Survive or all die
Alexander Skopintsev
© Alexander Skopintsev, 2024
ISBN 978-5-0064-1894-3
Создано в интеллектуальной издательской системе Ridero
Annotation
In a galaxy far, far away, where the Two Powers are engaged in an eternal struggle, the fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance. Captain Vorn Lex and his guardsmen are tasked with bringing a mysterious prisoner to Baseship 2. But their mission turns disastrous when the ship crashes on a nearly lifeless deserted unknown planet.
On this planet, home to unbearable heat and only rare lizards, the captive escapes and begins the hunt for his former guards.
Using his knowledge and cunning, he forces them to summon help.
The captive moves across the planet, executing his mysterious plan, leaving a trail of mystery and danger in his wake.
Can the Zurgian warriors defend the Zurg Empire to stop this new threat, or will the galaxy be forever changed?
Chapter 1
The hot sun scorched the deserted surface of the planet mercilessly. The vast sands stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. The monotonous landscape was broken only occasionally by weathered rocks and the dried remains of long-dead animals.
Suddenly a growing rumble pierced the silence. It grew louder and louder until a rapidly falling dot appeared in the sky. It was a starship hurtling toward the planet’s surface.
– Damn it! – The pilot swore, trying unsuccessfully to level the ship’s descent.
The hull of the starship was red-hot as it entered the planet’s atmosphere. A plume of smoke and flames followed the ship. The pilot struggled with the controls, but gravity pulled the starship inexorably downward.
A huge cloud of sand rose into the air as the ship crashed onto the planet’s surface. For several long and minutes, clouds of dust obscured the crash site. When the sandstorm subsided, a depressing picture was revealed to the eye – the mangled wreckage of a starship scattered across the scorched earth.
The scorching rays of the planet’s two suns quickly heated the hull metal. The air around the crash site shook with unbearable heat. Not a single sign of life could be seen around – just endless desert in all directions.
In the distance, the silhouettes of craggy mountains, scarred by winds and sandstorms, could be seen. Their jagged peaks jutted like sharp fangs into the pale blue sky. On the horizon hung two gas giants, the moons of the planet, giving the landscape a truly alien appearance.
The sand around the wreckage of the starship was strewn with bones. The skeletons of unknown creatures, white in the sun, were a reminder of how inhospitable this planet was. Only occasionally did a skittish lizard slip between the rocks, one of the few living things that could survive in this harsh environment.
A gust of hot wind blew over the wreckage, sending a cloud of sand into the air. Dust clogged every crevice of the wrecked ship. The planet itself seemed eager to swallow and bury the uninvited guest beneath the sands.
The only signs of life were sparse, stunted shrubs clinging by their roots to the meager soil. Their twisted branches reached for the sky, as if begging for a breath of water. But there was no mercy to be expected from this planet.
The air shook with unbearable heat. Even the shadows could not hide from the scorching rays of the two suns. The air itself seemed so hot that it was unbreathable. Any living creature that found itself here unprotected was doomed to die a painful death from thirst and heat.
The sand dunes stretched as far as the horizon. Their crests were constantly shifting in the hot wind, like the surface of a gigantic ocean. But instead of cool waves, there were only tons of hot sand, ready to swallow any careless traveler.
In the distance could be seen several skeletons of giant animals. Their bones, bleached by the merciless sun, were a reminder of a time when this planet had been more hospitable. Now the remains served only as a grim reminder of what awaited any creature that ventured into the desert.
The air was filled with fine dust that settled in a thin layer on the wreckage of the ship. It seemed that the atmosphere of the planet itself was trying to erase the traces of the crash, to hide it under the sands. Every now and then the wind lifted new clouds of sand into the air, as if trying to bury the starship alive.
The oppressive silence was broken only by the creaking of cooling metal and the whistling of the wind. No birds, no insects – nothing living could survive in this hell. Only the occasional skittish lizard flickered between the stones, and even those were in a hurry to escape the scorching heat.
The horizon was hazy, a sign of a sandstorm.
The landscape was bleak and lifeless. Only occasionally were there huge, oddly shaped boulders, silent witnesses to the erosion that had worked for centuries to create them. Their surface was riddled with deep furrows, the marks of sandstorms that had been attacking the stone for centuries.
In the distance could be seen the dried bed of an ancient river. Water had once flowed here, giving life to the surrounding area. Now all that remained was a stony bed filled with sand. Only the shape of the valley was a reminder that there had once been a full-flowing river here.
The air was so dry that it seemed to suck the moisture out of all living things. Even the metal of the starship’s plating seemed to shrivel and crack from the unbearable heat.
Overhead loomed the huge gas giants – the moons of the planet. Their formidable silhouettes occupied most of the sky, giving the landscape a truly alien appearance. It seemed that these giant balls were about to collapse onto the planet’s surface, burying all life beneath them.
In the distance, to the south, could be seen the outline of a huge canyon. Its steep walls were riddled with caves and grottoes, traces of ancient volcanic activity. Now these hollows were home to the few desert dwellers who escaped the heat of the day.
The sand was dotted with small shards of crystals, all that remained of the once fertile soil. The sunlight played on their facets, creating the illusion of a scattering of precious stones. But this beauty was deceptive – the sharp edges of the crystals could easily cut unprotected skin.
The air shook with heat, distorting the outlines of distant objects. Mirages occasionally appeared on the horizon, tantalizing him with nonexistent oases. But an experienced traveler would have known that to chase these visions meant certain death in the vast sands.
The sparse clouds that drifted across the sky brought neither shade nor coolness. They were too high and too thin to offer any relief from the scorching heat. Only occasionally did they obscure one of the suns for a moment, but even that respite was too brief.
The landscape was so monotonous that it was easy to lose one’s bearings. The endless dunes, devoid of any landmarks, could throw even an experienced tracker off the path.
The air was filled with the odor of ozone and red-hot metal, the result of the recent crash of a starship. This pungent odor seemed foreign in the endless desert, accustomed only to the smell of sand and stone. But it too would soon disappear, swallowed up by the omnipresent sand.
The heat mercilessly descended on the wrecked starship, gradually bringing the pilots stunned by the crash to their senses. The planet’s hot air seeped through the cracks in the hull, causing the survivors to wrinkle in discomfort.
Zurgian Guard Sergeant Rent Lyle had been lying on the ground for over an hour, his body protected by full armor and a helmet. However, even this protection could not completely shield him from the scorching rays of the sun. The heat slowly penetrated through the armor, returning consciousness