Doctor Who_ Hope - Mark Clapham [62]
Anji felt faint. The pressure was building around her, a heathaze distorting the air.
Now! shouted Silver, punching a key. The dish made a noise like a plane breaking the sound barrier as a stream of blue erupted from its centre, piercing the sky. It shook, and the power lines around it writhed like snakes. The roof was lit like the eye of a lightning storm, energy crackling in the air.
We have contact, stated Silver. Data transmitting. He paced the roof, each footstep reverberating. Anji reached to steady herself, then remembered she was standing away from all the walls, and nearly keeled over. Her nerves seemed to be tingling deliriously with the power around her.
Nearly there, nearly there, boomed Silver, a stream of green neon data from his monitor screen reflecting in his faceplate. The dish seemed to be shaking loose from its moorings, the cables thrashing even more fiercely.
Nearly... said Silver. Anji felt ill, as if she would black out at any moment. The dish seemed to be close to collapse, teetering over her.
Got him, shouted Silver. Miraso, all power off.
The dish ground to a halt with a shower of sparks and a burst of blue plasma as the power was cut. Somewhere in the distance there was an explosion, and across the city Anji could swear she saw a ball of fire erupt. She barely got a glimpse as the power was cut a jolt ran through the air and she was knocked off her feet, her face scraping against the synthrete floor, her elbow smarting as it bumped the hard surface. She choked the air was filled with smoke, enough to break through her protective barriers.
Anji felt a strong hand under her arm, pulling her to her feet. Silver held her up, and for a second they seemed like the only people in the world, two islands in a neverending sea of grey smoke. Two figures in long coats, one huge, one small. They looked at each other for a second.
Was it worth it? she asked.
We seem to have lost power, said Silver. I suspect what we just heard was one of the power stations overloading. Many lives may have been lost, and our resources will be seriously depleted.
He looked at Anji, and his red eye narrowed to a scarlet pinprick.
But it worked, he added. I have found the Doctor.
Chapter Ten
Human Factors
Well, you look like shit, said Anji, her face underlit by the candle in the centre of the table.
Thanks, replied Fitz, staggering across the main hall to sit opposite his friend. He had escaped the Brotherhoods lair only to find the entirety of Hope had lost power, with gas explosions puncturing the darkness. He had run through the dark streets, trying not to lose his footing and plummet to his death while avoiding the fights and looting that had broken out wherever the citizens had realised there was a crisis going on. The power failure had clearly been seen as a sign of weakness in the status quo, and like the roughly bred survivors they were, the people of Hope were trying to take full advantage of that weakness. Fitz didnt want to get caught in the middle when old scores were settled and inequalities readjusted. So he ran, and dodged, and tripped and bruised himself along the way, but eventually he had managed to find the Silver Palace again, wave at Silvers guards and stagger into its darkened hall. The hall was lit with scattered candles, and Anji was the only person left up and about, sitting alone.
Anji pushed a bottle and a glass across the table. Fitz left the glass and took a heavy swig from the neck. The liquor stung his throat, and burned away at a little cut in his mouth where hed bitten the inside of his cheek. But the sudden, shocking pain seemed an improvement to the dull throb he felt throughout the rest of his body.
So, how was your day? asked Anji. She seemed slightly drunk, albeit neither overly happy nor morose. Perhaps she felt numb too.
Well, today I was taken into the confidence of a cult of dangerous religious fanatics, said Fitz. When they took me into the depths of their lair, I caused a schism in the ranks and