Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

  The arrival of the Nimosian ship just two hours ago, which had apparently intercepted their report of the discovery of the derelict, had rapidly polarised opiniononboard.ApparentlyEmindarandNimoshadalonghistoryofborder

  skirmishesandminorwarsgoingbackoveracentury,andtherewasclearlyno

  love lost between them.The Emindian nationals, who made up the bulk of the passenger list, were almost unanimous in their approval of the Captain's firm stand against them, while the smaller percentage of offworld tourists were less happy.Theycouldseenopointinriskingaviolentconfrontationoverapieceof

  spaceflotsam,howeverlargeandmysteriousitmightbe,andseveralhadalready

  made representations to the Captain. Reportedly they were less than satisfied withtheassurancestheyhadreceivedinreturn.

  The evident fact that the Nimosians could get no closer to the derelict than they could was viewed with a mixture of relief and surprise. The recent Nimosian gunfire had created a wave of alarm that was only just now

  dissipating.FewseemedtohaveanyideawhattheNimosianshadbeenfiringat,

  but the die-hards continued to proclaim that if it was intended as an act of intimidation,itwaswastedonthem.

  Findingtheyhadasectionofwindowtothemselvesforamoment,Samsaid quietlytotheDoctor,'Itlooksasthoughit'sastandoff.Noneedforustocharge intosavethedayifnobodycangetanycloserthanthis.'

  'I hope that eventuality will not arise,' the Doctor said. 'But unfortunately yourspeciesareamazinglystubborncreatures.It'stheEverestsyndrome:ithas

  to be climbed because it's there. An unknown force prevents them from

  indulging their curiosity, therefore it must be overcome.' He smiled

  slightly.'Perhapsthat'swhyIlikethemsomuch.'

  Samconsideredthealienvesselinitsslowlydriftingframeofstars.'Butisit

  really dangerous? Maybe it's just an old wreck with degenerating power cells inside shorting out and creating the disturbance.' 'And how do you account for theblurringofhalftheship?'

  'Some sort of hyperdrive motor accident? Maybe that's why the crew

  abandonedit.'

  The Doctor's eyes followed the direction of her own, as though trying to penetratethehullofthevesselbythesheerintensityofhisgaze.'Possibly.

  ButIhavea...bodingaboutit.'

  'Pardon?'

  'Anominouspresentiment.IfeelI'veseenitbeforesomewhere,yetIknowI

  haven't.'

  Samgaspedtheatrically.'Youmeanyou'vegotapremonitionofimpending

  doom?Déjàvuandstufflikethat?'

  'Ifyoulike.'

  A shiver ran through Sam, despite her jovial air. 'Well, maybe they'll get bored and give up after a few days. We can have a bit of a holiday here until theyleave,thentackleitatourownspeed.'Shelookedaroundherwithapproval

  atthelongbroadsweepofthepromenade.'Icouldenjoymyselfinaplacelike

  this.Whatdoyouthink?'

  TheDoctordidnotreply,apparentlylostinthought.

  Therewasadenserswirlofonlookershalfwayalongthepromenade.Asthe

  Doctor and Sam drew closer it became evident that a man and woman, clearly celebritiesofsomesort,wereatthecentreofit.Someofthecrowdwereasking

  fortheirautographs.

  Theman,Samacknowledgedasshecaughtherfirstpropersightofhimpast

  other people's heads, really was tall, dark and handsome. He had a strong jaw, deep,browneyes,awidesensuousmouthandboldlydrawneyebrows.Hewas

  smiling and chatting to those around him in a very easy manner, suggesting familiaritywithbeingthecentreofattention.

  He knows exactly how impressive he looks, Sam thought, and carries

  himselfaccordingly.

  Hiscompanionwasblondeandequallyattractive,iflessselfconsciouslyso.

  Sheseemedintentonusingthecomplexandexpensive-lookingcameraslung

  around her neck, and was busy taking pictures of both the alien ship and occasionallythecrowdaroundher.They'dalreadyseenseveralotherpassengers

  doing the same thing, but there was something more fluent and assured in her actionsthatdistinguishedtheprofessionalfromtheamateur.

  'Nowthereisatrueartist;theDoctorcommented,astheyjoinedthefringeof

  thecrowd.

  'Why?'

  'Becauseshe'srecordingnotonlytheobviousfocusofinterestbutalsothose

  witnessingthescene.She'ssearchingfortheresponseinothersthatwillputthe spectacleintocontext.'

  The photographer caught sight of the Doctor and gave him a look of

  searching interest. He hooked his thumbs into his lapels, lifted his chin and struckapose.Shegrinnedandsnappedacoupleofrapidshotsofhim.

  TheDoctorsmiledbackatherandmadeaslightbow.

  Sam felt a pang of jealousy, which she tried with only partial success to smother.Chidingherselfforrakingoveroldbones,shelookedaway.

  Therewasashorter,oldermanorbitingroundthecouple,whoseemedtobe

  attemptingtomarshalthecrowd.

  'Now Mr Delray and Ms Wynter just want to take a look like the rest of you,'

  hewassayingloudly.'Pleasegivethemalittleroom!'

  'Whatdoyouthinkofthealienship,MrDelray?'somebodycalledout.

  'Must be quite a problem to park,' he replied lightly, causing a ripple of laughter.

  Hisvoiceexactlymatchedhisappearance:deepandresonantwithahintof

  gravel. The man's a classic cliche film star, Sam thought dismissively, finding herselfstaringathimnevertheless.

  'WhydoyouthinktheNimosiansareinterestedinit?'somebodyelseasked.

  'Evenaburned-outhunkofscrapwouldinterestthem-itwouldstillbean

  improvement on their own ships. But we found it first, and if they don't like it that'stoobad.They'vegottolearnthat'sthewaycivilisedpeoplebehave.'

  Thatreplybroughtforthageneralmurmurofapproval.

  'Whatdoyouthinkofthealienship,MsWynter?'

  'I wish we could get closer,' the blonde woman said. 'It's got a wonderful texturalqualitytoit,almostasthoughitwassculpted.

  Whoever built it must be very different from us .This might be the first

  contactwithanewrace.Evenifit'sabandonedwecouldlearnalotaboutthem.'

  'Wouldyouliketotakealookinsideit?'

  'Ofcourse.'

  Sam saw Delray glance disapprovingly at his companion, then quickly

  changetheexpressiontoaresignedsmile.

  Xyset's always ready to go anywhere for a picture,' he commented. 'Even when it might be dangerous and she should know better,' he added

  meaningfully.

  BeforeLysetWyntercouldrespondtothis,somebodycalledoutloudly,"The

  warship'smoving!'

  Theyallflowedtotherailsagain.

  TheanglebetweentheNimosiancraftandthederelicthadbeguntonarrow.

  Clearly it was edging towards the alien vessel. Then the slow drift of stars caused by the Cirrandaria's own orbit about the derelict changed as the liner activateditsownmanoeuvringthrusters.

  Thepublic-addresssystemcametolife.

  'We are making a minor adjustment to our orbit to maintain our relative position to the Nimosian ship,' said a reassuring voice. "There is no cause for a
larm.'

  Afreshbabbleofvoicesbrokeoutastheystrainedtheireyestoseewhatwas

  happening.Samlookedaroundforsomewheretogetabetterview.

  Therewereseverallargepairsofbinocularsmountedonpedestalsalongthe

  rails rather like those found at seaside resorts, presumably so the passengers could observe the sights directly rather than over the ship's screens. But they werealloccupied.TheDoctorreachedaroundthelargemaninafloralshirtwho

  wasmonopolisingthenearestofthemandtappedhimurgentlyontheshoulder.

  As he turned about, surprised to find nobody there, the Doctor slipped nimbly betweenhimandtheinstrumentandpressedhisfacetotheeyepieces.

  'What'shappening?'Samdemanded,ignoringthelargeman'sangryglare.

  'They'reholdingastationarypositionwiththethrusters,'theDoctorsaid.'A

  hatchhasopened...asmallcraft'scomingout...It'smovingveryslowlytowards

  the alien ship.' He pulled back from the eyepieces and looked resignedly at Sam.'Sometimes your kind are too ingenious for their own good. I was hoping theyhadn'tthoughtofthat.'

  Chapter3

  Pendulum

  The service pod hung between the Indomitable and the alien vessel, being loweredlikeacautiousspiderontheendofanalmostinvisible,woven,single-molecule line.Within the pod,Technician Arvel Kerven mentally reminded

  himself,onceagain,thattheline'sbreakingstrainwastenthousandkilos.Itwas notthatheseriouslyexpectedittofail,hemerelywantednothingtodistracthim fromthetaskinhand.

  Kerven did not consider himself a particularly brave man; indeed his

  colleagues,ifasked,wouldprobablysayhewastoocautiousandunimaginative

  tobecourageous.Hehadvolunteeredbecausehewasthebest-qualifiedperson

  tocarryoutthemission.Butitwouldprovideausefultalkingpoint.Nextyear,

  when he retired from active service and took up his tutorship at the space engineeringsciencescollege,hewouldusetheincidentasanillustrationofhow

  thejobofmaintenanceandEVApodoperativecouldhaveitsunusualmoments.

  'Twenty-five hundred metres run out,' came the voice of his commander,

  FirstTechReng,overthecomlink.'Anythingtoreport?'

  'No,Chief,'Kervenreplied.'Internalsystemsstillfunctioningnormally.Your

  signal'sbreakingupalittle,though.'

  The transmission was conducted via a comm laser feeding into the small

  receptordishonthedomeofthepod.Thissystemshouldhavebeenimmuneto

  allnormalinterference,yetalreadytherewasadistinctbackgroundcrackleand

  wavering of tone. By the time he reached the alien craft conventional

  communications might be impossible. However, that eventuality, and all other foreseeablecontingencies,hadbeenprovidedfor.

  Ofcourse,thatstilllefttheunforeseeable.

  The already cramped interior of the pod also contained chemical heater

  packs, spare oxygen cylinders and a catalytic carbon dioxide scrubber

  unit.These,togetherwithKerven'spressuresuit-whichhewaswearingwiththe

  visorup-wouldsubstituteforthepod'sownsystemsshouldtheyfoilduetothe

  interferencefromthealienvessel.Thatsameinterferencemaderemoteoperation

  of the pod impossible and necessitated Kerven's presence. Despite everything, Kervenfeltacertainsatisfactioninknowingthereweresomesituationsthatstill requireddirecthumanpresence.

  As he passed the twenty-seven-hundred-metre mark he began to notice a

  faint but distinct sensation of weight within the tiny cabin. That was almost unknowninsideapodexceptfortheaccelerationforcesgeneratedwhenitssmall

  drivemotorwasoperating.Kervencheckedthedirect-readingmechanical-strain gaugeontheline:itwascreepinguptoalittleovertwentykilos.

  Thebulkofthealienship,visiblethroughthedirect-visionportsthatringed

  thetopofthepod,wasfillingaquarterofthesky.Asheexamineditsdimlylit form he was assailed by a most unexpected sense of déjà vu , which

  momentarily disconcerted him until he identified its source. It was a historical vidhehadseenshowingthedescentofaprimitiveminiaturesubmarineintothe

  sunlessdepthsoftheoceantosalvageasunkensurfacevessel.Yes,theparallel

  was a good one. Even he could easily imagine that the stars around him were flecks of plankton caught in the lights of his submersible, and that the craft belowwasreallyafamiliarvesselwithitsoutlinesstrangelydistortedbymarine growths, silt and decay. How often did life repeat itself, albeit on a grander scale? Here he was descending through the depths of space towards a derelict many thousand times larger than that ancient lost ship, and certainly of far strangerorigins.

  At twenty-nine hundred metres' deployment, the soft whir of the air pump, normallyalmostinaudible,rosetoashrillwhine,stuttered,thenrecoveredagain.

  But he could hear its tone deepening raggedly. He cut its power, opened an oxygencylinderandactivatedoneofthechemicalrepleiu'sherpacksclippedto

  thewallbesidehishead.Hewatchedthesensitisedpatchesontheoutsideofthe

  packuntiltheychangedcolour,thenreportedhisactions.

  'Haveshutdownairsystemduetointerference.Backupoperatingnormally.'

  Hefeltaslightjerkashisdescentceased.

  'Are any other systems affected?' Reng asked, his words fading and

  intermittentlydrownedbythewashofstatic.

  'Notyet,Chief...'

  ThegyromotorbegantofalterandKervencutitspower.

  'Correction,' he said. 'Gyro motor has just malfunctioned. Letting it

  freewheel.Shouldbeenoughinertiastoredtostabilisemefortouchdown.

  Continuelowering.'

  'Understood,'Rengreplied,andKerven'sdescentresumed.

  Atthirty-onehundredmetresthelightsonthecontrolpanelbegantoflicker.

  Theatmospheric-integrityalarmgaveahalf-heartedwail,thenwassilent.

  CalmlyKervendisableditinturn.Hissuitwouldprotecthimiftherewasa

  genuinelossofpressure.

  Afteranotherhundredmetresthecontrolsofthepod'sthrusterpackflickered

  and one gave a brief pop of expelled gas. He hurriedly cut their circuit along with the rest of the operating controls. It was better to travel inert than with systemshecouldnotrelyupon.Nowtheonlyilluminationinthepod'sinterior

  wasthesoftgreenglowemanatingfromthebioluminescenttubehehadstuckto the wall at the beginning of his descent. He reported back again. Reng's reply wasalmostunintelligiblebutKerventhoughthecoulddetectanoteofconcern

  behindthewords.Who'dhavethoughtitoftheoldman?

  At thirty-three hundred metres the comlink finally failed and Reng's voice vanishedintoahowlofstatic.

  Kerven cut its power and uncoiled the bypass optical fibre that linked

  directly with the external dish, fitted a cup over the end and placed the lens of his powerful hand torch to it.The simple chemical cell and filament bulb functioned normally as he tapped out the pulses. The light should be clearly visiblethroughthetelescopetheIndomitablehadconstantlytrainedonhim.He

  withdrewthetorchandappliedhiseyetothecup.

  The slowly pulsing comm laser flickered back the reply, RECEIVED:

  CONTINUELOWERI
NG.

  When he was a thousand metres above the derelict, spotlights from the

  Indomitable blazed into life, their invisible beams illuminating the vast hull in two-hundred-metre-wide circles with the cold starkness of bright moonlight.

  SuddenlyKervenfoundthealienshiphadbecomeanartificiallandscapeundera

  coal-black sky, with all but the brightest stars washed from sight. The Indomitable was a tiny brilliant point directly above him, the Emindian liner a dimmer irregular speck two-thirds the way down towards the derelict's lateral horizon.Hewasdescendingequidistantfromtheringedendsandjustbelowthe

  derelict'stower-likesuperstructure-

  hopefullyasneartothecentreofgravityastheycouldestimateit.Theline

  loadshowedheandthepodnowhadacombinedweightofalmostfiftykilosin

  thederelict'sunnaturallysteepgravitationalgradient.

  Kerven studied the vast hull the best he could through binoculars without theirnormalelectronicaugmentation.

  Itseemedtobeasinglemassofpipework,ofallsizesandcrosssections.

  Some,raisedonshortpylons,ranstraightandunbrokenfromoneendofthe

  vessel to the other like monotrain tubes, while others wriggled like snakes: curling,branchingandmergingwitheachother.Someofthemhadtobetwenty

  metres across. If they were conduits of some kind, what could they possibly carry? Briefly he turned his attention to the blurred end of the ship, but could makeoutnomoredetailsthanhehadfromfurtherout.

  Radarpulseshadcomebackoddlydistortedfromthatsection,anduntilthey

  understooditsnaturehehadbeenbriefedtokeepwellclear.Hisimmediatetask

  wastofindsomespotwherehecouldsetdownsafely.

  At a hundred metres up he signalled a halt while he surveyed the surface

  beneath him closely. The pod bobbed slightly as, four kilometres above him, Chief Reng was playing the line in an attempt to steady him against the intermittent action of Indomitable's thrusters, which were holding the ship stationary. The increasing weight of his pod must have been causing the IndomitabletodriftandKervenknewCommanderVegacouldnotrisktheship