|
Suddenly the oval craft resumed fire with even greater intensity. The individual beams from the laser guns of the ships coalesced into a single, immense beam aimed straight at an enemy cruiser. The crew of the warship struggled desperately to prepare their escape pods for evacuation, but it was too late. Within seconds, a huge explosion engulfed the cruiser, and thousands of metal fragments of all shapes and sizes spun wildly off into space. The crew of a nearby enemy cruiser, witnessing the destruction of their comrades, felt angered and frustrated at the same time. The tide of this battle had to be turned quickly. Fighters were immediately deployed to stage another attack on the impregnable laser guns, in the vain hope they would inflict some damage before any more of their ships were destroyed. As the enemy fighters approached the deadly oval fortress, hundreds of fighters emerged from several openings within the craft. The enemy ships were outnumbered and within minutes, most of them erupted in dazzling fireworks of fire and smoke, the death cries silent in the infinite depths of space. On the surface of the planet below, huge balls of smoke and fire filled the night sky as the battle continued, bearing mute testimony to the conflict. Millions of frightened inhabitants fled to protective shelters; panic-stricken females, witnessing the destruction that rained down upon them from space, sought to protect their whimpering offspringto no avail. The planet's death toll mounted as a result of the destructive power wrought by the horrible rain of death, the terrible bombs and intense, burning lasers. Debris from the battle above poured down without passion or prejudice. Hundreds . . . thousands . . . millions of beings perished in the wake of the onslaught. For endless moments, their death cries seemed frozen in time, as if the universe itself was about to explode. Rather than accept the succor offered by the planetary governors palace guards, the Emperor and Empress chose to stand beside their fellow beings so they could all confront their fates as one; silently, bravely. As the piercing wail of their death cries sounded across the small planet where the great battle raged overhead, on a world thousands of light-years away, a female with haunting violet eyes, delicate faceone seemingly crafted by the galaxys greatest sculptorand an exquisite athletic figure, slept soundly in her bedroom. Her bedclothes consisted of a dark blue, shimmering tunic bearing an insignia on the shoulder: a bird-like creature with wings outstretched, surrounded by a large circle. At first, her slumber was not the least bit disturbed by the unfolding tragedy in that far-off star system. Yet, as wave after wave of sadness and pain swept over her, images of fire, destruction, and death entered her mind. She felt the agony of all those who died at the hands of the ruthless alien murderers. She could barely contain herself; the agony was so intense her whole body shook. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Just as she thought the awesome, terrible pain was about to subside, the agony grew even worse as she felt the death of those closest to her, the final cries uttered by the royal family of her people . . . her parents. Her heart felt as if it was bursting and melting away into nothingness. Her entire body seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, awakening from the terrible nightmare, screaming words of longing and pain in a language no human had ever uttered. Yet one human did hear the screams of agony, a man separated from the woman by a vast gulf of time and space. Though the words were incomprehensible to him, the man could clearly decipher their meaning and could sense her agony. For a moment, time and space ceased to exist. She called out to him, pleading with him to save her from the terrible ordeal. Her anguish and longing enveloped him until he, too, cried out loud, screaming at the top of his lungs, "No, no, no!" * * * The alarm went off and the tall young man awakened in a cold sweat. Ray Perkins threw off the bed covers and slowly, painfully, rose to a seated position. He remained thus for a moment, and put his hands to his head and slowly brushed away the hair from his eyes. His throat felt dry, his voice hoarse, as if he had been screaming aloud for a long time. Though he was desperately drawn to the beautiful, violet-eyed woman, Ray Perkins was weary of the toll these dreams always took. While he'd managed to turn these dreams into moneymaking computer games, he didn't know how much more he could tolerate. After a few minutes he tried to stand, but fell, nearly knocking over his end table and clock in the process. He got up and assessed his condition, grumbling quietly to himself over his carelessness. Seeing he was uninjured, he staggered into the bathroom. His bedroom was large, comfortably furnished with thick gray shag carpeting, two polished wooden end tables, and a long dresser. Atop the dresser was a single small lamp, as well as several picture frames, displaying events from the past now only distant memories in Ray's mind. Page 2 of 7 Next pageClick here to return to the top of the page. Cover art by Michael Cox. Special thanks to Bradley Factor, Ted Haigh and Robert Ross. Web Site Design © 2005 Matthew Bedard. Attack of the Rockoids © 2005 Gene Steinberg & Grayson Steinberg. Attack
of the Rockoids theme composed and conducted by Bruce A. Sales |