" Perry Rhodan 0049 - (41) The Earth Dies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

Bell nodded approvingly. "Well, will you get thatтАФthe old walrus! HeтАЩs actually levelling with us and
wants to warn us. I wouldnтАЩt have thought him capable of it."

"When this is over with," promised Rhodan, "we wonтАЩt forget him for it. He turned off the speaker
equipment. Then he leaned back comfortably in the upholstered chair. "Well, what about that shuteye you
were going to take? I mean, you were so tiredтАж"

"TiredтАж?!" drawled Bell. His red hair was bristling. "IтАЩm supposed to hit the sack when the war is going
to start in 20 minutes?"

"You shouldnтАЩt forget," advised Rhodan calmly, "that Martin received that dispatch 10 minutes ago. The
decoding alone took 6 minutes."

"10 minutes!" BellтАЩs eyes opened wide and round. "That means that in exactly 10 minutes the
SpringersтАж Holy jumping Jehosephat! What are we still doing here?"

"10 minutesтАж" Rhodan consulted his watch and corrected himself. "9 minutes are enough time if we
know how to use them." He pressed a button. "Martin, set up a connection with Deringhouse. I will join
you." He cut off the intercom and got up. "The whole show is on the airтАФeven if we donтАЩt move a finger.
Now we have to roll along with it and do everything we can to influence it in our favour. And naturally,
thatтАЩs what weтАЩre going to do. Do you intend to stay awake?"

"The devil with sleep!" growled Bell and stumbled along after Rhodan, who went into the Com room
again where the hypercom transmitter was already in operation.

Deringhouse responded at once.

"This is the latest information," said Rhodan and glanced again at his watch. "In 7 minutes and 30
seconds the Springers will materialize in the Betelgeuse system. We must be there ahead of them because
I donтАЩt know how Topthor is going to react when he realizes his mistake. We have to see to it that he
doesnтАЩt have any time to clear up his confusion or explain to anybody what is going on. The Springers
have to regard Betelgeuse as EarthтАЩs sun. Other than Khrest, Thora and Pucky, Topthor is the only
non-human who has ever seen the true Earthly sun and committed its position to memory. So the
Springers have to be engaged as soon as they put in an appearance."

"ThatтАЩs what the Topides are waiting for," observed Deringhouse.

"ThatтАЩs fine but we ought to give them a hand. WeтАЩll hytrans to Betelgeuse in exactly 7 minutes.
Deringhouse, I want you to attack the first Springer ship that you can track. But donтАЩt hang in there and
try to slug it out. I donтАЩt want you to stay more than one minute in any particular place. Transit jumps are
more important than fighting. The Springers have to believe that theyтАЩre dealing with a whole fleet of
heavy cruisers. Give the same set of instructions to McClears. Is that understood?"

"Understood, sir. What are you going to do?"

"Well, theTitan тАЩs going to join you and since weтАЩre the only 3 spherical ships around itтАЩs doubtful weтАЩll
make the mistake of shooting each other."

DeringhouseтАЩs next question came in an urgent tone. "Why donтАЩt we simply destroy TopthorтАЩs ship and
clear all complications out of the way? If he and his Nav computer are destroyed, nobody can correct