Part 35 (2/2)

'Affirmative. Channel is clear.'

The Doctor a.s.sumed his most commanding tones. 'h.e.l.lo. This is the Doctor calling the citizens of Metralubit. I'm afraid I have to leave you. In fact, by the time you get this I'll be well away. I would have tried to save you but there was just no time, and I'm afraid you will shortly be at the mercy of the invading Hive. One more thing, and this is very important. You must destroy the transmat system in the dome immediately. It is imperative the invaders do not reach the transmat system. They could wreak terrible havoc with such technology at their disposal.' He signalled to K9 to break the link.

'Message transmitted, Master,' said K9.

The Doctor raised his crossed fingers to Romana. 'Let's hope it works. I don't want a band of teleporting marauding insects on my conscience.'

Romana shook her head at the Doctor's inventiveness. 'Very clever. You lure the Hive to Metralubit.'

'That's right.'

'And then what do you do? What will stop them using the transmat? It's a non-terminal system - they could leapfrog their way into populated galaxies in a hundred years or so.'

The Doctor pointed up. The Hive was already s.h.i.+fting slightly, its underside crackling and throbbing where it nudged the heavy clouds. 'There it goes.'

Romana sighed. 'Do you answer the question: or do I employ physical violence?'

'Oh, I'll answer it in a moment,' he said casually. 'If I can think of an answer.'

... have to leave you. In fact, by the time you get this I'll be well away...

The words sliced through the fetid air of the main chamber, killing any hope the Darkness had left.

Without the TARDIS we are doomed, cried the Onemind, filled with vengeful thoughts. cried the Onemind, filled with vengeful thoughts.

But listen, cautioned the Onememory. He has said, 'You must destroy the He has said, 'You must destroy the transmat system in the dome immediately. It is imperative the invaders do transmat system in the dome immediately. It is imperative the invaders do not reach the transmat system.' not reach the transmat system.'

What is transmat? cried the unfed millions. cried the unfed millions. We need food! We need food!

The transmat will bring food, said the Onememory. It linked itself to the Glute-screen with the power left to it and brought forth sticky images of creatures vanis.h.i.+ng and reappearing across vast distances of s.p.a.ce. said the Onememory. It linked itself to the Glute-screen with the power left to it and brought forth sticky images of creatures vanis.h.i.+ng and reappearing across vast distances of s.p.a.ce. This This can be ours. It is at our mercy. We can simply take it. can be ours. It is at our mercy. We can simply take it.

The Onemind pondered a few moments. The Hive had made it a policy to avoid sophisticated societies, fearing detection and retaliation to its advances. That was why it had engineered feeding colonies such as the one on Metralubit. But now the gate was open to such a device, with fewer than three hundred beasts to defend it against their full might...

We must hurry there, it said. it said.

Hurry, hurry, chanted the dissociated hordes. chanted the dissociated hordes.

The Doctor sat on a rock, staring into nothingness. 'I keep waiting for inspiration to strike,' he said. 'But nothing's coming through. This must be how it feels to be a poet.'

'I shouldn't think many poets have had to cope with an army of flesh-eating bugs,' said Romana, who was also sitting on a rock and staring into nothingness.

'Urgency is a relative concept,' said the Doctor. He turned to her excitedly.

'Wait a moment. What did you just say?'

'I said I shouldn't think many poets have had to cope with an army of flesh-eating bugs,' she said, scanning his face for what had caused such an extreme reaction to her words.

'I thought so,' he said sinking back on the rock.

'Thought what?'

'Thought that if I leapt up and cried ”What did you just say?” it might make you feel better about this situation for a few seconds, in the belief that I was formulating a plan based on some casual remark that you'd made, and that it might inspire you to think of something on your own.'

'But it hasn't,' said Romana.

'No. Sorry.' He pa.s.sed her a crumpled string bag. 'Have one of these. Let's work out our advantages and disadvantages.'

Romana munched on a chocolate coin. 'We can't reach the TARDIS in time to reach Metralubit and set the transmat. There's n.o.body there we can contact who can operate the machine, and even if there was the Hive would pick up our message and find out our plan. Our only allies -' she pointed to the a.s.sorted company of humans and Chelonians huddled in the valley '- are equally bereft of means or inspiration.'

'Right, now the advantages,' said the Doctor.

There was a long silence. The wind blew by.

And then K9 spoke. 'Master, Mistress.'

The Doctor leapt off his rock and crawled over on all fours opposite K9. 'I don't want to hear this unless it's some miraculous solution that we've overlooked.'

K9 clicked and beeped. 'This may be the case. The answer lies in my construction.'

'It does?'

'The Femdroids were created in my image,' said K9. 'Their internal mechanisms are roughly a.n.a.logous to my own. And one of my capabilities is to respond to high-frequency coded commands.'

'Of course!' said Romana. 'The whistle.'

'What's that got to do with anything?' said the Doctor. 'These Femdroid things have had their power linkage and command circuitry blown up. A whistle won't bring them back to life.'

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