He looks to be considering that, then nods understandingly. "Cleo, my name is Max. Welcome to the Rebellion."

I stare at him in shock for a moment, then smile a little. He smiles back then says "Follow me. We need to get to Base." I nod and jog after him, to tired to run.

Once he made sure we weren't being followed, he leads me to a dilapidated building that looks like it was falling apart. It was one from when the Gandans first arrived and it is made of rusted metal and shattered glass. We enter the destroyed interior and he opens a panel in the floor. We climb down a ladder and go through a door that Max pressed his hand against to enter. When it swings open, I am amazed at the sight. Impromptu huts and buildings are set up all around, hundreds of people bustle about, men, women, and even some children playing with an old looking ball. It looks like all of this is inside a huge, man made cave with the supports of the building above holding up the ceiling.

Max waves his hand about. "Welcome to Shadow Base, Cleo. Let me take you to our leader."

I stumble after him, my insane day, hunger, and exhaustion catching up to me. Not soon enough for me, we reach a larger hut towards the center of the cave. At the door, two guards stand with guns in their hands. Once they see it's Max, they let us in, giving me a smile. "New recruit?" I nod. "Welcome to Shadow Base, miss." I smile in thanks and follow Max inside.

I step into the room and stare in amazement. Maps of the city, it's layers, the planet, and the individual continents take up the walls, a single tactical display probably stolen from the Gandans occupies the center of the room, and a woman stands before it. She is slim and fairly young, her blond hair pulled into a bun, blue eyes intently studying me. She is dressed in a black fitted shirt, cargo pants, and a vest, a gun at her side, but she still looks elegant. Elegantly lethal.

"Max, who is this?" She asks in a melodious voice.

"General Siera, this is Cleo. She's an escaped slave who I ran into on patrol. She was trying to find us." Max explains.

The general rakes her eyes over me and smiles a predatory smile. "Good to meet you, Cleo. I am General Siera, leader of this Rebellion and head of Shadow Base. Welcome to the Rebellion. May I ask, why is it that you want to fight?"

Rage blazes in my chest and probably in my eyes too. "The Gandans killed my mother hours ago, and killed my father by sending him to the fields. I want revenge. I want my freedom. I want no one else to suffer as I have!" I say, my voice rising.

The general's eyes softened, her gaze understanding, her smile no longer predatory but hinting at satisfied. "Those are very good reasons; I share similar goals. Come, let us discuss. Max, you are dismissed." Max nods and walks out.

The general gestures to two chairs and we take a seat. She folds her hands in her lap and looks at me. "Cleo," she says to me. "Do you need to talk about what happened?" That startles me. The emotions that I bottled up all day spring forth. Tears begin to spill from my eyes as the horror of my mother's death sinks in. I'm an orphan, alone in the world. I can never go to my mother for advice, or love, or comfort ever again. I clutch the one piece of jewelry I possess, a locket that belonged to my mother that she gave me on my 15th birthday.

General Siera doesn't scold me or tell me it'll be alright. I can sense that she knows how this feels so she waits and lets me cry. Eventually, I stop crying and hiccup a little.

"Did you get it all out?" She asks. I nod and sniffle a little. She hands me a handkerchief and I dry my face. "How-how did you know?" I ask.

She smiles sadly. "I was once an escaped slave myself. I worked in the fields, but when I wasn't accomplishing as much as the Overseers wanted, they killed my parents who tried to protect me. I ran and found myself here. The general at the time was old and somewhat sickly. Five years after I arrived, he died and I was nominated to be general. Now, here I am, 20 years old and in charge of the Rebellion." She shakes her head, laughing quietly. "How my life has changed since that day seven years ago..." She looks me in the eye and we share a look of understanding.

"Call me Siera."

Thus, the fire of friendship ignites.