by S. L. Menear
“I’m good but really thirsty,” Banger said as he turned and checked on Lance.
“Don’t worry about me.” Lance checked his bandages. “The bleeding stopped. I can wait until the bracelet recharges.”
“Mike, get water bottles out of our SUVs. They all need to replace the fluids they lost.”
Once our team had rehydrated, they felt better.
Mike glanced at the pods. “Sis, they’re down to five minutes of life support.”
“Hurry and find a soldier out there who knows where Ross and Derek are hidden.”
Mike, Lisa, and Banger rushed outside, secured the prisoners, and found their commander, Sweetwater’s new general. Mike brought him aboard and left the others prone on the ground. He glanced at the time indicators on the survival units. “One minute, sis.”
I pulled the crown and scepter out of my belly bag and put the crown on my head. The crown’s diamonds filled with light, as did the diamond tip on the scepter.
“Stay sharp, everyone. I don’t know what to expect.” I stood in front of the pods and spoke in Atlantean, commanding them to open.
The glass canopies lifted with a soft whoosh, IV needles retracted from the occupants’ arms, and hypodermic syringes popped out of side compartments in each unit and injected something into the man and woman.
I waited, searching their faces, expecting their eyes to open any second. At almost the same instant, they inhaled deep breaths and exhaled slowly. The woman opened her eyes first and sat up when she saw me. Then the man did the same thing. They turned their heads, looked at each other, and gasped.
Tears ran down the woman’s wrinkled cheeks. She tried to speak and choked.
I opened two bottles of water and handed one to each of them. They slowly sipped water and stared at each other, alarm darkening their faces. I spoke to them in Atlantean, “I am Samantha, Queen of Atlantis. What are your names?”
The man said, “I am Zorel, and this is my wife, Rona.”
“Sorry, but there’s a lot happening right now.” I waved at my team. “They are my warriors, and he’s our prisoner. Your suspended-animation systems malfunctioned seventy years ago. The life-support functions kept you alive but asleep while you aged. How old were you when you entered the pods?”
Rona choked back tears as Zorel said, “We were both twenty-eight the day we entered the Blue Dragon. We expected to awaken to a new life in a futuristic world ruled by Atlantis, but just in case a worldwide catastrophe wiped out our population, we would begin a new generation and carry on the legacy of our ancestors.”
I glanced at my watch. “I have to handle a time-sensitive emergency first, and then we can talk at length. For now, lie back and regain your strength.” I put the scepter in my belly bag.
They reached across and held hands as they reclined in their berths, their eyes wet with tears.
Mike had been interrogating Sweetwater’s new general. “Sam, he says if he doesn’t call in with a progress report in the next five minutes, his boss will assume the mission failed and feed Ross and Derek to the lions.”
I looked at the general. “What’s your name?”
“Ivan Baryshnikov,” he answered in a deep Russian accent.
“You know what your boss does to those who fail him, Ivan. If you help us find Sweetwater, he’ll be dead, and you’ll be free. If you don’t help us, he’ll hunt you down and kill you.” I moved closer. “Where is he?”
Sweat beaded on the general’s face. “He has secret camp in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest near Uganda’s southwest border with DRC.” He paused. “I must call now or your friends will be killed.”
Mike squeezed his shoulder. “Does this mean you’re with us now?”
Ivan nodded, and Mike slit his plastic cuffs and handed him a satellite phone.
The general dialed Sweetwater, and Mike hit the speaker button.
“General, did you recover the Blue Dragon?” Sweetwater asked.
“I am standing inside it as we speak.” He paused. “Kill SAS scum and run. They’re coming for you.”
Mike snatched the phone away as Banger squeezed Ivan’s neck from behind.
Ivan choked out the words, “He has my wife and children.”
“Wait,” I yelled. “Don’t kill him, just guard him. We’re going to the Impenetrable Forest.”
I pulled out the Eye of Atlantis as I sat at the controls. “Show me Ross and Derek.”
A hologram of Ross and Derek hovered in front of me. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and their ankles were shackled. Soldiers held sharp knives and made shallow cuts all over their bare torsos. I held the Eye in my left hand so it would continue showing the real-time image.
“Banger, show me the map in your backpack.”
He opened it, and I estimated a heading for the southwest corner of Uganda.
“Wait.” Mike pointed at a gaping hole nearby. “Blast that tunnel first, and destroy the evidence of what we found.”
I hovered the sphere and eased it above the tunnel. A few laser blasts caved it in and sand filled part of it, making it look like a small gully.
“Hang onto something, everyone. We’re taking off.” I pulled back on the stick and then eased it forward and around to the correct heading. My brief pullback had resulted in an altitude of fifty thousand feet.
Suddenly, the spaceship changed course, and in seconds, it shot straight up into outer space.
“Sam, what are you doing?” Mike grabbed my shoulder.
“I didn’t do this.” I looked back at the elderly couple. They were staring at the controls.
“Banger, slap them to break their concentration.” I pointed at the Atlanteans.
He slapped them hard enough to leave welts, and I left my seat and joined him.
I spoke their language, “I am your queen, and I command you to relinquish control of this ship immediately or die.” I glanced at Banger. “Wrap your hands around Rona’s neck so you can snap it if they don’t obey.” I turned to my brother. “Mike, do the same with Zorel.”
The spaceship stopped accelerating away from Earth and reversed direction.
I glared at the couple. “You’d better hope your interference didn’t stop me from saving the man I love.” I turned and took my seat at the command module.
Meanwhile, the Eye showed the soldiers had shoved Ross and Derek into the lion pen and were watching them from inside the cage as the lions crept closer.
“Oh, god, no!” I grabbed the stick, got us back on course, and glanced over my shoulder. “Lance, get over here and put your hand over my right hand and steer this thing while I concentrate on commanding the lions.”
I tried with all my might to make contact with the lions in the pen.
Lance sat next to me and rested his left hand over my right hand. “I hope this thing isn’t as squirrely as it looks.”
The instant he exerted pressure on the stick, the ship zigzagged across several thousand feet of air space.
“Dang it! Sorry, team—steep learning curve here.” Lance experimented with minute movements until he got the sphere stabilized in the right direction.
The hologram now showed the lions circling Ross and Derek, the big cats snarling and growling as they bared their fangs.
“No!” I stared at the real-time image and concentrated on the lions as we rocketed ever closer.
Twenty-Eight
The holographic lions stopped growling. They crept closer, sniffing at the men. A lioness began licking Ross’s wounds. Soon, all the lions were licking the blood off Ross and Derek.
The soldiers in the cage raised their rifles and took aim at the Scotsmen.
My gut twisted into a knot. “We’re too far away for me to make a precise laser shot, and if I miss by just a little, I’ll kill our guys.”
Banger tapped my shoulder. “My queen, you’re forgetting who you are. Command, and the laser will obey.”
I commanded in Atlantean, “Laser the cage in the center of the lion pen shown
in the hologram.”
A brilliant flash beamed down from fifty thousand feet and vaporized the cage and the soldiers inside it. The lions ran to the far side of the pen and cowered. Ross and Derek collapsed.
I sent another laser into a portion of the fence enclosing the lion pen, then commanded the ship to home in on the location in the hologram.
When the small compound came into view in the middle of an incredibly dense forest that covered more than a hundred square miles, I took control and eased the sphere down to a hover position between our men and the only building. I shoved the Eye into its pouch.
“Anybody see Sweetwater?” I asked as I aimed the laser at the structure and pulled the trigger.
Instantly, the building became toast. Banger peered at the smoldering wreckage. “I don’t see him, but if he was in there, he’s fried now.”
Lisa jumped up. “Sam, let us out so we can free Derek and Ross.”
“Landing now.” I eased us onto the ground and commanded the door to open.
I was about to rush outside to Ross when I spotted Sweetwater. He was running up some steps to a treetop platform with a helipad where a small Enstrom helicopter was parked. I glanced around to check on my team. They were behind the sphere, working to free our men from the shackles.
I had to lift off to get a good angle on the chopper. Sweetwater had reached the top step. It would be close, but there was no way I’d let that monster escape again. I was about to pull the trigger when I felt a blade against my neck.
“Take hand off trigger or you die with him. He has my family.” Ivan gripped me from behind.
He must’ve found a knife in one of the backpacks the team had brought aboard.
I lifted my hand off the trigger stick as Sweetwater sprinted across the helipad. He pulled open the helicopter’s door and turned around. A sound had apparently drawn his attention.
The male lion from the pen emerged from the steps. Snarling, the massive cat stared at his prey a moment and then rushed at him. The chubby little man drew a pistol, but before he could get off a shot, the lion leaped and landed on him, pinning him on the platform. The mighty beast bit off my enemy’s head and spit it out.
Lord Edgar Sweetwater’s bloody head rolled across the helipad and dropped into the jungle.
Live by the lion, die by the lion.
The general removed the blade from my neck and dropped to his knees, filled with despair. “My family—I’ll never save them now.”
I landed the sphere, pulled out the Eye, and spoke in Atlantean, “Show me Ivan Baryshnikov’s family.”
A hologram showed a woman and two children huddled in a windowless room.
“That’s my family.” Ivan jumped up and pointed at the hologram.
I commanded the Eye to give me a big-picture view, and it revealed that the room was inside a building on a river in Moscow, not far from the Kremlin.
“I recognize location. Please, allow me to rescue my family.”
“You can rescue them after I save the man I love.”
He handed me the knife. Before I rushed out to Ross, I commanded in Atlantean, “The systems and controls on this ship will obey only my commands and disregard any commands from Rona or Zorel.”
Mike held a water bottle to Ross’s mouth. Blood leaked from small cuts all over his torso, and his eyes looked dim from weakness.
“Lie down, darling. I’m going to try something that might heal you and Derek together.” I rearranged my belly bag behind me and instructed Derek to lie on his back alongside Ross.
I positioned myself over them with my right palm against Ross’s heart, my right elbow on Derek’s chest, and my body draped across them. My bracelet blazed with brilliant light, and the diamonds in my crown did the same.
“Whoa, sis, your bodies are glowing.” Mike stared at us.
In minutes, their wounds were healed. I remained in place long enough to hopefully transfer some extra energy to them, revitalizing them a little. Then I eased off their bodies and sat beside my man.
“Ross, I was so worried about you.” I kissed him long and soft, over and over. “When I get you home to Scotland, I’ll stay and nurse you back to health.”
“I’ll look forward to that,” the love of my life said weakly. “Thanks for saving us, Sam.” He sat up and hugged me. “I guess it was your turn.” Glancing over at his best friend, Ross said, “Are you good, Derek?”
“Aye, thanks to your girlfriend.” He reached for Lisa. Soon, he was smiling and joking in between Lisa’s steamy kisses.
Ross thumbed at the huge sphere. “So, is that big ball the Blue Dragon?”
“Yep, it’s a spaceship, and there are two Atlanteans on board who were in suspended animation for ten thousand years until the system partially failed. They’re in their late nineties now.” I stood. “Come on, guys. We’ll show you our new toy.” I helped Ross up the steps.
Everyone boarded the spaceship, and Ross and Derek smiled at the Atlanteans. I moved the elderly couple to side seats so our guys could recline in the pods. One more kiss for Ross and then I took my place in the command seat.
Mike nudged me. “Where to now, sis?”
I glanced back at Banger. “How are we fixed for weapons and ammo?”
“We used all our rounds on Ivan’s strike team.” Banger glared at the Russian.
“I’ve still got a full magazine in my Glock.” Mike pulled out the handgun. “Why?”
“Ivan needs a weapon so he can rescue his family.” I glanced back at him. “We’re dropping him off in downtown Moscow.” I pointed at the renewed hologram.
“Are you crazy?” Mike thrust his hands on his hips. “The Russians will shoot us down.”
“We’ll be in and out before they know what happened as long as he jumps out fast—right Ivan?” I raised a brow at him.
“Da, I will be fast. Thank you.” He bowed.
I commanded the craft to proceed at maximum speed to the roof of the building in the hologram. We zoomed upward, the air outside darkened, and I realized we had taken an arced route up into the exosphere. Somehow, the ship managed to travel at tremendous speed without exposing us to powerful G-forces. I assumed it had something to do with anti-gravity technology. In moments, we arced back down toward Russia and arrived over the roof a few seconds later.
“Quick, Ivan, jump out, and good luck rescuing your family.” I commanded the door to open.
He leaped onto the roof. At my command, we zipped back up into the exosphere the instant he was out and the door closed. The entire drop off and departure had taken less than five seconds. If Russia had noticed us, which I doubted, even their missiles couldn’t begin to match our speed. I replaced the Eye in its pouch.
Away from nosy satellites, I held the ship in a hover high above Earth and joined the Atlantean couple. “Where were you trying to go when you took control?” I asked in their native tongue.
“Our orders were to return to Atlanteas, our planet of origin, if we were unable to complete our mission.” Zorel stole a glance at Rona. “No one has been back there since our forefathers came to Earth two hundred thousand years ago.”
Stunned, I paused a moment to process this astounding revelation. “And as long as no one returns, they’ll assume all is well here on Earth?”
“Yes, but we failed, and now our hearts are broken.” Zorel squeezed Rona’s hand.
Rona sobbed, “We wasted our lives for nothing. Our family and friends are long dead.”
“How fares Atlantis?” Zorel looked at me with a hint of hope in his gray eyes.
“The last remnant of the continent lies under two thousand feet of water, and the enclave in the Himalayas was destroyed in a war.” I paused. “I’m sorry, but you are the last remaining citizens of the once mighty nation of Atlantis.”
“What about you, my queen?” Zorel focused on my crown.
“I am the last descendant of the queens of Atlantis, but I was raised in the United States of America. It’s a country on the
landmass that borders the Atlantic Ocean, beyond what used to be the western side of the Atlantean continent.”
“If only we could see our beautiful city one more time.” Rona looked from Zorel to me.
“It’s underwater, but I can show it to you. That is, assuming this sphere is waterproof.” I pulled out the small one in my belly bag. “This little one is.”
“Do you not know what this craft is, my queen?” Rona raised her brows.
“I saw it for the first time a little over an hour ago when I came to rescue you from the cave.”
Zorel shared a meaningful glance with Rona, and she nodded.
“The Blue Dragon is the ship that brought our founding fathers to Earth many millennia ago.” Zorel gazed around the spaceship, a faraway look in his eyes.
“It can take you anywhere in the universe.” Rona smiled. “Perhaps you’d like to visit the home planet of your ancestors.”
That revelation took me by surprise. “Uh, how is the ship powered?”
“The universe is charged with electromagnetic energy, and the sphere draws from that energy.” Rona patted a sidewall. “It never runs out.”
My team couldn’t understand what we were saying, but the shocked look on my face clued them in to the fact that the conversation wasn’t mundane. I took a moment to bring them up to speed on what I’d learned.
Lisa squeezed Derek’s hand. “Our grand adventure has gone on long enough, Sam. We want to go home—right, team?”
Mike glanced at the couple. “What are we supposed to do about them and this spaceship?”
“We have two elderly Atlanteans on board a two-hundred-thousand-year-old spaceship that still works perfectly.” Banger glanced around the ship. “Apparently, unobtainium never rusts.”
“Too bad we don’t have that kind of metal here on Earth.” I stroked the tiny sphere and placed it back in the bag.
“That would be why it’s called unobtainium, my queen,” Banger quipped.
“Apparently, your battle scars haven’t diminished your proclivity to be a smartass, my liege.” I grinned at my big friend.
The tall but frail Atlanteans sat beside my team, while Ross and Derek slept in the open pods, exhaustion having taken over their weakened bodies.
