Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 14 - Vanderdeken

by Christopher Bulis (pdf)

  'You and your companions still live,' he said with passionate unwavering conviction.'You'revirtuallyyourworlds'solelegacy.Thatmustnotbelosttothe universe. Who knows? You may yet have a part to play in the greater whole.

  Don'tgiveup.'

  'I'llnevergiveup,'Rextonsaid,hisvoicebrittle.'Mydutyistomyplanet.I

  willnotletitbecomewhatwehaveseenoutthere.Wewillgobackandstopit.'

  'Unfortunately;saidtheDoctor,'thatmaynotbepossible.'

  Theystaredathiminhorror.

  'Whatdoyoumean?'saidVega.'Youjustsaidweshouldn'tgiveup.'

  'I mean this is how it has been and will always be and you have become inextricablylinkedwithit.Yourpastandfuturearefeedingoffeachother.

  Whatwe'veexperiencedontheothersideofthehyperspatialtunnelandnow

  whatwe'veseenheresuggeststhisisallpartofaself-perpetuatingloopintime, centredaroundasinglealienship.'

  'Buttherearetwoships-'Bendixbegan.

  'Quiet!' Rexton barked, glaring defiantly at the suddenly suspicious eyes of theNimosians.

  'No,'saidtheDoctoralmostwearily,'thereisonlyoneship.Therehasalways

  onlyeverbeenone.Haven'tyourealisedthatyet?It'spartoftheloopandwe've

  allbeendrawnintoit.Andtheremaynotbeawayout.'

  Chapter31

  TheWarning

  ThelongsilencefollowingtheDoctor'swordswasbrokenbyoneofthemarines

  callingurgentlyoverthehelmetcircuit:

  'Movement outside! Two figures approaching... I can see right through

  them!'

  'Wait!'theDoctorsaid.'Dotheylookhuman?'

  'Uh...yes:

  'Aretheyarmed?'Vegaasked.

  'Notthatcansee,sir.'

  There was a strange expression on the Doctor's face.'Let them pass. I think we'vebeenexpected.'

  The two figures entered the communications room a moment later, with

  marines edging backwards about them, keeping them under their guns. A man andawomaninuniform,aspaleaswraithsbutmovinglikehumansandwithout

  anyoutwardmenace.Therewassomethingveryfamiliarabouttheiruniforms...

  'Captain!'Bendixchokedout.

  ThewomanwastheimageofCaptainLanchard.

  Andtheman,Vegarealised,wastheimageofhimselfTheotherssawittoo,

  glancingincredulouslybackandforthbetweenthem.

  Vegafelthimselfcomeascloseasheeverwouldtoblackingout,butwitha

  supreme effort regained control. He would not show such weakness in front of foreigners.

  The two figures halted in the centre of the group. They held up their wristcomswithverydeliberategesturesbeforebeginningtospeakintothem.

  'Search for their channel,' the Doctor said, adjusting his suit frequency receptor.

  Onmaximumamplification,theirwordscamethroughfaintbutclear:'...can

  youhearusnow?'

  'Yes,'saidtheDoctorloudly.'Wecanhearyou.'

  'IthoughtIrememberedcominghere,'saidthethingthatlookedlikeVega,

  'butIcouldnotbesure.Itwassolongago...'

  'We thought it best to allow you time to discover some of the truth for yourselves,'saidtheghostofLanchard.'Nowthereisnoneedforconcealment.

  Cirrandaria,powerup.'

  Out across the dark hollow of the port the graceful form of the starliner appearedhoveringbyadockingboom.Itwasglowingsoftlyfromwithin,litby

  a thousand faint lights. At its heart pulsed the unearthly radiance of its power core,allencompassedbyastructureseeminglyasinsubstantialasspunglass.It

  wasstartlinglybeautifulyetsoforlornamidtheruins.

  'I think I'm beginning to understand what's happened,' said the Doctor,'but pleaseexplainanyway.'

  'Weshall,'Vegaheardhisdoppelgangersay.Itlookedintohiseyes.'Youwill

  believeme,ifnobodyelse.Thereislittletimeleft,butyoumustlearnthetruth soyouwon'tmakethesamemistakes.Ithinksomethingwillhappensoon...'

  'Don'tyouknow?'heasked.

  Hisimagetoucheditsheadasthoughtryingtoconcentrate.'Nothingchanges

  for us.We do not age.All memories are now and the past at the same moment.

  Wethinktwentyyearshavepassed.Isthatcorrect?'

  'That'sright,'theDoctorconfirmed.'Goon.'

  'Something will happen back there, on the other side of the space-time

  corridor, that will make us like this. But none of us can remember what. I and manyotherNimosiansfoundourselvesontheCirrandaria.Therewasnosignof

  theIndomitable.Theshipwasdriftinginspaceasyouseeitnow.Therewasno

  responseonthehyperwave.Onlytheradiofunctioned,andthatbarelyatall.So

  wecamehere.Ithinkthetriptookalongtime.

  Hard to tell when you don't feel hunger... you don't sleep.And the engines don'tinteractwiththecontinuumastheyshould...'Hetrailedoffvaguely.

  Vegafeltsickenedtoseehimselfsoincapable.

  'Andwhenyougothere?'theDoctorprompted.

  'It was like this,' the Lanchard image continued.'We found the alien ship in thenavyport.Weremembereditfrombefore.Theymusthavebroughtithereas

  thewarwascomingtoanend,butwethinktheywereoverrunbeforetheycould

  useit.'

  'Howdidthewarstart?'Rextonaskedintently.

  'We don't know. There are records here saying the loss of the Cirrandaria helpedstartit,butthedetailsareconfused.Notthatitmattered.Thatwastheend formanyofus.Theywentmad.Wehadtoconfinethembelowdecks.Whenyou

  arelikethisandforgetwhoyouare,whenyoustopconcentrating...yourmind

  shapes your body.You change. Sometimes you become something out of your

  nightmares.'

  'Butnotallofyou,'Bendixsaid.

  'No,' the Lanchard ghost admitted. 'Those who can best keep control guard them. It's dangerous; their madness is infective. Guns don't work well against themsowemadearmouredsuits,andusenetsandtridentsmadeoutofmaterials

  fromtheCirrandaria.Thosearetheonlythingsthatstillfeelsolidtous-apart

  fromthealienship.Itseemstoexistinmanydifferentstatesofbeing.Wecan just manage to work with its systems. We found that the controls on its bridge werelabelled.Theyshoweditwasmeanttoworkthroughtimeandspace.Sowe

  triedtolearnhowtouseit.Wehadnothingbettertodo...'Shelaughedbitterly.

  'Andtimewasnotaproblem.

  Wehadtostopithappeningagain.'

  'Butevenifyoucouldchangethepast,youmightsimplyceasetoexist,'the

  Doctorsaid.

  'Thatwouldbearelease,'Vega'sghostsaid.'Don'tyousee?Wecan'tdie!'

  Bendix'sexpressionwastortured.Inthesilencethatfollowedhesaid,

  'Captain,Ihavetoknow:amIhere?'

  The shade of Lanchard looked at him curiously for a moment, then said, 'I remember...it'sBendix,isn'tit?No,you'renothere.'SheglancedatRexton.'Nor areyou.Perhapsthatmeansyousurvive.'

  Rexton'slipstightened,buthesaidnothing.

  TheDoctor,hisfaceverygrave,said,'IwilldoallIcantohelpyou.Butby

  usingthealienship,youmayhavemadethingsworseforyourself.'

  'Itwasn'thowweplanned,'Lanchard'sghostexplainedwretchedly.'Justafter

  weactivateditsomeoftheinsanebrokefreeandscatteredalloverthebase.We

 
had to recall the crew from the alien ship to help recapture them. We tried to keepthemawayfromyou,butsomegotpastus.

  Otherwisewewouldhavebeentheretomeetyouwhenyouboardedthefirst

  time,toexplainandtowarnyou.Butinsteadsomeofthemorecontrolledones

  musthavegotontoyourshuttleswhenyoufirstarrived.

  Othershid,waitingtotrytocrossoverifyoucamecloseenough.It'scontact

  withlivingthings,yousee.It'stheonlytimeyoucanfeelproperly,toremember whatitwaslike.

  She trailed off, as though exhausted by the effort of speaking, or by the memory of what she had lost. Her image seemed to grow paler and shivered slightly.

  Vega'sghostcontinued,'Wefinallyrecapturedmostoftheremaininginsane

  oneswhentheyreturnedfromtheirraidonyou.Wetookadvantageoftheirtrap

  tosendashuttletobringoneofyoubackhere,sowecouldshowyouthefuture.

  Itwouldhavereturnedthepersonsafelylater,butitcrashed.'

  'ItwasSamJones,myassistant,'theDoctorsaidquickly.'Issheallright?'

  'Wedon'tknow.Iamsorry.'

  'Wherearetheotherpeopletheytook?'Vegaasked.

  'The survivors are being kept safe a little way from here. Most are badly shockedanddonotunderstandwhathashappenedtothem.Youmusttakethem

  away.They are a... temptation while they remain here. I think there are ships back there preparing to fight. You must stop them. Tell them what you have seen.BothforNimosandEmindar.'

  Vega nodded. 'I'll tell them. If they will believe me.' He looked at

  Rexton.'Willyouhelppreventthistragedy,Councillor?'

  'Iwon'tletthishappentoEmindar,'Rextonstatedbluntly.Heglancedatthe

  Doctor.'Evenifhesaysthere'snochanceofchanginganything.'

  'Ididn'tsaytherewasnochance,'theDoctorcorrectedhim."Theremaybea slim possibility of making some slight modification to the timeline, and you wouldn't be human if you didn't try to take it. But if there is to be a change, it must be made at a crucial junction in the course of events. The place where a singlewordoractionhasthegreatesteffect.'

  'Well,Idon'tbelievethefutureisimmutable,'Rextonsaiddefiantly.

  'Whateveryousay,whilethereisfreewill,therearealwaysalternatives!'

  'Free will may be where it all began in the first place,' the Doctor replied heavily.Heturnedtotheghosts.'Pleasetakeustothesurvivors.Let'sdowhat

  wecanforthem.'

  The survivors had been housed in one of the port lounges that still held its pressure.Theyhuddledtogetherinastateofutterbewilderment,shrinkingback

  fromtheheavilyarmouredghostpeoplewhostoodguardoverthem.

  TherewereahandfulofNimosianmarines,afewcrewfromtheCirrandaria

  andthirtyorsocivilianpassengers.Therewasarisingmurmurofsurpriseand

  hopewhentherescuepartyappeared.

  VegalookedforLioRengamidthehaggardfaces.Somewerecurledupon

  makeshiftpalletsmadefromchairseats.Heexaminedthemall,butLiowasnot

  amongthem.Heturneddespondentlytoseethesameexpressionofdashedhope

  ontheDoctor'sface.

  'Myassistantisstillmissing,'hesaid.'AndacoupleofothersIwasspecially

  hopingtofind.Onewasasmallboy.'

  Vega was moved to say, "They may still be alive. I am also missing some men.Weshallnotgiveup.'

  TheDoctorsmiledfaintly.'No,wewon't.Butwemustgetthesepeopleout

  ofherefirst.Canwefitthemallintotheshuttles?'

  'Justabout.Ifwecangetbackthroughwithoutcrashing.'

  'Now we've been through once the autopilots can be set to fly a reverse course.'

  'Andifthehyperspatialtunnelhasclosed?'

  "Thereisanotherwayback.Youmightsay1broughtalongsomeinsurance

  justincase.ButI'drathernotstrainthispartofthecontinuumanymoreunlessI

  must-'

  Avoicecameoverthehelmetradios.'Doctor,whereareyou?'

  The Doctor's face lit up with joy. 'Sam? Sam, are you all right? Where are you?'

  'Veryclose,Ithink...yes,Icanseeyounow.Justaminute.

  Andveryshortlyayoungwomanhadenteredtheroom,trailingasmallboy

  and two more ghosts in her wake, and was hugging the Doctor as well as pressure suits would allow. Their pleasure at being reunited was palpable and evenVegahadtosmile.

  'Didn'tItellyoutotakecareofyourself?'theDoctorchidedhergently.

  'Sorry,' she said. 'But it got a bit complicated. I did find Dan Junior...' She lowered her voice and spoke urgently.'The ones with him are the ghosts of his parents,Ithink.Doyouknowwhat'sgoingonhere?'

  'Moreorless.'

  'Canwedoanythingtohelp?'

  'I'mnotsure.'

  'HaveyouseenanythingofLyset?'DelrayaskedSam.

  'No.I'msorry.Butwedidseesomeghostsgatheringaswecamehere.

  TheEngersesthinkthey'reNimosiansoldiersthathavenevergotonwiththe

  rest of them here.They seem to be up to something. They may be headed this way.Iheardsomeonespeakingtothemovertheradio:aSquadleaderSho?From

  thewayhewastalkinghesoundedabitloopy.'

  'Sho!'Vega exclaimed. He switched to the military band.'Sho, this is

  CommanderVega.Doyouhearme?Sho,respond.Thisisanorder.'

  'This is Sho,' came the cool response.'I have located the enemy base where theyareholdingourmen,Commander.Ihaveassembledaforcetoeffectentry

  andreleasethem.Weareattackinginoneminute.'

  Vega realised his double was by his side. He could just hear him say, 'He mustmeantheship.Thereareoverfivehundredinsaneonboard.Iftoomanyget

  outatonetimeweshallnevercontrolthem.'

  'Listen, Sho,' said Vega.'Recall your men and await further orders. Do not attacktheship.'

  There was a puzzled silence, then/We don't leave marines in enemy hands.

  Wetakecareofourown.EveryloyalNimosianknowsthat!

  'You'renotCommanderVega!'

  Andthecircuitwentdead.

  'If there's going to be trouble we must start getting these people to the shuttles,'theDoctorsaid.'Comealongallofyou...'Hefrownedandscannedthe

  room.'Where'sRexton...andBendix?'

  Sealing their suits, they piled out through the airlock. Down on the lower terracetheDoriawastakingoff,scatteringtheringofguards.

  'Rexton!' the Doctor shouted into his microphone. 'We need the shuttle to takepeoplebacktotheship.'

  Rexton'svoicecamethroughclearly.

  "Theywon'tneedtakingbackwhenI'vefinished.IfthisisthefuturethenI'm goingtochangeit.Nimosmaydie,butEmindarisgoingtolive!'

  Chapter32

  BreakingPoint

  LanchardagreedwithGilliamthatWynter's'corpse'shouldbetakenbacktothe

  sickbay,thoughtherewasnothingGilliamcoulddoexceptputitinstorage.On

  closerexaminationtherewasadeepwoundinherchest,perhapsfromanenergy

  weapon, that must have proved almost instantly fatal. But the body showed no signs of decay. However, Gilliam admitted she wasn't even sure how to obtain an accurate temperature reading. It looked as though it had been preserved in somewayshortlyafterdeath,butjusthowshecouldnotbegintospeculate.

  'Thisis
beyondme,Captain.Whatdoyoudowithadeadghost?'The

  'body'weighedalmostnothing.Gilliamandanorderlywithastrongstomach

  lifteditontoapoweredstretcher.Theirhandssankwithunnaturalintimacyinto the flesh, which was resilient but drained the heat from them.When the covers werefoldedoverittheyseemedhardlydistortedbytheformunderneath,almost

  asthoughtherewasnothingthere.

  But there was something, Lanchard thought. It could not be ignored even though she wasn't sure what it implied. For the moment she would follow the book, which required that a formal identification be made. With Delray absent thatmeantaskingEvanArcovian.Theprospectofsubjectingthatpoorlittleman

  tomoregriefwasnotapleasantone,butithadtobedone.

  ***

  RhondaPlechtdidnotnoticeArcoviancomingoutofDrGilliam'sofficeashort

  whilelater,assheenteredtheextendedmedicalcentre.Thelookofutterdespair onhisfacedidnotregisterwithheratall.Shehadmoreimportantthingsonher mind.

  Rhondahadcomedirectlyfromhercabin,whereshehadbeenarguingwith

  Lester.Arguing!Lesterneverargued.Buttherehewasactuallydefyingher,and

  lookingasthoughhewasenjoyingit.

  Shestoppedoneoftheregularnursesimpatientlyasshehurriedby.

  'You had a passenger helping out in here a little -while ago. Young blonde woman,Scholl...something.Isshestillhere?'

  'MsSchollander?She'sdowntheendthere,Ithink...'

  ButRhondawasalreadyonherway.

  The Schollander woman was tidying an empty treatment cubicle. Rhonda

  stepped inside, pulled shut the temporary curtains behind her and said without

  preamble, 'My husband Lester Plecht was in here earlier. I saw you with him.

  Butwhowastheotherwoman?'

  IngridSchollanderwearilybrushedbackalockofhairthathadescapedher

  cap.'Ibegyourpardon?'

  'She was wearing a blue smock dress...' Rhonda realised it resembled the garb bedpatients wore, and added.'She must have been having treatment here.

  Shehadbandagesonherface.Whowasshe?'

  'Idon'trememberanybodyelseapartfromthenurse.'