Shadows of Atlantis: Emergence of the Engi

by Hatch, Donsha

  “You mean the one whose face you dismantled in a vengeful fit of rage?” asked Kezzy.

  “Yes.” replied Dex nonchalantly. “Now, we already know they’re biorobotic. But I think we’ve been severely overestimating their capabilities.” said Dex.

  “How so?” asked Eiris.

  “For one, they aren’t unique like us at all. They all seem to be drones, with their intelligence coming from one separate source.” informed Dex.

  “You mean like a bee hive. They’re being controlled by some sort of hive mind?” asked Azonei in amazement.

  “Precisely. There seems to be a computer-based organism that functions like a CPU or hive mind, controlling all of the drones.” replied Dex. “I also found that the drones all share similar jagged, teeth-like receptacles in the facial area. So it’s safe to assume that they’re predatory.” he informed as the shadows looked on with interest.

  “So they’re just preying on us xenogeeks like some space bullies?” asked Azonei.

  “Um, well more of in a giant deathbot kind of way. But yes, that’s an accurate comparison.” replied Dex.

  “What else did you learn?” asked Eiris.

  “One more thing. Do you remember that sociology concept from galactic history?”

  “The one that breaks up existing power structures and prevents smaller ones from uniting?” replied Eiris.

  “Yes. Divide ut regnes or divide and conquer. I believe that’s what they’re trying to do. Why else would they jam our interplanetary communications? And why haven’t they attacked any planets within the Darkren regime yet? They’re trying to keep us separated. Being a biorobotic species, the hive mind likely bases its actions primarily off of calculations, not too dissimilar from Slyphs. Quite frankly, they are a lethal combination of brains and brawn. Machines that are perfect at destruction.” Dex explained somberly.

  “Well what they didn’t calculate was what giving us a common enemy would do.” glared Kezzy.

  “Wait, Dex, that makes perfect sense. That’s why they destroyed the academy. And why they’re…... planning to destroy Atlantis!” Eiris said wide-eyed as he suddenly realized what was coming. “They know this is the planetary capital of Undaria and that if Atlantis falls, the entire Undaria System will likely follow. The attacks on the other planets were just to draw away our main fleet and distract us! We need to call them back!” he yelled.

  Once they pieced everything together, Eiris and the others ran into the military wing of the palace. They burst through the large twin doors of the war room and notified Marz and the other members of the Atlantian Guard.

  “The main Engi Armada is on its way! We know their plan!” Eiris cried out breathlessly.

  Eiris and the others quickly gave the details of what they learned about the Engi’s plan.

  “I see. Exemplary work, all of you.” commended Marz. “Your Majesty, the Atlantian Guard is at your command, what will you have us do?”

  “We need to respond with a strong front of our own. And a diversion.” replied Eiris.

  “A diversion?” asked one of the Atlantian Guardsmen.

  “Yes. One long enough to send a small party to the frequency tower. We need to send out a mass distress signal to all of the Undarian Fleets. Not just the Atlantian Fleet.” replied Dex.

  “Your Majesty, that part of the city is overrun with Engi. We would be overwhelmed in a matter of minutes.” remarked another Atlantian Guardsman.

  “Not necessarily. We now understand that they aren’t like us. There’s nothing unique or xeno about them. Our differences make us stronger. Their lack of difference makes them weak. A weakness that we’re gonna exploit.” replied Eiris confidently.

  “Well said, so what’s the plan?” asked Dex.

  “You.” Eiris replied.

  “Me?” asked a confused Dex.

  “You.” nodded Eiris. “They’re computer-based, so it’s reasonable to assume that the hive mind sees primarily in numbers and code. The Engi are also all the same, so it’s likely that they each exhibit the same numerical robogenetic code. With that in mind, I can install a reflection algorithm in your neural nodes to reflect the robogenetic code of the surrounding Engi while I sneak you in. Once there, you’ll sync with the frequency tower. Then, when it amplifies your brain waves, you’ll send the signal to the Undarian fleets. It should work, but that’s all theoretical of course.” he smiled.

  “Like the Trojan horse trick? My stars, you’re a tactically technological genius!” cried Dex. “I’m in.” he said smiling eagerly.

  “Xeno.” smiled Eiris. “Now for our battlefront, we’ll need to mount defenses on all three fronts. Land, sky, and sea. Any volunteers?” asked Eiris.

  Suddenly, an unexpected voice came from out of the crowd of xenogeeks.

  “I……. I’d like to help.” Paseo said sincerely in a hoarse voice.

  Another voice rang out from the hallway as someone walked into the war council.

  “Well this isn’t a real battle without the former Lieutenant Masterson. Count me in.” smiled Authore Masterson as he appeared, dressed in full battle gear.

  “Xeno.” smiled Eiris. “Authore Masterson and Azonei. You two will lead the attack from the sky along with the student fleet of novaships here in the palace hangar. Captain Marz and Prince Paseo-you two will lead the private fleet of novaships to engage the Engi under the Pluvian Sea. Kezzy and Dahlia-you two along with the shadows will lead the ground forces, defending the city and aiding any soldiers in need of assistance. We have to get that distress signal sent before the main Engi Armada arrives. Any questions?”

  “Just one. What are we waiting for?” smirked Dex.

  “That plan sounds great your majesty. But from experience, I can tell you-like the many times before, the Darkren regime will not respond to our distress call.” remarked the worrisome Atlantian Guardsman.

  “They’ll respond to me.” boomed Reizen as he emerged through the crowd.

  “Very well Your Majesty. You all will have all of the resources this city can muster. Follow me.” he smiled.

  As the student body geared up, everyone made their way to the palace hangar. Walking side by side with the Atlantian guard, the xenogeeks marveled at the small private fleet of novaships and at all sorts of multi-terraneous vehicles. Dex smiled at the impressive array of royal supercars and superbikes.

  “Oh, you shouldn’t have.” grinned Dex as he got on a silver sport bike.

  “Xenogeeks fighting alongside your personal guard versus the Engi? No contest.” smiled Kezzy as she got on her Land Prowler superbike.

  “Ditto that.” smiled Azonei as he prepared his novaship.

  Dahlia then walked over to Eiris and tightened up his bracers as she looked up into his beautiful purple eyes. Obsidian rubbed his head up against her hands as she did.

  “You be safe out there.” Dahlia reminded him as Nava rubbed against Eiris’ side.

  “I will. You too.” Eiris reassured Dahlia as she kissed him on the cheek before getting on her superbike.

  Marz then came over and shared a few words with Eiris before they all departed.

  “You have honored your parents and their legacy. They would be just as proud as I am, if not more so.” Marz said. “I also had a few modifications made to your car. Thank me later.” he nodded as they clutched forearms before he headed to his novaship.

  Wearing his royal battle gear, Eiris then prepared the Hammerhead GT and gathered everyone for one final war speech.

  “Everyone! I have something to say!” yelled Eiris as the students began gathering around him. “A friend of mine once told me that a person’s true character is revealed through adversity. Well today, we’ve had a taste of true adversity. How we respond will determine who we are inside. Glover Nhore was our friend and his life was cut short by those monsters. But he died a true hero. Now, I’m calling on you all to honor him. Like him, I choose to stand up and fight! Fight for all of those who sacrificed for us to be alive today! Tonight, the
Engi are gonna give us their best shot. But tonight, they’ll get ours as well. Tonight, we will show them that you can’t calculate the strength of united Undarian spirit! So let’s go save our planet and rid Undaria of this cancer once and for all! NATURE!!!............” he trailed off.

  “........IS OUR ALLY!!!” yelled everyone in unison as they all sped off into battle, inspired to give their all in the defense of their beloved solar system.

  The battle got underway as everyone followed their orders. Authore Masterson and Azonei led the small student fleet of novaships directly into combat with the Engi destroyers flying over Pluvia city. Authore Masterson showed no signs of rust as he fired the first shots. Two flux torpedoes right into a cluster of Engi destroyers, followed by multiple plasma beams to finish them off. He then used clever tricks in the clouds to evade plasma cannons, as several Engi destroyers engaged him.

  Azonei also showed incredible skill as he not only used the weapons on his novaship, but the advantage of nature also. After firing flux torpedoes at a large Engi destroyer, two others began pursuing him from behind. Seeing his advantage, he bonded lightning to cripple their ships and they both went spiraling into the ground.

  Kezzy and Dahlia both led a squadron of Atlantian Guardsmen on superbikes right into the city, while Reizen and the Shadows led members from their guild onto the rooftops. Dahlia used her modified superbike to make several passes while she used her turrets to cut down dozens of Engi with ease.

  Kezzy employed more of a close combat tactic and ran her superbike right into a cluster of fighting Engi, jumping off as it hit them while she fired her dual plasma chargers confidently. As she engaged more Engi in warfare, she noticed a group of soldiers cornered in an alley and helped them by throwing an EM grenade to confuse the Engi while she destroyed them with her plasma chargers. She recognized one of the soldiers as the academy security guard who had called them kids earlier, so after she rescued them she reminded him of his poor choice of words.

  “Still think we’re just kids?” Kezzy winked as she helped the security guard to his feet.

  Reizen and the shadows preferred freerunning on the rooftops, using stealth and speed to surprise and destroy dozens of Engi drones effortlessly. Lighting up the dark with his glowing red eyes, Reizen used his fire whips masterfully. Reina bonded shadow clouds to mask her presence as she cut through several Engi with her silver luridium claws. Drozen confused several Engi as he pounded his EM hammer into the ground, triggering a large electromagnetic pulse. He then smirked as he swatted them to pieces in their confusion.

  Marz and Paseo were being kept busy underwater with the rest of the Atlantian Guard in their novaships. Squadrons of Engi destroyers prowled the waters in the Pluvian sea, so Marz bonded massive underwater tornadoes to divide them, firing flux torpedoes at the stragglers. Paseo’s eyes glowed blue as he bonded powerful water pulses at Engi destroyers. His giant crocodile continually made passes, biting chunks off of every destroyer it could.

  As Eiris and Dex sped stealthily in their vehicles to the frequency tower, Obsidian galloped next to them protectively. Using back alleys and shortcuts, they managed to stay out of sight until something unexpected happened.

  “Uh oh. That’s not good.” said Dex as he rode his superbike.

  “What’s uh oh?” asked Eiris worriedly.

  “I’m reading multiple Engi drones up ahead. There’s no way we’ll get by unnoticed.” replied Dex.

  “Well then, why don’t we show them the welcoming party?” smirked Eiris as he shifted gears in the Hammerhead GT.

  “My thoughts exactly.” beamed Dex as they both began firing plasma beams at the Engi drones up ahead.

  Several dozen Engi then began firing powerful plasma cannons at them, making them double back to continue firing.

  “There’s just too many!” yelled Dex as he dodged plasma cannons.

  “We’re almost there! Keep firing!” shouted Eiris as he fired flux torpedoes at the mass of Engi.

  “They’ve locked onto me! I can’t……...!!!” started Dex.

  A plasma cannon hit his superbike, destroying it as he flew forward into the ground.

  “DEX!!!” screamed Eiris as he made a sharp U-turn to help him.

  Eiris then put the Hammerhead GT’s turrets on auto-engage as it continued to target and fire at the closing Engi drones. Obsidian used his speed to run and terrorize them, clawing many of them to pieces. Using his car as cover, Eiris ran over to help his downed partner.

  “Dex!!! Dex!!! You okay?” yelled Eiris as he helped him up.

  “I’m hurt, not deaf!” winced Dex as he got up.

  “Oh. Sorry about that.” laughed Eiris as he pat Dex on the shoulder.

  Suddenly two plasma beams flew past Eiris and Dex, prompting them to duck and lean their backs up against the Hammerhead GT for cover.

  “So what are we going to do!? yelled Dex as he fired more charges and returned to cover.

  “A great man once told me that we can either view adversity as an obstacle or an opportunity! What do you think?!” smirked Eiris.

  “I think we should show these tin cans why you shouldn’t try to bully xenogeeks!” grinned Dex.

  Eiris and Dex then smiled and nodded to each other as they stood up and began firing barrages of plasma charges at the Engi drones. They charged at the Engi and engaged them in close combat. Dex drew his pulse blade and spiked it into the ground as Eiris bonded fire waves, destroying the stunned Engi. They fought bravely along with Obsidian, but it wasn’t long before they realized that things might not end well, so they began joking about the tarnished plan.

  “So much for plan A!” laughed Dex as he returned plasma charges at the Engi.

  “What, you tired already?” mocked Eiris as he fired charges of his own.

  “We need a miracle!” Dex shouted.

  “Nah! At least we’ll go out with a bang!” laughed Eiris as he pulled out three plasma grenades.

  Sensing in Eiris what was about to happen, Obsidian did something amazing. He looked sharply at Eiris and closed his eyes, letting out a reverberating howl that could’ve been heard through distant galaxies. Eiris and Dex were puzzled by the howl until they felt it……….

  Within a matter of minutes, dozens upon dozens of dire wolves came jetting in their direction. The wolf army closed on the position of the Engi as they fired plasma beams at them. Obsidian then led the way as he pounced on several Engi drones, clawing and biting them to shreds.

  “He’s an alpha!” smiled Dex in relief.

  “He sure is.” grinned Eiris as he continued fighting.

  Eiris then bonded a shadow cloud to blind a nearby Engi drone as they ran back to the Hammerhead GT. Obsidian and his army of dire wolves kept the Engi busy while Eiris and Dex raced on towards the frequency tower.

  “A miracle it is. Now, with no superbike what’s the plan?” asked Dex as the Hammerhead GT drove on autopilot.

  “Plan B.” smiled Eiris as he continued to fire plasma charges.

  “I don’t remember going over a plan B!”

  “That’s because it’s my ace in the hole. We’ll use the Hammerhead GT.” Eiris said.

  “Interesting. And what about you?” Dex asked worriedly.

  “Remember. Obstacle or opportunity. Just promise me you’ll get that signal sent.”

  “Consider it done.”

  Understanding that Eiris had his mind made up, Dex was stunned in admiration of his bravery as they came to the jump point.

  “May Turanii be with you my friend.” nodded Dex as he got on top of the car, using his neuromagnetism to keep him stable.

  Eiris’ eyes then began glowing purple as he bonded a ramp of burning ice and pushed the Hammerhead to its top speed of 290 mph. Speeding up the ramp, the car became airborne. As it climbed the heights, Eiris bonded the dark matter around the Hammerhead GT, keeping it in the air as long as possible.

  “Go!” yelled Eiris as he struggled to keep the car from descending at a rapid pac
e.

  While almost seventy feet in the air, Dex jumped from the roof of the Hammerhead GT towards the roof of the building that holds the frequency tower. He was just close enough, and grabbed the ledge as the car dropped like a stone to the ground with Eiris still in it. He watched the car explode as he pulled himself up, only allowing himself a quick nod in respect to Eiris’ bravery before running off to climb the massive tower and complete their mission.

  Once at the top, Dex closed his eyes and linked to the frequency tower. He focused his mind and sent the message of distress to the various Undarian Fleet commanders as well as a coded message prepared by Reizen to the regent at the Order of Assassins. Just as he finished sending the messages, a squadron of Engi drones appeared on the roof of the tower building and began firing plasma beams at him.

  Dex then returned fire from his dual plasma chargers and free fell backwards into the sky. Once airborne, he opened his wingsuit and glided to where Obsidian and his pack of dire wolves were still fighting. As he landed, he looked for Eiris through the battle but couldn’t find him.

  Obsidian then glared at Dex at the sight of him without his master and began whimpering in sadness. Dex momentarily dropped his head, suddenly overwhelmed by the guilt and anguish of watching Eiris crash to his death. When he lifted his eyes to the battle before him they were filled with a cold rage as he fought with a new ferocity. He drew his pulse blade and spiked it into the ground, stunning the surrounding Engi.

  Next, he threw his pulse blade through the chest of two Engi drones and then drew his dual plasma chargers and began picking his targets. After destroying a few, he put his plasma chargers back into their holsters and opened his palm, using his neuromagnetism ability to retrieve his sword. Still stirred at the loss of his friend, he held his pulse blade with two hands and began violently hacking through several Engi drones in a terrible fit of anger.

  Obsidian followed suit as he and the dire wolves viciously ripped dozens of Engi drones to pieces. Suddenly, an Engi drone got a clear shot at Dex and was charging up to fire until a black luridium pulse blade flew from behind Dex and struck the Engi in its face. Relieved and overjoyed, Obsidian barked and ran over to his wounded master. Eiris then put his arm around Obsidian and used his body as a crutch as he used his other arm to clutch his ribs.