War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past (41 page)

"I don't care what he does or why he does it.
There's always races fighting for that spot on the Throne. What's
it matter who rules from it and how they got there?"

"That was just the first part of his plan.
Taking the Throne," Anlon revealed. "Do you want to know what he
has planned once he gets the Throne."

"No, Anlon. Why don't you fill me in on
Kirill's plan," she replied emotionless.

"Once he claims the Throne, he's going to
cleanse Orion of any races he deems unworthy."

Her posture changed, as did the look on her
face. "What do you mean
cleanse
?"
"Kill every race that isn't human! Complete genocide!" Falcone
shouted at her. "We're all dead if he gets the Throne! Even you,
the one helping him accomplish that!"
Nimesha looked to Anlon. "You're both lying. He wouldn't do
something like that. That's crazy."

"You don't have to believe us," Anlon
shrugged. "The Queen has his plans recorded from someone he was
working with, or thought he was working with anyway."

"So technically, you were right when you said
he'd kill you," Falcone spat. "You're helping him claim a Throne so
he can wipe out races like you and me. You're betraying your own
kind."

"Why should I believe anything you've said?"
Nimesha squinted.

"I didn't kill you," he offered. "All you can
do is trust me right now. Kirill will reveal his plans later. I
have no doubt about it."

"So, you're not going to kill me?" Nimesha
asked. "You're just going to let me walk away from here."

"No. We are going to kill you," Falcone
answered.

"We aren't," Anlon shot a glance to Falcone.
"I think you can help us. You didn't know you were helping a
monster when you tried killing us, but you can right the wrongs you
have made and help us stop him."

"Why? Why would you let me live after I tried
to kill you?"
"I'm not a monster like Kirill," Anlon replied. "If I kill you,
does that make me any better than Kirill? He uses innocent races to
carry out his plans and kills other innocents he can't use."

"You really think I can change? I've been
doing this my whole life."

"You've already thought about it," Anlon
observed. "You're listening to what I have to say. If you didn't
want to help us, you would've already left."

"Anlon!" Falcone hissed. "You can't possibly
think about keeping her alive to come with us."
Anlon shrugged his comment off. "I really think you are better than
this Nimesha. You can help us save Orion. You have skills that
we'll need to stop Kirill when the time comes."

"I'm in," she winked at Falcone. "As far as
I'm concerned, my debt is paid. If those are his true plans, my
debt to him is done."

"You can't let her join us!" he protested.
"She'll betray us! Can't you see she is just playing you?"
"I can't just kill her," Anlon told him. "I'll be no better than
Kirill if I kill her after she's surrendered."

Falcone lifted up his pistol. "Well, I can
kill her and be okay with it."

"Put the pistol down," Anlon ordered. "She's
on our side now. She's one of us."

"This is a mistake Anlon," Falcone persisted.
"We can't trust her, no matter what you may think."

Anlon looked to Nimesha. "Is that the Deimos
Brotherhood's base?"

"Yes," Nimesha nodded. "You can get in by
ship or a secret path that goes underneath the lava lake and leads
to the base of the mountain."

Anlon looked to Falcone. "Looks like we can
trust her to me."

Falcone gritted his teeth and lowered his
pistol. "We'll let the others decide for themselves."

Cearbhall led the Queen's fleet to confront
the unknown ships near Ovrean. He wasn't used to being the
commander of a fleet, but the Queen insisted that it was something
that he had to do. He wasn't one to turn down missions and agreed
to make contact with this mysterious ships, or destroy them if it
came down to that.

"We can see the ships now Cearbhall!" a
crewman shouted up.

He looked out of the window and saw thousands
of ships coming into view. If they attacked him, the Queen's fleet
would surely loose. They were greatly outnumbered and outgunned.
Cearbhall had no idea where a fleet this big could have come from
so quickly. No one in Orion would be able to amass a fleet this
large without the Queen's knowledge, or the rest of Orion for that
matter.

"Continue forward," Cearbhall ordered the
crew. "Get the comline ready for communication with the enemy,"
When the comline came online he ordered his fleet come to a halt.
"We're close enough. We don't want to get too close, not knowing
what their intentions are. Initiate contact."

The crew scrambled to make contact with the
other ships, succeeding after a couple of minutes. An image of a
monster appeared for the crew to see, causing many of them to jump
back in their seats. Cearbhall kept his composure, unable to take
his eyes of the glowing heads and sharp teeth protruding from their
mouths.

"What is your business in Orion?" Cearbhall
asked, skipping proper introductions.

A smile crept across the face of the monster.
"I presume that the Queen sent you to make further contact with
me?"

"She did," he answered. "Are you going to
answer the question?"

"Can she hear us right now?" the monster
asked. "I would like her to hear what I have to say."

"Every word that we're saying," Cearbhall
tried to conceal the spite in his voice. "She can also see anything
that you attempt to do, so be careful."

"Excellent," The smile on the monsters face
seemed to grow. "I will tell her exactly who we are."

"She cares more about why you are here than
who you are."

"I will get to that once we introduce
ourselves," he replied angrily. "We are Crodillians."

"Thank you for introducing yourselves, now
why are you here Crodillian?" he interrupted.

"I figured Orion forgot who we were after all
of this time. Not even a hint of recognition in your voice," he
sighed. "We were outcast from Orion centuries ago to the Black
Hole. We struggled to survive on the other side in the harsh
Galaxy, but we prevailed. Centuries passed by, with generations of
Crodillians hearing of the great Orion, and I had the determination
to get back to our old home. I worked with scientists to create the
required technology to pass back through the Black Hole," He paused
to allow the information to sink in. "That caused a rift between
Crodillians and led to a long and bloody Civil War, which my side
just recently won. We were able to wipe out the opposition who
believed we weren't meant to come back. They tried their hardest to
keep us from accomplishing our goal, but nothing could prevent me
from winning. During our long war, we were constantly working on
Warp Reversal to come back and our opposition held the last couple
of pieces, which we obtained after defeating them. That last piece
is how we were able to travel here, to Orion, to be home."

Cearbhall stared at him silently and
intently, trying to figure out if they were here to cause harm them
if they had really just wanted to return to Orion. He hadn't heard
of the race, but he didn't doubt that they were outcast centuries
ago. It wasn't an uncommon punishment long ago, though it was
rarely used now.

"Our bloody war ended two days ago," the
monster continued. "We couldn't have done it without the help of
one of your own though. One that your
Queen
outcast to death
many years ago."

An image of a woman came on the screen. "The
Crodillians accepted me in after the Queen wrongly outcast me to
exile and death. I slowly worked my way up the ranks and eventually
became second in command of the Crodillian army. After we finished
fighting our war with the rebel Crodillians, I was presented with
some very heartwarming information," she smiled wide. "I could
finally travel back home. I would agree only if the Crodillians
came back with me. They accepted me when I was outcast, so it was
only right to also bring them back to the Galaxy they were outcast
from centuries ago."

"
What
are your intentions?" Cearbhall
gritted his teeth. "I don't care about your history right now."

"My name is Jahdiel, and this," she motioned.
"Is Merikh. You ask why we are here and what our intentions
are?"

"Yes."

"My intention is to
rightly
earn my
reputation as a traitor," Jahdiel revealed. "I was outcast for
being a traitor so it is about time I lived up to that label."

"Get ready for battle!" Cearbhall ordered his
crew. "They're going to attack!"

"No. Get ready for
war
," Merikh
grinned. "Our
intentions
are to destroy Orion as it is now
and kill the Queen! The Crodillians will rule Orion!"

Cearbhall cut the comline and stood up from
his seat. "Get pilots to their fighters
now
! We are about to
be under attack from enemy ships!"

Cearbhall looked out of the window, seeing
the four largest ships light up with an orange beam. The beams shot
forward simultaneously, sending chills down his back knowing it was
the last thing he'd see. Upon striking the Queen's fleet, every
ship erupted in a giant ball of fire with an explosion that rocked
the Crodillian ships. All that lay left of the fleet was charred,
twisted, metal and the bodies of those that had come to stop the
enemy.

Bimisi landed his small stealth craft on a
small piece of land, barely big enough for the ship, and let his
passengers off. He had gotten Kanti to Nesoi as fast as he could
because he knew she'd be at the top of the Deimos Brotherhood's
wanted list of races. He looked to Kanti and Camillus who were
standing closely by the water.

"Wait here," He ordered them, disappearing
into the water.

They stood on the small piece of dry land,
waiting for Bimisi to return from wherever he had gone. It wasn't
long before they both saw the water start to ripple and a small
watercraft emerge from the massive ocean. A hatch opened up and
Bimisi motioned them in.

"Come on," he urged. "The faster we get
there, the faster Kanti will be from safe danger."

"What about your ship?" Camillus pointed
out.

"I'll move it later. Get in the craft for
now."

"Where are we going?" Kanti asked, boarding
the watercraft.

Bimisi closed the hatch and began descending
down. "We're going to a secret underground city. Did you not
believe me when I told you back on Erebos?"

"No. I didn't think you were being truthful
at all."

"Not many races have been lucky enough see
this one," he informed them. "It's a refuge of types for races like
you."

They were silent the rest of the way as
Bimisi steered the ship through the crystal clear water. They
passed all kinds of sea creatures and sea life on the way until the
city came into view. The city was beautiful, like nothing Kanti had
ever imagined when she had left Demeter. The city seemed to glow
blue and looked like giant, connected, underwater Palaces. Tall
towers erected from all areas of the city and expanded for what
seemed like miles. In the middle of all of the structures was a big
glass dome with thousands of colors emanating from within.

Kanti looked over to Bimisi. "This place is
beautiful."
"Told you I had better places than that apartment on
Kremiville."

"They look like Palaces," her eyes glittered.
"I'm at a loss for words."

"They are fit for a Queen," Bimisi said. "And
of course, a Princess."

"Who exactly is permitted entrance to this
city?" Camillus asked. "You can't just let anybody in if you want
it to be kept a secret. How is something like this kept
secret?"

"Mostly nobles, royals, and natives live
within," he told them. "Most of the natives never leave, so they
have no one to tell and the royals don't want others to know. They
live their entire lives from within the cities."

"What about the Filibians that do leave?"
Kanti asked. "Do they tell?"

He shook his head. "No. It's their home. They
don't want their families to be harmed. We Filibians take pride in
hiding our homes, even the most corrupt and heartless of us."

Camillus' edginess disappeared and he finally
appeared relaxed. Kanti knew it was because attacking a city like
this would be hard, as would be sneaking in. Of course it could be
done, but with Camillus nearby, no race would ever be able to
snatch her away.

A set of double doors opened as Bimisi
steered the watercraft near the building and he accelerated the
watercraft through the doors before bringing the craft to a halt.
The water around them receded until the chamber was completely
empty and red lights flashed, alerting Bimisi the hatch was safe to
open.

"I'll take you straight to the man in charge
here," Bimisi helped Kanti out.