Бесплатный фрагмент - Falling Power

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 to the concussed fighter.

In the earpiece of his helmet came the excited cry of Larin Zorn:

— Sarge! Sergeant Lyle! Are you alive? Answer me!

The young soldier was desperately shaking Rent by his body armor, trying to get some sort of response.

— Someone’s alive! I found a survivor! — Zorn continued to shout, addressing the rest of the squad.

Rent was slowly coming to his senses. His vision was blurry and there was a nasty ringing in his ears. He struggled to turn his head, trying to focus his eyes on his surroundings. Through the fogged visor of his helmet he saw some movement-a blurred black figure slid between rocks and cliffs about fifty meters from the crash site.

Suddenly the commanding voice of Captain Vorn Lex came over the airwaves:

— Everyone take cover immediately! The situation is extremely dangerous!

Zorn immediately responded to the order:

— Captain! I report the prisoner has left his cell! He escaped through a rift in the wall after the crash before we came to our senses!

The young soldier raised his hand, pointing east, and straightened to his full height:

— I think he headed toward the canyon…

Before Zorn could speak, a rifle charge struck him in the chest, just under the ribs. Rent reacted instantly and ran toward the nearest mountain, using the wreckage of the starship as cover from the line of fire.

The sergeant ran, overcome with pain and fatigue. The heat pressed down on him like a heavy blanket, making every movement difficult. Pulse rifle rounds whizzed around him, some hitting the ground at his feet, kicking up fountains of sand and dust.

— Goddamn it!» he cursed through gritted teeth, sweat beading in his eyes.

Suddenly he felt a sharp blow to his back. The charge hit him in the shoulder blade, piercing his body armor. Rent fell to his knees, gasping in pain and shock. But his survival instinct was stronger, and he got up again and ran with all his remaining strength toward the group of surviving fellow soldiers.

The sergeant ran, constantly looking over his shoulder. His foggy mind was frantically trying to figure out where the prisoner was firing their own weapons from. Each step was difficult, the wound and the unbearable heat draining the last of Rent’s strength.

At last he reached his own. Breathing heavily, Lyle collapsed on the ground beside Captain Lex. His face was covered in sweat and dust, his eyes glittering feverishly.

Rent tried to answer, but only a hoarse cough escaped his throat. Thirst and fatigue stiffened his tongue. Finally, pulling himself together, he wheezed:

— Zorn… dead, I guess. The prisoner is… armed. Using… our weapons.

Rent, breathing heavily, held out his hand and said hoarsely:

— Give me the rifle. Now.

Before anyone could react, Zorn ran up to the group. Blood was trickling down his legs from a wound on his chest. Despite the obvious pain, the young soldier kept on his feet.

Rent grabbed the rifle held out to him and began to survey the area through the scope. His gaze quickly found a moving figure in the distance. At the same instant, the figure opened fire.

A fierce firefight ensued. The charges of the pulse rifles cut through the hot air. The prisoner deftly changed positions, running from one cover to another. His movements were quick and precise, making him a difficult target.

— Shit!» Rant cursed. — I’ve lost the target.

The guardsmen began to talk among themselves:

— Can anyone see him?

— Negative. He’s gone to ground.

— Stay alert. He could reappear at any moment.

Captain Vorn Lex has assessed the situation and given the order:

— Activate battlefield intelligence systems. Now!

Each Guardsman reached for a device on his belt. These systems were indispensable for assessing the surroundings. Rent had a system named Lula with the pleasant voice of a thirty-year-old woman.

— Greetings, Sergeant Lyle. I’m in formation and ready to go,» Lula’s melodic voice sounded in Rent’s earpiece.

— Lula, activate general communications,» Rent ordered.

One by one, the fighters confirmed that they were on a common channel with their combat systems.

Captain Lex turned to his system:

— Roko, patch me through to the main starship.

Despite the wreck, the transmitter on their ship remained barely functional and could transmit a signal over long distances. But the battery was damaged. Soon there was a reply:

— This is a starship cruiser speaking. We’re listening.

Captain Lex, breathing heavily from the heat and exertion, began to report:

— Our ship has been hit by pirates. It’s beyond repair. There are three survivors of the crash. We need immediate medical evacuation.

The captain looked over a dozen bodies on the sand.

— We’re not getting any signals other than your radio transmission,» the starship officer replied.

— The beacon was damaged in the crash,» Lex explained, wiping sweat from his forehead. — It’ll stop working soon.

The officer informed them that an unmanned search and rescue ship would be sent to them and would arrive in a hundred hours. They would need to retain their combat intelligent systems to authorize on board.

Suddenly, the officer’s voice became tense:

— What is the status of the cargo you were carrying?

Lex, feeling sweat pouring into his eyes, replied:

— The cargo survived and left the crash site.

— The status of the mission remains in effect,» the officer said stiffly. — The prisoner must be preserved and delivered. It is of the utmost importance.

The captain nodded, though his interlocutor could not see him. The heat was becoming unbearable, and every word was hard to get out.

— Roger that. We will accomplish the mission at any cost.

— Over and out,» the officer said and disconnected.

Lex turned back to his men, his face covered in sweat and dust:

— You heard the order. We have one hundred hours to catch the prisoner.

Rent growled, barely containing his anger:

— It’s pretty clear we have to catch the prisoner. Except I’d rather kill him. This mission wasn’t serious from the start.

Captain Lex turned sharply to the sergeant:

— What did you say, Lyle?

— You heard me, Captain,» Rant replied gruffly. — This mission is a farce.

— You think it’s funny that we lost a warship on a mission? — Lex’s voice was threatening.

Rent, ignoring the captain’s tone, continued:

— Funny? No, captain. I’m not amused. The prisoner is alive, well and armed. He wounded Zorn and me. And we warriors couldn’t stop a handcuffed prisoner.

Lex stepped closer to Rent, his eyes narrowed:

— You’re right, Sergeant. There’s nothing funny about this. It’s a disgrace. Is this really how a warrior fights?

Rent whispered angrily:

— No, sir.

The captain took a step back and loudly commanded:

— Everyone give each other first aid. Now.

The heat on the planet was becoming more and more unbearable. Sweat trickled down the Guardsmen’s faces, soaking their helmets. The armor that was supposed to protect them now seemed like a red-hot furnace.

The men began to look at each other, assessing their wounds and bruises. Zorn wrinkled his nose in pain as Rent tended to his chest wound.

— Lula, report on my condition,» Rent ordered his battle system.

Lula’s melodic voice came through the earpiece:

— Sergeant Lyle, you have a serious rifle pulse wound. Diagnosing active bleeding and multiple contusions. No bone damage. General body condition: Cortisol levels elevated, heart rate 110 beats per minute, blood pressure 140/90. The values are slightly elevated due to heat and stress. Overall, you’re in good physical shape, Sergeant.

Rent nodded:

— Good. Lula, start tracking the prisoner on the perimeter.

— Copy that, Sergeant. Beginning scanning the space around the elemental camp. Also activating a regeneration protocol to accelerate the healing of your wound.

Rent felt a slight tingling sensation in the area of his wound as the nanomachines in his armor began to work on repairing the damaged tissue.

— Thank you, Lula,» he said, looking out at the horizon. — Now we have to find the bastard before he figures out how to kill us.

Chapter 2

Two hours later, Lula reported:

— Sergeant Lyle, using the ship’s residual resources, I have located the prisoner object. It’s three hundred paces south of our camp and moving away fast.

Captain Lex straightened, sweat beading on his face:

— «The prisoner is leaving. Then it’s time for us to follow his trail. Pack up your supplies, and we’ll leave immediately.

Rent, breathing heavily from the heat, replied:

— Captain, there’s nothing left from the crash. Almost nothing.

Despite their fatigue and the pain of their wounds, Rent and Zorn began to gather the remains of the rations from the bodies of the dead Guardsmen. Their movements were slow, each effort difficult.

— Lula,“ Rent turned to his system, „where the hell are we?

— Sergeant, this planet is not on the charts. According to the battle sheet, your starship came out of hyperacceleration at unknown coordinates. You were attacked by an unknown force, but there’s no sign of them either. Possibly pirates.

— Give me full statistics on the planet,» Rent ordered, wiping the sweat from his face.

Lula began to report:

— The planet’s atmosphere is thin. Physical exertion may cause unconsciousness. The current temperature is forty-seven degrees.

Zorn, hearing this, cursed:

— Holy shit! It’s hot as a volcano’s ass!

Lula continued:

— My current charge is forty percent. Probably enough for a hundred hours before the unmanned rescue ship arrives. Daytime on this planet is 40 hours, nighttime is six hours.

Zorn swore again, his voice sounding tired and irritated:

— Better than the barracks. Maybe I’ll move here.

Captain Lex, despite the sweltering heat, tried to make a joke:

— That can be arranged, Private.

— We don’t doubt your abilities and desires, Captain,» Rent added dryly.

Lex, wiping the sweat from his forehead, summarized:

— According to the combat systems, we have less than three local days left to catch this thing. Let’s move out immediately.

However, Rent moved away from the group and began fiddling with the repairmen’s welding machine they had picked up from the crash site. He began to burn a rectangular piece out of the starship door with brackets in the center.

The captain, watching the sergeant’s actions, asked with obvious irritation:

— Lyle, what the hell are you doing?

Rent, without taking a break from his work, sarcastically replied:

— Making myself a door, Captain. I want to open it to make it a little cooler.

Zorn, trying to suppress an attack of nausea from the heat, inquired:

— Why don’t you fix the ship too, smart guy?

The heat was becoming unbearable. Sweat trickled down the Guardsmen’s bodies, soaking the clothes under their armor. Wounds throbbed with pain, and fatigue came in waves, threatening to knock them off their feet at any moment. Every movement, every breath was difficult in this fiery inferno.

Rent continued to work the metal, ignoring the bewildered looks of his comrades. His hands moved methodically, despite the fatigue and pain. Finally, he finished carving a rectangular piece out of the starship door.

— Here,» he said, raising the makeshift shield. — Now I have at least some protection.

The shield was large enough to cover Rent’s chest and stomach. The sergeant attached it to his left arm, testing its balance and mobility.

— One wound is enough for today,» he muttered, remembering the searing pain in his back from the prisoner’s gunshot.

Captain Lex looked around at his men:

— Is everyone ready? Let’s move out.

The three guardsmen began their journey across the vast desert. Their steps were heavy, their feet sinking into the hot sand. They were followed by a chain of footprints, but the hot wind quickly erased all signs of their presence.

The hours stretched agonizingly slow. The sun was scorching mercilessly, making every step a test of willpower. Sweat trickled down their bodies, soaking the clothes under their armor. Breathing became increasingly difficult — the thin air of the planet did not provide enough oxygen.

Hanging in the sky were huge planets. Their presence gave the landscape a surreal feel, reminding the Guardsmen how far they were from the barracks.

Zorn, barely moving his feet, muttered:

— I’d give anything for a sip of cold water right now…

Rent, without turning around, replied:

— «Hold on, soldier. Whining won’t help. Save your water.

Captain Lex walked ahead, his back straight in spite of the sweltering heat. It was as if he was trying to keep the unit’s morale up by example.

The five hours of their journey seemed like an eternity. Each step was difficult, each breath burning their lungs. The horizon shook with heat, creating illusions and mirages.

The sky was colored in shades of red and orange, making the desert look even more alien.