Shadows of Atlantis: Emergence of the Engi (25 page)

The remaining Xenogeeks and Atlantian Guardsmen began lining up beside each other for one final charge. Marz and Authore Masterson stood proudly beside each other while Azonei and Paseo did the same. Dahlia and Kezzy were next to Reina and Drozen, exchanging nods of approval with regard to each other's bravery. Eiris was standing side by side with Reizen and Dex as they all awaited the unending mass of Engi drones charging towards them.

“Fun while it lasted huh?” smiled Kezzy.

“Definitely.” nodded Dahlia.

“Ditto that.” smiled Azonei.

“Think it’s too late for a surrender?” joked Dex with a sly grin.

“Probably not….” smirked Paseo.

Eiris then laughed and looked at all of his friends as they all simultaneously agreed upon one reply to that comment.

“Nah!!!” laughed all of the Xenogeeks.

Obsidian then began to whimper as he slowly lost his strength and will, so Eiris knelt beside him and petted his soft fur, reassuring him quietly.

“Don’t worry little buddy. This will all be over soon.” whispered Eiris as he petted Obsidian’s head.

Getting up, Eiris smiled over at his friends one more time as they prepared to face the end the only way teenagers could, with childlike wonder. The Engi hordes were closing in as they all drew their weapons in preparation to fight down to the last Undarian. Once they began coming within range, Eiris and his defensive force began aiming and charging their weapons to fire.

Suddenly, an enormously powerful particle beam flew over the heads of Eiris and the others, right into the mass of Engi destroyers flying over them. Soon after, more beams were blazing into the hordes of grounded drones, destroying them by the hundreds. Eiris and the others looked up into the sky and cheered at a most welcomed sight.

Thousands of Undarian starships all united in one colossal fleet. The united Undarian front easily pushed back the extraterrestrial bullies as the flagships for each separate government landed in Pluvia Central. Led by Sky Commander Aurora in the
Leviathan
, the other Sky Commanders for each fleet disembarked from their flagship as Eiris and the others walked over to greet them.

“I leave Atlantis for a short while and a bunch of space bullies are already about to decimate our beautiful planet.” Aurora said with a wry grin as she walked down the boarding ramp.

“It is good to see you too my old friend.” laughed Marz as he grasped forearms with Aurora.

“Not as old as some.” smirked Sky Commander Zale as he saw Marz and Masters.

“Commander Zale.” smiled Authore Masterson in respect. “Punctuality was never your strong suit.” he joked as they grasped forearms.

“You know me all too well my friend.” smiled Commander Zale. “Now although it seems we’ve repelled the advance of the machines, I am certain they will return soon with a much bigger force. We should prepare.” he informed as they all agreed.

Thousands of soldiers then began pouring out of the starships so Eiris and Dahlia took the opportunity to rush Obsidian to the medical tent. While they got Obsidian onto the examination table, a beautifully soft voice sounded unexpectedly.

“Greetings, my name is Aria Cador. I am the Sky Commander of the new Areolian Fleet and daughter of former Areolian Sky Commander, Aros Cador. How may we be of service?” asked the beautiful young Areolian.

“It is an honor to be in your presence Commander Cador. Your assistance is very much appreciated, but the answer you seek now lies with our new commander, Prince Eirisidae Penatia.” Marz nodded in reply.

“Yes. I am aware the prince has returned to Undaria. I am very much looking forward to meeting him. Where is he?” Aria asked.

Eiris then came out of the tent, followed by Dahlia and his friends as he spoke up.

“Here. I’m here. It’s a pleasure meeting you Commander Cador.” replied Eiris as he extended his hand and grasped forearms with her.

“The pleasure is all mine Your Majesty.” Aria responded as she slightly bowed her head.

As they exchanged battle tactics, Dex watched on as Azonei stared at Aria in a love-struck daze.

“Well, don’t you look smitten my young friend?” smiled Dex.

“I love her. I definitely love her.” stammered Azonei as he continued to gaze in admiration of the beautiful commander.

“Boys.” Kezzy scoffed as she shook her head along with Dahlia.

All of a sudden, a familiar voice called out to Dex from the mass of soldiers walking by.

“Dextrius?! Dexy is that you?” yelled a beautiful Slyph soldier.

“Lora! What are you doing here? I thought you were over in Terranore!” replied Dex as he ran to give her a hug.

“I was. I came over here with Sky Commander Saurus and the rest of the Slyph Flotilla. You didn’t think I would miss this for all of the worlds in Undaria did you?” beamed the newcomer as she embraced Dex.

Kezzy bristled up in anger at this scene and stormed over as her eyes glowed green.

“Lora huh? And who might you be?” glared Kezzy. “Oh, and choose your words wisely, as I’ve just finished viciously slaughtering hordes of predatory robots.” she warned while charging up her plasma chargers.

“Kezzy…….” started Dex.

“Ah ah ah.” Kezzy warned as she shook her head, cutting him off. “Let her speak……Dexy.” she seethed as she glared at him.

Realizing this was a good time to shut up, Dex just dropped his head and shook it as the beautiful Slyph offered an explanation.

“I apologize for not thoroughly introducing myself. My name is Ulora Tesla. I’m Dextrius’ older sister. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard many good things about you from my parents, Princess Genoran.” Ulora smiled.

“Right…… Lora as in Ulora?” Kezzy asked, completely embarrassed. “Okay. That was pretty silly.” she shook her head.

“Oh no. I completely understand. In fact, I would’ve reacted similarly.” Ulora reassured.

“Really? Well that’s very endearing. Once this war is over, would you like to join us on a vacation to one of my private planets?” beamed Kezzy.

“Certainly. I’ve only been to your planet once or twice. And I’ve never had the chance to truly appreciate the legendary forests there.” Ulora smiled as they walked off in conversation.

Eiris and Dex just shook their heads and laughed. Then they went to go over battle tactics with the other commanders.

“This is monumental. With this new intel, I am certain we can get rid of this plague on Undaria once and for all. You young ones have done fine work.” commended Sky commander Zale.

“Wait. Say that again?” requested Dex.

“You have done fine work?” replied Commander Zale confused.

“No. The other thing.” said Dex.

“Ah yes. With the intel you all have given us, I am confident we can get rid of this plague on Undaria.” nodded Commander Zale.

“You’re a genius Commander Zale!” exclaimed Dex as Commander Zale looked confused again. “We’ve been going about this all wrong. These drones appear to be endless, which is logical because they’re biorobotic and likely automated. Instead of piling up scrap metal from Engi drones, we need to destroy this virus at its source.” he advised.

“Right. The hive mind. That’s the key. Destroy the central processing unit and the drones can’t think for themselves.” nodded Eiris.

“Precisely. Now that begs the question of how do we find it? I know it’s nearby because I can sense it. But we can’t see it.” said Dex.

“Leave that to me. You just keep it busy. I’ll take care of the rest.” declared Eiris.

Once they had a plan, Eiris and the Undarian Fleet got ready for what they hoped would be the final battle with the dreaded Engi. As all of the soldiers began piloting their starships and lining up at the warfront, Ulora ran to give Eiris something from the Tesla family.

“Prince Eirisidae!” Ulora called out beckoning Eiris and Dex to come over. “My father sent you this in hopes that you could put it to better use than us.” she informed as she took the cover off a plasmaball-sized bomb.

“My, what a doomsday device you have there.” frowned Dex nervously as he saw what Ulora was giving Eiris.

“What is it?” Eiris asked.

“It’s called an Ionic Capacitator. It overloads subatomic particles in a continuous stream, culminating in a supernova-like effect. You must be very careful, it’s a very powerful weapon.” Ulora warned.

“I will.” replied Eiris as he grasped forearms with Ulora and accepted her deadly gift.

“May Turanii be with you, Your Majesty.” nodded Ulora.

“Likewise.” returned Eiris before walking over to Dex and the others.

Kezzy was being greeted by Sky Commander Zale when Paseo voiced a popular observation.

“I don’t see any representatives from the Darkren Regime yet.” Paseo remarked.

“You question the honor of my people?” snapped Drozen in response as Reizen motioned for him to stay calm.

“Only if their honor is questionable.” replied Paseo staring him down in anger.

“Watch your words Atlantian. They will be here.” nodded Reizen to Eiris as they all looked on.

Suddenly, their fears were realized as thousands upon thousands of Engi destroyers began swarming again in the sky. Countless drones were also hovering to the ground as they began slowly advancing to a charge. Despite being backed by Undarian reinforcements, Eiris and the others were still outnumbered three to one. They knew this battle would be hard-fought since the odds were against them so they all prepared to fight like there was no tomorrow.

“How’s he holding up?” asked Eiris with a concerned look towards Obsidian.

“He’s holding, but barely. He needs intensive care soon.” replied Dahlia with a look of despondency.

“I want him in the
Atlanticus
with us. Hang in there buddy.” Eiris whispered to Obsidian as they boarded the novaship.

As the Engi continued to come within range, the Fleet Commanders began issuing their orders and the battle got underway. Kezzy fought along with Sky Commander Zale as they led the Etwilonian Fleet on the ground, followed by the dire wolves and the other beast guardians. They fired their plasma chargers and triggered electromagnetic pulses as they engaged the thousands of drones. Ulora and The Slyph Flotilla defended the sky above Pluvia, while Marz and Paseo led Aurora and the Atlantian Fleet in the protection of the Pluvian Sea.

Eiris, Dex, Dahlia, and Azonei flew in the
Atlanticus
while the three shadows flew the
Dark Nova
with Sky Commander Aria and the rest of the Areolian Fleet. Hundreds of plasma cannons and flux torpedoes were fired as they engaged the Engi Armada, defending the space around Atlantis.

Azonei piloted the
Atlanticus
skillfully as he fired flux torpedoes at the Engi destroyers while evading their plasma cannons. Reizen and the shadows also fought well as they used bonding to their advantage, blinding destroyers with shadow and crippling others with fire and burning ice. Sky Commander Aria showed her elite bonding skills as she bonded nebulae clouds for her frigate and weaved in and out of the Engi’s line of sight. As the
Atlanticus
got deeper into the fray, Dex began sensing the presence of the hive mind up ahead.

“It’s somewhere around here. I can feel it.” warned Dex. “And it won’t be trying to get in my head anymore, now that I’ve installed this infection algorithm.” he scowled.

“Commander Aria, we need a clear path.” Eiris communicated through the encrypted channel.

“Copy that. Clearing the way.” replied Aria as she broke off with a squadron of Areolian Frigates to come to his aid.

Next, Aria led them as she and her squadron paved the way, firing countless flux torpedoes into the mass of destroyers. Sensing what was coming, the invisible hive mind released tens of thousands more Engi destroyers in self-defense. They all began streaming directly at Eiris and the others in protection of their creator. Suddenly, something unexpected began to happen.

In a desperate move of self-preservation, the hive mind began firing plasma missiles at its own Engi destroyers as they neared frigates from the Areolian Fleet. The destroyers exploded on impact, triggering mass explosions right in the middle of the Areolian Fleet. The damage was catastrophic. Aria’s frigate was badly damaged as it spiraled down into the atmosphere of Atlantis.

“Commander Aria!!!” yelled Azonei in fear at the sight of her decimated frigate.

In response, Azonei’s eyes began glowing white as he drew immense solar power from the nearby sun. He seethed in anger as he bonded countless fireballs at the Engi destroyers, obliterating hundreds of them. Eiris followed with powerful bonding of his own as he manipulated some of the rings around Atlantis, sending the ice rocks crashing into hundreds of destroyers.

Though their advance was repelled, Eiris and the Areolian Fleet continued to put up a fierce fight. But the numbers of the Engi were just too many. Soon they all were being overwhelmed as the destroyers began effortlessly dispatching them, one by one. Eiris knew that something had to happen soon or they wouldn’t have a force to fight with.