“Someday the first human interplanetary spacecraft will land on Mars; It’s good if by that time one of us is alive and healthy in mind,” writes Dr. Rudin, the ship’s doctor from the Krechet, after all that happened. “Then this manuscript will serve as documentary evidence of the words of the survivors.” And if not, then the messengers of the Earth will be warned... They cannot help but be intrigued by the royal battleship, God knows how it ended up in the dry bed of a Martian river, in the middle of an endless rusty wasteland. They learn that in the world space people face many dangers...” But that comes later. And now... "Krechet" was returning from training shooting to Kronstadt, when the inopportune ringing of the ship's bell alerted the crew...