Shakedown Read online

  Bernice turned to the Doctor and discovered that while everyone, guards included, was staring in fascination at the sky, he had slipped back to the Rutan console and was working at frantic speed. His hands flew over the crystal controls in a series of increasingly complex movements. He finished at last and came back to join the others, his face calm and resigned.

  ‘What’s happening, Doctor?’ whispered Bernice.

  ‘Well,’ said the Doctor, ‘it’s simple enough, really.’

  Steg held up his hand. ‘Please, Doctor, allow me my moment of triumph.’ He addressed his assembled captives. ‘What you have just witnessed is the opening, and closing, of a wormhole – a hyperspace tunnel through normal space. Long ago, the Rutans discovered that the wormhole linked their home world and Sentarion. They saw it as an escape-route – a bolt-hole for their supreme ruler, the Great Mother, repository of the group consciousness that links all Rutans. They forgot that a tunnel runs two ways. The War Wheel will emerge from the wormhole on the Rutans’ home planet. There it will destroy the Great Mother – and when the Great Mother dies, every single Rutan will either die or go mad.’

  The Rutan gave a great shriek of pain.

  Steg laughed. ‘We shall attack in force, and the Rutans will be powerless to resist us. The Rutan Empire will be finished. Then we shall bring Sontaran discipline to the rest of the galaxy. Is my exposition correct, Doctor?’

  The Doctor said, ‘Almost.’

  Something in his voice sent a chill of fear through Steg’s heart. ‘What do you mean – almost?’

  ‘You are assuming that the War Wheel will leave the wormhole.’

  ‘What do you mean? It has entered, it will leave.’

  ‘Hyperspace travel is almost instantaneous,’ said the Doctor. ‘Shouldn’t our Rutan friend be going a bit green by now? How do you feel, Karne – if I can call you that?’

  ‘We feel nothing. Nothing has changed.’

  ‘Nor will it,’ said the Doctor. ‘The Great Mother is safe. The Sontaran plan has failed.’

  Steg thrust his way through troopers and captives until he confronted the Doctor. ‘Why has it failed, Doctor?’

  ‘I told you that the Rutan device was a simple warping template? It was a simple matter to reverse the polarity. The worm has swallowed its tail, Steg. Its entrance is now an infinite time from its exit. The War Wheel can never emerge. It will journey on for ever.’ He turned to the Rutan. ‘There’s a price to pay, of course. The wormhole can never be used again. You must find some other way to safeguard your Great Mother. And it’s time you stopped playing space-gods with the Sentarrii and allowed them to develop alone.’

  There was genuine puzzlement in Steg’s voice. ‘You did all this, Doctor? You tricked and defied me, knowing that it meant certain death for you, and for all your friends?’

  ‘You know who I am, Steg. Did you really think you could intimidate me?’

  ‘I underestimated you, Doctor,’ said Steg in a low voice. ‘But perhaps you also underestimated me. Did you perhaps think I should spare you, now that all is lost?’

  ‘Why not? Surely vengeance is pointless now.’

  ‘It is all I have, Doctor. All that you have left me.’

  ‘Then spare my friends. I am the one who defeated you.’

  ‘I am defeated and disgraced,’ said Steg. ‘But I am a Sontaran, Doctor. I shall play the game out to the end.’ He raised his voice in command to his troopers. ‘Kill the prisoners. Kill them one by one, the Doctor last. Let him see his friends die.’ He pointed to Bernice. ‘Begin with this one!’

  ‘No!’ bellowed the Lord Chancellor.

  Ignoring him, the trooper nearest Bernice raised his blaster.

  The Lord Chancellor swooped down from his enormous height, seized the trooper in powerful foreclaws, and bit off his head.

  The terrified troopers opened fire and the Chancellor fell.

  Immediately the other Sentarrii, the Chancellor’s aides, flung themselves on the Sontaran troopers, snapping and rending with savage jaws. The Sentarrii had once been warriors too. More Sentarrii flooded in from the Inner Temple to join the fight. They fought with a dreadful ravening ferocity that chilled the blood. Most of the troopers were literally ripped apart. The survivors panicked and fled into the lush tropical garden. A mass of dark shapes moved in the green foliage.

  The Harrubtii were waiting.

  As the terrified troopers ran through the dense green foliage, the Harrubtii pounced, pulling them down, one by one.

  Kurt made a dive for the stack of blasters, tossing weapons to Chris, Roz and Lisa.

  ‘Back to the ship!’ he yelled.

  The Doctor grabbed Bernice’s hand. ‘When I say run – run!’

  Fighting their way through the carnage, sliding on the blood-slippery Temple floor, they fled into the tropical garden.

  Lisa and Kurt ran ahead, Roz and Chris formed a rearguard. They forced their way through the fringe of the battle, shooting down anything, Sontaran or Harrubtii, in their way.

  Lisa saw one of the Harrubtii spring onto the back of a Sontaran trooper, search for a weak point and plunge its long spike deep into the probic vent. The trooper screamed and fell.

  ‘Works even better than a screwdriver,’ yelled Kurt.

  They reached the ship at last, ran up the ramp and through the open airlock door. Lisa ran to the door controls.

  A gentle voice said, ‘Wait!’

  A slender fair-haired young man stood in the doorway, covering them with a blaster.

  ‘We are sorry,’ he said. ‘Now you must all die.’

  ‘Who the hell are you?’ said Lisa.

  ‘It’s the Rutan,’ whispered Roz. ‘He’s changed back.’

  Chris couldn’t believe such ingratitude.

  ‘The Doctor saved you! Saved all your people.’

  ‘He interfered in our plans. The wormhole can be reestablished, the escape route restored.’

  ‘I assure you that’s quite impossible,’ said the Doctor.

  ‘Perhaps so,’ said the young man. ‘But you know too much about us and our secrets. It is best for the Rutan that you die.’

  Another shape appeared in the doorway behind the young man. It was Steg, blaster in hand.

  The young man raised his blaster to shoot the Doctor.

  ‘No!’ shouted Lisa.

  She raised her blaster, the young man swung round to shoot her first instead – and Steg blasted him at point-blank range.

  The Rutan blurred, collapsing in a gelatinous mass – just as Lisa fired. Her blast passed over the dying Rutan and into Steg.

  He staggered back against the corridor wall and slid slowly to the ground, the blaster falling from his hand.

  The Doctor looked down at him. ‘It seems that I must thank you, Commander Steg.’

  ‘No need, Doctor,’ said Steg weakly. ‘I came for my vengeance. As it happened, I could kill you or the Rutan. I chose the Rutan.’

  Lisa knelt beside him. ‘You saved my life – again.’

  Steg looked up at her. The thin Sontaran mouth twitched in an attempt at a smile. ‘And you took mine.’

  ‘It was an accident.’

  ‘I have saved you twice, and you have killed me twice,’ said Steg. ‘It...hardly...seems...fair.’

  His head fell back.

  Kurt turned to the others. ‘Chuck the bodies out and let’s blast off before any more of those jumbo beetles turn up.’

  ‘No,’ said Lisa. She pointed to the remains of the Rutan. ‘You can get a bucket of water and swill that up, but Steg stays. We’ll find a way of getting him back to his own people. If they don’t want him, I’ll bury him myself.’

  Kurt looked at her for a moment, and then smiled.

  ‘Just as you like. Bury him by all means. At least that way we’ll be sure the old bugger’s really dead this time.’

  Kurt dragged Steg’s body away. Lisa sealed the airlock door and she and the Doctor headed for the control room.

  Bernice Sum
merfield looked at Chris and Roz and went up and hugged them both.

  ‘Is there a drink on this tub?’ she asked hopefully.

  ‘If there is, we’ll find it,’ said Roz. ‘Come on!’

  Chris started to follow, but Roz put out a hand. She nodded towards the pool of slime, all that remained of the Rutan.

  ‘You heard the Captain. Get a bucket and clear up that mess!’

  22

  Payback

  The solar yacht Tiger Moth, currently on special charter, was proceeding under power to Space Station Beta.

  The hyper-space jump was completed, the power drive was running smoothly, and the voyage was proceeding under automatic pilot, with nothing to worry about until docking.

  Captain, owner, charterer and passengers were socializing in the crewroom, drinking Eridanean brandy and all getting on surprisingly well.

  It was explanation time, with the Doctor, as usual, reluctantly fielding most of the questions.

  ‘Surely you know it all by now,’ he protested.

  ‘Yes, but only ass-backward, and out of order,’ said Kurt. ‘Begin at the beginning.’

  ‘It started years ago, when the Rutans first discovered the wormhole,’ said the Doctor. ‘They popped out close to Sentarion, where the simple insectoid natives treated them as gods. The Rutans decided that the wormhole should serve as a secret escape tunnel if ever the Great Mother should be in danger. They accelerated the development of the Sentarrii and set up a religious cult at the same time. They set up a warping template device so they could close both ends of the wormhole, and open them again at will, and concealed the control mechanism in the Great Temple. Everything was fine until a Rutan spy, then calling himself Karne, accessed some Sontaran data and discovered that the Sontarans were on the trail of the Great Secret.’

  ‘Sort of a “he knew that they knew” deal?’ said Kurt.

  ‘Precisely. Karne got blown up in a battle soon afterwards and stranded in space. It was some time before he got himself together again and set off home to warn his fellow-Rutans that their secret was in danger. Before long the Sontarans became aware that Karne was still alive, and that he knew that they were close to discovering the secret.’

  ‘So they knew that he knew that they knew!’ said Kurt.

  Lisa jabbed him in the ribs. ‘Shut up. Go on, Doctor.’

  ‘I tried to warn the Rutans, but they wouldn’t listen. I also tried to find Karne – I knew they’d believe him. I set Roz and Chris on his trail. But the Sontarans were after him too. Oh, and I also sent Bernice to Sentarion as well to poke around. She did so well she got herself locked up in the Temple.’

  ‘On a diet of fruit juice and salads,’ said Bernice.

  She poured herself another slug of brandy remembering how long she’d been deprived.

  The Doctor nodded at Kurt and Lisa. ‘Eventually Karne got to Station Alpha and stowed away on your ship, and Steg came after him. You know what happened then. What you didn’t know was that before he made his last break for freedom, Karne divided, and left Karne Two hiding on the ship in case Karne One failed – which thanks to you two, he did!’

  ‘I get the feeling you’d have preferred us to get ourselves killed just so Karne got through with his message,’ said Lisa. ‘Sorry to cause so much trouble.’

  ‘Not at all,’ said the Doctor. ‘You weren’t to know! Anyway, Karne Two decided it was too dangerous to try to get to the homeworld, so he decided to make for Sentarion and get himself home via the wormhole. We set off after him, so did Steg, and the rest you know!’

  ‘One thing I don’t know,’ said Kurt, ‘or rather don’t understand. How could you deliberately sabotage that wormhole, knowing it would get you and all the rest of us killed?’

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that myself,’ said Lisa.

  ‘We were all going to be killed anyway,’ said the Doctor. ‘Steg would never have let us live. It was a choice between dying for nothing, or going down fighting – and dying for something. You faced a very similar situation yourselves, on this very ship. Besides, there’s always a chance something will turn up – and luckily it did.’

  ‘But you couldn’t know that,’ said Bernice.

  ‘You never do know,’ said the Doctor. ‘You just keep trying. You don’t give up until you’re dead.’

  ‘Or even then, if you’re Steg,’ said Chris.

  There was an awkward pause. To bridge it Bernice said, ‘What will happen now on Sentarion, Doctor?’

  ‘I imagine they’ll go on worshipping their Shining Ones. It’s embedded deep in their culture by now. But with any luck, the Rutans will leave them alone from now on.’

  Chris looked at Lisa, who was looking grim and determined. ‘Cheer up – it’s all over now. You’ll be rid of us soon.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said the Doctor. ‘When we get back to Beta we’ll get the shuttle to Alpha – they’ll have retrieved my transport by now – and be off.’

  ‘Oh no you won’t,’ said Lisa. ‘Not till you’ve paid me back. You still owe me, Doctor.’

  ‘My dear lady,’ said the Doctor, ‘if you are alluding to your charter fee, I paid that in advance.’

  ‘I told you, Doctor – the fee didn’t include heroics. We left the safety of the ship to warn you the Sontarans were coming. You nearly got us killed.’

  ‘If you’re trying to negotiate an increase in your already exorbitant fee –’

  ‘Oh, I want a payback, Doctor,’ said Lisa. ‘But not in money...’

  Two weeks later, the solar yacht Tiger Moth, refitted and refurbished to the highest standard, was en route from Space Station Beta to Space Station Alpha – on a shakedown cruise.

  When Captain Deranne arrived on the sail deck, she found her crew ready and waiting for her.

  A vast shadowy area, lit by an eerie green glow, the sail deck held a main control console at the centre of a semicircle of virtual reality platforms.

  All four were occupied. Roz, Chris and Bernice wore inexpensive green space coveralls, while Kurt was in his usual black. All four held VR goggles and gloves.

  Lisa Deranne looked round the group.

  ‘Remember this, it’s important. In solar yacht racing, the start is everything. Whether we win or lose can all be decided in those first minutes. This new sail rig of the Doctor’s we’re using is exceptionally tricky. So, we do it right, and we do it quick. Right, stand by!’

  The crew pulled on their VR gloves and goggles and the others did the same. A holograph sprang to life in the centre of the sail deck, a representation of the Tiger Moth as she was now, drifting through space with furled sails.

  Lisa began snapping out commands.

  ‘Set mainsail, full extension.’

  Kurt’s gauntleted hands moved in the air before him.

  The Tiger Moth’s enormous, shimmering mainsail spread out in space – in reality, in Kurt’s virtual reality, and on the hologram in the centre of the sail deck.

  ‘Mainsail set,’ he reported.

  ‘Set port sails, full extension,’ ordered Lisa.

  Working feverishly in his own virtual reality, Chris called, ‘Port sails set.’

  ‘Starboard sails, full extension.’

  Now it was Roz Forrester’s turn. Anxious – she’d never raced before – but determined not to show it, she hauled determinedly on her virtual reality cable, in her virtual reality world.

  ‘Starboard sails set.’

  ‘Set spinnaker, full extension.’

  Standing on the deck of a great sailing ship sweeping through space, lost in the wonder of it all, Bernice was slow to react. Sharply, Lisa repeated the command.

  ‘Set spinnaker, full extension. Wake up, Benny!’

  Adjusting her goggles, Bernice fumbled for the cable and the spinnaker rose upwards.

  ‘Spinnaker set!’

  Studying the solar wind readings on her console, Lisa gave more orders.

  Together in their virtual reality world, wrestling with wheels and ca
bles in the rigging of the great sailing ship as it sailed through space, Chris, Roz, Kurt and Bernice obeyed her commands.

  Lisa considered the final result and then snapped, ‘All sails set. Maintain position. Lock off.’

  Transformed from an ungainly insect into a shimmeringly beautiful butterfly, the Tiger Moth swept through space, propelled only by the pressure of solar winds on her enormous set of fragile metal-foil sails.

  The astonishing sight was reflected in the transformation of the hologram on the sail deck.

  Bernice pushed up her goggles and studied the glowing holograph with awe. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered.

  The crew removed goggles and gauntlets, returned to the real world, and waited for Lisa’s reaction.

  She studied her console. She studied the holograph. At last she raised her eyes and surveyed the little group.

  ‘Great!’ she said. ‘Terrific! Wonderful!’

  The crew members looked at each other in pleased surprise. Did she really mean it?

  She didn’t.

  ‘More like an arthritic Algolian dung beetle than a Tiger Moth. By the time we set off, the other ships in the race would be halfway home. Benny, you must be quicker with that spinnaker. Roz, your lower starboard sail is a degree out of line. We’d be going round in circles. Chris, no problems, well done!’

  By this time, Bernice was red-faced, Roz was furious, Chris was looking smug, and Kurt mildly amused.

  ‘I don’t know why you’re so cheerful, Kurt,’ said Lisa. ‘You’re still elevating too high, I said five degrees, not six!’ Kurt’s smile disappeared.

  Actually, thought Lisa, they’d done better than she’d expected. Not that she was going to tell them so, not yet. You break them down before you build them up.

  She looked around her chastened crew.

  ‘We are going to repeat this and similar manoeuvres until you can do them perfectly, smoothly, swiftly, and if necessary, in your sleep. Is that clear?’

  She turned and marched from the sail deck.

  ‘Well, that was fun!’ said Chris brightly.

  Bernice ripped off her goggles and gauntlets and slammed them down on the console. ‘Is she always like that?’