The Rise of Atlantis Pt. 01

"Lain, would it be possible to create an encrypted password breaking program and an automatic translation program and fit them both on a standard five inch disk?"

"As long as that computer's using the same programming language as the rest of the Groms computers, I could easily do that for you, Lyssa," Lain replied.

Lyssa inserted a disk in her disk drive and said, "Thanks Lain. Take care of that for me while I eat my dinner please."

When she sat back down Lyssa said, "Okay Kendra, you know the mission. There's only a five man watch aboard that ship. I have a feeling that there's gonna be a lot of 'eyes only' files on that computer. How many more Special Security Services agents do you want to bring along?"

"I'm not Ian, Lyssa. It's an unarmed five man watch. If the three of us wear our sidearms, I'm sure we'll be fine. Three armed high level psychics are a force to be reckoned with. Five unarmed men wouldn't stand a chance. Besides, if you're right, the less eyes, the better. I'll stand watch in the doorway while you and Sue do whatever needs to be done."

"In that case, we'll leave right after we finish eating. I don't want my dinner getting cold. Lain, see if you can scan that computer casing for anything hazardous," Lyssa said.

"Scan complete. There are no explosive devices built into the casing Lyssa. But considering its size, it has to have some kind of a built in Network interface system. It would take an awful lot of disks to manually load data into that behemoth using standard five inch disks. I think that micro mini port on the front of it is actually an antenna port.

I don't believe that carrier was ever meant to be a combat ship. The Groms were probably planning on using her as a safe haven for their royal family and bigwigs along with a few thousand of their general population. I think she was supposed to drop her fighters off on Sylkar and return to Gromus for the pickup then hide somewhere safe until the battle was over. It's also possible they were secretly planning on abandoning Gromus completely.

Either way, I think Admiral Rodgers showed up unexpectedly and caught the Groms flatfooted before they could put their plans into action. It's the only reason I can think of for them to have the heir to their throne and a secured computer system that size aboard a ship."

"Could it be some kind of trap? Maybe tied into the ship's self-destruct or designed to set her warp core off if the computer's tampered with Lain?"

"That's one possibility I hadn't considered Lyssa. But taking into account everything that's happened; I'd say it's a definite possibility. Unfortunately, the only way to know that for sure is to actually access the system."

Lyssa turned to Kendra. "I realize you're not gonna like it much, but I can't let anyone else but the three of us near that computer. I don't know what's on it, and the potential for a major security breach is just too great. Besides that I'm the only one left in the fleet with enough computer savvy to even begin to risk hacking into a sophisticated system like that."

"You're right, I don't like it. The possibility that it's some kind of trap worries me to no end. Is there any way you could talk me or Sue through what needs to be done? I'd rather you not risk your life just for the sake of some unknown computer system that may or may not have valuable information on it."

"If it was a system I was already familiar with, talking one of you through the steps would be easy. But I haven't even seen it yet so there's no way I can answer that question Kendra. I do have an idea that might ease your mind some if it works." Lyssa sipped her wine then said, "Lain, is there any way you can take full control of that carrier from here?"

"Sure, but you'd have to manually install the same remote communications patch you use to communicate with me when you're not aboard the Victorious first. Then it would take about five minutes to rewrite her core programming into something that was compatible with my systems. After that, I'd have full control of everything including her self-destruct and antimatter reactor. Would you like me to create a copy of the files you'll need using the Groms programming language?"

"Yeah that's a good idea. Let me give you a fresh disk to write them on. Make it a self-installing program so that all I have to do is insert the disk." Lyssa stood and walked over to her console. She ejected the encryption disk and inserted a clean disk in the slot. "Okay Lain you're all set. Start copying files."

Lyssa returned to her seat and said, "Okay Kendra, now Lain will be able to detect and block any signal going to the carrier's self-destruct or antimatter reactor. She's already scanned the whole ship for any other hazardous conditions and found none. Is there anything else you think we should do before we board her?"

"I can't think of anything else and I feel a whole lot better about the situation now. However, I do think we should thoroughly search Prince Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump's quarters before we touch that computer. We may even get lucky and find the encryption key hidden in there somewhere."

Lyssa had already planned on doing just that. But she was the type of commander that always believed in praising and encouraging her junior officers whenever possible. "Hmmm, that's a good idea Kendra. You're right, there's no way of telling what we'll find. Well done Lieutenant!"

The three women finished eating and as Sue cleared the table, Lyssa labeled the two disks then grabbed her headset.

"What's the headset for?" Kendra asked.

"Just another precaution Kendra. This way Lain will be able to see and hear everything we do. She'll be able to monitor us every step of the way and warn us if something comes up that we should know about."

As they approached the Groms carrier Kendra exclaimed, "WOW! Look at the size of that thing! The Groms have never built a carrier that big before! There's something else going on here Lyssa!"

"Yeah she's huge all right. We'll dock at that port next to her command deck Kendra."

When they entered the command deck, a flustered Ensign snapped to attention, saluted and said, "Prince Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump's quarters are through that door over there, My Queen."

Lyssa smiled and said, "Where's the rest of your watch, Ensign?"

"Troopers Donaldson and James are on deck three in the galley having dinner. Troopers Adams and McFee are on roving patrol duty, My Queen," the Ensign replied.

"I see. Well done, Ensign. But there's only the five of you aboard. Perhaps you should consider setting proximity alarms and securing all the docking ports except the one just behind the command deck. That way your crew will only have to stand watch here. You're in command of an extremely large vessel that no one in the fleet's been trained to operate. In the event of an emergency situation, a well fed and rested crew thinks clearer and reacts faster than an exhausted one, Ensign. I realize that you're only doing what you've been trained to do. But these aren't normal times. Try to think outside the box." She smiled then winked at the Ensign. "Don't worry, you're not in any trouble. I was just giving a fellow officer some friendly advice. As you were Ensign."

The young Ensign smiled at Lyssa. He snapped to attention, saluted again then spun smartly on his heels and walked over to the engineering station pulling up a schematic of the carrier.

Lyssa watched what the Ensign was doing for a few minutes. She shook her head grinning as she walked over to the science station and inserted a disk in the slot. A couple of minutes later the disk popped out. She put on her headset and said, "Lain, the communications programs installed. You can begin operations now. Let me know when you're finished. She turned to Sue and Kendra and said, "Okay girls, let's go see what we can find."

When they entered Prince Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump's quarters, they were stunned. His quarters were as luxurious as a palace suite! The first room was a ready room/office as big as Lyssa's entire quarters. There were six bedrooms each with a queen sized bed and a seventh one with a huge metal framed canopy bed. Next was a huge bathroom with a gigantic sunken tub. Then came a sitting room with several couches and an eighty six inch vidflix screen. Next was a full kitchen followed by a laundry room and last was a room with six sets of bunk beds.

"What the fuck's going on?" Lyssa mused. "This doesn't look like any military ship I've ever seen. These quarters look like they were meant to be Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump's home away from home. You're right Kendra, something's definitely off kilter here. Let's start our search in the ready room."

As they started their search of the ready room, Lain reported, "I have full control of the carrier now, Lyssa."

"Thanks Lain. What do you make of these quarters?"

"It appears Prince Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump was planning on having all seven of his wives with him along with a dozen or so of his servants. Although I don't understand why he would do such a thing."

"Lyssa, there's a wall safe over here, and it's not locked," Kendra called out. "All that's in it is a micro mini data stick and a micro mini antenna," she said a couple of seconds later. Kendra walked over and handed the items to Lyssa.

Lyssa looked at the micro mini items speculatively then said, "Go ahead and continue searching Kendra. I'm gonna try something." Lyssa inserted the data stick into the micro mini slot on the computer and the encryption screen disappeared allowing her full access to the system. She stared at the screen in shock for a few seconds then removed the data stick and the encryption screen reappeared instantly. Lyssa inserted the antenna into the micro mini slot and again the encryption screen disappeared.

"Well I'll be dammed. This system isn't encrypted at all. It's got some kind of screen saver that looks like an encryption screen and can only be unlocked by inserting something into the micro mini port. It's brilliant, I love it," Lyssa laughed. "Okay Lain, I'm gonna try installing our communications software on this system too. If it works, you can go ahead and scan all the files and then translate them for me. Let me know if you find anything important or that you think I may be interested in."

Lyssa inserted the disk in the five inch slot and the program began installing itself. A couple of minutes later the disk popped back out and Lyssa said, "All right Lain, the communications software is installed. See if you can access the system now."

A minute or so later Lain said, "I have access Lyssa. There are hundreds of gegobytes of data here. I'd suggest backing it all up onto our computer before I do anything else. That way if anything goes wrong, we still have the original data."

"That's a good idea Lain. But don't store it on our computer system, store it in that sub-space locker we created for storing extra data. That way it can't affect the ship's systems in any way either. I still don't trust this thing."

"Okay Lyssa. By the way, Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump has a personal journal stored on here. Do you want me to translate it for you so that you can read it now?" Lain asked.

"Nah, just scan and translate it for now. You can send a translated copy to my personal computer when you're finished copying everything else," Lyssa replied.

"Scanning now. Time to completion, three hours twenty, seven minutes, eleven seconds. After that copying files will take two hours, thirty one minutes, twenty five seconds to complete," Lain said.

After a thorough search of the prince's quarters, the three women found nothing else of any interest to Lyssa so the three of them returned to the Victorious. When they got to Lyssa and Sue's ready room, Lyssa said, "Lain seal the prince's quarters. No-one enters without my prior approval."

"A wise precaution Lyssa," Lain replied. "It seems I was right about Admiral Rodgers catching the Groms fleet flatfooted. According to Prince Donald bin Dickhead El-Chump's journal the Groms battle plan was to wait until Admiral Rodgers and his fleet attacked Gromus then the Groms fleet was supposed to pop in from their hiding place catching the Admiral's fleet between two forces and tearing it to pieces.

I was also right about the ship the prince was on. It wasn't a combat ship. It was in fact an unfinished colonizing ship. The Groms were well aware that once Atlantia and Cronus were destroyed there would be no suitable planets left to colonize anywhere in the Alpha Quadrant. The ship is named 'The Prophet's Promise.' They used the hull design of their newest carrier just to make construction easier. She would carry enough food, fuel, water, and other supplies to support five thousand crew and passengers for a ten year round trip voyage. The exposed upper deck was designed to carry heavy construction equipment, as well as heavy mining and drilling gear. She was supposed to remain hidden in the Sylkar system until the admiral's fleet was destroyed then return to Gromus to be readied for her journey. Their plan was simple; explore the Beta Quadrant until they found a habitable planet and establish a colony. She would be accompanied by several extended range warships for the first two years of her trip. After that she'd have to be on her own.

There are a lot of entries in the prince's journal you may find interesting when you get some time to read it Lyssa. For instance, while the Groms definitely knew you were attached to Admiral Rodgers command; they didn't know you commanded a ship of your own. They thought you were serving aboard the Admiral's flagship. That's why that Groms spy conned his way aboard the Destructor. One of the biggest mistakes the Groms made was in ordering that spy not to attempt any contact with anyone from Gromus until you were confirmed dead. What really surprises me though was that the Groms never suspected that the Victorious ever existed. Fifteen years and their intelligence services never picked up a hint that she was your ship. That had to be the wildest stroke of luck."

"Maybe we were lucky Lain, but I also think some of it had to do with the precautions we took as well," Lyssa replied. "We were never in spacedock for more than two days and we always entered and exited spacedock cloaked. Although it's not impossible for a Groms agent to get into fleet spacedock; it wouldn't be easy either. Why risk getting caught when they could monitor the fleet's coming and going from the civilian spacedock. Unless they had a reason to suspect something like a cloaked ship existed; they wouldn't have bothered. You're right about the order given to that Groms spy though. Not letting him file routine reports with his handler was pretty stupid on their part. I'm sure he found out all he needed to know from the Admiral long before they went aboard the Destructor. If he had been able to report in; the Groms would've been able to catch us flatfooted instead of the other way around. Thank heavens for bureaucratic stupidity."

Lyssa turned to Kendra, "I'm gonna have the ship's stewards clean out Ensign Rodgers former quarters. I want you to pack up your gear and move in there tonight. I'm sure they'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable than the shared quarters you're currently staying in. Besides those quarters are more appropriate to your current rank and station. Oh, and make sure you stop by the quartermaster's in the morning. Have him issue you your new rank insignia."

"Thanks Lyssa. Those quarters will definitely be a lot more comfortable. Having my own private shower and not listening to the snores of three other Ensigns will be like heaven to me," Kendra laughed. "Unless you need me for something else; it's getting late. It's gonna take me a bit to pack up my gear and I'd really like to get it done and out of the way."

"No, I don't need you for anything else tonight Kendra. Go ahead and get started. By the time you're finished packing the stewards will have everything ready for you to move right in. Just report back here at 0800 tomorrow."

"Will do. See you then Lyssa. Thanks again."

After Kendra was gone, Lyssa turned to Sue and said, "There's no way Mom was just a P13. I didn't scan Kendra's mind. That would've been unethical. But I did scan her neural pathways. It's obvious some of them have been rerouted. It would take at least a P25 to do that without the subject noticing it. I don't know why yet, but I'm positive that Mom permanently mindfucked Kendra."

Sue stared a Lyssa for a long moment before softly asking, "Lyssa, when was the last time you had your P rating checked?"

"I don't know...I think I was ten...maybe eleven. Why?"

"Because my dear sister; you're the only Atlantian ever born with natural psionic abilities. You said it yourself; you traced neural pathways laid out by someone who was at least a P25. Doing that would be impossible if you were just a P13. YOU'D have to be at least a P25 yourself to even see them to begin with. I was born before Mom used that serum on herself, but you were born AFTER. I think you inherited all of Mom's psionic abilities plus a few you've developed on your own. I'm guessing Mom realized it. That's part of the reason she mindfucked Kendra.

Ian was probably Daddy's idea. Mom didn't think Ian was strong enough to protect you properly. I believe Mom shaped Kendra's mind to suit your needs hoping you'd understand. Think about it. Aunt Tara had created a very powerful serum. Nobody was sure exactly how much was stolen, or what effect if any it would have on the Groms. Mom had to make sure you were protected so she used the only tool she had on hand.

I also think that Kendra's psionic abilities are still growing. She'll probably top off at around a P18 or even a P20. Mom would've realized this as well so she made sure that Kendra would always be loyal to you exclusively.

My last thought on the subject is that Mom knew that you wouldn't put up with any bullshit from Ian. You're sooo much like Mom in sooo many ways. Sometimes it's uncanny. She had to make sure there was a replacement available for Ian that not only could she trust, but that you would trust as well."

"I hate to say it, but I think you're right," Lyssa replied. Mom wasn't very big on ethics when it came to protecting her daughters. I doubt there's anything she wouldn't do to protect us. I was actually shocked when she gave in and let me join the fleet academy at seventeen. So how much of this thing with Kendra do you think Daddy knew?"

"Daddy knew all about what Mom did to Kendra," Sue replied. "Why do you think he kept Kendra distracted by talking to her while Mom did her thing? I don't know if you know it or not, but Daddy had psionic abilities too. He was as strong a psychic as Mom was though he kept it well hidden. There's no way Mom would do anything like this without talking it over with Daddy and getting his approval first.

Mom didn't just give in and let you join the fleet academy. First she talked me into joining with you, then she made sure fleet security was all over the place. There were even a dozen or so Special Security Services agents keeping an eye on both of us. I was having a blast riding one of the thickest dicks I've ever seen one night when one of those bastards burst into my room and threatened to arrest the guy I was fucking. I was pissed. I was almost twenty years old and this shithead was acting like my getting laid was the crime of the century! I blew up on Mom and Daddy the next morning. I told them both that if one of those Special Security Services assholes EVER came near me again that I'd fry the fucker's brains! Daddy must've known I wasn't kidding because after that those peckerheads kept a discrete distance away from me. After I graduated the fleet academy, I refused any protection. That's why Daddy cleaned out both of our files."