This is a fan translation of Emperors of Illusions (Императоры иллюзий) by the Russian science fiction and fantasy author Sergei Lukyanenko. The novel is a sequel to Lukyanenko's Line of Dreams (Линия грёз) novel and can be considered a fan fiction of the original Master of Orion game.
Chapter 7
One after another, they were appearing in space. First, it was fighters, a swarm of steel wasps, spraying in all directions, freeing up the space for larger ships.
Then cruisers started coming out of hyperspace. With the interval of half a minute, the leisurely giants were bursting into Mrrshan space.
"Get me a channel with the alien HQ," Lemak said. He was silent for a few moments, and then went on in an official tone, "The Dogar Group of the Imperial Fleet is paying a good will visit to the mighty Mrrshan Territories. The ships will remain at the edge of the system. We are requesting permission for the flag destroyer to enter planetary orbit. Heavy weapons will be deactivated and shields lowered. The group is commanded by…" he paused for a barely perceptible moment, "Admiral Lemak. End transmission."
The girl at the communication console nodded.
"All we can do is wait for their reply," Lemak said, turning to Arthur. The kid nodded.
"Admiral…" the aide, whose short muscular figure gave away his Rukhian origins, approached Lemak. "Shall I have the heavy weapons deactivated?"
"Did you hear my promise?"
"I did, Admiral."
"Then do it."
Giving a polite nod to Lemak, Arthur left the bridge after the aide. Marjan Mohammadi lingered for a moment, "I hope the Mrrshans are not a vindictive people, Karl," she said with a hint of sympathy.
"If they are, then we're about to receive a hot welcome," Lemak smiled, feeling grateful for even this note of sympathy. He glanced at the screen, at Fieras, that hilly, wet planet full of life, which had been cut up by his cruisers' laser clusters sixty years ago.
Praise the Unified Will that he had ended up not ordering the bombardment, that not a single bomb, not a single bio terminator container had fallen on Fieras. Only clean weapons… only precision strikes on military targets. The most humanity he had been able to afford to show towards former allies…
Did the Mrrshans understand that?
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jassan hopped up, and Kay grimaced involuntarily, imagining the toll it had taken on the alien's weak spine, whose race had been late to start walking upright. "My young friend has visited me! He hasn't forgotten old Jassan!"
The hills, filled by the light of the rising sun, did not reply. If there were external audio sensors in the abodes of the aliens, they were not in a hurry to share their neighbor's joy.
Dutch took Jassan by the shoulders. He shouted something in Mrrshan. Jassan burst into barking laughter.
Barely able to stifle a yawn, Tommy watched them. He'd been able to get some sleep during this seemingly endless revelry. Neither Dutch nor Jassan seemed to require rest. It appeared that Mrrshan wine did not have any inhibitory effects, even in great amounts.
"Would you like me to see you off?" the alien asked, peering into Kay's face. "I can give you my ship… it is a good ship…"
"Thank you, my friend. We have a Grasshopper, and our journey is not far."
"Hah! Kay is hopping across the galaxy from planet to planet!" Jassan made threatening gestures to the sky and then instantly grew more serious. "I have a good ship."
"Thank you, but no."
"Allow me to walk you to the ramp and wave to you, Kay…"
"Thank you. No. You are old and decrepit, Jassan. Rest and wish us luck."
"As you wish, friend. As you wish…" the Mrrshan hunched over, his eyes not looking away from the sky. "Do you have enemies following in your footsteps?"
"As always."
"Well then, kill them, and spit in the face of their families."
The Mrrshan turned and took several steps towards the open pyramid. He started purring something that seemed dissonant to the human ear.
That was how Tommy would remember him, leaving without saying good-bye or turning back.
"Heavy?" Kay asked.
Tommy shook his head. The bag with the wine was heavy, but he felt himself great. His mind didn't seem to believe that he'd rested enough, and he still wanted to yawn… but his body was full of energy.
"Jassan knows what a human at the edge of life needs," Dutch said, flipping his own bag to a more comfortable position.
"Maybe we should have taken the ship."
"The Grasshopper will do fine, Tommy. His ship is probably a flying fortress. We're running, not fighting."
They started walking down the hill, towards the inconspicuous trail that led to the towers of the human settlement.
"If the ship hasn't yet been serviced, then we'll eat at the port," Kay said. "Right now, I'm as hungry as a Bulrathi during mating season."
They wouldn't be able to eat.