Doctor Who_ Battlefield - Marc Platt [68]
There was no answer.
She got out of her chair and walked to the door. It was too quiet outside. She came down the steps and rounded the side of the trailer.
Zbrigniev was lying face down in the mud. There was blood on his jacket.
Before Bambera could react, a sword was pushed against her throat.
‘The battle’s not done yet,’ whispered Mordred in her ear.
A figure. tall and cloaked in gold with long flame-coloured hair, stepped into Bambera’s vision. ‘I am Morgaine the Deathless,’ she said. ‘I have need of your engine of war.’
Morgaine mounted the Command Vehicle steps and her son followed with their prisoner.
Inside, the knowledge of Francoise Eloise was enough for the Queen to reason which bank of the ugly controls she required.
She manipulated the primitive instruments, searching with her mind into the machine’s logical junctions and magical procedures. Easy as a child adept’s sleight of hand.
Within one minute, a screen printed out its display.
Sagamore Missile Prelaunch Sequence Complete. — Enter Fail-safe Release Code.
This was the first wall. Francoise Eloise knew no more.
Morgaine turned with a gracious smile to the warrior maid.
‘This engine needs particular instruction to make it live.’
Bambera, held tight in Mordred’s grip, glared contemptuously. ‘It’s a nuclear missile. The blast will kill you as well.’
‘Oh, we shall be long gone ere that happens. Now tell me, what is the secret incantation?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Bambera.
‘The magic words — the "Fail-safe Release Code".’
‘No idea.’
‘I doubt that,’ said Morgaine. She leaned forward and stared into the tiresome creature’s eyes. In this instance, she did not require a full mind. She only needed one slip of knowledge. ‘What is the code?’
Bambera stuttered and her eyes rolled upwards.
Ancelyn knelt by the body of Winifred’s sergeant-at-arms.
This was the third corpse he had encountered on returning to the UNIT encampment.
It was an attack from within, for the stationed guards had no trouble to report.
The door to Winifred’s command pavilion opened and Mordred stepped forth. He carried Winifred over his shoulder.
He flung the woman to the ground and she lay unmoving.
Ancelyn gripped the sword and called the prince’s name.
They faced each other at last. Ancelyn, a mortal without hope, could never take the life of his immortal enemy. His family had suffered through generations under the yoke of the tyrant queen and her bastard son: but such impediment was nothing now the life of his own beloved Winifred had been snatched.
With a roar, he flung himself upon Mordred. Sparks flew from the ringing steel. They clashed, locked by hatred into one final test of strength. Pushing against each other; their ferocity matched.
In a coup de pied, Mordred abandoned honourable combat. Twisting his foot around Ancelyn’s ankle, he forced the knight backwards, stumbling into the mud.
Mordred raised his sword to finish the job, but a figure in eccentric dress darted between them. It casually threw out a hand that sent the astonished Prince toppling over.
‘Excuse me,’ said the Doctor as he hurried up the trailer steps.
Ancelyn was up in a moment. Steel clashed again as the enemies renewed their tournament.
Morgaine spun in her chair as the Doctor entered the Command Vehicle.
‘Too late, Merlin,’ she crooned.
The VDU screen that she sat before displayed a Countdown to Detonation symbol. It was flicked remorselessly from 74 to 73 to 72.
‘Not when there’s an off switch,’ the Doctor said. He scanned the control bank and saw a recessed red button marked ‘Abort’ in Japanese.
She followed his glance and caught both one and then the other hand as he reached for the button.
‘No,’ she said and pushed him back.
He had not anticipated her strength. She matched his attack with ease.
‘If this missile explodes, you will die,’ he growled.
‘Millions will die.’
‘I shall die with honour, knowing that cursed Arthur dies with me.’
‘All over the world, fools are poised ready to let death fly,’ he insisted. ‘One