Before her mind entered its meditative state, Zanther deliberately adjusted her computer system to allow Ray to enter. She surmised he had used forged identification codes, but allowed admittance, assuring passage went unimpeded.
* * *
At 13:45, Earth time, the first stages of the battle began. Both sides started to release their fighters, and the Rockoids brought their smaller cruisers to the front lines. At first, the ships came toward one another warily, firing occasional warning shots, but as they came closer the weapons’ fire became more rapid. Before the ultimatum expired, a savage battle commenced.
Laser shots went off everywhere, ships dodged opposing firepower. Between the gaps in the Alliance and Rockoid formations there were small explosions, telling each side another ship had just been lost.
The Alliance battered the Rockoid front lines with all they had. Whenever the Alliance put a gap in the opponent’s lines, the Rockoids filled it with more ships. The Rockoid plan of battle was to hold positions and not let the opposition break through until bigger ships were ready to be placed into battle.
There was one serious flaw in the Rockoids’ strategy. With all of their ships in front of the super cruisers, it would be nearly impossible to get a direct shot at the Alliance warships without blowing up their own support craft.
At 14:40, the Alliance destroyed a heavy cruiser at the right flank of the Rockoid line. The enemy tried bringing in reinforcements to fill the gap, but there were no more smaller ship reserves except for ones already in battle. Only the bigger ships were left and they wouldn’t be ready to engage the Alliance for another fifteen minutes; by that time it would be too late. The rest of the Rockoid fleet would not arrive until then.
Suddenly the Alliance turned its battle plan upside down, and launched a direct assault on the Rockoid lines. The enemy, unprepared for the maneuver, was completely surprised, and in a few minutes they retreated.
The Alliance kept ratcheting up the pressure on the Rockoids, attacking their lines, breaking up their intricate formations as well as placing fighters behind the bigger Rockoid ships to scare and confuse them, to disrupt their communications. This action was designed to effectively stop repair ships and fuel tankers from reaching the front lines.
By 14:55 a number of smaller Rockoid ships had fled behind their super cruisers or tried to escape through hyperspace. Others had been destroyed. The enemy now prepared their largest weapons systems to engage Alliance ships.
In response, the Alliance dispatched the Seventeenth Fighter Division to test a new tactical technique devised by Commander Johnson, based on engineering studies of downed Rockoid vessels. The plan was to fire a fusillade of lasers and torpedoes at specific locations on the enemy ships.
The fighters shot their load, two torpedoes for each fighter, and within seconds, the torpedoes struck their targets. The fighters retreated rapidly, as larger ships provided firepower to cover them. The enemy fought back, but their quarry escaped with only minor damage.
The Alliance commanders watched their viewscreens, tense, expectant, fearful at the same time. Slowly the Rockoid shields were penetrated, and Alliance commanders could see huge
gaps in the hulls of two enemy super cruisers. The hull breach seemed to start a chain reaction among the ships that were hit, and Alliance officers could see large explosions in segments of the Rockoid craft.
At this point, the fighters’ continued assault was reinforced by ultralaser blasts from larger Alliance ships supporting their attacks.
The combined weaponry did its job. In a few minutes, the damaged ships collapsed together in a terrible explosion, giving the Alliance attack ships seconds to get away before being engulfed in the resulting debris.
In moments, there were loud cheers resonating aboard Alliance ships. The command centers on Earth were filled with applause and congratulations.
But no one could get carried away with excitement just yet. The expected ground assault was still to come; the outcome of that battle was not as clear. And there was Ray Perkins, who had not yet communicated his status to anyone.
Regardless of Ray’s fate, the Alliance commanders knew they had to get the upper hand. They redoubled their efforts to take out as many Rockoid ships as they could. By 15:05, three super cruisers had been destroyed, three more were damaged, and others still tried to fire undamaged weapons.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Alliance and Rockoid fleets jumped out of hyperspace. Thousands upon thousands of ships faced each other.
* * *
Some time earlier, Rockoid transports hovered over the plains of northern France. Panels opened up on the fore compartments of eight of the vessels. Out of these entrances came shuttlecraft, each holding thousands of troops, which rapidly descended toward the ground. There were millions of combatants on Earth now, all ready to do battle.
Once a shuttlecraft landed its passengers, its pilot returned it to one of the transports to bring down more troops. The transports used their own weaponry to keep Alliance ships at bay, firing to protect the shuttle squadrons.
At the same time, platoon after platoon of Alliance ground assault forces slowly made their way through the Ardennes until 14:00, when they came out into the open. They sped up, hoping to catch the Rockoids before they finished landing their troops and preparing their equipment.
The Rockoids were more experienced at ground combat, and quickly set their armored units, fighter craft and personnel in position. The Alliance’s armored units rumbled over the Seine River at 14:50, two kilometers from the Rockoid landing site.
Both sides advanced and aircraft and armored units started firing at each other. The strange, circular Rockoid armored vehicles were outfitted with a vast array of firepower for craft so small. They were more than a match for the slower, rocket-driven Alliance tanks, which also had a smaller amount of weaponry.
There were virtually no casualties by 15:05. Only the armored vehicles and aircraft fought, while the troops advanced slowly.
Within a few minutes, full frontal assaults on both sides would commence. Both Rockoid and Alliance commanders made final preparations for the upcoming battle.
Chapter 20
Ray finally reached the docking bay doors at 14:15. His scanners were unable to glean any information on the sort of metal being used on the ship. He wasn’t able to pick up more than general details about its structure. It was clear from the readings, though, that the doors had tremendous strength because of their molecular density. At first, he saw the doors opening for other ships, rapidly closing after they had entered. When his craft first reached the entrance, he was surprised he wasn’t destroyed by a Rockoid weapon.
Once inside the ship, Ray watched as his lithe fighter craft was drawn slowly toward a docking bay several hundred meters from the entrance. He looked around and was lucky to discover very few Rockoid ships in the vicinity, nor did he see any living creatures about.
Ray took the occasion to get a careful look at the docking bay. The main landing area was a huge chamber similar to a typical Alliance landing base back on Earth. A control center was situated in its center, where he noticed several brightly uniformed Rockoids performing tasks of one sort or another.
Closed hangars with empty landing spots lined the sides. From his cursory glance, it appeared most of the ships had already departed.
Ray’s fighter was deposited by the ship’s computers at the center of the docking bay. Once the ship touched down, the grappling field was switched off. He discovered he was able to use the radio again. Ray did not want to inform the Alliance of his status, in fear the Rockoids would intercept the signal, so he kept radio silence.
He sat in his ship for several minutes, thinking about what to do next. He didn’t know whether he should jump out of his craft and scream, “Hey, Rockoids! Come and get me! Take me to your leader!” or wait for someone to find him.
He knew he had to locate the being with whom he was in contact. He concentrated, looking for a clue as to what h
e should do next. Ray’s solution came to him in a subtle, unspoken voice with clear intent. He knew where he had to go and how to get there, as if he were intimately familiar with this ship.
Ray had the intense feeling Zanther was near, watching his every move. She seemed to be trying to speak with him, though the words weren’t audible…
Before exiting his vessel, he took a few quick readings of his environmental control system, pleased to discover the Rockoid ship’s atmosphere was breathable.
Slowly, he walked to his fighter’s aft section and slid the hatch open. He pulled himself out warily, watching carefully for any lingering Rockoid troops. His heart beat rapidly, and sweat dripped from his brow. He tried to breathe deeply for a moment, and attempted a meditative state.
Luck was on Ray’s side. Except for the Rockoids working at the command console, nobody was present. He concentrated on the directions sent to him by that supposed telepathic command. He noticed a long, narrow chamber at his right: his destination. Deliberately, he walked into the dim, cylindrical chamber. He struggled to see his surroundings. He realized the larger eyes of the Rockoids were accustomed to the darkness, but it was challenging for him.
He had been given some infrared glasses by the Alliance; in his haste he’d left them in his fighter.
Ray tried to stick near the walls, in case he ran into an enemy soldier. He hoped years of training in physical combat and mental discipline would take control if he were forced to attempt hand-to-hand combat with one of those beings. For a race inured to combat, he was certain they were physically formidable.
Ray pulled out a small control module from his pocket and pushed a few buttons on the scanning device the Alliance gave him. A few faint lights glimmered in the darkness. He made a few adjustments to home in on the Rockoids’ life force.
He was shocked at what he discovered. Ray nearly dropped the contraption: There were so many Rockoids near him he could hardly count them.
He looked about, saw nothing, and stuffed the device back into his pocket.
Ray felt he was deliberately drawn down this route to his destination and depended on intuition to guide him. He walked more briskly, realizing he was closing in on the Rockoid leader’s throne room.
He would meet Zanther at last. He knew it now.
His fears kept rising to the surface, as much as he tried to hide them. Could it be a trap? Or could it be the meeting that would save both their races from further bloodshed?
How could he know?
Suddenly strange music began playing in the background. The sounds almost seemed to lift his spirits, giving him a feeling of great contentment. He could not describe the melodies. They were so beautiful. Just as quickly, his mind returned to the task at hand, though it remained difficult to ignore the music playing in the background.
He looked back at a long pathway to his left, and saw a band of Rockoid soldiers marching toward the docking bay. Ray’s eyes had become more accustomed to the unusual, almost faded red glow that served to light the ship. He could actually make out the creatures better than before.
At last, he saw the Rockoids as they truly were, not dreams. They seemed no taller than humans, but slender physiques gave the illusion of greater height. In the dim light, he couldn’t see the color of their skin; they all seemed uniformly drab and undernourished, as if anorexia was a way of life in their society.
And their eyes! They seemed huge and penetrating. This was mostly an illusion based on their dark pupils. Their heads seemed so human-like in shape; their noses were uniformly small, perfectly shaped, as if they were all spawned from the same cookie cutter.
So human, yet alien at the same time, and even handsome by any traditional sense. They all seemed to have a look of refinement, superior intelligence.
What if they could be persuaded to become…friends?
Zanther, help me! Weeks ago, he felt she actually tried to speak with him, but once the war began, such communication abruptly ended. As he expected, there was no verbal response this time either, just the image of her calling out to him. He felt she was now attempting some sort of response.
Ray watched the procession in growing fear. They marched right past his docked fighter.
Standing to the side of the procession was a black-caped Rockoid, who seemed to be directing the marching. He was large for a Rockoid, over six feet tall, nearly Ray’s height, and portly, rather an anomalous sight among this throng.
The black-caped being appeared to be addressing the crowd. After a few minutes, everyone raised their hands in front of their heads, and brought them rapidly together and then apart. This appeared to be a military salute. Within seconds, the procession began to disband, and troops marched toward waiting ships. Their leader, whom Ray realized was male, stayed behind. Ray thought the creature was about to join his comrades; instead he stopped short and stared right at Ray’s fighter.
He looked behind him and discovered Ray. He called out in the strange language; more than a dozen soldiers joined him. The commander and his soldiers began approaching the intruder.
His presence on the Rockoid flagship had been discovered!
Chapter 21
As soon as Minister Xorax became aware of the presence of an alien intruder, he sounded the alarm. Ray started moving at a near run as the soldiers began chasing him. He was unable to hear any sound, but he felt it. The high-pitched whining in his ears was painful. He staggered to his knees and covered his ears.
Finally, the alarm stopped. Ray felt dizzy. Sweat dripped from his forehead, around his face, over his eyes. His head throbbed.
He looked around, but the lighting was so dim he couldn’t see beyond a few feet. He decided to sit and concentrate for a second, struggling to focus on the directions to Zanther’s location. Ray thought long and hard, but felt nothing. He decided to take the advice of an old martial arts teacher and use mental disciplines he had practiced for many long, boring hours.
He relaxed, letting the energy flow into his mind. Within seconds, he had gotten an instinctive knowledge of destinations and routes once again. His headache seemed to have left him. Ray now felt calm, serene. With amazing accuracy he deftly traversed winding chambers, moving from one to another, as the intensity of the mental instructions he received became stronger.
Zanther, help me! Take me to you!
He felt he was close, but as Ray turned toward the dark chamber that would bring him to the Rockoid leader’s throne room, he heard the march of running feet in the distance.
* * *
Minister Xorax knew nothing of Zanther’s contact with a human. He was astonished to find an Alliance ship sitting unguarded in a secured landing dock. Whoever allowed this outrage to occur would shortly be dead. His entire being felt violated.
Xorax grabbed his weapon. He checked a small light that flickered above its trigger, saw it was fully charged and ready to fire; he hoped he’d have the pleasure of killing that wretched, barbaric human by himself, but was willing to share the honor.
Xorax summoned members of his elite security detail and alerted them to the threat at hand.
As they planned to go after the human, he suddenly disappeared from sight. Xorax just stared dumbfounded, his hopes of a quick capture of the intruder ended. He ordered his troops to spread out.
They fanned out and began searching every nook and cranny of the huge ship. Rockoid and human genetic structures were similar, so it would be difficult to detect a single human life form with their own scanners. They hoped there were more alien beings aboard.
Ray’s instinct to come alone may well have saved his life.
The minister had the suspicion the visitor had a specific destination. He took his contingent of troops and headed straight for Zanther’s chambers.
Privately, he viewed the possibility the Empress might die at the hands of a human with mixed feelings. On one hand, he wanted desperately to mate with the beautiful warrior Empress, who was young enough to be his daughter. On the other hand, he
felt the chaos that would follow her death would not only intensify the war effort and ensure the victory the Rockoid gods had willed. Zanther’s murder would also give him the opportunity he needed to usurp the throne. Still, Xorax had to put on the façade of saving Zanther. If there was any doubt about his intentions, he could be charged with treason, and face a death sentence. His troubled mind retained much of the logic of the cold, calculating military commander he truly was.
* * *
It would only be matter of time before the advancing troops caught up with Ray. He ran as fast as he could, hoping he could reach Zanther’s throne room before it was too late.
Voices and sounds of many feet running toward him grew louder. He decided to focus more intently on Zanther’s directions. As he started pondering the throne room’s location one last time, the noises behind him grew fainter. Within a few minutes, he couldn’t hear any sound at all. Ray’s senses seemed to fail him and he could feel himself losing consciousness.
No, not now!
He tried hard to resist, but soon gave up as he realized he must surrender to the mind-numbing force that engulfed him.
Ray Perkins blacked out.
* * *
When his eyes opened, Ray briefly thought he was still unconscious. Darkness filled his eyes. After a few minutes, his sight returned, and he saw…what? An apparition?
Before him, a Rockoid female, wearing a long purple robe, sat on a large, black throne in the dark gray chamber. Ray couldn’t miss the wide smile on her face, so incredibly infectious it seemed to draw him in.
There, in the flesh, was the woman of his dreams…Zanther!
She seemed taller than he imagined; he could see the shape of lithe muscles beneath the form-fitting garment.
Everything Ray had seen in his dreams was reality…in this room…in this time and place. He could hardly believe it.
Zanther was surely dressed for the occasion. While she usually eschewed jewelry, in accordance with the warrior code, she now seemed bedecked in a ton of it.
Attack of the Rockoids Page 24