Doctor Who_ Match of the Day - Chris Boucher [97]
Behind him a voice said, „You reached this point with gratifying skill and determination. They even lost track of you there for a while.‟
Keefer raised the short sabre to distract attention from his move to take the gun from his belt with his other hand and cock it as he turned to face the speaker. How had he missed them coming onto the deck? He kept his movements slow and turned deliberately slowly to avoid pushing whoever it was into immediate action.
„They underestimated you,‟ the voice said, sounding relaxed and confident.
So far, Keefer felt, he was coming a poor second in this fight and his chances of pulling it back depended on the next move. Almost belatedly he was filled again by the icy elation of combat. He knew his opponent was standing still and too far away for the sabre or anything like it so they must have a gun of some sort and his only option was to outshoot them.
Keep turning slowly, listening for the target, feeling for the target, aiming for the target and hitting the target before you raise the gun...
„Before you do anything rash,‟ his opponent said. „You should know that you are not threatened by a weapon.‟
...raising the gun, hitting the target.
„And that you are not threatened by a human being.‟
Keefer finished the turn and lowered the gun. There was no doubt in his mind that the man standing by the partially open doors was telling the truth. There had been no sound, no smell, no natural link between them. Shooting him would be a pointless waste of ammunition. „You‟re an android,‟ he said. That was how I missed you.‟ As always the elation had turned to chilly nausea.
„Your senses are finely tuned,‟ the android said.
They used to be, Keefer thought. There was a time when I wouldn‟t have missed the doors opening.
The android said, „You assumed they worked only one way and at one speed.‟ It pointed a remote controller at the doors and the narrow gap through which it had come crept closed almost silently and almost without disturbing the air. „You were tuned for what you expected.‟
Keefer realised the thing had caught his look and interpreted it correctly. That was a dangerous talent. That was a dangerous fighter‟s talent. „Are you able to kill?‟ he asked.
„Unable to die,‟ the android said. „Unlike you.‟
„Is that a threat?‟
„It is a fact.‟
Keefer said, „That depends on how you define die. I‟ve destroyed one of your kind already.‟
„It did not die since it was not alive,‟ the android said.
„Where is she?‟ Keefer demanded, knowing he had lost the initiative and it was unlikely that the Lady Hakai would show herself now.
„She?‟ the android asked. „To which she do you refer?‟
„You know everything else,‟ Keefer said, „you must know why I‟m here. Who I‟m here to see.‟
The android remained calm and expressionless. „You are here to confront the Lady Hakai. No one is allowed to confront the Lady Hakai.‟
„No one?‟ Keefer said. „Not ever?‟ When the android didn‟t answer he smiled and tapped a control console with the tip of the sabre. „I can destroy all this you know. If I‟m going to die I might as well take her and the rest of you with me. What do you say to that?‟
The android did not smile. „That will not happen,‟ it said.
Maybe it couldn‟t smile, Keefer thought. Or maybe it could but never did. Perhaps it always remained expressionless no matter what happened. That was a dangerous talent. It was a dangerous fighter who never gave anything away. But were all androids fighters? He didn‟t know enough about androids.
How would you find out about androids? He‟d only come