Part 41 (1/2)

'And if you were to attack me?' the Doctor asked.

Computer didn't respond.

'Answer the Doctor's question,' Ferran told it.

'One shot from any of our weapons systems will destroy Atlantis Atlantis. If Atlantis Atlantis merely collided with our defence screens there would be a major hull breach on the human craft and it would be rendered inoperative.' merely collided with our defence screens there would be a major hull breach on the human craft and it would be rendered inoperative.'

There was a moment's hesitation from the Doctor.

'Gosh, how impressive,' he said finally. 'And a voice-activated computer, too. Keyed to your voice patterns and only your voice patterns?'

'That's right.

The Doctor's face beamed. 'How marvellous.'

'I have you in my sights. Do you have any last words?'

'Actually, yes, I do. Computer,' the Doctor said, imitating Ferran's voice precisely, 'deactivate all s.h.i.+p defences and all systems not essential for the support of life for twenty minutes. This order cannot be countermanded.'

'I obey,' Computer said, before shutting itself down along with the rest of the s.h.i.+p.

The lights all over the surface of Ferran's s.h.i.+p dimmed right down.

The Doctor threw his head back and laughed. 'Typical master criminal: loves the sound of his own voice.'

'That's a quote from Blackadder Blackadder, isn't it?' Debbie asked.

The Doctor grinned. 'No, not really. This is a different thing: it's spontaneous and it's called wit.' He checked his pocket watch. 'Commander, we have nineteen and a quarter minutes left. I suggest we take advantage of them.'

The commander nodded over to the pilot. 'Commence landing sequence.'

There were clanks, an unwelcome sense of movement as retro rockets fired. The s.p.a.ce shuttle drifted into the hangar bay of the alien craft. There was emergency lighting on, signs of activity. But no guards, not yet.

'Undercarriage down,' the pilot reported.

'Clear for landing,' the commander acknowledged. Then, like a light being turned on, there was gravity. Atlantis Atlantis lurched a little as the undercarriage took the weight. Strapped into their seats, they were no more shaken than they would be by the lurch as a train comes into a station. Going from nought to eleven stone took the breath from Debbie for a moment, though. lurched a little as the undercarriage took the weight. Strapped into their seats, they were no more shaken than they would be by the lurch as a train comes into a station. Going from nought to eleven stone took the breath from Debbie for a moment, though.

The crew began flicking switches, shutting the s.h.i.+p down. A well-rehea.r.s.ed routine, Debbie a.s.sumed.

The Doctor was already out of his seat, seemingly untroubled by the return to gravity.

'We will stay here and get ready for a quick getaway,' the commander told him, beginning to unstrap himself. 'Mather is going with you.'

The Doctor was waving his hands at them. 'That isn't necessary, I '

'You don't have time to argue. Doctor: you need a combat specialist, and Mather is a member of Delta Force.'

'That's like the SAS, isn't it?' Debbie asked, dim memories of Barry's military magazines coming back. 'What are you doing in s.p.a.ce?'

'That's cla.s.sified,' Mather said, curtly.

'He's launching a military satellite,' the Doctor said. 'A prototype deuterium-fluorine laser weapon connected with an SDI programme the American public thinks has been cancelled.'

The commander and Mather looked at each other and then at the Doctor.

'I saw your mission objectives,' he explained.

'A laser? Could we use it against Ferran?' Debbie asked.

The Doctor gave a sly laugh. 'No, won't work properly.'

'That's what we came up here to test,' Mather said curtly.

'Oh, any fool can see the mirror on it's all wrong. You should have asked me before you launched it off into s.p.a.ce you'd have saved yourself some money. Eighteen minutes. Are you coming or not?'

Chapter Twenty-five.

Power to the People Cate sat silently opposite Miranda, staring ahead.

Miranda wondered what thoughts were going through the woman's head. It was clear that whatever a 'micro-relay' was and however many Cate had in her head, the effect was to create something indistinguishable from the workings of an organic brain. Miranda found it easier to understand Cate's thought processes than those of Ferran.

They were the only two pa.s.sengers in the travel tube. The hangars were about halfway along the s.h.i.+p, so the journey should take only a couple of minutes. Those minutes were a long time coming.

'Ferran has the interests of his people at heart,' Cate insisted.

Miranda must have had the oddest expression on her face, because Cate immediately followed it up with, 'He wants to keep the Empire together; he wants to maintain the rule of law.'

'He just said he was was the law,' Miranda reminded her. 'He tortured you, abused you. He treats you like his property.' the law,' Miranda reminded her. 'He tortured you, abused you. He treats you like his property.'

'There is no other way. Think about it, Miranda think of the difficulties there are of maintaining such a vast empire. Do you know how much power is needed for intergalactic travel? Even using dimension drives, it needs the rarest fuel sources, the most skilled technicians.'

'Perhaps the Empire is too large, then.'

'You would split it up, break it down into administrative areas? A recipe for rivalry and conflict. Above all, there must be one leader, one authority.'

'Or no leaders at all,' Miranda said. 'Do you know what gramdan gramdan is?' is?'

'No.'

'I've just been to India. It's a scheme that Gandhi thought up.'

'Those names mean nothing to me.'

'No, I'm sure they don't. But their ideas perhaps you don't need an empire at all. You need local communities, ones that run themselves. India's a large country, with all sorts of religions and races, but it's also a democracy. It's not perfect. But nowhere is, I don't think.'