Part 10 (2/2)

'I can see that.'

Lannic was with them, appearing out of the mist as it thinned and dropped around them. 'It's incredible,' she said, rapping her knuckle against the arm of the statue of Ace. It gave the dead thud of stone. She turned accusingly. 'Do you know anything about them?'

'Nothing, I a.s.sure you.'

Lannic shook her head in disbelief and went over to examine the statue of herself. Ace followed the Doctor over to his statue.

'Are you sure you know nothing about this?'

The Doctor examined the hand that had originally projected from the mud, tracing his finger back along the wrist and arm. 'Quite sure, Ace.' He stared across into his own face and was met with stony indifference. 'Do I really look like that?' He explored his own features with his fingers, drawing the skin tight on his cheek as he pulled at it. 'Yes, I suppose I do these days.' He stared across at the other two stone figures for a moment. 'They've been here a long time, Ace.'

'You can say that again. But how did they get here?'

He shrugged. 'Someone put them here. Long ago. Before the theatre collapsed into ruins; before the mud came; before the archaeologists started digging.'

'So why? They look just like us.'

'They are us, Ace. Or statues of us, rather. And they look exactly as we do now as we do now.'

Ace considered this. 'The TARDIS?'

'Possibly.'

'Must be. We travel back in time, to when the theatre was in use. You, me and Lannic.'

'And we do something that leads to these statues being erected something outstandingly good. Or bad.' The Doctor prodded his stone midriff with the point of his umbrella, 'I'm sure Blinovitch would have an opinion to voice.'

'Who?'

'Oh, temporal theorist. n.o.body important.' He turned to the statue of Ace and patted it on the shoulder. 'But it is puzzling, don't you think?'

Bannahilk found the various reactions to this new development interesting. He and Fortalexa both stood back and watched the others, periodically scanning the dim recesses of the theatre for any signs of movement: Surprisingly Lannic and the two strangers recovered first. It somehow seemed less of a shock to them to find life*size stone replicas of themselves than it did to the others.

Tashman seemed as indifferent as ever, shrugging the whole thing off and sitting in the front of the auditorium to watch. He showed no signs of appreciating the possible threat, no wariness or real interest at all. Typical no wonder he had been selected for a routine mission like this rather than a front*line role. Routine Routine. Bannahilk almost laughed out loud.

Gilmanuk and Klasvik seemed the most affected. The diminutive Gilmanuk was wandering around in a daze after the Doctor and Ace who were examining the Doctor's statue. Lannic was similarly interested in her own. Klasvik was slumped down close to Tashman.

Bannahilk looked round at the sorry team he was left with, Only Fortalexa had any real combat training or experience, although Tashman could probably hold a gun the right way round. And the woman, Ace, looked like she might be useful. He watched her as she moved round the stage after the Doctor. He saw the tenseness of her stance; her almost cat*like movements as if she could smell the blood on the wind, hear the blood in her ears; the athletic outline of her body moulded into the dark combat suit. Yes, she certainly could be useful.

'Right,' Bannahilk's voice echoed round the theatre; he need not have shouted but it had the desired effect. They all turned to him. The cantankerous old Klasvik, he noted with satisfaction, almost leapt out of his costume with surprise. 'I want everyone back in the operations room now. We're going to get some answers, or at the very least a direction for exiting this place.'

Klasvik was the most in favour of leaving immediately. Ace had not thought the old man would have so much noise in him, but he had insisted that there was obviously a whole army of Rippeareans down in the theatre complex waiting to rush out and slaughter them all.

'Why don't you contact the orbiter and get help from Lefkhani? He is a pilot after all,' Gilmanuk wanted to know.

'Fortalexa can give Ace as much help as Lefkhani can,' Bannahilk told him. 'And with the Rippearean advance so close now, I'm not breaking communications silence for anything. I want to get out with my skin in one piece.'

Ace left them to argue and went forward. She might as well get on with it the sooner they left the better. But she knew not to rush things. 'If you get a moment in your busy schedule,' she whispered to Fortalexa as she pa.s.sed him, 'I'd appreciate some help understanding the antiquated com*net equipment you have.'

Fortalexa nodded. 'Give me a couple of minutes,' he told her. 'I want a word with Bannahilk.'

Ace glanced back. The meeting seemed to be breaking up into smaller conversations. She caught Bannahilk's eye as she turned to go. Their gaze locked for a moment, but she could not read his expression.

'What do you think is going on, Doctor?'

The Doctor had been on the periphery of the conversations, both by keeping his thoughts to himself and by sitting away from the main group. He had seen Ace leave for the control deck, and had noticed Bannahilk watch her go. Fortalexa had followed soon after, whispering a few words to his commander on the way.

He looked up from his present study of the mud on the floor. 'Ah,' he said. 'That, Lannic, is the question.'

'You must have some idea.'

'I have an idea '

'Yes?' she interrupted him eagerly.

The Doctor continued as if she had not spoken: ' that we should get off this planet as soon as we can.'

Lannic nodded. 'You're probably right. Looks like we have an hour to get together what we can from the excavations before we leave.' She turned to go.

'We have an hour,' the Doctor called after her, 'to stay alive.'

Gilmanuk came over. 'Doctor?' He gestured at a spare crate close by. The Doctor waved him to it. 'I hope you will not feel me impertinent, but I must ask you something.'

'She's quite safe,' the Doctor said, quiet and distant.

'I'm sorry?'

The Doctor looked him in the eye. 'You were about to ask about Benny.'

'Yes. I thought, since she is a colleague of yours...'

'Indeed.' The Doctor took Gilmanuk's hand in his. 'I must ask you to trust me. Professor Summerfield is doing something for me, something important. She is quite safe, but I would rather that as few people as possible knew where she is and what she is about.'

Gilmanuk considered for a moment. 'Very well, Doctor. I will take my cue from you.' He stood, slightly embarra.s.sed as he realized his hand was held by the Doctor. The Doctor smiled, and turned the grasp into a friend handshake. The archaeologist smiled faintly.

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