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

maintained communication with Reginald Bell, who informed him soon after the
bulky platform had left the Stardust that Nyssen and his men had also started
out on their mission. It took the platform 10 minutes to reach the battered
ship. The neutralizer produced a directional gravity-field on the upper part
of the vehicle which made it immune to acceleration forces and gave the men
the impression that the mighty body of the strange ship were lowered upon them
from above. The ship had gigantic dimensions. Rhodan estimated its original
length at about 1000 feet. The diameter of the cylindrical hull measured
approximately 200 feet. Rhodan had seen a lot of alien ships but none could
compare in size to this giant. The platform carefully nestled against
it. Even now after almost half of the ship had been vaporized it still left
an impression of concentrated power and mighty fighting spirit. Khrest stood
next to Rhodan as the metallic plastic quivered slightly under their feet when
it bounced against the hull. Rhodan looked at the Arkonide and saw his lips
move behind the flexible face shield as he heard him on the helmet radio say
in his Arkonide language. "It's a Springer ship." Rhodan nodded thoughtfully.
As a result of an intensive and protracted hypno-training he possessed about
the same knowledge as the Arkonide. He was as familiar with the history of the
Springers as the Arkonides and knew that only the Springers built ships such
as the one before them. "What do they have against us?" Rhodan asked. Khrest
thought for awhile. Finally he answered: "Perhaps they've learned about
Terra's trade with Ferrol. This is something that is bound to disturb them
greatly." "Because they're of the opinion," Rhodan concluded the thought,
"that they're the only ones who are allowed to engage in trade on a large
scale and across great distances?" "Exactly," Khrest confirmed. The young
lieutenant who had crossed over from the platform to the side of the hull to
look for an entrance, reported to Rhodan: "There's no hatch in sight,
sir!" Rhodan called back: "Take a look if we can enter through the hole from
our gun." The lieutenant pushed himself away and floated across the hull to
the place where the disintegrator-shot from the Stardust had left a jagged
hole in the wreck. The young officer disappeared inside and called back:
"There's nothing in the way, sir; we can get in." Rhodan told him to come
back. "You're to remain here with three men and wait for us. The others come
with Me!" The seven men drifted along the high wall of the vast ship,
carefully pulled themselves up around the ragged edge of the torn wall and
shined their searchlights into the darkness of the fuselage. The layout was
simple and easy to survey. A spacious gangway formed the axis of the
cylindrical ship, leading all the way to the forward end. Before the
destruction of the disintegrated rear end it probably extended back through
its whole length. Rhodan entered first. He took one step and braced himself
firmly against the ribbed floor of the gangway to counteract the jolt of
gravity in case a neutralizer had been left intact. However he felt nothing.
Weightlessness prevailed in the farthest comers of the dead ship. Rhodan
pushed himself away and floated through the gangway with a searchlight in his
hand. Khrest followed him. "Can't you at least tell me what you're looking
for?" Khrest inquired. "Evidence," Rhodan replied. "It's not enough for me to
suspect what's in their mind and why they attacked us. I've got to
know!" There were a number of hatches and recesses in the walls on both sides
of the corridor. Rhodan distributed his men and let each one of them search a
few of the rooms behind the hatches. He received the first reports while he