Doctor Who_ Earthworld - Jacqueline Rayner [79]
And then she realised that she’d been thinking in terms of future TARDIS trips, not just going straight home. Which worried her a bit. Something to consider more thoroughly later. . . ?
When she’d finished changing she joined the others again, and found Fitz had also gone for a medieval theme, complete with doublet and hose. He was still holding on tight to his lucky coat, though. Reminded by that, Anji returned the Doctor’s own coat. He thanked her with a smile.
‘Now, the problem is,’ the Doctor said, ‘that we’re not going to be able to get anywhere near the triplets if they’re guarded by Sir Lancelot –’
‘Lancelet,’ corrected Hoover.
‘Sir Lancelet and all the knights of the round table – all those who didn’t decide to try their luck at swimming, that is. But we need to get in there, to rescue Xernic –’ he nodded to Anji – ‘and to apprehend Hanstrum before he takes over the planet, and so the President here can attempt to make amends with his children. I fear the last may be a task too far –’ he glanced sadly at Hoover – ‘but that doesn’t stop us trying.’
‘Can’t you just disable all the androids again somehow?’ Anji asked.
The Doctor shook his head. ‘If you’re right and they’ve transferred the independent circuits to the knights, then it wouldn’t work – even if I could knock up a replacement for the boys’ zapping device.’
‘What about the sonic screwdriver?’ asked Fitz.
The Doctor shook his head again. ‘I could perhaps knock them out one at a time – but not all at once, and not at a distance. I could possibly disorientate them slightly. . . but no, this calls for more subtle means.’
One of the President’s guards offered his gun. ‘Oh yes, very subtle,’ said the Doctor. ‘Thank you, but no. There’s no guarantee that would harm them, and I am not a fan of gunplay. Play. . . play. . . ’ he looked at Fitz and Anji. ‘You two have just given me an idea! We play their own game against them. . . ’
‘Murder in the Dark?’ asked Fitz.
144
EarthWorld
‘Oh no,’ said the Doctor. ‘Charades. . . ’ He spun to face Anji. ‘How well do you know the legends of King Arthur?’
She frowned. ‘Not very well. I’ve seen a few films. . . He pulled the sword from the stone and became king, and then there was something about the Holy Grail. . . ’
‘Fitz?’
Fitz nodded. ‘Yeah, I’m quite hot on the stuff, actually. Gawain and the Green Knight, Camelot, Morgan le Fey, and, well, Avalon obviously, though that’s not. . . What are you laughing at?’
Hoover was barely concealing a smirk. ‘I fear you don’t know as much as you think,’ he said. ‘I have studied the story of Mort and Arthur, and you are, I’m afraid, woefully inaccurate.’
‘Oh yeah?’ said Fitz, looking as if he were about to hit him.
The Doctor calmed him down. ‘Now, now, Fitz, I think we should hear what he has to say. When in Rome, you know. . . ’
‘People get savaged by lions,’ Fitz muttered. Anji wondered if there were bits of his story they had yet to hear.
Hoover had wandered off, and was looking round the gift-shop section of the reception area. ‘Here it is,’ he said, holding up a small disc, ‘the most recent edition of Mort and Arthur. The definitive work on the subject.’ He fed the disk into a nearby computer terminal, and indicated that Fitz should come and look.
‘But. . . but this is ridiculous!’ Fitz spluttered. ‘Listen to this bit: “And Arthur knew that to be king, he must pull the stone sword out of the lake. In the lake he met with the lady, who lived there with a marlin and a lancelet” – what are they when they’re at home?’
‘The marlin is a large Earth