The Wars of Zegandaria by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (find a book to read .txt) 📕

The shuttle made its way amidst the endless expanse! It looked like a small bright dot that finally disappeared altogether. The Ensoria continued to float in the middle of nowhere, like some colossus devoid of life.

The feeling of flying in a shuttle in the absolute dark vacuum of outer space was incomparable. Kenji just stood there peacefully, feeling like he was in some sort of sled. He'd seen a picture like this in an e-book long ago. Then he clearly realized that he was at the mercy of fate. The shuttle was equipped with spare oxygen capsules and had autonomy for up to three days, but after that its fuel would run out and the craft would just float away in open space like a little speck of dust. Kenji realized that he might have made a mistake, but whoever the hijackers were, they had obviously taken everything on the ship that was edible, and that meant starvation. Not that the rations of the cruiser's personnel were plentiful, quite the contrary, but at least there was something to eat.

Kenji set the shuttle into hibernation mode, as it could last longer that way. He hoped some ship would find it and rescue him. If not, it would sink into eternal oblivion. It was not a romantic death, but a rather unfortunate end. But sometimes fate liked to play pranks. And murderous ones at that!

There was no way to ignore the fact that Kenji might have died earlier. Somehow he had hit the moment to leave the command room. For better or worse, it had turned out to be the right spur of the moment decision. 'Hilda wanted this ship, and she couldn't resign herself to the position of second adjutant!,' he thought. 'And I believed I was doing something just and good! What a blind man I was! And what a fool! These men died perhaps through my fault. But at least I got the skin off! Not that that's much to brag about! This shuttle may soon be my tomb. Oxygen is extremely limited. I'll start breathing from time to time to conserve it! But even that won't help me for long. Best not to think at all. The brain consumes about one-fifth of the body's energy, which in practice would mean that I would be at an extreme disadvantage if I indulged in thoughts. No, I'll just stay and do nothing!'

Strange rock formations flew past the shuttle and could smash it to pieces, and besides, the radiation radiation was not to be ignored either. There was one more thing, the nanosuit protected its owner from some harmful effects, but the radiation still had its effect. Even in the face of the shuttle's defenses and the sixteen-layer nanosuit made of advanced biopolymers, it would slowly creep in until it reached critical levels.

But suddenly some strange object flashed in the distance. Kenji strained to see it. There was definitely something there. He activated the isometron nanobinocular, which was an advanced version of the infrared one. It gave many times the magnification and had filters to protect the eye from harmful glare. What a sight! This thing was definitely moving towards the shuttle, and at an ever-increasing speed.

- 'Doesn't look like a cruiser to me, or a shuttle, or even the remains of a space satellite,' he muttered, barely audibly.

Now a kind of frenzy came over him. Some wild rage that threatened to eat him from the inside.

- 'Just don't let it pass me by!,' he screamed, not caring much that no one would or could hear him.

The bright thing kept coming towards him, taking on clearer outlines. No doubt they would soon collide. But when - it was hard to say, and even harder to predict. The speed of the object in question was increasing was increasing.

CHAPTER TWELVE: HANS

Hans Auslander was a very strange and slightly repulsive man who at the same time possessed a kind of attraction and magnetism. Everything around him moved to a particular rhythm that he liked to set. Hans's appearance was no different from that of other young men his age. He had polite manners and wore glasses with quantum nano-sticks. The young man had opted to study computer science, but later graduated with a degree in wormholes and quantum mechanics, which was the most prestigious at his chosen institution. He was always first among the others. But somewhere deep in his heart he was aware that something inside him was not like the others. He had principles and beliefs that he followed contrary to the accepted norms. And that was why he found it very difficult to progress in life. If at all we can call his pathetic attempts to drag himself forward 'progressing'. Like someone wary of falling victim to an accidental stray plasma slope. Hans didn't have many friends, nor did his so-called acquaintances have much in common with him. His genius lived like a cocoon. He was too willful by conventional norms. He loved to teach his classmates, while somewhere inside him everything was turning upside down, and he was looking for new ways to satisfy that ardor! Try as he might, he was trying to survive! So many times he had started some new venture that looked too promising, but in vain - it always turned out not to be right for him. In spite of everything else, he didn't stop trying, because sooner or later he felt that his time would come. He just had to wait patiently. And to hope.

His admission to the cadet school was also a very interesting part of his life, where he seemed to feel, for a very short time, like part of some kind of social community. But that was only while he was a cadet. He was excellent at imitating any kind of conformity. Something in practice - very useful for his survival in an unfamiliar environment. Although the well-controlled and regulated closed community of the campus and the teaching staff could hardly be a model of real society.

He had always shied away from friends and loud parties and revels. He was a lone wolf. But that was why his work was well done. No, it was more accurate to say that it was perfectly done.

As soon as he graduated, he expressed his overwhelming desire to see the stars. Back then, that was more exotic than pragmatic for most young people in their career choice. The Zegandaria society was perplexed as to why they should bother with wormholes when it was solely the job of the military. But Hans knew there were other ways to achieve his cherished dream. He was more than single-minded. At first he was not allowed near any aircraft, but then the situation changed. And he somehow won a very important competition for a new model isorender. The discovery was not without the sympathy of many important people who, for some unknown reason, stood up for him and just gave him a chance. A chance to show what he can do best. And he lived up to expectations.

Haploid hydraulics powering a nanosuit made of composites was something astoundingly impressive - even more so for a freshly graduated cadet. Auslander had done a brilliant job. Inwardly, he knew that if it hadn't been for the aforementioned protection, he would never have been allowed to come this far.

But Hans didn't get uppity, he continued to work tirelessly and give his best. Until he made it aboard the Enzoria.

Some would say that Hans Auslander was a dirty traitor. A sneaky, cunning and calculating careerist. But somewhere deep in his soul he knew that wasn't the case. The young man carried a samurai mentality and could only serve one master. Every disconnection drove him mad. And somewhere down there, everyone could die. He was well aware that he was doing his duty rather than committing outright treason. The Governor was his superior, not Kenji and his vaunted crew. Even before the hyperspace jump, very disturbing reports had reached his ears. And they would all lead to him sooner or later. That much was clear. He had to do some work and manage to survive. The obviousness of the fact that Kenji had never performed the hyperdistance jumps without help from another would play a key role. Yes, he was experienced, but he needed some subtleties as the area of Ermuk Sor was too specific. Enzoria needed to reach the colony, but not before going through a third-degree wormhole distortion of space, something far too complex. Tachyon engines, according to physics, were divided into those of first, second, and third degree. To pass through a third-degree wormhole, the ship simply needed an engine of the same degree. This mistake was made by many of the crews who traveled into the unknown space wilds of Ermuk Sor. This area had taken too many casualties and many crews had gone missing in their attempts to traverse this dead zone. Kenji was a young Rear Admiral, an excellent pilot and karate player, but too poorly prepared for this kind of travel.

Somewhere deep down, Auslander felt that he had to gain the confidence that he could win an unequal fight with his opponent - that was why he had been recruited by Elmbaum.

'In the end, you will all be gone and only husks in mortal form will remain!,' mentally chided Auslander, 'And I will have simply completed the task!'

When his shift came, he prepared to carry out his dastardly scheme and win in a desperate race against time.

Doubts were further raised when he tried to board with a fake Narenzium chip. He had to convince the crew at length that he was a second extra set to the regular crew and that he was a narrow specialist in wormhole distortions of space and quantum mechanics.

The vast knowledge he demonstrated opened the place up for him all too easily, but he also had to fight for a kind of social recognition from the other crew members afterwards. It wasn't easy at all. In the end the other crew members accepted him as one of them anyway.

They all thought of him as a rookie, but he knew the effort he had made to earn his place among the others. He decided to fight with all his might.

Soon he rose to the rank of a front-line operator and expectations grew. Even Kenji was impressed by the deep understanding he had of the principles of space. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could vaguely hear someone or something trying to open his eyes that something was wrong with this man. Kenji was either blind or he was deaf. He didn't listen to his inner voice.

Great care had to be taken before a collapsar jump was made, as the ship could