Dominion

Chapter Twenty Seven: Chances

Chapter Twenty Seven: Chances

What would death accomplish?

That's what I was asking myself as I looked around me, at all these people rushing to prepare this place for a battle like none other. They were barricading the entrances, reinforcing the automated defenses, establishing command points, and a lot more. They were running back and forth all across the base, moving supplies or delivering instructions. And that all made sense to me. That was technical. Logical. But the fact that they had all, each every one of them, volunteered to stay and die, did not make sense to me. Not because my sister had inspired them, but because I couldn't understand what their deaths would do for the rebellion. It would end. They would be defeated. The Dominion would win. It made more sense in the big picture to run so the rebellion would live on. But no - they were all still here.

But then, so was I.

Vera was beside me, handing boxes of supplies to me that I in was helping load into the scout ship behind us. They were for the few that weren't staying, mostly non-combatants like the majority of the engineers and doctors and thinkers. They were headed to some place only identified to us as Beta Site. And they needed to leave now if they were going to evade the army. Problem was, their take off would give away the location of the base to the approaching army, and our time would become very limited. Thus it had to be timed right. I volunteered to help because, again, that was something I understood.

"May I asssist you?" Lizard's voice came from behind us.

Vera looked at him with curiosity. "Sure. But don't you have a mission to prep for, first volunteer?"

Lizard picked up one of the boxes of supplies, bringing it onto the scout ship. "Asss you ssstated," Lizard looked to me. "We do not know what to expect on the other ssside of the portal. Thus there isss not a way to truly prepare."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" I asked. "The Dominion home world. That's..."

Lizard finished my thought. "Terrifying, yesss. But asss your sssister ssstated, it isss the only chance we have. Besssides, I fear you may have a far more challenging tasssk ahead of you if the leader of The Dark Onesss isss truly amongssst the approaching army."

"What do you know about him?" Vera asked, her curiosity lined with the fear that had filled the room before at the mention of The Immortal.

Lizard shook his head. "Not much more than either of you have likely heard, I am afraid," he sat down the box he was carrying and looked to us with a degree of concern. "He isss sssupposedly hundredsss of yearsss old. The ssstories told on my home world depict him as what your people may refer to as a...devil, I believe isss the word. A visssion of pure darknesss. No one hasss ever heard his voice, nor doesss anyone ssseem to know how he hasss lived for ssso very long."

I dropped the box I was carrying. "Sounds like a bunch of mythical shit to me," I stepped back towards them, grabbing another box from Vera. "Anyone can be killed."

"I hope you are correct," Lizard replied. "Regardlesss, I sssuggest caution." After a moment, I nodded, stepping back onto the ship. "Alssso regardlesss, I would like you both to know that it hasss been an honor to fight alongssside you," he paused, Vera and I both looking to him. "And to call you friendsss."

Vera gave him a supportive look. "Lizard..." She stepped up to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "We'll make it through this."

"I hope you are correct," he replied. I hoped so too. I thought about reminding her that it wasn't too late. That we could just stay on this scout ship and get out of here. But I knew she wouldn't do that, on the off chance that her parents were here. And I couldn't bring myself to leave if she was staying.