Dark Powers

by Jack McKinney

  “Even the fruit they bear is different in color and texture—although still a far cry from the true Opteran species. Nevertheless, it may tell us something.” He took off his rucksack and placed the sample inside. “Look for the ripest ones,” he instructed Janice, as she added a second fruit to the pack.

  Cabell was straightening up when a sudden movement further up the slope caught his eye. Janice heard him start, and turned to follow his narrowed gaze.

  “What was it?”

  Cabell stroked his beard. “I thought I saw someone up ahead.”

  “A Praxian?” Janice asked, craning her neck and sharpening her vision.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I would swear it was Burak!”

  Later, a stone’s throw from the grounded GMU, inside the wooden structure that had been designated both quarters and cell, Tesla wolfed down the fruits Burak had picked from the sinister orchard Zor’s Flower of Life seedings had spawned on Praxis.

  “Yes, yes, different, ummm,” the Invid was saying in a voice tinged with rapture.

  The young Perytonian tried to avert his eyes, but in the end couldn’t help himself from watching Tesla as he ingested fruit after fruit. Moist sucking noises filled the cell.

  “And you think they may have seen you?” Tesla asked him.

  “It is possible—Cabell, in any case.”

  Tesla scoffed, still munching and handling the fruits as if they were wealth itself. “Cabell is too old to recognize the nose on his own face. Besides, they know I can’t subsist on what you call food.”

  Burak said nothing. It was true enough: the Invid’s food stock had been destroyed with the Farrago, and the Sentinels had agreed to place Burak in charge of securing alternative nutrient plants. But Cabell, who was anything but a doddering old man, and perhaps fearing the very transformations Tesla was beginning to undergo, had suggested that the Invid’s fruit and Flower intake be regulated—this in spite of the fact that Tesla had to some extent ingratiated himself with the group since their victory on Karbarra. Each evening, Cabell and Jean Grant would look in on Tesla. Burak had been asked to furnish them with a daily log of the amounts gathered and ingested; and the devilish looking Perytonian was complying—in as much he would file a report. But the report was hardly a reflection of the actual amounts Tesla consumed. Fortunately, though, the Invid’s transformations had been limited to brief periods following his meals, when neither Cabell nor Jean were present.

  “More,” Tesla said now, holding out his hands.

  Burak regarded the Invid’s newly-acquired fifth digit and pulled the basket out of reach. “I think you’ve had enough for today.” Burak had heard it said that extraordinary powers could be gained from ingesting the fruits of Haydon’s worlds, but he had never understood that to mean physical transfiguration, and the Invid’s recent changes were beginning to fill him with fear.

  Tesla’s eyes glowed red as he came to his feet, taller by inches than he had stood on Karbarra. “You dare to say this to me after all we’ve been through? You, who sought me out before fate landed us in this despicable situation? And what of your homeworld and the curse you were so feverish to see ended—have you given up hope? Would you renounce your destiny?”

  Burak took a hesitant step toward the door, the basket clasped to him. “You’re changing!” he said, pointing to Tesla’s hands. “They’re going to notice it, and what then? They’ll cut back on the amounts, put someone else in charge of you. Then what becomes of your promises—what becomes of Peryton?”

  Tesla continued to glare at him a moment more, transmogrifying even as Burak watched. The Invid’s skull rippled and expanded, as though being forced to conform to some novel interior design. Gradually, however, Tesla reassumed his natural state and collapsed back into his seat, spent, subdued, and apologetic.

  “You’re right, Burak. We must take care to keep our partnership a carefully-guarded secret.” His black, ophidian eyes fixed on Burak. “And have no fear for your tortured world. When the time comes for me to assume my rightful place in these events, I shall reward you for these efforts.”

  “That’s all that I ask,” Burak told him.

  The two XTs fell silent as a gentle tremor shook the building.

  Tesla stared at the floor. “I sense something about this planet,” he announced, his sensor organs twitching as his snout came up. “And I think I am beginning to see just what the Regess was doing here.”

  THIS ONE’S FOR THE MEN OF THE “BIG E,” THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ENTERPRISE, WITH THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jack McKinney has been a psychiatric aide, fusion-rock guitarist and session man, worldwide wilderness guide, and “consultant” to the U.S. Military in Southeast Asia (although they had to draft him for that).

  His numerous other works of mainstream and science fiction—novels, radio and television scripts—have been written under various pseudonyms.

  He resides in Ubud, on the Indonesian island of Bali.

  APPENDIX

  Thanks to the magic of electronic publishing, it has become practical to update the classic Robotech novelizations. Many of these changes are simple spelling and grammar corrections while others are minor continuity corrections which were made to more closely match the events of the television episodes. Such continuity updates were made where we felt it could be done without too much disruption to the original prose, and left alone in other instances where we felt the disruption would outweigh the benefit. For those of you curious about the specific changes made, we offer the following list of updates and errata:

  UPDATES TO ALL CHAPTERS:

  Different spellings of Jonathan Wolff’s last name have been updated to “Wolfe,” which was the spelling Carl Macek settled on in later books.

  The spelling of “Regis” has been updated to “Regess” (feminine of Regent).

  Miriya Parino’s last name corrected to “Parina” to match the TV show.

  “Quadrono” updated to “Quadrano”

  UPDATES:

  Print page 152, paragraph 6:

  Changed “that that fool” to “that fool”

  ROBOTECH CHRONOLOGY

  Aeon Lanack

  1171 A.L.

  Zor is born on Tirol

  1256-1490 A.L.

  Quadrant exploration by the Tiresian technovoyager ship Azstraph – the “Venture.”

  1520 A.L.

  The Azstraph enters the Tzuptum system and inserts itself into the orbit around Optera. Zor encounters the Flower of Life, makes contact with the Invid, and seduces the secrets of the Flower from the Queen-Mother, The Regess.

  1697 A.L.

  The Azstraph returns to Tirol. Zor begins to experiment with the Flower of Life specimens he has brought with him from Optera.

  1755-1836 A.L.

  Zor conjures Protoculture from the Flower and eventually falls victim to the Compulsion placed upon him by the Tiresian Council of Elders. Origin of the Cult of the Three-in-One and ascendancy of the Robotech Masters. Fall of the Royal Hall as the period known as the Great Transition commences.

  1920 A.L.

  16 years before “Aeon Robotech.” Development of the spacefold drive. Creation of Tirol’s clone population and neural reprogramming of the Zentraedi miner giants.

  Aeon Robotech

  88 A.R.

  The Razing of Optera by the Zentraedi

  157-500 A.R.

  Consolidation of the empire of the Robotech Masters. The Invid, after a burst of monocellular reproduction, declare war on the Robotech Masters.

  566 A.R.

  Zor’s voyages deliver him to Haydon IV, where he has a profound encounter with the planetoid’s artificial sentience, the Awareness.

  Zor designs and builds the starship that will come to be called the SDF-1, and backed by a group of loyal Zentraedi, begins his “quiet rebellion” against the Masters.

  Zentraedi commander in chief Dolza forms an uneasy alliance with Zor, who has by now become h
opelessly addicted to the dried leaves of the Flower.

  580-640 A.R.

  Zor’s clandestine seeding attempts take him to Peryton, Karbarra, Praxis, Garuda, and Spheris.

  671 A.R.

  Zor steals the single extant Protoculture matrix from Tiresia and conceals it within the spacefold drives of the SDF-1. The fortress, with its skeleton crew of loyal Zentraedi, is folded from Tirol’s corner of the galaxy.

  Anno Domini

  1999 A.D.

  An Alien spaceship crash-lands on Earth. Effectively ending almost a decade of Global Civil War. Originally called “The Visitor,” the ship is dubbed Super Dimensional Fortress I—the SDF-1

  Dr. Emil Lang, after an initial recon of the ship (in the company of Roy Fokker, Henry Gloval, T.R. Edwards, and others), begins to unravel the secrets of the extraterrestrial science known as Robotech.

  Macross Island becomes the focal point of Robotechnology, and restoration commences on the SDF-1

  In another part of the galaxy, Zor is killed by Invid Soldiers during a Flower of Life seeding attempt. The Zentraedi Breetai is wounded during the same raid. Commander in chief Dolza orders Commander Reno to return Zor’s body to the Robotech Masters on Tirol.

  Interstellar war with the Invid, whose homeworld, Optera, has been defoliated by the Zentraedi, continues to chip away at the fringes of the Master’ galactic empire.

  2002 A.D.

  Disaster at the Mars Base Sara, Lisa Hayes’s boyfriend, Karl Riber, is killed. Lisa Turns 17.

  Development of the reconfigurable Veritech Fighter begins.

  On Tirol, Cabell creates Rem by cloning tissue from Zor. The Masters, too, have their way with Zor’s body, cloning tissue for their own purposes and extracting from the scientist’s residual cellular memories a vision of Earth—destination of the fortress and Protoculture matrix he has stolen and spirited from their grasp.

  2003-08 A.D.

  Rose of the United Earth Defense Council under the leadership of Senator Russo, Admiral Hayes, T.R. Edwards, and others.

  Roy Fokker and Claudia Grant become fast friends.

  Lisa Hayes is assigned to the SDF-1 project on Macross, under the command of Captain Henry Gloval.

  Tommy Luan is elected mayor of Macross City

  2009 A.D.

  On the SDF-1’s launch day the Zentraedi (after a ten-year search for Zor’s fortress and the missing Protoculture matrix) appear and lay siege to Macross Island. The fortress makes an accidental hyperspace jump to Pluto, carrying the island and its population of 75,000 along with it. 15-year old Lynn Minmei and 19-year-old Rick Hunter are caught up in the spacefold.

  2009-2011 A.D.

  The SDF-1 begins its way back to Earth with Macross City rebuilt inside its massive holds.

  Rick Hunter joins the RDF and earns the rank of Lieutenant, with Ben Dixon and Max Sterling assigned to his VT squadron.

  The Battle at Saturn’s Rings.

  Lynn Minmei is voted “Miss Macross.”

  Breetai calls up the Botoru Battalion, led by the notorious “Khyron the Backstabber.”

  The Battle at Mars Base Sara.

  Rick, Lisa, Max, and Ben are captured by Breetai and interrogated by the Zentraedi commander in chief, Dolza.

  The Earth forces learn of the term “Protoculture” for the first time.

  Three “micronized” Zentraedi spies- Rock, Konda, and Bron – are successfully inserted into the SDF-1, which returns back to Earth.

  Lynn Minmei is reunited with her cousin, Lynn-Kyle.

  Rick Hunter is seriously wounded during a Zentraedi attack on the fortress.

  Roy Fokker is killed during a raid led by Miriya Parino.

  After almost six months on Earth, the SDF-1 is ordered to leave by the leaders of the UEDC.

  Ben Dixon is killed.

  Little White Dragon is aired.

  The Minmei Cult has its beginning aboard the flagship of the Zentraedi fleet.

  Lynn-Kyle founds a peace movement aboard the SDF-1.

  Asylum is granted to the three Zentraedi spies, and their fellow defectors.

  Max Sterling weds former Zentraedi Quadrano ace Miriya Parino.

  Exedore arrives aboard the SDF-1 for peace talks.

  The Zentraedi armada appears in Earth-space and lays waste to much of the Planet.

  At Alaska Base, the Grand Cannon is destroyed after it returns fire “in a damaged state” and Admiral Hayes is killed. T.R. Edwards survives and vows to avenge himself on Rick and Lisa “who did not stop to help rescue T.R. Edwards.”

  The SDF-1, with assistance from Lynn Minmei’s singing, defeats Dolza’s armada of four million ships and returns to a ravaged Earth.

  2012-2014 A.D.

  A period of reconstruction begins, with humans and Zentraedi working side by side.

  Dana Sterling and Bowie Grant (son of Claudia Grant’s brother, Vince) are born.

  The factory satellite is captured from Commander Reno and folded to Earth-space.

  Dr. Lang and Professor Lazlo Zand begin work on a secret project involving artificial intelligence. Zand takes particular interest in the infant Dana and under goes a Protoculture mind boost.

  Khyron makes a surprise appearance and takes Minmei and Lynn-Kyle hostage.

  The destruction of New Macross, the SDF-1 and SDF-2, along with Khyron’s forces. Henry Gloval, Claudia Grant, Sammie Porter, Vanessa Leeds, and Kim Young are among the many casualties. The remains of the three ships are in tomb and buried under tons of earthen debris dredged up from Lake Gloval.

  2015-2017 A.D.

  The Robotech Masters lose confidence in their race of warrior clones and begin a mass pilgrimage through interstellar space to Earth to recapture Zor’s Protoculture matrix.

  Zentraedi Malcontent Uprisings in the Southlands Control Zone (South America). Jonathan Wolfe comes to the attention of Commander Max Sterling.

  The Robotech Expeditionary Force is formed for the express purpose of journeying to Tirol to sue for peace with the Robotech Masters. Aboard the factory satellite, work commences on the SDF-3.

  Rise of Monument city and Anatole Leonard’s Army of the Southern Cross.

  Lynn Minmei takes on a singing partner, the android JANICE, at Emil Lang’s urging.

  The Invid complete their conquest of Garuda, Praxis, Karbarra, and Spheris.

  2022 A.D.

  Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes wed aboard the Factory Satellite. Dana and Bowie are given over to the care of Rolf and Laura Emerson.

  The SDF-3 is launched; Minmei and JANICE are caught up in the spacefold.

  Rick turns 31; Lisa, 36. Dana and Bowie, 10. Scott Bernard, Lang’s godson from the recently completed Mars Base, turns 8.

  2025 A.D.

  The Invid Regent takes Tirol. Sickened by his bloodlust, the Regess leaves Optera for Praxis to carry on with her Genesis Pit experiments.

  The Robotech Expeditionary Force arrives in Fantoma space and engages the Invid; the fortress’ spacefold generators are damaged. (The REF is unaware that the fold has taken five Earth-years, and believes the date to be 2020.) T. R. Edwards and his Ghost Squadron capture the living computer the Regent has left behind in Tiresia’s Royal Hall. Tiresians Cabell and Rem inform the Plenipotentiary Council that the Robotech Masters are on their way to Earth.

  The Zentraedi contingent of the REF agrees to be returned to full size to mine Fantoma for the monopole ore to fuel a new fleet of warships.

  The Sentinels-comprised of Praxians, Garudans, Karbarrans, Haydonites, Spherisians, and Perytonians-are formed to liberate planets recently conquered and occupied by the Invid horde. The Hunters, Grants, Sterlings, and others leave Fantoma space aboard the Farrago.

  On Earth, Senator Wyatt Moran and the commanders of the Army of the Southern Cross consolidate their power and take control of the Supreme Council.

  Dana and Bowie grow up under the care of the Emerson’s.

  2026 A.D.

  Karbarra is liberated. Tesla and Burak form a curious partners
hip. The Sentinels’ ship is destroyed and the GMU is stranded on Praxis shortly after the Regess’ leave taking for Haydon IV. Praxis is destroyed. Death of Baldan I.

  T.R. Edwards holds secret talks with the Regent, and begins a personal campaign to capture Lynn Minmei

  Wolf and JANICE return to Tirol. The Invid Tesla murders the simulagent set to Tirol by the Regent.

  T.R. Edwards begins to hold sway over the REF’s Plenipotentiary council. Wolff is accused of murder and piracy. Control of the Fantoma mining operations goes to Edwards.

  Garuda is liberated. Rick, Lisa, Rem, and Karen suffer the near-fatal effects of the planet’s atmosphere.

  Baldan II is “shaped” by Teal.

  The Zentraedi leave Tirol space with the monopole ore needed for the fleet’s warships.

  2027 A.D.

  The Sentinels arrive on Haydon IV shortly after the Regess’ leave taking, and “surrender” Rem to the occupying Invid troops. Rem learns he is actually a clone of Zor. JANICE reveals herself to be an android. Sarna is killed. Haydon IV is liberated.

  A prototype ship under the command of Major Carpenter leaves Tirol for Earth.

  Edwards loses his grip on the council after troops sent out to hunt down the Zentraedi, side with them instead. Wolff, Breetai, and Grant return to Tirol and clear the Sentinels of all charges.

  Spheris is liberated. An Evolved Tesla leaves the Ark Angel for Optera to take on the Regent for control of the Invid.

  Aurora Sterling is born on Haydon IV.

  Edwards and his Ghost Riders flee Tirol for Optera, taking Lynn Minmei and the awakened Invid living computer from Tirol with them.

  2028 A.D.

  Jonathan Wolff is given command of a ship and is sent to Earth. The Zentraedi chase after Edwards