The process of giving Olympus their gear was simple, almost like all the Concord was waiting for was Ian and the squad to agree to fight Orcs. Even Alice was turned back on with no issues. The lack of bureaucracy was almost beautiful.

'How long until the Orcs land?' Snezhana asked a Concordian pilot.

'Should be 40 minutes. Please tell me you have a plan.'

Ian was still thinking. How was he going to beat Orcs without killing them? It defied logic in his mind, based on the briefing of an Orc's capabilities. He sat down, trying to work out his plan, shutting out everyone around him.

So Maeve took over the minutiae of the defence, ensuring the walls guns were loading, getting the crew armed and armoured, and even getting Junior and Riley to take off the ship's new guns to use as wall defences.

The plan was good. Hopefully the Orcs would retreat at the sight of a clearly superior enemy. But Ian was unconvinced.

Cameron was, too. She's dealt with boneheads on Earth in her previous life. Even if they were outmanned and outgunned, some preferred a blaze of glory. They needed... something else.

'Hey, Snezhana?' Cameron said, pulling her best friend aside.

'Yes, Cameron? We have much to plan, be quick.'

'I want you to make me a fiery flower that can be fired out of a cannon.'

Snezhana's grin was evident. She bounced on the balls of her feet. 'You have made me the happiest woman in the world, Cameron! I will do this!'

Snezhana ran back to the ship, cackling and worrying anyone who saw her. Step one was down, so Cameron walked over to Ian and sat beside him.

'Ian?' Ian looked over, still lost in thought, but acknowledging her presence. 'I have a plan... but I need you to trust me.'

That shook Ian out of his thoughts. Cameron had a plan? 'Care to share?'

'I think it'll be better to watch it,' Cameron said with a wicked smile. 'I dealt with dipshits like this back in the day, all we gotta do is prove to them they are in fact dipshits.'

Ian furrowed his brow, so Cameron pat his shoulder reassuringly.

'I got this. I promise.'

'Alright,' Ian said, still unbelieving. 'But you know if your plan doesn't work, we have to fight Orcs, right?'

'Are Orcs somehow worse than Klisk? Or Wights? We got this, Ian. I believe in us. Have since Set.'

Ian nodded, patting Cameron's shoulder in solidarity. He trusted her completely to save them from this green tide. Cameron's determination was impossible to deny... but Ian was worried about her self-preservation.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

'There's no second chances this time, Cameron,' Ian reminded her. 'You die, that's it. So don't die. That's an order.'

'I don't take orders from you anymore, I left the Alliance,' Cameron said with her trademark grin, standing up and walking away backwards. "You're only the boss because I let you be!'

'Alright, don't be a smartass,' Ian said with a laugh. Steep two was done. Two more steps remained.

Cameron walked out of the hangar area and towards the wall again. Aaron had taken his post there to keep the Concordians alert for Orcs, in case their estimations were off. Cameron walked up the steps and stood next to Aaron.

'I have a plan,' she said, looking out at the terrain outside. It was meadowy, lots of grass and flowers and small hills. Soon, it would be a horror show, covered in Orcs.

'What's your plan?' Aaron asked simply. He was happy to go over plans.

'Snezhana is making me a special shell, but I can't fire it from where I'll be. I need you to.'

'Got it. What am I hitting?'

Cameron liked Aaron. He was always willing to give her plans a chance. Maybe because he couldn't be blamed if they failed.

'You're hitting me.'

Aaron looked over at Cameron slowly, trying to process the information. 'I'm hitting... you?'

'Trust me, I know what I'm doing.'

'This special shell better be just that, or that meadow's going to be a very disgusting colour.' Aaron said with a small chuckle.

'I know. The shell isn't solid, it's more... It'll make sense.'

'Got it,' Aaron said. 'Get me that shell, I'll hit you when you signal me. And that signal is?'

'The signal is "We are stronger than you realise"' Cameron replied.

Aaron filed that away for later. He was eager to see the plan in action now. Cameron gently punched his shoulder and walked away without saying goodbye. She trusted Aaron to follow the plan. Step three. One more step.

Cameron walked back down the stairs, then back towards the Cerberus. She was ready, but she needed one more person to help her. She stepped into the hangar bay, and walked towards engineering.

In thee engineering bay Junior and Riley were working hard to prepare for the coming battle. Cameron would have asked Junior, but for this plan, she needed crazy...

'Hey, Riley, I need your help.'

'Can it wait!?' he barked back.

'No, Riley, it can't,' Cameron said matter-of-factly. Riley sighed, putting down his plasma torch and gesturing for Cameron to continue. 'I have a plan to chase the Orcs away, but I need some of your scientific brilliance.'

Riley smirked. He knew when he was being played, but he enjoyed the compliment all the same. 'Go on.'

'I have a plan to intimidate the Orcs. They're dumb, but based on primitive mindsets and cultures, I'm willing to bet they're superstitious too. Right?'

'Right...' Riley said, smirk slowly creeping to a grin.

'So, my plan is to appear bigger and badder than them. I have a gun trained on me that's going to set me on fire, and I'm going to use a megaphone in my helmet to speak loudly. I just need to survive being on fire. Think you can help?'

'Oh, I can help,' Riley said, walking over to his shelving in the lab, pulling aerosol cans off and examining the labels. 'I can buy you ten minutes before you start cooking in your suit. Any longer and I need a couple of hours.'

Cameron shook her head. 'You have ten minutes.'

Riley spun the aerosols in his hands and turned. 'Helmet down, Cameron. You're about to party just like your namesake.'

Cameron walked out of the ship, smelling of rum and glue, but she approached Ian. Her helmet was on and the visor was tinted to hide her face, something Ian took notice of.

'Plan ready?' Ian asked.

'Yes, sir,' Cameron responded. 'I need you to let me handle it, though. Don't react, and only come in if you hear the code-phrase. It's "Apollo guides me".'

Ian nodded, filing that in his mind. He really hoped this plan worked. They had only just rebelled, he didn't want to lose Cameron to a half-baked plan. Then again... Ian trusted his squad. Cameron was always eager to prove herself, and had rarely let them down.

'Good luck, Cameron.'