Part 41 (1/2)

'I'm real glad I don't work for these guys right now,' said Vincenzi, out loud. His gunner snickered.

Mimas Chris felt someone brus.h.i.+ng their fingers across his forehead, like spider's feet dancing on his brain.

He decided there was no point in pretending to be asleep.

Well-spotted, said a voice in his head. said a voice in his head.

'Ow,' said Chris. 'Don't do that.'

He opened his eyes. Iaomnet was looking down at him.

No, she wasn't. Iaomnet was long gone.

He jerked back, surprised to find he wasn't restrained, the blank look in her eyes making his stomach turn. He knew what it reminded him of. A crocodile's eyes, permanently jammed open by translucent scales.

It wasn't that she didn't blink, that she had a hypnotic stare, or laser beams coming out of her pupils or anything. Her eyes were the same dark colour as when he'd first looked into them aboard the Hopper, months ago.

But there was n.o.body home. Someone was looking through through her eyes. her eyes.

A lot of someones, said the Brotherhood. said the Brotherhood.

Their voices crawled crawled. He was backed against the wall, wanting nothing more than to get away from her.

'Where's the Doctor?' he said.

You're both safe and well, said the Brotherhood. said the Brotherhood. The rescue The rescue autopilot brought you down on the landing pad of our base. autopilot brought you down on the landing pad of our base.

'That was you,' said Chris. 'You attacked us in the shuttle. We could have crashed!'

285.

He looked around the room, everywhere but at her. The wall was curved, everything was made from inflatable plasticrete.

Some kind of building on the surface, then.

'Where's the Doctor?' said Chris again.

We'll bring you to him shortly, said the Brotherhood. said the Brotherhood. Yes, I did Yes, I did scan your mind while you were unconscious. It's a shame the scan your mind while you were unconscious. It's a shame the Doctor didn't tell you his plan. Doctor didn't tell you his plan.

'He '

I suppose it's possible you're right, he doesn't have a plan at all, to make sure we can't antic.i.p.ate it. His mind is almost all, to make sure we can't antic.i.p.ate it. His mind is almost impossible to read. impossible to read.

Something cold went down Chris's spine. 'How long have I been unconscious?' he said.

Twenty-four hours.

Chris lunged at her. He'd barely begun to move when a ton of psychokinetic force fell on him, pinning him to the bed at an awkward angle.

'Let me see him,' gasped Chris.

All right, said Iaomnet. She released the pressure. said Iaomnet. She released the pressure. We're just We're just about ready for you, anyway. about ready for you, anyway.

Achebe Gorge, Mars Vincenzi and Muller sat side by side on a fallen beam.

Vincenzi was smoking. 'You want one?'

'Dirty habit,' said the stocky sergeant. 'Terrible for your health.'

There was a flash of weapons fire in the distance, on the outside of Achebe Rim. 'Why do so many soldiers smoke, Sergeant?' Vincenzi asked.

'A smart missile is much worse for your health, sir,' she said.

Vincenzi grinned. 'Report.'

'We sustained light casualties only, sir. I'm working on the precise figure. The Unitatus will be making their drop in forty minutes. They'll convey us back to the Victoria Victoria and continue the clean-up operation. The defenders' actions are limited to small pockets of resistance along our route. A few young ones too stubborn to give up.' and continue the clean-up operation. The defenders' actions are limited to small pockets of resistance along our route. A few young ones too stubborn to give up.'

286.

'They've probably forgotten to tell them to surrender,' said Vincenzi.

Everything had gone very much according to plan. The defenders had collapsed the Rim gap they'd been aiming for with high explosives. But they'd fitted the tanks with outsystem mining tracks, and had just crawled up and over the rubble and into the Gorge.

After that, there was a lot of very intelligent but utterly hopeless resistance. Vincenzi had personally lobbed a sh.e.l.l into the conical surface of the C and C building, watching it crash down.

Now he and the sergeant were sitting in the rubble, on top of the biggest, toughest door in the solar system.

'What do you suppose they're doing down there?' he said, drawing a line in the ash and dirt with the tip of his boot.

'Breathing hard, sir,' said Muller.

Mimas The Doctor was sitting in a buggy, a tiny, spidery vehicle designed to handle rough terrain in very low gravity. There were seats for four; he sat right at the back, hands clasped in his lap, head leaning against the window. He was very pale.

Iaomnet watched from the hangar floor as Chris climbed into the vehicle, the only one in sight. She pulled the door closed behind him.

'I don't feel very well,' said the Doctor.

Chris bit his lip. He put a hand on the Doctor's arm, frightened by how light he felt. It wasn't just the tiny gravity. The Doctor felt paper-thin, as though he wasn't quite there.

'What are we going to do?' said Chris.

The Doctor put a finger to his lips.

Iaomnet climbed aboard and shut the outer door. There was an ear-popping puff as the buggy pressurized. Iaomnet strapped herself into the driver's seat. Banks of lights switched on in the dimness of the vehicle. She pulled the HUDS visor down over her left eye.

She turned around, her face half covered by machinery. 'Don't worry,' said Chris. 'I'm not going to try anything.'

287.

The engines were a tiny grinding sound under their feet. It didn't take much power to s.h.i.+ft the buggy's eight wheels. They rumbled softly forwards, the hangar's airlock door automatically sliding upward. A minute later, they were on Mimas's surface.