Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins From Neptune (11 page)

They talked, fittingly, about trivialities. Mike got the impression that some of her hesitation was deliberate. He asked her if she felt uncomfortable.

'I am fine,' she said, standing and moving to the window.

'I. .. I am sorry. What must you think of me?'

Mike was trying to work out exactly that. 'I think you're frightened,' he said, trying to reassure her.

She was silent, staring out into the night with a glassy-eyed look of indifference that baffled Yates. She was pale and lovely in the naked moonlight, but with a quality of aloofness that Yates found puzzlingly attractive.

He turned away from her, bending down to pick up his discarded shoes. 'There's no pressure. If you don't want to -'

And then he felt the dull thud of the butt of his gun slamming into the base of his skull.

After Trainor had left them, the Doctor told Liz he was going outside for some fresh air. She watched him go, and then turned to find herself on the periphery of a conversation dominated by a rather overbearing professor of semiotics.

A few moments later Liz moved away to follow the Doctor through the patio doors. He stood, silhouetted in the light spilling out on to the lawn, staring up at the heavens. There was something noble and yet powerfully melancholic about his strong outline, bright against the cascading arc of stars.

He was alone and lonely, a stranger in a very strange land, as he had often told her.

She moved behind him and coughed lightly to let him know she was there.

Penny for them,' she said.

'You can keep the change,' said the Doctor sadly, not turning to look at her, his eyes still fixed on the myriad stars.

'When I was seven, I got a telescope for my birthday,'

said Liz. 'It was the greatest thrill of my life to find Venus at the first attempt.'

'A beautiful planet,' said the Doctor wistfully. 'I was there, long ago of course. These days it's most inhospitable'

'Are you thinking of home?' asked Liz.

The Doctor gave a short, cynical laugh. 'Home?' he asked. 'I may never see my home again.' He pointed towards the small cluster of stars that formed Sagittarius. 'She's somewhere out there. Gallifrey. In the constellation of Kasterborous.'

'You never told me the name of your planet before,' noted Liz, fascinated at this new information.

'You never asked,' replied the Doctor. It's close to the galactic core.'

'That's thousands of light years away,' Liz said, aware that she was dealing with staggering concepts of time and space.

'About thirty thousand, give or take a parsec,' confirmed the Doctor.

'You said the constellation was Kasterborous,' she asked.

'Is that another name for Sagittarius?'

Again the Doctor chuckled, and Liz thought for a moment that he was treating her like a child, sugar coating the more difficult concepts. But his answer surprised her.

'Constellation means something rather different where I come from - although the notion becomes somewhat redeemed by science in the far future of this planet. It's not a concept fixed by actual location, of course.' it has elements of time and relativity involved. When I call an arbitrary cluster of stars a constellation, I do it in the knowledge that in a million years some of those stars will be long gone, and others will have been created in their place. I'm sorry to have to explain it in such pompous terms.'

'No,' said Liz, fascinated. 'I think I understand.'

'So much of what is, and what was, and what shall be, are governed by concepts which humans - even brilliant ones like you - can have no rational understanding of.'

Liz was blushing now, thankful that her face was hidden in the shadows of the warm summer night. 'I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me,' she said.

'This seems to be my week for telling people what's what,' the Doctor replied. 'I was saying to Sergeant Benton only the other day -' Suddenly his head snapped to his right.

'What was that?'

Liz followed the Doctor's gaze. 'I don't see anything,' she said, staring into the inky darkness beyond the garden.

'I thought I heard something'

'Maybe the wind?'

The Doctor continued to look in the direction that the sound had come from. He was silent for a moment and then said, 'The Kagananaga Botizoids of the planet Logomundopsi in one of the Magellanic Cloud galaxies have a word to describe the effect of time and dark matter on the subjective position of stars. That might be a better descriptive term than

"constellation". Unfortunately, to pronounce it, you would have to have your tongue surgically removed'

'Oh' Not for the first time Liz couldn't tell whether the Doctor was being facetious or not.

The Doctor's voice was curiously flat and unemotional, his eyes unblinking. 'I remember once, on the Volputic plains of Casuragi Three in Tau Ceti, I met an old Janus Lynonite.

He was orange, with three eyes, and a head in the exact shape of a -Good evening, gentlemen.'

From out of the darkness stepped a group of black-garbed men whom the Doctor seemed to recognise.

'Do not move,' said a voice behind Liz. She spun quickly to find herself facing the girl who'd been with Mike. She was holding Yates's Browning 9mm in her hand.

'Not again,' said the Doctor. 'Young lady, I'll have you know I've had a very trying couple of days.'

'Shut up,' said the woman, moving to the Doctor's side and pointing the gun at his head, dramatically.

'What have you done with Mike?' Liz blurted out.

The Russian woman ignored her. 'Bring the female as well,' she ordered. Two soldiers walked towards the petrified Liz.

'This is utterly pointless, you know,' said the Doctor. 'Your masters must want me very badly indeed to have sent you on such a fool's errand, but you haven't made a very good job of it so far, have you? To botch one kidnap attempt might be regarded as misfortune, to botch three would look like carelessness!' He stared at the woman, speaking slowly to underline his point. 'There is no way you will succeed in getting me out of the country.'

She said nothing in reply, but Liz could see embarrassment and frustration etched on to the woman's face.

'You don't want to be doing this, do you?' the Doctor asked sympathetically, but he got no response other than the immediate attention of the rest of the troops.

The woman turned away. 'Sergeant?' A man snapped to attention. 'Where's the van hidden?'

'Two hundred yards down the road,' he replied.

'Leyonev's driving'

'Then let us get out of here,' ordered the woman. 'Bring them both' She glanced at her prisoners. 'Shoot to maim if they try to run or cry out'

Liz and the Doctor were marched around the side of the house, through a gate, and out on to the road. The Doctor turned to look at Liz. 'Don't worry,' he whispered. 'They won't hurt you'

The group reached the road, which was deserted. They could hear the sounds of the party, but the curtains were drawn. The neighbouring houses were in darkness.

The Doctor turned his attention back to the Russian leader. 'Why go to all this trouble?' he asked.

'There will be time for talk later,' she replied. It was the first time she had acknowledged the Doctor directly.

'Nice to see you can be civil,' he said bitterly.

'I am Captain Valentina Shuskin of...' She paused. 'Of the Spetsnaz. And I do not enjoy being lectured on protocol by an alien. Get in'

As the door to the van was held open for him, the Doctor stared back at her blankly. 'How could you possibly -?'

'Get in, Doctor,' she said, and pushed him into the vehicle.

Liz followed the Doctor into the van, and the doors slammed shut. They sat in virtual silence as the vehicle moved off, a look of great concentration on the Doctor's face.

Liz was too worried to think about anything. She stared at the soldiers who surrounded them. She noted their commando-style clothing, their impassive faces. Most, but not all, carried guns.

She could see the driver and another soldier in the front of the van, and through the windscreen observed the terraced housing give way to the newer houses on the outskirts, and then to country roads. Now clear of the city, the van picked up speed.

Suddenly the Doctor whispered something through gritted teeth.

'What?' asked Liz.

'I said "Brace yourself",' repeated the Doctor. He was using his hands to cling on to the rough wooden seating.

Liz followed suit just as the noise of the helicopters began to penetrate the van.

The soldier sitting in the passenger seat swivelled to address Shuskin. 'Three helicopters,' he said.

'What?' Shuskin clearly hadn't anticipated this development. Two Gazelles and a Lynx gunship in standard two-one formation to our right.'

'Motorcycles,' said the soldier at the back of the van, staring through the rear window. 'And an APC. They've got firepower.'

Shuskin swore openly in Russian as the first helicopter came into view. It swooped low, hugging the country lane for a moment, then ascended, spitting a rapid burst of machine-gun fire over the roof of the van.

'Just a friendly warning,' said the Doctor, unhelpfully.

Shuskin made her way to the back of the van and settled herself on the floor between two seated soldiers. She raised her assault rifle, braced herself, then booted open the rear doors. Immediately she started firing in the direction of their pursuers.

'That will just make them angry,' said the Doctor.

The headlights of the slow-moving armoured personnel carrier illuminated the motorcycles as they swerved from side to side in an attempt to protect themselves from the gunfire.

The hail of bullets, picking fragments away from the tarmac road, swung closer to one rider, just catching the front tyre. It exploded, the bike pitching forward and throwing the soldier over the handlebars. Another motorcycle swiftly slotted into place.

Shuskin stopped firing, and turned to shout to her second-in command. 'Komarov! Where are we?'

The man stood behind the driver and navigator towards the front of the van, legs braced against the bucking motion as the vehicle careered round another sharp bend. 'Miles from our destination,' came the reply.

'Suggestions?'

'Stand and fight' Komarov's response was immediate and unequivocal, and appeared to go down well with the men, who nodded in agreement.

'Not an option,' said Shuskin.

'Then you've really got no alternative but to surrender,'

butted in the Doctor.

Without warning the van swerved alarmingly, throwing the Doctor and Liz to the floor in a tangled mess of arms and legs.

'What is going on?' demanded Shuskin, clinging to the door frame.

'Smoke bombs,' replied Komarov.

Liz looked up from the floor, and could just make out a mist spilling around the periphery of the windscreen. She pushed herself into a more stable sitting position, then turned her attention back to Captain Shuskin. All eyes were on her.

As if aware of this, the woman cursed viciously, then barked out an order. 'Stop the vehicle! It is time to end this.'

'A very sensible decision,' said the Doctor softly. 'If you want me to talk to them -'

'Shut up,' said Shuskin. Even the Doctor was stung by the menace in her voice.

The van slowed to a dead stop, and for a moment there was a standoff. The helicopters continued to circle overhead, lights pinning the van to the spot like an impaled moth. Liz could see UNIT soldiers moving into position to block the roads. Somewhere to the left, a Chinook CH47 transport helicopter was coming in to land, presumably bringing in reinforcements.

'Captain... ' one of the troops began.

'Quiet! I am thinking,' snapped Shuskin. She turned to find

Komarov beside her. 'It has gone sour, Sergeant,' she stated.

'Not your fault,' replied the grim-faced sergeant. 'I have heard that British prisons are comfortable' He paused for a moment. 'We have an alternative course of action, sir.'

Shuskin nodded. 'To be used as a last resort. Which it is'

She placed her Kalashnikov AKMS on the floor of the van, and turned to the Doctor. 'You will come with us, please?'

'Gladly,' said the Doctor, moving towards the van door.

'Do you wish me to mediate?'

'That will not be necessary.' Liz watched as the door swung open and Shuskin, Komarov, and the Doctor stepped out. Shuskin's hands were raised above her head to indicate that she was unarmed. As the sergeant followed her a shot rang out from the UNIT lines. Shuskin spun around to find Komarov collapsed in the Doctor's arms, spewing blood.

There was a terrifying look of utter bewilderment on his face.

Shuskin screamed. 'Pavel!'

Liz moved quickly to the Doctor's side. There was massive bleeding from the man's chest; she bunched up the jacket in an attempt to staunch the flow, but knew that it was already too late.

Komarov tried to say something, but his froth-flecked lips moved silently. A moment later he was dead.

Shuskin turned towards the UNIT soldiers. Liz thought for a moment that she was going to lunge at the nearest man, but her anger merely came out in her voice. 'You murdering bastards!' she shouted, and then lapsed into Russian.

The Doctor was beside her, a look of dejected failure on his lace. 'Lethbridge-Stewart!' he said angrily.

The Brigadier emerged from the cockpit of a Gazelle and strode across towards the pair, his gun in his hand.

'This was your idea,' continued the Doctor,' and you assured me there would be no casualties!'

The Brigadier looked embarrassed, and turned away sharply. 'Sergeant Benton!' he snapped. 'I want a report on who fired that shot on my desk by ten a.m. tomorrow. All of you men carry the Yellow Card, and you all know the procedure for the firing of weapons in this kind of situation -

and the consequences if those procedures are not carried out to the letter. Corporal Laine, take a duty of men and arrest everyone in that van' He spun back towards the Doctor and Shuskin, his voice hushed. 'I will have the man who fired -'

Liz noted a sudden and complete look of surprise cross the Brigadier's face.