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

  Anlon walked to a bulky black cruiser covered in armor. “I think we'll take this cruiser and,” he looked around with his hand on his chin. “That one over there,” he pointed to a slimmer topless cruiser.

  “Combat and stealth,” Kanti nodded. “Guess if one approach doesn't work, we'll use the other.”

  “Have to be prepared for anything. We don’t know when the crodillians are going to show up or where we’ll end up after Ovrea.”

  “What about glider bikes?” Kanti asked. “They're small enough that we can fit at least four underneath the ship.”

  “Wouldn't hurt to have them,” Anlon shrugged. “I'm not sure how much we'll use them with the cruisers though.”

  Anlon led Kanti over to several black gliders lined up next to each other. He got on and pulled up the holodisplay. Several weapon options pulled up and he scrolled through them.

  “I think these will be perfect for us,” Anlon looked to Kanti. “There's enough weapon options on here to keep us safe from anyone who decided to attack, along with a lot of other handy stuff.”

  “What do you mean, other handy stuff?”

  “Look,” Anlon motioned. “They can change color and even have stealth mode. They’re sure to be faster than the cruisers, so who knows, maybe we’ll end up using them more.”

  “Impressive,” Kanti nodded her head. “They do a lot more than a regular glider.”

  “Let's go see if the others have finished getting their stuff. I don’t want to spend too much time here with the crodillians out there.”

  Anlon and Kanti walked back to the front of the room to see the others waiting for them. They had piles of weapons and gadgets, making what Anlon and Kanti had look like nothing.

  “You two need a little alone time?” Falcone winked. “We’ve been waiting up here for quite some time.”

  “Wouldn't you like to know,” Kanti rolled her eyes.

  “Does everyone have everything they need?” Anlon looked around. “We don't know if we can come back here once we leave, so you need to be sure.”

  “We're ready to go,” Camillus answered. “The faster we get out of here, the faster we get Kanti back to Nesoi.”

  “Whoa,” Kanti backed up. “I am not going back to Nesoi after this. I'm going wherever you guys go. Who cares what the Council want of me, I’m their ruler, they’re not my rulers.”

  “You're not coming with us. Period,” he replied with a hint of anger in his voice. “You're going back to Nesoi.”

  Anlon put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. “Let's load up our equipment and we'll worry about this in a minute. I really don't want to stay here any longer than we have to.”

  Kanti rushed up the stairs with her weapons, leaving the others behind. Nimesha looked over to Camillus like she was going to say something, but kept quiet. Camillus seemed bent on taking her back and no one was ready to say anything to him yet, not until they were airborne.

  “You guys all go load your stuff up and I'll pull the first cruiser out,” Anlon picked up his equipment.

  “Cruiser?” Falcone looked at him. “Where’d you hide those?”

  “First cruiser?” Nimesha echoed.

  “Yeah,” he motioned towards the back of the room. “There's a bunch of cruisers and gliders back there. I thought it'd be best if we brought some along with us. It’ll be a lot quicker than walking everywhere.”

  “Well, I'll go get the ship ready to load them,” Falcone walked up the stairs.

  Anlon turned around and headed towards the black combat cruiser. He touched the door and stepped back as it opened straight up, revealing a spacious and button filled interior. He set his equipment down inside and got in the driver seat. The door automatically closed and displays started lighting up all around him in a frenzy. It was overwhelming at first, but at closer look, the controls and displays were simple.

  His finger hit a red button and the cruiser roared to life as the displays dimmed some, making it easier to see out the windows. More buttons and panels emerged as he flew the cruiser through a small tunnel whose exit was at a hill near the back of his yard. When he exited, he saw Drakos Mavros a few thousand yards away and he flew the cruiser towards it.

  When he reached the ship, he saw Nimesha already outside showing him where the storage for the cruiser would be. He pulled the cruiser underneath the opening and exited. When the door shut, arms came down from the ship and pulled the cruiser into a snug compartment.

  “The other cruiser can go over there,” Nimesha pointed. “And Kanti said you were bringing four gliders along too?”

  “Yeah, I thought they might come in handy. It looks like they can mount on the armored cruiser.”

  “We should be able to get all the gliders in a single compartment,” she pointed to another spot. “They're not too big, so squeezing them in should be no problem.”

  “We can all go down together and bring the rest up,” Anlon told her. “It'll get us out of here quicker.”

  “I'll go let the others know.” Nimesha walked up the ramp. “Start heading that way and we'll catch up.”

  Anlon walked back down to the room and waited for the others to arrive so he could them show which cruiser and gliders would be coming along. He got in the second cruiser and hooked one of the gliders to it before leaving through the tunnel, the others close on his tail. He loaded the cruiser and took his glider over to where the others were waiting. Once they were all loaded, they boarded Drakos Mavros to start their trip back to Nesoi.

  Kanti started arguing with Camillus the second the ramp hissed shut. Anlon left the two of them and met Falcone in the cockpit.

  “Everything ready to go?”

  Falcone nodded. “Cruisers and gliders are correctly loaded and we're about to take off.”

  “We need to go now!” Camillus came running up from behind.

  “We're going,” Falcone tried to calm him down. “I was just making sure everything is good to go.”

  “I'm picking up transmissions that the crodillians have just started to attack!”

  Nimesha jumped in the co-pilot seat. “What do you need me to do Falcone?”

  “Get on the weapons just in case,” he lifted the ship off of the ground while pulling different knobs above his head. “Everyone go man a turret!”

  Anlon ran after Kanti and Camillus to man one of the turrets. He hopped in the seat and looked out of the window and terror washed over him. Crodillian ships were gunning down buildings and burning everything in their paths. Buildings were crumbling to the ground and fires were raging, filling the air with thick, black, smoke.

  “We're taking fire!” Falcone came on the comline. “Get them off of us or we won't get off this planet alive!”

  Anlon turned the turret around to see four, small, crodillian ships approaching them from behind with their weapons blazing. Their laser fire struck the ship and sirens started beeping around him. He put enemy ships in the crosshairs started returning fire. One of the enemy ships erupted in flames and the other three split up, leaving him no visible targets.

  “I've lost all visual,” Anlon spoke in the comline. “They've split off from each other.”

  “They're hiding in our blind spots. These little bastards are smarter than they look,” Falcone replied. “Hang on tight. You all are about to get another good view of them.”

  Before Anlon could ask why he had to hang on, his head slammed against the head rest and he was staring straight up to the battle raging above. The ship dropped as quickly as it’d risen and the enemy ships came back into view. Anlon quickly locked on to one of them and began firing relentlessly until it burst in flames. He saw the other two break off once again and his body lurched to the left as the ship turned. Two more explosions erupted from above and he knew the others had taken out the remaining ships.

  “That's all of them for now,” Falcone informed them. “Keep your eyes peeled for anymore of them. I'm sure they know we're here now that we've taken out four of their own.”
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  Anlon pivoted the turret in all directions, but saw nothing as they got closer to exiting Gaea. Enormous fires raged below and crodillians ships littered the planet’s airspace, converging on any ship that wasn’t theirs. It looked as if they had only one thing in mind: destroy the planet.

  “We may have a problem up ahead,” Falcone came over the comline again. “We have a huge mother ship and a lot of smaller commander ships around it. You all might want to come up here and take a look at what were about to face.”

  Anlon exited the turret and met up with the others in the cockpit. Falcone wasn’t exaggerating, there was an enormous ship surrounded by thousands of smaller ones, all waiting for them to get closer.

  “What are we going to do?” Camillus asked. “There’s no way we're getting through that!”

  “Calm down, Camillus. Let's talk out all of the options we have before we give up,” Nimesha said.

  “There are no other options but giving ourselves up if we want to live!” Camillus exclaimed. “Look how many of them there are!”

  “It does look pretty hopeless,” Kanti agreed.

  “Hate to make things worse, but we have a lot more incoming enemy fighters,” Falcone told them. “Our options are quickly dwindling to nothing.”

  “Tell me you have an idea,” Anlon let out a deep breath. “We can't give ourselves up, and if the Princess is captured along with us, Orion will never be saved.”

  “I may have one idea,” Falcone twiddled his thumbs. “I don't know if it'll work before we're shot down though.”

  “I don't care what it is. Do it,” Anlon ordered.

  “Hang on everyone, this may get a little bumpy.”

  Anlon sat down next to Kanti and she grabbed his hand, clenching until he could feel it. He looked over to her and gave her a reassuring smile that everything would be just fine. Falcone speed the ship up, straight towards the enemy fleet. Anlon could hear Drakos Mavros taking heavy fire, but knew the bigger problem lay right in front of them.

  “What are you doing?” Camillus shrieked. “You're going right into them!”

  “Hang on!” Falcone pushed the Sonodrive button.

  The enemy ships disappeared and stars started streaming around them. After several long seconds Falcone disengaged Sonodrive and slumped back in his seat. He let out a long deep breath and started laughing.

  “What were you thinking?” Camillus got up from his seat. “You could've gotten us all killed!”

  “Looks like we're all alive and fine to me,” Falcone looked around. “I don't see what the problem is. You wanted me to get you out and that’s exactly what I did.”

  “Do you know how dangerous that was?” Camillus asked hysterically.

  “Of course I do, but I didn't see many other options for me to take at the time,” he answered. “I didn't see you coming up with any bright ideas.”

  “I've never actually seen someone do that successfully,” Nimesha asked. “They definitely weren't expecting it or we'd be dead right now.”

  “Whatever,” Camillus waved his hands in the air. “Let's just get Kanti back to Nesoi.”

  “I don't think that's an option right now,” Falcone shook his head. “The crodillians will surely be keeping an eye out for our ship now that we've escaped.”

  “So you're suggesting we keep her with us?”

  Falcone nodded. “Any extra trips we make now will just increase the chances of us getting caught. We need to make as few stops as possible.”

  “I agree with Falcone,” Kanti smiled. “We need to go straight to Ovrea and talk to the Elders.”

  Camillus walked past them and went upstairs to a bunker. Anlon turned to Kanti and a big smile formed across his face.

  “Looks like you're coming along with us after all.”

  “I was coming all along,” Kanti leaned back in her chair. “If I'm really the Princess, I can't just sit around and watch while Orion is burned. You saw what they were doing to Gaea, I won’t watch that from behind a screen, I’d rather give my life trying to prevent it.”

  “Gaea is going to end up just like Demeter,” Nimesha stared straight ahead. “They were burning your home, just like they burned mine.”

  “We'll stop them, Nimesha,” Kanti put her hand on her shoulder. “They won't be able to stop us once we get our hands on the information we’re looking for.”

  Chapter 2

  Jahdiel whipped around, putting her face within an inch of the Captain’s. “What just happened to that ship?”

  “I'm not sure Jahdiel,” the Captain stuttered. “I believe they used sonodrive. I’ve never seen anyone do that successfully. The risk is unbelievable, only a great pilot can pull that move off without killing himself and the entire crew.”

  “You should've taken them out!” Jahdiel shouted. “They're resistance! Rebels! They’re to be killed on sight from here on out, and if you have any second thoughts as to whether they’re rebels, it’d be in your best interest to be safe and assume so. We show no mercy, Captain. Merikh will have my head if he hears of this, and trust me when I say, I won’t think twice about putting the blame on you.”

  The crodillian Captain straightened his posture and looked straight ahead. “We tried, Jahdiel. There were several attempts on Gaea to destroy the ship.”

  “They were right there in front of your ship. You had the opportunity to take them out and you failed, not just your men, you,” she shook her head. “Letting them escape makes us look weak, especially if other rebels hear of this.”

  “We should be able to track them down,” the Captain replied. “We can send ships to each planet to watch for that ship, though they may beat us to whatever planet they're going to.”

  Jahdiel stared at the Captain, holding in the urge to kill him for his mistake. She knew she couldn't kill him, she wasn't a crodillian, she was a human, but the urge was still there. A human killing a crodillian, even if she was under only Merikh in rank, would likely not go over well. So, she just made a mental note never to work with this Captain again if she could avoid it.

  “How are things going down on Gaea?” She changed the topic. “I assume your men are performing better down there than they are up here?”

  “No resistance at all up to this point. There seems to be a small force gathering around the city Capitol. It’s as if they’re rounding up to start a rebellion once when we step foot on their planet.”

  “I want to know exactly where they are. We’ll make an example of those who dare defy us.”

  The Captain pointed to a big building in the center of a burning city on the holoscreen. “Right there. We see a lot of races outside, but we’re still trying to estimate how many have taken shelter within. It's a very big building so there could be close to ten thousand if my reports are correct.”

  “Kill them all,” Jahdiel ordered. “But leave the building standing. I want any thoughts of future rebellion to leave the minds of all races in Orion. The sight of this building will remind them of what happens if orders aren’t followed.”

  “I'm not sure we can kill them all and still leave the building intact.”

  “Do I need to lead the attack myself?” She moved so close to his face she could feel his quickened breaths on her lips. “You know I'm more than capable of leading an attack.”

  “No. I just think that keeping the building standing is much more work than it’s worth. We could just bomb the entire building and eliminate the threat without losing any of our own.”

  “Are you in charge, Captain?” She took a slight step back and cocked her head while crossing her arms.

  “No, Jahdiel, not while you are on my ship. You are in full command of everything.”

  “Then do as I just ordered you!” She shouted. “Keep the building standing and bomb anything else that you want! Lure them out of the building for all I care! It doesn't matter how you kill them all as long as the building stands when you’re finished.”

  “Yes, Jahdiel,” the Captain turned around and walk
ed down to the main deck without a second glance back.

  Jahdiel took a seat in her chair and watched as more ships left the Colchian to descend to Gaea. She could see the fires blazing and the smoke billowing in the sky from the previous attack. The atmosphere was thick with the dense black smoke, suffocating the entire planet. If there was a rebellion brewing, it wouldn't last past this next attack. She had gotten to know the crodillians very well during her time as an outcast, and if there was one thing she’d learned, it was that they loved the smell of death on their hands.

  Their lust for destruction wasn't something she liked, and she knew that Merikh didn't either. He had been her mentor in a way and she knew more about him than any of the crodillians thought they knew. Jahdiel knew he hated that he had to destroy his galaxy because it left nothing for him to rule. He liked power, but if all that was left were ashes and bones, that power was useless. The rest of the crodillians just wanted to kill and destroy anything in their paths, damned be if they would be able to survive after destroying everything. Soon they would learn that times were rapidly changing. The pointless bloodshed would have to come to end, for some time anyway.

  She’d agreed to come back for vengeance, but also because something inside had urged her to. It was hard for her to put into words, but she’d trusted the instinct, hoping it would reveal itself before it was too late. Orion was as good as conquered after the attack on Hera and the burning of Demeter was a necessity to prove their power and strike fear into every race. She’d lost sleep over the slaughter, wishing she’d never said a word. It’d been her idea and all the blood was in her hands even though she hadn’t stepped foot on the planet.

  Jahdiel stared out the window and watched as more fires began to erupt on untouched parts of the planet. Soon, all the on Gaea would get to see who’d just led the strike on their planet. One of them, a human, wrongly outcast to death and forgotten many years ago. Now she was a traitor to them.

  Anlon sat next to Kanti and pulled out his comlink. The Council hadn't called him yet, so he had a feeling they didn't even notice Kanti missing yet. He wished that he could keep it from them, but he knew that was no way to gain their trust.