A Medal For Mary
By
Rob Astor

Prologue

Maryann dropped to her knees as the New Zimlliaan soldier fired. The car’s gas tank erupted. Spaceships flew overhead, depositing squadrons of the black uniformed aliens on New York’s Manhattan Island. Lynn took a shot at a soldier chasing a civilian on the sidewalk near the center of the battle. Purple bolts of energy cast in green ripped into his back. Pulling away, Lynn and Maryann hid behind burning cars and trash dumpsters. She pulled long yellow hair back into a pony tail.
A street gang pushed past them armed with pipes, knives, and scavenged guns from fallen New Zimlliaans. They faced off with the extraterrestrial enemy with all the fury of a riot. Gunshots echoed far and wide, nearly drowning out the air raid siren bowing and raising in the background.
Maryann aimed her new weapon at a sharpshooter standing on top of a tenement. She was successful. Reinforcements appeared quickly. “You bastards!” Maryann vented.
“C’mon, Maryann!” Lynn led her by the arm, turning a corner. “We gotta get outta here.”
The riot ahead thickened. Smaller New Zimlliaan ships hovering near fired into crowds of advancing people. Some fell. Some froze. A dark shadow fell over them from above the alien reconnaissance craft.
A rectangular New Zimlliaan ship floated over towers, virtually dwarfing everything with its mammoth bulk. It fired. Huge twin purple beams of energy outlined in green slammed into the ground, jolting humans and New Zimlliaans alike. Explosions chewed up pavement and concrete, throwing it up in the air in orange-red bursts.
The New Zimlliaan mothership fired again. Sharp snapping explosions were followed by a whoosh from punctured gas mains. Red pillars of fire rose into the battle filled blue skies. A second wave of blasts from the passing vessel triggered secondary explosions from abandoned vehicles. For all the good it did, Maryann panned her gun along the underside of the ship, repeatedly firing into the charcoal hulk.
A series of continuous blasts from the attacking behemoth neatly sheared off the tops of buildings. Concussions ripped into fragile glass and steel frames, twisting them outward like grotesque blossoms. Like lighted matchsticks stuck in the ground, the tops of buildings crumbled and burned. Lower shots blew out gaping holes or cleaved immaculate silver towers in half, their exquisite bulk lazily falling to the ground, crashing with tremendous force. Indiscriminately, the New Zimlliaan ship fired with hellish rage.
A brilliant purplish-green flash to Maryann’s left got her exclusive attention when a laser blast ripped into and gutted a skyscraper. Fire rained down like napalm on fleeing civilians. “My God, Lynn,” Maryann gasped. The inhumanity. The destruction. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The mammoth vessel drifted past their position. Another gas line ruptured where the riots were thickest. Shock waves from explosions caused the side of one brick building to collapse. A small group of people were buried alive. A final shot hit the street dead center, five yards from the savage hoard. Rioters fell to the ground. Some were burned by thermal radiation, others blinded by the white flash. The rest of the crowd dissipated, searching for cover.
Lynn and Maryann bolted for a trash dumpster long overdue for pickup. Styrofoam, plastic bags, lettuce leaves, discarded cans; all decayed and reeked, making their eyes water. A laser blast ricocheted from the dumpster’s edge, melting a hole in the metal. Flames licked at the paint around the molten spot. Papers ignited, some falling after being airlifted by the force of the score. Both noticed a dozen New Zimlliaan soldiers running in their direction!
“Holy shit!” Lynn clutched his gun close. He fired rounds, feeling little relief as three New Zimlliaan soldiers dropped. Who knew moving the rest of my stuff out would get us into the middle of this?
What was left of the street gang swarmed a custom made van with a special laser cannon set in the rear. Their leader fired, cutting two more New Zimlliaans down in the frenzy. A human scream sounded. A young woman was shot in the back. She toppled over the back of the vehicle. A burning abrasion covered blistered flesh.
New Zimlliaan soldiers leaped from fire escape ladders, ambushing the reckless group. In seconds, they recovered their cannon.
Lynn trained his weapon on a hoard of aliens progressing down the street. Two fell. He stopped when some held human prisoners as shields.
Another wave of landing New Zimlliaan ships deposited scarlet uniformed men and women into the heat of battle. They helped gather prisoners, taking them into waiting ships.
Freezing, Maryann’s right arm trembled. The gun clattered from her grasp. Lynn was plowed in the back. He stumbled, confused. Stepping over wreckage, he was captured by New Zimlliaans. “What’s going on?” Lynn demanded, dropping his glasses. He tried to twist free.
“You’re being spared,” a roughened voice answered with a responsive shove from behind a red helmet.
“Why are you attacking? You came to our planet in friendship!” Lynn protested. He felt a hand pull his red hair. Lynn punched out for freedom. Hesitance was met with a gun butt slamming into the base of his skull. Head throbbing, Lynn felt like he’d vomit. Oh God, Lynn suddenly panicked. “Maryann!” He barely saw her blurred form standing as still as a statue amidst the chaos. “Maryann!” Jeanclair, Mary, Alexis... He and several panicked humans were hauled into ships like cattle. “Maryann!” Lynn’s heart sink.
“Kill everyone not being probed,” a New Zimlliaan voice commanded from a megaphone as Lynn’s ship took flight. The saucer-shaped craft disappeared into clouds of smoke. A last long blast of purple and green energy ripped into a nearby building. A wall of brick collapsed into the street, crushing anything attempting to escape certain fate.
* * *
Lynn sat up, rubbing his throbbing head. The room was metal with a bench set into the far wall with a view port where no light entered, and an archway with no door.
Escape? Was it possible? Lynn stood and sprinted. He slammed into an invisible barrier. Bare flesh sizzled, skin blistering. He fell backward to the floor. Lynn regained his feet, massaging his wounds, limping to the window. Beyond, there was nothing but stars. No. Oh God, Maryann…
A black female entered. “Welcome back.”
“Where am I?”
“On board a New Zimlliaan prison barge,” she answered curtly.
“Why?”
“Slave labor.” Lynn touched a bruise on his head, wincing as stabbing poked into his brain. “You’ll be put on a special diet and taken to Ufa in the Gonouf System.”
Lynn lunged at her. She gasped, sidestepped him and quickly took a rectangular device from her belt. Aiming it at Lynn, she touched a button. A purple orb formed around him, crackling with green electricity. His body shook.
The field vanished after a few seconds. Lynn flounced to the deck. “I advise you not to do that again,” the New Zimlliaan female warned. She placed a small tray of food on his bench. “Actions like that are apt to get you killed.” She left.
Lynn regained his feet. He rubbed the back of his skull. Visions of family and friends ran through Lynn’s memory. He wondered if he’d ever see them again. The worst loss was Maryann. He never loved anyone like he loved her. Lynn needed her. She’d help him get through this. She’d comfort him. Making everything better. Lynn hoped she was alive. The last sight of her standing frozen amid battle paralyzed Lynn with dread.
He wanted to get back to her. They had so much to explore in worlds virtual and real. Lynn wanted to kill the New Zimlliaans. He wanted to punch his way out of the metal walls surrounding him. A lump forming in Lynn’s throat. Tears streamed down his cheeks. I’ll miss you. He sat on the metal bench and placed his face into his hands, elbows braced against his legs.

Chapter I

The elaborate computer system was set into the ziggurat’s stone wall. A lone figure twisted a series of dials. There was a stone pyre at the room's far end, perfectly centered among control systems. On the up thrust of rock lay a young woman, completely naked, curly brown hair cascading over her shoulders and down the sides of the platform. She was unconscious. Fluid filled tubes connected to her arm. Well formed bare breasts rose and fell with rhythmic breathing. Her face was expressionless.
The black clad New Zimlliaan Officer smiled slightly as he stole a glance. He touched a glowing red square on his triangular holographic control panel. Above the woman, a huge plant with lush green leaves was lowered. The dorsal side had a single root that moved around.
When the plant rested on her abdomen, the root poked into her chest near the breast bone and burrowed itself in. The watching human figure turned to a holographic screen monitoring her brain waves and those of the plant. The patterns changed. A double set of green lines in perfect unison. He turned back to her, the gargantuan plant fully in place. Tentacles wrapped around her torso and abdomen. The slightest of smiles crossed her face. The New Zimlliaan smiled, activating a few more holographic controls.
“You’ll be a perfect subject,” he said, voice low. He hovered over her youthful face. “The rest of the prisoners brought to me will endure what’s left of their pitiful lives as slaves. Not you my dear. You’re safe from the evils of the world, both Earth and mine. You have nothing to fear here. You might as well be in Paradise.” He snorted slightly, grinning, and to the holographic monitor. Alpha waves grew in strength as the plant interacted with her physiology, forming a pattern separate from normal body functions. “My experiment is already showing success.”
* * *
Fresh cappuccino filled her nostrils as she walked along the brick paved streets between small shops and cafes. The red sun was setting. The distant glow of lights from the Eiffel Tower dotted the purplish-blue horizon. Her heels clicked. Long curly brown hair bounced softly on her shoulders under a raspberry beret matching her dress. Her purse hung over he left shoulder. She carried a bag of fresh baguettes.
In the distance, pedestrians hailed taxies in their native language. Horse drawn carriages transported young lovers into the twilight. A slight breeze gusted, rustling leaves of nearby trees. She loved the way the French pronounced her name as ‘Marie’ instead of ‘Mary’.
A smile turned up the corners of Mary’s painted red lips as she thought of her lover waiting in their suite. He was strong; well built, dashingly handsome, intelligent; everything she ever hoped to find in a man. Mary dreamed of what was waiting for her. Passion made her walk faster. Her life couldn’t be more perfect. Mary was content.
* * *
The brilliant orange sun crested over the horizon, poking through the metal super structure of the Eiffel Tower from the vantage point of Mary’s suite in the Paris Hilton. She stood by the huge windows, dressed in a silk robe, staring at the cobble stone paved parkway below.
Stretching and pulling her long dark hair from under the robe, Mary walked to a plush couch, sinking into the comfort of fluffy cushions. She finished her morning orange juice and nibbled at her Eggs Benedict. Mary picked up the television remote control and touched the power button.
A young blond woman delivered the morning news, forcing Mary to think in French in order to understand the reporter’s words. “At seven o’clock Greenwich time this morning, German troops massed along the Portugal border have stormed into the country, crippling the government and adding the country’s territory to the ruthless Nazi Regime. Britain’s Prime Minister denounced Germany’s actions and asked the United States for assistance in halting bombing raids constantly leveling London to rubble. There have been no known nuclear strikes.” The scene shifted to a view of tanks moving into Portugal. Blasts from shells ripped apart fields and town houses near the border.
When the young woman's face reappeared, it was side-by-side with a photograph of a young man. “Adolph Hitler VII proudly boasted his party is responsible for the death of the American President and he will launch a missile attack at a time when conquering the western world is opportune. Targets in the United States have apparently been chosen. Hitler’s installations across Europe have been put on a round the clock alert status. That includes facilities here in France.”
Mary leaned forward. If Hitler’s a success nuking the United States, there’s no help for the world. Japan, Russia, China; all the world’s largest and best equipped armies have failed. The only thing keeping the warlord Antichrist from total control of the planet is the United States and her few remaining allies. How can they stand up to an army massing a billion.
The television reporter shifted nervously in her seat. “Hitler’s claims all Jewish populations have been destroyed in his death camps.”
The door bell chimed. Mary considered the door with an empty glance before rising to get it. “Who is it?” she asked.
“Alexis,” a medium pitched female voice answered pleasantly.
Mary unlocked the door quickly, pulling the wooden barrier back to reveal a middle aged woman standing before her dressed in red, hair falling to her shoulders in strawberry blonde curls. “Alexis, it’s so good to see you.”
“May I come in?”
“Oui, oui, of course; where are my manners?” Mary stepped aside. “Join me for cappuccino?”
“Thank you, Marie, but no. I’m fine. Are you still with Jeanclair?”
Mary’s brightened expression turned sullen. “Yes and no. We see each other when we can, but, he has joined the resistance here in Paris. He and the others believe they can thwart Germany.”
“They may be correct in their thinking.”
“With so many dead already, I can’t bear to think of life without him.”
Alexis smiled warmly, standing, placing her hands on her younger companion’s shoulders. “He will be fine. Jeanclair is a fine man. Intelligent. He will be a great asset.”
“I pray Hitler’s minions don’t find them.”
“Have you been practicing your French my dear?”
Taken off guard, Mary had to collect her thoughts. “Oui, as often as I can,” she said in French, perfectly masking her American accent.
Alexis smiled. “Good. We would not want any Nazis to discover you here and take you hostage as they have so many other Americans.” She dropped her arms and regarded Mary’s robe. “Come, come; you were supposed to be dressed by now so we can do our shopping.”
“Forgive me. I was distracted. I’ll be only a minute.” Mary trotted to her bedroom. Alexis sat, turning the television off.
* * *
“Spring is my favorite time of year,” Alexis said. Mary sipped on diet cola. “It never fails to rejuvenate my sense of youth and being. Revitalizes me. Gives me renewed courage and strength.”
Mary sighed. Alexis is such a pleasure to have as company.
“Of course, every season has its own beauty. Summer reminds me of my days as a school girl when I so looked forward to spending time with father at his chateau in the south. Winter reminds me of trips to the Swiss Alps. And autumn, the anticipation of all the glorious colors and changes that befall the land.” Alexis had a lingering far away look in her blue eyes. “Forgive me.” The twinkle faded. “I tend to ramble on about nothing.”
“That’s not true. You speak so beautifully. I love listening to your stories. They’re warm. They fill me with love. They make me feel alive.” Alexis smiled, flattered.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a very large fan. Both women looked skyward. Their eyes rested on the long silver colored cylinder of a dirigible passing gracefully over the city. Nazi swastikas covered the fins. A clear Freudian display of prestige and power.
Another sound wrenched their eyes from the sky. The sound of an explosion. Red flames and black plumes of smoke rose from a gaping hole in a building across the street from them. People screamed and ran. A few dressed in dark clothes sprinted away. Mary briefly got a good look at one of the men. “Jeanclair,” she gasped.
Nazi soldiers brandishing Uzis rounded a corner and opened fire on the renegades. Mary screamed. One of the rebels fell, rolling over and over. She was suddenly face down on the pavement. A strong hand held Mary back as she started to get up. “Stay down, child,” Alexis advised forcefully. “If they suspect you know him, they will kill us.” A few thundering seconds passed. The Nazis took flight after the resistance.
Spectators cautiously stood, helping companions and strangers get back up on their feet. Fortunately, no one hurt. Mary watched them and faced Alexis, eyes wide. “They’ll kill him. I’ll never see him again.” Alexis helped Mary stand.
A burly Nazi in a general's uniform walked along with a ten man compliment of soldiers and a bull horn. He spoke in broken English, his voice was deep and booming. “Everyone, remain where you are. I will be interviewing all of you,” he said with particular stress on the word ‘interview’.
Alexis held her hand to her heart, her lower jaw dropping some. She tried to remain calm as the Nazi officer approached them first. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he began gently enough. “Would either of you know who was responsible for this blatant attack?”
“We know nothing,” Mary blurted. The general’s eyes drifted to her.
Alexis cut in by touching the Nazi’s arm gently. “Please. She is in shock after what happened. We were watching the blimp pass overhead when the explosion occurred. All we saw were their backs as the cowards ran,” Alexis said as evenly as possible.
The general studied them a moment and nodded slightly, touching the brim of his hat with his fingers. “Thank you for your cooperation. Good afternoon, ladies.” He stepped back and started for the next group of standers by.
When he was out of earshot, Alexis sighed heavily. “That was close,” she whispered. “Let us go.” She collected their shopping bags, wrapped her arm around Mary’s arm, and tugged her along. Mary took one last look up the street. She heard distant gunshots and held the beret to her head, walking faster to keep pace with Alexis.
* * *
Pacing around her suite, Mary wrung her hands. She stopped to stare out the window to the streets below. Mary waited a few seconds, hoping to catch a glimpse of her lover, then sighed and continued her aimless pacing. “Please, child,” Alexis said, seated on the couch. “Sit. Rest. Jeanclair will contact you if he can.” She sipped at a cup of coffee.
“Doesn’t he know what this does to me? It should not be like this.” The telephone rang. Mary walked quickly toward it. Alexis jumped up, intercepting Mary. She placed her hand on the receiver. “It’s him. I have to talk to him.”
“In case it’s not, let me answer. There are so many spies and informants. We must be careful.” Mary reluctantly nodded. It rang for the fifth time. Alexis plucked the receiver up and spoke in French. Mary didn't listen to the words, biting at her lower lip.
“Marie, it is for you,” Alexis said cheerfully. She held her palm over the mouthpiece, whispering, “Talk in French and make sure you don’t give information not needed. The lines may be tapped.”
Mary nodded, taking the phone. She cleared her throat, fighting to remember how to speak French and banish her American accent while fighting the worry pooled under her breastbone. “Jeanclair, it is so good to hear from you.”
“Marie, my love, it’s good to hear your voice,” he replied. Jeanclair hid his true feelings, too. “We are in Paris for the night and having dinner at the Le Grande Tower. Will you and Alexis be so good as to join us?”
“We would be delighted.” Mary smiled.
“Shall we say eight o’clock?” Jeanclair asked.
“That will do very nicely. Take care, my love. We will see you tonight.” Mary smiled as she set the phone down.
“It was good news, non?” Alexis asked.
“Oui. We’ll have dinner with him tonight at the Le Grande Tower.”
“You see? I told you everything would be fine.”
Mary embraced Alexis. “Thank you for being here when I need you.”
“It’s quite all right.”
“I don’t know how I’d get along without you, Alexis.”
* * *
Paris, hailed as the City of Lights, lived up to its reputation, even under Nazi occupation. The cityscape was dotted with an endless sea of multi-colored lights, glowing like distant gems. Mary and Alexis stepped out of the cab, the latter paying the fare. They took a deep breath of the fresh air, crossing the plaza square in front of the Le Grande Tower. Trees and fountains were spaced along shale walks. The scent of chlorine filled the warm evening air. Glass panels formed the face of the building. “This is much better than the photographs I have seen,” Alexis commented.
Mary was about to reply when she spotted Nazi soldiers spaced at intervals around the plaza perimeter. Her face melted from carefree to terrified. Alexis noticed Mary’s change. “What’s the matter?”
“Hitler’s toy soldiers are here,” Mary whispered, nodding slightly to a group of three poised next to one of the lit fountains.
“Keep your composure.” Alexis pulled her long leather jacket closer.
Mary was more conspicuous wearing in a strawberry dress with matching heels and beret. “Something must be wrong,” she whispered.
“Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Alexis said quietly, keeping her eyes on the entrance.
Soldiers whistled at Mary. “Damn. They’ve seen us.” There were a few lewd howls and idle comments, then laughter shared between the young men. The pair of women walked through the glass doors and stopped inside the reception area.
Alexis glanced back at the plaza. “I hope there isn’t something more to them being here.”
“You are worried,” Mary observed.
“Where ever there are Nazis, I am worried.”
“Marie, Alexis,” a deep male voice called from the seating area. A handsome middle aged man with dark brown hair and soft brown eyes dressed in an Italian tailored suit waved them over.
“Jeanclair,” Mary said, walking faster. She embraced him, kissing him passionately. “My love, it is good to be in your arms again.”
“I have missed you terribly,” Jeanclair replied with a grin. “I have long waited for the day when we can be together, even if only for a few minutes.”
“You could retire heroics.”
“I am needed.”
“I do not have to be happy about it.” Mary tried to remain pleasant.
“It was very nice of you to invite us here tonight,” Alexis said, catching up to the pair.
“Mademoiselle,” Jeanclair addressed Alexis. “You get lovelier every time I see you.” Alexis blushed as he the back of her right hand. “Let us go to the dining room,” Jeanclair said, sweeping his left arm to a pair of open doors.
Elegantly dressed people were either seated at tables, standing in small groups chatting, or dancing. Jeanclair, Mary, and Alexis took their places at a long table at the party’s head. “Resistance people?” Mary asked.
“Yes. All around Europe, their leaders come here and exchange information and ideas on how to undermine the enemy. But, we must be careful. This hotel has Nazi spies and informants crawling in every corner.”
“Why come here then?”
“Hide in plain sight tactic. If they do not suspect we are resistance, they will be less likely to turn us in.” Jeanclair cut himself off abruptly as a small group of well dressed men approached, offering greetings. They made quick introductions. Mary smiled cordially. She took a glass of wine from one of the many waiters serving hors de vours.
“I saw you in the attack today,” Mary said. “I was so afraid you would be killed.”
“The poor child,” Alexis chuckle. “She was ready to climb the walls.”
“You worry yourself too much on my account,” Jeanclair said.
“I don’t want to see you get killed.”
“We have discussed all this before.”
Mary leaned closer to him, keeping her voice low. “But an attack so close to a populated center?”
Jeanclair studied her face for a moment. He glanced around quickly. “The Nazis converted that building into a computer center. It was a major regional information hub. It was highly rumored Hitler had his top men cracking codes to missile installations in the United States.”
“Dear God,” Mary gasped. Alexis’ face paled. Mary sat back. “The news reports are true?” Mary asked. “Hitler will launch a nuclear strike against the United States?”
Jeanclair nodded. “As soon as he gets the codes, he plans to have American weapons attack American targets. Then, the world will be his. He will not even have to use any of his own resources.”
“This is madness,” Alexis mumbled.
Mary saw a young man walking from person to person with a frantic look on his face. “Do you recognize him?” she asked, nodding in the blonde’s direction.
“Non,” Jeanclair said, staring at him as he approached.
“Nazi soldiers are on their way,” he said quickly and walked on to the next group. Mary's mouth dropped. Alexis held a hand over her heart.
The distant sound of machine gun fire reached their ears. Glass shattering mixed with screams of panic prompted them to move. “Follow me,” Jeanclair said, pulling Mary away from the table. They took a rear exit to the a corridor at the back of the building. Jeanclair rounded a corner near elevators and stairs festooned with carpet. Expensive velvet drapes decorated the windows. The staircase tapered from bottom to top, splitting in two directions. “What are we going to do?” Mary asked. Gunshots sounded close. Screams reached them.
“We cannot go out the back. The building is sure to be surrounded by now.”
“The elevators,” someone else said.
“Non, they disable them first.” Gun fire echoed closer. “Up the stairs,” Jeanclair said. Mary followed, Alexis close behind.
“Where are we going?” Mary asked when they reached the top of the flight. They started up the case on the left.
“We will have to find a place to hide.” Jeanclair took two steps at a time. Machine gun fire exploded ever closer.
At the top of twenty flights, they were left with a corridor bisecting rooms. Jeanclair ran to the end of the passage. He found a maintenance room where some of the air conditioning systems were built. “In here,” he said.
Mary was shoved by some of the panicked followers. “Don’t make any noise,” Jeanclair’s instructions reached her. Ten or fifteen people piled into a storage room near the entrance and slammed the door. Mary squeezed between two of the huge box-shaped devices. A door closed. Mary strained to see Jeanclair and Alexis. The lights went out.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Mary’s heart raced. She heard muffled whispers and whimpers. Machine gun fire rang in her ears and she pulled her head into her stomach, tightly holding her hands on her temples, crying silently.
The storage room door opened. Screams arose before life ending gun shots sounded. Others screamed. Nazi soldiers walked around the room, searching. Mary bit her lip, holding her breath as footsteps thudded close to her hiding place. The German soldier walked past without a second glance.
Machine gun fire exploded a third time. There was more unearthly screaming. Mary squinted her eyes tight, trying to shut the deafening echoes from her mind. The gun fire finally stopped as an order was given in German. “That’s it. Move out!”
Footsteps faded into the distance. The lights flicked on. Jeanclair stood by the switch. Mary bolted to him, embracing him in tears. “I was so afraid you… you…” She couldn’t finish around her sobs.
“I was, too,” Jeanclair said. “How many are left?” he called out.
Alexis appeared, her jacket splattered with blood. Her face was a mask of terror, tears rolling down her cheeks. She stepped around the mutilated body of a man whose eyes were wild in death, a pool of his blood staining the wooden floor. Mary embraced her. “Are there any others with you?” Jeanclair asked.
“No,” Alexis cried. “I was behind so many. I was shielded. The rest are dead.”
Jeanclair pulled the door back to the storage room. He saw the bodies riddled with bullet holes. Blood stained the walls and floor. Mary cried in his arms. Alexis covered her eyes, turning her head away. Jeanclair slowly closed the door. He saw a shadow from the corridor. Mary felt his muscles contract.
“All those poor people,” Alexis said. Jeanclair motioned for her to be quiet.
A Nazi soldier opened the door, holding an Uzi out in front of him, gazing at the trio sternly. A shout came from the stairs. His head snapped to the side. Then he regarded them and Mary screamed. He quickly pointed the gun to the ceiling, firing. Jeanclair held his hand over Mary’s mouth, staring at the pale Alexis. The soldier closed the door and trotted back down the corridor. “Why didn’t he kill us?” Mary asked.
“There must be a fifth column in the Nazi ranks,” Jeanclair said. It’s the only solution. Mary slowly calmed in Jeanclair strong arms. “We have to go. But, first,” he turned to Alexis, “we must get you cleaned up.”
* * *
The sound of spraying water from within the shower comforted Mary. Jeanclair is home to stay. This is so much better. I won’t have to worry if he will be the next victim of the Nazis. Mary smiled. I’ll be safe in his arms. She arranged flowers in a vase. The feeling of content returned.
Alexis carefully watched Mary from her place at a coffee table near the windows over looking Paris. “You are feeling so much better now, non? It is good to see you return to yourself again.” The elder woman offered with a gentle smile.
The water in the shower stopped. Mary turned as the sight of the Special Bulletin on the television took her attention. Puzzled, she felt compelled to listen. Mary picked up the remote, touching the volume button. “…conflicting reports that earlier today, Adolph Hitler VII sent ambassadors to the United States,” the young woman said. “The exact purpose of this visit is not known, although many rumors have surfaced.”
Mary sat on the couch across the room from the large screen. “It has been highly publicized that if an agreement cannot be reached, Germany will indeed begin to systematically make nuclear strikes against America.”
Mary’s stomach lurched. Her heart sunk. She wasn’t even aware Jeanclair stood next to her until he spoke, causing her to jump. “Everything will be fine,” he said.
“This is impossible,” Mary whispered. “It feels wrong, like this shouldn’t be happening. Doesn’t it affect you that way?”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Jeanclair said. “Affect me in what way?”
“World events. Aren't they perplexing to you?”
“We have so little control over politics. Ever since Germany won World War II, the world is slowly giving into the Nazi’s twisted ways.”
“What did you say?” Mary cut him short. She stood.
“The world is falling under the control of Nazi Germany.”
“No, before that.”
“Hitler won World War II.”
“The United States won that war,” Mary whispered.
“It would have been much better for us all if they had. But, America never got involved. The Axis powers turned against themselves. Hitler won. For over a hundred years, this planet has become the Hitlers’ dynasty.”
“The atom bomb,” Mary said staring blankly into space.
“Hitler had his V2 rocket men perfect the missile to carry the bomb. It destroyed much of Europe. Britain fell first, followed by many of the great powers.” Alexis was quiet. Mary noted her blank gaze.
“The meeting will take place in the United Nations Building in New York City,” words emitted from the television’s speakers.
“New York,” Mary repeated, almost silently. “That’s where we were when they came.”
A look of confusion crossed Jeanclair’s face. Alexis filled with interest. “Who came?” Jeanclair asked.
Mary faced him, searching his eyes. All she saw was honest question. “You don't remember?” Mary asked softly.
“Remember what?”
“No. Wait,” Mary shook her head, confused. “It can’t be. They’re not here.”
“Who are you talking about, dear child?” Alexis asked. She stood, standing next to Jeanclair, dwarfed by his well muscled form and height.
“The New Zimlliaans,” Mary whispered.
“The New Zimlliaans?” Alexis echoed.
“Who are these New Zimlliaans?” Jeanclair asked.
“They came from…” Mary’s words drifted off. She walked to the window, staring out at the streets below. Then she found her eyes gazing into the blue skies; searching. “There’s no sign of them.”
“Where did they come from?” Alexis asked. “I have never before heard of a country populated by New Zimlliaans.”
“They didn’t come from another country,” Mary said. “But, where did they go?” She left the window, searching through magazines and books stacked neatly on a shelf.
“You still have not said where they came from,” Jeanclair said, interrupting her search.
Mary scratched her head. “They came from another star,” she said.
“As in outer space?” Jeanclair asked quizzically.
“Yeah.” Mary placed a thoughtful finger to her chin. “They came and…” She stopped, studying the faces of the two people closest to her. “They came to take over the world. We were in New York.”
“Together, we have never been there.” Jeanclair gestured to Alexis and then himself. “Are you sure this isn’t a nightmare you had and, you are just now remembering?”
“No. It’s real. I'm sure of it. We were in New York; you, me, and Alexis. They attacked… repeatedly… and...." Mary stopped, pulling her arms across her chest. A lump formed in her throat.
“And?” Jeanclair was anxious.
“You were killed,” Mary whispered, wiping a tear away. “I remember being so scared. My husband was gone. All the madness was destroying my sanity. I was captured and taken away.”
Jeanclair stepped closer to Mary, wrapping his arms around her neck. “I am right here and I am very much alive.”
“It’s all displaced somehow.” Outside, Mary heard a dirigible passing over the hotel. The room around her dimmed. a roaring howl filled her ears. A table, the television, a lamp; all faded from view. Mary’s body twisted as she spun in circles. “Marie, what is it?” Jeanclair asked over the wind.
“This is a dream,” Mary shouted, holding her hands tightly against her temples. “None of this is real. You’re not real!” Pieces of furniture shifted and quaked. Glass shattered. Mary threw herself to the floor, holding her arms over her head. Jeanclair and Alexis were swallowed in an enveloping blackness. Is this what death is like? Have the Nazis bombed Paris? Mary trembled. Howling increased until the winds enclosed around her.
* * *
Cold steel was hard against her back. Stiff from weariness and pain, Mary’s eyes opened. Blurry figures moved around her, dream-like phantom images. She tried to sit. A pair of hands stopped her, forcing Mary back. Breathing came in a labored gasps. Words reached her ears, tingling at the edge of perception.
Mary’s fingertips brushed against a thin band of metal wrapped around her head. There were wires. Stronger hands clasped hers, roughly forcing them back. An awful metallic grating buzzed through her ears. “Another one’s slipped out. Stabilize the psionic fields and restart the sequence.”
For a moment, the stranger held Mary in place. Gradually, like a thick fog, the figure vanished, leaving Mary alone. Her vision cleared and her body reacted to her will. Sitting, Mary curiously gazed around the dim chamber. There were others there with her, people hooked to machines connected to her by the same wires.
Standing and walking, Mary explored the strange place, gazing at the human figures laying on tables like the one she was on. She tried to remember how she got here. There was writing on some of the walls, control panels, and equipment, but, it was in a language she didn't recognize. Triangular holographic displays projected unfamiliar images. Nothing triggered her memory. Nothing made sense.
Coming to a door, Mary looked back. Nothing moved. She felt like an escaping prisoner without knowing the reason why. The metal access hatch hissed aside, revealing a grassy plain bathed in golden sunshine. Blue skies and clouds were a stark contrast to the metal chamber.
Taking one last glance over her shoulder, Mary saw no one. She stepped out into the grass. Surrounded by a light spring breeze, Mary breathed deeply. She stretched. There was no longer any sign of the chamber, only pure nature. In the distance, she spotted a stone building. Curious, Mary walked forward.
* * *
The black uniformed alien paced around the pyre, watching the woman while paying special attention to her vital signs on his holographic computer system. Her respiration quickened. Brain activity on the conscious level became visible in the form of lines, all vertical, that began to undulate. She moaned, taking a deep breath.
Mary’s eyes opened. Everything was blurry. Something was wrapped around her upper body and there was a sharp pain at her breast bone. She made out the shape of green-brown leaves growing out of a plant on top of her. It was huge. Mary screamed, struggling to move. She didn’t have control over her limbs.
“Relax,” the New Zimlliaan said. Her head snapped to the side to gaze at his youthful features. “You woke prematurely,” he said, holding a device like a vaccination gun. He held it against her arm, injected her with a red fluid. Mary tried to protest, however, her mind was went blank as memories tumbled over on themselves.
“This will help you back on your way,” he told her, rubbing the back of his hand over her forehead.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked. Mary’s voice slipped into an inaudible whisper. Her eyes closed. She breathed deeply, vertical lines on the holographic display going straight once again. Alpha brain waves multiplied. The New Zimlliaan smiled.
“Pleasant dreams, my sweet. Maybe this time you will never want to wake up.”
* * *
“Wake up,” Mary heard the voice at the fringes of her mind. She inhaled, opening her eyes. Above her hung a giant fern. The pot was rust colored, the leaves starting to brown at the tips. “My, but you are a tough one to wake,” the male voice said.
Mary shifted sideways on the couch and sat. Jeanclair sat next to her, folding his bare arms around her neck as he kissed her collar, working his way down her chest. “Were you dreaming of me?” he asked, his voice laced with a heavy French accent. Jeanclair held a single red rose which he flirted across her back and brought up to her nose. She took a sniff and smiled.
“Of course.” Mary returned his affections with kisses of her own, working over his shoulders. “You know roses are my favorite. They will always be our flower,” she said warmly. In truth, she couldn’t remember the dreams. Her mind was clouded with haze. The quickly fading images were fleeting from her, no matter how hard she tried to retain them.
Jeanclair stopped kissing and leaned back. “Ah, but you are a beautiful creature, even after the party you had last night.” He set the rose on the table. Her eyes were transfixed on it a moment.
“Party?” she asked.
“You don’t remember?” Jeanclair smiled, chuckling. “But of course not, my lovely Marie, you were having too much fun, non?”
“I guess so.”
“You must get ready.” Jeanclair stood. All he wore were boxers, his well kept hair all askew. “We are going to meet Alexis in an hour.”
Mary rubbed her forehead. Alexis was in the dream, too. She recalled vague images but, nothing she remembered was of the previous night or her dreams. Mary sighed, standing, her body feeling as if she hadn't moved in days. She stretched, easing into Jeanclair’s warm embrace. Last night’s party didn’t matter, her dreams didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was in the arms of the man she loved. She saw the fragile rose again. She smiled, content.

Chapter II

The alien sun was high above the battered, dusty horizon. Brilliant red hues emitted from the dwarf star’s disk, silhouetting wispy bands of suspended particles in the atmosphere. Mountains were lifeless and bare. Lake beds and ocean basins were nothing more than billowing swarms of dust.
Taken from the comfortable cool of the New Zimlliaan slave vessel to the burning heat of the endless desert was a drastic change for Lynn Christopher. Just as drastic as it was to be taken out of New York City and carted to some far flung corner of the galaxy with no hope of ever returning back to the place he knew as home.
Lynn walked with short, yellow skinned creatures with large eyes reflecting deep blues. He was the only human in this group. They were chained together at the wrists and ankles, pulled along by a seven foot tall android. Its metal body operated on hydraulic systems and computerized panels.
Lynn stumbled once, sand filling his sneakers. His forehead was covered with sweat. It dripped and stung his eyes and glistened on his cheeks. Short wavy red hair was matted to his head. He barely made out structures through the sand storm.
The android spoke in a deep metallic voice, filled with whines and garbled noises. Then its head turned to Lynn. “You will be stationed here,” it said in English. “The reward for your services is your life. Un-cooperation will result in your immediate demise.” The chrome head faced forward, pulling the groaning aliens along.
As they approached the village-like arrangement of stone rectangular buildings and domes, Lynn clearly saw painted cyrillic symbols on some of the weathered surfaces. New Zimlliaan symbols. The architecture was woven patterns and angled blocks forming geometric designs. Near the center of the complex stood a large ziggurat.
A few black uniformed soldiers lingered around buildings forming an edge to the town. Beyond those, the winds died down some. Streets were paved in marble and silver. The town square was a huge starburst pattern. Several more androids and a few New Zimlliaan officers dressed in blue walked between structures.
Lynn’s captor android pulled the band of slaves past a long stone structure. Fields of crops grew on the opposite side. Green vegetables stretched as far as Lynn could see. The air was more nitrogen and oxygen rich and the sun a shade less unrelenting. There were also hovering crop tenders and irrigators, floating some ten meters from the ground, pausing at times to carry out watering and other preprogrammed tasks. Fire red in the sky, Gonouf slowly dipped to Ufa’s parched horizon. The New Zimlliaans android stopped, turning to Lynn. The hulking robotic form took a key from a ring, unlatching the solitary human from the chains. “You will come with me,” it said.
Rubbing his wrists where the metal made his skin raw Lynn walked fast to keep pace with the android. He was led into the ziggurat. Two New Zimlliaan soldiers guarded the entrance. They entered a dimly lit chamber filled with electronic equipment and holographic displays. At the center was a pyre with a naked woman lying on her back. Lynn couldn’t tell if she was asleep or dead. Over her abdomen was a huge plant with tentacle-like appendages and huge brown and green tinted leaves. It rested there.
“What is it?” a voice asked the android in English. The six foot tall New Zimlliaan officer, lumbered forward holding a holographic clipboard. His sandy brown hair was mussed. There was another New Zimlliaan circumventing the plant, an identical twin of the first, monitoring readouts.
“Javen, sir,” a metallic voice issued from the android, “this prisoner was brought from the slave transport.”
The boyish New Zimlliaan’s eyes shifted to the human. “What’s the problem?” Javen asked.
“This group of slaves will be placed with the defector.”
Javen was disinterested. “So, put him there.”
“Aren’t you concerned the situation will create problems?”
“New Zimlliaans and humans are enemies. I don’t see any problem. With any luck, they’ll kill each other and spare us the trouble.” The android nodded.
“We have something,” Javen’s twin said.
“What is it, Jadyn?”
“There’s a problem with the sync readings from the Psionic Dreamer plant,” Jadyn reported. “The signals will not stay matched.”
“Come with me,” Javen said to the android. The tall robot followed the commander to the pyre. “This is the same anomaly. What do you make of it?”
The android scanned holographic instruments. “It’s draining the host’s brain activity.”
“Give her another injection,” Javen said. “Don’t let anything get down to critical levels like the last test subject. Monitor her carefully, Jadyn.”
“Sir.”
“What were the effects to the last host?” the android asked as they turned from the stone platform.
“He suffered massive brain hemorrhaging. Seizures. Eventually, his mind was scrambled.” Javen glanced at Lynn. “Take him to the barracks with the other slaves,” he instructed, pointing to Lynn.
The android saluted by raising its right hand up to chest level in a fist and snapped it back down, turning to Lynn. “Come with me,” it said. Lynn followed the machine back out into the heat of twilight. He and the other aliens were then taken to a long building surrounded by a fence of purple laser beams outlined in green. The gate was deactivated by a tower guard. They stepped through. The android spoke the aliens first and then to Lynn. “Consume your food and get your rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
Lynn stood by himself, a few meters from the humming laser beams. The android spoke with a few soldiers and then left. The yellow creatures jabbered among themselves. He noticed none of the New Zimlliaans were actually watching them.
A hand clasped Lynn's left shoulder causing him to spin quickly. He faced a slightly taller human figure with boyish features and rustled black hair, trimmed short at the front and sides. He said something to Lynn in an alien tongue and waited for a moment before trying a new dialect. Lynn shook his head. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“Ah,” came a sound Lynn recognized. “You aren’t New Zimlliaan. You’re from Earth.
“Who are you?” Lynn asked.
“I am called Klexi. You?”
“Lynn Christopher.” He studied the battered gray uniform stained with black dirt the New Zimlliaan wore. His skin was roughened from labor. “Are you the defector?”
“You know,” Klexi said.
Lynn nodded. “Why’d you defect?” This has got to be worth hearing.
“I don’t stand behind everything my people are doing,” Klexi said. “For that, I’m exiled here.” Klexi’s eyes fell to his feet. He wore boots as rugged as his uniform. “I’ve been forsaken, but, there is hope,” he whispered. “Where do you come from on Earth?” Klexi asked in a normal voice.
“New York. You know our geography?”
“A little. My people monitored your world for decades. We were trained extensively before the final command was given to go to your solar system. I was greatly interested in your planet. I couldn’t help wonder how two very different races can look so much alike in two very different corners of the galaxy.”
“I’ve thought a lot about that myself.” Lynn said.
“Do you have any special skills?”
“I worked with computers. Mainly programming.”
“All thanks to Uxlt,” Klexi said. His eyes trailed up to the dusty skies. “You are a divine send.”
“Why?”
“I need someone with computer experience to help me escape,” Klexi said in a low voice.
“Escape? How?”
Klexi glanced over his shoulders and leaned close to Lynn. Lynn caught a sweaty reek, his nostrils wrinkling. “I can get us away from here to a place where we can break into the control systems and signal for a shuttle out of here. I’ll take you if you help me.”
Lynn backed further. “I apologize,” Klexi said, backing slightly. “There’s no use for water here, except to drink when it’s issued. The New Zimlliaans drained all the liquid from this planet.”
“You really think we can escape?”
Klexi nodded. “It’s really very simple. I just need a few more days to monitor them.” He motioned with his eyes toward the soldiers and androids. “Let’s go inside.”
Lynn followed the lanky New Zimlliaan into a darkened chamber. Chattering and singing coming from the aboriginal natives. “What with them?” Lynn asked.
“Primitives. They think the New Zimlliaans are gods and serve without question.”
“Will they give us away?”
“No. They don’t understand our languages. As near as I can guess, they believe this is their preordained fate, their paradise.”
“What a sad existence.”
“Easy to control,” Klexi corrected him gently. He led Lynn to a cot-like bed with a battered mattress and dirt stained blankets and sat.
Lynn slipped out of his shoes to empty the sand. “Don’t leave anything laying around,” Klexi warned. “They have no concept of ownership. They will take it.”
“I can't undress?”
“Not unless you want to wind up with nothing,” Klexi said. “You don’t think I’d still have my chronograph otherwise, do you?” He held up his wrist. Klexi wore a silver metal watch.
Lynn pulled his sneakers back on. He sat on the cot next to his new found ally. Klexi didn’t remove anything. Lynn sniffed at the air. Rank odors filled entire barrack. “You’ll get used to it once your olfactory nerves are numb.”
“It’s gonna drive me crazy till then,” Lynn said.
The yellow beings cheered. A door opened on the far end of the structure. “Feeding time,” Klexi said.
A New Zimlliaan pushed a hovering table down the aisle loaded with plastic containers. He passed one out to each prisoner. When Lynn and Klexi received their jugs, Klexi popped his open and took a long swallow. Lynn sniffed at his and took a taste, frowning. “What is it?”
“Nutrient fluid. It’s water based and contains the vitamins and protein needed to sustain the body for a day.”
“How often do we get it?”
“Once in the morning, once at night,” Klexi said. “During labor hours, only water is given.” He downed his drink, setting the container aside. Then he lay back on the cot, stretching. Lynn sat on the one nearest Klexi’s head, laying with his head near the New Zimlliaan. “I’m happy to meet you,” Klexi said. “It’s maddening not being able to carry on an intelligent conversation with anyone. I daresay you saved my sanity.” Lynn let a slight smile cross his lips.
“This is going to take a lot of getting used to,” Lynn said.
“It gets worse,” Klexi chuckled.
Lynn sighed. “I’m sure.”
“Sleep well, friend,” Klexi said. “Tomorrow will be long and hot.”
Klexi was soon asleep. Lynn listened to the chattering of the yellow creatures as his eyes closed. A scent drifted up into his nose. He sniffed. What is that? Pulling at his shirt, Lynn realized it was himself. He groaned.
* * *
“The alpha waves changed pattern again,” Jadyn reported to Javen. A red triangular holographic computer display projected the brain waves of the young woman and the gargantuan plant. “It’s feeding her a new dream.”
“Apparently, each time her brain activity falters, the dream changes when we revitalize her,” Javen said. He circled the pyre, standing next to his fellow officer.
“What do you intend to do with these Psionic Dreamers?” Jadyn logged information on his holographic pad.
“We can use slaves from all across the galaxy. They can be transported much cheaper by having the plants feed on them as opposed to the expenses presented with the equipment required to operate the psionic fields.”
Jadyn shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t follow.”
“It’s very simple,” Javen said. “These plants are grown for their leafy vegetable matter. By transporting slaves and plants together, we’re shipping two for the price of one in hibernation chambers. A clever solution indeed.”
“What exactly does the plant do to the host?”
Javen cleared his throat, walking the circumference of the pyre. He watched the young woman’s bare breasts, rise and fall with controlled, rhythmic breathing. Her eyes were closed. “Inserted near the breast bone is a root collecting food. The Psionic Dreamer is a parasite. Living off its host. Flourishing until cultivation. In return, a network of sensors weaves into the host’s brain impulses, feeding them a dream; their heart’s content.”
“She’s dreaming?”
“Correct,” Javen said. “Perhaps she’s dreaming of being a child bouncing on her father’s knee. Maybe she’s a princess or a queen. Whatever it is she wanted to attain out of her life. At any rate, she’s happy.”
“Can they resist?” Jadyn wondered.
“Yes,” Javen said. “But, to do so would be like tearing an arm off.”

Chapter III

“…are off,” the voice on the television said as Mary woke. She gazed around the hotel suite. There was a picture of a man on the screen who to talked too fast for his own thoughts. She brushed dark waves of hair back from her eyes and sat, the slit of her negligee exposing cleavage. Jeanclair had his back to her. He stood by the window, gazing out.
“Yes, we have a connection again,” the man on TV said. “Their entry into Earth’s atmosphere seems to be disrupting communications.” The television screen suddenly switched to a scene overlooking New York Harbor. What Mary saw defied all logic. Her mouth gaped. None of the announcer’s words reached her ears.
Flying low over the Atlantic Ocean was the blazing ruby bulk of an impossibly huge, impossibly massive object approaching the city. Blue sky was bisected with streaks of gray and white smoke. Whatever it was loomed majestically over New York Harbor, casting shadows like storm clouds over the city below. Eventually, the object was distinguishable as three separate masses. As leader’s nose cleared the edge of Manhattan Island, its center drifted above the Statue of Liberty. Without warning, her out-stretched arm broke away, lazily toppling to the statue’s base, smashing against brick in a shower like broken glass.
The incredibly massive ships were identical; flat, rectangular bodies with straight edge noses. Both side edges on all the craft were bent down seventy degrees. Their undersides were lined with cylinder-shaped objects leading back to exhaust ports. Top platforms supported a cityscape of buildings and control towers. Several blocks formed one gigantic skyscraper supporting the bulk of an odd hexagonal-shaped bridge with several coning towers on top.
“Dear God, what is happening?” Mary mumbled as she crawled fully from bed. She quickly pulled a robe over her scantily clad form.
Jeanclair turned from the window. “Marie, you must come and see this. It is so beautiful.” He turned back. “The New Zimlliaans are here.”
Mary stared at him a moment, then turned her attention back to the picture on the TV screen. The three space craft cast an immense dark shadow on green harbor waters. She walked toward her lover. “Who?” she asked.
“The New Zimlliaans,” Jeanclair said.
“New Zimlliaans?” she whispered.
“Oui,” Jeanclair confirmed dividing his gaze between the unimaginable sight of gigantic alien spaceships and his lover. “They made contact just a few days ago.”
“Contact?”
“They wish to come here.”
“What do you mean here?”
“To Earth. Are you feeling well?” Jeanclair asked.
“Yes.” She gazed blankly out the window. “We were in Paris. The New Zimlliaans hadn’t arrived yet. But, Nazis were planning war.”
Jeanclair smiled. “Ah, my dear, you had a nightmare.” He stole a glance at the three alien space ships sliding in over Manhattan Island. “That explains why you are so confused, non?”
Mary nodded. The gargantuan New Zimlliaan ships passed over the Empire State Building, casting their ominous shadows over a skyline of man made mountains. A rumbling rippled up through the floor. The glass window vibrated.
Below, Mary saw traffic had stopped. Above blaring horns, multitudes of screams arose. Droves of people filled the streets. Some pointed up at the alien vultures. Most ran.
They attack. I remember. They promise cooperation with Earth in exchange for using land to grow crops and some water. But, their real intention is to conquer. It starts with an invasion after a historic meeting with the United Nations.
One of the three ships cast its shadow across Mary’s suite. She gazed up at the metal underside as it slowly took position in the sky above. “There’s going to be a war,” Mary said.
Jeanclair studied Mary for long moments. “War?”
“Yes. I’m sure of it.” Her eyes never left the passing craft.
“Was this a part of your dream?” Jeanclair asked.
“No… Yes.” She sighed, shaking her head from side-to-side. Her weary eyes contacted Jeanclair’s. “We have to get out of New York.”
Shaking rattled the windows. The bed shifted against the wall. A lamp fell off the stand. Mary swayed backward. Jeanclair took her arms. Mary stared at the scene beyond their suite. Brick buildings crumbled. Huge slabs broke loose, slamming into the sidewalks and pavement, crushing people and vehicles.
Streets split open with deep drop fissures, swallowing vehicles and debris. The rumbling intensified. The television signal was scrambled. Lights flickered on and off. The whole building lazily rocked back and forth. Glass windows cracked. Some shattered, explosively blowing shards onto helpless victims below. A gas main down the street ruptured, belching a tall orange-red column of fire high above light and utility poles that sway in time to a crazed waltz.
Breaking thrusters aboard the alien ships fired, blasting out windows with sonic shock waves. Mary turned as the window crumbled, falling in a glittering rain of pellets. High overhead, thermal energy churned in the form of flames looping wildly around the space craft. They gradually lessened in ferocity, dissipating completely as the ships slowed. The ship almost directly over Mary and Jeanclair’s suite fell behind the other two. Its flanking pair, smaller than this one, headed toward mainland boroughs.
* * *
Jadyn watched the woman’s breathing quicken for a few seconds. Her eyelids fluttered and her arm twitched ever so slightly. “Commander.”
The senior New Zimlliaan walked briskly to the pyre. “What is it, Jadyn?”
“There are slight changes in her physical stasis, sir. Nothing major. Accelerated respiration, rapid eye movement, and a muscle spasm.”
“All symptoms characteristic of a dream state,” Javen said. “Take note of any other changes you observe. I must return to the ship and welcome a newcomer sent by Fleet Commander Amphisbaena.”
“Yes, sir.” Jadyn saluted.
* * *
Parked in near planetary orbit, the equilateral triangle of the New Zimlliaan ship was dotted with hundreds of greenish-gray lights. A second ship of the same dimension was not so elegant with a bland charcoal colored hull and minimal bridge lighting. The slave transport completed its docking, fired its thrusters, and pulled gracefully away from the command vessel. Gases spewed from the exhaust glowed faint blue in the icy vacuum.
Standing near the view port in his personal quarters, Javen surveyed a trio of battered Ufan satellites. A computerized chime sounded behind him. Javen turned to his control panel, activating the triangular holographic communications system display. The young features of a Communications Officer appeared. She addressed him quickly. “I apologize for disturbing you, Commander Javen. There’s an urgent message for you from Earth.”
Javen stared at the projection a moment, rubbing his chin. “Put it through.”
Scant seconds passed. The transparent fluid display flickered. A new face filled the imagery projector’s focusing dish, haunting. Disfigured. Her right was brown and very human in appearance. The left was slit vertically like a lizard, and green. She wore a stern expression, forehead covered with a silken cloth of cryptic letters. Her curly black hair faded away at the hologram’s edge.
“Fleet Commander Amphisbaena,” Javen said. “This is unexpected. I couldn’t fathom who would be contacting me from your position.”
“I didn’t contact you to exchange pleasantries, Javen,” she said evenly. “I’m more interested in progress report regarding your experiments. How are they proceeding?”
“Much better than previously expected. The Psionic Dreamer is undergoing its final tests on a living host. At this point, all looks promising. If I may be so bold, your leaving me in charge was a wise idea, Kalyptra.”
“I prefer to say a stroke of genius,” she smiled. “I knew I could depend on you to carry out orders without delay, Javen. You were always supportive of me. You even risked you life to rescue me from Top Command’s plan to have me devoured by the Psionic Dreamer.”
“I must admit, Kalyptra, I’m honored by your praise. However, your conniving earned you this position you have, and your very own invasion task force,” Javen reminded her.
“All that aside, I’ve sent you a temporary recruit I think you’ll find useful,” Commander Amphisbaena said.
“Who?”
“A Sergeant named Leon. He’s an excellent soldier and excels in brutality.” Kalyptra’s voice became a hiss. “I want him terminated.”
Javen paused. “I don’t understand. If you value him, why do you want him dead?”
“His forceful attitude and a recent bungling of simple operations makes him a liability,” she said. “He’s failed me for the last time. I have no further use for him. I’ve sent him to you because I know you’ll organize something that won’t implicate yourself or me in a murder.” Her face softened slightly. Her tone was seductive, sultry, and convincing. “Javen, I would consider this a personal favor. I’ll repay you for your time.”
“Very well, Kalyptra. I will handle it.”
Commander Amphisbaena’s features hardened. She exhaled a quick breath. “Thank you. I will contact you soon. Transmission ends.” The projection dissolved. Javen stared at empty air for several seconds before turning back to his view port. As he watched the stars, he spotted the faint flicker of a ship exiting a hyper-warp wormhole. It was on a trajectory to his ship. Not much time to plot Leon’s disposal.
* * *
“Javen, we both know how Kalyptra is.” Leon grinned. Javen chuckled. The shorter, muscular black man walked beside the officer away from the docking bay. “She gets a crab up her ass and takes it out on everyone else. Mark my words. Someday, it’ll all catch up to her.”
“In the meantime, Sergeant Leon, I have an assignment for you,” Javen cut in.
“I hope it isn’t some damn boring office job,” Leon grumbled. “I’ve had enough of those to last my entire career.”
“No, it isn’t. But, it might be light work for you.”
“Great,” Leon sighed. “What is it?”
“I researched your piloting record. Very few blemishes,” Javen said.
“Most of those are from my academy days.” They turned down another corridor within the labyrinth that was the bowels of the Command Ship.
“True. You have some expertise I’ve been looking for.”
“What’s that?”
“I lack dirigible pilots to fly between trading centers on Ufa.”
“Oh no.” Leon’s head fell. He shook it slowly from side-to-side. “Not goddamn blimps, please, Javen.” His wide eyes fixed on Javen..
Javen’s head tilted slightly. “You got a good reason for so much contempt of that job?”
“Recent bad experience on Mars, is all,” Leon said.
“Sorry to hear that, Leon. I wasn’t aware of it. I have you scheduled to make a run in the morning. Most of my pilots are away in other cities. Those I have available are poor navigators when it comes to wind storms.”
Leon slowly nodded, swallowing. “I see the storms here are more frequent.”
“The planet’s axial tilt is forty-seven point two degrees,” Javen said. “It contributes to the weather, not to mention the hastily erected atmospheric conversion equipment.”
Leon snorted. “Kalyptra’s ego, right?”
Javen’s head dropped as he laughed. “You might say that.” He sobered and faced forward. “Much like Earth, there was continued resistance in the beginning; ongoing petty fighting.” Javen clasped his hands behind him. “Commander Amphisbaena grew tired of the long term power struggle with local governments.”
“I hate to see what happens on Earth,” Leon mumbled.
Javen’s head swung sideways. “Why? Are there problems?”
“Oh yeah,” the black New Zimlliaan nodded. “A helluva lot.” Leon faced his superior. “Piloting sandstorm wastelands isn’t my idea of fulfilling.” Javen smirked.

Chapter IV

The blazing red star Gonouf hung high in the sand blasted blue skies of Ufa. To the north of the agricultural complex, past the fields, were a series of huge bowl-shaped atmospheric converters built within a rocky continental shelf cliff.
The greenery of the crops and flowering buds were all that added color to the brown landscape. Arranged in parallel rows, each plant was spaced a few feet apart. Guard androids survey the slave workers. Hovering irrigators floated slowly along, watering the plants. A slight hum came from their repulsion lift systems. Klexi and Lynn’s clothing was permanently stained brown. Many of the yellow creatures near them chanted or sang unknown songs. Lynn packed dirt around the roots of a plant and brushed dirt from his jeans. Klexi glanced at his companion. “This is hell,” Lynn said, wiping sweat from his forehead, brushing red hair back. “It wouldn’t be so bad if it was something I liked to do.”
Standing, they stretched aching backs and cramped knees. Long drinks of water from canteens came next. The next tray of plants sat at the end of the row. Lynn blew out a breath and shook his head. He looked around. Nothing but desolation.
Lynn whispered so none of the androids would hear him. “Not that I mind toiling away and all, but, have you figured out our escape yet?”
“I need another day or two,” 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! But how?
Jeanclair slowly walked into the living room. He picked up the remote and shut the TV off. He stared at Mary and she studied him. “Let us go now before we are late.” Mary nodded. She flicked the kitchen light off and joining Jeanclair at the door. In silence, they left the suite.
* * *
Howling winds blew across the barren landscape, pushing up dust, whipping it past the lone New Zimlliaan as he stumbled along. His face was stained with sweat and dirt. Leon carried the heavy survival pack on his back. “I could really use a little of that Martian chill right about now,” Leon grumbled.
Sand stung the back of his head. There were times when it was hard to keep his balance. Leon realized the sand was getting looser. Something stirred beneath one of the dunes. Leon froze. The dirt rippled, crisscrossing like waves blown in two different directions. Leon squinted, trying to find the source of the strange disturbance.
The sand dune exploded. Leon fell backward, barely getting a half second to study the creature. The torso was round and ridged, like a stack of poker chips. Its head was insect-like and tentacle appendages whipped out wildly. Huge glassy eyes peered at the New Zimlliaan while incisors within the skull gleamed with drool. Odd clicking noises came from its mouth. Backward hind legs enabled the critter to jump around. “You’re one ugly sonuva bitch,” Leon stammered. He rolled out of the line of fire as one of the two tentacles shot out, slicing into the sand where Leon was a fraction of a second before.
As Leon rolled in the other direction to avoid a second strike, he fought his way out of the backpack and drew his side arm. He squeezed a shot off that bounced off the creature’s right eye in a shower of sparks. It snarled at spit. “That piss you off? Well, you’re pissing me off, too!” Leon charged to his right. A third tentacle hit the dirt with a loud hiss. Sharp claws on the tip into bedrock, bringing chunks of it up.
Leon played with his gun, adjusting the charge to its highest setting. “I sure as hell hope you got a brain in that nasty head of yours.”. He carefully aimed at the head and pulled the trigger. The weapon’s energy drained with one brilliant blast of purple-green neatly cleaving the skull away. The air was pierced with a shrill scream. Limbs flew about chaotically. An inhuman groaning escaped the twitching body.
Collecting his pack, Leon strapped it over his shoulders. “At least there was nothing like you back on Mars.” He adjusted his course with the compass. “With any luck, you’ll be the only barbequed bug I run into on Ufa.”
* * *
Red Gonouf was directly overhead. Klexi wiped sweat from his face and glanced over his shoulder. The androids paced, keeping a careful eye on the yellow natives. Their exteriors gleamed brilliantly harsh in mid-day sun. The New Zimlliaan defector strained to see identification squares painted on their left shoulders. Then he turned back to his plant and finished burying it in the parched soil.
Lynn finished a plant and glanced at Klexi, dirt stains covering his face. “I don’t know why I put up with this shit,” he mumbled.
“Take it easy, Lynn,” Klexi said in a lowered voice. He glanced at the chronograph on his left wrist, then back to the androids observing the other half of the field. Two stood close together. The others were spaced about fifty meters apart. Klexi’s eyes darted quickly to an irrigator floating low over the ground about two hundred meters from them. Lynn watched the New Zimlliaan. When the androids started to turn back in their direction, Klexi quickly paused his timer. “The same every day,” he whispered.
Lynn took a plant and dug out a hole. “What do you mean?”
“This time every day, all of them turn their backs to us for exactly ten divisions,” Klexi said.
“How long’s a division?”
“Seventy seconds,” Klexi clarified. “That irrigator,” he discreetly pointed to the closest hovering low over the ground, “is always this far from us during that period.”
“So, you think you got our escape route all mapped out?” Lynn asked.
“I've been studying this place for patterns ever since I was brought here. This one is consistent. We’d have about eleven minutes to get from here to the nearest irrigator.”
“Don’t you think they’ll miss us, Klexi? We’re the only two humans around.”
“Yes. But they will think we’re running through the fields,” Klexi grinned. “They’ll be searching in the wrong place.”
“How do we get to one of the hovercraft without being seen by the natives?”
“We crawl along the ground as fast as we can,” Klexi said. “I have a hook and a rope in my uniform. We’ll use it to climb up into the irrigator. We just have to do it in that ten minute time frame."
Lynn started on his next hole, his knees aching. “When I was brought down from the slave transport, I saw this woman in the command center being used as plant food.”
“The Psionic Dreamer?”
“Yeah. Think we can save her?”
“We have to get ourselves out first,” Klexi said. “Pack your bags. We leave tomorrow.”
* * *
“I thought you decided not to,” Mary said. Tears brimmed around her eyes. She stood before Jeanclair, drawing back as he reached out to touch her.
His face dropped. “This is something I feel strongly about,” Jeanclair said softly. “If we are ever to overcome the New Zimlliaans, we must fight. I am needed.”
“I need you, too, Jeanclair,” Mary said loudly, a tear running down her cheek. “Damn you. Can’t you see that? I love you. I need you more than them. What am I supposed to do while you’re off being a hero?” She turned away, pacing around their couch.
“You can join,” Jeanclair said. “They need all the help they can get.”
“I’m not ready to hand my head over to those aliens,” Mary said quickly. “There are a lot of other people. They will drive the New Zimlliaans back into space.”
“That’s just it. There aren’t enough. A lot of people have gone missing.”
Mary sighed, choking down sobs. “Obviously, you’ve made up you mind. Dear God, how can I talk you out of it.” Mary swallowed, sniffling. “Your friend Lynn talked you into this. They’re sending signals over a computer system. What if the channel’s bugged? What if its a trap by the New Zimlliaans to capture anyone who’d undermine them? Did you ever think about that?” She walked toward Jeanclair. “I implore you to reconsider this.”
Jeanclair was silent for a moment, gazing deeply into her eyes. “You poor, frightened child. I’m sorry for the pain I have caused you caused by offering my help to the resistance.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “I have thought about this many times.”
Mary nodded. She turned away.
Jeanclair sighed. “Won’t you still love me just as much? Won’t you even wish me well? Please.” He placed his arms tightly around her waist. “Marie, I am not leaving you. I want you to be with me.”
Mary turned back to him, placing her arms up around his neck. “I can’t stop you from helping your friends, Jeanclair, but, I can’t be happy knowing you might wind up dead at any second. I love you so much. And, yes, this hurts. Don’t you see? This is the second time you’ve done this to me.”
Jeanclair’s expression changed, as did Mary’s. She halted in her tracks, stopped by the force of her own words. Why had she said them? “What did you mean just now?” Jeanclair asked.
“I… I don’t know,” she said. “But, you did…”
“I have always been here at your side.”
“I know, but, it feels like you have.” Mary searched within her mind. “You did,” she whispered, “in a dream…” This is all getting more and more bizarre. Am I psychic? Have I seen all this before, in dreams? No one in my family ever said they were psychic…
Mary’s attention was drawn to the face of a brown haired reporter on the television. She remembered his face; from a dream…
“…gaining more strength in the American South. The New Zimlliaan Nazi Party declared a racial war threatening to further fracture the power structure of the European Union.” The television showed a riot on a campus where students of all cultures threw rocks and bottle bombs at rows of black helmeted New Zimlliaan soldiers. They fired side arms, the blasts warning strays. Mary felt an awful sinking at the pit of her stomach. “The Nazis have the New Zimlliaans’ full support in a decision to launch preemptive attacks across the continent if the violence gets worse.”
“My God,” Mary gasped. “This is so much like the dream.”
“Do you see now why we must fight?” Jeanclair asked. “This madness must stop.”
Mary turned to him, searching behind all her fear for a decision completely against her principals and instincts. “Yes. And before I lose my nerve, I want to join you.”
It took a handful of seconds for the words to register in Jeanclair’s brain. He smiled, pulling Mary close. “Ah, my dear brave girl. You have made me so happy and so proud.” Mary forced a smile. This had to be the right choice. I can’t let the Nazis take over my life again; like in my dreams.

Chapter VI

The dirt basin was thicker in places, and deceiving. Leon sunk up to his knees in one spot. Grumbling and cursing, he plowed through the soil, and he dug himself up. “I really hate deserts,” Leon said.
Something sparkled in the distance, something that could easily be mistaken as a mirage. Whether or not it was, Leon was drawn to it. He checked his compass bearing, veering from his course to investigate.
Buried under sand was a piece of highly polished metal coated with a membrane of dust. Clearing more of it off, Leon discovered it was attached to a hover craft. “Yes!” Leon cheered. “If I can get this puppy working half way decent, I’ll be back to base in no time.” Wiping sand away with his hands, Leon checked over the car-like boat-shaped vehicle. He dug sand away from the floatation and anti-gravity systems along the under side. They all looked intact. The cockpit controls were there. “Wonder who left a perfectly good ride all the way out here.” Leon placed his pack in the seating area and tried activating the power. A slight hum indicated signs of life. Banks of yellow and orange buttons flickered faintly for a second and dimmed. Leon reached for his utility belt and took a small sidearm charger from a pouch.
Hopping out, Leon went to the rear of the craft. He pried open a panel and disconnected a set of wires. Attaching them to the charger, Leon grinned as the meter slowly fell to a drain. He reconnected the wires. This time when he touched the activation button in the cockpit, the craft jarred slightly, humming to life. Every single light and panel flickered on. “Praise be to Uxlt!” he rejoiced. “Looks like we have optimum power.” The New Zimlliaan flipped the anti-gravity drives on.
The craft lurched up from the dirt, leveling itself about a meter above the ground. Sand blew away in clouds from under the vehicle. Leon drove forward, the hovercar kicking up dirt in its wake, and set a course for the agricultural base.
* * *
Bright sunlight gleamed off the skyscrapers. There were seemingly thousands of cars and millions of people headed somewhere. The largest of the three New Zimlliaan ships stationed over New York City floated above Manhattan Island, casting a shadow over the cityscape. Mary stared at it as she and Jeanclair made their way along the edge Central Park. What were they doing up there in that city sized ship? What conquest plans were they making to tighten their grip over the entire planet and further control humanity?
Mary broke her concentration when Jeanclair stopped at a hot dog cart. “Do you want anything?” he asked her.
“Diet soda, please.” Mary’s eyes reverted to the ship overhead. She saw a number of open hatches. There’s never been that many opened before.
Jeanclair paid the man and handed Mary a can. He followed her gaze. “What is so interesting, Marie?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Something’s just not right.”
He bit into his hot dog with. “Can you tell me what?”
“It’s really hard to describe. I have this feeling like we shouldn’t be here.”
“Marie! Jeanclair!” They tore themselves away from the New Zimlliaan ship as Alexis walked up to them, her arms spread wide. “This is a surprise, non?”
“Alexis! Oh, it’s so good to see you,” Mary embraced Alexis. “You should have called. We would have met you.”
Alexis smiled warmly. “I thought I was doing the two of you a favor by giving you time to yourselves to discuss Jeanclair’s going underground.”
“We’re both going.”
“You should come, too,” Jeanclair added. “I doubt you will be able to return to Paris any time soon.”
“I don't know,” Alexis said, peering up past the trees at the New Zimlliaan ship. “I am an old lady. What use could I be to such a cause?”
“You’re not old,” Mary said. Alexis smiled, her face flushed.
“When you reach my age, child, you will not always feel young. What would I be able to do? I was born into a wealthy family. I’ve never had a career. I have no skills.”
“They can train you to do anything you think useful, Alexis,” Jeanclair said.
Alexis smiled. “I guess there would be no harm. At least I would be with the two of you and not here alone in the city.”
Whining sounds in the air high above the city caught the trio’s attention. They saw several dozen saucer-like objects leaving the mothership. They streaked across the city and dove between buildings, spitting purple beams of laser fire outlined in green.
“Get down!” Jeanclair yelled. He pulled both women to the ground and tried to shield them with his body. Laser beams thunderously exploded, vibrating the ground and rattling windows People screamed and ran. Cars swerved wildly, crashing into each other, plowing over fire plugs, and slammed into building fronts. Glass shattered. Miniature plumes of red and black belched from ugly gouges left by laser fire. A tanker truck swelled into a huge ball of orange, setting fire to nearby buildings and vehicles. Clothing on fire, several people ran wildly.
Jeanclair looked over his shoulder. He helped Mary and Alexis to their feet. The elder brushed dirt from leather jacket. Mary pulled her red beret off. “Dear God,” she said.
“Mother of Mercy, what is happening?” Alexis asked.
Descending from the mothership was a slower squadron of saucer-shaped craft. Even before the sound reached Jeanclair, Mary, and Alexis, the second wave of ships swooped low, firing. Actinic bursts of raw laser fire exploded from twin guns. Multiple thuds pounded the ground. Blinding flashes, showers of sparks, and deafening discharges drowned panicked screams. All three fell down from the repeated concussive force of the impacts. “They're attacking!” Mary shouted. “We have to get out of here!”
“This way,” Jeanclair pulled their arms. He sprinted across an open street, ducking into an alley. Laser fire slammed into a building on the corner behind them. Like being struck with a wrecking ball, brick blew. The entire front split apart and lazily crashed down into the street.
Some of the attacking ships landed. Ramps extended, releasing hoards of black uniformed New Zimlliaan soldiers. Their heads were covered elongated helmets with a single slit wrapping half way around its circumference. Some bolted into the open, dropping to their knees, firing at fleeing people. Others carried rifle-like weapons and turned loose purple-green orbs on buildings and cars. Another group landed further away. Out sprang red uniformed soldiers, the New Zimlliaan Scarlet Elites.
Jeanclair motioned for Mary and Alexis to follow him as he bolted across the next street and into another alley. He slid for cover behind a trash dumpster. “Where are we going to go?” Mary panted. Alexis tried to catch her breath as well.
“Maybe we can get help from our rebel friends,” he said. He kept a sharp eye out for any of the attacking aliens.
“I hope they are an army,” Alexis said.
Jeanclair saw several more ships in landing patterns. He crouched behind the dumpster, looking in the opposite direction. It was clear.
Black uniformed New Zimlliaans systematically grabbed people, roughly pulling them toward the waiting bays their ships. Men and women alike twisted around, fighting for freedom. Some were tossed up onto the ramp where another would pull them inside. Others were bluntly struck with guns. Those who managed to break free were shot. Other people seemed frozen in place, standing perfectly still in the heat of the attack.
Further down, a series of ships made a low pass and opened fire. Cars lifted off the ground under orange balls of liquid flame. Building fronts shattered mercilessly outward. Cannon fire tore into the pavement, contacting gas lines which ruptured, exploding like scaled down atom bombs. Lines of expanding fire quickly shot along parallel gas mains. Pavement, sidewalks and buildings were neatly bisected, roaring flames engulfing everything. Vehicles were over turned, rolling like discarded toys. Smaller buildings collapsed. Debris rained from the smokey skies. Dead and injured people lay on the pavement like bloody broken dolls.
“Let’s go,” Jeanclair yelled, starting down the alley. At the far end, the scene was much the same. He glanced in both directions and pulled Mary and Alexis across the street and into the next alley. Mary cried, jumping at every sound. Alexis quietly shivered, sinking into shock.
“Jeanclair, where are we going?” Mary asked. One of her heels broke. She stumbled, pulling Jeanclair back. She kicked her pumps off and resumed running.
“We’ll see if we can get out of the attack area and get a ride off the island.” Traffic blocked the next street. People were shouting and fighting with each other over a symphony of blaring horns. They picked a path between cars and ran into the next alley. Two, three; Mary lost track of how many passed. At the fringes of her mind, she heard the air raid siren.
New Zimlliaan ships reached this area and opened fire. The ground trembled under their feet. “Maybe we won’t be able to get out,” Jeanclair mumbled.
“What do we do then?” Alexis asked, short of breath.
“We find a place to hide.”
* * *
Too close for comfort, the façade exploded in an orange ball of flame. Alexis backed against the side of the adjoining building, trembling. Seconds later, she chased after Jeanclair and Mary. They were getting farther away.
Mary looked back. “Jeanclair, we have to wait for Alexis.” He turned around. Alexis stumbled over wreckage. Jeanclair took her hand as one of the ships fired on a car not five meters away. The force of the explosion knocked them off of their feet.
Two blocks away, a gas main swelled into a mushroom cloud of red and orange between damaged skyscrapers. The alien attackers shot out the top floors of nearby buildings. Wood, bricks, metal, and glass fragments rained down onto crowds hundreds of feet below.
Shaken, Jeanclair regained his feet and pulled Alexis up. She cried, face tear streaked and stained with soot. “I am exhausted. I will never make it out of this alive,” she sobbed. Jeanclair took her hand, helping her cross a pile of bricks.
“Do not talk that way,” Jeanclair said. “I will do everything I can to get us away from this insanity.”
Mary saw a ship touch down a block away. Black uniformed New Zimlliaans poured into the street, opening fire. “Oh no,” Mary whispered. Jeanclair pulled her hand and they ran. A loud sizzling in the air caught Mary’s attention. Above the skyscrapers, the New Zimlliaan mothership hovering over rising black smoke, occasionally releasing twin blasts of purple energy encased in green into Manhattan’s skyline. Tops of buildings were neatly and explosively sheared away. Some were left like gigantic burning match stubs. Others fell, collapsing in on themselves like grotesque lotus blossoms. Enormous clouds of dust wafted down streets, covering everything with a powdery gray substance.
Jeanclair, Mary and Alexis reached a section of the island unaffected by the attack. He darted to one of the nearest buildings with a fallout shelter symbol on its face.
“Freeze!” a deep voice bellowed at them. Jeanclair charged through the door as blasts of actinic laser fire shattered windows beside him.
Alexis yelped, sprawling face forward. An ugly black burn covered her lower back. She was motionless. Mary screamed, beating her fists against Jeanclair’s shoulders. “I have to go help her.”
“It’s too late,” Jeanclair said forcefully. He took her wrists. “We have to keep moving or we’ll end up dead, too.”
Gun shots echoed. Mary glanced at her fallen friend and then ran with Jeanclair. He found a stair well and started down.
The New Zimlliaans stopped shooting, gazing cautiously around the darkened corridors in the building. The leader wore red shoulder pads, holding his gun close to his chest. “Split up. Cover all exits. They might double back.”
“Yes, sir.” The broke into smaller groups.
“Activate scanners.” Infrared sensors inside their visors switched on. Mary’s footsteps left a trail for them to follow.
* * *
Jeanclair braced a chair under the door knob, ducking into the shadows. He and Mary huddled in a far corner. She cried, shivering. Jeanclair pulled his arms around her shoulders. “Come, Marie, you must pull yourself together.”
“This shouldn't be happening. Alexis was the sweetest person in the world. Why did she have to die again?” Mary cried a moment and then stopped. Her expression drew blank and she stared at Jeanclair. “This is the second time she died,” Mary said. “I’m sure of it.” Her voice was a hollow whisper. “I remember all the pain I felt before.”
“You know very well that is not possible.”
“No. I know it happened.”
“It must have been a dream, my sweet Marie,” Jeanclair said. “None of this has happened before. Pardon me please, but, you must get a grip on reality.”
Mary turned away. How is all this happening again? She shifted position, brushing up against a stack of newspapers. They loudly fell over. “Sorry,” she whispered. Carefully, she set a few aside and read the headline. “New Zimlliaan ships arrive, take up permanent residence over world’s population centers.” Mary then read the date of July 17, 2061. July. “Look at this.”
“What?”
“The date is wrong,” she said. “Jeanclair, don’t you remember when they came?”
“Marie, this happened only weeks before. You were with me in the suite. It was July.”
Mary shook her head. “I know, but, it can’t be right. They came in August, right after our anniversary. I remember. It was a beautiful summer day. When the attacks began, I felt like those were the last days we would ever have together. A week later, we had a party for Alexis…” Mary’s throat tightened. She swallowed, closing her eyes. “Alexis was so beautiful. She had such a wonderful time. We tried to help her get over her anxiety about not being able to return to France.” Jeanclair’s mouth form words. “You must think I’m going insane, I know,” Mary said. “But, I’m telling you the truth. I remember this all so clearly.”
“They must have been dreams,” Jeanclair said.
“Why do I dream of the New Zimlliaans so much, Jeanclair? Can you tell me?”
“Their coming to Earth is the biggest news in all recorded history. I’m sure you are not the only one to dream about them.”
“But, what about the war?” Mary asked. “Why did I dream about it so long before it even happened? And, what about the Nazis? Why did I dream about them?”
“Don’t you remember?” Jeanclair asked.
“Remember what?”
Jeanclair sighed, his expression going soft. “My great-great grandparents were taken to a Nazi death camp. The Americans liberated them in 1944.”
“Oh God,” Mary gasped. “How did I forget that?”
“This has all been very stressful.”
“I have this really strong sense of déjà vu. I’m sure I lived through this event before. Except, the last time, we weren’t discussing my dreams. I was all broken up over Alexis’ death.” She rested her head between her knees.
“What is wrong, my love?” Jeanclair asked, holding her hand. “Tell me.”
“All of this feels so wrong. Something tells me none of this should be happening because it already did. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Do you remember what happened next?”
A thump against the door made them jump. There was a second and a third. “Oh God,” Mary whispered. Jeanclair held his hand over her mouth. Crackling laser fire shattered the glass. Mary let a muffled scream slip beyond her lover’s fingers.
A black clad arm reached in, pushing the chair aside. He threw the door back. “Both of you, stand up!” The New Zimlliaan held his gun steady as they slowly got to their feet. Mary whimpered. Jeanclair put himself in front of her. “Over here. Now!” the alien soldier barked.
Starting forward, Jeanclair clipped the gun with his left leg and tossed himself on top of the New Zimlliaan. They wrestled, rolling and scooting across the floor, knocking stacked papers over. The gun was a few yards from Mary. She started after it. A second New Zimlliaan entered the room, shooting Jeanclair square in the back. Mary screamed as his body was tossed away by the soldier. Jeanclair’s eyes were wide and glazed. Blood flowed from his mouth.
The second soldier grabbed Mary. She swung her arms wildly. “No! Oh God, no, Jeanclair! This is the second time I’ve lost you here.”
Mary twisted and flailed, struggling against the New Zimlliaan. His companion raised his weapon, slamming the stock down onto Mary’s head. There was a sharp pain and her world went black.
* * *
Klexi placed the plant into the ground, stealing a glance at Lynn. He buried the roots and wiped sweat from his forehead. Klexi glanced the androids. Gonouf was at its zenith. Right on schedule, the robots turned their backs. “Lynn,” Klexi whispered. “Time to go.”
Lynn stalled for a second, looking to the androids’ gleaming metal hulks. This was it. Ten minutes to freedom.
Klexi and Lynn dropped to their elbows and knees and scuttled toward the nearest irrigator. Lynn’s heart raced. Klexi kept a close watch on the androids and his wrist watch.
At half the distance, Lynn couldn’t see any of the yellow natives, but, he heard them chanting. Klexi pulled his rope and hook from his pant’s pocket and held it in his right hand. Almost there!
The shadow of the floating irrigator was a welcome relief to the red sun. It hummed loudly, vibrating the ground as it moved slowly over the plants. Mists of water from sprinklers hit their scorched faces. Klexi tossed the rope up. There was a slight metallic clank as it caught and held. The New Zimlliaan glanced one last time at the androids who were still unaware and began pulling himself up. Forearm muscles knotting, he agonized to reach the top. Klexi hauled himself over the edge, resting a second to check on the guards. Their backs were still to them. Klexi motioned Lynn up. “Hurry! It’s been seven minutes.”
Lynn began climbing, pulling with all of his strength. His sweaty palms slipped. “Klexi, this wasn’t one of my best activities in gym class,” he said. Klexi tugged on his end of the rope, using all of his strength to help Lynn’s ascent go faster. Hand over hand, ever upward Lynn strained. At last, the metal of the hull was over his head. Klexi's hand came down, helping lift Lynn to his goal. Lynn lay on the edge as Klexi stashed the rope and hook into a leg pocket.
“Time to get out of sight,” Klexi said. He slid down the side of the inclined tank into the water hopper. Lynn followed. The oppressive heat vanished as he plunged into the liquid. Dirt, grime, and stench washed away. Lynn stayed down, letting the water cleanse and refresh him. At the surface, he gasped a breath, standing in the neck deep vat, unconsciously taking swallows to quench his burning throat.
Unaffected by their extra weight, the irrigator floated over the field, watering the crops. “We did it, Lynn,” Klexi said. He grinned and chuckled. “In a few hours, we’ll be free.”
“I have to admit it, Klexi, I had my doubts,” Lynn said. “Now that we made it this far, I think it might actually work.”
* * *
At the end of the expected period, a few of the androids turned back, surveying the field. A strong wind gusted. Dust obscured much of the view. “Switch to infrared.” They spotted the yellow aborigines merrily working. “The New Zimlliaan defector and the human slave are missing,” one said to its electronic companions. As the wind died down, they scanned the field. Some of the guards searched the work area, unable to locate the fugitives.
The commander left its post, walking quickly toward the ziggurat. Javen and Jadyn analyzed holographic data. “Sir, pardon my interruption.” Javen looked at the machine. “The traitor and the human have escaped.”
“Send a detachment of troops out to the colony borders. If they don’t find anything, dispatch a hunter android.”
The guard nodded and exited the chamber. Javen watched the young woman’s face. A cheek muscle twitched. Her eyes contoured with an unreadable expression. What kind of happy fantasy is the plant feeding you?
* * *
Time spent in the water passed slowly for Klexi and Lynn. The New Zimlliaan grasped hand rails along the incline to take a quick peek to see how far they were from the agricultural base. Under them, New Zimlliaan soldiers jogged along in heavy black uniforms. Klexi slid back down to Lynn, the water level just below their shoulders. “They know we’re missing,” he reported.
“Great,” Lynn mumbled.
“It’s not bad,” Klexi said. “They don’t know we’re up here. They’re searching the fields below us right now. We just have to keep quiet.” They stopped talking, listening to the hum of the irrigator as it carried out its preordained task. Slowly, the water continued to lower. Klexi kept watch on the time.
What felt like an eternity later, Klexi climbed up to the side again. The irrigator cleared the edge of one field and began floating over another. New Zimlliaans stood along the former’s edge, facing in the direction leading back to the base. Klexi smiled, sliding back down. “We’re clear,” he said.
* * *
The water in the huge storage tank was nearly gone when Klexi climbed up to the side a third time. The irrigator hovered over the end of a field near the abandoned settlement. “C’mon up, Lynn. We’re there,” he said.
Lynn climbed up the rungs and leaned against the edge next to his companion. “Why aren’t the soldiers following us?”
“It’s more practical to send androids out this far.” Klexi stood on the side. “Let’s go.” He leaped off, landing with a tuck and roll maneuver. Lynn copied as best he could. They stood, walking toward the stone buildings.
“So, this is the place you wanted to send the signal from?” Lynn asked, brushing dirt from his faded clothes. Klexi nodded. Lynn walked beside him, studying the complex. “Klexi, how long will it be before an android is sent out to find us?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe a day.”
“Then we have plenty of time to get off this planet, right?”
“Yes.” Klexi led the way to a building similar to Javen’s ziggurat command center. Inside, the sun’s rays illuminated perfectly preserved equipment despite all the sand. Klexi chose a main computer system and flipped power on. He called up a triangular holographic display listing contact codes. “Is there any way we can go back and save the woman?” Lynn asked.
“We’ve made it this far. We can’t risk getting captured now.”
“Damnit, she belongs on my world.”
“We can’t. They already know we escaped. If we go back, we’ll end up dead.”
“Which is exactly what’s going to happen to you losers anyway,” a deeper voice snarled. Klexi and Lynn spun around. Leon walked toward them, pistol aimed in their general direction. “I don’t know what the hell the two of you think you’re doing,” he said, “but I sure as hell guarantee Javen will want to discuss it with you.”
Klexi raised his hands up, stepping back from the computer banks. Lynn stayed close to him, keeping a close watch on the weapon. Leon stared at Klexi’s clothing. “New Zimlliaan insignia. You traitor. Get your sorry asses out to that hover craft, now. We got a little trip to make.”
Lynn and Klexi exchanged glances with the New Zimlliaan and slowly walked out into the open air, stopping before car-like boat-shaped vehicle. “Get in,” Leon commanded. “You drive,” he said to Klexi. “I’m gonna sit right back and make sure you don’t try anything funny.”
Klexi reluctantly sat in the driver’s seat, Lynn next to him. Leon climbed up and into the back seat. He leveled his gun at Klexi’s back. “Move it!” he shouted as Klexi stalled. “I’ve spent entirely too much time in this fucking desert.” Klexi switched the main power on. The propulsion systems whined and the vehicle lurching forward. Lynn stared out at the endless wasteland.
* * *
Mary’s breasts rose and fell in rhythm. The green foliage of the plant flourished. Vines produced red berries. Javen scanned the holographic monitors while Jadyn was busy compiling data. The chamber’s main door opened. Against the red glow of the sun, Javen strained to see who it was.
The first two figures held their hands clasped above their heads. A third held a weapon pointed at the backs of the first two. “Leon,” Javen said, “you were assigned to pilot a dirigible.”
“The second one attacked me,” Leon said. “Blew my butt right outta the sky.” As if you didn’t know that. “My ship was destroyed and my crew was killed. I got back here on foot and by way of a hover craft.” Next time, drop me a few hundred kilometers farther. “I found these two nosing around the complex to the west. Thought you might appreciate my rounding them up for you.”
“I do,” the commander replied.
“I also want to know why I was shot down.” Leon stared hard at Javen.
“It will be investigated.” Javen turned his attention to the New Zimlliaan defector and the nameless human.
“You do that,” Leon said. “With all due respect, Javen, I want it done quickly.” Leon paused. His expression changed to one of realization. “Kalyptra wants me dead.”
“The matter will be dealt with,” Javen cut him off with a hardened look instantly crossing his boyish features. He returned his gaze to the prisoners. “What did you dolts hope to gain? There’s no freedom here. No concept of mercy. And, no escape.”
“Slavery was abolished on my world,” Lynn said.
“I’m not interested in your pitiful history!” Javen snapped. He circled the trio, hands folded behind him. “So, you won’t accept our hospitality. I’ll just have to be less than generous.”
“You call a living death of toil generous?” Klexi asked. Leon pushed the barrel of his gun into the defector’s back.
“By law, you should’ve been executed as a traitor,” Javen said, pointing his out-stretched index finger in Klexi’s face. “So, yes, letting you live was generous. You have no direct control over your useless life anymore. I granted you a courtesy. You weren’t dead. I’d say that extent was generous. What I’ll give you now is an alternative to living. But, you might as well be dead.”
Lynn watched the black uniformed man as he stood next to the pyre where the plant grew on top of its female host. “While here in what can be called exile on Ufa, I’ve been conducting experiments with Jadyn.” Javen stood next the plant, extending his right hand toward the leafy growth. “This is the Psionic Dreamer. It feeds like a parasite, collecting proteins and fluids from animal matter through a series of roots scouring the blood like a kidney. In return, it links itself with the host’s brain waves and feeds it the dream of its heart’s content. A fair exchange, if I do say so myself.” He glanced at the plant momentarily and then the prisoners. “It is a living death, to borrow your words,” he said to the New Zimlliaan defector. “Since you seem to be so reluctant to accept circumstances the way they are, the two of you will be hosts of Psionic Dreamers. Slaves permanently in service to the New Zimlliaans.”

Chapter VII

“…slaves permanently in service to the New Zimlliaans,” amplified words reached Mary’s ringing ears. Her head throbbed. She was led down a corridor with a group of captured people being herded into holding cells. “You will be placed on a special diet of two meals per day and engage in a rigorous exercise program designed to strengthen your body for hard labor.”
I’ve heard this sales pitch before. Next, they’ll warn us we’ll be killed if we try to escape.
“Any attempts at escape or to undermine direct orders will meet with your immediate demise.”
“Everyone in here,” one of the soldiers said to the group. He took Mary by the arm. “Not you,” he said evenly.
Last time, I was dragged across the metal floor.
“Sergeant Neuto of the Scarlet Elites wants to see you,” Mary was told.
Mary willingly followed the black uniformed New Zimlliaan through a labyrinth of corridors to a secluded chamber where a New Zimlliaan in red, minus his helmet, waited. “Sergeant Neuto, the you requested prisoner, sir.” Neuto dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
The entry door behind Mary slid shut. Her eyes darted sideways before meeting the New Zimlliaan’s. Neuto was towering, some six and a half feet tall. His face was rugged, brown hair cropped short. His red vest was partially open. Mary saw a layer of white fabric in the triangular area of his exposed chest. He held a glass filled with a beige colored liquid and sipped it. “Come in, please,” Neuto said. His voice was burly.
Mary reluctantly took a few steps forward, cautiously glancing around.
You raped me.
Neuto took the finishing swallow of his drink, setting the glass on a table near a view port. Mary saw black smoke rising from the city. New Zimlliaan ships attacked relentlessly. “You’re so quiet,” he said, taking a few subtle steps toward her. He smiled, almost gentlemanly. “What’s your name?”
Mary started to shiver. This happened so long ago. Was it a dream? “Anna,” Mary said. You’re not going to know anything about me. I cooperated with you once. I’ll be damned if I’ll let myself be put through that again.
“Anna,” Neuto whispered, coming closer to her. “Such a lovely name for such a lovely creature.”
“Why did you want to see me?” Mary was blunt.
The well of passion in Neuto’s eyes began to fade. “Isn’t it obvious? I can grant you special favors and privileges.”
“In return, you want sex.”
Neuto stared at her a moment. He grinned. “You have a fire in you. Good. I so enjoy the pleasure of the hunt and chase.”
Everything’s coming back to me. I won’t let it happen again here in my mind. It’s high time I started fighting back, like Jeanclair wanted me to do. I have the power to change things, even if it’s only symbolically on the dream level. “Is that how you gained your rank? Through sexual favors?”
Neuto’s cocky grin grew wider. “Dose that really matter to you?”
Mary smiled. “Tell me all about you,” she said in a breathy voice.
“You’re interested in me.”
“If I’m to be your lover, shouldn’t I know something about you?”
Neuto smiled. “What do you want to know?”
Mary left her place, walking slowly to a couch-like piece of furniture. She sat, noting Neuto’s eyes never left her. “I know who you are.”
Neuto looked confused. “You do? Have we met before?”
“Yes,” Mary said. “Don’t you remember?”
Neuto shrugged slightly, glancing away. His right hand formed a fist under his chin, his elbow resting on his other arm in thought. He flexed his fingers outward, glancing back to her. “I’m afraid not.”
“Why should you, when you’ve raped so many hundreds? To use your own words.”
Neuto became steel-framed. “How did you know?”.
“I told you, we met before.”
“Anna, Anna, Anna…," Neuto repeated, pacing around the room. “You must be a friend of that bitch who escaped me in the Bronx.” Neuto’s eyes were icy. His face contorted in anger. “Tell me, what else do you know?”
“Your filthy race is attacking the city because it’s the first in a wave to devastate the entire mid-west section of this country,” Mary said.
“That is classified information. Are you a defector? Is that how you know me? Or are you a collaborator?”
"New York City’s the communications capital of this world. You’re cutting everyone off to switch over to your own network. This is the first step in a large scale invasion.”
Neuto was on her. His hands went around her throat and he jerked her violently. “How do you know all this? Tell me, you lousy bitch! Tell me!”
Mary gasped for air, trying to scream. Not again!
Neuto smiled sadistically. He tore his utility belt off. Mary saw his gun sticking out to her. She glanced back to Neuto who was unfastening her dress.
* * *
Jadyn studied holographically projected readouts, listening to his superior’s words. The female victim’s alpha waves quivered slightly. “Javen, sir. The effects are wearing off again.”
Klexi spun instantly, stealing Leon's gun, leaving the black man stunned. His aim was sloppy as he pulled the trigger. The energy bolt struck Jadyn square enough in the back to kill him. Klexi took a pot shot at Javen, hitting his left shoulder, sending him sprawling into a bank of computers. Leon gripped his wrist, trying to twist the gun free. He couldn’t hold the black man off. Klexi yanked his arm free by pulling and turning, his elbow catching Leon in the stomach.
Lynn was unsure what to do. He advanced to the rock pyre and began pulling at the plant’s root-like appendages, bracing himself with a foot against the floor projection. He gave a few quick tugs and strained. The Psionic Dreamer move ever so slightly. “C’mon,” he gritted. “C’mon.”

Chapter VIII

“C’mon,” Neuto urged, trying to pin and strip Mary at the same time. “C’mon.” His voice was like a growl.
Mary’s head howled as she remembered her fate. She would be raped and tossed into a holding cell with other doomed people. The New Zimlliaans would ship them all off to some forsaken planet to serve as slaves under a blazing red dwarf sun. There, Mary became the victim of a plant growing out of her, feeding her nightmares. Which is exactly what it’s doing right now.
Mary collected as much of her strength as she could, bringing her legs up, slamming them into Neuto’s groin. He gasped, falling off her and to the floor, curled in the fetal position as his hands clutched his privates.
The howling increased in its intensity. Mary felt dizzy. I have to do this before I wake up!
Mary grabbed Neuto’s gun, aimed it at him, and fired. The purple blast of energy shimmering brilliant green around the edges contacted the base of his skull, tearing it completely from his spine. Neuto’s decapitated body flounced over, arms flailing about. Blood, flesh, and bone was scattered across the floor. The stench of burnt meat filled the room. Mary’s jaw fell. She dropped the gun.
Around her, the room began to spin. Tables, furniture, dishes, and Neuto’s dead body were lifted up into the howling vortex where air, light and material meshed together. Mary closed her eyes. She felt like she was falling, tumbling through the center of the matrix. Her world went black and silent.
* * *
Lynn gave the plant one final tug. The Psionic Dreamer slipped off. Blood coated roots wiggled frantically. Lynn rolled backward, keeping the roots clear of his body, and tossed it away. He stood, gazing at Mary.
There was a laceration between her breasts. The holographic display flashed several times. Blocks in the side the pyre pulled away. Robotic arms and trays slid through the openings. Two tubes with red fluid were connected to Mary’s jugular veins. From one of the trays, a rectangle of something that looked like flesh was placed over her wound. An telescope-like instrument above lowered down, zapping a blue laser across Mary’s chest. Seconds later, it receded, as did the fluid tubes and arms.
Mary’s eyes fluttered open. She slowly looked around and focused on Lynn standing to her left.
Klexi managed to get a foot behind Leon’s leg and kicked, throwing off the black man’s balance. He fell to the floor, retaining a vice-like grip on Klexi’s arm. Klexi, straining to keep his grip on the gun, shot Leon squarely in the chest. A yelp was all the black soldier produced as energy sizzled through all his nerves. Standing over Leon’s dead body, Klexi panted. He lowered the gun and turned to see where Lynn was.
Lynn helped Mary sit up. “Take it easy,” he said.
“Where am I?” Her voice was dry and weak.
"Ufa," Lynn supplied for her.
“Thank God,” Mary whispered. “It was only a dream.” She held Lynn’s hand as she pulling herself around to sit on the edge of the stone altar. Her muscles ached, stiff from lying dormant.
Klexi came up next to the pair, fighting to catch his breath. “This worked out better than I expected. At least now we won’t have to worry about our ground transmissions being traced.” Lynn opened compartments, rifling through their contents.
Mary groaned, stepping down to the stone floor. Her legs buckled under her weight. Lynn found a spare uniform in a storage bin by the computers and helped her pull the pants and boots on. They were too large, looking awkward on Mary’s smaller frame. “I really appreciate your help,” she said.
Lynn smiled. “Dose your incision hurt?”
“No, it’s numb,” Mary said. Lynn helped her into the vest. Mary gradually moved with greater ease.
Something shuffled across the stone floor. Javen slowly advanced. His left shoulder was torn open, singed fabric exposing an abrasion half-cauterized, half-bleeding. Javen’s face was pale, physically drained. He barely managed to hold a rifle the size of a small cannon. “Fools… You thought it would be that easy to escape?” Javen growled. “And you,” he directed to Mary, “you should have stayed in whatever happy little world the Psionic Dreamer created for you.”
“Happy? You call living in hell happy?”
While Javen’s attention was focused on Mary, Klexi raised his gun and took careful aim. The energy blast struck the huge weapon. Fragments exploded in Javen’s hands and face. Javen’s arms raised as the weapon came apart in his grasp. “Let’s move!” Klexi shouted. Javen fell to the floor. He crawled a few feet, smearing blood on floor and stubbornly regained his feet.
Lynn braced Mary as he helped her run. Mary found the more she moved, the less stiff her body was. Every step came faster than the last. The groggy fog of sleep lifted. The edges of her nightmares slipped away. Klexi covered their escape from behind and tossed his weapon aside.
Heat outside slammed into them like a wall. The red sun was setting. Dust blew in from the east. They paused for a second, looking for an escape route. “The hovercar,” Lynn pointed. It was parked next to the ziggurat’s wide base.
They ran to the floating vehicle. A series of purplish-green blasts of laser fire tore apart the control panel in a brilliant array of sparks. It sank down into the sand. Javen walked in their direction.
“Run!” Klexi shouted, darting toward the field. Mary was second, Lynn third. Shots fired by Javen exploded in the sand by his feet.
Charging over the incline and down the opposite side, Klexi pulled his rope from his battered uniform, slinging it up to one of the crop irrigators. Mary tripped on one of the plants. Lynn scooped her back up. By then, Klexi began climbing, quickly reaching the top. “C’mon! Hurry!”
Mary took the rope and pulled. She couldn’t pull herself up. Lynn came up under her, helping as best he could. Klexi heaved from his end. Lynn’s arms burned. His hands slipped against the rope. At the top, he gripped the metal side, pushing Mary up with all of his strength into Klexi’s grasp. Lynn hung there, unable to get up far enough to pull himself in. Mary’s kicking legs disappeared over the side. Four hands then took Lynn by his wrists, helping him in. “Thanks,” Lynn breathed heavily. “Didn’t think I was going to make it.” They slid down into the empty vat, resting against the side of the humming machinery.
“I want to thank you guys for saving me,” Mary said, glancing between Lynn and Klexi. Lynn smiled.
* * *
When they reached the abandoned complex, Mary asked, “What do we do now?”
“We signal for a ship and hijack ourselves to Earth,” Klexi said. Inside the control center, they approached a stone slab. Klexi saw a dried red stain. He stopped.
Javen turned from behind the wall, shooting. A laser bolt seared across the flesh on Klexi's bicep. Seized by pain, he was thrown backward, teeth gritted as fiery sensations shot down his arm.
Javen’s second shot came fast. It grazed across Lynn’s rib cage. He yelled, falling in a spiral. His skin burned. Pain rippled across Lynn’s torso. He lay as still as he could, every breath more painful than the last.
Mary ran. A few quick shots hit stone around her. Javen jogged weakly, cursing to himself. Mary ducked between buildings and broken ruins. She paused behind a portion of a wall mural, trying to remain as quiet as possible. She heard Javen’s footsteps. Mary’s tightened. If only she could embed herself into the rock.
Turning the corner, Javen saw her. He raised his gun. The laser orb chipped away fragments, leaving a fresh pockmark in the stone’s cratered surface. Mary ran behind another wall as a shot drilled into rock. “Damnit,” Javen snarled. Breathing raggedly, he held a hand to his shoulder. Javen followed Mary down an alley.
Mary slipped into a doorway. She backed toward the wall, bumping into a metal rack filled with guns. She took up a rifle-like weapon and pulled the strap around her shoulder. I hope it’s charged!
Mary heard the slow footsteps. Javen was a silhouette in the doorway. He smiled at her. “Shouldn’t you use a weapon more of a woman’s size?”
“Go to hell.” She pulled the trigger. Javen reeled backward, falling in a dead heap to the ground. Mary stood over him and set the gun on a shelf. For you Jeanclair and Alexis. I hope I will make you proud by doing what has to be done. A tear slid down Mary’s.

Chapter IX

By the time Mary found her way back to Lynn and Klexi, the sun had set. Klexi’s arm was bandaged. Lynn worked with holographic computer controls. All thanks to Uxlt, you’re alive,” Klexi said. Lynn came over to her.
“You okay?” he asked. Mary nodded. “Is he dead?”
Mary took a breath. “Yes. How’s it going here?”
“We have to erase the passwords connected to this base and reconfigure them,” Klexi said. He called up information and deleted various files. Symbols and geometric patterns danced through the air in the inverted triangular projection.
“There,” Klexi said behind his holographic panel. “I have it.”
Lynn returned to his terminal and entered single numbers. “Done on this end.”
Klexi opened the communications system and beaming a message to the orbiting mothership. His projection flashed a confirmation that a ship was dispatched. “Hope everybody’s packed,” Klexi said, smiling. Mary lowered her head, chucking nervously.
Lynn embraced her, kissing her forehead. “I'm glad we got you out of there,” he said softly. “I couldn’t bear to leave you to die under that plant.”
Mary gazed up into his eyes. “Thank you.” She smiled. Thank you for taking care of me, Jeanclair.
* * *
Masquerading as New Zimlliaan soldiers, boarding the mothership wasn’t difficult. They rounded up a fresh change of clothes, ate a decent meal, and were assigned quarters where they could rest. “So, what do we do while we wait?” Mary asked.
“I don’t think there’s a lot we can do,” Klexi said. “We certainly don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. We’re lucky the commander believed our story about being hijacked by Leon’s dirigible and getting shot down. I think we should lay low.”
“I can’t wait to get back,” Mary said. “I’m going to join the resistance.”
“You?” Lynn asked.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised. My husband and a very dear friend of mine were killed the day I was taken by the New Zimlliaans and brought here.”
“I’m sorry,” Lynn offered.
“That plant fed me a lot of dreams which really made me re-evaluate myself.”
“How do you mean?” Klexi asked.
“I was too scared to fight. I didn’t want my husband to end up dead. It cost us dearly. It cost me dearly. I was this fragile little china doll, too prim and proper for her own good. After all of this, I can’t go back to pretending someone else will make everything okay. I want to do my part to help change things. I want to be able to make a difference and not depend on everyone else to do it for me.”
“Sounds like you learned a great deal,” Lynn said.
Mary nodded. “I have.”
“I was part of a group at the Upstate Observatory when I was captured.”
“You’re kidding,” Mary said. “That was the group my husband was going to join.”
“What’s his name?”
“Jeanclair Leviere.”
Lynn blew out a long sigh. “Wow.” He stumbled over words. “I convinced him to join.”
“So, you’re Lynn,” Mary said softly.
“And you're Mary, his beloved Marie. He told me Alexis couldn’t return to France.”
Mary’s eyes misted. She held a shaking hand up to her quivering lips. “Lynn,” she whispered his name. “I never imagined…” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Lynn took her other hand between his. “Who could’ve guessed we’d meet each other under these circumstances?”
“Totally unbelievable. Both of us captured in New York and we found each other here. It really is true what they say about it being a small world.”
“Or, in this case, universe,” Klexi said. They chuckled.
“Jeanclair must be watching over me. You impressed him so very much, Lynn, in the short time he knew you.”
“He was a good man.”
* * *
Klexi and Lynn established a covert link in the New Zimlliaans’ communications system to gain information about Earth. They discovered the world they were returning to was radically different than the one they left. “According to this information, the United States is divided into several sections,” Klexi analyzed data. “Kalyptra exploded an implosion device on New York City and ripped open the San Andres Fault, turning what’s left of California into a peninsula. A lot of spaceport cities are cut off from the rest of the planet, held together with warp holes to trade. Your resistance friends are building an Electromagnetic Shielding System as a primary defense. It creates impregnable force fields to protect against attacks.”
“Then there is hope after all,” Mary said. “I so relieved. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to a war zone without some hope of winning.”
“Are Pam and Maryann still at the observatory?” Lynn asked.
Klexi pulled up more information from data sub sets. “The observatory was attacked and abandoned.” Lynn flinched. “Some of this information suggests the resistance helped thwart an attack in Albany, New York. Their current location is unknown. The Fleet Commander’s spies haven’t been able to track them. One of the motherships was captured by a Fifth Column when she attacked California. Maybe your friends are with them.”
Maryann might still be alive. Will she be as happy to see me as I am anxious to see her?
“Kalyptra has been trying to reach Javen, requesting updates on Ufa’s situation. Since no one knows what’s happened, she’s requested this ship to travel to Earth.” Klexi smiled at them. “We’ll be leaving orbit in just a few hours.”
“Finally,” Mary said. “We’re actually going home.” She squeezed Lynn’s hand.
Klexi rerouted signals and tapped into computer systems under human control. “Here’s something interesting,” he said.
“What do you got?” Lynn looked at rows of holographic cyrillic letters.
“Your resistance friends are using a signal in computer messages to regroup more fighters.” Klexi turned away from the transparent photonic projection. “It looks like we’ll be able to get in touch with them once we land on the Earth.”
“So, you’re going to come with us?” Lynn asked.
Klexi shrugged, smiling at the same time. “There’s nothing left for me as a New Zimlliaan,” he said. “I wasn’t cut out for life as a slave. I might as well be useful to somebody.” Lynn shook his hand. Mary offered her support with a warm hug.
* * *
Earth was the most beautiful sight imaginable compared to the wasteland of Ufa. New Zimlliaan ships formed an artificial ring around the equator like an artificial halo while others made transits between the planet and those craft stationed in orbit. Klexi had no trouble getting by the traffic. He piloted the small transport away from the gigantic bulk of the triangular command ship and dipped into the atmospheric shell of Earth.
“I never thought I get back home,” Lynn said.
“It’s so beautiful,” Mary said. Jeanclair, if only you were here right now.
* * *
Aquamarine-gray Uranus dimly illuminated the chamber. The ice giant seemed to race up past the view port as the ship orbited the planet. Stars twinkled beyond the crescent’s arc. A lone figure was superimposed against the backdrop.
She was dressed in a black leather uniform, her curly black hair raised up over her scalp. Her arms were folded across her chest, the corners of her red lips perpetually turned down. A silver headband with black cyrillic letters embroidered into it encircled her skull. The right eye was deep brown, the left disfigured, green and slit vertically like a lizard’s. She, Kalyptra Amphisbaena, was the Invasion Fleet Commander presiding over Earth’s solar system. Her thoughts were as vast as the void beyond her ship’s window, black as all-encompassing space.
Kalyptra’s trance was interrupted when her door chime sounded a soft computerized beep. “Enter,” she said loudly, never turning from the window.
The door slid back with a soft hiss. A black uniformed New Zimlliaan soldier approached her. His face was pitted, creased with lines. “Report, Ensign,” Kalyptra said. Her eyes fixed on Uranus’. A few bright flashes of lightning deep in its convulsing atmosphere flickered like an eerie cosmic fireworks display.
“The situation at Ufa has taken a turn for the worse.”
“I anticipated as much when neither Javen or Jadyn returned my communiqués.” Kalyptra’s eyes narrowed. “Continue.”
“The Commander and his protégé were killed. Leon was also a casualty.”
Kalyptra smiled. One less incompetent to deal with.
“A temporary replacement has been appointed to Ufan Command.”
“Since I’m familiar with the situation, I will search the scientific data banks to find someone suitable to continue working with the Psionic Dreamer plants and make a recommendation myself. I should have word by the time your ship is ready for departure.” Kalyptra stared at her reflection on the clear alloy of the view port.
“Yes, ma’am,” the Ensign said, bringing his right hand half way up his chest in a fist, snapping his arm down.
“Dismissed,” Kalyptra said without turning. She listened to his fading footsteps, the hiss of the door, and the silence leave. The Fleet Commander watched Uranus slip by her window.
* * *
Lynn and Mary never expected to find Albany in the complete state of change it was in. The city’s skyline was dotted with towering skyscrapers, a handful a few miles tall. The architecture was distinctly New Zimlliaan. The original city was annexed as a spaceport. At one time, Albany was surround by a dome, cutting it off from the rest of the world.
Thanks to inside rebel activity, Albany was captured by human forces. Kalyptra launched a major attack to gain control over the United States. Albany’s dome was blown off. Later, a New Zimlliaan snub ship opened fire on the city. The resistance intervened, raising a force field, cutting off Kalyptra’s attack.
Albany survived. Life continued. No one had slowed down. There were careers to build, kids to raise, bills to pay, and pleasures to be sought. Even in the face of the New Zimlliaan invasion and the interplanetary war, life here was as close to normal as it could get.
Stopped at a gas station, Klexi climbed back into the topless black truck holding a piece of scrap paper. “Here’s the directions to the Medical Center. Some of the resistance are supposed to be posted there.”
“You’re sure you cracked that code right?” Lynn asked.
“Yes. It wasn’t anything the New Zimlliaans are using. We should get going. They’re expecting us.” He turned the key.
“Ready for this,” Mary asked Lynn. He nodded. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” Klexi shifted into gear and waited at the parking lot’s edge for a clearing in the traffic.
“I am, too. I think it’s like a pleasure principal. I’m divided between elation and fear. It’s good being back on my own planet. And it’s good about the survival factor.”
“But, there’s more, isn’t there?”
“I was involved with someone. I don’t know if she survived that day in New York. I hope she’s happy to see me.”
“A nice guy like you? She will be.”
But, Lynn could tell her the rest. Not yet.
In the past few weeks aboard the New Zimlliaan ship, Lynn discovered he was developing feelings for Mary. More than just feelings of loyalty. More than feelings stemming from the events they endured. He felt a growing fondness and attraction.
Had Maryann missed Lynn? He had no way of knowing. Did Mary feel the same way about Lynn? If so, how could he break Mary’s heart? Or, how could he break Maryann’s heart? It was a position Lynn wished he wasn’t in. There were too many unknowns.
Lynn glanced out the window. He saw a mother and daughter team on the street corner selling bouquets. “Hold it a second,” he said to Klexi. “I’ll be right back.” Lynn got out. He selected a bunch and paid them. Lynn trotted back to the truck.
“That was nice of you to help them,” Mary said.
“I did it for you,” Lynn said. He handed Mary the flowers wrapped in green paper.
For a few seconds, Mary was speechless. “Why thank you. Aren’t you so sweet.”
“Consider it your medal of valor,” Lynn said. “And, a welcome back gift.”
Mary unwrapped them, finding a half dozen bright red roses. She smiled, choking up. “Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Thank you so much,” she sobbed, kissing him long and passionately. Jeanclair, you know these are our flower…
Klexi was warmed by the sight. Traffic finally eased up enough for him to pull away from the gas station. He slid behind human made vehicles and New Zimlliaan hover vehicles. Like Lynn and Mary, Klexi was ready to face the new adventure lying ahead.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 22.03.2010

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