Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

  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