Prologue

-...How did you get to us?

The second steward took a sip of green tea, put the cup down and leaned back in the chair screwed to the floor. In principle, there was no need for such a fastening of the seat; the airliner’s gravity generators had almost a seventy percent power reserve for shunting load. But the duty shift chairs screwed to the floor were a sacred tradition, which was observed on ships and courts no less zealously than the ritual of baptism in the church.

Yes, I have a brother-in-law at the agency. He promised me a good place a long time ago, that’s why I stuck around on the coast. So that if something worthwhile comes along, you can be right there.

The engine room operator on duty nodded in agreement. The duty, as usual, promised to be terribly boring, and since on the liner during duty it was strictly forbidden to eat, play 3D and Board games(under which name hid both seemingly harmless chess, shaky and go, as well as cards, dice and everything else), not to mention the more “reprehensible” pastime, all that was left was to wag my tongue. On any other ship (except a military one, of course), the captain would hardly have included such a clause in the job description. Simply because the crew, most likely, would simply ignore him (the first rule of any normal leader is to demand only what you can achieve), but cruise ships are a special matter. Getting on a cruise ship is the dream of every sailor. Sailors cruise ships- elite of the civilian fleet. Even ordinary crew members of cruise ships are accommodated in two or three-bed cabins, the crew is provided with a gym and a swimming pool (of course not the same as on the passenger decks, but still), and any crew member receives two to three times more than on others civilian ships. The service staff is well-trained, and the products are always fresh and highest quality. In addition, “cruise ships” are also the safest ships - their technical condition is maintained in perfect order, and the power of the engines and compensatory systems makes them inaccessible to any privateer or pirate. Still, as a rule, the passengers of cruise ships are such people that a lawsuit from even one of them could completely ruin the cruise companies. What if there are several of them?

Yes, you're in luck here. Getting to Queen Distina is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So I’m talking about this,” the steward perked up, “and mine raised a howl: “You did this on purpose - to escape from your family! Hanging around with women! There on your liner there are only whores driving around, who throw themselves at any man, and you’re glad!!”

The operator chuckled.

What kind of whores are there, the crew quarters are completely isolated. Even from the service staff.

“Yes, I told her,” the steward sighed sadly, “it’s all to no avail.” He doesn't want to listen. “You’ll still find a way to get to the women!” Actually, she is a normal woman for me - she runs a farm and is pretty. Everything is with her. Only jealousy hurts.

“Yes,” the operator nodded, wrinkling his brow thoughtfully, “they’re all like that.” They themselves look at any man, but we don’t, no! Damn it!!! - The operator’s legs flew off the console, and his back abruptly assumed a vertical position. - What the hell is this?

Hunting the hunter

What? - The stewator jumped up, puzzled.

Look, the second activation of the main correction engines in the last fifteen minutes. Something is wrong here!

The stewator stared, puzzled, at the screens filled with colored diagrams and crooked lines. His job was to maintain bilge cleaning and repair robots, so he understood little of the diagrams and diagrams displayed on the screen.

And why?

The main correction engines are turned on only when there is a sharp change in course, and if the required deviation from course reaches more than fifteen degrees. And according to the flight route map, our next change is in about eight hours. This is the sixth time I’ve taken this route, you can believe me...

The stewator shivered nervously.

Maybe stones?

The operator snorted in irritation.

This is not a coaster for you. Our radars see any dangerous pebble within an hour or two of flight time, and with such a head start, to go around any meteor shower, a deviation of a fraction of a degree is enough... look, again! - The operator swung towards the console, and his fingers ran over the keys. - We need to connect a couple more cooling circuit assemblies, otherwise...

He didn't have time to finish. The ship shook barely noticeably. The stewator, intensely peering at the screens, noticed how several diagrams changed abruptly, and the largest one, occupying the central screen, pulsated alarmingly purple, nodded in understanding:

And again!

The operator did not answer immediately.

This is not again...

Something in his voice made the steward turn around sharply and stare at his comrade. The operator sat at the control panel, shrunken and looking fearfully at the ceiling of the hall, behind which, almost a kilometer above their heads, above all the passenger decks, was the captain's cabin. Those in it clearly knew more about the situation than the two of them, but it seemed to help them a lot...

They both did not know that these shots were fireworks that marked the appearance of the Great and Terrible Aglamba Kerror to the civilized world...

Some time later, dozens of quick pen and 3D camera masters rushed in the footsteps of the “most terrible and merciless” pirate of our time, trying to find out where he came from. However, it was not possible to dig up anything out of the ordinary. Where he was born, on what planet, planetoid or artificial object - remains unknown. Although, judging by how he felt in weightlessness, it was believed that, if he was not born, then he grew up somewhere in the orbital mines.

Its first traces are found in the Lunin system. However, almost all the trash from among those who later found themselves on large trade routes passed through the Lunin system. Lunia was the largest cloaca in the inhabited part of the sleeve. And a place where the interests of hundreds and thousands of the richest and most influential people in the Universe collided and became knotted. That is why nothing could be done about her until now. Officially, Lunia was considered a "free settlement" zone and was governed by the "Council of Mines". The sacred cow that gave the Council full power was the “Great Charter of the Free Miners,” a document that was a kind of Constitution, in half with a declaration of state sovereignty of the system. A clearly anarchist document, adopted almost seventy years ago at the Great Gathering. There are rumors that his father was “Prince Kropotkin” himself - a legendary personality, a famous terrorist and fighter for the freedom of all from all, who adopted as a pseudonym the title and name of a historical figure, a Russian anarchist who actually existed in the 19th century (however, there may not have been no Russian anarchist, and all these were inventions of unscrupulous journalists). According to legend, when the “prince” was already completely on his tail, he managed to escape to the Lunin system, which at that time did not have any legal status and was simply a place where everyone tried to earn some money by cutting rock in the richest asteroid belt of the system. That is, there was no power, no order, no jurisdiction. Naturally, the special services pursuing him (and the prince managed to annoy more than a dozen states) relaxed somewhat, quite reasonably considering that the job was done and now nothing would stop them from finding and arresting a man who had significantly annoyed more than a dozen governments. Moreover, there were a dozen agencies working in the belt, specializing in the search and transfer to justice of various individuals who naively believed that the belt was the best place in order to hide. So, one could not even get one’s hands dirty, but simply set a price, and the prince’s head would be delivered on a silver platter. But it was not there. Literally within six months, the “Council of Mines” appeared out of nowhere, which promptly assembled a Great Meeting, which immediately adopted the “Great Charter of Free Miners,” putting representatives of ANY organizations “whose activities are aimed at depriving a person of his inalienable freedom” outlawed “throughout the entire territory under the jurisdiction of the Lunin system." The offices of “headhunters” were instantly thrown out of the system by “detachments of miners’ militia,” and as for the activities of state intelligence services, the “Charter” announced that “the people of Lunin consider the state the first of the oppressors” and set as their highest goal “the observance and zealous protection of the sacred individual rights to freedom and independence.” And therefore the people of Lunin will “fiercely fight the attempts of any organizations to impose their will and their attention on free people.” This led to the fact that in the Luni system there was still, seventy years later, no police or other government agencies, and the law, as in ancient times on Mother Earth, was ruled “by the right of the strong.” It’s just that all the gangster clans operating there were formally considered a “randomly gathered community of citizens,” that is, the “Council of Mines” formally considered all gangster fights to be “spontaneous fights”: they say, people who didn’t know each other well gathered in some bar to drink beer, and then they walked in There are also a few other people I don't know too well. And somehow they didn’t like each other... That’s where the corpses came from. Naturally, with this approach, the Lunin system became a real breeding ground for bandits and pirates.

A new meeting with the worlds discovered by Roman Zlotnikov in the “Eternal” series!

Fights on earth and in space, love and hate, friendship and betrayal, confrontation between the intelligence services of powerful states and the intrigues of mafia clans! The first clash of humanity with an unknown enemy! If you loved the Eternal series, this book is for you.

Roman Zlotnikov, Andrey Nikolaev

Hunting the hunter

Prologue

-...How did you get to us?

The second steward took a sip of green tea, put the cup down and leaned back in the chair screwed to the floor. In principle, there was no need for such a fastening of the seat; the airliner’s gravity generators had almost a seventy percent power reserve for shunting load. But the duty shift chairs screwed to the floor were a sacred tradition, which was observed on ships and courts no less zealously than the ritual of baptism in the church.

Yes, I have a brother-in-law at the agency. He promised me a good place a long time ago, that’s why I stuck around on the coast. So that if something worthwhile comes along, you can be right there.

The engine room operator on duty nodded in agreement. The duty, as usual, promised to be terribly boring, and since on the liner during duty it was strictly forbidden to eat food, play 3D and board games (under which name were hidden both seemingly harmless chess, shaky and Go, as well as cards, dice and everything the rest), not to mention more “reprehensible” pastimes, all that was left was to wag my tongue. On any other ship (except a military one, of course), the captain would hardly have included such a clause in the job description. Simply because the crew, most likely, would simply ignore him (the first rule of any normal leader is to demand only what you can achieve), but cruise ships are a special matter. Getting on a cruise ship is the dream of every sailor. Cruise ship sailors are the elite of the civilian fleet. Even ordinary crew members of cruise ships are accommodated in two or three-bed cabins, the crew is provided with a gym and a swimming pool (of course not the same as on the passenger decks, but still), and any crew member receives two to three times more than on others civilian ships. The service staff is well-trained, and the products are always fresh and of the highest quality. In addition, “cruise ships” are also the safest ships - their technical condition is maintained in perfect order, and the power of the engines and compensatory systems makes them inaccessible to any privateer or pirate. Still, as a rule, the passengers of cruise ships are such people that a lawsuit from even one of them could completely ruin the cruise companies. What if there are several of them?

Yes, you're in luck here. Getting to Queen Distina is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So I’m talking about this,” the steward perked up, “and mine raised a howl: “You did this on purpose - to escape from your family! Hanging around with women! There on your liner there are only whores driving around, who throw themselves at any man, and you’re glad!!”

The operator chuckled.

What kind of whores are there, the crew quarters are completely isolated. Even from the service staff.

“Yes, I told her,” the steward sighed sadly, “it’s all to no avail.” He doesn't want to listen. “You’ll still find a way to get to the women!” Actually, she is a normal woman for me - she runs a farm and is pretty. Everything is with her. Only jealousy hurts.

“Yes,” the operator nodded, wrinkling his brow thoughtfully, “they’re all like that.” They themselves look at any man, but we don’t, no! Damn it!!! - The operator’s legs flew off the console, and his back abruptly assumed a vertical position. - What the hell is this?

Hunting the hunter

What? - The stewator jumped up, puzzled.

Look, the second activation of the main correction engines in the last fifteen minutes. Something is wrong here!

The stewator stared, puzzled, at the screens filled with colored diagrams and crooked lines. His job was to maintain bilge cleaning and repair robots, so he understood little of the diagrams and diagrams displayed on the screen.

And why?

The main correction engines are turned on only when there is a sharp change in course, and if the required deviation from course reaches more than fifteen degrees. And according to the flight route map, our next change is in about eight hours. This is the sixth time I’ve taken this route, you can believe me...

The stewator shivered nervously.

Maybe stones?

The operator snorted in irritation.

This is not a coaster for you. Our radars see any dangerous pebble within an hour or two of flight time, and with such a head start, to go around any meteor shower, a deviation of a fraction of a degree is enough... look, again! - The operator swung towards the console, and his fingers ran over the keys. - We need to connect a couple more cooling circuit assemblies, otherwise...

He didn't have time to finish. The ship shook barely noticeably. The stewator, intensely peering at the screens, noticed how several diagrams changed abruptly, and the largest one, occupying the central screen, pulsated alarmingly purple, nodded in understanding:

This book is part of a series of books:

Andrey Nikolaev, Roman Zlotnikov

Hunting the hunter

-...And how did you get to us?

The second steward took a sip of green tea, put the cup down and leaned back in the chair screwed to the floor. In principle, there was no need for such a fastening of the chair - the gravity generators of the airliner had almost a seventy percent power reserve for shunting load. But the duty shift chairs screwed to the floor were a sacred tradition, which was observed on ships and courts no less zealously than the ritual of baptism in the church.

- Yes, I have a brother-in-law at the agency. He promised me a good place a long time ago, that’s why I stuck around on the coast. So that if something worthwhile comes along, you can be right there.

The engine room operator on duty nodded in agreement. The duty, as usual, promised to be terribly boring, and since on the liner during duty it was strictly forbidden to eat food, play 3D and board games (under which name were hidden both seemingly harmless chess, checkers and Go, as well as cards, dice and all the rest), not to mention more “reprehensible” pastimes, all that was left was to wag my tongue. On any other ship (except a military one, of course), the captain would hardly have included such a clause in the job description. Simply because the crew would most likely simply ignore him (the first rule of any normal leader is to demand only what you can achieve), but cruise ships are a special matter. Getting on a cruise ship is the dream of every sailor. Cruise ship sailors are the elite of the civilian fleet. Even ordinary crew members of cruise ships are accommodated in two or three-bed cabins, the crew is provided with a gym and a swimming pool (of course, not the same as on the passenger decks, but still), and any crew member receives two to three times more than on other civilian ships. The service staff is well-trained, and the products are always fresh and of the highest quality. In addition, “cruise ships” are also the safest ships - their technical condition is maintained in perfect order, and the power of the engines and compensation systems makes them inaccessible to any privateer or pirate. Still, as a rule, the passengers of cruise ships are such people that a lawsuit from even one of them could completely ruin the cruise companies. What if there are several of them?

- Yes, you are lucky here. Getting on Queen Distina is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” the steward perked up, “and mine started howling: “You did this on purpose—to escape from your family!” Hanging around with women! There on your liner there are only whores driving around, who throw themselves at any man, and you’re glad!”

The operator chuckled:

- What kind of whores are there, the crew quarters are completely isolated. Even from the service staff.

“Yes, I told her,” the steward sighed sadly, “it’s all to no avail.” He doesn't want to listen. “You’ll still find a way to get to the women!” Actually, she’s a normal woman for me – she runs a farm and is pretty. Everything is with her. Only jealousy hurts.

“Yes,” the operator nodded, wrinkling his forehead thoughtfully, “they’re all like that.” They themselves look at any man, but we don’t, no! Damn it!!! “The operator’s legs flew off the console, and his back abruptly assumed a vertical position. - What the hell is this?

- What? – the stewator jumped up, puzzled.

– Look, the second activation of the main correction engines in the last fifteen minutes. Something is wrong here!

The stewator stared, puzzled, at the screens filled with colored diagrams and crooked lines. His job was to maintain bilge cleaning and repair robots, so he understood little of the diagrams and diagrams displayed on the screen.

- And why?

– The main correction engines are turned on only when there is a sharp change in course, and if the required deviation from the course reaches more than fifteen degrees. And according to the flight route map, our next change is in about eight hours. This is the sixth time I’ve taken this route, you can believe me...

The stewator shivered nervously.

- Maybe stones?

The operator snorted irritably:

- This is not a coaster for you. Our radars see any dangerous pebble within an hour or two of flight time, and with such a head start, to go around any meteor shower, a deviation of a fraction of a degree is enough... Look, again! – The operator swung towards the console, and his fingers ran over the keys. – We need to connect a couple more cooling circuit assemblies, otherwise...

He didn't have time to finish. The ship shook barely noticeably. The stewator, intensely peering at the screens, noticed how several diagrams changed abruptly, and the largest one, occupying the central screen, pulsated alarmingly crimson, nodded in understanding:

- And again!

The operator did not answer immediately.

- This is not again...

Something in his voice made the steward turn around sharply and stare at his comrade. The operator sat at the control panel, shrunken and looking fearfully at the ceiling of the hall, behind which, almost a kilometer above their heads, above all the passenger decks, was the captain's cabin. Those in it clearly knew more about the situation than the two of them, but it didn't seem to help them much...

They both did not know that these shots were fireworks that marked the appearance of the Great and Terrible Aglamba Kerror to the civilized world...

Some time later, dozens of smart pen and 3D camera masters rushed in the footsteps of the “most terrible and merciless” pirate of our time, trying to find out where he came from. However, it was not possible to dig up anything out of the ordinary. Where he was born, on what planet, planetoid or artificial object - remains unknown. Although, judging by how he felt in weightlessness, it was believed that, if he was not born, then he grew up somewhere in the orbital mines.

Its first traces are found in the Lunia system. However, almost all the trash from among those who later found themselves on large trade routes passed through the Lunia system. Lunia was the largest cloaca in the inhabited part of the sleeve. And a place where the interests of hundreds and thousands of the richest and most influential people in the Universe collided and became knotted. That is why nothing could be done about her until now. Officially, Lunia was considered a "free settlement" zone and was governed by the Council of Mines. The sacred cow that gave the Council full power was the “Great Charter of the Free Miners,” a document that was a kind of constitution in half and a declaration of state sovereignty of the system. A clearly anarchist document, adopted almost seventy years ago at the Great Gathering. There are rumors that his father was Prince Kropotkin himself - a legendary personality, a famous terrorist and fighter for the freedom of all from all, who adopted as a pseudonym the title and name of a historical figure, a Russian anarchist who actually existed in the 19th century (however, perhaps there was no Russian anarchist, and all these were inventions of unscrupulous journalists). According to legend, when the Prince was completely on his tail, he managed to escape to the Lunia system, which at that time had no legal status and was simply a place where everyone tried to earn some money by cutting rock in the richest asteroid belt of the system. That is, there was no power, no order, no jurisdiction. Naturally, the special services pursuing him (and the Prince managed to annoy more than a dozen states) relaxed somewhat, quite reasonably considering that the job was done and now nothing would stop them from finding and arresting a man who had significantly annoyed more than a dozen governments. Moreover, a dozen agencies were active in the belt, specializing in the search and transfer to justice of various individuals who naively believed that the belt was the best place to hide. So, one could not even get one’s hands dirty, but simply set a price, and the Prince’s head would have to be delivered on a silver platter. But it was not there. Literally within six months, the Council of Mines appeared out of nowhere, which promptly convened a Great Meeting, which immediately adopted the “Great Charter of Free Miners,” outlawing representatives of any organizations “whose activities are aimed at depriving a person of his inalienable freedom” “in the entire territory, under the jurisdiction of the Lunia system." The offices of "headhunters" were instantly thrown out of the system by "detachments of miners' militia", and as for the activities of state intelligence services, the Charter declared that "the people of Lunia consider the state the first of the oppressors" and set as their highest goal "the observance and zealous protection of the sacred individual rights to freedom and independence.” And therefore, the people of Lunia will “fiercely fight against attempts by any organizations to impose their will and their attention on free people.” This led to the fact that in the Lunia system there was still, seventy years later, no police or other government agencies, and the law, as in ancient times on Mother Earth, was ruled “by the right of the strong.” It’s just that all the gangster clans operating there were formally considered a “randomly gathered community of citizens,” that is, the Council of Mines formally considered all gangster fights as “spontaneous fights”: they say, people who didn’t know each other well gathered in some bar to drink beer, and then they went there again several people I don't know very well. And somehow they didn’t like each other... That’s where the corpses came from. Naturally, with this approach, the Lunia system became a real breeding ground for bandits and pirates.

-...And how did you get to us?

The second steward took a sip of green tea, put the cup down and leaned back in the chair screwed to the floor. In principle, there was no need for such a fastening of the chair - the gravity generators of the airliner had almost a seventy percent power reserve for shunting load. But the duty shift chairs screwed to the floor were a sacred tradition, which was observed on ships and courts no less zealously than the ritual of baptism in the church.

- Yes, I have a brother-in-law at the agency. He promised me a good place a long time ago, that’s why I stuck around on the coast. So that if something worthwhile comes along, you can be right there.

The engine room operator on duty nodded in agreement. The duty, as usual, promised to be terribly boring, and since on the liner during duty it was strictly forbidden to eat food, play 3D and board games (under which name were hidden both seemingly harmless chess, checkers and Go, as well as cards, dice and all the rest), not to mention more “reprehensible” pastimes, all that was left was to wag my tongue. On any other ship (except a military one, of course), the captain would hardly have included such a clause in the job description. Simply because the crew would most likely simply ignore him (the first rule of any normal leader is to demand only what you can achieve), but cruise ships are a special matter. Getting on a cruise ship is the dream of every sailor. Cruise ship sailors are the elite of the civilian fleet. Even ordinary crew members of cruise ships are accommodated in two or three-bed cabins, the crew is provided with a gym and a swimming pool (of course, not the same as on the passenger decks, but still), and any crew member receives two to three times more than on other civilian ships. The service staff is well-trained, and the products are always fresh and of the highest quality. In addition, “cruise ships” are also the safest ships - their technical condition is maintained in perfect order, and the power of the engines and compensation systems makes them inaccessible to any privateer or pirate. Still, as a rule, the passengers of cruise ships are such people that a lawsuit from even one of them could completely ruin the cruise companies. What if there are several of them?

- Yes, you are lucky here. Getting on Queen Distina is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” the steward perked up, “and mine started howling: “You did this on purpose—to escape from your family!” Hanging around with women! There on your liner there are only whores driving around, who throw themselves at any man, and you’re glad!”

The operator chuckled:

- What kind of whores are there, the crew quarters are completely isolated. Even from the service staff.

“Yes, I told her,” the steward sighed sadly, “it’s all to no avail.” He doesn't want to listen. “You’ll still find a way to get to the women!” Actually, she’s a normal woman for me – she runs a farm and is pretty. Everything is with her. Only jealousy hurts.

“Yes,” the operator nodded, wrinkling his forehead thoughtfully, “they’re all like that.” They themselves look at any man, but we don’t, no! Damn it!!! “The operator’s legs flew off the console, and his back abruptly assumed a vertical position. - What the hell is this?

- What? – the stewator jumped up, puzzled.

– Look, the second activation of the main correction engines in the last fifteen minutes. Something is wrong here!

The stewator stared, puzzled, at the screens filled with colored diagrams and crooked lines. His job was to maintain bilge cleaning and repair robots, so he understood little of the diagrams and diagrams displayed on the screen.

- And why?

– The main correction engines are turned on only when there is a sharp change in course, and if the required deviation from the course reaches more than fifteen degrees. And according to the flight route map, our next change is in about eight hours. This is the sixth time I’ve taken this route, you can believe me...

The stewator shivered nervously.

- Maybe stones?

The operator snorted irritably:

- This is not a coaster for you. Our radars see any dangerous pebble within an hour or two of flight time, and with such a head start, to go around any meteor shower, a deviation of a fraction of a degree is enough... Look, again! – The operator swung towards the console, and his fingers ran over the keys. – We need to connect a couple more cooling circuit assemblies, otherwise...

He didn't have time to finish. The ship shook barely noticeably. The stewator, intensely peering at the screens, noticed how several diagrams changed abruptly, and the largest one, occupying the central screen, pulsated alarmingly crimson, nodded in understanding:

- And again!

The operator did not answer immediately.

- This is not again...

Something in his voice made the steward turn around sharply and stare at his comrade. The operator sat at the control panel, shrunken and looking fearfully at the ceiling of the hall, behind which, almost a kilometer above their heads, above all the passenger decks, was the captain's cabin. Those in it clearly knew more about the situation than the two of them, but it didn't seem to help them much...

They both did not know that these shots were fireworks that marked the appearance of the Great and Terrible Aglamba Kerror to the civilized world...

Some time later, dozens of smart pen and 3D camera masters rushed in the footsteps of the “most terrible and merciless” pirate of our time, trying to find out where he came from. However, it was not possible to dig up anything out of the ordinary. Where he was born, on what planet, planetoid or artificial object - remains unknown. Although, judging by how he felt in weightlessness, it was believed that, if he was not born, then he grew up somewhere in the orbital mines.

Its first traces are found in the Lunia system. However, almost all the trash from among those who later found themselves on large trade routes passed through the Lunia system. Lunia was the largest cloaca in the inhabited part of the sleeve. And a place where the interests of hundreds and thousands of the richest and most influential people in the Universe collided and became knotted. That is why nothing could be done about her until now. Officially, Lunia was considered a "free settlement" zone and was governed by the Council of Mines. The sacred cow that gave the Council full power was the “Great Charter of the Free Miners,” a document that was a kind of constitution in half and a declaration of state sovereignty of the system. A clearly anarchist document, adopted almost seventy years ago at the Great Gathering. There are rumors that his father was Prince Kropotkin himself - a legendary personality, a famous terrorist and fighter for the freedom of all from all, who adopted as a pseudonym the title and name of a historical figure, a Russian anarchist who actually existed in the 19th century (however, perhaps there was no Russian anarchist, and all these were inventions of unscrupulous journalists). According to legend, when the Prince was completely on his tail, he managed to escape to the Lunia system, which at that time had no legal status and was simply a place where everyone tried to earn some money by cutting rock in the richest asteroid belt of the system. That is, there was no power, no order, no jurisdiction. Naturally, the special services pursuing him (and the Prince managed to annoy more than a dozen states) relaxed somewhat, quite reasonably considering that the job was done and now nothing would stop them from finding and arresting a man who had significantly annoyed more than a dozen governments. Moreover, a dozen agencies were active in the belt, specializing in the search and transfer to justice of various individuals who naively believed that the belt was the best place to hide. So, one could not even get one’s hands dirty, but simply set a price, and the Prince’s head would have to be delivered on a silver platter. But it was not there. Literally within six months, the Council of Mines appeared out of nowhere, which promptly convened a Great Meeting, which immediately adopted the “Great Charter of Free Miners,” outlawing representatives of any organizations “whose activities are aimed at depriving a person of his inalienable freedom” “in the entire territory, under the jurisdiction of the Lunia system." The offices of "headhunters" were instantly thrown out of the system by "detachments of miners' militia", and as for the activities of state intelligence services, the Charter declared that "the people of Lunia consider the state the first of the oppressors" and set as their highest goal "the observance and zealous protection of the sacred individual rights to freedom and independence.” And therefore, the people of Lunia will “fiercely fight against attempts by any organizations to impose their will and their attention on free people.” This led to the fact that in the Lunia system there was still, seventy years later, no police or other government agencies, and the law, as in ancient times on Mother Earth, was ruled “by the right of the strong.” It’s just that all the gangster clans operating there were formally considered a “randomly gathered community of citizens,” that is, the Council of Mines formally considered all gangster fights as “spontaneous fights”: they say, people who didn’t know each other well gathered in some bar to drink beer, and then they went there again several people I don't know very well. And somehow they didn’t like each other... That’s where the corpses came from. Naturally, with this approach, the Lunia system became a real breeding ground for bandits and pirates.

Roman Zlotnikov, Andrey Nikolaev

Hunting the hunter

-...How did you get to us?

The second steward took a sip of green tea, put the cup down and leaned back in the chair screwed to the floor. In principle, there was no need for such a fastening of the seat; the airliner’s gravity generators had almost a seventy percent power reserve for shunting load. But the duty shift chairs screwed to the floor were a sacred tradition, which was observed on ships and courts no less zealously than the ritual of baptism in the church.

Yes, I have a brother-in-law at the agency. He promised me a good place a long time ago, that’s why I stuck around on the coast. So that if something worthwhile comes along, you can be right there.

The engine room operator on duty nodded in agreement. The duty, as usual, promised to be terribly boring, and since on the liner during duty it was strictly forbidden to eat food, play 3D and board games (under which name were hidden both seemingly harmless chess, shaky and Go, as well as cards, dice and everything the rest), not to mention more “reprehensible” pastimes, all that was left was to wag my tongue. On any other ship (except a military one, of course), the captain would hardly have included such a clause in the job description. Simply because the crew, most likely, would simply ignore him (the first rule of any normal leader is to demand only what you can achieve), but cruise ships are a special matter. Getting on a cruise ship is the dream of every sailor. Cruise ship sailors are the elite of the civilian fleet. Even ordinary crew members of cruise ships are accommodated in two or three-bed cabins, the crew is provided with a gym and a swimming pool (of course not the same as on the passenger decks, but still), and any crew member receives two to three times more than on others civilian ships. The service staff is well-trained, and the products are always fresh and of the highest quality. In addition, “cruise ships” are also the safest ships - their technical condition is maintained in perfect order, and the power of the engines and compensatory systems makes them inaccessible to any privateer or pirate. Still, as a rule, the passengers of cruise ships are such people that a lawsuit from even one of them could completely ruin the cruise companies. What if there are several of them?

Yes, you're in luck here. Getting to Queen Distina is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So I’m talking about this,” the steward perked up, “and mine raised a howl: “You did this on purpose - to escape from your family! Hanging around with women! There on your liner there are only whores driving around, who throw themselves at any man, and you’re glad!!”

The operator chuckled.

What kind of whores are there, the crew quarters are completely isolated. Even from the service staff.

“Yes, I told her,” the steward sighed sadly, “it’s all to no avail.” He doesn't want to listen. “You’ll still find a way to get to the women!” Actually, she is a normal woman for me - she runs a farm and is pretty. Everything is with her. Only jealousy hurts.

“Yes,” the operator nodded, wrinkling his brow thoughtfully, “they’re all like that.” They themselves look at any man, but we don’t, no! Damn it!!! - The operator’s legs flew off the console, and his back abruptly assumed a vertical position. - What the hell is this?

Hunting the hunter

What? - The stewator jumped up, puzzled.

Look, the second activation of the main correction engines in the last fifteen minutes. Something is wrong here!

The stewator stared, puzzled, at the screens filled with colored diagrams and crooked lines. His job was to maintain bilge cleaning and repair robots, so he understood little of the diagrams and diagrams displayed on the screen.

And why?

The main correction engines are turned on only when there is a sharp change in course, and if the required deviation from course reaches more than fifteen degrees. And according to the flight route map, our next change is in about eight hours. This is the sixth time I’ve taken this route, you can believe me...

The stewator shivered nervously.

Maybe stones?

The operator snorted in irritation.

This is not a coaster for you. Our radars see any dangerous pebble within an hour or two of flight time, and with such a head start, to go around any meteor shower, a deviation of a fraction of a degree is enough... look, again! - The operator swung towards the console, and his fingers ran over the keys. - We need to connect a couple more cooling circuit assemblies, otherwise...

He didn't have time to finish. The ship shook barely noticeably. The stewator, intensely peering at the screens, noticed how several diagrams changed abruptly, and the largest one, occupying the central screen, pulsated alarmingly purple, nodded in understanding:

And again!

The operator did not answer immediately.

This is not again...

Something in his voice made the steward turn around sharply and stare at his comrade. The operator sat at the control panel, shrunken and looking fearfully at the ceiling of the hall, behind which, almost a kilometer above their heads, above all the passenger decks, was the captain's cabin. Those in it clearly knew more about the situation than the two of them, but it seemed to help them a lot...

They both did not know that these shots were fireworks that marked the appearance of the Great and Terrible Aglamba Kerror to the civilized world...

Some time later, dozens of quick pen and 3D camera masters rushed in the footsteps of the “most terrible and merciless” pirate of our time, trying to find out where he came from. However, it was not possible to dig up anything out of the ordinary. Where he was born, on what planet, planetoid or artificial object - remains unknown. Although, judging by how he felt in weightlessness, it was believed that, if he was not born, then he grew up somewhere in the orbital mines.

Its first traces are found in the Lunin system. However, almost all the trash from among those who later found themselves on large trade routes passed through the Lunin system. Lunia was the largest cloaca in the inhabited part of the sleeve. And a place where the interests of hundreds and thousands of the richest and most influential people in the Universe collided and became knotted. That is why nothing could be done about her until now. Officially, Lunia was considered a "free settlement" zone and was governed by the "Council of Mines". The sacred cow that gave the Council full power was the “Great Charter of the Free Miners,” a document that was a kind of Constitution, in half with a declaration of state sovereignty of the system. A clearly anarchist document, adopted almost seventy years ago at the Great Gathering. There are rumors that his father was “Prince Kropotkin” himself - a legendary personality, a famous terrorist and fighter for the freedom of all from all, who adopted as a pseudonym the title and name of a historical figure, a Russian anarchist who actually existed in the 19th century (however, there may not have been no Russian anarchist, and all these were inventions of the unscrupulous