Thenhewasgone.Thethingathisheelsgavealastwhine,thenittoowas
nomore.
There was a long silence, broken only by the shuffling of feet of the still dazedsurvivors,andLysetWynter'sstifledsobbing.TheDoctorlookedon-sad
yetalsodeeplythoughtful.OfhisownvolitionDanJuniorsteppeduptoLyset's
side and, in an unexpectedly mature gesture, put a consoling hand on her shoulder.
Sam stood beside the Doctor and asked softly, 'Evan? Did he mean
Arcovian?Butthatthingwithhimseemedlikea...dog.'
The Doctor nodded. 'Madness takes refuge in many forms.The need to
escapefromreality,balancedbythetiesofloveanddevotion,shapedbytheway
apersonhadbeentreatedinlife.Thinkaboutit...'
Samfeltdesperatelysickandconfused."Thishasgottoend,'shesaidwitha shudder. 'If you can't help those poor creatures out there, then put them out of theirmisery.Youmustdosomething!'
'IfIcan,Sam.Delrayhasshowntheremaybeaway.Butfirstwemusttake
thesurvivorsbacktotheCirrandaria.Thenwe'llneedmorepower.'TheDoctor
pulled down hard on a lever in its brass housing. 'If we are going to change anything,we'llhaveonlyonechancetogetitright!'
Chapter34
Convergence
'We'retrapped!'Bendixsaid,hisfacestarkwithfear.
Belowhimatthebottomoftheshaftthelightsofthecorridorwereflickering
andfailing.
'Steady,' Rexton warned him, his own mind racing. 'Back to the control
room.Don'tmakeasound.'
Theyscrambledbackuptheladderandsealedtheairlockdoorsbehindthem.
But the interface still confined them to half the chamber, and it seemed no barriertotheghosts.RextonsawBendixlookingathimwithdesperationinhis
eyes.
'Patience,'hesaidconfidently."Thewaymaybeclearinaminute.'
Whiletheywaitedheprowledthecontrolroom,hiseyesflickingacrossthe
hundreds of neat labels adorning the panels. At last he had the precious information;allhehadtodowaspassiton.
ThesignsayingEXTERNALMONITORcaughthiseye.Itheadedablock
ofthelargemulticolouredbuttonsandacoupleofdomelikeprotuberances.
Cautiouslyhetouchedoneofthebuttonsatrandom.Nothinghappened.
Perhapsthesystemneededtobeactivatedfirst.Therewasablackbuttonout
ofsequence.Hepressedit.Aclearglassscreenroseoutofanarrowslotinthe
panelbeforehim.Animagecameinstantlytolifeonitshowingtheviewalong
thegreathulloftheship.Bendixjoinedhimexcitedly.
'Canyouseeinsideaswell?'
'Let'schecktheexternalhatchwayisclearfirst.Rememberthemdroppingin
onusthelasttimeweleft.'
Hecalledupaquicksuccessionofimages,discoveringthatpressureonthe
domespannedordippedthecameras.Hebegantoseeanorderinthelayoutof
thebuttonsthatcorrespondedtotheviewshewasgetting.'Thisshouldbeit.'
It did indeed show the external hatch over the bay where they had left the Doria.Butthehatchwasopen.And,evenastheywatched,theDoriaroseoutof
it,rollingunsteadilyfromsidetoside.Itclearedthehull,bankedsuddenlyand spedoffintothegloomofthehugecavern.
"They'vetakenit...'Bendixsaiddully.'Butwhy-'
'Itdoesn'tmatter,it'sgone,'Rextonsaid.Hewouldnotbedefeated,hewould
not!
'Howdowegetback?'
Rexton waved him into silence, looking about him at the serried ranks of
buttonsandlabels.IftheDoctorcouldworkitoutwithoutanyguidanceatall...
'We'lljusthavetotakethewholeshipwithus,'hesaid.
***
The TARDIS materialised in its original landing place in the Cirrandaria's hold.The door opened and the Doctor walked briskly out, followed by Vega, Sam,leadingyoungDanEngers,andthefirsthesitantrescuees.
'Youunderstandwehavearrivedhereatthesametimeasifwehadtravelled
backthroughthehyperspatialtunnelintheshuttle,'theDoctorwastellingVega.
'Anyearlierandweriskbreakingoneoftheprimelawsoftime.'Hesnaggedone
ofthesurvivingCirrandariasecuritymenwhohadaccompaniedthem.'Goahead
and warn the crew we have Nimosian guests on board, otherwise they might think it's a boarding party.Then get these people to sickbay and make sure Mr Delray'sbodyistakencareofproperly.'
'Yes,sir,'saidthestilldazedmanmeekly.
'ButcanyourmachinetakeusbacktotheIndomitable!'Vegaasked.
'Yes,butnotrightnow.Onefocusofthetimeloopisthealienship,theother
theCirrandaria.IfI'mtodoanythingtoalteritthenithastobefromhere.'
'Doctor,afterwhatI'veseenIwanttostopthisasmuchasanyone.Ifthewar
thatledto...thatabominationwesaw,startedhere,thenImustwarnmypeople
beforeit'stoolate.'
The Doctor nodded. 'Of course, you must have the chance to try. Who
knows?Youmaysucceed.Let'sgoandfindtheCaptain.'
'AndI'vegottotakeDanbacktohisparents,'saidSam.
***
Lanchard was amazed to see the Doctor and Vega appear on the bridge, and doublysurprisedbythecuriouslyintentlookVegagaveher.
'Howdidyougethere?Wedidn'tseetheshuttle.'
'We took a short cut,' the Doctor said. 'I'm sure the Commander will be pleasedtoexplainitalllater.Wehadtogivehimaliftbackashisowncraftwas lost.'
'Didyou...findthepassengers?'
'Werecoveredthosewecould.They'reinsickbaybeingcheckedovernow.'
'WhereisCouncillorRexton...andBendix?'
'Theyabandonedus,'Vegasaidbluntly.
'Let'ssaythecouncillorfelthehadmorepressingbusinesstoattendto,'
theDoctorsaid."They'restilloverthere,butwemaynothaveseenthelast ofthemjustyet.Meanwhile,what'sbeenhappeningwhilewe'vebeengone?'
'Nothing good. A passenger stole a lifeboat...' She glanced at Vega. 'And yourflagshipdestroyedit.'
'You'dbetterexplainquickly,'saidtheDoctor.'Ithinkwe'rerunningoutof
time.'
***
Downinthesickbay,thejoyoftheEngersfamilyinbeingreunitedwasoneof
themostupliftingthingsSamhadseen.Theirtearfulexpressionsofgratitudefor bringing Dan Junior back were sincere and heartfelt, but she could not accept themwithoutthinkingoftheirdoublesontheothersideofthespace-timebridge.
Was that how it was perpetually fated to be: joy crushed by remorseless fate?
She left them clustered round the bed where Dan Senior was still having treatment for the injuries to his leg, listening to his son trying to explain his adventures.Shewonderediftheywouldhavetimetolisten-andtobelieve-it
all.
She found Evan Arcovian resting in a bed a few along from Engers. Lyset Wynter,wrappedinathermalblanket,wassittingbyhim.
'Hehadabreakdown,'Lysettoldher.'Somesortofshock.Buttheywon'ttell
mewhat.Theyjustlookedatmeveryoddly.'
And now Arcovian had to face the loss of Delray. Would it make any
difference to the little man's grotesque destiny? Sam wondered. But what were thestaffhidingfromLyset?
Samsearchedoutsomebod
ysenior,andfoundDrGilliamfinishingthetask
ofapplyingdermaformbandagingtoawomanwithabadlydamagedface.
Assoonasshewasfree,SamflashedherModerator'sbadgeandaskedabout
Arcovian.
'It's a fairly severe mental breakdown,' Gilliam admitted. 'He's been here since we found what we thought was, well, a ghostly form of Ms Wynter's corpse.'
'What?'Samexclaimed.'Showme.Itcouldbeimportant.'
Gilliam took her to the cold locker, opened the heavy insulated door and pulledoutthelongtraywithin.
Therewasnothingonitbutawhitesheet.
***
Rexton's head ached and his eyes felt raw from reading hundreds of annotated controls and trying make sense of them.The wording was precise, and yet still hardtointerpret.WhatdidCOMPENSATORFOR
INTERNALFIELDPOTENTIALVARIANCEmeaninpractice?
He hesitated, turning the phrase over in his mind. Maybe... He cautiously turnedthelargeheavydialtotheright.Theshimmeringcurtainoftheinterface
driftedtowardstheirendofthecontrolroom,causingBendixtostephastilyout
ofitsway.Rextontwistedthedialleftandtheinterfaceretreatedoutthroughthe main entrance and into the central vertical shaft of the tower, where it halted.Apparentlytheycouldnotberidofitentirely.
'Well at least we can get to all the controls now,' Bendix said.'If only we couldunderstandthem.'
'Wewill,'Rextonsaid.'Wemustmovefullyintoourspacesowecanleave
withthedata.Thisshipcan'tjustbeatunnelbetweendifferentpartsofspace.It mustbeabletomoveitselfsomehow.Theyhavecontrolsforeverything.'
Thesign,SELF-REPAIR:HULLCOMPOSITEMATERIALSYNTHESIS
UNITcaughthiseyeashespoke.Interesting.Assoonastheylearnedabout
thatbackattheresearchbasetheycouldreplacethepatchestheyhadfittedover theoldshipandmakeitasgoodasnew.Foramomenthisthoughtsfalteredas
thepossibleimplicationstruckhim,buthefirmlyrejectedit.
'Itcouldbethisbankhere,'Bendixwassaving,leadinghimacrosstoanother
panel.'NowtheinterfacehasgoneIcanseeallofitclearly.Yes,look.'
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL TRANSLOCATION, ran the heading of a
large bank of controls. Various subsections read, UNIT CALIBRATION,
FIELD
EXTENSIONPARAMETERS,POWERRESERVE,TARGETCO-
ORDINATES,NODEEQUALISATION...
'Thisispromising,'Rextonagreed.
'Aslongasthosecreaturesleaveusalone,'Bendixsaid.
'If they were going to try to operate it themselves they'd have been here already,'Rextonpointedout.'There'snoreasonwhytheyshouldcomeinhereas
longaswedon'tdrawattentiontoourselves.'
Bendixstarted.'Butwehave.Youjustmovedtheinterfaceseveralmetres...'
Rextonturnedandactivatedhisnormaliserjustintimetostopthewraiththat
wasglidingthroughthemainentrance.
***
Only insistent demands by both Lanchard and Vega got Commodore Sternby
andAdmiralMokaiintoasplit-screenthree-wayconference.Vegathenrelated tothetwofleetcommanders,inclippedconcisetones,whattheyhaddiscovered
attheotherendofthehyperspatialcorridor.
Lanchardlistenedincredulously.Theghostswerethemselves,reachingback
to them from some post-apocalyptic future where Emindar was lifeless? But Vega sounded frighteningly sincere, and the Doctor's steady presence lent further credence to the fantastic, macabre tale. She found herself believing.
WhenVegahadfinished,theDoctorfacedthetwomilitarymen.
'EverythingCommanderVegahastoldyouistrue.IfyouwantmyadviceI
would say get as far away from here as possible and forget all about the alien ship.'Hesawtheexpressionontheirfacesandaddedsadly,'ButIdon'tsuppose
you'lldoit.'
'Untilwehavecraftmodifiedforexplorationofthealienvessel,wecannot
verifyyour...mostunusualreport,CommanderVega,'Mokaisaid.'Iwillsenda
shuttleovertocollectyouandyourmenfordebriefingaboardtheStarfire!'
'Iwashopingtoreturntomyship,sir,'Vegasaid.
'Yourownshipisunderthecommandofoneofmyofficers,'Mokaiadmitted
gravely. 'I had to relieve your second, Fayle.' Noting Vega's mystified
expression, Mokai moved stiffly on. 'I won't discuss the matter over an open link.Justholdyourselfreadyforretrieval.'
'You will not land a military shuttle on the Cirrandaria without my
permission,'Sternbysaid.
"These are our men,' Mokai retorted angrily. 'On what grounds would you holdthemthereagainsttheirwill?'
'They have made an unauthorised landing on our ship in mysterious
circumstances. I want to see this travel device they used.' He looked at the Doctor. 'Perhaps if you could demonstrate it, that might give some credence to thisfantasticstory.'
'I'mafraiditcannotbemovedatpresent,'theDoctorsaid.
'Howinconvenient,'Sternbysaid,clearlydisbelieving.
'Itdoesn'tmatterhowtheygotthere,'Mokaisaid.'Wearetakingourmenoff
immediately-'
'AsCaptainoftheCirrandaria',Lanchardshoutedoverthem,'mayIremind
youthatCommanderVegaismyguest,andthatIamobligedtohimforhispart
in rescuing our lost passengers. He and his men may leave whenever and howevertheyplease.
'Captain,'Sternbysaid,'inthecurrentsituationIamplacingyourshipunder
martiallaw-'
'That'soutrageous!'Lanchardshouted.
***
Samenteredthebridgeamidthebabbleofcrossedwords.TheDoctorsawher
anddrewbackalittlewayfromthearguinggroup.
'Doctor,'shesaidurgently,'whilewewereawaytheyfoundLysetWynter's
bodyinDelray'scabin-lookinglikeaghost.Butnowit'svanished.'
TheDoctorstrokedhischinthoughtfully.'Nowthatisveryinteresting,Sam.
Itprovesthenexusisn'ttotallyclosed.'
'Thewhat?'
'The probability nexus: a zone of twisted time and space. The loop
containingthealienshipisonlypartofit.Thesepeoplearealltrappedwithinit.
Wemaybeourselves,ifwe'renotcareful.'
SamlookedacrossatLanchard,Vegaandthesoldiersonthescreen.
'Can'tyouexplainthattothem?'
'Doyouthinkthey'dbelieveme?Vegahasalreadytoldthemthetruth.Now
it'suptothemtodecidetheirfate.'
'Butyousaidyou'dtrytohelp.'
'Ican'tchangethebigpicture,Sam,becausewe'veseenhowitends-
perhaps how this little piece of history has always ended.There are terribly powerfulforcesatplayhere:pride,honour,fear,distrust.'Hesighed."Thefour horsemeninnewguises.Itistheirdestiny.'
A terrible look of melancholia enveloped him - a weariness beyond her
understanding.
'Butyouhaven'treallygivenup?Comeon,younevergiveup!'
TheDoctorsaidnothing.
***
AsRextonheldbackthewraithsatthedoorheshoutedoverhisshoulder,'Doit
now!'
Bendix stared helplessly at the strange controls.'But I can't be sure -' 'Then guess!Orhaven'tyouthegutstomakeadecision?'Bendixtookadeepbreath.
Concentrate, he told himself. Activate the whole
TRANSLOCATION panel.
Boostpower.Setfieldwithinparameters.IfNODESmeantthetwoendsofthe
ship, and he moved this one towards the other that opened into their own space...
The whole ship trembled. From the depths came the rising pulse of raw
energy. He felt the deck tilt under him as concentrated megatonnes of mass
flowedthroughthevaststructure,warpinggravitytotheirneeds.Ontheexternal viewscreen lightning played about the great horns of the distant hull rim, earthing into the rocks about them with shattering blasts and illuminating the whole cavern. For a moment he felt like a god riding the power he had unleashed.Butthenhesawamoreincrediblesight.
Fromoutofthetunnel-pockedfarwallofthecavernapaleluminousshape
was emerging, flowing slowly out of the solid rock towards them. It was the Cirrandaria.
Whatweretheydoingbringingithere?Whathadhappenedtotherestofthe
rescueparty?
Acloudofghostcreatures,somewinged,somenomorethandriftingblobs,
were emerging from the tunnels and swarming into the Cirrandaria's hatches.
There seemed to be hundreds of them. Why were the humanoid crew allowing it?Whathadhappenedbackintheportcavern?
Thenheunderstood,withcoldhorror,thattheinsanehadtakenover.
But did they realise in their madness what they were doing? Was this their finaleffort,drawnbywhatcommoninstincthecouldnotguess,totravelbackto
findthepeopletheyhadbeen?Tofeedagainonwarmthandlife?
***
Thewarningalarmscutthroughtheintershipargument,asallcraftdetectedthe
changeinthealienvessel.
'Gravityshift!'abridgemonitorcalledout.'Massiveenergydischarge...
strongfieldfluctuations.'
Onthescreenstheysawlightningplayaboutthetwincollarsofspires.
Sampeeredcloserandsaid,'Doctor,Ican'tseethroughtheotherhalfofthat
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