It's hard to find words to describe the passage through the gate... Perhaps the fact that I had seen it many times on screen, that I knew about the reliability of the device, that... Perhaps, that past experience, however insignificant, allowed me not to scream with joy as the bluish puddle of Atlantis's Stargate turned into a green field bathed in the light of a distant planet before my eyes.
With the corner of my eye, I managed to notice a standard dialing device "mushroom" standing at a distance and slightly to the side of the gate... But the jumper, moving in a straight line, rushed into the distance at breakneck speed.
Stargates on the planets of the Pegasus galaxy.
Pulling the control yoke back slightly, I felt the ship vibrate, its front end lifting upwards. Through the windshield, I could see approaching snow-white clouds, as well as a welcoming sky...
Praying that nothing would happen and that no one would see my appearance from the gate, I closed my eyes to concentrate.
At first, I thought about flying around the planet in orbit so that the sensors could scan everything much better. But then I realized that I simply had neither the time nor the desire to go into space.
And yes, I was afraid that the technology, which had been lying dormant for ten thousand years without maintenance, would finally give up the ghost. Falling from a height of a couple of hundred meters is still more pleasant than from thirty to forty kilometers. It will hurt, but in the first case, the chances of survival seemed greater.
I wish I could become invisible now and learn more about this planet... It would be quite nice, honestly.
The jumper is indeed a very tolerant machine of human stupidity. If you think about it, reacting to my thoughts, agitated by the flight and stay on the new planet, the ship could do anything. Turn off the engines, for example, or fire its onboard weapons...
In any case, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
The jumper activated the cloaking field, which hid it from various sensors as well as from prying eyes. I understood this by some sixth sense and looked straight ahead.
Projections on the windshield, you say? Car manufacturers can't compare to what I'm seeing now.
The virtual screen, displayed on the inner side of the ship's porthole, was full of numerous markings.
This is what the jumper's cockpit and virtual screen look like.
In one part of the projection, I could see a schematic image of the planet I had landed on. A cute little planet.
Not much larger than Mother Earth, it nevertheless had an extensive ocean washing over two continents. One - the size of Earth's Australia, and judging by the sandy landscape - as desert as its prototype.
But the second continent...
Eurasia, compared to it, is just a child's toy. Massive, it covered the entire northern hemisphere of the planet, crowning it with a giant ice cap. And only much further south, seven to eight thousand kilometers from the equator, did the landscape change to vast plains, interspersed with low rocks and hills. Full-flowing rivers, upon seeing which any native of the former allied state would immediately call them Dnieper-1, Dnieper-2, and so on down the list, carried their waters across the entire landmass, flooding numerous lakes, compared to some of which Baikal or the Caspian Sea nervously smoked in the corner.
But the second one... I didn't like that at all.
"Hive Ship," I said, coughing, my gaze fixed on the image on the left side of the virtual screen.
Glancing around the screen, I saw many dots scurrying over the planet's surface. These, I assume, are Wraith fighters, nicknamed arrows.
Things... I don't like what's happening.
"They should be in hibernation," I muttered, directing the ship away from the cluster of arrows. And it's not easy to choose such a spot - the planet is literally teeming with Wraiths.
Presumably, a gathering is taking place.
As the cloaked jumper moved further away, I could only be glad that the cloaking system, like the rest of the ship's components, was functioning properly. If the Wraiths had detected me... It would have been very, very bad.
But the ship of the man-eating creatures was on the other side of the planet. And, I hope, their technology is not so advanced that they can detect me immediately after exiting the gate.
It's strange that the gate is even working... I remember that the Wraiths activated them during their attack on humans to prevent the population of the attacked world from escaping. As magnificent as the Ancients' technology is, you can't go back and forth through the gates when they are activated. You can establish either an outgoing or an incoming hyper-tunnel - in any case, travel is possible during activation only from point A to point B. Otherwise, it doesn't work.
As far as I remember, during the expedition's appearance in the galaxy, the Wraiths were supposed to be sleeping for many more years. Humans became the reason they woke up. And an incredible number of aliens craving human "food" descended upon planets throughout the galaxy.
And until now, I thought that the phrase "Wraiths are in hibernation" meant that their ships were on the planets, and all gatherings that occurred were carried out through the gates exclusively by arrows. Apparently, I was wrong.
"And this is not good at all," I muttered, seeing a good dozen fast red marks heading towards the gate. It seems I'm out of luck today - the Wraiths detected me and sent arrows to find out what's going on. Bad, very bad.
They can't see or detect me through the cloaking field, but I don't have time to land somewhere and wait until they get tired of looking for something. It's good if the Wraiths simply saw a mark on the scanners. It's very bad if they determined that it was an Ancient ship.
For ten thousand years, Ancient ships have not moved freely in this galaxy. And the Wraiths know this perfectly well - they played a part in it. Direct participation, so to speak.
There is a weapon on board the jumper - drones, self-guided "missiles" produced by the Ancients. But, firstly, there are at most ten or a dozen of them. This is enough to destroy at most a similar number of arrows. And even then, if I'm a damn good shot, as well as a pilot. Secondly, even with all my desire, I won't be able to destroy the main threat with such an arsenal - the hive ship.
Or can I?
I had to dig into my memory to recall everything I know about the Wraith flagship.
Hive Ship. Not an Imperial Star Destroyer, of course, but it can cause a lot of trouble, damn it...
Simply put, a hive ship is a synthesis of a space aircraft carrier, on board which there is a huge number of fighters and other small ships, like Wraith shuttles or something similar. Wraiths live and fly on these ships. And they also feed.
Wraith starships do not have shields, like the one that saves Atlantis from flooding. But their ships. Like all their technology, are organic in nature. In essence, it is a huge flying ecosystem capable of hyperspace jumps and flights in normal space. Only with a huge crew - I think there are under a thousand Wraiths of all kinds on the hives, energy cannons, and a single point of view on any human. Food. We are nothing more than food for the Wraiths.
But not in the classic sense, flesh-bones-fat. Wraiths feed on something like human life force. Such anti-scientific parasites, which in one "sitting" can age a nineteen-year-old youth to the state of a mummy. Thanks to this "feeding" method, Wraiths have incredible regeneration and longevity. In the series, despite the ten thousand years that have passed since the war with the Ancients, many Wraiths remembered those times.
Despite their size, hive ships are capable of entering a planet's atmosphere and landing. In fact, I thought that during hibernation, they landed on secret planets where no one would bother them. And Wraiths sleep for one purpose - to allow their human herd to multiply. Everyone loves to eat...
On board the hives, there are special chambers where prisoners captured on planets are kept. Of course, they are kept there until the Wraiths on the ships decide to snack on the "preparations for an afternoon snack." And then it's the turn of those who were not "drained" immediately.
The jumper, following my thoughts, highlighted on the hive ship diagram the weapon ports, main engines, hyperdrive, sensors... And the longer I looked at all this, the more clearly I understood: I have no chance here.
"The most adequate idea would be to get out of here," I suggested to myself. And I carefully directed the jumper back, towards the gate.
Within ten seconds, I realized that this was not the best option to resolve the situation at all. It seems that the Wraiths decided to eliminate a gap in their tactics - the gate is open for passage from Sudaria... somewhere. To another gate in orbit of some planet, to a planet teeming with Wraiths, into a trap from which there is no escape, or in general to the hull of a hive ship (this happened in the series too) - any of these options is disgusting.
But a second later, I realized that I was mistaken in my assumptions. It's not an outgoing, but an incoming tunnel.
Through which, one after another, five more arrows slipped into the sky of Sudaria, heading into the sky in a wedge. Uh-huh, the caravan is going into the sky, and my plans are going to the dogs.
An arrow is a very fast, maneuverable, and energy-weapon-armed biotechnological small Wraith ship. In essence, it's a copy of the jumper, but, due to the Wraiths' backwardness, not as perfect. No shields, no cloaking, but excellent aerodynamics, which allows it to operate equally effectively in space and in the atmosphere.
There is a dialing device on board, like on the jumper, which means that any of the "arrows" can open the gate and prevent me from flying away from here.
In addition, each "arrow" has a device that allows it to penetrate walls and ceilings by dematerializing, or vice versa, materializing, objects and organic matter. Thus, Wraiths collect people - they fly over them in "arrows" and turn them into pure energy, which is stored in special buffers on board the ship. Then, on their hive ship or base, they dematerialize the cargo and get the people back. Usually, due to the effect of the technology, they are unconscious and unable to defend themselves.
Very convenient and devilishly well thought out.
Wraith Arrows.
Presumably, the Wraiths called for reinforcements. Since these five "arrows" are not hunting people - they are not flying to the villages that I notice on my scanners. They are landing soldiers and officers directly next to the place over which I activated my cloaking.
And, if only these five...
A good dozen "arrows" were returning to the hive ship, after which they returned and landed more and more Wraiths nearby. I think there are already a couple of companies here.
Ah, so the problems are only increasing exponentially. One must think realistically — if I fall into the hands of the Wraiths, they will first interrogate me in the best traditions of mental mages from fantasy books, and then, upon arriving at Atlantis, they will devour me. After that, one can only envy everyone around.
And, if the conditional "everyone" didn't concern me much, then I wanted to take care of my own skin so much that it would remain with me until old age. Consequently, it's better not to make rash decisions. This includes postponing attacks on the "hive," "arrows," and Wraiths in particular.
The lovers of feasting on human life were closely connected to each other through telepathy and could easily transmit mental messages to each other over short distances. I know for sure that the queens, who led any group of Wraiths in the hive, and the officers — that's what I, by the way, nicknamed the male Wraiths who don't wear face masks — could do this. They are something like commanders, scientists, advisors to the queens... In any case, I really didn't want to meet any of them.
Yes, I have weapons, I have a personal shield, but... One against several hundred? I'm sure I can kill some Wraiths. But others will come for them. And the shield and weapons will eventually run out. When exactly, I don't know, I didn't have time to study the technology thoroughly — all my thoughts were occupied with ideas on how to get here.
And now, on the contrary, how to get away. Preferably — with the MNT. It would be absolutely ideal if I didn't bring the Wraiths with me to Atlantis and didn't become the reason for them all to wake up. If, of course, they haven't woken up yet.
I need a good plan.
A Wraith officer — in the center. Wraith soldiers... They started wearing face masks even before it became mandatory.
The initial plan seemed ideal to me.
No, I wasn't going to do as it happened in the series: fly to the planet, get acquainted with the locals, study their legends about the "Treasure of Quindosima," also known as the MNT, rack my brain over riddles, then get to the dungeon and find it. Well, and then mess up, get into trouble, almost lose the device, get it back, rejoice... And still lose it.
I adhered to a different philosophy.
Find a settlement similar to the fortress where the plot developed, then scan its surroundings to find the underground storage where the MNT was hidden. Yes, there was a probability that the dungeon would be hidden from scanners, otherwise the Wraiths would have found it all this time. But, remembering that they rarely paid attention to what was hidden underground, unless energy traces emanated from there, this is unlikely. The MNT, although a battery with a huge power reserve for various devices, had been here for ten thousand years. And the Wraiths had visited the planet, but found nothing. So, there's a chance.
More precisely, there was. Because I planned to blow up the upper part of the dungeon with drones, go down there, take the MNT, and leave before the locals reacted to the roar of the explosion or something else.
The plan was good... If only I hadn't expected the appearance of Wraiths here at all. Yes, I should have thought that since a lot of time had passed since the supposed arrival of the expedition, the situation on the planets had also changed, but... A hive ship?! A bunch of Wraiths on the planet?!
No, life hasn't prepared me for this.
I moved the "jumper" away from the cluster of Wraiths and began to observe them. It doesn't look like they are looking for the ship specifically.
The infantry dispersed throughout the forest, moving in small detachments of four to five Wraiths led by a commander. Most of the "arrows" continued to hunt humans, while the rest patrolled over the forest...
As if looking for something.
I had a bad premonition.
Something or someone? Perhaps one of the locals managed to escape into the forests, and now the Wraiths are hunting them. But... Several companies of soldiers against local peasants who haven't even heard of machine guns? Something doesn't add up...
And then, on the virtual screen of the "jumper," one "arrow" mark disappeared, then a second...
This could not be a coincidence. Especially since the locals clearly don't have anything like MANPADS or a grenade launcher to shoot down the "arrows." I also didn't believe in piloting errors. So...
Literally a kilometer from me, there was an "arrow" that, noticing that two other ships had disappeared, sharply turned and headed towards the crash site. At the same time, it made such a turn that any Earth pilot in an Earth fighter would have had a hard time. But, in this universe, spaceships are equipped with inertia dampeners, so the pilot and crew do not experience overloads during maneuvering.
I had no plan on how to act next, and I still don't, but now I have some outlines. In particular, from the scanners, it was possible to understand that the Wraiths were gathering all their forces in the crash area. Three more marks disappeared — judging by the jet trail, which I managed to notice, someone in the forest was hunting Wraith fighters with something other than a bow and arrows.
The locals are far from this level... Therefore, I have only one thought about what is happening here. The Wraiths are hunting someone important.
It seems that the ancestors of the Wraiths told them too often that food should not be played with... The children grew up as bastards, posing as a satanic rock band. Pale skin, bare biceps, leather clothing, greasy long hair... And they love to hunt.
It's a pity for the good fellow who became their victim, but I can't help him. If I were a doctor, preferably a neurosurgeon... But even then — most likely not.
Maybe, when I find the MNT and risk looking at who the guy is who became the object of the hunt. Maybe it's a well-known Satedan... Unlikely. That would be monstrous luck.
But, that's all later. While the Wraiths are hunting their stubborn target, I have every chance to scan the surroundings. Especially since, as I've noticed, there are no local residents left here...
Somewhere far to the east, a powerful explosion sounded. Jensen almost tumbled head over heels when he heard it.
The inhabitants of Dagan, as Sudaria was now called, had no explosives — he knew that for sure. And he had used up all his anti-aircraft missile reserves to get rid of the insolent "arrows." Perhaps the locals had still deceived him...
And, frankly, he hoped so. And therefore, ignoring his fatigue, he rushed in the right direction. Fortunately, he had the opportunity to pick up his hidden weapons along the way.
A person adapts to everything.
For three months now, Alvar Jensen has adapted to being a fugitive. That's what they called those whom the Wraiths used as hunting fun. Or for training their soldiers.
It's not known for sure, but he didn't care. In the life of a fugitive, there is only one rule — don't stop. Wherever you are, wherever you go — the Wraiths follow. There's no escaping this. He accepted this life not of his own free will — he was simply unlucky enough to survive the hive's hunt for the inhabitants of his planet. They took everyone. Only former soldiers were left as fugitives, allowed to go.
But first, they made it so that they couldn't hide from the Wraiths on any planet in this galaxy. Alvar thought he could get rid of the pursuit here. But it didn't work out.
Without slowing down, he jumped over a fallen, moss-covered tree. Landing on his feet, Alvar shot an arrow from the bowstring almost without aiming. A Wraith soldier, who appeared from behind a massive tree a dozen steps away from the fugitive, got an arrow right in the face.
The metal tip pierced the ugly mask and went straight into the skull. The Wraith fell on his back, dropping his rifle. The man didn't even look at the weapon of the killed enemy — he already had one. Alvar immediately nocked another arrow and continued his run. Despite having firearms and even energy weapons, he didn't use them so as not to reveal his position.
Alvar Jensen, fugitive.
Yes, the Wraiths have a way to find him in any forest, but now they are a bit busy. They are probably examining the rocket launcher casings he discarded to understand how he managed to shoot down so many "arrows." It's a pity for such valuable weapons, but otherwise the "arrows" would have simply taken him on board or adjusted the search area.
Now he had wandered into a dense thicket to make it harder for them to pursue him. The Wraiths tried to change the rules of the game and take him with an "arrow," but he was ready for it. It's okay, let them run their legs, it's good for their health.
Especially since he had set up quite a few traps and snares in this forest... Maybe it won't help, but he needs to understand how to resist them.
As if in response to his thoughts, explosions of anti-personnel mines, which he had scattered in the forest a few hours ago when the hunt for him had just begun, sounded. Counting the explosions, he grinned — all three had worked. Good, so there were fewer enemies.
But none of the explosions could compare to the one he had heard earlier and in the direction of which he was now moving. This could indicate that the creators of the explosion were already dead. And the "arrows" that flew overhead also didn't add confidence that everything would be fine by the time he arrived. But he had no other chances. He had only a couple of arrows left for his homemade bow. The weapon is primitive, but effective when you need to save ammunition for the only rifle he had left. The Wraith stunner, which he also had, was not suitable for killing, only for buying time. Paralyzed enemies would get up again and continue the pursuit.
While he had the opportunity to stock up on weapons from his home world, it was much easier to fight back. But now... It seems the Wraiths have gotten tired of anti-personnel mines, machine guns, and explosive rounds.
His supplies were almost depleted, and he planned to replenish them, but failed. The only option was to dial the address of this planet and try to get rid of the "tail" forever. But failure, it seems, is much more favorable to him than its opposite.
Near him, a white-blue energy charge, resembling a clot of water, whistled past. Without looking back, the fugitive began to weave between the trees, trying to avoid being hit. The Wraith stunner charge would instantly pierce with pain and cause muscles to relax. After that, only death follows.
His clothes were soaked with sweat, his legs burned like fire, his lungs were about to burst, but he didn't stop running.
Only after he jumped into a ravine, where he had set up a position, could the man catch his breath for a moment.
Peeking out of his hiding place, he saw a detachment of Wraiths approaching him. Five, including a commander dressed in long leather clothes. No other enemies were visible, but this doesn't necessarily mean it will stay that way.
Pulling out a hidden automatic rifle from under the branches, he leaned against a tree trunk growing at the edge of the ravine and aimed his weapon at the enemy. The trackers had undoubtedly noticed that he had stopped and decided to surround him. Perhaps this tactic would work, but certainly not today.
A short burst of powerful rounds blew the head of the enemy squad commander apart like an overripe fruit. The soldiers immediately oriented themselves by the sounds of the shots, but he managed to kill two more before the enemy soldiers opened fire with stunner rifles.
It's just that their accuracy is a big problem — all the charges hit the tree. In fact, that's why Alvar hid behind it — to minimize the area of his body being hit.
It took a couple of minutes to finish off both pursuers. Wraith soldiers, as he had already understood, are not very intelligent. Many recruits under his command on his home planet were much smarter.
However, he didn't mind the enemy remaining so stupid. The more their misses, the more chances he had to survive.
He got into firefights with the Wraiths two more times, but couldn't achieve the same result. The enemy began to tighten the "noose" around him, so the only thing left for him was to run.
And hope that ahead, at the site of the explosion, there will be those who will help him deal with the enemy. Too much hope on people he doesn't know, but that's life.
Perhaps, of course, the Wraiths will give him a chance to rest and regain his strength — they have done so a couple of times when he killed a large number of them. But if there is someone else on the planet who threatens them, it is unlikely that they will take a pause.
Lost in his thoughts, he burst out of the forest into a spacious clearing. Looking around, he realized that there were no Wraiths here.
But there was a huge hole in the center of the clearing, which undoubtedly led somewhere underground.
"I hope there are tunnels there," the fugitive muttered.
The Wraith scanner, which they used to track his movements, did not have the ability to distinguish the path. Therefore, he managed a couple of times on other planets to lure the Wraiths into a swamp. Once he led them into the catacombs and got out, shaking off the pursuers who got lost in the stone labyrinth. But then there was no hive ship hanging over the planet...
Wraith shots flashed nearby again. The pursuing detachment was about fifty meters away and was shooting more randomly than with any real hope of hitting the target.
There's a chance to break away.
The fugitive tore the last smoke grenade he had from his belt and threw it behind him. He had about ten seconds until the Wraiths overcame the obstacle. They would clearly decide to wait it out, as he had caught them with various traps using smoke in the past.
And he would have time to escape into the pit and get lost in the catacombs.
Realizing that he was an excellent target in the open, Alvar still rushed across the clearing. Shooting on the run, he estimated that only a few enemy fighters were pursuing him — one detachment. But the rest were clearly nearby.
Not reaching the pit by a few meters, the former soldier noticed that it was not the site of an explosion charge, but traces of a projectile that had crashed into the ground, plowed some distance, and only then detonated. And this trace was a groove in the ground, along which one could descend into the dungeon without fear of injury.
A lucky find.
Already running towards the groove, Alvar saw a person emerging from under the ground. A young man, with a military-style short haircut, twenty to thirty years old. And suspiciously cleanly dressed for someone crawling on all fours on the ground. Light clothing, striking, an unfamiliar cut which seemed suspicious to him. The guy was clutching something glowing with a yellow light to his chest, and in his other hand he held a strange-looking weapon. And he was rapidly looking around, as if he saw something suspicious...
But nothing more suspicious than the piercing sound that hurt his ears as soon as the "arrow" went into a dive.
"There's nothing here!" the fugitive shouted to the stranger, realizing that he was confused by the Wraiths' mental attacks. If you're not used to it, it seems like there are rapid shadows, rustles all around... That's how Wraiths confuse their victims. "It's all an illusion!"
The guy looked at him, aiming his weapon.
And the fugitive already knew what would happen next.
Without stopping, he knelt on one knee, aiming his rifle at the spot where the Wraith's gathering beam touched the ground.
"Stay where you are!" the stranger shouted at him.
"Get out of the way, idiot!" Alvar replied, looking for the "arrow." The man saw it too.
Raising his pistol, he fired several times at the side of the Wraith fighter as it descended for its dark deed. The machine avoided two energy charges — mostly due to the shooter's terrible accuracy, but the third hit it in the nose.
The "arrow" screamed louder, thick black smoke began to pour from the pierced hull. A hit after which it certainly wouldn't be back in service.
However, it was too late.
The transparent gathering beam of the Wraiths, resembling a water surface pierced by bright rays of light, plowed the ground near them, to the left of the stranger.
Wraith gathering beam.
But its goal was not to collect both men, but, on the contrary, to land a detachment of Wraiths.
From the leader, he fired his stunner at the stranger, but Alvar had already opened fire, taking advantage of the delay. With one burst, he felled two enemy soldiers who were closest to him. The squad leader and two other enemy soldiers aimed their weapons at him...
And at that moment, the stranger, who had fallen to the ground after the shot, suddenly got up, knelt down, and raised his weapon, aiming it at the Wraiths. Only their commander managed to react, re-aiming at the sudden threat.
His stunner fired, but it didn't harm the man — the white-blue charge splashed against the illusory green haze that surrounded the man. The return shot blew the Wraith's skull off.
Alvar killed another soldier when the stranger finished with the second.
"You have a shield!" Yenser realized, approaching the young man.
The latter, squinting, shook his head.
"It looks like it!"
"I don't understand," the fugitive became wary, looking at the stranger.
"Everyone has their flaws," the other replied, aiming his weapon at him. Not expecting this, the soldier reacted a split second later than a bright blue energy charge broke free from the angular crystal on the front of the stranger's weapon.
Before Alvar could think that he was about to die, he heard a disgusting sound slightly behind him — the same sound with which the Wraith died from the stranger's shot a couple of seconds ago. Turning around, he saw the commander of the pursuing detachment fall to the ground, with a hole the size of a human head in his chest.
But his soldiers, left without a commander, opened fire indiscriminately. They were about fifteen meters apart, they had just emerged from the forest. It seems the commander decided to sneak up on him and take the fugitive's life, which is why he didn't shoot. And the soldiers were supposed to cover him...
Overconfidence.
Together with the stranger, Alvar dealt with the enemies in a couple of seconds. The guy, although he hit once out of three, his defense allowed him to stand under enemy fire and ignore hits. And with the power of his weapon... Whether it hit his arm, leg, or head — the holes in the Wraiths' bodies remained such that no regeneration could help them.
But, just in case, Alvar loaded two rounds into the head of each of them.
"We need to go," he said to the stranger, who was picking up a golden object resembling a large crystal from the grass.
There was no time to get acquainted — the fugitive used it productively, replacing an empty magazine with a loaded one. The penultimate magazine, by the way.
"I completely agree," the stranger spoke with an unknown accent. Gruff, but understandable enough.
"We'll get lost in the catacombs, where you came from," Alvar pointed to the hole in the ground and took a step towards it.
But the guy grabbed his arm, causing the green haze of a personal shield to shine around the stranger again. And the hairs on the fugitive's arm stood on end, reacting to the proximity of energy.
"I have a better idea," the stranger said, nodding his head, inviting him to follow. Then, without further explanation, he walked silently across the clearing. "Come with me if you want to live."
Hearing the howl of the "arrows," Jensen was about to warn the guy that they needed to get away quickly, not go for a walk, after all. But what he saw made him swallow the unsaid words.
The stranger, taking another step, literally dissolved into thin air.
"Well, well," Alvar said with a hint of admiration, grinning, and ran after him. Perhaps this was the very chance he didn't even dare to dream of?!
Exactly at the spot where the stranger disappeared, he took a step... And saw a dark green hull of a clearly human-built ship in front of him. The rear wall was open, and working engines, shimmering with a steady white light, were visible on the sides.
"Surprise after surprise," the man whistled.
"If you're not in a hurry, you can stay," the stranger offered, taking a seat in the part of the ship that was clearly the cockpit. "Less hassle for me. Even so, nobility won't lead to good..."
Without hesitation, Jensen boarded the ship and plopped into the seat next to the stranger. Behind them, with a quiet whirring of drives, the entrance hatch closed. The guy sitting in the adjacent seat grabbed the uncomfortable-looking steering wheel handles, and the ship shot upwards, leaving the meeting place like a candle.
Although he was surprised by the quality of the technology, Alvar didn't show it. But he simply couldn't resist looking at the magnificent ship from the inside. Something about this design and patterns reminded him of something...
A glowing image appeared in front of the cockpit glass, showing a schematic of their ships. And a blinking red dot where he was sitting. But he couldn't decipher many of the symbols next to it.
"It didn't work," the stranger said.
"What are you talking about?" Alvar asked, but in his heart, he already understood what he was talking about.
"The transmitter that the Wraiths implanted in you," the pilot said. "The cloaking field doesn't jam its signal. But it was worth a try."
"Do you have any ideas what to do next?" the fugitive asked. He had no ideas yet how the ship and its pilot could help, but he was not used to giving up. It simply couldn't be that the owner of such a ship, such technologies, had no ideas on how to get rid of the Wraiths!
"Misha," without taking his eyes off the controls, the guy extended his right hand to him. Alvar didn't seem surprised that he was using a greeting gesture only now and responded as he should.
"Alvar," he introduced himself, deciding that the former stranger had told him his name. "Your idea is to get acquainted? Couldn't you think of anything better?"
The screen changed, and now it showed a huge number of red dots approaching their ship from all sides.
"You have to start somewhere," the new acquaintance sighed.