Part 15 (2/2)

Capture, escape, capture, escape.

Chris opened his eyes. He sat up. Where the h.e.l.l was he?

The crew of the Victoria Victoria hadn't been taking any chances. hadn't been taking any chances.

While the medics took the Doctor away to the sickbay, an armed escort had marched the rest of the Hopper's crew to the brig. It was a comfortable, large room, with some isolated entertainment computers and a food machine.

This wasn't it. They'd put him somewhere else while he was sleeping. Had they drugged him? He didn't feel drugged.

He looked around. The room was small, with a high ceiling, out of reach. He couldn't work out where the light was coming from out of the walls?

He pressed a hand to the wall. The stuff was plastic? metal?

not exactly hot, not exactly cold. He ran his hand along it.

Seamless, one wall curving into another, forming a narrow six-sided shape.

No seams at all. He couldn't find the door. Nothing in the ceiling, either, not even a securicam. How'd they put him in here? Was it some kind of container? Where the h.e.l.l was he?

'Hey!' he shouted, hammering on the wall. His voice and the sound of his fist echoed back at him, m.u.f.fled. 'Hey! What is this?' No answer. They couldn't even hear him. 'Let me out of here!'

Chris opened his eyes. He sat up, knocking his head on the wall of the brig.

123.

The Ogrons looked up at him from across the room. He blinked, rubbing the back of his head. Martinique was curled on the opposite bunk, looking ill.

'OK?' grunted Sister's Son.

He nodded at the Ogron. 'Anything happening?'

'Eating compet.i.tion,' said Son of My Father indistinctly. Chris realized the Ogrons were sitting cross-legged in front of the food machine, each one with a pile of banana skins stacked up next to him.

Chris laughed out loud. The nightmare feeling already draining away. 'Have they said anything about the Doctor?'

'No. n.o.body has been here,' said Son of My Father. 'What would they tell Ogrons, anyway?'

'Good point.' Chris frowned. 'We'd better work out a way to get out of here.'

'But Chris,' said Sister's Son, 'there are only three of us, and many soldiers on the s.h.i.+p. If we do get out, where will we go?'

'First rule of crisis, according to the Doctor,' said Chris. 'Panic about one thing at a time.'

Sokolovsky's communicator chimed. 'Yes, Lieutenant?'

'The prisoner who was taken to sickbay has recovered, sir,'

said Emerson. 'He wants to talk to you, sir.'

Sokolovsky was striding through the Victoria Victoria's corridors. The time was ticking in the corner of his eye, a constant flicker of hot red figures. 'He'll have to wait,' he said.

'Er, he's very insistent, sir.'

'He's a civilian, Lieutenant.'

'Yes, sir. He's a very insistent civilian. An exceptionally insistent civilian, sir.'

Sokolovsky couldn't help smiling. 'All right, then, Emerson.

Have him brought to the bridge. I'll sort him out.'

'Er, sir? He's already on the bridge.'

'What?'

'He seems to have persuaded security it was in the s.h.i.+p's best interests. I'm there now, sir, keeping an eye on him.'

'I'll be there in thirty seconds.'

124.

The man was indeed on the bridge. All over it like a rash, flitting from station to station, peeking over the shoulders of the Ops.

Sokolovsky sank into the command chair and watched the little man pace. The captain's station was almost at the back of the bridge, on the left side, giving him a view of every part of the sloping, wedge-shaped room. He could call up any station's displays on his own screen. Theoretically, he could fly the s.h.i.+p himself, with the help of the computer.

It took the Doctor almost a minute to realize he was there. The civilian fixed him with an intense gaze and walked up the gentle slope of the bridge to his station.

'Captain Sokolovsky,' he said. 'It's vital that you allow me to take a shuttle down to the surface of Ca.s.sandra.'

'Why?' said Sokolovsky.

The Doctor glanced back at the screen, where Agamemnon's outermost planet was a fat white disk. 'It's a matter of extreme importance,' he said. 'I wish I could tell you more, but I can't.'

He turned back. 'All I can do is try to persuade you to let me land. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the course of history depends on your a.s.sent.'

Sokolovsky was surprised at how believable the little man's speech was. He had half a mind to have one of the shuttles readied, if only to see what the Doctor was going to do down there.

'Captain,' said s.h.i.+pOps, 'the Claremont Claremont has begun docking.' has begun docking.'

Sorry, Doctor, I don't have time to find out what you're all about. 'Thank you, Ensign. Doctor, we'll have to continue this later. Emerson, could you take our guest down to his friends?'

'Yes, sir. This way, Doctor.'

'Sir,' said someone, 'the Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen has just lifted off. has just lifted off.

Lieutenant Kidjo wants to speak with you urgently.'

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