The Rebel Faction

As I lay in my bedroom, I was scared for my life. There were many on this planet who wished to kill me for the actions that I had taken against the old Council, and I felt that if I were to stay here, I must take great care in my travels. Thoughts and questions flew through my head with no answers coming to mind. What was I doing here? Did I have a purpose for staying here? Who are my allies and who were my enemies? What do I want from life? These were the questions that ran through my head without answers. I knew that in time these questions would be answered. First, I had to talk to my parents.

I walked up to them and remembered that these were not my true parents, they were neither biological nor were they related to my parents in any way. My parents had been killed many years ago in a battle on this very planet that had killed so many. That was when the old Council had promised new hope and life for my people, that promise never came true. Instead there was a stem of corruption and greed flowing through the planet. The battle was simply a reason for a new government and that was what had happened. My parents were simply lowly officers fighting for the original government that had been abolished and banned after the battle. They, as I remembered were brutal fighters and stopped at nothing to gain the respect at others. That was their fatal flaw and as I remembered their deaths, a sudden pain came about me in my stomach. Feelings of hatred and guilt came to me in a sudden flash. The atrocity of their death was almost too much for me to handle, and I wondered whether I would ever be able to speak of their deaths. I controlled the feelings and the thoughts came back to me. They were on the battlefield, waiting for the signal for them to run to the front line and as the sergeant told them to do so, a missile came from the enemy lines and exploded in front of my parents. Their limbs were strewn across the trenches, blood covered the survivors. That was their death and that was the last time I would remember it.

As I could remember, I was sent to an adoption agency here in the capital city and for many years I was stuck feeling lonely and depressed as children came and went. I was 12 before I was told a family wanted to adopt me. I had a new hope and as I met them, I was so excited to know whether they would adopt me. The owner of the adoption agency was led to the far corner of the room with my potential adopters and I began to feel lonely once again. It felt as though hours had passed, though it was only minutes. They came back smiling and I was told they wanted to adopt me immediatly, and ever since then, these people in front of me have been my parents.

"Mother, father, I need to ask you something. What is my purpose for staying here? Why should I stay here and live a lowly life when I could be out in space fighting for a just cause?" I asked, feeling guilt inside me.
"You shall soon know your purpose, you have been summoned by the New Council and I'm sure that you shall know your purpose then. Your purpose and your ideals." My father told me boldly and with pride. My mother was stood beside him gleaming with joy as if they already knew the purpose of the summoning.
"Thank you father, I shall go quickly, for I do not wish to upset the New Council so shortly after the war that lasted but a few days." I told him, and hugged both my mother and father before leaving for the Council building.

I knew that I must take care around these parts, I felt at rest again as people looked at me with pride, knowing that my achievements had saved the planet from a cloak of corruption. A few looked at me with hatred, as if what I had done was treason, but that did not bother me. As I looked up in amazement at the newly designed Council building, I felt as though in the room up above, I would learn my purpose for staying here. I opened the door to the building and there I saw many people rushing around, papers and people flying around. I walked to the reception and told them of my visit and I was immediatly told to go straight to the Upper Room. It was such an honour yet such a curse to be summoned by the New Council. As I approached the door, I knocked and a man I knew to be the leader of the New Council beckoned me inside. I was offered a seat around a table where so many of the New Council were sat, and I knew this visit must be an honour, not a curse. I took the seat and waited with anxiety to know the purpose of this summoning. After around five minutes of silence, the leader of the New Council, Palaris Grood, began to speak.

"Spiritius, I understand that you do not know the purpose of this summoning yet. Is this correct?" He asked.
"That is correct, sir." I said with respect in my tone.
"Very well then, I shall now explain. It was you that gave the planet new hope when you defeated the old Council, it was you that led an army of men onto the battlefield and fought valiantly." Palaris told me. I was confused as to were this was going. He continued to speak.
"You have proven your worth as a soldier and as a leader, thus I am here as are the council to provide you with some very good news. An army has been erected to defend the New Council and the planet in times of war, and as of yet we have no General to command the army." He told me and I realised were this was going, I was proud yet kept quiet for now.
"I believe that you are in a strong position to take this post, and the New Council is behind me in saying that we wish for you to accept the position with immediate effect. Do you agree and do you have any terms under which we must agree before you take the position?" He asked.
"I do have one term, that the army is under the control of the Galactic Coalition and can be ordered to battle at any time under the command of the Galactic Coalition." I told the New Council, deeply hoping that they would accept the single term.
"We accept with pride, and does this mean that you will be the Commanding General for the army of the New Council?" The Minister of Defense asked.
"I do wish to be the Commanding General, I simply have one question, how many men and women are in the army at this present time?" I asked to know whether I would need to make some officers into Sergeants and Captains.
"There are currently twenty three thousand men in the army and three thousand women in the army." Palaris told me. I was pleased with this and at that comment, I left the Upper Room to go to my home.

As I sat in my bedroom, thinking of what I planned to do. I know knew what my purpose in life was. It was to liberate planets in the name of the Galactic Coalition and serve as a General under the order of the Xionti New Council. I knew who my allies, the Galactic Coalition and the New Council. I knew who were my enemies, those who went against the New Council or the Galactic Coalition. I was happy knowing that I now had a purpose in life and hoped that soon I would meet the Prime-minister of the Galactic Coalition to work out my position in the Galactic Coalition. Yet, first I had to organise the army into squadrons.

As the minute hand on the clock drew close to ten o'clock, I sat in patience waiting for the few that I had chosen for leadership roles to enter the room. It was close to three minutes to ten before Seila arrived and I immediatly brought her into the room. Several seconds later, two men, Jackil and Reaid came to the door of my office and I let them in. Coming only one minute late was Kiadi and Darami who were obviously close friends. As they were all seated before me, I started to address the group.
"All of you here are now either Captains or Lieutenants. You have the power to dismiss and recruit soldiers who think are suitable for your group. I shall now introduce eachother and the groups that we have. In leadership of the Piloting group is Seila Marana. In leadership of the Shadow group is Darami Skoil. In leadership of the Heavy Weapons group is Jackil Ingris. In leadership of the Scouting group is Kiadi Lisho and finally in leadership of the Soldiers group, there is Reaid Mkinana. I would you all to become acquainted before I explain the roles of your groups." And as I said that final sentence and left the room, I heard voices speaking to one another and I was pleased. I waited roughly ten minutes before entering the room again with scrolls and maps in my arm.
"Seila, your role as leader of the Piloting group is to create a squadron that has excellence in piloting for space battles. I understand that you can fly and thus you will be sent to the outskirts of the city where your squadron will be trained in simulation exercises." I told her and she nodded to me in understanding.
"Darami, you have the job of being our eyes and our ears in different parts of the galaxy. You have the role of infiltrating enemy forces and accessing key information. You will be sent to a training facility led by the Galactic Coalition whre you and your squadron will be trained in live exercises." He confirmed that he understood with a simple yes sir.
"Jackil, you have a role to play which will often help us win the war. You must make a squadron that is competent in using heavy weapons such as missile launchers. You will stay here and train in both simulation and live exercises." I told him.
"Kiadi, you must go ahead of our armies and search for the position of the enemies army. You have a role that is more dangerous than the normal army. You will train here in simulation and live exercises along with Jackil. Good luck." I told her.
"Reaid, your squadron will have a large number of soldiers in it and you must command the battalion which will be the main army. You will train in simulation and live exercises in the army barracks along side Jackil and Kiadi." I told him and he confirmed his duty.
"Those of who are training here must go back to their squadrons and report the information I have told you to your troops. Those of you who are leaving this area for a period of time must go to their squadron, tell them this information and then go to the main hall where a ship will be waiting for you to transport you to your training facility. Now move out!" Immediatly, the soldiers left quickly and I heard them running down the hallways.

I began to roll out the maps that I had brought with me when I was addressing the soldiers personally and began drawing plans for example battles, which would explain the positioning of the different squadrons. Several hours passed before I fell asleep with exhaustion.

As I sat reading over the news of the planet, I heard a knock at my door. I realised that someone must have decided that what I had said in my speech was true enough and decided to come and speak to me. I beckoned this person in and I saw that it was not a soldier but instead it was Palaris Grood. I was amazed and stunned to see him standing in the doorway.
"Sir, please take a seat." I told Paralis. He walked to the chair and struggled to be seated in the chair.
"Spiritius, there is no time for chit-chat. I have some important news for you. The New Council is having a meeting to discuss the idea of a research program based on the new design of ships, weapons etc. I would like for you to attend this meeting as an honoured guest and speak of what you know. If all goes well, I believe that you may be accepted to join the New Council." He told me with an urgency. I simply sat in my seat listening to his words with curiosity.
"Sir, surely it is too soon to be thinking of research groups." I told him.
"The New Council wishes for the planet to become a large influence in the galaxy and it seems that some of the members wish for the action to begin now. I am one who has the same belief as yourself, yet there has been a majority vote and the Research Project has been accepted. If you wish to speak your thoughts, I welcome you to attend the meeting in the Great Hall. Now I must leave you. I wish you well Spiritius." He immediatly stood up and left the room, leaving me with my thoughts.

I wished to attend the meeting of course, yet if I had ideas opposing the New Council, I would never be accepted as a member of the New Council. I had to rethink what I was going to do.

I grabbed a piece of paper from the drawer under my desk and began writing.

It is my belief that the Research Project based upon the design of several new ships and weapons for the benefit of both the planet and the galaxy is a rather good idea yet there are faults that cause me to believe that it is too soon for a research project. Firstly, we currently have no connection with the main businessmen of the galaxy, the Vinda Corporation and secondly, we do not have the workers willing to dedicate their time to the project. This therefore leads me to believe that if the Research Project were to go ahead as planned, then there must be more planning involved. This is what I believe, take this information as you will.

That was my speech, hopefully the New Council would like it. I knew that some of the New Council members had respect for me whereas others were slightly less kind in their opinion of me...

Meeting of the New Council

The New Council building stood before. I looked upon it's greatness and perfect design in fear and awe. I didn't want to enter the building yet I dreaded to think what the New Council would do if I did not attend the summoning. I walked in and was immediatly summoned to the Upper Room, a place where I was beginning to become familiar with. I knocked on the door and peered my head around the door. Paralis and several other Council members turned their heads at the interruption.

"Spiritius, I'm so glad that you came. Please take seat next to mine. This is quite a special occasion but first I would like to congratulate you on your speech. You seem to have won the respect of the people." Paralis said.
"Palaris, would you stop diverting away from the purpose of this meeting." The Minister of Defense said. When he said those words, I began to feel even more worried than before.
"Very well. As you may well know Spiritius, we have a keen interest in the actions of yourself. We have a great knowledge of what you do and the goals that you have in life. You have a devotion to this country and I believe that there is simply no other decision that to tell you this one simple sentence. Welcome to the New Council." He said.

I was stunned, surely this couldn't have been true. I looked around the room and each member of the New Council looked towards me and cracked a smile. I was truly amazed. I sat back into the chair and the New Council broke into applause. I was tempted to pinch myself to check this wasn't a dream but there was nothing but reality surrounded this whole place.
"What exactly is my position here in the New Council?" I asked Palaris.
"You are second-in-command. You are now the co-leader of the New Council before myself. You must carry out your duties with care and consideration and your first duty as the newest member of the New Council is to solve the problems that are related to the Research Project." Palaris told me.

This was a dream come true for me. I sat back and waited for the New Council to ask me to leave, but the meeting moved onto diplomatic business without any notice of the New Council wishing for me to leave.