Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

'Buttheykeptchangingshape,'Manderssaid.

  'It may be their natural state, or it might be the result of dephasing. Their forms may no longer be stable.The experience would probably affect their mentalstateaswell.'

  "Youmeanthey'remad,'Delraysaidbluntly.

  'It'spossible,'theDoctorsaidgravely.HeglancedatRexton.'Itoldyouthat

  technologywasunsafe.'

  Manders asked, 'Why did some of those creatures look more solid than

  others?'

  "There may be individual variations between them due to other factors we knownothingabout.Somemayhavebeensofaintwedidn'tseethematall.But

  generally they altered in apparent solidity according to their proximity to us.

  Remembertheceilinglights.'

  Thewaytheyblinkedoutastheypassed?'

  'Yes.Ithinktheywereunconsciouslydrawingenergyfromthem.'

  'Theywerefeedingoffenergy?'queriedSam.

  'Not just any energy. Did you notice those lights were self-contained

  bioluminescents?'

  Mandersnodded.'So?'

  'Forwantofabetterdescription,thosebeingswerefeedingoffanyorganic

  lifeforce.Drawingpowerfromthebiomatterinthelights,orus,toincreasethe level of their own existence. That's why we feel physically drained by our encounterwiththem.'

  'But could prolonged exposure kill somebody?' Bendix wondered. 'Would

  theysuckallthelifeoutofthem?'

  'Quitepossibly,'theDoctoradmitted.

  There was an uncomfortable silence, then Rexton said, 'How can we fight them,Doctor?Ourweaponswerevirtuallyuselessoverthere.Eventhatdevice

  ofyoursonlyheldthembackforafewseconds.'

  Lanchard realised he was openly asking the Doctor for advice. It was

  obviouslynotsomethinghelikeddoing,butshebegantosuspectitwasahabit

  peopleslippedintointheDoctor'scompany.

  'I'm not sure we even should be fighting them,' the Doctor sighed. 'Still, I havesomeequipmentinmyluggagethatmightbeuseful.'

  'ButwhataboutLyset!'Delraybegged.'Wecan'tleaveherdownthere.'

  Lanchard said, gently but firmly, 'Until we can find some means of

  protectionfromthese...theseghosts,nobodywilllandonthatshipagain.

  I'msorry,MrDelray,butIcan'taffordtoloseanymorepassengersorcrew.

  Atleastnotuntiltheyhaveareasonablechanceofcomingbacksafely.'

  SheturnedbacktotheDoctoragain.'Anythingelse,Doctor?'

  'Ifitweren'tforthoselostonthealienshipIwouldadviseyouasIhavethe

  Nimosians:leavethisareaimmediately.ButIknowthere'snochanceofeither

  ofyoudoingthat.'

  'Notuntilreinforcementsarrive,'Rextonconfirmedbluntly.

  'WouldithelpifItoldyouIcanarrangeforthealienshiptobeinvestigated

  byaproperlyqualifiedresearchteam?'theDoctorsaid.HelookedatDelrayand

  Arcovian. 'I assure you they would do whatever they could for those still on board.'

  'So that the Federation would benefit from the alien technology,' Rexton suggested.

  'IpromiseyoutheFederationwoulddonosuchthing,'theDoctorsaid.

  'Their only objective would be to determine the ship's origins and prevent anymoresuchdangerousmeddlingbywhateverracebuilther.'

  'But you're a Federation employee,' Bendix said. 'Are you asking us to

  believeyou'dturndownthechancetolearnallyoucouldfromthatship?'

  'I consider myself primarily a citizen of the galaxy,' the Doctor replied

  without any trace of pomposity.'A Moderator must act without fear or favour, not simply for the short-term good of the Federation. I know that ship is dangerous,bothinitselfandasapotentialprizethatisfurtherdividingyouand the Nimosians. It's as I told you - rather than let any one side have it, I would destroyitutterly.'

  Herealtymeansit,Lanchardthought.IfonlyRextonwouldbelievehim.

  'Butwhataboutitscrew?WhataboutLysetandtheothers?'Arcovianasked.

  TheDoctorshookhisheadmournfully,butsaidnothing.Mandersbrokethe

  uncomfortable silence that followed.'This business of the external hatch

  keyboardlockswefounddowntherestillbothersme,Doctor.'

  'Yes,youhaven'texplainedhowyoumanagedtocrackthat,Doctor,'

  Bendixsaidwithmorethanatraceofsuspicion.

  The Doctor sighed, drew across a notepad and stylus and began to sketch rapidly,drawinguncannilypreciseanglesandstraightlines.Inhalfaminutehe

  hadproducedaneatreplicaofthekeyboardinquestion,whichhethenplacedin

  thecentreofthetable.

  'Sometimes the truth is hidden by the observer's own insistence on seeing complexitywherethereisnone,'hesaid.'Lookatthesquaresrunningdownthe

  rowsthree,four,two,five,threeandsixinfromtheleft,andthenthinkofthe word"unlock"

  Therewasamoment'ssilenceandthenarisingchorusofexclamations.The

  Doctornodded.

  'Exactly.The pad simply displays six stylised letters of the alphabet, with a few minor embellishments, rotated through ninety-degree increments. Here the CresemblesaVsomewhattodistinguishitfromaU,andsquaredotshavebeen

  addedtofillintheOsandLs,butapartfromthatit'squiteclear.'

  'And reading down four, five, four and one in spells "lock",' Sam Jones said.'It'saseasyasthat.'

  'But it's absurd!' Rexton exploded. "The ship is unmistakably a product of alientechnology.Andevenifsomebodyweretohaveconcoctedsomeincredible

  hoax,theywouldn'thaveleftsuchablatantcluebehind.'

  'Perhaps not, but the fact remains,' the Doctor said. '1 take it you never noticedthisanomalyontheshipyoufound?'

  'Itshatcheswereallunlocked,'Rextonadmitted."Thedoorpadswerehardly

  apriority-'

  'Icanimagine,'interjectedSamdourly.

  Rextonscowledatherandcontinued."Therewasnoneedforthelinguiststo

  examinethemclosely.Buttheydidexaminealltheinscriptionsinsidetheship,'

  hepointedout.'Excepttheycouldn'ttranslatethem.'

  'Naturally,' the Doctor said. 'Unlike the hatch keys, those were simply collectionsofrandomsymbols.'

  'Butsomebody'stranslatedthemnowallright,'Manderssaid.'Wesawthatin

  themaincontrolroom.Butifthey'renonsenseasyousay...that'simpossible!'

  'Doctor,whatdoesitallmean?'Lancharddemanded.

  The Doctor's face became very solemn, and he leaned slightly forward as thoughabouttoimpartagreatconfidence.Therestbentforwardinturn,gazing

  athiminexpectantsilence.

  'IonlywishIknew,'headmittedsoftly.

  ***

  AlittlelaterSamandtheDoctorwereintheliftdescendingtothecargohold.

  Samyawnedprodigiously.

  'IprescribeanhourintheTARDIS'ssleeproomforyou,'theDoctorsaid.'Set

  theneuraldampeneroneight.Thenyouwon'thaveanybaddreams.'

  'Iwishyou'dtoldmeaboutthelockbusinessfirst,'Samsaid,stiflinganother

  yawn.'HowamImeanttoassistyouifIdon'tknowwhat'sgoingon?'

  'The truth is, I'm not entirely certain myself,' said the Doctor with an apologeticsmile.

  Sam looked at him. Her natural reaction was to believe him, of course, but therewassomethinginhiseyes
thatseemed...distant.Samtookadeepbreath.

  'Areyoutellingmethetruthnow?'

  Ifshewasexpectingareactionfromhim,shewasdisappointed.

  'Absolutely,'heremarked,eyeshalfopenashescrutinisedtheblanddecorof

  thelift.

  Theyreachedtheholdlevel,exited,andmadetheirwayalongthepassageto

  wheretheTARDISrested.TheDoctorglancedatSam'sdespondentfeaturesand

  continued, 'If you must gather confidences, there was one other curious detail youmayhaveobservedonthealienshipthatnobodyelse,asfarasIknow,has

  sofarcommentedupon.'

  'What?'Samasked,feigningdisinterestnow.

  'Itconcernstheweaponry.'

  'Thegunsdidn'tworkverywellagainstthoseghosts,didthey?'

  'My dear Sam, they shouldn't have worked at alR All other devices of any complexitywereaffectedbythealiencraft'senergyfield.Evenwithintheship

  our radios were operating very poorly, remember. Why then should

  contemporary energy weapons, outside the shuttle's counter-interference field, functionnormally?'

  'Oh.'Samlookedathim.'Ididn'teventhinkaboutit.'

  'Neitherdidanyoneelse,apparently-noteventheNimosians,Isuspect.

  Butwe'llhavetofindananswerbeforethisisover.'

  Chapter16

  Soldier

  SquadleaderHarrenSho'slifecentredaboutasmallnumberofjealouslyguarded

  certainties. They were not particularly subtle beliefs, but they had served him well thus far. For example, he believed that the space marine corps were the finest fighting force in the galaxy, that Nimos was the most perfect planet createdbyGod-andthatyoucouldnevertrustanEmindian.

  Hiscurrentprisonergavehimnoreasontochangehismindonanyofthese

  points.

  She simply looked scared, though she was trying to hide it. Her naked fear made him feel pity and some contempt for her, coupled with a warm glow of satisfaction in his own professional composure. She claimed she was the

  photographeroftheEmindianexploratoryparty,yetshehadnocamerawithher.

  When challenged on this point she claimed to have lost it when the ghost creatures attacked them. Sho smiled. He'd been attacked by the same creatures buthehadn'tlostanyitemofhiskitintheprocess.Exactlyhowhehadescaped

  fromthemhecouldnotforthemomentrecallprecisely.Allherememberedwas

  aconfusionofshapesandgunfireandafeelingofcoldasapackofthethings

  haddescendedonhissquadand...

  No,itwasgoneagain.Hemusthavereceivedsomeminorinjuryduringthe

  melee.Nodoubthismemorywouldreturninduecourse.Meanwhileitcertainly

  didnotaffecthisfightingefficiencyinanyway...

  He blinked and realised the Emindian woman was speaking again. Careful,

  Sho.You'reinenemyterritory.Concentrate.

  'Look,'shewassayinganxiously,'youdon'tneedtotakemeprisoner.We're

  bothinthesameboat.Webothwanttogetoutofhereandbacktoourownships,

  don'twe?'

  'So that you can get back to report how well your deception is going?' he hissedbackather.

  'What do you mean?' She was not a bad actress. She looked genuinely

  surprised.

  'The voices! You can just hear them over the suit bands if you listen very carefully,butnotonourfrequencies.Doyousupposeit'sthosecreatures?

  Wouldtheyusehelmetradios?No,it'syourpeople.'

  'ItmustbethepartyI'mwith,that'sall.'

  'No,thesesounddifferent.Youcanneverquitehearthewords.Somespecial

  forcewithnewmodelequipment,eh?'

  'Idon'tknowanythingaboutanyspecialforcesandI'venoideawhat'sgoing onhere.Whycan'tyoubelieveme?'

  'YoucantellthattoCommanderVega.I'mtakingyoubacktoourshipand

  we'llfindouteverythingyouknow.'Hepausedforeffect.'Easily.'

  "This is ridiculous. If we really are responsible for all this, why did those creaturesattackus?'

  'Youclaimtheyattackedyou.'

  'Itwasinsomebigchamber.Theinterfaceranrightthroughthemiddleofit.

  There were some of your people there as well. More marines.And we found a LieutenantTane...'

  Thereliefsquad,ithadtobe,Shothought.Andthelieutenantwasstillalive.

  Ifonlyhecouldlinkupwiththem.Herealisedshewasstilltalking.

  'Can you hear me? Those ghost things attacked all of us. Your own people willconfirmitonceyoufindthem.'

  "Thenitwasanacttoputusoffourguard,'hesaid,suddenlyseeinghowit allmadesense.'Thismustbeanexperimentalweapons-testingbase.

  Thosethingsaresomenewformofcamouflagedcombatsuit.You'retrying

  totrickusintostayingheresoyoucantestthemproperly.'

  'You'reparanoid!'

  Hetookherbythearmandpushedheraheadofhim.

  'I don't care ajek what you think of me. Now move! And you keep your mouthshut,unlessyouwanttoattractanymoreofourfriends.'Hedrewhisfield knifefromitsbeltsheathandshowedherthelong,dark,reinforced-carbonblade

  withitsrazorlikecrystaltipandedge.

  'This won't make a sound. Give me away to anybody and you're dead,

  understand?'

  Shenoddeddumbly.

  Togethertheymovedoffdownthelongcorridor.

  Chapter17

  Guilt

  Thenextmorning,shiptime,theCirrandaria'screwsparednoeffortstodistract

  the passengers' attention from the alien craft and whatever it might contain.

  Tired holidaymakers, waking from the excitement of the previous night's

  departure of the expedition to board the derelict, found that the public-address speakers and info screens were alive with announcements of special prizes for the coming fancy-dress night, the attractions of the gymnasia, solarium, deck sports,tri-deeshowsandalivetheatrematinée.

  Onlyabriefmentionwasmadeabouttheresultsoftheexpeditionitself.

  Itwasimpliedthattheexplorationpartyhadencounteredsomethingstrange

  on board, but the details were carefully vague. It mentioned, without undue emphasis, that Lyset Wynter and a couple of other crew members were

  unaccountedfor,butthereseemednogreaturgencyabouttheirsituation,andin

  any case it seemed natural to associate Lyset with exotic and dangerous situations.Shehadalwaysreturnedsafelyinthepast.Andinthestrangewaythat factandfancysometimesblurred,thereassuringthoughtlingeredinthebackof

  mostpeople'smindsthatDonDelraywouldbetheretorescueherifthesituation

  gotserious.

  The passengers were also gently but repeatedly reminded that the whole

  business would be over very shortly, when a squadron of navy ships would arrive to relieve them.The Captain had also gently eased the Cirrandaria a few kilometresfurtherawayfromthederelictduringthenight,reducingitsapparent

  size and prominence. After a day of excitement and speculation the novelty of the situation was beginning to wane. It had been an interesting if slightly inconvenient diversion, but now separation from the focus of interest made it easier to dismiss from the mind. It was evident that the Nimosians were not going to profit from their attempts at salvaging the craft, and so the status quo hadbeenmaintained.


  Besides, the Cirrandaria's passengers had paid for a luxury cruise and they weredeterminednottoletanythingstopthemgettingtheirmoney'sworth.

  ***

  'Why don't you go to the library?' Rhonda Plecht suggested to Lester as she gatheredupherwrap.

  Shewasgoingforasaunaandmassagewithacoupleofnew-foundcronies

  (asLesterprivatelythoughtofthem)whoseemedtoshareRhonda'sviewoflife.

  Theyweresteadilyworkingtheirwaythroughallthediversionstheshiphadto

  offer,apparentlyforthesolepurposeofhighlightingtheminutestdeficienciesof the staff, the facilities and their fellow passengers. Still, it seemed to keep her happy,anditallowedLesterafewhourstohimselfeachday.

  'OrtheloungeonCDeck,'shecontinued.'Thatmanisgoingtogiveanother

  ofhistalksontheancientPharosens.You'lllikethat.'

  'Yes, dear,' he replied dutifully.'Or perhaps I might have a go on the topologicalputtinggreen.Iusedtolikegolf.'

  'Youweredreadfulatgolf.Itwasanembarrassment.Suchareliefwhenyou

  gaveitup.Well,aslongasyoukeeptoputting.Don'ttryanyofthosefreefall

  games. You know you get nauseous so easily. You don't want to make a

  spectacleofyourself.'

  Rhondaalwayshadahorrorofhiscommittingsomesocialdisaster,though

  thateventuality,asLesterwouldbethefirsttoadmit,hadlongsincepassedinto therealmofthehighlyimprobablesinceshehadtakenovertherunningofhis

  life.Thissurrenderofresponsibility,heacknowledged,hadnotbeenwithoutits

  mutualbenefits.Shehadabettersocialsensethanhedidandfarmoreambition.

  Itwasherguidanceandencouragementthathadenabledhimtoclimbtherungs

  ofthecorporateladderuntilhehadreachedtheboardroomitself.Thiscruisehad beenoneoftherewards.

  Andyet,onceinawhile,Lesterlongedtodosomethingjustforhimself-

  without worrying about the social consequences, or what Rhonda would

  think.

  Rhonda departed and he made his way towards the putting green and its

  Escher-inspiredcontours.Hecouldnotafterwardsexplainwhatimpulseledhim

  tovisittheUnderpoolGrilleRoomfirst.