Doctor Who_ Full Circle - Andrew Smith [7]
Anything was better than spending the rest of his life in the predictable, sterile environment of the starliner, he told himself, unconsciously echoing Romana's sentiments towards Gallifrey:
Adric's diminutive stature and his youth belied the fact that he had one of the keenest intelligences on the starliner, an intelligence marred only by the occasional lapse into the naive mannerisms of the juvenile. Adric was an elite among Elites, outstanding in all the fields of education he had undertaken. He wore the Star of Mathematical Excellence on his tunic breast-pocket - very few of them had ever been awarded.
Ironically, it was Adric's brother who headed the Outlers. Varsh was slightly older than Adric, by some three and a half years, and they shared very few physical similarities, but an astute observer would have noticed a common philosophical drive in the two young men - both liked to be free of strictures, to be in charge of situations. Adric had tried to satisfy this facet of his personality by working hard to establish himself academically. Varsh had taken another route by leaving the starliner, along with two friends, Tylos Milren and Keara Login, daughter of Halrin Login, the starliner's chief engineer. Other youngsters had joined them in time. They had not been the first to leave the starliner - but they were the first ones to have done so and to have survived for so long.
Now Varsh sipped water from a crude wooden cup, grimaced at the taste, and said, 'You want to be an Outler?'
Adric clasped his brother's shoulder. 'I'm serious,' he vowed.
Tylos stood nearby, honing his knife on a small stone in his hand with ominous vigour. He was an aggressive character, his eyes wild and semi-maniacal, and it was common knowledge that he very much expected to be leader of the Outlers one day - by one method or another. 'Nobody joins us unless we all agree,' he reminded Varsh.
Varsh sipped at his drink again, and Keara came forward. She was beautiful - the problem being that she knew it. She considered Adric with a disdainful sneer and remarked, 'This one belongs in the Great Hall of Books... with all the rest of his kind.'
'He doesn't belong here, that's for sure,' said Tylos. He approached Varsh. 'We said at the start, Varsh, we said we wouldn't accept any Elites... unless you want to make special rules for your brother.'
Varsh's jaw stiffened angrily. He had always felt close to Adric, felt a need to protect his younger brother. Adric had been a year old when their parents had been killed in the last forest fire. They had then been brought up by friends of their parents, but had never felt they could properly express themselves to anyone except each other.
Until Varsh had decided to leave the starliner.
'We broke all family ties when we left the community,' he said, looking at Adric and hoping he knew he didn't mean it.
'Look,' said Adric, very aware of the tension between Tylos and his brother, 'I know all this. But I don't expect special treatment.'
'Don't you?' said Keara, sauntering up to him haughtily. She gestured to his tunic pocket. 'Isn't that what the star's for?'
'That,' said Adric, tapping it with his finger, 'is for Mathematical Excellence.'
'It's a pretty little thing,' said Keara with a smile. 'I do believe I'll take it.'
She was reaching out for it when Adric's hand clamped tightly around her wrist. He twisted, pulled, and she spun and crashed to the floor.
'I'll warn you just once,' said Adric. 'And I'm talking to all of you. Don't try to push me around. And don't ever try to tell me what to do. I've had enough of that on the starliner.'
'You'll find it worse here,' said Varsh. 'When you're struggling to stay alive the discipline is even harder.'
Adric nodded his head towards Tylos and Keara. 'Then perhaps you should keep these two in better check.'
'See!' Keara growled, nursing her smarting wrist. 'He talks like a Decider already.'
Tylos faced