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Zeitgeist could. From now on it was going to be the kid glove treatment for
Zor.
"Well, I have no idea what all that means," she said with elaborate
innocence. "But it sounds just screwy enough to turn out to be important. I
guess I'll let High Command know about it-even though they're going to think
we're both crazy," she hastened to add.
At Fokker Field, Lieutenant Marie Crystal, already suited up in
gladiatorial, tactical air combat armor, directed her TASC team to one of the
score of massive battlecruisers that were positioned about the field in launch
mode. Marie checked off names on the list she carried in her mind, as the
flyboys rushed by her. Elevators carried them down to the field itself, where
Hovertransports were waiting to ferry them to their destinations. In the
distance, men and mecha were transferring themselves from transports to
cruisers.
Over the PA the voice of a controller issued last minute instructions:
"Final loading of AJACs in assembly bay nineteen. Transport commanders, signal
when AJACs are in place...T minus ten minutes to attack launch...All pilots to
standby alert... "
Marie checked her suit chronometer against the controller's mark anal
began to hurry her team along. "Come on," she told them, with a broad sweep of
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her arm. "Keep it moving! They're not going to wait for us!"
She leaned over the balcony railing to glance at the transports and
happened to notice Captain Nordoff's Hoverjeep below. He looked up, spying her
and waving his hand.
"We expect to see those AJACs put through their paces up there!" he
yelled.
Marie threw him an okay-sign and told him not to worry about a thing. "I
only hope we don't get lost in the shuffle up there-I've never seen so many
ships!"
"Just pray we've got enough, Lieutenant!" he said, and hovered off.
Marie straightened up from the rail and turned to find Sean alongside
her, displaying his well-known roguish grin.
"Hello, Private," Marie said disdainfully.
"Hey, don't get personal," Sean laughed.
She turned her back to him. "What are you doing here, Sean? No hot date
today? After all, the Fifteenth's not part of this action."
"Hey, don't say things like that, Marie," he said peevishly. "You're
tearing me apart, you know that? I came here because I wanted to see you off.
I care about you, in case you haven't guessed."
Marie looked at him over her shoulder. "Don't think that one night on
the roof makes us an item, Sean," she warned him. "I trust you just about as
far as I can throw you."
"T minus six minutes to launch," the controller told them from the
tower. "All commanders to their posts..."
Neither one of them said anything for a moment; then Sean broke the
silence with a quiet. "Be careful, okay?"
Marie's hard look softened. "I almost believe you really mean that..."
"I, I mean it," he stammered.
Marie blew him a kiss from the elevator.
Elsewhere on the base, Zor stood alone, his azure eyes scanning the
field, an unwitting transmitter of sight and sound...
In the Robotech flagship, the three Masters watched over the Earth
Forces base through the clone's eyes. The Protoculture cap was beneath their
aged hands now as they readied their fleet for battle.
"This new armada is the single largest fleet they have yet dared to send
against us," Bowkaz saw fit to point out, no suggestion of fear or
anticipation in his deep voice.
"The more ships they employ, the greater our triumph," said Dag.
"Their armada will be destroyed and their spirit broken," Shaizan added.
But suddenly there were signs of interrupted concentration in the transignal
holo-image. "What is happening?" he asked the others.
Bowkaz repositioned his hands on the Protoculture cap, but the image of
the prelaunch battlecruisers continued to waver and ultimately de-rezzed
entirely. "Someone is interfering with the clone," he explained. "Distracting
him..."
While Dana had excused herself to notify Rolf Emerson of Zor's latest
flashback, the alien himself had left the barracks. All at once compelled to
visit the Earth Forces launch site, he had ridden his Hovercycle up to the
plateau, and chosen a spot near the field that offered a vantage point for all
the myriad activities taking place. In a certain sense he was not cognizant of
where he was, nor what he was doing; and equally unaware that both Angelo and
Dana, on separate cycles, had followed him there.
The sergeant had watched Zor for some time, wondering what his next move
might be; but when he realized that the alien was simply staring transfixed at
the prelaunch activities, he decided to move in.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing up here, Zor?" he
demanded, seemingly awakening Zor from a dream. "This sector's off-limits. And
besides, you're supposed to be back at the barracks."
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"I was trying to get a better view of the liftoff," Zor offered as
explanation, although one part of him realized this wasn't true.
Angelo took a quick glance right and left; there was no one in sight,
and Angelo was tempted to fix it so the alien would no longer be capable of
moving around scot-free. Dante took a menacing step forward, only to hear
Dana's voice behind him.
"It's all right, Sergeant, I'll vouch for him."
Angelo glared at Zor and relaxed some. Dana was marching up the small
rise to join them, breathless when she arrived. She glanced briefly at Zor,
then threw the sergeant a suspicious look.
"What did you have in mind, Angelo?" she asked him, her chin up.
Dante met her gaze and said: "Not a thing, Lieutenant."
Dana nodded warily. "I gave Zor clearance to go wherever he wants. I
thought it might help him get his memory back."
"Or something," said Angelo.
Zor looked at both of them, beginning to feel the anger return.
Supreme Commander Leonard and his staff viewed the armada liftoff from
command central's underground bunker. The darkly armored leviathanlike
battlecruisers were underway, rising from the plateau base like a school of
surfacing whales.
"Just look at them!" Leonard gushed, his eyes glued to the monitor
screen. "How can they possibly fail?"
"Very impressive, Commander," said Rolf Emerson, giving lip-service to
the moment. I wish to heaven I shared your confidence, he kept to himself.
Schematics of the attack force and the relative position of the Masters'
fleet were carried to the oval screen in the flagship command center.
"Ah, here they come," said Bowkaz. "Like the proverbial moths to the
flame."
"Is there no one among them who sees the stupidity of this?" Dag asked
rhetorically.
"I will summon our defense force," said Shaizan.
But Bowkaz told him not to bother. "This won't require the rest of the
fleet. One ship will be sufficient."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]