Chapter 38: War Time Planning
“What do you have for us Seth?” I asked him.
“I have everything planned out to the last second. I’ll go over everything detail by detail first and don’t interrupt. I’ll answer all questions last so I don’t lose my train of thought and forget something.”
I nodded, “Good idea. Go.”
“Nikki is going to leave with special weapons and supplies she will be able to hide at all times. She will have four days to convince the Silthra that Jasmine is a lying to get them on her side. Three days from now I will be leaving in the morning with Teegan and we’re going to take a plane to motels we have set up for everyone to stay at. Halfway through the day Carlot and Vince are going to start going to a motel by foot then that night John and Selma will be traveling by bus to that same motel. The day after that we will be releasing Layal and the rest of the army at different times throughout the day; you can choose your mode of transportation. The last to leave will be Topanga and Sam, and Rolla and Pilote; they will also be choosing their mode of transportation. The day they leave the decoy bus will be going off. They will need to get to the bus minutes after it goes off and the rest of us will surround the Silthra. Hopefully by then the Silthra will be at the bus and we’ve been able to destroy some of them. That’s when the war starts.”
“And all of us will have our own weapons we’re carrying with us?” Teegan asked.
“Yes,” Seth asked. “The chosen ones’ weapons along with those of Topanga and Sam will be easily hidden under our clothes and in our bags. The army’s weapons will be harder to hide, but they will be carrying large bags with them so it’s not noticeable to the humans.”
“Has the decoy bomb been made?” I asked him.
Seth nodded, “And the bomb can only harm the Silthra. A soldier in the Tigma army will be driving the bus along with other members of the army riding the bus. The Silthra will come onto the bus to attack us and then the bomb will go off, killing any Silthra near. The remaining will be left for us to fight.”
“What’s our goal?” Carlot asked. “Are we trying to kill all of them or are we trying to get them to surrender so we can live freely.”
“We want to live freely,” I told them, “And we want to live without fear of us being killed every moment of the day. If we can get the Silthra to surrender and convince everyone on their side that we are indeed the good guys then we should we able to live freely in the human world. If they don’t surrender however, then it may come down to killing all of them and convincing the humans in another way.”
“Exactly,” Seth said, “We don’t want to kill all of them, but we will if we have to. The humans can be a very stubborn but understanding race so it would take a lot of speeches to convince them of what we’ve been doing. If we can’t get them to agree then I’m afraid we’ll all be going to jail.”
“Who is everybody?” Vince asked.
“The entire Tigma race,” I answered, “And possibly all the Silthra that are left. We’re breaking the human laws with what we are doing so they’re gonna have to be understanding if we want to get away with this. They won’t want to accept a fight breaking out in their country involving people who have abilities not known to them.”
“Are we all clear on the plan?” Seth asked.
“I have a question,” Pilote said. “How are you going to be using your force field abilities?”
“I’ll be using it in battle where it’s needed. There are certain people in battle that I need to make sure stay safe and unharmed throughout the fighting. I’ll be in hiding protecting them. I’ll see everything, but I probably won’t be fighting unless I have to.”
“Will you be close?” Pilote asked.
“Close enough to spread the force field to who I need it to go to.”
“Good,” I said. “Who are those people?”
“That’s secret,” he said.
“Excuse you?” I asked.
He sighed, “Everyone leave if you’re clear on the plan. I need to talk to Rolla and Pilote alone.”
Everyone else left the room and I spoke up again, “What do you mean it’s secret?”
“I found a manuscript in the witch’s things,” he said, “And there are certain people that can’t get injuried early and that can’t die in battle. They need to survive the war.”
“Why?”
“Because them and their soul mates have a huge impact in our future,” Seth explained.
“Who are these people?” Pilote asked.
“Well, for one, you and Rolla are two of them. Rolla, you’re the leader, you can’t be injured early because we would be lost without you. Pilote, you’re her soul mate, if you get injured early she would be lost. Nikki and Jasmine are the other two.”
“Does it say why they are important?” I asked him.
“It explains that Nikki is going to be very well known for what she does for us. Her soul mate is going to merge us with the humans, but it doesn’t say who her soul mate is. Nikki is the secret weapon that will get us to win the war and the secret weapon that will allow us to live freely. I think it’s obvious why Jasmine needs to live.”
“It’s not obvious to me.”
“Jasmine is the oblivious princess of the Tigmas. Her betrayal is going to be known for a very long time, but it will become clear why during all the fighting. It doesn’t say what happens; just that we’ll understand why during the fighting.”
“Something bad is bubbling here,” I said. “I have a really bad feeling about those things, but if it’s what we need then obviously you need to protect them.”
“Nobody else can know. You know they would be concentrated on the details instead of fighting. It’s too distracting that’s why I will be concentrated on it. You two can’t be distracted by it either. Just fight and I will protect you, Nikki, and Jasmine. I’ll see what I can do about everyone else.”
I nodded, “Okay, you got it. I’m going to go tell Nikki the plan.”
“I’m going to take a copy of your information Seth and give it to my dad,” Pilote said. “I’ll tell him the plan and he can explain it to the army.”
Seth nodded, “I’ll keep everything else organized and in order. I’ll have everything set out with instructions after I leave. All you’ll need to do is hand the group envelopes with their names on it.”
“I can do that,” I told him.
“Relax,” Seth chuckled, “We got this.”
I nodded and smiled a little, “We got this.”
Pilote grabbed some papers, “I’ll see you later.”
“Me too,” I said and left with him.
We walked out of our house and down the balcony. Everyone was running around like crazy; obviously they got the news. I ignored them and walked down the stairs.
“Nikki is still in the jail right?” I asked Pilote.
“She should be,” he answered and kissed me quickly. “See you later.”
“Bye.”
I walked to the jail and they let me through to Nikki’s cell. She was laying on her bed with uneaten food left on the table.
“Not hungry?” I asked her.
She stood up, “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. So am I leaving or what?”
“Yes,” I answered, “Tomorrow morning. You have four days to convince the Silthra before the decoy bus will go off. The bus will be leaving the night of the fourth day and should be close by on the fifth day. The Silthra will need to invade the bus.”
“Who’s going to be on the bus?”
“A few members of the Tigma army; The Silthra will invade and the bomb will go off.”
“You’re killing your own army?”
“No,” I shook my head, “The bomb can only hurt members of the Silthra. All Tigmas will be perfect fine. Once the bomb goes off the rest of us will surround the Silthra and the fighting will start. You’ll need to slip Jasmine some weapons if you have time; we’ll give you some extra.”
“Got it,” She nodded. “Anything else?”
“Are you okay with this?” I asked her. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”
She shrugged, “It’s for our people. Being in this jail cell made me realize a lot of things, and at the end of the day I love my family and I love my people. It doesn’t matter how much I disagree with them or how rude I act sometimes; the Tigmas are my people and nothing is going to change that. I can’t let us go extinct because another race hates us and wants to bring us down. I will fight to the death if I have to.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I told her. “We can’t have you dying on us; just fight your hardest, but remember to protect yourself.”
“Why are you trying to help me? Shouldn’t you want me dead?”
I smiled, “You’re a lot more use to me than you think. You’re one of us after all.”
“There can only be nine chosen ones. Nine chosen ones, nine lives, nine chances for the Tigmas to come back; that’s what you say right?”
I nodded, “But ten is greater than nine.”
“You really love your parents didn’t you; the spy ones?”
I nodded, “I really did. As bad as they were, they were still my parents.”
“Then you understand how I feel. I don’t agree with everything that happens around here, and sometimes I will even fight against it, but you’re my family. Everyone here is. That’s what it comes down to. Your parents were the enemy, but you still think about them and you still love them. They don’t deserve that love, but they got it. I probably don’t deserve the love I have either, but I have it and I need to do something about it.”
“That’s a good point,” I smiled.
“You’re a good leader, and I’ll always be here to follow you. You see what needs to happen without letting other things get in the way. More people should have that trait.”
“I need to go,” I told her. “The police will let you out at eight am tomorrow. Be ready. We’ll have sets of clothes ready for you along with weapons.”
“I’ll be ready,” she nodded.
I held my breath and didn’t let it out until I was safely out of the jail. It’s going to be a long and stressful three days leading up to us leaving. This is crunch time. We need to have everything ready to go as soon as possible. This could be the last time I see a lot of the chosen ones because not all of us are going to make it out of this. The only ones I know that will make it out are me, Pilote, Topanga, Sam, Nikki, Jasmine, and probably Seth. Nobody else is guaranteed; most of them will probably die and I have to accept that. We all have to accept that. I walked back up the stairs and into my house. I walked into the kitchen to find something to eat and Snow was on the counter.
“Hi Snow,” I picked her up. “I haven’t seen you in a while. You’ve just been wandering around haven’t you?”
She nuzzled against me, making me smile, “You’re so cute. Want something to eat?”
I set her back on the counter and put some of her food in her bowl. I pet her as she began eating. I looked in the cupboards and decided to settle for some cereal. I poured myself a bowl and started eating at the counter next to Snow.
Pilote walked in and smiled at the sight, “I see you found your cat.”
“I think she just wanders around the whole town now. I don’t see her much.”
“I don’t either now that you mention it, but I’m sure the town loves her.”
I smiled, “I think they do. She’s getting fat.”
He chuckled, “They must feed her well. What are you eating?”
“Cereal,” I answered. “I was hungry… and lazy.”
“I’ll make us something.”
“Can you make pizza?” I asked.
“Sure,” he smiled. “We have some in the freezer.”
“Ha ha,” I laughed. “Sweet.”
“You really are a little kid at heart.”
“Thank you,” I smiled.
“Hey guys,” Teegan walked in. “Ooh pizza! Make me one too please.”
“You got it,” Pilote said.
I sat down at the table with Teegan, “How are you feeling?”
“It’s crazy isn’t it?” she asked. “Thinking of us leaving in a few days?”
I nodded, “It is. We just have to enjoy the time we have left with each other.”
“I just don’t want to be without you guys,” she said. “You’ve been my family, but if I die then I will die with pride because I die for the Tigmas. I died for my race so they could live freely. Anybody in my position should be very happy about that.”
“I’m sure they are. Every one of us is proud to be a Tigma.”
“I thought you would have argued I’m not going to die,” Teegan said.
I shrugged, “I think it’s time I started facing the truth; not everyone is going to live through us. A lot of people are going to die and I don’t want to stay in denial until we’re out there fighting and I see your dead bodies on the ground. We need to enjoy the time we have now and that’s all we can really do.”
“It’s a good point,” Teegan said. “It will all come down to who was meant to live and who was meant to die with loyalty.”
“It’s all up to Caprika and Odyss.”
“Have they talked to you since the last time you told me about?” Pilote asked me.
I shook my head, “But I have a feeling they’re going to.”
“What makes you say that?” Teegan asked.
“Everyone’s leaving to war now,” I replied, “And they wouldn’t just stop talking to me before the most important event in my life. There has to be something else they want me to know before I leave.”
“That makes sense. Do you think they have any new information?”
I shook my head, “Why would they tell me? It’s only days before leaving to war. If they had new information they wanted to tell me I don’t think they would tell me last minute. I’m sure they want us to win just as much as we want to win.”
She nodded, “That’s true.”
Pilote sat down next to us, “I can’t believe it’s all coming down to this.”
“I know,” Teegan said, “All of our hard work comes down to these next few days.”
“And everything has to be perfect,” I said, “Seth has it planned out down to the second.”
“We’re fast enough,” Pilote said, “We will make it work.”
Layal came in and got herself a bowl of cereal before sitting down with us, “I’m tired.”
“We all are,” Teegan said, “Just relax until it’s time for you to leave. Spend time with your family.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said, “That’s what we all should do. We don’t know what’s going to happen when we leave. It is time to have fun and say our goodbyes. It’s kind of a bittersweet moment, but it’s not like we’re going to leave and be forgotten.”
“Don’t let me be forgotten,” Layal told me, “Whatever happens to me at war, don’t let me be forgotten. Don’t let my family forget me. I finally got them back they don’t deserve to lose me again.”
I put my hand on her shoulder, “They will never completely lose you. They have the stories you told them, the pictures of you, and the Layal they did get to know. Nobody down here will forget any of you. I will make sure of it. Every single member of the chosen ones will be honorary heroes of the Tigma race forever.”
“This is why you’re our leader,” Teegan smiled, “You really were meant for this.”
I smiled back at her, “I finally feel like you’re right.”
“They are,” Pilote put his arm around my shoulders, “but let’s not concentrate on this now. We’ll say our goodbyes to everyone when it’s time for you guys to leave. For now we’re going to talk, have fun, and make the most memories with our families that we possibly can. Maybe we can even have one last night to spend together just us chosen ones. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”
“I’d like that,” Layal said, “We’ve been a family ever since we met. I love all of you.”
“We love you too,” I said. “So tonight can be just for us chosen ones; we’ll talk, we’ll eat, and we’ll play games. It’ll be just a night for us. Then tomorrow after saying goodbye to Nikki we’ll spend time with our families.”
“Nikki?” Teegan asked, “Why Nikki?”
I sighed, “Nikki is a bigger part of this than you think. She is part of this family too, believe it or not, and she deserves to be honored too. She’s going to save us in a way not even I can help predict. She deserves a goodbye too.”
“You’re right,” Layla said, “Even though we got off on the right foot, Nikki is still helping us. She is willing to go to the enemy and sacrifice herself in order to help us win the war. She’s braver than a lot of us here.”
“Let her out of the cell now then,” Teegan said, “We didn’t have the time to get to know her the right now so let her out now and she can join us.”
“But she’s not an official chosen one, are you guys really okay with that?”
They both nodded. I looked over at Pilote, “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a good idea. It would be a good way to say goodbye to her. She deserves to feel like one of us. I know she’s still not 100 percent sure we trust her.”
I nodded, “Then we’ll do that. After we eat I will go and get her.”
“Good,” Teegan said, “So how’s that pizza Pilote?”
He rolled his eyes and stood up, “I guess I’ll check.”
“Hurry up! I’m hungry.”
I laughed, “Yeah Pilote hurry up!”
“Shut up,” he chuckled at us.
THE END CHAPTER 38!!
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