" Perry Rhodan 0012 - (06) The Secret of The Time Vault" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

shadow on the screens. At once John recognized the circular bulge around the
center of the slender spacecraft. This was a dead giveaway for a Topidian
vessel. John deliberated, but with lightning speed. It would make no sense to
tangle with the enemy. Rhodan had forbidden all attacks on the Topides, and
given orders to avoid any encounter with them until he returned with the
Stardust II and an effective fighting force. All the same, it was interesting
in itself to note that the Topides had resumed activity again. They apparently
had wanted to secure their position of power in the Vega system and therefore
had set out on a scouting mission to the outer planets. There was no danger
that they would become suspicious of Iridul, however. John changed course
once more, with a heavy heart, and sent a brief report to Haggard in order to
warn him. It would be advisable from now on not to leave the protection of the
underground cavern. John accelerated with a tremendous thrust of power and
soon reached the speed of light. Otherwise it would have taken days to get to
the ninth planet, considering the colossal extent of this system. Rofus
reminded him vividly of Earth, except for the absence of big cities. The
Ferrons had settled on this planet a long time ago. They were more than happy
now to use it as a place of refuge. A sufficient number of natives had
remained on Ferrol, mainly the Sichas, an almost wild tribe of brave warriors.
They lived in the mountains and had given the Topidian invaders a very hard
time. John intersected the orbital paths of several planets and slowed down
his fighter when the eleventh planet passed by in the distance. In a few more
minutes he sighted the ninth planet. He orbited around it several times to
make quite sure that no enemy scout planes were nearby. Then he landed in
Tschugnor, the capital of Rofus. Almost daily John or Doctor Haggard flew to
Tschugnor in order to visit the Thort of Ferrol. The ruler of Ferrol had fled
to safety from the Topidian invaders. His ministers and collaborators had
followed him into exile. He resided in Tschugnor and via matter transmitter he
kept in constant touch with his secret agents who had remained on the home
planet, now occupied by the enemy lizard race. Radio communication had been
discontinued and the spaceships no longer left their secret underground hiding
places. Ferrons and news capsules travelled between the eighth and ninth to
execute her hyperspace jump. No one, however, knew the secret of these
artificially constructed teleport installations. John was quite certain about
this. Normally no one paid any special attention to the Terrestrial visitors
during their periodic stays on Tschugnor. But there was something special in
the air today, John noticed, as he climbed out of his craft. He shut the hatch
and switched on the electronic barrier. Anyone coming too close to the ship
would receive a painful jolt. The barrier reacted only to John's brainwave
pattern. The streets of the city were bustling with activity. John became
aware that many Ferrons were busy transporting all kinds of heavy loads. He
tried to learn telepathically what was going on, but in vain. The only
impressions he managed to receive-were so confusing that they were less than
useless for him. He merely perceived vague generalized What had happened? He
made his way to the Thort's residence as fast as he could. He was admitted at
once and soon sat across from the ruler of the Ferrons. No vestige of his
former royal dignity could be discerned in the little man. He simply grasped
John's strong hands as if pleading for help. John understood him, due to his
telepathic abilities, and could dispense with the usual translating robot; he
even managed to answer him in a more or less intelligible fashion. 'Sir, our