Doctor Who_ Just War - Lance Parkin [0]
LANCE PARKIN
First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Doctor Who Books
an imprint of Virgin Publishing Ltd
332 Ladbroke Grove
London W10 5AH
Copyright © Lance Parkin 1996
'The right of Lance Parkin to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
‘Doctor Who' series copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1996
Cover illustration by Nik Spender
Original concept by Mark Jones
ISBN 0 426 20463 8
Phototypeset by Intype, London
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Mackays Paperbacks, Chatham, Kent
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any Resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This book, like its author, is dedicated to Cassandra May.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Cassie and Mark Jones for, well, everything really: advice, constructive criticism, proofreading, support, punctuation, encouragement. The nun and the giant rubber hamster were Mark’s idea, by the way. Thanks to Michael Evans for inspiration, John Langdon and Mark Clapham for historical snippets and David Pitcher who would never forgive me if I didn’t mention him. As subscribers to rec.arts.drwho will know, Benny’s birthday was astrologically determined by Jim Sangster. Thanks to Paul Cornell for settling the matter, and to everyone else who took part in the discussion.
Once upon a time, when the world was black and white...
Prologue
‘Doctor. It’s been a long time.’
‘Yes, Ma. Even longer for me. Too long. But this still feels like home.’ The Doctor stared into the hearth, the light from the flames flickering in his eyes. He sipped at his cocoa, and watched as the firewood blackened and curled. No doubt, thought Ma Doras, he was divining patterns in the smoke and messages in the crackling of the flames. At times like this, Ma really could believe that he was as old as he claimed. At times like this, the Doctor scared her. Ma turned to the young woman crouched at the fireside. Her daughter, Celia, whom the Doctor had brought back from the dead.
‘Are you warmer now, Celia?’
‘Yes, Ma. I’m sorry, we’ve just been somewhere a lot warmer than this.’ The young woman looped a strand of blonde hair back over her ear.
‘My dear, this is a tourist resort. People come here for their holidays. You’re right, though, this is what we’d call the
“offseason”. It has been since June.’
The Doctor finished winding his pocket-watch and lent forward. ‘Tell us.’
‘You must know. You must have read about it. An historic moment: the first successful invasion of the United Kingdom since 1066. The Day the Nazis Came.’
Celia sat alongside her, looking puzzled.
‘It’s not the same as hearing it from someone who was there,’ the Doctor said.
‘No? Well, there isn’t much to tell. The British government gave up. The Germans swept across France in a matter of weeks. You must remember Dunkirk?’
‘I was there,’ said the Doctor quietly. ‘Refugees from Paris were blocking the roads. The British army was stuck in traffic and running out of petrol. Messerschmitts wheeled overhead mowing down the civilians. All the time, German tanks were getting nearer. Every fishing boat, every little barge on the south coast of England had been commandeered. The army was being evacuated by civilians: fishermen, old men in yachting club jerseys. All the time, their little boats were being fired at by the German guns. Even British propaganda afterwards admitted that it was a massive defeat.’
Ma continued. ‘After that, it was clear that there was nothing we could do to stop the attack. The Cabinet decided to pull all the soldiers back. Demilitarize, and