Part 18 (1/2)

'Then what?' Chris asked, more earnestly. Childish as Dr 138 Who's rants seemed, he couldn't help but think about Detrios and wonder if this strange man might provide the solution to that world's difficulties.

'Then we topple the administration, enabling the rebel leader to take charge.'

'What happens if the rebel leader mistreats the people too?'

'Then,' said Dr Who, 'we go back a few years later and do the same thing again.'

'Oh.'

'You still don't understand, do you?'

Chris had to admit that he didn't understand. He didn't understand anything. He returned to his room (at least that offered him some familiarity) and lay on the bed as his confused mind worked over the events of the day.

It wouldn't sink in. The Doctor whom he had known and trusted for a few months now was actually a cunning, malicious copy of the real thing, this 'Dr Who'. That didn't ring true.

After all, the Doctor had tried to do real good on Earth, and had succeeded to some extent. He had faced down the decidedly unpleasant Zamps too and . . . well, despite his occasional secrecy, he had always seemed the most honest and kind person that Chris had ever met.

But then, there was the matter of Detrios and the Doctor's attempted destruction thereof. It wasn't just that Dr Who had made that claim - Chris had worked the whole thing out already and knew it to be almost certainly true. And then there was the gun-toting woman who had laid into Jason at that restaurant place. He was still a little hazy about that, but if it really had been Ace - of whom he had heard the Doctor speak often - then that was one more point in the newcomer's favour.

What Chris needed right now, he decided, was a healthy dose of Roz Forrester's brand of common sense and stoic realism.

What he really didn't need was a visitor.

'I thought I'd better introduce myself properly, now that we're both Dr Who's companions. I'm Jason.'

'I know. Chris Cwej.' They shook hands. Chris's eyes 139 narrowed. 'You look a lot better.'

'Dr Who has a healing machine in the TARDIS.'

That reminded Chris of something which had been nagging at him. 'Dr Who's TARDIS, you say?'

Jason forestalled the inevitable question. 'The evil Doctor stole it. Dr Who only managed to get it back recently, when he tracked down his mortal enemy and confronted him in one final, bloodcurdling . . . erm, confrontation.' He made a series of vocal explosion noises as his hands chased and smacked into each other in a pitiful reconstruction of the battle he was describing. Chris stared and revised his approximation of Jason's age downwards.

'Where is the Doctor now?'

'Oh, Dr Who took him to Galactic Prison.'

'Where's that?'

'But he tried to escape and got killed.'

'He what?'

Jason nodded as if it was all but trivia. 'A couple of his women, too. Bernice and . . . oh, what was her name?'

Chris could feel b.u.t.terflies in his stomach. He clutched Jason's sleeve. 'Roz?'

'What?'

'Roslyn Forrester? Was it her?'

'Don't think so.' Jason's face cleared. 'Oh, I remember.

Forrester. She was the one we couldn't find.' He shrugged. 'I don't know what happened to her.'

'We've got to find her!'

'I know. Before she does any more harm.'

'No. She's my partner. She was . . . taken in by the Doctor like I was.' The words didn't sound right.

'Ah well,' Jason said. 'You've reformed now, that's the main thing.' Chris opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again.

Jason turned to leave. 'I'll see you later. I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun adventures together.'

'I'm sure,' said Chris half-heartedly.

It took five minutes after Jason's departure for the impact of the Doctor's and Benny's deaths to hit him. He wanted to cry, 140 but he couldn't. He felt too numb; detached.

Chris wished again that Roz was here. Or, failing that, Kat'lanna. He needed someone to talk to.

Kat was a little put out when she saw that her colleagues had gathered in her secret hideaway, the hut. The feeling didn't last, though. The location seemed fitting - and certainly safer than her last idea. She wondered why she hadn't thought of it herself.

She was even happier when she saw who was responsible for bringing the rebels together here. She pushed her way through the crowded room and flung her arms around Thruskarr's neck.

The lizard man's uniform was still a mess, but physically he seemed to have recovered from the attack. It was several seconds before she remembered Christopher and felt a pang of guilt.

There were thirty-plus people - humans and lizards - packed into the building. Thruskarr and Rokk had taken the lead and Kat was glad to contribute without the additional burden of such responsibility.

'Enros's image has been badly shaken,' Rokk announced, using Kat's mattress to gain height. Even standing on bare floorboards, Thruskarr towered over him. 'Just a segment ago, a pink-skinned alien fell into his clutches.' A gasp rose from those who hadn't been aware of this.

'As you know,' explained Thruskarr, 'Enros has long claimed that he is wors.h.i.+pped on all other worlds. The alien could have provided proof that this was a lie.'

Rokk took up the story again. 'The only way he could save face was to denounce the alien as a servant of Evil. He tried to sacrifice him, but the alien's friends spirited him from right under our neighbourhood deity's nose. It must have shaken a few of the faithful!'

'Which makes this the best time to attack!' announced Thruskarr with gusto.

'More than that,' Rokk said, laying a steadying hand on the lizard's arm. His eyes gleamed. 'Myrg and I have spent some days undercover amongst the cultists. We know that Enros is 141 planning to take over!'

That was met with even more astonishment than the announcement of Christopher's existence. Even Kat had not known about this development. 'But he practically controls the planet already,' she said.

'And now,' said Rokk, 'he wants it all! He's got enough followers. They're about to sweep him into power!'

'Who cares?' someone spoke up. 'He can't make things worse. Let 'em kill the rulers!'

Rokk seized upon his words. 'That's just the point. We let the cultists and the Ruling Family start their war, then we move in and finish it.'