Still, this ship was much more convenient to study than the big, valuable and impregnable catapults... And much more understandable.
Having disassembled the ship's cladding, Eve and Smith declared that everything was simple, understandable... However, it is not known by what miracle it was done.
With more complicated things it was even more difficult. Thousands of years are thousands of years. During this time, an ordinary silicon processor turns into natural stone, graphene processor turns into a piece of graphite, ordinary paper is capable of falling apart into separate fibers... The surviving piece of holographic memory, capable to survive millennia, for sure stored something very valuable, in fact, others were not found. Which is strange. Golo-memory was actively used even by "Universe" computers.
And then the unusually thoughtful Ekaterina Rudenko brought decoding of data from the crystal to the "cabin-company" during lunch.
- On this block of memory, there was a sound recording. Digital. Uncompressed. We reproduced it.
No, no miracle happened. They just listened to how passionlessly the ancient recording was reproduced. The voice of an unknown creature sounded strangely subtle, strangely loud and smooth, almost like a song without music.
They listened to it to the end, and then almost simultaneously turned to Floyd.
- What? He was surprised. - No, there's nothing familiar here either.
- Let's try to decipher it. Maybe we can find regularities... - The doctor sighed a sigh of disappointment.
The expedition, of course, collected a lot of information, sending it periodically with probes-couriers to the Catapult, but nothing magical happened. Floyd even had a little conscience.
Attempts to grab something material from the ship of strangers were resisted by biologists.
- If you bring something from there to the ship, we will have to live in suits, and not return to Earth at all, - Dr. Rudenko said sharply.
- But you never found a biological threat on the ship, did you?
- They didn't find it. But this does not mean that it really isn't there. It only means that they were looking for it badly.
- Bad or not bad, but we have no time left. - Dmitry Semyonovich put an end to it. - In a few days at most, you will have to go back to hibernation. Otherwise, you will have to overspend your resources. Chances of return will fall.
- But we will preserve this treasure for the future?
- Of course.
The treasure will be equipped with a communication satellite, a beacon and a pair of unused probe-couriers. If the earthlings later have a desire to understand this treasure, it will be easy to find.
- It's a pity, of course, that the second Catapult remains unexplored," Floyd sighed.
- Fear God, Doc," Kurnow's cheerful mood was slowly returning to him. - We've collected bloody petabytes of information that we've been studying for years, and the Earth has fifty available star systems closer by.
- Perhaps there we would have found those who built and brought this ship here. If someone activated it and it wasn't us...
The next thing you know, the dim starlight behind the window was covered by a metal wall.
The reaction of the technique was immediate. The emergency shutters of the windows closed, computers blew up, signaling the discovery of an unidentified artificial object in the immediate vicinity...
People rushed to the terminals, and a second later Floyd saw that the alien ship was even smaller than the earthly one.
Except it came out of nowhere.
- FTL movement... Unbelievable! - Tsung-wooled with awe.
A few seconds later, Elizabeth M'Bala jumped in:
- We are being summoned on the radio! A digital signal, not recognized. Begin recognition... Stop. Analog signal!
She pressed a button and someone else's voice sounded in the ship.
Even more incomprehensible than the first one.
Only this one was not soft and ringing - it was low and growling.
After jerking something, the unknown person turned off.
After a few seconds, the alien's ship turned around and literally "jumped" somewhere in the distance, almost instantly disappeared.
- Judging by the vector, the stranger flew to that very unexamined repeater," Tsung said, looking at the screen. - He is now five light-hours away. It will be necessary to check its speed.
- That's what I was afraid of," said Dmitriy frowning, nervously drumming his fingers. - But... It's strange. They did nothing to us.
- Should we have?
- We could.
- This is a completely different ship, have you noticed? Very different," Smith, like everyone else, looked thoughtful. - It was built by very different people.
- I will analyze this voice too," said Catherine.
- Dr. Floyd, have you noticed something familiar? - Elena, a quiet, silent girl whose name was the exact opposite of hers, and the official navigator of the expedition, addressed him for the first time.
- No,- he shook his head.
Floyd could only tell himself that the contact had taken place. Not as planned. Not the way we expected or hoped. Somehow stupid and incomprehensible.
And anyway, we have to go back. Sending another courier forward, just in case.