Doctor Who_ Empire of Death - BBC Worldwide [49]
Your second task is much more dangerous and important.
If certain information before us is proven, you will soon take delivery of two crates. These contain a diving suit and the mechanism by which air can be pumped into the suit, enabling a man to walk under water. Your contingent will be joined by an expert from the Royal Navy's diving school. Your men shall help this brave soul venture down to find the portal.
It should resemble a glowing white light, deep beneath the surface of the water. Once it has been located and thoroughly examined, you shall communicate any and all findings to us as a matter of urgency.
Finally, we cannot stress enough the need for utter secrecy and discretion in this. Pass no word of what is being undertaken to any third party unless they carry our personal authorisation. If word should escape about your mission, it could engender panic and unrest of titanic proportions. We trust you shall do your duty by your country and your Queen.
May God go with you in all your efforts.
The sealed orders were concluded with the signature of the Queen, her royal crest beside it. When Vollmer had finished reading the letter, he folded it back together and stared at the single sheet of paper for several minutes.
`Blimey,' he whispered to no one in particular. Vollmer contemplated waking Kempshall to show him the orders but decided it could wait until the morning. The sergeant was struggling to keep his eyes open. Right now what he needed more than anything was sleep. Vollmer finished packing away Ashe's effects into a box for transportation with the body, then retired to his own tent. There he penned a letter of his own before finally going to bed. He hoped not to be visited by any dreams in the night, lest they feature the lifeless eyes of Lieutenant Ashe.
Chapter Four
February 17, 1863
Very well, my child, you may see what you wish, but we cannot say how long this window on worlds will remain open.
The surroundings begin to shimmer, a hole appearing in reality, widening in the air. You look deeply into it, eyes searching for a sign, a vision, some evidence. A familiar face is there, smiling yet full of concern. You know the voice, its friendly tones. Others are shouting, warnings and threats.
You try to call out but there is a crack of thunder,' a scream and everything turns red, blood red and -
Nyssa opened her eyes. It was a dream, another dream - but this time it was her own. No, not a dream. More like a vision, a glimpse of the future perhaps, or of some forgotten yesterday. Yes, that was it, a premonition, the shape of things yet to happen. But what did it mean? Always questions without answers. Travelling with the Doctor could be a very frustrating experience, she decided. She sat up, wondering what time it was.
Outside the voices of street vendors cut through the air, distinctive London accents running words together. Nyssa got out of her narrow single bed and went to the window of the hotel room. It was cramped accommodation compared to the luxury and splendour of Windsor, but that was only to be expected. She pushed aside the curtains and looked down upon the cobbled streets of King's Cross. Horse-drawn carts, carriages and cabs rattled past, gentlemen and ladies taking the early morning air, a paper seller waving his wares above his head. Two grubby-faced children were playing in the street, chasing each other between the carriages and carts.
Another was standing happily in a still-steaming pile of horse droppings, faeces warming the child's bare feet in the February cold. A few white flakes drifted past the window, but the snow was not settling yet.
Nyssa scrubbed her face with cold water. Once her ablutions were finished she fought her way into the garment Mary had given her, a simpler dress without an awkward crinoline to hamper her movements. Nyssa had no wish to spend a day on a train while trapped