" Perry Rhodan 0021 - (2c) Menace of Atomigeddon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

give the instant order. тАЬSwerve to port at once with full power!тАЭ
The green blip had crossed almost half the radar screen and it relentlessly neared the centre
point, the position of the observer.
The radar officer held his breath. If the correction didnтАЩt take effect immediatelyтАж
Two more seconds!
The man narrowed his eyes and gripped his console, waiting for the collision which was
bound to occur.
There was no impact as he had expected but death struck in the form of a bright blue flash
and the Kossygin was abruptly turned into a swarm of bursting molecules and atoms.
But the man watching the radar screen never noticed it. His death had come with the speed of
light which spared him even the feeling of pain.

****

The presence of the formation of vessels strung out in a double chain had been reported to
Rhodan half a second before the end. His hand shot up to his shipтАЩs controls in an effort to
perform an evasive manoeuvre. However it was merely an automatic reflex as he quickly
realized. When he dropped his arm helplessly the Stardust had left the rows of the hostile fleet
already far behind.
 The Stardust braked its tremendous speed with maximal deceleration. Straining the limit of
absorption by its neutralizers, it didnтАЩt come to a stop but reached a sufficiently low velocity
within a minute to permit the optical observation of the battered enemy fleet.
The picture reflected on the optical screen of the Stardust was a scene of devastation. The
double strand of glistening pearls which Maj. Gen. Pjotkin had admired so much only half an
hour previously, was torn apart. The points of lights streaked away in all directions as the
surviving units fled in panic but the hole created by the Stardust smashing through the centre of
the formation was still clearly visible.
Rhodan ordered his radio officers to monitor the conversations between the ships. He had
recognized their shape and knew that it was a fleet of the Eastern Bloc. Nevertheless he was
prepared to give them his assistance if they should require it.
He studied the reports beamed by each unit of the fleet after they were automatically
translated without delay from the Russian language into English. Rhodan learned that the fleet
had consisted of 200 vessels of which 34 had been destroyed, including the flagship with Maj.
Gen. Pjotkin. They had been transformed into a glowing cloud by the impact of the gigantic
sphereтАЩs protective shield.
A colonel took over the remaining fleet and succeeded with difficult manoeuvres to
reestablish a uniform front. However they had been compelled to use up a considerable quantity
of their propulsive resources and it reduced their dim prospects of slowing down their velocity
to a safe course when they reached the orbit of Venus.
The radar observers of the fleet had without exception recognized the cause of their disasters
a few seconds before the annihilation occurred and they were able to see the green dot slowly
moving away and retreating from their position. Rhodan listened to a great number of different
guesses and explanations for the green blip but only one man surmised the truth that it was
caused by a warship of the New Power and his opinion was quickly suppressed by the new
commander of the fleet.
Rhodan understood his motivations. It would have intolerably complicated the task of the
colonel had he admitted to his men that their adversary possessed ships that could cut a swath
through a massive concentration of spaceships without the slightest damage to itself.
It became obvious that the surviving 166 ships were able to navigate without RhodanтАЩs help.
Their diminishing power didnтАЩt allow them to change their course on which they had started