“What's changed since you arrived? Do you feel sorry for us?”
“I want something to rule: races and planets. I want true power,” Merikh grinned. “I can't have that if I wipe out all life can I? Who would be left to rule if I did that?”
“I won't let you rule Orion,” Adira crossed her arms. “Neither will any of the races of this galaxy, especially after what you've already done. You’ve made them hate you, despise you, and the only thing they’ll want to do is kill you.”
“You see, Queen Adira,” Merikh pulled out a holopad. “You and Orion don't have much of a choice but to let me rule. What you do have the choice of, is determining how I rule your galaxy.”
He turned the holopad around for Adira to see. She stared in shock at the images of Gaea displayed on the screen. The city was completely destroyed and fires were raging on every corner. She looked up at Merikh with tears in her eyes and he couldn’t help but grin.
“How can you expect to rule when you do things like this? Orion will never let you rule. They will rebel until every last one of you are dead. They’ll hunt, torture you, sacrifice you, whatever they need to do to exterminate you, they’ll do it.”
“I don't want to rule like this,” he put the holopad away. “This wasn't my choice. A rebellion was gathering at the Capitol building, and it was after everyone was warned not to rebel. I warned them all what would happen, yet they still planned to defy me.”
“So you kill everyone?” Adira asked. “How does that make any sense if you want to rule this galaxy? You killed innocents who were no doubt willing to subdue to you.”
“I had to make a point,” he got closer to the Queen. “Defy me and you will pay for it.”
“That's why Orion will never follow you.”
“There are still survivors on Gaea,” Merikh revealed. “We only killed the rebels and destroyed the city, unfortunately. All of the survivors were let go and told to live freely, but were warned of the consequences of rebellion. I’m sure they understand after being so close to all of it, but I’m not quite sure about the rest of the galaxy.”
“You really expect them not to rebel against you after you have destroyed their homes and killed their families?”
“No. I fully expect every last one of them to rebel,” Merikh said. “But that's why I came down here to talk to you. We have some things to work out.”
“I won't help you rule Orion,” Adira stuck her chin up. “If you want them to follow you, you have to do it on your own.”
“You won't help me rule it,” Merikh started to close her cell. “You’ll be saving the lives of millions who you claim to protect. Without your help, I’ll kill every last one of them.”
Merikh could see the Queen contemplating in her cell. He’d offered her something she couldn’t turn down. Save the lives of those she swore to protect, or be responsible for their deaths. He’d known what her answer would be before he came down, but she was taking a little longer to agree than he imagined she would.
She held her hand out to stop him. “What do you want me to do?”
“I knew that you'd come to your senses,” Merikh grinned. “I just want you to send a message to Orion. Let all know that we’re going to conquer Orion, but it’s up to them how it’s done. Peacefully or not so peacefully. Trust me when I say my men would rather it be the latter, so I’d encourage you relay to your people how important it is to take my offer of peace.”
Adira nodded her head. “I can do that, but what are you going to do to them after you’ve taken over the planets?”
“Nothing,” Merikh said. “I’ll deploy troops on the ground, but everyone can live their lives normally. There will be no killing if there is no rebellion.”
“You can't expect there to be no rebellion. There will always be a small segment of the population who’ll defy you.”
“I don't all of them to listen,” Merikh acknowledged. “But I believe a message for peace and cooperation will squash any thoughts of a major rebellion. My men can clean up the small stuff with ease.”
Adira though for a moment. “So, if I send out a message telling the remaining planets to surrender, you promise nothing bad will happen to them? You’ll spare their lives?”
Merikh nodded. “It’ll be as if nothing ever happened. All pasts will be forgotten and only a new ruler will be on the Throne.”
“I'll do it,” a smile crossed the Queen’s face.
Chapter 4
Donnchadh looked down at the crodillians and criminals gathered in the hangar, waiting patiently to hear what he had to say. Jahdiel and Merikh told him he had to talk to all of them as one in order to gain the trust of the crodillians. In order to lead them, he had to prove he was not only a worthy leader, but not biased towards any group.
He’d promised Queen Adira he would delay her death by bringing Kirill back to Hera, but that was much easier said than done. Now that his path had been laid out, he had to walk extremely carefully and cover up missteps in the process. There would be countless obstacles in the way, but none would prove bigger than the crodillians themselves. Not a single man could have even the slightest suspicion he was a double agent, or he’d be killed and any chance of a rebellion would be squashed. It wasn’t just Adira who was counting on him, it was the entire galaxy.
Donnchadh held his arms up to quiet everyone in the hangar so he could speak. After a couple of moments the entire bay was silent and all eyes were focused on him. Some were curious as to why he was speaking to them, but others appeared to already know and were disinterested, mainly crodillians.
Donnchadh cleared his throat. “Most of you are probably wondering why I'm the one speaking to you today and not one of the crodillian Commanders,” he stared over the silent crowd, thinking about what to say next. “Well, I'm going to be leading this mission. I know it may be a surprise to you, it definitely was to me, but I’ve been chosen specifically for this mission because I’m the best fit.” Whispers started to erupt from the crodillians after the comment and he saw some of the criminals grin to one another. “I'm only leading you because I'm very familiar with where we're going. It’s not because I’m better than any of you, I just have more experience,” Donnchadh spoke louder. “We’re going to Erebos to detain Kirill and the Deimos Brotherhood,” he saw confused looks on the faces of the crodillians and some angry ones on the criminals.
“Why are you detaining them?” One of the convicts shouted at him. “They are the same as us. They’re criminals. It sounds like you plan on taking them out.”
Before he could answer a crodillian spoke. “What's so important about them? Why do we need you to lead us to capture them if they’re the same as them?” The crodillian pointed to the group of convicts, causing yelling to erupt.
“Merikh wants to speak to the leader,” Donnchadh shouted over the commotion. “I'm not sure why, but I can assure you that no harm will come to him or the Deimos Brotherhood,” he turned to the crodillian. “I used to be a part of the Brotherhood. Getting to them won’t be easy if you don't know where they're at.”
“Then you can tell us and we’ll go get them,” a crodillians Captain responded, stepping forward to be seen. “We’re more than capable of following directions, and as you’ve all seen, exterminating anyone that dares stand against us.”
Donnchadh looked at the scar ridden crodillian. He was a darker color than most and his skin looked diseased in many bubbling spots. His black uniform distinguished him from the others and Donnchadh knew this was one of the ones whose trust he must have if he was going to succeed.
“It's not that easy,” he replied. “I promise you, Kirill is already planning for an invasion. Even if you do win, you’d lose many of your own, and you still wouldn’t take out the entire Brotherhood. We train to keep hidden and kill any enemy.”
“We’ve conquered one entire galaxy and we're about to conquer a second,” the Captain turned to the crodillians and raised his arms, bringing applause. “Do you think we can't accomplish
this small task?”
“I believe you can,” Donnchadh assured him. “But they’re a group of assassins, trained killers. Merikh believes my coming along will lead to no bloodshed. They know who I am, so they can believe that no harm will come to them. Their leader will trust me, but he won’t trust you at first.”
“If all Merikh wants is for them to come peacefully, why do you, an inferior race to crodillians, have to lead us?”
“Because I’ve killed more races with my bare hands than you have behind the controls of your ship,” Donnchadh glared at him. “Because he wants me to prove my loyalty to the crodillian cause and the only way to do that is to lead an assault to capture the only other thing that I’ve been loyal to,” Donnchadh leaned forward with his hands clenching the podium. “If you would like to try leading, come up here and kill me, I won’t lose sleep over one more death on my hands.”
“It seems Merikh may have chosen well,” the Captain grinned and crossed his arms, puffing out his chest. “But I don't think it's possible for you to pilot these four ships yourself. You need our help if you’re to get to this planet.”
“I didn’t count on doing this on my own,” Donnchadh nodded. “I’ll assign a Captain to each of the four ships, starting with you. What’s your name?”
“Kellagh,” the crodillian answered.
“Kellagh,” Donnchadh repeated. “You can choose any of the four ships to command until we’ve reached Erebos. I won’t interfere with anything you do. I’ll lead silently and let you do what you do best. I’m here merely to get Kirill to surrender, nothing else.”
Kellagh nodded. “If I can, may I choose the other three Captains myself? I know which will be best suited for the mission.”
“They’re your ships, you choose,” Donnchadh nodded.
Kellagh turned around and started to push his way through the crowd as Donnchadh stepped down from speaking. He wasn't sure if he’d gained the trust of the crodillians yet, but he knew he’d gained their respect, and that's all he needed. The trust would come soon, if he didn’t reveal his hand too soon.
Donnchadh walked up to the group of criminals and stood in front of them silently until they all focused on him. They seemed restless, which was to be expected. Traveling with the crodillians wasn’t sitting well with him, but none of them were left with a choice.
“You’ll get along with the crodillians. You will not fight with them or you will be severely punished, no matter who starts the fight. They spared our lives, now we must follow their rules.”
“Why would we want to fight them?” One of the races asked. “We all want the same thing: to kill.”
“That's what I'm afraid of,” Donnchadh looked around. “That won’t include the crodillians, you don't have to like them or even be friends with them, but you will respect them. They did spare you lives after all.” Donnchadh turned around and headed in the direction of one of the crodillian ships. “If you don't want to be on the same ship as them, I suggest that you all board this one.”
Donnchadh boarded the ship and heard the entire group of convicts following close behind him. It didn't surprise him they were all boarding the same ship as he was, the fact that they were comforted him. He didn't like them, but they were much better than the crodillians. Once he reached the cockpit, he sat in the pilot seat and looked to the hangar. Three groups of crodillians split off to the three other ships and Kellagh was heading to his ship with none by his side. He switched to the co-pilot seat and waited for Kellagh to board the ship. Donnchadh had a feeling Kellagh was piloting this ship for a very specific reason, and that meant his guard would have to stay up at all times.
Kellagh sat down next to him and strapped in. “So, we're going to Erebos?”
“Yes,” Donnchadh nodded. “The Deimos Brotherhood has a huge hidden base there. It’s where Kirill and most of the assassins will be hidden, unless he’s sent them to other outposts.”
“And Merikh wouldn't be happy if we used any type of force on them?”
“That's correct. He wants no casualties. Your leader wants to speak to Kirill himself.”
“That's no fun,” Kellagh started to lift the ship and exit the hangar. “How does he expect us to get them to come peacefully if they're as dangerous as you claim them to be?”
“Let me worry about that part.”
Kellagh got on the comline. “Set your destination to Erebos. Follow my lead. Don't do anything without my specific orders,” Kellagh told the pilots of the other ships. “This is going to be a very different mission than we're used to, but Merikh ordered complete peace, if any of you break that order, I’ll kill you myself.”
Kellagh initiated sonodrive and Donnchadh got up from the co-pilot seat. He needed to figure out exactly how he was going to get Kirill to cooperate peacefully. It wouldn't be easy, and that's one of the reasons he hadn't thought about it yet. His main focus was delaying the death of the Queen for as long as possible, so it really didn't matter to him how long it took Kirill to cooperate. In fact, the longer it took, the better.
Pyrrhus piloted his small evac pod through Ares' atmosphere and chose to land at Lacedaemon. It was where most of the leaders would have gathered if they left their home planets upon the crodillian invasion. Lacedaemon was well equipped for any type of invasion, or war if it came to that. The quierleons didn't just train for war, they prepared for it on their home planet daily. Though most of Orion saw it as pointless, it was part of the quierleon culture, dating back centuries. They were known to have been superior warriors in the past, and now they’d have the chance to prove their superiority against the crodillians.
He’d never gotten to see first-hand what the quierleons were capable of, but he’d heard they were silent, quick, and deadly. They used a combination of advanced weapons, hand to hand combat, and blending in with their surroundings, making them the best warriors in the galaxy’s history. Pyrrhus knew all of their skill would be needed if they were to defeat the crodillians.
As soon as he saw Lacedaemon appear through the thick sea of forest, he called the dock on his comline. He didn't want to take the chance of surprising them and getting shot down accidently. The go ahead was given to him like he expected and he squeezed his evac pod between two ships.
The dock, and the city of Lacedaemon, was swarming with more races than he’d ever seen in the city at one time. He’d expected it to be a little busy after the defeat at Hera, but nothing like this. Ares was getting ready for a full scale war against the crodillians.
Pyrrhus climbed out of the pod and was immediately approached by a dock worker. “What’s your business here? Are you taking refuge, or are you taking up arms?” The worker looked down at her pad, waiting for an answer to put in.
“I'm here to lead the fight against the crodillians.”
The worker looked up routinely. “You can go to the recruitment office, which will be that way,” she pointed. “They're taking anyone that they can get right now.”
“I need to know where the planetary leaders and military officers are, not the recruitment office.”
“I'm not sure I can reveal information like that to you.”
“I'm General Pyrrhus,” he looked down at the girl. “I led the fleet that was defeated at Hera. I’ve come to offer my help, or whatever I can to ensure defeat doesn’t befall this planet.”
The bay worker looked at him surprised. “One moment General, I didn't recognize you.”
The girl pulled out a comlink and told the person on the other end what she had just been told. Pyrrhus could tell that whoever was on the other end didn't believe her because she had to repeat herself several times. He grabbed the comlink from her and spoke into it.
“Where are the leaders and officers?” Pyrrhus demanded. “I don't have time to play games, let them decide if I'm who I say I am.”
“We'll send a cruiser for you right away, sir.” the voice stuttered.
Pyrrhus handed the comlink back to the girl. “It's not every day you see a m
an who's supposed to be dead.”
He turned around and walked over to a bus station, where he was sure he’d be picked up. He sat down an observed Lacedaemon. It made him happy the quierleons didn't mess around when they said they trained for war. Now that he was able to observe the city, he could see defense raised at every corner, and many building were being fortified. Along with the dense forest surrounding the city, this would be a hard place to overtake. The quierleons stood a good chance if they were invaded.
Looking to his left, there were two tall buildings with large gun turrets erected on top that were able to take out cruisers with one good strike, and with a perfect hit, an enemy ship. Other buildings had similar turrets and armored cruisers were skimming through the crowded sky. The most unique thing that he saw though was the city force field. It wasn't activated yet, but he had seen the strange bulging balls from the ground as he landed, and now that he had time to actually focus on them, he knew exactly what they were. He had only heard of force fields and seen blueprints of prototypes, but he'd never been informed of their actual existence. From what he had been told about them, this city would be well defended from any aerial attacks.
A cruiser pulled up in front of him and a young man got out to open the passenger door. Pyrrhus stood and got into the cruiser without a word. The young man closed the door and got back in the other side to fly the cruiser. The driver was silent, and Pyrrhus thought it better not to start a conversation with the young man. He looked out of the window as the cruiser rose in the sky and observed other parts of the city still being fortified. If he was going to help defeat the crodillians he needed to know what he had at hand, and right now, it seemed he’d have more than enough to hold back the enemy.
Pyrrhus felt the cruiser start to descend as they reached a grey stone building in the center of the city. It rose above all the others and seemed very calm compared to the rest of the bustling city. The entire front of the building was held up by a large kneeling quierleons made of marble. Every time he saw it, it impressed him. The amount of time that went into creating this building was astounding. The cruiser landed on the lawn and Pyrrhus got out of the cruiser and climbed the hand-chiseled stairs to the stone doors that read: Only the worthy shall enter, in ancient quierleon above the frame. They slowly swung open and a dark skinned man stepped out.
Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) Page 4
