Mesozoic zigzag. Dmitry Chervichenko

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      He began unscrewing the fasteners, and Jum, unhooking the shroud. After a few seconds, they were able to remove it. They saw the intricacy of wires and microcircuits. Ignoring all this, Jum rushed to the part of the console where the bright yellow lever was now free of the protection. Something glistened between the lever itself and the slot in which it was to move.

      It was a metal star from an officer’s shoulder epaulet.

      Dak instantly picked it up with his fingers and pulled it out of the slot. Jum immediately slid the freed toggle switch to the upper position. It moved quite freely. The buzzing of the autopilot disappeared. Jum began to press the buttons he knew and enter commands. Just a moment later the brake engines came on. When the brakes came on at full power, it was as if a giant hammer had struck the boat from below. Everyone collapsed to the floor. The overload became unbearable. Tana and Holdum passed out in their chairs. Abis lay motionless on the cabin floor. Dak, grabbing the handle of his chair, tried to pull himself up and stand. But he lacked strength.

      Jum, with a jolt, hit the ceiling and was thrown right to the right edge of the console. If there hadn’t been a removed cover leaning against the console on that side, it was likely that Jum would have broken the console as he fell, and the boat would have become completely unmanageable. As it was… The consciousness he had lost when he hit the ceiling came back with a terrible pain: he had obviously broken his arm. Nevertheless, Jum, using his healthy left hand, managed to stabilize the boat in the air. Half lying on the bundles of wires, already falling into the darkness of unconsciousness, he reached the button responsible for ejecting the dome and slammed his palm on it.

      On the planet

      Tana awoke to a palpable silence. In the darkness, in the far corner of the cabin, the wires that had been severed in the crash were sparking. There was a disgusting smell of burning. The girl’s chair was lying on its side for some reason, making the seat belts press painfully into her shoulders. She tried to move her arms and legs. Everything was intact. At that moment something rustled on the floor and a flashlight beam cut through the darkness. Everything was filled up with yellowish-blue smoke.

      – Hey, is anybody alive? – came Holdum’s voice. Judging by the shifting cone of light, he had managed to free himself from the straps of his chair, which had been skewed by the impact, stood up and tried to assess the situation.

      – Endeju, I’m fine! – Tana replied, undoing the straps holding her in place. – What’s wrong with the guys?

      – We’ll find out! – Holdum limped toward the other members of the boarding team. – Oh! My dear Uabju are alive… And even, if I’m not mistaken, practically healthy. Dak, Abis – let’s wake up.

      The team leader patted them on the cheeks. Almost immediately, they stirred next to their chairs.

      – Where is Jum? – Abis and Dak asked at the same time.

      – As I recall, he was standing by the console when it happened.

      Holdum, shining his flashlight in front of him, approached the mangled console. A faint groan came from under its cover, which lay in the far corner, partially crumpled by Jum’s fall.

      Holdum and Tana, freed from her restraints, rushed toward the sound. Under the cover, face down, with his right arm unnaturally twisted, lay Jum. His clothes had burned through in several places and scorched and burned skin peeked through the holes. But he was alive.

      Holdum, with the help of Abis and Dak, pulled the panel cover aside and rolled Jum over onto his back. He opened his eyes almost immediately and tried to smile.

      – Here we are! – he whispered faintly. – Quite noisy, though. Did I break the boat?

      – My dear! You saved us all. We’re on the surface of the planet. It’s an honorable thing to do. Really, I see it didn’t go well for you, did it? – Holdum jerked his head towards Jum’s hand. At that moment Tana tried to examine his hand with the utmost caution.

      – We’re going to need an anesthetic and a splint. It looks like a fracture! – Tana said in a businesslike tone.

      Everyone looked at her face, which was illuminated by the lantern beam.

      – Why are you looking at me like that? It’s okay to know ancient first aid techniques. There won’t always be regenerators and medical analyzers around!

      Jum winced in pain during all these manipulations, but did not utter a sound.

      Finally, the anesthetic was given, and with the help of a piece of the long-suffering dashboard and the emergency first aid kit, Jum’s arm was secured in the area of the likely fracture and strapped to his body with two straps cut from the seat.

      The emergency food kit lifted everyone’s spirits and gave them strength.

      – And now let’s think quickly how to go on living, – said Holdum, who was still in good spirits. – Thanks to our hero’s efforts we are alive. And we are on the planet. The runabout, by all appearances, will not be able to take off. To get out through the warped hull, we’ll have to open the hull plating. We don’t know what’s waiting for us out there. СКАЧАТЬ