Part 31 (1/2)

Beyond its tight dimensional gate, the s.h.i.+p's interior opened out impossibly. Its s.p.a.cious console room was gloomy and neglected. A cobweb lifted and rippled on the central console. Several panels had been lifted off to expose the complex inner circuitry.

The Doctor tore away the cobweb and blew off the dust. Instantly, the sluggish hum of power edged up a tone. A gold light began to glimmer weakly behind the honeycomb of roundels that covered the wal s.

The place felt welcoming.

The Doctor put down his bag.

There were banks of instruments around the room and a couple of overturned chairs. Beyond a door, there was the glimpse of a shadowy pa.s.sage leading deeper.

133.

[image]

He pondered the control panels with a degree of glee and selected the bra.s.s b.u.t.ton marked DOOR.

There was no response. The power was all but drained. The light guttered and the s.h.i.+p's hum died.

The Doctor drummed his fingers in frustration.

Something whooshed. The black box was suddenly hovering beside him.

'Yes, I wondered when you'd catch up with me,' he said. 'So you think you can come along too, do you? Well, that's all very wel , my friend. But since we have neither the luxury of a pilot nor of any power, perhaps you can suggest a way to fly this thing.'

The box whirred. Its lid opened a crack. The white furnace inside winked at him. He could feel its energy softly saturating the air.

The s.h.i.+p gradually began to hum again. A more confident, a.s.sertive hum. The light in the room began to rise. A screen attached to the ceiling flickered into life, showing a group of Agency guards moving methodically across the dock area outside. One of them carried a gun.

The Doctor pressed the DOOR b.u.t.ton again. This time, the heavy double doors buzzed and swung shut. The central gla.s.s column of the console juddered. The complex instruments inside turned back and forth. Lights twinkled among the circuits.

By now, the s.h.i.+p was throbbing with energy. 'Remarkable, remarkable!' enthused the Doctor. 'All this power, from an ancient antiquity!'

There was a loud clang. On the screen, he could see the guards gathering around the s.h.i.+p.

'Well, it appears that my future is in your hands ... or should I say Hand, eh? Hmm?' His shoulders heaved with little gusts of mirth.

A light showed beside an unmarked dial. The Doctor glanced at the box. It gleeped at him. He reached out and gave the dial a twist.

The air grated with the roar of engines. An undulating grinding like something tearing open the fabric of reality. The gla.s.s column rose and fell, its inner carousel of instruments turning. Switches and levers adjusted by themselves.

The s.h.i.+p jolted and the screen picture vanished.

The Doctor turned pale and fell against one of the chairs.

Then the commotion stopped. The column sank and fell silent. The light dimmed and a voice spoke out of the air.

134.

'This s.h.i.+p is on an unauthorized vector. Transportation into the Backtime of the Gallifreyan continuum is forbidden.

You are being tractored back to Time Traffic Control for further questioning.'

The Doctor, already on hands and knees, turned to the box. 'Where were you taking me? Hmm?'

The s.h.i.+p shook and the light turned red.

'Well? This is a fine pickle,' he complained. 'So what do you intend to do about it?'

The box rose steadily in the air. It whirred across the console room and hovered its bulk above the gla.s.s column.

The air started to thrum. The Doctor covered his ears as red light flickered around him.

'Warning!' He could still hear the voice. 'The resistance of a recal summons is an offence. You cannot breach the Backtime Field Buffers. Abandon this vector immediately!'

A trembling seized the s.h.i.+p. Forces wrenched at its structure. The box opened its lid wide.

'Warning! Contact with the Backtime Field Buffers will disengage the dimensions of this s.h.i.+p. Retur-'

The box gave a shriek. The Doctor hit the floor as an icy sunburst engulfed the room.

The flower of white flame hung for a moment. Then s.p.a.ce and other dimensions outside time folded around it and tucked it neatly out of harm's way.

The Doctor lay on his back staring at the ceiling. The steady hum of the TARDIS was gently soothing.

He sat up. The gla.s.s column rose and fell with the pulse of flight. Lozenges of vortical light streaked across the scanner.

'Well,' he said, feeling for broken bones, 'and where exactly are you taking me?'

The box edged in beside him. It clucked and chirruped with something resembling a contented familiarity.

He looked startled. 'Home? What do you mean ”home”? I don't want to go home. I can never go home again.'

135.

Chapter Twenty-three.

Old Mole

Innocet dabbed at the Doctor's forehead with his scarf. He was propped against the wall and was stil s.h.i.+vering.

He opened an eye.

'All right,' she said. 'I accept that you were nowhere near the House when Quences was murdered.'

'We al saw me. I could have come back.'