Tyrona: After Atlantis, #10

By K.M. Carroll

The Emperor of Atlantis has begun his invasion of Earth. When the erstwhile supervillain Dr. Regulus loses his entire robot assembly factory to a sudden attack of Atlantean Exiles, the Atlantean Isles prepare for war. The leaders of the Lost Isles, James Chase, Tane Casak, and Jayesh Khatri prepare their islands for the battle they've known was coming for so long.

 

As the Exiles emerge from portals and swarm the islands with a fearsome mechanized army, HeroTube fights back alongside the Atlantean Defense Force. James Chase fights to rescue his sister from the Exiles, who have captured her and are using her earth powers against them. Tane Casak deploys the Mercurion against the giant mecha of the Exiles, and victory seems assured … until the Emperor brings the death island Tyrona out of its prison dimension. Now the heroes of the Lost Isles and HeroTube alike must fight for their lives against the Emperor of Atlantis and his superweapons.

 

Because after three hundred years, Atlantis alone will not satisfy the Emperor's lust for conquest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.M. Carroll
• Release date: Mar 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224614615

Book preview

After Atlantis book 10

Tyrona

K.M. Carroll

Table of Contents

Title Page

Chapter 1: First Strike

Chapter 2: Intellectus Agent

Chapter 3: Portal Evacuation

Chapter 4: Regroup

Chapter 5: Puppet

Chapter 6: Lighthouse

Chapter 7: Escalation

Chapter 8: Counteroffensive

Chapter 9: Heart Strike

Chapter 10: Reflection

Chapter 11: Submarine

Chapter 12: Throne of Crystal

Epilogue

Chapter 1: First Strike

Dr. Max Regulus was awakened one muggy night in early summer by his bodyguard, Hazard, shaking him.

What's wrong? Regulus said, sitting up and reaching for his glasses.

Hazard stood beside the bed, a hulking armored robot of purple-black metal. His orange eyes darted back and forth. Intruders.

Intruders? Regulus replied, pulling on his coveralls. How many? His mind was already running through the logistics. As a weapons manufacturer who reverse-engineered Atlantean technology, he had an army of robots beneath the roof of his power plant turned factory. Any intruders could be dealt with in a number of ways, all of them delivering valuable combat data.

I have activated perimeter defenses, Hazard said, but the enemy is growing. You must bring your full force to bear.

What do you mean, growing? Regulus said. He hurried from his room, down an echoing hallway, and into his control room. Io! Status report on intruders.

The control room had two walls paneled in screens, each showing different views of the power plant, the forges, and the assembly plant. Two screens showed an infrared view of the eastern side of the base, where a road crossed the sea between his island and Bygone Island on a causeway. Atlantean Exiles were amassing on the road through a type of portal he'd never seen before. The Exiles were huge men in black armor, like Hazard's, capable of neutralizing any magic used against them. There were already fifty of them, and more streamed from the portal every moment.

Exiles, sir, said the AI's smooth, bland voice from a ceiling speaker. They appear to be preparing an invasion force.

I can see that, Regulus snapped. Scan that portal. What energy is that? It looks nothing like their usual waygates.

Another screen displayed a number of scan results, each one filling in as the computer ran them. Regulus read it at a glance. Unstable neutrinos. Anti-photons. Gravitons. Magical analysis placed it squarely in the Arcane - Void category, a type rarely seen, but not unknown.

A void gate, Regulus mused, even as his fingers flew over the control panel. I've read speculation of their existence, but until now it was purely theoretical. They're not unlike wormholes. Another screen showed his various drones activating and loading weapon systems. He'd never used his pet projects against Exiles before, and the results would prove informative.

An Exile with a red sun insignia on his left shoulder directed the others. They split into groups of ten and climbed the hill toward the base. Regulus watched them on his cameras as his robots waited for them.

Suddenly robots dropped on the Exiles from above, while others seized their legs. These robots were modeled after crabs and spiders, swift-moving and good at grabbing and clinging. Their weapons were plasma-based arc cutters, capable of removing limbs in one stroke.

But the black Atlanticite on the Exiles' armor drank up the energy, empowering the Exiles. Many of them drew swords and attacked the drones. Others sketched glowing blue runes in midair that became energy blasts, tearing the robots apart.

The first skirmish lasted eight point four seconds. Then the Exiles moved toward the east and south gates. Regulus dispatched a couple of anti-personnel centipedes and mantises to await them there. In the meantime, he powered up every robot in his warehouses. This was a real attack by an army familiar with drone combat, and he could not afford to hold back.

The first band of Exiles reached the east gate and were attacked by two centipedes the length of a bus. Two men fell, their armor torn off and their vitals punctured by a sharp steel leg. The other Exiles fell back to await reinforcements.

As his centipedes defended the east gate, the mantises protected the south gate, fighting with their bladed forearms. They had a nasty strategy of leaping straight up in the air and landing on the enemy. It worked against the Exiles for a while, but the men learned quickly. They fell back and some retreated through the void portal. A little later, more emerged, carrying rocket launchers on their shoulders.

Regulus laughed and clapped his hands. Well done, boys! Your only choice was to escalate! He steepled his fingers. But you forget who you're dealing with.

The Exiles cleared the mantises and centipedes with rockets that blew the robots to pieces. As they did this, Regulus moved refurbished scorpion tanks into position behind the outer doors. When the Exiles opened the doors, the tanks opened fire. Twenty-nine Exiles perished to their own hardware. Regulus laughed and cracked his knuckles.

The surviving Exiles fell back and regrouped near their portal, passing messages in and out. Regulus took the time to call out reserve mantises and crabs, as well as spiders that he sent into the rafters at strategic points. He sent centipedes crawling the halls, robotic hounds patrolling beside them, escorted by rocket cats whose main use was to accelerate to highway speeds and ram enemies. All had proved to be effective anti-personnel weapons in the various wars Regulus had outfitted.

The Exiles began marching through the portal, forming into platoons and hiking into the darkness. Regulus tracked them on scan. They were making for the various air vents and outlets of the geothermal power plant. For the first time, uneasiness flickered in his heart. He could not afford to deploy heavy drone units in the power plant for fear of damaging the dynamos or heat-conducting pipes. He’d have to stop the Exiles from reaching those outlets.

The Exiles attacked from four major points: the east and south gates, as well as two separate outlets from the power plant. Regulus spun from console to console, issuing commands to Io and Hazard, who helped him coordinate attacks. Many Exiles fell, but many more slew his robots and gained the entrances. They breached the base and began working their way inside, stopping to establish beachheads in various rooms and hallways. Alerts flashed across Regulus’s screens, and proximity alarms began to go off. The Exiles seized the lower geothermal levels. Then the upper levels. Then the command level. Then they cut off his cameras to the assembly plant.

Sir, said Hazard, appearing beside his chair. We need to evacuate.

No! Regulus exclaimed. I am not giving all of my hard work to these Exiles!

Sir, said Hazard, logical and implacable. The odds of the enemy capturing the base has risen to seventy-two percent. Your own protocol states that evacuation is mandatory at seventy percent.

Regulus snarled, but his own safeguards had snared him. Nobody had ever succeeded in breaching his stronghold this way. Oh, the occasional OPFOR team member had sneaked in, but that was different. This was a systematic armed takeover. He’d calculated that a seventy-percent breach would still give him time to enact several failsafes. Io, he said, begin the nautilus protocol.

Io obeyed, thankfully without asking questions. He didn’t have time for questions. He spun across his consoles, entering commands that would scrub the databases and render the assembly plant inoperative. He locked down the power plant and gave all of his robots the rampage command. Then he opened a slot and withdrew a small disk-shaped robot from its uplink, where Io had just uploaded the majority of her operating software. The orange eye-light on the front flickered on. All functions are nominal, sir, she said.

Good, said Regulus. Hazard, prepare my hovercraft. We leave in two minutes.

Thus it was, when the Exiles reached the control room, they found it empty, and every robot in the base was attacking in violent, uncontrollable rage. Dr. Regulus had wiped the system and fled.

"DR. REGULUS HAS joined you?" James Chase exclaimed.

Chase was a stocky redhead who freckled rather than tanned. The sun blazed down from a cloudless sky in the pocket dimension where the Lighthouse island lay hidden. The Lighthouse itself stood in the distance, its light sweeping in endless circles, night and day. But Chase had walked down to the portal arch, the only structure still standing amid a tumble of ruined blocks and half-walls.

A visitor had emerged from the portal a few minutes earlier: Sebastian Vento, a lithe twenty-year-old with blue hair he wore in gelled spikes. His shoes were odd-looking reinforced half-boots owing to his superpower that let him run faster than most cars.

Yeah, they sent me to tell you, said Sebastian with a grin. Doc Reg showed up on our doorstep last night, claiming asylum, some obscure Lost Isles thing. Tane should have punched him through the stratosphere, but you know Tane, the big softie. He let Regulus in. Didn't give him a nice room, mind you. Reg's done too much crap to us for that.

Why would Dr. Regulus show up like that? Chase said, folding his arms. Is it a trick?

Sebastian sobered. Atlantean Exiles opened some new kind of portal at his base last night. Apparently it was a heck of a fight, and he killed lots of them, but they took over his base. He wiped the computers and escaped, but he thinks it's only a matter of time until they get it running again. Bygone Island's been without power since this morning.

Chase thought about this. It had only been a week since he and his friends had rescued hostages from Emperor Solaris in the prison dimension. There the ancient monarch of Atlantis continued to rule his fellow exiles with a crystal fist, himself fossilized in a hundred-story tower of black Atlanticite. For years they had sent scouts through waygates, investigating Earth, stealing resources, planning their return. And now the Emperor had successfully opened a portal from his side of the divide. The barrier between dimensions must be porous as a slice of bread.

This is it, isn't it? said Chase with uncharacteristic quietness. The war we knew was coming. The Emperor is going to retake Atlantis.

Sebastian nodded. Sure looks that way. By capturing Regulus's base, he has both a robot assembly plant and the power plant at his disposal. I talked to the Atlantean Defense Force before I came over. They have the island under quarantine and the shipping lanes have been routed away from it. But there's portal activity everywhere inside. The radiation from those void portals lights up scanners like Christmas lights. They think it's packed with Exiles.

Great, Chase said. Thanks for letting me know. I need to call everybody and tell them. This is the big one.

Yep, said Sebastian. Tane wants to touch base with you, too, hopefully tonight.

I should be available by tonight, said Chase. Oh man, oh man. I don't have enough Islesworn for this.

We don't have enough of anything, Sebastian said. See you later. He stepped back through the portal and vanished.

Chase stood there a moment longer, absently wiping sweat from his forehead. He wasn't prepared for a war. As Chief Islesworn of the Lighthouse, he had a duty to Atlantis. Namely, to keep any of the three Lost Isles from falling into the Emperor's hands. The Emperor's actions had sunk Atlantis in the first place, reducing it to an island chain frequented by cruise ships. The original Lost Isles had been hidden or destroyed, and Chase and his friends had rebuilt them with magic.

And now the Emperor was returning. The Isles would be in his crosshairs. If he could capture the Mercurion with its weapons, the Lighthouse with its universal communications, and the Sanctuary with its healing powers, he could rule the world.

Chase hurried back to the Lighthouse, opened a door, and entered the apartment inside. He and Xironi lived in a room on the Lighthouse's ground floor, and they had fixed it up with furniture and decorations since they'd gotten married.

Xironi, herself, was a pretty brunette with a cat tail and ears, due to her metamorph ability always leaking through. She looked up from the loveseat, where she was reading a book. Who was here?

Chase sat down heavily beside her. Sebastian. The Exiles have begun their invasion.

Xironi closed her book, set it aside, and gave him her full attention.

Chase filled her in, the facts of Regulus' defeat barely touching the dread inside him. When he finished, he said, What do I do first? This is so huge.

Xironi thought for a moment. She was the stable, intelligent type, serving to counterbalance Chase's tendency to overreact and make faulty decisions. Now she held up a finger. First, call your team. Illianna needs to know. Michelle, Indal, everybody. Then tell Jayesh and his team. Sanctuary is already deployed out of its pocket dimension, and they'll be sitting ducks for the Exiles.

That's right, James groaned, flopping against the back of the sofa and staring up at the ceiling. I'm the only one who hasn't set his island loose yet. I have all the magic types loaded except air. Did Levantera come by today?

She had to cancel, said Xironi. She's coming Thursday.

James made an unintelligible noise of frustration.

I know, I know, Xironi said, patting his shoulder. We'll get air magic eventually.

If the Atlantean War has started, they need me, James said. The Lighthouse communicates with everybody, and it's no good locked in this darned pocket dimension.

Just be patient, Xironi said. The Exiles can't take over the whole island chain in two days. Now, go call your team. If you're the communications guy, you need to communicate.

Right. James rose to his feet. Come with me, I need you to stay in the loop.

Xironi did, smiling.

TANE CASAK WAS A HUGE pure-blood Atlantean with dark skin and dreadlocks. He looked like one of the Exiles, who were built along similar lines, but Tane's bloodline had survived the Calamity when Atlantis sank. As the Guardian of the Mercurion, he took his responsibility seriously. Granting Dr. Regulus asylum was the Guardian's choice, and he was gambling that Regulus would help, not attempt to steal the Mercurion. Again.

When James Chase and Xironi arrived at the underground palace, Tane met them with a strained smile that was more of a grimace.

Thanks for coming, he said, ushering them down the boobytrapped stairs to the palace's main hall. Regulus has been talking, but I don't enjoy what he has to say.

Doublespeak and lies? Chase said, stepping around a trapdoor.

Tane grunted. Something like that.

They arrived in the main hall, a huge vaulted space with pillars in rows along the walls. Doors opened off the hall into various other areas, and the marble floor was polished to a high shine. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, shedding a soft ambient glow. Here and there were sofas and chairs facing each other in squares, each space softened by rugs and lamps, some with draperies over them. It looked like the island’s Manager had been exercising her interior design skills.

Seated in one of these areas was Dr. Regulus. He sat in a huge armchair with a laptop on his lap, which he stared into avidly. Chase had never met Regulus before. He saw a short man with a round belly, balding on top, with glasses and a shrewd look. Regulus wore a suit coat with pajama pants, as if he’d dressed in whatever he could throw on before he fled the Exile army.

Excuse me, sir, said Tane in the smooth voice of the consummate host, the Islesworn is here to see you.

Regulus snapped his laptop shut and looked up, as if concealing its contents. His smile was quick and friendly. Ah, James Chase, mighty Islesworn! Forgive me if I don’t get up, it’s been a long day. He shook James’s hand with a strong, eager grip. Then he shook Xironi’s hand, favoring her with a smile.

I hear the Exiles threw you out, said Chase. Mind telling me what happened?

Ah yes, said Regulus. Sit down and I’ll fill you in.

Chase and Xironi sat down. Tane sat across from them and folded his arms, as if waiting for Regulus to make trouble.

Regulus launched into an account of the invasion, sparing no details about what robots he used and how they performed. James and Xironi listened closely, slightly unnerved at how excited Regulus was about the final body count.

When Regulus finished his tale, Chase said, So they got in by a void portal? Not a waygate?

Not a waygate, Regulus confirmed. Apparently they got ahold of some new tech on their end. What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on it! Anyway, the ADF has asked my permission to invade the invaders. That’s happening in... He checked his watch. Thirty minutes. I’ve been moving my drones into position to watch the fireworks. Seems you arrived just in time, Islesworn. Care to see?

James exchanged glances with Xironi and nodded.

Xironi said, How are you still controlling your drones if the Exiles seized your tech?

Regulus gestured to the shadowy space between a pillar and a drapery. Standing discreetly out of sight was a hulking humanoid robot, like a knight in black armor. James and Xironi started, thinking it was an Exile spying on them.

Calm down, it’s just Hazard, he said, waving them back. My bodyguard. Built him myself. He set up a couple of wireless amplifiers for me, lets me talk to my observation drones stationed around Bygone Island. There’s no sign of my robots moving around my base yet, so I assume the Exiles haven’t recovered my database. There are ways, of course, but a prison dimension is not a good place to train genius. Genius requires freedom to think and explore, and between you and me, Emperor Solaris has no use for anyone smarter than him.

James recalled his brief meetings with the psychic Emperor. I think you’re more right than you know.

Regulus beamed at this. Right! A gunship just entered the strait. Tane, some popcorn for the guests, if you’d be so kind.

Tane rose without a word and departed with the slightly stiff air of a man being given orders in his own home. He returned a short time later, flanked by Sebastian and a silver robot like a human skeleton with glowing red eyes. It looked like a prototype that Hazard was derived from, and both robots glared at each other. This was KalOS, one of Regulus’s robots that had been granted a position on the Mercurion’s crew and changed sides.

I hear there’s fireworks on tap, said Sebastian, leaning his elbows on the back of Regulus’s chair. Too bad we can’t put it on a big screen.

Regulus frowned at his old enemy standing so close, but shrugged it off. A troop transport just crossed the causeway, and drone four is picking up helicopters flying air support. It’s about to get exciting.

James glanced at Xironi to see her staring in fascination at Sebastian’s blue hair. One of her hands flexed, as if she wanted to touch the gelled spikes and feel them crunch. She noticed James’s look, smiled, and tucked her hand in her lap.

On Regulus’s screen, Atlantean Defense Force troops in black armor emerged from the carrier and split into groups, slipping away into the deepening twilight.

Ah, they’re headed for the doors, Regulus said. The Exiles will have barricaded them by now, but it’s a good try.

For a while nothing happened. The gunship sat like a shark in the water, awaiting a signal. The troops vanished. James had time to accept a bowl of popcorn from the Mercurion’s Manager, Eileen Bryant. She was dressed in a perfect floral blouse and skirt, with a flowered barrette in her bubblegum pink hair. She passed out sodas, water, and popcorn to everyone, then joined Sebastian in watching the screen over Regulus’s shoulder. Sebastian looked as if he would like to put his arm around her, but settled for standing with his arm touching hers.

Suddenly, on