A Medal For Mary - Rob Astor (read aloud books .TXT) 📗

Klexi practically mouthed back.
“C’mon, Klexi. I don't know how much more of this I can take.” Lynn sighed. He watched one of the irrigators spray water on a group of twenty rows. The mist formed a rainbow.
“I’ve been trapped here for months,” Klexi said. “This has to be flawless. If we don’t get it right the first time, there’s no second chance, Lynn.”
“Where are the computers you need to use?” Lynn asked. He dropped to his knees and dug out a hole in the dirt with his fingers. A light wind blew in from the dried up east, offering no relief from the heat. Dust blew in their faces.
“There’s an abandoned town to the west. It used to be a trading stop of some kind. I never found out why, but, all the personnel were moved and everything was left behind about the time this area was subjugated. We can access the main computer systems safely from there. I can send for a transport.”
“What do I do?” Lynn asked.
“You have to help me shoot the transmission in a straight line, funneling it so ground sensors won’t detect it.”
A welcome shadow gave them a few seconds respite. Lynn and Klexi glanced up. A dirigible fly over, propelled by the same repulsion systems as the irrigators. “What do they use blimps for?” Lynn asked.
“Light cargo transport,” Klexi said, digging at the powdery dirt again. “Ufa’s main trading center is about a thousand kilometers to the west.” A few minutes passed before the gray cylinder passed into the distance. A second soon followed. “Shipping must be behind schedule,” Klexi said.
“This is a pretty deserted--” Lynn was cut off by a painful blow to the head. He fell forward in the dirt, his skull throbbing.
Turning, Lynn saw one of the towering androids standing over him. “You have wasted enough time talking,” the metallic voice rumbled. “Improve your production. There will be no further warnings.” It turned abruptly away, walking back to its post.
Rubbing his head a moment longer, Lynn regained his senses. He crawled back on his knees to his place beside Klexi and dug. He cast a sideways glance to the New Zimlliaan defector and saw Klexi’s eyes dart to him even though his face remained pointed to the ground. “We’ll talk later,” he whispered with exaggerated care. Lynn stared at him a moment.
“You!” the android bellowed behind Lynn. He looked across his shoulder. “Get back to work,” the metallic guard commanded. Lynn faced the dirt, slamming a plant into the freshly dug hole. He pounded dirt around the roots.
* * *
Sitting behind the flight controls of a dirigible is the most boring position I ever had. Where I belong is the front lines. “Excuse me, Sergeant Leon,” the navigator’s voice derailed Leon’s train of thought. “Our scopes are picking up a second craft.”
Leon’s eyes trailed away from the altimeter. He turned to the younger New Zimlliaan. “Transmit to Javen. Ask if he’s dispatched any air traffic. I don’t remember him saying two shipments were going out this morning.”
The navigator spoke into his headset. Leon watched a weather monitor. A brisk front was approaching them. They would drift north, even with increased propulsion. Visibility was estimated at less than ten meters by the computers. Leon would fly by sensors alone. “Sir, Javen had the ship dispatched at the last minute. He says he had no time to inform you.”
“Establish a link with the second blimp. Let the pilot know what our weather status is we don’t run into each other.”
“Yes, sir.” Leon’s dark eyes scanned the battered, rocky landscape below. “The pilot acknowledges and is taking necessary precautions.”
Leon nodded, keeping his eyes forward. The second dirigible registered on radar and steadily approached. “That son of a bitch should be slowing down. The wind velocity is still too high to maneuver that close. He’s risking a collision.” The dirigible continued gaining. “What the hell is he doing?” Leon asked.
“Shall I contact him again? They might have a system malfunction.”
“Yeah. See what the hell’s going on.” Leon rolled his eyes, snorting.
“No response. Communications are down.”
“Get Javen. I want a crew index and cargo manifest.”
“Negative, sir. They’re jamming us.”
“What? Jamming us? Why?” The second blimp was right along side them, visible through gusts of dust. “That damn crazy fool! He’ll get us all killed.” Sudden blasts of purple energy outlined in green from the second blimp's on-board cannons ripped into the cockpit, blowing apart the windows and computer systems, instantly killing the navigator and copilot. Leon was showered with molten sparks, thrown against a bulkhead. Laser fire destroyed the propulsion system. The dirigible drifted erratically. Leon fought the controls. For a moment, he swung back around and got in a few shots of his own. None of them scored.
A second wave of laser blasts ripped into the gray fabric housing a mixture gases keeping the hefty equipment afloat. A miniature mushroom cloud of orange flames tore the fuselage to shreds. Leon rocked sideways in his seat. His head slammed against the controls to his left. “Shit!” All power was lost. The dirigible spiraling lazily downward. The attacker kept its original pace, flying on the course Leon had been following.
Fire melted support beams, burning away the remaining fabric and leaving an ugly black metal skeleton engulfed in orange-red. Leon blocked his face, tossed violently forward and back as the blimp skidded across the desert floor. The burning superstructure was torn away while the cockpit bubble fell to its side. Leon twisted from his seat as a dirt deluge filled cockpit area. He tasted blood from an abrasion on his left mandibula. Leon crawled around, digging for a medical kit, supplies, and emergency rations. “Sound off. Anyone else still with me?” There was no reply.
“First day on the job,” the Sergeant mumbled. “Now who the hell would do this?” Leon packed enough stuff into a backpack for eight crew members to last two days. “They knew where to get us. Surgical strike. Someone sure knew what the hell they were doing.” Leon forced canisters of water into his pack. He pulled a strip of mess material from the dilapidated frame and wrapped it around his face.
Leon strapped the pack on and groaned when he stood, joints straining. He kicked out glass to escape from the wreckage. “Gotta get myself back to base and ask Javen a few questions.”
The New Zimlliaan ducked through an opening and plowed through sand. Red and orange flames poured into the air from the dirigible's charred remains. Black smoke was smeared by blowing dust and howling wind. Leon unclipped a compass from his utility belt. “What was that last reading? Two hundred fifty kilometers from base?” He gazed in the direction of his flight’s starting point. “Hope I don’t miss my mark by much. I really don’t want to walk all the way around this planet and never find civilization.” Leon took another look at his compass. “Guess we go this way,” he pointed and started walking.

Chapter V

Mary stared out her suite window at the underside of the titanic New Zimlliaan ship, suspended like a huge anvil over the city. I know I’ve seen this before. But, it doesn’t make any sense. Nothing’s happening. The attack never came after the New Zimlliaan Fleet Commander spoke at the United Nations. If only I could remember.
“You are ready to go and get Alexis, non?” Jeanclair asked, standing next to Mary. He gently rubbed her shoulders.
Mary relaxed under his soothing fingers. Her eyes, however, remained affixed to the bottom of the New Zimlliaan ship, flooded in bright white spotlights. “Yes, I'm ready,” she said softly.
Jeanclair pulled back and she turned to him. He looked into her eyes, smiling. “Something bothers you, Marie?”
She stole a last glance out the window and pulled the drapes. “Yes. There’s something about all this that’s haunting me.”
“Then please, tell me what it is.” Jeanclair adjusted his bow tie.
Mary walked over to the coffee table in the living room. She picked up a blue purse which matched her dress and beret. “It’s all these dreams I’m having.” She walked into the dining area, shoving a chair under the glass table.
“The ones about the New Zimlliaans?”
Mary nodded. “I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s like I keep having little premonitions.”
Jeanclair chuckled. “You think you are psychic?”
“No. Some of my memories are so strong. It’s like I actually lived them. Like the dream I had about the Nazis winning World War II. It was so strong. I just wish I could remember some of the things we talked about.”
“Was it about love?” Jeanclair slipped up behind her. His hands ran slowly over her shoulders, sending tingles down Mary’s spine.
“No. It was something about the New Zimlliaans.”
Jeanclair abruptly stopped. “The New Zimlliaans?”
“I remember in the dream, they weren’t here. But… I knew they were supposed to be.” This has to be reality. They’re here now. “I think I’m remembering some kind of… I don’t know. It’s all jumbled up and doesn’t make any sense. It was like a bunch of dreams all run together. In one of them, at some time, I remember you and Alexis were both dead.”
Jeanclair chuckled low in his throat and kissed the side of her neck. “No need to fear, my sweet Marie. I am going nowhere.” He slid his hands down to her waist. Mary didn’t respond. Her eyes were locked on the television screen. A reporter was talking about the extraterrestrials.
“In the few weeks since the New Zimlliaans’ dramatic arrival, the world has been growing farther apart as cities are chosen as spaceports and trading centers, creating feelings of separatism and resentment,” the young man was saying. “Most communications are linked through the New Zimlliaan’ giant vessels and little news filters through from those designated areas. We’re also told by New Zimlliaan representatives that many of the reports of hurt feelings and tension are simply rumors meant to create friction between the human race and the New Zimlliaans. Our visiting friends remind us to be patient as this transitional period progresses. There will be plenty of time for everyone on the planet to enjoy the prosperity of co-existence and cooperation.”
“I remember feeling cut off before,” Mary said.
“Reports from the European Union suggest the Nazi party is enjoying a new resurgence of power.” Mary gasped. “Nazi soldiers fought along side New Zimlliaan soldiers in a bid to flush out extremist groups planning to capture key New Zimlliaan ships and outposts.”
“Are you okay?” Jeanclair asked.
Mary turned to him, her face pale. “I remember we were in Paris when the New Zimlliaans came,” she said. “The Nazis were taking control of the European Union. You and I and Alexis fled the country.” This has happened before!