Doctor Who_ Original Sin - Andy Lane [105]
A cold hand seemed to be squeezing Beltempest’s heart. He hadn’t known anything about this! There was nothing on the files about it. Nothing. Could this be the break in the case he had been waiting for?
‘The cover story,’ Pryce continued, ‘was that I was working on icaron weapon systems.’ He smiled. ‘They gave me a laboratory, an inflated bud-get and all the attention an overinflated ego could require. All they wanted was results. I was young, naive. I took risks.’
‘You went mad,’ the Doctor said.
‘I’ll always regret that I didn’t get the chance to finish what I started,’ Pryce continued. ‘Others, no doubt, will try, but not as well as I would have done.’
‘Others have tried,’ Hater Of Humans said. ‘The ship was taken from Purgatory after you . . . you failed to find out its secrets. It was moved elsewhere.
Our agents all over the galaxy have been searching for it with no success.
Until now.’
It was all becoming clear to Beltempest now. There was a conspiracy at the heart of the Landsknechte, and it involved this ship. What else? He remembered the message that had been sent to – to the man who had been Provost-Major Beltempest. ‘Earth,’ he mumbled, trying to get his lips to work.
‘It’s on Earth, isn’t it?’
The guard stepped forward, but Hater Of Humans waved her back.
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‘Yes,’ it said, ‘the ship is on Earth, but we don’t know where. Our agents can find no trace of it.’
‘That’s why people are being driven mad,’ the Doctor said. ‘Whoever has it is slowly dismantling it to get at the power source. The fools! They probably don’t even know the risks! We desperately need to get to that ship.’
‘We agree,’ Hater of Humans said.
Beltempest was surprised. ‘Why?’ he asked.
‘Because, after so many years, the Empress has finally deigned –’ It almost spat the word. ‘– to receive a Hith diplomatic mission. Dweller In Sorrow Abandoned And Lost – one of our most persuasive diplomats who, until now, has been working in a fast food restaurant on Alpha Centauri – is currently on Earth awaiting an audience with the Empress. We believe that the Empress is sympathetic to our cause. It is possible that we may get our home world back again. However, if it became public knowledge that a Hith device was driving humans mad . . . ’
‘I see the problem,’ the Doctor said. ‘May I ask a completely unrelated question?’
Hater Of Humans nodded.
‘I’ve been examining the landscape outside the tent,’ the Doctor continued.
‘And I must admit, I’m confused. If your world was destroyed by the Earth Empire, where are we now? This world distinctly resembles the description of Hithis given to me by another member of your race.’
Hater Of Humans’s answer was directed at the Doctor, but it was looking at Beltempest as it spoke.
‘We have established a secret base in the midst of the only remnant of Hithis left to us: a sanctuary in the midst of our enemies. We are in one of their training areas on the Imperial Landsknecht planet Purgatory.’
Forrester paused in the doorway. Cwej could tell that she wasn’t happy, but she flicked the switch anyway.
‘Good luck!’ he hissed, and gave her a quick thumbs up. She shot him a dirty glance, then the door opened and she stepped inside the room.
‘She’s in,’ he told Bernice and Powerless Friendless, who were standing behind him.
‘We know,’ Bernice said. ‘We saw.’
He was just about to explain that he knew that they knew but was just making conversation when a voice snarled, ‘Whaddya want?’ from inside the room.
‘I hear you’ve been abusing one of my staff,’ Forrester snarled louder.
‘Whaddya mean?’ The guard sounded suspicious. Cwej reached for the reassurance of his gun.
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‘I mean that I’ve had a complaint from one of my cleaners. He said you verbally abused him.’
Beside Cwej, Bernice shook her head. ‘Not trying very hard, is she?’
‘Give her time,’ Cwej said defensively, ‘she’s not trained in undercover work.’ He remembered the incomprehension on Forrester’s face when Powerless Friendless suggested the plan. ‘But you’re an alien!’ she had said. ‘You should expect abuse. And why should