Doctor Who_ Prime Time - Mike Tucker [6]
The sound of something crashing through the corn made her look up. One of the huge agricultural machines thundered past, blotting out the sun. Ace scrambled to her feet.
‘Blimey!’
‘Yes, they are impressive, aren’t they?’ The Doctor was at her side, peering up at it. ‘A Guldarian farming drone.’ He frowned. ‘The strange thing is that I can’t understand why it’s here. The Blinnati are superb farmers. They don’t need even one, let alone the dozens that we’ve seen.’
Ace craned her neck, shielding her eyes. ‘Are they manned?’
The Doctor shook his head. ‘Totally robotic, preprogrammed...’
‘And going our way.’
The Doctor gave her a stern look.
‘Oh, come on, Professor. It’s quicker than walking. I’m tired and my hay fever is playing up.’
‘Whereas your appetite isn’t.’ The Doctor stared disapprovingly at the pile of berries in his hat.
Ace tipped the berries out and sheepishly handed it back to him.
The Doctor frowned at his juice-stained hat for a moment, then his face cracked into an enormous grin.
‘Well I’m sure that it’s very good for my hair! Come on.
Our lift is leaving without us.’
Cramming his hat on to his head he grabbed Ace by the hand and the two of them began haring through the cornfield after the ponderous farming robot.
Although the machine wasn’t fast it proved difficult to keep up with it, stalks of corn whipping at them with every step. Ace could see a small ladder set into one of the slab-like sides. The Doctor lunged forward, hooking the handle of his umbrella on to one of the rungs. He hauled himself up on to a small platform and reached back for her.
‘Give me your hand!’
Ace sprinted forward, reaching out for him. He grasped her wrist and pulled her up on to the metal gantry. The two of them lay panting for a moment, then the Doctor struggled to his feet.
‘The view should be better from the top deck.’
He clambered up a ladder and vanished over the top of the machine. Ace scrambled after him.
The top of the farming drone was a tangle of vents and grilles, and Ace could see the tops of huge blades whipping through the cornfield. There was a constant throb of machinery and a not unpleasant smell of engine oil.
The Doctor was at a railing at the front of the machine, peering through his opera glasses, looking for all the world like a sea captain at the prow of a ship. Ace joined him at the railing, breathing in the smell of cut grass and hay.
The city was spread out before them, an unbroken line of steel and concrete cutting across the valley.
‘What’s the plan, Professor? Are we going to be staying here for a while?’
The Doctor nodded. ‘I think so. I want to find out where the energy signal embedded in that TV transmission is coming from. Have a look at this.’
He handed her the opera glasses.
‘What am I looking for?’
The Doctor pointed. ‘Big building set into the hillside, on the far side of the valley.’
Ace pulled the glasses to her eyes and the building swam into focus, a jumble of concrete shapes nestling in the rock wall.
‘Looks normal enough, Professor. Long way to climb down if you want a pint of milk but...’
‘Look at the top, Ace.’ The Doctor waved his hands irritably. ‘The communications tower on the roof.’
Ace squinted at it. A tangle of dishes and aerials, stark against the sky.
‘So, they like their cable telly.’
‘Not a bad guess.’ The Doctor leant on the railing drumming his fingers on the handle of his umbrella. ‘It’s certainly a telecommunications transmitter of some kind, but there are features that I couldn’t even guess at on that tower.’
‘So what now?’
The Doctor pursed his lips. ‘I’m not sure. That signal could just be a mistake, but mistakes like that are quite hard to make.’ He sighed. ‘I rather think that we might have landed in the thick of things again.’
Ace laughed. ‘Just for a change you mean.’
The Doctor looked hurt. Ace patted him on the shoulder.
‘Cheer up, Professor. At least you never hear me complain that I’m getting bored.’
She untied her jacket and slumped back against a ventilator tower, watching the landscape