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      Patroclus

      High in the blue sky bird flutters. Its melodious song is heard among the broad, sunlit fields. In the thick grass chirping crickets in every way. A breeze rustles a little green grass, bringing scents of wildflowers, mixed with a tart smell of pine needles of the near forest. That, in the distance, visible tops of slender pine. It is easy to breathe in it, next to the cool forest lake. Needles and pour cool water power, give health and life. Oh, how sweet it is to plunge into the clear lake water bliss, then lie down on the warm sand and listen to the lapping of the waves.

      And the song of a lark flying all over the fields, clouds, forest and lake close, weaving in trilling crickets in the singing of birds, the murmur of the spring. A singer summer, bird, rising higher and higher into the blue expanse of heaven and lost there.

      Where are you, bird?! Stop! Not rives a blue abyss, stop! There’s a dead emptiness…

      – Stop! – Almost inaudibly moving lips.

      The man in the suit then drenched with a person whispers.

      – Wait, waits! – Eyelashes fluttered, revealing blue as the sky, eyes. Looking slightly brightened. The person centered. Two deep wrinkles marked the nose straight nose.

      – Where I am? – A weak voice drowned in a spacesuit. Consciousness slowly returned. She remembered the three days before the start. Then launch the spacecraft. Then, nowhere did this ne-of lark, and grasshoppers, or rather their chirping…

      The uniform humming instrument echoes the song of summer fields. Looking anxiously focuses on the instruments. There, among the spectrum of lights shining red

      – What depressurization? – Whispered lips. Hand tiredly reached for the dashboard. Click. The red light goes off.

      – That’s all! – Sigh of relief astronaut. The narrow space of the cabin is designed for two. In her distress there are two chairs and a remote control. Here, in a rescue unit, joined the astronaut was forced after an accident. Now the ship under the influence of Jupiter’s gravity, uncontrollable, swept through the belt of small fragments of asteroids in the area of the group called “Cluster Trojans.” Through crackling ether consciousness astronaut intersperses the words of the head of operations. Because of the interference generated by congestion zone, indicating that the Earth does not understand. But even such a connection with the earth gives strength, and has stronger voice, he radioed to Earth:

      – I landed on Patroclus. Send the rescue!

      The answer came immediately. From passages due astronaut realized that his hearing is good, and that the expedition is already armed, the coordinates of the landing taken. Encouraged communication with Earth, he confidently performs calculations maneuver. It turned out that the seventh ring of asteroids pose di ahead to the accumulation of free space Trojans.

      Jupiter is a huge globe hangs in the abyss of space, emitting pale blue glow. The gloom permeates the cabin light, filling the senses suspense. A vehicle is coasting, relentlessly dodging the estimated trajectory in the grip of Jupiter. Cosmonaut determined that the time left on the road for two hours. Jupiter has turned into a huge disc. In the blue, semi-transparent atmosphere of the planet clearly visible cumulus clouds liquefied gases. The shades of all colors of the visible spectrum of the eye, observed in his dense cover. The planet rotates slowly, demonstrated its side application reviews are not from Earth.

      “Patroclus is already clearly visible” – thought astronaut. The placers points light hanging, spinning a boulder. In the sunlight it shines silvery shimmer, recalling moonlight Like a giant crystal monolith, attracts the attention of the magical power of the reflected rays. As you approach, reducing the path, gradually blurring the edge, losing shape. In their place, there are all new dark and light spots. Sharper looming notch. And now, before the astonished man was a giant rock chip slowly showing his majestic side in the rotation.

      It’s time. Before the critical seconds left sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight …, methodically, one after one after another floated digit time. On the fortieth, save-time Capsule Module started, leaving the skeleton of the spacecraft, moving in an elliptical arc around Jupiter, began to deviate in the direction of Patroclus.

      Asteroid floated slowly forward. And now it turned into a huge monolith, closing a Jupiter. It seemed that none of the blue, no flat ground in a chaotic conglomeration of notches, fractures and cavities of the surface. But you need to sit at, then immediately or Jupiter will take his deadly pit. The pilot maneuvered calmly obedient rescue capsule. The module, like a living organism, resigned to the will of the commander. Slowly meter by meter closer to the surface. In the meter from the surface of the lower module of niches out three damper struts. Boring head set on their ends, easily cut into the rock. And nestled cosmic dust, the encapsulation module, froze firmly entrenched Boers paws to Patroclus.

      Infinite series of numbers on the scoreboard clock. The figures were replaced in turn, counting time intervals. But tired of waiting for his eyes, it seemed that the nine suddenly stopped by an infinitely long moment, she was replaced by a zero, then the unit and so on. Looking intently watching the clear rhythm seconds. “How long have I been here? – Anxious thought astronaut, peering into the face of the clock, – Two weeks of inactivity. … While there is probably a lot more?”

      The cabin was dim. Light falling on the scoreboard in green suit on the glass, leaving his mark on his face. Suddenly slight tremor coming suddenly on the skeleton of the module housing. Looking warily slid to the window. On silver chipping asteroid, here and there were dust clouds. “Bombing! – A sudden thought lightning flashed in my head! “And to prove the danger, the body of the capsule started like a rampant horse. Cosmonaut thrown out of the chair a powerful impetus. Scraps harness hung in rags on the handrails. Overcoming the pain from injuries, the pilot through the portholes saw clouds of thick dust from the “north side” of the asteroid…

      Among the “live” shadows, frozen black lightning crashed into a deep crack Patroclus. She ran with the “South” to “North” by breaking the asteroid in two. Along the black abyss of crack in the direction of “the North”, a small silvery man, moving figure astronaut. The crack went through the “valley” and similar zigzag tape disappeared from sight behind a heap of giant boulders. In sharp jump cosmonaut tried to reach the top of the nearest clumps. Body soared over the wreckage and sank it in the sky, and with the acceleration rushed down to the top. Area apex close, but somewhat he moved aside. Cosmonaut, straining his body clung to his fingertips over the edge of the eaves. From the collision of hands and lumps, the body changed its trajectory and legs moved forward. Soon the astronaut felt the support, but knowing the habits of Patroclus, with even greater caution legs buckled and absorb shocks. Hands grasped instantly reliable support. And the body sank. He took a breath, made the familiar gesture to the forehead, as if wiping sweat, but his hand sliding-nool on the transparent surface of the helmet spacesuit.

      – Now, the important thing is not to make any sudden movements. – Warned he himself expressed in the hearing. And carefully climbed to the top of the flat boulders. From this place a good view of the broad panorama of the dead landscape. Everywhere chaotic jumble of stone monoliths. Through their sharp edges of the horizon stretches a black ghost abyss. Astronaut makes a jump. The body moves forward along the crack. The surface, slowly accelerating, is removed from the silver figurines. Horror frosty needles stuck into the body paralyzed hand. A moment! Cosmonaut mastered himself. Quickly assess the situation. The proximity of Jupiter, that the possibility of death. Fingers ran frantically for the built in suit panel ramie multicolored buttons. Instantly suit trembled. The powerful jet engine backpack raver-zeros him face-to-module and carried forward. “Thank God – thought the pilot – navigation module in the order, align me.” The surface of the asteroid approaching. “It helps to Patroclus,” – this thought reassured the pilot, gave confidence and a successful outcome of his odyssey.