Doctor Who_ Last Man Running - Chris Boucher [99]
Beside her, Fermindor was poised to make the dash to the guns as soon as Pertanor and Rinandor reached the limit of their crawl and made a run for the other ship. ‘Look, Chief,’
he said. ‘We only need one gun. Let me do this?’
‘Chief?’ She looked hurt.
‘I don’t want anything to happen to you, Serian.’
‘We do it together,’ she said.
‘I’ll go for the gun, you go for the ship,’ he suggested.
‘I’ll take the pilot, you take the medic,’ she repeated. ‘Are you ready?’
As they watched, the Rinandor copy tilted her head slightly and took a couple of steps to one side.
‘She’s seen them,’ Fermindor said, glancing back to where Pertanor had paused with Rinandor close behind him.
‘Get ready,’ Kley said.
‘Excuse me!’ the Doctor shouted from outside the cave.
The Rinandor copy turned and swung the gun towards the cave.
‘I hate to interrupt,’ the Doctor went on, holding his hat up to shield his eyes from the glare, ‘but what exactly do you imagine is being achieved by all this?’
‘Do it!’ shouted Kley. Fermindor was already up and running by the time she kicked off her sprint.
Pertanor and Rinandor got to their feet and ran for Drop Two. Rinandor was limping badly now, and Pertanor threw an arm round her waist and hauled her against him. They shambled on together.
The Rinandor copy hesitated and then, loosing off a quick shot at the Doctor, she turned back to the ships, which were her first priority. With one pair heading away from the first ship, a second pair running towards the second ship, and Rinandor shooting at an unexpected intruder, the Monly and Pertanor copies followed their orders and set off to protect the ships by intercepting the pair who most immediately threatened one. They ran at Pertanor and Rinandor as they struggled to reach Drop Two.
By the time the fake Rinandor had turned back to the flurry of activity among the ships she was already too late.
Fermindor had reached the medic’s gun. It was of better quality than the stuff they had brought with them on the patrol. He shot the Rinandor copy and then he swung round and took down the copies of Monly and Pertanor. ‘You see,’
he said breathing hard. ‘I told you we only needed one.’
‘My hero,’ Kley rasped as she looked around for someone to shoot at.
‘I was the best shot in the team. As far as I remember that’s what the computer stats said.’
‘I’m the best pilot.’
‘And you’re team leader and you’re a firster.’
‘Why do you keep reminding me of that?’
He sighed. ‘Because it’s true.’
‘Yeah, well, you’re a fool but I don’t keep reminding you of that.’
Pertanor and Rinandor had reached the second ship.
They paused by the hatch. Kley signalled them to board and they climbed on and closed up.
Kley and Fermindor were holstering the guns and moving back to the other ship as the Doctor hurried towards them.
‘Get off as quickly as you can,’ he said. ‘Leela’s holding the pass but I’m not sure how much longer she can do it.’
‘Aren’t you coming with us?’ Kley asked.
‘No. We have unfinished business here.’
‘Listen,’ Fermindor said. ‘Once we’re off they’ll blast every colour of crap out of this place.’
‘You listen,’ the Doctor said. ‘This was a high-level conspiracy. Don’t count on everyone out there being on your side.’
Kley snorted. ‘Don’t worry. We know who to trust.’
‘We do?’ Fermindor said.
‘Each other,’ she said, smiling into his eyes. ‘The rest of them have things to prove.’
‘And the same goes for when you get back to your home system,’ the Doctor said: ‘Whoever’s behind this is not going to be pleased to see you.’
Fermindor smiled grimly. ‘Oh, I can guarantee that,’ he said.
‘My hero again,’ Kley mocked, cheerfully.
‘I hope it’s some skinny-brained firster,’ Fermindor said.
‘They’re always overconfident so they’re easy to best.’
‘You’re still only second in command, toody.’
‘Clerical error,’ he said. ‘Just a question of time before it’s sorted it out.’
‘Be nice to me,’ she said waggling her wrist log under his nose. ‘If I lose this you won’t even be second-in-command.’
As they