It’s time you spoke to those you must protect.”

“They haven't killed my mother yet. She's
still alive, isn't she?”

“She's alive for now,” Bertrade answered.
“But once you give the speech and the rebellion starts, she'll most
likely be killed. Merikh will try one last flex of power to urge us
to stand down, but we’re prepared for it and we won’t let him scare
us.”

“Then I should wait! If they haven't killed
her yet, then I have to wait. There’s still a chance we can save
her. We can send in someone on a search and rescue mission.”

“You can't wait. The rebels
need
you
right now. They need a Queen to lead them. Your mother knew as soon
as she made her speech that she'd die. They've just waited for some
odd reason, but her death is inevitable,” Aldrick said. “We need
you to make the speech now. Crodillian ships have just left Hera
and are surely headed this way. Time is of the essence. If we don’t
act now, we may never get the chance again.”

“Won't it be too late for a speech if
they’re headed out already?” Anlon asked.

“Only two ships left Hera and there are four
planets that still haven't been conquered. If they’re headed here,
we’ll get the message out just in time, if not, then I promise you
that they’ll be here soon after it’s sent out. Either way, sending
the message now ensure all races in Orion see it. It’s too late for
the crodillians to put a stop to what’s about to come.” Pyrrhus
said.

“We don't know what order they're going to
take over planets, but we're crossing our fingers that those ships
aren't headed here,” Hildereth spoke for the first time. “If they
aren't, then we still have time to get things together, but that's
why we need Kanti to make the speech now. Other races' planets are
about to be conquered and they can't lose hope. We must let all
know that we haven’t forgotten about them.”

“What if they do come here?” Kanti asked.
“Then what do we do?”

“Then the rebellion will start sooner than
planned. All of the rebellion bases on the other planets are
waiting for my word, but there are still a few things I would like
to do here first,” Pyrrhus answered.

Alura crossed her arms. “Like your speech,
Princess.”

Kanti nodded. “I'll do it. I'll give them
all a speech, but I can't promise that it'll be any good. I haven't
done anything like this before. I was raised on a farm, not in
Palace.”

“A message from their future Queen is all
they need. They'll rally around you and fight for you until the
death,” Alura took Kanti’s arm with her soft hands. “We'll take you
back to the Capitol building until we’re ready for you.”

Kanti nodded and followed the Council to a
nearby cruiser. Anlon watched silently next to Pyrrhus as she got
in with the seven members and the cruiser lifted off. He turned to
the General, seeing fiery determination in his blue eyes. Anlon
knew without a doubt at that moment this was the right man to lead
the rebellion. The General had heart and was ready to give his
life.

“What's the plan, exactly?” Falcone asked.
“We heard what you had last time, except Anlon because he wanted to
take a little vacation, but what'd you finally come up with?”

Anlon rolled his eyes at Falcone's comment
and looked to Pyrrhus.

“We're going to deceive them,” he answered.
“When they arrive here, I’ll send a message to all of the rebel
bases that the rebellion has officially begun. The hope is, that
all but one ship leave to squash the rebellions elsewhere because
our ships will be hidden under stealth field, making us look easy.
We’ll box in the remaining enemy ship and engage the fifty that
they’ll see. They should send out fighters to attack and we'll
retreat to Ares, saying we surrender. We'll lure them into the
forests where we'll attack them while the concealed ships converge
on the command ship to take it over. After that's done, we'll help
clear up the crodillians on Ares and then assist the other planets
that are under attack.”