"Perry Rhodan 064 - Prisoner of Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"That's all?" growled Steiner crossly. "What are we supposed to do when the Arkonides come to arrest us-throw rocks at them?"
From by the fire, Harras called out. "There's a flyer circling up above-now it's coming in to make a landing. Who can it be?"
Standing at the open Gazelle hatchway, Rous and Steiner looked up.
In all there were 3 gliders, which a few seconds later set down and rolled to a stop not 200 meters away. Immediately upon landing, about 2 dozen armed soldiers came out, assembled in formation and marched towards the Gazelle with weapons held fire-ready.
Steiner grimaced. "They could have at least let us eat our steak before coming!"
Rous looked towards the on-marching men and said to Harras: "Move, Harras! Get aboard the ship! Rig the Gazelle so it can't take off! Activate the camouflage covering. You never know what might happen. A twist of a knob will do it."
"As if I didn't know," muttered Harras angrily, leaving the cooking meat to its fate. Only Ragov remained behind; looking at the large piece of flesh with remorse. Josua was coming from a nearby pond with a can of fresh water and his eyes and mouth went wide when he saw the approaching Arkonides.
Rous walked towards them. To all appearances he had renounced the use of any weapons but he knew that he was not entirely without defence. Steiner was certainly not asleep there in the Gazelle control room and just as certainly he was not going to hold to Rhodan's instructions 100%.
The Arkonide marching at the head of the column stopped. His small army stopped automatically also. "The Administrator has ordered that you surrender to me without resistance," he announced haughtily. With raised arm he pointed to the Gazelle. "Your ship is hereby confiscated."
"May I at least know what the meaning of this is?" said Rous.
"You have attacked our world and we suspect that your weapon is to be found aboard your ship."
"You'd be looking for it for a long time," smiled Rous, little convinced, for there were any number of incomprehensible devices aboard the Gazelle whose functions could not be very quickly explained. The Arkonides could believe any one of them could be the mysterious weapon that made men disappear."
"Do you intend to offer resistance?" inquired the officer.
"Why should we? We aren't conscious of any guilt."
The troop marched and surrounded the camp.
Rous gestured to the harmlessly poised Gazelle and commented: "So, do your duty, officer! But I'd like to warn you beforehand! If the suspicion of your Administrator proves to be unjustified, I'll report you to Arkon. A terrible danger is threatening your world and you don't have anything better to do than bother us. Even when we've only come to help you!"
"I'm only following my orders," said the officer, taking refuge in the most overused and stupidest excuse since time began. Was there ever a better method of avoiding responsibility-and hadn't it almost always worked? "If anyone is to be held responsible, it will be the Administrator."
Rous would have had an answer to that if he'd had the chance to say anything. However, that was not the case.
At that moment several things occurred that were closely connected.
Steiner appeared up in the Gazelle hatchway and shouted: "More disturbances are taking place! A large overlapping just hit the edge of Akonar and more than 10,000 inhabitants have disappeared. Another attack is taking place at the same time on the other side of the planet. The reports are confused and inexact. But that isn't all! If the messages are right, then a broad front is rolling towards us at the speed of the planet's rotation. For heaven's sake, Rous, get rid of those police! They're only holding us up!"
Rous would have gladly followed his suggestion but he had to adhere strictly to Rhodan's instructions however much they might irritate him. Besides, the reports of the mysterious events and new attacks were also received by the police themselves. The officer heard what a soldier racing up to him had said, turned pale, as expected, and faced Rous a bit helplessly.
"New attacks..." he said. "You must have heard. But... you're still here? How is that possible?"
"Think about it for awhile," said Rous, asking the officer to think for himself for once. Since he was a police officer looking forward to a pension, one could certainly ask that much from him. "If we're standing here in front of your eyes, we can't be out depopulating your world at the same time. I'm sure you'll agree with me."
"I must carry out my orders." The Arkonide had regained his typical arrogance. "I will search your ship with 3 of my men, then have it brought to Akonar. You're coming with me."
"I hope we have time for all that," said Rous, hinting at the threatening danger. "The reports speak of an approach of an Unseen front."
"Unseen...?"
"You don't know about that? The Administrator left out the most interesting part. The attackers are invisible and come from another dimension in time. We Terrans are trying to find a weapon against them and came here asking for support. Unfortunately... but why am I telling you this? It won't do any good."
But Rous had succeeded in sowing mistrust in the hearts of the officers. After all, it did seem impossible to be in 2 places at once. The Terrans were here but the attackers were...
Steiner called down from the hatch: "Refugees are mobbing the spaceport! The Springers are storming the ships and taking off in a panic. Even the other visitors in Akonar are jamming the passenger ticket officers of the spacelines. The official radio of the Administrator has admitted that much. Perhaps he's covering up even worse developments."
Spots of fire far in the west streaked upwards to suddenly disappear into the vastness of space. One could almost feel the terrible fear spurring on the pilots.
The police officer remembered his duty. He waved for 3 of his men to follow him and climbed into the interior of the Gazelle. Steiner led the Arkonides through the, ship and explained the equipment to them. Then the officer returned to Rous, who was waiting outside. "Tell your man he should come out. My men will take your ship to Akonar. Quick!"
Rous shrugged and told Steiner to come down. The Arkonides would not be able to move the Gazelle from the spot and after all their fruitless efforts would soon give up.
Meanwhile, however, the invisible front drew ever closer...
Ragov turned the spit with the cooking meat one last time and shut off the beamer. "I think," he said calmly, "we can have our steak now. It would be a shame to let it get cold."
He carved the meat with a large knife and, smacking his lips, dug into his portion.
Josua did not hesitate to follow his example. Both men acted as though there were no Arkonides or Unseen.
Rous and Steiner looked at each other, grinned reservedly, and then joined Josua and Ragov. That was a sign for Noir and Harras likewise to forget their cares and enjoy some of life's more pleasant things.
The Arkonide officer stood alone like someone waiting to be picked up but who had been forgotten.
After awhile one of his men stuck his head out of the Gazelle's hatch. "The engines aren't working," he announced.
The Terrans did not let themselves be disturbed. Instead they went on enjoying their steaks. Only Rous kept his eye constantly on the 3 airplanes 200 meters away and the soldiers standing nearby.
"The engines have to work!" exclaimed the officer with complete confidence.
But the blocked engines of the Gazelle did not work. As hard as the 3 Arkonides worked on them, nothing moved.
In the meantime, Rous had swallowed the last bite. He began to feel that they did not have much more time. He did not know how quickly the other-dimensional attack front moved but his assumption was that it could reach the 3 airplanes at any second. And then things would happen very quickly.
He stood up and went to the officer. "I think you ought to look after your men," he suggested. "It could be too late in a few minutes. Besides..."
A shrill cry of fear interrupted him. He whirled around and looked towards the airplanes-just in time to watch a soldier disappear from normal existence. Only his head was left to view, floating along for a short distance, then it too blinked out.
Another soldier screamed as though he had been stabbed-then he was caught in the inexorably progressing time front and overlapped.
Panic broke out.
The officer shouted some senseless orders and ran in the direction of the 3 planes, which of course had not been affected by the mysterious event. Breaking formation, his men followed him. Rous wanted to call out a warning but it was already too late. The men ran straight into their fate and all disappeared in a space of 10 seconds. Only their footprints in the sand remained behind.
Rous turned to his men. "Quick! Into the ship! We don't have a second to lose!"
The 3 soldiers who had inspected the Gazelle had come down the ladder and run off. They could not be helped now.