Jum discreetly approached each member of his crew and talked to them about something. Abis, Dak and Tana nodded and wandered back to their quarters, dragging their tired legs.
The next morning, half an hour before breakfast, the boys were already sitting in Jum’s cabin. Dak was as fit and alert as ever. Abis and Tana, though they had just washed their faces, were yawning, showing the sacrifices they had made in waking up an hour earlier than usual. Jum, judging by his red eyes and unmade bed, had not gone to bed at all. But unlike Tana and Abis, his enthusiasm kept him awake.
– Let’s decide what we’re going to do next, – Jum began. – I was thinking, – he nodded at the untouched bed, – that we should just stick together. It’s too quick for things to start happening that could be life-threatening.
– You know, I haven’t gotten much sleep tonight either! – Dak shrugged. – You and I are loyal citizens of the Empire, but the captain and some of the crews are not! That’s one! Next, we remember that, judging from our new captain’s conversation, a stop on this planet is premeditated, and therefore, and here I agree with Jum, dangerous for those who are not conspirators. For lack of precise information, we can assume the following. There could be a descent vehicle accident. Or, alternatively, once we’re down, we can’t take off. You know, some kind of malfunction or something like that. It is possible that the “surprise” will be the surface of the planet: wildlife, nuances of the atmosphere, and maybe the natives, if there are any.
– I’d agree with you, – Tana nodded, – if it were necessary for the conspirators to act this way. But why would they do that? None of them have any idea what we know about the conspiracy itself. Maybe they are preparing the planet for the usurper in case something goes wrong. In which case they have a vested interest in us, I mean the scientists. Well, at least until the planet’s exploration is complete.
– You’re forgetting one more factor, – Abis interjected, – and that’s the mysterious “HE”. Who is he? Someone who may be entrusted to become the usurper, or some person whose influence on the Empire’s politics the conspirators want to reduce?
– Yes, – Jum smirked, – and there are two possibilities. Either he will be guarded like the apple of their eye, or they will try to destroy him quietly! You’ve said a lot of things, but I haven’t heard anything about what we should do!
– Please, I can suggest a sequence of actions, – Dak waved his hands. – As you like to say, first of all, we should try to get into one landing craft. I think it won’t be difficult, because Tabit believes that the teams formed during the flight should act in the same composition when exploring planets. Tell me, are any of you familiar with the construction of a landing craft?
– Well, I’ve been studying something like that! – Jum blushed.
– You’re a linguist, aren’t you?
– Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. To be honest, it all came about by accident. Once at a lecture, Thabit said that a real specialist must “not only communicate, but also set up camp, and cook food and …". And then I, oh that language of mine, interrupted him: “Aha, and steer the ship! This will help a real linguist!”. As a result, I studied the landing boat documentation for almost six months. And there, I’ll tell you, there is both about the device and about the management. Thank Zwigg, he didn’t make me take the pilot’s exam like he promised. I think I could have done it, though, because I had so much technical information in me. It’s in me, a technophobe to the core!
– Well, that’s good, – Dak interrupted him, – that takes care of one problem. Why did I ask you that? It may happen that our boat, due to someone’s evil will, doesn’t want to lower us smoothly to the surface of the planet. I’m going back to my hypothesis. Well, if we land flat, good! In that case we continue to hold and work together and keep our eyes open. We exchange any information, even the most insignificant, which will become known to each of us.
– I would have told Tabit what had happened! – Tana couldn’t resist a comment.
– Don’t worry, it won’t take long. But we must check him out, too! – Jum nodded. – It’s time for breakfast. Let’s go. I think everyone will be preparing for the landing today. We absorb all the information from our groups. Tonight, we’ll gather at Tana’s.
Planting
The day passed very hectic. The start of the landing was moved forward by a standard cycle. But since the scientists had already waited for a long time for the opportunity to do their favorite work, no one resented it. Instruments were packed, teams formed. Jum, to his great joy, was put on the boarding team with Abis, Dak, and Tana. In addition to them, the head of the climatologists was enlisted aboard the runabout, much to Dak’s delight in turn. The rest of the boat was packed with air and soil composition instruments, as well as a quick-build dome, sleeping bags, and survival gear.
The landing site was determined to be a point north of the planet’s equator. Here the desert ended and the zone of vegetation began. The terrain was quite gentle, although a few minutes of flight, judging by the map, began steep hills.
The captain wished the whole research party a successful landing and complained that, of course, with great desire he would have taken a place on one of the landing boats, but the duty of the commander forced him to stay on the bridge of the ship and lead the expedition from there. After that a long line of scientists went through the corridors, which had been closed for them not so long ago. In the hangar stood several dozen landing boats loaded with equipment, provisions and things for the field camp. It was to be guarded on the surface by a military boat with a powerful force field generator. It was forbidden to move on the surface of the explored planet outside the group, accompanied by one of the expedition technicians with special tracking and protection equipment.
Guys and Tana, so as not to embarrass themselves in front of Jum’s supervisor Holdum, having thrown the bags with personal belongings behind their backs, quickly, one by one, slipped into the boat intended for them. Holdum, grinning, followed. He was a tall, middle-aged zwigg, not thin, but rather wiry, a little stooped, wearing clothes that were not bright and age-appropriate.
– Well, my fellow travelers, – he said, settling into his seat and fastening his seat belt, – let’s get acquainted. I know you, Dakkarei, well, but the rest of the group… – he paused questioningly.
– I, Endeju, – Jum spoke first, addressing Holdum, – am Jum. – I’m the linguist on our team. This is Abis, our biologist. And this is our best planetologist. Her name is Tana. When she heard this, Tana blushed, lowered her head, and began nervously clenching and unclenching her fingers.
– Oh, yes, we have a girl in the group! – exclaimed, as it seemed to everyone, the half-sighted Holdum. – Wonderful! Don’t be so embarrassed. Your friends, as I understand, are proud of you. I have no doubt that you will be able to make many interesting discoveries on this planet.
Tana, listening to Holdum, gradually got herself under control and even showed her fist to Jum from behind.
At that moment someone’s footsteps rattled up the stairs. An officer from the crew entered the cabin. He nodded silently to Holdum and began to adjust the auto-landing instruments. The runabout was to land this time without the crew’s input. The officer opened the control panel cover and fiddled with the instruments for quite a long time. Nobody could see what he was doing, as they were sitting just behind his back. After that, the officer closed all the protective shields, ran his fingers over the control panel keyboard once more and pressed the buttons to activate some systems. Then the officer walked between their chairs and checked the fastening of the overload belts. At Holdum’s chair he stayed a little longer, screwed something up, opened and closed the belt lock again. Then he turned to face