"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0099 - (91) Friend to Mankind" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"What we have done so far was just trusting our luck," Zerft remarked without looking at Golath.
"There always exist two possibilities in the life of a Unither," Golath observed philosophically. "You are lucky or out of luck. If we concentrate our firepower together on the robots and blast them with maximum force, we can knock them out."
"What if they are invulnerable to our bombardment?" Liszog asked dubiously with a quaking voice.
"They can run faster than we do," Golath said cynically. "I shall leave the rest to your imagination."
In contrast to his other talents, Liszog's imagination seemed to be very well developed. His trunk twitched in ill-concealed terror.
Zerft showed no empathy for his young companion. "Let's get it over with," he said, drawing his gun.
Golath and Liszog followed his lead. Three unshapely arms with weapons ready to shoot protruded over the slope.
"Fire!" Zerft's clear voice broke the silence.
Three pencil-thin beams, spreading out as they travelled through the air, shot toward the robots. The machines failed to react in time and their positronic brains were destroyed in a matter of seconds by the infernal heat.
"Enough," Zerft commanded.
Liszog looked down at the molten mass of metal and sobbed faintly. His nerves had snapped under the strain. Zerft patted his shoulder, trying to calm him.
"That did it," Golath exclaimed. "Nothing can stop us now."
"Unless the owner of these goodies unexpectedly puts in an appearance," Zerft said.
Golath tapped the butt of his gun. "This-and our determination-will do the trick."
Before the sun set Golath was to learn that an Arkonide was present on the same planet and his determination matched their own.


25 ADVENTURES FROM NOW
You'll witness
The Psycho Duel








3/ APPARATUS DIABOLICAL

At first Khrest thought that the Solar System had come back again. He was in the middle of the lake when the quiet around him was abruptly broken. Khrest put his paddle down and looked up. It was still early in the morning and the sky was covered by clouds.
He glimpsed a dark cigar-shaped shadow flying at tremendous speed across the lake. The spaceship-Khrest did not doubt for a second that it was one-performed a suicidal landing curve which marked the pilot as a maniac in the eyes of the Arkonide. The flying object crashed several 100 meters beyond the shore and a huge dark cloud rose from the spot.
His first reaction was to bring the quickest help to the victims of the crash. He deplored his imprudent instructions to the robots to remove the outboard motor. Khrest had no desire to race his boat and he preferred to paddle quietly out on the lake as soon as it got light. He enjoyed the calm and was happy to watch the colourful fishes playing in the clear water.
Khrest's second thought was more realistic and probably saved his life. He noted that the shape of the ship indicated it was neither a Terranian nor an Arkonide vessel. Strangers had landed and Khrest became immediately concerned, not for himself but about the spacejet Rhodan had entrusted to him. The scientist had learned from long experience that it would be folly to consider the simultaneous arrival of strangers as a mere coincidence under the law of probability. It was much more sensible to conclude that they were raiders attracted by the radiation of the energy station serving his home.
Khrest realized that a cautious approach was warranted. His physical condition did not allow him to get involved in a dangerous adventure. He had to proceed with circumspection. Estimating the distance to his house, he figured it would take him too long to reach it even if he used the utmost speed possible for him. The strangers could be there before him. Khrest looked with dismay at the hand impulse-beamer he carried with him. In case of a serious emergency it was a rather inadequate weapon. Fortunately the spacejet was surrounded by a protective screen which could be lifted only by the code-signal transmitter strapped to his own wrist.
The Arkonide decided not to head straight for his house. It would be much too risky to expose himself to a possible attack out in the open. He intended to go ashore several hundred meters from the location of his house and work his way toward it stealthily. He picked up his paddle and steered his little boat around after selecting a convenient place to land.
When he had gone half the distance to the shore he took a short break. It bothered his conscience that he might in fact not be bothered by hostile attackers but his help would be needed by people stranded in a disaster. He had to fight off his desire to rush to the place of the crash and render aid. As strong as his compassion was, he had to put off being a Samaritan until it was safe. The races of the Galaxy treated each other with mistrust-a fact which Khrest regarded with the greatest bitterness. He considered the struggle for power between the cosmic races as a law of nature. Youthful races, such as the Terrans, who were imbued with the spirit of expansion into the outer worlds, could not be stopped in their striving for dominance. It was equally understandable to him that the older empires would resist any attempt to restrict their rule. It was due mainly to economic rivalries that made the adversaries, armed to their teeth, clash in space m their battlefleets. The ambition for political influence and military might drove the most divergent races into a competition for the most lethal armament. Those who failed to play the vicious game could expect an alien fleet to invade their planet and take it over as a new colony.
Khrest resumed his effort. He stroked the paddle in a steady rhythm of his arms. He did not carry a watch. The lone old man had no need for it. Several hours elapsed before the keel of the boat finally scraped the sand of the beach. Khrest climbed out and anchored the boat where he could find it again later on. The slope was not quite as high at the place he had picked. Nevertheless the Arkonide was out of breath after climbing up. To walk along the beach would have been too dangerous as there was no place to hide at the edge of the water. Khrest gathered his cloak for his march. For a minute the sun peered out of the clouds and bathed the land in a warm yellow light. Khrest looked back again. The boat looked tiny from above as it rocked gently on the waves.
Then he checked his impulse-beamer. It had been a long time since he held a weapon in his hands-with the intention of using it if necessary. The Arkonide had seen entire planets perish. Suffering and death had filled his life and he had gained the wisdom to regard weapons as a necessary evil. Ever since life had emerged from the primeval ooze, creatures had fought and destroyed each other. The course of evolution had generated highly intelligent beings who merely perpetuated the ferocious battle with more sophisticated means and on a more horrendous scale.
Khrest concentrated his attention on his surroundings. He advanced in a manner that would allow him to take cover instantly. He had no illusions that he could manage to enter the spacejet unnoticed and operate the hyperradio transmitter. Khrest lost sight of his boat but his house would soon come into view. His pace hastened.
He reached the spot where the Solar System had stood. He cautiously approached the rim of the incline. He went down on his knees and crept the last few meters. His power station was 50 meters below. The ground smelled burned. Khrest's heart beat faster as he gingerly moved forward, being careful not to send rocks or loose soil down the hill.
When he had finally ventured out far enough to look down, the sight made him shudder. The two war-machines lay slumped on the ground next to the house and their metallic heads were dissolved.
But this wasn't the worst. What frightened him most were the three hefty monsters with trunks who endeavoured to get into the spacejet!
Khrest had to close his eyes for a moment. His worst fears were surpassed by the evidence before his eyes. The three aliens ran around the disk in a high state of agitation in an obvious attempt to find a way of gaining access through the protective shield of the little spacecraft. One of their visible efforts was a huge hole they had burned out of the ground with their thermo-beamers. Their attempt to get to the jet from underneath had failed but this did not dampen their frantic activities. They kept furiously attacking the invisible screen and tried every imaginable experiment to accomplish their purpose.
For a while Khrest watched them motionlessly. Then he drew his weapon. It was an automatic reflex, triggered by determination to save the spacejet at all costs. He drew a bead on the alien trespassers.
Don't be a fool! His logic asserted itself. You'll lose the ship as well as your life!
His tension subsided and his body trembled almost imperceptibly in a belated reaction. He lowered his weapon and retreated from his vantage point. The best he could have hoped to achieve was to knock one of them out of the battle but he would have laid himself open to their superior weapons.
You need a better weapon, he argued categorically in his mind. You know where you can find one.
It was the solution. The coarse-looking beings were equipped with heavy thermo-beamers. The effect on his robots left no other conclusion. It was a reasonable guess that more weapons of this type could be found in their spaceship.
The answer to his problem was to search the spaceship of the aliens without delay. The thought occurred to him that the intruders could have left someone behind to guard their ship. Khrest looked around. The ship must have crashed not far from the forest. He strained his eyes but was unable to locate it.