Бесплатный фрагмент - Dangerous wars

Entertaining adventures and exciting chases, many shootings and terrible intrigues, lure the reader, already from the first chapters of Dangerous Wars, and accompany the whole story, especially when the moment comes to unleash its plot.

Introduction

Emptiness and eternity, the depth of matter, the body without gender, the particles of the feminine and masculine principle.

You, the first parent of everything, mother and father in one person, in your womb, there are galaxies, stars, comets and everything that exists. Wandering wanderers, white and red, black and blue, giants and dwarfs, icy and molten, with various inhabitants.

The universe exists and when the universe disappears, fades and a new infinite darkness appears, the mysterious cosmos will be reborn.

Life can be found in its various corners, where the rule of the universal double division applies, that is, light and dark, top and bottom. Initially, one constellation was divided into two and so on, which led to the separation of the types of existence. Distances are constantly increasing, this has become a major problem for adventurers and explorers. The truth is solvable…

Sometimes it happens, great difficulties, like to create, defense structures «Security systems of migration space services». They are part of a polyline, interrupting the ability of flying vessels to make a safe, spatial and temporal jump.

But there is always hope for the good, and we will see this when a full-fledged, cosmic paradise reigns. Relations will improve between the galactic inhabitants, their laws and business. And no one will be afraid of the natives or any robbers in the sky.

The journey establishes contacts, the connection of beings, helps these intelligent and spiritual forms, as well as people. It is created as a result of calculations of the trajectories and movements of celestial bodies. At any point in space and time, it can break or break. And you will get, not to the planned point of the cosmodrome, but where there is some thousand-year war and you are clearly not expected to visit. The desire to experience the best or to see someone else’s nature prevails over the self-preservation of the mind. Stripes with cruelty or love, you do not know exactly what will overtake you. Everywhere, there are changes waiting for you, in your destiny.

There are, for example, places where people live with the usual working standards. And there is the kingdom of kings, where people go, not to work, but to rest every day, and this is work for them. The tasks are performed by prisoners taken as slaves from other worlds.

Any plane, not only has coordinates on the map, but also heroes and villains, their irreparable troubles and experienced joys.

And now, in the galaxy where the Catamaster islands fly, on the surface of the Ribonne, at the parking station «Eleuron», there is a loading ship with the interesting name «Flying Ferix». In a few hours, after a long repair, he will have to go on a journey. Its owner does not care whether it is cloven-hoofed, large and fleshy animals, the lentaurs, whose meat serves as medicinal food. Birds, with bright feathers, pintons, precious jewelry, any rich house, extracted from some abandoned sphere or just fossils from the star wanderer. It is important that you can get hold of, on this, interstellar currency, with the name of pental. They are minted, cannot be forged or altered. Pentali, smelted under special supervision, in the Charton Mountains, which are located on the gray, and somewhere from the lava maroon, volcanic star, Mitosis. Where, no unauthorized access. The finished products are sent to the «Intergalactic Center Bank», where they enter into worldwide circulation.

«L. G. G. T.-0X0X», is a model, on-board designation, of a flying truck consisting of metal boxes and blocks, compartments and cabins. Cargo and expedition, with the ability to move through time and space, at close and long distances. Controlled by a central computer system. Developed, good scheme, life support. The technical name, in Ribonne, is «Planetary Board». On it, outside, there are light weapons and laser guns, with a short range, that is, it can fire at Raibonne, from the orbit of space. This carrier was developed and released by the carrier company «Roller and Transport Company», which belonged to a multi-billionaire, the owner of a large number of pentals, Cromeli Roller. Its production, has long been producing and servicing both civilian and military vessels. Every day, at least two spaceships depart from its factory built in the orbit of Raibonne, which is an excellent indicator.

The equipment in question was purchased by the Halliford family of money businessmen. In connection with the tragic events, it was inherited by the only remaining relative, Tomake. A young man, inexperienced in business matters and on the path of life, a young man. He is only twenty years old, which prevents him from leading a full adult life. On the Ribonne, the age of majority begins after thirty, when you can get married, drink a strong, intoxicating lyre, or breathe in the drug datura, a petal of pr.

His appearance was not much different from the faces of his peers, tall and thin, with light hair, pale skin, dark eyes, straight nose, slightly thin lips, fashionable unshaven. Tomaka, was the fourteenth capitalist in his line, but the first of them, a space explorer.

His parents, as stated in the medical certificate, were killed because of the inspector checking the cargo that Tomaki’s father, Tita, and his mother, Trishna, were carrying. They were transporting food, flowers of the heron, which is quite harmless and has in itself, organic matter, very necessary for the health of people in the galaxy, on the islands of Catamastra.

Common heron, an edible organic plant, but it is sometimes confused with its sister belodonna. Their visible difference is only in a small, white spot located in the bud, and so they can not be distinguished without special tools and tools.

Its sister is belodonna, a poisonous, inedible and inorganic shrub, whose stamens, spraying their pollen, enter the body through the pores and immediately kill it. No one has come up with vaccines to get rid of this disease, so it immediately spreads them and the living begins to die irrevocably, that is, everything dies, including the planet itself.

And, in the galaxy, on the islands of Catamastra, at the «Control check points», for such a plant, the death penalty is provided, as for an attempt at terror. Next, the isolation of the suspicious cargo, with its further destruction. Therefore, they pay a lot of money for the delivery of edible herons, which is associated with a certain risk to life, the possibility of accidentally mixing up these almost identical bushes and making trouble for themselves.

Rumor has it that Tomaki’s parents are out of luck. During the inspection, the young controller did not understand, confused the useful grass with the poisonous one and made the decision «guilty» … a guard of order, a quick trial, execution of the sentence… although, in fact, it was…

Then, when more or less understood, the guilty and the judge were punished, by local law… executed, but more on that later.

A few years later, after these events, the business Tomake inherited, imperceptibly merged with his research and theories, he did not yet have a practice. The Flying Ferix had been captured by the Sky bandits, but by chance or not, it had been recaptured and returned to its true owner by the Space Guard. Tomaka Halliford himself has not yet left the confines of his planet.

All his long-distance affairs were performed by hired people, pilots, flight engineer, doctor, etc.

The word businessman is synonymous with wealth, but in the case of Tomaka, it sounds ridiculous and ridiculous, he received exactly as much money as he invested it. Large expenses were spent on the maintenance of the ship «Flying Ferix». The rent of the spaceport and technical repairs, and the staff, required a lot of pentals.

«Flying Ferix», although it was not first class, with an average degree of protection, Tomaka liked it and this time, he decided to appoint himself as the flight commander!

Chapter 1. Flight dues

And now Tomaka, who is passing through all the blocks and compartments, cabins and other compartments, of his first-ever space expedition ship, not only as the master, but also as its owner and commander. Making comments along the way, to Timba or flight engineer Trimone, and sometimes even to his assistant Pythons. Since he pays them a penny, he has the right to manage and command them.

— Look again, the broken line on the diagram, so that there are no surprises in flight, — he said warningly to the co-pilot, a fat man with a funny blue work suit on him. Tomaki’s voice was high and very confident, which made him even more important and confident as a flight crew commander. Apparently, in the genes somewhere, there was some code that he got from his family and pushed, now, to be the manager of his new team.

— Don’t worry, commander, we’ll check it out, — he agreed, and with a smart look, rolled into the main cabin. In fact, Timba, very lazy and did not even intend to check the flight map, as he had already looked at it twice and did not see the need for additional checks, although in the flight law of Raibonne…» on performing pre-flight calculations «it is specified» … to make several inspections… in connection with an unexpected change in the trajectory of celestial bodies…". But apparently he knew better, because he had been flying for more than one year and was surprisingly for everyone, an ace in space.

— Hurry up, I don’t want to delay the carriage, — Tomaka said.

— We won’t delay it, it’ll be all right, — Timba said, and disappeared from sight.

— If only it would work, — Tomaka said excitedly, and when there was no answer, he went to the rest room.

When I reached it, I met the assistant Pythons there. A companion of his childhood, but not of the same age, since he was twenty-three years older than Raibonne. But the age difference never stopped them from being friends. On the contrary, they were often together, having fun and discussing various matches of games or drinking light drinks.

When Halliford lost his parents, Pythons was the only one who helped him cope with his grief. And now he, he specifically chose to support him, knowing the full value of friendship with him, even sometimes presenting him as his stepfather. They were somewhat similar, especially in their important gait. He was tall, blond, and slender at the waist. Strict, but fair to anyone, regardless of rank. His clothes were always flat against his body, showing the muscles that young Raibonne boys envied. Pythons, first class pilot! Always attentive to the people and animals around him.

The door of the hatch separating the room from the corridor compartment opened and they entered together.

The hall is spacious, well-lit, equipped to accommodate the crew, during breaks in working hours. Here you can safely drink, brewed leaves of chemusha, pleasantly cooling the body and toning it. Play Binko, a board game with chips for several people, which helps players to improve their mood. Get the latest news, from the information transmitter. It’s good to discuss flight plans, in a non-formal setting. Yes, at least, just take a break from work.

Still, the form, especially higher in rank, somehow invisibly belittles the desire to speak openly and already the conversation does not give the desired result. And here, I want to communicate and think, on different topics, no one will say anything bad to you.

— Pythons, how’s the pre-flight mood? Everything is fine? — Tomaka asked.

— Everything is fine, commander! — the assistant exclaimed, ironically.

Tomaka understood the joke, but did not answer, only smiled slightly, understanding the humor of the Python. His jokes were dry and not very understandable to the people around him, but Tomaka always understood or tried to understand. In fact, he let him get away with a lot, referring it to the ever-increasing age of respect. After all, approaching old age, no one is happy and thoughts about it, more and more distract from reality. It is good to be young, when you do not notice time and life, it seems to you beautiful, which you mostly spend on useless things and thoughts.

— Dr. Vella, he’s holding up for now, — he continued, his voice already full of concern. We need to fly, and we can’t leave without a doctor until we find it.

— Well, that’s your recommendation, and the rest of the crew’s agreement, — the chief said. — But I think, soon to appear, it is a pity that the communication at the spaceport, only internal, does not contact her.

— Here is this, well justified measures, not like, to under takeoff, computer failed, — Pithons unwittingly imagined in his mind, as they fall together with the ship, then explode and on his skin, ran goosebumps.

Each unit, on the «Flying Ferix» spacecraft, is separated by electronic hatches, controlled both by the main computer brain and manually, using magnetic cards, by the crew. In the recreation room, there are several such, on the sides of the center.

Now, such a hatch opened and a panting healer flew into the room. Her hair was tousled and hung down in a mess. Her eyes were bright, her face red, with a guilty smile. The girl stood and tried, not noticeably to catch her breath, but it did not work out, which was even more, it was not pleasant, since everyone was looking at her.

Her clothes, too, were untidy, and in some places, unbuttoned, and Vella’s beauty could not excuse her for that. She stood up on one foot, trying to adjust her left shoe, which was caught on something and did not want to put it on her foot.

— I’m sorry, I’m a little late, but it’s not my fault. This morning, a friend called, her child fell and severely damaged the kneecap, and the insurance is overdue. I had to go to her, provide medical assistance to the victim… — the girl would have continued to speak incessantly, but Tomaka interrupted her.

Finally, the mischievous shoe was still dressed, and Vella straightened up straight and sighed lightly, but as if heavily. She caught her breath and shifted from one foot to the other.

— Why you were late, I appreciated, tell me, and the patient is now normal? — Tomaka asked, his eyes accusing her of all her sins.

— Of course it’s all right, my friend, she’ll list the insurance money in the evening … — but before Vella could finish, he interrupted: — Does that mean we can fly safely?

The girl realized that she had talked too much and calmed down her adrenaline in her blood, she answered briefly: — Yes.

Tomaka, in bewilderment, spread his hands to the sides and inviting everyone to their work places, said:: — Well, great, get down to your business, place the equipment and tools, in the medical center and infirmary, we will fly out soon. He politely waved everyone out of the room, but remained standing in the break room. Pythons ignored Tomaki’s words and stayed with him, in the room, apparently he wanted to say something. Tomaka didn’t answer him at all.

— That’s it, I’m running, — Vella said, and walked quickly to the hatch. It opened, the girl turned to the commander and smiled sweetly at him, then went out into the corridor compartment and the door closed behind her.

— Yes, we got a good, chatty brunette in a white coat! Tomaka exclaimed, more to himself than to the Python.

— I hope the doctor is at least normal? — Pythons asked, wary of his own health.

Tomaka and Pithons, after these words, began to discuss flight plans. It wasn’t long before their conversation ended and they went to the command room in front of the cockpit.

There was no one in the command center, but they were sitting at a computer panel that glowed with all the colors of neon lights. It was the main brain of the spaceship, the Flying Ferix. All any electronic items that depended on this device and any breakage, also, here was recorded by the computer and reported to the team or in special cases to its commander.

The instruments made various subtle sounds, showing their work. The monitors displayed all system processes, incoming and outgoing data. The main computer brain, not only monitors the system memory itself, but also displays it on the main monitor, which is now, first of all, checked by Tomak, so that it does not hang and the flight does not break.

— Well, the main thing is checked, it’s time to assemble a team! — Tomaka said.

— Yes, I agree, it’s time, — said Pythons and on the intercom, notified the crew into the microphone.

Soon, the hatch opened and flight engineer Trimon entered the room. A middle-aged man, a cheerful but calm man. He didn’t seem to be interested in anything but the screwdriver, just to twist something. True, he has a good recommendation, he knows a lot about his business.

— I finished the panel, the wiring was heated, now it’s normal. I changed a couple of wires, I allow you to fly, — said flight engineer Trimon, holding two flight logs in his hands.

— All right, we’re waiting for the others, — Tomak’s commander said.

— Trimon, are you ready to give me the preflight report? — Pythons asked.

— Yes, I have prepared everything and indicated it in these accounting documents, — said Trimon, and handed them to Pythons. Who, began to carefully review the notes, and Trimon turned his attention to the door.

The hatch opened, Vella passed, followed by the copilot, who gave way to the woman, and the passage closed.

Before that, they had met in the hallway, where he had said to Vella, perhaps with a little more than ordinary propriety, a compliment. This is evident from the way she entered the command post, was a little confused and her face was glowing, not a constant shade of pink. Timba, on the other hand, was like a heroic, pompous male flirting with a female.

The crew, gathered in the command room, completely, five people, now had to hold, who is more convenient to call, a briefing or briefing, they are closer to the preflight divorce. From the words «dilute» in theory, the staff to their official places. Explain to people their work responsibilities, as well as, in case of unforeseen and emergency circumstances, what actions they will have to perform.

In a developed, intelligent civilization, there is usually a «meeting room and a table». On the Ribonne, this is also there, but the shape is more like a star and the number of rays in it depends on the number of participants in the conversation. When they sit, between them, on a flying soft disk, the distance approaches and it turns out to conduct a convenient dialogue, improving its result.

A table in the command center of the Flying Ferix spacecraft, with ten beams, designed half for the flight crew, and the rest for possible negotiators. The star table is located in the center of the room. At the heart of it, a powerful laser projector is installed, controlled by a computer brain.

Sitting at the «round table», you get to a business conversation and you have access to the universal information that has spread like a web throughout the entire space of space, built into the general information system, the space library. Although the distances are large, code signs instantly flash between computers, helping people, both in business and in their rest.

You can say, sitting at home, order a romantic dinner, on some planet Zigi-Zigi, in another galaxy. Then, immediately pay and get a «green ticket» by downloading it to the card and using it in the calculation.

— So, the team, all assembled, we can start a general divorce, — said Tomaka, taking the main place of the «round table». The rest of the crew settled down to their jobs, according to the «name», working plates.

To Tomaki’s right, Pithons sat, his side of the table closest to the commander, and further away from him, Timba, Trimon, and Vella sat. All were on the same right side of the «round table». Tomaka looked at the small monitor embedded in his right sleeve, calculating in his mind the remaining time before departure.

— You are every expert in your work, have any notes and suggestions, please let us know now. Then you will have to cope with the forces at hand, in the sky! — Halliford warned, eyeing the crew carefully.

Everyone was a little animated, although no one had said a word yet, just the silence and cheerful atmosphere hanging in the air. But soon after the eyes turned to Pythons, he began to report to the commander and the others.

— Timba and Trimon have reported that the ship is ready to fly, — Pythons said, looking Tomake in the eye and immediately directing his gaze to Timba and Trimon, waiting for a sign of confirmation, his words just spoken.

Tomaka turned his questioning gaze to Dr. Vella, asking in his mind, — What about you? What did you do? Can you, with such beauty, do anything at all, except make up your eyes and lips?

Vella understood him without words, a little confused, but cheerfully replied: — Oh, I have, everything is fine, pills and potions on the shelf, everything is sterile and clean!

— Well, I wish you to conduct the flight without incident, we absolutely do not need them. I signed a contract with you, for a good percentage, so I do not advise you to get sick. We are leaving in five, and I hope that we will return together. That’s all, did you have time to do your personal business, on the Ribonne? I see happy faces and a cheerful mood, let it remain so. The crew is prepared, please take the take-off seats, — the commander said in a commanding tone, emphasizing the words.

— The main thing is that there will be a place to sleep and eat in the near future, — the co-pilot said in half a voice, ironically, leaning slightly to Trimon’s left ear. But he either did not hear or did not want to hear, just got up and went to his box, where he intended to continue, to prepare for takeoff.

Timba wanted to make a joke in front of the commander, but he realized that the business conversation between Tomaki and Pithons was more important than his jokes, and he decided it was better to catch up with Vella, who was already in the corridor. He really wanted to please her and of course, continue their previous, personal conversation, which no one heard, but everyone guessed what it was about. Dr. Vella, was against the harassment and courtship of Timba, who persistently tried to please her, than even more, pushed it away from himself. In the short time they’d been aboard the «Flying Ferix», she’d grown so tired of him that she’d even wanted to ask Commander Tomake for help, but something had always stopped her, and Timba’s antics had gone unpunished.

Under the law, on the planet Raibonne, she could hold Timba responsible for harassment, but her character would not allow her to do so, it was easier to deal with him herself. And now, she did, but she was still a girl, and if Timba crossed the boundaries of what was allowed, then she would definitely have to turn to Tomake or Pitons for help.

— Wait, Vella, — the pilot shouted loudly, almost running to her.

Vella slowed her pace and, in the process, turned her head toward him. Her smile flashed against her fair face and bright black hair, so that he even slowed down a little.

— Timba, are you trying to annoy me with your courtship again? What is it? — she asked.

— I would be happy to ruin myself for someone like you, but no one will appreciate it, — said the pilot and smiled beautifully, showing clean white teeth.

— And you definitely need someone’s assessment, does love want its strength to be measured on the scale of the sacrifice you have made? — she asked the question.

— I agree, she doesn’t demand it, but she doesn’t refuse it either. Although love, too, is not eternal, if it is not nourished by feelings, it simply disappears. And I don’t want to waste my nerves, either, — Timba replied.

Vella and Timba came to the end of the road, where it had two hatches in the walls. One on the right, which leads to the command, flight room, the other on the left, to the medical center.

— Here, we’d better part ways, so that your people don’t get hurt, — Vella said, and went to the left hand compartment.

— Thank you for taking care of me, the flight is just beginning, we will still have time to talk, — Timba was intrigued and hurried to his room.

Meanwhile, Tomaka and Pithons summed up the meeting and went to get the co-pilot.

The crew of the spacecraft «Flying Ferix», was launched.

Space and time, the secrets of galaxies and the secrets of planets, ghosts and living beings, all this is the engine of the pulse of the universe and our life. How many interesting and beautiful things are there in space, what we lack in our ordinary life? We know that during the day it is light, at night it is dark. This is a figurative example, in the ideal state of day and night, and not like on the planet Miran, where due to high humidity, there is a lot of cloud and it is always dark, although it flies in orbit, between two flaming stars.

Through the vacuum, between the planets, the curved lines of human destinies are built, there is a struggle between the minds, spaceships fly into the unknown, with their brave-at-heart commanders, such as Tomaka.

— Launch, permission granted, — a command voice said, over the central speaker that connected Tomaka to Central Mission Control, intergalactic station Eleuron, on the planet Raibonne, and his crew.

— Attention, crew, ten minutes to liftoff, take your seats and activate your shields. The main computer brain, go to the pre-flight state, — Tomaka commanded once again, after which the crew settled into their seats, and the main computer, loudly and clearly, began to count down the ten Raibonne minutes, in reverse order, throughout the spacecraft.

— Nine forty — six, nine forty-five… — the speakers blared, sending the adrenaline pumping through the crew of the Flying Ferix.

The time before the launch is getting shorter and when the score reaches zero, the main computer brain will check the protective screens of each crew member and enter the command, " … transfer to a biostop state, biological organisms…", for a period set in advance, during the flight calculations, that is, temporarily freeze people or other living organisms, without any violations, vital processes in them.

Tomak’s commander quickly checked everyone out and took his own seat in the flight chamber.

Chapter 2. Death of Trimon

In the spaceship» Flying Ferix», the atmosphere became heated, from the many flashing lights and all the walls trembled, moving mechanical devices.

— Four twenty-eight, four twenty-seven… — through the count, everyone heard the start of two huge engine rings, in the opposite direction, relative to each other. The steam pipes whirred, throwing hot air out and simultaneously gathering the necessary amount of heat to warm the ship’s compartments during the flight.

Usually, at such moments, an experienced commander asks a control and encouraging question into the microphone installed in the flight cameras of each crew member. But, since Tomaka was not experienced, this function was taken over by Pythons.

Is everyone ready? What is it? — he asked. — «That’s it, — Timba said first, and he didn’t laugh out loud. — I’m ready, — the flight engineer said. — I’m ready, too, don’t forget, — Vella said cheerfully, and giggled into the microphone. — Commander, let’s go on a treasure hunt and adventure! — Pythons said jokingly.

— All right, let’s go, let’s try the alien planetary viands, — Tomaka said, trying to cheer up the crew.

— Food, this is for Trimon, he likes delicacies here. I’d rather have expensive stones or metals — Timba joked.

— The food should be right, not just the way you like it, all curls and twists, — Trimon said blankly.

— Guys, do not quarrel, the flight is just beginning, you will still have time to spoil each other’s nerves, — Vella asked Timba and Trimon.

— Two seventeen, two sixteen … — time passes irrevocably, on the computer clock.

— We’re not fighting, are we, Trimon? — Timba asked defensively, and laughed again.

— Yeah, the truth, but don’t make it turn into a lie, — Timbe, the Trimon, said dryly.

— Trimon, after all, I love you…! All right, let’s go, wake up, open the lyre and talk about life a little, — Timba said peaceably, to which he received no response from Trimon.

— Something, the commander is not heard? — Timba asked jokingly, having already forgotten about Trimon.

— Timba, you’re showing a certain amount of love for Vella and Trimon, or even for me, and you’re showing an unhealthy interest. Maybe he was born in the third race, where bisexual love is in the foreground, for the benefit of the mutual love of humanity, — Timba, Tomak’s commander, retorted.

— I wonder if you love me, Timba? — Pythons asked, and somehow, with a ring in his voice, he laughed.

— I love everyone, — he said, and everyone felt that Timba, though a lazy type who loves women and riches, was also a humorous and ridiculous prankster.

— Three, two, one, zero. Attention, the countdown to the start is over. Biological organisms, go into a biostationary state. The launch has begun — the flight cameras speakers said.

— Oh, Mommies, — Vella cried, and fell silent, falling asleep. In her flight chamber, the computer let in a sleeping gas.

— Oh, I have too, the gas went, I’m going to sleep, see you later… — said Timba and fell asleep without finishing. Tomaka was wary, because it was Trimon’s turn, and the computer «froze» Timba.

Tomaka heard, but didn’t understand who said it. Trimon, or it was Pythons, as the voice, also broke off. Tomaka didn’t know who was being frozen, but he realized that there had been some kind of malfunction in the freezing system, and now he could only hope that everything would be fine.

Tomaka, who reached for the emergency button, let the soporific gas rush into the cabin. In an instant, his mind shut down, lulling him to sleep and preventing him from pressing the red trigger disconnector.

Only one person was awake and not «frozen». His flight chamber was de-energized, which meant only one thing, he was dead. He could not get out of the capsule and could not, in any way, inform the crew or the Raibonne about the problem that had arisen, the accident on the spacecraft. Such a function was not provided by the developers, the red disconnector, was only available to the commander, who could no longer hear it.

Now what has happened is that when the main computer brain did a check, the motion and heat sensors did not correctly register the bioactive functions, as a result of violations and short circuits that occurred, the electrical circuits. Because of what, there was a tragic mistake. From the flight data recorder, «there are no biologically active organisms in the flight chamber.» It was completely shut down, in a moment, all the oxygen became emergency and went to other cells where there was life. This is done in order to save air, and once a living organism has not been recorded in the room, then no one needs to breathe there.

Scary, but the fact is, the spaceship «Flying Ferix», in a couple of minutes, may be left without flight engineer Trimon. In space, sometimes there are cases when the vacuum breaks the lungs of the pilots, in a split second and then dissolves the body, but their heroism will always remain in the minds of the followers. Unfortunately, Tomaki’s flight started with such a terrible loss, but let’s be optimistic, maybe if it’s bad now, then everything will be fine in the future, when they are switched on!

Minutes passed, the flight engineer died, suffocated in the cell, and disappeared into the void, eternal memory to flight engineer Trimone!

The spaceship «Flying Ferix», goes into orbit, it is controlled by an autopilot, that is, the main computer brain…

Now, fast forward a little bit, to the intergalactic station «Eleuron». To understand who was responsible for the death of the flight engineer?

…There was a routine inspection of our flight ship, with the participation of a technician and, mind you, flight engineer Trimon. Everything was checked, top and bottom, interior and sides, every crack and every dent was analyzed. Everything was done according to the «Flight Rules», but one thing was not taken into account. You can’t talk about personal things. So corny? Alas, yes, during the conversation, the technician got carried away, telling about a love meeting with his ex-girlfriend. I dropped a tiny part into the crack of the still-open panel, and the flight engineer, while listening and swallowing drool, relaxed his attention and did not notice it. The panel was returned to its place, and the fallen part remained there.

If, then, Trimon knew what he had personally prepared for himself, maybe something would change for him in the future. But life is what it is! A small detail, became a huge misfortune. When starting the engine, it gradually moved inside the panel, hitting the wires with current. This led to a short circuit in the circuit, as a result of which, the computer made a mistake, from which a person died.

People know a lot about life, its cycle of cycles, the black and white streak of events. They can predict mass events in the future, but they don’t see their own events. To calculate that there will be a world flood or a world war will break out, and the pit under their feet will not be seen. And Trimon, while he hung his ears, mentally trying on the role of a young lover, could not know that this was bringing his death closer.

When death is somewhere, life continues there, and this is the power of the pulsating blood, while it flows and beats, the body feels peace.

And since our heroes are still alive, we return to the spaceship «Flying Ferix», which is now preparing for an intergalactic jump.

The entire crew is frozen and while their bodies and thoughts have fallen out of time, the main computer brain performs the translation of command functions, from the computer to real life. Putting the planet Raibonne into orbit, shutting down all secondary energy consumers, distributing air, turning on the protective shield outside, and much more.

The time has come and the spaceship «Flying Ferix», flew along a curved line, through space and time, skirting comets and meteorites that fall in its path. Cutting through the vastness of space, in the cold space, Tomaka slept peacefully and the crew, too, was in hypersleep. They did not see the beauty that they flew, passing through the space of the universe, everything was recorded, on the cameras, only by the recorder.

The cosmos, in the mind, cannot be imagined completely as it really is. In our limited minds, it is just a ball whose edges we imagine to be boundless, thinking that we are at the center of the universe. In which the stars are scattered everywhere. But it is so great that its limits simply do not exist, and everything in it is in the end, in the unity of all created things. There is no edge, no beginning. Everything flows in its own river, in the world of matter, even the spiritual, is matter. The past, flows into the present and passes into the future, and then again, becomes the past.

We will never be able to fully understand the principle of the structure of the cosmos until we ourselves risk encountering more complex problems than we have now. We need people like Tomaka, ready to rush into the unknown expanses of space and let him sleep now, but the time will come when his life will give him the knowledge that he will add to people and eventually, bit by bit, put everything in its place. And to all, enlightenment will come, calm their nerves and give complete peace. Or everything will happen, quite the opposite. Well, now, we’ll watch a little bit, for the place where we fly.

Here on the right, the galaxy «Air Bundle». It is like a gaseous disk, thin on the outside and thick in the center. A vortex of gas that draws it out of space and absorbs it, in its black pit, at its very core.

On the left, a set of single scattered, independent of each other stars. If you look at them from the outside, it may seem strange that such beauty still exists in this world. That so far, people have not spoiled this charm and you can still admire the magical moments, see the structure of the cosmos firsthand. Don’t live in bunkers and look at the world, don’t look through telescopes.

Many particles of information, such as thoughts, radio waves, and such, such, specially separated by nature, from living organisms, the visibility of which would limit us as much as possible visually, and partly in movements, are distributed everywhere.

Everything in space moves relatively, time is no exception, and the spaceship «Flying Ferix» has already arrived at its destination, in the orbit of the planet Malonga first, in the galaxy Pyrimea.

The spaceship «Flying Ferix», automatically created an artificial orbit and set a course around the planet Malonga first, that is, began to fly slowly around it.

Inside, all the computers came to life and the machines started working, the robots began to prepare the landers, the air in the compartments was restored. In the flight cabins, the process of «defrosting» began.

First, Vella came to her senses. Her flight deck was already open and warmed by the warm air. Vella, slightly pulled every muscle, because after «freezing», you can not immediately make sudden movements, so as not to injure the body. She tried to remember how she was «frozen», but she could not do it.

I crept out of the flight deck and shook off my drowsiness. She was the first person to wake up, and since she was here as a doctor, she was supposed to make sure that the entire crew woke up normally after hypersleep. A little later, she went to wake the crew, as indicated in her order sheet.

When she entered the cockpit, she saw that the three flight seats were open, the safety windows were removed, and the entire crew was already awake. But since Vella was young and a good specialist, she immediately realized that the state of coma still partially holds their minds. People just sit there and don’t understand anything. Vella went to the flight engineer’s box, but to her surprise, the seat was empty. She immediately returned to the pilots and began to bring them to their senses.

Soon, everyone was back to normal and everyone was already guessing what had happened to the flight engineer. In the cockpit, there was a tense situation in the air and therefore, we decided to go to the command post to assess the current situation and discuss further actions.

— You all already know what happened. We had a tragedy, a man was killed, flight engineer Trimon, — Tomaka said in a calm voice, addressing the entire crew.

— You, Commander, how could this happen? And what should we wait for next? I, for one, am now afraid for my life! — Vella asked, with a slight, barely perceptible breathlessness in her voice that betrayed her great excitement.

— I’m not a girl, but my legs are shaking, too, — Timba said.

Only Pythons didn’t say anything, he stood behind Tomaka, who was sitting at the table, and just listened to what everyone was saying.

— The culprit will be identified when we return to Raibonne. It’s not the first time you’ve all flown, but it’s the first time I’ve flown. And, the hands and feet, I have, do not tremble, and you, arrange a panic. Let’s all calm down and continue our expedition further, — the commander tried to speak evenly and calmly, suppressing the people’s fright with his voice.

— If this is the beginning of the expedition, wouldn’t it be better if we went back? — Vella suggested.

— It would be so simple, and who will finance it, Tomaka, me or Vella, or maybe Pythons? — Timba asked, turning as if to the side, to an unknown person.

— Is it better for everyone to die like Trimon? Who will need these treasures then? — Vella asked, looking around at everyone.

— The situation has escalated, I propose a vote, in the end, money, it’s just money and life, you can’t buy it for them — – Tomaka offered to the entire crew.

— I agree, so I think it will be fair, — said the previously silent Pythons.

— So do I, for the vote, — Timba said, now indifferently, putting himself in the hands of fortune.

— My decision already, I see, will not change anything, so I also vote, — said Vella, and without hiding her feelings, she was upset and seemed to cry, but immediately held back the tears.

The vote was passed, the votes were counted, and the majority was «for». We decided to make a new plan for the expedition, without the participation of the flight engineer, whose work will now be performed by Timba.

All the basic preparations for the landing of the capsules and landers were still made by the technicians at Raibonne. All that remained was to deliver it all to the place, that is, to Malonga first, together with the members of the expedition.

After only a few hours, the team relaxed a little and began to forget about what had happened. People moved on and no one wanted to talk about what had happened. As if nothing had happened.

The flight engineer’s cell was moved to the freezer compartment, where medical instruments and special laboratory flasks were stored for biological research until they returned to the Ribonne.. Where then, according to the law, they will give it to the local authorities, for further examination and finding out about the situation that happened, on the «Flying Ferix».

Vella was busy with her scientific training, and Timba was checking instruments and studying atmospheric pressure, in the cabin of the Flying Ferix. Pythons supervised the work of the robots on the platform, Tomaka looked at the available geographical maps, Malonga first. Everything, as it were, has improved a little.

In the evening, at six, according to the internal schedule, everyone accidentally gathered in the dining room.

— I wonder what this planet holds? No matter how much I look at it, I can’t make out what is there? — Timba asked.

— According to the maps, that’s where our wealth is. Eat whatever you want. Diamonds-please, fuel-any, animals — different, just have time to load, — said Tomaka.

— I think, if the «well-wishers» probably knew what was there, then I would not have got these cards. And we wouldn’t be here either, — Pythons said.

— Then I hope we’re all very lucky! — Tomaka said and laughed.

— Tomaka, please tell me, is it good to be rich? — Timba, the commander, asked.

— The more wealth, the more responsibility. And not always rich, it means money, — Tomaka replied, assessing his actually poor condition.

— So, as I understand it, in any case, wealth is a great responsibility for people. Then, why be rich, let others think for me, and I will rest and rejoice, — said Tomaka, Timba again.

— Timba, whether you are rich or poor, you will always rest and enjoy yourself, — Pythons joked.

— Think about it, there is a difference,» you are being led or when you are being led.» Let’s close the subject and talk about the morning landing, — Tomaka said.

— Is something wrong again? — Vella asked the commander, not lightly hinting about the death of the flight engineer.

— No, everything is fine and we will not remember it, we all agreed… not to mention it! — Tomaka answered them all.

— I’m sorry, it just came out of my mouth, — Vella apologized.

— I know everyone was nervous today, — Tomaka said.

— And when we land to win riches, from the unintelligent natives? — Timba joked, referring to the local animals or humanoid creatures.

— In the morning, at eight o’clock, we gather on the lower platform, the standard form of clothing, then we do it according to commands. Chief, I, if anything happens, then by rank, first pilot-Pythons, second pilot-Timba, then, doctor-Vella, — said, for the entire crew, Tomaka.

— Friends, today I am officially the last day of the poor, be happy for me. Thank you all! — Timba said, and with a good mood, he began to eat hot, meat soup.

The crew of the spaceship «Flying Ferix», after dinner, went to their personal affairs. After all, tomorrow, a new day will come, there will be interesting acquaintances, and for them, you need to be always ready.

The entire crew, falling asleep, imagined what might be waiting for him, on this little-known planet of Malonga the first, in the galaxy of Pyrimea. But no one knew that they would really meet there…!

Chapter 3. Malonga first

At eight in the morning, as agreed in the evening, everyone gathered on the lower platform, where they prepared capsules, landers and various cargo vehicles. The platform was huge enough to accommodate several military spaceships, but it was used only for civilian purposes. The spaceship «Flying Ferix», was quite roomy, such a small state, it contained working and cargo compartments. All this made it possible to carry out transportation processes. Of course, they could not be compared to the large ships that plied the prastors of the universe, in which small planets could easily fit.

— Well, the moment of truth has arrived. We’re getting ready to land, — Tomaka said.

— That’s right, commander, let’s go to the planet, we’re tired of hanging out in space, — Timba said hurriedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

— I agree. So, now everyone is putting on space jumpsuits and standing, everyone at the free capsule, — Tomaka ordered.

Everyone obediently began to dress, and Timba tried to make a joke, but no one paid attention to him, trying not to forget to fasten some of his zipper or zipper. In space, anything could happen, for example, depressurization of the capsule or overflow of the box with gas, so it was necessary to monitor everything, including the integrity of the oxygen system and the complete tightness of the coverall. One death of a flight engineer was more than enough. No one wanted this to happen again, not even Timba, even though he was being uncharacteristically calm and irresponsible.

— The main computer brain, will switch to automatic command mode, according to the instructions and automatic piloting, — Pythons additionally informed everyone.

— Commands received and executed, — the chief computer brain replied in a feminine, pleasant voice, in the speaker, as if confirming the words of the commander and the first mate.

The expedition was ready for departure, within half an hour, everyone gathered at the capsules.

— Places on the planet, indicated for you. The capsules will open after they cool down, if anyone doesn’t know. One capsule, one person! — Tomaka joked. — I wish you all a soft landing, see you on Malonga first!

— Thank you, you also have a soft landing! — Vella said.

— Everything will be fine, — Tomaka said, and went back to his capsule.

The crew wished each other a good landing and each took their own capsule, which then closed, and the main computer brain took them into space and then sent them to Malonga first.

First, the capsules with people entered the atmosphere, then land vehicles, cargo transport, and then the cargo itself landed. To the ground, all and all, flew safely.

The spaceship «Flying Ferix», remained to fly in the orbit of Malonga first.

The planet had the necessities that normally support life. Fire and water, the change of day and night, air and organic soil. All this was on her, so the landing of the crew, nothing over dangerous did not portend. It spoke of an ordinary uninhabited planet.

When the last atmospheric analyses were completed, the capsules opened and the people came out. The landing was chosen by the main computer brain, using all possible landing algorithms, that is, the landing place was specially selected, taking into account the least possible danger to the crew and the location of the landing capsules, within the average visibility of a person.

— Yes, you are mocking me, I have not seen such a thing… — there was no limit to Timba’s admiration, there was no end, he continued to describe vividly and colorfully the rapture of the world of Malonga the first.

— Dr. Vella, I think we have a case like the one on the Ribonne, a disease called the gaze of millions. Birds, from the ancient history of Raibonne, mentioned by the Pillatec civilization, about which the myth has come down to us, — Tomaka suggested.

— Yes, you are right, commander, it is, this is the «view of millions». Our eyes now see what is not given to an ordinary person. Simple rays of light from an object are refracted billions of times before they reach us, on the retina of the eye. In this case, it slightly disorients a person in space, he sees vivid images of something that simply does not exist in reality, — Vella replied, trying hard to control her state.

— I, too, heard about the million, how her gift of all-seeing, became a doom for her. The Pillatecs, fearing that it would become a new kind of evolution, more developed, then took and destroyed all the birds, chicks and eggs, families belonging to the genus millions, — said Pythons.

— Friends, I personally see such beauty for the first time and it’s cool! Not counting Raibonne, of course, — Timba said, looking around the area.

— This condition, temporary, will soon let everyone go, apparently, was caused by the overload of our light-sensitive organs. Now, the brain will start to filter out everything superfluous and we will start to see, as we always look, — Vella encouraged everyone and only Timba, only disappointed with this free high.

It took about half an hour, as the false colors began to disappear and everything around came to the intergalactic norm of perception of bodies. Timba, no longer so happy, but only grumbled and for some reason, pressed himself on the eyeballs, apparently trying to still maintain the effect of millions.

The terrain was not very different from Raibonnovskaya, which greatly facilitated the process of work on the placement of things and the creation of a temporary base for the expedition. The specially burned part of the clearing began to serve as a starting point for the crew and a gathering place at the end of the group’s hike.

Here, it has been standing for a long time, good stable weather, a little dry, but quite tolerable. A light breeze, slightly bends the tops of the trees, the crowns of which glow with green and red, yellow and blue flowers. Sometimes, from the thicket, you can feel unguided glances, most likely small animals, frightened by the new neighborhood, with unknown people who have flown here.

A variety and a huge number of flowers that have grown around, happily shimmer, in the resulting glades, between the fishing lines. Insects in the grass, working hard to form small empires of power, in their tiny, short lives.

In the blue sky, birds are constantly flying and from time to time, you can even see their love scenes, then severe battles for territory.

Although there are no people, high-rise buildings, or smart cars on Malonga One, there is a fuss of those in whom life is located and it always seems to flow. For the crew, the fauna appeared in a completely different form. Not a cold planet, but a kind place, almost a second home. The pleasant energy was felt everywhere.

Large blocks of stone, sometimes cutting through glades, stand like statues created by natural factors. The silent witnesses of time, its constant companions, parts of the structure of the universe, rest here on Malonga One.

Next to the expedition base, there is a small river. Clear water, which does not hide the water world and you can easily see the fish and swimming plants living there. And the water itself, warm to the touch, charming and excellent!

Being on the planet involves a lot of mysterious and unusual things, which may not be seen on Raibonne, despite all its similarities with Malonga the first. Although here, the same trees grow, but they are not the same, a little thicker and longer. This is how it happens, with the whole world around us, in space, on the planets, the views change.

Gathered in a quickly assembled one-story building, the crew of the «Flying Ferix» began to discuss the latest tasks of the assigned expedition.

— Today, we are going to our planned place, which is, as everyone knows, a day’s drive from here. As you understand, we can’t land directly on that point, because of the underground, non-stone terrain there, which is bad for landing, — Tomaka said.

— Our first task now is to get to the point, find a denser ground and launch the assembly and preparatory transport, — he continued.

— The scouting robots are back, nothing dangerous has been detected, so we can work calmly and confidently, — Dr. Vella told Tomake.

— That’s good. I think everyone is ready to work and if no one needs medical help or no one has changed their mind, then we continue our expedition, — Tomaka said.

The crew went to their places, and an hour later, to the edge of the forest, a logger flew up, followed by four land vehicles and another, working transport. All these actions were carried out according to the «Traffic Map», so the crew only had to be bystanders until the arrival point.

Lesolom launched the gears and spikes with which he clears the path and headed forward to the set point. Its metal tentacles began to grab the animals menacingly and throw them into a circular hole in the belly, which began to suck everything into the car like a light vortex.

The whole expedition and its equipment followed him, along a cleared, fresh, cut strip, where just now, there was a forest, instead of which, nothing now remains.

From the side, you could see how a huge iron machine, breaking almost into splinters, trees and stones. On the ground, a terrible monster crawled, devouring everything in its path, blowing up swirls of gray dust. And even, it is impossible to imagine that there is a force that can stop this forest break.

But the truth is that this is just the appearance of one side of the picture, and on the other, if you look, the canvas is white. Lesolom, absolutely safe car. It’s just an ordinary metal dispenser for the materials he found. And what falls under its gears, spikes and tentacles, everything is immediately analyzed by the computer and transferred to special compartments. Part of the non-live mass is immediately processed into fuel or return cargo, and the live, along the conveyor, is sent to the cargo compartment and there, unloaded into special cages. The procedure of his actions is thought out to the smallest detail and does not harm anyone. The gears will not crush you, no thorn can pierce you, and the tentacles will not kill the living. This is a brilliant invention of cargo-handling machines, which, while it does not require modernization, will serve people for more than one generation.

All the cars began to move forward, leaving nothing behind.

— I certainly won’t, — Tomaka said.

— No, I won’t, — Timba said, too.

— I’m very happy about that, because I’m the only girl here, — Vella said, more boldly.

— Of course, the only girl, our princess, — Tomaka said.

— Thank you, but I’m not like that, just a good doctor, — Vella replied jokingly.

— So, we spent a day in space, and already the tackles have gone, — Pythons laughed.

— They would have sent him out to cut wood, and then, when they had cleared everything, they would have caught up with him. And what are we, following him? — Timba asked dully.

— You can not, suddenly a failure or something! It will go away for a few days ahead, then chase after it, return it, — replied the Python.

— Yes, I agree, it’s better to go quietly after him than to look for him and fix what he makes, — Tomaka said.

— I see, this is done to keep our brains from boiling, — Timba said, and laughed.

— That’s right, — Vella said, laughing.

In such a casual conversation, the crew drove all day, according to the calendar of Malonga first, that is, the entire distance, to the designated point.

On the spot, upon arrival, the logger stopped. The crew breathed a sigh of relief as they settled themselves and installed the equipment and supplies they had brought with them.

Huge but thin metal pipes, covered with glass disks, like mushrooms, grew everywhere. Inside, each of them has already begun the process of pumping out everything of value from the ground. The air was filled with sharp and ringing sounds, coming from invisible cracks in the pipes, from the white and gray colors of the gases. They were like thousands of nuclear explosions rising to the sky in an instant. All the living things around him had almost disappeared, leaving only the grating of metal and the clouds of vapor that covered everything. Work is done!

The modular Expedition Crew Room, further MEEP, was installed by robots, in the center of everything that is happening here, for more convenient guidance over the working moments. At the level of the glass disks, an equally large glass ball appeared, and this was the MEEP. From all the disks, wires and cables, ribbed and smooth pipes, stretched to it, through the air, it all combined into one working cycle.

The crew went up to the MEEP and immediately gathered in the last compartment, with a glass outer wall.

— This is a moment of bliss, — Timba said.

— Is this what we’ve been waiting for? — Vella said, ignoring Timba’s words.

Everyone stared through the glass, their eyes frozen. This is what they needed. They felt like giant needles digging into the ground and tearing it from the inside, sucking everything in. The material, part of the Malonga first, twisted like minced meat, is flowing out of it now, into their pockets. A truly mesmerizing moment!

— I feel like a thief! — Tomaka said.

— No, you’re wrong. We’re not thieves, we’ll just take some, — Pitons corrected Tomaku, reassuring him of their honest intentions..

— That’s right, here later, everything will be restored anyway. Is it bad that we will be happy with this? — Timba asked Tomaka, without any remorse.

— Later, later, later. Okay, we’re here for this, and we’ll take it home with us. And now, I ask everyone to go about their personal business, — Tomaka ordered.

— I need to go to the men’s room, — Timba said, and, satisfied, the first one disappeared from the compartment.

— I’ve picked up some biological specimens along the way, and I’m going to do some magic with them, — Vella said.

— If you find anything unusual, let me know, — Tomaka commanded.

— All right, — Vella said, and left.

In the compartment, there are two people left, Tomaka and Pythons.

— I want to congratulate you on your brilliant work, — Pithons said, and reached out to shake Tomaka’s hand.

Tomaka secured the handshake with his own hand and smiled slightly at the Python, accepting his congratulations.

— We will have a lot of common and interesting things ahead of us! — Tomaka promised Pithons.

— I, too, think so, but in business, there are breaks. Therefore, I suggest that we finish our conversation later. The body needs to rest, — said the Python, tired with age.

— Both body and spirit, — Tomaka said good naturedly.

Their hands parted and they went to their respective compartments, which served as their rest room.

Although they, the crew, did not see each other, their thoughts were the same. Why? Because they’re messy! Then they imagined themselves as princes, in the case of Vella-a princess. Then cool tycoons, with a lot of money, in general, rich people. And, Timba in his compartment, on an air folding bed, even visited the role of a wizard who lives without hard work, in his world of magic and fantasy.

To them, the sun is bright, and the sky is clear, and inspiration is inside! Benevolence! Now, their capital was rapidly increasing, automatically transferring them from a deplorable state to a club of rich people. Bliss comes and the planned dreams begin to gradually come true.

Vella, having worked her magic with the test tubes, saturated with the daily difficulties of the expedition and the jokes of the crew members, sank unnoticed, in the color pictures of the dream, trying to predict her immediate, secure future.

Pythons did not sleep, he settled comfortably in a rocking chair and also began to dream about money, about girls and gambling, because he had almost become a rich man, the elite of society. And perhaps he will buy himself a special building somewhere and retire to his work, because in his youth he dreamed of creating what would remain, paired with eternity.

Tomaki’s room, darkened by artificial light, weighed on his mind a little now, but he ignored it. Relaxing his gaze, Tomaka stared far into space, through the wall, into the vast darkness and emptiness, until he fell asleep.

Chapter 4. Crew capture

Everything would have continued like this, but the sky was pierced through by flying disks, resembling one plate covered with another. And there were quite a few of them. The experience of those pilots, and these are living people and biorobots, was high and they did not make a single accident in the sky. With great speed, these black disks whirled around the MEEP, assessing what was happening here.

The crew had long since woken up and was now watching through the windows of the MEEP as unfamiliar objects flew around the building, flashing their bright lights. It was easy to guess that the intentions of the guests were quite hostile, especially as indicated by their pointed weapons in the direction of the MEEP.

Tomaka, more than the others, tensed and tried to assess what was happening truthfully. Where did these unsolicited flyers come from and what to do to prevent the shooting from starting.

«Vella, prepare a first aid kit just in case,» Tomaka said.

Vella quickly ran after her and soon returned, bracing herself for the worst.

«No one needs to worry, nothing bad has happened yet,» Tomaka said.

«Yes, don’t panic,» Vella said, her pink lips trembling.

The place already allowed all the fighters to land, so the stormtroopers did. In each such disk, there was a huge hatch, through which, now, an armed landing party was jumping.

Immediately, they formed a military headquarters, with their own, previously appointed, space commander Kaaran.

In the MEEP, a robot negotiator was sent, which, as well, could translate one spoken language to another and back. But, in our case, this will become useless in the future, since it will soon become clear that both of them speak the same, in addition to their native, intergalactic language.

On the main computer of the MEEP, an incoming third-party signal was received and the first person who heard it from the crew was Tomaka. He immediately gathered the entire team closer, in the command room, to discuss further actions.

The robot negotiator was allowed, after mandatory security procedures, to go up to the MEEP. Where immediately, they determined a common language for communicating with the arrived, unknown guests.

The robot negotiator drove into the MEEP, stopped in front of the crew and everyone saw, in the air, a translucent air man, shimmering blue-blue, clearly the commander, and immediately heard, from the laser visor translator: — I, Space Commander Kaaran, under the Emperor Maront! How dare you here arrange the extraction of our minerals, without our permission?

The Space Commander of Kaaran had spoken of fossils, but Tomaka sensed that he was being deceptive. He needed something other than a threat and a simple trial.

Although the situation, in the literal sense, in the air was now tense, the crew for some reason, did not feel an obvious threat. It was most likely a feeling of some confusion. After all, according to everyone, there should be no one here on Malonga first, except for Tomaki’s crew.

«I, the commander of Tomaka space expedition,» Tomaka said. «We came here, on the intergalactic ship the Flying Ferix, to work on mining. According to our agency information, this planet is not inhabited by people and does not belong to anyone. And since the rights to it have not been previously claimed, then you are now violating the law of galactic property, using your superiority over us. Restricting us and our labor, in freedom and labor activity.

— The Space Commander of Tomaka, — Timba joked softly, prefixing the word» commander"with"cosmo.

— What rights and laws are you talking about? We suggest that you voluntarily open our military access, for your escort, to the place of temporary isolation, for further negotiations, — the Space Commander of Kaaran urged the crew of Tomaki.

Tomaka looked questioningly at the Pythons, the latter only helplessly raised and lowered his shoulders, there was no point in arguing with Space Commander Kaaran, in any case, he would have to obey.

— You can’t come in here and tell us what to do, — Tomaka said.

— If you don’t open it and let us in, we’ll have to destroy you, — Kaaran said, in a promising, military voice.

Tomaka made the tough decision to let Space Commander Kaaran into the MEEP.

— Security system, disable entry-exit protection, — Tomaka commanded, and a moment or two later, armed soldiers entered the MEEP. The mining operation immediately stopped, and Space Commander Kaaran ordered that several fast-flying, lightly armed aircraft be left on guard. The rest, departed to the side where it turns out, before arriving on the planet Malongu first Tomaki, lived standing and flying near the MEEP, the military in their fighters.

— You have violated our borders, Commander Tomaka, — Kaaran said.

— But our maps, as I said, don’t show your presence here, we didn’t know about you, — Tomaka said.

— This does not excuse you, you wanted to take our farm, we will now take your farm, — said the satisfied Kaaran.

— But we won’t give you anything, or we won’t be able to fly home from here, — Tomaka said.

— Then we’ll kill your crew and take what we need ourselves, — Kaaran said menacingly.

— What do you want? — Tomak asked, in an ostentatious, calm voice.

— We need your element, which is why you came here, — Kaaran said.

— Not an element, but elements. Yes, they are in our spaceship and some of them are in our capsules, but to give them to you means to leave us without everything, — Tomaka said.

— You are already without, now, without everything, and nothing prevents me from killing you, — Kaaran threatened.

— I understand that you need the elements, but our pods are hidden and covered with invisible shields, you can’t find them, and your equipment can’t get to our ship, so it’s not profitable for you to kill us.

— Ok, then you, become our prisoners, please go out, — said Tomake, already displeased Kaaran.

— I can come with you, — Timba joked.

Kaaran didn’t know Timba’s humor, so he didn’t understand it.

Tomaki’s crew left the MEEP, under the supervision of a convoy. Everyone reached the military escort ship, settled in it, and went to the base, the mountain city of the Emperor Maront.

It took about an hour of flight, local time, and then, over a huge platform, spaceships began to land, among which was the one where Tomaki’s crew was. Half an hour later, all the military personnel were drawn up in two lines, like a security fence, from the hatch of the escort ship to the hangar gate, which had already been opened long ago.

The arrested, «voluntarily», in handcuffs, were led between two lines of soldiers, in the direction of the hangar, who stood in white military clothes and closed, white helmets, with black and armored glasses. This brought a strange smile to Tomaki’s face.

The hangar was completely empty, except for a huge black square in the center of the white room.

Space Commander Kaaran, Tomaki’s crew, and several other escorts stood in the center of the square. The floor immediately became an elevator, with protective handrails at the edges, a control screen, and a computer consultant, in the form of a man, on solid glass. Space Commander Kaaran entered a code on the control screen and turned to the glass, saying to the smiling man on the same screen, — To the hall of justice.

— Your identity is confirmed and the command will be executed, — the man on the screen replied, and the black square fell neatly down into the void there, and through the air channel, under the dim light from the gloom, carried everyone to the hall of justice. If there is an entrance, then you can find an exit, so here, in the hall of justice, there was the same black square, it has now changed to a replaceable state and instead of it, there was another one, which was sent here by a man, from a glass screen.

— Good technology, for an extinct civilization, — Timba said, looking around at what they saw.

The hall of Justice was a large room. In the center, as it is already clear, there was a black square, but everything else was done in the style of mixed eras. There were also statues of warriors a hundred times the normal height of people, apparently defenders of good, frozen at the moment of battle, with no smaller size devils and demons seducing the forces of good. And broken, stone, and somewhere iron columns, lay against the walls, the general picture of which, beat a thin blade on the nerves, showing that death and chaos are always near. Two of the walls were closer to the black square, and two were farther away, creating a certain perimeter. And now, in one of the far walls, there was a stone throne, gray with cracks. From the ceiling behind him, the canvases descended, not man-made and frozen in time, the top of which went into invisible blackness.

Many sipurians were convicted here, and some, of course, were acquitted by local laws. Lies and truth penetrated the body, terrible visions, confused thoughts that were confused in the head. Huge pictures, misty and airy, moved everywhere, forcing fear on people. The hall came alive around Tomaki and everyone else. Ancient and modern, harmoniously merged into a single whole.

This was indeed the hall of justice.

While Tomaki’s crew was looking at everything, he didn’t see the most important thing, that someone was looking at them. It wasn’t Chief Justice Gret, who is usually the main person in the judgment room in this hall of justice, but Emperor Maront himself. He stood on the opposite side of the throne, near the wooden gate, and watched carefully as the people arrived on the black square. Usually, at the time of the proceedings, there were always at least fifty noisy defenders and prosecutors in the courtroom, the absence of which, at such an important moment, now embarrassed Kaaran himself.

Silent music, cold, dry notes, floated in the air, bringing an ominous fear to those present.

— This is it, the first humans to visit us since our Sipurian bloodline was forgotten on the dying planet, Malonga the first. And then, unfortunately, you turned out to be thieves, although it does not matter, — said the Emperor Maront in a loud voice that rolled into the silence.

— Great Styr, with all due respect, why are you here to greet us, and not the high officers of the Hall of Justice? — Kaaran asked, alarm in his voice.

— Don’t worry, dear Kaaran, today you have witnessed a new history of the Sipurians. These aliens brought to our world what we so lacked, the opportunity to discover the hidden secrets of the unknown to us, distant space. Their intergalactic ship that is in our orbit, we will take it, give it to our scientists, and soon, we will start sending our troops all over the galaxy. We will win everything that can be taken from insignificant people. Those who left us to die, — Emperor Maront replied, and walked slowly towards the «guests», spreading his arms out to the side.

— Yes, Emperor Maaront, as the commander of our army, I had the honor of speaking to you on this subject, on retribution, but we were talking about those who abandoned us, not about the entire cosmos, — Kaaran said, with a sudden sense of doubt.

— Take a closer look, Kaaran, those traitors you speak of have long since spread out from here, spreading their roots across the cosmos, strengthening their roots on different planets. And now, in order to destroy all those who forced our Sipurian race to literally survive, eat their relatives, yes, you know as well as I do what our rebirth cost, here on the planet. How we, for so many years, could not escape from this nightmare. And now that the gods have given us this chance, we just can’t turn it down. And since we are grateful to you for this gift, aliens, we will not touch you. You will be under my personal control for the time being. And I warn you right away, don’t try to escape or attack me in any way, you will be immediately arrested and your immunity will disappear. They’ll just kill you, — Emperor Maront said, trying to guess the leader of the flight crew that had arrived.

After the Emperor Maront, he approached at a fairly close distance, which allowed everyone to get a better look at him. Everyone saw a handsome man dressed in the imperial Sipurian garb.

His black suit glistened on him. The sleeves are wide and worn in white long gloves. The trousers were tucked into high boots, giving the impression of a rider on a horse. A black-and-white cape hung from his shoulders to the level of his knees, tied in a bow around his neck and artificially raised on his shoulders. On his head, he wore a metal helmet with a chased pattern of local gods. The helmet covered his neatly braided hair and part of his forehead, which only emphasized his oval face. A straight nose, thin maroon lips, and a slightly unshaven chin.

His general appearance was similar to the formidable and cunning tyrant, as depicted in the painting «Weight crushing the world of Tania», in the role of the heavenly god Weight, who conquered people, whom Tomaka saw as a child, in a mythical book. You can give credit to the local tailors, his clothes shone with their body-permeable power.

Tomaka understood that it was useless to argue with this important man right now, and decided to simply submit to his conditions for the time being.

— My name is Tomaka, — he said.

— Very, very nice, — Emperor Maront smiled back.

— This is Pythons, my assistant, — Tomaka said, pointing with his right hand at Pythons.

— I understand, — said Emperor Maront, nodding his head slightly.

— This is Timba’s co — pilot, — Tomaka pointed at Timba with his left hand.

— I understand, — Emperor Maront repeated, still nodding his head.

— And I, Vella! The crew doctor, — Vella introduced herself.

— Nice to meet you, — Emperor Maront added, and then said, — And you’ve already met my space commander, Kaaran.

— We didn’t want to cause you any trouble, our team didn’t know you were here, — Tomaka said apologetically.

— I already know that you refuse to give us the elements, — Emperor Maront said. — Where are you from? — Emperor Maront asked.

— I was born on Raibonne, a planet in the galaxy of the Catamastra Islands, — Tomaka said.

— That doesn’t mean anything to me. And, how many people live in your galaxy? — Emperor Maront asked.

— I can’t say that, but I think it’s the usual amount of the average galaxy, — Tomaka said.

— And how much value do you have there? — Emperor Maront asked.

— I wouldn’t say that much. We have to make sorties, conduct expeditions, such as we have now. Flying to uninhabited planets helps preserve our values, — Tomaka said.

— Why do I ask how our former brothers left our planet, we do not know anything about distant galaxies, their population, in general, about everything that is happening in space, — said the Emperor Maront.

— Well, then, you need to connect to the shared space library, — Timba suggested jokingly.

— What is it, a shared space library? — Emperor Maront asked seriously.

— He’s joking, but there really is such a thing, they digitize a path from planet to planet and there already, collect information and distribute it throughout the cosmos. Everything is connected to flying libraries, that is, devices with large memory and data conductivity.

— So we need to join them, — Emperor Maront said ironically. — I hope our guests will share new information for us? — Emperor Maront asked.

— Over a good glass of intoxicating lyre, we could have a chat, — Timba joked, «seriously» to himself.

— We have no Lyre, but we have a refreshing champa, a tonic drink, our Sipurian wealth, — Emperor Maront said hospitably, and felt the sweet and slightly burning taste of champa in his mouth. From the sensations, he even became a little kinder, in front of everyone.

— What about the aliens? — Kaaran asked.

— They will stay here until we find a common solution, — Emperor Maront said, and then he became stern again.

— We didn’t know about you, — Tomaka said again.

— But it has happened, and now I ask you not to detain me or yourself any longer, and to follow me, — said the Emperor, and without waiting for an answer, he turned to the wooden door, and entered it when it opened of its own accord, as if to admit him. The doors were equipped with multiple sensors and connected to an invisible power source.

They all followed the Emperor Marat, across the black, shiny floor, through the doors that closed behind them.

In the hall of justice, there was an ominous silence and gloomy shadows, as if alive, then appeared in the light, then disappeared, in it.

Chapter 5. Crew replenishment

From the gloomy hall of justice, everyone got into a rather long corridor with white walls, with a white ceiling and the same white floor, which is a little bit, all blinded by its whiteness. The edges of the joints, between the floor, the walls, and the ceiling, were visible as thin, gray stripes. They were equipped with the same wooden doors, but narrower, with glass windows the size of an elbow, round windows. The color of the doors was gray, made of an unknown wood and very dense in appearance.

Emperor Maront strode briskly down the corridor, and the rest of Tomaki’s group followed, trying to keep up, including Space Commander Kaaran, who, as a guard, stood guard at the end of the convoy.

Tomaka went second and carefully tried to catch the moment to look through these glass windows, but could not do it, because the Emperor Maront, very obviously in a hurry somewhere.

Vella, every now and then, stumbled on the flat floor, confusing those walking, it seemed that her legs did not obey. But, it was rather something nervous, as she was very nervous.

Timba was walking beside Vella, not to save her from falling, but to prepare another of his stupid jokes on her. Well, he was such a man, ready for any mischief.

Pythons, did not look at anyone, he thought dryly and thought that everything would be fine with them in the future.

At the intersection of the corridors, suddenly, an animal resembling a small dog jumped out. It was a robot puppy, on small, metal legs. He ran across the floor, and before he could stop, he ran into a corner. His eyes glittered as if from a blow, he saw sparkling «stars». The puppy shook his head, looked at us, obviously his vision returned to him, and made joyful sounds from the speakers, resembling a gentle yapping. Its metal tail, made of flexible joints, also wagged happily from side to side.

— Oh, what a puppy, — Vella cried.

The puppy heard Vella’s exclamation with its plastic ears, with their built-in receiving sensors, and rushed to snuggle up to her.

— Kaaran, who is this? — the Emperor of Maront asked.

— Someone’s toy must have been lost, — Commander Kaaran replied.

— Order her to be removed, for she is disturbing our guests, — Emperor Maront ordered.

— Excuse me, can I leave her, she’s so affectionate? — Vella asked.

— Well, only for your sake, — said Emperor Maront, displeased.

— New crew member, — Timba joked.

— Are there many such toys here? — Vella asked.

— Not really, it’s someone’s masterwork, the author would have to be punished, or his master, — Commander Kaaran replied a little disgustedly.

The dog stuck to Vella’s leg like a thread, as if realizing that it was now her owner, forgetting about its previous owner.

But suddenly, ahead, a door opened and a man appeared, a Sipurian in a white doctor’s robe, apparently common for all planets. A little old and a little blind, his eyes glittered, which gave away the false lenses. His slight stoop gave him a slightly intimidating appearance, in addition to his sly smile. A white cap, slightly slid down on the right side, covered his cheeks, his hair was already beginning to turn gray. The lips were thick and slightly curved to the left. The nose is unpleasant, like a round vegetable, blob. The body, thick and hanging down the belly, sometimes climbed out, between the dressing gown fasteners.

At the sight of us, he stopped, the doctor became a little stooped and in the opposite direction, retreated a couple of steps, which did not allow the doors to close and they remained open.

When they came up with this Sipurian, they all saw a small but spacious room, well equipped, not only with medical equipment, but also with other equipment.

And the main thing that struck me was the glass flasks, such as they are in horror films, scary, large, in which there were really people floating in special solutions. And this, there were women whose age, barely reached the age of majority, very young.

Emperor Maront, understood the embarrassment of the crew and despite all the haste, apparently decided to show off «his» work achievements.

— Oh, you must be confused to see everything, but don’t worry, these are our ’progenitors’. As I told you, we have our own survival conditions. Please, you can come in and see, — said the Emperor of Maront, and as if to set an example to everyone, he was the first to enter the room, slightly pushing the doctor aside.

Tomaka, a little scared, but not giving the appearance of a real commander, followed the Emperor, and the others, already entered after him in turn, also, fearing something inside themselves.

The robot puppy, as soon as he ran into the room, immediately sat down, in its functions, it was prescribed to be afraid and it turned on, he was afraid. At the sight of the naked girls, not moving and hung with some kind of tubes, the robot puppy tucked his tail between his legs.

The room was perfectly clean, all the equipment had its own place, glass flasks were built into the walls, which gave the room an additional place to work. There were no tables or chairs. Everything is built into the wall and, if necessary, was taken out from there, with the help of various control panels installed under the flasks. On top of the walls, up to the middle, there were these flasks, below, on a slightly sloped panel, there were sensor consoles.

The attention of the crew was more focused on the flasks, because in them, floating live girls connected to life support, hoses and wires. The girls seemed about to open their eyes and look at the carriage. It was a terrible sight, all of them with one foot before they fainted, except, of course, Emperor Maront, Commander Kaaran, and the doctor standing at the door.

— You may think ill of me, of course, but that is the way of the Sipurians, — said Emperor Maront.

— Even I’ve never seen anything like it, — Vella said.

— Living monsters, — Timba said, grinning slightly.

— It’s not good to talk about them like that, — Pythons said.

— This is the life that the traitors gave us, — the doctor said suddenly, coming up to them all, followed by the sound of a door closing.

— You’re right, my dear. This is life! — Emperor Maront told him. — The life we have lived in fear, hunger, and torment! — he answered, turning to Tomaka.

— But you have so much greenery and fossils, and animals? — Tomaka asked.

— Our planet died, and then everything was reborn, but what was this growth worth? — Ah, now you’ve come to pick it up, so who’s the angrier here? — You trying to take from us, or we trying to survive. Note that you are still alive!

Of course, the life of Tomaki and his crew was of little concern to the Emperor Maronta, he was more interested in their actions. To behave like alien beings he had never seen before. And the people, he had no need for them and he could kill them at any time, especially since he had a character that was not kind.

— And how do families live? — Tomaka asked.

— What is it, families? Family now, just one, me and my Empress Kosharitsa. We all have women who spend their lives in flasks as long as they can give birth, which is not long, — Emperor of Maront replied, but in fact, he was deceiving them now, which of course they did not know.

— But it is also impossible, but as natural nature, as choice, living selection? — Vella asked.

— What about the relationship between a man and a woman? — Pythons asked for some reason.

— I wouldn’t agree to that! — Timba said, imagining the nightmare.

— The choice is when we have it, we just didn’t have it, but you will give it to us, — the Emperor of Maront replied to everyone.

The doctor, who had been standing quietly, suddenly said again: «Now, you are the beginning, to our new future. A key that serves to bring us closer to our new and natural life.

Commander Kaaran came up to the doctor and directed his unfriendly gaze at him, indicating that he should remain silent and not interfere in the conversation. The doctor realized this at once and silently retreated to the door, where he remained standing.

Everyone was already used to the situation, there was no visible danger, but there were a lot of questions.

— But how can it cost the lives of some people more than other people? — Tomaka asked. — What kind of rebirth can we be talking about when you just kill half of your population, plus or minus the unborn?

— In return, I have revived a whole army of living, incorruptible and believing only in my superiority soldiers. Ready to do anything for me and my orders — Emperor Maront replied in a calm voice.

— But, this is not a revival, moreover, this is a murder, — Tomaka said, and felt that he had inflamed the situation.

Emperor Maront didn’t like Tomaki’s words, but he restrained himself so as not to disturb the friendly conversation. After all, they were from another planet, perhaps from another galaxy, and he did not want to stop talking yet, he expected to hear something interesting, something new from them.