The colony. Chapter 16: Invasion

Raytnov listened with interest to Scott's story, but his eyes were riveted on the porthole - it was already beginning to get dark on the street, and the annoying thought didn’t want to leave: did the protective field against the titans work?

Once again, driving away this idea, Raytnov tried to focus on the story, but suddenly realized that silence reigned in the dining room for quite a long time. He looked away from the window and found that all his comrades were sitting in deep thought. Scott's chin rested on his chest, and only his measured and barely audible snuffling broke the silence. His story was full of details, and he tried very hard not to miss a single detail. He tried so hard that he couldn’t control himself and fell asleep.

“He didn’t sleep much,” Emilia shrugged.
“Let them rest,” agreed Raytnov. - In the morning will tell the rest.

Angus all this time stood at another window and also looked thoughtfully into the street. Apparently, his mind was occupied with the same question about the protective field and the titans. On the one hand, even if for some reason the field acts only on wolves, he didn’t see any strong problems in this: during the day, the colonists are still protected from them by the field, and the sunlight protects them from the titans, and at night outside nothing special. But on the other hand, what the hell? I want to know that the protective functions of the database work for one hundred percent.

The glasses occupied their rightful place on the bridge of Angus, allowing him to see warm-blooded animals within sight, as well as hear Scott's story, which was interrupted in the middle due to the narrator’s sudden immersion into sleep. Finally, Angus turned away from the window, shook his head slightly as a sign that he did not see anything suspicious on the street, and headed towards the table, at which everyone else sat.

Gordon scratched his chin thoughtfully and looked around at his comrades.

“But where?” He whispered.
- What do you mean where? - in the same whisper did not understand Barney.
- Where will he rest?

The question turned out to be good and plunged everyone into a new wave of thought. On the second floor, where they all settled down, there were still free rooms, but is it worth giving Scott one of them? The problem was that the interroom doors in this part of the base, in contrast to the underground, were not blocked, and the freedom of movement was too great. The attacker could easily go down to the dining room, and from there proceed to the hangar, take the weapon from the rover ... No, this is definitely a bad idea.

Of course, Scott did not look like an attacker, but still it was necessary to earn the trust. No one so far trusted him as much as the others.

“We can lock him up in the medical area until the morning,” suggested Isaac. - There is a separate isolation zone.
“Does she lock outside?” Barney asked.

Isaac looked at him in amazement as the teacher looked at the student who had asked a stupid question on a topic that had been studied for a long time.

- Of course. Imagine that one of the colonists caught an incomprehensible infection and requires complete isolation. At the same time, he should not be able to independently violate this regime.
- And there you can sit comfortably? - Emilia also decided to ask a question about the “passed topic”.
“Of course,” Isaac shrugged. - There is a simple cot, but it is quite a comfortable one. And what else is needed to relax?
- So we will do? Asked Raytnov, and when everyone else nodded affirmatively, he got up from his seat and headed for Scott.

A slight shaking of the shoulders gave no results, only the head shook slightly from side to side, which for some reason made Barney laugh. Raytnov shook him harder, and Scott's chin suddenly lifted off his chest and his eyes widened:

- What? Where? He shouted, and Raytnov abruptly recoiled in surprise.

Barney put his fist to his chin and turned away so that no one would see and hear his stifled laughter. Scott uneasily drove his eyes around, not understanding anything.

“You just dozed off,” Emilia gently introduced him.

His gaze gained awareness.

“Yes, exactly,” he murmured, starting to recognize everyone around him. - What did I stop at?
“You stopped at the moment where two wolves attacked your squad near Alpha,” Raytnov reminded him. “But I suggest you rest for a while and continue the story in the morning.” What do you say?

Scott looked at him gratefully.

- Very agree with. I haven't slept well for a long time.
- That's great. And ... Scott?

Raytnov did not know how to present him with the fact that he does not yet enjoy special trust, so they decided to isolate him too, almost like Joe.

“We have to lock you up for the night because ...”
- Yes, yes, of course! - Scott interrupted him. “I understand everything, full order.” You need to be sure of your safety, and I am its n-potential violator.
“Something like that,” Raytnov was still uncomfortable. “Isaac says there is an isolation room in the medical bay.” There is a bed where you can rest.
“That's fine,” Scott replied, and began to fidget in his chair. The amount of water drunk on arrival made itself felt. - Is there a toilet here?
“Yeah,” said Isaac. - Just next to the honey compartment.

Scott silently stood up, showing his willingness to follow in any direction indicated. Emilia went to the cooler and soon returned with a glass of cool water.

- This is in case you want to drink at night.
“Thank you,” Scott took the glass and wanted to take a sip right away, but then made some simple calculations in his head and decided not to do it yet. The toilet still needed to be reached. He looked inquiringly at Raytnov, and in response, he stretched out his hand toward the transition to the medical corps, inviting him to go ahead.

Without forcing himself to wait, Scott immediately headed in the indicated direction. Right at the door, he tripped and nearly punched a hole in the wall with his head, but managed to keep his balance and only looked at the others in confusion. He looked very sleepy, and his eyes turned into small slits, warning of his imminent closure for an indefinite period.

When they passed a branch leading to the command post, Scott did not even notice it. He also did not notice the toilet door, which, as Isaac had promised, was not far from the entrance to the medical building, and only the call of Rytnov forced him to stop.

Scott slowly turned around and looked in the direction from where, like, came his name. He noticed Raytnov, who was pointing with his hand somewhere, and looked at him for a few seconds with a blank look. Then I realized that I had to look in the direction where he was showing - and he was not showing somewhere, but at a sign with a big blue “WC” inscription. A strong desire to empty the bladder returned and struck with a new force.

“Exactly,” Scott muttered, and disappeared through the door. His mind temporarily stopped the autopilot program, discovering an urgent, unfinished task. He was still holding a glass of water.
“He must be very tired,” Barney suggested.
“Of course,” Gordon said. - If you are out of the wall for a couple of days among the wolves and titans, you will also get tired.
“I did it a hundred times,” Barney grunted in response and folded his arms across his chest.

Angus impatiently shifted from foot to foot, and then pulled out his tablet from behind his bosom and began to look for something in it. After a few seconds, he looked up and asked:

- Guys, I correctly understand that we are all going then to return to the command center?

Emilia and Isaac nodded affirmatively - they all had to gather more information about this database. Gordon and Barney exchanged glances.

“Actually,” said Barney, “it would be nice to turn the broken rover back and drive it into the hangar.” - He looked at his watch. “But it's getting dark, and it's dangerous.” So let's do it tomorrow and hope that nothing will happen to him during the night.

Gordon nodded in agreement. He had no doubt that the dome would work against the titans, but he remembered the agreement that no one would go outside with the onset of darkness.

“I would like to go there right now,” Angus continued, referring to the command post. - I'll wait for you there, ok?
“Okay, doc,” said Raytnov. The need for everyone to put Scott together to bed was really missing. Angus turned and soon disappeared into the corridor, which for the first time scared him so much.

Everyone waited patiently, but Scott did not leave for a long time. Not less than ten minutes passed before the first signs of concern about his absence began to appear. According to the views of his comrades, Raytnov realized that it was not only he who began to worry, but everyone behaved as usual and did not say anything. In the end, what bad could happen in the toilet? It was necessary to simply give the poor fellow a couple more minutes to tidy himself up.

Finally, from the inside, there was the sound of a closing stall, and after a second - of water pouring from under the tap. Soon the door opened, and on the threshold Scott appeared with wet hands and a washed face.

“I apologize for the wait,” he said, embarrassed, and blushed. I wanted to add something else, but did not.
“It's okay,” said Raytnov. “Ready to sleep well?”
- Yes sir!

Scott was extremely pleased with his bed. He waited for the rest to leave the room, and when Isaac pressed the lock button on the outside, he lay down on the bed right in his clothes and instantly fell asleep.

When they came out of the medical building, Raytnov glanced at his watch — it was twenty-five minutes past eight, and for some reason Emilia only now realized that the glass of water she filled for Scott was missing somewhere. Surely Scott left him somewhere in the closet and forgot about it. Emilia turned around, looked at the door to the corps, but thought that there was nothing wrong with that. In the end, he is unlikely to wake up at night from thirst.

Raytnov turned to Gordon and for some reason lowered his voice.

“What about the rover they came on?” - He immediately got down to business. - Was there something useful in it?
- And then. Full ammunition. With the rover itself, there seems to be no problem either.
“I didn’t find any problems with him either,” added Barney. “But it would still be a good idea to diagnose tomorrow morning.”

Gordon agreed.

“Great,” Alex nodded in satisfaction. Rovers, like weapons, were now worth their weight in gold. - By the way, I agree that it is necessary to tow a broken rover into the hangar, and that this matter will have to be postponed until tomorrow ...

He thought for a moment and then smiled.

- Funny, yes? We all saw the wolves go wild and run away as soon as we turned on the dome. But we are still afraid to go outside.

Gordon raised his index finger and philosophically spoke:

- Fear is the best defender. If you do not allow him to take over your brain completely, then he only sobering and helps. Fearless always die. It is better to be safe, besides, we do not know for sure how the protective field will act on the titans.
“That's for sure,” said Isaac. - It is enough to remember our sortie during a storm to understand what the safety precautions lead to.

Emilia shuddered at the thought.

“Yes,” agreed Barney. - It was stupid. On the other hand, we tested in combat conditions what a body like me grown up on steroids is capable of. - He slowed down, remembering again the source of his improved abilities. - But I don’t want to do that anymore

They approached the entrance to the command post. The scanner above the door again woke up and scanned the closest Gordon, then blinked green, disappeared into the ceiling and opened the door.

“How cool it is when this thing recognizes you,” said Gordon, looking back at Barney.

The base projection was still displayed in the yellow circle in the center of the room, and it was still surrounded by a pale blue protective dome, in the area of ​​which there was not a single animal. Angus stood opposite the display next to the projection and thoughtfully studied the menu items, flipping through them with one hand and massaging his chin with the other. He was distracted from his occupation and turned his head to the arrivals.

“Found some interesting features,” he said. “However, some of them are inaccessible until the main workstation is turned off.”

Barney glanced at his workplace. Certainly, his station was not the main one - probably, he had some kind of an ordinary position here. Surely, in addition to his main military specialty, he had a secondary, for example, was a technical engineer of the first or second level. Crews of such expeditions are often made up of people who are easily guided in more than one area of ​​knowledge. Or maybe at his station different games of the “shooter” genre were installed so that he could kill virtual enemies when he could not kill real ones.

“I suppose that's her,” Angus went on, pointing to the far corner of the room. - But how to turn it on?

Barney looked at the station in the corner. She was on a low platform, was surrounded by bumpers and really looked like the main one. Not really hoping for success, he came closer. Externally, the station was no different from others, but no one’s name was written on it. Barney turned on the station, and, as was to be expected, he was offered a choice of two methods of identification — a password and a fingerprint. Barney did not know the password, but the print did not fit.

He looked up at the others and nodded negatively. The doctor sighed in frustration, although initially it was clear that there were no chances for easy access to the main station of the command post. But this is a feature of psychology, and even when you clearly realize that this or that event desired for you can hardly happen, something inside you is still worried and is waiting for the best. Emilia, being a psychologist, immediately noticed this sigh of Angus and understood everything. In fact, she also hoped that Barney would be able to turn on the station.

“Thank you, Barney,” said the doctor, smiling slightly.
“Doc,” Raytnov called. Angus turned to him questioningly. - What functions were we talking about?
Angus thought for a moment, trying to understand the essence of the question.
- Functions?
- You said that you discovered some interesting features while we were away.

The doctor's face beamed as the face of a man who remembered something extremely important shone.

- Well, of course!

He moved closer to the hologram.

- I put some debug data on the projection. Take a closer look.

All the others also came closer and followed the advice of the doctor. No one noticed anything unusual at first, but then Isaac pointed his finger at the edge of the dome. There, on the inside, the number “100” was clearly visible. It was not clear what color it was, but it was excellent to see.

- What is it? Asked Emilia.

The doctor, as if expecting precisely this question, triumphantly approached the display.

“Look,” he said, and began to regulate something.

The radius of the hemisphere began to decrease, and its color became more saturated. The number crept along with the border of the dome to the center of the base, only now it has become equal to "95", then "90", "85". And again "100", when Angus increased the radius to the original. The color of the hemisphere lost saturation and again became a pale blue.

“We can adjust the radius of the dome,” he explained.

It seems that this news made a definite impression on everyone, because silence reigned around for a while. Until Raytnov asked a seemingly simple question:

- It sounds and looks spectacular, but why do we need to reduce the radius of the dome?

Angus scratched his head, and then with his index finger moved his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

- To be honest, I do not know. I could not find any reference documentation, however, I have two guesses. First: to save energy.

He paused to reflect on the logical nature of such an assumption. At first glance, it looks very reasonable - the inhabitants of the base should always have the opportunity to decide how much energy they can spend. In a similar way, you can dim the light of the bedside lamp when you read a book before going to bed and you don’t need that amount. On the other hand, in terms of the dangers that another planet conceals, the idea of ​​“dimming the light” should not even come to mind. The military base initially has a reserve of energy, designed for tens or even hundreds of years. Angus was partially immersed in the implementation details and knew that, at a certain depth, there was a latest generation nuclear reactor under the base, created by a company called “nuCLEAR Ltd.”, which, in fact, is just one of the many divisions of the Planet Earth Corporation . These reactors have an incredibly high efficiency, and if we also add the possibility of deploying wind and solar batteries at the base, it can be concluded that it is not necessary to weaken the base's protection in order to save energy.

“But this is highly doubtful,” continued Angus. - The second assumption: the dome has a certain signal density. And the smaller the radius of the dome, the denser and richer it becomes.

Gordon put his hand to his chin and looked at the number "100" attached to the border of the dome from the inside.

“Doc,” he called, “can you reduce the radius again?”

Angus, without further ado, fulfilled the request, reducing the radius to 70. The color of the hemisphere again began to become deeper, and with it the base hulls became brighter so that they could be seen under the darkening dome.

- What are these units? - asked Isaac. - Is it meters, feet, or some other conventional units?
“These are meters,” answered Angus. - The units of measurement are not displayed on the hologram, but they are indicated on the control panel.

The radius was reduced to 50. The dome was now saturated blue, and it seemed strange, but it was perceived differently. It seemed that he really became more powerful.

“This is the minimum value,” Angus adjusted his glasses again. - Further radius reduction is not possible.

And he again increased the radius to one hundred meters. When the color of the dome again became barely bluish, Emilia breathed a sigh of relief, as if ridding herself of some oppressive feeling.

- It seemed to me alone that this blue dome somehow ... crushed, what? She asked.

Barney exchanged glances with Raytnov and shrugged.

“I guess it should be,” Alex said. - A more saturated color suggests greater strength. In any case, it will not affect us, so you should not worry.
“Yes, probably,” agreed Emilia.

Angus continued to study something on the display and for some time left the reality, forgetting about the existence of the others, who, nevertheless, patiently waited for him to leave the nirvana.

“There is another metric here, but it is purely debug,” he finally said. - This is something like an automatic continuous self-test. For example, now the field is fully functional and functions as expected. Several hours have passed since the moment the field was turned on this afternoon, and during this time there has never been a drawdown. - He looked around the others. - I think this is good.

Barney smiled slightly. He also thought it was good.

The doctor pressed something else on the display, and next to the dome, now from the outside of it, another hologram began to appear, much smaller. It consisted of a simple graph consisting of two axes: the time horizontally and the percentage of performance on the vertical. The schedule was horizontal and kept at one hundred percent without hesitation. These were the same debug data. Isaac stepped back because the vertical axis ran parallel to his leg a couple of centimeters from her.

“This is what this graph looks like,” concluded Angus, and then thought for a moment and turned off his projection.
“No, no, wait,” Gordon stopped him. - Let it stay here too. It will be nice to always have this data before your eyes, especially when there is not much time left until dark.

Angus looked at him, then at the place where the projection had just been, and then nodded in agreement and returned it. Indeed, it is better to have all the available data at hand, especially when they do not interfere at all.

Raytnov looked at his watch - it was nine in the evening exactly. The sun will disappear over the horizon somewhere in an hour, about which he notified his comrades.

“So before the titans appear, it's about an hour,” said Barney. - You can still manage your business.

And then he took an emphasis lying down and started push-ups. He was pressed about ten times before he looked up and realized that no one was looking at him.

“Okay,” he said, rising. - I will go and search in my workstation, suddenly I will also find something interesting.
“I'm with you,” said Isaac. - If you can, of course.
- By itself. Even if there is something personal there, I can hardly understand it myself, so I have nothing to hide.

Together they came to the place Barney had once worked for. He put his finger to the scanner and sat on the chair. “Hello, Barney!”, - the inscription was displayed for a second and gave way to the desktop.

“I'll go pour myself some tea,” said Raytnov, heading for the exit from the command post. - And at the same time I will take something to chew on our comrade in the punishment cell.

About Joe, who was exiled there for his bad behavior, everyone completely forgot.

“Exactly,” said Gordon. - And then he dries out of thirst. I'm with you.

Emilia doubted for some time and looked between the projection of the base on the floor, around which so far there was not a single predator, and the retreating backs of Rytnov and Gordon. Finally, she moved forward and decided to walk to the dining room too.

- Hey guys! Barney called after them. - Bring us a cup too, okay?

Raytnov, without turning around, raised his hand with his thumb extended upwards. They walked down the corridor, and soon the door closed behind them with a soft hiss.

“What do you think about this Joe?” - Gordon asked when they came to the dining room. - Will he give us problems?

Raytnov took a glass of hot black tea from a machine gun, felt his weight and temperature in his hand. He took a small sip so as not to burn his tongue.

“Joe was always a little weird,” he finally answered. - Few people spoke with him, if there were such people on Alpha, except for his direct colleagues. He always stayed away, was an introvert. Although I saw that in his company he behaved quite relaxedly, he talked a lot and sometimes he gave out blows.

Alex took another sip and then winced. The sip was quite large, and the drink had not yet cooled.

“But still, I don’t think he will give us any problems.” In the end, though he is a moron, he is not a fool at all. On the contrary, it may even be useful if it is possible to find a common language with it. And by “common language” I mean normal human speech, and not how you and Barney “talked” to him.

Gordon smiled slightly.

- What else could we do? - He said in his defense. - I saw what tricks he started to throw out.
“That's yes,” agreed Raytnov. - Rest in the punishment cell will benefit him in any case. But I am sure that he will still be able to help us. The mechanic he is simply excellent. You just need to find an approach to it, what do you think, Emilia?

The latter, recognizing in this question a hidden message like “you are a psychologist, tell us how to deal with this asshole,” thought a little, and then answered quite convincingly and in detail:

- I think that those tricks that he threw out today will not be repeated anymore, or, at least, should not. It is possible that in most cases it is more convenient for him to be an introvert, but he still wanted to be the center of attention sometimes. His behavior among his colleagues, as well as his attitude toward Scott, underline this to a certain extent. In the company of "his", he was comfortable and comfortable, and he tries to apply this same pattern of behavior among other people. Well, you guys explicitly let him know that you will not tolerate such a thing. I think he will understand this, and if he wants to establish contact with his new environment, that is, with us, he will have to behave himself. And he, no doubt, will be more accommodating and determined to talk soon, because he, like every person in principle, is committed to the company of other people.

Raytnov and Gordon exchanged glances and nodded satisfactorily, making Emilia smile.

“Let's hope so,” said Gordon, finishing his tea and taking the glass to a special zone, where the mechanical hand would soon take it to the sink. - And now let's calculate how many hands we have and how many glasses we need to bring.

He looked at his two hands, then looked around at his comrades to make sure that they had the same amount.

- We have six hands, and we need to bring three glasses of tea for the guys. Just a couple of glasses of water should be brought to Joe, and the last hand will take something to chew on him. It all fits.

Emilia thought for a moment and replied doubtfully that it was better not to give Joe any food yet.

- Because I do not deserve it? Asked Raytnov.
“No, no,” Emilia smiled. “Because now it’s more important for him to sleep and drink water, and food can wait until morning.” Scott, frankly, was also not worth feeding before bedtime, but he was too persistent.

She remembered the scene again when Scott furiously asked for supplements, and then abruptly subsided when Gordon and Barney entered the room and laughed.

Gordon nodded and headed for the machine gun.

“So three teas and two plain waters?” - he asked.
- It turns out, so.

When they returned to the command post, Gordon handed two glasses of hot tea to Barney and Isaac, and Emilia to Angus. .

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Barney lay on his back and looked at the ceiling. He wanted to sleep, but he did not close his eyes - one thought disturbed his mind, and he thought not about the dome and the titans: he thought about his workstation. He could not find out much, because in order to access the most important information, it was necessary to pass both identification factors: a fingerprint and a password. Fingers were always with him, but he did not remember the password, even if he killed. How can you refresh these memories in your memory? Doc said that in theory they can be unblocked, but what the hell is it ???

With this thought he fell asleep with a light, restless sleep.