home > System > A livadny transparent server download black sun. Andrey Lvovich Livadny Phantom Server. Black Sun. About the book “Ghost Server. Black Sun" Andrey Livadny

A livadny transparent server download black sun. Andrey Lvovich Livadny Phantom Server. Black Sun. About the book “Ghost Server. Black Sun" Andrey Livadny

Chapter 1

The asteroid belt of the Darg system. The board of the frigate of the Departed…

Tiny flickering lights reflect in Liori's pupils.

A soft twilight reigns in her compartment. On the table, near the dancing drow figurine, candles float. Drops of wax, losing transparency, break down, freeze with bizarre streaks of memories of amazing universes, where we, without caring about anything, plunged into whirlpools of events, meeting dangers with passion, firmly believing in respawn, firmly knowing that nothing fatal, irreparable with us will never happen.

So life flashed by, entwined with wires, writhing in fashion.

We felt young and strong, regardless of age, seriously believing that it would always be like this, not suspecting that the line of reality had already been erased ...

A dull jolt disturbed my thoughts. The vibration swept through the bulkheads. The external view screens turned on automatically. The panorama of the Milky Way, splashed like a river of stellar fire, began to slowly shift - the ship is preparing for battle, the final check of subsystems is underway.

Liori's pupils now reflect the Abyss.

In them, fear and hope are mixed together. It is impossible to believe that she is dead - only the matrix of her personality remained, recorded in the nanites connected to my consciousness expander.

We were absolutely sure that we were testing the "game of the future", which is characterized by an unprecedented level of realism. Boldly, fearlessly walked towards dangers, not suspecting that every step is fatal, and the discoveries made or acquired skills are sources real knowledge, - through the devices of neuroimplants they were broadcast to the Earth.

Grains of truth are like burning coals. They do not light the way, but burn the mind.

“Andr,” Liori brushed the icy panorama of space from the screens with a movement of her pupils. The flame of candles for a moment became brighter, warmer, and suddenly died out. - It's time.

The direct neurosensory contact mode is disabled.

The system message erased the compartment's furnishings, Liori's image melting into a mirage. I'm standing at a low fence. A chilly crimson twilight reigns around.

From deep within the launch deck, flashes of plasma welding splattered, and long shadows darted across the bulkheads. To my right, the oval slots of the vacuum docks ooze dark. They are sealed by force fields. A level below there are docking cells for fighters, openwork movable structures, near which work is now in full swing: Haash technicians are hastily preparing two Condors for departure.

A muffled pop sounded from the side of the gravity elevator shaft. I turned towards the sound and saw the lanky figure of Aaron gently pushed onto the landing.

"Haash. Sentient xenomorph. Level 57 pilot."

He is equipped with an armored suit, only he has not yet put on a helmet. Short computer cables gleaming with connectors framing their three-fingered hands, using them to connect the Khaashi to the systems of their airobs.

– Andr, worum? the lizard croaked inquiringly, bowing its head slightly out of habit.

The word is unfamiliar to me. Previously, I perceived difficulties in communicating with the Khaash as a certain element of the color of the game, but now I know for sure that it is not people who stand behind the avatars of "intelligent xenomorphs".

Aaron is silent, waiting for an answer. The look is insightful. Vertical pupils are narrowed. Hot breath hoarsely breaks from the ajar mouth.

The semantic processor nevertheless coped with the translation: "worum" means - "standing at the line." Another interpretation is "on the verge".

Yeah. Can't be more precise. The way of thinking of the Khaash does not imply white lies. They are straightforward and therefore sometimes look cruel.

Again there was a soft pop, accompanied by an elastic movement of air.

- Oh, I made a mistake on the deck! ..

- Max, come here! - I squatted down and asked sternly: - Who allowed you to walk around the ship?

He smiled shyly.

- I'm looking for Liori! She promised to play with us. So cool when it appears from the particles!

Haash touched my shoulder, drawing my attention, then transmitted a disturbing image: Maxim's "physical energy" indicator flickering orange.

I have a similar strip barely smoldering in the red sector. Ralph fell ill. Jürgen and Frieda are holding on for now. Arbido feels the best of all, which is not surprising, because he was connected to the "Ghost Server" later than the others.

Maxim is only five years old. He does not understand the enormity of what is happening.

- Listen, Max, go back to the compartment with the guys, okay? I need you all to sit in your seats and buckle up, okay?

- Okay. What if the girls don't listen to me?

“Tell me that I made you senior.”

- Oh, is it true?

- Yes. Come on, let's run, run!

Delighted, Maxim jumped into the grav-lift shaft.

Aaron gave him a look full of anxiety and compassion. Greyish spots appeared on the rough skin of the Khaash, a sign of extreme spiritual confusion.

- We must hurry! he said curtly. “You are all dying!”

* * *

A power escalator leads to the level of the docking cells.

Without exaggeration, we are "moving through time." Devices and mechanisms float past, the purpose of which has not yet been figured out. Every now and then, evidence of the past comes into view: numerous melted marks, huge inserts with jagged edges - this is what patched hull holes look like. The Departed Frigate (which became our home after the fall of Argus Station) holds a history of space travel and battles that can only be guessed at.

Until recently, I would not have paid much attention to this. Well, just think, melted furrows, and traces of numerous repairs. So what? Well-modeled game scenery, and nothing more.

Now I know - everything is much more complicated. Our consciousnesses have been moved through hyperspace and integrated into the technosphere of another civilization. We are able to interact with objects real world, manipulate them - this is how the Departed mastered the Universe. Their technologies lie beyond comprehension, in the field of phenomena not yet discovered by mankind, but, nevertheless, they work.

In fact, the Darg system is just a tiny, unremarkable "location" of the ancient interstellar network. A dozen gloomy, long-destroyed stations have been preserved here, and clusters of debris drift in space, left over from the unknown battles of past eras.

We were used blindly. The technosphere of a civilization that has sunk into oblivion was thoroughly destroyed, static, until we awakened it by collecting the surviving components, trying to manipulate them - often crudely and ineptly. Thinking that we were acting within the framework of a gaming virtual reality, the plot of which is based on the myth of the Departed, we did not ask unnecessary questions, organized raids, broke into the dead bowels of the stations, searched for modules of ancient artificial intelligences, implanted ourselves with cybernetic "upgrades", choked to death with incredible realism of feeling...

…Two "Condors" and three "Airobs" of the Khaash slowly emerged from the darkness. Aerospace fighters are enclosed in openwork frames of service trusses. The sparks of side lights sparingly illuminate the chipped cargonite skin of combat vehicles in places.

Marugail and Mitufurol are waiting for us at the site of the prelaunch storage tank. Mark and Mitya - this is how I used to shorten the long names of the Khaash.

‘Andr, the transport of Clan Daugoth has entered the given coordinates,’ Jurgen’s voice came over the communicator. - Vogel reports: assault groups are ready.

- How is Relict's energy?

“I brought the reactors up to twelve percent capacity. This is three minutes of shield operation at full combat load.

- I got you. Let's try not to take it to extremes, - I turned to the Khaash. They are high-class pilots, but today they are on the sidelines. Assaulting the Forsworn Clan's former base, now ruled by the ancient AIs, requires special skills that only Liori and I can master...

The situation is simple and deadly.

Thousands of light years away, on Earth, in the dead silence of deserted megacities, scarlet sparks of emergency lights are now breaking through the smoky plastic of our inmods. The resource of life support systems has been exhausted, the organisms are extremely exhausted - everything is left to the mercy of fate. No one will come to change consumables. People have mysteriously disappeared. I have no reasonable explanation for what is happening, except that the human civilization choked in the rapids of alien technologies pouring from here?

It doesn't matter anymore.

There is only one way to survive. We must digitize our consciousnesses, as the Departed did. To break the last thin thread connecting with the distant Earth, for the complete failure of the inmods threatens with death. This can happen at any moment.

“Andr,” Aaron came up to me and said quietly: “Andr, act as you used to,” haash carefully selects his words, trying to clearly express his thought.

Like the game is still on?

He nodded vigorously and walked over to his Airob.

* * *

It's dark in the cabin of the Condor. An empty flight lodgement is bent by tightly closed arcs of the shock-absorbing frame. The life support system is disabled. There are traces of recent renovations everywhere. Many of the screens are covered in a web of cracks that haven't been replaced in time.

Andre, please don't delay.

I pried open the foam-flesh plug, revealing the mind-expanding socket with the cyber-module gleaming dully in it.

One precise movement and a thin bar, studded with neurochips, came out of the connector. It seems that he tore out a particle of the soul. Her voice faded, the sense of mental contact faded away.

You have disabled the external neural network. Attention, your "mnemonics" skill has been reduced by five points.

The drive shrieked nervously. The hastily constructed adapter device grasped the cybermodule greedily and tenaciously, pulling it inside the starfighter's dashboard.

A haze of nanites emanated from my armored suit. Microrobots rushed in gray streams to the flight chair, forming the image of Liori - first, a blurred outline of her figure appeared, then facial features, details of equipment appeared.

- Empty without you ... - a quiet whisper burned. Empty and cold...

I don't know how she is now? If they shoot down, only a handful of chips will remain in the wreckage of the fighter. Liori understands this very well, but there are no other options. We are forced to split up. Haashi do not have the "mnemonics" skill, and alone I cannot cover the target with "steel fog", do not blind the anti-space defense sensors ...

I involuntarily look at the translucent interface icons. Aaron is right. Nothing changed. Skills, abilities, character levels, everything works.

We learned the truth about ourselves, went beyond the gaming reality. The question involuntarily arises: who and why maintains the usual attributes for us?

'Andr,' Jurgen's call broke the silence. - We're all set. Where are you stuck?!

- Go. I don't want to say goodbye, - the image of Liori lost its detail, some of the nanites merged into cybernetic blocks, forming the core of the Condor system.

* * *

The docking cell moved out of the hull of the frigate, then sharply went into a turn. The superstructure of the launch deck flashed across the viewscreens.

The haze of the atmosphere swirled and slowly melted away. The air has been evacuated from the cell. Outside the force field, the outlines of slowly rotating blocks of stone appeared, and after a moment, a sharp acceleration pressed me into a chair.

Asteroids, sparkling with interspersed ice, rushed towards them in a swarm. A short flash of corrective engines, and they parted, rushed past, giving the view a panorama of open space.

The brownish ball of Wyirong, the gas giant of the system, is visible on the starboard side. In the left hemisphere, the distant pea Darga gleams.

Switching between modes of perception, I involuntarily kept my eyes on the Relic. The frigate of the Departed is shaped like a stingray. The smooth contours of the two-hundred-meter hull are torn apart by holes in some places. The ship exudes a radioactive trail - minor malfunctions constantly occur in the reactor blocks.

The Relict's energy shields are barely smoldering. The telemetry channel receives data on the state of its on-board systems: eleven electromagnetic gauss guns (we call them "EMGs" for short) and one course plasma generator are ready for battle.

The ship is damaged and not properly repaired.

"Relic" is accompanied by two efrang. Amazing creatures native to Wyirong, with pronounced mental abilities, help us of their own free will. Their translucent bodies exude a faint radiance - now the ephrangs draw fiery spirals, glide along the ship's hull, ready at any moment to cover it with additional protection.

I'm on a course.

"Condor" Liori confidently keeps close, "Airobs" haash moving behind us a couple of thousand kilometers. The signature of the "Relic" is gradually fading - the ship lags noticeably behind, maneuvers smoothly, keeps at a respectful distance from the target - it will enter the battle only when absolutely necessary.

After accelerating, I turn off the engines. Now we are going by inertia, by the edge of a rarefied gas and dust cloud.

Streams of data flow into the expander of consciousness. Here it is - a potato-like, cratered asteroid five kilometers long. The former base of the Outcast Clan, where the artificial intelligences of the Departed now host.

A faded, schematic image is gradually gaining brightness and detail. I see the buildings of an ancient mine: two oval vacuum docks tightly closed, dusted with dust. Between them, an openwork line of loading mechanisms is silvered. Above the old working, the hull of a transport ship, adapted for defense needs, protrudes slopingly.

The information provided by Jürgen turned out to be correct. To protect the base, the Forsworn used an anti-space defense system developed by the Technologist Clan. They hid the control module in the bowels of an ancient mine, and placed firing points on the surface of satellites - stone blocks surrounding our main goal. Together they form the so-called "family of asteroids" - a group of small cosmic bodies moving at the same speed in a single orbit around a star.

I was doused with oncoming radiation. With the full fusion of the nervous system with the cybernetic components of the machine, it feels like a gust of hot wind has seared the skin, leaving a feeling of tingling, itchy pain.

Diaphragm hatches opened in the armor of the Condors. Colonies of nanites splashed out into space - they instantly formed a "steel fog" of the tenth level, which reliably hid us from detection sensors. Under cover of disguise, Liori and I begin scanning the main target.

In the bowels of the asteroid, an intricate network of tunnels branches, forming five underground horizons.

– Andr, there is a suitable signature!

The green marker flashed at a depth of one hundred and fifty meters.

I carefully read the energy matrix of the detected device, compare it with the available databases.

Without a doubt, this is an artifact of the Departed! The only surviving extra-spatial network module in the Darg system, designed to record consciousnesses!

He is our chance for a new life.

We are getting closer to the goal. So far everything is going according to plan. Liori and I, with the help of mnemotechnical abilities, must paralyze the enemy's anti-space defense nodes, turning them into static targets for the haash.

The picture of what is happening is rapidly replenished with new details.

What else is this?!

One light-second from our current position, a scattering of crimson markers suddenly appeared. Three cargo ships. About a hundred drones and… another man-made structure?!

I abruptly leave the attacking course, equalize my speed with the nearest stone fragment, disguise myself. Liori synchronously repeats my maneuver, the haash airobs also slow down, find shelter among the asteroids.

The Condor's sensors are constantly collecting data, and the outlines of a huge artificial celestial body appear in the field of my mental vision, shaped like a gleaming steel tumbleweed. The expander of consciousness details the image - inside the openwork structure there is a hull of a spaceship under construction - it is several times larger than our frigate!

The three transports, meanwhile, changed course, opened their cargo bays, throwing hundreds of tons of cargonite ore into space!

Drones instantly rushed towards the cloud of raw materials. Using force field traps, they quickly collected various sized rubble, enclosed it in energy bubbles, inside of which the melting process immediately began, and then molecular fog billowed!

Ancient technology in action!

"Andre, what's going on with you?" “Jurgen used the laser comms, trying to clarify the situation. Why don't you attack?

I'm broadcasting telemetry to him from the Condor's sensors.

“Shut down the Relic’s engines and put up defenses until we figure this out!”

- This is not an option! I'm following my course! – categorically answered the technologist. There is a note of inevitability in his voice.

For us, delay is like death. Literally. But a huge man-made object, located next to the main goal, breaks plans. I don't believe the shipyard was built by the Forsworn. It was obviously created by the ancient AIs - only they are able to manipulate the molecular fog on an industrial scale!

Liori, what do you say? – I fired off the probe, forming a common channel of laser communication.

“Manufacturing must be controlled by artificial intelligence,” she replied. “But I think the former Forsworn base is out of his area of responsibility. It's a bit far, and I don't see any signs of activity in the area of the old mine.

“Do you think we’ll just be overlooked if we don’t approach the shipyard and attack it?” Frieda snorted incredulously.

– And you remember the usual behavior of technical serfs, – Liori answered restrainedly and in detail. - They are always busy. They carry out the laid programs, and will not be distracted, even if a fight occurs nearby.

- Not convincing! – in his manner snapped Aaron. – Assaulting the Forsworn base will definitely attract the attention of the Ai shipyard!

Unforeseen delay on the outskirts of the target burns the nerves.

“I am not canceling the attack. Mitya, - I turn to Khaash, whose airob is equipped with an advanced tracking station - Is there any data exchange between the shipyard and our target?

There are hundreds of bright scarlet dots on the radar. I watch them, involuntarily gritting my teeth. Accumulations of markers are moving towards the shipyard. cargo ships went for another batch of raw materials. Soon their signals dimmed and disappeared.

The Drones of the Departed have disabled the energy cocoons, releasing their contents. Near the shipyard, a molecular fog stirred up - a continuous curtain of hot gaseous matter created a kind of veil that interfered with the work of scanners.

We continue to watch. As Liori suggested, the robots ancient civilization busy with their work. They reorganized, formed groups, starting the next technological phase of production: now the sensors record the electromagnetic fields that condense the hot substance.

A series of faint flashes followed.

The drones used the "form of manifestation" command to create armor plates! I can clearly see the hot diamond-shaped segments drifting through space in small clumps.

I agree with Aaron: storming the mine will definitely attract the attention of the manager of the AI shipyard, but what can he oppose to the "Relic"? capital ships not nearby - the squadron of the Incarnate is now pursuing the remnants of the colonial fleet "Eurasia" ...

Andrew, I have an idea! Jurgen exclaimed.

- Speak.

- The "Relict" has power towing devices! I will capture the asteroid with them and set a course for the outskirts of the system. And with those who have settled inside, we will deal away from the shipyard, without attracting anyone's attention!

- Reasonable! - Aaron immediately supported the technologist.

“Okay, so let’s do it.” Decisions have to be made instantly. - Begin! Do not touch the drones, do not approach the shipyard!

* * *

The first of the satellites in the scope.

The stone block is rapidly growing in size. A compact reactor is located inside, batteries of laser and electromagnetic weapons are clearly scanned from the outside.

My heart is beating fast and irregularly - I can't do anything about it.

In one light second from us, the robots of an ancient civilization continue to work hard. They scurry through clouds of molecular fog, picking up the slowly cooling skin segments and transporting them to the ship under construction.

The automation of my Condor constantly scans the communication frequencies, but there is no data exchange between the old mine and the shipyard.

Click. Range change. A distant, distorted voice suddenly broke through the background of static.

– Station Eurasia, to everyone who hears us!.. We are under attack by unknown ships!.. The shields are barely holding!.. We are losing the atmosphere!.. Help!..

New quest available: "Saving "Eurasia".

Find a way to stop the Incarnate. Reward: Your relationship with the Colonial Fleet Command will improve significantly. You will be able to trade with the station and use its equipment to repair your ships.

“Liori, did you hear?

Yes, I got the job!

We go to the target. Now our "Condors" are drawing swift turns of intersecting orbits. Fighter guns are silent. We attack the anti-space defense node with nanites, using the "mnemonics" skill. Microscopic robots penetrate the fortifications, blinding sensors, disrupting data exchange, and paralyzing kinematics. Debuff icons appear one after another in enemy battery frames:

"System Failure".

"Critical failure".

"Equipment Failure".

It's finished! We change course. The next satellite in the reticle! At the edge of the scanning sphere, the subtle signature of "Relic" had already appeared. The frigate has set course for our main goal!

Haash Airobs began attacking the paralyzed PKO node. They have a couple of minutes to burn out enemy firing points.

Liori and I repeat the attack.

"System Failure".

"Critical failure".

"Equipment Failure".

Second satellite disabled! A breach in the anti-space defense has been breached! Now we are heading for an ancient mine. "Steel Mist" still protects our "Condors", which cannot be said about the airobs of the Khaash flight. They opened fire on them from long distances, from uncomfortable angles, but still not pleasant enough!

The resistance is weak. Nobody expected our attack. So far, everything is going according to plan, but the proximity of the shipyard is frankly annoying.

The Relic is gaining momentum. His signature is slowly flaring up. A little behind the frigate, a bright dot is moving - this is a transport with assault groups of the Daugoth clan. Vandal and Vogel will lead the fighters inside the asteroid once it has been captured by the frigate's towing devices.

I'm worried about an old spaceship that the Forsworn have turned into a long-term weapon emplacement. I mark it with a target marker, but the supply of microrobots is exhausted, and we are leaving for a loop around the asteroid. Under the bottom of the cars, smoothed landforms sweep by. Having found a suitable building containing a large percentage of cargonite, we replicate nanites, - a series of flashes illuminated a small crater, a system message appeared before the mind's eye:

The stock of micromachines has been replenished.

With the movement of the pupils, I send the microrobots inside the mine, depriving the fire control module of the ability to coordinate the actions of the satellites.

Now the old transport! We quickly go to attack him, and, as it turned out, on time. Sensors fix two batteries of plasma generators - their signatures flare up, energy is being accumulated for a volley!

With bursts of electromagnetic guns, we break open the armor, break through the protection of the power compartment. Everything happens instantly. There was an explosion inside the ship. Hatches and weapon ports were blown out, the docking stations failed, the mangled hull was thrown up and sent into an uncontrollable drift.

I look around.

Khaashi worked without loss. Clouds of debris swirl in space.

There are four minutes left before the approach of the Relict ...

* * *

- Cleanly worked! - "Condor" Liori maneuvered, taking up the position of the wingman.

I activated the autopilot, depressurized the helmet, and wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead with the back of my glove.

Fingertips tremble slightly. Never noticed this before.

A couple more minutes and that's it. I can't imagine what it will be - ours new life? The Relic will capture and tow the asteroid to the outskirts of the star system, we will clean up the ancient mine, get to the device found by the Forsworn, and use it to digitize our consciousnesses. In fact, we will defeat death, we will become like the ancient beings...

– Unidentified signature on scanners!

Mitufurol's exclamation instantly brought me to my senses. Drives squealed as the visor of the helmet lowered, the mind expander and metabolic implant went into forced mode again.

Near the shipyard, among the diamond-shaped segments of the skin drifting in space, large swirls of matter appeared in the haze of molecular fog. The drones of the Departed, leaving their routine work, surrounded them, pumping them with energy.

The instantaneous analysis of energy matrices made me wince.

“It’s the Ghost Raiders…!”

I was the only one who was "lucky" to observe with my own eyes the process of materialization of an armada of alien ships before their attack on the Argus station. It's impossible to make a mistake.

“Give me just one minute!” Jurgen's exclamation came over the link. – The towing hooks are already activated!

“Vogel, park the transport in the Reklikta vacuum dock!” Aaron, cover for Liori and me!

Optical multipliers of the "Condor" pour into the mind a chilling picture of what is happening: a combat vehicle equipped with an artificial intelligence module has emerged from a red-hot haze. Flakes of dross flew off the armour, the ten-megawatt shields showed a dull glow, weapons ports opened in the hull, the stern lit up with a ghostly glow from the operation of the annihilation engines, and the raider began to pick up acceleration.

Course analysis... He's targeting the Relic!

"Just a little more!.. I've captured an asteroid!" Jurgen's voice is drowned out by the sudden static.

Outbreaks in the shipyard area have become more frequent.

The discharge of a super-powerful laser installation hit the Relic. It was only by sheer luck that he hit a randomly rotating asteroid that had deorbited due to the operation of the frigate's towing grips.

A burst of flame was carved out of the stone block.

Three hundred thousand kilometers is the effective fire range for a weapon whose momentum propagates at the speed of light!

– Jurgen maneuver! Cover yourself with asteroids!

A series of laser discharges overtook the frigate. The energy given to the towing grips Jurgen had to divert from the shields. Due to the lack of power, the force fields flickered on and off, unable to absorb all the damage. The ship's armor was burned through, but without fatal consequences: depressurized compartments were in the affected area, where vacuum initially reigned - this helped to avoid explosive decompression. The skin received a dozen small holes, melted along the edges, but retained its integrity.

Two ephrangs rushed forward, blocking the dangerous direction, intercepting another volley of Ghost Raiders.

- Jurgen! Get the frigate!

The Relict's stern lit up with the glow of plasma engines. The ship began to gradually accelerate, heading for the Argus. The right decision! At first, the destroyed station can serve as an excellent shelter!

Efrangs (they now look like huge jellyfish pierced with red-hot veins) blocked another volley, and suddenly began to fade, losing the intensity of the glow.

The "Relic" snarled from its main-caliber guns, turned the nearest asteroids into rubble, covered itself with their debris, like a shield, forcing the enemy to stop firing and start approaching.

The raiders suddenly split up. Five cars continued the attack, the rest turned away to the shipyard. Why?

The answer was prompted by signature analysis. They are distorted and faded. From the molecular fog, suitable for the production of armor plates, AI shipyard failed to create full-fledged combat vehicles?!

– The raiders' annihilation plants operate at only a third of their power! They lack antiprotons! Liori confirmed my guess.

- Let's attack!

* * *

We were just one step away from a new life, and now what?!

Five Ghost Raiders on a collision course! The rest disappeared into the haze of molecular fog swirling around the shipyard. Gone in search of the active substance, but will definitely be back!

Despite a glitch in the replication programs, the adversary far outnumbers us. performance characteristics. Liori and I have already faced the machines of an ancient civilization in battle and have a good idea of their capabilities. Although a lot has changed since then. We have significantly grown in levels, acquired new abilities.

The main thing is not to let them break through to the "Relic"!

The frigate is slowly picking up speed, heading for the Argus. The asteroid follows him like a tethered one.

I squeeze the maximum power out of the engines. This group needs to be dealt with as soon as possible! Liori confidently keeps close, but the airobs deliberately lag behind, constantly maneuvering. The Khaashi did not flinch under fire, focusing the attention of the enemy on themselves, giving us the opportunity for a surprise attack.

The distance is rapidly closing, but the Wraith Raiders cannot see us on the scanners, their sensors are powerless against the "steel fog".

Fifteen thousand kilometers... Ten...

Impulse shunting engines go into a strafe. My "Condor" is still approaching the enemy, while shifting sideways.

I keep the raiders in sight, I wait until the shooting angle allows me to attack the entire group.

There is! Their contours began to overlap each other! I open fire with four electromagnetic weapons.

The disguise has been torn off. My fighter, spewing a flurry of shells, moves sideways, draws a wide arc in space, leaving a melting plasma trail.

The raiders' shields sank sharply, swallowing damage. They don't have enough energy… Liori's "Condor" is strafing in the opposite direction from me. Volume crossfire The AI didn't like it. Twitched. They left the Khaash alone, instantly changed the priority of the targets!

Liori and I continue to move in the direction of the shipyard, only now we are flying "stern first", aiming snarling from the guns.

The AIs did not dare to leave us in the rear, they made a military turn. The shields of the opponents are practically knocked down, smoldering at one megawatt and not being restored. They diverted energy to weapons systems, hoping to finish us off quickly.

Haashi did not miss the moment. Focusing on their targets, they opened fire with rapid-firing lasers. The weakened force fields of the two raiders flickered on and off, the armor instantly covered in cherry welts, and then splattered with debris!

The explosion of the annihilation facilities momentarily blinded the sensors.

The lead couple is done! The rest are completely unprotected - I cut one with long bursts of EMGs, the second is shot down by Liori, and only the last one manages to escape: maneuvering dangerously, he disappeared into the haze of molecular fog.

Andrey Livadny

Ghost Server. Black Sun

Chapter 1

The asteroid belt of the Darg system. The board of the frigate of the Departed…

Tiny flickering lights reflect in Liori's pupils.

A soft twilight reigns in her compartment. On the table, near the dancing drow figurine, candles float. Drops of wax, losing transparency, break down, freeze with bizarre streaks of memories of amazing universes, where we, without caring about anything, plunged into whirlpools of events, meeting dangers with passion, firmly believing in respawn, firmly knowing - nothing fatal, irreparable with us will never happen.

So life flashed by, entwined with wires, writhing in fashion.

We felt young and strong, regardless of age, seriously believing that it would always be like this, not suspecting that the line of reality had already been erased ...

Liori's pupils now reflect the Abyss.

In them, fear and hope are mixed together. It is impossible to believe that she is dead - only the matrix of her personality remained, recorded in the nanites connected to my consciousness expander.

Grains of truth are like burning coals. They do not light the way, but burn the mind.

Andre, - Liori brushed the icy panorama of space from the screens with the movement of her pupils. The flame of candles for a moment became brighter, warmer, and suddenly died out. - It's time.

The direct neurosensory contact mode is disabled.

The system message erased the compartment's furnishings, Liori's image melting into a mirage. I'm standing at a low fence. A chilly crimson twilight reigns around.

From deep within the launch deck, flashes of plasma welding splattered, and long shadows darted across the bulkheads. To my right, the oval slots of the vacuum docks ooze dark. They are sealed by force fields. A level below there are docking cells for fighters, openwork movable structures, near which work is now in full swing: technicians from among the Khaash are hastily preparing two Condors for departure.

A muffled pop sounded from the side of the gravity elevator shaft. I turned towards the sound and saw the lanky figure of Aaron gently pushed onto the landing.

"Haash. Sentient xenomorph. Level 57 pilot."

He is equipped with an armored suit, only he has not yet put on a helmet. Framing the three-fingered hands, short computer cables gleam with connectors - with their help, the haashi connect to the systems of their airobs.

Andr, worum? the lizard croaked inquiringly, bowing its head slightly out of habit.

Aaron is silent, waiting for an answer. The look is insightful. Vertical pupils are narrowed. Hot breath hoarsely breaks from the ajar mouth.

The semantic processor nevertheless coped with the translation: "worum" means - "standing at the line." Another interpretation is "on the verge".

Yeah. Can't be more precise. The way of thinking of the Khaash does not imply white lies. They are straightforward and therefore sometimes look cruel.

Again there was a soft pop, accompanied by an elastic movement of air.

Oh, the deck was wrong! ..

Max, come on over here! - I squatted down and asked sternly: - Who allowed you to walk around the ship?

He smiled shyly.

I'm looking for Liori! She promised to play with us. So cool when it appears from the particles!

Haash touched my shoulder, drawing my attention, then transmitted a disturbing image: Maxim's "physical energy" indicator flickering orange.

Maxim is only five years old. He does not understand the enormity of what is happening.

Listen, Max, go back to the compartment with the guys, agreed? I need you all to sit in your seats and buckle up, okay?

OK. What if the girls don't listen to me?

Say that I made you senior.

Oh, is it true?!

Yes. Come on, let's run, run!

Delighted, Maxim jumped into the grav-lift shaft.

Aaron gave him a look full of anxiety and compassion. Greyish spots appeared on the rough skin of the Khaash, a sign of extreme spiritual confusion.

We must hurry! he said curtly. - You're all dying!

* * *

A power escalator leads to the level of the docking cells.

Until recently, I would not have paid much attention to this. Well, just think, melted furrows, and traces of numerous repairs. So what? Well-modeled game scenery, and nothing more.

Now I know - everything is much more complicated. Our consciousnesses have been moved through hyperspace and integrated into the technosphere of another civilization. We are able to interact with the objects of the real world, manipulate them - this is how the Departed mastered the Universe. Their technologies lie beyond comprehension, in the field of phenomena not yet discovered by mankind, but, nevertheless, they work.

Marugail and Mitufurol are waiting for us at the site of the prelaunch storage tank. Mark and Mitya - this is how I used to shorten the long names of the Khaash.

Andr, the transport of the Daugoth Clan has entered the given coordinates, - Jurgen's voice was heard in the communicator. - Vogel reports: assault groups are ready.

How is Relic's energy?

I brought the reactors to twelve percent capacity. This is three minutes of shield operation at full combat load.

I got you. Let's try not to take it to extremes, - I turned to the Khaash. They are high-class pilots, but today they are on the sidelines. Assaulting the Forsworn Clan's former base, now ruled by the ancient AIs, requires special skills that only Liori and I can master...

The situation is simple and deadly.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Aug 2, 2016

Ghost Server. Black Sun Andrey Livadny

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Title: Ghost Server. Black Sun

About the book “Ghost Server. Black Sun" Andrey Livadny

Andrey Livadny's novel “Ghost Server. Black Sun is the third and final book in the Ghost Server series. It is written in the genre of combat fiction and skillfully combines events taking place both in reality and in the virtual world.

The heroes of Andrey Livadny's novels believed that they would not die. Of course, because nothing happens to you if your character dies in the game. You just reboot and continue your exploits. Hence the boundless faith in one's own strength and the feeling of absolute power over this world. But the real death of loved ones and friends makes you change your outlook on the world. There will be no respawn. You die forever: irrevocably, suddenly and not at all heroically.

The characters in Black Sun have an ancient extradimensional network through which game in progress. Its participants are not individuals, but entire civilizations. So the alien standing in front of you is not a bizarre image and not a whim, but a different race of alien creatures. This sit down was left by some ancient civilization, very technologically advanced. The network allows you to create a game body in virtual reality, which will be similar to the real thing in detail. With this network, you can move between different worlds, that is, to be where your physical body definitely could not get. And this is not a metaphor for paradise. It's a cruel world with advanced technology. But is there another paradise beyond paradise? It was this question that the heroes of Andrei Livadny began to ask.

They have no other choice: the earth is mysteriously depopulated, and a handful of survivors repulse the furious attacks of aliens. The game body does not save from death in the game.

We boldly, fearlessly walked towards dangers, firmly believing in respawn, firmly knowing that nothing fatal, irreparable will ever happen to us, because this is just a game. A game... that goes through an ancient extra-dimensional web. A game that involves dozens of real-life civilizations. The earth was mysteriously depopulated. The fate of Mankind is unknown. We, the survivors of the Darg system, have only one thing left: to go to the end. Find the Phantom Server - the central node of the interstellar network of the Departed and solve its mystery.

A series: Ghost Server

* * *

by the LitRes company.

The asteroid belt of the Darg system. The board of the frigate of the Departed…

Tiny flickering lights reflect in Liori's pupils.

So life flashed by, entwined with wires, writhing in fashion.

We felt young and strong, regardless of age, seriously believing that it would always be like this, not suspecting that the line of reality had already been erased ...

Liori's pupils now reflect the Abyss.

In them, fear and hope are mixed together. It is impossible to believe that she is dead - only the matrix of her personality remained, recorded in the nanites connected to my consciousness expander.

Grains of truth are like burning coals. They do not light the way, but burn the mind.

“Andr,” Liori brushed the icy panorama of space from the screens with a movement of her pupils. The flame of candles for a moment became brighter, warmer, and suddenly died out. - It's time.

The direct neurosensory contact mode is disabled.

The system message erased the compartment's furnishings, Liori's image melting into a mirage. I'm standing at a low fence. A chilly crimson twilight reigns around.

A muffled pop sounded from the side of the gravity elevator shaft. I turned towards the sound and saw the lanky figure of Aaron gently pushed onto the landing.

"Haash. Sentient xenomorph. Level 57 pilot."

– Andr, worum? the lizard croaked inquiringly, bowing its head slightly out of habit.

Aaron is silent, waiting for an answer. The look is insightful. Vertical pupils are narrowed. Hot breath hoarsely breaks from the ajar mouth.

The semantic processor nevertheless coped with the translation: "worum" means - "standing at the line." Another interpretation is "on the verge".

Yeah. Can't be more precise. The way of thinking of the Khaash does not imply white lies. They are straightforward and therefore sometimes look cruel.

Again there was a soft pop, accompanied by an elastic movement of air.

- Oh, I made a mistake on the deck! ..

- Max, come here! - I squatted down and asked sternly: - Who allowed you to walk around the ship?

He smiled shyly.

- I'm looking for Liori! She promised to play with us. So cool when it appears from the particles!

Haash touched my shoulder, drawing my attention, then transmitted a disturbing image: Maxim's "physical energy" indicator flickering orange.

Maxim is only five years old. He does not understand the enormity of what is happening.

- Listen, Max, go back to the compartment with the guys, okay? I need you all to sit in your seats and buckle up, okay?

- Okay. What if the girls don't listen to me?

“Tell me that I made you senior.”

- Oh, is it true?

- Yes. Come on, let's run, run!

Delighted, Maxim jumped into the grav-lift shaft.

Aaron gave him a look full of anxiety and compassion. Greyish spots appeared on the rough skin of the Khaash, a sign of extreme spiritual confusion.

- We must hurry! he said curtly. “You are all dying!”

A power escalator leads to the level of the docking cells.

Until recently, I would not have paid much attention to this. Well, just think, melted furrows, and traces of numerous repairs. So what? Well-modeled game scenery, and nothing more.

Now I know - everything is much more complicated. Our consciousnesses have been moved through hyperspace and integrated into the technosphere of another civilization. We are able to interact with the objects of the real world, to manipulate them - this is how the Departed mastered the Universe. Their technologies lie beyond comprehension, in the field of phenomena not yet discovered by mankind, but, nevertheless, they work.