The Rise of Atlantis Pt. 03

Author's notes:

First and most importantly, a special thank you to Kayline Blake for another great editing job! Fantastic work Kay!

This chapter finally makes the circuit connecting "The Rise of Atlantis," to "Creation's Guardian." It will probably be the last chapter in this series. The story of Lyssa and the Atlantians will continue on in "Creations Guardian chapter 12." CG12 is currently being written though I can't tell you when it'll be finished. "Life" must be pretty pissed off at me because she's being a REAL bitch right about now. So my writing time is severely limited. But keep the faith, I'll get there, I promise. Bob54z

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Lyssa, Sue, and Kendra watched as the Vengeance appeared on the tactical screen in the ready room. She was immediately fired upon by four of the Groms gunboats. Her weapons officer had a quick trigger finger and was able to fire three antimatter torpedoes at three different gunboats before the tachyon pulses shut her down. All three torpedoes hit and destroyed their intended targets just as the rest of the fleet dropped out of warp, completely surrounding the Groms fleet. When the Destructor appeared, her portside warp nacelle was so close to the starboard nacelle of the Vengeance that you could stand with one foot comfortably on each. There was only one of the Groms gunboats in a position to fire on the Destructor and it was promptly dispatched but not before it fired a quick tachyon pulse at her. The energy pulse hit the Destructor at the same time as a Groms missile fired from a nearby destroyer causing what appeared to be relatively light damage to the forward part of her control deck. At about that same time thirty six Groms gunboats and fourteen destroyers fired guided antimatter torpedoes at fifty of the Atlantian battlecruisers. The three women watched in horror as the torpedoes were expertly guided through the gap in the forward and lateral shields taking out the life-support systems of the battlecruisers and killing everyone aboard.

After that, it became a slugfest with the Groms only firing conventional torpedoes and missiles along with tachyon pulses from the gunboats. The Atlantians, realizing where the true danger was, concentrated their fire on the small gunboats, destroying all but ten of them in the next few minutes.

Suddenly, a strange, raven haired woman with a dark black psionic aura appeared standing on the warp nacelle of one of the Groms battleships. As she began hurling some kind of energy balls at the Atlantian fleet, Sue gasped and said, "It can't be...it's impossible...that's...that's..."

"Shush Sue. Keep your eyes on the screen. We'll talk after we've seen the whole battle," Lyssa said interrupting Sue's outburst.

The three women watched in stunned silence as the strange woman threw what they now realized were highly accurate energy balls between the gaps in the new shields of some of the "upgraded" battlecruisers. Between the energy balls fired by the strange woman and the tachyon pulses fired by the remaining ten gunboats the Groms were able to disable the shields on another thirty five Atlantian battlecruisers within the next ten minutes. Lyssa noticed that after that first initial attack on the Destructor, both the Groms and the strange woman seemed to avoid firing at the Destructor or any of the other battlecruisers that hadn't had their shields converted.

Just as the last of the battlecruisers with the new shield design lost her shields there was a flash of light on the bow of the Vengeance and Amy Thomasin appeared. Amy's psionic aura was a bright golden color as she stretched her left arm out toward the Destructor for a minute or so, then her psionic aura changed to a reddish golden color as she began using both hands to fire energy balls at the strange woman. Amy's first two energy balls hit the woman in the chest catching her by surprise and causing her to stumble and fall backwards onto the deck of the Groms battleship. The raven haired woman regained her footing and began firing energy balls at Amy as fast as she could. However her energy balls didn't seem to affect Amy at all. In fact it looked like they weren't even actually hitting Amy. Amy returned fire, again hitting the woman in the chest. This time though the woman didn't lose her footing but she did double over in pain for a few seconds. Amy hit her a third and then a fourth time before the women could return fire. Suddenly, the strange raven haired woman just disappeared.

Amy turned her attention to the remaining ten Groms gunboats and in a matter of minutes they were all destroyed. She used the last of her psionic energy to cause the antimatter reactor on one of the Groms battleships to go critical. The resulting explosion took out the remainder of the Groms fleet. The battle scene grew quiet as Amy collapsed on the bow of the Vengeance. A few seconds later, she disappeared back inside the Vengeance as the Destructor warped out of the Sylkar system.

Lyssa took a deep breath then let it out slowly. She turned to Sue and Said, "First things first. Get on the horn and tell Amy I wanna see her ASAP. After you've done that, you can tell me whatever it is that you wanted to say earlier."

Sue went to the communications console, opened a channel and told Amy to report to Lyssa on the double. She returned to her seat beside Lyssa and said, "Mom says that was Carol Thomasin, the woman who gave birth to Amy. Mom also says she thinks Amy was in what Mom calls a 'plural state'. It's a psionic condition where the sub-conscious mind acts instinctively and takes over the body without the subject even realizing it's happened. She thinks it's highly unlikely that Amy remembers anything that happened during the battle. Also, I don't know if you noticed or not, but there were three Groms carriers present at the battle scene and zero Groms fighters. The Destructor was only hit by five squadrons of Groms fighters when we took out Gromus. They must've been getting really low on resources."

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Groms were out of raw materials, Sue. Hell, we didn't have much left for natural resources ourselves. As far as Amy goes, it doesn't matter to me one damn bit whether she remembers that battle or not! You saw what she did! That girl saved our lives! I'm promoting her to Captain and giving her the fucking Medal of Courage! If anyone ever deserved it it's Amy! She went way above and beyond the call of duty! Now, what I wanna know is how in the hell did a simple university professor become so damn powerful, and where in the fuck did she disappear to?"

"I think I can answer those questions for you Lyssa, at least partially anyways," Lain said. "After I compiled the data from the battle computers, I knew you'd have questions. I took the liberty of going through the last messages your father sent looking for clues. He sent his first message right after he ordered you to hold your position. In that first message he states that the Psycorps psionic lab on Cronus was broken into a couple of hours before then. Everyone, including your Aunt Tara was brutally murdered and all the psionic serum samples were stolen. He goes on to say that the murders and theft weren't discovered until after his warp capable, long range, private yacht disappeared from the fleet spacedock."

The battle scene on the tactical screen returned to the beginning as Lain continued, "Watch the tactical display above the battle scene as the Vengeance enters the area. She transmits a scanning report to Admiral Rodgers just before she gets hit by those tachyon pulses. Look at the part of the scan just beyond the battle scene. There's an IFF transmitting the ID of your father's yacht the H.M.S. Queen Isabella.

I believe the person responsible for all these criminal acts is Carol Thomasin. I think she mixed some or all of the stolen serums together and used the resulting solution on herself after she had stolen your father's yacht and made her getaway. As to where she is right now, I can't say. But the Queen Isabella went to warp about a minute after Carol Thomasin fled the battle scene. If she doesn't change course, the heading she was on will take her to some point in Galaxy seven hundred nineteen in approximately twenty five hundred years. I doubt if she has enough food, water, and fuel to make it that far, but given all that's happened, I'd say she's probably made some kind of provision to meet her needs."

The door chimed and Lyssa said, "We'll continue this discussion later Lain." She raised her voice and said, "Come in Amy."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Amy snapped to attention, saluted smartly and said, "Commander Amy Thomasin reporting as ordered, My Queen."

Lyssa smiled and said, "Relax Amy. In here, we're all just friends, remember? Have a seat. There's something I wanna show you." After Amy was seated Lyssa said, "Please watch the screen carefully and we'll talk after you've seen the whole thing. Okay?" Lyssa stood behind Amy with her hands on Amy's shoulders and said, "Lain, please start the video from the beginning for Amy."

At first, Amy watched in silence with tears streaming down her cheeks as one after another, the Atlantian battlecruisers fell prey to the Groms battle strategy. She sat up a little straighter as the tide of battle began to turn and the Groms started losing ships left and right. Then Carol Thomasin appeared. Amy growled deep in throat and said, "Evil, that woman's pure evil! She must be destroyed!" Amy's mouth clamped shut in shocked silence as she saw herself appear on the bow of the Vengeance and end the battle by defeating Carol Thomasin and destroying the remainder of the Groms fleet. After the video ended, Amy turned to Lyssa with tears streaming down her cheeks and choked out between sobs, "I... I'm so sorry, My Queen, I failed you. I submit myself for immediate court martial."

Lyssa was so shocked by what Amy said that she just stood there staring into Amy's eyes for almost a full minute before snapping, "Request denied Commander! I don't know what in the hell you think you saw on that screen, but what I saw was an act of unmitigated heroism! You singlehandedly saved the lives of over a thousand of your fellow Atlantians. You won the day for the Imperial Fleet and your queen! You deserve a promotion and a medal for your acts of courage, not a damn court martial!" A quick telepathic message passed between Lyssa and Sue.

Sue stood and walked to the bedroom as Amy replied, "But I... I let that... that... EVIL escape! You don't understand, My Queen! That THING is only in the early stages of its development and it's already almost as powerful as I am! The only reason I was able to chase it off is because I out-smarted it. I didn't remember anything about the battle until you showed me that video. But now I remember it all, and I'm telling you, that THING is growing stronger by the minute. I should've destroyed it while I still could! I'm not sure if it's even possible to destroy it now!"

"You're wrong Amy, I DO realize just how powerful she is and I understand that she's only gonna get stronger. But I also know that you did all you could do. You gave everything you had to that battle, Commander! You were out of psionic energy! You had NOTHING left to give. Yes, Carol Thomasin escaped, but that was NOT your fault. She had her getaway well planned out in advance." Lyssa smiled and then said, "Lain, tie me in, video and audio to all decks on all ships."

Lyssa accepted a long rectangular box from Sue and said, "Please rise and face me Commander Thomasin." Amy stood facing Lyssa. Lyssa then continued as she hung a large, round, golden medal suspended from a multicolored ribbon around Amy's neck, "Amy Thomasin, your specific acts must remain classified, but for courage far above and beyond the call of duty on 6297/22/09 during the final battle with the Groms fleet in the Sylkar system, I'm awarding you the Imperial Medal of Courage, and granting you the title of Protector of the Realm along with all rights, benefits, and privileges thereto. I'm also promoting you to the rank of Captain. You've served your queen and the Imperial Empire with distinction and honor Captain Thomasin, and we WILL forever be in your debt! Congratulations, and thank you!" Lyssa kissed Amy on both cheeks then stepped back joining Sue and Kendra in saluting Amy.

Amy snapped to attention and returned the salute. She looked down at the deck for a few seconds then back up at Lyssa and said, "I really don't know what to say. I don't feel as though I've done anything exceptional," She placed her right hand on the medal then continued, "and I certainly don't feel as though I've earned this."

Lyssa smiled and said "Close the link." She stepped forward hugging Amy while giving her another kiss on the cheek then continued, "Trust me, you've earned it and then some, Amy. You've provided me with something else I've needed as well. A hero for our people to rally around. They may not know exactly what you've done to earn that medal, but your humility in accepting it will inspire them to reach new heights for generations to come, thank you!"

Amy smiled weakly as she sat back down. "A truly unintentional side effect, I assure you, My Queen. I wasn't being humble, I was simply being honest. However, I am happy that you and the empire are benefiting from it never the less. There's something else I've realized that you should know. When I was in Carol Thomasin's womb, the umbilical cord created a sort of feedback loop. As I was developing from an embryo, to a fetus, then a child. And gaining some of my abilities, she was gaining them at the same time. That's how she was able to break into a well-guarded, high security government lab in the first place. The interior of the lab itself wasn't monitored by security cameras and it had a solid metal entrance and exit door because the work they were doing was so classified. Only those people with the highest level security clearance and a definite need to know had access to the psionic lab. Once inside, they were supposed to be totally secure from the outside world. That was both its strength and its weakness. That lab was designed to prevent someone from breaking IN, not from breaking OUT. Somehow Carol Thomasin knew this. She simply teleported herself into the lab and slaughtered everyone inside. After that, she took her time gathering the samples, then massacred everyone else on her way out. That's also how she managed to steal your father's yacht. She just teleported aboard it. She figured no one would dare question the Queen Isabella leaving spacedock.

I caught all this in Carol Thomasin's mind when I first appeared on the bow of the Victorious. I had been knocked unconscious earlier by a piece of flying debris when a missile exploded outside of the command deck. When I regained consciousness I sensed there was a member of the royal family nearby. It was a very faint and weak presence so I popped out to see if I could locate it. Although I felt the presence was coming from the Destructor. I couldn't tell exactly who it was or exactly where they were on the ship. All I could do was reinforce the Destructor's shields and extend my own shield to cover the ship as an additional precaution. At first, my only goal was protecting whoever it was that I was sensing aboard the Destructor. But when I received those images from Carol Thomasin's mind, I realized that the only way to accomplish that mission was to stop her somehow. I fully intended to destroy her, and when her psionic aura turned from black to almost pure white, I knew I had her. But she teleported out of the battle area before I could fire that last killing shot. So instead, I used the last bit of psionic energy I had to destroy what was left of the Groms fleet. Before I saw that video of the battle, the only thing I remembered was waking up in sickbay with no memory of how I got there. I just assumed that someone had found me passed out cold on the command deck and carried me to sickbay."

Lyssa and Sue stared at Amy in shock. Finally, Sue looked at Lyssa and said, "I'm being told that she's not sure how, but given Amy's skills, anything is possible."

Lyssa nodded her head and said, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing myself, Sue." She turned to Amy and continued, "Amy, what you are about to see and hear never leaves this room. It's for your eyes and ears only, do you understand?"

"I understand completely, My Queen," Amy replied.

"Okay Amy, this is gonna take some explaining," Lyssa said. She turned to Sue and said, "Sue, I think it's time you let your 'guest' out to play. She can explain all of this better than either one of us can."

Sue nodded in agreement and Amy watched in stunned silence as Sue's eyes turned a piercing emerald green. "Hello Amy, I'm extremely proud of you! Thank you for saving my daughters."

Amy's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and her jaw almost hit the deck in stunned amazement. "Queen Isabella? But how? I don't understand! I thought you were dead!"

"Well my body IS dead Amy. But some parts of my mind are stored here in Sue's head. I think that's what you sensed that day." She went on to explain everything to Amy then said, "Let me be perfectly clear about this Amy. Despite the presence of pieces of my personality in Sue's head, General Order Seven still stands and is in full effect. Your loyalty belongs exclusively to your new queen."

"I was born and raised to be a guardian, M'lady. My duty is to protect Queen Lyssa even at the cost of my own life. If you were truly alive and standing before me, it wouldn't change that fact. As King Jacob's only heir, Lyssa's my queen. My duty, my loyalty, and my obedience belong to her. I understood THAT part from the instant you began speaking. It was the rest of it that stumped me. I couldn't understand how you could be alive and dead at the same time. Even though I fully understand everything you've told me, it still seems to be a bit on the spooky side to me."

"Yeah I can see how it would be just a tad spooky to you," Queen Isabella laughed. "Okay Amy, my being here is taking a toll on Sue's psionic energy. I'm gonna go back into hiding and let Sue have her body back. I'm sure we'll get another chance to talk soon. Ta ta for now. "

Sue's eye's returned to their usual sparkling crystal blue. She grinned then said, "Good heavens, I don't think I'll EVER get used to that!"

Amy smiled slightly and said, "I don't think I could get used to it either, Sue. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to have your mother inside your head like that all the time. But why does a simple personality swap take so much of your psionic energy?"

"If it was just a matter of my mother exchanging personalities with me, it wouldn't draw on my psionic energy at all, Amy," Sue replied. She tapped her head as she continued, "But in here is everything that made my mom who she was. When my mom pops out, all her knowledge, and all her skills come out along with her personality. I effectively become my mother. My body's psionic energy base hasn't even started to catch up with my mother's psionic skill level. It's like trying to power a warp drive with an auxiliary engine. It just ain't happening. My psionic energy reserves will eventually grow to meet my mom's psionic needs, but me and my mom's GO7 protocols were just activated late last night, so it's gonna take me some time to get there."

Amy nodded her understanding. "Wow! Believe it or not, that actually makes a lot of sense to me. A connection that strong also explains why I was able to sense your mother without knowing exactly who she was, or even where she was located aboard the Destructor. She was radiating enough energy for me to sense a presence, but not enough for me to identify who she was or her exact location. Now that your mother has become active though, I won't have any more problems locating you or her. I can easily sense you both, now that I know what I'm looking for."