" Perry Rhodan 0028 - (21) The Cosmic Decoy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

Julian Tifflor, 20 years old, with a gentle and pleasant disposition and ire not easily aroused, indeed gave
the impression that he innocently believed this rugged 10,000-foot-high peak would actually disintegrate
into a harmless cloud.

His own disintegration seemed a much more logical and imminent outcome.

Sergeant Rous, the battle-tested pilot who had faced death a thousand times under terrifying conditions
in the Vega sector, screamed in horror for the first time in his life as cadet Julian Tifflor roared with a
velocity of 6000 miles per second toward the looming mountains.

This was the moment when Sergeant Rous was reminded of his "witty" remark that a "smart guy" would
simply fly through the mountaintop. It was also the moment when Sergeant Rous swore by all he held
sacred that he hadn’t meant it literally, particularly not at such a lethal speed.

Even if the destroyer had had dual controls it would have been utterly useless for him to intervene. But
for the final test no training ships with dc’s were used. The flight instructor no longer had any means of
supracontrol.

The Lunar peak leapt 6000 miles closer with every passing second. Cadet Tifflor was racing to his
doom on the surface of the moon.

"You’re mad—!" It was all Sergeant Rous was able to cry out for at that moment the impulse cannon
mounted in Tifflor’s ship erupted and drowned him out.

Rous felt the violent shaking of his sleek three-seater craft. It was the violent vibration from the discharge
of the tremendous power in the form of a violet thermo-beam—hot as the core of the sun—flashing from
the cannon’s muzzle through the protective shield.

Julian Tifflor—Tiff for short—fired from a distance of 18,000 feet with the aid of the automatic
micro-sensor. This was within the normal range for battles in space. The thermo-shot was almost as fast
as light and it gave Tiff about three seconds to decide on his next action.

These few seconds became eternities for Sergeant Rous. The heavy impulse cannon kept roared without
interruption and the destroyer didn’t slow down a bit.

Rous yelled once more but the worst was already over. The vaporized matter flamed up in the
mechano-gravitational shock absorption field of the destroyer. Before they could hear the screeching
noise of the displaced particles, the machine already soared in a terrific deflecting curve out into the void,
leaving behind a white-hot bubbling crater where the craggy peak had stood before.

The low-pitched roaring of the Arkonide energy weapon ceased. Only the powerful thundering of the
impulse-drive engines could still be heard.

Julian Tifflor’s forehead was bathed in little beads of sweat. His voice sounded somewhat scratchy as he
reported: "Order carried out, Sergeant." The "enemy unit" had to be destroyed as evasive action was no
longer possible.
 Rous wiped his cheeks with a fleeting gesture. With narrowed eyes he studied the lean but soft face of
the cadet who was just beginning to relax his tension. It took a little while till Tiffs brown eyes showed
their usual dreamy look. Moments ago they had been dark and cold and unfathomable.