“Minister, I have contacted the President of the Alliance and we have agreed to a cease fire. The war is over.”
Xorax replied calmly, but there was a clear look of disdain and betrayal in his eyes. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, our traditions are never to make peace with enemy races, especially…lesser ones.”
Ray bristled at the suggestion he was some sort of barbarian primitive. On the other hand, when he had first arrived in this century, everyone else seemed to consider him as such.
Zanther responded curtly, “Minister, may I remind you in the years after the reign of Emperor Eronetus, the government made it a policy to enter into peaceful relationships with all other intelligent beings if they did not represent a threat to us, and now that is no longer the case with the Alliance. You will accept the cease fire and assure it is enforced. Am I correct?”
Xorax stopped to stare at her for a few seconds. Ray couldn’t detect an expression, but he knew the minister was none too happy at the turn of events. Yet this particular Rockoid official was a savvy politician and did not wish to disagree in public with the Empress. Xorax felt his time would come, so he simply said, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Without another word, he turned and left, with no further hint of his reaction to the unexpected turn of events. As soon as the chamber doors closed, the translation device was switched back on. Ray said to Zanther, aloud, “He didn’t seem very happy, did he?”
“No, he was not pleased at all, Captain Perkins.” Zanther flashed him her amazing smile again. “Do not worry. I will deal with him further at the appropriate time.”
Ray sighed and said, “I just hope he doesn’t develop into a problem.”
“The only problem we have with him is his own. Once he was a trusted friend. But a strange madness appears to have possessed his mind. Now he regrets how my family took the throne from his two thousand of your years ago and he wants revenge. He only wishes for his dynasty to again rule the Rockoid Empire, and he does have supporters within our government, a significant minority that may yet threaten the peace process. However, I am sure logic will prevail in the end, and Xorax will realize this decision is for the better.”
Ray and Zanther spent a few moments longer in deep conversation. The extended period of telepathic communication had given these two a very clear understanding of each other, and the shared exchange during Zanther’s mind probe had, in effect, let each live the other’s life for a few moments, sharing their most intimate thoughts. As a result, they’d now look upon each other as the closest of friends, perhaps even…lovers.
Such a strange combo we make. Could a relationship between us ever work?
Ray could tell Zanther knew what he was about to ask, but nevertheless she sat there waiting for him to voice the words. Finally he took a deep breath and asked her, “What about us, Zanther?”
Zanther sighed, and tears began falling from her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and replied, “Captain…Ray…I…I have to tell you something, but it is not something you wish to hear, nor something I can say without the most incredible pain in my heart.
“While the genetic similarities between Rockoids and humans make a physical relationship possible, it is forbidden by the edicts of our race. There is nothing I can do to change that. I…I have my duties and my obligations. I must soon return to our home world of Aeronautas.”
She smiled faintly, trying to put a cheery outlook on a sad situation. “I have quite a few reforms I’d like to present to the Rockoid Senate. I believe the way we treat other races could use a little…tweaking or fine-tuning…that is how you say it, is it not?”
Ray was very surprised to hear her using Earth slang and simply nodded. Perhaps she picked it up during their mental union. However, he continued without hesitation. “Will I ever see you again?”
Zanther’s smile grew even wider. “Ray Perkins, you and I are linked forever. I shall always be in your heart, and you in mine. Our souls are one. The laws of my people will never change that.
“We shall always be able to share our thoughts, no matter where we are located. In a sense we shall always be together, and maybe -someday…”
She trailed off, though Ray understood the meaning of her words.
The conversation ended for now, but he still wasn’t quite sure how one said goodbye to an Empress, even one with whom he was in love.
Before he could do anything more, she surprised him once again by walking over to him and hugging him tightly. They remained locked thus for several minutes, holding on for dear life with tears in their eyes. Neither wanted to let go.
He wanted to kiss her and she him. Their lips suddenly met. Two lovers, always together, forever apart.
Finally, they both pulled away reluctantly. Ray smiled at Zanther and left her chamber. As sad as he felt, he was also happy he had, at last, found his true love.
Maybe someday…
He had to keep that hope uppermost in his heart.
As Ray left the royal chambers, he had an escort of Rockoid guards, who walked at a respectable distance behind him, treating him as an honored guest.
Within minutes, he boarded his fighter craft, warmed up the engines, and sped off back to Earth. As his ship rapidly flew away, the smile remained on his face, his eyes filled with tears.
Goodbye, my love. Perhaps we will meet again soon… .
Chapter 22
Ray’s return trip to Earth came to an abrupt end when, suddenly, an Alliance heavy cruiser appeared behind his ship. A few lasers struck the bow. His ship stopped dead in its tracks.
He had no time to act; he anticipated what he was about to hear. Sure enough, a familiar, husky, battle-worn female voice barked orders to him on the radio, “This is the Alliance heavy cruiser Star of Terra. Perkins, if you wish to live, you will come aboard this instant.”
“Thompson! What the hell is this about?” Ray shouted, trying to make his voice sound surprised.
Thompson’s voice seethed venom and she yelled at the top of her lungs. “You have just destroyed the balance of power in the galaxy! You have let those bastards get the upper hand, and you will pay dearly for that!”
Within seconds, his fighter docked with the Star of Terra, and the hatches of the two craft were linked. Ray tried to remain calm in the face of this reality; he knew he may not be able to get out of this predicament.
Just then, a thought occurred. He said nothing, but his mind sent a powerful message out into the depths of space.
Zanther, please help me!
It was a long shot, he knew, but perhaps it was his only hope of survival.
Suddenly the hatch burst open and several armed troops entered.
The troops confiscated Ray’s laser weapon and conducted him directly to the ship’s bridge, where Thompson was seated. Her hair was disheveled, her face drawn. There were rings around her eyes. It looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. Her face had no expression at all, and she barked commands with an unexpected ferocity. When he walked up to her, she barely noticed at first. When she finally spoke, he could feel the hatred in her voice.
“Perkins, you have destroyed my career, my life, and probably destroyed my father’s company because they won’t be able to build any more ships for wars that are not to be. So you’ve probably wrecked the economy as well.”
Ray sneered back at her.
“Okay, I’ve destroyed the universe. Soon you’ll be telling me I’ve made you sterile too,” he laughed.
“Shut up, old man.” She glared at him. “Where you’re going you won’t have time to consider any more frivolous jokes.”
Ray kept her talking, and slowly maneuvered himself toward one of the armed guards. They clearly feared their irrational commander, a fear that overwhelmed them so they had grown careless. Ray gave the guard a judo chop to his neck and grabbed his weapon in a single flowing motion. He pointed the weapon at Thompson.
“I’m going to take you back to Earth. You’ve killed millions of people, you
lunatic. It’s time you paid for your crimes!”
“How dare you!”
There was no warning. All it took was a well-placed karate kick. Ray’s weapon dropped out of his hand.
Ray jumped on Thompson, smashing his fists on her shoulders and face and she fell. As quickly as she dropped to the deck, though, she was up again and raised her foot in front of Ray, who ran toward her.
He couldn’t halt his forward motion in time. His face struck the leading edge of Thompson’s foot and he fell with a resounding thud. His head felt groggy and he struggled against the darkness, feeling he was about to lose consciousness.
“I have had enough of you, Perkins!” Thompson drew her own weapon, glaring at him.
Before Thompson had a chance to fire, Ray heard a huge explosion as the cruiser dipped out of control. Everyone was thrown to the deck. Thompson’s head smashed against a console, and she fell unconscious.
Ray managed to get to his feet and stumbled into an aft chamber. He fought his way, slowly, toward the main hatch, in an effort to reach his fighter before the Star of Terra crashed into something or exploded.
As he neared his ship, he heard a familiar voice in his head. “Ray, Ray, are you all right? Ray?”
His telepathic response came quickly. “Zanther, I’m heading back to my fighter right now. You fired on this ship, right?”
“Yes, all members of the Rockoid royal family are required to take military training. I was…how do you say it in your language? Ah yes! A pretty damn good shot!”
Ray laughed out loud, as he was once again amazed by how she so quickly adapted to Earth slang. By this point he approached the hatch of his little fighter. The larger ship still spun around, nearly out of control, as its crew tried to recover its balance. It was almost impossible to get the hatch open to reach his craft. With a great force of will and with all his strength, he managed to pry it open and felt relieved to find his fighter still attached, the airlock secure.
He ran straight to the pilot’s seat. A few controls were activated, and the little ship slowly drifted away from the still-spinning cruiser. Ray set his course as quickly as he could, and fired the main thruster rockets.
As the fighter’s speed accelerated, Zanther’s warning rang loud and clear within his mind: “Ray, you must get far away from that cruiser as quickly as you can.”
“As you wish, my lovely Empress. I guess I owe you one.”
Ray couldn’t help but smile as he thought about an Empress who meditated, healed the sick and was an expert spaceship commander.
He was eight hundred thousand kilometers away from Earth when he looked out the porthole and saw the Rockoid flagship firing at the Star of Terra.
On the bridge of the massive Rockoid vessel, Zanther stared out into space, tears steaming down her face.
“I take this action in the memory of Zikath and Counar. May Reka-danai forgive me.”
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply while silently chanting an ancient Rockoid prayer used during times of war. She opened her eyes again.
She pushed the button to activate the ship’s powerful weapons.
Suddenly several lasers poured forth from Zanther’s ship and coalesced into one. The giant laser struck Thompson’s cruiser point-blank, causing a great explosion that disintegrated it, leaving only small bits of debris and tiny particles of dust in its wake.
Ray breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw the ship exploding. He sensed Zanther’s complicated feelings of anger, sadness and relief.
Within seconds, the Rockoid flagship was out of sight, but her voice in his mind was crystal clear: “I do not think your people will mind that Thompson’s ship was destroyed. I only wish the problem with our defense minister was so easily resolved.”
“What’s wrong?”
“He fled in his own private ship, with a few supporters. We are searching for him right now. He has sympathizers in our government who will no doubt protect him…”
Ray interrupted, more and more amazed at how easily this telepathic ability worked now that he knew how to use it. “Does that mean your government is threatened because of this guy?”
“Not us. However, there are greater threats in our galaxy and it is always possible the minister will try to make an accommodation with them. Next time we meet, I will give you the full story. In the meantime, I will send the intelligence information we have over to President Rogers. Now I must return to my throne room before they wonder where I went. They expect their Empress to be well guarded. While our leaders are traditionally expected to be intimately involved in the art of war, I doubt many would approve of their Empress being on the bridge of a warship, directly in control of weaponry.
“Remember, I shall always be in your thoughts. I love you, Ray Perkins. Be well and someday you will return to me. I swear it.”
Ray sat back, relaxed, relieved, and hopeful his “forbidden” relationship with this alien woman might indeed have a future.
After a brief communication with the Alliance command, he made a beeline to the Alliance’s landing strip in central Brussels.
* * *
Upon his arrival, he was amazed to find his friends on hand to greet and congratulate him. He didn’t envision himself as any sort of conquering hero.
As they talked, some other folks recognized Ray from pictures shown on the news reports and went to meet him. Soon the group swelled rapidly. Before long there were thousands of people surrounding him, a mix of journalists and spectators asking Ray questions. There was also a procession of high-ranking officials from across the galaxy who came to congratulate him. The crowd clogged runways and caused a huge traffic tie-up.
Ray barely knew what to say, and though he tried to answer all the questions the best he could, it was just impossible.
He started thinking what it must have been like for a celebrity to try to travel around like a normal person. He wondered if things would ever be the same for him again.
Fortunately, the hustle and bustle began to subside as Alliance security guards quickly surrounded Ray and his companions and led them toward a waiting hovercar.
Within seconds, the hovercar took off and headed straight towards the White Palace.
Ray wanted to rest, but before he could shut his eyes, Jennifer asked him, “Ray, what about Zanther; do you…”
However, the content look on his face told her just what she needed to know. “You love her, don’t you?”
Ray smiled. “Yes, more than anything in the universe.”
“What about her?”
“I think so. She says she’ll always be in my thoughts…we can speak telepathically now, as clearly as I can talk to you. I’ve never felt like this before about anyone.”
There was a tear and a smile on Jennifer’s face. “I envy you, Ray.” The meaning wasn’t lost on him.
That night, Ray made a brief effort to celebrate with his friends before crawling off to a nearby sofa and falling fast asleep.
* * *
Ray woke up early the next day, feeling refreshed for once. He hadn’t needed to take any medication the night before, and his dreams about battles with the Rockoids were apparently over. He knew he would always have a telepathic link with Zanther.
“I am in your heart always, Ray Perkins.”
He smiled.
A signal flashed on the viewscreen. A quick voice command and he saw Gotlieb’s grinning face before him.
“Hey, old man, guess what? We’ve got thirty days shore leave. Time for fun and frolic.”
“I’m open to suggestions. I’ve been aching to explore this brave new world.”
“I’ve got a great idea. Let’s examine those old Area 51 labs. They’re right under the shopping mall, sealed away for decades. Maybe we could finally find out how you got here.”
Ray had an inkling of dread. Though he usually trusted his feelings, this time he decided to ignore them, a serious mistake he would later realize. He figured there was nothing to fear from a long-abandoned
laboratory.
“Sure I’d love to see what’s really going on down there. We’d need some way to clean it out, right? There ought to be dust, insects and…”
“Not on your life. That place is sealed up tight. Nothing could grow in there. It’s frozen in time. Don’t get me started on the techniques we use to preserve ancient artifacts. We can keep things in their original state indefinitely.”
“Wow, when do we get started?” asked Ray. “Can we have anyone join us?”
Jennifer’s smiling face appeared on the viewscreen right next to Gotlieb’s. “Ray, I’ll be glad to join you folks. I’m looking forward to finding out what’s down there.”
* * *
The trip back to the shopping center seemed like déjà vu to Ray. He felt his neck hairs tingling as he walked through the huge mall. For once, he actually had a little time to inspect the stores and the strange offerings of products still unfamiliar to him. However, he was there to explore ancient artifacts, not window shopping, so he didn’t keep his companions waiting for very long.
At last, they entered a service area, where a large door loomed before them. A small security panel was situated at eye level. Gotlieb walked over to it slowly. His retinal pattern was scanned and the door slid open with loud, grating noises. Clearly, this place wasn’t visited very often and perhaps hadn’t been in years.
Inside there was a small room with recessed lighting overhead. At one end hung a large viewscreen and some control panels. Otherwise, the room remained bare. Gotlieb punched a few codes, and the viewscreen lit. Gotlieb said “Unseal,” and he waited.
After a few minutes, Ray heard the sound of air rushing all around him. The sound vanished, as the computer’s voice returned with the announcement, “Chamber unsealed. You may now enter.”
At the end of the small chamber, Ray saw the elevator, that elevator!
Within seconds, the doors slid open and Ray and his two friends entered the very elevator that took him down to the bottom of Area 51 over two hundred years earlier. Gotlieb pushed the button at the very bottom, and the elevator door quietly slid shut.
Nobody had said anything since entering the secret chamber. Ray tried to remain calm, but his feeling of dread became almost oppressive. He had never been one to ignore his instincts, but he thought his fears were senseless, so he decided to suppress them and continue on his journey.
Attack of the Rockoids Page 26