Leader of the Resistance (part 4)
a novella by Frank Pipp & Bruce H. Markuson, illustration by Michelle Markuson
Good morning, all! If you have been following this story, welcome back, and take a moment for a quick recap below. If you haven’t, click the first link and don’t read any more here!
In part 1 of “Leader of the Resistance,” Hope locks herself in a bunker while a virus rages in the outer world. She watches as people drop like flies, first from the virus, then from the vaccine supposedly sent to counter the virus. She realizes, at the end, that a new alien species has taken over.
In part 2 of "Leader of the Resistance," beings inhabit our heroine’s home. She overhears them discussing the plague and vaccine. She discovers they engineered the vaccine to eliminate the rest of the humans, but they are also subservient to a greater species. Over intercom from her bunker, she contacts them, and sows the seeds for a resistance movement.
In part 3 of “Leader of the Resistance,” Hope and the Ceboideans ramp up the clandestine assault on the Vespula, making it appear as if humans are wreaking havoc so that the Vespula do not suspect their underlings. But when actual humans show up, they do not listen to Hope, and get themselves killed. Now the Ceboideans look to Hope all the more as they develop the next plans for sabotage—attacking their fleet itself from the inside.
Part 4 after the jump!
Chapter Eight
The Hive
Day 116 10:00 AM
Only Peter and Lily were in the house today. I was worried after the insecticide failed and the sabotage of the oil plant failed. I did hold high hopes for this.
However, Peter said, “Young One, it worked. The sabotage of the ship's life support systems. The invasion of the Varanus home world has failed as you have predicted. The Vespula lost an entire fleet.”
“Where is everyone?”
“Young One?”
“Where is everyone? Everyone that was here yesterday?”
Peter seemed confused. “They were all on the warships.”
“All of them? I thought they were just going to plant the explosives and leave.”
“Young One, they all served on those ships. They were not allowed to just leave.”
“I didn’t realize I gave them something to die for.”
“No, Young One. You gave them something to live for. They now have hope, which is something they never had before. Just the thought that a future generation would be free.”
“But they all died.”
“Still, as you have predicted, the Ceboideans are being given more responsibilities. Even the hive is being maintained by the Ceboideans.”
“The hive? Of course, they’re insects. How many hives do they have?”
“There may have been many hives in the past. Hive would battle against hive for dominance of the Vespula home world. All members of the Vespula would be loyal to their Queen.”
So I said, “I have studied insect behavior. The insects are born as adults and all of them have ultimate loyalty to their Queen bred into them even before they’re ever hatched.”
“Exactly, Young One. But after the ancient Hive Wars, there was an eventual victory. Now there is only one hive.”
“Only one hive and the Ceboideans maintain it?” I asked.
“Are you suggesting we destroy the hive? Won’t they retaliate?”
“No, only sabotage it. To make a future Queen, the worker bees will feed a few selected chambers royal jelly as opposed to worker jelly.”
“Royal jelly?” Peter asked inquisitively.
“It’s an Earth term for the food the worker bees give to un-hatched bees to make them Queens. And when the few Queens are hatched, they will each fight each other for dominance.”
“I see, they will be hatched as simply workers and no Queens. Plus they would not find out until the time of the hatching. But then the hatched Queen could simply lay more eggs once they find they have no future Queens.”
“Then we’ll kill the Queen. That’s the end of their species.”
“That would be very difficult. She is well-guarded.”
“What if she lets her guard down?”
“Yes, killing the Queen and destroying all future Queens in the hive would eliminate their species. However, right now we have a bigger problem. After the battle, the Varanus have covertly landed their starships on Earth. More of their soldiers have arrived and scattered throughout the forest areas. Yet, somehow, they are clever enough to avoid our traps. They are retaliating against the Vespula. The Ceboideans are easy targets. I fear we could be hunted down.”
I asked, “Wait a minute. Varanus! There are members of the Vespula’s enemy species here on Earth?”
“Yes, even the Vespula soldiers fear them.”
“I want to talk to one.”
Peter asked with astonishment. “You can’t be serious!”
“If you tell them what happened, they may be open to an alliance.”
Peter folded his hands and looked directly into the camera. He started to speak very calmly. “Young One, please, you must understand me. We are easy prey. We are being hunted down and are food for the Varanus. We have no dialog with them.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I want to speak to one. Tell them the Ceboidians are the ones who sabotaged the Vespula fleet.”
“You can’t be serious,” he repeated with some force in his voice.
Lily grabbed his hand. “We can’t have them come here.” Frantically, she then grabbed his arm. “Peter, your friend Andrew was just eaten yesterday. James and his wife Rose were eaten not ten days ago. They are eating our kind.”
“Calm down, Lily,” he answered her.
“Peter I am with child! I am with child! You can’t have one come to this house. They will know where we live. We’ll have to move.”
Peter looked directly into the security camera. “Young One, I am willing to risk my own life for the resistance, but I’m sorry. They are far too dangerous. Attempting to contact the Varanus may cost the lives of my family. I simply cannot do this.”
“These things have happened here on Earth before.”
Then Peter screamed at me. “WHAT YOU WANT IS INSANE! YOU ASK TOO MUCH!”
“Are you willing to abandon the resistance and condemn you, your family and all future generations to a life of slavery?”
He paused for a long, long moment. Suddenly, he spoke up. “No.”
“Has the Vespula protected you from the Varanus?”
“Protected us? No, every now and then they make an example of one of us. They abandon a Ceboidian or two to the Varanus as a reminder of the Vespula authority. It makes the Ceboidians cling to the Vespula even more as the only hope for survival.”
“In other words, the Vespula is saying ‘obey or die’. Isn’t that what you’re falling prey to right now?”
“Precisely, Young One. That’s the way it is.”
“NO!” I snapped at him. He was a little taken back by that.
I continued. “This is not the way it has to be. This is why we have a resistance. We can make that change.” Peter seemed to be shocked by my statement.
To have an alliance with those that may eat him seemed to be completely out of his thought process. Something beyond what he could imagine.
“Young One, why? Why would you do this?”
“We humans have a saying. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”
Slowly Peter responded. “You are correct, Young One. It has happened here on Earth and you understand that. Right now, you are the only hope we have for freedom.”
“Tell them the Leader of the Resistance wants to speak with them,” I said.
“Young One, you have the supreme insight of how to operate a resistance. Stay where you are. You are safe. I will try to contact them.”
Then Peter added, “No promises. And Young One, you may not see me again.”
Chapter Nine
The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend
Day 124 10:00 AM
“Young One, a dear colleague of mine has died. I wrote out your proposal and left the note on his corpse. I then dragged him to where the Varanus have been known to frequent.”
“And?”
“And they have responded.”
“Really,” I replied. “Perhaps we made an impact on them.”
Peter continued, “An official representative, an ambassador of the Varanus people, will be here.”
“An ambassador is coming here?”
“He’s a deep insurgency commando, well familiar with this planet. He has been here a long time. As you have ordered with the humans, he too is disguised as a saboteur. And he wants to speak with the leader of the resistance.”
“I’m certainly willing to meet with him.”
“He will be here once the sun goes down. We must get ready.”
They put out one of my Mom’s fancy plates and silverware place settings appropriately on the dining room table. Folded napkins, rolls, a wine glass, and a bottle of wine. A perfect dinner setting for one. On the plate, they piled some barbecued ribs, fried chicken, and peas.
“Young One, we shall return after you have met with him.”
They went out the door. A few minutes later someone, or something, crawled through the dog door. A long-tailed creature, four feet tall in human proportions, with a komodo dragon-like head. He was wearing fatigue pants and a commando vest with bulging pockets. Sporting a pump-action shotgun, he slithered as best as I can describe across the floor to the table, leaving a trail of dirt behind him. Strangely, he stood on his hind legs and took down a picture off the wall, a picture of Kyle and me together in front of Kyle’s house, and stared at it intently. Placing it back on the wall, he then grabbed the plate and bottle of wine, putting both of them on the floor. Clumsily, he sat on his tail and drank from the bottle, not bothering to get off the floor. Dripping more dirt as he ate. Apparently, he didn’t wish to be seen through the windows. I could tell this guy was not new to Earth.
“I want to welcome you to my home. I hope you enjoy your meal.”
The lizard guy shoved chicken in his mouth and looked at the video camera. “Southern fried chicken. Always been my favorite human food to steal. I’m assuming you are the Young One. The Ceboidians’ Joan of Arc.”
I could hear the chicken bones crunch in his teeth.
“I am the leader of the resistance.”
“Young One, can you imagine the night sky filled with Vespula ships orbiting my planet? Ready for an all-out assault on my world?”
“Yes, I know.”
“We were helpless against such an invasion from an entire fleet of Vespula ships. Our forces were far too inadequate. All of a sudden, tiny explosions appeared simultaneously on each of their ships. The air escaped their hulls. The Vespula soldiers were all asphyxiated and froze in the cold of space. All their ships then sat harmlessly in orbit around my planet. All kindly delivered by the Vespula. Now, with a few repairs, we the Varanus have an entire fleet of interstellar warships at our disposal. And, as I understand it”—he took another bite of chicken—“as I understand it, we have you to thank.”
Wait a minute, I thought, the Varanus captured and repaired all the Vespula ships. This is something new. That is definitely something new. Now they are armed with a new fleet of ships. Warships that are comparable to the Vespula. I think we may be able to use this to our advantage.
I spoke up. “Yes, this was my doing,” I quickly and confidently responded. As if I had planned not only to destroy the Vespula fleet, but also to save the Varanus home world and give them a fleet of ships to boot.
“I salute you, Young One. Never have I seen such deception and underhandedness. Even amongst humans you are the most devious. And to what do we owe for this great gift?”
“An alliance,” I simply said.
“An alliance between the Varanus, whatever humans may still survive, and the Ceboideans. These Ceboideans have no fight in them. But you humans spent half your history killing each other in wars. Truly, you are worthy soldiers.”
“The Ceboideans are the ones who sabotaged the ships now in your possession.”
“So I have recently been informed.”
With a little devious smile, he pulled out a small brick of C4 plastic explosives with a timing device attached to it.
“As I understand, I am supposed to keep this with me at all times. If found dead, the Vespula will assume I am one of the saboteurs and not the Ceboideans. In fact, the Vespula has found these on dead humans and do not suspect the Ceboideans of sabotage. They don’t suspect them at all. Very clever.”
“Yes, that was also my idea.”
He held up his shotgun. “These human weapons are of no use when the Vespula have their force fields up. Some of the males of your species at the oil plant were too gung ho and took on the Vespula directly. It failed. But you, you prefer to slowly kill the Vespula from within.”
“That is how a resistance works.”
He continued, “I’ve killed a few Ceboideans in my time. They make good eating. Are you aware that these docile, subservient slaves of the Vespula are the ones who initiated the plague on your planet and poisoned the vaccines? Can you trust them?”
I knew they were slaves of the Vespula but I was not aware that the Ceboideans released the plague. At that time I questioned whom I was allying myself with. Can the Ceboideans be trusted? Will they turn on me if threatened by the Vespula? I’m glad I never told them where I was.
I decided to lie. “Yes, I understand it was by order of the Vespula.”
“So why? Why an alliance?” He put some peas in his mouth, then spat them on the floor. Obviously, he’s a meat-eater.
“We humans have a saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”
“Yes, I see your point. I was sent here years ago to spy on the Vespula. They came to this planet because they want something.”
“Want something?” I asked.
“Yes, something particular to your planet. Any idea what that could be?”
“No, but if I find out, I will convey that information.”
After dinner I found he’d brought his own dessert. A few live mice from his pocket.
“Your planet offers some tasty treats.” Throwing a mouse into his mouth, he crunched it.
“GROSS!” I blurted out accidentally.
“Little child, what did you expect, the Queen of England?”*
“No, I expected someone who can get down and dirty. Someone who is willing to fight for their people and their world as I do. I believe I have found the right man for this.”
“Touché, Young One.”
“With all due respect, you look like you crawled out of a hole in the ground.”
“I did crawl out of a hole in the ground. That’s why the Vespula hasn’t found me. You have demonstrated a skill in coordinating the Ceboideans to perform sabotages without the Vespula ever suspecting. What do these Ceboideans want in exchange for your leadership? What did you offer them?”
“Freedom.” I left it at that to see how he would respond.
“Freedom? Very well, you have your alliance. I shall report to my leadership that we have friends in low places,” he said while lighting a cigar, haphazardly flicking the ashes on the floor.
I decide to be a little diplomatic. “I have a present for you in the bottom left desk drawer in the other room.”
He slithered to my dad’s desk and opened the drawer, finding a box of shotgun shells. “Twelve gauge double odd buckshot. I shall put them to good use.”
“And another thing in the top middle drawer,” I responded.
He pulled out a box of my Dad’s cigars. Dragging one under his nose, he commented, “Cubans, very nice.”
Quickly, I thought, now that the Varanus have a new fleet of warships at their disposal, what shall we have them do? How could we coordinate our forces together? So I stated, “I feel the hive may be vulnerable.”
“THE HIVE?” He said in shocked surprise. “The Vespula hive? You arranged for it to be sabotaged? Is there no end to your dealings?”
“At some point, we may ask you to assault the hive with your newly-acquired ships.”
Now, I wondered, would they work with me? Could I give them a military objective? Would the Varanus follow my orders, my directive?
“It will be our pleasure,” was all he said.
Well, that was easy enough, I thought.
Then he continued. “Should you need to communicate, I will be in touch with the Ceboideans that occupy this dwelling. Just ask for an ‘Old Friend’.”
As he headed back towards the dog door, I said to him, “One more thing before you go. The Ceboideans. No killing, no eating them, no retaliation against them. They are now your allies.”
“Agreed.”
Then he continued, “If I need to see you again, I know where to find you.” Then he added. “And I do know where to find you.”
I watched the dog door swing. My first experience with diplomacy. Dad would be proud.
Chapter Ten
Alliance
Day 125 10:00 AM
This morning I turned on the video monitor at the usual time. Peter wasn’t there today. It was just Lily standing there holding the hand of a small Ceboidean boy.
“Where is Peter?” I asked.
“He’s working.”
Then she said to me. “Young One, this little boy is from the Ceboidean community from the town in the valley below.”
“I used to attend high school in that town.”
“I know this boy’s mother. She says he has a habit of wandering off into the fields. This morning, I was in the garden when a member of the Varanus species brought this lost boy to me. A VARANUS! Yesterday they would have eaten a Ceboidean without a second thought, and today they are bringing back lost children. Young One, how is this possible? It was a VARANUS!”
“Lily, we now have an alliance with the Varanus.”
“But the Varanus have been the nightmare monsters of the Ceboidean people as far back as anyone can remember. How is this possible? What does this mean?”
“It means the alliance is holding. We may eventually become friends with them.”
“Yes, Peter has told me that, before the invasion in your world, slavery was abolished, hostilities ended, and enemies became friends. I wasn’t sure I believed him.”
“The Varanus want to defeat the Vespula as much as we do.”
Lily added, “Peter is always telling me how much he wants to defeat the Vespula.”
So I asked her, “And what do you want?”
“What do I want? I want to give birth to a child in a world where they don’t die in wars and aren’t taken away as slaves.”
“As do I,” I said.
Lily paused and stared at the security camera. The little Ceboidean boy reached up to Lily. She picked him up and sat him on her baby bump. She was really starting to show. As he rested his head on her shoulder, she rocked him in her arms and patted him on the back as a mother would.
Then I added, “That is, if I ever have any children.”
“Now I understand,” she said out loud.
“What do you understand?”
“The men of your species. They're out for blood, seek only vengeance. But you, you are as innocent as this little boy. You want only what every mother wants. That’s why Peter trusts you. Now, I must return him to his mother at least for now. The sad thing is, in another year or two, the Vespula will only take him away.” Then she continued, “Of course, that won't happen if we win the war.”
She walked out the front door.
I miss having girl talks, I thought.
Day 127 10:00AM
This morning, at the usual time, Peter was sitting there at the table.
“Young One, Lily told me what happened.”
“Like I told Lily, we have an alliance now. However, this may only be a token demonstration by the Varanus. Alliances can be very fragile things. We will have to see how the war goes and how the resistance and the alliance continues.”
Peter asked me. “How do you understand all this?”
“My father taught me military history. It’s all happened before, right here on Earth.”
“This! All of this? Has happened before. But how is this possible?”
“Like you have told Lily. Before the invasion of this world, slavery was abolished, hostilities ended, and enemies became friends. However, it took great wars for such things to happen. Peace is often purchased in blood. Right now, the bottom line is all three of our species wish to defeat the Vespula. Perhaps separately we would fail. The combined strength of all three of our species might work.”
Peter spoke up. “They now bring back lost children. Originally, when you first suggested to me to bring a Varanus to the house, I thought maybe you were just a naïve young girl. And to be honest, I thought maybe I was foolish to think you could lead a resistance. Maybe, if I brought one here you would see the Varanus for yourself and give up your little childish notions. But you have formed an alliance. Some of the men of your species have had some rather violent conflicts with the very Varanus who came to this house.”
“Gee, A shotgun-toting lizard, I wonder why,” I said sarcastically.
“Yes, Young One, why is that?”
“Well, men are stupid. Unlike those gun-slinging cowboys, the Varanus does not see me as a threat. He does see me as someone he can do business with, and through the coordinated efforts of the Ceboideans. He sees me as someone who saved his home world and gave them a fleet of war ships.”
Peter just stared at the security camera. “Growing up as a slave I could not fathom such things. It seems we Ceboideans have chosen our leader well. You are our Joan of Arc.”
Chapter Eleven
The Valley
Day 130 10:00 AM
“Young One, I have some bad news. The insecticide is having a severe effect on the Vespula. Now they have decided to only bring in food from off-planet. And, after the Varanus have increased their attacks, they want to establish a fortress. A safe haven here on Earth. If they are hiding behind walls, I feel our resistance activities may have little effect on the Vespula operations.”
“A fortress?” I asked. “Tell me what they're looking for.”
“A place where they can stay behind their shields if needed. They are hoping to build a stronghold away from any human settlements. A bastion for their personal protection. A base of operations. Basically, a safe haven. They’re looking for a low depression area with a water source. They want to be surrounded by hillside to shield them from attack. But they also want to have the high ground where sentries can be posted. Somewhere no one can spy on them and no one can assault their position without alerting their sentries.”
“THE VALLEY,” I found myself saying out loud.
“The what? Young One?”
“Johnson’s Valley. It's a low depression valley surrounded by mountains with a small stream flowing down the center. Plus, there are caves on the hillside. It is away from all human settlements. That is exactly what they’re looking for.”
“In the kitchen drawer. Next to the refrigerator, there is a county map.”
Peter pulled out the state map. So I said “No, not the state map, the county map. They will find Johnson Valley and see it as their obvious choice for the sight for their fortress. And perhaps they will not look at other sites.”
Peter looked at me confused. “Young One, why would you give your enemy a location which will help them in their fight against your own people?”
So I told him. “When I was in grade school, we went on a tour of the Johnson dam. It’s more than several miles north of the valley. However, it is not on the county map.”
Peter followed my line of thought. “Not on this map, so the Vespula won't see it.”
“Exactly, The tour guide said that the dam was closed down. Inside the dam, there is a concrete maintenance tunnel. At the center of the dam, he showed us the valve. It's a large hand-cranked steel wheel. The valve was left wide open and water gushed through the pipes. It was built a hundred years ago. Later it was deemed unsafe. Major cracks were found in the concrete. They opened the valves and closed down the dam.”
“Young One, why tell me this?”
“Springtime is coming there will be heavy rains very soon. Plus, the snowmelt.”
“What do you want me to do, Young One?”
“Close the valve.”
He stood there staring at the camera. Then Peter spoke up. “You want me to close the valve. The dam will fill, then break and flood the entire valley.”
“The Vespula will have no defense.”
“But they could just leave.”
“They will have no warning. Once the valley floods, no offensive weapons will be of any help to them. So, let them build their fortress in the valley. Let them establish their stronghold and safe haven. Let them be complacent in their safety. And, just before the rains come…”
Peter spoke up. “I’ll close the valve. Just as you requested.”
“Yes, so lay out the map for them. Let them pick out the valley as the obvious choice.”
Day 135 10:00AM
It was several days later. “Young One, as you suggested, I laid out the map, and one of the Queen’s soldiers looked at it and selected the location right away. They gathered in the valley. Their sentries were posted in the hills on both sides of the valley. Ships could take off and land, protected between the mountains.”
So I asked him, “Did you shut the valve?”
“Young One, the dam filled. Cracks started forming immediately. I barely made it out in time. Large pieces of concrete broke away. The dam collapsed just as the engineers had told you. You just wiped out half of their forces on Earth and three-quarters of their fleet was stationed there.”
“And the Queen?” I had to ask.
“The Queen, I’m sorry to say, the Queen escaped. At the very last second, dozens of her personal guards linked their limbs together and formed a living raft. The Queen climbed on top. She survived while her guards drowned.”
I told Peter, “I saw that once on a nature show. Ants will form a living bridge and cross small streams. And ants will self-sacrifice for the colonies. Where is the Queen now?”
“We don't know. As a result of the flood, she is vulnerable. For the moment, she has gone into hiding with several of her soldiers.”
“She is in hiding. This is progress. The Vespula are no longer on the offensive. In fact, we may be able to hunt down the Queen. The Queen herself may be vulnerable. However, prepare for a retaliation.”
“Retaliation?” Peter said in confusion.
“Yes, as I said, there may be a retaliation against the Ceboidians.”
“No, Young One. They believe that it was a natural disaster. They want only to salvage what’s left of the ships, treat the wounded, and reestablish their stronghold. They have no thoughts of retaliation. We’ve destroyed half their forces on Earth, yet they remain clueless that it was an act of war.”
“So, they don’t believe it was an attack from the resistance? Even after the insecticide poisoning and the flooding?”
“Young One, the only evidence of a resistance are the sabotages and the men with guns. Thus they only expect men with guns to fight against them.”
“And they don't suspect the Ceboidians? Wonderful!” I commented.
“No, they don't. And now strangely, they are now even more dependent on the Ceboidians. Young One, what does that mean?”
“Considering all we have done has been under the table, I would say, as a resistance, we are doing well.” I paused for a moment and said. “In fact, we are doing very well.”
“Young One, what do you call this on Earth?”
“For the moment I would call it victory.”
Then I also added, “But the war still continues.”
That is it for this installment of “Leader of the Resistance.” Join us next time for the 5th and final part! Until then, the war continues.
-Luke
*A timely reference. Perhaps it should now be changed to King of England?
Meet the authors and illustrator:
Bruce Markuson lives with his wife and two children in Milwaukee WI. He has a published novel as well as over a hundred and fifty other publications. Bruce is also working on a number of series. He enjoys writing and often finds himself with writer’s obsession. He says the best way to write is to have an ending then write to that ending.
Frank Pipp is a retired early elementary school teacher living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Go Packers!) Prior to teaching, he was a vice president in cash management for a regional bank. He has two adult children and a rescue border collie. He is active in mitochondrial disease fundraising, enjoys long dog walks and writing. In 2019 he had a poem about a summer day as a ten-year-old, a science fantasy story, and a science fiction short story published. During these times of Covid-19 shelter in place, he is learning to knit and made a pair of Dr. Who mittens.
Michelle Markuson did the (hand-drawn) illustration. She is a Graphic Design student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. It captures a very feminine expression of the doom, horror and hopelessness that words can’t always express.