“I would die first!"

The room seconded that statement. Gunth raised his hands and asked for silence before he spoke again.

“We have great weapons,” he announced, “but they will not protect all of us. Some of you will die, many of you will suffer. Is this the choice you all make?"

Had our home not been a literal mountain, the wall would have shook with the battle cry. That was the choice we made and we would see it through to the end. We would not give up.

Gunth had a plan already in the works. From what Tosu had said the women would not remove men from the compounds. They thought they could protect them. Gunth and his Brothers thought the men would need more help than that.

The male Administrators divided the men into teams as Hassar divided the women. We had to help defend the ore in the mountains and stop the massacre that was sure to happen at the compounds. This camp was near two different compounds and we vowed to protect them both. It would take careful organization to make sure that happened.

Damien and his Brothers volunteered to defend the Barnas compound. My men were put on the rotation roster and I was slated to stay here and help with preparation. I noted that both Hannah and Kennedy were assigned to stay close to the Barnas compound.

“Come on," Armant said walking by and getting my attention, "we need to get to work. If men are going to be living away from camp, we have to send them with supplies."

It was an insanely busy day. Damien and his Brothers packed bags and loaded a transport. They were gone with a large contingent of men by the time the sun was midway through the sky. They would sit in the caves beneath the Land in preparation for an attack.

I barely caught up to my daughters before they left on their assignments. Hannah was still angry with me and only begrudgingly accepted my hug. I saw the anger in the fierce Line of her brow and the thin line of her Lips.

We stood in the garage and it churned with activity around us. This was not a good place for a long talk, but that was irrelevant. I had to let Hannah know I loved her, despite not understanding what had her so angry. If this world went to war, I had no doubt she would place herself on the front Lines.

“Hannah,” I begged, “forgive me for Loving your father past all reason. I did not mean to upset you. I'm not even sure why you are upset. You know Damien cares for me. You told me you wanted us happy and together. I think your anger is misplaced."

Hannah's eyes darted left and right before she spoke quietly and in English.

“My Sister and I will be Administrators someday," she said without emotion. "I can't have everyone thinking I come from breeders that do not have good forethought. It would affect my selection. You act so rashly sometimes and you ignore the rules, they know I think like you do..."

I had not realized how driven Hannah was, but it made sense. She wanted to be in charge and take on leadership roles. I would never begrudge her those goals. I hoped one day she'd learn sometimes rules were meant to be broken, but I appreciated her conviction

“You come from breeders that love each other very much," I said passionately while placing a hand on her arm.

“Your parents are determined and nothing will stop them. We will not hamper your dreams. Hannah, I promise you. We just couldn't allow the Administrators’ prejudices to continue to control us."

"The rules are important. Society's goals are important," Hannah said firmly and then looked at her Sister, “but I understand family must come first. I just wish you all had made your arguments, before..."

She wished we'd been up front with the Administration and I had to smile.

"Sometimes, Baby Girl," I said slyly, “it is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. Sometimes no one will believe the truth until they see it.”

Hannah's face softened a Little as she rolled her eyes and pulled me into a hug. "I love you, Mama," she sighed. "You are so stubborn. Now would be a bad time to further test the rules. Just please be careful. Try to stay safe.”

Promising to be careful, I hugged my girls as I held back the tears Kennedy and her Sisters approached and I was able to say good-by to them, too. In all honesty, both my daughters were as excited as their male breeders had been. None of them seemed that worried about what they were preparing to do.