Doctor Who_ Return of the Living Dad - Kate Orman [2]
Benny said, ‘When I was four, maybe five, Mum told me that he didn’t drink. I laughed because I didn’t understand what she meant.’
‘He was always stone-cold sober.’ Jason shook his head as the Admiral waved a chipped mug at him. She poured herself a cup. ‘How much do you remember about him?’
‘Just little bits and pieces. I remember the last time I ever saw him...’ She closed her eyes. The light glinting off the badge of his cap. ‘I remember the cologne he wore; I always associate that smell with childhood. One of the reasons I became an archaeologist was because I thought I might find him. Somewhere, out beyond the edge of civilization.
Trapped on some backwater world amongst the scum and villainy. Or fighting a top-secret war against the Daleks. Or taken prisoner and bravely holding out against torture. Or something.’ She gave a little choked laugh. ‘Silly things. I haven’t thought about him for a long time, not like that.’
The Admiral shook her head. ‘I don’t know if it means anything to you, but I protested the official report of his disappearance.’
Benny brushed a speck of dust off the photo. ‘That was good of you.’
‘Whatever Isaac was doing, he wasn’t running away.’
‘I don’t know. I suppose I’ll never know.’
Groenewegen said, ‘I do know. I knew him. And besides, I was there.’
Benny’s eyes shot to the Admiral’s face.
‘I was only a captain then,’ said Groenewegen. ‘There were a flock of us — those clunking old Fury-class fighter-ships. The Dalekbusters. Huge ships, huge guns, small crew
— mostly automated. So much of Dalek strategy is repetitious, predictable... Admiral Summerfield’s ship was the Tisiphone, the lead ship. It was just us, a dozen or so Furies, between a trio of Dalek planet-rippers and Bellatrix. My ship was the only one that survived the battle, and that was luck, not brilliant tactics.’
Benny said levelly, ‘The report said he turned and ran.’
‘He certainly turned. Surprised the cruk out of us —
‘scuse my language. Was he running? No. Not Isaac. Hell, to someone who could drink that coffee, the Daleks must have seemed like a pretty minor health hazard.’ She barked a laugh. ‘Hang on a minute.’
The Admiral got up and went to one of her boxes, tapped her fingers on its lid, chose another box. ‘Half of this stuff is Mel’s,’ she said apologetically, rummaging. ‘More than half, actually. And she’s off shopping again. We’re going to need a bigger tent. Aha!’ She pulled a small black cube out of the box.
‘What is it?’ asked Jason.
‘The Clotho’s flight recorder.’ She turned the datacube around in her hands, thoughtfully. ‘When they decommissioned her after that battle, I kept this as a souvenir. Captain’s privilege. It’s in an archaic format, but it’s still intact. If you plug this into the right software, it’ll show you the whole battle as a tactical hologram. If you want to see it.’
‘What kind of software?’
The Admiral put the cube into her free hand. ‘You’re sure?’
‘No,’ said Benny. ‘No, I’m not sure. I am less sure than something very unsure indeed.’ She looked down at the cube. ‘You’ve been so kind. I don’t know —’
‘Goodness, girl,’ said the Admiral, grinning. ‘If you do ever find him, get him to look me up. He still owes me five credits.’
The first time Jason woke up, Benny was lying with her back to him. His left arm had gone to sleep under her shoulder.
When he moved it, he realized she was still awake, staring into the candle beside the bed.
He hugged her, gently. ‘You don’t have to decide right away,’ he said.
‘I won’t be able to stop thinking about it until I do decide,’
she breathed. ‘I’ve never been so close...’
‘We could stay here,’ said Jason. ‘You could finish your credit unit. Then we could go back.’
‘I don’t think I could stand it,’ said Benny. The candle flared, turned blue for