This is a fan translation of Line of Dreams (Линия грёз) by the Russian science fiction and fantasy author Sergei Lukyanenko. The novel can be considered a fan fiction of the original Master of Orion game.


Chapter 2

Gorra was one of the oldest human colonies. The people here even occasionally called Terra "Earth", two local universities had archaeology departments, while the ruling family traced their lineage nearly to Gagarin himself.

Emperor Gray indulged them. The planet paid its taxes obediently, its young people enlisted willingly into the Imperial Forces, and Gorra's faction never caused trouble in the Senate.

Gorra's pride was its complete self-sufficiency. Terra held the Empire's sciences and millions of artists, writers, and other freeloaders, Endoria built ships, the half-starved Incedios fed the nearby mining planets, and Tauri supplied half of the Empire with fruit. Gorra did a little bit of everything. There was a persistent rumor among the locals that the Emperor's secondary palace was located on their planet rather than Endoria. Even the place was known: a closed area in the Blue Canyons, which had been bought out by a private individual even before the Vague War.

Lyka Seiker knew that there was no Imperial palace in the Canyons. She had lived and reigned there long enough to scan the surroundings.

That day, her morning started with a visit from the head of security. By a long-standing custom, all important messages were delivered verbally in the Canyons.

Lyka was taking her morning bath, when the Meklar approached the pool. The water was transparent, only slightly colored with aroma oils, but the Meklar was indifferent to human nakedness. Lyka was equally unbothered by the cyborg's presence, especially since his sex was more female than male.

"Reporting," the Meklar uttered, freezing a safe distance from the pool. Water was no longer as dangerous to his transformed organism, but his instincts had trouble accepting that.

"I'm listening, Kas/s/is." Lyka stretched, feeling the jets massaging her body.

"There is a ship in orbit, its landing trajectory leads into our area."

Lyka frowned, "Type of ship?"

"A hyperboat." The Meklar's chest armor slit apart, and a video terminal slid out. "An old model, weak armament, a slightly-enhanced deflector shield. It presents no danger but moves very confidently."

The youngest in the entire history of human crime Mother-Keeper of the Family was staring at the boat thoughtfully. It seemed familiar, as if she had once seen or even flown in it…

"Provide a corridor, Kas/s/is." Seiker finally remembered. "It's a friend. An old friend."

The Meklar turned to the door.

"And send the valet here!" Lyka shouted after him. She lowered her head; a cloud of ash-colored hair lay on the water, getting wet slowly. She smiled to the painted ceiling, transported from some Terran cathedral a hundred years ago. The reclining male figure on the central panel had always reminded her of Kay. "You still remember," Lyka whispered.

The man on the panel, who had been rising up from the ground for a thousand years, continued looking into eternity. He wasn't interested in his descendants' strange games.

"Careful, patient, smart Kay," Lyka said, closing her eyes.


They passed through a short hallway, melted into the rock. They were led by a human with a pair of mechanical prosthetics, either a mechanist or someone without aTan, followed by Kay and Tommy. A Meklar brought up the rear, moving on his hind limbs, which was one of the variants of the combat transformation.

Tommy pressed against Kay. Over the past day, his doubts weren't gone completely, but he had only seen cyborgs on TV before. Aliens weren't particularly liked on peripheral planets. The hallway ended in an iridescent veil of a force field, currently switched to a decoration mode. Beyond it was a circular room with a vaulted ceiling, and light was pouring into a mosaic-covered window.

"Wait," the human said. The lower part of his face consisted of a dark-yellow metal, his lips barely moved, but his voice still sounded real.

"We're waiting," Kay agreed. The room was almost empty, except for a dozen large satin pillows at the center, right on the smooth marble floor. Those were probably there for sitting, but they hadn't been invited to do so.

"Dutch…" Tommy whispered.

"Relax," Kay told him without looking. They waited for almost a quarter of an hour in the silent company of the Meklar and the human cyborg. Then a part of the wall slid open silently.

Tommy saw a woman in a simple dress of black silk, whose age was close to fifty, who was still beautiful and slender but clearly past her prime. He wasn't impressed by her. The only thing the boy liked, considering himself a decent expert of Imperial movie stars and models, was her ashen hair, which cascaded softly down to her shoulders.

Kay was looking at Lyka Seiker, who could afford an annual aTan but continued to stubbornly live her first life. He also noted her simple clothing and a complete lack of makeup.

"I have accepted your invitation, Lyka," Kay said.

"You weren't in much of a hurry, Dutch." The woman came closer.

"Neither were you."

Seiker sighed, "No one bothered educating you, did they? I was washing off my makeup, Dutch. And looking for a simpler dress."

The Meklar expressed his equivalent of surprise when the Mother-Keeper embraced Kay and placed her head on his chest. The human cyborg had no emotions, as half of his brain was made up of circuits. He simply noted that the possible danger level had dropped.

Lyka raised her head, peering into Kay. She asked, "Recently from aTan?"

"Yes. It's good that you're managing without."

"Liar."

"I'm very glad to see that you're still the same, Lyka," Kay said.

Seiker switched her gaze to Tommy. The boy gave her an awkward smile.

"My client and partner," Kay informed her.

"Really?" Lyka spoke dubiously. "You look rumbled, kid."

"We've come all the way from Kailis in twenty-two hours," Kay answered for him. "We entered hyper without accelerating and dropped out in your star's photosphere. Seven correcting jumps. I thought my brains were going to come out through my ears, and this was Tommy's first flight."

"aTan has made you reckless," Lyka noted with a slight surprise. "Andrey! Take the boy to the guest rooms, instruct the servants. And have the doctor look at him."

The cyborg moved towards Tommy, who threw a frightened glance at Dutch.

"Go," Kay nodded. "Don't be afraid."

Lyka laughed quietly and said, "You'll also be given the help you came for. Don't worry, I can do a lot these days."

"I'm afraid even a lot will turn out to be not enough for me."