“Didn't expect to see you again, Pyrrhus,” the Prime Minister of Ares said. “Anyway, welcome to Ares. We have many impending matters to discuss and I’m sure you’re input would help us a lot.”
Pyrrhus nodded. “You have no idea how helpful my knowledge will be.”
“I have a pretty good feeling,” the Prime Minister turned around. “If you follow me, I'll show you where the rest of the leaders and officers are being held.”
Pyrrhus followed the Prime Minister down the tall and wide stone hallways and through several rooms that had been changed into bunkers. It may not have looked chaotic on the outside, but he knew that it wouldn’t be that way where they were heading. There had to be hundreds of leaders and officers housed here, and not all of them would agree on every decision, which meant only one thing: chaos.
The Prime Minister opened a door and motioned for Pyrrhus to go in first. He immediately saw this room was different than the others he had been in. It was much larger than any of the others, and was overcrowded with hundreds races of all ranks. There were maps, video feeds of planets, and many other things scattered in different areas throughout the room. From first glance it looked like a mess, but Pyrrhus could tell there were sections for everything and that everyone was working in their area of specialty, giving whatever advice they thought would be helpful.
The Prime Minister nudged him. “You can go up there.”
Pyrrhus looked to where he was pointing and saw a stage with a podium. “You want me to speak to all of these races?”
“Well, yes,” the Prime Minister nodded. “They need to hear from someone that has seen the crodillians first-hand. Right now, things are looking pretty bleak and most of them have given up hope. They need you to give them a little boost. Something to change the attitude in here a little bit.”
“I honestly don't think there is too much hope right now, Gidon. With the way the crodillians do what they want with ease, things are looking pretty bleak.”
“Well, just go up there and tell them what you've seen!” He urged. “They need to hear something. I mean, you survived! That should be all the hope they need.”
Pyrrhus walked up to the stage and looked around the room. He could hear the voices slowly fading as races saw who was standing before them. They all whispered to each other and pointed for others to look until all eyes were on him.
“Most of you know who I am,” he started. “I'm General Pyrrhus and I led the fleets that were supposed to protect Hera and the galaxy. We failed. Miserably at that. We weren't prepared for this enemy and we made the mistake of putting almost all of our ships in one place,” he looked around the room to see that he had the attention of every race. “I urged the Queen to allow a small portion of every fleet to come here just in case of failure. That decision has left us with around three hundred ships, plus whatever extra there are on Ares and whoever else wants to join the fight with their own ships.”
“Then we need to attack now!” Someone from the crowd shouted, starting a rumbling of agreeing whispers. “If we have ships, we need to try and stop them!”
“No,” Pyrrhus boomed. “We will not attack now. The crodillians are more powerful and intelligent than anyone initially thought. That’s why I abandoned the fight at Hera, I had to make sure that every survivor knew just how powerful they really are. There are too many leaders who think we can just go fight the crodillians like another normal enemy we’ve read about. We can't. Our only option right now is to lay low and keep a close eye on the enemy.”
“Coward!” Another shout erupted from the room. “You left your men to die and want the same of all of our families! They’re counting on us to save them. We won’t sit around and wait for the crodillians to take another planet.”
“I left them to die in order to make sure that Orion survived! We haven't been defeated yet, though the crodillians may think so,” his voiced boomed off the stone walls. “If I would've stayed with my ship, I would've died and none of you would know what to expect from them! You would've foolishly sent our last line of defense to face sure death, and with that, the death of your families you want to protect. The war is not over yet, so stop acting like we've been defeated. I have knowledge that can help us defeat the crodillians! I’ve seen how they fight and I know how they'll fight us when we go to finish them off!” He looked around. “Some of you want to attack now, is that right?”
Pyrrhus looked around to see nods from some of the races and looks of fear on the faces of others. These were leaders, but none of them knew what to do, they’d never faced adversity like this. None of them had ever thought anything like this could even happen on Orion. Adira stressed peace so much, and had been so good at keeping it, all had forgotten about the evil lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to lash out.
“They destroyed thousands of our ships while barely taking a dent in their own numbers. What do you think the outcome of three hundred of our remaining ships against them will be like? The outcome will be no different!” The room was dead silent for the first time since he’d come up to talk. He’d finally gotten the reality of things through all of their heads, though it really shouldn't have been hard after the display at Hera. “What remaining forces we have, need to be used wisely, and that doesn't include taking the crodillians head on again. It failed once and I guarantee you it’ll fail again. I didn't abandon my men just to end up losing the war against the crodillians. I left them to make sure there is absolutely no chance the crodillians take over! We’ll avenge the lives of all those that have been lost and of those that’ll be lost in the coming months. The only way to win this war, is to let them think that they've won while slowly recouping.”
A few cheers erupted from the crowd of leaders and officers. He could see some were still skeptical, but it didn't matter, after listening to what some of them had to say, he knew he had to lead them now. If he let one of the other General's lead, then the same outcome would most likely happen and he wasn't about to watch that.
“For those of you who question my leadership, call the Queen's Council. There are seven of them hidden safely on Nesoi. I'm confident that they’d rather have me lead a rebellion strike than anyone else in this room,” Pyrrhus stepped down from the stage and walked over to Gidon.
“I didn't know the Council was on Nesoi,” Gidon said.
“We sent them there in case the fleets at Hera were destroyed.”
“So, you were prepared for this?”
“I didn't like putting all of our ships in one place, and luckily some other races didn't either and we were able to get some ships here. Allocating all our defenses to one spot wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but we had to follow orders, and honestly, none of us had any better ideas.”
“Do you think we really stand a chance after what you've seen?”
Pyrrhus nodded. “We’ll defeat them. I'm sure of it. It’ll take time and we’ll lose many more lives, but we’ll win this war.”
“I'm behind you all the way, along with the quierleons. Do you have a plan on how you're going to defeat them yet?”
“Not yet, but I'll contact the Council once I have an idea of what I want to do. If they agree, then we'll start the rebellion.”
Chapter 5
Jahdiel looked out of the Mother Colchian as they entered Heran airspace. The planet looked much different now that they’d conquered it. When they’d first arrived, the planet with thriving with bright hues of blues and vibrant shades of green. Now, the sky was filled with thick, grey, smoke and the land was charred black from fires that had raged for days. The races inhabiting the planet had decided to put up a fight and the crodillians had made them pay dearly for that decision. Few building were left standing after the fights and rotting bodies lay scattered in the streets for animals to pick.
The survivors had gone into hiding, and though it would've been easy to hunt them down, Merikh ordered they be left alone. It had been very unlike Merikh, but Jahdiel knew it was a lost attempt to win t
he hearts of the living races. He’d already killed their families and destroyed their homes, letting them live was a big chance to take, and she knew deep down, it’d be one of the mistakes that could lead to his ultimate demise. She’d made the same choice on Gaea, but not because she knew Merikh would approve, but because the death was beginning to tear her apart. Nightmares haunted her every night and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could live with it.
Her ship landed in the Palace's hangar and she shook the thoughts running through her mind. This was one of the few buildings that hadn't been destroyed when they’d taken over. Upon arrival, she’d immediately recognized it and told Merikh to keep all the ships clear of the area. The crodillians had obeyed the orders and the Palace had been left untouched by war.
She exited her ship and passed a pair of crodillians standing guard at the doors. She nodded her head as she passed them and made her way to the reception room. Merikh had taken a liking to the room when they’d first arrived and Jahdiel knew he’d most likely be in there getting updates.
She walked down the once clean hallways, not happy that the crodillians had made such a mess when taking it over. There’d been resistance from the Queen's guards, and the crodillians immediately attacked them, even against her direct orders to take them alive. They’d seen a threat and instinctively attacked like savage animals, leaving the hallways stained with blood and the stench of death. Holes were in every wall from laser impact and chunks of floor were missing from grenades. She’d wanted to keep the Palace as perfect as possible, but the crodillians never turned down a chance to kill an enemy, or destroy anything in their vicinity.
Luckily, the entire Palace hadn't suffered from reckless crodillians. Once the entire guard was taken out, the rest of the staff surrendered peacefully. They didn't stay that way for long and she’d heard Merikh dealt with them accordingly, though she wasn't sure she wanted to see the remains. With all her time spent with the crodillians, she’d learned several things, one of which was they never ran out of unique ways to kill.
Jahdiel opened the door to the reception room and saw Merikh sitting in a chair, surrounded by flickering screens, just as she’d imagined he’d be. As she got closer, she could see that there was someone next to him in chains. Once she was within a few feet of the figure, she recognized the person Queen Adira.
The Queen didn't look well, she was thin and looked very fatigued. Her bones were protruding from her deeply cut cheeks and her eyes were deep black and hazy. Rags were draped over her instead of a proper gown and she was chained by her ankles, wrists, and neck. Jahdiel knew she’d been locked in the dungeons and witnessed the slaughter of her staff. What Merikh was putting this woman through was beyond cruel. No one deserved to be treated like this and from the fresh bruises on her body, it was clear Merikh was only just getting started.
Jahdiel approached her leader, who still hadn't noticed her enter the room. “I see you have yourself a new pet.”
Adira quickly turned around and spit on Jahdiel. “If I'm a pet, than what does that make you? No human should be doing what you're doing.”
Jahdiel reeled her hand back and slapped Adira across the face. “Next time you spit on me, I'll kill you.”
Merikh stood up and pushed Jahdiel away from Adira with his long hands. “You won't touch the Queen again unless I tell you that you can. Don't let me see an outburst like that ever again, or it’ll be your last.”
Jahdiel looked at him surprised. “She just disrespected me! Do you expect me not to react to that?”
“You started it, Jahdiel,” Merikh said. “She's going to help us, but if you continue to treat her like that, she'll change her mind and then our jobs will be much harder.”
“What are you talking about?” Jahdiel asked. “The Queen won't help us with anything, she'll betray us.”
“She's going to demand calm in Orion.”
“What do you mean?”
“She's about to send a message to all of the races of Orion to let us take their planets without any bloodshed.”
“And you think that they'll listen to her? She's our hostage. They'll think we forced her to say it. Look what you’ve don’t to her, do you really think anyone will listen to what she says?”
“They may not,” he stroked his chin with his long claws. “But I think they'll listen because it's coming from their Queen, no matter how she looks. She's been as defiant as the rest of this galaxy, but she doesn't want to see unnecessary deaths that she could've prevented. I'm sure she can relay that across so all the races understand.”
“So you're going to help us?” Jahdiel looked to Adira.
“No,” she spat. “I'm going to protect those who can't protect themselves from you. That's my job as Queen. I won't let anymore races die because your bloodthirsty friends want to kill everything that moves.”
“How did you get her to agree to this?”
“She saw what you did to Gaea. I must say, it was very impressive, especially the little girl,” a grin crept across his reptilian face. “She knew if she didn't agree, we would have ravaged every remaining planet the same. You encouraged her as much as I did.”
“When is she going to send the message?” Jahdiel asked, hiding the sorrow she felt inside from her face. “I'm sure there are rebellions being put together all over Orion after what I did to Gaea.”
“She's sending it out now,” Merikh said. “Once she sends it, we’ll get ships ready to go to the remaining planets and we’ll dispatch troops to stay there until tensions have lowered. Even after that, I think we’ll keep them there as assurance.”
Merikh walked back towards the screens and pressed a few buttons. Three monitors in the room hummed to life and the image of the three of them appeared on the middle screen. The other two screens were focused on one individual each: Adira and Merikh.
“We'll start the message now.” Merikh told a few nearby crodillians. “The sooner we get it out, the better. Jahdiel and I will introduce ourselves first.” Merikh pressed some more buttons and a red light came up, alerting them that they were being recorded. “Hello. My name is Merikh and I’m the leader of the crodillians who’ve just overtaken Orion. Next to me, is Jahdiel who is second in command of the crodillian forces? We’re sending you this message to inform you that we want the bloodshed to come to an end,” Merikh looked to the Queen. “Your Queen and I have talked to great lengths and she has told us there are no fleets left to put up resistance against us. We’ve conquered Gaea, Demeter, Themis and Hera. Soon we’ll be coming to the remaining planets, and we’ll be merciless at any sign of rebellion. I don’t want to slaughter innocents because I believe enough lives have been lost, therefore, your Queen and I have struck a deal.”
Merikh shifted the camera to focus on Adira. “Orion, this is your Queen. Right now I’m strongly urging you to listen to Merikh. Surrender yourselves peacefully. Do not rebel against their rule and put up no resistance upon their arrival. I know they’ve slaughtered your friends and families and have destroyed places you call home. Sadly, there is no hope of defeating them right now,” Adira took a deep breath. “I foolishly brought the fleet of every planet here, to defeat the crodillians, but I didn't know how powerful they really were and every ship was destroyed. They lost little of their own and have shown they can overtake the remaining planets with ease, even if you rebel, as was demonstrated on Gaea.” Adira looked away from the cameras and closed her eyes. She stayed silent a moment and looked back at the camera with tears in her eyes. “It hurts me to tell you this, but you have to surrender to the crodillians. Merikh and I have come to an agreement, one that I made to save your lives. Let them come to your planets and conquer them. Please, please, do not resist. They’ll let you live out your lives normally, unless you don't heed my warning and rebel, then all will perish. Let them on your planets peacefully and they’ll kill no one. There may be new laws put in place, but I urge you to follow them, no matter how bad you don’t want to. We don't have the strength to fight
them, and small rebellions will only lead to unnecessary deaths,” she wiped the tears streaming her face with her blood-crusted arms. “I’m still your Queen, though I’m no longer ruling. I urge you to listen to me this one last time.
Merikh shifted the camera back to himself. “You really should listen to your Queen. We want peace and have shown you only a fraction of our true power. If you rebel, you’ll see the full force of our power. We’ll be at the remaining planets soon and expect no resistance, but don't think that we won't be ready for it. If you test us, be ready for the consequences.”
Merikh cut of the message and nodded to the Queen. “I think they’ll heed your warning, it was... very honest. You spoke much more than I thought you would, but because of that, I think that you saved a lot of lives. You should be proud of yourself, Queen.”
“I just want there to be peace,” she looked to the ground. “Sometimes that means giving in.”
“You really think there won't be any rebellions?” Jahdiel asked.
“No,” Adira said. “There will be rebellions, there always will be, but they won't be very big. There are some races who just don't like to be ruled and will listen to no one. It took a lot for my Council and I to keep Orion peaceful and neither of you have the patience I did to make it happen.”
“The rest will not suffer because of them,” Merikh said. “We just needed everyone to think that. I’ll order my troops to only kill the rebels.”
“Thank you,” Adira smiled half-heartedly.
Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) Page 5
