upserviceunderVega,Faylebegantowonderifthemanhadtherightcharacter
forcommand.
'Towhatpurpose,MrFayle?'Vegasaid.
'Do you not find it the least suspicious that a party of Emindian civilians escapedfromthealienshipwithminorlosses,whilewehavelostallbutoneof
our own professional, well-armed crew? And that one they return to us so severelytraumatised,thathemayneverrecoversufficientlytogiveusacoherent reportofwhatwentondownthere?'
'Iconsiderthattheyweresimplyluckierthanwewere,MrFayle.Forallwe
know more of our men are still alive and well inside that ship, but without detailed knowledge of the conditions down there we can only speculate.When thesecondmodifiedshuttleisreadywewilllearnmore.
Untilthenwecanonlywait.'
'ButwhataboutthatthingwesawontheResolve!ItwasusingArgen'sbody
tosteerittowardsus.'
'Possiblyanalienlifeform,maybeaninhabitantoftheship.Weshallassess
the threat they pose and take whatever action is necessary against them in due course.WhathasthattodowiththeEmindians?'
"Theirshuttleseemedtosuffernosuchmisfortune.Whydidtheyescapeso
easily?'
'You suggest they are somehow in league with these aliens?' He shook his head.'Ithinkit'sstillbettertoputitdowntochance.Afterall,wewereluckyto intercepttheiroriginalsignalreportingthediscoveryofthealienvessel.
Thoughperhapsthatdoesnotseemsofortunatenow,'headdeddarkly.
'Whatifweweremeanttohearthatmessage?'Faylesaid.'Perhapsthisisall
partofsomeplottolureushere.IsitcoincidencethatKaleRextonhimself,the mostoutspokenmilitaristontheEmindianHighCouncil,wasontheCirrandaria
?'
'Yes,becauseifthiswasallplannedasyousay,whyhasn'tRextoncomeat
theheadofabattlesquadron?'
'Perhaps there is one, Commander, waiting somewhere just out of detector range.'
'Whatwouldbethepurposeofsuchadeception?''Idon'tknow,butitdoes
allfocusonthealienship-andasyoualreadyadmitted,Commander,wedonot
knowenoughaboutconditionsonboardit.'
'That at least we can agree on. Have you any other suspicions you wish to informmeof,MrFayle?'
Fayle replied stiffly,'! am just performing my duty, sir: informing my
commandingofficerofpossiblescenariosrelevanttothecurrentsituation.'
'Considermedulyinformed.Isthereanythingelse?'
'The...fortuitouspresenceoftheFederationModeratorontheCirrandaria.
Itlimitsthescopeofouractions.'
'AsitdoesthoseoftheEmindians.Ithinkhisintentionsarequitesincereif
misguided...butIsupposeyouthinkheisalsopartofthisplot?'
'Possibly. We are in no position to confirm his credentials, sir.' 'You see conspiracieseverywhere,Fayle.'
'Only where the Emindians are concerned. I lost my parents on Garroth
Five.'
Vega sighed again. 'I'm familiar with your file. I know what part Emindian deceitplayedinthattragedy.Butitwasalmostthirtyyearsagoandperpetrated
bytheirCovertOperationsAgency.Eventheirowngovernmentdisownedtheir
actionseventually.''Publicly,officially.Theyhadnochoice.'
'IhavenoloveforEmindians,butrememberwearedealingwithacivilian
linerhere,notawarship.'
'TherewerefamiliesonGarroth.ThatdidnotstoptheCOA.'
'Sonowyouthinktheyareusingtheirownpeopleascat's-paws?Forwhat
possiblereason?'
'Idon'tknow,Commander.Yet.'
'Well I can't stop you exercising your imagination, Mr Fayle. But until you havesomethingmoresubstantialthanmeresuppositiontoofferme-'
They were interrupted by Second Lieutenant Chen, who came hurriedly
round the corner, looking back over his shoulder as he did so, and almost collidedwithVega.
'Watchwhereyou'regoing,Lieutenant,'Faylebarkedathimastheyounger
manstartedviolently.
'Sorry,sir.'
Vegalookedathimclosely.Chenseemedunusuallypale,hisbrowglistened
withsweatandhehadanairofnervousuneaseabouthim.
'Areyouunwell,Lieutenant?'Vegaasked.'Wereyougoingtosickbay?'
'Uh,it'snothingsir.Justapersistentheadache.Ishouldn'thavecomereally.'
'Getyourselfcheckedoutanyway,'Vegatoldhim."Thiscrewwillhavetobe
on maximum alert for the next two days at least. 1 can't have anybody at their stationwhoisn'tonehundredpercentfit.'
'Yes,sir.'
Withanotherquickbackwardglance,RaskChenwalkedreluctantlyintothe
sickbay.
Chapter19
Sabotage
Refreshed after her artificially induced rest, Sam found the Doctor in the TARDIS'slaboratory.
Despite the complex microelectronic equipment that littered the heavy oak workbenches, the atmosphere was still Gothic. It was the sort of place, Sam thought, that you might expect to find a badly stitched together body lurking underwhitesheets.Cometothinkofit,hisappearanceandperiodcostume...
'Feelbetternow,Sam?'heaskedassheentered.
'Yes,thanks.Whatareyoudoing,DrFrankenstein?'
He had what appeared to be a heavy cylindrical hand torch before him,
except that where the bulb and reflector would have been was an array of metallicdiscsformingaprojectingcone.Mountedparallelwiththeshaftwasa
standard laser-pencil pointer. A card containing circuitry never seen in any conventionaltorchwasreadytobeslidintothehollowshaft.
'Adevicethatmaybeofuseagainstthosedimensionallydisplacedbeingson
thealienship.'
'Callthemghosts.Theylooklikeghosts.Theyfeellikeghosts.'
TheDoctorsmiledgently.'Idon'tbelieveinghosts.Onlymysteries.There'sa
rationalexplanationforwhattheyare.'
'Iknowthat,butIdon'tfeelallthatrationalwhenIthinkofthem.Allright,
whatdoesyourgizmodo?'
'You might call it a normaliser. It combines some of the frequencies my sonicscrewdriveremits,bioelectricwavelengthsandanarrowspatial-distortion
field. The effect should, temporarily, either make those creatures almost completely insubstantial, so that they can't interact with us, or else substantial andstableenoughsothatwemightattempttocommunicatewiththem.'
'Oratleastletusfightthemoneventerms.'
Hefrowned."That'snotlikeyou,Sam.'
'I'm sorry, but they really got to me,' she protested.'Being near them was like... like having all your worst fears made real. I think I know why that Nimosian soldier flipped. He was alone down there too long. At least we had companywhenwefoughtthem.'
TheDoctorlookedatherintently.'Ifyouwanttostayinhere,you'llbesafe.'
'No,I'mgoingtoseethisthrough,'Samsaidforthrightly.'Only...'Shesmiled
athim.'It'snotverycoolofmetoask,butstickclose,willyou?'
Hesmiled.'I'lldomybest.'
There was a beeping and a light flashed over a mobile intercom resting besidethebench.
'Ilinkedourroomphonesthroughtohere,'theDoctorexplained,punchinga
button.'Doctorhere,'hesaid.
Lanchard'svoicecameon.'Doctor,couldy
oucomeuptothebridge,please.
We'redetectinganotherenergybuild-uparoundthealienshipandIthoughtyou
mightbeinterested.'
'We'll be right there,' he promised. Sliding the circuit board into the normaliser,hescrewedtheendcoverintoplaceanddroppeditintohispocket.
'Coming,Sam?'
'Rightbehindyou.'
***
RhondaPlechtcaughtupwithLesterbeforehereachedtheircompartment.
He would have preferred to have been waiting for her, but nevertheless he managedtofaceherwithabrightandhopefullyinnocentsmile.
'Hallo,dear.Didyouhaveanicesauna?'
'Nevermindaboutthat.WhowasthatwomanIsawyouwith?'
It was the question he was dreading. He struggled to reply mildly, 'What woman,dear?'
"Thathalf-dressedgirlonthepromenadelastnight.Isawyoutalkingtoher outsidetheship'sclinic.Iwasintheelevatorontheothersideoftheatrium.By the time I reached the floor you were gone. Why was she wearing a dressing gown?'
'A beach wrap, dear.That was Ms Schollander. She'd just come from the
upper pool. She'd had a slight accident there and I helped her down to see the doctor.'
'And what were you doing at the pool? You said you were going to play golf.'
'Iwas,dear,butwemetonthewayandsheinvitedmeforadrink.You're
alwayssayingIshouldtakeadvantageofsocialmeetings.Well,Itoldherabout
myworkanditturnsoutshehasashareinaminingcompanyandtheymaybe
able to offer us some business.' He added desperately,'Perhaps quite a lot of business.'
'Isee,'Rhondasaidwithasniff.'Andtheotherwoman?'
Lesterblinkedingenuinesurprise.'Sorry,dear.DoyoumeanDrGilliam?'
'Ofcoursenot.Theotheronewithyouinfrontoftheclinic.Shewaswearing
abluesmockdressandhadsomesonofpeculiarheadpieceon.Icouldn'tseeher
face.Sheaccompaniedyouwhenyouleft.'Rhondalookedsuspiciouslyupand downthecorridor.'Ithoughtyouturneddownheretogether.Whowasshe?'
Lesterlookedatherintotalbewilderment.Hewasabsolutelycertainhehad
walkedbackfromthesickbayquitealone.
***
The Doctor examined the bridge displays, their coloured lights tinting his pale features. Captain Lanchard and the rest of the bridge crew looked on
expectantly. Sam recognised their attitudes. Everybody turned to the Doctor eventually.
'Yes,thereisadistinctbuild-upintheenergyfieldaroundthealienship,'
theDoctoragreed.
'Butit'snotquitethesamepatternasbefore,'Lanchardsaid.'Imustknowif
we'resafehereorwhetherweshouldpullbackfurther.'
The Doctor shrugged.'Who can say? If it's no greater intensity than before thenweshouldbesafe.Ifit'ssomethingelse...'heshruggedagain.'Perhapsyou'd betterhavetheengineroomreadytocutinthemainenginesjustincase.'
Lanchardnoddedandopenedanintercomline.'Nel?Canyouhavethemain
drivereadyonimmediatestandby,please?'
'Captain,' Nel Manders's voice came back rapidly.'I was just about to call you.There'ssomething...oddhappeningdownhere.Idon'tknowifwe'reseeing
things...Perhapssomebodyhadbetter-'
Samleanedoverthemicrophone.'ThisisMsJones.TheModeratorandIwill
berightdown,'shesaid.
***
The Cirrandaria's engine compartment contained a linked series of huge
machinesthatcomprisedthepowercore,secondarygeneratorsandmaindrive.
Aworkshophousedinasidebaygaveaccesstotheshuttleberths.
Saminstinctivelyfeltthereshouldbemorenoise,buttheimmaculatelyclean
solid-state devices containing almost no moving parts generated only the
slightest of low hums, giving little clue as to the tremendous energy contained withinthem.Astheylefttheliftandpassedalongthecatwalksandstairwaysthat webbed the walls, small sections of the compartments teased her memory with theirresemblancetotheinteriorsoffictionalstarshipsthathadsailedonlyinthe mindsofstagedesignersandalltheanoraksci-fifansbackinherowncentury.
Manderswaswaitingforthemintheengineeringcontrolroomsetbetween
the power core and the main drive assembly. Her face bore an angry scowl, whilebehindherwereseveralanxious-lookingcoveralledtechnicians.Shetook
afewstepsawayfromthembeforeconversinginlowtones.
'Idon'twanttosaywhatIthinkitisinfrontofthem,incaseIstartapanic.
They'realreadyfeelingbadenoughaboutlosingSimmons.Ihadtotellthem
how it happened. But this is not imagination.There's something down here, all right.It'skeepingtotheshadowsandwe'veonlycaughtglimpses.
We've just found that some of the secondary monitor panels have been
tamperedwith,soit'srealenough.''Areyousuggestingit'saghost?'Samasked
bluntly.'I'dratheritwasaNimosiansaboteur,'Mandersadmitted.
'ButIdon'tthinkanordinarypersoncouldmoveaboutthewaythisthing's
beendoing.We'vemadeonesweepofthewholecompartmentbutsomehowit
gotbehindus.'
Sam looked around anxiously at the looming mass of machinery that
surroundedthem.Suddenlythereseemedtoomanyshadowsforherliking.'But
howcouldaghosthavegotinhere?'
'Itmayhavecomebackwithusontheshuttle,'theDoctorsuggested.
'Butwe'dhaveseenit,'Samsaid.'Thosethingsweren'texactlysubtle.Imean
you'dnoticeifonewassittingnexttoyou...'Shehesitated."ThoughnowIthink ofit,itdidseemprettycoldonthewayback.'
'We may have only encountered the less controlled creatures so far,' the Doctor pointed out. "They may be able to remain inconspicuous if they don't attempttointeractwithanybody.'
'Butwhatcouldoneofthemwantdownhere?'Mandersasked.
'That'swhatwehavetofindout,'theDoctorsaid.'Ifthere'sjustone,Ithink
wecandealwithit.'
'Don'tweneedweapons?'Mandersasked.
"They haven't done us much good so far, so let's see if we can manage without,'theDoctorsuggested.
They arranged all the available engineering crew in a line and began a second sweep of the compartment. They moved along every catwalk and aisle betweentheblocksofmachinery,probingtheshadowswithtorches.
TheDoctorandSamfollowedonalittlewaybehindthem,Samarmedwith
theDoctor'snormaliser-theoperationofwhichhehadrapidlybriefedheron-
whilehecarriedhissonicscrewdriver.Samfoundhereyesdartingaboutasthey
passed between the towering machines. There were so many places for a real persontohide,letaloneawraith.
They'dcompletedtwo-thirdsoftheirsweepwhentherewasacallfromthe
catwalkalmostaboveherhead:'It'suphere!'
Sam saw a grey form woven of mist and shadows flying at the technician, wholeaptasideinhorrorandalmostfellovertheguardrail,droppinghisown
torch, which fell with a clatter. Sam stepped back rapidly to get a clear line of sight, pointed the normaliser at the ghostly thing and pressed the button.The device buzzed in her hands as the sighting beam stabbed out and touched the creature.
Thethingfaltered,writhingassheheldthebeamonit.TheDoctorwasather
side adding
the shrill of his sonic screwdriver.The creature seemed to be shrinking as the fuzz of half-seen limbs around it contracted. A darker, more substantial shadow was forming inside the haze, resolving into a man-sized creaturehunchedoveronallfours.Itutteredsomethingbetweenamoananda
snarl,thenitcollapsedtothefloorofthecatwalk.
'We'vegotit!'Samshouted.
Butevenasshespoke,thecreaturerolledunderneaththecatwalkguardrail
andfelloutoftheirlineofsightbehindasecondarygenerator.Therewasonly
theslightestofthudsasitstruckthefloor.Ittookthemonlyacoupleofseconds to round the generator, but in that time the creature was moving again and as immaterialasbefore.OneofthetechniciansswungalengthofI-beamatitbut
hewasbrushedaside.Itturnedthenextcornerbeforetheycouldfireatitagain.
'It's heading for the control room!' Manders shouted. They pounded back
along the aisles after it, rebounding off the sides of machinery as they turned right-angledcorners.Buttheyweretoolate.
The heavy blast doors of the engineering control room were closed in their faces.A technician lay slumped beside them.Through a mesh-reinforced
transparentporttheysawtheghostlyformbrushacrossthepanels.
'Whatarethosecontrolsfor?'theDoctoraskedManders."They'rethebridge
repeatercontrols.Youcansteertheshipfromthereinanemergency.Wasthat
whatitwasafterallalong?'
'Possibly.Contactthebridgeandtellthemtooverrideitscommandsifthey
can.'Mandersspokerapidlyintoherwristcom.TheDoctorturnedtoSam.
"The shielding will attenuate the beam a little, but try the normaliser on reverseeffect.Thecreaturewon'tbeabletooperatethecontrolssoeasily.'
Samsightedonthecreaturethroughtheclearpanelandfired.Thethinggrew
paler, but it continued to work the controls. She felt the ship tremble as power was fed into its thrusters. The Doctor knelt beside the frame of the blast door, adjustedhissonicscrewdriver,andactivatedit.Therewasashrillwhineanda
Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken Page 17