Path-1

Three hours after I'm sitting alone in the middle of the carpet in the children's room on the second floor of our house, talking softly to the cat. Slowly and gradually, my tongue begins to obey me. “Tell me, Ba'sik, that's why my ton'ue listens so badly. I'm t'aining, I'm t'aining, I'm t'aining with you! And Tou'ko?” The cat is silent, quietly purring, lying down on the carpet next to it, stretched out to its full length and rolling a wheel from some kind of machine with its front paws. The brothers have a whole box of this "scrap metal". Ehhh! Hopefully, the torment won't last too long. “Is that' so, cat? I'll lea'n eve'ythin!” Barsik purrs, squinting affectionately. By the way, I managed to find out my location. An hour ago, Mom, holding me in her arms, turned on the huge TV. Uh-huh-huh! What a thing it is! A natural window into another world! So, there was news, and a pretty presenter, in quite decent English, broadcast that the current state of affairs in the colony of Mendoir is just fine, all mining and processing complexes are operating at full capacity, which will allow this year to increase the shipment of concentrate, increase the number of colonists and the income of existing ones. Then there was a block of interplanetary news about the new initiatives of the Citadel Council, about the work of the ambassador of the Alliance of Systems... hmm! It seems that in the canon, people should be on the council, but here is an ambassador, not an adviser.… Then there was the sports news block, and it all ended with the weather block. Everything is the same as always: the surroundings change, but the essence remains the same. April 11, 2355 As usual, I was sitting at my chair by the kitchen window and looking out at how our cat and our doggie were playing with some kind of crap that looked more like scraps of a stuffed toy. You've turned one year old, Zhenya! Suddenly, with a loud hum, a red and green bike flew into the yard. It's the same thing as in the sixth episode of Star Wars, only without the long thing with wings in front, the flying scooter is shorter. Both of my brothers sat on it in tandem, with Denis's face looking worried and guilty, and Leshka, who was sitting behind, looking tearful and scratched, while he strangely held his left hand. I made a sound: “Ier-er-er!” I pointed out the window. Dad went to the window, looked, his face took on a worried expression, anxiety was clearly playing in his emotions. “Dayan," he said, "the guys are in trouble!” “What's wrong, Mish?” “Call an ambulance, Dayana.” Mom went into the living room and chirped at the terminal, and after a short chirping, a clear female voice came from there: “Diane, my dear! Is that you, what happened?” “Ray, I'm really glad to see you too, but I need you! My guys seem to have had a very good bike ride!” “I'm on my way, honey, just don't worry, it's not good for you!” and slowly fading away. “Dack, Da-ack! Get ready soon, let's fly to the Shepards.…” It is not known what the mysterious Duck replied, the connection was disconnected. The front door buzzed, and my brothers appeared for all to see. “Well and?” My father asked. “Da-ad. We rode a bike here.…” Denis looked at the floor and said, “Well, anyway, Leshka flew off and, it seems, broke his arm.” At that time, Leshka was hesitating next to him with trembling lips and eyes full of tears. “So-o...” said the father. “And how could this happen, driving without a limiter again?” “Well, Da-ad!” Both of them howled. “Only small ones ride with a limiter.” “Yeah, so you're big?” Mom exclaimed. “Well, mom!” They both howled again. At the same time, the brothers looked the most dejected, and their emotions showed pity for each other and, for some reason, fear. “Well, Aunt Ray will fly in now, and it will become completely clear what to do with you," said the father. The brothers hunched their heads and looked at their mother with a strange hope. “What are you watching? Hoping to get off easy?” The brothers shuddered and looked at their father expectantly. “What did I tell you?” My father asked. “That we should be careful," Denis said. “That you should drive without a limiter carefully,” Leshka whimpered. “And what about you?” The brothers began to sob, both of them. “Well Daddy… We didn't do it on purpose.… It's kind of like that! We didn't run into Ham on purpose!” The sobs turned into tears. “So you also ran into Haymon? And how is he doing? Where is he, by the way?” “Dad, Ham flew home, he was taken Tam away!” Deniska spoke through tears.  “So he also got beaten up! Well, Dakar will give him nuts! There will be science for you, to drive like crazy,” Mom said, putting her hands on her hips. There was a squeak from the informant at the door. I completely missed how the doctors arrived. There was some kind of long-shaped futuristic-looking thing behind the fence, but with the familiar outlines of a blue chandelier that twinkled fervently. Mom waddled over to the door and pressed on the flickering green hologram on the right jamb. The door opened and I walked into the room... my mouth dropped open! All so slender in a fitted snow-white suit with a bright red cross on her left forearm... a blue-skinned AZARI! It's just like in the "Mass Effect": tentacles on the head, and pigmented spots on the face — and she's so beautiful! “Michael!” she exclaimed. "Where are they?" “Admire it!” My father replied. “There's Leshka, he ejected from the bike!” “Come here, Alexey, let's see what's wrong with you”, I feel a flash of concern from Doc. Leshka came up to her and held out his shaking left hand. An orange hologram flashed around the Asari's left wrist. She ran it along Leshka's arm, looked at the hologram, pressed her finger on the strange round pimple on the right side of her head and said: “Duck! Bring a small treatment table and a suitcase with clips!” I turned to the window and saw a tall Turian sidling through the gate! He was wearing a snow-white suit just like the doctor's, with a briefcase in his right hand and a long trunk placed vertically in his left. Moreover, our dog, twirling his tail like a fan, gets in the way under his feet, showing no signs of aggression, rather a stormy joy, as from meeting a good friend. That's right! What about the human colony?! Where the Turian and the Asari serve in the ambulance... nothing is clear. Well, okay, let's see ... the Turian entered the house, went to the middle of the living room, put a suitcase on the floor, took hold of the trunk with both hands, and I still didn't understand how, but this trunk suddenly turned into a long table, immediately put on the floor. “Bring three chairs, Mish”, Dr. Ray said. Dad, under Doc's guidance, quickly arranged chairs around this table, and Leshka was seated on one chair. Doc took out a strange pistol, pressed its barrel against her brother's forearm, pulled the trigger, and there was a sound: "Ps-s-st," Leshka yelped. “Well, well," the Turian said. “You'll feel better now, and we'll help you, my friend.” “Does it hurt?” Leshka mumbled. “Do you feel your hand?” Ray asked. “Er-er-er... no…” “Well, it doesn't hurt," Duck said. “By the way, Duck!” said the father. “Your eldest is hurt too, he's sitting at home!” After that, a briefcase was placed on the table, which, unfortunately, blocked everything that was happening on the table from me. I fidgeted and whined, leaning to the right and then to the left in an attempt to see what was happening on the table, but all in vain. So I didn't see anything. When it was over, Leshkin's hand was wrapped in a cool white scarf. “Okay, Michael," the doctor said, “You'll arrive at the hospital in two days, we'll remove the retainers there, and it's better not to strain your arm for a week. Do you understand everything, young man?” She turned to Leshka. “Got it," my brother squeaked. “And no bike racing! I'll rip off my piston and put it in today, too.” Dr. Duck said. “Mish, sit down, we'll arrange it, it's an accident anyway!” called Father Azari. “Let's go," the doc said, "is the victim's name?" “Alexey Mikhailovich Shepard.” "Age?" “7 years old.” “Date of birth?” “July 22, 2348.” “Place of birth?” “Leonov City, Mendoir colony.” "Parents, Father?" “Mikhail Alexandrovich Shepard.” "Age?" “65 years old.” “The mother?” “Hannah Diana Shepard.” “Age?” “63 years old.” "Home address?" “Leonov City, Strawberry Street 2, Whisper Ranch.” “Okay,” the blue doctor said, "I'll fill out the rest myself." Then the Turian Duck came up to me. I looked at him with undisguised curiosity, wide-eyed, and there was a lot to see. First of all, he looked like a game Turian and didn't look like one at the same time. He did not have so-called "mandibles", just his lower jaw was covered with cheeks with horny plates growing on them, with pointed ends curving closer to the chin below the chin itself and fused with the lower lip, under which fangs were hidden, looking down, four centimeters long. That's what I understand, teeth… The lower canines were much smaller: two and a half centimeters. The figure was dense, proportionally built, beautiful even to a human eye, and not that squalor — a product of Biovar designers. The hands are four-fingered, with the little finger thicker than the index and middle fingers, and only slightly shorter than the first. All the fingers on the hands ended in powerful, slightly curved claws. The Turian's skin was golden brown, his face had a colorful tattoo of white and blue lines woven into a complex pattern, his eyes were deep-set, with dark gray whites and an incredible, simply glowing bright blue iris around a round pupil. Curiosity radiated from him like a wave. I stretched out my hands and clenched my fingers into fists several times. “That's right!” My father said with a smile. “Not a drop of fear, he immediately asks to be picked up.” “Yes, we can easily do that.” Duck replied. “Come here, little one.” And he pulls me out of the chair.  I didn't see anything repulsive up close, on the contrary. I ran my hand over the Turian's cheek: the skin was smooth, velvety to the touch and hot, about forty degrees, he already squeezed his eyes shut with pleasure and made a strange, purring sound, which was immediately picked up by our cat standing in the hallway. “Are you going to Aunt Ray's?” I heard it from the left. Turning, she met the gaze of the Asari. She was smiling, which made her face even more attractive. Although, somewhere else! I reached out to her and was immediately taken away from Duck. The Turian laughed. “That's right, Ray, everyone sticks to you, even the kids!” I looked at the Asari with interest. Blue skin, soft and silky to the touch, appendages that slightly bounced under the fingers, a pattern of pigment spots, in the form of a complex pattern, around the amazing color of lilac eyes. By the way, the Asari had eyelashes, although there were no other types of vegetation on the skin. Strange. “And what is your name, young lady?” Ray cooed. “Zhenya," I replied. Wow, it turned out to be clean to say! I see my father's joyfully surprised face, and my mother's already big eyes are wide open. Oh, to be naughty, so naughty! Poking my finger under Asari's chin, I said: “Ray.” Then Azari's eyes got big, like two animeshki with her mom. She turned to Duck and pointed at him: “Duck.” The Turian's jaw dropped, and I was overwhelmed by a wave of amazement. The adults were stunned into silence. “Well, what's my name?” My father asked as he approached. I smiled at him with all my twelve teeth and said: “Misha's dad.” “Just look who's talking!” My father said, laughing. “I'm going to my hous!” Dr. Duck hurried on. “I need to examine my senior. Ray, let's go.” “Bye guys!” Azari said, and the medics gathered their things and left.