Elaina. In search of a planet.

Who is with me? part 19

Then Elaina, looking around, put on her space armor. Salamana jumped on her shoulder and both of them left the crater in the direction of the canyon on a motorcycle.
"Well, what are we going to do, commander?" Janos asked, watching the aliens from the porthole.
Striver's commander told the crew about the order from Earth and that Elaina heard it. To this Yablonsky replied:
"War is the biggest stupidity, and especially now, when we are at war with the nature of Mars every second."
Max paused. Although he already knew his decision, he simply waited for everyone to speak out.
"Hey, guys!" Tanya put in her word. "What a war! We are invited to see another world, aren't you interested?"
"Almatea is not the world, but inferno. And Elaina invited one person," Janos replied.
"Yes, but she has four seats on Helion, just enough for everyone," Johnson suggested and looked at Max.
Striver's commander looked at the astronaut, then at his gadget, where a family photo was displayed and said:
"Become famous on Earth, but a scoundrel at heart or disobey the order and save the world. I choose the latter. Who is with me?"
Max put his hand on the table with an outstretched palm, waiting for a decision from everyone. Tanya immediately shook hands and looked at the big Janos. He was still standing by the porthole, looking at the landscape that was dead and so alien to an earthling.
"Where are you children without me?" Being the eldest, Yablonsky could afford to say so to his colleagues. Then he went to the table and put his mighty hand on top of his palm and said. "Like the Slavs? Sit down on the path," superstitiously Janos suggested and sat down next to him in the hope that the guardian angels would not fly away with them and the solar system would be under supervision.
Some time later, after the Striver crew informed the Control Center of their decision to leave Mars, they took the Beetle to Helion. Taking with them the Spider robot, space suits, food supplies and some first aid equipment, people with great inspiration rushed to unknown worlds and adventures in order to return home with a noble mission. This was the main feature of a person -- to go into danger, possibly sacrificing himself, for the sake of another living being.
The flying subterrine hovered over the canyon right where the alien ship stood. Earthlings saw below Helion, which then disappeared, then appeared. Flywing sat on the bottom of the dried-up riverbed and the blinking of the Almatea ship stopped. He was already standing on four pillars. A freight elevator descended under the hull, on which stood Elaina, dressed in her armor.
After a while on the alien ship.
"Something is wrong with the holographic protection," said the hostess of the ship, being in high spirits. "They replaced the micro collider cassette, prepared flight seats. I hope they will pull the human body. Otherwise, all systems are normal, you can prepare for flight. In general, I knew that all of you would fly in. We almatians are also desperate, which is probably why we are similar in appearance.
The earthlings looked with surprise and interest at the interior of the alien ship. Everything was done in the style familiar to a person, but with so many sensors and holograms that the flight engineer thought that he was a child who was in the shuttle cabin for the first time. The grilles, air ducts, and handrails gleamed with nickel, and the walls looked like they were covered with rough crocodile skin.
Johnson ran her hand along the curved wall and realized as an exobiologist that it was most likely torn off from those underground creatures. To the touch, very hard, like a fossil.
"Yes, this is the skin of crinoids," Elaina said. "When these creatures die, their skin hardens and becomes stronger than steel."
"Good plating," Tanya said approvingly, going over in her head how amazing alien nature is.
Then they went to the cargo hold, where there was an all-terrain vehicle on six powerful wheels. There will also be a fly-winged subterrine. In the rear, bypassing several compartments, there was a thermonuclear engine running on Almatea fuel -- delidium.
Most of all, Yablonsky was surprised. As a specialist in Earth technologies, he could not understand how the systems retained their functions in such a crash. The Earth Module would have shattered into a pile of metal already.
Elaina handed out wrist computers to the earthlings, which will help them quickly learn the Almatea language. And a weapon that spoke of her complete trust in people.
The commander of the earthlings, considering the alien arsenal, gradually realized its power. The weapon looked like a heavy submachine gun, which was not easy to hold with one hand. Paying attention to the store, he was surprised at the small glass bullets. Inside, a thin thread gleamed purple along the bullet. To which Maxim spoke:
"So that's what you are, delidium. Star power in your hands."
"You know, commander," Yablonsky, who was standing next to him, said. "God forbid, this power will fall into the hands of our generals. They will smash the Earth to pieces."
"Exactly. Just give them."