Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

  'Sir,' Val Fayle, his second in command, spoke up, his face stony and

  set.'ShallIactivatemainbatteriesandtargettheEmindianvessel?'

  'What?'

  'Theirpartymustberesponsibleforthisattack,sir.'

  Fayle had personal reasons for disliking the Emindians more than most,

  Vegarecalled.Occasionallyitcolouredhisthinking.

  'Notuntilwehavemoreinformation,MrFayle.'

  'Butwhoelsecoulditbe,sir?'

  Who indeed? 'Shadows out of - what? Had the sender, presumably Tane,

  meant something was coming out of the shadows? What was happening down

  there?Ifonlytheyhadtwomodifiedshuttlesoperational...

  HereopenedthechanneltotheResolve.

  'Del, as soon as the marines are loaded get down there at maximum safe speed.We'llhavetheareailluminatedwiththemainbeamsagain.Makeonelow

  pass over the landing area to assess the situation, then pull up out of the interferencezonesoyoucanreporttome.Donotmakealandinguntilordered,

  understood?'

  Argennodded.'Understood,sir.'

  Thescopeobserversaid,'Gunfirehasceased,sir.'

  'Anythingelse?'

  Therewasapause.'Ithinktherearetwobodies,sir.'

  Vega transferred the scope image to his own command-chair screen. The

  image was less distinct than it should have been at this distance due to the

  interference effect distorting the light waves, but he could see the dark strip of flatgroundbesidethetower.Andtwoblurredsmudgesthatmightindeedhave

  beenbodies.

  'ShuttleResolveloadedandaway'cametheannouncementfromthehangar.

  Theexternalscreenshowedtheshuttledartoutofthehangarbayandbank

  sharplytowardsthederelict.AsitpoweredawayVegawasonceagainassailed

  by those doubts that all commanders lived with. Should he have waited until theyhadtwomodifiedshuttlesinoperation?Ifonehadremainedonthederelict

  thenperhapsthelandingpartycouldhavebeenevacuatedwhentheycameunder

  attack. But then the Emindians would have reached the derelict hours before them. His eyes fixed on the image of the alien ship. Its secrets had better be worthallthis.

  OnthescreenhewatchedtheResolvemakeitslowpass,thenclimbbackup

  towardsthem.Withthedecreasingdistancethecomlinkclearedsufficientlyfor

  Argentomakehisreport.

  'Icanconfirmtherearetwobodiesdownthere,Commander.Nosignofthe

  restofthepartynoranyhostiles.Requestpermissiontolandandmakeground

  search:

  TherewasnochoiceandVegaknewit,buthehatedgivingtheorder.

  'Request approved, Del. But take all possible precautions. At the slightest signofdangeryouaretoliftoffatonce,understand?'

  'Understood,sir.Argenout.'

  ***

  ArgensettheResolvedownlessthanthirtymetresfromthebodies,nowlitby

  thestarkilluminationoftheIndomitable'searchlights.Hecouldseethetoppled tripod of the emergency sender and the cutting equipment still lying by the hatchway,butapartfromthetwotwistedbodiestheyhadseenontheirfirstpass

  nothing else seemed out of place. He felt the familiar taste of fear, but oddly noneofthatcrawlingoftheskinonthebackofhisneckhehadsensedonthe

  firsttripbackfromthederelict.

  AstheytouchedgroundtheResolve'srearrampdroppedflat,disgorgingthe

  reserve squad of marines that had been packed into the airlock with weapons powered and ready. Above them the turret gun whirred as it swung round to cover the looming mass of the derelict's tower. In seconds the soldiers had fanned out in a broad arc, running in a half-crouch. As soon as their line had encompassed the bodies the leaders dropped flat, facing out into the darkness beyondthespotlights'glare,whileamedicandhisassistantkneltbythefallen.

  Argen saw them make a rapid examination, then the voice of the corporal commandingthesquadcameoverthecrackinglink.

  'It'sDetter,fromSho'ssquad.'hesaidquickly.'Leastways,what'sleftofhim.'

  'Washeshot?'Argenasked.

  There -was a long pause, then, 'No. There are no blast marks. It looks... it lookslikehewastorntopiecesbysomekindofanimal.'

  Chapter8

  Family

  The Cirrandaria's chief purser, social hostess and manager of entertainments wereallunnecessarytothemechanicaloperationorsafetyoftheship,butthey

  wereindispensabletothecontentmentandwellbeingofitspassengersandcrew.

  Therefore Lanchard had arranged additional meetings with them until the

  emergency was over. For the moment the liner's complement were bearing up reasonablywell,butshewantedtobereadyforanyeventuality.Extradiversions

  werebeingplannedshouldtheybeneeded.

  'We'll keep them busy for you, Captain,' Oscar Castillo, the chief purser, promised.

  'Ifneedbe,revivethatgamblingclubofyoursthatI'mnotsupposedtoknow

  about,Oscar,'shetoldhim.

  'Gamblingclub,Captain?'herepliedwithperfectinnocence.

  The conference over, Lanchard returned to the bridge. Evan Arcovian was

  stillthere.

  Thelittlemanhadtalkedhiswayontothebridgeusinghisfamousclients'

  namesasleverage,andnowthereseemednowayofremovinghimexceptby

  force.Atleasthekeptoutoftheway,however,and,apartfromafewwhispered

  callsonhispocketphonetoEmindarrelayedthroughtheship'stransmitterand

  analmostabsent-mindedrequestforacupofcoffee,heremainedlargelysilent.

  Hespenthistimestaringatthescreensshowingthealienshipand,beyondit,the Indomitable,whichhadmovedroundtoholdstationovertheareatheNimosian

  landingpartyhadsetdownupon.

  At first Lanchard had thought Arcovian was merely troubled by the

  possibility of losing two valuable clients, and was putting on a show of concern.Then she suggested he wait in the officers' lounge, which was only a little way down the corridor, and promised to inform him as soon as anything happened.Hisresponsecausedhertomodifyheropinion.

  'Nothanks.Captain,'hesaidwithaslightsmile.'I'vegottabehere.Thisis

  the nerve centre, right? Anything that happens, you'll know it here first. I promisedI'dwatchoutforthem,yousee.They'retworeallygreatpeople...'

  AndLanchardfoundherselflistening,halfmesmerisedbyhisenthusiasm,to

  the story of how he met them, of Delray's rise to vid stardom, of Lyset's exhibitions,ofhowDonhadsaidthisreallyfunnything,andthefactthatLyset

  hadoncebeensodeterminedtorecordacertainstoryshehadshavedherheadto

  pass for a Kleckt native trader. There was something touching and a little sad

  abouthisevidentconcernforthem,hiswatchingthescreensintentlyforanysign ofmovementevenashespoketoher,nervouslychewinghislowerlip.

  The sudden approach of the Indomitable to the derelict caught them all by surprise. Without interrupting the monitoring of their own party's landing site, LanchardhadtheCirrandariamanoeuvretokeeptheIndomitableinview.They

  saw it take up a new station point only four kilometres from the derelict and watchedasitsshuttledroppeddowntothesurfaceforasecondtime.r />
  'Aretheyuptosomething?'Arcovianaskedanxiously.

  'Idon'tknow,'Lanchardadmitted.

  Foralmosttenminutesnothingfurtherappearedtohappen.Thenacallcame

  throughfromVega.

  'Yes,Commander,'Lanchardacknowledged,noticingasshedidsothatVega

  lookeddrawnandhollow-eyed.

  'Some unidentified force attacked my landing party within the last half-

  hour,'

  hesaidbluntly.'Atleasttwohavebeenkilledandtherestaremissing.

  Couldyourpeoplehavebeenresponsible?'

  The accusation was delivered so flatly that she found herself responding in thesamecontrolledmanner.'No.Theyarearmed,butthey'dhavenoreasonto

  attackyourpeopleunlesstheywereprovoked.'

  Vegastudiedherfaceintentlyforamoment,thennoddedfractionally.'No,I

  didn't really think they would be stupid enough. In that case there's something verydangerousdownonthatship.That'sallthewarningI'llgiveyou,takeitor

  leaveit.Ifyoucan,Isuggestyouremoveyourpartyfortheirownsafety.Vega

  out.'

  Thescreenwentblank.

  'Wemustgetthemoutrightnow!'Arcoviansaid,hiseyeswide.

  'It'snotassimpleasthat,MrArcovian.'Itwaseasytoforgetthat,thoughthe

  Cirrandariacarriedatransmittercapableofsignallingacrossseverallightyears, they were not in direct contact with a group of people only a few kilometres away. 'We arranged that they should call us every hour from the time they enteredthealienship,'sheremindedhim.'Wecan'ttellthemanythinguntilthen.'

  Sheconsultedherwatch.'Andtheywon'tbecallingusagainforanothertwenty

  minutesatleast.'

  'Well,haven'tyougotanothershuttleyoucanuse?'

  'Theengineersworkedforalmostfourteenhoursstraighttomodifytheone

  they'reusing.Theyneedarestbeforestartingonanother.'

  Arcovianlookeddespairingandclutchedataslenderreedofcomfort.

  'Maybe Vega's message was just a bluff to get us to leave the alien ship to

  theNimosians.Perhapsit'sallatrick,'hesuggestedhopefully.

  'Perhaps,' Lanchard said. But privately she thought the look on Vega's face hadbeenveryconvincing.

  Watching the small man's troubled expression she was reminded just how

  much Arcovian genuinely cared for Delray and Wynter. Despite her own

  preoccupationsshefoundherselfwonderingifhetreatedallhisclientslikehis

  family.Suddenlyitoccurredtoherthathemighthavenocloserelationsofhis

  own.PeoplelikeDelrayandWyntercouldbeallthefamilyhehad.

  Chapter9

  TheExperiment

  The chamber beneath the surface hatch was clearly a shuttle bay of some sort, thoughSamcoulddetectnoindicationastowhattypeofcraftnormallyusedit.

  Jenezsetthemdowninitscentreandtheyexaminedtheirsurroundings.

  The bay was circular, perhaps a hundred metres across, illuminated by a score of large softly glowing, pale-blue discs set in the ceiling. About its perimeter the floor curved smoothly upward to become the wall, with several recesseddoorwaysspacedalongit.Besideoneofthesewereawheelandakey

  panelidenticaltotheonestheyhadseenonthesurface.

  On seeing this Rexton said,'Our first priority is to close the external hatch beforetheNimosiansfollowusinhere.Jenez,staywiththeshuttleandkeepit

  locked and tight. If the Nimosians get in use the jets to keep them clear. If we don't return in three hours, use your own initiative. Otherwise stay put. I'm relying on you to be ready to lift us out of here if we need to make a rapid withdrawal.'

  'Yes,sir,'Jenezsaidsolemnly.

  Theysealedtheirsuitsanddisembarked.

  Sam noticed, when they got beyond the shuttle's stabilising field, that the interference on the suit radios was less pronounced than it had been on the outsideofthehull.That,atleast,wasreassuring.

  WithDesselandBendixbesidehim,Rextoncrossedthemarbledfloortothe

  wallpanelandtriedthewheel.Itmovedfreely.HespunitvigorouslyandSam

  watched the circle of stardusted sky contract and disappear. Had they shut the enemyout,shewondered,ortrappedthemselvesinsidewithsomethingworse?

  She shivered and tried to get a grip on herself. Why should an innocent bare chambersuddenlyfillherwithsuchasenseofdisquiet?

  Rextonwaslookingatthehatchwithafrown.'Canwestopitbeingopened

  againfromoutside?ItwouldcoverourlineofescapeandpreventtheNimosians

  followingusin.'

  'Ifyoumust,'theDoctorsaid.'Isuspectthiswilldothetrick.'Andhepressed

  fourkeysinquicksuccession.Rexton'sfrowndeepenedandhetriedthewheel.

  Itwouldnotbudge.'Howdidyoudothat?'Rextondemanded.

  'It's obvious,' the Doctor said gravely, 'as long as you look without

  preconceptions. I could explain it, but then you'd probably think it was a joke, whichwouldbedangerousbecausethat'sthelastthingIthinkitis.'

  Theywerealllookingathiminpuzzlement.Samwasasbaffledastherest

  buttriednotshowit.

  'Idon'thaveanytimeforriddles,Doctor,'Rextonsaid.'Aslongassomething

  functionsreliablyIdon'tcarewhy.''That'swhatI'mafraidof,'theDoctorsaid.

  Rextonignoredhim.'Showmethereleasesequenceagain.'

  The Doctor pressed the same keys he had used on the surface panel.The

  manualwheelturnedfreelyonceagain.Samcouldstillnotseewhathadcaused

  theDoctortochoosethekeyshehad.

  'Jenez,'Rextonsaid,alertingtheshuttlepilot,'takeanoteofthisincaseyou needtouseit.Toreleasethebayhatchpressthekeysonthepanelinthisorder, workingdowntherowsandcountinginfromtheleft:three,four,two,five,three andsix.Tosealitpressfour,five,fourandone.'

  'Gotthat,sir!'Jenezsaid.

  Thedoorwaybesidethekeypanelwasanothersmallerversionoftheirising

  surfacehatch,butthistimemountedvertically.Theremusthavebeenasimple

  sensorbuiltintothefloorbecauseitopenedasRextonsteppeduptoit.Attheend of the small chamber beyond was an identical hatch. Rexton stepped inside confidentlyandtheothersfollowed.Thehatchclosedautomaticallybehindthem

  andamomentlatertheoneinfrontopened.Therewasanotheridenticalchamber

  beyondthat.AstheypassedthroughManderslookedatthegaugeonthearmof

  hersuit.

  'Pressure'sbuildingup,'sheobserved.

  Againthedooraheadopenedafewsecondsaftertheonebehindhadshut.

  They stepped through this to find themselves in the ship proper. Sam saw Rextonlookingabouthimwitheager,hungryeyes.

  They were at the junction of three corridors, each circular in section, about fourmetresacrossanddimlylitbymoreoftheblueceilingdiscs.Thecurving

  lower halves of the corridors were floored with some dark rubber-like material moulded with a heavy transverse rippling tread. A pair of handrails carried by close-set stanchions ran continuously along them, dividing the floor into three lanesandbreakingonlyatthejunctionitself.Totheleftandrightthecorridors appeared perfectly level, but the corridor in front of them arched slightly, followingthecurveofthehull,sothattheceilinglightsseemedtodiptowards

  thefloorinthedist
ance.

  'Corridors with abundant railings and a high-traction floor,' observed the Doctor. 'No doubt provision for shifts in the centre of gravity when the ship's functioning.'

  'Ofcourse,'SamheardRextonmuttertohimselfunderhisbreath.

  "They'reratherhigh,'Sampointedout.

  'Yes,' the Doctor agreed. 'Perhaps the users are taller than the humanoid

  average.Thediameteroftherailisalsoratherlarge,suggesting-'

  'Thattheyhadbighands,'Samconcludedwithasmile.

  Manders had been using a direct-reading radiation counter on their

  surroundings. Now she was holding up a chemical sampler. She examined the reagentpatchescarefully,thensaid,'TheairisOK.Oxygenlowbutwithinthe

  limits. No paniculate or biohazard indicators showing.' She checked the

  thermostriponthebackofherglove.'Temperaturefourdegreesabovezero.Fine

  for suit work. If we can breathe in here that'll extend our EVA endurance by hours.I'mgoingtotestit.'

  'IthinkIshoulddothatfirst;theDoctorsaidquickly.'!haveanoseforsubtle toxins.'

  Hereleasedhisvisor,raiseditcautiouslyandsniffed.Apparentlytsatisfied,

  hetookadeeperbreath,thenanother.

  'Alittlemustyandratherthin,'hedeclared,'butotherwisequiteacceptable.'

  Heopenedhisvisorfully,andtheothersfollowedhisexample.

  Sam thought she could taste dust and a tang of ozone, combined with faint chemical odours she could not identify. But as the Doctor had said, it was breathable.

  'Now,whereshallwegofromhere?'theDoctormused,facingtheradiating

  corridors in turn. 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo -' "This way,' Rexton said, pointing downthemiddlecorridor.'Asyouwish,'theDoctorsaideasily.

  Simmons, one of Manders's assistants, undipped a small can from his belt and sprayed a luminous orange arrow on the corridor wall pointing in the direction they were taking. 'I thought we'd better not get lost,' Manders explained.'Ididn'tthinkofthat,'theDoctoradmitted.'OfcourseIwasintending torelyonmyownsenseofdirection.'HeturnedsuddenlytoRexton.'Butwhat

  wereyougoingtouse?'