Doctor Who_ Corpse Marker - Chris Boucher [84]
But he knew. He knew they were killing out there. What he didn’t know was why. He would find out though. Was it something to do with the Doctor disappearing again? It looked as though Cailio Techlan had been right about him It didn’t matter. He would find out and he would deal with it.
He was Firstmaster Kiy Uvanov. Nothing could stop him now. He looked around the table. Nothing and no one.
‘I start by welcoming as Firstmaster of the Company,’ Pitter intoned, ‘and holder of a seat at our table, Kiy Uvanov.’
As was customary Uvanov bowed his head while the other members of the Board slapped the table and each one spoke his name. He listened to the voices: some grudging, some openly enthusiastic. One third of these people were his, he knew, because of who they were and where they came from. One third were Landerchild’s for the same reason. The rest would go with the winner. He wondered if Landerchild understood how little time his world had left.
They had cleared the main meeting room and Leela had been teaching Letarb and Denek some of the basic moves of one-to-one combat. They were passing on what they had learned to a crowd of other Tarenist recruits when the Doctor carried Sarl’s body in and laid it down in front of them. ‘He was killed by a robot,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. I tried to warn him but he wouldn’t listen.’
There was an ominous silence in the room. Leela drew her knife and, holding it loosely by her side, she moved to stand beside the Doctor. ‘I appreciate the support but put the knife away, Leela,’ he said quietly. ‘We don’t want any misunderstandings.’
Reluctantly she sheathed the knife. ‘No one misunderstands me, Doctor,’ she said, keeping her hand on the hilt.
‘There is a new class of robot out there,’ the Doctor said loudly. ‘It is capable of killing. It looks like a man but it is a robot.’
‘I don’t believe it,’ Letarb said. ‘Robots can’t kill. And they don’t look like people.’
‘I’ve seen robots that look like people,’ one of the recruits said. The Doctor recognised him as a member of the security platoon that had threatened him outside the dome soon after they first arrived. ‘That’s why they got rid of you, wasn’t it?’ he suggested. ‘You weren’t supposed to see them.’
‘They said it was because we exceeded our authority.’
‘You did, as I remember it.’
The young man looked uncomfortable. ‘I was following orders.’
Denek took his cue from Letarb and glared at the Doctor.
‘Why should we believe you?’ he demanded.
‘Because Sarl didn’t,’ the Doctor said.
‘He didn’t believe you were Taren Capel either.’
From a corner of the room Padil declaimed, ‘Humanity be in him.’
‘Humanity be in him,’ Denek muttered.
Padil pushed through the others. ‘Sarl was a warrior,’ she said, ‘who was ready to die in the fight against the eternal enemy.’ She looked round the room. ‘He was happy to die in the service of Taren Capel.’ She looked at the Doctor. ‘Humanity be in you.’
The Doctor groaned audibly. ‘How many times must we go through this?’ he began.
Leela said quietly, ‘Leave it, Doctor. You do not want any misunderstandings.’
Padil said, ‘A man and a woman have been waiting to talk to you.’ She nodded towards the back room.
‘About what?’ the Doctor asked. ‘Did they say?’ He was not in the mood for more misguided acolytes. He was beginning to feel very uncomfortable at being confused with a dead madman who was himself being confused with a live guru of some sort.
‘They said they were friends.’ She smiled at Leela. ‘They’re not armed.’
‘Are you sure?’ Leela said.
‘Would I risk his life?’
Leela went with the Doctor. Behind them Padil was giving orders for a fire to be prepared for Sarl’s corpse. As they went through the door Toos stood up and said, ‘Well, at least they’re not going to eat him raw which is something, I suppose.’ She smiled wryly. ‘Hello, Doctor, where have you been hiding? Not in this filthy dump, I hope.’
‘Pilot Toos.’ The Doctor was surprised at how little she had changed.