The Aurigan Republic

Chapter 15

A handful of armed civilians made their way through the dusty street. The dilapidated buildings lined the streets. Only the occasional candlelight suggested that the buildings were homes to some poor souls. The armed civilians could relate to the inhabitants of the buildings. They were, after all, those very inhabitants only a month ago. They had struggled to survive on the cruel planet known as Bastea. Every single day, they worked long hours for pitiful pay. They were lucky if they earned enough to eat a single meal each day. The routine of ordinary people was very simple. After a long day of work, one returned and, unless there was food on the table, it was directly to bed. This routine was repeated until the person was dead or encountered a worse fate. .

Given how poor the neighborhood was, the streets weren't even illuminated at night. The area was pitch dark, which suited the armed civilians just fine. There were so many slums like this one that they could easily move around without the local authority even catching wind. The people were too exhausted to rob each other and they had nothing to rob. They had more or less accepted their fate. The armed civilians wished to change that. They envisioned a brighter future for their fellow people after going through the same struggles themselves. The weapons they carried showed their resolve to change the status quo. They weren't hesitating about spilling the blood of the profiteers. No one would miss those greedy and evil monsters.

The group moved unopposed down the empty streets. Only a single flashlight lit their way. An occasional transport ship flew over them but those ships were at altitudes where the pilots couldn't make out anyone below them. Nor were the pilots interested in anything other than meeting their tight deadlines. Tardiness was frowned upon and one could lose one's job by being even a few seconds late. Given how well the pilots were paid relative to the other inhabitants of Bastea, it didn't come as a surprise that these people worked hard to keep their jobs. One mistake and they would return to the slums once more.

An hour later, the group arrived at an abandoned church. The exterior was weathered down by the storms and the interior wasn't any better. The building suggested that someone had tried to bring religion to the planet. It was not uncommon for religious figures to set up camp in a place with lots of suffering. Desperate people were easier to convert and were more willing to make sacrifices. These presented great opportunities for religious heads who could also use more followers. However, the idea never resulted in anything concrete due to the unwillingness of the local leaders to allow religion to flourish.

The leaders feared that religion would create a community that threatened the status quo. While individuals were easier to control, groups were far more unpredictable. To eliminate even the threat of these groups gaining enough power, the leaders crushed them from the start. Religious leaders often disappeared when they got popular, while their most loyal followers soon followed suit. The situation got so bad that no sane religious leader would even set foot on the planet. With the attempts to bring religion to Bastea ended, the religious buildings like the church became abandoned. Anything considered valuable was quickly salvaged from the building. The lack of maintenance would see the buildings in disrepair, making them not so different from the other buildings in the rundown places the poor lived.

When the group entered the church, its members could make out the various others sitting on the floor. A single candlelight was placed in the center. The illumination from the candle was so weak that no one outside the church would be aware of its existence unless people peeked in through one of the many small openings in the walls. Even then, it would be difficult to make out how many people were present. Most of them hid in the shadows so well one might think they were never there. For many, they were practically invisible anyway. These were souls who wandered through life with nothing to live for. Others simply moved past them without a glance. On Bastea, the only thing it had in abundance was human beings. Life was cheap, making their existence so worthless.

For the people gathering at the church, the place had a special meaning for them. It was once a place of salvation for them. They were loyal followers who abandoned their gods after losing all hope. Armed with weapons and a new goal in life, these people found hope they never thought they would discover again. The hope promised the return of their religion to a planet desperately in need of it. The devoutness of these people gave them incredible strength in the upcoming conflict. They had learned that the leaders of the current government were already dead. However, they knew there were plenty of others who would fill in the vacuum if given a chance. They had to strike hard and fast until they removed evil from its roots.

Once all those invited arrived, one man stood up. He walked over to the candle.

"I thank you all for coming here! The Prophet has brought light to this accursed planet and we intend on spreading it to all of its inhabitants. He will light the path to our salvation! He has arrived at our darkest moments to guide us because we were once lost. "

The man paced around the candle once.

"I had the honor of delivering the government leaders to their execution! They have committed far too many crimes and their execution has been sadly too merciful for my taste. However, we must act swiftly! We mustn't let people suffer longer than they already have. We have too many corrupt men and women who seek to profit from the suffering of other human beings. Until they are rooted out, we cannot possibly create the utopia the Prophet described to us."

The man paused to study his audience. Not even the darkness could hide the fact that many of them went from a sitting to kneeling position.

"As we speak, more people are joining our cause. The people volunteered to join our army for the complete liberation of the planet. With each victory we achieve, we acquire more weapons and ammunition. It won't be long before the balance tips in our favor and we will wipe out the remaining resistance."

The man stopped while his audience chanted "Prophet" over and over again. He felt strength from the chant alone. He was no different from his audience a few months ago. The difference was that he had the honor of meeting the Prophet himself. He got a renewed sense of purpose in life while the Prophet spoke with such resolve and determination. He knew he could never match the greatness of the Prophet. Yet, it didn't take much to give hope to the inhabitants. After all the suffering, they only needed a single spark to get them going. He was the light which barely did enough to chase away the darkness. For those in need of hope, the single light source, no matter how dim, was all that was needed.