Part 6 (1/2)

Jaelette told her solemnly, 'but Brother Hugan is one of the missing!'

Trainee Pilot Jonn Hespell had been amused when the Doctor persuaded Professor Shulough that she'd stumbled across quite an a.s.set in capturing him. The environmental-control system had been a piece of cake for the stranger to fix, and having sorted that out he'd been foolish enough to volunteer his services for any other little jobs she might have. Three hours later Hespell suspected that the Doctor was beginning to wonder if this might have been a mistake. Having just survived a crash landing, there were dozens of 'little jobs' that needed his attention, and Hespell had been a.s.signed the task of shepherding their new super-mechanic from problem to problem.

'The thing is,' announced the Doctor, as he followed Hespell through the narrow crawl-s.p.a.ces of the engineering deck, 'it's not a matter of what's damaged, it's more of question of trying to identify something that isn't!'

'It wasn't that bad a landing,' Hespell said loyally. 76 'Oh no, any landing you can walk away from and all that,' commented the Doctor, his eyes twinkling. 'Was it you at the controls, then?'

Hespell blushed and shook his head. 'Major Kendle,' he confessed.

'Ah,' exclaimed the Doctor, 'older-driver syndrome. I understand. Of course, by that reckoning I'm too old to drive anything more than a motorised zimmer frame, so maybe I shouldn't be too critical.'

Hespell couldn't make head or tail of anything the Doctor said. Was he really trying to claim that he was older than Kendle? He looked again at the Doctor, but there was no sign of any cosmetic work. He really did look to be in his thirties.

Meanwhile, the Doctor stole a glance at his guide, amused to see the confusion on his face. That was good. Confused people were more likely to tell you the things you needed to know. In his experience which was, in this field, pretty considerable keeping people off balance was a useful tactic.

'So, tell me about this s.h.i.+p. Bit of a mongrel, isn't it?'

Wrong-footed again by the sudden change of subject, Hespell couldn't find a way to evade the question. Which was exactly what the Doctor wanted. 'I guess so. It started out as a pleasure vehicle, I think. But it's had a few upgrades over the years.'

'And how long have you been part of the crew?'

Hespell shrugged. Sometimes it was easy to lose track of time completely on a job like this. 'About eighteen months,' he answered, 'give or take.'

The Doctor nodded as if this was the most interesting thing he'd ever heard. 'Privately funded? That's rare these days, isn't it?'

'That's why I signed up,' Hespell confessed. 'Who wants a boring life in one of the corporate fleets? Professor Shulough was offering a good oldfas.h.i.+oned adventure.'

'And did you get it?'

The Doctor was examining the engine cradles. Oldfas.h.i.+oned darkrimmed spectacles had appeared from somewhere and he was peering at the readout screens carefully.

'What?' asked Hespell, confused again.

77.'The adventure she promised. Did you get it?'

Hespell thought about this for a moment and then shook his head.

'Not a lot. Most of the time it's been very, very tedious. Until today of course.' Hespell laughed, a tad embarra.s.sed. 'Now I'm getting more adventure than I bargained for!'

The Doctor was using some kind of tool to seal a loose connection. The device buzzed and glowed with a strange blue light. 'There. That should do it,' he announced triumphantly. 'That should start recharging now. Give it twenty-four hours or so and you might just be able to think about trying to fly this thing again.' He looked around, puzzled. 'If the trisilicate engines are off-line where's your power coming from?'

'Emergency generator,' Hespell said, as if it was obvious. The Doctor's eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. 'Show me.'

The young crewman led the stranger back through the engines and up to the main deck of the craft. 'We set it up in the cargo bay,' he explained, as they reached a pair of double doors.

'Really?' The Doctor sounded suspicious. 'Why's that, then?'

Hespell activated the door controls and the answer became obvious. At the rear of the room was an ugly-looking metal machine which was giving off a terrible stench.

'It's a bit. . . antisocial,' apologised Hespell.

'Antisocial? That's an understatement!' Despite the foul smell the Doctor approached the machine to look at it more closely. 'Is this really what I think it is?'

'It's a micro-fusion generator,' Hespell admitted. The Doctor looked seriously unhappy. 'Technology that is banned on most civilised planets. What on earth is this monstrosity doing here?'

Hespell looked a little embarra.s.sed. 'It was the smallest but most effective back-up power source. Apparently.'

'Smallest and dirtiest,' the Doctor retorted, glaring at it with an intensity that would have made most people want to shrivel up and die on the spot. 'Where are the coolant filters?'

78.'There, er, aren't any.' Hespell couldn't even look him in the eye now.

'So where are you venting the '

The Doctor broke off as he spotted the answer to his own question. From the rear of the machine a pair of clear hoses were carrying dirty yellow liquid away. The hoses led to a hatch in the wall of the room. The Doctor ran over to examine it.

'Tell me this leads to some kind of safe waste-disposal system,' he demanded sternly, fearing the worst.

Hespell shook his head, keeping his eyes directed at the floor.

'It just goes outside,' he said in a quiet voice. The Doctor got to his feet and moved swiftly to the door. 'I need to speak to Professor Shulough,' he announced, and disappeared before Hespell could stop him.

The professor and Kendle were in the lab, looking over the latest scan results, when the door burst open and the Doctor spilled into the room, like a force of nature.

'Come in,' said the professor sarcastically.

'You have to shut down that generator,' the Doctor said in a voice that suggested any argument would be a waste of time.

'I'm sorry?'

'You're pouring toxic waste on to this planet's surface, in violation of every rule in the book. You have to shut it down.' The Doctor's eyes burned with pa.s.sion. He couldn't believe how stupid and irresponsible these humans were being.

'We're a long way from the Empire's courts, Doctor. This far from home, we have to make our own rules.'

'I thought you were looking for paradise? Do you want to destroy it before you've had a chance to look around?'

Professor Shulough just shook her head. 'Don't be so melodramatic, Doctor. It's a big planet. Even if we run the generator for a week, it's only a drop in the ocean.'

The Doctor looked aghast. 'How dare you? You're visitors here. Can't you treat the planet with some respect?'

79.The professor crossed her arms and leaned back on her console, preparing herself for a long argument, but she never got her chance as Hespell came running into the room.

Kendle sighed. 'Doesn't anyone knock any more?'

'Sorry, sir,' gasped Hespell, 'but they're back. The creatures. And this time there are more of them!'

On the bridge the repairs had progressed well and the full complement of hull cameras were now operational again. And the view screen showed that Hespell was right at least a dozen of the creatures were emerging from the inky black of the forest. The cameras switched to infrared and they could see them in more detail as they swarmed towards the s.h.i.+p.

'Break out the small arms,' Kendle ordered, and led the way to the armoury, which was a large cupboard at the rear of the bridge. When unlocked, this proved to be stuffed to the gills with various kinds of handguns and other weapons. The Doctor recognised the stun blaster that Hespell had used on him earlier.

'Stun settings only,' he suggested, not wis.h.i.+ng to be part of a ma.s.sacre.