" Perry Rhodan 0029 - (22) Fleet of the Springers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

Theta 89, velocity 4800 miles per second, component in our direction 150 miles
per second." Tiff spun about. "What do they look like?" "Cylindrical and
long." "These are Springer ships!" Tiff shouted. "Build up protective
screens!" Hifield answered angrily: "We don't have enough energy yet. The
machines are working only at 65%." "Attention, we're receiving
fire!" .... Ornafer was so surprised when the structure-sensor indicated a
disturbance that it took him awhile to pass the report on to Orlgans. "Strong
transition in the vicinity!" he panted. "That'll be the end of us." However,
two seconds later Orlgans called out in a thunderous voice: "Our warships have
arrived! We're saved!" .... The appearance of the 30 alien ships was
registered on the Solar System without panic. Nyssen muttered only: "Things
are getting serious!" Then he instructed the navigator to hold the ship in
standby position and to disregard their erstwhile opponent for the time being.
The technical control room was ordered to keep the, gravity generator
idling. Only then did Nyssen inform the Stardust. As the transition had
probably also been observed by the Stardust, he merely gave a description of
the alien ships. They very much resemble the vehicle ahead of us. I'd say
they belong to the same people, although those 30 ships look a little more
compact. They appear to be more dangerous than the crate here." He had barely
finished his message when the rangefinder registered the energy release-11,000
miles away. Nyssen immediately drew the conclusion that the K-7 had been
bombarded. He tried to make contact with the auxiliary ship but failed to
reach it. Then he set the Solar System in motion and prepared to attack the
hostile formation, regardless of the fact that his adversary was many times
stronger. .... The first salvo missed the K-7 by a few thousand feet. Tiff
returned the fire but the effect left much to be desired. He had too few men
and those he had were hardly trained in the operation of the heavy
disintegrators, thermo-beamers and neutron guns. Nevertheless, one of the
hostile ships was destroyed. The cadets began to cheer but as soon as they
opened their mouths the K-7 was struck such a violent blow that the absorbers
had barely time to counteract as it was deflected from its course. "Hit in
the engine room!" somebody shouted. Sirens screamed and the engine control
lamp blinked red. Julian Tifflor sat at the pilot console and gave his
instructions calmly, matter-of-factly and resolutely as if he were an
experienced commander. "Manoeuvrability?" he asked quietly. The answer came
promptly. "Practically nil! Less than 5%." "Battle stations! Continue firing
and keep the enemy at bay!" "Will do, Tiff!" Tiff swivelled around in his
chair. "We're getting off!" he suddenly decided. Hifield asked: "Who is we?
We've got only one destroyer on board and it holds no more than three
men." Tiff shrugged his shoulders. "It'll have to hold five. The two girls
and three men. I suggest Deringhouse be one of the three men." "O.K.,"
Eberhardt replied. "But who are the other two?" Tiff was already on the way.
"We'll find that out. Come on!" They ran to the mess hall. The hard blow from
the first hit had thrown Major Deringhouse from his cot. He had crawled to the
table and tried to pull himself up. Tiff assessed the situation. "We're going
to get you out, sir!" he said. Deringhouse slid down again and waved his hand
in a rejecting gesture. "That's completely out of the question," he replied.
"I've had time to think about Rhodan's plan. You're on an important mission,
Tifflor, and it'll be necessary for you to vanish from the scene. Take the two
girls and these two men," he pointed at Eberhardt and Hifield, "with you and