You’ve been an intern in the Free Search Group for a long time. You must be ready for anything you might encounter on faraway planets—especially if there’s already intelligence there. Training and study, psychological preparation, constant and unusual tests—this has all become routine in Maxim’s life. So when, during yet another morning run, a monster suddenly lunged at him, he didn’t lose his composure and wasn’t even particularly surprised. He’d seen worse… It turned out he hadn’t. He hadn’t seen anything like this before.