"Earthling:
Russians Don’t Surrender!" by Roman Zlotnikov, summary Automatic translate

This book is a 2017 science fiction novel about the return of the Earthling Nick to the Solar System at the head of a vast fleet. The aliens abandon their violent rule and secretly accept Russian citizenship. The work concludes a grand space story. It is the fourth book in the "Earthling" series, bringing to a close the protagonist’s galactic travels.

Preparing a bridgehead

The plot begins with a secret meeting. The head of the Kort clan, Nick the Sigarian, visits Vladimir Vladimirovich’s residence. The Lusitanian clan has fled pursuit from powerful enemies. Nick proposes an alliance. The aliens are in dire need of intelligent specialists to maintain their void factories and warships. In exchange, they will provide Earth with their knowledge bases.

The first phase of the plan is built on strict secrecy. Advisor Stakal Kort develops a perfect recruitment scheme. The aliens open a network of fictitious gerontological clinics. They invite lonely ninety-year-olds. Candidates are selected from among former engineers, scientists, and career military personnel. The logic is impeccable — the disappearance of deeply retired people will not cause panic among governments. Former Soviet aircraft designer Savely Sergeyevich agrees to an experimental course. He arrives at a sanatorium, where he meets many veterans of the Soviet defense industry. Regeneration technologies knock forty years off the elderly. A rejuvenated Savely undergoes training via a neural network. He becomes a technician in the hangar of a huge lunar base. He works alongside his partners Ivanych and Golovko. A little later, he meets Malanya, a rejuvenated pilot of void bots.

Meanwhile, the aliens are becoming legalized on Earth’s surface. In the Siberian village of Kaveshma, Lusitanians are buying up empty houses en masse. Local hooligan Petka Skrynnik registers three aliens in his izba. When local criminal Zhabin tries to threaten the aliens with arson, Petka firmly sides with them. The aliens bring to Earth the tradition of fair combat — the Lusitanian "circle."

The clan’s youth are adapting to their new reality. In Moscow, student Damir tries to seduce Astera Kort with an expensive car. She easily figures out the car’s true age and takes the wheel herself, terrifying him with her extreme driving skills. In France, the situation gets more serious. Alexander Kort enters a Marseille bar. Thirty local hooligans try to steal his money. Alexander calls them into a "circle." He single-handedly beats up the gang, breaking the arms of those who pulled knives. The French police are shocked. Sergeant Abelard’s wife, an analyst at the mayor’s office, notes that the Russians have suddenly become fearless warriors again.

World geopolitics

US President Alice Esteban calls an emergency meeting. The US military has detected a space battle near Jupiter. CIA Director Merryweather reports the disappearance of dozens of outstanding minds across the planet, including Nobel laureate Toshihide Kobayashi. US intelligence agencies attempt to kidnap two rejuvenated scientists returning from Russia. Clan Cort paratroopers immediately recapture the captives. Alice Esteban realizes that America is losing its global leadership.

Soon, the UN convenes an emergency international conference. Advisor Stakal addresses the delegates. He declares that the ships in orbit belong to exiles seeking a new home. The US President goes all-in. Alice Esteban offers the clan extraterritoriality, a separate American state, and full naval protection. Stakal politely declines the offer, declaring that the aliens have already become Russians. The Russian President declares that the new knowledge will be shared with all countries on absolutely equal terms. The United States is forced to join the common project.

Search for the fugitive

Nick leaves the solar system on the cruiser Earth Seeker. He wants to find his ex-lover, Tris. She, frightened by political intrigue, secretly escaped. Nick arrives at the Kokotka orbital station. His old acquaintance, Ux, helps him track bank transfers. Nick finds the clinic where Tris changed her appearance. Dr. Ostomel, under threat, confesses that a local criminal named Renger kidnapped her. Renger is dragged out of a raucous party. He reveals that he gave Tris to the owner of a criminal asteroid belt, Baron Atomai.

Nick’s bodyguard, Alarica, infiltrates the Baron’s residence disguised as a submissive slave. Once in the harem, she insults the guards, Taimi and Viezh. The Baron orders Alarica flogged and throws her in a stone cell. There, she finds Tris chained to the wall. Alarica extracts an electronic decoder from her hair. The Lusitans break the handcuffs and block the cells. They paralyze the guards with heavy repair droids, recapture the Baron’s ship, and escape the asteroid.

Rescued, Tris stuns Nick with unexpected news. It turns out she abandoned their young son in an orphanage before escaping. Nick immediately flies to the planet. The orphanage director reports that the child has been taken by his grandfather. Nick breaks into Tris’s father’s dilapidated estate. The old aristocrat hates his daughter for running away from home, but gives the boy back. The family is reunited.

Orbital frontier

Hunters from Clan Kernet catch up with the fugitives. The enemy fleet breaks into the transit system. A deadly standoff ensues. Nick’s cruiser draws the brunt of the enemy’s attack. The ship suffers colossal damage, its armor melting under the heavy fire. Kernet assault droids cut through the emergency bulkheads. Bloody hand-to-hand combat ensues. Alarica shields the Chief from a plasma blast. She saves Nick’s life, but loses her arm up to the shoulder. The defenders of the bridge prepare for the final battle. They recall the ancient Lusitanian tradition of the death motto "komoin" and rush into the superior enemy forces, shouting, "Russians never surrender!"

Meanwhile, Savely Sergeyevich is in the operator capsule. He remotely controls tens of thousands of hidden mines. The enemy fleet is caught in an invisible net. The Grand Prism defense system opens crossfire. Admiral Daumark and Senior Advisor Kernet are rapidly losing warships.

At the height of the carnage, Admiral Huron and the Lusitania fleet appear on the air. He contacts the Kernet flagship and issues a stern order to cease fire. The admiral reports that Clan Kort has come under the jurisdiction of the sovereign planet Earth. Further military action is considered unlawful aggression. The senior advisor refuses to surrender, but Admiral Daumark relieves him of command. Clan Kernet lays down its arms.

The epilogue unfolds on Earth’s first orbital station for distinguished guests. Rejuvenated world leaders relax by an artificial pool. Donald Trump jumps into the water with a scream, irritating Hillary Clinton. Angela Merkel leaves her lounge chair. She heads to the Court clan’s immigration office. Angela plans to download alien biophysics databases into their consciousness. Earth civilization takes its first confident step toward the stars.