"Jack McKinney - Robotech 05 - Force of Arms" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKinney Jack)

Robotech: Force of Arms
Book Five of the Robotech Series
Copyright 1987 by Jack McKinney


PART I: SHOWDOWN


PROLOGUE

In the 1990s, a global civil war swept across the planet Earth; few wanted
this war, but no one seemed to be able to avert it. It absorbed all the
smaller disparate wars, rebellions, and terrorist struggles in the same way a
huge storm vacuums up all the lesser weather systems around it.
The War was fought with conventional weapons for the most part, but by
1999 it was clear that its escalation pointed directly to an all-out nuclear
exchange-planetary obliteration. There seemed to be nothing any sane person
could do about it. By then, the War had a life of its own.
As the human race prepared to die-for everyone knew that the final phase
of the War would surely exterminate all life on Earth, the fragile lunar and
Martian research colonies, and the various orbital constructs-something like a
malign miracle happened.
A damaged starship-a super dimensional fortress created by the dying
alien mastermind, Zor-appeared in Earth's skies. It crashed on a tiny Pacific
island called Macross. Its descent wreaked more havoc than any war: there was
tremendous damage and loss of life and numerous natural disasters. The human
race was compelled to pause and take stock of itself.
Zor had served the evil Robotech Masters, but he had resolved to serve
them no more and had hidden his ultimate secrets concerning Protoculture-the
most powerful force in the universe-in the fortress. The Robotech Masters
needed those secrets not only to conquer the universe but to protect
themselves from the vengeful attacks of the savage Invid, a race of creatures
sworn to destroy them.
Thus, the focus of an intergalactic conflict came to bear on the
formerly insignificant Earth.
The super dimensional fortress was Earth's first inkling of the greater
events taking place outside the bounds of human knowledge. Earth's leaders saw
at once that the wrecked SDF-1 could be rebuilt and become a rallying point
that would unite a divided human race.
A ten-year project began, incorporating the brains and energies of the
entire planet. But on the day the SDF-1 was to be relaunched to guard humanity
from alien attack, disaster struck again. The Zentraedi-the Robotech Masters'
giant race of ferocious warrior clones-struck, bringing devastation to the
Earth in an effort to recapture the SDF-1.
The desperate crew of the SDF-1 attempted a spacefold jump to get clear
of the attack. Yet a miscalculation resulted in the ship's reappearance far
from its intended destination: The SDF-1 and most of the civilian population
of Macross Island were suddenly, transported out to the orbit of the planet
Pluto.
And so the long, perilous voyage back to Earth began. The SDF-1 battled