"You," Alura pointed. "Are not going anywhere. You are the Queen's daughter, and the next heir to the Throne, if we find a way to take Orion back."
"At least I have the courage to stand up and fight against these monsters instead of watch them ravage my home!"
"We have no options left," Bertrade replied. "We have exhausted all of our resources trying to prevent what is happening right now."
"What if I knew someone we could talk to that has faced the Crodillians before?" Camillus suggested. "Would you allow us to leave to speak to them?"
Aldrick looked interested for the first time. "The Crodillians were outcast centuries ago, there is no one left alive who has seen them before."
"You are all forgetting about the Ovreans. The Elders."
"The Elders?" Saidi almost laughed. "The rock men who hide from us? The ones who want nothing to do with Orion? Are those the Elders that you're talking about?"
"He's right," Falcone backed him up, in hopes of getting off of Nesoi. "The Elders have seen them before. They live for centuries. You couldn't possibly hold us back from traveling to Ovrea to speak with them and live with yourselves knowing that there could be a way to defeat the Crodillians."
"Even if you could find them and talk to them, why would the Elders help us?" Aida asked. "They haven't spoken to us in one hundred years."
"They'll want to save Orion!" Nimesha shouted, raising her hands. "They live in Orion too. We're not the only ones who are at risk of being killed. If the Crodillians take over Orion, they're included."
"They may have important information pertaining to the last time the Crodillians were defeated. I can find nothing in my archives that is of much help, but they keep the histories in their Temple. If there is any chance of taking back Orion, it lies with them," Camillus kept pushing. "Let us leave and see. Kanti is the only one you want to keep hidden here, so let the rest of us leave and try to save Orion while she stays with you."
"They are right," Hildereth spoke up. "If the Elders know anything, it is our duty to Orion to find out. We are supposed to take care of Orion from any threats."
"Kanti must stay behind," Bertrade leaned forward. "That is the only way we will allow you to leave."
"If the Elders know how to defeat the Crodillians, there are a few hundred ships at Ares. It's not much, but it's better than nothing," Hildereth said.
"A few hundred ships is nowhere near the size of one fleet and the Crodillians have already shown what they can do with somewhere near ten thousand. The chances of winning are less than slim," Alura responded.
"There are also Ares' own ships, plus their military. You know they wouldn't leave their planet undefended, no matter what the Queen ordered," Hildereth kept arguing. "There is still hope for us."
Anlon and his companions stood silently, letting the Council argue. They had gotten at least one of the members on their side, now they had to wait for Hildereth to convince others.
"Ares will be a tough planet for them to try and take if it comes to that," Reginold sounded convinced. "It's a jungle of a planet and the Quierleons won't let their planet fall without one hell of a fight."
The Council debated about what should be done for a couple of more minutes, with most of the Council finally siding with Hildereth. Bertrade and Alura were still reluctant, but they too eventually gave in. Orion was being conquered, they had no other option but to allow Anlon and his companions to try to find a way to save Orion.
"Go to Ovrea and find the Elders, if you can," Hildereth told them. "We will be ready for when you return with information on how to defeat the Crodillians."
"We will get what we need from the Elders and we will defeat the Crodillians," Anlon smiled. "You can count on us."
"The fate of Orion is in the hands of a kid, robot, bird man, and an assassin," Bertrade sighed. "Why don't I feel any better?"
Kanti stared to speak, but Alura stopped her. "You are staying here, don't even try to protest against me."
Kanti looked to Anlon for help but he just shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing that he could do to convince them to allow her to come along to Ovrea. Even Adira wanted her to stay here, his hands were tied. If they did find information that could defeat the Crodillians, Kanti would surely have to take her mother's place since the Crodillians would undoubtedly kill Adira.
"We will save Orion, or we will die trying," Anlon promised the Council.
He turned around and went back to Kanti's chambers with his companions. If Hera was already taken over, it wouldn't be much time before the rest of Orion was also taken over. Anlon and his companions would have to act quick, or Orion would be doomed.
Donnchadh snuck down to the dungeons where he found the magenta force field deactivated. The Crodillians had opened it by cutting off the guards hand and placing it on the pad, but saw no use in activating the field again because there was only one prisoner in the dungeon right now. He slowly walked down, checking each cell for Adira, finding her in the same cell that he had been kept in not that long ago.
"Adira," he whispered.
The Queen turned around to look at him. "Of course they freed you and let you come kill me. What are you waiting for, kill me and get it over with."
"That's not why I'm here," Donnchadh spoke quickly.
Adira sensed something in his voice and decided to listen to him. "Why are you here then? Why would you risk your life coming down here, if not to kill me?"
"I know I have made mistakes. I betrayed you and killed one of my brothers, but let me try to make up for that."
"How could you possibly make up for that?"
"The Crodillians are going to take over Orion. Let me help stop them."
"Who's stopping you?" Adira shrugged, looking around. "Why are you asking me for permission to stop them? I can't help you from here in this cell."
"They think I'm working for them," Donnchadh revealed to her. "They have made me a lead ground commander, but I would rather die than let these monsters take Orion. I have a plan, but I need your help if it's going to work."
The Queen sat a little straighter. "Why are you telling me any of this? I'm in no position to help you Donnchadh, I'm a prisoner."
"We both know they are going to kill you, but I think I can delay it long enough while raising a force big enough to take them out."
"How would that delay my death?"
"Remind Jahdiel of Kirill. Maybe she'll want to see Kirill dead before you. If she sends me after him, not only does it give me time to concoct a plan, but it allows you to live longer."
"You think she'll send you on a mission to bring Kirill to her?"
"Yes. I believe that she will if you convince her that he's an immediate threat to Crodillian plans. I am the only one with any real knowledge of him, so I'll undoubtedly be sent out to retrieve him."
"I'll try, but I don't know if it'll do any good."
"When I come back with Kirill, I may be able to break you out with the help of some inside friends in the Deimos Brotherhood. That's only if she decides to postpone your death," Donnchadh told her. "The Crodillians will have complete trust in me at that point and it will be unexpected."
"If you can save Orion, your past mistakes can be forgiven."
"I can never change them, all I can do is make up for them, if that's even possible," Donnchadh held back tears. "I will do everything I can to keep these monsters from taking over Orion."
"Get ready to retrieve Kirill. I'll convince Jahdiel he's a threat," Adira told him. "When you come back to free me, we'll start a rebellion."
Adira watched Donnchadh leave the dungeons, leaving her once again alone in the darkness. She laid down on the ground and shut her eyes until she heard footsteps clicking down the dungeons towards her cell. She sat up and faced whoever was coming to see her.
It was a tall woman with dark skin and long black hair. Jahdiel looked almost exactly the same as when Adira had sent her to the Black Hole all those years ago, though she now walked as if she had
a higher purpose.
"Are you surprised to see me alive after all these years?" Jahdiel grinned.
Adira knew this was her chance to delay her death so Donnchadh could carry out his plans. "Yes! And I'm so sorry!" She forced tears to come to her eyes, but found they came without trying. "It has haunted me ever since I found out that Kirill set you up to take the fall. I wanted to bring you back so bad, but there was no way that I could," Jahdiel seemed to be taken off guard by her answer and Adira continued. "He was trying to have me killed to take the Throne, but when I found out it was him all along, it was already too late to bring you back."
Jahdiel stood motionless. "When did you find out that he was behind the assassination plots?"
"Not that long after I sent you through," she sniffled. "I set him up after I had someone tell me it was him. I got it all recorded. He was going to do horrible things. Complete genocide. He wanted to create a pure Galaxy, free of all races he deemed unworthy."
"Did you kill him for it?" Jahdiel asked, taking the bait.
Adira smiled inside to herself and continued to reel her in. "Yes, well no, I thought I had until just very recently."
"What do you mean, you thought you killed him?"
"He's alive," Adira grabbed the bars. "He's still trying to kill me and he's still trying to take over Orion! He wants to cleanse Orion in a mass genocide so that only races he deems pure can live. He's surely going to put up a fight against the Crodillians when he thinks the time is right."
Jahdiel clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "Where can I find him?"
Adira slowly looked up to her, knowing that she had taken the bait. "He leads the Deimos Brotherhood and has a base on Erebos."
"I know just who to send in to bring him to me," Jahdiel turned around. "I will kill him first, then I will kill you."
Adira watched her leave the dungeons and thought she had seen something change in Jahdiel's eyes, but shook the thought off. Her death had only been delayed, but with that came the possibility that the races of Orion could defeat these monsters. It would take much more than just Donnchadh to save Orion though, it would take every surviving race to defeat the Crodillians. There was also Anlon, who she knew wouldn't be sitting around idly while these monsters were slaughtering innocent races. He was too much like Armino to stay hidden, he would find a way to help save Orion.
This would be a long and drawn out war, but she knew deep down that all of the races in Orion would fight until their last breath. They had homes to lose, families that could die, and friends they'd never see again if they didn't win this war. They had everything to lose if they gave in and didn't fight. Orion may not have been prepared for war, but she knew the races of Orion wouldn't lose this war. All of the races would band together and stay strong to prevail through the perilous times ahead. The Crodillians had picked the wrong Galaxy to try to conquer and were about to see the full fury of Orion lash against them.
###
Characters
Anlon Valens - Male human;
Green eyes, tan skin, brown hair
Kanti Cordula - Female human, District of Hassental police officer;
Blue eyes, fair skin, blonde hair
Moran Borislav - Male human, member of GSOU;
Tall and built with branded markings covering body, green eyes
Queen Adira - Female human, Queen of Orion;
Blue eyes, radiant skin, blonde hair
Falcone - Male harkon, pilot;
Dark golden eyes, brown and white feathery skin
Camillus - humanoid, District of Hassental record keeper;
Silver humanoid
Kirill - Male human, leader of Deimos Brotherhood;
Green eyes, dark skin, graying hair
Donnchadh - Male malak, assassin for Deimos Brotherhood;
Maroon eyes, black skin with white markings, horns on head
Ulisse - Male Arachnid, assassin for Deimos Brotherhood;
Grey and blue eyes, grey skin from waist up, blue and grey spider body from waist down
Sanguinarius - Male darza, assassin for Deimos Brotherhood;
Black eyes, red and black marked skin, long slender body
Ferris - Male ovrean, member of GSOU, trainer;
Grey eyes, hard grey skin
Emer - Female quierleon, trainer;
Brown eyes, mocha skin, short and toned stature
Nimesha - Female kaneen, assassin for Deimos Brotherhood;
Gold eyes, tall and slender body, black fur with leopard print
Jahdiel - Female human, Orion outcast, second in command of Crodillian fleet;
Green eyes, mocha skin, black hair
Merikh - Male crodillian, leader of Crodillian fleet;
Red eyes, dark green skin, black nails, tall stature
General Pyrrhus - Male human, General of Orion Military;
Light blue eyes, tall with brown skin, bald with a braided beard
Queen's Council
Abdul - Male machine;
Black skin, human-like body with clear glass head
Hildereth - Male quierleon;
Dark skinned, short stature, dark brown hair
Alura - Female filibian;
Blue and green skin, yellow eyes
Bertrade - Female kaneen;
Hazel eyes, light brown body
Aldrick - Male themin;
Brown eyes, dark red skin, tall stature
Reginold - Male human;
Green eyes, balding head with grey hair
Aida - Female apollon;
Grey body, four arms and four legs, thin body, large light orange eyes
Saida - Female herman;
Blue eyes, brunette hair in bun, light skinned
About the Author
Conner is a college student pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering with plans to attend law school for Intellectual Property. He's loved to create things his entire life - from things that can be physically held to stories made up from his head. He comes from a family that taught him that in order to succeed in anything, you have to work hard and never give up even when all odds are out of your favor. This upbringing is what led him to the unlikely and unorthodox path he is on now. Writing books is something he does on the side right now due to intensive studying, but he has plans to make it a full time job at some point in his life. This current book is the first of many that he plans to write, though science fiction will not be his only area of focus. Conner loves all types of genres and grew up reading almost every type of genre available. He fell in love with the different styles of writing, finding each unique in their own small way. Due to this, he decided that instead of sticking to one area of expertise, he'd master them all. This idea came to him when he was looking for a specific type of book at the library one day, but was unable to find it. It struck him that instead of looking for it, he should write it for everyone else. Once he began, there was no stopping the ideas constantly flowing through his head for more new books.
You can reach Conner at connerjwalworth.wix.com/author-page
War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past Page 31