Doctor Who_ Enlightenment - Barbara Clegg [26]
‘Who’s that?’ she asked, fascinated.
‘Your host. Captain Wrack.’ Marriner answered.
The woman was already moving towards them, two officers at her heels. ‘She’s beautiful,’ Tegan said, admiringly. ‘She is also an Eternal,’ came the Doctor’s soft voice, and he quickly put a hand over Tegan’s glass, just as she was about to raise it to her lips. Then Wrack was with them.
‘The wine doesn’t please you?’ she asked, smiling languidly. Marriner murmured politely that it was excellent.
‘But we don’t have your remarkable constitutions,’ the Doctor smiled back.
Wrack laughed. The sound was throaty and sensuous.
‘You’re too modest, Doctor.’ She stared at him, frankly appraising. ‘You are remarkable in other ways. For an Ephemeral.’ Then she turned to Tegan and smiled at her.
‘And you, my dear, are so intriguing, all my guests have been begging to meet you.’ She took the girl’s arm. ‘You’ll excuse us...’ she murmured, and before either of the two men could answer, Tegan was led away to another group.
The Doctor sent her an encouraging smile, as she looked back in dismay, then quickly turned to Marriner. ‘What about Turlough?’ he asked urgently. ‘Can you still sense his mind vibration?’
Marriner concentrated. A puzzled frown appeared on his face. ‘Not clearly,’ he said.
Turlough had reached the final rung of the last companion-ladder. He was retracing the way that Wrack and he had taken earlier. A minute later he stood in front of the door marked ‘Danger’. If the secret of Wrack’s power lay behind that door, Turlough was determined to discover it. The party had provided him with the perfect opportunity. As the stateroom filled with guests he had slipped away, and in the confusion of arrivals and greetings, no one had noticed his departure. Cautiously he had descended ladder after ladder, and now his goal was in front of him. His hands trembled slightly with excitement as he set to work on the opening mechanism. There was a series of clicks and then the operation was complete. But the door did not open, He pushed it, but with no success.
Determined not to be thwarted at the last minute, he put his shoulders against it and shoved with all his might. The door gave suddenly, with no warning, and Turlough found himself hurtling through into the room beyond. It was dimly lit and empty, and the door swung back behind him.
Just in time he managed to recover his balance on the edge of an iron grille! And teetering there, he nearly lost it again, for he saw suddenly that the whole floor of the room was a grid, open to space – and he was looking down between the bars into infinity.
9
The Grid Room
‘I’ve found him.’ Marriner spoke slowly, as if in some sort of trance. ‘Where is he?’ the Doctor asked anxiously. There was a long pause. ‘He’s very faint...’ the First Mate sounded faint himself, as though the effort he was making was draining his strength. ‘Concentrate,’ the Doctor ordered.
Marriner withdrew into himself even more, oblivious of the crowded stateroom, his inward eye searching for Turlough’s mind. ‘He is afraid,’ he said in a low voice.
Surprisingly, the news seemed to please the Doctor. ‘That should sharpen the image,’ he said with satisfaction.
‘Yes...’ Marriner’s voice grew stronger as he homed in on his objective. ‘The grid room... I can see into his mind quite clearly... he is in the ion chamber...’
‘Where’s that?’ the Doctor asked sharply.
‘Down... down as far as you can go...’
The Doctor threw a frantic glance after Tegan. She was smiling and talking to people, but Wrack was leading her further and further away all the time.
‘Danger...’ Marriner’s voice was still withdrawn and concentrated. ‘The boy’s in danger... It’s open to space...
There’s a vacuum shield...’
Tegan was now nowhere to be seen, but the Doctor could hear her laughter from somewhere in the room. In desperation he seized Marriner’s arm, and the firm grip seemed to bring the First Mate to himself again, as if his mind had just returned from a journey.
‘Look after