Atlantis Rising Read online

  Atlantis Rising

  By Michael McClain

  (also known as Siath)

  Copyright © 2014 Michael McClain

  All rights reserved.

  I would like to thank my friends and family for all the support I received while writing this book. I would like to thank all the proof readers who helped proof this book. Special thanks to my Mother who supported me through trying times and encouraged me to continue. Ben Winston who helped me become a better writer and taught me to let my imagination flow.

  Atlantis Rising

  Chapter I

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter I

  A New Home

  E

  xternal lights flared to life as the underwater base came to life. The base was massive by Earth standards; it was over a mile long at some of its largest points. The center hub looked like the bottom of an egg pressed into the sea floor. Access conduits looked like arms connected to the central hub of the base at several locations. Each of the arms ended in what looked like a large building. Deterioration had allowed water to breach three of the six arm’s connecting tubes and then flood the tubes. Large cracks ran down the lengths of these tubes, and one of them had even collapsed. Lights flickered briefly as the base tried to power up the flooded sections and then safety protocols kicked in to shut the power conduits down to the damaged sections.

  Lettering lit up in dim blue on the side of the base, it read: Astinata Beos, jastie io eqiesas Nef Lekser. If you could have read the ancient language, it read, Atlanta Base, Repair and Construction, Sol Sector. Around the hub, lights flickered on and illuminated the outside of the base, while lights began to illuminate the interior.

  A small explosion on the ocean surface had triggered the power-up of the base. Computers came to life as air began to circulate through the base in preparation for the first visitors in over 2,000 years. Some of the systems failed and secondary systems came online automatically to replace the non-functional systems.

  A young woman stood over a console, her fingers tapping the holographic keys on the display before her. She shunted a bit of power over to one of the sensor arrays and scanned the area of the explosion. The sensors registered six humans adrift in the ocean, all of them still living but unconscious. She tapped out a few more commands as she kept an eye on the people above.

  A large room lit up. In another part of the base klaxons came to life and blared their warning to the empty room. A large vessel shaped like a space shuttle from the television show “V” slowly lowered from its resting place on the wall. Two red stripes on the sides of the vessel lit up as the shuttle's engines powered up and self-diagnostics started.

  The main doors to the room opened and a large maintenance bot walked through them. Two amber eyes pulsed as the machine scanned the room. The back of the vessel opened and the strange bot walked up the ramp into the shuttle.

  Once the door closed securely, and the diagnostics finished, the shuttle let out a few beeps and whistles. The bot turned slightly towards the cockpit, clicked, and whirred in response. The shuttle vibrated as it lifted from the ground and slowly moved towards the large hangar doors.

  The air shimmered blue as a field snapped to life just before the doors opened. The shuttle passed through the field and into the cold ocean water on the other side. Picking up speed, the shuttle hurried towards its rescue destination.

  Two hundred yards from the unconscious people, the shuttle, water cascading from its small fins, broke the surface of the ocean. The large bot moved towards the door it had entered and made a few clicking sounds. The shuttle responded with a whine as the back door slowly lowered.

  Back on the base, the strange woman monitored the situation while the bot worked to bring the humans into the shuttle. She reached over and touched a couple more buttons, shunting power to the medical bay.

  Two floors down, a large room lit up and fresh air poured into the room as smaller versions of the large bot moved about working. They cleaned and sanitized the room with special equipment, making sure the room was bacteria free.

  The woman looked down as the shuttle made its way back to the base. She touched a few more buttons and stepped down off the platform. She walked from the room and into a lift, which took her two floors down.

  When the lift stopped and its doors opened, she started down the hallway towards the medical ward. Halfway there she stopped and touched a panel on the wall. It lit up, showing the shuttle with several more bots around it. The bots were loading the humans onto hovering platforms. She touched a few keys, giving final orders to the robots, and then proceeded to the medical ward.

  Jonathan slowly opened his eyes so they could adjust to the room’s bright light. He made a feeble attempt to sit up slowly as his vision swam. However, he quickly closed his eyes to fight off the nausea creeping into his stomach. The last thing he remembered he was swimming with his friends and sister when something happened to the boat. Brad had yelled something about an engine fire as he dived over the side and swam towards them. Moments later a concussive shock wave from the explosion slammed into him, and then darkness took him.

  The Coast Guard must have found them, but how long has he been unconscious? He slowly opened his eyes again and surveyed the room. It wasn’t your typical hospital room or emergency department; there was way too much hi-tech stuff. Things he had never seen in a hospital, although some of it looked familiar. He noticed his friends lying on other beds, some of them starting to come around.

  His sister propped herself up on an elbow as she took in the room. Strange words scrolled across the screen in front of her. She reached up to touch the screen as she tried to make out some of the words.

  Terri had been studying languages all her life. Her parents traveled to various countries for the United States for reasons she did not know nor could she understand. Languages had always intrigued her, and she was fluent in about twelve different languages. She had recently started studying dead languages, and a lot of the symbols on the screen reflected Egyptian Hieroglyphs. There was a mixing of various other glyphs, which she had never seen before. Terri’s mind spun with inquisitiveness as she started trying to see patterns and tried to understand the symbols shown on the screen. What she thought to be a solid surface was nothing more than a hologram; she gasped as her hand passed through it.

  Jonathan jumped off his bed when he heard his sister gasp and made his way towards her. Without warning, the room seemed to freeze as his steps slowed and then stopped completely. No matter how much he struggled he couldn’t force his feet to move, even the air seemed to suddenly go stale.

  “Jonathan Hunter,” a female voice said from behind him.

  Unable to move he started to panic, he strained some muscles as he tried to move again. His sister hearing her brother’s name turned her attention away from the screen, seeing her brother unable to move and a strange women walking towards him she started to panic. As she tried to get up and go to him but found herself unable to move suddenly.

  A female with bright red hair stepped into his field of vision as she spoke, asking him not to stop trying to move so he would not injure himself again, she was holding a small
device in her hand. Slowly she moved it from one side of his head to the other. Then she spoke again, “I’m Atlanta.”

  “Atlanta?” Jonathan barely mumbled.

  “Oh, sorry,” Atlanta said. She moved the device back up and tapped it a few times. There you should be able to speak more easily." She smiled as she turned her back to him and surveyed the still sleeping forms on the other beds.

  “Where are we? Why can’t I move? What’s wrong with my sister?” Jonathon asked in a jumble of words.

  Atlanta turned back towards Jonathan, “I’m sorry, I had to immobilize you and your sister before you or she hurt yourselves. The nanites haven’t finished their jobs."

  “Nanites?” Jonathan asked. Deep down Jonathan feared the answer; he understood a nanites basic design, and theoretically, what they could be used to do. Jonathan wondered if his day could get any worse: first, the boat exploded almost killing everyone, then someone that ‘rescued’ them is holding them in a hospital-like room, and finally, a probably psychopathic redhead has injected him with nanites that control his body.

  “Yes, nanites; they’re repairing the damage you sustained from the explosion. They’re also feeding you information about where you’re located and our language,” Atlanta said. She turned and looked at the read-out on one of the many screens.

  Jonathan frowned, “Your language?”

  Atlanta nodded as she turned back around and gave him the once over.

  “Well, I already know English,” Jonathan said. He attempted to move again and quietly sighed with frustration when nothing seemed to work. “Who are you and where am I?"

  Atlanta smiled, “Yes, I know you know English. That is why I’m speaking it. However, to do anything around here, you will need to learn ‘our’ language. As far as whom I am, well that information will be explained in time. As to where you are, I’ll explain it in a moment. I need to check to make sure you’re healing okay."

  “How bad were we?” Jonathan asked. He tried to look down and examine himself but he was still frozen. A bit of panic started to seep into him and he pushed it away.

  “You were almost dead by the time I got you and your friends here. Now you’re just about completely healed,” Atlanta replied as she smiled. Atlanta may be an AI computer, but she understood the fear coursing through Jonathan, so she tried to help him feel comfortable with a genuine smile.

  “How are my sister and friends?” Jonathan asked.

  Atlanta smiled, “I was right about you, your compassion for others over shadows even your own wellbeing.” As for your sister and friends they will be fine, the nanites are just finishing their healing for them.

  “Huh?” Jonathan asked frowning.

  “While you were out and I was working to save your life, all you kept mumbling was your sister’s name and asking about her and your friends. This told me a lot about the person I was working on. I took the time, once you were stable to look up your records. From those, I concluded you would be the logical choice to be Commander. Strong aptitude in strategy and organization, dedication to those you deem friends and comrades,” Atlanta said.

  Jonathan frowned, “My records?”

  Atlanta nodded, “Your high school records and reports from teachers. College entry test scores and your Navy application and test scores.

  “How do you have access to those reports? Are you some secret government organization? What do you want from me?” Jonathan said. He was becoming alarmed and began trying to move again.

  Atlanta laughed, “Hardly Commander, I’m not from any organization on this planet. As for what I want from you, well that’s simple. I want you to take command of this base and get it fully operational again.”

  “Base?” Jonathan stopped trying to move, he wasn’t getting anywhere anyways.

  Atlanta nodded, “Atlanta Base.”

  “Why me?” Jonathan asked.

  “Atlanta Base has been dormant for over two thousand years. I need you and your friends to bring it back to life and give it a purpose again,” Atlanta replied.

  “Two thousand years?” Jonathan muttered.

  “Yes, I don’t have long before secondary power systems fail, I need you to start the main reactor,” Atlanta said. She watched his reaction, trying to judge what he would do next.

  Jonathan thought for a second before he replied, “How do I know you’re on the level? I mean you might just kill me after I do what you ask. Wait, why don't you just start the main reactor yourself?”

  “I was expecting that question; I can't because I’m Atlanta Base’s controlling Artificial Intelligence. There are some things I’m restricted from doing,” Atlanta said.

  “Such as…” Jonathan said, intentionally leaving the question hanging.

  “Such as, giving the command codes to start the main reactor up and bring the base back online. Also, I can’t complete the repairs myself, I am here to serve the crew and monitor the running of the base as a second hand to the Commanding Officer, you,” Atlanta replied.

  “If I don’t agree to help?” Jonathan said.

  “Then you will all die when the ocean breeches the outer pressure dome and floods the base. I took a chance to bring you and your friends here, now I ask you to take a chance with me too,” Atlanta replied.

  Jonathan’s eyes flicked over to his sister’s form lying on a medical bed five feet in front of him. He turned his eyes back on Atlanta, his mind made up, “ok, how do I do this?"

  Atlanta smiled, “I have already logged you in to the base’s computer as the Commander of this base. The nanites should have already received your command codes and I will instruct them to give you the knowledge of how to start the main reactor.”

  Jonathan nodded, “Yes, I know the codes now. After I get this reactor up, you and I are going to have a long discussion about what happened here.”

  Atlanta nodded, “Yes, Commander.”

  A shadow shifted as Atlanta and Jonathan walked out the door. It stood up to its full height, a little over five feet tall. Short dark grey fur covered it from head to toe; human-like eyes peered out through the fur covering them. If Jonathan had seen the strange being, he might have compared it to a Ewok from Star Wars. The only adornments on it were a thin utility belt and a strange watch on its left wrist. A heavy sigh issued from the being’s mouth as it turned and entered the vent it had used to access the room. Slowly the form shifted and disappeared from sight.

  This development wasn’t good and its master would be very unhappy. Its master sent it here to secure the base for its master’s arrival, and now these new people were going to spoil everything. It slowly made its way back to where its ship had breached the outer hull of the base. Its master would not receive the report well and it expected a lot of yelling. It let out another long exaggerated sigh as it shimmered into view. Things were getting more complex than anyone had anticipated.

  It stepped through the collar that attached its ship to the base and took a seat in front of a small panel. It reached up, touched a few keys on the console as the display lit up, and came to life. Alien text scrolled across the screen as it sat waiting patiently.

  The face that appeared on the screen narrowed its coal black eyes. Its dirty blonde hair was in a neat crew cut. Its eyebrows were absent, replaced by ridges. A look of disgust crossed its face briefly, “Report.” The face said in English.

  The dark grey fur covered being fidgeted a second before it spoke, "Jah nisju kiaso lihag."

  “English! How many times have I told you I am trying to learn their language before I get there?” he growled in broken English. “I must be able to speak to these filthy humans and I don't have the time I need to learn a new language slowly so I have been speaking it exclusively as have the rest of crew.”

  “Sorry, Great Master.”

  The being sighed, “I'll give you one thing Oojoung. I have always been amazed how you covert specialists have always been able to assimilate a new language so easily.”

  “Thank you, Great Mas
ter,” Oojoung said.

  “Now, give me your report,” the being said.

  “Um, the big base has turned its lights on, Great Master,” Oojoung said.

  The being frowned a second then waved a hand dismissively, “So, it's routine. It will search and find nothing and shut back down. Have you been able to gain access to the main computer core?”

  Oojoung wrung his hands as he said the next part, “Great Master, Oojoung working on tricky computer. But, Oojoung has more to report to Great Master”

  The being’s eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean there's more?”

  A small sigh escaped Oojoung’s mouth, “Hoomans have came here...”

  The beings eyes grew wide as his hands gripped the edge of whatever desk he was sitting behind. “WHAT!” he bellowed. He raised a third hand and started tapping keys in front of him as another hand pinched his nose, making him close his eyes briefly. Oojoung trembled in the silence that followed.

  "The power readings haven't changed enough for the base to be powered up. What are these humans doing?" he asked. He crossed a pair of his arms across his chest as the others continued to type.

  "Oojoung think one of the Hoomans is now a Commander person to the base. They're on their way to start the main reactor," Oojoung said. He tapped a few keys in front of him, which displayed a lay out of the base and then a blip for each life sign. This didn’t show where the AI was, but he assumed it was with the Commander Jonathan person.

  “Hrm ... Okay, listen carefully. I want you to stall them; do not hurt these Humans. I'm curious how far they will get in bringing the base back on line. Do not directly interfere with them as they work, but I do want you to keep Offensive systems offline. This base is important; it is one of the last Eutharan bases in operation,” the being said calmly.

  Oojoung nodded, “Great Master, Oojoung will do as asked.”

  "Oojoung, leave the main computer alone for now. When we get closer I'll have you do what you were sent to do, so be ready," the being said. The vid screen dimmed as it was disconnected and Oojoung found himself talking to a blank screen.