Doctor Who_ Longest Day - Michael Collier [100]
The ship ploughed helplessly into the moonbase before exploding with tremendous force, a plume of flame reaching up into space as if trying to engulf the stars shining dimly above.
Chapter 13
Never End
An enormous explosion ripped through the corridor and into the control chamber, sending Kusks spinning and scattering like huge, screaming skittles.
The room was plunged into darkness, the siren was still sounding and the Doctor's ears were ringing. He pushed frantically at the body of the Kusk that had landed on him. His hands slipped inside a huge wound in the creature's side -but something was firm within and he pushed against it to shift the glutinous corpse.
He was lying on his back. It hurt to move his neck. A bright light began to flicker haphazardly, and he made out the scene around him as if in a series of still photographs. The technician was struggling at the terminal. The Leader was calling out in pain, his lower body trapped and crushed by a heavy bank of equipment that had toppled over. The matter transmitter still stood, but one of his lashed-up modifications had fallen to the ground, along with a sizeable chunk of the ceiling. Wires spewed out from the wall behind him, and enmeshed within was another Kusk, convulsing, dying, caught in a new hideous pose each time the light flickered back on. At last it stopped moving, eyes dead and black, hanging grotesquely from the mass of cables and wiring.
He heard the technician's voice: 'Systems still operational, but data corrupted.'
The Leader's voice, low and rasping in the darkness, pushing the heavy control unit from his legs. 'Recommence downloading.'
The technician's voice:'You must evacuate this area. Return to the ship. All remaining power must be diverted to this equipment.'
Hear, hear! echoed the Doctor, cautiously rising to his feet away from the corpse by his side. He crouched closer behind the console as the Leader responded.
'I am your Leader. You may not command me.'
"The knowledge we stand to gain is all. It is the future, the way forward.
Lead the others, but leave me. All life-support must be diverted to my operations.'
The Doctor waited to hear if the Leader would respond, but there was only silence. Then the distinctive rumble rolled out into the confusion of the control chamber.'Evacuate. We must return to the ship.'
The Doctor curled himself up under the back of the console. Science wins, he thought. He reflected sadly that he'd heard only one set of footsteps move to follow the Leader. No one else was left. Hopefully, they'd forget all about him and believe him dead too.
'You shall answer for this insubordination later,' hissed the Leader, before footsteps signalled that he was leaving the chamber and heading into the corridor. 'The damage is severe,' came a slightly higher rumbling voice.
'Come.' The Leader's familiar tones moved off down the corridor. 'Report on the way ahead. We must clear a path if necessary.'
So, some of them had made it. But what could have caused all this deYastation?
Suddenly, from his vantage point down behind the console, the Doctor realised some circuitry was perilously close to burning out. If that happened and the computer died completely...
With the noise of the technician's programming echoing under the control desk, the Doctor set about doing something to keep the system operational.
***
Sam thought hard. The Doctor would turn the situation to his advantage, use what he had to hand. Why couldn't she have pockets like he did?
Behind her the glowing strip of crackling light seemed to billow as if in a strong wind. The berries of the trees glowed with dark light as if in sympathy.
That was it. Risky as hell, but what did they have to lose?
'Crichter,' she said, 'these time trees can help us. If we can get a Kusk to...'
Her voice trailed off. She'd lost him with the first sentence - he was looking at her now as if she