Chapter 314: Starting the uprising

Words : 2180 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

The Gardarikian Federation was very, very large. If anyone had wanted to make a comparison with the Earth, it would have been roughly three times the size of Russia. This was certainly no cause for joy. In any world, the larger a nation was, the more difficult it was to manage it. Even with modern means and communications, it was much more preferable to have a small territory rather than a gigantic one. Furthermore, just like on Earth, a very large nation contained within itself very different peoples and cultures. Being able to manage and, above all, keep so many people with different religions, beliefs, cultures and educations good was tiring. Especially if those people had not willingly chosen to be part of that nation. As on Earth, most of the great nations of Eden were the result of constant wars and expansions. The Gardarikian Federation was no exception: hundreds of different peoples coexisted within it who had been independent for a long time and then had been conquered and forced to join it. These populations were not at all happy with this situation. Patriotic sentiment was difficult to eliminate, despite the many generations past. It would have been difficult to do it in a democracy, or at least in a country where people were fine; certainly not in an oppressive dictatorship. And not a hundred years had passed since the end of the wars of conquest. The peoples of the Gardarikian Federation were constantly angry with their masters, but remained silent because the power of their army was too overwhelming. However, the situation was different now. The imbalance of power unleashed by Sobek's appearance and all his actions had weakened the Gardarikian Federation army and dramatically increased discontent in society. In the past three years, some small riots had already broken out in some parts of the Federation, but they were promptly suppressed. Despite everything, 'president' Pascal still managed to maintain control of the nation. This was due to the difference in equipment: the Federation Army soldiers were far fewer than the rebels, but the rebels had much worse equipment and had no communication, resulting in nothing more than local rebellions. But two new players had entered the board. One of them was the hacker group known as RE/SYST. Thanks to them, the various rebel cells had been able to communicate with each other and discuss their plans. Thus, small armed groups not strong enough to protect even a village had rapidly grown to create a rebellion the size of an entire territory. The second player to enter the field were the dinosaurs and Eden Union, who with the help of RE/SYST contacted the rebel groups and took care to provide them with the right equipment. Thanks to these two new players, powerful resistance cells were being created in great secrecy throughout the Gardarikian Federation, preparing for a gigantic uprising that would strain the government. In almost every region of the nation, charismatic leaders had sprung up who had built large rioting groups and who were waiting for nothing but the right moment. And the right time came. Armed to the teeth and with the help of RE/SYST, the various leaders agreed on a specific date and time to start the revolt. In addition, the dinosaurs in great secrecy had helped them in choosing that date: Snock and Rambo had worked together to find out when the army and police forces would be most vulnerable. By the time the appointed night came, revolt cells across the nation were preparing for the attack. In the city of Aflahim, a large metropolis located in the north of the Federation, inside a huge sewer a man was speaking to a crowd of hundreds of men. He was a short, bald man, but he exuded charisma from every pore. "Here we are, friends, brothers!" he yelled as he raised the machine gun he held in his hand. "Tonight we will take our freedom back!" "YES!" roared the crowd in front of him, imitating him and raising their guns in turn. The chief wrinkled his nose. "For thousands of years, our people have inhabited these lands. We were so strong that other peoples called us 'the Lions of the North', because it was said that only mountain lions fought like us. We lived on little, but despite this we repelled the invading armies four times when the Three Hundred Years War began, and our people would never have been defeated were it not for a vile deception!" he roared. "Tonight we will remind the Federation why it was so hard to win us over! We will take to the streets and shout what we all think: that we are tired! We are tired of being oppressed, we are tired of being used as pawns for their games, we are tired of no fake elections and we are tired of not being able to vote! Those fools, who think they can do whatever they want with our world, who play with atoms as if they were firecrackers, will hear our voices tonight! Come on, Lions! Let's take back our freedom! No mercy!" "YES!" shouted the crowd. "NO MERCY! THE INVASOR TO DEATH!" The chief looked satisfied at the militia below him. Until a few months earlier, those people were nothing more than ordinary citizens, and none of them would ever have thought of holding a weapon in his life. Until recently, he himself had been a common citizen. His name was Rasczak and until a few months earlier he had been an ordinary worker; now, he was the leader of a rebel group and a respected leader, so respected that they called him 'the lieutenant'. "Come on, let's go!" he shouted, striding towards the exit from the sewer. The armed mob followed quickly. Their goal was only one: the Palace of Justice, in the eastern part of the city. This was where the army was based. And Rasczak knew that most of the military would be gathered there tonight and distracted because of the Harvest Festival, one of the Federation's many national holidays. The bastards had food and wine at their disposal, while the rest of the population was starving. But that food and that wine would have been their undoing, because it would have made them much more... docile. When they were out, the Lions launched into the streets and ran towards the Palace of Justice. Many people looked out the windows, but did nothing to stop them: indeed, many of them grabbed the first sharp thing they found and joined the rebellion. Several of those who chose to stay in the house began shouting at the rebels. Of course, when they arrived at the Palace of Justice, the military had already noticed what was happening; but they had received too little notice and were too dazed by the wine to be able to create an efficient defense. As soon as the two armies met, the sounds of gunfire rang out in the city. Within a single minute, hundreds of bodies were already on the ground. There were some of the rebels, but most of them belonged to the military. The survivors, realizing they were in trouble, attempted to retreat to the palace, but the Lions were unstoppable. "Rico, now!" Rasczak yelled. One of the Lions in the front row rushed to the door and pulled out two grenades. He threw them against the heavy door, which in an instant exploded in a barrage of splinters of wood. Rasczak quickly reached the boy. "Great job" he said clapping a hand on his shoulder. That boy was Johnny Rico, one of the best in their rebel army, so good that Rasczak considered him his right hand and everyone called him 'the corporal'. He was not even twenty-five and under normal circumstances he would have been an honest worker, but he had chosen to take up arms after his parents had been executed because they were accused of aiding the rebel force. Thanks to the opening created by Rico, the Lions were able to access the courtyard in front of the Palace of Justice. "Give up! You have no escape!" Rasczak yelled. However, he immediately froze when he saw two tanks advancing towards them. "Stand on the wrong side of the cannon to be able to say it, bug!" yelled one of the soldiers. The tanks fired and several Lions were reduced to pulp. "He isn't all wrong!" exclaimed one of the rebels, a boy named Ace Levy. "Let's get lost, before..." He didn't have time to say more: Rico lunged forward, completely oblivious to the military bullets that rained down on him and crashed into his body armor suit, until he reached the two tanks. As soon as he was next to their guns, he pulled out two more grenades and threw them into the nozzle, then threw himself on the ground. Within moments, the tanks exploded. The Lions wasted no time and resumed their charge. In a few minutes they vanquished all the soldiers in the courtyard and prepared to break through the main door to defeat the last resistance. Ace walked over to Rico, who was still lying on the ground. "Great job, corporal" he said, extending his hand. "Thanks, friend" laughed the boy standing up. Rasczak approached them with a smile. "Rico, I don't know if you are brave or just too stupid to understand the danger" "Probably the second hypothesis" Ace said. "Fuck you" was Rico's reply. Rasczak patted both of them on the back. "Force. We're not done yet" he said, looking at the palace door that was about to collapse under the blows of the Lions. "And after shawarma for everyone" The Lions broke down the door and entered the Palace of Justice completely. In less than twenty minutes, all the soldiers were vanquished. After that, other contingents of the Lions attacked the police stations and entered the homes of judges and lawyers, exterminating all the Federation toadies. That was just one of the countless cities that revolted that night. Within just two hours, the Federation of Tirion was shaken to its foundations and more than a quarter of its army was exterminated. In the following days, the rebels would advance further, starting countless clashes with the armies of the central government. Many others would have joined the rebellion, and the aid provided by RE/SYST, the Eden Union and the dinosaurs were instrumental in crushing the oppressor. For months, the Tirion Federation would be in full civil war. And eventually, it would completely change. ********** "Are you sure it will work?" Blue had contacted Sobek via the mind-sharing mode of the [Contract] to advise him of Liam's plan. Unfortunately, however, that communication was quite long. Apparently, the sharing of minds could not exceed the speed of light, so it took him a few minutes to travel from one planet to another. Just like real telecommunications. Therefore, they both tried to summarize the whole conversation in one sentence, in order to avoid having to waste too much time. After a while, he got the answer: "Yes, I did and redid the calculations. It will work, and in a short time Davis will be habitable. But only if we use 'that'." Sobek snorted. The colonization of Davis was no small matter, at least from his point of view: it was his life insurance. Before the colonization of the planet, he would have nowhere to escape if things got bad; but if there had been another habitable planet, he and all of his people could have escaped with [Teleportation] in the event of a nuclear war. Eden would have been devastated, but the dinosaurs could have survived on Davis waiting for their old home to be habitable again. However, to implement such a plan, Davis needed to be terraformed as soon as possible. After all, it was one thing to guarantee food, water and oxygen to a group of scientists, it was another thing to guarantee it to all dinosaurs. Sobek did not want to be forced to choose who should live and who should die, so it was imperative that Davis become like Eden before any catastrophe. A dome or a bunker wasn't enough, an entire liveable planet was what he needed. "Are the humans with you trustworthy?" After a few minutes the answer came. "I'm sure they won't betray us" "All right. Then you have permission to proceed" Sobek decided. "Make them all promise they won't reveal what we're capable of, and then send me a list of candidates. We'll use [Teleportation] to send enough dinosaurs there to take care of the nuclear fallout. I will ask Jocelyne and Queen Mackenzie to get us the necessary bombs, and to provide us with adequate space suits" When the answer came, Blue's voice sounded very satisfied. "Thanks, pack leader. I'll get to work right now" Sobek just grunted.

Chapter 314: Starting the uprising

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