"Trader Tales" present:

The promised for the beginning of history

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Chapter 1. Welcome, or "fashionable sentence."

Rowan hates sand, heat and rough metal. But she enjoys being popular and wants it to last forever. That's the true purpose of the necessary use of the most hot and scandalous topics. Mark, the Agent of Rowan says so.
He is a good agent, although disgusting as a person, but Rowan would have been nobody in her top model career without him. Parties, cars and rich boyfriends, wasting huge amounts of money just for the sake of simple flirting - thanks to Mark ideas! Despite the fact of it's being vulgar, nasty or weird.
That idea was ... more than weird.
Everybody is watching the deploying intergalactic war. Carnivorous ghoulish worms, which size is ranging from meters to several kilometers, are travelling from planet to planet, eating whole organic on its path. Many planets on the outskirts of the Galactic Union have already fallen and now are teeming with those bastards, being completely transformed into huge balls of the parasites, feeding with the soil, water, any rocks and reproducing at an incredible rate. Those creatures are just guzzling and multiplying, so when their number becomes critical, the dead body of the largest worm, filled with small species is being sent to the outer space. Such dead "ships" are invisible for range-radars because of lack of mechanics, so they are difficult to detect and can be achieved only through direct observation, but the space is endless. And the war is still young, despite the huge losses of the Galactic Union. The enemy is new and unknown, and the algorithm of its actions have not yet traced. So everybody is waiting for the time when the Military United Forces of the Space - "MUFS" will find ways to stop the worms.

Mark's idea was to join MUFS. Becoming the face representative of the galaxy saviors is a really great PR move. But damn, Rowan still does not like sand, heat and rough metal.

She was hoping she only would have to change several military uniforms at that photoshoot, posing playfully. Maybe to make some erotic snaps for soldiers magazines, so to speak, for morale raising. Mark could easily arrange that. Yeah, she was even ready to drink with the generals, but geeeez ... to fly to the empty planet close to the borders of the Union for making photos inside the new prototype battle suit for planets' cleansing? What the hell, Mark ?! And this suit ... Is this even a suit ?! It's the fucking military A.I.M.! The real one! The functioning one! And it also completely covers her body ... Her body, Mark! And this crossbar between the legs ... Damn, it's rubbing! How they are even saving the planets in this thing ...

- Okay, Rowan, close it and let's begin shooting!
Maestro Goil shouted.

Her constant photographer Goil and his three trainees were the shooting crew. She and her mechanical "jacket" were the models. There also was a MUFS rookie, which was assigned to watch over the preservation and transportation of the suit. These were the only living-beings presented at the desert-planet.

The planet was not far from the next worm-ball and too far from army's great strategic interest, so it was evacuated long time before. Mark decided that its entourage and coordinate data will cause a greater surge of interest among the masses. But also had not come with them, bastard.

- And ... how I'm supposed to do it?!
Rowan almost lost her patience. It was so much easier just to show her ass in tight clothes to the camera, than this.
- Hey, baby! Okay, what's that?
She asked the soldier, who was forced to read a thick volume of instructions.
- Uh ... you need ... or not ... fast access modes ...
His glance was running through the lines in the book.
- Oh, God, - Rowan sighed, trying to get more comfortable inside the mechanism.

From the documentary short films that were often featured on TV, Rowan knew that worms mostly bite limbs and their mouth kind of resembles the jaws of deep-water fish. Probably it was the reason why the exposed parts of the arms and legs of the pilot in the suit lasted only until the elbows and knees, and shoulders and hips were ones of the most protected places in the AIM

To keep the control of the mechanical hands movement one could use special joysticks inside the sleeve, which should have been grabbed like the brass knuckles. One of the functions of the front part hand could be selected by turning the joystick to strengthen the axis of the left and right. Firing and use of the features of the selected hand function could be turned on by the red button on the side of the joystick. The big red button. THE BIG ONE. THE CHALLENGING ONE. THE RED ONE.

Waiting for the information from the soldier, Rowan turned the joystick twice to the left and once to the right. She heard the sound of mechanisms inside the sleeve, the hands changed its position according to the action program, starting the selected function. Being in this position, Rowan could not see the end of the AIM hand, but the stopped vibration inside the sleeve alerted her that something has changed. Quietly, she lowered the A.I.M. arm and, stroking the soft rubber button thoughtfully suddenly pressed it with her finger.

-Fuu-Uu-uuck!
Yelled Goil, who did not expect seeing a powerful stream of flame, broken forth to the sand. - ROWAN !!!
- That's not my fault!
The model shouted fearfully. Being shocked, she began frantically moving of the arms and legs of AIM, causing it's falling on its metal ass.
- Ouch ... Mother of ...
Rowan began whimpering.
- Who else? Huh, Willy ?!
The photographer was angry. Goil called her Willy only when he was in the rage because of the stupidity of hers, naming her like that Coyote from the very old show about the Coyote and Road Runner. -Don't Come closer to this colossus!
He shouted at his trainees and turned to the puzzled soldier. - How. Should we close. The suit.

-Well, There are several modes. The sleeve changes them. We should put ...
The guy who just recently got into MUFS mumbled, referring to the instruction. Now the photographer in his pure evil mode reminded him of his commanders and the soldier decided not to interfere. -Just Hold both buttons for seven seconds. For twelve seconds, to close it down.
- Willie! Turn the palm!
- What?
She heard the maestro, but the questions sometimes are being repeated just to win some time.
-How Should I do that?
- Both the joysticks to the center!
The soldier replied and then smiled to Goil.
-Like, Yeah, I'm cool, that's what I know.
-Okay, Do not do anything again, let's start a photoshoot.
***

- Who am I?
- I'm the one who continue walking.
A lone figure walked along a desert slowly and unsteadily.
- Where do I go?
- I do not know.
Still, the figure have not stopped.
- How long am I walking?
- As long as I remember myself.
- And for how long I remember myself?
- I do not remember.
The traces of the figure started from the rocks, but it does not remember the rocks.
- Am I hurt?
- No.
- Am I tired?
- Not really.
It was a vague purple smoke near the figure.
- Who's there?
- Nobody.
- WHO's there?
- I am alone here.
- WHO IS THERE?
- Forty kilometers from here. Five persons.
- I'll go to them.
Changing its direction the figure slightly turned.
- Hundreds of them.
- They are different.
- What's the difference?
- Five on the ground. Hundreds underground.
- Need to go.


To be continued.
Chapter 2. Hellish nightmare or "you'll be my friend"