Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [121]
Ferran hadn’t given up. ‘We need to marshal our forces. Our priority has to be establishing communications lines and consolidating existing strongholds. Whatever else happens, we must keep control of this flight deck.’
* * *
The Doctor was standing unaided.
Miranda looked at him, full of admiration. He’d stolen a space shuttle to find her. Long ago, she’d realised that she loved him, but she thought she’d burned her bridges.
There would be time for a proper reunion later. For now, she was catching up on what was happening throughout the ship.
She had told her father what had happened, how she’d started a revolution in about ten minutes flat. Now she learned that the astronauts were fine. They were helping her uprising – a Captain Mather was giving tactical advice; the hangar bay where the shuttle was docked had become a temporary headquarters.
The Doctor nodded. ‘He’s US military Delta Force. I suspect this isn’t the first time he’s helped a revolution along.’
‘He helped the Contras?’
‘At the very least, I’d have thought.’
Miranda continued to take stock of the situation. There was a standoff at the engine room. There were massive doors and walls, designed to prevent an explosion in the engines from spreading to the rest of the ship. Her revolutionaries, or whatever they were, couldn’t get through them. The personnel in the engine room were staying loyal to Ferran, as far as anyone could tell.
But that was it: Ferran held the flight deck at one end of the ship, and his men held the engines at the other end. Two critical areas of the ship, of course they were, but her followers held, or were on the brink of taking, all points in between. They’d secured the robot garages, the saucer cradles, the armouries, the detector banks.
In a matter of ten minutes.
She wasn’t sure how she’d done it. Tarvin and Graltor had led her to one of the slave refectories – and just telling them that the pain inducers weren’t working was enough. Suddenly, after all these years, all these centuries, there was nothing to stop the slaves. She’d lit the blue touchpaper, but wasn’t sure how she could control the process.
She realised she was staring at her father, and that he was the answer.
Once he was on the flight deck, he’d take command.
* * *
Ferran sat square in his command chair, watching as the red lines and blobs spread. The slaves controlled everything, now, everything but this room and the engines.
‘Mordak, override life support. If necessary, we’ll shut off the air supply in other areas of the ship.’
‘Stay where you are,’ Cate ordered.
Mordak saw her gun, and sat down, keeping his hands to himself.
Cate allowed herself a smile. But, she realised with a start, she’d neglected Ferran, dropped her guard.
Her reflexes weren’t a match for her master’s. Ferran drew his own pistol and fired, piercing Cate’s left shoulder with a needle-thin beam of white light. The Deputy span back, dropping her gun.
The Prefect’s second shot hit the gun where it fell, all but disintegrating it.
The pain Cate felt was intense, but very localised. It was difficult to concentrate.
Ferran raised his gun and aimed it at his Deputy’s head.
‘Computer: shut down life support in all areas of the ship apart from the flight deck and engine rooms.’
‘Such an action will kill all life forms outside those areas who are not wearing protective clothing.’
Ferran grinned. ‘Of course it will. That’s why I’m taking that action. Implement the order.’
‘Confirmed.’
* * *
Chapter Twenty-seven
Death Comes to Time
‘They’ve started shooting in there.’
‘I think the air’s getting thinner, too.’
The Doctor looked up from the door control. He had a handful of wires, and had been sparking them together, but nothing had triggered the door. ‘I don’t have time for this, then. Graltor, old chap, can I borrow that neutron rifle?’
‘It won’t cut through blast shielding, there’s four metres of Kladenium to get through,’ the giant