Звездопад / Starfall: Глава 25

Chapter 25

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 12:14

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Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 12:15

When Alex regained consciousness, the werewolf was no longer there, nor were the handcuffs that chained him to the chair, and his hands were free. For a few minutes, he listened to the sounds in the huge warehouse, barely moving. Especially from the side where the guards were leaving. But there was nothing to indicate that they were alive.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:48

So, trying not to make any noise, he rose carefully from the chair but was immediately forced to squat down with his hands on the floor - his legs were like cotton wool after a long period of immobility, and they were practically unresponsive to him.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:52

After sitting for a few seconds to let his muscles get used to the idea of "Now you must work again!" he paced cautiously and looked around carefully, heading towards the body of the guardsman who had proved unlucky enough to be in Lord Velaske's retinue for the day.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:52

The blue-black tunic had numerous fist-sized holes in it, still smoldering around the edges. The holes were still smoldering at the edges. A crust of crimson-blackened crust covered the wounds and gave off an unbearable stench of burning and rotting meat. Fighting a bout of nausea, he unfastened the restraining sling and drew his blaster from its holster, which the guard had never managed to reach. After the "ready lever" was lowered, the tiny display on the back of the receiver flashed the number "twenty" changing to "five", with the power adjustment ring turned to maximum.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:55

//Not much at all..." - The guard had one more replacement unit on his belt and that was it. Alex slipped it into his trousers pocket and looked around thoughtfully.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:55

The only weapon other than the guard's blaster available in the room was Lord Velaske's sword, which he still clutched in his hand.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:56

//No, no, no... I'm more likely to be killed with it than without it," Alex thought, glancing skeptically at the sword. If he could count on anything with shooting, his swordsmanship skills were so modest that they weren't even worth mentioning.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:57

"All right, then, let's get out of here quickly." He decided, and after looking over the motionless bodies of Lord Brenor and the 'rebel', he headed towards the remains of Professor Takkar.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:57

He couldn't afford to leave without searching for the bastard.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:58

//And I really hope he has something with him that explains why they had to kill me

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 13:58

A quick search revealed that the Professor had a miniature blaster, a wallet containing three thousand credits, a small disabled infoblock, a bundle of info sticks, a small card, which Alex identified as the Professor's Institute badge, and a mysterious piece of plastic.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:00

On a thin square piece of plastic paper it said "Tallana Emergency Committee" and there were three shimmering holographic seals: the seal of the "Northwest Municipality of Arkun", the "Union of Tallana Students" and the seal of the "United University of Tallana".

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:01

Looking over the sheet and grinning puzzledly, he slipped it into his pocket just in case, hoping it wasn't bugged, and, lugging everything but his blaster and Institute pass, he took the loot to the equipment table.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:18

That leaves Lord Velaske.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:19

//Judging by the way his midsection had turned, if he had anything useful in his pockets, he could forget about it," Alex tried to convince himself, "because if I searched that, there'd be one more senseless body in the room.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:19

Covering his nose and mouth with one hand and making an effort to keep nausea at bay. He pushed the remains of the lord's lower half aside and retrieved the case with the injector and its cylinders from underneath.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:20

"I think the stimulant they gave me was blue..." Lord Cassard rummaged through the briefcase, discharged the injector, and put Lim's serum in his pocket.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:21

He found a cylinder of blue liquid, filled it up - the professor had performed the operation in front of him - and grinned grimly at the gleaming, chrome-laden injector:

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:22

"So, volunteers required... you and you, step out of line!" He informed the motionless bodies of his fellow unfortunates.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:22

Alex, biting his lip pensively, stared for a while, measuring himself now for Lord Brenor, now for the "Resistance". Finally, with a heavy sigh, he made up his mind, approached the paralyzed insurgent lying on the floor, rolled up the sleeve of his jacket, and, placing the injector on his forearm, pressed the trigger.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:23

The injector made a sharp hissing sound. A reddish stain was left on the skin, and Alex took a couple of steps away and waited for the results.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:24

After about a minute, the paralyzed rebel moved and, with evident difficulty, raised his head and looked around the room with a hazy gaze:

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:31

"Where's the bastard?" he wheezed, turning to Alex. "Grand..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:31

"Dead. He's lying behind the container." Alex nodded in the direction of Professor Takkar's resting place. "Do you know anything about medicine?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:32

"General course only..." replied the rebel, making an unsuccessful attempt to rise. "Will you get my hands free?" He asked, glancing up at Alex. "Your Lordship..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:33

His hands were restrained by a semi-transparent loop of what looked like plastic, a couple of centimeters thick and without any sign of a lock:

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:34

"Can this be cut? With a sword?" Asked "his lordship", having finished examining the handcuffs. And, waiting for an affirmative nod, Alex pulled the hilt of the sword from Lord Velaske's still-warm hands.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:34

"You have to squeeze the grip tightly and press the button near your thumb." Instructed the wounded man, seeing Alex's confusion.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:35

"Actually, I was thinking about how not to saw off anything of value to you." Alex snarled, gently bringing the buzzing strip of golden fire to the cuffs. "Don't move because I'm a bit clumsy with these things..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:36

The glowing blade touched the handcuffs, which immediately dispersed into black bubbles and streams of grey smoke. The smell of burning plastic was added to the smells of burning meat that filled this part of the warehouse.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:38

"Did you do this to them?" The injured man asked, nodding at the mangled bodies of Lord Velaske and his bodyguard after Alex helped him up and into a chair. "My name is Kraine, by the way." He added, breathing heavily. "Krain Werk. I'm with the Anti-Imperial Alliance."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:40

"No, I didn't." Alex shook his head, answering the question. "They're the ones who make each other feel that way. Conflict of interest. Do you know what he needs to be injected with to bring him to his senses?" He waved a hand in Lord Brenor's direction. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:43

"You need a neutralizer. Probably the same one they gave you." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, silent for a few seconds. "No, I don't remember which one. I think the color markings are two brown stripes and one blue... And there should be an inscription on the bottom..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:43

"Isn't there a container of that murky white liquid, marked with three blue stripes and Vitalin sighn?" Krain asked hopefully, watching Alex as he rummaged through a case of cylinders for the injector.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:44

"I don't think so..." He grunted, studying with interest the markings on the cylinder that matched the rebel's description. The marking on the cylinder indicated "Nullifier-AC3," followed by a jagged array of numbers and letters that must be a chemical formula or a commodity code. "Nullifier-AC3 is it?" He asked, glancing up at Krain, who only shrugged his shoulders in response.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:55

//Well, let's hope it's a neutralizer and not some kind of poison," Alex injected Lord Brenor and sat down beside him, waiting for the results.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:56

"Or maybe there were pills? The big ones with 'Vitalin' written on them, too," Kraine persisted.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 14:57

"No, there were no pills, just cylinders for the injector. Why - some kind of critical medication?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:01

"I've been shot by these bitches," the rebel showed a burned hole in his left pant leg, through which a gash could be seen. "I couldn't even limp unless I had someone to lean on. Vitalin would have saved me."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:02

Alex shrugged and rummaged through the case again, hoping that the Vitalin he was looking for would turn up, but there was no cylinder with that marking. Soon his search was interrupted by Lord Lister, who came to his senses:

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:03

"Damn it!" He groaned and looked around with one eye open. "In the name of all shadows and the lansa of light flames, Lord Cassard, where are we?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:04

"In captivity." Alex chuckled but then added immediately. "I mean, we were prisoners, and now we need to escape from that captivity quickly."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:04

"Did the Melatians attack us? We attacked Melato?" Lord Brenor looked at the body of Velaske's guard with surprise. "And who is this man?" He added in a barely audible whisper, pointing his eyes in the direction of the rebel.

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:06

"No, as far as I understood, we were attacked by quite different people, but the Melatians had some interest in that as well. And we're on Tallana, from what I understand... By the way, if you'd like to meet Krain Werk, our comrade in misfortune and the man who got hurt trying to help us... Anyway, we need to get out of here. How are you feeling?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:08

"My whole body burned. My arms hurt like a hundred demons trying to tear them off, and I'd pay a million denarii for a single glass of water, not even wine, but..." Lord Lister wrinkled in pain and stood up, wobbling a little, but he kept his balance. He stared up sharply and then back down at Alex. "You can count on me! What do you want me to do?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:09

"We must get out of this place very quickly." He replied and turned to the rebel. "Krain, do you have any idea exactly where we are and which way to run?"

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:10

"No." He shook his head. "They brought me here paralyzed, and I was shot near Three Creeks Square. I don't remember there being any big warehouses..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:11

"Pity." Alex pushed the cylinder case away from him with a sigh and told the rebel the unpleasant news. "Vitalin doesn't seem to be here. Maybe a painkiller? It worked for me..."

Camrad_RIP 17.03.23 в 15:11