Free House of the Wolf (Book Three of the Phoenix Legacy) by M.K. Wren Page A

is centered in Toramil, where Conpol and Confleet forces are concentrating on an offensive sweep to isolate the insurgents.
    I would also like to mention that Lord Cameroodo has refused to leave Toramil or evacuate anyone allieged to his House, and in this he demonstrates a positive attitude that all citizens of the Concord would do well to emulate.
    Let me assure you, strong measures have been taken to control these disturbances. There is no cause for panic or uncertainty. Above all, I must emphasize that the evacuation is a
temporary
measure, and primarily a
precautionary
one. And let me further assure you that the Directors and all Concord officials are keeping themselves alert and fully informed on every aspect of these disturbances, and that every available resource is being brought to bear to bring them to a swift conclusion.
    I ask all citizens of the Concord to remain calm and to refrain from listening to, or spreading, unfounded rumors. We are passing through a troubled era in history, but the Concord has survived greater perils. The times demand courage and faith. The Concord wasn’t built by cowards and pessimists; courage and faith are our heritage from its founders, our forefathers. Remember, we are the forefathers of future generations. They must find inspiration in us as we do in our predecessors.
    And now, I ask that each of you add your prayers to mine; I ask you to pray with me for an end to the dissension and for the restoration of order and reason.
    May the All-God and the Holy Mezion grant us all peace.
    (
Pan: Full view of office
.)
    (
Music: Final chorus, Hymn of the Concord
.)
    (
Cut to exterior: Fountain of Victory. Overlap and fade to studio and announcer
.)
    ANNOUNCER : You have just heard an address by the Lord Mathis Daro Galinin, Chairman of the Directorate. Stay tuned for an updated report on the Martian uprisings with a special feature on the arrival of the first evacuees in Concordia, Norleans, Coben, and Tokio.

5.
    “Cameroodo is collapsing! Mars will soon be lost, my friends! Lost! The Concord totters on the brink of chaos, and our time is coming!”
    Predis Ussher gripped the railing of the comcenter deck with both hands as if to brace himself against the tangible power of the massed cheers that surged up from the sea of faces, beating against the stone walls, crashing against his ears like a tumbling surf. He stood alone on the deck, resplendent in his blue-and-gold uniform, looking out over the close-packed, blue-clad crowd, at the open mouths, the waving arms, the boundless joy and hope.
    They were his. They
believed
.
    Nearly five thousand men and women crowded the hangar, like a blue sea around the black islands of the ships that waited to lift off toward their destiny of conquest and victory.
    The people were with him, one with him, extensions of his mind and body. Not even Erica Radek, standing near the deck, watching as she always did—not even she could quench his exaltation today, nor that of this multitude.
    They were
his
, body and mind.
    He raised his hands, and the sea subsided.
    “My fellow members, the Lord Galinin asks the citizens of the Concord to pray, and well he might. He’ll
need
those prayers; he’ll
need
the All-God’s help. But for the Concord, it’s already too late. Mars is doomed! The evacuation has begun; the cities that once glittered in the midst of the red deserts will soon be as empty as the deserts themselves. Only Cameroodo, of all the proud Lords who held sway on Mars, remains to battle chaos to the end. He will not win that battle, my friends! He
cannot
win!”
    The cheers exploded around him. His voice struck out into the rush of sound.
    “Galinin seeks aid of the All-God, but I ask you, who does the All-God choose to favor? The Concord? Can you doubt whom the All-God chooses to bless when within twenty-four days of our offensive, Mars has erupted in violent uprisings demanding a concentration of Conpol and Confleet forces unprecedented since