War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past

by Conner Walworth

  "He's staying in downtown Kremiville, so we have a short way to go before we get there," Falcone informed them all as they stepped foot on Erebos for the first time. "Don't wander too far from me, this is the last place you want to get lost."

  Anlon stared at the weird, abnormal, races as they made their way through the crowded spaceport. Very few of them had human resemblances, making he and his companions stand out from the crowd. All four of them took on human forms and Anlon saw a lot of hateful glares shot towards them because they were now out of place. He didn't blame them, he would hold a grudge too if he had to live on a planet like this because he didn't look human enough.

  Falcone led them through gigantic metal doors to a city that looked very much like Hermes with stands set up all over the place. Weapons, drugs, and even slaves were chained together in the open for everyone to see. Anlon looked to Camillus and saw him hovering right behind Kanti, ready to attack if anyone tried to take her. He was glad Camillus was here because he would undoubtedly thwart any possible attacks, though one bothered them as the traveled through the city. Most appeared to move out of their way as they passed by as if they were going to get them sick.

  "This way," Falcone motioned to them. "We're getting closer."

  He led them towards a bridge built over what appeared to be small city from the lights Anlon saw shimmering below them. It was big enough to fit a cruiser and was caged to prevent anyone from going over the sides and plummeting hundreds of feet to their death.

  Falcone sped up the pace. "Not too much further until we get there."

  They followed him down the long, and seemingly endless, bridge to the small city below. Though it wasn't a city Anlon would want to live in, and by looking at Kanti, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

  The buildings were built close together and most were crumbling apart in the streets if they hadn't already fallen completely. Prostitutes walked the sidewalks, revealing everything they had in hopes of making some quick money and homeless were sleeping on the streets amongst dead corpses and trash.

  "You're not leaving my sight," Camillus grabbed Kanti. "This was more than just a terrible idea."

  She nodded, not wanting Camillus to let go of her, afraid that she'd be snatched up at any moment and turned into a slave. Even with their weapons, they all felt unsafe, except Falcone who was walking along like this was completely normal. They followed him down the broken streets and stopped in front of a tall building, which Anlon guessed was supposed to be an apartment, but looked more like a multistory shack.

  Falcone turned to them and smiled. "We're here. This is the place I told you about."

  "He lives here?" Kanti said in disgust.

  "I don't know if you were paying attention to the rest of Kremiville, but it doesn't get much better than this."

  "Camillus was right. I would've been better off staying on the ship," she muttered.

  "Oh give the guy a chance!" Falcone walked inside. "You haven't even met him yet and you're already judging him."

  "I don't think I want her to meet him anymore," Camillus followed, still holding on to Kanti.

  Falcone walked inside of a wooden elevator and waited for the others to enter.

  "Are you sure that's going to work?" Anlon stopped. "I think we should take the stairs."

  Falcone looked around the elevator. "Oh please, we'll be fine. It's obviously fine if it's still in one piece."

  They all got on and Falcone pressed a button that surprisingly took them to the third floor with only little creaking. He led the way off and down the hall to the last room on the right.

  "Who wants to knock?" Falcone offered. "No one? I guess I will then since you all seem so shy."

  He knocked on the door and got a response almost immediately. "Took you long enough. I've been waiting here for hours."

  "They were all scared something was going to happen to them. I tried to tell them nothing would happen here, but they were still reluctant."

  A dark blue Filibian with green eyes stepped out of the doorway. The top of his head was shaped like it had been squished and the somehow reinflated, still leaving the wrinkles. His smile reached the top of his high cheekbones as he held his arms out.

  "Kanti!" the Filibian said. "What are you doing on this horrid planet?"

  Kanti's jaw dropped in recognition of the race. "Bimisi?" She looked to Anlon and Camillus. "What are you doing here?"

  Nimesha landed her stealth ship at the spaceport, not wanting to return to base yet to reveal her failure. She still needed to stay hidden and finish her job, only then, would she report back to Kirill. Seeing him in one of his uncontrollable rages, especially directed towards her, was not something she wanted to be welcomed back to.

  She exited the ship and looked around the spaceport to see if she was lucky enough to find Anlon without any extensive tracking. Fortunately, it looked like that was going to be the case because of the silver and black ship that surely didn't belong to any criminal. It was a very unique ship that was well maintained, not something that should be on Erebos. She walked the ship and saw that it was fully armed, ready for any type of battle it may run into, leaving no doubt in her mind that she was close to finding him.

  She dashed through the spaceport, shoving her way past races, hoping to catch them before they got too far. After entering the city, she stopped at one of the stands to see if they had seen any humans come by recently. The bug race nodded and pointed her to the bridge that led to Kremiville. They were now within her grasp with no way out, not on Erebos anyway. This was her ground and they wouldn't get away this time. She still didn't want to rush things too much, so she'd lie low and keep an eye on them. After some more walking around the city, she finally found where they had gone. Soon her job would be complete, with only a few setbacks along the way.

  Donnchadh rubbed his eyes and sat up as soon as he heard his cell being unlocked. He started to protest the torturing he was sure he was about to endure when two guards grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up. His body was too weak to protest and he got his feet under him to attempt walking on his own. A figure in a dress stood at the end of the cell as he looked up, only to see Adira with her hands on her hips.

  "You're going to Themis for you trial now," Donnchadh looked back down. "You should be thankful I am giving you a trial and haven't killed you myself."

  "I deserve it for what I have done," he mumbled. "You would not be wrong in doing it."

  "I'm glad to see you recognize your mistakes," she replied. "But it is too late for forgiveness. Besides, I'm sure your judges will think of something much worse than being killed quickly," She turned to face the guards. "Take him to the ship and sedate him. I don't want him to change his mind and trying anything stupid along the way."

  The guards nodded and led Donnchadh from the dungeon. He followed them without any resistance to the hangar where they led him up the ramp and locked him in another cell.

  "Hold out your arm," the guard ordered.

  Donnchadh put his arm through the cell for the guard to insert the sedation into his body. It didn't take long for the drug to take effect, as he immediately felt light headed and his vision blurred. He sat hardly on the floor and was knocked out within seconds of receiving the sedation.

  Donnchadh woke to the pain of the guards pricking and prodding at his sides with shock batons. He groggily opened his eyes and saw the guards chaining his hands and feet together. After they were done, they lowered the ramp, letting hot sunlight stream into the ship. Donnchadh tried to cover his eyes from the intensity of the sun, but was unable to lift his hands enough due to the weight of the chains. The guards dragged him off of the ship and out into the raging heat of Themis.

  The planet was scorching, yet there were still different colored Themins walking the streets in long robes. Elegant buildings rose all over the city and cruisers flew overhead in the sky. Donnchadh had never gone on a mission to Themis, but knew it to be home to the wealthiest of Orion.

/>   It didn't take long for him to hate the unbearable heat radiating on his black skin. The walk seemed to take hours with the heavy chains trying their hardest to hold him back. After some time a white building with a long flight of stairs came into view. White pillars held the roof up and green plants surounded the base of the building.

  Donnchadh made the long trek up the stairs, dragging his heavy chains the entire way. It wasn't until he reached the top that he became afraid of his fate for the first time. The guards shoved him through the doors and walked him down the light grey marble hallway to face his fate. They sat him down in front of a panel of eight judges of a variety of races, none seeming to pay a bit of attention to the criminal who had just been brought in. Donnchadh set his chained hands on the table in front of him with a clunk and looked up at them, watching every one of them with his maroon eyes.

  "Are you Donnchadh?" One of the judges asked routinely, looking down at a sheet of paper in front of him.

  "Yes," he replied.

  "You are accused of breaking your oath to the GSOU, murdering the Valens family, attempting to assassinate the Queen, being associated with the Deimos Brotherhood where you carried out countless acts of treason against Orion," The judge read in one long breath. "How do you plead?"

  "Guilty. I committed all of those crimes and more."

  The judges looked to each other and whispered, surprised that he had given himself up so easily. They apparently weren't accustomed to criminals like Donnchadh admitting to crimes so without a fight.

  "So you admit to all of the things you have been accused of?" the judge repeated.

  "Yes," Donnchadh nodded his sweating head. "I have committed all of the crimes you have accused me of."

  "He must be sent to Harkos for breaking his oath," a Themin said.

  "No. He deserves Poine for all of the murder he has committed with the Deimos Brotherhood," a green Themin argued.

  The dark Quierleon judge in the middle held up his hand. "Those are both good places to send this Malak, but I had a much better place in mind for him," The other judges on the panel looked to him, eager to see what he had to say. "I believe Keres will be the best place for him."

  The others looked at each other and whispered with agreeing nods. They then looked to Donnchadh who didn't waver his stare.

  "The moon of vengeful spirits of death and doom," One of the judges said aloud, nodding her head. "It is an excellent choice for you."

  "Nothing seems harsh enough for him," The green Themin shook his head. "But this is probably the best of all of the moons for him to be sent to."

  The pink Themin agreed. "He will be sent to live with the worst criminals in Orion and will surly die a slow death in the heat, if he's not killed by the other prisoners first."

  "Then let's take a vote," The dark Quierleon looked around. "All in favor of Keres, raise your hand," All eight judges raised their hands. "It is final then, he will be sent to Keres," He looked to Donnchadh . "You will be sent to Keres for punishment of your crimes. You will never be permitted to leave. You are sentenced there for life. I will warn you now, it is a much worse fate than death. You will be placed amongst the most dangerous criminals in Orion, like yourself, and will die a very slow death, if you're not killed by the very planet itself. The guards will tell you more about it once you arrive."

  Donnchadh nodded his head, showing that he understood. The guards took him by the arms and led him out of the room to the ship. Keres was a sure death sentence, he knew that without the judges telling him. The horror stories of Keres were well known and he knew that he would never leave the planet alive. No one ever did.

  Chapter 28

  "So what brings you to Erebos, Kanti? Gaea not have enough crime to keep you busy?" Bimisi chuckled to himself.

  "I had to leave Gaea," she said. "I really didn't have much of a choice."

  "Well, apparently since you're here," he spread his arms. "You're here in my hideout, on one of the most dangerous moons in Orion where only criminals willingly travel."

  "Bimisi, I'm sorry, but we don't know if we can trust you enough to tell you why we're here."

  "Whoa," Falcone interjected. "Let it be known that I trust you Bimisi. It's these others that need some convincing."

  "Why wouldn't you trust me Kanti? I thought we were friends. What happened to that friendship?" he asked playfully.

  "I met you in a prison. I wouldn't exactly call that a good first impression."

  "Oh," he waved his hand. "That was all just a misunderstanding!"

  "How so?" Camillus asked. "You don't land in prison by accident."

  "I may have had a little too much to drink and may have done some questionable things the night I was arrested, but I'm trustable. I can keep secrets, or whatever you're afraid I can't do."

  "And you expect us to just take your word on that?" Anlon asked.

  "Sure I expect you to take my word," he nodded. "I help the Galactic Special Operations Unit with intel. If I can help the Queen, I think I'm more than qualified to help you out."

  "Is that true?" Camillus looked to Falcone. "Does he really work for the GSOU?"

  "I wouldn't say he works for them, but he helps out a bit."

  "You didn't tell them I'm a spy for the Queen!" he exclaimed. "No wonder they think I'm a liar and no good criminal."

  Falcone rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't quite call it being a spy for the Queen either."

  "What would you call it then?" Bimisi crossed his arms. "A criminal?"

  "A contact with valuable information," Falcone said. "That's what I call myself."

  "You guys on a secret mission or something?" Bimisi crept forward. "You know, I never turn down secret missions."

  "Sort of. The Queen needs some things done, but not just anyone can help," Anlon replied.

  "Consider me in!" Bimisi grinned. "The Queen always pays good and I never turn down the Queen's money."

  "You should be doing this more than just for money," Anlon furrowed his eyes. "What's at stake is more important than getting rich. Orion is in trouble of being destroyed."

  "Whoa, slow down. What are you talking about? Orion is going to be destroyed?"

  "That's enough," Camillus insisted. "He doesn't need to know anymore."

  "We have to trust someone," Kanti shrugged. "If he works for the Queen, then she must trust him, which means we can also trust him."

  "I'm with her," Anlon backed Kanti up. "We're kind of stuck here and we need some help if we're going to get anywhere."

  "Fine," Camillus puffed. "I just ran a background record on him. Everything he has said so far is true, so I guess we can trust another race with this sensitive information."

  "What kind of robot are you?" Bimisi looked him up and down. "You ran a background check from just looking at me?"

  Camillus' skin fluttered black and his image appeared as a reflection of Bimisi. "An advanced humanoid who works for the Queen. If you betray us, I'll kill you with my own two hands."

  "You have my word that I will not betray you," Bimisi held up his right hand, not wavered by Camillus' appearance change. "Now what's this Orion coming to an end stuff? Sounds pretty important."

  "We're going to need some information from you first," Anlon crossed his arms. "This is a two way street."

  "Like what? I'll tell you what I know, but I doubt I have anything you want."

  "Do you know where the Deimos Brotherhood keeps their hidden headquarters on Erebos?"

  "You were able to track them down to Erebos?" Bimisi raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. It took me quite a bit of time, but I was successful as usual."

  "Do you know where they are?" Camillus asked this time. "We need to find them."

  "There's a pretty good chance I've tracked them down. Why are you looking for them?"

  "It pertains to the information that I'm about to tell you," Anlon revealed.

  "Then what are you waiting for? Tell me."

  "Before that, Falcone said you have a lot of hiding plac
es and we may need to use one of them," Camillus interrupted. "Answer that and we'll tell you what you want to know from us."

  Bimisi turned to Falcone who raised his hands innocently in the air. "He's about to tell you some real important stuff. I thought it was okay to let them know you have several safe houses scattered throughout Orion."

  "I may have some of these hiding places that you are referring to. Why are my hideouts important to finding the Deimos Brotherhood?" Bimisi crossed his arms.

  "The Princess of Orion is standing here in this room. That's why it's important," Camillus told him.

  "No way," Bimisi looked to Kanti. "No way! I have a lot of hiding places that we can use in that case!"

  "Great," Camillus finally smiled. "We need to take Kanti to one of those hiding places as soon as possible."

  "Uh. Duh," Bimisi laughed. "You just brought her to one of the most dangerous places in all of Orion while tracking down the deadliest terror group there is."

  "We didn't have much of a choice," Anlon said. "The Deimos Brotherhood is after her and the only way to keep her safe was to keep her with us."

  "You wanted to keep her safe and you knowingly brought her to their home planet?" Bimisi shook his head. "You're lucky you found me before they found you. You're also lucky I have just the place to take her. It's fit for a Princess."

  Kanti rolled her eyes. "If it's anything like this place, I assure you, it's not fit for a Princess."

  "This isn't one of my most elegant hideouts, I'll admit, but the place I have in mind for you is much nicer than this."

  "What'd you have in mind?" Camillus asked.

  "Nesoi. My home planet."

  "That's perfect," Camillus smiled even bigger. "You'll be completely safe there Kanti."

  "It's a planet of water," she said unimpressed. "Where am I supposed to hide?"

  "In the hidden underwater cities of course!" Camillus exclaimed.

  "Child stories," Kanti rolled her eyes. "How can a city possibly be built underwater?"

  "It's okay," Bimisi winked. "We would rather have races think they're child stories, but I can assure you, that they're as real as this apartment that you're standing in."