Part 14 (2/2)

'I hate ”B” movies,' said Ace as a hand s.n.a.t.c.hed at her hair. 'Ready to run for it?'

'I'm not leaving the machine.'

The walls beside them were alive now, arms writhing and grasping. They were hampered by their own slipperiness, the mud slipping as it made contact with the women. 'You're determined, aren't you you and your infernal machine. Okay, we'll try it. But any problems, we ditch the thing, right?'

They ran, heads down, keeping low over the machine as they pushed. Occasionally it hit a b.u.mp and flew up in the air, catching them as it fell back, bruising and winding them. And all the time the hands reached out and tried to grab them. Ace lost a handful of hair to one. Lannic's coverall was ripped open at the shoulder by another. But somehow they kept going.

Then suddenly the attack was over. They were into the section of tunnel sh.o.r.ed up with plastic sheets. They paused for breath. With a snapping sound, one of the sheets split, and torn dark fingers started to work their way through the crack.

Ace was looking back down the tunnel, Lannic could see them too the arms were pulling free of the walls, whole bodies were detaching from the sides of the tunnel. An army of statues was pulling itself into existence and turning towards them. And all the statues looked like Lannic or Ace or the Doctor.

Lannic screamed and shoved the machine forward. Ace joined her and they raced for the tunnel mouth.

Ace was through the hold and onto the flight deck in a moment. She sat down and strapped herself in in one movement. 'I don't know or care where you all are,' she shouted over her shoulder, 'but I'm leaving now now.'

'What about the gla.s.s of orange juice and today's papers?' asked the Doctor from the seat behind her. She glared at him, then watched Lannic enter and start strapping in. Klasvik looked as though he was asleep, and Fortalexa was already at the communication console.

Ace plugged herself into the net and set the thrusters at full power. The noise of the motors built to a scream.

And nothing happened.

The Doctor leaned forward, scanning the instruments in front of Ace. 'The power's getting through,' he said. Then his eyes widened and he looked at Ace. 'It's holding us back.'

'What is?'

'Don't you see? It's not going to let us leave. We're stuck in the mud!'

'Not if I can help it.' Ace pushed the engines to maximum power. The force of the upward thrust and slight response from the lander's heavy body forced her back into the chair and forced the Doctor to sit down heavily. Ace kept the power output sliders hard up against the end*stop, the noise of the labouring engines thudding through her head.

And slowly at first, then more easily, the Pride of Padrillion Pride of Padrillion began to lift. The aft scanners were soon clear, and Ace could see the mud clinging desperately to the underbelly of the s.h.i.+p. As the s.h.i.+p lifted off, the mud was elongating into sticky strings like recalcitrant cheese on a slice of pizza. With a final surge of power as the rear pods unblocked, the lander pulled free and leaped toward orbit. began to lift. The aft scanners were soon clear, and Ace could see the mud clinging desperately to the underbelly of the s.h.i.+p. As the s.h.i.+p lifted off, the mud was elongating into sticky strings like recalcitrant cheese on a slice of pizza. With a final surge of power as the rear pods unblocked, the lander pulled free and leaped toward orbit.

Source Doc.u.ment 9 Extract from Heletian survey of the Schlaer asteroid belt Heletian Survey Project: 92/88/4a While the area is itself hazardous in the extreme, Mellor's sonic and optical surveying has established a possible channel through the main body of the Schlaer Belt. To reach the start of the Mellor channel is not difficult, and Iit emerges near the far side of the Belt, so could be used as a path through the asteroid field.

It should be stressed however, that the existence of the channel, although it is now marked on the standard charts, cannot be confirmed. Both probes collided with the side of the channel an asteroid or s.p.a.ce debris before completing the run. Our expert opinion is that the channel is navigable, but only at low speed and with extreme caution.

Chapter 9.

You Never Can Tell Theatre was in effect provided by the technologists, and as such was treated as a technology. It was not until it was given back to the artists and designers in much the same way as human*computer interfaces were given over to artistic development in the early twenty*first century that the theatre was re*established as popular and accessible entertainment in a dramatic rather than a technological sense.Osterling's Legacy Azcline Grigsen, 3498 Azcline Grigsen, 3498 Lefkhani saw the approaching s.h.i.+p on the Icoronata Icoronata's detectors almost as soon as it left the planet. He had been monitoring almost round the clock, initially out of boredom, but increasingly out of fear. He was not surprised they were on their way back he had been tempted to break communications silence to check the lander crew knew about the Rippeareans' latest positions and advances. But he knew Bannahilk and Fortalexa would be cued in.

What did surprise him was the reading only four life forms were aboard. Or was it five? The reading seemed to be flickering between the two. So he thumped the side of the console unit, and it went dead. He snarled out loud in exasperation. Then he hit the console again, still to no avail. So he opened the outer doors to the hold and set off in search of his jacket.

Ace was feeling rather pleased with herself. She had managed to pilot the lander to its rendezvous with the Icoronata Icoronata with little difficulty. Even the Doctor seemed mildly impressed, although he had said little about it. He had even waited patiently for a few minutes when she ducked into a store*room and examined the stowed equipment including some serious weaponry. with little difficulty. Even the Doctor seemed mildly impressed, although he had said little about it. He had even waited patiently for a few minutes when she ducked into a store*room and examined the stowed equipment including some serious weaponry.

Now he and Ace were sitting opposite each other, drinking more of the Doctor's obnoxious tea. Lefkhani had given them a brief tour of the s.h.i.+p once Fortalexa had introduced them. He had left them in the rest*room and headed back to the command deck for a debriefing from which the Doctor had managed to get them excluded.

The rest*room was one of the largest rooms on the s.h.i.+p. The Icoronata Icoronata was really a troop carrier, and the mult.i.tude of dormitories and the single rest*room were where the soldiers in transit would spend most of their time. At the moment it was empty apart from the Doctor and Ace. They sat opposite each other in one of the enclaves of seats grouped together across the room. The seats, like the rest of the decor, were bland but functional. They somehow managed to look more comfortable than they actually were. was really a troop carrier, and the mult.i.tude of dormitories and the single rest*room were where the soldiers in transit would spend most of their time. At the moment it was empty apart from the Doctor and Ace. They sat opposite each other in one of the enclaves of seats grouped together across the room. The seats, like the rest of the decor, were bland but functional. They somehow managed to look more comfortable than they actually were.

'You remember what you said about the ”B” movie?'

Ace took the opportunity to put down her drink. 'Yeah sorry about that. More of a doberman than a poodle in the end, wasn't it?'

'I'm not so sure.'

'Don't worry, Doctor, we got out of it okay. Didn't we?'

The Doctor frowned. 'Oh yes, no problem.'

'Good.'

'No. No, I don't think it is good.' He leaned towards her, cradling his beaker in front of him so that the noxious steam went up Ace's nose when she leaned forward to join the conspiracy. 'You're super*intelligent mud, Ace '

She sat back quickly. 'Thanks.'

'No, I mean suppose you were. Would you let some stray archaeologists drill down through you? And if you did, when you decided to fight back, would you go to the trouble of making statues of them or stretching arms out of walls?'

'Maybe. If I wanted to frighten them a bit first.' But she was not convinced.

'Why bother? Why not just ooze all over them without warning?'

'Or collapse the tunnel. I see what you mean.'

'It's all a bit melodramatic. We must be missing something.'

Ace twisted sideways in the chair, dangling her legs over the arm. 'We're safe now we got away. I don't know what you're worrying about.'

'Don't you? Then tell me, Ace, why did the Menaxans die out apparently so suddenly, without leaving any their belongings, just their architecture? How did they survive in the first place on a planet where the mud is apparently hostile?'

'Maybe the mud did get them. It ate everything up just couldn't digest the dream machine.'

The Doctor nodded, his eyes staring into the middle distance. 'Yes. The dream machine. That has to be part of it. He put his beaker down on the floor and was quiet a moment, then suddenly he was on his feet and pacing round Ace's chair so quickly she could not swivel her head fast enough to keep up. 'Then there's the weather,' he said suddenly, stopping for a moment to punctuate observation with a jabbed finger. Then he stepped carefully over the beaker and was off again. 'How did they cope with the changes in the weather dry and dusty for half the time, then pouring with rain and awash with m the other half?'

'They went to the theatre, Doctor.'

'What?' He halted suddenly, his feet coming to a dead stop but his body continuing, swaying forward then back again. Then he sat down and took Ace's hands. 'You still don't see the problem, do you Ace?' His voice was quiet with a tinge of sadness.

'No, I don't. So far: odd but not conclusive.'

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