Chapter Text
“A ghost?” Roxanne held back as panic tempted her to impatience. She squeezed her lips shut and looked desperately at Bernrios.
“Yes,” he nodded, then glanced up and around the ceiling. “Little ship ghost?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?” the ghost answered, seemingly straight through the walls. It sounded like a woman who had never once used inflection in her tone.
“How is Taptoep doing?”
“Laddithoe’ Kashekim Nedakh is currently stabilized, Sir.”
“Thank you. Ah, this is my brother, he’s—he’s in power now. Do you want him to do the finger prick thing?”
“Acknowledged. Please place your digitus secundus for reading.”
Sivosh, who had been giving bewildered looks to the ceiling, took a protective step toward his brother at the command. But with a little persuading from Bernrios, he submitted his finger to the lit panel and quickly had blood drawn.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, Laddith ‘A’ Sivosh.” Sivosh stepped back, eyes widening at the sudden transfer of reigning power. “How may I assistant you? the Orichalcum will be struck by molten rock in twenty-three minutes and two seconds, causing damage to the exterior hull. May I suggest a defensive course of action?”
“The ghost flies the vehicle, and it told us about the escape pods, the weapons, everything. She just started talking to me after I touched that panel and cut my finger.”
Compassion washed over Roxanne, quickly moving her feet to Bernrios, this brave, brilliant young man. He had to shoulder a burden of leading war at an age far underripe. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and when he looked at her with worry deeply set in his eyes, she gave him a soft smile and wrapped her arm warmly around his shoulder. He had done an impossible job, and carried himself with wisdom all the while.
A series of emotions rushed over Sivosh’s face as he quieted his curiosity to address the situation at hand. Raising a distrusting eyebrow, he said, “What would you suggest?”
*Bloop.*
“I have scanned the wall structure of the subterranean cavern. The surrounding material consists of 42% sedimentary rock, 31% dense clay, 17% bedrock, and 10% mixed detritus and subterranean water pockets. The total estimated depth to the surface is 412 meters. Given the time constraint and the Orichalcum’s current position, a vertical ascent is the most viable escape vector,” the ghost continued, her voice maintaining its calm, electronic cadence. “It would be effective to utilize the forward-facing Indefinita Cannons to blast a passage directly through the layers of earth. The weapons can deliver sufficient concussive force to fragment the rock and clay.”
Sivosh looked sharply out the window, then back to the tile of shiny spaceship ceiling he had decided to address as the ghost’s face. “Blast through 400 meters of rock? We’ll be crushed by the fallout or drown when we hit the water pockets!”
“Negative, Your Majesty. I will deploy the maximum-yield energy shield immediately following the first cannon blast. The shield will stabilize the surrounding tunnel structure and protect the Orichalcum from falling rubble, rock fragments, and subterranean water. The ship will maintain a rapid, upward firing sequence, using the shield to push through the debris as we ascend.”
Bernrios spoke up, “Ghost, is there a risk for this plan?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The probability of complete shield failure is $0.0003% based on current energy reserves. However, insufficient cannon yield against the 17% bedrock layer is a moderate risk. If the bedrock is particularly cohesive, we may experience a temporary stall in the ascent.”
“Explain the stall.” Sivosh took a deep breath, watching with bewildered eyes as the viewpoint was taken over with a visual projection.
A few feet behind him, Roxanne looked on with a mix of overwhelming thrill and almost fear, gripping a chair for support.
“If the ascent stalls, the sustained kinetic energy from the cannon blasts may destabilize the cavern structure below the Orichalcum, leading to immediate structural collapse and subsequent burial,” the ghost stated matter-of-factly. “The maximum probability of this critical failure is estimated at $12.5%. This is still the mathematically superior strategy compared to remaining stationary.”
“Twelve point five percent chance of being buried alive, and zero percent chance of surviving if we stay here,” Sivosh muttered.
The ghost’s voice clicked in with an urgent directive, “I require immediate authorization for weapons activation and shield deployment. Estimated time for molten rock impact is now twenty-two minutes and six seconds.”
The brothers glanced at each other before Sivosh turned a somber gaze to the screen. “You have my authorization to initiate the emergency escape protocol. Get us out of here.”
“Authorization accepted, Laddith ‘A’ Sivosh,” the ghost replied. The light on the bridge changed from a soft yellow to a throbbing, urgent red. A low, grinding vibration started to hum beneath their feet as the cannons began to charge. “Ascent sequence initiated, Your Majesty. Deploying shields and firing cannons in T-minus three seconds.”
3...
2...
1...
*BRRU-YONNNG!*
The cannons unleashed a terrifying, compressed roar. A column of brilliant, white-hot energy tore into the rock ceiling.
A blinding azure light snapped into existence, encompassing the entire Navis in a perfect, glowing sphere. The energy shield deployed with a sharp thwump that reverberated in their chests.
The ship surged upward like a bullet, driven by the recoil and a torrent of energy.
The initial few meters were completely chaotic as the shield slammed into the fractured rock and gushing subterranean water. The sound was horrifying. It was a continuous, metallic shriek as debris scraped against the powerful force field. Inside the bridge, they were shaken a bit forcefully, bracing against the counters and walls.
The ghost announced over the continuous roar, “Maintaining shield integrity. We are entering the dense clay layer.”
The exterior shuddering changed pitch as they hit the clay, the resistance briefly increasing, pushing them back against the walls. They tore through the clay, the bedrock, and then the final layer of loose, wet earth.
Suddenly, the grinding noise stopped and the violent shaking ceased. The air outside the forward viewports changed from thick brown mud to an endless, vibrant blue.
“We have breached the surface,” the ghost confirmed calmly. “External sensors indicate we are in a large saltwater body, consistent with Earth’s Atlantic Ocean. We are currently 1.2 kilometers from the nearest coast.”
As the ship rose to hover just a few feet above the thrashing waves, the emergency red lighting softened. Revealed was the glorious sight of open sky.
The sudden silence that followed hung heavy on the bridge for only a moment. Then, pure relief washed over everyone.
Bernrios burst in a relief of laughter. Sivosh, equally stunned, couldn't suppress a grin that cracked through his fear. He wrapped his brother in a fierce hug. He glanced up when he felt someone’s arm around him, then laughed again with Roxanne and brought her into the hug.
“I don’t know what that ghost is, but it’s brilliant.”
Sivosh pulled back, as Bernrios broke away to go celebrate with a member of their guard. Glancing around the room at the joyous chaos, he quickly turned his smile to Roxanne. Gripping her elbow and cupping her head, he snatched her to him and kissed her. He immediately felt her arms cling to him, pulling him hard against her as she kissed him back for a few, passionate seconds. A simple burst of mutual relief and elation between them.
But soon, the chatter of plans took over. Soon, the pair were escorted into several different areas of the massive ship, talking and preparing.
Roxanne’s team were excited to see everyone okay and quickly were offered a ship and treasures for their departure. Sivosh’s friends and members of the council explained the vastness of the ship. There were four floors, each nearly the size of the entire city of Atlantis. A fifth floor, near the top of the ship, was about the size of half of the city. There were miles of ship to explore, and their ship ghost was happy to give tours. Each room was slowly awoken, illuminating school rooms, residences, gardens, a library of forgotten treasure, and so much more.
Eight hours after they emerged, the king woke from unconsciousness. He was introduced to the ghost, who explained that she was a synthetically integrated computer system designed to run and maintain every system aboard the Orichalcum. Once it was revealed the part Roxanne and her team played in the rescue of the entire race, the king officially recognized the outsiders and extended his deepest thanks for their heroism.
As her friends finally retire to the residences they were given for their last night's stay, Sivosh's hand slides into hers, pulling her aside.
“My dear,” he murmurs, leaning his face in closely to hers. Almost close enough to touch foreheads. “Could you please stay here with me for a while longer?” He tilts his head toward the council, still speaking with his father.
Anxiety pinches her brow for a moment, but her gaze quickly softens, dipping down his face. “Yes,” she murmurs back, before he briefly nuzzled his nose to her cheek and pulled her along.
She didn’t know if he meant to spend more time alone with her or if he was asking her to help with the daunting task of speaking to the council. It didn’t sound like a conversation she should be part of. Roxanne deeply adores the people, the culture, the very heart of Atlantis, but who is she to have a say in their precious second chance of a future?
Trying not to disrupt, she runs her eyes around the space.
In this massive meeting room, there is another viewpoint, though much smaller. It shows a black sky, a fluffy blanket of clouds softly illuminated by the teal moonlight, and black waters beneath with waves reflecting the same teal.
The velvet touch of the darkness stroked a yawn from her, like coaxing a purr from a cat. It must be terribly late, perhaps on the verge of the break of dawn.
“Laddith ‘A’,” the king’s voice rumbles, easily commanding the attention of the room, addressing his son by his official title. “Approach, my son. I require your immediate attention and counsel.”
Roxanne immediately shrinks back, but Sivosh notices with a kind smile. He gives an encouraging brush of his arm against hers, then leads her along with him by the hand, a few steps closer to the king and council.
The king’s eyes touch, only for a moment, on the hands between them, before his stately gaze lands upon her eyes.
A flush of thrill and fear strangle her as the king of Atlantis addresses her directly for the first time.
“Honored Roxanne, Shield of Atlantis, I bid you hear my words. Our history and the very hearts of our people will never lose the foundation you have given us: our lives and the courage of our finest defenders.” He gestures to the councilors. "Let the council remember: when the shadow fell heaviest upon our borders, it was your unrelenting valor that turned. Your aid, dear Shield, remains invaluable and unforgettable." He touches his hand to his chest, tipping a small nod to her.
Heated blood rushed to the ends of her fingers and toes, as she fights a shiver to nod in return. A shaky smile fights to settle as she forces herself to speak.
“It, it was an honor to help, Your Majesty.”
His tone shifts, becoming polite but firm. "However,” he says slowly, “a new counsel must now be convened. I require the presence of my younger son. Seek out Prince Bernrios and send him here, if you please."
“Yes, of course.”
“And now,” he adds, “my Lords and Ladies of the Council. I thank you for your dutiful attendance this evening. I must confer with the princes privately." He gestures toward the doors. "Retire now. Give us leave for this intimate deliberation. Go with my thanks."
The councilors rise, offer bows, and begin filing out of the room. Roxanne releases Sivosh’s hand to bow as well, then meets his gaze before turning to follow the others out of the room. Halfway to the door, his warm hand grasps her arm, turning her to him.
She wants to kiss him. She wants to pull him with her, anywhere alone, and kiss him until he can’t breathe, until she has the courage to tell him how vast her love is for him.
Instead, he smiles brightly at her, squeezing her arm affectionately, before she makes her way out the door to find Bernrios.
Alone again, Roxanne feels conflicted on where to go. She could go to one of the rooms assigned to her team, but she doesn’t want to retire until she speaks to Sivosh. They agreed that she would stay, but her heart is eager to know exactly what that future would be. As forward as it is, she longs to spend the night in his room again, held by his strong arms as they speak all night on anything their hearts desire to know.
She could explores the endless hallways, rooms, and secrets of this expanse of technology and culture. She desperately wants to put her hands on the treasures in the library.
In one of these empty halls, the soft yellow light and artistic paneling was her only company. Biting her lip, Roxanne says gently, “Ghost?”
“Good evening. I do not have your vocal records on file. Please state your name and place your digitus secundus for reading.”
Once Roxanne and the computer exchanged pleasantries, it told her just a little more about the ship. It told her of spaces that could help the Atlanteans restore their history and culture: a chronos archive with an amazing record, an echo chamber to relive historical events, a museum of relics, and an engineering and fabrication lab. She also learned that the computer’s name is Plato while the ship’s full name is the Orichalcum Ascendant, made mostly from the precious metal found on their home planet, Vivus Domus.
As she sat against the wall in the hallway, listening to Plato tell her about impossible things like machines that can create nearly any solid object out of metal or paper, she finally nodded awake after falling asleep against the wall. With directions from Plato, she found her way to Audrey’s room to retire.
For an hour.
Or maybe more, she’s not sure. Pluto would probably know the time, but she doesn’t want to whisper to it from her covers and risk waking Audrey.
Pluto knows many things, and much about the ship as well. Perhaps, she knows which room is Sivosh’s?
A sudden grin takes over her face as she throws her blanket off. Audrey shuffles on her bed and she freezes, then slowly pulls a dress on over her night dress. The first step with bare feet outside her room is chilly on her toes and ball of her foot. The smooth material isn’t unbearable enough to make her go back for shoes.
“Pluto?”
“Good morning, Shield of Atlantis.”
She raised an eyebrow at that, wondering why she knew the title now and not earlier, but dismissed it.
“Um, hi, good morning. Is it morning? Can you tell me where Sivosh is?”
“His Highness, Laddith ‘A’ Sivosh, is in his quarters, room 773–ALPHA.”
“Eeooo!” Roxanne does a little dance, hesitates to wonder if this is a bad idea, then blurts anyway. “Do you have a map to show me where it is?”
“Yes.”
Pluto was helpful, giving directions as Roxanne quickly snuck down the halls and up an elevator. When she found her way in front of his room, his door was exceedingly decorative compared to her own. It was an artist’s work of glass, spindley metals, and a gorgeous glow like from their crystals.
Oh, their crystals! In the whirlwind of all this technology and magic come to life, Roxanne never asked about the mysterious missing giant crystal that powers the ship. She’ll definitely be asking about that later! But for now …
A hesitant fist raises and knocks on the door.
Her flicker of worry about waking him only lasted a second before the door was opened and Sivosh was revealed on the other side, completely awake.
He meets her eyes, relief erupting over his face. “My dear,” he breathes, and takes one quick step to meet her, cupping her face swiftly to kiss her. He hauls her to him and kisses her hard and deeply. Pulling her body against his, bracing his arm across her back.
He digs his hand in her hair, urgently directing her face to his and kisses her so she can’t breathe.
The moment she detaches her mouth from his, his arm around her waist pulls her into his room so the door shuts automatically behind them. He crowds her against the wall nearest the door and kisses her.
Exotic, exquisite, tortuous pleasure shivers through her core. Dizzy with indulgence, her hands boldly slide down his sides and grip his thighs and back up, causing his breath to catch, breaking the kiss. What a deepy pleasant sound. It makes her grin as her hands crawl up to his muscular shoulders.
In the moment of heavy breath between them, his eyes gently meet her own hazy gaze. Nothing but desire beat against her brain, need to be as close to him as possible. With a surprisingly wicked grin, she licks his lips and meets his eyes like a challenge. When she does it again, his mouth parts to meet her.
Sivosh mirrors her hands, sliding his touch down the sides of her. When he grips her thighs, she lifts one of her legs, wrapping it around his calf, using it to lock his body against hers. It was difficult, with her restricting skirts, but it didn’t damped their passions as hands explored, and tongues tasted, and gasps were torn from their throats at the nip of teeth.
Roxanne holds his head in her hands, taking control to slowly drag her tongue across his. She loitered in his mouth, taking his sounds gradually until his swollen lip with sucked hard.
With the next tiny reprieve, she breathes, “I missed you,” before falling back to his lips.
The hands on her thigh and hip suddenly squeeze her more tightly against him. “Then stop leaving.”
She pulled back to laugh at that. “The king gave me an order.”
He grins, keeping his arms close around her and bumping his nose into hers mischeviously. He pecks her lips, “And what if I order you to stay?”
“You wouldn’t,” she whispers, pecking his lips again. “But you can ask me.”
She meets his eyes, then pulls him down to a hard kiss. In a breath, their mouths are rushed again, pressing and pulling as if afraid someone will tear them apart again.
“Stay,” he gasps, between breaths, as his lips desperately kiss against her mouth. “Please, I-I–will you stay with me?”
“Of course—”
More kisses, “I need you by my side always.” More kisses. “I never want you to leave me—”
She gasps as he rips his mouth away to suck deep kisses down her neck. A shivering breath shakes her chest as her eyes cast to the ceiling. “Sivosh …” He sucks on her skin, twisting her eyes up in pleasure. When he softens, she tries again, “Sivosh, love, I’m not going anywhere.”
Her voice turns into a laugh as he nibbles across her shoulder over her clothes. “I already told you I would stay.”
“But will you,” he pulls back, glancing down and back. “May I court you as well?”
She grins, kissing him again briefly. “I hope so. Otherwise, you should not be kissing me this much.”
“Roxanne, I’m asking you to consider joining my reign.”
She paused, her face softening even as her smile widened. Though nervousness rumbled beneath, his own smile grew.
Letting her back down from the wall, he took both of her hands in his and led her to sit on his reclining cushions. She found herself struck by the warmth and size of his room, now that she took a moment to look around. She actually didn’t even look at her own room, since she came in with the lights off. But Sivosh’s room was draped in richly colored fabrics, wood floors, rugs, pillows bigger than her, and a few figures on shelves. There is a large viewport in this room, which she will later learn in a feature in each residence. Briefly, she wondered whose room this was before him before drawing her eyes back to him.
“I know our relationship is new,” he explains slowly, “but I wish to court you. Then in a year, we would be married …” The softness coming over his voice hushes his words. “But I’m asking you to accept more than just me.”
She beams at him, cupping his jaw. “I understand. You’re next in line to reign, are you not?”
“I …” he glances to the side and back. “I am not permitted to tell you, but I guess I’m choosing to break that order.” He nearly laughs, then turns his smile back to her, leaning in to touch his forehead to hers. “You are the Shield of Atlantis, after all.”
What does that even mean? She wants to ask, but waits, biting her tongue.
“Plans for my accession have already been given. Father wishes to give me the reign by the end of the river cycle. Well, we have no river here …” he ponders. “In about thirteen days.”
“Oh, that’s, that’s wonderful.”
“And, Roxanne, my people could only be momentously blessed by you as queen.” When he slips his hand into her hair, she leans into it, letting him pull her closer. He whispers, “and my love could only be unfathomably stronger with each day with you.”
Tears flock to her eyes as their lips meet softly, exchanging gentle kisses through shaky breaths.
She could build her home with him, getting to love him every day, and love Atlantis as well.
In this ship, they could grow their people, rekindle old cultures, and establish new ones. They could introduce the new Atlantis to the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
“So … we have to wait twelve months during our courtship?”
The marvelous smile that splits his face is wildly contagious. Almost giddy, he wraps his arm around her hip. Smoothly, he leans over her slowly, making her suddenly scooch back.
His voice purrs down her body as his eyes soften. “Sadly, yes. Though I wish it could be shorter.”
A nervous flutter tickles her chest as she leans further away from his advance. “But if you’re the king, couldn’t you simply change the rule?” she tries to tease, suddenly gripping his leg for balance. His arm quickly snakes around her waist. He leans even closer, now holding her up, and it reminds her dangerously of a jaguar and its chase.
“If you say yes,” he whispers, “would you like me to shorten it?”
Her chest is moving quickly with her breath as her back contacts the massive cushion. He grins at her and a bout of nervous laughter bubbles up between them. The blue glow of his crystal highlights the shape of his muscular chest, but the green sparkle in his eye easily draw her back.
“Yes, could you please make it shorter, love?” She reclines fully against the cushion, drawing her finger over his lips. “Ten months?”
“Nine months,” he counters, kissing her finger.
Her eyebrows pop up, “Nine months?”
“You’re right,” he kisses her fingers again. “Eight months is better.”
She laughs, then kisses his nose. “Eight months is perfect. Oh,” he yawns, making her laugh again. “I think we should retire before drowsiness impaires your judgment.”
“Mmmmm,” he hums low, bringing their faces together to kiss her lightly. His timber drops low again, as he meets her eyes and whispers, “you can tarry with me, my love. Shall I, again, ask you to stay?”
He runs a finger over her cheek, and she blushes deeply, remembering the night in his palace chambers.
“But there are no stolen books in your room to read.”
“Mmm.” He watches his finger draw a line down her throat. “That is true. But I find myself wishing to lave kisses on you all night, regardless.” His eyes meet hers.
“Shall you steal me, then?”
His hand slips behind her neck. “Yes,” he whispers, meeting her lips again.
Quickly, their hands and kisses dive deeper, as they fold each other in warmth and affection. She easily fits in his arms when she falls asleep for the few hours before the ship stirs awake. When she wakes, her blue Atlantean prince is there, warm and real beneath her, and Roxanne marvels at the most brilliant decision in her life.