The closest neighbors of the Ferin race were Bregan and Shade. Humans caught the dislike of these galactic rivals from the cats. Conflicts arose with the rulers and leaders of the sectors. But all problems fell from space on the heads of ordinary colonists.
Behind every pirate attack was the government's secret service.
The Cats had a special and ancient hatred for the Bregan. The story of this hatred was that the Bregan mages were engaged in unnatural experiments on sentient beings. The Bregans were masters of genetic engineering. They conducted constant experiments to crossbreed different sentient races. The Bregans became famous for their success in breeding new animals and plants. But scientists didn't stop their flight of fancy. The Bregans did not shy away from crossbreeding sentient and other species of life in the galaxy. The Ferin was in constant war with the Bregans. One day they encountered new enemies. They were giant trees that had the brains of sentient prisoners implanted in them. The giants possessed an impenetrable bark. They were not afraid of acid or fire. They could move! The cats washed up with blood and raised a squeal across the galaxy,
"Your loved ones' brains are imprisoned on the Bregan planets! Is your husband missing? He was captured by the Bregan! They cut out his brain and put it in the body of a giant tree!"
The Alliance conducted an urgent investigation and determining sanctions. The big-eared humanoids swallowed their resentment. Yes! The Bregan looked like elves. They were different from fantasy heroes. All Bregans had long, pointy ears. Those ears stuck out in different directions. The highborn Bregans had their ears sticking up. Warrior nobles and mages had ears that stuck out sideways and even beyond their shoulders. The lowborn had their ears flattened in the middle and hanging down toward the ground.
Bregan has always valued the ferin tree. They organized constant provocations and quiet diversions. Solitary pirates would breakthrough through their orbits and try to steal valuable material from the cat planets. It was the usual side of the cold war between the two sectors.
Cracked Bone tried to give the impression of a solid and wealthy specialist,
"A kilo of merchandise is worth 1,000 credits. I have a contact. I'll be paid 2,500 a kilo! Do you like the amount, kitten? I like it," the cat took a sip of toxic milk and continued. "I've got 170,000 credits to spare. My girlfriend will lend me 30,000. 200 kilograms of goods are stored in one warehouse. An acquaintance of mine will make the deal. Hard and fast are you ready to get 25,000 credits? Are you happy?"
"I'm not happy at all!" objected Lee Long. "I'll deposit half the amount. 100,000 credits I have. We contribute equal shares and get equal shares of the profits. 25,000 to your acquaintance. We each get 62500 credits. Make your feline happy, don't bother her with unnecessary requests. Are you happy, Cracked Bone?"
"Where do you get that kind of money?"
"You're not the only one who knows how to bet," grinned the boy. "Unlike you, I've been betting on myself since the first fight."
The cat snorted and admitted that he liked that kind of partner. Lee immediately transferred the money to the cat's communicator. The boy walked over to the bar and bought a basket with tubes of cream and tasty snacks. He went to treat his acquaintances and look for adventures with his new company. Cracked Bone went about his business.
***
In the morning, Lee Long completed his regular duties and headed for the capital. He got the address of the spaceport and flew in a flyer. The spaceship made a good impression.
It was a small transport model FS Trans 322. It was a representative of the Ferin Space Board Corporation. The small transporter was an intermediate model between small special ships and medium transports. The little ones were single-seaters and had no in-flight amenities or comfort systems. They were designed for quick flights over short distances. The small transports were widely used. This model became a versatile family ship for space travel.
The FS Trans 322 had a clean hull, not disfigured by signs of collisions with space trash and enemy attacks. The ships had an almost perfect circular shape and towered 8 meters above the surface. The hull was 25 meters in diameter. Two decks. The lower deck allowed for a cargo capacity of 100 tons. The upper deck always served the various preferences of the owners. A company of 8 sentient felt very comfortable and did not notice the cramped nature of the ship.
"How do you like my beauty? I named her Fluffy Paw in honor of an old girlfriend of mine."
Lee Long nodded his head respectfully. Cracked Bone had the perfect transport for a quick operation.
"Atmospheric flight speeds of 100 kilometers per hour. Seventy-five MGLT per hour! Sublight is excellent. Will you give me access to the computer? I want to fly this beauty."
"Get your short paws off my ship! Quickly get aboard and start doing business," the cat lifted a paw and clicked a command on the communicator. A ramp came down from the wall of the ship. The cat climbed up the platform and held the boy at the entrance. His voice was quiet and serious. "I'm glad to see you alive, Kitten. If spaceport security had stopped you...you would have gone to the mine."
Lee Long rubbed his nose and made his point,
"You looked very sad last night. Your heart burst with unhappiness when 200 pounds of product disappeared from view. You were afraid I would deceive you. Be honest with me, Cracked Bone. You were thinking bad things, weren't you?"
The cat meowed something indignant and added,
"You've done your part. I'll let you get behind the controls. Humans are famous for being good pilots. Are you a good human being?"
"I'm a fast and experienced pilot!" Tapped himself in the chest of the boy.
The partners made their way to the ship's control cabin. The cat sat down in one of the chairs and began typing commands on the display. Lee Long sat down next to him and began to express impatience. He sniffed loudly and even whimpered pathetic notes. Cracked Bone defied provocation and continued to prepare for the flight,
"Take it easy, Kitten. Let me get permission to fly and take the baby outside the capital's dome. Then you can play space races."
FS Trans 322 came alive and demonstrated its readiness to rush through the space abyss. The instruments hummed softly and rustled. The computer had a pleasantly feminine vocoder tone. It was obvious that the cat loved his baby and spared no credit for her improvement.
The controller permitted the flight and to leave the airspace of the capital. The boy experienced the magical familiar feeling of a spaceship taking off. In front of the passengers' eyes were large panels that took sensor signals from the hull of the ship. Only a small child would have thought they were windows or portholes. Lee acted like an experienced pilot. He had already entered data from his communicator into Fluffy Paw's computer.
"Take control and show me speed," the cat invited his partner to take control.
"Show me more speed, baby," Lee whispered, and his fingers flickered over the control displays.
The smuggler squinted his eyes with pleasure and pulled a flask of toxic from his vest pocket. With a specialist like that, there was no need to take over flight control. They'll reach the border of the sector in seven hours.
Any moron can enter the coordinates into the computer and switch to mega light. The main time is to enter the area where they can safely launch the hyperdrive. The space around the capital planet was densely packed with space stations and various huge ships. The boy was showing off his mastery. The Fluffy Paw was dodging collisions and hurtling along its route at top speed. Cracked Bone didn't rape his brain. His fur stood up on end as he stared at the screen. The cat got up from his chair and went to the relaxation zone. It's nice to watch new fights on the sports channel. It's better than experiencing the ease of dodging a crash.
"I got lucky with my partner. I hope we get lucky in the eared bastard sector."