Читать книгу To The Stars - Назар Валерьевич Валеев - Страница 16

That evening, as they sat together in the ship’s spacious mess hall, the friends drifted into lively conversations on all sorts of topics. From his endlessly cluttered backpack, John produced a couple of bottles of old Earth whiskey – and, to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be a hit.

«How extraordinary this all is», John said with heartfelt wonder, gazing into his glass. «We – beings from different worlds – sitting together at the same table, peacefully sipping this wonderful amber drink!»

«Can’t argue with that», Draam said with a thoughtful nod. «Not bad at all. We should’ve secretly landed on your planet long ago.»

«Ha! You’ll land there yet», Kane replied with a grin. «When we get back, I’ll take you around some of our best places.»

At that moment, he suddenly felt a pang of homesickness – for his home, for Earth food, and for the life he’d once known.

John looked at Kane with understanding, as if he’d just read the thought behind his wistful expression.

«Yeah, son», he said softly. «Nostalgia’s a strange thing. Makes you think.» He paused, then mused aloud, «I do wonder though – did anyone even notice we’re gone? I can just picture my neighbors’ faces when they see what’s left of my house, and the headlines in the local papers: ‘This Is What Comes of the Mad Experiments of Dr. Bozen.’»

Kane grinned broadly. «Or better yet – ‘An Explosive Temper and Its Impact on Rural Real Estate.’»

«You know», Tarion suddenly said, his eyes lighting up, «many thousands of years ago our people actually visited the Blue Planet. Every Rionian, from early childhood, studies the marine life of our waters, and I’ve always remembered that story, because it begins with a disaster. Our aquatic transport ships were searching for planets whose water resources would be similar to those of our own planet, for the purpose of populating our oceans. Their holds were already nearly full of various samples and organisms when, in a distant solar system, our scanners suddenly detected your wonderful world.»

Everyone fell silent, listening to the Rionian as he continued his story. Tarion leaned forward slightly, his webbed fingers resting on the edge of the table, his gaze distant as if he were seeing the past play out before his eyes.

«Our orbital probe was carrying out a preliminary atmospheric analysis and collecting samples of air and water», he said slowly, «when the cataclysm occurred – a vast continent suddenly sank deep beneath the sea.»

Still staring into the distance, Tarion made a theatrical downward gesture, as if inviting everyone to picture the dreadful catastrophe in all its scale, then spread his arms wide to show the raging might of the ocean that had swallowed the land.

«Oh, for heaven’s sake!» Kane exclaimed impatiently, rolling his eyes no less theatrically. «Well? What happened next?»

«Yes, yes», Tarion replied quickly, throwing up his hands. «I’m getting to that!»

«Judging by the nature of its architecture and the ecological emissions», he went on, «the civilization that once existed on that continent was far more advanced than any other people on the planet. They were familiar with electricity… and the internal combustion engine.»

Tarion sank back into his distant memories, feeling the same thrill he had known when he first heard the story himself. For a moment, the room was silent. Then Kane, unable to contain his impatience, gave a loud, deliberate cough. He put so much drama into it that he ended up coughing for real. Everyone burst out laughing, and Tarion went on with his story.

«And so, we decided to build our base in one of the cities of that sunken land, and for several decades we studied the underwater world of Earth’s oceans and seas – a world that truly amazed us with its richness and beauty. And of course,» he added with a faint grin, «we borrowed a few things from you.»

He began counting on his fingers, then thought better of it and continued.

«From time to time, we also encountered humans who fearlessly roamed the vast seas in their fragile wooden ships, and we guided them out of storms and tempests. Naturally, they took us for gods or some kind of higher beings who protected sailors, and later they painted us on their sails and flags», Tarion added, bursting into laughter.

«Well, I’ll be damned», John exclaimed in astonishment. «Guess I’ll have to start writing the real history of Earth – way before our so-called era even began! Nobody back home has a clue about any of this.»

«If you’re starting a history book, I can throw in a few more pages», Tarion replied with a grin, taking another sip from his glass. «Some marine species, in fact, were brought to your world by us. Take dolphins, for example. These intelligent beings, discovered on the distant fringe worlds, volunteered to stay on your planet.»

Noticing the astonished looks on the humans’ faces, he explained, «We understand them, and our scientists were even able to communicate with them. Back then, they helped us greatly in our research. They are truly unique creatures; before them, we had never encountered intelligent life that lived in the water.»

At that, everyone exchanged knowing glances at the sight of his gills.

«We may be amphibious by nature», Tarion explained, «but we live entirely on land. We can spend long periods in the water, yes – but we cannot live there, even though it surrounds us. Still, seafood is the foundation of our diet. I dare say, our cuisine could make any true connoisseur of such dishes green with envy.»

«I’m a true connoisseur of all kinds of dishes», Draam said brightly. «And I sincerely hope I’ll get to test that claim myself someday. I’ve traveled through many worlds, and I’ve already had the… mm… pleasure of eating food of aquatic origin.»

«Oh, absolutely!» Maarv said with mock enthusiasm. «Our magnificent Draam can digest just about anything.» Like most Vriinians, he treated his rather large friend’s culinary enthusiasm with a fair measure of sarcasm.

«I beg your pardon!» Tarion exclaimed in mock outrage. «You’ve completely misunderstood me, my friends!»

Kane and John were already doubled over, laughing so hard they nearly slid to the floor.

«I’m talking about real culinary delights», Tarion went on, gesturing with grand offense. «Not merely ‘food of aquatic origin,’ as you so elegantly put it! And it doesn’t need to be digested like ‘just anything’ – it melts in your mouth and leaves a taste you’ll remember for the rest of your life!»

«I’m terribly sorry to interrupt your most fascinating conversation», came Arma’s voice, calm but edged with urgency. «But I’m detecting a large cluster of Tiavran ships – directly on our course.»

«How many?» Maarv asked, slightly out of breath as they all rushed onto the bridge. «Can we make it to the wormhole?»

Arma projected a volumetric display onto the main screen. Almost twenty ships appeared – sleek, elongated vessels shaped like dark metallic cones.

«Oh no, not them again… the blue ones», Kane muttered with a look of distaste.

«The blue ones?» Tarion echoed, raising a brow. «You mean you’ve already crossed paths with those repulsive Tiavrans?»

«Yeah, once», Kane replied, and a shudder ran through him at the memory. «But that brief encounter gave me the chance to study them in rather graphic detail.»

«They’re not responding to my hails», Arma reported, her tone calm but firm. «No reply on any channel. Judging by their trajectory, I’d say they’re moving on an attack vector.»

Maarv glanced at Draam, then at the others. «They’ve got us outnumbered», he said grimly. «I say we get the hell out while we still can.»

He jabbed a finger at a glowing point on the star map, zooming in. «Here – this system has two small planets and an asteroid ring. Perfect place to hit them with a surprise strike and vanish before they even know what happened.»