Doctor Who_ Lungbarrow - Marc Platt [125]
Innocet glared angrily. 'Glospin? What have you been saying?'
'Nothing, Cousin,' he said.
'Don't forget Dorothée,' Romana advised the Doctor. 'They uploaded a copy of her mind into the Matrix.'
The Doctor's hands went up to his lapels. 'My Lord, I suspect that most of your evidence is coloured by the fanciful imaginings of a young and none-too-reliable child. Miss McShane is herself a convicted criminal, an arsonist ...
and an unGal ifreyan to boot!'
He ignored Chris's sharp intake of breath and stood defiantly before the inquisitor.
Glospin had edged up to Ferain. 'My Lord, I may have fresh evidence which wil further incriminate the accused.'
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'One moment,' interrupted Romana, and she drew Ferain aside. 'All this is only making a bad situation worse. The Doctor has already been tried on many of these charges and was granted a degree of independence.'
Ferain eyed her stiffly. 'You are also under formal arrest, Madam, despite the immunity afforded by your office.
Now, we both need to know the extent of the Doctor's guilt. I merely act for the good of Gallifrey. And to that end must also instigate an inquiry into your presence here.'
'As you wish, Ferain,' she said. 'But first these poor people must be got out of this House.'
'My Lord Ferain,' added the Doctor. 'I would ask for several further accusations to be considered.' He nodded towards the casket on the Loom. 'To wit that I did murder the deceased Ordinal-General Quences, Kithriarch of Lungbarrow, and subsequently condemned my own Family to entombment for six hundred and seventy-three years in this conveniently forgotten House.'
Redred, still laid out on the floor, gave a groan.
'And I assaulted a Chapterhouse guard, who had previously been trapped in a transmat for the aforementioned duration.'
Several of the Cousins decided to lynch the Doctor there and then, and had to be held back by a line of agents.
'Stand aside!' Satthralope's voice cut across the Hall.
She stood by the clock, looking down on them from the lowest gallery. Her hair was in disarray. 'No one was invited here. These are Family matters!'
'I invited them,' called Glospin. 'They'll soon have us out of here.'
'Never!' Her movements were angular and exaggerated.
'All right, Satthralope,' called the Doctor. 'Have it your own way. I'm here. You have the wil . There's Quences, dead in his box. So what are you waiting for? Will you tell the House or shall I?'
The Drudge angled up to look at Satthralope. Not an easy movement, since it had no head.
'He's asleep.' She stared down at the brown skeleton. 'He's asleep!'
She turned and vanished from the gallery.
The Doctor turned to Ferain. 'The Housekeeper ordered the cover-up of the Kithriarch's murder herself.'
'The murder that the Doctor committed,' said Glospin.
'She thought the House would destroy them al if it found out,' continued the Doctor. 'But to convince the House, she convinced herself as well.'
Innocet was glancing up around the galleries. 'I don't believe that was Satthralope talking.'
'Meaning what?' said Ferain.
'Her role as medium between the House and Family has been subsumed.'
The Doctor groaned. 'We were talking to the House itself, not the Housekeeper. Satthralope's no longer there. And I never apologized to her properly.'
'Commander.' Ferain indicated the Doctor and Romana.
'Escort these prisoners back to the Capitol.'
As guns were levelled at the Doctor, there was a yel from across the Hall.
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The massive hulk of Badger had pushed through the Cousins and was bearing down on them. It knocked aside two agents like ninepins.
'No, Badger,' instructed the Doctor. 'They're not hurting me.'
'You are not leaving,' said the huge shaggy robot.
'Don't worry. No one's leaving,' the Doctor said. 'Not yet.'
Ferain turned angrily to the commander. 'I want the whole House evacuated now!'
As the commander lifted his wrist unit, his arm was seized in a wooden fist. The Drudge snapped off the device and crushed it in its fingers.
A crash resounded through the House as dozens