Rise of the Resistance (War for Orion Trilogy Book Two) by Conner Walworth Page A

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 the 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