The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fifty-Two

The atmosphere of Second Unit headquarters was busy as Aiden walked around, surveying the last minute preparations for the battle against Eskium. Every remaining soldier was on high alert, working busily to take inventory on food, weapons and supplies for the cities.

The clock was ticking, and everyone in the Unit knew it. With soldiers being sent off into the cities at steady rates, their numbers were slowly decreasing within the Units, leaving them with even more work to do. As they worked, more Eskium soldiers reached their borders, and the more nervous Aiden became.

It had been two days since Xylem's death and Orion's promise of war. That left just under twenty-four hours to finalize all the details of their plan. He, Theo, Virgil, Zariah, Roman and the other Unit representatives had all been working tirelessly to ensure that everything was covered, from aircraft to naval teams to civilian evacuation. Almost every able-bodied rebel had joined the cause, escorting families to underground bunkers in order to keep them off the streets. Surprisingly, even regular civilians, men and women, had chosen to take up arms, leaving their children in the care of fellow loved ones. The people and the Program were more united than ever.

Roman had left for Oslua just a few hours prior, leaving Second Unit especially vacant. Virgil may not have minded, but Aiden felt his absence with a pang of sadness. The two young men had bonded over the last few days, Roman providing him with more information on Rhiannon and Micah, and Aiden telling him about his life in the Program. While Roman could in no way fulfill Virgil's place as Aiden's best friend, he appreciated Roman's insights and company. He valued understanding multiple perspectives on the realities of Creatan, rather than basing all of his opinions on only one. How else would he better the country if he didn't have an advocate for the civilians? Aiden had been a soldier longer than he'd been a mere citizen of Creatan. Roman's suggestion were of high meaning to him.

Aiden continued down the hallway to the Foyer. Outside, the weather was cold and harsh, ugly dark gray clouds promising heavy rainfall. He pictured hundreds of enemy aircraft dotting the sky, the horizon alight with fire and the echoing patter of gunshots...

"Aiden?"

He spun around, finding himself face to face with Zariah. "Hey, sorry," he quickly apologized. "I was just thinking about tomorrow."

Zariah shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I've been doing the same thing all day." She looked out the window where Aiden had just been staring out of, and Aiden couldn't help but wonder what her blue eyes were thinking. Had she pictured the same scene as Aiden had?

"So, Roman left this morning?" Zariah asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Cain took him to Oslua. Apparently they both made it there safely," Aiden told her. "I told Cain to stay there and get the pilots in order."

"Good plan. The decoy aircraft and the supply aircraft also made it to the cities intact. Theo sent me a report this morning, along with the other Units. It was a good call sending fake ships, in case anything happened, but because nothing did, I suggest we use them in the fight," Zariah added. "Orion's been quiet."

"The Other Worlders have probably been just as busy as we've been. Orion promised us three days, and I'm confident at this point that we'll get three days," Aiden shrugged. "Let's just hope we've done all we can in the time he gave us."

"Agreed," Zariah nodded. "I arranged for you, Virgil, Rania, Theo and myself to be stationed in Abree City by tomorrow morning. The latest reports say that it's a total war zone. Orion's made the city his personal fortress, which means we won't be sending any ground teams there. It'll just be us, until we can deal with Orion. That means once we're in, we don't get out until he's been dealt with."