Creation's Guardian Ch. 12

Suddenly alarms were going off and Jacobia heard, "All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. Captain to the control deck! Repeat all hands report to your battle stations. This is not a drill. Captain to the control deck!"

Jacobia hit a button on her console and said, "Comms, pipe this secured channel to the control deck and tell Commander Sullivan that I'm on my way." When Jacobia reached the control deck she looked at the main viewscreen and gasped. "ALL BACK FULL EMERGENCY POWER! Your Majesty, we're being pulled into some sort of temporal disturbance!"

Jacobia noted the ship was still being pulled forward, "DO WE HAVE FULL EMERGENCY REVERSE," she yelled.

"Yes Ma'am! Engines are at full emergency reverse! But we're still being pulled forward at one thousand standard units per second. Time to impact, twenty seven seconds," the helmsman replied.

"ENGINEERING, DROP THE CLOAK, TIE EVERY BIT OF POWER WE'VE GOT INTO THE MAIN ENGINES! WE HAVE TO BREAK AWAY FROM WHATEVER THIS THING IS," Jacobia shouted! A few seconds later she said, "We can't break away, Your Majesty. The best we can do is hold our position. But it's taking every bit of energy we've got to do it."

"All right Commander. It looks like you're caught in some sort of tractor beam. I think it may have something to do with your prisoners. Reduce your power expenditure just enough to give you back your weapons. Then fire everything you've got at the beam's point of origin in the center of the disturbance."

Jacobia did as Lyssa suggested. There was a jarring jolt and the ship spun out of control freewheeling for several long seconds before the helmsman brought her back under control. The first officer looked at Jacobia and said, "Minor injury reports coming in from all decks. Engineering reports main engines and cloak offline. It'll be sometime tomorrow before repairs can be completed."

"No serious injuries being reported? No major structural damage," Jacobia inquired.

"No Ma'am. The CMO reports that all injuries appear to be relatively minor. Bumps, bruises, sprained limbs, that kind of thing. As far as the ship goes, structurally she's sound. The antimatter reactor is still online. So other than the main engines and cloak, all critical systems are fully functional. The engineers are still assessing the damage to the cloak and main engines. In the meantime, movement is possible using the auxiliary engines and thrusters," the Exec replied.

"Well in our current condition, we can't withstand another hit from whatever that thing is. So move us as far away from it as you can." Jacobia ordered.

A few seconds later the helmsman said, "I'm sorry Ma'am, the auxiliary engines show nominal status but the controls aren't responding. The same goes for the thrusters, they're not responding to the controls either."

Suddenly Bob's voice came booming through the speakers. "Oh no you don't Missy. You're not going anywhere until I get some answers."

"What the fuck? Who the hell are you? What have you done to my ship?" Jacobia demanded.

"I'm Creation's Guardian. I've taken over full control of your ship. My people have already been rescued. The only reason I haven't destroyed you and your ship is because I want some answers. You'd better have a damn good explanation for committing an overt act of war against the Neuveian Federation by kidnapping five of my government officials and their families," Bob replied sternly.

Almost instantly Lyssa appeared on the control deck of Jacobia's ship. Jacobia looked at Lyssa in shock and exclaimed, "Nanna, you just teleported over thirty light years! That's NEVER been done before!"

"I know that Sweetie. But I couldn't let you face this situation alone. Desperate times call for desperate measures," Lyssa replied with a smile. "Mr. Guardian, I'm Lyssa McDonald, queen of the Atlantians. I believe I'm in a better position to answer your questions than Commander McDonald. No one has been kidnapped. I ordered the arrest of five Atlantian citizens for violation of section one, paragraph one of the Atlantian inter-species relations code. It expressly forbids Atlantians from interfering with the normal development of other species. Their family members were being held as material witnesses. As queen of the Atlantians it's my duty to order the arrest of any Atlantian that I believe has committed a crime. I was well within my rights to order the arrest of those five Atlantians and I ask that you immediately return them to my custody."

"Nice try Lyssa. But the last of the original Atlantians died over six thousand years ago on the very planet you kidnapped my people from. See their ship crash landed. Then someone got a little careless with an antimatter reactor. It exploded killing them all and completely destroying the continent they were on. I give everyone one fuck up. You've just had yours. So I suggest you think carefully then tell me the truth."

"I don't know who you are. But I AM telling you the truth! Yes, I did have a colony on Earth called Atlantis, and yes something happened and it was destroyed. But it couldn't have been due to an antimatter reactor exploding. If THAT had happened, it would've torn away half the planet's atmosphere and there wouldn't have been any life left there at all. I sent my best ship and my best commander to investigate within hours of the disaster. There was no radiation or any other sign of an antimatter explosion. Those colonists were NOT all that was left of the Atlantian race. There were over six hundred of us on other ships that I divided up between two other colonies. I now have a thriving empire with just over nine billion inhabitants," Lyssa replied.

"You're right an uncontained antimatter explosion would've totally destroyed the planet. My boss was too late to stop the explosion but she was able to contain it to just the one continent. She was also able to protect the rest of the planet by removing any traces of radiation. As far as the five Atlantian women and their families go, they are not now, nor have they ever been citizens of your empire. They're the descendants of the original half Atlantians you abandoned over six thousand years ago. They were all born and raised on the planet that you took them from and are full citizens of the Neuveian Federation. The other seven are their mothers and grandmothers."

"Look, I'd like to believe you, I really would," Lyssa replied. "But what you're telling me is impossible. No one can contain an antimatter explosion and the resulting radiation and fallout can't be made to just disappear. It would take a planet thousands of years to recover from that kind of disaster. On top of that you're asking me to accept that highly trained engineers screwed up a routine task of removing an antimatter reactor from a ship's hull and that a highly skilled geneticist misread a basic DNA scan."

"I don't give a damn what you accept or if you believe me or not. I was simply being courteous by giving you the facts as I know them. It's all ancient history anyway so it doesn't matter. What DOES matter though is that you and your ship's commanding officer still have to answer for the illegal abduction and false imprisonment of five Neuveian Federation government officials and their families."

Suddenly alarms were going off all over the ship as Lyssa, and Jacobia disappeared and the ship itself reappeared trapped in a bubble in orbit around Neuveia.

******

Neuveian date and time: Monday February 19, 2018 12:19 P.M. E.S.T.

Lyssa and Jacobia found themselves staring at each other across a room from the inside of two maximum security, anti-psionic cells. "What's going on Nanna? Where are we and how in the hell did we get here," Jacobia asked Lyssa.

"I don't know Sweetie. I'm as clueless as you are. All I can say is have a little patience. I have a feeling that we'll find out what's happening soon enough," Lyssa replied.

Both women let out a surprised yelp as their clothes just disappeared off their bodies. "What the fuck? Where'd our clothes go? There's no need of this bullshit! I'm gonna kill some son of a bitch for this one," Lyssa growled.

A few seconds later the door to the cell room opened and the sexiest man either one of them had ever seen came strolling in. He stood about six foot six inches tall and weighed about two hundred and forty five pounds. He had long blond hair done up in a sexy pony tail and piercing blue eyes. His whole body was lean with well-defined muscles and looked as hard as a rock. What really caught their attention though was his massive cock. Neither Lyssa nor Jacobia had ever seen one even close to its humongous size. Both women unconsciously licked their lips as their pussies instantly became drenched and their juices began trickling down their inner thighs. He was accompanied by four naked stunningly beautiful women. He looked around the room then made two comfortable high backed chairs and a small sofa appear.

Lyssa and Jacobia swallowed hard as they watched him wave three of the women over to the sofa then he and the other woman turned their chairs so that the backs were facing them and sat with their arms resting on the backs of the chairs.

*****

Bob sat staring at the two women prisoners for a couple of very long minutes. He wanted them nervous, scared, and yes, somewhat aroused. Finally he spoke. "Hello Lyssa, hello Jacobia. From the instant you abducted my people a state of war has existed between the Neuveian Federation and the Atlantian Empire. I didn't start this war, but I fully intend to finish it. Make no mistake about it, my powers and abilities extend far beyond anything you've ever imagined even in your wildest nightmares. I could destroy your entire civilization with a single thought. I hate war and I find the idea of genocide repugnant. However, I will do what I have to do if either of you decide to test my patience. Do I make myself clear?"

Lyssa and Jacobia both silently nodded their heads then Bob continued, "My name is Bob. I'm Creation's Guardian. This beautiful woman on my right is my wife Cassandra, the Queen of Creation. Over there sitting on the sofa closest to me is Cailin. She's an enhanced human, capable of doing things you can only dream about with your AIs. She's here to represent the human component of the Neuveian Federation. Sitting next to her is my right hand woman Kadir. She's a Djinn. A magical being with the power to grant me virtually any wish. That includes the ability to wipe out the existence of every Atlantian anywhere in creation if I made that wish. Kadir is here to represent the Djinn race that's part of the federation. The beauty on the far end is Persephone, former Queen of the Underworld. Now she's the Olympian Goddess of Peace and Prosperity. She represents the Olympians. You'll notice that there are no Atlantians present. That's because every one of them is extremely angry with you both. They all want your heads served up on a platter and your entire empire wiped out of existence. These three women are your judges. They will spend some time talking with you and asking you questions. After which they will vote and decide the fate of you and your empire. Their vote must be unanimous and their decision is final. I suggest that you be totally open and honest with them as nine billion lives rest on what you say or fail to say." with that, Bob and Cassandra stood and left the room.

Persephone spoke first. "As the Goddess of Peace and Prosperity, I can see into your heart, Lyssa. I know that you're being truthful and that you honestly believe you did the right thing. Given the facts as you knew them, and looking at things from your perspective, I can understand why you acted as you did.

I don't believe the Guardian really wants to take your life and I'm betting he doesn't want to destroy your civilization either. The problem is that there's thirty five full blooded Atlantians along with fifty five half Atlantian family members who are really angry with you right now. They're gonna be even angrier when they realize that you're the one responsible for abandoning their ancestors six thousand years ago. Trust and respect are things that aren't freely given, they have to be earned. But forgiveness is something that you can always ask for. If you were willing to offer them a sincere apology for both today's events and their abandonment, I think my sisters and I could consider non-lethal options."

"My people stopped believing in gods and goddesses thousands of years ago. I find it difficult to believe I'm talking to a goddess right now. In fact I'm not even sure what the term means anymore. Be that as it may, it's irrelevant because I'm here in this cell and I never even saw it coming. So obviously someone is far more powerful I am. Goddess or not though, you're right. I do owe the Atlantians here an apology and for more than just the two things you've mentioned. I should have never let the doctor experiment on intelligent beings to begin with. But I did and without insuring that he was properly supervised. Both things would be punishable by death under current Atlantian law. However back then, no such law existed I'm sorry to say," Lyssa replied.

"Well at least you've learned from your mistakes," Cailin said. "That's gotta count for something. I'm sure we can arrange for both of you to meet with the Atlantians here. Though I'm sure the meeting won't be very pleasant for either one of you at first. I am curious about something though. I know you have some serious cloaking technology aboard your ships but even The Maker of All Things didn't realize that your species still existed. How in Heaven's name did you manage to keep an entire civilization under everyone's radar for such a long time?"

"I'm sorry, Cailin. But you're asking me to reveal state secrets. That's something I'm not willing to do. If that means my execution, so be it. I won't betray my people just to save my own life," Lyssa replied.

"Relax Lyssa. Nobody wants you to betray your people. I was just curious that's all. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and say that you've probably learned how to cloak your planets as well as your ships. Don't worry I don't expect you to answer that," Cailin replied.

"Would you consider a surrender option, Lyssa," Kadir asked.

"I don't think so," Lyssa replied. "I haven't seen anywhere near enough power to warrant that. Even if I had, I no longer have the authority to authorize a surrender." She held up her right hand. "This bracelet is a link directly to my personal AI. The instant you put me in this cell that link was severed. Security protocols require my advisers to assume that I'm either dead or captured. All my passwords, and codes have been changed and I have no authority to give any orders until I appear before them unharmed. They have the ability to order a surrender but getting them to do it is gonna be damn near impossible. The three of them would have to be absolutely positive that there was no other way to save the empire from extinction and all three of them would have to agree to it."

Kadir stood with a smile. "That's just a minor inconvenience at best." She opened the cell doors and said, "Come on it is time you two met the other Atlantians. Oh and don't even bother trying to escape. The entire continent has an anti-psionic shield over it."

"I wouldn't dream of trying to escape. At least not at the moment. As I said, I really do owe some fellow Atlantians and their families an apology and I always pay my debts in full. After that... well. I make no promises," Lyssa replied.

When they stepped outside they were met by Bob and a grim faced Cassandra. Cassandra looked at Lyssa and said, "Be thankful my husband's put your fate in the hands of my sisters. What you've done both in the past and in the present is to my way of thinking unforgivable. If it were my choice, I'd have been kicking field goals with both of your heads the instant you got here. But it seems you've finally caught the attention of the Maker of All Things. It turns out that that both you and Jacobia are beings of the light, meaning you're both chaos good. She's asked us to give you every opportunity to redeem yourselves and to prove that your civilization isn't inherently savage. If you can do that, you may yet survive this day. If you can't, the failure will be yours and yours alone."

Even without her psionic abilities, Lyssa could sense the power emanating from Cassandra. She could feel Cassandra's anger and she knew without a doubt that once again the fate of the Atlantian Empire rested squarely on the shoulders of its queen. She looked down and took a deep breath letting it out slowly. Then looked back at Cassandra and quietly replied, "I take full responsibility for all that's happened. Execute me if you must. But please, don't take nine billion lives. My people are not responsible for the irresponsible actions of their queen."

Cassandra's eyes widened a little. "An acceptance of responsibility followed by a noble request? You surprise me, Lyssa. I didn't think you had it in you. Come let's go down to the beach and meet the descendants of those you abandoned all those millennia ago. Time to see just how sincere you really are."

When they got to the beach, the first one to say something was Tamar. "So this is the queen bitch that ordered the kidnapping of me and my staff huh? I tried to warn that stupid doctor that you were fucking with the wrong people. But even with my shield at full power the idiot wasn't bright enough to take me seriously. If that conceited little bastard is an example of your 'right stuff' then I'm really glad that I'm not one of your people!" Before Lyssa could say a thing, Tamar held her hand up palm out and said, "Talk to the hand bitch cause the ears ain't interested in anything you've got to say." she turned and walked away sitting on the shore tossing pebbles into the water with her back to Lyssa.

Amanda was next to speak. Her eyes blazed with anger as she said, "I'm Amanda leader of the Atlantians here and President of the Neuveian Federation. Part of my responsibility is to be the Federation's top diplomat so I'll try to be diplomatic. I don't know you from Eve, Lyssa. I can't say whether I like you or not. What I can say is I despise your actions. First you let some quack use our ancestors as lab rats. Then you let him toss them out like yesterday's garbage because he was too damn stupid to calibrate his equipment properly. You never did any follow up, never confirmed his results. You just left our ancestors to the mercies of the 'normal' humans. Some of us have had ancestors that were burned at the stake as witches. Other ancestors died on torture racks or were beheaded as heretics. The more time that passed the more difficult things became for us. Then came big government and the information age. That's when things got really scary. We didn't dare show just how intelligent we really were. We didn't know how we were different from the rest of humanity. We just knew that we were. The last thing we wanted was to end up on someone's dissection table. Trust me, Lyssa. You can't possibly imagine what that fear feels like.

To make a long story short, almost seven months ago we were all asked to take leadership roles in the new Neuveian Federation. The rewards were substantial and every one of us accepted on the spot. When the Guardian made some changes to our DNA to expand our lifeline, he inadvertently activated our dormant Atlantian DNA. It seems that your mad scientist doctor designed the DNA sequence so that once activated it completely removed and replaced our human DNA with his new strain. It took about a week for all the changes to finalize.

When you ordered the arrest of Tamar and her aides this morning, you weren't apprehending criminals. You were abducting government officials from a sovereign federation. You're the ruler of your empire, Lyssa. Think about how you'd feel, how you'd react, if someone abducted a dozen of your subjects. I don't believe you'd care for an instant how just they thought their cause was. You'd hunt the culprits down, and without hesitation or mercy, you'd destroy them. Chew on that one for a bit while my sisters continue to contemplate your fate and that of your empire."