G2Vismain sequence star, called "yellow dwarf" is navigator’s slang. The center of the system, which consists of thirteen planets, is located on the boundary of the sphere. The outskirts, which were forgotten by God, are only referenced in the navigation handbooks and in the reports of prospecting astrologers. The only inhabited planet, which was removed in one and a half astronomical units from the sun. It wasn't valuable to the military and the industry trade companies. If a week ago, the packet-boat commander orderly, Major compartment III of the Immediate Office of His Majesty the Emperor Charlemagne, Olaf Mueller, a month ago, was heard that he would be locked in a hole, he would take such similar messages as a joke.
Then the transfer order of the second lieutenant, Jurgen Mayer, under the operational control of the General Staff Kosmoflot, would have taken far less mockery. Olaf Muller traveled with Jurgento to the distant garrisons, in which he had been carrying urgent orders and services for nearly three years. His co-pilot went to the increase now. He will progress to be commander or a guard-hunter, and if he were very lucky, he will rise to the bridge of the destroyer within fifteen years. Personally to Olaf he was not a shining prospect. Until the end of the service, there was nothing but post boats and raid boats. The only thing to blame was the medical record of the pilot.
The Packet had been hanging at the rendezvous point for two days, waiting for the return of the raider from combat patrolling. The cruiser must come out of hyperspace somewhere in this sector for a scheduled course. The guys who were returning from a separate journey after that meeting with the orderly did not promise anything good. Most likely, the command was necessary to urgently send a ship into the next hole of the industrial sector, in order to intimidate the "gentlemen of fortune" who terrorized the freight. It was the kind of business to guide the third compartment. The Pirates, who were harassing traders, were a very profitable item in the budget of the Empire. The order of combat unit costs a lot of money to restore order in the industrial sector. Incidentally, it was not the Reich marks, and only guaranteed by gold, galactic dinars.[11] Some of whom settled in the pockets of the bosses of the "threesome" as gratitude for the "operational decision" problem. Olaf thought that in a container marked "secret" was the order to start such an operation and a single crystal with the coordinates and a course of assignments.
Scanners of the packet boat busily searched the area, trying to catch even a hint of excitement from space, usually followed by the opening of the gate and the appearance of the ship. The Sector was a virgin. Weak activity of orbital complexes was the only inhabited planet, which did not create any problems for the equipment of the ship. Olaf’s new partner, Lieutenant Eric Malkovich was nestled in the co-pilot's seat and watched the information display on the on-board computer. The boy showed extraordinary zeal and desire in every possible way to please his commanding officer. This was his first flight as an officer. He was a good guy and it was a pity that he had no prospects in the fleet. If Major Muller interfered he would get promoted exclusively by a medical verdict; the career of Eric in the military seemed an illusion. The policy pursued by His Majesty Charles V, in relation to the colonial inhabitants, did not enhance their status in the Empire.
‘Herr Major, let me address you!’
‘We are not at the base; in a campaign is it enough to say "commander."
‘Yes, Commander! I looked through almost all of the information about the sector. The third planet from the local sun, in which the number of nautical references are "possibly habitable." It has a strange name called "Terra". But here the nationality is not indicated, and there are no databases and offshore ports.’
‘Data is not available, because the ports are not available. Ten years ago, the planet was generally absent on the navigation charts. Look at the scanner, can you see anything similar to the orbital complex at least? I see a load of rubbish and a dozen strange structures in orbit. Their satellites use technologies that time has long forgotten.’
‘According to the records of the scanners, communication goes only to the surface of the planet. Not even a hint of the presence of offshore lighthouses. The planet was at the initial stage of technical development. Before departure, I spoke with an officer of the Special Department. He said that life on "Terra" was not formed as a result of abiogenesis, but then fighting, which occurred in the sector. It is here that they met the combined forces of the Galactic Exotics. The residents of "Terra", who were descendants of astronauts, were able to hang on to the only habitable planet in this system.’
‘Why are they not evacuated?’
‘The Department has announced that it is closed for quarantine. A pair of rockets stuffed with viral strains hit the planet’
‘And now?’
‘What is needed now? Mineral resources are not available, or rather are, but in such a volume that it is of no interest to the industry groups. There is no sense to comprise a military base here in this suburb, you know this yourself. The Special Department[12] said that the natives have managed this planet and divided it into states on racial grounds, which were close to the galaxy.’
A sharp buzzer made the lieutenant pay attention to the scanner screen.
‘This is a signal of the opening of the tunnel!’
Eric typed something into the computer keyboard, increasing the power of the control devices.
‘We have finally come. We will give the package a couple of weeks and will… Damn!’ The packet boats convulsively vibrated, which were controlled by the power of the main engines. Moving the ship to manual control, Olaf stared at the picture on the screen. The nose of a light cruiser crawled out to cast a blue glow into the tunnel. The classifier of the packet boats precisely defined the ownership and type of ship, finding it easily on the database of opponents.
‘We will leave on the beam of "Terra" and I do not think that they will open fire on this side of the planet!
Eric watched the actions of the commander in silence, not quite understanding what was happening. There was a ship, even if not the Imperial, the computer identified him as a possible opponent. But the cruiser did not take any aggressive actions; we should have first contact with the guest, and not get bogged down.
‘We do not have time to go into hyperspace; I will try to dive into the atmosphere!’ The Major was nervous as he knew what threatened the meeting with the Arktarians. A bright flash blinded Eric. He felt a sharp pain around his temples, with colored circles swimming before his eyes. The lieutenant fell into the black abyss of oblivion. Pictures from the past, extracted from the depths of the brain, surfaced in his mind.
Waves lazily ran ashore in the shallow tide. His feet were sinking into the soft wet sand. Eric confidently strode along the plot of land on time, released by the ocean without fear of hurting his feet on the sharp edge of the shell. In contrast to his home planet, Velburge, shellfish simply did not exist. The man was heading towards a small island, located at the edge of the spit. After some time, the tide would hide an artificial bridge, which connected the shore with thr protruding boulders in the middle of the Gulf. Then the young man would be left alone for a few hours, surrounded by the gentle waves of the ocean.
For seven years, while being at the school of navigators, Eric often came to this island. Life in the big city was unusual for a boy who grew up in a small working village, and he constantly sought solitude. Eric tried as much as possible to come here and relax on a nice piece of land surrounded by water. He felt at home among the rock piles. The island became only relief for the young boy of fifteen years old, torn from his parents and thrown seven years into a strict world of rules and regulations.
Graduation will be tomorrow. Years of study were now behind him. Eric will get a short vacation after the graduation, and then he will