The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, Book 3) (38 page)

“What was the vibe?” Paul asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kate said. “But I know one thing: their decision will spell their fate. And ours.”

Major Thomas handed Natalie another cup of coffee.

“I’ve switched to decaf,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Good choice.”

They both focused on the radio. The repeating broadcast had changed. The call for soldiers to report to fire stations had been replaced by reports of fighting across America. The reports were of American military triumphs, but some places were never mentioned, and Natalie feared the worst: that some cities and states had fallen to the Immari militia.

Another report came: a caller claimed to have seen dark objects in the sky with his telescope.

The host laughed it off as a desperate attempt to distract the public from what was happening.

Kate was still pacing the corridor when Perseus peeked his head out. “We’re ready for you.”

She entered and stood at the head of the wooden conference table again.

“We’ve decided,” Perseus said, “to administer your therapy to one group of our ships—a group fighting a lost battle. It’s already underway.”

“Thank you,” Kate said. She wanted to hug him, but there was something she had to ask first. “I do have one request.”

An awkward silence greeted her.

“That you save my world.”

“We’re already trying.” The screen behind Perseus showed Earth. A hundred large Serpentine ships battled a fleet of many more triangular Exile ships. “We’re losing though.”

“I want to be there,” Kate said. “I know we’re losing but I have to be there in case there’s anything I can do.”

Perseus nodded. “A fleet of reinforcements is leaving in a few minutes. I’ll join you. And I think the science team will want to as well—in case they have questions about the sentinel therapy.”

When Earth came into view, Kate stepped closer to the viewscreen. Paul, Mary, and Milo had opted to come with her and they all stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the Exile ship’s communication bay. For almost an hour, their ship waited beyond the battle zone, watching the tide turn several times. The Exile ships had been built to battle the sentinel spheres. They were no match for the Serpentine Army.

Finally, Kate wandered back to the stateroom they had assigned her.

Even if the Exiles were able to turn the tide and save Earth from the Serpentine Army, her people would still be in trouble: the sentinel threat remained. Humanity would have to join the Exile fleet, living a nomadic life.

But if Earth fell and Kate’s therapy were successful in neutralizing the sentinel threat, Kate, Milo, Mary and Paul would still be alone among the Exiles. She realized that no matter what, she would be alone again, without David. She wondered if it was all worth it, but sitting on the edge of the bed in the darkened stateroom, she knew that it had been. She had done all she could, what she thought was right. And she was proud of that.

C
HAPTER
55

Kate had almost worn a hole in the carpet of her stateroom when the doors opened.

“It worked,” Perseus said. “The sentinel spheres have disengaged our ships.”

Kate exhaled. “That’s good news.”

“The bad news is that we’re losing out there. And another Serpentine fleet is on its way here. When it arrives, we’ll have to pull out.”

“Can you save anyone on the surface?”

“No,” Perseus said. “I’m sorry. We’re just not set up to fight the Serpentine ships or for planetary evacuations. Our ships were designed to defend against the sentinels.” He waited in the sitting room for a moment, and Kate sensed he wanted to say more, but there was simply nothing to say and nothing he could do.

Finally, Kate took a seat in the club chair and said quietly, “Thank you. I know you tried.”

Perseus paused at the doorway but left without a word. Kate sat for a while longer, unsure what to do, what she could do.

The double doors hissed open, and Paul, Mary, and Milo walked in. They had heard; Kate could tell from the expressions on their faces.

“What do you want to do?” Paul asked.

“I don’t think there’s much we can do,” Kate said.

The door opened again, and Perseus strode through, excitement on his face. “You need to see this.”

David had finally found what he thought was the command center of the Serpentine ship. It was a circular room with several hundred screens that showed Serpentine fleets hovering around hundreds of worlds. The Serpentine vessels drifted listlessly, and they were being obliterated by triangular ships.

Something had infected every link in the ring, severing it, as if the head of the snake had been cut off. That was the good news. The bad news was that he was trapped.

Kate stood on the Exile ship’s bridge, staring at the Serpentine ships that drifted around Earth.

“Could this be connected to your therapy that removed the sentinel threat?” Perseus asked.

“No. I don’t think so.” In truth, Kate had no idea. “Well, maybe.”

“Which is it?” Perseus asked.

“I don’t know.” Kate racked her brain. Something had killed the Serpentine Army from the inside out. Ares. His weapon. Isis’ research. In a flash, it all came together for Kate. “It’s us. Humanity. We’re the ultimate anti-Serpentine weapon. Our DNA, the Atlantis Gene, the plague, it was all about this moment. When the Serpentine Army assimilated us, our DNA was an anti-virus. It killed them.”

“That’s impossible,” Perseus said.

“Why?”

“They never made it to the surface of your planet to assimilate anyone.”

It didn’t make any sense. Kate was sure she was right.

“We’re not taking any chances. The leadership has ordered us to destroy all the Serpentine ships.”

“I think that’s wise,” Kate mumbled, still lost in thought.

She wondered how they could have assimilated…

David. When the military beacon had been destroyed at the Serpentine battlefield, they would have been able to see what was happening there. If they had recovered his body…

“I know what happened,” Kate said. “They tried to assimilate someone from our team. His name is David Vale, and we need to find him.”

“What are you proposing?”

“He’s on one of the Serpentine ships. We need to begin searching—”

Perseus held up his hands. “Are you out of your mind? We don’t even know how many ships there are. Millions, possibly billions. And this could be temporary or a trap. There’s no way we’re going to risk that for one life.”

“You are. You’re going to do it because I have something else you need.”

Perseus eyed her skeptically.

“The location of the sentinel factory—their control center. And if I’m right, the resurrection ark that contains all the Atlantean survivors, as well as one of your own. Lykos.”

Perseus stood there on the bridge, contemplating Kate’s words. Finally, he said, “I’ll take it to the high council. But even if they agree to search, they’ll want that location first.”

Kate nodded her agreement. At that moment, she realized the true genius of Janus’ plan. He had spread the memories across the three locations that could reveal the full truth—the Serpentine battlefield, the sentinel factory, and the stranded lander on the ruined world. It had been his ultimate backup plan, his contingency against Ares. Kate hoped it would work this final time.

“They’ve agreed,” Perseus said. “With conditions. They’ll scan the Serpentine ships for human life signs before they destroy them. No life signs, they fire at will. If they detect human life signs, they’ll send a robotic boarder to check it out. Anything fishy, they fire. If the robot finds your man, we bring him back under a heavy quarantine and do a thorough exam.”

Kate ran to him and hugged him.