Beyond the Empyreal Stars

22.

22.

Every feed they had access to was streaming on the glass shield in front of them. Five years of information to catch up on...something Odette still couldn't fathom. She was standing in front of the glass shield, arms crossed over her chest, reading and watching as many of the feeds she could. Her head was pounding with the onslaught of information, but she needed to know.

The Acer was on autopilot, Evangeline monitoring the systems, their course still set for Earth. And in less than an hour, they would be there.

They started from the beginning – the feed about the Paragon, two Guardians, and the Commanding Agent going rogue and stealing an Acer to Earth. Many Terrians had been shocked when they heard the news, but supported Odette's decision when they learned of her opposition of Earth's sanitation. Many shared her views, voicing the same opinion when the Primes asked for their input.

The feed of their escape had been big news for weeks and months after it occurred. The Primes had refused to declare them deceased, having still been receiving pings from the ship and their comm bracelets. They knew their location, too – lost in the Dharkness. Diana had personally responded with a vid comm, informing all of Terra of the situation...and that they didn't know when or if they would ever emerge from it.

By now, they must have received information of their escape from the Dharkness's grasp.

As for the Alliance vote, it was still conducted as planned. Having learned of Odette and the others' opposition, as well as having all races against the sanitation of Earth, they voted against it. It didn't mean Earth was part of the Alliance, though.

Earth. The planet was still there after five years, still populated with humans, though there weren't many left.

Apparently, the Alliance was still in contact with the planet, but the humans wanted nothing to do with it. They were hostile toward the idea of them sending any more of their forces, fearing another attack by Comae and his forces. Surveillance drones had been sent to scout different areas. The first few sent were shot down by the humans. The next ones, along with all others in the years after, were cloak-shielded.

That was before the second war.

Two years after the first attack on Earth, the Whispians still on the planet began their second assault. Many invaded human bodies, infiltrating the camps of survivors. Though the Alliance didn't send any forces, they did supply weapons and ships to the humans, though they still had plenty from the first war. With this, the humans were able to quickly overpower them, killing many and making the others flee. This included Pallas, who led the assault.

After fleeing the planet, Pallas went to Boreal where Comae had kept up residence with his Glaci wife, Princess Mairwen. Over the next three years, the Alliance kept close surveillance on Boreal and Anur. The Whispian ties with the Alliance had been completely and officially severed, but any confrontation would no doubt cause war.

And who led the humans in the second war on Earth? Duke Mitchell, son of the late United States President Calvin Mitchell.

When Odette's eyes landed on the feed dedicated solely to Duke, her legs all but gave out on her as she fell back into the flyer's seat.

"He's still alive," she whispered.

There were many vid feeds of the first Earthen war and most kept tabs on Duke. Apparently, everyone who'd been in the White House bunker survived the attacks on D.C. They were inside for four days before leaving, only to find everything destroyed. It was then that he took charge, helping to find and rescue any survivors. Some of these survivors were Carson and Maeve, buried under the rubble of Carson's house. They'd been hidden in the home's underground basement, the only ones to survive in the neighborhood.