Part 24 (1/2)

'Move aside!'

'I will not.'

Scowling, Bishop leapt forward and grabbed Tiw around the waist with one hand. Without holstering his gun, or taking his eyes off the glimmering phenomenon, Bishop dragged the little man from the chamber and threw him bodily into the Pit. The light grew closer. Without even pausing to catch his breath, an ever more difficult prospect in the thinning atmosphere, Bishop dived in after him.

Christine stared down at the executive transporter bay from an observation gallery thirty metres above the floor. Below her, technicians were preparing a long*range executive transporter for launch. Across the far side of the bay, a s.h.i.+mmering window of electric blue in the wall looked like an upended lake.

'What is that?' she asked.

Beside her hovered Legion, in a multiplicity of bodies, all of which somehow gave the impression of looking directly at her.

'An osmotic field,' it replied, ba.s.so and treble in harmony. 'It keeps the air in and the vacuum out. I'm told that humans prefer it that way.'

'And IMC market it? I'm impressed. Technology has moved on since we left Earth.'

'IMC want to market it,' Legion corrected. 'My people lease the rights to IMC for a substantial sum. One of the many dimensional technologies that IMC court us for.'

Christine's gaze travelled downwards to where the slab*sided long*range executive transporter was being refitted and refuelled.

'There's no way I'm going anywhere in that shuttle. If my mother wants me off the Project, she can d.a.m.n well go through channels and see how far it gets her.'

'But, Krau LaFayette, your female progenitor has gone through channels. With Earth in receivers.h.i.+p, control of Project Eden transfers to the Earth Alliance of Corporations. Being head of the Board of Directors, as well as a major stockholder in said company, your female progenitor has complete control over mission profile and personnel.'

'I don't believe it. We've been out here too long and risked too much for Earth Central to give up on us now.'

'Earth Central no longer exists. My brief is to reorganize the Project along more efficient and profitable lines. Prompt action is required to salvage what might otherwise turn into a most embarra.s.sing financial debacle.'

'Action? What action? And what about the people?'

There was a momentary pause.

'In light of the current financial situation, all employment contracts have been terminated.'

'What about the Project? You can't s.h.i.+p us all home now!'

'You are correct. Sufficient funding for transport of non*essential personnel does not exist.'

Christine gaped. 'What do you '

'Please excuse me. There are things I must attend to.'

A uniformed officer walked along the gallery towards them. His face was pocked with scars from one of the many auto*immune diseases that were still rife on Earth.

'Staff Officer Atrimonides will make sure every comfort is provided for your journey home.'

Legion wrapped itself into five separate knots and shrank to nothing.

Piper O'Rourke sank to the floor, her chest heaving, unable to draw breath. The air. The air was going. That was it, then. It had all been for nothing; the fear, the guilt, the deaths... All for nothing. She slipped sideways and felt a familiar coaming beneath her hand. The airlock! She had come full circle.

Dragging herself to her feet, Piper stumbled across the threshold of the chamber. All she had to do now was 'Piper O'Rourke. I know you're in there.'

The Doctor.

'You can stop running now. I'm nine hundred and forty*three, and that's far too old to be chasing around like a S'ss'arian gyeet.'

'What!' Despite herself, Piper yelped with surprise. 'You're never ' She stopped, abruptly aware that the Doctor was trying to gain her confidence.

The Doctor's face appeared from the darkness, smiling. 'Do you mind if I sit down? Ahh. That's better.' He shook his head. 'Why did you do it, Piper?'

Piper fought to get her breathing under control. She looked into the Doctor's eyes, noticing that they glowed faintly, as if gathering and enhancing the available light.

'Why should I tell you anything? Bishop's going to kill me anyway.'

'I'm not here to judge you, Piper. But can you tell me a reason why everyone else on the Base must die to protect your secret?'

'No. n.o.body should have died. n.o.body!'

She took a deep breath and began to speak.

Christine watched as flight technicians finished preparing the executive transporter for launch. Atrimonides gestured with his gun, indicating that she should precede him from the gallery.

'What if I don't want to go?'

'As it happens, Ma'am, you do have a choice. You can either walk, or we can freeze you where you stand and s.h.i.+p you back in a refrigerator.'

'Charming.'

'Efficient.'

Christine glared at the man. She opened the pressure door and moved into the executive transporter bay control room, a semicircular chamber filled with operations and monitoring equipment.

Christine looked around. IMC employees risk a.n.a.lysts and financial a.s.sessors like clones in their sharp plastic business suits and laced necklines moved busily from one station to another, checking systems as the time for launch approached. One balanced a beaker of steaming coffee on a nearby terminal before moving on bearing a full tray.

Christine acted without thinking.

Scooping the cup from the workstation with her good hand, she whirled around and flung its contents into Atrimonides' face. He screamed and clawed at his eyes. Christine made a grab for his gun as it spun away, but only succeeded in pus.h.i.+ng it into a console, where its trigger caught on the corner. A searing beam of high*energy protons blistered the air. Something on the other side of the room exploded, and kept on exploding.

Christine didn't wait to see what damage she'd caused. She headed for the door at a dead run, her new arm thumping uselessly against various items of furniture.

Teal saw torch beams bobbing towards him from a side corridor and grabbed Bernice's arm. Seconds later, Bishop and Tiw Heimdall came into view.