"002 The Third Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

vicinity. High above, in the clear sky, a tiny dot could be seen, circling round
like a bird of prey. The circle became narrower, and it seemed as if the
predator would at any moment pounce upon its victim.
Neither Perkins nor his co-agent had the least inkling that this tiny dot in the
sky was an atom bomber of the Asiatic Federation air force in search of its
target.
"Where do you want me to land?" asked the pilot.
The government representative, one of the most capable men in the International
Intelligence Agency, pointed below them.
"Close by the moonship, in the desert. Make sure the plane comes to a halt not
more than a hundred yards from the Stardust. Is that clear?"
The pilot nodded in agreement. He began to bank, preparing for landing. The jet
was gliding at an angle toward the desert. Its altitude was only a few hundred
yards. The distance to what they believed to be the wreck of the Stardust
decreased rapidly. Only three more miles two more miles.
Meanwhile, high above them, an H-bomb was falling. The tiny speck in the sky
stopped circling and flew off in a straight line. With different velocities and
from different directions, two objects approached the Stardust.
But it happened in the same instant.
Perkins had gone into the pilot’s cabin after he had tied Lan-Yu into his seat.
The jet had just touched down and was skidding across the ragged earth with
breathtaking speed. They were still more than two miles away from the Stardust,
when suddenly, about two miles above the spacecraft, a second sun rose.
Three pairs of eyes were blinded by the immediate presence of a white hot
mushroom cloud whose glowing gases began to flow down along the outlines of an
invisible bell.
They were alive only long enough to feel the impact when the jet came to a
sudden halt as it slammed into the force field.
And then there was nothing.

CHAPTER THREE

"Perry, Pounder is on the line! And he’s all upset."
Perry Rhodan nodded to Khrest, with whom he had just been talking. "If you’ll
excuse me, Khrest, I don’t want to leave anything undone."
"On the line," was obviously an understatement. The connection via Echo
satellite was flawless. Pounder’s face was clearly visible on the view screen,
as if he were looking in through a window. The Asiatics no longer interfered
with the reception, a sign perhaps, that they were becoming quite confused.
Reg bowed deeply and made a grand gesture toward the screen. "And may I
introduce to you the general!"
Perry pushed him aside. "General Pounder, reporting with my crew, back from the
moonflight. All are well. The Stardust is no longer flightworthy because of
technical troubles. Your orders have been executed. The scientific results of
our expedition will be forwarded to Professor Lehmann."
The general gasped. His gasp was fully audible halfway around the world.
"Rhodan, have you lost your mind? Will you explain why you landed the Stardust
in the Gobi Desert? Did remote control fail? You should at least have tried to
reach the ocean."
"I landed here on purpose, General."