War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past

by Conner Walworth

  "You're lying," He fell to his knees. "You're lying to me."

  "You were the best opportunity he saw of fulfilling his dreams of removing me from the Throne. He knew he couldn't rush things this time and was willing to wait for the right opportunity to come along, and it did. You."

  "How could I be such a fool?" Donnchadh mumbled. "I betrayed you and killed one of my closest friends for a man who is just going to kill me in the end. I'm so sorry. He tricked me, I don't know how, but he did."

  "You're weak. That's how he did it. He knew he could turn you after one quick gaze," she said emotionless. "You knew what he did before you ever knew his true identity. You, of all races, should've known that he was a lying serpent that preys on the innocent."

  Donnchadh wept on his knees in the musty chambers.

  "We have both made mistakes Donnchadh, mine was sending Jahdiel to her death, but I have admitted to that. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret that decision," she told him. "You won't be judged kindly, but you can admit to your mistakes before you die and make peace with yourself. Either way, you're going to die. You will be sent to death, but you still might have helped Kirill just enough to fulfill his plan of mass extermination."

  "I died when Armino left me in those tunnels," he replied. "I haven't been the same since then."

  "You will get a proper trial on Themis like I have promised, and I can also promise you that you will most likely die a slow death."

  Donnchadh shook his head. "I deserve nothing less. I have committed the worst crimes possible."

  Adira shook her head in disgust and turned around to leave him alone in the dungeons. When she reached the end she saw the guard standing and alert at the field. She walked past him without saying a word and she saw the magenta field go back on in the corner of her eyes as she briskly made her way back to her chambers.

  Anlon woke up to the pilot calling his name on the ship's comm system. He got out of the bed and groggily walked down the stairs to the cockpit.

  "What is it?" He asked the pilot.

  "You're back on Gaea," he pointed. "You're home."

  Anlon looked out of the window and saw his house a couple of hundred yards away. "We're in my yard! Why are we in my yard?"

  "You wanted to come back without anyone knowing right?" He asked, pretending to be confused.

  "Yes, but what are races going to say when they see one of the Queen's ship's in my yard!" Anlon exclaimed.

  "Well, luckily for you, no one is going to say anything. They can't see the ship," he winked. "It's the Queen's advanced stealth field system, no one even knows we entered the airspace."

  "Oh," Anlon said, feeling dumb. "Guess I'll grab my stuff and head out."

  Anlon went up to the bunker and grabbed his belongings before exiting the ship. Once the ramp closed, Anlon couldn't see the ship that was right in front of him. He entered the house, set his stuff on the couch, and left to get in his truck. Moran would most likely be waiting for him and he didn't want to keep him any longer than he had to. When he arrived, he immediately went to the fifty-second floor and saw that room two forty-seven wasn't hidden from his view like it had been the first time. He didn't bother knocking and walked right in the room.

  "Didn't anyone ever teach you how to knock?" A voice came from around the corner.

  "Figured you'd be waiting for me to get back."

  Moran appeared from around the corner. "You were right. Now tell me what the Queen has planned for you."

  "She wants me to find the Deimos Brotherhood and tell her where they're located."

  "I know this may sound dumb to you since you know the answer, but isn't that something that she can do easily herself? She has plenty of useful resources, like the GSOU, at hand that we don't."

  Anlon shook his head. "She's been trying, but she thinks that there is someone on the inside sending out warnings to the enemy. Fake intel keeps getting relayed back to her and she has been led on nothing but false trails."

  "Okay. I can see how that makes some sense. I've gone out on several pointless missions," Moran agreed. "Is she going to help you at all, since this isn't happening to the best of anyone's knowledge?"

  "No. Well, yes," He corrected himself. "But only if I really need it. I told her you have stuff ready for me and she said try to utilize all of that before I ask her for any help."

  "Figured she already knew I was helping you in some type of way," he muttered. "That's fine, I have more than enough stuff for you. You won't have to contact her for anything."

  "She also said someone she knows is going to help me and that I can trust them. She didn't tell me who, just said I'd know when the time came."

  "Even better," Moran smiled. "If she says you can trust them, you can trust them. And you better believe that they'll be able to help you out on your mission. Only person I know that she trusted was your Dad and she was spot on with that."

  "After talking to her, she said she just wants me to scout," Anlon sounded disappointed. "I'm not allowed to go after any of the races."

  "Of course she did," Moran chuckled. "You didn't think you were going to take these guys on alone, did you?"

  "At first I did," Anlon smiled. "But I see things much differently now."

  "She finally talked some sense into you!" Moran joked. "Does she have any leads on where they may be?"

  "No," Anlon shook his head. "But I do."

  "You do?" Moran raised his eyebrows. "What do you have?"

  "I know who they are, which means I can search them on the database."

  Moran took in a deep breath and let it out. "That could work, but we both know how good the Deimos Brotherhood is at concealing identities and locations. It'll also be risky and you could get in a lot of trouble if you get caught."

  "That's fine," he shrugged. "Adira said she'd get me out of trouble if I happen to get caught in there, or in any other sticky situations later."

  "You don't want to get caught. You don't want her to help you at all. Even the slightest bit of help could tip of the Deimos Brotherhood you're working for her."

  "I know. I know. Do you think you could help me with getting in?"

  "We'll work on that right after training tomorrow."

  "There's still a little bit more that she sent me out to do," Anlon said.

  "Sounds like you covered most of it. Find them and report their location. What else is there?"

  "This has nothing to do with finding the Deimos Brotherhood," Anlon said.

  "What does it have to do with then?" Moran raised his eyebrows.

  "Her daughter."

  His jaw dropped a little bit. "Her daughter? The one that supposedly died?"

  "Except she didn't die," Anlon nodded. "My Dad took her daughter and hid her somewhere. There is a clue here that she wants me to retrieve because she is afraid to leave the Palace after the attempt on her life."

  "She entrusted you with something very important Anlon. You need to find this clue immediately after we break into the database. I have a feeling these two things are linked in some type of unseen way."

  "How?" Anlon asked.

  "It's just a feeling I get every once and awhile. Finding that clue is just as important as, if not more important, than finding the Deimos Brotherhood, that I can promise you."

  "I'll retrieve it right after I break into the database. I'll go there immediately after and I'll train while I wait for further response from the Queen."

  "By the way, I'm starting to think that your training will have to be cut short."

  "Cut short?" Anlon exclaimed. "I don't know anything, how can you cut it short?"

  "Anlon, you're still going to train, but it's just going to be a couple of days. The timetable has completely changed after the attempt on Adira's life. Every day you train is another day for the Brotherhood to assassinate the Queen."

  "How will I go after these guys if I have no training?"

  "You do have some of what your father taught you."

  "True,
but that's not close to everything I need. I'm going after well trained assassins."

  "The guys I've got for you will teach you everything you need to know in the couple of days we have. You're not going on your quest of vengeance anymore. You're scouting, so you shouldn't need as intense of training because you're more of a shadow lurker."

  Anlon bit his lip. "Okay fine. You're right."

  Moran patted his shoulder. "You'll learn a lot while traveling and you still have that guy the Queen said will help you. I'm sure he'll teach you a lot of stuff and keep you safe. She wouldn't send someone who wouldn't be able to help you," Moran tried to make him feel better. "I'll provide you with the best pilot in Orion on top of all that. You have nothing to worry about kid!"

  Anlon smiled. "What are we waiting for then? Let's start."

  "Go home and take the rest of the day off. We'll start your training tomorrow."

  Anlon left the apartment and drove home. He was no longer in this alone like he had been when this had all started. There was more help than he could even ask for and really didn't understand why everyone trusted him so much. He hadn't proved himself to anyone because he had never done anything like this, only his father had experience with stuff like this. Letting them down by failing this mission wasn't going to happen, he'd prove to them that they were all right to place their trust in him.

  Chapter 14

  Sanguinarius landed the ship on the protruded dock and sat in the pilot seat patiently for the dock recede back into the mountain. Before completely going into the mountain, he knew there was trouble because Kirill was already waiting in the hangar with his arms crossed and rage covering his face.

  "He already knows, Ulisse," he nudged.

  "Who knows what?" Ulisse woke up.

  "He knows," Sanguinarius pointed. "Kirill knows we screwed up. We forgot about his inside contacts. Must've been the one that helped us carry out the mission."

  "What are we going to tell him? He's going to kill us as soon as we get off of the ship."

  "Let me do the talking. I think I may be able to place most of the blame on Donnchadh."

  "Donnchadh?" Ulisse exclaimed. "It was your idea to stay!"

  "Kirill doesn't know that and he doesn't need to. Donnchadh has been caught and will be put to death anyway, what does it matter if Kirill gets mad at him?"

  "Okay. You do the talking. I won't place the blame on him."

  Ulisse lowered the ramp to Cerberus and got off, with Sanguinarius lingering behind him still figuring things out. Kirill marched over with a face full of steam and didn't stop until he was mere inches away from Ulisse's spider body.

  "Tell me why I shouldn't have you two fools killed right now!" he fumed. "You have just screwed up our best chance at killing the Queen!"

  "Kirill, you have to listen to us," Ulisse pleaded.

  Sanguinarius shot him a quick glance. "You have to believe us when we say it isn't our fault. We did everything exactly as planned."

  "The Queen is still alive, was that your master plan? I know that that wasn't my plan."

  "No. We all got in undetected and delivered the poison just as planned, but Donnchadh insisted that we stay and wait. We urged him to leave, but he wouldn't listen to us. He insisted that we stay and wait for the Queen to die."

  "So you're saying this is all Donnchadh's fault?" Kirill asked. "Do I look like a fool to you?"

  "No, Kirill," Sanguinarius replied. "We're just saying that if Donnchadh hadn't insisted we stay behind, we wouldn't have been found and the Queen would be dead right now."

  "I should've known that Donnchadh would've been sloppy after the last mission," He muttered to himself and clenched his fists. "His failure of the last mission is what led to the failure of this mission."

  "What do you mean his failure of the last mission?" Ulisse cocked his head.

  "Do you know how you were discovered?"

  "The guards saw us," They both answered at the same time.

  "No. Anlon Valens saw you in the kitchen and told the Queen that her food was poisoned."

  "The boy?" Sanguinarius asked. "Armino's son?"

  "Donnchadh killed him!" Ulisse said. "He shot him on the way out."

  Kirill shook his head. "Donnchadh got careless and let the boy live. He assured me that he wouldn't make a mistake like that again, and obviously I was wrong to trust him."

  "What was the boy doing at the Palace?" Ulisse asked.

  "The Queen wanted to see him about your last mission!" Kirill shouted. "She's linked everything together now! Our job of killing the Queen has just become a little bit harder, but it will still happen. They'll be keeping an eye out for us, and for traitors within the Palace, but this is when we perform best."

  A grin crossed Sanguinarius' amphibious face. "We can do it Kirill. We'll kill the Queen."

  "Donnchadh worries me though," Kirill stroked his chin. "I can't trust he won't screw things up in some way."

  "Why? They'll kill him," Sanguinarius said.

  Kirill shook his head. "He's weak. He'll talk to the Queen first, but you're right, she'll eventually kill him in the end."

  "Donnchadh isn't weak!" Ulisse exclaimed. "He was our best man!"

  "Our best don't get caught! They don't make careless mistakes that cost the Deimos Brotherhood," Kirill fumed. "And I assure you he'll break. I broke him when I turned him into one of us and I have no doubt that the Queen will be able to do the same," He waived his hands. "Forget all of this mess. Let's start preparing for our next mission. Ulisse, we will need your poison making skills again if we are to succeed."

  "What kind of poison will you need this time?"

  "Anything that you want. Let everyone know that the Deimos Brotherhood killed Queen Adira. We aren't going to hide in the shadows any longer. She knows who's hiding now."

  "What about Anlon?" Sanguinarius asked. "He's already screwed up the success of two of our missions."

  "He will be dealt with accordingly," Kirill turned from them.

  "Who are you going to send after him?" Ulisse prodded.

  "Nimesha," Kirill answered, leaving the two races behind.

  Ulisse and Sanguinarius both looked at each other and smiled. They had heard of Nimesha's ruthlessness, but they had never personally seen her within the base. Just because she was a female didn't mean that she wasn't better than them. Nimesha's reputation of success and ruthlessness was known by all within the Brotherhood, even if she hadn't been seen by most.

  The Queen walked into the dining room that her private investigators were working in. She stood behind them for a couple of minutes and observed them as they went through the food that was supposed to be served to her the day before. It was unbelievable how lucky she had been that Anlon had been here and had just happened to see the killers before she had started eating. She had learned from Donnchadh that after her death, it was her ex-husband who would reveal himself and take her spot on the Throne.

  No one in Orion knew just how close they had come to seeing a maniac take the Throne, nor would they find out. She had been married to him for five years and knew what a monster he was from personal experience, but also knew that he wouldn't stop until one of them was dead, and it wouldn't be her as long as she could help it. This was a battle that would have to be kept from many in order to keep chaos from ensuing.

  "Have you found anything yet?" She asked the lead investigator.

  "We have," She replied, scrolling through her holopad. "We found traces of something in some of the wine," She held up the holopad for the Queen to look at. "It's some very interesting stuff that I've never seen."

  "What is it exactly?"

  "We're not sure," The investigator shrugged. "It seems to have only been in one glass, so we assume that it was only meant for you. Whoever was behind this didn't care about the Prime Minister because nothing else has been poisoned that we can find traces of."

  Adira nodded. "I know it was meant for me. I have been told as much."

  "Well, we haven't
seen anything like this before," she admitted. "It's very unique and must have been custom made by a professional chemist with a ton of knowledge about poison."

  "It was made by an Arachnid named Ulisse," she revealed. "That will be a name you will want to remember for the future. He works for the Deimos Brotherhood and he specializes in poison making such as this. I'm sure you'll see his work again sometime soon."

  "How do you know who he was the one behind this?"

  "He killed one of my friends' son with a poison that no one has seen before. The witness to the crime was here and saw the very same Arachnid in my kitchen just before it was delivered to me."

  The investigator's eye widened. "I will learn as much as I can about him and his poisons."

  "Good, because they will attempt to kill me again soon, I'm sure of it."

  "We need to increase security." she urged. "If you believe he can get a poison to you again, we must do everything in our power to prevent it."

  The Queen shrugged her off. "It doesn't matter if security is increased, if they want me dead they'll find a way to do it. They've already proven that with this attempt on my life."

  "We'll send this off to a lab where they can examine the poison better. Hopefully it will help prevent anything from happening to you in the future. We'll come up with antidotes and anything else that may slow down whatever he comes up with."

  "Find out as much about it as you can. I want to know my enemy as well as they know me."

  "We will," she assured. "We'll be ready for the next attempt on your life. We may not be able to prevent them from getting the poison inside, but we can know what to look for once it's inside."

  "Thank you," Adira put her hand on the investigator's shoulder.

  "You're the best Queen Orion has seen in centuries. I'll do everything in my power to make sure you rule until you are meant to die."

  Adira forced a smile and left the dining room. What the investigator didn't know, was that there were races inside who could slip the poison to her. Even if all of her food was checked, there was no telling if the race checking the food was on her side, at least until it was too late. Antidotes would do her no good with this Arachnid, she was sure of that. Hiding wasn't an option though, she wouldn't show weakness by locking herself up. All of her confidence was in Anlon because she was positive that he'd succeed in finding the Brotherhood. Armino had always told her how good his son was and how he always gave it his all in everything he did. That's all she could ask for right now from the only person she could trust with her life.