" Perry Rhodan 0102 - (94) Action Division Three" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

glow like embers. Somewhere along the edge of this chaos a small object was
receding swiftly. It would have been difficult to tell what it actually
was-whether a larger piece of wreckage or a lifeboat. But no one would have
been inclined to believe. that even one single survivor could have escaped the
destruction of the Carolina. 2/ BLOODHOUNDS OF TERRA CAROLINA to Relay 14:
CQD EA (Crypto decode: Help! In imminent danger! Enemy attack!) Relay 14 to
CAROLINA! Hold out. Help under way. Give your position co├╢rdinates. Over and
out. CAROLINA to Relay 14:... . . . . Glord!-thought Ron Landry. I've
had more likable chiefs than this one in my time! 'This one' was a small fat
man with a sweating chubby red face. He had thin blond hair combed straight
back and his puffy lips were always wet It looked as if his bodily development
had stopped at age 25 although he must have been twice that old. From the
first moment he saw him Ron Landry couldn't stand him. The worst part was when
the little fat man opened his mouth to speak. He had the high, shrill voice of
a eunuch. But Ron Landry found the fact equally hard to bear that the rank
insignia of a colonel lay on this man's shoulders while he remained a captain.
They both wore civilian clothes, considering the nature of their profession,
but they were acutely aware of their difference in rank. The uncongenial one
was Nike Quinto, Chief of Intercosmic Social Welfare and Development. "Man,
don't wear me out!" he scolded Landry in his high-pitched voice. "How did you
ever get to be a captain when you're so stupid? What's going to become of my
blood-pressure if all I get is subordinates like you?" Ron thought grimly
that as far as he was concerned the man's blood-pressure could do what it
pleased-but he felt that he could not take the remark about being stupid even
from a Colonel. "Sir," he retorted with emphasis, "I'd appreciate it if you
could be more specific about this assignment. I don't think even a genius
could make much out of just 3 or 4 words." Nike Quinto stared at him in
startled amazement. "What? So you have an insolent tongue as well?" he
criticized. Landry was on the brink of flaring up but somehow he could not
quite take the situation as seriously as the circumstances seemed to merit. So
he held his 'insolent' tongue and waited for Nike Quinto to continue his
tirade. In fact Quinto was now shouting. "What the devil's so hard to
understand? You have to take a ship to a precise location in interstellar
space-is that so difficult?" "Not at all, sir," Ron answered, but he had to
struggle to suppress a smirk. "I merely wanted to know why." Quinto whistled
in exasperation. "Why, he says! Is a soldier supposed to ask why every time he
receives an order? Just go there, take a look at whatever there is to see and
give an exact report about your observations and remember it's urgent!" Ron
nodded. "Very well, sir." Nike Quinto's frog eyes glared at him. "That is
all!" he blurted out in high, harsh tones. "You may go!" Although it seemed
foolish for him to do so in civvies, Ron saluted and turned toward the
door. "Not there," complained Quinto. "Where the devil do you think you're
going?" Wonderingly, Ron turned around. "To check out a ship, sir," he
answered, "and to take off for the target area." With a pained expression
Quinto placed a hand over his heart. "You're making things difficult for me,"
he sighed. "I'll bet my blood-pressure is up to 220 by now. I'm not supposed
to have more than 160." Suddenly his temperament blazed forth again. "Do you
really think I'd let you go like that? What in Hades would you be doing out
there if I didn't brief you on what's going on and why you're making this
flight?" Ron was about to explain that this was precisely the information