"Fighters from the Edge of the Galaxy" by Roman Zlotnikov, summary Automatic translate

This book is a space science fiction adventure, written in 1999. Humans with the genetic gift of combat trance struggle to survive amidst the interstellar intrigues of the Galactic Empire and the threat of total annihilation from a machine civilization. The work is part of the author’s "Berserkers" series. It is the second installment in the literary cycle, preceded by the novel "Mutiny on the Outskirts of the Galaxy" and continued by the story "Princess from the Outskirts of the Galaxy."

The beginning of palace intrigues

The Galactic Empire is facing hard times. The young Emperor Aeonius is forced to resist pressure from the old aristocracy, who seek to subjugate his will. Lord Eizel, head of the Department of Strategic Research, reports to the ruler of an impending war with the Canskebrons, a race of highly organized cyborgs who subjugate worlds to their machine logic.

Lord Eisel brings the Emperor astonishing news. Fifty years ago, the Kanskebrons captured Earth. The planet’s natives refused to submit, secretly building a fleet and staging a rebellion. The Earthlings managed to drive out the invaders and even gain control of a massive System Destroyer. The Emperor understands the need to forge a military alliance with the Earthlings. The advisor suggests using the ruler’s independent and daring relative, Lady Esmiel, for the diplomatic mission.

Earthlings at the Imperial Pilot School

Three Earthlings are undergoing training on the planet Tanaka. Oleg, nicknamed Bers, the African-American chaplain Anthony, and the cheerful Mloken-Steve were sent there under the colonial quota. The Tanaka Advanced Pilot School is notorious for its poor discipline and harsh morals. Officers and senior students try to break the newcomers with drills, but the Earthlings endure any abuse.

Oleg hides his true nature. He is a berserker, a man with altered genetics. In a battle trance, a berserker is able to foresee events, sense the battle Pattern, and move with inhuman speed. His friends look after Oleg, helping him control his deadly impulses.

The Tanakians soon notice the barbarians’ talents. Bers demonstrates incredible results on navigation simulators and in the sport of ball. The school team becomes a championship leader. The Earthlings earn the respect of the cadets, while arousing the suspicions of the base command.

The capital and the fateful meeting

The Tanakian School team arrives in the capital of the Metropolis for the cup final. Meanwhile, Lady Esmiel attends the imperial ball. Emperor Aeonaeus shows her obvious attention, greatly angering the powerful Lord Eomiren. The head of the senate had long planned the ruler’s marriage to his daughter. Aeonaeus’s attention to Esmiel ruins his plans.

The lord’s son, the arrogant Eomenic, decides to destroy the girl’s reputation. He arranges for the publication of explicit holograms of Esmiel. The girl refuses to hide and accepts the emperor’s invitation to attend the finals of the sports cup.

In the decisive match, Bers leads his team to victory. While on the field, he senses Esmiel’s presence in the imperial box. A powerful mental connection develops between them. Oleg realizes his purpose in the empire, alongside this girl.

Bloody denouement and escape

Eomenic lures Esmiel and Oleg into a trap in a port restaurant. The aristocrat plans to humiliate the lady and kill the barbarian. He orders Oleg to be paralyzed with a beam. The berserker’s metabolism successfully counteracts the beam.

Oleg enters a battle trance. He breaks the force bonds and destroys Eomenic and his guards with his bare hands. Lord Eisel’s special forces arrive on the scene. The Earthman is arrested.

Anthony and Mloken-Steve understand the gravity of the situation. Lord Eisel is trying to blackmail the earthlings with his friend’s life, demanding a military agreement. Anthony directly threatens the lord with berserker punishment if Oleg dies. Soon, Bers, guided by Drawing’s intuition, escapes custody. He infiltrates Esmiel’s chambers and invites her to join him. She agrees. They seize the admiralty courier and, together with Anthony and Mloken-Steve, race to Earth.

Lady Esmiel’s New Life

The fugitives reach the Moon Base. Esmiel becomes acquainted with the harsh life of earthlings. She marries Oleg. The girl happily embraces her new life, learns to milk a cow from Uncle Izekiel, and befriends Olga, her husband’s sister. Olga is also a berserker pilot.

The idyll doesn’t last long. Intelligence detects the approach of a Canskebron fleet. Five massive System Destroyers are heading toward Earth.

The Defense Council develops a desperate plan. Engineers scramble to assemble drifting mines. The Earthlings deploy their only captured Destroyer, the Merilyn, to meet the enemy. Forty-seven attackers, piloted by berserkers, hide in icy cocoons amidst the comet’s tail.

Battle for Earth

The Canskebron armada approaches the defenders’ positions. The High Controllers launch thousands of takts — heavily armed infantry — into the attack. The takts breach the Merilyn’s hull. Inside, they are met by human fighters. Using clever tactics and powerful weapons, the human fighters repel the boarding.

At this moment, the berserkers launch an ambush attack. They unleash a barrage of fire on the Kanskebron fleet. The Berserkers’ Pattern Sense allows them to evade the beams of the most powerful weapons and destroy the support ships. The Kanskebrons retreat, unable to withstand the onslaught.

Esmiel decides to help her adopted homeland. The Empire sends a diplomatic mission led by Admiral Esmiel. The Imperials ask Earth for military assistance. Esmiel travels to the homeworld aboard an Imperial cruiser. She hopes to convince the Senate to join forces.

Captivity and Supreme Controller

En route, the cruiser is ambushed by Kanskebrons. The ship is captured. Esmiel ends up in an isolation cell on the artificial planet Minor Gronta.

The captives are subjected to brutal interrogation. Lady Enominera, who accompanied the diplomatic mission, succumbs to the torture. The Kanskebrons begin the process of transforming her into a Questioner. The old noblewoman retains the remnants of her sanity and commits suicide, wishing to avoid enslavement.

The Core comes to Esmiel. It is one of the Supreme Controllers. The Core studies the girl’s psyche. The Controller recognizes the emergence of berserker tendencies in Esmiel’s psychoform. The Core understands the fact of humanity’s mental evolution, which poses a direct threat to machine dominance.

Salvation from the Abyss

Oleg senses his wife’s suffering. Bers and Olga set out to rescue her. They infiltrate the Gronta system in a tiny courier.

Bers uses a comet’s tail for camouflage. The brother and sister hide their ship in the cargo container of a scheduled lighter. As they approach Malaya Gronta, Bers detonates the courier’s reactor. The monstrous explosion destroys the cargo ship and tears a huge hole in the artificial planet’s armor.

The berserkers infiltrate the station. They fight their way through crowds of Takts, operating in a state of deep battle trance. Olga covers her brother with plasma fire. Bers destroys the enemies with his bare hands.

Returning home

Bers finds Esmiel in the hangar with the other captured Imperials. His appearance causes panic among the Kanskebrons.

During the retreat, Bers engages in a mental duel with the Focus. The Supreme Controller attempts to burn out the Earthman’s brain. Bers repels the attack and rips the Focus module from its system socket. The Earthman takes the living Controller module as a trophy.

The berserkers and the rescued captives seize the Kanskebrons’ light monitor. The ship lifts off from the station and heads into outer space. Bers sets a course for Earth. Esmiel embraces her husband, overjoyed at the end of their ordeal. The berserkers’ deadly power gives humanity a chance for freedom and a peaceful sky.