Doctor Who_ Space War - Malcolm Hulke [10]
The TARDIS in sight, the Doctor fumbled in his pocket for the key.
‘Watch out! ‘ yelled Jo. Coming up behind them was the pursuing Ogron.
The Ogron raised its hand gun and fired. The Doctor sprawled forwards on to the deck. Jo threw herself down beside him. ‘Doctor! Doctor!’
The Doctor remained still. Slowly Jo looked up. The Ogron stood over her, its gun pointed at her head.
3 Stowaways
General Williams sat watching the President as she dictated a statement into her desk microphone. ‘Although distress signals have been received from yet another of our cargo ships, until the arrival of the Earth rescue ship we must reserve judgment. Relations between ourselves and the Draconian Empire are admittedly tense, but this is all the more reason not to indulge in ill-informed speculation which can only worsen the situation.’ She paused, then decided that her last words suitably ended the statement. For the benefit of the technician who, in another part of the presidential palace, was recording her words, she said, ‘Please have copies of that sent to all news services throughout Earth.’ She touched a button that turned off the microphone.
Williams said quietly, ‘Do you think that will satisfy the world?’
‘Why not? It was the truth.’
He did not relish what he had to report to her. ‘Madam President, there have been anti-Draconian riots in Tokyo and Belgrade, and the Draconian Consulate in Helsinki has been burnt to the ground. In Los Angeles demonstrators burnt an effigy of you.’
‘I see.’ She considered. ‘We must compensate the Draconian Government for the loss of their consulate.’
‘Really, Madam President!’ Williams felt his temper flaring again. ‘What about them compensating us for—’
A light on the desk telephone began to flash. The President lifted the phone. ‘Yes?’ She listened, then quietly replaced the phone. ‘That cargo ship, it’s just been found drifting in Space.’
‘Any sign of the Draconians?’ Williams had heard it all before and knew what the answer would be.
She shook her head. ‘The rescue ship arrived too late to catch them. The Earth ship isn’t responding to any signals. Our people are about to board it now. We’ll soon know what really happened.’
‘Perhaps,’ said General Williams. if there’s anyone alive to tell the story.’
The flashing lights and high-pitched buzzing inside the Doctor’s mind slowly subsided. He realised he was lying face down on a metal deck and that somewhere a girl’s voice was calling to him.
‘Doctor! Over here!’
It was Jo’s voice. The Doctor tried to move his arms first. They felt heavy as lead weights. Slowly he drew up his legs.
‘Here, Doctor! I’m locked in here!’
He looked round to the source of the calling. The bolted door to the cubicle swam into vision. A hand, Jo’s hand, protruded through the little grille, waving to draw attention. By now the Doctor’s twin hearts were starting to pump blood through his veins. He staggered to his feet, lurched across the deck towards the cubicle door, slid away the two bolts. The door opened and Jo came out.
‘Doctor, are you all right? I thought they’d killed you.’
He shook his head. ‘Some kind of neutronic stun-gun. But why didn’t they kill me?’ He shook his head again, to clear it. ‘What happened?’
‘An Ogron threw me back into this little cell place, then they took all the cargo. And, Doctor...’
‘Yes. Jo?’
‘They took the TARDIS.’
The Doctor looked at the corner where the TARDIS had materialised. It was empty.
‘We’re stranded,’ said Jo. ‘What are we going to do?’
The Doctor forced himself to recover quickly from the shock of losing the TARDIS. ‘We’d better see what’s happened to those two fellows.’
‘But they wanted to kill us,’ Jo protested.
‘Because they thought we were Draconians. They may see things differently now. Come on.’ The Doctor walked up the corridor towards the air-lock.
They found the air-lock