Rebel's Quest by Gun Brooke

destroyed. We haven’t found out how many have been killed or incarcerated, but I’m sure I’ll have more intel in the next few days.”
    “Where do we go from here?” Vespes continued.
    “We can’t sit around and wait for numbers. They’re expecting us to go into hiding. I say we attack.” A low hum distorted the voice of the person who sat next to Vespes, but it was clearly female.
    “And your call sign?” Andreia asked, leaning forward toward the screen. She knew her own voice was scrambled to a higher degree. It was imperative nobody even knew her gender.
    “Paladin.”
    Andreia nodded slowly. She had heard this call sign before, countless times, in fact. Paladin was one of the senior officers who had been part of the resistance as long as Andreia herself. The woman was a legend, whose fearless raids had generated her quite a fan club within the resistance, and Andreia had to concede that Paladin deserved it. “I heard you were injured and treated in one of the Merealian camps.”
    “I was. I’ve recovered. What’s our next operation?”
    Andreia pulled out a small computer console and attached it to a secure station beside her chair. After docking it and logging on, she pulled up a bulleted list. “You know the Supreme Constellations is arming for a confrontation with the Onotharians. In fact, my intel shows it’s already begun at the SC border. Onotharians took a squadron of ships, allegedly to try and free Ambassador M’Ekar, but to no avail. When SC rattles their weapons, even our occupiers notice.”
    “They’ll get here, but we may lose a lot of good people while we wait. Time’s running out if we want to intercept any prison transports.” Paladin spoke urgently.
    “I’m aware of this.” Andreia knew the woman bordered on insolence, but recent events made her reaction excusable. “However, to execute an operation without adequate planning and preparation is risky, with a high probability for failure. At this point in the war, failure is not an option. I’ve developed two courses of action. Whichever one we choose will require surgical precision. Collateral damage must be kept to a minimum. I want as little bloodshed as possible.”
    “Perhaps it’s this method, this almost pacifist approach, that’s caused our conflict to last for almost three decades!” another voice, male and raspy through the scrambler, exclaimed.
    Andreia saw the contours of the resistance member’s profiles as they turned to look at the man who had just spoken.
    “You’re out of order, Jubinor,” Vespes admonished.
    “The Onotharians are a callous, uncaring people, with greedy, calculating minds. They don’t do anything unless it benefits them. We should use their tactics. Speak to them in a language they understand!” Jubinor objected.
    Paladin rose, and Andreia watched her put her hands on her hips. “At what cost? Do these people, the callous, greedy, and calculating Onotharians, sound like anyone you’d like to emulate?”
    “I’ve fought for the resistance for more than twenty years!” Jubinor spat.
    “So have I!” The two figures, outlined by the indirect light, approached each other. The woman placed both hands on Jubinor’s arms. “We will not compromise our values.”
    Andreia’s throat constricted and she had to swallow repeatedly. So much hatred for her race, for her, if they knew who she was. In fact, many Gantharian-born Onotharians loved this world and its people. They were as much victims as the indigenous people.
    “Take your seats,” Andreia said, and fought to keep her voice under control. “We don’t have time for an internal squabble.
    “Both Jubinor and Paladin have valid points. We need to change our tactics without compromising our values, and it’s time to move things up a notch. We’re low on manpower, and our window to carry out any type of rescue operation is extremely small. Review the data that will arrive in code on your console, Vespes, and decide which one