Part 17 (2/2)

'Under Order regulations '

'Wait!' The Doctor's voice cut through the babble. When everybody was staring at him, openmouthed, he continued. 'The most important thing is to prevent any more deaths. That takes precedence over everything.'

Beltempest nodded slowly, followed by Forrester.

'So, if you have to question us over this murder on Earth, do so. But do it quickly. It's important that I get to work on whatever is causing this this mutation in the human brain.'

'What's your suggestion?' Forrester said quietly.

'Question us here. Then, when you've cleared us, let us stay.'

Bernice shot him a baleful glance. Purgatory was the last place in the universe she wanted to be at the moment.

'No can do,' Forrester said. 'We need access to centcomp files.'

'Then take one of them back to Earth,' Beltempest suggested. 'The woman, for preference. Leave the man here to work with us. Just make sure you return the woman, if she's found innocent. We still have a use for her.' At Bernice's frown, he shrugged. 'Justice must take its course,' he added. 'Your sentence has merely been suspended, not abandoned.'

Forrester considered for a few moments, then consulted quietly with her teddy bear partner. 'Agreed,' she said finally. 'The woman comes with us.

The man stays. I suggest that neither you nor we do anything . . . precipitous without consulting the other.'

'Agreed,' said Beltempest.

The Doctor sighed, and gazed sadly over at Bernice.

'Don't forget to write,' he said.

106.

Chapter 8.

'I'm Evan Claple and this is The Empire Today The Empire Today , on the spot, on and , on the spot, on and off the Earth. Today's headlines: the riots that began yesterday in the off the Earth. Today's headlines: the riots that began yesterday in the Asian Undertown continue. Three battalions of Adjudicators have Asian Undertown continue. Three battalions of Adjudicators have already been sent in to calm the situation, and the Imperial Landsknechte are reported to be standing by. Eyewitnesses claim that the already been sent in to calm the situation, and the Imperial Landsknechte are reported to be standing by. Eyewitnesses claim that the riots began after an underdweller was ejected from an Overcity shop riots began after an underdweller was ejected from an Overcity shop and proceeded to open fire upon shoppers. Also, as investigations and proceeded to open fire upon shoppers. Also, as investigations continue into the tragic orbital laser cannon blast that killed sixty continue into the tragic orbital laser cannon blast that killed sixty thousand people in the s.p.a.ceport Eighteen Overcity, thousand people in the s.p.a.ceport Eighteen Overcity, The Empire Today The Empire Today has learned that the incident may not have been an accident. has learned that the incident may not have been an accident.

Details after the break . . . '

'This is ridiculous!' the Doctor snapped, stamping his foot on the floor of Beltempest's office. The carpet of Cerumenian whispering moss absorbed the noise and transformed it into a ripple of turquoise light that raced across the room and rebounded from the walls, forming an intricate interference pattern.

Beltempest, lounging in the recliner behind his desk, tried to keep a straight face, but the slight twitch of his large ears betrayed him.

'Necessary, I'm afraid,' he said, trying to make his voice sound regretful. 'If any Imperial Landsknechte see you wandering around in your . . . habitual attire, then they'll shoot first '

' and ask questions afterwards,' the Doctor growled.

'No.' Beltempest shook his head. 'We don't encourage questions in the Landsknechte. They'll just shoot first. Security takes priority over everything.'

The Doctor looked down at the s.h.i.+ny black uniform that Beltempest had forced him, almost at gunpoint, to climb into. His own clothes sat in a forlorn pile beside him.

'I'm going to need a tin-opener to get out of this.'

Beltempest levered himself out from behind his desk and circled the Doctor, tugging on fastenings and checking embedded circuitry.

'Well, I've seen better, but you'll do,' he said finally.

'But my face doesn't even fit!' the Doctor wailed. 'Your Landsknechte look like somebody has lacquered their flesh. I've still got skin like a baby, and I want to keep it that way!'

107.'You'll get some second glances,' Beltempest said firmly, 'but the uniform should keep you alive, and there's a built-in transponder that will allow you into the labs and nowhere else.'

The Doctor's crumpled face glowered up at him. 'What about the rest rooms?' he said.

'This isn't a holiday camp,' Beltempest snapped.

The Doctor reached down and picked up his hat. 'A question,' he said, cramming the battered fedora on his head.

Beltempest briefly debated knocking it off again, but the Doctor's expression made him rethink At least the strange little man had got into the uniform. Let him have his little victory. 'Go ahead.'

'If the mere fact that I am attired in one of these obnoxious costumes renders me safe in the eyes of your guards, and enables me to enter high security areas such as your laboratories, then what's to stop some intruder from stealing one and pretending to be a Landsknecht?'

'Didn't I mention?' Beltempest smiled, picking up a small metal box from his desk. 'The uniforms are bioengineered from an arthropod that lives on one of the moons of Threllinius Omega. Brainless, and consequently very loyal. Their nervous systems are surprisingly compatible with electronic augmentation.

That's a rarity in the galaxy. We grow them into uniforms, and then key them to a particular wearer.' He pointed the box at the Doctor and pressed a recessed b.u.t.ton. The uniform s.h.i.+vered slightly. 'That's your suit now. If anybody else tries to wear it, they'll set off alarms all over Purgatory.' He gestured towards the door. 'And it will rip them to shreds as well. Shall we go?'

'Oh, let's,' the Doctor muttered sourly, and preceded Beltempest out into the corridor.

The laboratory block was a short flitter ride away: a large, faceted building that shone like a jewel in the light of Purgatory's sun. The administrative sector of the Imperial Landsknecht planet was probably the most attractive of all the different environments, Beltempest thought, as the flitter spiralled down towards a landing pad on the roof. The white lawn stretched as far away as the eye could see, interrupted every few kilometres by mountainous buildings, each fas.h.i.+oned by a different architect, each the pinnacle of a particular school of design. It was no wonder that Purgatory was one of the chief tourist spots in the Empire.

The flitter came to a gentle rest on the top of the laboratory building, and the pilot opened the doors. Beltempest led the Doctor who was limping in his Landsknecht boots to the nearest null-grav lift, and down to the laboratory that had been set aside for him to work.

108.The Landsknechte that they pa.s.sed in the lift and in the corridors saluted Beltempest, and cast odd glances at the Doctor. Still, at least they weren't firing at him.

The laboratory was hemispherical, with enhanced scanner and presentation facilities in the segments of the ceiling, capable of displaying simularities of anything in the Imperial Landsknecht computers. Beltempest had guessed that the Doctor would be requiring them. Various items of equipment scavenged from other labs or pulled out of storage sat around the edges of the room. Beltempest couldn't identify half of them. Fazakerli's body lay on a trolley in the centre, in case the Doctor wished to continue his impromptu autopsy. A medbot loomed over it, looking like an explosion of insectile arms tipped with laser scalpels, repulsor field generators, scanners and plain, old-fas.h.i.+oned clamps. n.o.body had bothered to cover the body up.

The Doctor's gaze roamed over the entire room. It seemed to Beltempest that he was taking in every detail: every panel, every rivet, every b.u.mp in the walls.

'Very well,' he said finally. 'I've seen better, but this should do. For the moment.'

'Where do you want to start?' Beltempest prompted.

'How about a cup of lapsang souchong?'

Beltempest frowned. 'I don't think the cafeteria is set up to provide this ”lapsang souchong”.'

'I can't do anything without a decent cup of tea.' The Doctor folded his arms and stared up into the domed ceiling until Beltempest, with a m.u.f.fled curse, started rooting around amongst the items of equipment lining the walls for something that could provide refreshments.

It took ten minutes for Beltempest to locate an old refreshment bot, patch it into the main computer and search the database for a reference to the chemical composition of 'lapsang souchong'. It seemed to Beltempest to be a tisane of some sort an infusion of leaves in hot water. Intriguing. Beltempest thought he knew all the various tisanes used in the Empire. He would have to try this one himself.

<script>