His fingers did not move.
Meanwhile the jeep stopped not turning off the engine, but it did not hold on the crest of the dunes and slid down.
Two stocky men fell out of it: both wore wide-brimmed straw hats, shapeless shirts and pants of indefinite color and sandals without socks.
- There are just the two of them - the astronaut tried to get the fuse with his teeth.
His turban fell from his head and rolled, unfolding in the wind.
The teeth clenched the icy metal of barrel housing.
It was useless.
The strange people stopped holding their hats, which immediately flew over and hung on the back straps, and began loading the still astronauts in the car.
When it came to Whitehouse, they effortlessly tried to take the gun from his hand, but they did not succeed.
The astronaut was holding it tightly.
Muttering some curses they took out the clip, and dragged Whitehouse to the car...
He tried to oppose them, but it was a pathetic attempt. Astronaut found himself on a pile of smelly, oily rags, lying near von Conrad and Dybal.
A minute later Mackliff and Aydem were laid over them.
They covered the astronauts with pieces of parachute fabric, slammed the flimsy doors and the "Jeep" disappeared in the dark.
Digital coded telegram VHN 43
Confidential leveclass="underline" A
Yagd colonel!
I bring to your notice that on 28th Marr a.c., in the sector A17N44 a patrol boat discovered an enemy raider type "Tsvohgum" at high speed leaving the place of a crash of YAG-42.
Cruisers "Kang" and "Medel" caught up with it in the sector 033N09 and, after a brief fire contact, disabled it. The crew of the raider, however, managed to evacuate on the rescue bots, went through mine fields and hid in the Sixth belt of asteroids.
Before the raider collapsed in the process of self-destruction, an external examination has been done by the automated intelligence.
Here is an excerpt from the experts" conclusion:
- This battle ship was made in 4700, at the Dyulta dockyards;
- The quantity and quality of weapons: corresponds with the "Tsvohgum" class;
- The number and power of propulsion: matches
- Quality of armor plating and the structure of the protective field: matches;
- The amount of external communication energy, sustainability of a central computer: matches;
- The configuration of the body: does not match; 4 powerful claws located along the aft, which were open at the time of inspection.
Presumably, the raider was used as a scanner cover for a ship of unknown functions and configuration. Based on the claws location, an unknown ship can be the size of 4.5 - 5 Ker, and have a shape of a flat, saucer-like aircraft.
- Residual megrazine fields: match;
- Other fields: anomalous perturbation of the gravitational field, laminar nature of disturbances.
Type of perturbations is linear in the direction of the "Terhoma" Swerts base.
The track of disturbances lies in two Tohs -back course of the captured raider.
All things mentioned above suggest that "Tsvohgum" came from the place of the YAG-42 crash, in which he was involved in some way, covering a new ship of the Swerts.
Being discovered by our ships, the raider tried to escape but failed. However, the craft it had been covering effortlessly teleported to the area of its bases.
We continue scanning the areas adjacent to A16N44.
Natote!
22-00. 28 Marr 4725.
From the beginnings of Natotevaal.
Executive Captain of the "Capture" operation,
Yagd Audun Eydlah.
***
Digital coded telegram AHO 101
Confidential leveclass="underline" A
To all military vessels of the 156 squadron of 1U Fleet.
I order:
- stop carrying out the "Capture" operation.
-set the minefields in the area limited by the navigational buoys VA333 and VA105.
-all ships must immediately return to the Stigmarkont Base.
-set analyzers of gravitational perturbations GA-22 at the escape route with compilers tuned to CP fleet.
- degree of alertness: 1A.
23-15. 28 Marr 4725.
From the beginnings of Natotevaal.
Commander of the 156th squadron,
Colonel Yagd Kokum Yohoud.
***
Digital coded telegram 00A
Confidential leveclass="underline" A
The Metropolis.
29 Marr 4725 f.b.N
The SS Coordinator of Natotevaal.
To: the Special Department Coordinator
Foreign Intelligence Board
Of Natotevaal Security Service.
An order:
- cancel the arrest of Colonel yagd Kahum Yohoud.
- stop the internal investigation regarding the third scan watch of Stigmarkont FB, return personal weapons and military awards to the personnel and restore their posts.
-create a special group for the collection and analysis of all the information regarding the YAG-42, endow the commander of the crew with the authorities of the second Commander of the 1U Fleet.
The Natotevaal SS Coordinator
Marshall commander
Yagd Tote Yashemgart
***
Digital Coded telegram VHV50
Confidential leveclass="underline" 3
To: Commander of the 156th squadron, 1U Fleet
Colonel Yagd Kokum Yohoud.
Yagd Colonel!
I bring to your notice that at 16-13 A-time the 211 patrol boat of patrol division, in sphere- sector V13N40, has detected a rescue boat from the transport ship "Loerda-44", with part of the crew on board.
Those who were alive have been sent to the "Tetvut Noor" raider hospital, the dead were buried according to the Fleet Charter.
The place of destruction of "Loerda-44" vehicle has significant gravitational perturbations of laminar character.
Natote!
33 Marr 4725.
From the beginnings of Natotevaal.
Commander of the patrol boat "Ropin-33"
211 PSD,
Lieutenant Okt Arber.
8.
Whitehouse did not know how much time he spent lying on a hard straw mat, he could not remember.
He lay there, staring at the intersection of crooked roof rafters: cracked, of dark wood, with constantly steaming smoke near the fire.
But he remembered well those horrible moments when his mouth was filled with mixtures of some bitter herbs, powdered muck, with a smell of rotten eggs, pieces of bark, plant stems, and even objects in a form of buttons. And he could not even move his arm.
He just lay there and cursed that ceiling of guava leaves, the acrid smoke, thin dry hands that smelled of the sun and treated him with nauseous drugs, took out pots of his plentiful shit, where the potions went right after he took them...
But one day he got up.
At once.
One morning he just jumped to his feet, like in ancient times, in the Boy Scout camp at the sound of a wake-up.