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

lives are in jeopardy,' began the desperate Thort. 'Unless the great Rhodan is
going to help us we'll all be lost.' 'Rhodan is already on his way.' John
lied in order to calm down the little man. 'What's happened? You act as if the
Topides had started an offensive on Rofus.' 'An attack is imminent. Till now
they've kept quiet on Ferrol, but now we hear nothing but reports about
preparations going on that can only lead to the conquest of Rofus.' 'Do you
have positive proof of that, or do you just suspect it?' 'We're absolutely
convinced. According to our agents' reports the lizards' fleet is getting
ready to attack Rofus. Many of my subjects on Ferrol have been arrested,
imprisoned and even killed. The Topides have gotten over their initial shock
of Rhodan's sudden appearance on the scene. Now they're bound to come here to
take vengeance. That means we'll have to suffer for something we haven't done
at all. The Arkonides are obligated to come to our assistance now.' Fine
thanks we're getting for our help, John thought. Gratitude doesn't seem to be
their strong point. 'Do you have any clues as to when this invasion is
supposed to come off, Thort?' 'No, no definite clues. But it can come any
day. And all we have left of our defensive forces is our badly mangled
fleet.' 'That wouldn't be of much help,' John admitted thoughtfully. He
sensed that the time for action had come. Rhodan had left him behind to keep
an eye on any further activities of the Topidian enemy here. In case they had
really overcome their shock and renewed their attacks, it was John's duty to
give immediate alarm. Rhodan would have to interrupt the training of his
special crew and start at once. John had no idea how long it would take the
huge battle cruiser to traverse the distance of twenty-seven light-years, but
it should not exceed a few days, at most. No doubt it was his duty to send off
the prearranged signal and to inform Rhodan. 'I must have valid reasons,
Thort, to request Rhodan's presence here.' 'Isn't it sufficient proof that
the Topides are getting active again? Until now they didn't budge and stayed
quietly on Ferrol. But now they've resumed regular patrol missions throughout
the entire system.' True enough. John himself had seen such a patrolling
vessel in the vicinity of the twenty-eighth planet. He rose. 'All right,
Thort. I'll send a message at once to Perry Rhodan to return here in a hurry.
Keep your fleet ready for action. It's quite possible that you'll have to ward
off the enemy's first blow all by yourself. Go ahead and train troops that can
be transported to Ferrol via the matter transmitters. They're to create
diversionary actions behind the enemy lines. Once Rhodan arrives here, we'll
strike the decisive blow that will finally chase these reptilians out of the
Vega system for good.' 'Let's hope we'll survive long enough to see all this
come true,' sighed the ruler. He didn't seem too convinced by this likelihood.
But then he drew himself up to his full height, holding his short squat
stature as erect as possible. His tiny mouth became a thin line, giving his
face an air of determination. 'We will and we must beat the Topides. I must
liberate my oppressed people on Ferrol. Even if many managed to escape here to
Rofus, the best people have remained behind!' A few minutes later John was on
his way back to his fighter plane. He walked on foot in order to gather some
more impressions and also to be able to think about his talk with the Thort.
He could never quite figure out these Ferrons. True, they had progressed far
enough to develop space travel, but they had never gone beyond the initial
stages. They had colonized the seventh and ninth planets but their ambitions
had stopped short there. Yet they knew a way of dematerializing matter and