Rina broke the awkward silence. “I didn’t expect Sylvia to be alive. We always thought everyone who was abducted was killed. I was as shocked as you were when I just heard it.”
It was the same reasoning Jeb had told them. Celeste wanted to hug Rina, but knew she wasn’t that close to her.
“I am really sorry we couldn’t do anything to stop Jeb,” Celeste whispered.
“It isn’t your fault,” Rina admitted, as she rubbed her eyes. “You didn’t know about Jeb and Sylvia.”
“You knew?” Tara blurted out.
Rina nodded reluctantly. “It wasn’t out in the public, but there were many rumors around about both of them. I know it sounds silly since there are so few of us at the underground shelter. Jeb was really a great person. I always thought he would be the future leader of the Western Continental Alliance. He had the most potential and the greatest compassion of all the members in the Council.”
Rina then began to sob. Before Celeste could move, Sephim jumped in front of her and hugged Rina. The young woman continued to sob quietly. Celeste decided to give them some space and left the compartment with Tara and Phog.
Back at the front of the ship, Tara turned to Celeste. “Explaining what happened to Jeb to the others isn’t going to be easy.”
“Rina was kind to us,” Celeste said. “We cannot expect that type of reaction from the rest of the Council. They will want answers, which we don’t have.”
She didn’t look forward to sharing the news of Jeb’s death with the rest. Jeb had insisted on joining them on the mission, despite the misgivings of several members of the Council. And now, he had paid with his life. Those who had been against the entire mission would be furious. After a while, Rina emerged from the room with Sephim right beside her. She was still trying to wipe away her tears as Sephim held her hand.
“We need to inform the Council,” Rina said.
A little while later, Celeste and the rest, including Rina, were standing in front of the Council in the hall. Celeste had just finished sharing the details of what had happened. A few of the women were trying their best to hold back their tears.
“This is what I told everyone,” Councilor Albert hollered. “Don’t go to the surface. Don’t engage with the aliens. Let the Rekvok be. But some of you chose not to listen to me. Some of you thought we needed to fight back. Now, Jeb is dead. I may be older, but, once in a while, you need to listen to me. It is for your own good.”
“You destroyed the Rekvok spaceport at the compound?” Clark inquired.
“Yes, it won’t be usable,” Celeste replied.
“Spaceport, no spaceport doesn’t matter to the Rekvok,” Councilor Albert barked. “The fact is that Jeb is dead. He isn’t coming back. We cannot afford to lose any more of our members.”
Celeste could sense the hopelessness in the room. Councilor Albert’s warning had some truth to it, but they also couldn’t afford to let things remain as they were. She didn’t have the courage to say that to the Council. This wasn’t the Hitongu where she felt comfortable enough sharing her views. Although this was her own human race, she had never felt as distant as she did at that moment.
Sarah stepped forward. “Where are the weapons?”
Councilor Albert turned to her. “Who cares?”
“I care,” Sarah glared at him. “Jeb died for his own mistake. But I do not want his death to be in vain. Can you train us to use the weapons?”
“The weapons are in the room,” Phog said. “We can help train anyone who is interested.”
Sarah then turned towards the other members of the Council. “I don’t know about you, but I cannot sit back and let the Rekvok keep killing our people one at a time. The fact that Sylvia was alive and being held in a prisoner base is reason enough for us to arise. Our own people are being held hostage by those aliens. Who knows what horrors Sylvia and the others are right now going through? We must arm ourselves and be ready.”
“We don’t have a chance against the Rekvok,” Clark sighed. “They are vicious warriors who will show no mercy.”
“Except for Councilor Albert, who here suggests we just wait for the Rekvok to take us one by one?” Sarah asked. “Is this how we are going to end our life? Other species will only remember the human race as cowards. Is that what you want? Humanity has never withdrawn in the face of adversity.”
Surprisingly, Councilor Albert looked at the ground. Sarah’s defiant words must have had the expected effect on him.
Sarah continued. “I am not saying we go up and fight the Rekvok. We are not ready. What I am saying is that we need to be ready to put up a fight. We need to start somewhere.”
“I agree,” Rina said.
“You are not part of the Council,” Councilor Albert snorted.
“We represent the people,” Sarah said. “Just because they are not in the Council, it doesn’t mean we cannot listen to their inputs. Our duty is to hear them out and serve them.”
“This isn’t an elected government,” Clark mumbled. “The people know we have their best intentions at heart.”
Sarah turned to Clark. “Those best intentions say we hide and wait for our end. What do you suggest we do?”
Clark looked at her with a blank expression before looking away.
“That is what I thought,” Sarah said. “If there are no better ideas, I propose we train ourselves and our people to be ready to fight. It could be the Rekvok. Or this Zandrax species. Or whoever. It doesn’t matter. This training won’t be compulsory. I will ask for volunteers. Anyone who isn’t comfortable with being trained doesn’t have to participate in it.”
There were several nods amongst the remaining men and women, including Clark. Councilor Albert shrugged. “I warned you already. You can go ahead and do whatever you like. More of us will get killed. But I have said my piece already.”
Celeste hadn’t expected Sarah to be so bold amongst the Council and for the Council to give into her demands. However, she was glad that someone was taking the initiative and not allowing the tragic incident with Jeb to become a setback. The Council really lacked a strong leader. Celeste had hoped Jeb would be it, but now it looked like Sarah was a possible candidate. Clark’s indifferent attitude was still a concern. Even when they had announced Jeb’s death, he hadn’t shown any emotion. She didn’t like it one bit.