Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) (27 page)

“I believe you and I believe you may be
right,” she said. “But my father is the one who needs to be
convinced. He had the vision too, but is hesitant to do anything
more. We haven't seen anything else yet. After we found you, the
visions went away. We don't know
why
we were led to you
Donnchadh, we just were.”

Donnchadh just nodded and walked forward.
His fatigue went away with the realization he’d just found the
races to help save Orion. They’d been led to him for some reason,
and he was positive that reason was to aide in a rebellion. Now all
he had to do was convince Reamonn that leaving the wasteland of
Erebos was the right thing to do. That was easier said than
done.

Abdul stood outside of Kirill's room,
nervous to enter. The talk with the Queen had opened his eyes, but
Kirill was still blinded by power. He’d worked with the Queen since
the beginning of her rule, and despite what Kirill thought, she was
a very wise ruler. Adira saw things happening before they even
happened. That’s why she’d had such a peaceful reign and was
considered one of the best rulers Orion had ever seen.

Now, he just had to convince Kirill to make
a move. The Queen hadn't suggested it because she didn't care
whether Merikh or Kirill survived. But Abdul knew if Merikh killed
Kirill, he’d surely be next and that was motivation enough to push
for his leader to make the first move. It’d be tough considering
Kirill was bent on not betraying Merikh until the right time, but
the time was now and he had to prove it before it was too late.

“Kirill,” Abdul walked into his room. “I've
been thinking long and hard, and we need to exterminate the
crodillians as soon as possible. I have a bad feeling about teaming
up with them, as I have voiced with you from the start. There's
just something about them that's off. They're not trustworthy.”

“You worry too much, Abdul,” Kirill waved
his hand. “I told you they're a good ally and once I have what I
want, we'll dispose of them. You don't need to worry about
anything. It’s my job to worry about things like that.”

“The Queen is right. I'm not going agree
with you on this one. Teaming with the crodillians will only lead
to more trouble, most likely
your
death. When that time
come, you better believe I won’t be around.”

“And
I
will kill Merikh first. I have
already told you this. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“How can you promise that?” Abdul asked.
“
He
has the army, not you. You’re greatly outnumbered and
you’re a guest in
his
home.”

“I have the assassins,” Kirill rolled his
eyes. “All I have to do is assassinate Merikh and I've won. The
crodillians won't attack me without a leader. Complete utter chaos
will ensue, leaving the Throne for my taking.”

“They'll just kill every living thing they
see once you do that. They're bloodthirsty beasts without any type
of morals.”

“Look,” Kirill walked over and put his hand
on his shoulder. “Once Kanti is here, everything will be fine.
Merikh will be happy and he’ll think he’s in complete control. Once
we’ve killed him, we can even make it look like we came to her
rescue. The rebels will think we're heroes and everything will be
fine.”

“It won't be that easy.”

“Sure it will. Stop worrying so much.”

“Merikh won’t let you win,” he continued to
pound in his leader’s head. “You think this is the first time he’s
used someone like you?” He asked. “I can assure you that it's not
and that he's already planning for you to kill him. This isn’t one
of your usual targets, he’s wiped out the Queen's entire fleet.
Their leader has resources that’ll enable him to beat you unless
you act soon.”

“The Queen put her entire fleet out in the
open to be wiped out. Even I could see that coming. What Merikh
won’t see, is my assassin in his room.”

“He’s smart, Kirill. You can't play him like
you think.”

“Then what do you suggest I do? Take him out
before all the planets are conquered?”

“I suggest you take him out as soon as
possible. So yes, that means before all of the planets are
conquered. If you were smart, you’d do it now before word of you
working by his side leaks.”

“Ridiculous!” Kirill shook his head and
threw his hands up. “What you’re suggesting is preposterous. You’re
overthinking things from being around the Queen too long.”

“I assure you I’m not. Just think what would
happen if you acted now. Wouldn’t Orion see you as a hero? You’ll
gain the trust of every last race. You’ll lead the rebellions to
wipe out the remaining crodillians, and in the process you’ll kill
thousands of races you plan on exterminating. When the war is over,
you’ll have gained all their trust and it’ll be easy to make this
galaxy pure again,” Abdul told him. “Think of the propaganda you
could put out there that’d get races on your side to take out the
unworthy. All you’d have to do is strike fear in them and they’d
bend to your will. Acting now is in your best interest.”

“I know what’s best. When I think the time
has come to take their leader out, I’ll do it. Right now isn’t the
time.”

“You're not listening!” Abdul shouted. “Kill
him
now
.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kirill said. “You
still haven't thought about Jahdiel. What’s to say she won’t stand
in my way once I kill him?”

“They'll never follow her, she's human. They
only follow her now because Merikh orders it. When he dies, it’ll
be complete chaos. The upper ranking crodillians will fight each
other for power, giving you the chance to come in as a hero and
lead a rebellion to wipe them out.”

“You really think he's going to kill
me?”

“I
know
he's going to kill you,”
Abdul nodded. “If you want to live, then listen to what I'm telling
you and take him out now. He may be a good ally, and may get you
close
to your goal of genocide, but you’ll never actually
get there. Merikh is just as bloodthirsty as you, and he too is
waiting for the right moment. You need to strike early to ensure
your survival.”

“I still want to use him more, but you may
be right. I’ll put some more thought into it.”

“Poison him. Make it look natural. Don't let
the crodillians think you were behind it. And act quickly, every
moment you wait could mean your death.”

“I know just the race to take him out,”
Kirill grinned. “I’ll wait a little longer, but I promise you,
he’ll be dead before killing me even crosses his mind. Maybe he'll
even have conquered a few more planets for me by then.”

Anlon sat in the pilot seat of the crashed
ship, frustration gnawing away at him. He’d searched the ship from
top to bottom and hadn't found a single thing of use. It seemed
impossible to have gotten so far, just to end up somewhere where
everyone would forget about him. A war with the crodillians was
looming, and once that was over, he’d be counted as just another
fatality of the war. No one would come for him. Ever.

“Why!” He slammed his fists on the controls
of the ship.

Searing pain coursed through his hand and he
yanked it back, wiping fresh blood off on his suit. He reclined
back in the chair and noticed the walkie of the comline dangling
from a cord. Anlon jumped from the chair and grabbed it, pressing
the button on the side. Just like everything else in the ship, it
didn't work. All that came back was light static.

“Thought I didn't already try that?” Fausto
asked from behind. “It hasn't worked since I was attacked and
crashed here, otherwise, I'd be out of here and you'd be dead. You
should be happy that stupid thing doesn’t work.”

“What's wrong with it?” Anlon asked. “Why
can't you fix it?”

“That's fried,” he pointed. “Don't know how,
but the circuits burned up when I was shot down.”

“So, it's impossible to fix?”

Fausto nodded and put his hands on his hips.
“I've tried everything to get that thing up and running again and
nothing has worked.”

Anlon clenched his fists. “There has to be
some
way to fix it! Come on, think!”

“You see any ship yards around here?” He
looked out the window as if he’d find something.

“There's nothing on this wretched
planet!”

“That's my point,” he looked at him.
“There’s nothing on my ship and there are no scrap yards I can go
to. That means this thing will never be up and running again.”

Anlon grinned. “You sure about that?”

“I've been here for fifty years,” he crossed
his arms. “Don't you think I would’ve found a way to fix it by
now?”

“I think there is a way to fix it now.”

“Is there something you saw that I've missed
for the past fifty years?”

“Not necessarily something you’ve missed for
fifty years,” he answered. “But there is something that's been here
as long as me that you missed.”

Fausto uncrossed his arms. “Your evac
pod?”

“Exactly!” A smile grew across his face. “My
evac pod will have a comline on it! I can't believe I was so dumb
not to use it before getting out of it. I'm sure the boards are
similar enough to work.”

“I guess the boards could work, though
they're bound to be a little bit different,” Fausto said. “But
there’s one little thing that you're forgetting.”

“And what’s that? All we should need are
some circuit boards and a couple other parts. I’m sure we can find
whatever we need somewhere on your ship.”

“The three headed monster out there,” Fausto
reminded him. “You know, that thing that almost killed you until I
saved you.”

“Oh,” he replied, deflated. “We could try to
avoid it.”

“It's not the only one out there. I've seen
several of them from the cave. I don't know what they're called,
but I've seen them preying on other creatures that wander out
there. The place is a graveyard.”

“It's our only hope to get off of this
planet! It has to be worth a try!”

“Yeah. And if you fail, you're dead.”

“Come on Fausto!” He urged. “If I'm going to
go back to the pod I need your help. You know the terrain better
than I do.”

“Not much. You’ve been out there further
than I’ve ever gone. Plus, I've never fought one of those things.
I've just observed them and I would like to keep it at that.”

“We won’t fight them unless we have to. You
know how they’ll react from observing them so you should know a way
to get around them.”

“I would much rather stay here, safe in my
cave,” he replied. “You'll live a very comfortable life here. It's
pleasant and there’s nothing that wants to kill you.”

“I
need
to get off Tartarus,” Anlon
urged. “Orion is at war with an ancient race who have weird powers.
I don't know if my friends escaped to warn the rebels, which means
it's now my duty.”

“Nothing will change your mind? I can’t say
anything that’ll make you stay in this cave?”

“Not a single thing. We’re both getting off
of Tartarus or we're going to die trying,” he crossed his arms
defiantly.

“I haven't even shown you around the cave
yet,” he walked forward. “But then again, it would be good to see
other races after all these years.”

“So, you're going to help me?”

“What choice do I have? You don't think I'm
going to let you go alone out there and die, do you?”

Anlon smiled. “What do you know about those
things out there?”

“That we're going to need some weapons or
we're about to become their lunch,” he opened a crate, revealing a
variety of rifles. “I don't have much, but hopefully we only run
into one of these things.”

Anlon picked up a sonic rifle and examined
it. “And if we happen to run into more than one?”

“Then I hope you can run faster than what I
saw.” He picked up another sonic rifle and cocked it.

Fausto led him off the ship and back into
the dimly lit cave. They traveled back the same way they’d come
when going to Fausto's ship. It was such a peaceful place, and
Anlon didn't blame him for not being eager to leave it to face
those creatures, but there was no other choice. If Orion wasn’t in
trouble right now, he wouldn't mind staying here, though he'd have
to have someone with him, preferably Kanti. It was nice here, but
not nice enough to live alone for the rest of his life.

When they reached the end of the cave,
Fausto squatted down and looked out through the tight entrance.

“There's nothing roaming around out there
right now that I can see,” he observed. “The fog is gone, so we
should be able to see them coming from a distance.”

“Where do they come from?”

“You see those rocky areas?” He pointed.
“Those are holes that they’ve somehow dug in the rock. I guess
they're little tunnels and they wait in there for prey to come
by.”

“So, we just avoid the holes,” Anlon thought
aloud. “Got it.”