Michael stood on captain's bridge and looked towards the planet Colebrook. White light from the star nearby blinded him a little, because of what he had to squint. He had different thoughts about the current patrol: will the patrol end well? Are they discovering something interesting? Hampshire cruiser will be attacked? And if their cruiser will be attacked, then who will do it?
The patrol of the Hampshire cruiser, however silly, sounded in the New Hampshire system. The cruiser was to fly over the following squares: G4, G5, G6, E6, D7, C5, C4 and D2. After end of patrol, cruiser had return to the Alaska system for further orders. Now cruiser was in the square E6, that is, he did only half of his patrol.
"Barney, report",- Michael asked, still looking at the planet. "Nothing new, Captain",- Barney answered, checking the radar. -"Nothing, sir, only patrol ships of our security services, but we have permission to be in this system, they should not touch us." "Well, five more minutes - and move to the square D7",- Answered Michael, turning in the direction of his captain's chair and went to him. "Accepted, preparing the engines to start the movement",- Answered officer of the cruiser Jacob pushing something on your dashboard. -"The route is built, Stross how are you there?" "All engine systems ready, Jacob! Report it to captain!"- Telled Jason Stross, сhief engineer of cruiser Hampshire. -"We start on your order, Michael!"
It was exactly five minutes... Cruiser moved at the command of his captain. Turning in the direction of the square D7, he returned to his patrol. In this square there was a Jump Hole in the Bremen system. The patrol in that square stretched for one hour, but did not end on it. Whatever it was, everything went well: the cruiser was examining other squares, but nothing suspicious or new revealed.
And here is the finale: the cruiser was approaching a jump hole in the Alaska system, the patrol is almost complete.
"Stop, slow down!"- Ordered Barney to Stross. The cruiser stopped abruptly. -"There is something on the radar!" "What happening, Barney?"- Ask Michael. -"What you see?" "I will draw closer",- Answered Barney and pressed a few buttons on his panel. Michael went up to him and looked: there were seven ships standing near Hampshire. Two of them were civilian, three were military and made in Liberty, the others were also military, but belonged to Rheiland. It was 7 bombers. -"You see?" "Bring them into communication, Marcus",- Ordered Michael. "Yes, sir. Wait",- Answered Marcus, communication officer of cruiser Hampshire. -"I'm founding their frequency... I found it, on touch... Done, sir! You can speak!" Michael leaned slightly toward the microphone and began to say:"This is Hampshire cruiser, I'm his captain - Michael Blackburn. Unknown ships, name youself!"
Answer was not received... Ships all stood still, waiting for something. "They scanning us",- Telled Barney. "We not scanning them?"- Asked Michael, looking at Barney. "Am... Yes, no... Khm, we starting..."- Answered Barney. -"They have only torpedo armament, and EMP guns, I think." "They do not answer, sir",- Telled Marcus -"I wrote down your greeting, repeat it?" "FOR RHEILAND!"- Someone shouted into the radio. All seven ships launched torpedoes to Hampshire. "The evasion maneuver!"- Ordered Michael -"Prepare weapons systems! Fire on readiness!"
The evasion maneuver allowed the cruiser to dodge five slow "Nova" torpedoes. But two of them hit the target directly, destroying the shields of the cruiser. Bombers rushed in bulk, preparing to make another approach to attack. "Shields!"- Cried out Anna, an officer controlling damage on cruiser. "Winston, fire, now!"- Ordered Michael. "Yes, weapons firing!"- Answered Winston, officer of weapons systems of cruiser. The guns were aimed at one of the bombers and began to fire. The guns were divided into two groups and these groups fired alternately, which made it easier to get on the manoeuvrable ships. And the guns fell into the engine of the first bomber. It caught fire and hit a planetoid nearby. The bright hovering of the ship pointed to his explosion. -"One bomber destroyed!" "Continue, Winston!"- Ordered Michael. -"Do not stop the fire!" "Yes, Sir!"- The guns were inflicted on another target and began to fire at it. Apparently, enemy realized how guns fired: bombers began to attack in turn and suddenly, hiding behind the planetoids only to protect themselves from the fire of the cruiser or reload torpedoes and weapons. "Marcus, ask for reinforcements, we ourselves can not cope!"- Ordered Michael. "Yes, sir. Signal SOS sended to all frequencies of Navy and Security Forces in this system."- Answered Marcus. "This is "Sunrise" wing. Cruiser Hampshire, we see your signal SOS! We are going to help you! Hold on there! Can you specify what happened?"- There was an answer. "Bombers, seven pieces! Now six, because one was shot down!"- Answered Michael. -"Quickly give!" "We in five minutes, Hampshire!"- Answered "Sunrise" wing.
The battle continued. One of bombers made a desperate attempt to undermine Hampshire's engine bay, but was shot down. Now there were five of them. They tried to attack as carefully as possible, without exposing themselves to excessive risk. With each shot down bomber, they seemed to be getting smarter and more careful and attacking less often, but closer, so that the slow torpedo managed to get into the cruiser before he made an attempt to evade.
One of bombers prepared to launch a torpedo in Hampshire. The distance was too close to evade. It happened: the torpedo hit the area of the engine compartment of the cruiser, directly into one of its energy elements. There was a powerful explosion inside the cruiser, which had made a good hole in its hull. But the cruiser did not destroyed and continued the battle. Damage was high, but not critical. People began to fly out of the depressurized compartment. "We have serious damage!"- Telled Anna. "Seal the compartment immediately!"- Ordered Michael. "Yes, sir!"- Answered Anna starting isolation of damaged compartment. "Where this "Sunrise" wing, Marcus?!"- Asked Michael. "See them on radars!"- Answered for Marcus Barney. "Hampshire, we see you! Joining in fight!"- The wing of the Liberty Navy fighters jets attacked the enemy. Five fighters and a cruiser against five bombers. One after another, enemy bombers exploded. And there are already two of them. "We have part of the cooling elements flew into space!" - Reported Jason. - "If we do not finish the fight right now and take the cruiser to the local shipyard, the core will explode from overheating and then Hampshire will simply burst!"
One of these two was a civilian bomber with high performance in maneuverability. He made about two visits, destroying his guns shields Hampshire. And here's another bomber exploded! This was the last one, it was only to be brought down. He turned on the cruiser and got into the acceleration, aiming for a hole in the corps of Hampshire. "He's on a battering ram!"- Telled Anna. "All ships and weapons - destroy it now!"- Shouted Michael. All cruiser weapons were on the last bomber. The fighters rushed to attack. But bomber just flew to Hampshire, ignoring damage.
And here he crashed into the cruiser. Part of the crew on the bridge just fell from such a strike force. But the bomber did not explode: the torpedoes in it were over and it just crumpled. But from such force of impact the bomber once again depressurized the engineering compartment. There were no people in that part, so nobody was carried away to space, and isolation took a minute. "Hampshire, how are you? All enemy targets destroyed, we have no losses."- Reported "Sunrise" wing. "We have an engineering compartment in critical condition. Can you escort us to the Juneau shipyard in Alaska system? We will survive only one jump."- Telled Michael. "Oh, sure. We can help."- Answer leader of "Sunrise" wing. -"We jump all together, so as not to linger!" "We ready to jump, sir!"- Reported James. -"I tried to adjust everything so that we were not destroyed in a jump. Ask Marcus to request repair ships to us when we jumped in Alaska. It is necessary that someone controls the work of Hampshire power core in space. And we need in cooling elements here." "Well, we'll do it."- Answered Michael. "Starting countdown before jumping into the Alaska system."- Reported Barney -"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."
Alaska system, 823 A.S. 7 days later after attack. Juneau Shipyard.
Report about Battle in New Hampshire of September 1, 823 A.S.
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Ship name:LNS-Hampshire Class:Liberty Siege Cruiser "Archer" Status:on Repair Location:Juneau Shipyard Repair Status: - Engine compartments:Сompleted! - Engineered compartment:completed by 70%! Approximate time to complete the repair of the cruiser:14 days. The state of the crew: during the battle, 20 people were deceased. Cause of death: exit to outer space without spacesuits. There is a recruitment of new staff... They were in the interrogation cell. There were five of them: Michael, Barney, leader of "Sunrise" wing and two workers of Liberty Security Forces. The first was John, the second Alex. Alex was already over 40, John - for all 50. At table in middle of the room sat Michael, Barney and John. Leader of "Sunrise" wing and Alex stood in opposite corners and watched at interrogation. "So, what we have: the captain of the cruiser "Hampshire", his assistant and head of the wing, who helped the cruiser",- Started John. -"I would like to know exactly how everything was, we will ask you questions, you answer. Okay?" Barney and Michael nodded, after which John said:"That's nice."
After a five-minute pause, the interrogation began: "Where were you during the attack? Your cruiser, I mean? What were you doing near jump hole in Alaska system?"- Asked John. "We had a patrol. We patrolled... Let's remember... The squares are G4, G5, G6, E6, D7, C5, C4 and D2. After end of patrol, we had to return to Alaska system",- Answered Michael. "And your cruiser was attacked right near the hole?"- Now asked Alex. -"Who attack your Cruiser?" "I`m know, you think?"- Asked Michael. "We mean ship classes, Michael",- Answered John. - "We need know about ships, who attack your cruiser?" "Ah, well... There were seven in total. Seven bombers: 2 civilian and 5 military",- Telled Michael. "This millitary bombers... They all is Rheiland or made in Liberty?"- Asked John. "No, no. 3 is Liberty Navy bombers, 2 is Rheiland",- Answered Michael. "Did they negotiate with you?"- Asked Alex. "We tried to negotiate with them. They did not get in touch. But it lasted no less than 10 seconds, I think",- Answered Michael. "What happened then?" "They attacked us." "What they telled before attack?" "For Rheiland, if I`m not mistake... And why do you need this?" "I'm somehow not sure that the wing, which included 3 Liberty bombers, would give such phrases before the attack." "These could be simple deserters, who have nothing to do." "Blackburn: Let's get to the point: did they try to ram your cruiser?"- Finally interrupted the dialogue between Alex and Michael John. -"One of the ships was found in your cruiser. Was it an accidental or intentional attack?" "Allow me to intervene",- Telled leader of "Sunrise" wing. -"I think it was a deliberate attack. Judging by the hole BEFORE battering ram, bomber deliberately launched a torpedo into that part of the cruiser, then, without damage to himself, to ram the cruiser." "I agree with the head of the wing. The attack was intentional."- Answered Michael to John.
John turned to Alex, who was still standing in the corner. They exchanged glances. In their eyes horror and fear were heard simultaneously. If you had watched them, you would have thought that they had done something terrible, without knowing it until them were told.
But then they realized that they were not alone. John again turned to Michael and tried to return that calm look with which he began the interrogation. But it did not work out very well. "And they do nothing didn`t say but besides "For Rheiland!"?- Asked John. "No, nothing more",- Answered Michael. After these words, John leaned back in his chair and sighed. Realizing that something was wrong, Michael asked:"What's the problem?" "You, I believe, know that during in war between Liberty and Rheiland many people were killed and not only these two states took part in this war?"- Asked Alex. "Well, yes, different groups took part in the war. Someone helped us, someone - our enemies. Someone just fought against everyone and everything",- Answered Michael. -"I do not understand why you are talking me about it?" "There was one more side. They were not from here. It was a sound from the past, which comes to us in the present",- Answered John. -"You, I believe, know about the Nomad War?" "Not in detail, sure",- Telled Michael. "Then you must know about infected personel",- Answered Alex. -"Because of these people, we almost started hell in Sirius. They wanted to make a war between all, so that then nomads would attack everyone at the most appropriate moment, when no one has the strength to wage war. But in the end it was stopped. The bottom line is that those infected participated in war between Liberty and Rheiland. Have you heard about missing cruisers and battleships during the war?" "Well, yes",- Answered Michael. "And you know, what happened before the ships disappeared?"- Asked Alex. "No, I`m not know",- Answered Michael. "They made a good hole in the ship's board and rammed. When the infected person was on board, he began to infect the rest of the staff. Sometimes they do it slowly and the infection can be interrupted, and sometimes - almost during the fight",- Telled John. -"At least that was one of their methods. Do you understand what I mean?" Michael leaned back in his chair and said:"This is nonsense, it can not be like this. War has ended long ago!" "This does not mean that the infected have run out",- Telled Alex. -"I will bring to the point: on your cruiser can be hidden the same infected. In addition to you and Barney, did not anybody leave the cruiser?" "With us came three more people from the crew, but I know them, they were next to me during the battle",- Answered Michael. -"Why you need it?" "Have you given permission to leave the deck to others?" "No." "Then we can detected pilot, who maked the collision",- Telled John. -"We would need you to collect the entire crew of the cruiser and roll call. You must do all this on board the ship. Then our people will conduct a survey of the cruiser to find that pilot." "Wait, but at the time of the collision, there was a depressurization. Do you think he survived after such a collision and even got on board the cruiser?" "How long did you isolate after the collision?" "1 minute." "Then we are sure that he could get on board the cruiser." "Let's just check the ship to not torment anyone. If nothing is revealed, we will finish repairing the ship and your "Hampshire" will again continue patrolling in Liberty",- Telled Alex. - "Do you agree?" "Alright, I agree",- Answered Michael.
So, Michael collected the entire crew of the ship (and even the newcomers, who replaced the dead) and held a roll call. All 70 people, along with the captain, were on board the ship in the cargo hold. In addition to them, there were 10 other people who were from Liberty Security Forces. The entire cargo area was isolated (except for ventilation, which filtered air). All 80 people were in cargo hold.
The cruiser included 20 more people who played the role of inspectors. Once they were on board, the entrance to the cruiser was also isolated. The inspection began. They started with the siege weapon of the cruiser. The cruiser's final destination was to become the cruiser's engines. Checked everywhere: in the ventilation shafts, among the wires and cables. And then they reached the engineering compartment. The wreckage after the battle was removed, so the inspection of the compartment should not take longer than with the others. This compartment was close to the cargo compartment, so you could reach it in a matter of seconds and help.
The cruiser captain was informed about the verification process. "Engineering compartment, Blackburn",- Telled one man from Liberty Security Forces near Michael. - "It will take about an hour to check, maybe more." "Good",- Answered Michael.
It took 40 minutes and the check of the engineering compartment continued. Suddenly there was a wild roar on the entire cargo hold. All froze, trying to find its source. Shots were heard outside the cargo bay, and then human shouts. Then more shots and again silence. "Sir, you to portable radios",- Telled all the same agent who reported to Michael about the beginning of the check of the engineering compartment. Michael raised the radio and in grave silence said:"Yes?" "Blackburn, now here!"- There was an order.
Michael called two more agents with weapons, they opened the front door in the cargo bay and went to where shots and screams could be heard. On the way, they met all with the same Alex and several other agents. "Look",- Alex give Michael a passing. He looked where he was told and turned his face away: there were 4 corpses lying on the floor, which were literally torn, but some were literally bitten off. On the walls there were holes from laser bullets: that means, weapons were used. The form on people indicated their belonging to Liberty Security Forces. "They were exactly four?" "What do you think?" "Did you succeed in killing the attacker?" "The same question: how do you think?" "Hence - no",- Answered Michael and turning back to dead people. A feeling of disgust did not leave him. - "It turns out that he is still on the ship." "And he knows that they are looking for him, it's even worse, because now he can try to pretend to be one of you." "How then do we do it?" "Continue testing is useless: people can die. Let's do this: let your crew return to work on cruiser. We'll just expose the watchmen wherever possible. If you or someone sees a man they did not see before in crew - try to catch or report to us", - After these words, Alex called two more agents and told them:"Dead peoples to special capsules and carry them to our research station."
Michael telled all to him crew. Now the ship was in suspicion and fear. Just imagine: what if person next to you is the same infected? And what if he already infected the entire crew, but no one suspects this? What will happen if Hampshire repeats the fate of those unfortunate cruisers and battleships that disappeared during the war between Liberty and Rheiland and were found in the ranks of those most infected? And now imagine that such questions were of concern to the entire crew of ship.
One thing was clear: he was somewhere here. It remains only to find it.
Alaska system, 823 A.S. 10 days after attack. Juneau shipyard.
Michael was in the engineering compartment. No one is near. Not a soul. There was a deathly silence. He began to walk toward cargo hold. And then a scrape was heard. Just a meter from Michael, behind him. Michael took the blaster out of its holster and turned abruptly. But nothing happened. The scrape began to move away. Michael, holding his weapons at the ready, followed the sound, hoping to find his source. Sound abruptly stopped. Maybe it's just some kind of breaking? The scrape was heard again behind Michael's back. This time, almost at close range. Michael again turned sharply. Somebody grabbed by the throat, blaster fell. Michael began to fight back, but an unknown person nailed him to the wall and held it. The attacker opened his mouth, from there something began to climb...
And then Michael woke up in his cabin. The front door was closed, but Michael reached for the holster in which the blaster was. He pressed the flashlight on the blaster and checked his cabin. Nothing. Just a bad dream... Apparently, after him was told how the whole cruisers was gone, his fantasy decided to come up with exactly how the infected infects others. Michael lay down again, but did not fall asleep. He put on his uniform and went to the captain's bridge.
On the bridge was only Barney. He sat on the windowsill and looked at the patrol ships passing by.
After that murder case, the checks on Hampshire did not stop. Always set time when everyone had to take their cabins. After test began. In some cases, nothing was noticed. Two nights the crew spent in insomnia from endless firing in the engineering and weapons compartments. Agents tried to check places where the infected person was most often noticed, but unsuccessfully: this person knew where they would go next time.
"Can not you sleep, too?"- Asked Michael. Barney winced, jumped off the window sill and pretended, as if he had not even been sitting here. "Damn, you scared, sir!"- He was indignant. -"I really thought it was..." "Infected?" "Aha... Do you have dreams too, I suppose?" "Yes",- Answered Michael and sat down in his captain's chair. -"I still can not take it into my head: why did he attack those guys? Could just hide and wait until everyone is gone." "Perhaps he wanted to carry infection to shipyard. But, something went wrong and the shootout started. Or he was just detected and Liberty Security guys opened fire, and he began to defend himself. But who knows these infected? Maybe they have a priority target: to kill any person whom they detected",- With these words, Barney climbed back onto the windowsill and again began to look at the patrol ships. -"There are many possible options. The problem is that with these assumptions we do not even know where this reptile is now." Michael sighed. He had a feeling that he lost his way in three pines. More precisely not only he, but his entire crew of 69 people. He was still trying to understand where this infected person could go and what his next step.
So an hour passed... Two... In the end, Barney and Michael did not sleep until the morning. Both thought about the infected. Barney had his own thoughts, he was worried about his brother Jason, who was the head of the engineering compartment. Michael was worried about the crew as a whole. Sometimes Michael and Barney exchanged glances, as if to check if one of them had gone.
They had a common thought: where is this infected now? For a long time they did not have to think. Closer to noon, when life began to boil on the cruiser again, one of the agents ran up to Michael: "Sir, we need you in the engineering compartment. Immediately." "What happened?" "The infected pilot was found",- All those who were in the command deck were silent. Everyone was waiting for something. "Barney, you're with me",- Ordered Michael and rose abruptly from his chair. "Yes, sir!" "The rest - keep working!"
They went and went... Time for Michael stretched for eternity. Really - all? Finally, the crew will breathe a sigh of relief? What if Michael is already infected and does not suspect this? That dream was not spontaneous.
Maybe his fantasy really went too far, but it was fantasy? What if the infected person somehow created this dream in Michael's head?
Michael slightly panicked, as he knew nothing about the infected and about how this infection spreads, and what it does to a person. In short - he did not know anything. While he was trying to mentally answer his questions, he, Barney and the agent were in the engineering compartment, where they were already waiting for Alex and two other agents. It was a water purification unit, they stood between two generators. Alex again obstructed the review. Seeing Michael, he said: "Well, look." Michael saw the body of the infected and this time did not turn away: there was not such a heap of blood and meat as last time. There was a lot of holes in the body from laser weapons. Three shots were also fired into the head. Part of the pilot's jacket (on the left hand) was burned, but skin was not touched: apparently, they tried to shoot, but bullets hit the jacket around the arm. "Who kill him?"- Asked Michael. "We do not know. We found him that way",- Answered Alex. "Okay",- drawled Michael. -"How long have you found it?" "Five minutes ago. At first we thought that it was someone from your crew, but we checked everything. We, too haven`t such person." "The options? I mean, do you have any idea how he was killed?" "I think it was somehow so: infected was noticed and given a line of shots at him. It is possible that all these shots fell on his left arm. Then this guy were driven here and made several shots in the body. Apparently, this did not stop him, and someone made three shots in his head",- Intervened Barney. -"Perhaps it was after the shots in the head that he died." "If he died at all",- said Alex. All looked at one another and at the same time pointed the weapon at the infected. -"Michael, can you check?" Michael got a little scared, but pulled himself together and asked for gloves. He was given them. He remembered his dream and decided to check that in the mouth of this creature. He spread the jaws of the deceased and said:"Barney, I need light here."Barney went to Michael, turned on the flashlight and aimed straight at the mouth of the infected. "Do you see anything?" "Uh, I do not know the anatomy very well, but there's some kind of extra thing out there. This is a second mouth... Damn it, it's moving!"
From the mouth of the infected there appeared some blue tentacle and snatched the weapon Barney from his hands and threw it aside. Alex immediately ran up and started shooting directly into his mouth. The tentacle tried to take and Alex weapon, but after a series of shots, it fell to the floor, sticking out of the mouth of the infected. "Michael, I held this weapon in my hands!"- Screamed Barney in fright. -"And if it grabbed my hand? Would I be like that, too?" "Calm down, do not be hysterical!"- Ask Michael. -"Alex, you're on time." "Still with the service habit: nothing to wait, act right away",- Answered Alex, turned to two of his agents and said:"That's all in a special capsule and on our research lab too."
There were already four people in the interrogation room: Michael, Barney, John and Alex. There was no commander of the wing "Sunrise": he was somewhere in the Hudson system with his wing on the next patrol. Now Barney and Alex were standing in opposite corners, and Michael and John were all sitting at the table against each other. Next to John lay a small tape recorder, on which the whole interrogation was recorded. "So you found the body of the infected in the engineering compartment, between two generators for water treatment." "Yes, you right",- Answered Michael. "And you indicated that there were a lot of holes in the human body from the laser rifle, right?" "Yes." "Then I have a question: why did not anyone hear the shots? You somehow complained to us that we make a lot of noise with our shooting in the engineering compartment." "Well, firstly, I did not complain. I just pointed out the fact that you can damage something important on the cruiser. Secondly, generators for water treatment are very noisy. The walls have high sound insulation. I believe that the shooting took place indoors, and no one heard anything from behind the walls." "Well, did you find out who killed that infected person?"- Asked John, turned to Alex. "No, without result." "Hence, we will consider the case closed..." "Wait, and you will not even try to find out who killed that pilot?"- Asked Barney. "Barney, the victim killed, the cruiser is safe. It's up to you to find out who killed the infected person. We fucking do not need this. We only care about the data, not the extra stuffed ones with the guns at the edge." "I agree with Alex",- Said John. -"Information is important in our services, not weapons. You can find out for yourself, it's not our business. But if you find that person: give him a medal for courage and all that. We'll close the case. And this means that your cruiser will finish the repair here, and then again will patrol Liberty, where the high command will tell you. On this I have everything, thank you",- With these words, John turned off the recorder, stood up, opened the door and left the interrogation room. Alex followed him. In the room were only Barney and Michael. "Somehow it does not fit",- Said Michael to Barney. -"How you think?" "I also have something on my mind",- Answered Barney. -"Okay. Let's try to build and find the one who killed the infected man."
Barney also left the interrogation room. Only Michael remained. He did not understand: if a person killed this creature, then why did not he report everything to the captain at once? The charter states: any incident on the cruiser must be reported to higher of rank or to captain of ship. In the higher of rank was Jason, but he would not hide the information from Michael (especially so). So Jason too didn`t know about it. Be that as it may, the construction must open all the cards.
It was in the morning. Already 13 days have passed since the repair of the cruiser began. There was only one day left. Michael built all the crew cabins. The first thing was a roll call. All were in place. Barney held in his hand a box of medals for courage. "Attention!"- Ordered Barney, but Michael said:"Freely. Gentlemens, I would like to inform you of three important news that brought me here: first, repair of our cruiser is almost complete, we will soon return under orders of Liberty's High Command. Secondly, infected pilot was killed two days ago in the engineering compartment, murder case was closed, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. And now the third one: the killer was never found. As I understand it, it is not the tsar's business to report this to senior officers on the incidents in their compartment. Be that as it may, who killed the infected, committed a feat, risking his life. I would like this man out of order so that I give him a medal for courage."
A minute passed, two... There was silence. Barney opened the magazine and looked at it: maybe that hero simply did not show up for the roll call? But no, the roll call shows that everything is here. Ten minutes passed, but no one moved. Barney went to Michael and said in his ear:"It is necessary to finish, this is nonsense." Michael nodded his head, closed the box with the medal and said:"Dismiss!"But no one moved. Barney had to intervene: "You gave the order, do not you hear?!"- Only after these words the crew began to disperse on their business.
Why did not anyone fail? Roll call indicated that everything is here, which means that one of all 68 constructed killed that infected one. But why did not he come out? What kept him? So the whole crew thought. Michael twice tried to repeat this construction, but to no avail: no one ever left. And what if the pilot was not alone? No, this is some kind of nonsense. If the pilot were not alone, then agents would not leave here and case would not have been closed.
Whatever the case, the cruiser completed its repairs and came to life again, returning to patrolling the Liberty space. Everything was finished. At last...
Alaska system, 823 A.S. 3 months after repair. Zone-42.
Hampshire could be taken to any other place, but somehow put on patrol near the hole in the system in honor of which ship was named. Now next to him there was a defense of 10 fighters: 5 from the wing "Sunrise" and 5 more from the "Sunset" wing. 10 Guardians circled around the hole, cruiser was standing right at the entrance to the minefield, called "Zone-42". Cruiser had a simple task: not to allow enemy ships to leave the minefield or break into the battle, if necessary. It seemed to delusions to Michael that cruiser was twice already at risk. What if the story is repeated? This is not unlikely. Nevertheless, the order is an order. If cruiser supposed to patrol this area, then need to finish the patrol and return to the juneau shipyard. "What on radars?" "Clear." "Sunrise" wing - report on the patrol. Do you have it clean? "Nothing."
Michael sat on the captain's chair and peered at the Alaska star. He was still tormented by the question of who exactly killed infected people. He checked video recordings, every camera, but nothing not found, except that someone erased the moment of killing an infected person. It turned out something like this: the engineer of the water purification compartment left his post because of the end of the duty, and a second later the corpse of the infected person lies between the two generators. Interrogated even the engineer who left the post. He said that he did not see anything and closed the door in the compartment, and then went to the cabins of the crew. Killer was either too dumb, or too cunning. On the one hand, why hide the hero who saved the entire crew of the ship? On the other hand, what if this hero himself became a villain?
Hampshire's duty went for about two hours. The crew was completely ready for all the surprises as well as the ships that protected the cruiser. Perhaps this story would have a different ending, if not for the event that occurred in the next five minutes. "Contact."- Michael turned on the chair in the direction of the entrance to the minefield. 5 fighters of the wing "Sunset" went to the 5 fighters of the wing "Sunrise", which were already at the hole. - "Hampshire, close the entrance. We have here 5 unidentified fighters. We will inform on the situation". "Accepted, perform",- answered Michael and ordered to Barney:"Close the entrance, the guns for battle. Shields on the port side". "Aha",- answered Barney and sent a cruiser. Five minutes later, Hampshire fixed in space, ready to fire. "This "Sunset" wing - we are in place. Already 14 unidentified targets! 8 bombers, 6 fighters. We start to establish communication means for negotiations!" "6 more ships! 3 bombers and 3 fighters. The total number of targets is 20. I repeat, the total number of targets is 20." "20 unknown targets?" "Yes, Hampshire. 20 targets! Where did they come from?!" "The requests for negotiations are not answered. Fuck, they shooting!" "Evasion, evasion!" - A large number of flashes sparkled in space. Mines, rockets, lasers - that just did not create light. The radars of the cruiser saw how many green points (allied ships) and a lot of red points (enemy ships) were moving at an incredible speed. The cruiser only waited for the team to break into the battle and help. "Hampshire, fast here!" "We going",- answered Michael and ordered Barney to go straight to the battle. Cruiser burst into the thick of the battle.- "Fire at will!"
Cruiser burst into battle. About five shots were enough to break the engine of the enemy bomber, which by inertia flew into the minefield. It is not difficult to guess what happened next. The next shot fell on the enemy fighter. His shields were almost immediately destroyed, and one of the shells through and through struck the cabin. The control system went out of order, and he repeated the fate of the bomber. Despite such good results of Hampshire at the beginning of the battle, his escorts had already lost 3 fighters. The bombers immediately went on the attack on Hampshire. History still began to repeat itself. The cruiser began to leave the minefield as quickly as possible in order to have room for maneuvering. Based on the past battle, the crew of the ship was able to draw conclusions, so by the time the cruiser came out from minefield, only 2 torpedoes hit him, with a very large interval in time. "This is "Nightmare" wing, we enter into battle with the enemy!"- The wing of the fighters and bombers broke through the ranks of opponents. Now there are 27 ships against 17! The voice in the radio was familiar - Alex. -"Hampshire, keep your distance, we'll deal with them." Reinforcements, sir! Excellent! "Nightmare" wing, we will keep the distance. If it is required, then we are ready to join the battle. "Sir, I have some kind of devilry on the panels!"- Said Anna. -"With shields something... But no, it's all right." "Exactly all good?" "Yes sir!" "Alright",- said Michael. -""Nightmare" wing, they are sent to us, we are ready to meet them. We will squeeze on both sides and destroy most of the bombers. Our shields will stand." "You don`t have them. Leave the battle, do not put yourself at risk!"- Michael froze for a second, and then looked at Anna. He went to her panel with shields, but it said something else: the cruiser was in perfect order, the shields were in working order. A little uncertainly, but strongly squeezing the walkie-talkie in his hands, Michael asked:"At us on devices all is good. Can you confirm?" "Do you send confirmation of the whole wing?" "Now contact Jason!"- Asked Michael to Marcus. -"Anna, what do we have in the cameras? Can you find the one who turned off the shields?" "What the?.." "Stross, why the hell do not the shields work for us?" "In what sense: "do not work"? All good. We'll check the generators now, I'll report." "Jason, the answer right now is needed, not a minute or two!" "What idiot disabled shields? Michael, this was done by hand! The generators are off! I already sent the outfit! More precisely, I'm going with him!" "Sir, cameras don`t working!"- Reported Anna. "Fucking, quickly get things right!"- Ordered Michael. -"Let`s move to Juneau shipyard! Wing "Nightmare", provide us with support!" "Let's get out of the fight, Hampshire! We'll figure it out ourselves!"
Next hour for Hampshire was probably one of the most difficult. Constant evasion of torpedoes and gunshots. Whatever it was, with each battered enemy ship, the battle only became more complicated. Enemy grew smarter and stronger with each downed member of his wing. However, somewhere in 10 klicks from the Juneau shipyard last enemy fighter was destroyed. Hampshire came out almost whole from the battle: Jason managed to activate shields when cruiser ran to the shipyard, but before that enemy ships had damage cruiser a couple of times. The crew was intact. But the story was almost repeated: the bombers tried to hit the torpedoes a couple of times, and then go to the ram to be inside the cruiser. However, not a single torpedo not hit cruiser, and each such "daredevil" almost immediately was waiting for death.
And again that room. And again, Alex and John are interrogating Michael and Barney about what happened. They were not interested in the next invasion of the infected in Alaska. They were more interested in why the cruiser turned off its shields. "So you do not know who turned off the shields?" "No." "Who knows? By rule, the cruiser had to be checked before departure. Explain to me how all the video cameras of the cruiser were shut down and turned off until our engineers intervened?" "What do I have to do with this? They were all in working order before the fight. It was during the time when we spent a whole hour risking the ship and its crew, the cameras did not work." "What are you saying? Records say the opposite: we have videos only from yesterday! But today the cameras did not record anything." "What the fuck do you mean? That I intentionally turned off the cameras, and then cut down my shield to threaten the crew and the whole ship, including my life? Yes you are here, quite fucking?" "Blackburn, nobody accuses you of anything. For now. We have suspicions that the one who turned off the shields can be infected. And there are suspicions that this man got infected from that very pilot of the bomber that crashed into your cruiser 3 months ago. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" "It can not be! None of our crew would deliberately attempt to destroy their own cruiser, which for most has already become a home!" "Blackburn, do I get you the statistics of the lost ships and tell all about their crew? I can tell you how my friend, who had the best crew that I saw, was missing. And then we found it. Guess who he is?"- After these words Michael thought. But in fact it is true: if the ships with a rather successful crew have disappeared so much, then what if Hampshire is under such a threat for as long as 3 months? Then another question: why not simply infect the entire crew and not withdraw the cruiser, like all other ships that were infected? What does he or she expect?
Michael again plunged into meditation, which he subjected himself 3 months ago, when he was looking for an infected person. To check all for signs of infection? This is quite difficult to identify, and the infected person will not substitute himself for a knife. And here is the idea...
"In short, Michael - no matter how well the crew was unified, still the plot is the same: missing, and then finding and conducting the battle, but against them, not with them..." "Wait, have an idea",- Said Michael and got up. -"He will not climb under the knife, right? This is logical, so why not create such conditions that he did not have a choice?" "What do you mean?"- Asked John. "Can we separate cruiser from the shipyard and transfer crew into in special cargo compartment so that you can get there only through a special passage and no more?" "It's possible to undock cruiser from shipyard and then attach the cargo bay to it. We can pour in air and put people on guard in advance, and then let your people go there. But I do not see any logic: why such difficulties?" "I realized what he's driving at",- Said Barney "In short, we will thoroughly check each crew member before launching into the cargo component. Then we roll the roll call. The infected one will be discovered one way or another, and he will understand this himself when we say what is the matter. Therefore, he will simply try to stay on the cruiser. And then the case for small - detach the cargo component and begin to search the cruiser." "He can hide there endlessly, think about it." "And no one said that we will stay there for five minutes. Until we find it, we will not return to the base." "I do not think so. We will track the entire ship through video surveillance cameras. If we find something, we'll rush there and catch it." "As if he would not catch us." "Here the most interesting: 8 people on a cruiser, well for the ninth - infected. I'm sure he will try to kill everyone or infect him. I believe that he needs to get as close to the infection as possible. Then we will catch him." "Wait, eight people is who?" "You, John, I, Barney, Jason Stross, 2 agents from Liberty Security Forces and Marcus Fire" "Are you sure that I'll get into this shit?" "Do you have a choice? You are questioning me and Barney in this, which means that you must also help in finding the truth." "Michael is right, except for us no one would go so far in the investigation."- Said John. -"Anyone else could ignore the shutdown of shields, but not we. If we had not brought Michael and Barney to the interrogation, then Hampshire would have become a infected cruiser. Sooner or later." "Okay, okay... So, which plan?"
And the plan was simple: the agents took a small transport ship and let each person on board it only after a full inspection. Infected haven`t chances to penetrate the transport unnoticed. Michael deliberately announced to the entire crew about what the plan is. He needed that infected person to start panicking, although Michael was panicking more. As soon as everyone moved from the cruiser to the transport ship, Michael began the roll call. "Anna Connor!" "I!" "Jonathan Sword!" "I!" "Barney Stross!" "I!"- Barney, according to the charter, went out of order and said:"Roll call is over!" "Well, everyone I spoke to approached me - please do it now."- All those with whom he planned to survey the cruiser came to Michael. Namely: Alex, John, Barney and Jason Stross, 2 agents from LSF. The whole company already carried weapons and even masks in case someone disconnects the life support system on the cruiser. Cruiser will be hanging out in space without any outside support while its inspection is in progress. As soon as everyone was in the assembly, Michael said:"Let's check if everyone is here. If we miss someone, this person hides on the cruiser and is infected."
Michael began to check the list. The noted were here. All 69 people. Was not only on the name of some Richard Kappelberg. Michael again held a roll call, and immediately said the name of this man, so as not to suffer. No one said "I". Alex immediately sighed. His expression, as it were, said: "Michael, here it is." "The whole group is on board the cruiser. Now!"- With this words Alex approached the exit. All the others about whom Michael had already spoken approached Alex. Before boarding the cruiser, Alex said:"All the agents - head to all 360 degrees! If he is not on the list, it does not mean that he not here!"The doors opened. All 8 people passed through a special corridor. The rear door closed, the door to the cruiser opened. Alex was the first to enter the silent silence of the ship. Another 7 people followed him. As soon as the latter crossed the threshold, the doors closed. There was a click from behind: the transport ship disconnected from the cruiser. Now the whole team was alone with the infected and alone with the emptiness of the space. "Who goes where? Alex?"- Alex stood, as if stunned. He went through many operations, through many battles. He has seen the dismembered body of an infected person many times, which scientists have studied so closely. But he could never think that he would have to catch them. The only encouragement was that he was not alone. After 5-minute pause he said: "Ah, yes... The plan of Cruiser have all?"- Barney fumbled in his pockets and took out a holographic projector, put it on the floor and pressed the button. Directly in front of the group's faces, a 3D model of the cruiser lit up. The plan of the cruiser was as follows (from engines):
1. Engineering compartments:
The core of the ship
Cooling batteries (1 battery on the left and right sides of the ship).
The main server of the cruiser, where all the information from the video-cameras was collected.
Canteen.
Compartment with life saving capsules.
4. Cruiser command deckhouse.
5. Siege gun:
The upper part of the gun
The lower part of the gun.
"So, the plan is this. We will check all parts of the ship. Let's start with the engineering compartment (we are already here). We will divide into two groups. The first group is Michael, Barney, John and Jason, will check the starboard side of the cruiser. The remaining: our two agents, Marcus and I take on the port side. If you suddenly see some movement, then shoot at once. We will not go to you until we warn. If there are thoughts about where the infected will run, then let us know, we will try to intercept. Immediately I say: it's forbidden to enter into close combat. A shot was made, then another two or three controls in the head. Okay, we know who to look for!"
So, the group split. It's just as Alex said. They started from the engineering compartment. The core of the ship was not so huge, but still all 8 people were divided into groups of 4 and so did not see the participants of the other group. The check went as carefully as possible: on occasion, any rustle was answered by shooting. The radio only sounded the questions: "Contact?" or a comic expression "Enough of making noise, show respect!" The exit from the nucleus consisted of two corridors, which intersected. There, the two groups merged again and discussed everything. Realizing that nothing had been discovered so far, they followed. Now there were cooling batteries, which were located almost near the core of the cruiser. There was a spacious compartment, so the band members could see each other. The compartment was divided into 2 floors, so that 1 group was observed from above, and the other was searching from below. And so it began! Together with a bright flash, there was a shot. It was Barney. The unknown man began to run between the designs of the cooling batteries, and Barney yelled at the entire radio: "Contact-contact-contact! Group upstairs, track it!"- Alex heard Barney and began to examine everything from above. And suddenly he saw the infected. Two more shots were heard. Miss! The infected ran very fast, Alex just did not have time to catch the moment when it was possible to make a shot. Marcus made three more shots about where the infected could run. The infected made an incredible, by human standards, jump, caught on the railing of the second floor of the compartment, where there was a second group and incredibly quickly began to run to the exit from the battery compartment - to the weapons bay. Two agents made a series of shots. Or they were taught to shoot badly, or the infected was lucky again: it was never touched by any laser bullet. "Yes fucking! To the whole group - now upstairs! Immediately to the second floor of the cooling batteries!"- Meanwhile, Alex began to reload the weapon. Each cartridge was important. It would be very stupid to make 28 shots and stay with an empty magazine and let go of the infected, without making 2 more shots that could stop it.
4 people began to climb stairs slowly upstairs. In front of the entrance to the armory, Michael thought that now their enemy has weapons and can defend. The weapons bay was not designed for cruiser guns. It was designed for the crew's weapons in the case of a ship's boarding. The compartment was divided into three rooms. The left and right rooms were for storing weapons, and the room in the middle was a shooting gallery. However, the glass of the left and right rooms allowed to see what was happening in the center. The group again divided into 2 groups of 4 people each. Now they walked cautiously: in addition to hand-to-hand fighting, he could open fire as soon as the doors opened. The doors opened and the lights went out. "The light turned off." "Only here?" "No, judging by the fact that the cameras are off - on the whole cruiser. The life support system also turned off. Wear masks."- All 8 people put on masks. Now the air in the cruiser was not filtered, and the absence of light led pursuit in a horror film. Every wrong step could be the last one.
They quietly dispersed through the two rooms. 4 people walked on the right, 4 more - on the left. There was already no such space, like in the cooling batteries compartment, so that it was necessary to choose positions in time if they will be attacked. The floor was a rubber lining of black color. The steps were not as audible as walking on bare steel. The rooms were divided into two sections. The first had with him various weapons, and the second had spacesuits or special exoskeletons for fight. Light of lanterns from weapons was a ray in this dark realm. The group on the left, like the right group, saw each other through the glass, which allowed them to see the central room. Only at the end of the room right and left room again united in the corridor. "Have you heard?" "What?" Something small fell to Michael's feet. Looking closely, he understood... "Grenade, in the shelter!"- Said Michael and just kicked the grenade until it exploded, and he ran in the opposite direction. There was an explosion. Several splinters cut through the rubber floor, but they did not reach Michael, who lay down on the floor, not finding shelter. Rising, he said:"All okay?" "Yes, all good." "Everything is normal!" "Contact, Michael?" "Yes, he..."- Before Michael could stand, suddenly a flurry of fire fell on them. Fired from the opposite end of the room. Michael barely crawled to Barney. As soon as he was in cover, he shouted:"Richard! Stop running, you do not have a chance. You're surrounded! You or now you get out yourself..."- Another bullet slipped over Michael's shoulder. The form was slightly burned, but in general everything was in order. -"...or I'll get you myself and shoot you head!" "Michael, we're coming!"- On the position of the enemy from the flank, a series of shots appeared. There was motion and again flashes of lasers. Shot, a few more... Someone cried out in pain. Silence... Loud explosion... Again silence. Michael and Barney exchanged glances, nodded and stuck their heads together from their position, holding the guns at the ready. They were blinded by the light of the lanterns, and then Alex's voice said:"Don`t fire! We have a wounded!"
Michael and everyone who was next to him dropped their weapons. They approached Alex's group and saw the following: Marcus was lying in the corner with wound in the place where the heart was, bleed profusely. He breathing heavily. Two agents provided him with medical care. Alex stood as if dead and trembling. Not from fear. From adrenaline. He himself did not expect to be nervous on such an operation, although he could be understood: it was the first him hunt for infected. His fingers squeezed the rifle so that the bones were bulging outward. "Hell, Marcus. Alex, what do we do?" "I... I'll hold out, go." "Are you sure?" "Michael, when did we fail you? We are with you before the end. Come, catch him, now..." "Alex. What plan?" "Now we go together. Agents - stay and give him medical help. Residential sections of the cruiser have little space, we will get it."- Alex turned, and when he started walking near Michael, he said:"Kill as soon as you see."
So, now the group was from 5 people. Another 3 people were in one place, but who knows what will happen to them in the next five minutes? In the next hour or two? What if the infected person deliberately wounded Marcus, then to return and kill them? It seems that someone managed to get on the infected one, as Michael noticed fresh traces of blood on the floor and told everyone to follow them.
Of course, they came to the cabins of the crew. It was a corridor with rooms on the left and on the right. In each room they did not look, but simply followed the bloody trail, which did not stop. The trace did not lead to the main server of the cruiser, but in the dining room the group had to stop by. The track led straight there. "All ready?" "Yes." "Aha..." "Plan is next: John and Barney - go left. Michael and Jason - you are both to the right. I'll knock out the door and go to the center. I will be the highest priority goal, so if they shoot at me - just shoot back. At least we will know that he is still resisting." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, it will be easy... I think."- Alex went to the door. Everyone was ready. On his fingers he counted: 3... 2... 1... The kick kicked the door. All immediately ran to their positions. A few seconds later, Alex was already in the center, holding the rifle at the ready. But the shots did not happen. The dining room was clean and tidy, as befits any canteen on a space military cruiser. But the purity did not extend to the bloody track that led to the compartment of the rescue capsules, the door to which was directly in front of Alex. It's amazing, but the light worked there. And then Alex understood what was going on... "All fast there! If you see the capsule before starting - fire to defeat! This shit tries to escape!"
All group members seemed to understand his hint and literally broke into the compartment. But it was clean there. Only some capsule was preparing to be launched. It was visible even a seat on which there was nobody. The capsule was open and waiting for its owner. Bloody trace led just to this capsule. "Where is he?!" "A trace you see? Let's all on it!"- When he was near the capsule, they were stopped by a voice:"Stay where you are or you will all die!"- The voice came from the back. Realizing what a critical mistake they made, Michael was about to turn around, but just behind him flew a laser bullet. -"It's not a joke, Captain! The next bullet will be in your head! Immediately drop your weapons! All, now!"
There was nothing to do. Alex almost threw back his rifle in fury. His task was right behind him. He never thought he would make such a stupid mistake. It was necessary to think of not to check what was behind! All 5 people, on the command of the infected, turned around. Now Michael saw the face of his enemy: it was quite a young face of a 28-29 year old boy, well, or about that. No flaw, nothing to complain about. In appearance - a pretty young man, who, perhaps, was not deprived by women. In his right hand, which was the cause of the bloody trail, was a laser rifle, which he aimed at the group. Looking at his left hand, Michael gasped: it was a suicide detonator. It has not yet been activated, but if you just press a button, then an explosion will follow. Michael knew perfectly well what it would be to blast Richard - Hampshire. "So you got caught..." "Got you! You are now alive only because I so want!" "Well, you bastard, Richard."- Said Barney, holding his hands up. All stood in one row. The first in the series was Michael, the last one was Barney. When he told them to stand up like that, Michael saw that the gun was in Barney's holster. And Barney never misses the opportunity, if she is. -"What are you going to do now?" "You better not know. Although, I'll tell you. At first I'll piss your soul off, how I fucked on this cruiser, how such a wonderful opportunity for me to take revenge for all the mockeries at once, as I now have 5 idiots who think they have another chance to stop me." "How did you become like that, Richard?" "It's a long story. Although, you will like... Well, then. That infected person was killed by me. When it all began, I realized that I can prove myself. That they will notice me for the first time... I took a rifle and went at night to find this creature. I found it in the engineering compartment. The agents were then in their posts, but I bypassed them. Once in the compartment for cleaning water, I saw it. He tried to kill me, but I was faster. Dying, I wanted to kill this thing... But he touched me and showed them the world... He said that they can give me a new life, that I will be a hero..." "Who are "they"?" "They... Walking among the stars..."- A smile appeared on Richard's face, and then Michael saw some tentacles or something like that fall through his face, right under his skin. Richard touched them as if to something native and said:"They will understand me... They will understand what I did. Having destroyed your cruiser and telling it to the whole world, everyone will understand that Liberty has a secret system with very poor protection. I will tell everyone what you are doing here. then the war will begin... And they will... be grateful to me!" "If so, then what hindered you from infecting us during all these 3 months? You could take a cruiser from under your nose, which is much more profitable." "You do not deserve life... And I decide whether to live for you or die!" "You do not even know what mistake you made..." "It was you who made the mistake of aboard the cruiser today! Michael, what inspired you when you became a captain? That this cruiser and its crew is a family, that everyone here is helping each other. They told me that! But I did not notice, all spat at me. And what I will do is a triumph that you can not stop!" "Do you know how different Alaska differs from other systems?" "How?! Tell me!" "Nobody will know about our death beyond this system."
Barney did not stand on ceremony. The infected man still held his sight on Michael, but when Barney snatched the pistol from his holster, no one noticed how two shots flashed, how Barney hit the head of the infected man, and how the infected shot in Barney's shoulder. In a split second, shots, flashes, and scream mingled. And suddenly everything was quiet. "Barney, shit!"- Michael came to his senses and ran to Barney, who was lying on the floor and groaning with pain. -"How are you?!" "Good, good..."- Barney exhaled, holding his hand on his shoulder, where the blood was coming from. -"This scum shot me off my shoulder! Alex, did he die?!" "Barney, you just put him in the head. This is the quickest and most accurate murder that I have seen. Will you go to our agents? I need peoples like you." "Pick me up, Michael."- Michael obeyed. However, he would have raised Barney. As soon as he got up, he began to walk by himself, still holding his hand on his shoulder. Approaching to the infected, Michael whistled: yes, the shot really was very accurate. A smoke was coming from the hole. It was all over. "And... All?" "Yes." "Poor thing... I feel sorry for him. But why did not he infect everyone, in that case? I still do not understand. Did not these "walking among the stars" command him?" "He did it because he thought it was right. They obey them, but not completely. He did not have time to detonate the detonator, so we are alive." "Hah, this pleases... What the?!"- The body of the dead Richard began to beat in convulsions. Blood flowed from his back. And then some strange, blue creature came out. It is difficult to give a description. But out of it protruded a huge tentacle, which somehow resembled a mouth. This time, Barney seized the initiative, realizing where this creature was crawling:"Detonator! Kill it!"All 5 people started shooting as soon as they could. While each of them did not spend their ammunition, the shooting did not stop. The last shot was made by Barney, who was the control. "Now he's definitely dead... Alright, let's turn on the light and help Marcus and Barney! In the meantime, I'll call our agents to clean everything up here. Michael, do you have a mini-bar on the cruiser? I want to drink after this..."
Michael went to the gate to the military cemetery. Near him stood a few more people - some were just relatives of the other deceased military, and some - comrades of the deceased, who came to pay tribute to the memory of lost friends. Michael entered the cemetery and went where he expected - to Richard's grave...
Need say what happened. First, Marcus was still in hospital with heavy wounds. Michael and his entire team visited him. According to the doctors, Marcus's health was safe. Secondly, Michael managed to ask that Richard be buried in his homeland - the planet Manhattan. He told Alex that the secret agencies needed only a parasite that infected Richard, but not Richard himself. With Barney, too, everything was fine - his shoulder was almost healed, but the scar remained. Alex and John, meanwhile, received a promotion and a reward for their operation, and Barney got a medal of honor.
The bright sun lit up the cemetery. Pure lawns, classic white crosses, which, it seems, as an old tradition, have been preserved from the history of the old humanity, which fled from Sol. Michael was already close to Richard's grave. She was on a hill, there was no one next to her: Richard was buried 3 more weeks ago. Michael came to the grave every week. Every week he stood silently, not knowing what to say. And only today, he decided to talk to the already dead Richard, believing that after this he would not be tormented by remorse.
And so Michael stood in front of the grave. The sun was still shining brightly, it was morning, so there were very few people. "Well... I think I should have talked to you for a long time. First of all, Barney is alive, so if you are tortured by conscience in the next world, you can calm down. Second, you good wounded Marcus - he's still in the hospital. Doctors say that everything is fine, but my communications officer will be discharged only after 4 months",- There was a five-minute pause. Michael looked somewhere in the distance, trying to find words. He gathered his strength and continued:"When Hampshire came out in the first fight, I was scared. Not that they will forget about us among many other deaths, but that people from my crew will die. And then I realized that I was responsible for every member of the crew. It hurt me to realize that after the battle with the infected in New Hampshire, 20 people died. They had families, and them simply take and carry out into space. Understand correctly: I never forgot about any member of the crew. And certainly did not want that them was bad on this cruiser. And I never wanted the crew to kill each other, how Barney killed you, or how you wanted to kill us. I did not want that everything happens so, that's all..."- With this words Michael took out a photograph of the crew made a year ago. On it were all, and even those 20 people who were killed in New Hampshire. Michael put the photo near the cross, turned around and went to the exit.
This story is not in the LSF archives. Only those who participated in the operation to catch the infected are aware of it. Only members of the crew know about it. But for all the years of service the crew had a simple tradition: "Everything that happens on the cruiser remains on the cruiser." This tradition, like a powerful iron hand, acts on the whole crew of the ship despite the fact who is new here, and who serves longest. There are reports that there was some sort of infection on the ship, but you will never be able to find out what happened there, since no one will tell you anything.
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