Last time, my uncle stayed for almost a month and left the most positive memories about himself. The brothers saw him off with tears in their eyes, and so did I. My uncle didn't have a family of his own, it didn't work out somehow. Shrugging his shoulders, he responded to his mother's complaints:

"You know, Diane, that I'm married to the most beautiful girl in the universe!" And he smiled, and the folder finished for him:

"At my job!"

They both laugh, but Bati feels so sad!..

Uncle Steve went fishing with us, hunting with his father and friends, and to the preference club. We all got care, warmth and love from him.

"When I'm fired, I'll come to your permanent place of residence! Will you accept?" He asked as he drove away.

"This house is for you, Steve! There's always a place for you here, remember that!" My father answered then.

"I always remember, you are my family!"

They will arrive in just a week! If only it would dry out by then!

A week later

We sit on the fence and look towards the city. We have a good fence, comfortable for sitting — there is a flat rounded canopy on top, it is also a solar battery. We are very comfortable, and the big cat likes to lie on it. We are me, Vanka, Gina and Nain. The older brothers walk around the yard, followed by Polkan. Everyone periodically looks up at the sky — just like the airfield team is waiting for planes from combat departure. My father flew away to meet me, my mother is busy in the kitchen, preparing treats, and the whole pack of us are stuck in the yard.

"It's been an hour since the shuttle landed! It's been a long time," Denis says.

"Calm down! While the customs is waiting for the luggage. Your grandfather wrote that there's a whole trunk full of hunting gear, and this is a separate inspection item! I read the code myself," Hem reminded Deniska.

"Yes, I remember everything, I'm just worried about something!"

"Sit down already, don't flicker!" Leshka exclaimed. "You're running around the yard like a bad Varren!"

"You're a warren yourself!"

"Well, you can also arrange a duel, or even just fight, hot Mendoir guys!" Vasya put in her five kopecks . "It will be nice for your old people to look at your red faces after a fight...."

"Heh, heh, heh! I can imagine! Picture..." The Tamil sitting in the armchair was smiling broadly as he listened to us.

Vasya went up to Deniska, hugged her neck and whispered:

"It's okay, stop it, Disya, you're turning yourself on and turning everyone on. Calmed down?" from her, a feeling of tenderness and something else elusive went towards her brother.

My brother really calmed down and looked at our asari strangely, his emotions were a mess.

"That's how you know how to put your five cents in when you need to! That's why I love you!"

"Do you love it?"

"As a sister and friend! Not what you think! It's too early for some to even think about it!"

A chorus of laughter rang out across the front garden.

"It's funny to them!" My brother came up to me and muttered: "Move over!" and he sat on the fence next to me. I was suddenly attacked by an uncontrollable fit of laughter, I barely managed to stay on the fence, well, I caught Deniska.

"And now what? What kind of a laugh did you catch?"

I was already flattened. His brother smelled of resentment. I calmed down somehow and said:

"I remembered an old joke."

"Tell everyone," Leshka asked.

I told them a joke about a guy who was sitting on the tracks. Everyone stared at me blankly for a while.

"Come on, there's a guy sitting on the rail!" and I spread my arms to the sides, pointing at the fence.

Then it dawned on them... They laughed as if I had parodied a top comedy from an extranet. Apparently, the accumulated tension needed an outlet, and it turned into a laugh.

"Oh, ha ha ha! Move over! Oh, I can't! Ha ha ha!" Hem was laughing lying on the grass. Polkan looked at him in surprise, wagging his tail listlessly. The redhead did not show any visible emotions, but there was joy and happiness in his feelings from the sight of happy little men.

"It's not enough for this greedy fence! Ha ha ha! Think about it, brother? Ha ha ha! The fence must be short! Ha ha ha!" Leaning against the house on the porch step, Leshka was laughing.

Vasey and Tamil were laughing in their chairs. Hugging each other so as not to fall, the younger ones, Gina and Nain, laughed loudly because they understood, and Vanka just for company. Denis was laughing the loudest, and the tension went away with the laughter.

A dot appeared on the horizon, which quickly turned into our flyer.

"Finally!" Denis exhaled.

The flier sat down in the middle of the courtyard, the doors opened, my father and Uncle Stephen came out on the left, and the "right" was hidden from us by the raised door, but it was clear that someone else was coming out. Stephen looked around our group. He was wearing an admiral's white uniform, he put on a cap, recovered and shouted with a smile:

"I wish you good health, young people!"

We fell off the fence like peas, stretched out and answered discordantly.

"We wish you good health, Mr. Admiral!"

"Well done, you can see right away that the right children are growing up!"

My father just looked at us all with love and quietly suggested:

"Come on, I'll introduce you to those who haven't met yet", and we went to get acquainted. We go around the flyer and see mom hugging a short woman with dark brown hair, dressed in a standard uniform. Next to him stands a tall, gray-haired and bearded man in an Alliance uniform without insignia. He looks at us, and I see the classic "Admiral Hackett," only without the scar and with steel-colored eyes.

"Liv, turn around, they're here!" He says softly.

Chapter 7.2 Two weeks later

We're seeing Uncle Steve off from vacation. He, our father, Dakar, Tael, and grandfather had a good "ride," so good that uncle has a distinct roll to starboard and speaks with exaggerated diction. Tael stands swaying, with his hand on his uncle's shoulder, and says something to him with fervor. I'm sure my uncle's vacation turned out to be much more interesting and intense this time.

It started with the fact that they, the whole company, that is, in general, all our adults, went to our club. Men want to play preference, and women just relax and dance. And there, as luck would have it, a company of stray spacemen was resting, it's unclear who released such freaks from the port. As a result, the vacation turned into a scandal, which turned into a huge brawl on the square. When the ancestors returned, our surprise at what we saw could probably be spread on bread. My father sported split lips and a split eyebrow, my uncle flashed a hefty blanche everywhere, Dakar had braces on his left mandible, and he walked somehow... askew. Ray's dress was torn when she tried to pull Dak out, who was knocked out. Tael had a swollen nose, and the entire glass of his helmet was covered in small red dots. In general, we had a good walk! Grandfather walked along, shaking his arms belligerently. Well, what freaks!

"Yes, I would rot them in the punishment cell for such behavior during their dismissal! And he would have demoted the captain and sent him to the eternal duty in the household unit! For cleaning droids to be in charge and waving a mop, that's where it belongs! What an audacity, to say such things to a woman! I wish we didn't have duels, otherwise I would have called that bastard out and seen the color of his guts!

"Arthur!"

"What is "Arthur", what did I say wrong?"

"Dad, don't swear!"

"'Don't swear'? How dare he say such a thing to my named daughter! And that you held me! I would have smashed this freak's brazen face, even though he's old!"

"He would have broken it! That moose would have trampled on you and not noticed! After all, Arthur, you are no longer twenty years old to participate in such fun! And there was someone to stand up for Kaadi's honor. This bastard won't be able to say nasty things for a long time now! As Stephen said, it's hard to talk with a broken jaw."

"My son remembers what honor is, and that bastard beautifully flew out the window with his head! We looked at it all... and were quietly blown away!"

We looked at it all... and were quietly blown away! So that there would be a fight in Leonov?! And our parents, who are so correct, took a direct part in it?! This day will definitely go down in the annals of the city's history.... I wonder under what name? I quietly shared my thoughts with all the brothers and sisters, which caused growing laughter. And Hem, consolidating all the statements, said:

"This day will be called `The Day of the battle at the club'!"

And it turned out to be right, that's what they called this day later! Half of the city took part in the fight, how can you forget that? We also celebrated this event at the club on the anniversary.... After taking a break for a few days after the fight, the elders decided to go on safari. Our continent is divided by mountains into two unequal parts. Our colony is located on the smaller one, which is mostly overgrown with silver-leaved forests. The animal world, despite the abundance of forests, is quite sparse — it is mainly represented by snuffles, a large number of birds and muklik. Mukliks are local rabbits or ground squirrels, they look like a rabbit, but they have the habits of a ground squirrel. In general, the goal of the general hunt, including the colonists, is for excellent fur and delicious rabbit-like meat. But beyond the mountains, steppes stretched across most of the continent, about two-thirds the size of Eurasia, and life was in full swing in them. Huge herbivores, of the most incredible sizes and species, roamed in colossal herds. There were predators to match them. The smallest were maned wolves — these huge, really somewhat wolf-like animals reached one and a half meters at the withers!

And the local king of beasts would not have left any chance for an earthly one.... The six-meter-tall creature most resembled a fur-covered tyrannosaurus, but with large and powerful-looking front paws ending in a four-fingered palm with half a meter saber-shaped claws. The six-meter-tall creature most resembled a fur-covered tyrannosaurus, but with large and powerful-looking front paws ending in a four-fingered palm with half a meter saber-shaped claws. An adult can easily fit into its mouth, with a whole set of powerful teeth. One of them is on display in the planetary museum, in the form of an effigy. Scary, creepy! God forbid, you'll shit yourself in a dream!

The adults agreed with our gamekeeper, who, by the way, Feron's father, Toliyat Tanris, works for them! A colonial gamekeeper is not someone who protects nature from the intelligent, but on the contrary, the intelligent from nature. They make sure that dangerous animals do not enter the colony, conduct search and rescue operations — in general, they are experts in the wild part of the planet. My uncle fixed the stereo camera eyes on a lightweight cork helmet, everyone took their weapons, boarded an open Toliyata flyer and flew away. They returned four hours later, as if they had been hit by a dust bag. They slowly got out of the flyer, exchanging nervous laughs, and looked at each other.

"How was safari?" Mom asked.

"It's unforgettable, daughter! But you know, I'll never go on safari here on Mendoir again."

"That's for sure! I've never traveled, and I won't go again, it's not for me!" Dakar shrugged his shoulders.

"Fuck it, it's a safari! Actually, I want to live! No one else will lure you in..." With a wave of his hand, Kael ran towards him.

"Anaarre Bosch'Tete! (2) Kila! What was I even thinking about?" Tael exclaimed, knocked on the glass of his helmet with his fist and went to his room.

"I was recording it, we'll show it tonight," Uncle Stephen said.

"Please send me a copy, Admiral! I'll use it as a guide for fools who want to go to the plains." He asked for a loan and flew away.

The adults dispersed, and we were left wondering what the strong and brave men with guns saw that looked frankly scared.

"What did they see there?" Leshka said aloud.

"We remain calm and wait. We'll see tonight," Hem replied.

2. Anaarre Bosch' Tet (Quarian) — (anaarre — elderly, seasoned, aged, mature, old — according to the context), (Bosch'Tet is a fool, a blockhead, a scoundrel, a scumbag — also in the context, literally "empty helmet") in this case, Tael said "old fool".

In the evening, having pulled out the holoprojector and speakers, the adults brought chairs to our front garden, Uncle Steve did some magic with the instrumentation, and the viewing began.

You can see that they were filming in flight, you can hear the men talking, they laugh, they ask questions to the huntsman. A hand periodically appears in the frame, pointing at one thing or another. The foothills ended, and the seemingly endless steppe began. Tall, almost as tall as a man, the grass swayed in the wind like the sea.

"See the dust for two hours?" Toliyat's voice will be heard.

A dusty cloud appears on the horizon and someone's blond head appears in the frame — either grandfather or father.

We'll catch up in five minutes — this herd of tough horns is coming. There are always predators following him. If you're lucky, look at the maned ones, or maybe even at the tyrannodon! Silence in the car, you can hear the wind whistling and the mass converter humming. A huge swaying herd is becoming more and more clearly visible on the horizon.

"At nine o'clock— the maned wolves leave the herd. I'll start now, and we'll take a parallel course. Watch and shoot, just don't shoot! They'll see it, they'll lie down, we won't find it in the grass."

"Understood, master!" The men answered in a discordant chorus.

The same steppe is in the frame, now huge, beautiful animals are galloping along it with an incredibly smooth gallop. Their running is silent and swift, powerful muscles rolling under their shiny black-and-gray striped skins, manes fluttering. The flock, about twelve individuals, stretched out in a sharp wedge and goes towards the foothills.