Part 17 (1/2)

'Doctor!' Grant left Max's side and moved unsteadily towards a tall, fair-haired man with a confident bearing and atrocious dress sense.

Despite his dishevelled appearance and the bruises on his face, he brimmed with vitality. So this was Grant's alien friend, Max thought.

'Oh, it's you,' the Doctor observed dismissively. 'What kept you?'

Grant was visibly taken aback by his abruptness. 'I was injured. I've been unconscious for most of the night.'

'Really? What about the three weeks before that?' He gestured distastefully towards the Bronze Knights. 'Or have you been too busy playing Doctor Frankenstein to spare a thought for my plight?'

'How dare you!' Max exploded, her fury demanding the Doctor's attention. She marched up to him and, to his evident surprise, slapped his face. Her pent-up bitterness, frustration and loss had found a target for release. 'Your friend has been working night and day to help you,'

she raged. 'If it weren't for his input, the Bronze Knights would never have been built, the Cybermen would still be in occupation and you would probably be converted or dead!'

The Doctor recovered his wits and squared up to her, swelling with indignation. 'And you think your Bronze Knights are such an achievement, do you? I call them an abomination!'

'And you would have found a better solution, I suppose?'

'Well, since you ask -'

'You are needed.' Max jumped at Henneker's filtered voice by her ear. He had approached unheard and interrupted without leave. The Doctor had given way, but he regarded the newcomer through hooded eyes, clearly disliking what he saw. Grant had backed off instinctively.

'Our people have been ransacking the complex for raw materials and preparing the Cybermen's laboratories for our purpose. You will be required to manufacture as many Bronze Knights as you are able. We will provide volunteers.'

'They're sending reinforcements, aren't they?' said Max gloomily. She had heard the rumour outside and had known it almost immediately to be true. 'How long before they arrive?'

'We do not know. Begin your task.'

He made to turn, but Max stopped him. 'Wait! What about the prisoners?'

'Irrelevant. You have important things to consider.' Henneker walked away, moving amongst the others and dispensing orders. Max gaped after him. Then, at a loss, she turned to the Doctor, who greeted her with an eyebrow-raised I-told-you-so I-told-you-so expression. expression.

'Just tell me what's happened to them, can't you?' she snapped impatiently, taking Henneker's rudeness as a personal embarra.s.sment.

'My brother was brought in here!'

His att.i.tude changed at a stroke. His face fell and he looked at her with sympathy. Max had thought herself prepared for the worst - but now, a hitherto unsuspected reserve of misery flowed into her heart.

She felt tears p.r.i.c.king at her eyes.

'What's happened?'

Hegelia sat in a comfortable plastic chair, chin supported on steepled fingers. She had retired to this rest area to update her audio notes and to await the right moment to execute the next stage of her plan. At first, then, she was none too pleased to be disturbed by an unexpected visitor. On reflection, though, it would be useful to say a few words to young Jolarr.

'I've been looking for you everywhere,' said the boy, relief apparent.

'When we were separated, I thought...'

Hegelia was almost touched by his concern, but she couldn't allow it to divert her from the matter at hand. I hope you have taken careful note of all that has happened.'

A slight frown creased his white forehead. 'I could hardly forget it, ArcHivist. I was chased by a Cyberman. It nearly killed me.'

Hegelia clapped her hands together. 'Excellent! You have an advantage which I was never afforded, Graduand: early contact with your subject matter. Cherish the memory. No amount of research can ever equal what you have learned on this expedition.'

Jolarr was bewildered. 'You're saying I should study the Cybermen - like you have?'

Hegelia stood now and looked him in the eye. 'Why do you think I brought you here? I am growing old, Graduand; I will not see the Arc Hives again. But my research must proceed. The Cybermen are important, both historically and strategically. n.o.body knows where or when they will rise again - and I believe wholeheartedly that, one day, they will. I need a successor, and I have chosen him: a boy with the intelligence, the ambition and now the experience to continue my work as I would wish it to be continued. I hope you will not do me the dishonour of refusing my request.'

' I . . . no, ArcHivist. I mean, I would be delighted.' He didn't look very happy. His features cycled through an array of expressions, not knowing where to settle. Still, the promise had been elicited. Hegelia was satisfied.

She resumed her usual brisk manner and imparted her final instructions. 'I want you to observe as much as you can, whilst avoiding inordinate danger.' She reached into her cloak and handed him a micro-ca.s.sette. 'When you return, download this into the Cyber Hive and add your own impressions to create a full doc.u.ment. You may not see me again, but if you do - and if you can do so without harm - take my recorder from me. It should contain more useful information.

Questions?'

'You make it sound as if you aren't coming back.'

'Dismissed!' Hegelia made to turn her back on him.

'The time s.h.i.+p,' Jolarr blurted out. 'It's gone!'

She pouted. 'I feared that might happen. I must apologize. It seems my tampering with the navigational circuits has caused the vessel to experience temporal drift. Still, a solution presents itself. You will travel home with the Doctor,' Jolarr nodded dumbly. 'That is all, Graduand.'

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but then he thought better of it. He turned and scuttled out of the room. Hegelia watched him go, then settled back into her seat with a deep sigh.

She had now made provision for her departure. That just left one more person to brief.

The Doctor and Max mounted the final flight of steps to the building's roof, disappearing from Grant's view. He sighed and followed at his own pace, still weak from his close encounter with death. Life wasn't fair. The Bronze Knights had triumphed and the Doctor was free. He had waited three weeks for that. But the threat wasn't over yet and his travelling partner was all but ignoring him. Grant was reminded that he had known the Doctor for only a few days before his capture. His one trip in the TARDIS seemed a long time ago now.

He attained the flat metal roof and saw the spherical c.o.c.kpit of the s.h.i.+p rising up from its centre. Its door lay level with the surface. The Doctor had to be in there. Grant approached, and wondered if the Time Lord had brought him to Agora deliberately to leave him. He prayed not. He felt like a stranger on his own world.

The c.o.c.kpit's interior was almost as dull, grey and functional as that of Population Control. The Cyber s.h.i.+p's vertical orientation caused the viewscreen to be positioned in the concave wall above them, with most of the flight controls. A hatch below vented onto a ladder, which stretched into the s.h.i.+p's rear chamber. The Doctor was standing on the threshold of this, looking into the darkness.

'Is Max down there?' asked Grant, to break the ice.

He nodded. 'The conversion chamber. I sealed off the other entrances. It's safer that way.'

'I hope she finds her brother.'