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

by Conner Walworth

“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.”

  Anlon raised his eyebrows. “It sounds brilliant, but what if all the ships stay here?”

  Pyrrhus shrugged. “We don't think they will. All they'll see is fifty rebel ships. No reason to keep three of those huge ships here when there’s full scale rebellions on other planets. All those planets are well equipped for war and once word gets out that the rebels are easily wiping out ground troops, they’ll send ships in for assistance.”

  “It makes sense. Merikh is clearly over confident in his abilities and will underestimate the strength of the rebellion,” Nimesha nodded. “They've never seen stealth fields, or so we believe, so taking over the command ship should catch them by surprise. They’ve also never seen an entire galaxy of races band together for one common cause.”

  “Precisely. We used everything the Elders gave us and more. Attack, run, and use our new technology. That monster won’t know what hit him.”

  “Won't they wipe out the rebel bases on the other planets with ease?” Anlon asked. “They may be well-equipped, but even Ares will have a difficult time standing up to a whole fleet. The only difference between us and them is that we have about three hundred ships at our disposal.”

  Pyrrhus grinned. “Oh, I think they'll put up a good fight. The two biggest rebellion forces are on Hermes and Gaea, and they have some pretty good leaders. Not to mention, the bases are fully stocked for full scale war. They may not have the air support we do, but they have the ground support.”

  “Wasn't Gaea destroyed?” Anlon asked. “It was getting bombed heavily when we escaped. There can’t possibly be too much left of it.”

  “It did take a heavy beating, but your friend Moran didn't let that stop him from saving survivors to start a rebellion.”

  “Moran is alive?” Anlon smiled.

  “He’s alive and very well. He was waiting for me when I arrived to set up a base. The man tracked me down and showed me all the survivors he’d hidden in the basement of some crumbled building. We were able to find an untouched base named Xiphos and sent survivors to finish setting up bases throughout Orion.”

  “He'll lead a great rebellion. The crodillians have no idea what they're up against. Moran is a genius and will lure them into traps all over the place,” Anlon said.

  “They won't know what they're up against on Hermes either,” Pyrrhus continued. “I put a woman named Zarah in charge. She's in a hidden underground base with just as many rebels as Moran, if not more.”

  “So there really is a hidden base there?” Nimesha asked. “I never could find it myself. I went several times and could never get anyone to lead me to it.”

  “There is,” Pyrrhus nodded. “Why were you trying to find it?”

  “Old life. Might've been a high profile figure or two that Kirill wanted me to take out.”

  “Anyway,” Anlon intervened. “Everything is going well there?”

  “Zarah has exceeded my expectations. She was a high school principal in her old life, and now, she's doing one hell of a job leading that base. From the reports she's given me, things are running very smoothly. She's appointed ten officers and every other race on base has some sort of job to keep them busy. They'll be ready to rebel the second I give the order, giving the crodillians plenty of problems.”

  “What about the other rebellion bases?” Falcone asked.

  “They're smaller, but Moran sent very trustworthy men to set them up. They won't be able to stand up to an entire fleet, but with every planet rebelling at the same time, the crodillians will have to choose where they go. That means they'll most likely choose Gaea and Hermes because the rebels there will have the best chance of taking the planets back.”

  “So once Kanti makes her speech, the rebellion will begin?” Falcone asked.

  “Pretty much,” Pyrrhus nodded. “If the crodillians aren't on their way here right now, they will be after the speech. We aren't going to hide our location. We want them to strike us right here.”

  “Is there any way I could help?” Fausto asked. “I don't know much of what's going on in Orion since I've been on Tartarus for fifty years, but I'm willing to help in any way possible.”

  Pyrrhus looked him up and down. “How'd you end up there? And how did you survive?”

  “A raider shot my ship down while I was carrying out a run. After I crashed, they left me alone. I got lucky and was stranded in some cave that had everything I needed to survive: food, water, shelter, and much more.”

  Pyrrhus nodded and stroked his chin. “We could always use more pilots, if you're up for it.”

  “You have yourself a pilot then,” Fausto took Pyrrhus' hand.

  “Let's get you all back to the Capitol building,” Pyrrhus led them towards a second cruiser. “Get some rest and we'll go over what we need to do after Kanti has given her speech. There’s still a lot that has to be done and time is quickly running out.”

  Anlon followed Pyrrhus to the cruiser and sat in the front seat. The others got in the back and the cruiser levitated off the ground. He looked out the window and saw fairly empty streets. Races were scattered on rooftops and he knew this was the last time anyone would see peace like this for a while. Once the rebellion started, the bloodshed would be endless. It would consume the galaxy, but it’d only be temporary, and if they played everything right, they’d come out on top when it was all over.

  Chapter 25

  A buzzing comlink awoke Zarah from her deep sleep. It was the first time since taking over the base that someone was calling her. Usually, it was her waking someone for instructions or how to do things better.
<
br />   She picked up the comlink and put it to her ear. “Hello?”

  “It's Dorjan, Zarah. The crodillians are finally here. They’ve just landed some of their ships.”

  She straightened up and got out of bed immediately. “How long have they been on Hermes?” She threw clothes on.

  “A couple of hours now,” he answered. “I didn't think it was necessary to call you right away. I thought it'd be better if my men and I watched them for a while. Try to scout them out and get a sense of how they act.”

  “What have seen from them so far?”

  “I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. They came and attacked, but then turned around and left. It was strange to say the least, especially since they were supposed to come peacefully, but it was just another reason I waited to call you.”

  “What do you mean they attacked and left?”

  “It looked like they were going to wipe out Thermopylae, but for some odd reason they stopped all at once. We took heavy fire for several minutes and all at once it seized and the ships left for some time before returning.”

  “Did any of your men provoke them to attack?”

  “No. No one did anything. We saw them coming and got into our positions. I watched every one of my men and not a single one of them came out of hiding. The enemy didn’t even know we were here.”

  “That's odd,” she thought aloud. “How long did they leave for again?”

  “They came back shortly after withdrawing as if nothing had happened. They were gone for ten minutes at the most.”

  “What else do you have besides that?”

  “They've settled in the upper-class parts of Hermes. Bases are set up in the larger buildings is what I'm guessing from where I’m positioned. Ships and vehicles are nearby and there are a lot of crodillians roaming the streets. They’re armed to the teeth and look ready to kill anyone that gets out of line.”

  “So, we know where their base is now,” she grinned. “Can your men do anything else to give us an upper hand when the rebellion starts?”

  “We may be able to help out a little. We can set up bugs throughout their camps so we know their moves before they make them. It’d definitely help the rebels, but it may be a little tricky. The streets are filled with these monsters so we’re going to have to find other ways in the compounds.”

  “How much confidence do you have in your men?”

  “A lot of damn confidence. If they don't want to do it, I'll do it myself, but I know they'd never turn this down. We may not be spies, but we know our way around this city.”

  “It's up to you. It’d be a great help for the rebellion, but I won’t order you to do it. The choice is yours, but I already know what choice you'll make. You're a warrior, a fighter, you'll get the job done,” she said.

  “We'll carry it out tonight,” he replied. “And thank you Zarah.”

  “For what?” She asked. “I haven't done anything yet. I’ve been hiding here in the base with the rest of the rebels.”

  “You let me help you. You could've taken the rebels with you to the base and ignored me, letting me make a stupid mistake which would’ve killed me, but you didn't. You befriended me, and for that, I thank you.”

  “You're welcome. Everyone deserves a chance. I couldn’t let my initial feeling towards you get in the way. Making the choice you did wasn’t easy, nor was mine, but both had to be made for this rebellion to be successful. Neither of us were wrong, so I’m glad you stood up to me. If you hadn’t we wouldn’t be in this position right now,” she said. “Anyway, I'll wait for you to call me back once you've bugged them.”

  Zarah left her quarters and went to get the officers. They’d chosen not to room separately from the other races, instead choosing to sleep alongside them. She thought it was brilliant and would build the bond between the entire base, not just the officers. When the war started, they’d already be used to acting as one.

  She woke up Ludwig and Yvette, telling them to wake the others and meet her in the Command Room. It was time to let them know the crodillians were now residing on Hermes. They’d then relay it to the rest of the base, and any of the races operating outside of the base would now no longer be allowed to leave. Enough intel had been gathered and getting caught wasn't part of her plan. Too much preparation had gone on to ruin it due to a careless mistake.

  Zarah walked into the Command Room and fired up the comline. Not only would she be talking to her officers, she would be talking to Pyrrhus. They’d gotten their rebellion plan put together for Hermes, and they needed to go over it with him before proceeding. He was a true General, if there was anything wrong with it, he’d let her and her officers know. A blue screen lit up and she waited for the officers. Ludwig and Yvette were the first two to walk in to the room, with the other eight close behind.

  “Hermes has been taken over by the crodillians,” she told them.

  “We knew that it would happen soon,” Ludwig said. “When will we strike?”

  “Not yet. I haven’t gotten word from Pyrrhus and there is something that has to be done before we strike.”

  “We’re ready when Pyrrhus gives the word. The entire base is ready to take back Orion from these monsters,” Yvette said.

  “Dorjan and his men are going to help us. They’ve been watching the crodillians and have concluded their headquarters are in the upper-class section of Hermes. They haven't done anything yet, but they will soon.”

  “They’ve told us where the crodillians are holed up, what else could they possibly do?” Yvette asked.

  “They're going to scout,” Ludwig grinned. “They're going to learn the enemy we're going to face. Habits, routines, and anything else that’ll give as an advantage.”

  “Not only that. They're going to bug all the buildings. We'll know what tactics they're going to use and any commands that are coming in as they come in.”

  “Even better than scouting. They’ll infiltrate their bases and give us the upper hand,” Ludwig leaned back with a grin.

  “I haven't gotten a report on their numbers yet, but we'll know once Dorjan has the bugs placed, along with a lot more intel.”

  “Are we still set on our battle plan?” Yvette asked. “Nothing has changed?”

  “The plan is still the same. In fact, we're about to go over it with Pyrrhus and see if he wants to give any suggestions to us.”

  Zarah called Pyrrhus on the comline and his image appeared on the wall. He was surrounded by hundreds of other races doing different things in the background. She was sure they were all working on the rebellion and didn't bother to ask who they were or if they were listening. All that mattered right now was her base, nothing else.

  “What news do you have for me Zarah?”

  “The crodillians have landed on Hermes.”

  “We’ve seen, but that is good news,” he smiled. “Three ships left Hera and we were unsure where they would all be going until coming out of their jumps. We’re pleased with where they’ve gone so far.”

  “I don't know if that's good news. The base will be on high alert soon and any slip up and the rebellion will begin earlier than planned,” Zarah crossed her arms. “But if you say so, I guess it is.”

  “It was vital to our plans that they come to Ares last. If they hadn't, we would've had to strike earlier than we wanted to. Ares is where the rebellion will begin, but everything has to be in place in order for us to succeed. Failure on Ares will mean failure for the entire rebellion. Everything hinges on a victory here.”

  “I understand,” she nodded. “I contacted you so that we may go over our battle plan for the rebellion. There were some points I wanted to touch on, but more than anything, get feedback.”

  “I can gather some of the military leaders right now to help you.”

  “We’ve already come up with one we are confident in. My officers and I wanted to go over it with you. It’s too late to make any major changes to it, so we’d rather keep them out of it.”

  “Okay,” he nodded, look
ing impressed. “Let's hear it.”

  “We're going to lure them into the forests. We've scouted them, and we’ve found many spots where we'll be at an advantage. We’ll finish setting up traps throughout and lead them right into the war vehicles,” Ludwig said.

  “We’ll scatter our rebels throughout the entire forest. That's where we feel where we'll be at our biggest advantage,” Yvette continued. “We’ll keep most of the rebels hidden until the crodillians have run into the war vehicles. Once they see they've run into that trap, they'll be boxed in when they try to retreat. There will be no way for them to escape and they’ll have to face us on our terms. Hopefully the panic makes them think irrationally for some time. If so, we should be able to eliminate a good number of them before they get somewhat organized again.”

  “I like the idea. It’s actually pretty similar to what we came up with here,” Pyrrhus said. “But there’s a part of my plan that may hurt yours. I don’t know if you planned for it, but you need to know about it.”

  “What do you mean?” Zarah asked.

  “Our plan on Ares, is to get all but one of the fleets to leave us, which means one will most likely head to Hermes. You don't have an entire fleet of crodillians on your planet right now, only a few thousand. Once the fleet arrives, that few thousand will go up quite a bit. You’ll be greatly outnumbered and you’ll be on your own for some time.”

  “Why would they come back here? There’s other planets they could go to,” Zarah replied.

  “Your base is one of the two biggest rebellion forces we’ve established. Once you rebel, they’ll quickly find out you pose one of the greatest threats. Our plan is for one of the fleets to attack you on Hermes.”

  “You actually want them to attack us?” Zarah exclaimed.

  “You won’t fight them on your own for long. We’ll come to your aid once we’ve won here, but it’ll still be a good amount of time to hold them off.”

  “We could already be wiped out by then!” Yvette said. “Are we just here as some sort of distraction? Bait?”

  “No!” Pyrrhus replied. “You will be successful. You can hold them off until we arrive. I truly believe you can. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't have come up with this plan. Everything that’s been put together depends on trust and all the rebellions acting as one. None of us can give up hope or doubt the other. We must trust one another and believe we’ll get through.”