"That very same Princess," Bimisi smiled.
"Well, I'll be damned," he chuckled. "The Queen fooled us all!"
"There have been recent attempts to capture her after her identity was revealed," Bimisi said. "I brought her here because I knew she wouldn't be safe anywhere else in Orion."
"Say no more," The fat Filibian raised his hand. "She can stay here as long as she would like and as long as enemies are pursuing her."
"Where should I take them?"
"Give them the best room we have available!" he replied. "This is the Queen's daughter, she will have nothing less than the best."
"I will show them where they will stay," Bimisi bowed. "Follow me."
He led them out of the office and through another glass tunnel. At the end of this tunnel was the giant glass dome that Kanti had seen from above, thriving with plants from all over Orion. Bimisi turned to Kanti when he noticed her admiring the scenery.
"Even the harshest planets and moons have plant life worth keeping in the Nesoi Garden. You'd be surprised at some of the things that live in horrid environments."
"It's wonderful," she replied, awestruck at all of the different plants and colors surrounding her.
"It makes the visitors feel like they're not trapped in an underwater city. Filibians can breathe underwater, but other races cannot so we made this for them. They can feel like they're outside," He continued leading them down the garden path. "Your room will be right this way."
He led them out of the garden and into a hallway with only one set of wooden doors at the end. Bimisi pushed the dark wooden doors, revealing a giant and luxurious living chamber.
"This really is fit for a Queen," Kanti said awestruck.
Camillus looked around the room. "I believe you will be just fine with hiding here."
Bimisi led them inside of the chamber and pressed a button near the doors, retracting the ceiling and enveloping them in blue water.
"Some royals need privacy, so we installed this to allow them to have it when they require it. Otherwise, they usually opt to keep it open."
She walked around the room, observing all of the different portraits of past rulers of Orion and important politicians. Above a fireplace was a picture of Queen Adira. She still couldn't believe that was her mom, but after all of the events that had transpired, she knew it was true.
"This will be your new home until you are safe," Bimisi told her, leaving her and Camillus alone in the room.
There was loud talk echoing throughout the Council Chambers as Queen Adira burst into the room.
"Quiet! Quiet!" She shouted over the talking Council members.
"Is it true?" Hildereth ignored her request. "Has a whole fleet been destroyed?"
"Yes. The reports are true. The fleet that I sent has been obliterated."
That only brought about more loud chattering among the members, which Adira knew she couldn't stop. The news was heartbreaking and terrible, but it also meant Orion was in deep trouble. She had underestimated this enemy and it had cost her an entire fleet along with thousands of lives.
"Who are they?" Bertrade asked over the chattering.
"Jahdiel and a race called the Crodillians," The Council hushed at the name Jahdiel, but confused looks crossed their faces when she said Crodillians.
"Jahdiel?" Aldrick repeated. "The woman you sent to the Black Hole?"
Adira nodded her head. "Impossible!" Reginold debated. "It is impossible to come back after being sentenced to the Black Hole!"
The Queen was still. "As impossible as it may sound, it is true. I have seen her with my own two eyes. It is the very same woman that I outcast myself all those years ago."
"Who are the Crodillians?" Aida asked. "I don't ever remember hearing of them."
"They are an ancient race of Orion," Adira informed them. "They were outcast many centuries ago for attempting to overthrow the King and take Orion as their own," She recalled a few things that she had read before the meeting. "There was a long and bloody war, but they lost and were outcast to the Black Hole to die."
"How are were the Crodillians and Jahdiel able to come back?" Aldrick asked. "It makes absolutely no logical sense."
Adira shrugged and looked around the table. "I can't honestly answer that question. I have asked many scientists and none have been able to answer the question themselves."
Saidi shook her head. "It is because there is no technology with the capability to do such things."
"There is a way. They have returned with Jahdiel, who I outcast to what should have been sure death. However impossible it sounds, she and the Crodillians found a way to do it."
"What are we going to do?" Bertrade asked.
"We're going to attack them!" Hildereth slammed his fists on the table. "We are at war with whoever this ancient race is!"
"Their weapons are superior to ours," Adira sighed. "But Hildereth is right, we are going to war against the Crodillians."
"They're unknown to us! How do we fight an unknown enemy with such advanced technology?" Bertrade exclaimed.
"We are unknown to them too!" Aldrick shot back at her.
"Not completely," Aida shook her head. "Jahdiel is with them, so they know who we are and where our weaknesses may lay."
"That means nothing," Hildereth tried to assure them. "We aren't the same as we were when she was outcast. We have become stronger and more united in her absence."
"They destroyed an entire fleet in seconds," Adira revealed to them all. "None of our races had the chance to lift a finger before they were wiped from existence."
"Seconds?" Hildereth asked. "How is that even possible? Our fleet had hundreds of ships, surely some of them were able to react."
"Our fleet didn't have a chance," She pulled out a holopad and showed them imagery of what had happened.
"We must strike them quickly!" Reginold slammed his fists on the table.
"That would not be smart," Abdul spoke. "They will not talk peace and they said they plan on taking over Orion and killing Queen Adira. Attacking them right now is not a wise option."
"We must attack now!" Hildereth persisted. "We take the war to them, not the other way around."
Adira shook her head. "I believe we must defend. Their weapons are too advanced. They are like nothing we have ever seen or have prepared for. And who knows what else they have at their disposal that they haven't shown yet."
"She is right," Aida nodded. "That imagery shows they can take out a whole fleet with the lift of a finger. Let them come to us on our terms."
"What about other worlds?" Bertrade asked. "What planets are we going to defend besides Hera? We surely can't defend them all from the Crodillians, but we also can't let all of them be destroyed."
"Send a few hundred ships to Ares and the rest to defend Hera," Hildereth suggested. "Those will be the two planets we defend."
"That will leave all of the other planets completely defenseless!" Bertrade argued.
Hildereth nodded. "They will most likely attack Hera first, so we must be able to defend it at all costs."
"Why send a few hundred to Ares at all?" Aldrick asked.
"It is the planet of war," Hildereth answered. "If we fail in our stand here, then they will be our last line of defense to stop the Crodillians from taking over Orion."
The others stared quietly, the possibility of defeat sinking in for the first time. The Crodillians would be greatly outnumbered, but the Queen's fleet lacked experience and firepower for this war hungry enemy.
"We must act now if this is our plan," Reginold weighed in. "Every second we debate is another life lost."
"I will tell all of the planetary leaders to send every available ship to defend Hera and a few of their ships to Ares," Abdul looked to the Queen.
Adira gave him a nod of approval. "This is the only option that we have. If we can't fend them off here, Ares will be our only hope of survival."
Adira stood up and dismissed the Council . Abdul stayed behind the others to
talk to the Queen privately.
"Do you really think we need to send ships to Ares?"
"I have seen what they can do. They are going to be a hard enemy to defeat. If we are defeated here, which I believe is a possibility, there has to be one last line of defense to kill the remaining Crodillians."
Abdul nodded, surprised that the Queen didn't have faith that Orion's fleet could stop the Crodillian ships. He departed the room and immediately took out his comlink to start contacting planetary leaders. This needed to be done as quickly as possible, if the Queen was right, the Crodillians would be here soon.
"It's who?" Kirill asked again, making sure he had heard correctly.
"Jahdiel!" the contact exclaimed. "She's not dead!"
"This may be a problem," he replied.
"What are we going to do? There is no way they'll strike an alliance with you if they find out you're the reason she was outcast. And trust me, they will find out about that."
"We'll stay quiet," Kirill reddened. "Do everything in your power to make sure Jahdiel doesn't find out I'm alive and that I'm the reason she was outcast," he ordered. "If she finds out I'm alive, she'll come after me too."
"I will do my best," the figure promised. "What are you going to do when they take over Orion?"
"You sound confident that they will," Kirill observed.
The blue figure nodded. "Their weapons are like nothing we have ever seen, as I'm sure you've already been told."
Kirill shook his head. "I have seen video of their weapons in action. They are very impressive to say the least."
"So, what are we going to do?"
"Wait," Kirill said agitated. "We don't have the manpower to take them on, neither does the Queen according to you, so we will stay hidden until the right time reveals itself."
"What about Adira?"
"What about her?" Kirill shrugged. "Let Jahdiel kill her. It's too risky for me to get involved with any of this right now. I need to observe the Crodillians before I decide what actions I am going to take."
"I will keep you informed on any new developments."
Kirill shut off the comlink without replying. This definitely hadn't gone as he had hoped. Jahdiel was the problem though, not the Crodillians. Maybe if he found a way to get rid of her he could still strike an alliance with the Crodillians. To risky of a move right now, but he'd wait and see how things played out.
"We've found the base Adira!" Anlon told her.
The Queen's facial expression seemed bleak despite the good news. "That's great, but there are some disturbing new developments."
"Is Kanti okay? Did something happen to her?"
"No, nothing happened to her as far as I know," Adira waved her hands. "Different developments. More disturbing developments."
"What are you talking about?"
"Jahdiel, who I wrongly outcast many years ago, has returned back through the Black Hole," Anlon was silent, unsure of what to ask, so the Queen continued. "She brought back an ancient race called Crodillians. They had a long and violent history in Orion before being outcast to the Black Hole where they were supposed to die."
"How did they get back here if they went through the Black Hole? I've never heard of anyone traveling back through."
"I don't know, that's something we haven't been able to answer. They must have invented some kind of technology that allows them to travel back through, but no one in Orion has even come close to inventing that kind of technology. No scientist I have talked to even thought that this was a possibility. They were all as dumbstruck as you and I when I told them it had happened."
"What do they want?" he asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"They're going to kill me and take over Orion."
"Is there anything I can do?" Anlon offered. "We may be able to get intel or something on them that could help you."
"No. There is nothing that you can do. Get off Erebos now. They are close to you right now," she ordered. "They have already destroyed an entire fleet. Orion is now at war with the Crodillians and I need you to keep Kanti safe, now more than ever because I don't know what the outcome of this war will be."
"I won't let you down," Anlon promised.
"I know you won't," she smiled. "You and Kanti may be the last hope for Orion if this war doesn't go as planned."
Chapter 32
Falcone looked over to Anlon, sensing that something was wrong. "What'd the Queen tell you Anlon?"
He looked to Nimesha and Falcone. "There is a new enemy trying to kill Adira and take over Orion. Or an old one, but they're back from exile and no one currently alive has ever confronted them."
"What are you talking about?" Nimesha asked. "Who's back from exile?"
"The Queen exiled a woman named Jahdiel to the Black Hole by mistake because Kirill set the her up to make it look like she was trying to kill Adira," he said "The Black Hole is supposed to be a sure death, not exile, but that's what it seems to be now."
"I'm still lost," Falcone rubbed his head. "You're not making any sense."
"Jahdiel traveled back through the Black Hole with an ancient race, that was also exiled centuries ago for trying to take over Orion, and they've have come back with only one thing in mind. Kill Adira and take over Orion."
"How were they able to come back?" Nimesha asked.
"No one knows how they traveled back through, but that's what scares them even more. Their technology appears much more advanced than anything that we have."
"This isn't good," Falcone replied. "We can't defeat an enemy we know nothing about."
"Thank you for stating the obvious," Anlon said. "They have already taken out one of the Queen's fleets too."
"What are we going to do?" Nimesha asked. "We can't just stand around and do nothing."
"Right now, get off Erebos as fast as we can. Adira says they are close by and she doesn't want us to be here in case they decide to make a stop on the way to Hera."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Falcone headed towards Nimesha's glider bike. "I'm going to be as far away from them as possible."
Anlon and Nimesha followed him. "We need to get to Nesoi. The Queen still wants me to protect Kanti. She thinks that Hera may be overtaken soon and Kanti is next in line for the Throne."
Falcone looked to Nimesha. "I don't think you should be coming to where we hid the Queen's daughter."
"She's coming," Anlon told him. "We have a new enemy to face. One that wants to wipe out Orion as we know it. I'm sure that Nimesha is on our side now, even if she wasn't before."
Nimesha nodded. "You have offered me friendship and forgiveness. That is more than Kirill has ever given me. He gave me a place to stay when I was alone and dying, but never gave me friendship. He isolated me from others and used me. I can't make you trust me, but I can ask," she said. "Just know that I can help you guys, I'm good at this stuff. It'll be the first time I've done something good in a very long time."
Falcone snorted. "You still has to prove it to me. Until then, I'm watching every move you make."
They all squished together on the glider bike and sped back to the spaceport. Anlon had a feeling that there wouldn't be too much commotion, this was a planet full of criminals. Why would they care if more criminals wanted to take over Orion? To his surprise the entire city was in chaos when they boarded Drakos Mavros.
"Next stop, Nesoi," Falcone lifted the ship quickly off Erebos, leaving it far behind them.
The Queen stood in front of a room full of commanders of all ranks. None of them had ever proven themselves in war because Orion had been at peace her entire reign. Orion hadn't seen war in over a hundred years, so none of these commanders were truly ready, but it's all she had.
"We have a new enemy that has threatened the safety of Orion," she spoke loudly. "An enemy that was outcast centuries ago by our ancestors. They are called Crodillians. Most of you don't know who the Crodillians are, neither did I at first, so that's why I am ordering you to read up on them. Get to know your enemy before you
face them in war. You can find books already laid out in the library for you to read," She looked around the room to see all of the commanders staring intently. "They are extremely dangerous and have far greater technology than we have ever seen or imagined. They have traveled back through the Black Hole and have destroyed an entire fleet sent for negotiation in the blink of an eye. It is clear they have returned for only one reason. To destroy Orion."
Gasps and whispers erupted around the room and Adira held her hands up to try and quiet them down. It took several minutes, but she waited until the room was completely silent to continue.
"They were originally outcast for trying to take over Orion, as they have come back to do. The few history recordings we have on them show that they are ruthless and barely lost the last war they fought. Unfortunately, there is nothing recorded about how they were defeated. Almost everything on them was destroyed when they were exiled," Adira saw eyes widen around the room. "We tried to talk peace and they killed our men. For that, we are at war with this ancient race. Your planets are readying now as we speak, but I urge you to contact your friends and families and tell them your goodbyes. It pains me to say this, but it may be the last time you get the opportunity. We have little knowledge of this enemy, so we don't know what to expect, but we will not give up hope. We will not let them take Orion from us!" Adira pumped her fist. "We will die before we give up Orion to war hungry monsters!"
Cheers and hand pumps came from around the room. The commanders raised themselves from their seats and all looks of fear were washed from their faces, replaced by determination and courage.
"We are pulling all but a few hundred ships to Hera as we speak. Those few hundred ships that do not come here will be sent to Ares as our last line of defense," The cheering hushed almost immediately "Your homes will be left unprotected. If we can't make the stand here, your planets will be destroyed. This is where they will come to attack first, that I am sure of. This is a powerful race, like nothing we have ever seen in our lifetime, but we are at war, so get your men ready to defend Orion. If we fail here, then Orion is doomed."
War for Orion: Ghosts from the Past Page 28
