to the cargo compartment and there, unloaded into special cages. The procedure of his actions is thought out to the smallest detail and does not harm anyone. The gears will not crush you, no thorn can pierce you, and the tentacles will not kill the living. This is a brilliant invention of cargo-handling machines, which, while it does not require modernization, will serve people for more than one generation.
All the cars began to move forward, leaving nothing behind.
– I certainly won't, – Tomaka said.
– No, I won't, – Timba said, too.
– I'm very happy about that, because I'm the only girl here, – Vella said, more boldly.
– Of course, the only girl, our princess, – Tomaka said.
– Thank you, but I'm not like that, just a good doctor, – Vella replied jokingly.
– So, we spent a day in space, and already the tackles have gone, – Pythons laughed.
– They would have sent him out to cut wood, and then, when they had cleared everything, they would have caught up with him. And what are we, following him? – Timba asked dully.
– You can not, suddenly a failure or something! It will go away for a few days ahead, then chase after it, return it, – replied the Python.
– Yes, I agree, it's better to go quietly after him than to look for him and fix what he makes, – Tomaka said.
– I see, this is done to keep our brains from boiling, – Timba said, and laughed.
– That's right, – Vella said, laughing.
In such a casual conversation, the crew drove all day, according to the calendar of Malonga first, that is, the entire distance, to the designated point.
On the spot, upon arrival, the logger stopped. The crew breathed a sigh of relief as they settled themselves and installed the equipment and supplies they had brought with them.
Huge but thin metal pipes, covered with glass disks, like mushrooms, grew everywhere. Inside, each of them has already begun the process of pumping out everything of value from the ground. The air was filled with sharp and ringing sounds, coming from invisible cracks in the pipes, from the white and gray colors of the gases. They were like thousands of nuclear explosions rising to the sky in an instant. All the living things around him had almost disappeared, leaving only the grating of metal and the clouds of vapor that covered everything. Work is done!
The modular Expedition Crew Room, further MEEP, was installed by robots, in the center of everything that is happening here, for more convenient guidance over the working moments. At the level of the glass disks, an equally large glass ball appeared, and this was the MEEP. From all the disks, wires and cables, ribbed and smooth pipes, stretched to it, through the air, it all combined into one working cycle.
The crew went up to the MEEP and immediately gathered in the last compartment, with a glass outer wall.
– This is a moment of bliss, – Timba said.
– Is this what we've been waiting for? – Vella said, ignoring Timba's words.
Everyone stared through the glass, their eyes frozen. This is what they needed. They felt like giant needles digging into the ground and tearing it from the inside, sucking everything in. The material, part of the Malonga first, twisted like minced meat, is flowing out of it now, into their pockets. A truly mesmerizing moment!
– I feel like a thief! – Tomaka said.
– No, you're wrong. We're not thieves, we'll just take some, – Pitons corrected Tomaku, reassuring him of their honest intentions..
– That's right, here later, everything will be restored anyway. Is it bad that we will be happy with this? – Timba asked Tomaka, without any remorse.
– Later, later, later. Okay, we're here for this, and we'll take it home with us. And now, I ask everyone to go about their personal business, – Tomaka ordered.
– I need to go to the men's room, – Timba said, and, satisfied, the first one disappeared from the compartment.
– I've picked up some biological specimens along the way, and I'm going to do some magic with them, – Vella said.
– If you find anything unusual, let me know, – Tomaka commanded.
– All right, – Vella said, and left.
In the compartment, there are two people left, Tomaka and Pythons.
– I want to congratulate you on your brilliant work, – Pithons said, and reached out to shake Tomaka's hand.
Tomaka secured the handshake with his own hand and smiled slightly at the Python, accepting his congratulations.
– We will have a lot of common and interesting things ahead of us! – Tomaka promised Pithons.
– I, too, think so, but in business, there are breaks. Therefore, I suggest that we finish our conversation later. The body needs to rest, – said the Python, tired with age.
– Both body and spirit, – Tomaka said good naturedly.
Their hands parted and they went to their respective compartments, which served as their rest room.
Although they, the crew, did not see each other, their thoughts were the same. Why? Because they're messy! Then they imagined themselves as princes, in the case of Vella-a princess. Then cool tycoons, with a lot of money, in general, rich people. And, Timba in his compartment, on an air folding bed, even visited the role of a wizard who lives without hard work, in his world of magic and fantasy.
To them, the sun is bright, and the sky is clear, and inspiration is inside! Benevolence! Now, their capital was rapidly increasing, automatically transferring them from a deplorable state to a club of rich people. Bliss comes and the planned dreams begin to gradually come true.
Vella, having worked her magic with the test tubes, saturated with the daily difficulties of the expedition and the jokes of the crew members, sank unnoticed, in the color pictures of the dream, trying to predict her immediate, secure future.
Pythons did not sleep, he settled comfortably in a rocking chair and also began to dream about money, about girls and gambling, because he had almost become a rich man, the elite of society. And perhaps he will buy himself a special building somewhere and retire to his work, because in his youth he dreamed of creating what would remain, paired with eternity.
Tomaki's room, darkened by artificial light, weighed on his mind a little now, but he ignored it. Relaxing his gaze, Tomaka stared far into space, through the wall, into the vast darkness and emptiness, until he fell asleep.
Chapter 4. Crew capture
Everything would have continued like this, but the sky was pierced through by flying disks, resembling one plate covered with another. And there were quite a few of them. The experience of those pilots, and these are living people and biorobots, was high and they did not make a single accident in the sky. With great speed, these black disks whirled around the MEEP, assessing what was happening here.
The crew had long since woken up and was now watching through the windows of
