The Battle for Kreludor: Part Five

Commander Krule stumbled into his office and sighed heavily. The conference was over and he had gotten his way. The next day shuttles would start arriving bringing shiploads of soldiers and supplies to the base. In a few weeks they would be ready to attack. The Resistance would be caught off guard. The minions would have a quick and easy victory.

      To Krule's annoyance the office door suddenly opened. A small robot Shoyru was standing there.

      "Sir," Trey gasped. "I really need to talk to you..."

      "Don't you know how to knock?" Krule snapped. "It's too late to talk."

      "Please, sir," the Shoyru stammered. "I-I know where the Resistance's headquarters is. I know who their members are, and what their weapons are. I'll tell you everything... all I want in return is a ticket to Neopia."

      Krule considered it for a moment. "I'll speak to you tomorrow."

      "Please," Trey begged. "I need to tell you right away... there have been members of the Resistance here lately."

      "Oh, very well," Krule said with agitation. "Tell me everything you know."

Grundo Colony 12, Sector 9-P, Kreludor:

      The light of day slowly drifted across Kreludor and illuminated the inhabitants of the Grundo colony. Most of them were members of the Resistance and they were busy organizing themselves for an attack on the minion's base. Crates of laser weapons were being distributed and small space shuttles landed to release more and more people.

      Oen wove through the crowds carrying a box of used virtublasters. He added them to a towering stack and turned to Retep. "That's the last of the older weapons," the fire Grundo said. "They aren't in bad condition, either; the batteries all work."

      "Okay," Retep replied. "Another ship from sector eleven has landed with more volunteers. I didn't think we'd get such a response from the other colonies."

      "Right, well, we have several hundred at least now."

      "And more will be arriving." The royal Lupe grinned. "I think that if we're ready, we should attack as soon as it gets dark tonight."

      "Will we be ready, though, by night? That's so soon..." Oen frowned.

      "If we wait too long, the minions will know what's going on. For all we know, they could be preparing for battle right now. It's pretty obvious that all these ships are landing here with armed Grundos."

      "Zara said she'd keep the Virtupets spies at the base. They might not know anything is going on."

      "Yeah, but we shouldn't risk it. If the minions attack us now, before we're ready, I don't know what will happen."

      Oen nodded. "We probably don't want to take any chances at this stage."

      The fire Grundo turned to greet the members of the newest ship when suddenly the electronic watch on his wrist began to vibrate. He read at the message he had received and spun back around in panic.

      "Retep, Zara's just sent a report! An emergency meeting is being called in the minions' base!"

      "Did she say what for?"

      "No, just that it was about the resistance."

      Retep winced. "They must know about our attack."

Conference Room, Virtupets Moon Base 32, Kreludor:

      Commander Krule flung the doors of the conference room open and marched in. Already many of his officers had taken seats. All of them wore expressions of confusion. As the Commander approached the conference table, he was flooded with questions.

      "Sir! What's going on?"

      "Why'd you call this meeting?"

      "Has something happened, sir?"

      Krule held up a hand to stop the noise. "We will discuss it momentarily," he said. "I want most of my officers to be here."

      The door was kept open as more and more Virtupets officers rushed into the room. Captain Dwolt ran in, followed by Zara. "Sir," the Scorchio said breathlessly, "is everything alright?"

      "It will be. Take a seat." The commander glanced around the room; most of the higher ranking minions had arrived. He stood up and waited for silence. "I've called this emergency morning this morning because I have recently received some information regarding the Resistance," he began. "I am now aware of the location of their base."

      The mutant Grundo pushed a button on the side of the conference table and immediately the table's surface flickered with a map of Kreludor. "Lunar ravine 9-P-716 is where their base is located. I also have information on all of the main members of the resistance as well as what kind of equipment they have." Krule smirked slightly. "We can easily take their headquarters; its geographic location makes it impossible to defend. Doctor Sloth expects us to defeat the Resistance quickly and I can see that it will be an easy victory for us."

      "How many soldiers will we need, then?" a Grundo captain asked.

      "For what I have planned, I believe the current troops at this moon base will be sufficient. We are going to raid the Resistance's base tonight."

      "Tonight, sir?" Zara stood up. "Isn't that far too early? We were expecting to have weeks to prepare."

      "I have a much better understanding of the situation than you," Commander Krule said coolly. "We will raid the anti's base tonight with the soldiers here. After, we shall invade the nearby Grundo colony where they live and take all of its inhabitants as prisoners. The resistance will be identified and removed."

      "What if this strategy fails?" asked another officer. "Do we have another plan?"

      Krule frowned. "I see no reason for failure. However, if for some reason we cannot take over their headquarters we will plant kreludite mines in the ravine and destroy it. The antis are weak. This will be an easy victory for Virtupets."

Sector 9-P, Kreludor:

      Captain Zara ran across the rocky Kreludan terrain. The shadow Kyrii dodged around several columns of rock and looked out across the plain. Far below her lay the Grundo colony. Zara could see hundreds of people had gathered there already. The Kyrii adjusted her jetpack and rushed down to the crowded colony.

      Captain Zara landed and began searching for a familiar face. Grundos and other Neopets were practicing with weapons and randomly scurrying around the area. The Kyrii finally found Oen speaking to a group of orange Grundos.

      "I have news," Zara said to him. "Our commander knows where the headquarters is. He's planning on attacking at midnight?"

      "What?! What does he think he can do? It's empty."

      "He doesn't know it is... he'll be sending an elite team in to take over. They're going to invade the colony afterwards and take everyone as prisoners."

      "Hmm... does he know we're attacking the base tonight?" the fire Grundo asked.

      "No, he has no idea, but in a few hours your headquarters will be swarming with minions."

      "We will have to make the first move, then," Oen said slowly. "If they are intending on attacking us tonight, then they may be better prepared when we invade the base."

      "Perhaps. We'll still have the advantage, though; they haven't noticed any change with the main computer."

      Oen nodded. "Everything should still go as planned. We'll just have to be more careful. You're going to have to keep the minions away from this area until tonight."

      "The commander has asked me to keep an eye on you until our attack." The Kyrii smiled. "I gave our spies other orders, however, and came down here to warn you."

      "Okay, I'll tell the rest of the Resistance about this. Our plan will still be carried out... can you stay at the base to alert us if anything else happens?"

      Zara nodded.

      "Alright," the fire Grundo said. "We'll send you the signal at ten."

Courtyard 4, Virtupets Moon Base 32, Kreludor:

      Captain Dwolt stood before three neat lines of soldiers. The Darigan Scorchio would be leading them into the Resistance's Headquarters soon and he was ensuring that everyone knew the plan.

      "So, there will be another squadron of soldiers covering us as we descend into the ravine. This will be a pretty basic task for us. I understand that the Resistance is poorly equipped."

      "Sir," asked a Grundo in a silver Virtupets uniform. "Are we expecting the Resistance to... well... to resist us? Or are they going to surrender?"

      "I am not certain," Dwolt replied. "However, they do not stand a chance against the strength of Virtupets. I believe that if they have any sense, they will surrender. Now, you will divide into your two groups when we enter the headquarters. Anyone there shall have a chance to surrender... if they refuse, they will be stunned and taken back here as prisoners of war. When all the antis are taken care of, it will be our job to search and secure the ravine."

      Another Grundo stepped forward. "Sir, if they fight back we may have difficulty entering their base. Will we be strong enough in numbers to overcome the Resistance?"

      Dwolt nodded. "From what I've heard the Resistance is a very small organization. Even if they are better prepared we will still have an easy victory. After all, we'll have the higher ground in this battle."

To be continued...