"Perry Rhodan 026 - Mutants Vs Mutants" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

The stranger obeyed. Now Eberhardt could clearly see his face. He hadn't been mistaken earlier: he was a mulatto. His English was fluent.
"Where is the rest of the crew?" inquired Eberhardt.
Eberhardt was stunned to hear the stranger tell him: "I am alone here."
The man was unarmed, this was obvious at first glance. Eberhardt requested him to step aside and wait. Then he entered the command centre of the wreck and convinced himself that it was indeed empty. Amazing, but the fellow must have flown the ship all alone. Strange.
Eberhardt left the command centre and noticed with satisfaction that the other man hadn't budged from the spot.
"Get going! Float ahead! You see the open hatch over there? Get in. No nonsense. I have you covered with my weapon."
The stranger didn't reply but took off from the wreck with a slight push. In a weightless state he floated across the bottomless abyss and landed somewhat to one side of the opening in the Z-82's hull. A slight move and he stood inside the airlock and waited.
Eberhardt followed him with rnixed feelings. As far as he was concerned all proceeded too easily here. The stranger must realize that he was going to be faced with rather unpleasant alternatives. Why did he let everything happen without any resistance?
Tiff awaited the prisoner in the command centre. He waited patiently until the mulatto had unscrewed his helmet. Then he studied his face. It made a surprisingly honest impression. There was a trace of astonishment in his eyes, fear and indecision. Now a bit of defiance was added. His lips were tightly pressed on each other. His chin was thrust out energetically, revealing great vitality, but this was in obvious contradiction to how the man seemed to resign himself to his fate.
"Do you speak English?" asked Tiff and motioned to Eberhardt to close the door leading to the corridor. The mulatto nodded but didn't say a word.
"Who are you?" Again no answer.
"You've attacked us without provocation," continued Tiff, feeling his anger rising. Now he was boiling with fury when he remembered his dead instructor Captain Hawk. "I want to know in whose behalf you were acting and why you did it!"
"I'm not permitted to speak," mumbled the mulatto and closed his lips tight as if he wanted to prevent an indiscreet remark from slipping past his lips.
"What? You aren't permitted to speak?" Tiff's thoughts were buzzing and tumbling in his brain. Maybe they had accidentally happened onto something really important. He no longer believed he was confronted here with a simple case of piracy. After all, what treasures could anyone hope to find on one of the training ships of the Space Academy?
"As you wish. Then other things will make you talk. Cadet Eberhardt, lock the man in a cell and take away his helmet. Pump all air Out of the antechamber so that any attempted flight will be absolutely impossible."
Tifflor watched as the prisoner let himself be taken away, disinterested as if all this was of no concern to him. Tiff waited until Eberhardt returned and confirmed that their prisoner was safely locked up in his cell.
"Set course for Terra!" decided Tiff. "Get in touch with the Central Command and report the incident. I suppose they'll be interested to hear about it."
And while the Z-82 was shooting out into space with incredible acceleration, leaving the drifting wreck behind to its fate, the radio waves rushed ahead of them. Eberhardt described all the details of the assault, reported the tragic death of Captain Hawk and was deeply astonished when he was suddenly interrupted by an especially powerful sender. An excited voice inquired: "What did the ship look like that attacked you?"
Eberhardt reacted surprisingly quick. "It was a destroyer of the same type. We are at a loss to explain the incident."
"And you took a prisoner?"
"Yes, we did. Will you please identify yourself!" added Eberhardt as an afterthought.
"Security Centre of the New Power, Reginald Bell."
"Of course, the Security Centre. It's got ears all over the place."
"Thank Heavens!" countered Bell and added: "Stay tuned in. I must transmit this message. It may be that Perry Rhodan will get in touch with you directly."
There was a clicking sound in the loudspeaker, followed by a humming. A bit surprised, Eberhardt turned to Tiff: "Reginald Bell! He has his nose into everything."
Tiff in turn now demonstrated how fast he too could adjust to this new situation. With a last glance at the control panel he punched for automatic guidance which would keep the destroyer on its course. He got up and stepped over to Eberhardt's seat at the commu-set.
"I'm taking over," he said with nonchalance. "We'll soon find out what they want from us. Watch the sensors, we don't want to be surprised a second time. I've a feeling that something isn't the way it's supposed to be."
Little did he know how correct he was in that assumption.

* * *

When the first manned atomic rocket landed safely on the Moon, nobody suspected that a new chapter in the history of mankind had begun. Major Rhodan, the commander of the expedition, met on the Moon the Arkonides, a humanoid race ruling a star realm from their home planet Arkon, some 34,000 light-years away. Rhodan came to the rescue of the stranded Arkonides and they expressed their gratitude by letting him share in the extensive knowledge of a race that had already known space travel for thousands of years.
Helped by the Arkonides, Perry Rhodan founded the New Power on Earth, prevented the atomic war and was now endeavouring to finally unite the whole world. His headquarters: the city of Terrania in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Terrania-the most modern metropolis on the globe, containing the marvels of a technology and knowledge many thousands of years old. If necessary, the city could be closed off from the outside world by erecting an energy dome around and above itself. An army of 10,000 soldiers and robots were in charge of the New Power's security.
The Minister of Security, Reginald Bell, one of the men who had accompanied Rhodan on the first mission to the Moon, waived patiently till the six-foot-high picture screen lit up on the wall. A writing desk became visible. A man was sitting behind it. Very haggard, his dark-blond hair combed straight back, narrow steel-grey eyes alight with an inner fire. Although Perry Rhodan was already 44 years old, he still gave the appearance of being just 38. And he would never look a day older for the inconceivable knowledge of a race long since extinct had rendered him almost immortal. Every six decades he had to visit again the planet of Eternal Life, where that mysterious biological cell shower was located which would bestow another 60 years of youth on him.
Reginald Bell also had been on the planet Wanderer and he too had been treated for conservation of his cells.
"One of the stolen destroyers has shown up again, Perry," said Bell. His eyes were sparkling with pent-up excitement. "It's attacked one of our training ships from the Academy!"
Perry Rhodan's eyebrows shot upward. "Where was that?"
"In the vicinity of Mars. Luckily, one of the cadets showed enough presence of mind to wipe out the enemy after their instructor had been killed during the attack. The cadet also made one prisoner."
Perry Rhodan's face lit up with sudden interest. "A prisoner?"
"Yes, that's why I'm reporting this incident to you. I thought you might like to have a look at the fellow."
"I bet you'd like that too, Reg! Where's prisoner now?"
"He's still locked up in a cell of the training ship Z-82. Wait a minute! I'll connect you with the destroyer, then you can talk directly with the young cadet. The ship's on its way back to Earth."
A few seconds later Cadet Tifflor came on. He described once again in a clear precise manner the recent events. Then he waited while Perry Rhodan absorbed and pondered what he just had heard. Shortly Rhodan inquired: "What's your name?"
"Cadet Julian Tifflor, sir?"
"Cadet Tifflor, you will land on the spaceport of Terrania and then report to me in person. I'll inform your superior officer back at the Academy of this change in plan. Keep a very close eye on your prisoner! He is of the utmost importance to us. The body of Captain Hawk will be transported to his home town. At what time may I expect you?"
"In 80 minutes, sir."
Tifflor's voice was filled with respect and high esteem. Perry Rhodan was for him not only the chief of the Space Academy but even more so a distant legendary figure. Where would the world be now if Rhodan hadn't succeeded in harnessing the might of the Arkonides for the benefit of mankind? The inhabitants of Earth might have annihilated each other long since and our world no longer exist at all.
"Very well, Cadet Tifflor, I'll expect to see you then."
Bell broke off the connection and instructed the military posts to let the Z-82 come in undisturbed for a landing in about 80 minutes and to bring its crew immediately to the Ministry of Defence in Terrania. Then Bell turned to Perry, whose lifelike image was still visible on the picture screen on the wall. "Well, what do you think?"
"It's undoubtedly one of the three destroyers stolen by the mutant master."