Oriehn

Chapter 16- Taliesin

Chapter 16- Taliesin

I veered the capsule to the left, turning it around while whizzing past the windowed walls, panic gripping at my chest. "We need to alert the station."

"Attacked? Why are we being attacked?" Alice asked frantically, "Who is attacking us?"

I looked back at Padraigin's pale face, making eye contact. "Someone who wants to see the Oriehns on their knees."

Alice was leaning across the console for a better view through the window of the amassed capsules outside. "There are so many," she whispered sounding mesmerised, "so, so many."

Drai gripped the seat, exclaiming, "You, pull up along the combatant's center of intelligence. Alice and I will enter and alert the captains while you move further down and alert the Venery of the impending invasion."

I nodded, my jaw clenching in determination. Alice's breathing quickened; dread draining the blood from her face. "Alice," I soothed, "You will be fine. It is not like last time with the marauders. You are in a secure location surrounded by the best soldiers in the galaxy."

"The Combatants?" She questioned breathily.

"What? No! Of course not," I scoffed, trying for a lighter mood. "You insult me. I am a Venery. We are the best." Her gaze had not left the window.

The distraction was not working, so I tried a different tactic. "Alice? Did you get our answers from the oracle?"

She looked over at me, "Yes."

"And?" I asked.

She sighed, clasping her hands together. "I am not fully Oriehn. I am a hybrid—I am of human and... celestial descent."

"And Taliesin?" Drai added, "How did he survive so long on Earth?"

"The oracle said that he had lost his memory of his time there," She furrowed her brows, looking towards me, avoiding the previous question. "Is this true?"

"Many of my memories on Earth are hazy. I was tortured quite efficiently," I said darkly.

"She said that you will remember, if given the time. You were given human blood transfusions."

I started, seizing the wheel in an iron grip. "I was?"

Alice nodded, leaning forward and brushing my shoulder. "You were," She hesitated, eyes watering slightly, "I-I am sorry. I didn't know the extent to which they harmed you."

"It's not your fault. We have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with now," I said, changing the subject again.

"You're right, but I am no less apologetic than I was before," Alice shook her head, returning back to the matter at hand. "I still don't understand. How does the lunar station not know already?" She sighed. "They should have sent out an alarm, warning the occupants."

Drai hesitated. "She is right."

I furrowed my brows. "The station has the technology to see tree foliage on earth. How could it have missed an entire army right outside our window?"

Alice pinched her brow. "Too many questions, and clearly not enough—"

"We are here!" Padraigin shouted, clambering out of the pod and sprinting up the steps to the Combatant headquarters. Alice stared after her, mouth slightly agape.

"Get out, Alice!" I yelled. Spurred forth, she bolted out the open door to follow behind, and I pulled away. "It doesn't make any sense," I stated quietly to myself. Upon my arrival at the Venery command center, I left the pod hovering at the entrance.

I burst through the heavy steel doors, approaching the controls and the awaiting commander inside. "Captain Graile," my father greeted, "I assume you have seen the metaphorical enemy outside our gates."

"There is nothing metaphorical about this enemy," I huffed. "There are ranks of them, and they seem to be approaching quickly."

"The ranks are not approaching in the traditional sense," Commander Laius added.

"How so?" I asked, near frantic.

"They are not advancing. They are multiplying," he said. "As far as we know, the companies stationed stay in place, but new troops are called upon and stationed in front of the previous hordes."

"And the Oriehns are letting it happen?" I asked incredulously, looking back at the ships hovering outside, multiplying each second, inching further and further—closer.

"We have dispatched teams of elite Venery assassins and hunters for reconnaissance."

"And the Combatants? Have they not dispatched their soldiers, Commander?" I pressed. He sighed, giving me a weary look.

"We were told not to engage," He answered, looking at the side panel. It portrayed the numerous forces.

"By who? What is stopping us from planting an explosive in the midst of their masses and lighting them up?" I asked, frustrated at the lack of response.

"Our own men. We have been told that the vessels are numerous. Their forces extend far back into the solar cycle," he hesitated, "even if we were to bomb a portion of their capsules, they would only be replaced quickly."

"How many are there?"

The commander sighed, "We cannot even get an estimate. It multiplies exponentially each day." He rubbed his temple slowly, closing his eyes as he thought deeply. "At this point, they are blocking our return to our planet. We didn't want to tell you earlier for fear that the sanctity of the ceremonies would be lost."

I frowned, straightening in trepidation. "Have we lost any men on these missions?"

"No. They have not fired a single shot. Something tells me that we would have to trample through the center of their forces to capture their attention for long."

I nodded. "So they are not focused on conflict. Just monitoring our station and increasing their numbers."

"So far, yes..." The commander trailed off. He shifted over on his seat, gazing over the bustling center. Hunters and Soldiers alike paced across the floors with hurried steps and flurried minds.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked. I leaned closer to look at the extensive hordes of soldiers on the screen. "And who is commanding them?"

"To our knowledge, just under three months. No insignia can be found on the ships, but If I could have ventured a guess—" He trailed off.

"Father?" I spurred. "Who has the manpower to do this?"

"It began right after you were captured. And it is not man power they have that is innumerable, it is the technology—the machinery, remote controlled—that sets them apart from any enemy that we have ever faced."

"Who is it?" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"Earth," he said, "the human insurgence."

I clutched at the control table, trying to discern any identifying factor, and hint relaying that the humans were responsible. The capsules flew in patterns, alternating in a line, they rose up and down like a wave. After each crest, the forces at the back would appear, until the wave rolled up again and my sight was blocked.

"Are you telling me," I swallowed, "that those capsules are unoccupied?"

"Yes," the commander grimaced.

"And therefore," I looked him dead in the eye, and I finally noticed how apprehension dominated his wearied features, "unkillable."