Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [111]
A hologram appeared in a bubble underneath the apex of Computer’s pyramid. It was a primitive thing. Aerodynamic, with rocket engines.
‘Weapons?’
‘None detected.’
‘Force fields?’ Ferran asked as he stepped down into the centre of the room.
‘None detected. The airframe is stressed aluminium, the cargo doors are graphite and epoxy resin, the outer skin is coated felt.’
If Ferran didn’t know, he would have asked if Computer was joking. He couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Crew?’
‘Detectors register six life signs.’
‘Is it signalling us?’
‘No.’
‘Do we have a targeting solution?’
‘Yes.’
Crosshairs appeared on the hologram.
Ferran stepped over to one of the control seats. The pilot moved his hand out of the way of the weapons panel.
Ferran reached for the firing control.
‘Radio signal from the Earth craft.’
‘Ferran? Ferran – I know it’s you.’
Ferran’s eyes narrowed.
‘Voice-pattern recognition,’ Computer reported. ‘The voice is that of –’
‘I know who it is,’ Ferran snapped, moving round to the communications panel. The officer handed him a microphone. ‘Doctor,’ he continued. ‘Show me his face.’
The screen rippled and became a close-up of the Doctor’s head. He showed no signs of ageing, he looked just as he had at their last encounter.
‘Hello, there,’ he said. ‘I’ve come for my daughter.’
‘You haven’t a hope, Doctor. Supremacy is the most advanced ship in the universe, even in my time. Computer, calculate the odds of the Doctor’s attack on Supremacy succeeding.’
‘There is no possibility of an attack succeeding,’ Computer intoned. ‘If Atlantis were to ram the ship at maximum attainable speed it would not breach the defence cloak.’
‘And if you were to attack me?’ the Doctor asked.
Computer didn’t respond.
‘Answer the Doctor’s question,’ Ferran told it.
‘One shot from any of our weapons systems will destroy Atlantis. If Atlantis merely collided with our defence screens there would be a major hull breach on the human craft and it would be rendered inoperative.’
There was a moment’s hesitation from the Doctor.
‘Gosh, how impressive,’ he said finally. ‘And a voice-activated computer, too. Keyed to your voice patterns and only your voice patterns?’
‘That’s right.
The Doctor’s face beamed. ‘How marvellous.’
‘I have you in my sights. Do you have any last words?’
‘Actually, yes, I do. Computer,’ the Doctor said, imitating Ferran’s voice precisely, ‘deactivate all ship defences and all systems not essential for the support of life for twenty minutes. This order cannot be countermanded.’
‘I obey,’ Computer said, before shutting itself down along with the rest of the ship.
* * *
The lights all over the surface of Ferran’s ship dimmed right down.
The Doctor threw his head back and laughed. ‘Typical master criminal: loves the sound of his own voice.’
‘That’s a quote from Blackadder, isn’t it?’ Debbie asked.
The Doctor grinned. ‘No, not really. This is a different thing: it’s spontaneous and it’s called wit.’ He checked his pocket watch. ‘Commander, we have nineteen and a quarter minutes left. I suggest we take advantage of them.’
The commander nodded over to the pilot. ‘Commence landing sequence.’
There were clanks, an unwelcome sense of movement as retro rockets fired. The space shuttle drifted into the hangar bay of the alien craft. There was emergency lighting on, signs of activity. But no guards, not yet.
‘Undercarriage down,’ the pilot reported.
‘Clear for landing,’ the commander acknowledged. Then, like a light being turned on, there was gravity. Atlantis lurched a little as the undercarriage took the weight. Strapped into their seats, they were no more shaken than they would be by the lurch as a train comes into a station. Going from nought to eleven stone took the breath from Debbie for a moment, though.
The crew began flicking switches, shutting the ship down. A well-rehearsed routine, Debbie assumed.
The Doctor was already out of his seat, seemingly untroubled