Jaelette told her solemnly, 'but Brother Hugan is one of the missing!'

Trainee Pilot Jonn Hespell had been amused when the Doctor persuaded Professor Shulough that she'd stumbled across quite an a.s.set in capturing him. The environmental-control system had been a piece of cake for the stranger to fix, and having sorted that out he'd been foolish enough to volunteer his services for any other little jobs she might have. Three hours later Hespell suspected that the Doctor was beginning to wonder if this might have been a mistake. Having just survived a crash landing, there were dozens of 'little jobs' that needed his attention, and Hespell had been a.s.signed the task of shepherding their new super-mechanic from problem to problem.

'The thing is,' announced the Doctor, as he followed Hespell through the narrow crawl-s.p.a.ces of the engineering deck, 'it's not a matter of what's damaged, it's more of question of trying to identify something that isn't!'

'It wasn't that bad a landing,' Hespell said loyally. 76 'Oh no, any landing you can walk away from and all that,' commented the Doctor, his eyes twinkling. 'Was it you at the controls, then?'

Hespell blushed and shook his head. 'Major Kendle,' he confessed.

'Ah,' exclaimed the Doctor, 'older-driver syndrome. I understand. Of course, by that reckoning I'm too old to drive anything more than a motorised zimmer frame, so maybe I shouldn't be too critical.'

Hespell couldn't make head or tail of anything the Doctor said. Was he really trying to claim that he was older than Kendle? He looked again at the Doctor, but there was no sign of any cosmetic work. He really did look to be in his thirties.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stole a glance at his guide, amused to see the confusion on his face. That was good. Confused people were more likely to tell you the things you needed to know. In his experience which was, in this field, pretty considerable keeping people off balance was a useful tactic.

'So, tell me about this ship. Bit of a mongrel, isn't it?'

Wrong-footed again by the sudden change of subject, Hespell couldn't find a way to evade the question. Which was exactly what the Doctor wanted. 'I guess so. It started out as a pleasure vehicle, I think. But it's had a few upgrades over the years.'

'And how long have you been part of the crew?'

Hespell shrugged. Sometimes it was easy to lose track of time completely on a job like this. 'About eighteen months,' he answered, 'give or take.'

The Doctor nodded as if this was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard. 'Privately funded? That's rare these days, isn't it?'

'That's why I signed up,' Hespell confessed. 'Who wants a boring life in one of the corporate fleets? Professor Shulough was offering a good oldfashioned adventure.'

'And did you get it?'

The Doctor was examining the engine cradles. Oldfashioned darkrimmed spectacles had appeared from somewhere and he was peering at the readout screens carefully.

'What?' asked Hespell, confused again.

77.'The adventure she promised. Did you get it?'

Hespell thought about this for a moment and then shook his head.

'Not a lot. Most of the time it's been very, very tedious. Until today of course.' Hespell laughed, a tad embarra.s.sed. 'Now I'm getting more adventure than I bargained for!'

The Doctor was using some kind of tool to seal a loose connection. The device buzzed and glowed with a strange blue light. 'There. That should do it,' he announced triumphantly. 'That should start recharging now. Give it twenty-four hours or so and you might just be able to think about trying to fly this thing again.' He looked around, puzzled. 'If the trisilicate engines are off-line where's your power coming from?'

'Emergency generator,' Hespell said, as if it was obvious. The Doctor's eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. 'Show me.'

The young crewman led the stranger back through the engines and up to the main deck of the craft. 'We set it up in the cargo bay,' he explained, as they reached a pair of double doors.

'Really?' The Doctor sounded suspicious. 'Why's that, then?'

Hespell activated the door controls and the answer became obvious. At the rear of the room was an ugly-looking metal machine which was giving off a terrible stench.

'It's a bit. . . antisocial,' apologised Hespell.

'Antisocial? That's an understatement!' Despite the foul smell the Doctor approached the machine to look at it more closely. 'Is this really what I think it is?'

'It's a micro-fusion generator,' Hespell admitted. The Doctor looked seriously unhappy. 'Technology that is banned on most civilised planets. What on earth is this monstrosity doing here?'

Hespell looked a little embarra.s.sed. 'It was the smallest but most effective back-up power source. Apparently.'

'Smallest and dirtiest,' the Doctor retorted, glaring at it with an intensity that would have made most people want to shrivel up and die on the spot. 'Where are the coolant filters?'

78.'There, er, aren't any.' Hespell couldn't even look him in the eye now.

'So where are you venting the '

The Doctor broke off as he spotted the answer to his own question. From the rear of the machine a pair of clear hoses were carrying dirty yellow liquid away. The hoses led to a hatch in the wall of the room. The Doctor ran over to examine it.

'Tell me this leads to some kind of safe waste-disposal system,' he demanded sternly, fearing the worst.

Hespell shook his head, keeping his eyes directed at the floor.

'It just goes outside,' he said in a quiet voice. The Doctor got to his feet and moved swiftly to the door. 'I need to speak to Professor Shulough,' he announced, and disappeared before Hespell could stop him.

The professor and Kendle were in the lab, looking over the latest scan results, when the door burst open and the Doctor spilled into the room, like a force of nature.

'Come in,' said the professor sarcastically.

'You have to shut down that generator,' the Doctor said in a voice that suggested any argument would be a waste of time.

'I'm sorry?'

'You're pouring toxic waste on to this planet's surface, in violation of every rule in the book. You have to shut it down.' The Doctor's eyes burned with pa.s.sion. He couldn't believe how stupid and irresponsible these humans were being.

'We're a long way from the Empire's courts, Doctor. This far from home, we have to make our own rules.'

'I thought you were looking for paradise? Do you want to destroy it before you've had a chance to look around?'

Professor Shulough just shook her head. 'Don't be so melodramatic, Doctor. It's a big planet. Even if we run the generator for a week, it's only a drop in the ocean.'

The Doctor looked aghast. 'How dare you? You're visitors here. Can't you treat the planet with some respect?'

79.The professor crossed her arms and leaned back on her console, preparing herself for a long argument, but she never got her chance as Hespell came running into the room.

Kendle sighed. 'Doesn't anyone knock any more?'

'Sorry, sir,' gasped Hespell, 'but they're back. The creatures. And this time there are more of them!'

On the bridge the repairs had progressed well and the full complement of hull cameras were now operational again. And the view screen showed that Hespell was right at least a dozen of the creatures were emerging from the inky black of the forest. The cameras switched to infrared and they could see them in more detail as they swarmed towards the ship.

'Break out the small arms,' Kendle ordered, and led the way to the armoury, which was a large cupboard at the rear of the bridge. When unlocked, this proved to be stuffed to the gills with various kinds of handguns and other weapons. The Doctor recognised the stun blaster that Hespell had used on him earlier.

'Stun settings only,' he suggested, not wishing to be part of a ma.s.sacre.

'Do those talons of theirs have a stun setting?' retorted Kendle sarcastically. The Doctor stepped up to the man and eyeballed him. 'And how many times have they used those talons on one of you? They've not hurt you at all. It's not you they're concerned with.'

For a moment the Doctor thought he was getting the message through, but Kendle roughly pushed him aside. 'Come on,' he ordered the rest of the crew. 'With me. At the double.'

He headed out, followed by Hespell and Baker.

Professor Shulough picked up the stun blaster. 'Make yourself useful,' she suggested, indicating that the Doctor should help himself to a weapon.

'No, thanks,' he said hurriedly. 'I'm allergic to the things.'

'I wouldn't have taken you for a coward,' replied the professor. 80 'And I wouldn't have taken you for a fool. It's not cowardice,' said the Doctor in a steely tone. 'I just don't like guns. They stop people thinking.'

The professor simply glared at him. 'Then don't get in our way.'

When the Doctor caught up with the crew they had fanned out from the airlock doors and found cover as best they could in the clearing. So far they were having some success in holding back the creatures, but despite the superiority of their firepower they were clearly outnumbered. Kendle, leading from the front, was the furthest away from the s.p.a.ceship, while Hespell and Baker had found positions at either side of the airlock. Professor Shulough was looking out from the edge of the doorway.

'It's too dark out there,' she complained.

The Doctor's eyes had already adjusted to the lack of light. 'This isn't a random attack, you realise. They want something.'

'Yes. Us.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'Something else.' There was a noise from above, a metallic clanging. 'They're on the hull!' he exclaimed, but it was too late.

Two of the creatures dropped down from above, directly in front of them. The professor raised her weapon, but the Doctor pulled her back before she could use it. He pinned both her arms to her side. 'Let them in. Find out what they want.'

The woman struggled in his grip. 'Let go of me, you idiot. They'll kill us.'

'No, I don't think so,' the Doctor insisted, and, as if to prove him right, the two giants moved straight past the pair of them and disappeared into the ship. The Doctor let go of the professor, who was looking open-mouthed in the direction the creatures had taken. The Doctor called out into the dark, 'Hold your fire. Let them pa.s.s!'

When he turned back, he found that the professor had already set off after the invaders. The Doctor was torn between helping the crew 81 outside and chasing after her. A moment later he was running back down the ship's corridors. He had a good idea where they would be going and headed directly for the cargo bay. He quickly caught up with the professor, who was waiting outside the double doors.

'They're in there,' she told him.

'I thought they might be,' he said, trying not to sound smug. 'I think you've just been invaded by radical environmentalists.'

Awful crashing sounds of destruction could be heard from within.

'They're smashing the generator. . . ' The Professor couldn't believe it.

'I told you,' the Doctor reminded her. 'It was polluting the planet.'

Suddenly the lights in the corridor went out. The power was off again. The double doors were pulled open by force and the two creatures came lumbering out. Behind them the generator had been completely taken apart. The creatures ignored the Doctor and the professor and headed back towards the airlock. They followed the monsters at a discreet distance. Outside they found the gunfire had died down. The battle seemed to be over for now, but it hadn't been without casualties. Kendle was attending to the female crew member, Baker, who had a nasty-looking wound across her shoulder.

Hespell was peering out into the darkness. 'They just suddenly went,' he told the professor.

The Doctor nodded. 'They found what they came for.'

'Let's get inside and secure the ship,' ordered Professor Shulough, without giving the injured woman a second look.

The Doctor watched the professor with cool eyes. She didn't seem to feel anything. Could she really be that heartless, or was this lack of empathy a mask she wore?

'Here, let me help,' he said, bending to look at Baker's wound.

'You're a medical doctor, then?' asked Kendle, interested.

'I'm a doctor of many things,' the Doctor told him without a trace of arrogance. 'Did the creatures suffer any casualties?' he asked as 82 he gently picked up the now unconscious Baker and started walking back towards the ship.

'Just the one,' answered Kendle. 'Stunned, not dead.'

The Doctor met his eyes perhaps his request to temper the level of violence had been heeded after all. 'We'd better bring him inside too,' suggested the Doctor. 'Put him somewhere secure, of course,' he added, seeing the alarm in Kendle's face. 'Just to be on the safe side.'

Kendle and Hespell went off into the darkness and reappeared a moment or two later with the heavy bulk of the unconscious monster between them. Even in this condition, it was still terrifying. 83 [image]

Afteralltheexcitement,Rosefounditeasiertosleepthanshewould have expected. As soon as she put her head down, on the rolledup blanket Rez had given her to use as a pillow, she was asleep. It seemed like only moments later that she was stretching and opening her eyes again, but she felt so refreshed it was as if she'd been asleep for hours.

It took her a moment to get her bearings. She was always the same in a strange bed; she'd wake up thinking she was at home, expecting her mum to knock on the door any moment with a nice cup of tea. In all the travelling she had done with the Doctor, she'd had to grab sleep in quite a few odd places, but she still hadn't got any better at the waking-up bit. Some people are morning people and some people aren't, that's what her mum always said, and Rose just wasn't a morning person.

Of course, the Doctor was something else again. Rose had seen him apparently s.n.a.t.c.hing the odd nap, but she wasn't convinced he ever actually went to bed.

This morning, however, Rose came to her senses remarkably quickly and felt alert straight away. Perhaps it was the adrenalin still running high in her blood after the events of the previous night. She was in 85 a makeshift dormitory in one of the smaller buildings near the main temple. A couple of dozen Laylorans lay sleeping round her, a number of whom were gently snoring. Taking care not to make too much noise, she got to her feet and made her way to the door. In the next room, a couple of jugs of water and some cups had been left out and there was a small fire over which a pot was bubbling with a now familiar smell. Jinnera. OK, thought Rose. While her preference would have been tea, or even coffee at a push, beggars couldn't be choosers. She helped herself to a cup of the brew and felt much better for it. Hadn't Rez said it was a feel-good drink? Rose decided he'd undersold it. A great pick-me-up and a weapon to use against monsters to boot!

Thinking back to her close encounter, it had been odd the way the creature had reacted to the drink, but Rose was sure she hadn't imagined it. They must be allergic to the stuff, she decided. One-nil to her!

Feeling even more alert now, Rose set about exploring her surroundings. It was dawn and, in stark contrast to the horrors of the previous night, the forest looked as peaceful and beautiful as it had when she and the Doctor had first arrived.

The sun was shining and birdsong filled the air. Rose couldn't help but smile; it was impossible not to. Despite everything that had happened, she felt good. She looked for Rez among the sleepers but, when she failed to find him, she decided to take the opportunity to explore the site alone.

Walking around the ruins of the ancient Layloran temple complex, Rose realised that it was more extensive than she and the Doctor had originally thought. The outer buildings had mostly fallen into ruin and the forest had crept back around them over the years. Between the trees what seemed to be moss-covered ridges were actually bits of walls. In time, no doubt the rest of the site would go the same way. She remembered her recent visit to ancient Rome and how odd it had been to see whole buildings that in her own time were just piles of old stone. All a matter of perspective, she concluded. Rose found herself heading back towards the main temple, keen 86 to see inside it. The heavy wooden door, decorated with intricate carvings, wasn't easy to shift, but she planted her feet and put her back into it and, eventually, the door moved. She stepped in without even bothering to try and close the door behind her. No one could have doubted the purpose of the building. It was like every church she had ever been in a large cavernous place, full of religious iconography and with an atmosphere that somehow demanded reverence and filled the observer with a sense of peace. Rose moved forward with careful steps, not wanting to make any unnecessary noise. Around the walls were a number of ma.s.sive statues, many of a woman, presumably the human form of the planet herself. Other statues were of more familiar creatures the Witiku, as she now knew them. Above the figures were galleries like boxes at a theatre that would have allowed the ancient Laylorans a bird's-eye view of the ceremonies. And at the end of the room there was a stone slab that could only have been an altar. She noted with some disgust that the stone was marked with a number of dark stains. She swallowed hard and moved on. In an alcove to one side she found some steps leading down to a lower level. Grabbing a flaming torch from a wall bracket, Rose began the descent.

When Hespell woke, the first thing he did, after washing and dressing, was to go to the MedLab to check on Ania Baker. He found her lying in her bed, looking pale but a good deal happier than when he'd last seen her. The medical scanners were humming quietly, indicating that all was well. With the 'dirty' back-up generator out of commission, they were relying on the ship's nearly empty emergency batteries, but the Doctor had constructed a device from odds and ends that was functioning as a regulator, helping to eke out the remaining power. Professor Shulough was confident that they would find the trisilicate they needed for the main engines before they ran out of power completely.

'How are you this morning?' Hespell asked, sitting gingerly on the side of Baker's bed..

'It hurts,' she confessed, 'but thanks to you I think I'm going to be OK.'

87.'Me?' Hespell blushed.

'You stunned the creature that got me. If you hadn't acted when you did, his next blow would have disembowelled me. So thanks.'

Hespell tried to look nonchalant. 'I'd have done the same for anyone,' he told her. Ania reached out a hand and touched his arm. 'But you did it for me. And that's what counts.'

She smiled at him with a new warmth and he felt himself turning an even deeper shade of red.

'Is it me or is it hot in here?' he muttered, pulling at his uniform around the neckline.

Baker shook her head gently. 'I don't think so.' She grinned, amused at his discomfort. It was rather endearing, she thought.