Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

'Isawyoubothwithhimtheotherday.Youmustknowher.'

  'Yes,Iwaswithyourhusbandtheotherday,buttherewasnootherwoman.'

  'Don'tlietome,youstupidgirl!Whatareyoutryingtohide?Istheresome

  sortofconspiracybetweenthethreeofyou?'

  Theyoungerwoman'smouthsetinafirmline.'Look,I'mverybusy.Incase

  youhadn'tnoticedtherearealotofpeopleherewhoneedhelp.Whydon'tyou

  stopbrowbeatingthatpoorhusbandofyoursandlendahand?Youmightlearna

  bitofhumilityalongtheway.Anddon'tcallmeastupidgirl!'

  'Howdareyouspeaktomelikethat!'

  But Ingrid Schollander did not shrink or turn away. Instead she stepped closerandsaid,'IcanspeaktoyouhoweverIlike.Ithinkyouareaveryselfish woman,andIdon'tknowwhyLesterhasputupwithyouforsolong.'

  Rhonda was not used to being defied. Suddenly she felt terribly afraid that thisjuvenile,sofullofthewarmthRhondaknewshelacked,andherunknown

  co-conspirator would somehow steal Lester from her. In a sudden panic she thrustoutahandtopushheraway.

  She honestly had not realised she'd picked up an instrument from the tray besidethebed.Itwasasthoughherhanddidnotbelongtoher.Thethingfitted

  neatly into her palm and hummed slightly as she clenched it tight. It slid so easilyintothemiddleofIngridSchollander'schest.

  For a moment the young woman looked at her with wide surprised eyes,

  reaching up as though in disbelief to the handle of the instrument protruding from her chest. Then with a single and oddly slight gasp of pain she fell backwardsontothebed.

  Rhonda stared down at her for perhaps ten seconds, seeing the dark stain spreadingacrossthefrontofIngrid'soverall.Thensheedgedoutofthecubicle

  through the curtains. A few people glanced at her curiously. They must have heardsomethingoftheirargumentbuthadbeentoobusywiththeirownduties

  to investigate.They didn't know what had happened.They wouldn't know until somebodyopenedthecurtainsagain.Inthegeneralstateofthingsthatcouldbe

  severalminutes.

  Numbwithshock,faceexpressionless,Rhondawalkedbrisklypastthemand outintothecorridor.

  She had to think. This was not something she had planned. How would it affect them socially? Lester's career would be damaged. Did they know

  somebodywhocouldhelpthem,toexplainthatithadallbeenanaccident?

  There was something sticky on her hand. She held it up and saw it was blood.Therewasasmearonthesideofherdressaswell.Therealisationhelped

  decideherpriorities.

  Firstshemustwashandchange.

  ***

  Fayle entered Chen's cabin with the most peremptory of knocks. Borix, who'd beensympathisingwithChen,excusedhimselfandmadeadiscreetexit,leaving

  Chen standing uneasily before the Indomitable's second in command. Fayle

  came straight to the point. 'In a few hours we shall have enough shuttles protectedfromtheinterferenceeffecttomakeamasslandingonthealienship.

  TheEmindianswillprobablytrytostopus.OnewayortheotherIneedevery

  singlememberofthecrewtobeatfullstrength.Yourrecordhasbeenexcellent

  uptonow,Chen,soI'mgivingyouonelastchancetoexplaintheproblemand

  pullyourselftogether.

  Otherwise I'll have you declared unfit for duty and sent home for

  reassessment.Doyouunderstand?'

  'Yes,sir.'

  'Canyouguaranteetogiveonehundredpercenttothisship?'

  Chenlookedwretched.'Iwantto,sir...buthewon'tletme.'

  'What?'

  Chen'seyesseemedtobefocusedatsomepointoverFayle'sshoulder.

  'Hekeepstellingmetogetoutofhereorelsewe'reallgoingtodie.Iknowit

  can'tbewhoitseems,butIcan'tmakehimgoaway.Ionlyheardhimatfirst,

  butnowI'mbeginningtoseehim,too.'

  'Whatareyoubabblingabout,man?'

  'My brother!' Chen shouted back.'I know he's on the Starflre, but he's also hererightnow.Iswearit!Andhe'sonlygotonearm!'

  Faylegapedathimindisbelief,thengrowinganger.'You'refinished,Chen.

  You've let that ship get to you. Can't you manage without imagining your brother'sheretoholdyourhand?There'snoplaceintheserviceforweaklings...'

  And to emphasise his last point he stabbed a scornful finger into Chen's chest.

  Acoldhandgraspedhiswrist,twistedhisarmbehindhimandslammedhim againstthewall.Faylespunaboutinablazingragetofacehisunseenassailant, onlytohavethefuriouswordsboilingupinsidehimdieinhisthroat.

  Aman-shapedshadowseemedtostandinthecabinbetweenhimandChen.

  Faylecouldn'thelpbutnoticethattheshadow'sleftarmwasmissing.

  ***

  Lanchardwasintheshuttlebaytowelcomethecraftthathadjustarrivedfrom

  theKorgon .The party included not only the engineers that Prothero had

  promised, but relief medical staff, too. At last the military were showing they were good for something besides posturing, she thought.Then a call came

  throughfromGilliam.

  'Captain,oneofourcivilianhelpershasbeenmurdered.Wethinkweknow

  whodidit...'

  ***

  Lester Plecht hardly had time to register his wife's return to their compartment beforeshehadsweptthroughtothebathroom.Hefolloweddiffidentlyafterher,

  determined to make up for the earlier row. If only she would listen to him for once.

  To his surprise he found she had torn off her dress and had flung it on the floor. It had a dark stain on its side. Rhonda was bent over the sink scrubbing furiouslyatherhands.Thewaterwasrunningpink.

  'Rhonda...what'sthematter?Haveyouhurtyourself?'

  Sheturnedaghastlydrawnfacetohim,evenasshecontinuedwashing.

  Flatwordstumbledout.'Itwasanaccident...Ididn'tmeanit.Sheshouldn't

  havespokenbacktomelikethat.Itwasveryimpolite.'

  'Who,dear?Whataccident?'

  'Butsheprobablyhaditcoming;schemingtotakeyouawaylikethat.Must

  findthatotherwoman.She'llconfirmit.'

  'Rhonda...haveyouhurtsomebody?Who?Tellme!'

  Her eyes suddenly wouldn't meet his. "That... Ingrid person you were so friendlywith.Itwasanaccident.Ididn'tknowwhatIwasdoing...'

  Lesterfeltthelifedrainoutofhim.'Isitbad?'heaskedfaintly.

  'Idon'tknow...Ithinkshemaybedead.'

  '"Maybe"...?"Don'tknow"?Youmeanyoulefther?Youdidn'tgethelp!'

  'Itwastoolate!'

  'Youmean...'

  'Yes,allright,shewasdead!SoyouseeIcouldn'tgetinvolved.Thinkwhat

  peoplewouldsay-'

  Lester hit her with the force of all the little resentments that had grown withinhimthroughtheyears.

  Rhondafelltothefloor,herhandgoingtoherbleedinglip,tooamazedby

  hisactiontomakeasound.Helookedather,thenathisfist.Forthefirsttime everhe'dshutherup.Forthefirsttimehehadhercompleteattention.

  Forthefirsttimehemattered.

  Asthoughinadreamhesteppedforwardandgraspedherbythehair.

  ***

  When Castillo and a couple of security men arrived two minutes later, Rhonda Plecht was lying unconscious in the bathroom, her face i
n a growing pool of blood. Her nose, several teeth and her jaw had been broken as though by a frenziedassault.Therewasnosignofherhusband.

  ***

  Lester Plecht ran desperately through the Cirrandaria's maze of passenger-deck corridors. The ship's routine had been so disrupted they were not that busy.

  Thosefewpeoplehepassedonlystaredathimcuriously.

  Hewasappalledatwhathehaddone.Ifonlyithadbeensimplyrevengefor

  Ingriditmighthavebeencrudelyjustified.Butthathadbeenonlythespark.It

  had really been his own revenge. Now he had made himself as bad as Rhonda anddestroyedthememoryofIngrid'sbrief,uncomplicatedfriendship.Hehadto

  getaway.Buthowcouldhe?Wherecouldhego?

  Ashestumbledonitseemedthatharshthroatylaughterfollowedhim.

  ***

  Admiral Mokai studied the tactical display on the screen in the Starfire's battle roomimpatiently.Theydarednotgettooclosetothealienship,thefocusofall theirattention,untiltheyhadnegateditsinterferencefield.

  Therefore neither side could form a proper close protective globe around it becauseitlimitedtheirroomformanoeuvre.Sobothcapitalshipswereholding

  station more or less on opposite sides of it, shielded by a constantly shifting screenofsupportingcraft.Eachwatchingtheotherincasetheyleftsomesortof

  tacticalopening.

  How could the Commander of the Indomitable have undertaken a joint

  mission to the alien ship with the Emindians? Mokai wondered. Unless he had some idea of gaining an advantage by it. His second, Fayle, had not been very helpful,andhadhintedthathiscommanderwasgoingsoft.ButFaylesounded

  bitterandresentful,sohowreliablewashisopinion?Mokaicursedsoftlyunder

  hisbreath.Howwashesupposedtofightifhecouldn'trelyonthequalityofthe menunderhim?

  Thecivilianlineralsoposedaproblem.Ashuttlehadbeensentacrosstoit

  from the Korgon .'Who or what had been in it? If hostilities broke out the Cirrandariawouldhavetobetakencareofascleanlyaspossible...

  Histhoughtswereinterruptedbyamessage.

  'Urgent call from the Indomitable , sir. Officer commanding says he has receivedsomesortofwarning.Hesaysthere'sgoingtobeadisaster.'

  'What?Where'sthissupposedtocomefrom?'

  'Asourceonourship,apparently.'

  'Onourship?Themanmustbemad.'

  'Hedidsound,er...alittleexcited,sir,'theoperatoradmitted.

  ***

  Lester found himself on the deserted lifeboat deck. There was still debris from theattackincorners.Afewsmall,lost,personalscraps,darkstainsthattherobot cleaners had not yet been able to lift from the expensive wooden deck boards.

  Oppositehimwastherowoflifeboathatches.

  Herushedtothenearestandhauledonthehatchhandle.Itopenedeasilyand

  hescrambledinside,slammingitshutbehindhim.Hedidnotknowtherewere

  safety locks to prevent what he was attempting unless the abandon ship alarm hadbeensounded.Butthesehadnotresetaftertheirpreviousactivation.

  He'd seen enough of the internal layout earlier to know where the controls were,andstrappedhimselfinbeforethem.Normallyeverylifeboatshouldhave

  beenmannedbyatleastonequalifiedcrewman.Buttheyhadbeenconstructed

  with emergencies in mind and the possibility that, in extreme circumstances, they might be operated by untrained personnel. The essential controls were large,easytooperateandveryclearlymarked.

  Hereleasedaprotectivecover,threwaswitch,twistedalargeredhandleand

  punchedagreenbutton.

  'Launchingsequenceactivated,'cameanimpersonalsynthesisedvoice.'Brace

  forejection.Five,four,three...'

  ***

  Thealertsoundedonthebridge,butbythenitwastoolate.Thelifeboaterupted intospaceinacloudofgasandfragmentsofsealingstrip.

  ImmediatelyitturnedbyitselfandheadedforthenearestEmindianship.

  ***

  Insidethelifeboatthecomputervoicesaid,'Autohomingactivated.'Lesterstared atitaghast.Hedidn'twantittotakehimtoanEmindianship.Hewouldjustbe

  broughtbacktotheCirrandariaagain,tofacereality.Hiseyesfelluponabutton markedOVERRIDE.Hepressedit.

  'Target overridden. Selecting new objective.' The lifeboat swung round

  towardsthenext Emindianship.'No, no!Youstupid machine,'Lestershouted,

  hittingtheoverride

  again. Then he thought he heard the same laughter in his ear that had followed him along the corridors. But he could see the whole ulterior of the compartmentfromwherehesatanditwasquiteempty.Butitdidn'tfeelempty.

  Insteaditbegantofeelverycold.

  ***

  The Emindian task force, alerted by the Cirrandaria , tried to capture the waywardlifeboatwithatowbeam.Butthesmallcraftprovedanunexpectedly

  elusivetarget,almostasthoughtherewassomethingaboutitthatwaspreventing

  theirbeamsfrommakingafulllock.

  ***

  Mokai broke off his somewhat confused conversation with Fayle when the

  strangeanticsofthelifeboatwerebroughttohisattention.

  'Soundamberalert,'heordered.'Theymaybetryingsomething.'

  ***

  As all the Emindian ships had been eliminated from the autopilot's options, it dutifully hunted for a new safe haven for its passenger, and promptly turned towardstheNimosianfleet.

  Had he been thinking clearly Lester would never have allowed the boat to continueonitsnewcourse.Butbynowhewashardlythinkingatall.Hismind

  filledwithvaguenotionsaboutclaimingpoliticalasylum.Allhewantedwasto

  befreeoftheintolerableburdenofwhathehaddone-andwhathehadlost.

  'Youcan'tgetawayfrommethateasily,'saidaraspingvoiceinhisear.

  ***

  'Scanners,what'sinsideit?'Mokaidemanded.

  'Can't be certain, Admiral. Looks like a standard Emindian lifeboat, but it readsoddly.LikenothingI'veseenbefore.'

  'Putabeamonitandholditclearofus.'

  'Can'tgetaproperlock,sir!'

  'Impactintwentyseconds,sir!'

  Mokaiscowled.Therewasonlyoneoptionleft.

  ***

  Lesterwasonhiskneesscrabblingatthemainhatchofthelifeboat,notcaring

  that,evenifhecouldhaveopenedit,hewouldhavebeenblownoutintospace.

  Hefeltastabofcoldinhisarmandturnedfearfuleyesupward.

  Ashadowwasformingoutofthinair:ashimmeringgreyimageofawoman

  inaplainsmockwithacuriouslyindistinctface.

  A translucent hand reached up and peeled off the bandages and he saw the ruinofherface.

  LesterhadthetimeforonefinalscreamofterrorthatmingledwithRhonda

  Plecht's ghostly, slurred laughter, before the Nimosian fighters blasted the lifeboatintoincandescentvapour.

  Chapter33

  TheCirclesofHell

  The Doria sped back through the long tunnel to the cavern that held the alien ship.Bendixwashunchedoverthecontrols,hisfacecreasedwithanxiety.

  'Whatcanwedotochangeanythingiftherewasonlyeveronealienship?'

  heasked,keepinghiseyesfixedstraightahead.'We'veseenwhathappened

  toit.YouheardtheDoctor.'

  'TheDoctor
isaself-confessedliarwhomasqueradedasaModerator,'

  Rexton retorted. 'Would you believe every word he says? Besides, the

  original ship we salvaged was badly damaged.This one is perfect, without any signofrepairwork.Theymaybelinked,somehow,buttherearetwoofthem.'

  'Butheknowsabouttime.'

  'Doesthatmeanheinvariablytellsthetruth?Andevenifheissomesortof

  timetraveller,wouldyougiveupwithoutafightiftherewastheslightestchance ofsavingEmindar?'

  Bendixwaveredvisibly.'No,sir.Notwhenyouputitlikethat.'

  'Good man. Just get me to the ship and I'll do the rest. If they really have cleareditofthosemonstersweshouldhavenotrouble.Ifthereisgoingtobea

  war,Emindarisgoingtohavetheweaponitneedstowin!'

  Rexton knew that his time had come. It was as though all his life had just beenapreludetothismoment,whenhisactionsmightshapethefutureofentire

  worlds.Hewasgoingtomakeadifferenceatlast.

  ***

  Within his narrow world, Sho was as contented as he could ever be. He was going into battle at the head of a combat team. All they'd needed was a good talking to to get them back into shape and focused on the mission again. They werereallyrespondingtohisleadership,almostasthoughtheywereobeyinghis

  thoughts.Hedidn'tcarewhethertheyweredeadorsomethingelse;atheartthey

  werestillNimosiansoldiers.

  HerealisedtheystillhadtheEmindianwomanwiththemandbrieflydebated

  leavingher.Butshewasnoburdeninthelightgravityandtherewasstillabitof life left in her. He would need to find a few more like her to keep the men strong.Hemightevenfindauseforherhimself.