"09 - The Final Nightmare" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack) Darsis and Sookol had gasped, as had Allegra and Octavia. "It's madness!" Sookol burst out.
Musica nodded miserably. "Yes, feelings! Even though we've always been told that we're immune to them, I'm guilty of emotions." Madness, indeed. She saw the repulsed looks on their faces as they realized, she was polluted, debased. But somehow it didn't change her determination not to surrender these new sensations-not to be cleansed of them, even if she could. "I know I should be punished for it," she declared. "I know I'm guilty! But-I cannot deny my feelings!" She broke down into tears. "What's-what's that you're doing?" Darsis asked, baffled. "I think I know," Karno answered tonelessly. "It's a sickness of the Earthlings called `crying.'" If it was a sickness, Musica knew, there was no question about who had infected her with it. It was Bowie Grant, the handsome young ATAC trooper who she had met when his unit staged a recon on board the flagship. Instead of a mindless primitive in armor, he had turned out to be a sensitive creature. Bowie was a musician and he sat down at her Cosmic Harp and played tunes of his own devising-beautiful, heart-rending compositions that bound her feelings to him. New songs-songs that wouldn't be found in the approved songlore of the Masters. He had shown an inexplicable warmth toward her from the very start, and he quickly drew the same from her. Now Musica found herself sitting at her Harp, playing those same airs, as the other five looked on in shock. Bowie, do you feel this way about me? How I wish we could be together again! CHAPTER THREE There was never any other child born on Earth from a union of Zentraedi and Human. I made sure of that, with the powers at my command. Because, of course, I immediately knew that Dana was the One; Dana was all that was needed. And the plan went forward. Dr. Lazlo Zand, notes for Event Horizon: Perspectives on Dana Sterling and the Second Robotech War Lieutenant Nova Satori took a precise sip of wine, then consulted the heavy chronometer on her wrist. "Zero hour." Across from her, Zor gave her a puzzled look. "Something important?" Although he was good at fighting, there were still so many things he simply didn't understand. Was he, in the terms of this "date," behind schedule somehow? Was he late in initiating the curious physical interchanges the barracks braggarts always talked about? Was there some accepted procedure for abbreviating the preliminaries? Perhaps he should begin removing garments-but whose? Nova stared at him. "Well...don't tell Dana or anyone else, but the relief force is just lifting off for the moon." Nova couldn't for the life of her figure out why she was telling him, except that she liked one-upping Dana. She couldn't really put a finger on why she had come along with him to the restaurant either, except that she felt drawn to him-almost against her will. When Zor was first captured, Nova was responsible for his interrogation. She had felt that he was an enemy then and was suspicious that that still might be the case. But there was something singularly attractive about him. He had an agelessness about him even though he looked young, a serenity even though he was tormented by his missing memory, as though he were a part of her. It was as if he, as the expression went, had a very old soul. Zor was thinking along quite different lines. Nova's mention of Dana reminded him that he was supposed to have gone to the movie with her. It had completely slipped his mind; he wondered if bit by bit he was losing all memory functions. Some curiosity-more of a compulsion, actually-had made him ask Nova to dinner. He hoped that she could tell him more about himself; he might even be able to recover a part of his lost self. But there was more to it than that, motivations Zor Prime couldn't fathom. "Earth calling Zor." She chuckled, breaking his reverie. "Eh?" "Promise not to mention it, I said. Dana's got an awful temper; she's going to split a seam when her precious 15th squad gets left out of another major operation!" "Don't worry. I won't tell her." Nova shrugged to indicate that it really wouldn't be so bad if Dana found out from him and learned that he had found out from Nova. She said, "No one's supposed to know the relief force is on its way until tomorrow. I really shouldn't have told you about it." The vague compulsions in Zor suddenly coalesced, and he found himself asking, "How many ships are going? How are they planning to get past the enemy?" It would all be revealed tomorrow anyway, and Nova's tongue had been loosened by the wine with which Zor had been plying her. "Well, I heard that-" "So! there you are!" Dana howled, rushing toward the table. The pianist stopped playing and silverware was dropped by startled diners. Angelo Dante followed, embarrassed. The Revenge of the Martian Mystery Women had been a debacle, animated camp moron-fodder instead of the sizzling interplanetary romance-comedy-adventure Dana was under the impression they would be seeing. Apparently the officer who had told Dana about it was jazzing her. Angelo had laughed so maniacally that she had slugged his arm and dragged him out of the theater. Then she set out on a mission of revenge. Now she set her fists on her hips and glared daggers at Zor. "Just who the hell d'you think you are, you double-dealing dirtbag, standing me up so you can take out something like her?" Zor looked very confused and almost queasy. Nova said, "I don't think I like the sound of that last part." "You're not supposed to, you tramp! It was an insult!" Angelo managed to intervene just as Nova was about to vault across the table for a go at Dana, who was waiting to clean Nova's plow before going on to put Zor in traction. "Now calm down, ladies!" He looked to Zor for assistance; the maitre d' was already headed their way. "Hey, Zor, you just gonna sit there like a vegetable or what?" Zor tried to put his thoughts in order. He couldn't remember why it had been so important to get Nova to tell him those secrets about the relief expedition. Now that Dana had interrupted everything, he could barely recall the impulse that had made him ignore his date with Dana. "I-I'm so sorry." He got to his feet unsteadily. "I don't feel well.... " He lurched from his place, and headed for the door. "Damn chicken! Come back and die like a man!" Angelo fumed, for he felt that he was about to meet his own fate. Outside, Zor stopped to catch his breath, leaning on a railing overlooking a garden near the restaurant's entrance. He heard Nova's voice in his head again, "The relief force is just lifting off for the moon." But then there was another voice, a cold one, speaking directly to his mind. It filled him with terror and hate, and he saw an image of an ax-keen, angry face set against a collar that looked like the Invid Flower of Life. It said, Message received and understood. At Fokker Aerospace Field, on the outskirts of Monument City, the last units of the emergency relief force were lifting off. The larger warships were being helped aloft by the brute power of a dozen flying tugs. The tugs released their cables as the warcraft climbed above Earth's gravitational grip. They formed up, making their way out beyond the atmosphere, moving at flank speed, maintaining communications silence. Their ascent was masked by the bulk of the Earth for the time being. Since the Robotech Masters couldn't maintain geostationary position over Monument City and still guard access to Luna, the expedition would have an element of surprise. |
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