"Rhodan, Perry - Killers from Hyperspace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rhodan Perry)

from the fast cruisers of the State class by its linear spacedrive and its
heavier armaments. Under protection of its libration zone the Terran ship could
make an unobserved approach to the Springer, whose attention was most likely
focussed on the robot ship anyway.
Teluf knew the trend of thinking of the Springer patriarch. He would regard
the Hat-Lete as "cosmic flotsam" and feel he had clear rights of salvage. The
Springer mentality had a way of stretching the meaning of "business" to include
such unsavoury activities as piracy, theft, smuggling, ambush and general
corruption. In a Trader's vocabulary, "business" stood for anything that offered
the promise of profit.
Reja Teluf was a fairly tolerant man, which was partially due to his own
nature and partially to special training that he had taken in the Terran Space
Academy. During his courses Teluf had been instructed in the customs and habits
of other races and had been given as clear as possible an understanding of
extraterrestrial mentalities. Teluf had been trained by top experts in their
fields and had passed his examinations in cosmopsychology with honours. Now a
major and commander in the Space Fleet, Teluf was a man of medium build with
dark hair, a sense of humour and a generally jovial manner.
"They're sending out a boarding crew," announced Toss Galahad, who was the
Frisco's 1st officer. "What shall we do, sir?"
The small shuttlecraft appeared on the scanner screens as a tiny blip. The
sensitive mass indicators quivered slightly in response.
Teluf held up his hand. "Let's wait a little longer, Toss," he said.
Galahad was a very nervous type. His left eyelid was always half closed as if
he were short sighted in that one eye. In his cabin he kept a bottle of wine
concealed, assuming that the crew knew nothing about it. But whenever he
appeared in the Control Central with a flushed face everybody knew that Toss had
"tossed one down" again. Even the major was aware of it but generously
overlooked it since his First Officer was conscientious in his duties and was a
man of extensive experience.
The distance between the Frisco and the Trader's longship lessened rapidly
since the latter had matched its velocity to that of the robot ship.
Teluf called into a microphone: "Attention—fire control! Forward guns on
standby. As soon as we come out of semi-space, open fire on the Trader ship.
Brightman I hold you responsible. Keep the Springer's damages to a minimum.
We want to give him a chance to escape."
"Very good, sir," replied Lt. Brightman over the intercom. "You can depend on
us."
A faint smile touched Teluf's lips. "All set, Toss. Drop us back into
Einstein space and decelerate to relative zero."
Galahad took over the main flight controls of the light cruiser.
It would be just a matter of moments now until the Springer would be driven off.
The 1st officer nodded to his commander and reached for certain keys on his
panel. Three seconds later the Frisco broke out of its libration zone and the
sound of the mighty converters was stilled.

*

Vicheline was crouched behind Tusnetze's narrow seat and now and again he
blinked anxiously ahead over the Springer's broad shoulder. Farosto was guiding