章 9: Hidden in the Ages
Well, there's this system. I hope that Salarian is right and that there are Protean ruins. And where there are ruins, there is a lot of money! There's enough to go around for a lot of whims. Well, we'll talk about that later, but first, work.
- Dahlia, what about the sensors? - I asked one of my assistants, - Is this the system?
- Yes, Commander, the location of the celestial bodies all fit.
- What do we know about it? - Though our ship is new and powerful, one can only do with precautions.
- We've seen pirates a couple of times, and I think they even had a base here, but then they left in a hurry. What caused that is not known. - She finished reading the information, and then she turned to me. If pirates were here, they would have found them, wouldn't they?
- They're not interested in archaeology and don't have the equipment to find them, so if they are here, we'll find them. And if not, you can blow that Salarian's brains out.
At these words, my helper smiled placidly. After waiting for the rest of the crew to return to their duties, I looked at the system map. Only two planets and one of them was a huge volcano. Strangely, the rest of the space was occupied by huge asteroid fields. Mining corporations would fight for such systems, but there's nothing here. I'll have to keep the coordinates and sell it later for a profit. I was distracted from pleasant thoughts by a shout from my helper:
- "Commander, on the radar, there's a blip in the orbit of one of the planets on the border with the asteroid belt.
- Any luck finding out what it is? - I hope it's our target.
- Negative, Commander, not even scanned by our radar, but clearly not of natural origin. I'll try to adjust the scanner. - I heard commands, and after a couple of minutes, she continued her report;- It didn't look like a pirate base; they would have phoned the whole system, but other known bases too. No signals at all. There would be more information if we got closer.
Yep, I pray this will be our target. Otherwise, it will be a little fun.
- Initiate approach. Increased readiness, I don't want any surprises like that time when selling drugs. - I shouldn't have remembered that it wasn't a good story.
- We'll be there in an hour, Captain. - reported the pilot. I hope the Goddess will protect us, which will be our target.
Thirty minutes later.
- Dahlia burst into my quarters. That usually meant trouble of some kind.
- What happened? - I hope that they recognized the object.- Target data?
- Almost, a signal just went out from it into uncharted space! They couldn't decode it; the systems didn't pick it up! - Now that's very strange.
- Any communication attempts or conversations or anything else?
- No commander, just a signal. - She seemed just as stressed by the situation. All right, it's time for action!
- Deila, get everyone to their posts and get close to the target carefully. I'll be there in a couple of minutes.
Trumping, the assistant, took off. And I, having exhaled and gathered my courage, headed for the bridge.
POV
Technomind Hermos 23-4
The object has come within range of the ray guns...
Destruct request...
Negative.
Execute order Alpha 24\55.
Execute.
Authorized use of prototype stasis pod.
Permission was granted for Keno to enter the station module...
The arrival of Ordo Stellar patrol in two Terran cycle-hours...
Preparing for capture...
End of POV.
I stared, mesmerized at the object. There was no doubt now that it was man-made. It looked like a temple but in a very strange shape. As if it had been taken from the Earth and lifted into space. Fancifully patterned towers and arches could be seen, smoke was billowing somewhere, and archaic gears were turning somewhere. Another piece of news was the appearance of small ships near the site; information showed that they were mining ore and taking it to the site. Attempts to communicate were a failure, and given the stubborn ignoring of our ship, it was safe to say that everything here was autonomous. And the layer of dust on the surface said that the object had been here for a long time. Who is it? It didn't look like a Protean. Not at all like the races of the Citadel. Whose is it... Let's go see it. The computer just found some sort of landing pad.
- Daila, I'll go there with a squadron. You stay here and keep an eye on the ship. Call me if there's any trouble.
- Yes, Commander, but are you sure that's a good idea? We are still determining what this object is and what could be in it.
- We've come out of worse things than this, so don't panic. - I gave you the instructions, so let's get ready.
Fifteen minutes later.
The shuttle descended gently onto the platform. First, a few troopers jumped out onto the platform, and when they made sure everything was clear, so did I and a group of assistants. Yeah, it's even bigger and more unusual up close. In the Citadel space, everything is more... rounded and refined. Here, on the contrary, monumental and rough. Okay, first things first. As I looked around, I found a semblance of a door in the middle of the wall, a very large door-at least five meters high. I can't imagine who needs one. On the door itself was an ornament made of gold: a bird of prey with open wings held in its claws a circle, half of which showed the outlines of the continents of some planet, and the other half showed a skull, very similar to that of Azaria, to which were attached strange hoses and tubes.
Such a picture took my breath away and sent shivers down my spine. I need to find out whose coat of arms it is. I have not seen it before, but I hope those who made it are extinct; I would not want to mess with them! Looking around, I found something resembling a console to the right of the door. It looked like you had to use your hand to open the door, and a five-toed one at that, the outline of a limb on the console, was even illuminated. Well, let's give it a try. I gently put my hand on the outline. The machine buzzed, and the outline began to blink. After half a minute, it gave off a red colour, and an inscription appeared on the terminal:
- Xeno! Defectum!
At the same time, a thing that looked a lot like a turret began to move out of the wall. I was about to shout orders to attack. Still, then suddenly, the red colour changed to green, the turret retracted back into the wall, and the door began to open. I don't know what happened, but thank God it didn't.
As the doors opened all the way, we looked inside. There was an airlock, and as we entered it, the door behind us closed, and the airlock began to fill with, according to the scanner, breathable air. It gets more interesting. After waiting for the second door to open, we went inside, and an incredible sight was revealed to us. Machines were working everywhere. Innumerable pistons, pipes, and conveyors were constantly doing something. Here and there, we could see pieces of ore delivered to the huge furnaces or hidden on conveyors deep in the station. The sight was so mesmerizing that I didn't even hear the whistle to the left of the unit, and when I did, it was too late. A second later, something rattled. A chill ran down my skin, even under my spacesuit, and my consciousness faded...
POV
Technomind Hermos 23-4
Order executed...
The Xeno group, six individuals - captured...
The prototype staner has passed inspection...
Report to Mars...
Attention! Xeno's ship is transmitting a signal to the unit...
Sending report to Ordo Stellar patrol.
Transmission of space penetration coordinates...
...
Confirmation of Hordo Stellar ships leaving the breach...
...
Xeno's ship is marked as a target...
Authorization to take the ship, priority "alpha"...
Orders from Mars...
Authorized use of stasis pod on the ship...
...
Defeat confirmed...
Receiving orders...
Return to basic functions...
End of POV.
My consciousness returned jerkily; my body wouldn't listen, and the only thing I could still control was my head. I hope the ship and crew are all right. I can't see anything around me. Damn it! I should have fallen on my stomach! And just as I was about to break into another round of curses, I heard the sound of the airlock opening. Praise the Goddess. It's the crew! We've been out of touch for too long, and they sent us out to check. I wish I could talk... But, unfortunately, it wasn't the crew.
When they turned me over, instead of one of the crew, I saw humanoids leaning over me. They wore strange armour as if made of metal plates and the same steel helmets that looked at me with a pair of blue visors. On top of that, one wore a strange crest-like ornament on his helmet.
Leaning even closer to me, he said in a strange, melodic language:
- Grata ad Imperium, xeno!
After that, darkness came over me again.
A couple of hours later, the ship was taken by an Ordo Stellar patrol. After another half hour, the ships entered a breach, and the system plunged back to its original state. And only the recorder of the mining station would remember that a ship of another race had once come here and ended up in the shops and laboratories of Mars.
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