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tones of the Zentraedi.
The Micronian interlude would be expunged from history, he had decided.
And any similar race encountered by the Zentraedi would be subject to instant
and total termination.
Then, events could be put back on their proper track.
Dolza had to admit that even he, the supreme commander, hadn't had a
true idea of Zentraedi power until the moment the Grand Fleet opened fire. The
irresistible might of it! It filled him with new aspirations, new resolve.
When the humans were finished and the rebellious Breetai and his
followers destroyed completely, it would be time to deal with the Robotech
Masters.
For too long now, the Masters had treated their warrior servants, the
Zentraedi, with the contempt one showed a slave. For too long, that had seared
the Zentraedi pride. Moreover, it had come to light that the Masters had told
the Zentraedi a colossal lie all along-they had deceived them about the
giants' very origins.
The Protoculture secrets hidden in Zor's ship had been an important part
of Dolza's master plan to overthrow the Robotech Masters and let the Zentraedi
take their rightful place at the pinnacle of the universe.
The accursed Zor had been aware of that and had dispatched his ship to
keep it from Masters and Zentraedi alike. The plan had ultimately worked, but
in so doing it had brought this day. As Dolza looked out at nearly five
million warships, all raining down destruction on Earth, he realized that he
didn't need Zor's secrets, didn't need the SDF-1. All he needed was the might
of the Zentraedi hordes.
He laughed again, a bass rumble that made the bulkheads ring. Today
humanity died. Tomorrow the war against the Robotech Masters would begin.
Rick Hunter clutched the ledge of his viewport. As he watched, the night
side of Earth, partly obscured by the enemy fleet, lit up with a myriad of
red-hot specks, the work of that first terrible salvo.
"The whole planet," he said numbly.
Minmei came up behind him, walking like a robot, in deep shock. "Are
they all...are they all dead, Rick?"
He watched the night turn red. "Yes, Minmei."
She tore her eyes away from the sight. "Mother. Father."
"Lisa," he said very softly. His cheeks were suddenly slick with tears.
She started to sing in a lullably voice, crooning a little love song to
life and to the planet that was dying. But it didn't last long, and soon her
head was buried in her hands.
"So this is how we end," she sobbed. "First the Earth and then the rest
of us."
He put a hand on her shoulder. "No, Minmei. This is not the end, do you
hear me?"
He wished he could sound more convincing. But she wasn't blind; she
could see the overwhelming might preparing to turn its guns on the SDF-1 and
its Zentraedi allies.
"We still have our lives," he said, shaking her shoulder a bit roughly
to make her listen to him.
It was all so unfair, so hopeless. He hadn't felt so angry and powerless
since that day in Dolza's base when he and Lisa and Ben were helpless
prisoners-
THAT'S IT!!!
He shook her shoulder again with a sudden new conviction. "It's not over
yet! Listen, Minmei, I want you to go now and sing for everyone!"
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She wiped tears from her lashes. "Sing?"
"Yes. I've got an idea."
The smoke clouds were already rising from the Earth, rolling to envelop
it and bring on a winter that even the computers couldn't analyze reliably.
In the UEDC base's main control room, Admiral Hayes heard the report.
"There's been no word from any other Council member, sir. Marshal Zukav
is still unconscious, and the doctors think they'll probably have to operate.
What are your orders?"
In this election year, most of the UEDC members had been caught by
surprise by the alien attack, out mending fences and fixing political support.
Of them all, only Hayes and Zukav had been present at the base when the attack
came, and Zukav had suffered a coronary on the spot.
Now the reins were in Hayes's hands, but they were the reins to a planet
that was more cinder than soil.
"Damage estimate to all sectors exceeds any known scale," a voice was
saying quietly to one side. "We have indications that a few scattered groups
survived the first attack."
The first attack, yes. But now the enemy was no doubt preparing a second
and a third-as many volleys as it took to turn Earth into a molten ball.
And so the world would end.
"Did the Grand Cannon survive the attack?" he asked.
An aide was quick to answer. "Yes, sir. It will still function."
Hayes turned to him. "Very good. Then we'll begin the countdown at once,
Lieutenant."
The aide hurried off to relay the order. In moments, the vast base
thrummed with power.
Gloval looked into the face of his onetime enemy. Breetai stared back,
and it would have been a historic moment if everyone had not been in such a
hurry.
Breetai gazed down at the mustached, almost disheveled-looking little
creature who had outfought and outthought the best warriors in the galaxy;
Gloval looked up at a frighteningly massive fellow with a chest as thick as an
ancient oak and a metal and crystal cowl covering half his skull.
They spoke with virtually no preamble; they felt they knew each other
well.
"Commander Breetai, I want you to please broadcast a simultaneous
transmission of Minmei's song on all of your military frequencies."
Breetai's single eye fixed on Gloval intently. "I have no objection, but
what is your plan?"
Exedore stepped into the picture to explain. "As yet, the soldiers in
Dolza's fleet have had no contact with Micronian culture, m'lord! When exposed
to the song, they will be thrown into confusion. And it will also boost the
Micronians' morale."
Breetai rubbed his massive jaw. Gloval stared in fascination at the
giant mauve hand, the dense black hairs on its back thick as wires. "That
could provide us with the chance we need to catch them off guard."
Gloval was a bit-breathless with this alien's audacity. He himself had
been thinking more along the lines of a selective strike. "But-the Grand Fleet
is not a force we can attack head-on, Commander!"
Breetai gave him a surprisingly winning smile, coming as it did from a
cloned XT soldier whose head was half hidden by a metal and crystal sheath.
Breetai plainly savored every word. "Precisely, Captain Gloval. They would
never expect us to mount a surprise attack against them."
The main bridge hatchway slid open, and a slender figure stepped in.
Minmei looked around nervously at the mysterious landscape of dials, lights,
screens, and controls.
"Um, you wanted to see me; Captain?"
He went to her, Exedore trotting alongside. "Yes, Miss Minmei.
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Lieutenant Hunter has told me his plan. We're going to use it for our
counterattack."
Minmei glanced nervously at the communications screen; then quickly
averted her eyes from the metalskulled alien who was staring at her with frank
interest.
"You will be able to sing a song for us, won't you, Minmei?" Exedore
said anxiously.
She forced a smile. How could you go on with life when the world had
just died? Simple: You used your acting instincts, keeping introspection and
sorrow damped well down.
"Yes, of course. Anything to help out."
Gloval nodded in approval. She had barely exchanged two words with him
at the wedding, but there was something about his old-world formality, a kind
of lovable stuffiness, that put her at ease somehow.
"I have one special request, Minmei," Exedore put in. "Could you do
that, er, that is, that thing that you do in all your movies? I believe it is
referred to as a kiss."
He couldn't have surprised her much more if he had done his Minmei
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