05_force_of_arms-第32章

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Life　is　only　what　we　choose　to　make　it；
Let　us　take　it；
Let　us　be　free


Rick　hit　his　ship's　boosters。　The　blue　vortices　of　its　drives　burned　and　shrieked。　The　armored　VTs　left　trails　of　light；　leaping　into　the　dark。　Conventional　VT　teams　came　after。

Breetai's　tri…thrusters；　pods；　and　other　mecha　prepared　to　follow。　Gloval　and　the　Zentraedi　had　wisely　agreed　not　to　mingle　their　forces；　in　the　heat　of　battle；　human　pilots　would　have　a　difficult　time　reading　alien　unit　markings　and　telling　friend　from　foe。　Even　the　hastily　added　RDF　insignia　on　the　tri's　and　pods　might　not　be　spotted　in　time。

In　the　mand　station　of　his　flagship；　Breetai　stood　with　arms　folded　across　his　broad　chest；　a　characteristic　pose；　staring　up　at　a　projecbeam。　As　he　had　admitted　so　long　ago；　hers　was　a　voice　to　wring　emotion　from　any　heart。　Perhaps　the　course　to　this　moment　had　been　set　when　he　first　heard　it。

A　tech　relayed　word。　〃My　lord；　this　transmission　is　being　picked　up　by　Dolza's　ships。〃

He　nodded；　watching　and　listening　to　Minmei。

We　can　find　the　glory　we　all　dream　of；
and　with　our　love；
We　can　win！


His　flagship　trembled　as　its　engines　came　up　to　full　power。　The　front　ranks　of　the　armada　moved　forward　at　half　speed；　picking　up　velocity　slowly。　The　SDF…1；　in　Attack　mode；　was　accelerating　along　in　the　thick　of　them；　its　back　thrusters　blazing；　a　fantastic　armored　marionette　of　war。

Still　engulfing　Earth；　below　them；　the　Grand　Fleet　lay　in　orbit；　seemingly　paralyzed。

The　human…Zentraedi　alliance　swooped　down　at　it。


〃What's　that　on　our　monitors？〃　growled　one　of　Dolza's　munications　officers；　his　voice　harsh　and　guttural。

His　subordinate　could　barely　tear　his　attention　away　from　the　song　to　answer。　Such　distraction　when　a　superior　was　asking　questions　would　have　drawn　quick；　terrible　punishment　at　any　other　time；　but　they　were　both　hypnotized　by　Minmei。

If　we　must　fight　or　face　defeat；
We　must　stand　tall　and　not　retreat。


The　subordinate　shook　himself　a　little　and　answered。　〃I　don't　know；　sir；　but　we're　receiving　it　on　all　frequencies。〃

Then　they　both　watched　in　fascination；　ignoring　the　flashing　of　indicators　and　the　beeps　of　tones。


〃We're　within　firing　range；〃　Vanessa　said　tightly。　〃No　counterattack　detected。〃

〃It's　working！〃　Exedore　cried；　watching　the　battle　at　Gloval's　side。

〃This　is　it；〃　Gloval　said　calmly。　〃All　ships；　open　fire。〃


In　that　first　gargantuan　volley；　the　attacking　force's　main　problem　was　not　to　hit　its　own　fightercraft　or　have　its　cannon　salvos　destroy　its　own　missiles　in　flight。　But　the　Zentraedi　were　used　to　that　sort　of　problem；　and　fire　control　had　been　carefully　integrated　with　the　SDF…1's　systems。

It　was　an　impact　almost　as　damaging　as　the　Grand　Cannon's；　millions　of　Zentraedi；　gaping　at　Minmei's　performance；　died　in　moments。

Alarms　were　going　off。　The　few　Grand　Fleet　officers　who　could　force　their　attention　away　from　the　screens　could　get　no　response　from　their　troops　short　of　physically　attacking　them。

As　many　of　the　Grand　Fleet　crews　were　beginning　to　notice　the　alarms；　though；　Minmei　paused　in　her　song；　the　band　vamped　in　the　background。　A　tall；　dark　figure　stepped　out　into　the　spotlight　with　her。

Lynn…Kyle　wore　a　look　of　burning　intensity；　his　long；　straight　black　hair　swirling　around　him；　taking　her　hand。　〃Minmei…〃

〃Yes；　Kyle；　I　know；〃　she　recited　her　line。　〃You've　e　to　say　good…bye。〃

〃Yes。〃

Minmei　wasn't　exactly　sure　where　the　lines　had　e　from；　everything　was　so　hurried；　so　improvised。　Weren't　they　from　one　of　the　movies　the　two　had　done　together？　But　Kyle　was　putting　more　into　them　than　he　had　ever　managed　on　screen。　He　had　seen　her　run　off　after　Rick。　What　was　going　through　his　mind？

No　matter。　He　took　her　into　his　arms。　She　turned　her　face　up　to　his。　The　camera　cut　from　a　two…shot　of　their　bodies　pressed　against　each　other　to　a　close…up　of　along；　passionate　kiss；　Kyle　no　longer　acting。


In　the　Grand　Fleet；　alien　warriors　groaned　and　made　nauseated　sounds。

〃How　can　they　do　that？〃　〃Most　disgusting　thing　I　ever…〃

And　yet　there　was　something　about　it　that　kept　them　from　looking　away；　an　appalled　captivation。　It　should　be　added　that　among　the　female　units　like　the　Quadronos；　there　was　more　absorption　and　less　repulsion　than　among　the　males。

But　all　through　the　orbiting　fleet；　moans　and　growls　and　other　reactions　to　the　kiss　turned　into　shrieks　of　dismay　and　pain　as　the　alliance's　volley　cut　through　the　enemy　ships；　holing　them；　blowing　them　to　nothingness。


Rick　watched　the　kiss　on　a　display　screen　and　thought；　not　unkindly；　Farewell　Minmei。

Then；　〃Let's　get　'em！〃　he　snarled　over　the　tac　net。

Someone　must　have　managed　to　cut　off　the　Minmei　transmission　from　at　least　some　of　the　Grand　Fleet's　mecha。　There　were　plenty　of　effective　ships；　more　than　plenty。

The　Skull　Team's　armored　VTs　bore　in　at　the　enemy；　releasing　barrages　of　missiles；　fighting　their　way　through　Grand　Fleet　pod　and　tri…thruster　defensive　screens。　Quadrono　powered　armor　came　at　the　VTs；　too；　less　effective　now　that　Miriya　no　longer　led　them。　Miriya　avoided　engaging　those。

VTs　shifted　configuration　according　to　the　needs　of　the　moment；　Battloid　and　Guardian　and　Veritech　modes　were　intermingled。　Pods　and　tri…thrusters　mixed　it　up　with　them　and　opened　fire。　Space　was　one　big　killing　ground。

The　armored　VTs　were　faster　and　more　maneuverable　than　anything　else　in　the　battle　as　well　as　being　more　heavily　armed。　They　pierced　the　enemy　formations；　ripping　a　hole　for　the　rest　of　the　attack　force　to　exploit。

Skull　Team　seemed　to　be　everywhere；　unhittable　and　unavoidable。　Many；　many　Zentraedi　saw　their　Jolly　Roger　insignia…the　skull　and　crossbones…and　died　instants　later。　The　heavy　autocannon　buzz…sawed；　the　missiles　streamed；　leaving　boiling　trails。　But　for　every　enemy　downed；　three　more　dove　in　to　try　to　seal　the　gap。

It's　love's　battle　we　must　win。
We　will　win。
We　can　win！


The　range　was　close　now。　Around　the　bowl　in　which　Minmei　performed；　the　ship's　mecha　opened　up。　The　Destroid　cannon　in　particular　put　out　staggering　volumes　of　fire。　Every　battery　the　ship　mounted…except　for　the　monster　main　gun；　whose　energy　demands　might　have　damaged　the　SDF…1…was　working　overtime。

The　Grand　Fleet's　losses　in　the　first　moments　of　the　battle　were　awful；　but　its　numbers　still　gave　it　a　vast　edge；　and　some　of　the　enemy　ships　were　returning　fire。　The　SDF…1　and　the　armada　dreadnoughts　forged　on；　blazing　away　in　all　directions。　Enemy　mecha　were　starting　to　get　through　to　the　alliance　capital　vessels　now；　despite　the　best　efforts　of　the　VTs　and　the　armada's　pods；　tri…thrusters；　and　powered　armor。

But　slowly；　seemingly　by　inches；　the　allied　force　drew　closer　to　Dolza's　headquarters。


Max　and　Miriya　were　like　avenging　angels；　beyond　any　mortal　power　to　resist　or　stop。　Faced　with　the　redtrimmed　armored　VT　or　the　blue；　all　any　enemy　pilot　could　do　was　resign　himself　to　death。

Rick　had　part　of　his　mo　and　guidance　equipment　tuned　for　signals　of　life　on　Earth；　especially　from　Alaska　Base。　If　there　was　any　sign　of　life。。。

A　light　cruiser　was　trying　to　break　past　the　VTs　for　a　go　at　the　SDF…1。　He　went　in　at　it；　letting　go　a　torrent　of　mixed　ordnance；　aiming　for　the　vital　spots　the　defectors　had　told　the　RDF　about。

The　cruiser　fired　back；　and　Rick　decided　this　was　one　head…on　he　wasn't　going　to　survive。　But　all　at　once　the　cruiser　expanded；　armor　flying　off　it　like　rind　off　a　bursting　melon；　and　then　the　vessel　and　its　crew　were　scattered　atoms　and　little　more。

So　violent　was　the　explosion　that　Rick　was　distracted；　avoiding　being　damaged　by　it。　When　he　looked　around　again；　he　saw　that　a　trio　of　Battlepods　had　loosed　multiple　spreads　of　missiles　at　him；　and　there　was　absolutely　no　hope　of　dodging　them　all。

He　eluded　some；　jammed　some　of　the　others'　guidance　systems；　shot　a　few　right　out　of　existence…and　the　special　VT's　armor　protected　him　from　several　hits。

But　that　left　still　more　to　go　for　his　vitals。　In　Battloid　mode；　he　crouched；　trying　to　shield　himself。　He　nevertheless　took　several；　right　in　the　breadbasket。　VT　armor　was　good　but　not　that　good。

The　damaged　Battloid；　leaving　a　wake　of　flame　behind　it；　spun　and　tumbled　for　Earth；　fl