The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

Deep down in the core of Thebes, powerful electromagnetic generators, which had been spinning at several million rotations per minute, were suddenly connected by magnetic flux cables to the surface of the Sphere, producing a magnetic field strong enough to pull the fillings out of teeth! The impact of this measure was immediate. Any metallic moving part froze instantly in position; control valves no longer worked, and the magnetic flux used to control the reactor plasma collapsed. The plasma burned right through the core of the Elohim ships. They began detonating violently, and, as the field propagated further away from the Atlantean Sphere, more and more ships were caught in its tight but invisible web.

"Begin rotation!" said Sitar. "Set speed at 300 RPM!"

The consequence was immediate, as those Elohim ships still holding together by miracle suddenly were thrown hard under the lava and any fissure and crack filled in with the liquid rock. The few survivors roasted on the spot as the Elohim ships exploded under the magmatic sea.

"Enron, follow the Equator! We must stay under the falling Moon until the last minute. Paschal! Reverse the magnetic field for 0.1 second, and then stop the field. Triple rotation speed!"

Outside, the spinning sphere was throwing huge globs of lava several miles in the air that came back to hit the trailing Elohim ships. After losing several hundred ships to the flying crap, the Elohim moved to the side and passed ahead of the spinning ball of Hell, as the Elohim now dubbed it.

"The Elohim are moving to intercept!" said Thorsten.

"Enron, take evasive actions! Follow random pattern B-39."

The sphere began changing direction, following a zigzag pattern that, although it was showed constant changes of directions, kept a constant speed. The Elohim were slow to react to the changes at first, but they finally realised the seed for the pattern and took position some distance ahead of the incoming sphere.

"They will be straight ahead of us at the third change of direction and broadside at the fourth!" noted Thorsten.

"Maintain the sequence! Typhoon! Charge the lasers!"

"Lasers loaded at 100%!"

"Fire on my command!"

The sphere came barrelling down toward the massed Elohim spaceships, travelling in excess of the speed of sound.

"I wonder why it takes them so long to hammer out a strategy?" Harold asked.

"I would say decision by committee!" replied Thorsten.

"We are turning to face them! Distance: 600 miles!"

"Fire on continuously! Strafe them with the forward lasers!"

Several Elohim ships were sufficiently damaged to blow up on impact from the lasers. Others got burned severely, but managed to return fire with their torpedoes, which detonated early due to the density of laser fire emitted by the Atlanteans. Still others tried to evade the lasers and collided with the other ships of the armada. Even more interesting was the level of disorganisation the Elohim demonstrated, as some ships fired on each other in their efforts at escaping the Atlantean guns.

"These guys are pathetic!" said Ian.

"Maybe, but they are so numerous we still have a lot of work ahead of us. They still constitute a threat to the Universe," replied Harold as he watched, fascinated, the carnage lasers and photon torpedoes inflicted to the Elohim fleet.

"When do we implement the lure?" asked Enron noticed the sphere turn to engage in the gauntlet presented by the Elohim spaceships.

"I will tell you when, do not worry," replied Sitar. "Typhoon, trigger lasers on both sides of the ship; fire ahead and behind in V. Target those ships already hit."

As the sphere rolled on itself and progressed along the long arm of pattern B39, it kept firing lasers on both sides, shooting down some Elohim ships. Some exploded, others managed to survive, but overall, the laser beam, hindered by the thick haze rising from the lava, lost its efficiency by diffraction after a short distance. The Elohims had taken to peeking over the horizon and firing with all they had at each occasion, and then hiding below the Earth’s curvature.

"Slow down the firing rate, like some of our guns were damaged!" ordered Sitar.

"Dropping firing intensity by 1%. We should lose half of our firepower in an hour," replied Typhoon.

"Begin implementing the lure! Let the shields drop in proportion to firepower drop."

"Acknowledged!" replied Thorsten.

"How long before the Black star collides with the surface of the Earth?"

"It is 35 minutes to collision on my mark! Mark!" Samson informed Sitar and the others.

"What will be our position relative to the impact point?"

"We are moving away from it."

"Enron, slow down the rotation of the globe. I want the impact point to be close. We are keeping the Soul-eaters focussed on us, and they seem to be unaware of the true nature of what is orbiting the Earth. It seems their Astrophysicists were eaten up before their use was ascertained!"

"What distance should we maintain relative to it?"

"I recommend 25 miles!"

"That is a close call!"

"I know."

***

"Fire power at 10% of nominal!" Typhoon informed the Bridge Crew.

"The Elohim noticed too!" said Thorsten. "They are coming in again!"

"Let us see if they are as dumb as they look! Typhoon! Cut all firing except sporadic weak laser beams! Paschal! Cut shield! Enron! Drop speed to barely sloshing the lava!"

"They are dumber than Fishes! They are taking the bait again!" Thorsten reported.

"Let them come in!"

"Thermal signatures in liquid oxygen! They broke the shield! The thermal signature counter indicates 60,000,000 ported in the liquid oxygen vats!" Paschal told everyone.

"Instant frozen meat for the big Cats in the Tessaracts!" Harp said with a smile.

"It is too bad the Pterodactyls are not into anything but Fishes!" Jefferson remarked.

"They have landed on the surface again," said Harp as he eyed the reports from the skin sensors.

"All Wolves to stations!" ordered Greywolf. "Lock down levels 2600 to 2800, section P, F, and K. De-pressurise room K2799, P2688, and F2888! Three Centuries to level 2700 section D! Seal section D2900! Inject cyanide in level E3000!"

Everyone kept track of the battle of the Wolves as Greywolf kept the flow of commands over the ship-wide communications flowing endlessly. It became apparent that the Elohims were determined to get to their prey whatever the cost might be. The Wolves were ported quickly from one hot spot to another. Mages followed the Marines and cleansed behind them, porting the Elohim into the freezers for food to be distributed in the Ark tessaract. The Legionnaires took over some areas as Greywolf regrouped Centuries to deal with high concentration of Soul-eaters.

"Incinerate hallway N2700!" suddenly came over the speakerphones. The Bridge understood the number of Elohim must have reached a critical level. Harp took a look at hall N2700 and noticed several hundred Soul-eaters burning to a crisp.

"Jefferson! Take my station! Greywolf needs help!"

Barely had Jefferson made his way to Harp’s seat that the Prince of Magic disappeared.

It did not take long for Harp’s intervention to be felt over the magical field! The interior of the spaceship shook from the numerous explosions that detonated everywhere. Harp would appear in the midst of a group of Elohim and use their own Chemistry to start an explosive chain reaction that usually resulted in the walls getting carpeted by Soul-eater goo.

In many instances, he found himself in the middle of a battle, and rather than risk hurting the Atlantean troops, ported the enemy directly into the lava outside.

"Sitar, how long before we can take a break?"

"Ten minutes to impact!"

"Count down by the minute!"

Harp and his Brothers began sweeping the outer reaches of the ship, killing millions of Elohim in the bloodiest battle since the Orc Wars. Elves, Dwarves, and Fairies joined in the battle, but nothing seemed to stop the invasion.

"Five minutes!" reported Samson, which had taken over Thorsten’s seat so he too could join in the defence of Thebes.

"Elohims reported on level 2400, wing X!" passed over the intercom. "Explosive decompression engaged! Two minutes to activation!"

All regions encircling the affected area were suddenly deprived of atmosphere. Unknowingly, the Elohims concentrated in the doomed section, sealed from the ever-deepening void around them.

"Decompress!" ordered Greywolf.

A powerful explosion was heard rocking the entire spaceship, but it had been designed to withstand a lot more than a mere decompression. However, the Elohim spacesuits were woefully inadequate and millions of these spacesuits broke a seal. The result was as expected: the Soul-eaters boiled instantly and exploded, getting extruded through the tiny holes of the weak points of their spacesuit and spraying bloody paint in all directions.

"Darts!" ordered Greywolf, intent on finishing off the invaders.

Immediately, air guns, lodged in hidden compartments near the ceiling, fired a volley of long darts that pierced the remaining spacesuits, terminating the employment of several million more Elohims.

"Son, it is time I do the call."

"What are you talking about Dad?" wondered Harp.

"You will see. Iridia, transmit on all frequencies when I give the signal. I will be going to the Throne of Atlantis."

"At your command, my Lord!"

"Ten Dragons to escort the King!" ordered Ian.

It took only a few minutes for the escort duty to assemble, and then the portal brought the group of Dragons and Harold to the Throne of the Sun.

"Do not worry about what you will see, my friends. The only ones that need fear what will happen are the enemy of Atlantis. Iridia! Transmit!"

Harold put on the floor Mitsuko and Excalibur. He then drew a perfect six-sided star on the floor with Mitsuko, then, using Excalibur, joined the tips of the star to form a perfect circle. In the centre of the star, he drew a cross with Excalibur and then a Moon crescent with Mitsuko within the cross. This ritual completed he began to sing in old Atlantean:

Deceased souls of Atlantis, hear our demand!

We, Pharaoh of Atlantis thus command!

From your resting place across space and time,

Come forward to serve for one last time!

Face with us our immemorial Enemy,

At the time of our ultimate Destiny!

For those who in the past Atlantis have betrayed,

Shall this day receive forgiveness for which they prayed!

For those who Atlantis have served faithfully,

Shall this day receive their just reward fully!

Innocent victims of the Elohims,

Join us to exert justice of their sins!

Ghosts of the past come to us wherever you are!

Ghosts of the past come to us whenever you are!

And deliver to our Enemy the last blow,

So that Atlantis can once again grow!

Follow the light of Mitsuko to find our common Enemy,

Follow the song of Excalibur to march to our victory!

A powerful music coming from everywhere aboard the spaceship accompanied Harold’s singing. As the song progressed, the drawing on the floor grew ever brighter, blindingly so for those standing outside. The Dragons, used to Magic, did not flinch at the scene, but as the song came to its conclusion, they began finding the room rather cold! Millions upon millions of ghostly figures began to appear, so densely packed that, had they had any physical consistency, it would have violated the very essence of Physics whereby two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

«Command, our Lord!» said the multitude.

«You shall find outside of this spaceship a multitude of Elohim, known by some of you as Soul-eaters. Kill them all! Vengeance is ours! You will also find some within the city as you exit! Kill them as well. Be careful to kill only the Soul-eaters, the Elohims! We have succeeded in our goal and rescued the Last Refuge! Protect them from the Ancestral Enemy!»

«Vengeance is ours!» thundered the ghost Army.

«Vengeance is ours! Go!» ordered Harold as Mitsuko and Excalibur multiplied several trillion times and began leading the spirit Army out of the Throne room.

***

Figure 8: Thebes in Lava Sea (Distance: 500 Miles)

The spirits would not have been effective were it not for the presence of the magical swords. Each ghost held a copy each of the swords, Mitsuko in the left fist and Excalibur in the right. By some powerful Magic, the swords themselves where as immaterial as the ghosts themselves, but they managed to deliver very real blows. There were all sorts of life forms: yes, there were Atlanteans, but they were a clear minority as the Humans came forward, followed by Wolves, Trolls, Dragons, Dwarves, Centaurs, Pegasuses, Horses, Unicorns, Orcs and even Crocodile Priests; and millions of terrestrial and extraterrestrial life forms that had fallen to the depredation of the Elohim across space and time joined the Atlanteans in their ultimate battle. It was as if the entire Universe puked of Elohim. An Army of ghostly Tyrannosauruses made their way to the swords that adjusted to their impressive size. The call had been heard from the beginning of time to that day. Herds of all types rolled out of the Atlantean Throne room, from the most ancient to the most modern. An incredible roar was heard across the magical telepathic waves from puny animals to giant ones:

«VANGEANCE IS OURS!» was chanted over and over on all telepathic frequencies, amplified by Magic and feeding the fury of the innumerable victims of the Elohims.

As the ghosts left the Throne Room of the Sun, the Elohim were unable to communicate with each other on long distances, telepathic wavelengths being overwhelmed by the Call. They could no longer coordinate their attacks, and the Elohims within Thebes were the first to pay the price: The Soul-eaters found their Essence drained by the shadowy swords that fed on them while feeding the ghosts. Each Elohim touched by one of the swords began to feel his life force drained, sucked by an insatiable appetite for Life itself. The Swords themselves glowed ruby red or sang a death song worthy of the Call, a song of death.

"The Dead can Dance!" thundered Harold, thus giving free reign to the departed souls so they could exert their just retribution.

The Elohim fought valiantly, but were unable to counter the onslaught of fury. Those inside the Atlantean vessels diminished rapidly in number, and then there were none. But the pressure was such that the ghosts left the Atlantean ship and began assaulting the Elohim vessels. Some tried to turn and escape but ghosts can travel at the speed of light, and they easily caught up with the lumbering Elohim ships, that also had to contend with the onslaught of falling rocks.

«How long to the fall?"

«If you are referring to the Black Star, one minute! For the Moon, still another 63 minutes, Sire,» replied Samson in a shaky voice. «If I may enquire while I still have my sanity, what was that we just saw?»

«These are the souls of the dead; the innumerable victims of the Elohim, at least those that the Elohim did not feed on. Those are lost.»

«What will happen once they have killed all the Elohims?»

«I will fulfil my promise! Forgive those that have betrayed, heal those that have been wounded, and give each peace so cherished by everyone in the afterlife, except to the Elohim; they have forfeited that right.»

«I almost thought you would say bring them back to life, Dad! You had me worried!» said Harp.

«I am not you, my Son. Bringing back the dead to life is your prerogative, not mine. I can only call them to task, which I did.»

«What will happen to them?»

«After I have released them from their obligations? Honestly, I have no idea. What I expect is they will fade into oblivion, thus gaining the peace this world has deprived them of for so long.»

"Teams to repairs! Report to Paschal for priority assignments!" ordered Ian, taking over command again, as the immediate threat receded under the assault of the Ghosts, that seemed to dilute the further they moved from Thebes.

"Dad, the Ghost Army is disappearing as it moves further away," Ian told Harold via the intercom system, since telepathy was still rather noisy. "Is this normal?"

"I think so. After all this is energy, ethereal, but nonetheless energy. Have they reached to outer limits of the Elohim armada?"

"I cannot be sure. The sensors have been saturated for hours. The number of UFO around us is such we are unable to count them, much less locate the outer limits of the battlefield."

"We will know in time. I would think that the Soul-eaters that did escape will want to know what happened and will come back to have a look," said Sitar as he returned to the Bridge from his last foray into hunting Elohims.

"The ship is clear of Elohim," reported Thorsten.

"Good! Would shields stop the Ghosts from returning to claim their due?"

"I do not think so, Ian."

"Then shields up. Ten seconds to impact!"

The Black Star’s impact gave counterintuitive results. Everyone thought there would be a massive tsunami, but the creation of a swirl in the lava just behind the Atlantean ship, 30 miles off the stern, was the only apparent result.

"Track the star," ordered Ian.

"The star is sinking faster as it siphons mass from the planet. The angle has gone from 6° to 7° and now 8°. The spiral is both tightening, but also curving faster. It should reach the planet nucleus in 22 minutes, and the inner core in 87 minutes."

"How far will it pass below us?"

"Two miles!"

"Enron, take off! Gain altitude to 20 miles, let the Black Star pass under then settle back on the lava. I do not like that kind of close call with a black hole."

"How is the Snake?"

"It barely got affected by the exchange of fire between us and the Elohim armada. In fact, the numerous collisions between their ships and the debris has thickened up some of its thinnest parts, and they are now following the main orbital trajectory, as lunar gravity still exerts some influence on smaller bodies, such as derelict Elohim spaceships."

"Are there any unnatural motions detected?"

"It is difficult to tell. Linear motions, if that is what you are referring to, are almost non-existent. It does not mean that there are no Elohim spaceships left. I doubt it is the case. They might finally light up to the fact that following a curved trajectory similar to a degrading orbit might make them more difficult to detect."

"You are the perpetual pessimist Dad!" replied Enron. "Ian, I am ready to lift off instantly. All reactors are active."

"Let us wait until 10 minutes before the Moon falls. By then, if there are any Soul-eaters left, they should have shown their cards."

"I detect energy sources matching laser and photon torpedoes in the far reaches of the debris field, converging toward the Earth," said Sitar as he observed the short energy bursts of laser beams and the more consequent spikes produced by photon torpedoes.

"They are nuts!" said Typhoon.

"No, obsessed by food!" replied Thorsten. "Our concentration of psychic energy must be like light to a Moth. They will burn to the last rather than run away from it."

"Dad, do you think you can do the ghost story again?" asked Ian.

"No, Son. They have fulfilled their obligation to Atlantis and are entitled to their rest. I am bringing back the swords to the Bridge."

"Okay. Annabelle, what is the condition in sickbay?"

"We have 1,300 wounded, no lost life."

"Do you need assistance? Thorsten could take over engineering for a bit while Paschal goes to the sickbay to use the healing power of Mitsuko."

"That would be welcomed."

"Dad, when you reach the Bridge, return Mitsuko to Paschal immediately, and take Thorsten’s station over."

"All right, Son. Bossy today?"

"No, busy."

The exchange went quickly, and Paschal left for sickbay using the portal network. As he emerged into sickbay, he could hear Thorsten distribute tasks to repair teams as fast as the Dwarf King could talk. Hundreds of Decurie teams were dispatched in the areas that had seen battle. The Elohim corpses were dispatched into deep freeze for recycling in the Ark project as food for the carnivores.

***

"We are 30 minutes to lunar impact!" Samson reported, as he eyed the astronomic observatory.

"What are the actions of the Soul-eaters?"

"Still trying to get to us by the most direct route!" Thorsten told Ian.

"Are they not dumb! They could enter via polar routes and be here in a flash!"

"Do not give them ideas Ian! The rocks are skinning them! I am not going to complain!"

"As soon as they emerge below the Snake, fire photon torpedoes in volleys," ordered Sitar to Typhoon.

"What is the situation with the Black star?"

"It is spiralling down toward the planetary core, increasing in gravitational density exponentially. It should have eaten up the planet in two hours."

"If the lava had not doomed the planet, that black star sure does!"

"It is not only that, Harold," replied Samson. "You forget that comet, which is due to hit us in 10 minutes, and then that planet-sized ice cube heading our way for a frontal collision. Knowing the respective density of both planets, it is like the dark star will reach the centre of the Earth just in time to be there to take a huge bite of that new planet, thus adding its mass to its already sizeable gain from swallowing the Earth. The impact will be even worse than if the Earth had stayed intact. In the later case, the collision would have been inelastic and the two planets would have shattered into a ring; in the former, a perfectly elastic collision, the black hole will absorb the incoming planet and their kinetic energy will balance each other well enough for the combined mass to start spiralling toward the Sun."

"I see."

"Ian, let us focus on the here and now, Son."

"Right. Paschal bring us just below the head of the Snake."

"Fly?"

"No, paddle!"

The giant sphere picked up speed, leaving a trail of molten lava flying behind once more. The Sphere kept changing directions at the last second to evade falling debris that skimmed the lava ocean before sinking, losing pieces of their colder, but still white-hot material in the process. Geysers several thousand feet high dotted the sea of molten rock, whose temperature now reached over 4000° Fahrenheit. The rock was so hot it rippled like water.

"How high is the Snake?" Ian asked.

"It is 30 miles above us," replied Samson.

‘How far are the Elohim?"

"They just managed to get through."

"Count?"

"There are 16,000 ships and the count is dropping!"

"Only 16,000 ships left out of an armada of several trillions! This is nuts!"

"You said that already, Ian," replied Harold.

"Torpedoes ready!"

"Fire away, when ready, Typhoon. Sitar? Strategic input?"

"Ian, I suggest we wait until they are at half range of the torpedoes. That should be in three minutes!"

"Thorsten?"

"Targets at 6,000 miles and closing in fast!"

"Synchronise firing! The density of the atmosphere and the presence of rocks has rendered lasers ineffective," said Sitar.

A few minutes later, Sitar ordered:

"Fire on my mark! Five, four, three, two, one! Fire!"

Six thousand photon torpedoes left the Atlantean spaceship and headed for the intercepting Elohim concentration. Some exploded early due to the density of falling debris, but the majority hit their mark. The flash of light clearly indicated those ships whose shields could not resist the impact of the photon torpedoes.

"How many died?"

"From our hit, about 4,000 ships. They lost another thousand from the hail, and maybe 500 from collisions," said Thorsten as he eyed the results of their first volley.

"Fire again, Typhoon. Change to antimatter!"

"Okay. We are limited in these!"

"I know. Fire on that big field of debris just above the Elohim fleet. That should create enough shocks to make a dent!"

"Thorsten?"

"Transferring firing coordinates now."

"Firing!"

The 15 or so antimatter torpedoes sent out by Typhoon had a devastating effect. Each one-pound load created as much mayhem as 1,000,000,000 Hiroshima bombs, and cleared a wide swath of debris ahead of the Atlantean ship. But the result was not limited to the debris field. Over 99% of the residual Elohim fleet vanished instantly, their reactor cores exploding and adding to the total energy output.

"Dive! Dive!" ordered Ian, as the powerful shock wave rushed toward them from 3,000 miles away.

"Diving! Increasing speed to triple current 600 knots! Turning to run away as fast as we can," replied Enron, as the giant sphere nosed down at a steep 35° angle.

"Enron, do not forget the Black Star!"

"I am not forgetting it. It is currently a quarter of the circumference of the planet ahead of us and 550 miles below the surface."

"Thorsten, estimate the number of surviving Elohim ships?"

"Less than 150, and most are probably so damaged they will be unable to escape the gravity well."

"Okay. Enron, when will the shock wave be past us?"

"It will not. We are outrunning it."

"Okay. Surface!"

"Surfacing!"

As soon as the first tip of the Sphere came to the surface, Ian wanted to get updates on the Elohim fleet.

"There are currently 100 or so left. They dispersed after the explosion. Most are barely able to sustain flight and are crashing into the magma, detonating violently either on impact, or a few seconds afterward."

"Determine those that are still space-worthy!"

A few minutes later Thorsten came back with a very low figure.

"There are about 20 space-worthy Elohim ship. They are currently trailing us at a safe distance."

"These crazy-glue guys are getting on my nerves! Paschal! Take in as much water from the atmosphere as you can. I am sure there is some."

"Yes, but its mostly in the high atmosphere, that is, about 20 miles above us. The lower atmosphere is composed essentially of carbon dioxide."

"So be it. Enron! Take off, bring us in that layer!"

"Reactors activated. Lifting up. Do you want us to outrun the Elohim?"

"No. Do a slow majestic take-off, like we were experiencing propulsion problems."

"If they fall for that one, I will eat my hat!"

"Sitar, you do not have a hat, so your eating habits have little chance of getting perturbed!" replied Timor, as he walked in the Bridge from another patrol.

"Report!"

"Nothing out of the ordinary Ian. The repair Crews are hard at work in the infiltrated layers. The Elohim did not have time to do much crap, but nonetheless, each layer is thoroughly inspected for booby-traps and maybe a well-hidden Elohim."

"Good."

"Paschal, how do you plan to recover the Elohim that had the unfortunate idea to take a bath in liquid oxygen?" Timor asked.

"Port them to thaw in the Ark Equatorial forest one at a time for the big Cats and other predators to feast on."

"Do not give out too much of a handout or they will lose their predatory instincts," said Enron.

"Anyway, I will start with those in the freezers. They are taking space we might otherwise use for real food."

"Angels reduced to shish kebabs! Is this not ironic?" said Harp.

"Cold cuts would be a better image, little Brother. I doubt we plan to roast them before serving them to the carnivores of the Ark," replied Sitar.

"Thorsten I need a few photon torpedoes ahead of us. There is a concentration of debris in my planned path!"

"Firing, Enron!"

A few minutes later, a gap opened in front of the Sphere and it headed for it. The passage was still treacherous, and quite a few laser blasts were required to clear the residues.

"We reached the water level! Paschal, begin collecting!"

"Filters activated. Taking in water, free oxygen! Separation by ionisation triggered."

"The Elohim followed us in the hole, but it is closing on them fast. Only those that have been closest to us stand a chance!"

"How many will pass?"

"Half!"

"Will the others not fly over, below, or around the rocks?"

"It does not seem so, Timor. They are behaving like dim-witted Dogs, and following the trail wherever it leads. I think we are like catnip to them: they long ago relinquished any thinking power."

"That is sad, Sitar. I feel like I am fighting idiots with the firepower of an Ancient tank."

"Thorsten, they started this holy war, and now they are too dumb to realise it was holy shit!" replied Sitar.

"How much water have we collected?"

"The counter stabilised at 33 megatons."

"That is enough. Samson?"

"Impact of the Snake in three minutes!"

"Head for the South Pole, Enron!"

The Sphere veered 90° and headed south at a respectable match 8, followed closely by the 10 remaining Elohim spaceships. The others had lost their race against the closing tunnel and fallen prey to an onslaught of falling rocks.

"When will we be out from under the Snake?"

"In a minute. It leaves us two minutes before final fallout!" replied Samson.

"Okay. Enron, wait a minute after clearance to make sure we are really free of the Snake and then climb up and leave the planet."

"All right."

"Trajectory: leave the ecliptic by the north, fly over the north pole of the Sun, dive back in the Ecliptic from behind Uranus. We got the Scavengers to deal with. Are the Elohim following us?"

"Yes."

"Position relative to Mars?"

"We should pass close to it shortly."

"Enron, slow down and let the Elohim see us clearly!"

"All right."

"They are 2,000 miles behind us Ian. Unless they are blind, we must stand out like a torch in the night sky."

"Okay. Enron, when we are beginning to feel Mars’ gravitational attraction, cut off propulsion."

A few minutes later the spaceship began to curve toward Mars.

"Our perigee will be at 622 miles above the surface, on the dark side," Samson told Ian.

"Paschal, on my signal, dump the water we collected behind us!"

"The Snake has begun ploughing the Earth. The Moon will have vanished completely in 80 minutes," Samson informed the others.

"Display trajectory on forward screen!"

Ian watched and as the Atlantean ship reached the deepest part of the Martian night, he ordered:

"Release the water!"

The water vapour immediately condensed into thin, invisible crystal of ice just behind the speeding Atlantean spaceship.

"All water released," said Paschal.

"Enron, take us up, stay in the shade!"

The black Atlantean ship was almost invisible in the shadow cone of Mars and Enron made sure it stayed that way. Below them, they could see the Elohim ships follow their previous trajectory. Suddenly the leading Elohim ship exploded violently, followed by four others. The five last ones, not really understanding what had brought the explosions, nonetheless veered off course. One had the bad idea of turning toward Mars rather than away from it and came crashing down on its surface in a fiery ball that left a crater several miles in diameter.

"Four left! They are following us!"

"Let them. Thorsten, drop a gravity mine behind us when we cross that field of debris ahead."

"Son, that ice field behind us was genial!"

"Thanks Dad."

"Where is that shit coming from?"

"Deimos. Remember, it blew up."

"Dropping the mine now."

"Enron, turn 30° toward Aldebaran! Thorsten drop three more mines on my command!"

The Atlantean ship turned toward the northern hemisphere and headed straight for the four incoming Elohim vessels, which were totally taken by surprise. The four spaceships opened like a flower and took evasive action. As they curved back behind the Atlantean ship to resume their pursuit, one of the Elohim vessel, the lead ship, overran the last Atlantean position and came barrelling right down into the gravitational mine, crumpling like it had hit the Mariana trench.

"Do a round-about! Pass less than 200 miles off their bow! Cross the T!" ordered Ian.

Enron implemented the orders flawlessly. The Atlantean ship banked sharply left, increased speed, and then passed in front of the Elohim ships.

"Drop the mines behind us as we cross each Elohim ship’s path!"

Thorsten did as asked. Where nothing was visible now lay three gravitational mines waiting for their prey.

"Go ionic!"

The Sphere suddenly increased speed 10-fold just as the first Elohim ship met its fate. The three Elohim ships vanished in an explosion of gamma rays, as their mass was crunched into oblivion by the molecule-sized black hole.

"The Elohim have reigned," declared, solemn, Ian. "Now to get rid of the Scavengers. Helm! Set path for Uranus via the south solar pole. Engage warp drive. We are hidden from the Scavengers by the Sun’s mass for most of the way. Disengage warp drive once we are in the vicinity of Uranus and revert to ionic drive."

At your command," replied Enron.

"Samson, estimate travel time!"

"Two hours and 45 minutes."

"Okay. Break time for everyone. I have been holding it in for too long."

Ian ported to the nearest loo and released all the coffee he had been drinking in an unending golden shower. Others made a mad dash for food, and others made their way to a shower or to change clothes.

***

"We are behind Uranus, Ian. What now?"

"Samson, I need a projection of the planetary orbits on the front screen!"

"Coming right up, Ian."

As they studied the different relative positions, Ian noted that, for once, the precognition of the old Atlanteans had been on the dot.

"Let us play the simulation in real life this time. Dive to the Jovian system, according to simulation, Enron. We will have two days to rest, and believe me, I need it!"

"Do you think they are on Ganymede?"

"It is the most likely candidate for a stealth base. Thorsten, set sensors to passive listening only."

"As you command."

"I wonder if the species identity will be correct as well," Harp thought aloud.

"Scavengers and the Greys? I doubt it. Scavengers are more like the carrion-eaters of the Galaxy, while the Greys are like the Badgers: small, but numerous, and much more ferocious. Remember the last Pyramid’s description: Greys are reptilian, hunt and eat their prey, eating them alive and kicking, preferably weakened by a war. The Scavengers come in when everything has stopped moving."

"I wonder how the Scavengers look?"

"That can be answered quickly, assuming they have not evolved much since Atlantis One. AI-6!"

"Yes, Prince Heir of Atlantis?" answered the sixth Pyramid through the communication system of Thebes.

"Describe the Scavengers!"

"There are many that would fall under that label, my Lord."

"How could we differentiate which species we will be dealing with?"

"Supply a clear picture of their spaceship."

"Okay. Samson? Long-range visual sensors?"

"Activating telescopes. Stabilising images. Taking still picture, exposition 10 minutes."

Ten minutes later, Samson brought out an electronic picture, removed known stars, and planets, keeping only unidentified objects. Further filtering removed meteorites, comets, and asteroids and left only a few hundred points.

"The image is ready for amplification."

"Send it as is, my Lord," replied AI-6.

After a few minutes, the AI came back with a laconic comment:

"I see three types of ships around: Greys, Scavenger Species S20-B and Scavenger Species S43-Q. The later is the most common. S20-B was only beginning to expand in space when Atlantis One came to an end."

"Describe Species S43-Q."

"Relative to Earth life forms, the closest is Bird. They are similar to Buzzards, but much bigger. Bipedal, three toes a foot, feathers, bald head, long, diamond-hard beaks, curved to dig in corpses; vestigial wings that have long claws at the end acting as pincers to handle tools."

"Describe species S20-B."

"As of last Atlantean inspection, they were Octopods, Invertebrate, Parrot beak, capacity to change colours instantly for camouflage. Giant brain, eyes bigger than saucers, particularly adapted for night vision, eight long arms set around the body like spurs on a wheel. They live mostly in water, to support their body. However, their spaceships were designed to carry half of its interior without any liquid, benefiting from the absence of gravity in space. The closest Earth life form with a similar physical structure is the now extinct Octopus, of the Cephalopod family. As of last inspection, they needed to reproduce in water, and spent most of their life in it. It came as a surprise for Atlantean Explorers that Species S20-B was the dominant species of its planet, and that it had developed the use of metallurgy and concomitant technology. They were initially met as they were doing their first interstellar dive using photon propulsion. Their long lifespan ensured they could, over the course of several generations, reach other stars. The strange shape of their vessel that looks like a bivalve is typical of their attachment to their origins under the sea. Prince Ian, I would like to update the database."

"What about?"

"Apparently, S20-B has developed a new propulsion method; from its shape, I suspect it is warp drive."

"Do a temporary update pending confirmation."

"Acknowledged."

"I wonder if we will meet species not in the catalogue. I would not be surprised."

***

"We are nearing Jupiter. Have we found the bases?"

"Ganymede holds the Greys, as expected. S20-B is installed on Io and S43-Q is on Callisto. There is another species on Europa. Sending a still picture to AI-6 for identification."

A few minutes later, another identity came through the communication system.

"According to the pictures, it is species S29-P, a Dinosaur-like species, similar to a miniature Tyrannosaurus-Rex. As the S indicates, it is another Scavenger species."

"Thank you, AI-6," acknowledged Ian.

"What do we do?" asked Harp.

"Our initial target is the Grey fleet. They are the most dangerous of the lot. Hide behind that miniature Moon, Enron. Sitar, Thorsten, Samson, I need a change of orbit of that rock you see there, 20,000 miles away, so it passes just behind Ganymede. Paschal prepare an antimatter torpedo that is to follow the junk until the last minute."

"Okay."

Where are Io, Europa, and Callisto?"

"Currently, they are in almost perfect orthogonal position relative to each other and Ganymede. Ganymede is directly to our left coming toward us, Callisto is in opposition, on the other side of Jupiter, and is receding. We have, on our left, Io, the closest of the big satellites, coming toward us as it enters the Jupiterian terminator; finally, on our right, moving toward the Jovian dawn, you have Europa. Note that Europa has a thick layer of ice covering liquid water, which is maintained in this form by gravitational heating from Jupiter. The other Moons also have an important quantity of water in liquid form. All four could harbour life, but according to the Ancients, Europa was the most likely candidate. Unfortunately, things being the way they are, we cannot validate any of these hypotheses."

"Maybe not in conventional mean. Harp! Port four micro-sensors with recording equipment at the proposed depth. We may not be able to save them, but we will have the answer the Ancients seeked."

A few minutes later, the equipment ported by the care of the Prince of Magic was back into a biologically secure laboratory. The results were saddening: the cameras revealed, for each Moon, a rich flora and fauna, mostly reminiscent of the deep seas of the now doomed Earth.

"Collect whatever biological sample stuck on the sensors and put them in stasis for study and reproduction," ordered Ian. "That is the best we can do. Thorsten, add three more antimatter torpedoes. Do some Moon-hopping so they all come toward their respective target head-first."

"Firing."

"Can you synchronise the detonations?"

"I will have to break classical orbital mechanics to do so, they would stand out."

"I do not care. Do it. There are enough non-standard trajectories around to hide four more."

"Okay. Activating photon drives on torpedoes. First impact, Ganymede: two minutes; followed by Europa, Io, and Callisto, interval from 30 seconds to three minutes."

"Good. Bye-bye Moons of Jupiter, I wish we had more time to study you."

"I was listening to the nomenclature of life forms, AI-6, and it seems to be rather random?" Harold asked.

"It is not so, Emperor of Atlantis. The Hunters are labelled H, the Scavengers S, the Gatherers G, the Hunter-Gatherers HG, and the Farmers F. The number matches their sub-segment of space, numbered from zero to 3,600, rotated around the original position of Atlantis One. Then the letters indicate the order of discovery. There are few space-faring species. For instance, the Greys are labelled H248-D, the Elohim or Soul-eaters H1202-A, the mechanical life form carry H3100-A, an arbitrary number, since they visited us and we estimated their origin to be in segment 3100, and the Seraphrims carry the label F3100-B. Again this is arbitrary since we do not know the origins of the Seraphrims. The Pyramids did the assignment for them when they came to our attention not too long ago. The Goblins got the label HG1100-D. I will have to create quite a few additional labels for all the species now sharing this spaceship."

"If you do so, would you mind restructuring the classification?"

"How so?"

"By family type: A for Artificial Intelligence; M for Mammal; D for Dinosaur; B for Bird; V for Vegetal; I for Insect; C for Crystalline; R for Reptilian, P for the Invertebrate Marine life, since I is already taken. Add their preferred planet type, and star type. Also add a classification on technological advances. First, by propulsion method: A for inter-dimensional, B for slipstream, C for warp, D for photonic, E for Ionic, F for nuclear, G for chemical; and then by distance travelled: G for intergalactic, S for Stellar, P for Interplanetary, O for Orbital N for non-space. As for numerical value, start with zero and climb up, from oldest to newest in order of discovery. Add food requirements: C for carnivore, V for vegetarian, O for omnivore, I for Insect, F for fruits, P for photosynthesis, M for mineral, and S for Spiritual energy."

"It is done."

"Classify Humans."

"MGMOEP32443."

"Explain."

"Mammal, star type G, planet type M, Omnivore, capable of Ionic drive, interplanetary travel, discovered species number 32443. The Ancients of the Humans had discovered ionic drive and were readying for interplanetary travel, having sent robots to Mars."

"Classify Atlanteans."

"MGMOAG0."

"That makes the proximity between Humans and Atlanteans much clearer, does it not?"

"Yes, Emperor," replied AI-6.

"Why did you remove the reference to Atlantis One, Dad?" asked Ian.

"The Atlanteans suffered of the same issues as the Humans. They had the belly-button syndrome: everything must turn around their little self. It still remains that Atlanteans are at the root, with the number zero, but at least, it is not as flagrant. And this classification tells us how many space-faring species the Atlanteans had met by the time Atlantis One got incinerated. The previous classification required a complete search and count of the database to answer that question. Within the new frame of reference, how many S-eating species are known?"

"One," replied the Artificial Intelligence.

"How many Artificial Intelligence species?"

"Should we count ourselves?"

"Yes."

"Three."

"List them."

"The Enemy of the Seraphrims; the Spiders, created by Prince Paschal, and the Artificial Intelligences of the Pyramids and Thebes."