Part 13 (1/2)

'No,' he replied.

'No, we don't go free?'

'No, you don't survive,' he explained. 'It's a death sentence.' He stepped into the flitter. 'I'd wish you luck,' he said, 'but you'd have no use for it. The best you can hope for is a quick shot in the back of the head.'

The flitter rose, humming, into the scarlet sky, scattering flocks of reptiles in all directions. Within seconds, it was gone. The background noises of the 81jungle, the hisses and clatters, the cries and the rustles, slowly filled in the silence left behind.

s.p.a.ceport Five was suspended on the tops of five huge towers. They reared above the parkland of the Overcity, casting a disc of shadow on the towers beneath that gave the Overcity dwellers a taste of what the Undertown must be like.

Cwej stood at the edge of the s.p.a.ceport, watching the s.h.i.+ps come and go.

A Draconian wars.h.i.+p was just taking off, its turquoise fins unfurling as it rose, the sun glinting from the inlaid insignia that decorated its flanks. The s.p.a.ce that it left was only empty for a few seconds before a Thanatosian freighter lurched unsteadily in to land, venting coolant fumes from its engines. Two Antonine a.s.sa.s.sins sat, side by side, on the edge of the field, their sharp lines and impressive armaments drawing an admiring crowd of s.h.i.+p-spotters. Craft of a thousand different designs and types of propulsion jostled for position in the skies above, turning the air into a rainbow haze of warped s.p.a.ce and s.h.i.+fted probabilities.

'Got it!' Forrester trotted up to his side, waving a centcomp printout. 'The scheduler didn't want to give it over, so I had to threaten to fine him for being uncooperative.'

'You can't do that,' he said, wondering how she could get away with flouting the rules so flagrantly, time and time again. 'We're on leave.'

'Yeah,' she said, not in the least defensive, 'but he didn't know that.'

Cwej sighed, and ran his tongue across his sharp predator's teeth. 'So what's the story then?'

'According to centcomp, they bought tickets to Purgatory.'

He blinked in surprise. 'Purgatory? But that's '

'The Landsknecht planet. I know.'

He gazed out across the field again. He'd always wanted to leave the Earth, but this this . . . . . .

'So we follow them?' he whispered.

'They're our prime suspects,' Forrester said. 'Of course we follow them. I booked two tickets on a Falardi pa.s.senger liner. They can drop us off at Goreki X. We pick up a supply shuttle from there. It's the quickest way, and its also the least likely. If Adjudicator Secular Ras.h.i.+d wants to recall us, she'll have to find us first, and she'll be expecting us to take the tourist shuttle.'

'She'll just ask centcomp where we are,' Cwej murmured, trying to convince himself that this was a bad idea.

'I thought of that.' Forrester was short-tempered. 'I pulled in a favour: got my sister to book the tickets. Difficult to trace.'

Cwej frowned, and ran a paw through the fur on his forehead.82.

'But what about the price?' he asked. 'Isn't it expensive? I'm only on a basic salary, you know?'

'Don't worry,' she said neutrally. 'It's covered.'

'But don't we . . . ?'

'Look!' she snapped, 'I don't necessarily want to do this any more than you do, but we both took the Adjudicator's oath, and I still remember something about swearing to do everything in my power to uphold justice. So, like it or not, I'm getting on that Falardi s.h.i.+p. Coming?'

There was something about her tone of voice that caught his attention. He turned to look at her. She was looking away from the s.p.a.cecraft with her arms folded across her chest. Her knuckles were white.

'What's the matter?' he asked.

'Nothing,' she snapped.

'Come on, what is it?'

She looked sideways up at him. Her lips were a thin line, and two bright spots of colour burned in her cheeks. 'I hate aliens,' she said quietly. 'Especially the Falardi.'

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'But . . . but they're just like you and me. I mean '

She shook her head. 'You don't understand,' she said. 'A Falardi killed Fenn Martle, my partner. I've hated them ever since.'

Bernice's heart was pumping, and she felt faint. She didn't mind facing death; she'd done it often enough before. It was the fact that she didn't know why that hurt. It was the fact that she might die in ignorance.

'Bright ideas?' the Doctor asked.

Bernice sat down in the centre of the clearing. She could feel eyes watching her from all around. The knowledge that they were up against the armed might of an entire planet weighed her down; she felt like crawling into a ball and going to sleep. For ever, if necessary. She just didn't want to move.

'Give up?' she ventured.

'I'm over a thousand years old,' the Doctor said, looking around. 'If I'd given up, where would I be now?'

'Well,' she snapped, 'you wouldn't be standing in the middle of a killer jungle, with an expanse of acidic ice on one side and a ruined city full of mind-sucking wraiths on the other, waiting for a load of gun-toting morons to blow your head off.'

'You're being defeatist,' he chided. 'Come on.'

He held out a hand. After a few seconds, she reached out to take it.

'Never say die,' he said, pulling her to her feet.

'Even if everything inside you wants to say it?' she asked.83.

'Especially then,' he smiled.

She breathed deeply, then pulled the diminutive Time Lord to her and hugged him tightly. 'Doctor . . . ?'

'Yes,' he said, a smile crossing his face. 'I know.'

Somewhere above them, Bernice could make out a descending whine.

'Flitter,' said the Doctor. 'That'll be the troops. There's only one chance.'

'What's that?'

'I don't know yet, but there's always one chance. Let's try and find out what it is.'

Taking her hand, he led the way into the jungle. Within moments, the fleshy foliage had closed around them. Bernice couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction. The leaves were warm to the touch, and flinched as she pushed her way past.

A sudden whine in her ear made her jerk her head away. A dartlike shape whizzed past her, so close that she could feel the breeze of its pa.s.sage. The insect halted in mid-air a few feet away, eyes glittering as it studied her.

'Don't move,' the Doctor hissed.