"I will not let those races be turned to slaves," she replied. "We're sending a fleet now!"
"It will weaken us here and the fleet will be destroyed!" he argued. "It is what they want us to do. Don't allow them to let you think irrationally."
"Who are you to give me orders?" she demanded. "What is your name?"
"Pyrrhus," he replied. "I'm the General of every one of your fleets."
"Pyrrhus. I'm glad that you're in charge of every fleet," she repeated. "Send a fleet to help Demeter now. Do not make me tell you again," She walked out of the room before he could respond.
She was the Queen, he would have to do as she commanded or lose his position. She may know nothing of war, but neither did he because he had never personally seen war. Reading about war and seeing war were two different things, and neither one of them had seen it. She knew that he would obey her, she could see that he was loyal, though she hated that this is how they had to meet.
Adira pulled out her comlink and called Abdul to tell him to get the Council together. The only thing she told him was that it was urgent. He obeyed like he always did and she waited in the Council Chamber for all of the members to arrive before speaking.
"Demeter has been taken over by the Crodillians. It has been ravaged and survivors are being turned into slaves as we speak."
"We knew this was a possibility when we brought the ships here," Hildereth told her. "This is just part of war."
"Regardless, we are sending a fleet to confront the enemy," she looked at him. "I will not let my races be turned to slaves."
"They'll slaughter us!" Hildereth stood up. "This is obviously how they want you to respond."
"Sit down," she demanded. "We can't let them do this. It must be stopped."
"One fleet will not stop them. We have already seen the outcome of one fleet," Aldrick sided with Hildereth. "We must wait for them to come here where we stand a chance to wipe them out for good. Sacrifices must be made in war, and I hate to say it, but this is one of those sacrifices."
"A fleet is already being sent to Demeter as we speak. I refuse to let my races be turned to slaves. It is not a sacrifice that I am willing to make," she informed them. "There is also another ship ready for all of you to depart on."
"Us?" Bertrade and Alura asked at the same time.
"You're going to Nesoi into hiding. I am staying here. If I'm killed, Orion needs to have leaders who can lead them to victory over the Crodillians."
"I'm staying with you," Abdul argued.
"You may stay," she nodded. "The rest of you are leaving right now. Your ship is waiting for you in the hangar."
"Merikh!" a crewman shouted. "There are incoming ships!"
"How many ships are approaching?"
"It appears to be a single fleet."
"So Jahdiel was right," Merikh smiled. "Send out the fighters and bombers!"
"Yes sir!" The crewman got busy on the controls to alert the pilots.
Merikh watched as his ships went out to attack the incoming fleet. The Queen's fleet sent out fighters of their own to counterattack, but were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Crodillian ships. His fighters swarmed around the Queen's fighters, quickly diminishing their numbers with ease. After half of the fleet had been destroyed he sent out more orders.
"Call all of our ships back in and initiate the nucannons."
The nucannons on all three of the Colchian's lit up a bright orange as the Queen's ships scrambled to initiate Sonodrive to escape their fate
"Fire!" All three of the Colchian's fired on the Queen's fleet at the same time, destroying the remaining ships.
They had one less fleet to face at Hera now and they had only lost a few of their own ships in the process. Taking over Orion was going to be much easier than he had first thought. This place was weak and obviously not prepared for war. He laughed silently to himself, even the Crodillian rebels had put up more of a fight than this and they had had far less ships at their disposal.
Chapter 34
"How is that even possible?" Adira asked.
"They're experienced in war," Pyrrhus told her. "Their ships are quick and they know how to fight while losing few of their own."
"How do you know so much about what happened if no one survived?"
He stared at her silent for a moment before responding. "I knew that one fleet had no chance, despite what you thought, so I had the battle recorded all the way up until our ships were obliterated. I wanted to see how they fought us this time."
"You what?" she fumed. "And you didn't inform me of this of this decision?"
"It wasn't important. You wanted the fleet sent, so I obeyed, but I took the chance to learn more about our enemy. I told you not to send them for this very reason, yet you insisted that they be sent anyway. I only followed orders and learned as much about our enemy as I could."
"Show me what you have."
Pyrrhus pulled out his holopad and showed her the video of the quick battle. "They sent out fighters and bombers this time instead of immediately using that weapon. They swarmed our ships with their sheer numbers and then pulled out after they destroyed almost everything. They did it with ease I might add."
"What are those things?" Adira squinted at the orange lights on the enemy ships.
"It's the weapon that wiped out your entire fleet the first time. I've never seen anything like it, so I can't answer that question. Whatever it is, it leaves us at a great disadvantage. They don't even have to fight us with those things on their ships."
She looked up. "They could've used those the whole time, but they sent out fighters?"
"Yes. I believe they could've used it from the beginning," he nodded. "It looks like they were playing with us, or trying to prove some kind of point. I'm not sure which one and I honestly don't care."
"If they were trying to prove a point it was made," she muttered. "We have no chance against them when they come to attack us."
"I hate to say it, but I agree with you," Pyrrhus sighed. "We have them outnumbered, but I don't think even that'll play in our favor."
"What is the strategy you and your commanders have put together?"
"I have no idea what we're going to do now. We weren't prepared to lose an entire fleet and I don't think we have enough time to come up with a strategy that will enable us to defeat the Crodillians. They've proven that they're superior in battle twice. I don't think we could come up with anything that would defeat them. We are just too short on time right now."
Abdul burst through the room and interrupted them. "Adira!"
"What is it?" she turned. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"
"Themis and its moons have been conquered," he answered. "It appears that they have released prisoners from the moons and they are now traveling together."
"They're recruiting," Pyrrhus whispered. "We need to act quick. Hera is their next stop."
The Queen looked back and forth between the two men. "Prepare your men for attack Pyrrhus, this may be our last chance to stop them," she looked to Abdul. "You go help Pyrrhus get the commanders ready, we're going to need all the help we can get."
Both of the men left the room and Adira pulled out her comlink to make one last call before Hera was attacked. "Anlon?"
"What's wrong Adira?"
"Keep Kanti safe for me."
"I'll keep her safe Adira, don't worry. What's the matter?"
"Promise me you will keep her safe, no matter what happens."
"I will," he promised. "I won't let anything happen to her. Now what's wrong?"
"Orion may be under new control soon. I fear there is no preventing it."
"What's happened with the Crodillians?"
"They've have taken over Demeter and ravaged it, turning all survivors into slaves. They have just taken over Themis and released all of Orion's most dangerous criminals," Anlon held the comlink to his ear in silence. "I sent a fleet to save Demeter, but it was destroyed. I believe that Hera is next, and if rec
ent events aren't a clue, we're doomed."
"Surely you can defend Hera with all of your ships!" he encouraged. "They don't even come close to your numbers."
"This is very likely the last time we speak. Thank you for keeping my daughter safe Anlon, you are still the last hope to save Orion. No matter what happens, don't give up hope."
"The Crodillians and Jahdiel will take over Orion soon!" the blue figure said. "The Queen's fleet is providing little resistance against them."
"There is nothing we can do," Kirill gritted his teeth. "Not until I know that I'm safe from Jahdiel."
"We could provide assistance to the Queen."
"Who's side are you on?" Kirill fumed. "I will never assist the Queen, including if it makes an enemy of a possibly ally."
"They will never be an ally! They want to take over Orion. They won't share a Throne with you."
"And I'm willing to help them if I know Jahdiel won't kill me," Kirill shot back. "The Throne will come in time."
The figure shook it's head. "They will only use you as they are using the prisoners they released from Themis' moons."
"Then let them use me!" he slammed his fists. "I will use them too! I will find out all of their weaknesses and I will strike when the time is right. If you don't want to side with me, then don't, but I plan on striking an alliance with the Crodillians."
"I will keep you updated then. I hope that you're right about this, Kirill."
"Hera is coming into view," Jahdiel nudged Merikh.
"There has to be over ten thousand ships waiting for us," Merikh guessed. "Fighters are all out of their mother ships ready for battle."
"We will show them that our past battles were just the beginning of our capabilities."
"If they fight like the last two fleets, this will be a quick massacre. Send out the fighters!" he ordered his crew.
The fighters left the four Colchians and headed towards the Queen's fleet, prompting the Queen's fighters to attack. They attempted to swarm his ships like he had ordered his own to do on Demeter, but it was a failure as his ships were to quick.
Fighters from both sides swarmed space, and though it looked like chaos, the Crodillians pilots knew exactly what they were doing from countless years of practice. Everything was orchestrated perfectly and the Queen's numbers quickly started to diminish. In time, the Queen's fighters began retreating back to their mother ships and the Crodillians returned back to their Colchian.
"How many enemy fighters are left?" Merikh asked.
A crew member looked up. "Less than half of the fighters that were originally sent out. Most of those are severely damaged and unable to return to battle"
Merikh stroked his chin. "What should our next move be Jahdiel? You have planned out this whole thing, you should decide."
"Release the bombers and clear out the remaining fighters."
"Release the bombers!" Merikh shouted to the crew. "Have them attack the remaining fighters, but leave the command ships alone!"
"Leave the others alone?" Jahdiel asked. "The bombers could easily take them out."
"We have four Colchians with nucannons, it will be more than enough to destroy all of their command ships. We will show them the full extent of our weapons and strike fear in any survivors hiding in Orion who may want to put up resistance after we have taken over Hera."
The bombers attacked the damaged fighters, wiping them out in mere minutes, before returning back to dock. All of the pilot's knew what was going to come next and didn't want to be anywhere near the nucannons when they struck their targets.
"Fire up the nucannons!" Merikh ordered.
The crew got to work and an officer looked up to him. "All Colchians are ready to fire on your command!"
Merikh stared at the Queen's fleet as they approached him slowly, firing their weapons uselessly at his fleet. They obviously thought they still stood a chance. He'd just have to show them how much hope was left. "Fire!"
The bright orange lights of the nucannons struck the remaining Queen ships, taking out almost all of the ships. Chunks of metal flew through space, colliding with the ships on the outskirts of the blast radius and taking a few of them out.
"Send bombers to take out the remaining ships," he looked to Jahdiel. "Our nucannons aren't as strong as I thought."
"We still wiped out a fleet of over ten thousand while only losing a few of our own. The nucannons have never gone against anything this massive," she said. "Seems like a massacre to me. Orion will still fear us, all without revealing your secret weapon."
Merikh and Jahdiel watched as the last of the Queen's command ships were destroyed by the bombers. Hera's space was littered with giant chunks of charred metal and torn bodies. The area was now a graveyard, with very few Crodillians laying rest in it. Merikh ordered his captains to land all of the ships on Hera, taking out any enemy opposition on the way if confronted.
"The Crodillians have taken over Demeter and have burned everything, taking all survivors as slaves," Anlon told his group of companions.
"My family," Nimesha tried to hold back tears.
Falcone looked over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll get them back for this. No one can do this and get away with it."
"They have also taken over Themis," Anlon continued. "All the prisoners have been released and will most likely be helping the Crodillians in the war."
"Is my Mom safe?" Kanti asked.
"For now," Anlon nodded. "But she believes Hera is next and she doesn't think they'll be able to stop the Crodillians from taking it."
"They have to have more than enough firepower to hold them back!" Falcone insisted. "She has thousands of ships at her disposal."
Camillus shook his head. "I told you earlier, Orion isn't ready to face the Crodillians. They are just too strong and powerful, no matter how many ships we have at hand. Experience and knowledge is a far better advantage than numbers."
"What are we going to do?" Kanti asked. "We aren't going to stay hidden here."
Anlon sighed. "We have to keep you safe Kanti. Orion needs to have a heir to the Throne if anything happens to the Queen."
"What are we going to do then?" Nimesha pointed to Falcone and Camillus. "We won't just stay here and hide while Orion is being conquered by an alien race. We have no reason to hide here."
Falcone nodded. "I'm on her side this time. I refuse to stay here and wait while Orion is being ravaged."
"There is no way I'm staying here in seclusion if you're all going to do something!" Kanti protested.
"I don't think there is much we can do," Anlon said. "If the Queen's fleets can't stop the Crodillians, there won't be much that we can do to stop them."
"The Queen's Council is here," Camillus informed them. "They arrived less than an hour ago, maybe they will be able to help us with a decision."
"You can keep track of people too?" Falcone asked.
"It's public records and I can access them wirelessly," he replied. "From the log I'm reading, Adira sent them here herself."
"Let's talk to them," Anlon said. "It's better than just sitting here, and they may have information about what has happened to Hera since the Queen called me."
"Why were you on Keres?" Jahdiel asked Donnchadh, who she had specifically picked out after reviewing his background.
"I was working for the Deimos Brotherhood. I tried to kill the Queen and I was caught. Keres was my punishment for that, along with many other things."
She chuckled. "And she didn't kill you herself when she caught you in her Palace?"
"No. She wanted me to face proper judgment for all of my crimes."
"Didn't you work for the Galactic Special Operations Unit when I was outcast?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. I worked for the GSOU for quite some time."
"And you left the GSOU for the Deimos Brotherhood? What caused you to all of a sudden switch sides?"
He shrugged. "I was left to die. It was either join them or be killed
. I obviously chose life over death or we wouldn't be talking right now."
"A good excuse. I was faced with something similar," she nodded. "If I let you go, are you going to try to kill Adira again?"
"No. I no longer want to kill her."
"Interesting. Well, if you kill her after I let you go, I will kill you myself for lying to me."
"I understand," he nodded.
"Good," She flashed a genuine smile. "How do you feel about leading units of races against rebel forces?"
"I could do it, if that's what you want me to do. I'll be honest with you though, I don't think I'm fit to lead."
"Sure you are. That's why I want you to do it," she observed him. "I believe your time in GSOU and Deimos Brotherhood more than qualifies you to lead. Air attacks no longer need to be utilized since we have destroyed all of the Queen's ships. Now, we need to lead units of Crodillians and other races on the ground to finish taking over Orion, extinguishing any resistance that there may be. The Crodillians do not know Orion as well as you and I and I think you can lead them to victory over the rebel forces that will surely arise."
"I will lead them to victory as you request."
"Excellent," She patted him on the back. "Together, we will take over Orion."
"We can't just hide here on Nesoi!" Anlon protested to the reluctant Council .
"You do realize that Hera has just been taken over by the Crodillians?" Bertrade asked Anlon and his companions.
"Adira thought that there was a good chance that it would happen. Why do you think she sent you all here?" Anlon asked. "Are we really going to just hide while Orion is destroyed and taken over?"
"I like your heart, boy," Reginold spoke. "But what else are we supposed to do? The Queen's entire fleet was destroyed at Hera. We have no chance of defeating the Crodillians now that we have no fleets."
"We can't hide! We are not cowards, we will not let the Crodillians come to our home and overtake it without a fight," Kanti spoke up, attracting the attention of the entire Council. "It is our job as leaders to protect those we serve."
War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past Page 30