The Journey of Atlantis- The Children of Earth

Insurrection

Levi blinked when he heard the crash of the laser weapon's bolt hitting the shields Sonny erected the moment Stiles stood up. The attacker did something to his suit, and he appeared to vanish. Sonny turned the fire suppression system on, and a light fog quickly filled the room. At the same time, the security men were instructed to stay where they were and prevent anyone from leaving. Levi scanned the room but just couldn't make out any movement. Suddenly, Levi heard two chirps. The next instant, he saw sparks from across the room and heard something fall to the floor with a thud. Four security men rushed inside to collect the unconscious Stiles. Levi released from his protective shielding, fumed. The whole thing took less than fifteen seconds.

"How the hell did that happen?" Levi indicated the resulting chaos.

"I suspected Stiles to try something, but I didn't know what form it might take. I made some modifications to the room in advance of the meeting. He found some way to cloak his weapon from my sensors. He tried to evade by remaining still. The fire suppression wasn't working. I used echolocation instead to determine his location and overloaded a panel he stood next to and stun him long enough for security to apprehend him."

"I saw that part! Why did he do it in the first place?"

"Captain, I am detecting mass movement. Captain, I... will... be... busy... for... a... while."

"Shit! They must have loaded the cyberware. Stiles had been a diversion!" Levi shouted in his brain over the inner comm channel. "ALPHA, DELTA, DELTA, BREAK, OMEGA!" Levi repeated it two more times. He went to the terminal and contacted the bridge. "Bridge, if you read me, ALPHA, DELTA, DELTA, BREAK, OMEGA!"

"This is Commander Bales, Captain. We read you. Initiating protocols now. Security has already taken positions at all accesses to the bridge. Be advised, the enemy is moving in your direction. I say again, the enemy is moving in your direction."

The captain didn't bother to hear the warning the second time, he already sprinted down the hallway and towards the secondary location. They expected him to make his way to the bridge, but plans were in place to control the battle another way.

It was a desperate time. Levi had to sneak his way there. He had no weapon or protection. If Levi was spotted by the rebels, he was a dead man. While he kept a low profile, Levi heard two simultaneous explosions. One was near, and one sounded distant. He didn't know what was happening. He had to get to the war room! Levi had nearly arrived at his destination when he was confronted by three men coming around a corner. Startled, he fell into a defensive stance ready to fight.

"Captain Metcalfe?" One of the men said. Levi saw the men dressed in Navy uniforms. The captain did not relax. "Alpha, Delta," the captain said with a steely glare.

"Delta, break, omega." The lieutenant finished the coded orders.

Levi visibly relaxed. "Good to see you, boys!"

"We were looking for you but did not know when you would get here. Come with us. The war room is just over here. Stay close to us. Our bodies will protect you from sniper fire." Levi wore the same material used in almost all military jumpsuits. It responded to impacts in nanoseconds to harden into something far better than the old Kevlar. The sentiment, however, was comforting. He did not argue and proceeded to follow the escort the rest of the way to the war room.

The war room had been located underground in an alcove by a bank of sleepers. There, some officers were directing security forces using the manual video feeds and sensors. The captain remembered all the battle plans, the minute detail of the ship and the rebel's forces and numbers. He knew what to do. They had quietly installed laser fences at choke points leading to the bridge. Between the fence and a large security force there, he figured the bridge safe. Unfortunately, the rebels somehow managed to blow the two main spinal columns which served as a superhighway for Alice and Sonny. This must have been the explosions he heard earlier. Cutting those lines limited traffic between the two machines. They had to use indirect routes which took longer. The machines foresaw this and were ready for it. It had to be an inside job Levi thought, and someone will pay dearly for that.