War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past (45 page)

Adira picked up her comlink and answered the
call from Demeter's planetary leader. "Yes?"

"We have been attacked, ravaged, and taken
over!" he shouted frantically. "Adira help us!"

"Slow down!" Adira ordered him. "Who attacked
you?"

"Monsters!" he told her. "I have never seen
this race before in my life! We sent some of our ships to you like
you requested, and the others to Ares, and shortly after that we
were attacked."

"Are the attackers still there?" Adira left
her chamber.

"Yes!" he shrieked. "They're burning our
planet and taking captives! One of the monsters has introduced
himself as Merikh and he said the Crodillians are going to take
over Orion! Anyone left on Demeter will be made into a slave!"

"Calm down!" she ordered him. "I'm sending
help to you immediately. Just hang in there until then."

Before she could say anything else to him,
background noise erupted and the comlink dropped to the ground.
Adira heard angry voices followed by a gunshot and the comlink's
connection cut off. She ran to where the commanders were to tell
them what had just happened.
She burst through the doors, interrupting their planning. "We need
to send a fleet to Demeter now! They're under attack!"

A bald black human with a short black braided
beard stepped forward. His piercing blue eyes tore through her. He
walked forward to her with his hands crossed behind his back and
towered over her.

"You told us they would come here first," he
boomed. "All of our other planets have been left defenseless
because you were
sure
they would be here first."

"I
was
sure that they would come here
first. Everything pointed to them coming to kill me."

"We can't send a fleet to Demeter," he said
emotionless. "Demeter is gone. The enemy has taken it. There is
nothing that we can do without leaving Hera defenseless. This was
obviously very well planned on their part and we can't fall into
their trap. We must step forward with our plan."

"We
have
to send at least one fleet!"
she demanded. "Races are going to die!"

"One fleet?" he boomed. "The last fleet you
sent to confront this enemy was destroyed with ease. Why would I
send another one of my fleets to the same fate? It will only lead
to more unnecessary deaths."

"We can't just sit here idly while they're
ravaging the planet and making slaves of the races!" she
shouted.

"We must prepare to fight them
here
,"
he didn't budge. "I have read up on my history of the Crodillians.
When they tried to take over Orion centuries ago, they were just
barely defeated by our ancestors. That was against an Orion that
was
used
to being at war. We haven't seen a war like we're
about to see in centuries. We have no other option but to follow
through with our original plan."

"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.

"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
recent 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."