Звездопад / Starfall: Глава 14

Chapter 14

Camrad_RIP 20.06.23 в 11:05

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Camrad_RIP 20.06.23 в 11:05

As the bots broke out of the atmosphere and the sky on the viewscreens filled with darkness and the pearly glitter of stars, the deafening roar in the cabin subsided to just a loud howl. This already allowed for communication, but still not very comfortable. Fortunately, the guests weren't really looking for communication: Baroness Tayor fell out of reality with an absent-minded smile on her lips as soon as she sat in the chair, and Nadina only looked around uncomfortably, occasionally squinting at his personal escort guards, who was sitting at the end of the cabin.

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:20

// I must give them credit. None of them got hysterical about being taken in an inappropriate vehicle, unlike that Count. And he calls himself a veteran.

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:21

Alex signaled to Taer to turn on her intercom headset and switch to their special closed channel. For the first time in a long time, they had the opportunity to talk privately, and it was foolish not to take advantage of it:

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:24

Sir Ulter from the House Representation literally flooded my infoblock with messages begging me to persuade you not to revoke their notice. I realize, of course, that the Count, the head of the House representation, is an asshole. But he's not the entire House of Fyron, so would you show mercy? If it's really important.

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:25

"I don't care about the Count," Taer snorted defiantly, but Alex could have sworn there were notes of gloating in her voice through the headphones. "They made a mistake in the paperwork, hence the rejection. I can't have my lord presenting a document to the Emperor with errors, can I?"

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:26

"Olter cried that the delay would be a decade, if not more. So many mistakes?"

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:27

"No." Thaer shrugged. "By and large, just one. The notice is signed by the signatures of the Council of Sixteen and dated after my appointment, and in place of the signature of Cassard's first blade, there is the signature of the Head of the Council - Lord Tsorto."

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:29

"Oh..." Alex stretched out sympathetically. He now understood what the matter was. "So what do we do now? Collect signatures all over again?"

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:57

"Yes." Nodded Taer. "Resubmit the draft to the First Blades, and get their signatures."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:58

"What's the story there anyway?" Alex inquired as if in between, trying to assess the possible damage to the defense capability. "Something important?"

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:12

"Involvement of House-owned civilian yachts in fleet exercises." Taer wrinkled her nose. "Evacuating the wounded and assisting in natural disasters. Something like that."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:14

"Well, it doesn't sound very important." Alex made a cautious assumption.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:14

Taer shrugged again:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:16

If it had been important, they might well have let me know and gotten me to sign in the decade and a half that passed between my appointment and my flight to the capital.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:16

It was hard to argue with that, and Alex sincerely thought that he should support Taer in this situation:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:17

They must not ignore my first blades.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:17

Soon the bots re-entered the dense layers, covering the view screens with the red glow of the plaza and filling the cabin with the roar of the burning atmosphere. Fortunately, it didn't last long - two minutes, and then the volume dropped to more than bearable, leaving only the rustle of the incoming stream.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:22

"They won't let us anywhere near the base without your Seal, so let me escort you to the cabin," Taer murmured in his ear, tickling his neck with her breath.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:24

This maneuver from the first blade gave Alex goosebumps from surprise. Nice kind of goosebumps. And while they were making their way down the narrow passage to the cabin, Alex was looking at Taer, not really trying to hide his interest and surprise: // Flirting, not flirting? What was that all about?" But Taer didn't look like she was flirting with him. More like she was playing with excitement and malevolent anticipation. //But... It's still strange."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:25

In fact, even on the sudden night walk, he'd noticed that Taer was kind of strange. Strange in a good way - that is, he liked her, but at the same time, there was a sense that "something wasn't right." Somehow he could not describe his feelings on the matter more accurately yet:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 18:27

// Or maybe you don't have to. When everything is good.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:05

In the cockpit, everything was solved quickly, literally with a few touches of the ring to the control panel, and they were back in their seats.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:06

The bots continued their descent, and on the overview screens, the map, garnished with a few touches of puffy clouds, began to approach rapidly, turning into terrain, soft hills covered with red grass among which here and there like fancy metal mushrooms stuck out shiny circles of radio telescopes, or radars, at least they looked very similar, and straight white rectangles of buildings.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:08

The base was on another continent, and here the sun was sinking toward sunset, the long, thick shadows making it easier to distinguish the structures. As they descended rapidly, more and more details became visible: next to the "radio telescopes" appeared numerous rows of small squares with a shiny black covering, on which some sharp-nosed machines could be seen. Clearly, landing pads. The paths between the landing pads were the color of burnt clay. Soon it was possible to distinguish people, and it became clear that "radio telescopes" sticking out in the territory of the base were simply gigantic. Each disk about fifty meters in diameter, stood on a delicate metal leg of comparable height.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:11

The picture in the viewscreen rumbled, groping around the base. If Alex would have loved to see his first space fighter base, it was no surprise, and the camera, under her direction, flitted around the base, periodically taking close-ups of objects - buildings, platforms, strange droids with wide black paws, people in uniform. He didn't know what exactly Taer was looking for, probably "something egregious," but it looked pretty ordinary for a military space base, of course.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:17

Soon this yawing stopped, and the viewscreen camera froze on one of the "radio telescopes" closer to the edge of the base:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:18

"Fly to the focus," Taer commanded the pilots over the intercom. "And give it a half-circle over it so we can get a good look at it."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:19

Now it was clear what caught Taer's attention - a huge disc of this "radio telescope" looking directly into the zenith was almost filled to the brim with water, the camera took a larger view, and it became quite interesting.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:24

In the improvised lake, there were clearly people splashing around, and a lot of them, a dozen or two. The camera zoomed in even closer, the resolution allowed, and the boat flew swiftly in that direction, and it became even more interesting. Near the edge of the disс of the radio telescope hovered two rectangular platforms covered with some black, soft material. One had a full-fledged bar, and the second served as an improvised beach area - there were several sun loungers, now empty, all in the water. Guys, girls in brightly colored bathing suits, and even obviously without. One person was sunbathing topless at the very edge of the "radio telescope" plate.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:32

Near the bar area, there was a table floating in the water with glasses on it, and right in the center, there was an uneven semicircle of cards framed by a fat pile of craps, where several people were clearly playing cards for money.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:33

// And I'm not a military expert, of course, but the whole thing is exactly like "something egregious." Alex thought, watching with admiration what was happening on the screen.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:34

"Interesting." I could hear Taer's voice oozing with a sneer, but the machines had turned the engines down a lot, and it was quiet in the cabin. "The heat reflector mirror of the planetary shield as a pool, that's a witty solution. And to the question of uniforms, have thought, easy, comfortable, and does not cramp the movements. I do not remember, however, in what statute such described, but it must be just affected by my lack of competence."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:37

The camera wandered around swimmers and froze on the hickey-kissing couple not far from the bar. The guy was so active with his hands under the girl's swimsuit that she, in principle, could also be classified as a topless sunbather:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:39

"Most importantly, the personnel are cohesive." Taer finished with a comment.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:41

"The mirrors are designed to be flooded with water to accelerate the release of residual heat." Baroness Tayor pronounced, watching the couple on the screen, who seemed ready to devour each other with perfect equanimity. "There is a stock of specially prepared water for this, and by regulation, it must be changed periodically, so why not use it for bathing the personnel? Very nice on the skin, by the way - it is soft. So, in principle, nothing serious."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:46

"Please, Lady Iolaya, don't defend me." Pathetically, Nadine squeezed out, clearly not knowing where to put her eyes. "You're only making it worse."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:48

I wish we could do this more often." Alex thought to himself, looking at Nadine, almost crimson with embarrassment. I like her this way better, and it's different, too. The perpetually arrogant and self-righteous Lady Pell was already boring him. He would have to do something to thank the Taer for such a rare sight.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:50

As Taer had asked, the pilots circled the artificial lake plate, giving them a better view, and the swimmers, having noticed their boat, waved and saluted with their glasses:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:56

// Oh yeah, the superiors don't usually fly that kind of thing. But we have a landing boat, albeit with heraldry on it, and they take us for some fellow warriors.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 19:58

After completing the flight, their boat, along with the escort vehicles, landed gently away from the "pool," and the wide landing doors opened to let in the hot air, full of spicy scents of dried herbs.

Camrad_RIP 23.06.23 в 04:07

A few steps along the landing ramp and the red carpet of brittle, dry grass rustled underfoot, the huge sunset was pleasantly warm and flooded the horizon with gold and purple. The improvised pool was a long way away, three hundred yards at least, but there was still rhythmic music coming to the landing spot:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:56

// People live. Alex was jealous of all this splendor. "Space fighters, sun, pool, beach, beautiful girls.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:53

"So, what do you plan to do next with this visit?" Baroness Tayor looked around with the disgruntled look of someone who was clearly not in the mood for the whole affair. "You are the First Lord, after all. If you need a formal reason for reprimands or other means of expressing displeasure, you already have one. Unless, of course, that was your sole purpose." She added with a condemning shake of her head.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:53

The Baroness was clearly not thrilled about using her subordinates in personal squabbles of command.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:49

// And that's exactly what we're doing here. On the other hand... The situation with discipline here is indeed egregious. We can't ignore it.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:49

Alex, furtively, glanced at Nadine, who was standing nearby, but she noticed it:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 06:43

"And so it is quite obvious that the first incompetent person to hold that office was me." The initial crimson of shame had faded, and now Lady Pell possessed the pallid face of someone who had given up on herself. "I will appeal to His Majesty to replace me with a more worthy assistant for you, Lord Cassard."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.23 в 17:48

It was obvious that it was not easy for her to say such things, but she forced herself. It was such a contrast to the usual Nadine that Alex even felt a little sorry for her:

Camrad_RIP 21.06.23 в 21:34