The Last Ticket to Paradise

What could be more romantic than the profession of a Ranger? Unless it’s the same profession—with an added bonus of a face, in other words, a hunting cat. New worlds, new people, new circumstances—every next step into the unknown! Pioneer’s glory, universal respect, a girl’s love… That’s how it was in dreams. In reality, things turned out to be less rosy. The partner is a red-haired troublemaker and a pleasure-seeker. A girl? Sure, there’s one. Red-haired troublemaker number two. And she’s got her own little army of bugs in her head (and they’re probably also red). New worlds? Sure! Bad luck to get stuck in the First Faraway—barely made it out with our legs. And okay, if that were all—then came Nereida, a resort planet, a jewel of the Federation. For everyone except Rangers, his girl, and the cat. Never agree to work at a secret scientific research base, especially if the scientists are messing around with the legacy of the First. Barely got out, snatching—literally—the last ticket to paradise. And who would have thought that even moving to Acheron wouldn’t be without consequences—thanks to the hackjob by Major Tarasov! What’s the big deal about finding a missing archaeological expedition on a tropical archipelago? It’s a piece of cake. And Ranger Oleg Denisov wasn’t exactly left at a loss either—because nothing is more valuable than love and friendship. Even that peculiar one that once happened to the cat Petrovich.