Atlantis Rising (7 page)

“Yes. I told you if you changed
your mind, and you are more than welcome to stay,” Jonathan said.

“Come on
let’s
get this over with,” Marc said. He turned and walked
towards the entrance to the underground Auditorium.

The small group followed close
behind as Jonathan contacted Atlanta.

{
Atlanta, what’s the status of
the incoming battle fleet?
}

{
The battle fleet is nearly in
range of my sensors. Estimated time of arrival is thirty hours. In four hours,
I will be able to scan them.
}

{
All right, have the drones
start loading the supplies on the cargo ships. Let me know if anything changes
with that fleet.
}

{
Yes, Sir.
}

{
Thanks. Andie, what is your
status?
}

{
Well, with Bill’s help we
have gotten all seventeen crew-members scanned and inoculated with nanites. Two
of them had cancer, but the nanites have already neutralized those cells. They should
be fine. The three with cracked ribs are healthy enough to move around now,
thanks to the nanites. We have two nurses and one doctor, they are already
studying and learning what they can, as fast as they can. Seven of them have
decided they want to continue being grunts, and they’re learning whatever
sailors need to know. One of them was the mechanic; he’s in engineering, right
now. Three are cooks. They are in the Main Galley, looking through it. The last
three were bridge officers. I have no idea what
to do with them, so I am
waiting for you to come back.
}

{
Nice. Let the cooks know we
will be inbound with food, shortly. As far as the three bridge officers, have
Atlanta log them as Ensigns and then Bill can take them to the Command Room.
Have him figure out where their specialty lies, or what they’re interested in,
and have them start learning about it. Log the grunts Ensigns also until we
find a place for
them.
Log the
engineer as a Chief Engineering Aide. The rest you can be assigned the rank of
Ensign too.
}

{
Okay, that sounds good.
}

Jonathan stepped into the
Auditorium and was stunned, there were at least a hundred and fifty people
seated in the room. A low roar filled the room as many people held
conversations.

{
I have to go convert some
people now. We’ll be back in less than two hours.
}

{
Be careful.
}

{
I will be. Oh, Andie? Have
Atlanta lock down the weapons and armor. We don’t need anyone getting any
bright ideas while there are only two of you there.
}

{
Already done.
}

{
Good girl, Jonathan out.
}

He cut the link in his head as
they all stepped up onto the large stage. The room suddenly got very quiet as
all eyes turned to them. Suddenly, Jonathan was very nervous. Their future
might hinge on these people …
Earth’s
future might hang on these people.
Atlanta had told them the base had defenses, and ground to space weaponry. Now
they just needed people to help hold the base, and get it ready for what was
coming their way. If the Invaru fleet was small, the four ground-based Polaron
Cannons should be able to hold them off, and from what he read about the
cannons, they were nasty.

The cannons worked by distorting
the magnetic fields in a target. It basically twisted any metal; which, over
time, weakened the area. It would eventually rip chunks out of the targets. It
also piggybacked high-density particles, which attacked the shields of a target
and then its very structure. The particle end of the weapon would punch a hole
through fifteen feet of neutronium composite, one of the strongest metals
known.

The idea was that the particle
part of the cannon knocked the shields out and then punctured the hull. Then
the magnetic distortion could reach the insides of a ship. It was a very
effective weapon in ship-to-ship combat. Even the fighters they had, used a lighter
version of the weapon.

Jonathan took another look out
over the people as Mike stepped up to the podium to speak. He tugged at his
armor, which suddenly felt too tight. Terri noticed him fidgeting and
leaned
against
her brother.

“Relax, it will be okay,” Terri
whispered.

“Easy for you to say,” Jonathan
whispered back.

Terri just smiled at him and
patted him on the chest.

Someone in the audience shouted,
“Thank god you are okay.”

This started a rumble of
agreement through the auditorium.

Mike held his hands up motioning
people to be quiet. Once he had them quieted down, he spoke.

“Yes, as you can see, Brad and I
are just fine. We have come back here to pack-up the compound, and move our
operations to a better, more secure location.”

That started another rumble
through the crowd.

Mike held his hands up again,
“You’re going to be given the choice of whether you want to go or not. I’m
going to turn the floor over to Commander Hunter. He will explain everything.”

“Here I go,” Jonathan muttered as
Mike stepped back and motioned to him.

Marc said, “Commander?” Looking
over at Jonathan, who gave a crooked smile and shrugged as he stepped up to the
podium.

Jonathan cleared his throat,
which echoed through the auditorium. This caused Jonathan to blush a bit as he
apologized. This got a few chuckles from the audience. Jonathan organized his
thoughts and started to speak.

“Hello, I’m Commander Jonathan
Hunter. Everyone can just call me Jon. I’m Commander of Atlanta Base. This base
is located deep beneath the ocean in a secret location. We discovered it by
accident when our boat had a small malfunction. What we have learned since
being there is just the tip of the iceberg. The base has almost everything we
need, except food,” Jon said.

That got a few more chuckles, and
a few ‘I don’t believe what I’m hearing’ stares.

“This base was left by a highly
advanced civilization. We are now its caretakers. The base’s AI, Atlanta, put
me in charge. I’m not real wild about that idea, however that’s a different
story,” Jon said.

The chuckling stopped in the
auditorium, and all eyes were on him. He felt like a turkey on Thanksgiving in
a room full of hungry people. The people in this auditorium had been with the
corporation since
its founding
. The
corporation picked most of them to work here because of their ability to see
the realm of possibilities.

“AI? You mean Artificial
Intelligence?” someone shouted.

“Yes. A living, thinking,
computer,” Jon said.

“By living and thinking, do you
mean it’s self-aware?” a woman yelled.

“That is what I mean. Please, let
me finish,” Jon said.

When no one else shouted
anything, he continued.

Jonathan stepped around the
podium and placed a small disk on the floor. He figured this was going to be
the best way for people to understand how serious he was coming to them. He
activated the small device and stepped back as Atlanta appeared.

“Commander,” Atlanta said.

Gasps of astonishment, and even
some oohs and aahs came from the audience.

“Atlanta, how are you today?” Jon
asked.

“I’m fine. What can I do for
you?” Atlanta asked. She already knew but they had decided this would work
better.

“What is your primary function?”
Jon asked.

“I’m Atlanta base’s controlling
AI. I control the day-to-day functions of the base and bots,” Atlanta said.

“How do we know this isn’t
prerecorded, a clever trick?” someone asked.

“You can ask her a question if
you would like,” Jon said.

“Okay, how long has this base
been on Earth,” the same person asked.

“On Earth? Three thousand four
hundred years, not including construction time,” Atlanta said.

“What is the purpose of the
base?” someone else asked.

“Originally it was a research and
development base. However, due to the outbreak of war, it was converted to a
repair and defense base,” Atlanta said.

“What war?” someone asked.

“The Eutharan people were, or
are, at war with a race called the Invaru,” Atlanta said.

“How long has this war been going
on?” the same person asked.

“To answer that question would
require me to make a guess, based on whether I think the war is still going on
or not,” Atlanta said.

“So guess,” someone said. “You
can guess, right?”

“Certainly, three hundred and
four years if it is not still going on. If the war is still ongoing, the
Eutharan people have been at war for over two thousand three hundred and four
years. Give or take a day,” Atlanta said.

She smiled at the person who had
asked the question.

“Was that humor?” someone said
loud enough for Atlanta to hear.

“Yes,” Atlanta said.

A few people chuckled as someone
spouted off another question, “Why were they at war?”

Atlanta looked at Jon as she
spoke, “That is a rather involved tale.”

Jon just nodded.

“However, the Commander has given
me permission to tell it,” Atlanta said.

“Four thousand years ago, a great
empire policed the galaxy in an attempt to maintain peace. The Manseesa Empire
was able to unite over twenty different species, building what was later to be
called the Galactic Senate. The Manseesa were an advanced civilization who was
happy to share their technology with any who became part of the Senate. They
were a passive race who hated fighting. Highly advanced in every aspect, they
were the most advanced civilization besides one, the Eutharan Empire.

“One of the things that drew the
different empires together, was they were allowed to exist under their own form
of government. Galactic law allowed each empire to appoint a delegate to the
Galactic Senate. The Manseesa Empire, with the other species, created the
Senate to solve disputes between empires, and their word was final. Empires flourished
under the watchful eye of the Senate but there were always some border disputes
or fighting that called for attention.

“Three thousand years ago, the
Invaru petitioned the Senate for entry. The Senate debated their petition for
months. Other Empires knew the Invaru for their hostility, because they had
been raiding the boarders of several of the members for many years. Some of the
senators thought they should be allowed to join, they saw this as a way to stop
the border raids. However, through the persuasive arguments of the Eutharan
senator the Senate declined the petition. The Eutharan were one of the
strongest and largest Empires belonging to the Galactic Senate.

“The Eutharan people were known
for their telepathy and technology. Most Empires followed their lead, while a
few were jealous of them. The Buranis were one of the most
militaristic
members
of the Galactic Senate. They held key places
in the space the Senate controlled. Members of the Senate recognized the
Buranis as strong supporters of the Eutharan Empire. They were strong allies
working well together, a mixture of might and technology that was close to
unstoppable.

“Once the Invaru heard of the
rejection they attacked the Eutharan Empire, destroying most
of
the
Eutharan core worlds before the Senate could move
to protect them. In a major battle outside their home system, the combined
might of the Senate’s fleet and the whole of the Buranis home fleet stopped the
Invaru. The victory was great, the empires of the Senate suffered minor losses,
and the Buranis were untouched. What happened next crushed the Galactic Senate.
The Buranis turned on the Senate’s fleet, no ship survived; they destroyed over
two thousand ships.

“The Buranis had received an
ultimatum, prior to the battle. Join the Invaru and reject the Galactic Senate,
or the Invaru would destroy their core worlds. The Invaru had sent most of its
fleet to the home systems of the Buranis. Only a small portion had been to the
Eutharan home world. The Buranis had no choice. They reacted quickly, crushing
the Senate’s fleet and blockading the Eutharan home world. Later, the President
of the Buranis signed a treaty with the Invaru that effectively made his whole
race slaves.

“The Invaru moved quickly, they
disrupted the trade routes and blockaded planets until the empires belonging to
the Galactic Senate surrendered. With the support of the Buranis fleet, it took
less than two hundred years to conquer the galaxy. From that point forward the
Eutharan Empire fought against the Invaru and their allies.”

Jon stood up and spoke, “Thanks,
Atlanta that will be enough for now.”

“Yes, Sir,” Atlanta said as she
faded from view.

Jonathan bent down and pick up
the small device as he spoke, “We’re moving you to that base right now. We’re
running out of time. There is an Invaru Battle Fleet on course for Earth. They
might just be passing by, or they might have decided it was time to enslave the
Human race. We’re going to stop them if it’s the latter case.