ROCK

[_WOLF_]

LOCATION: OMEGA 48

[ROCK BASE]

TO: TIME: 16.49

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My name is Jafar Magomedov. I am the owner of this beautiful station. The name Rock is no coincidence. My family's history dates back to the time when people still lived on planet Earth. My ancestors lived in a fertile region in the Middle Caucasus near the high mountains. It was customary for the men of our clan to be skilled craftsmen who made beautiful guns. In the distant year of 1680, according to the earthly calendar of that era, my ancestor Ahmed ibn Magomed al-Zirekhgiran (Ahmed, son of Magomed from the village of Zirekhgiran) traveled to the Ottoman Empire to learn the secrets of musket manufacturing. From there, he moved to Europe. For 20 long years, he mastered the secrets of this craft. His rifles and pistols were popular among the military in Europe. He stamped them with the mark “Rock.” He always carried a piece of stone from the threshold of his house with him. During breaks between his studies and later his work, he would take it in his hands and gaze at it for a long time. He saw the village on the mountainside. White smoke above the flat roofs, women walking to the babbling river in the gorge for water. He heard the silent conversations of the old men in their godekans, in large sheepskin coats and papakhas, who gathered early in the morning and discussed things at their leisure... Although who knows what the old men were talking about. Without special permission, young people could not approach them. Flocks of sheep grazed on the southern slope, and boys hurried to help the shepherds. A special noise came from the houses of the craftsmen — the blacksmiths. Their weapons were famous throughout the Caucasus and even further afield. Ahmed, like his father before him, knew the secrets of metal forging. But he wanted to make fire sticks. He guessed that soon they would replace daggers and sabers. One fine morning, he took some bread for the road and went in search of knowledge. He remembers his mother watching him for a long time. She melted into the morning mist around the bend...
Then he returned home. He had wandered the world for 30 long years. He left as a young man and returned as an old man. Then he began to teach children. No, he had no children of his own. But he had relatives' children. He had knowledge.
So much time has passed since then, and so many events have taken place. But one thing has remained unchanged in our family: acquiring knowledge and making weapons. Some would say that we sow death. No, we give people the chance to defend themselves and their families. We are not only craftsmen, but also warriors. And wars fought with our weapons have a better chance of victory.
That piece of rock was passed down from father to son as a symbol of self-confidence, love for the homeland, and respect for elders. That is why our station is called the rock.

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Jafar Magomedov

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