Orion’s Message of Hope

From Dawn of Chaos: Hell Gate, by Tony Andarian

He sat for a long time, staring at the floor. She watched him, anxiously searching his face.

“Are you all right?” she asked at last. “That must have been hard for you to watch. I know how much you respected him.”

He lifted and shook his head. He smiled.

“It was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And the most profound inspiration.

“It showed me something very important. Something that I think will keep me going, and give me the strength to do what must be done.”

Her eyes opened wide in a question. She didn’t have to ask it.

“It showed me how knowledge, valor, and wisdom can stand against evil,” he said. “No matter how ruthless and powerful it may be. We may not have the strength to defeat it outright, but we can win battles against it. One at a time, through relentless and uncompromising opposition. Until one day, when we win enough of them to turn the tide.”

She looked at him, face eager. “Yes. But how?”

“I don’t know. But he bought us time to find a way. And he showed us the path to finding it. Search for their weaknesses, and learn how to exploit them. And never, ever give up fighting, no matter how hopeless things look or become.”

Dawn of Chaos: Hell Gate, by Tony Andarian