Why do the laws of the Union of Races and the United Humanity, which is part of this Union, prohibit establishing contact with the population of a newly discovered planet unless it is approved and prepared by contact specialists? Is it really important to follow these laws? And what should Academy cadets who find themselves in an emergency situation do when the ship is damaged, rescuers will not appear soon, and there is a planet nearby with a long-lost colony of earthlings? The story is part of a series of works about the office, but the events are six centuries distant from “Parallel Workers” and “Three Ls.”