Doctor Who_ Storm Harvest - Mike Tucker [95]
‘That’s beyond the command deck, the new man,’ Huttle, cried.
‘We’d never make it.’
‘Take the service ducts,’ said the Doctor. ‘The Krill won’t be able to crawl into them.’
‘That’s not possible,’ said Bavril. ‘The service robots are programmed to attack on sight.
‘What would you rather face?’ asked the Doctor. ‘Your service robots or the Krill? We have to try it. I’ll come with you – at least as far as the command deck.’
‘What do you plan to do?’ Bavril asked.
‘I must find Garrett,’ said the Doctor. ‘He has the only thing that can stop the Krill. I imagine he’ll make for the command deck. He’s nothing if not an egotist... I imagine he’ll want to sit in Mottrack’s big chair and lord it over everybody before we die. Now come on – get moving.
Ace awoke with warm sunlight on her face and cool water trickling over her forehead. Tentatively she forced her eyes open, squinting at the glare. She was lying at the edge of the jungle, half buried in silt and foliage, the river flowing round her. Her head was spinning. She stared up at blue sky. The hurricane was over!
She tried to sit up, the dried mud flaking from her in a brittle crust.
‘Rajiid?’
The rush of water had swept tree roots and leaves into a huge pile on the edge of the beach. Ace could see a limb sticking out from a pile of leaves. Her heart caught in her mouth.
She struggled to her feet, wincing at the sharp pain from her shoulder, and hauled herself through the muddy water.
‘Rajiid?’
There was a low groan from the pile of foliage. Ace felt her heart begin to settle. He was alive. She began pulling rocks and branches off him. Gently she turned him on to his back. There was a livid purple bruise across his forehead and his arm hung limply at his side. Ace tried to move it and Rajiid gave a cry of pain.
‘Well, that’s broken, then.’
Rajiid stared up at the mountain they had just rolled down. ‘I never did like roller coasters.
Ace smiled and kissed his cheek, then frowned as a gust of wind tugged at her hair. She looked up across the beach and the smile disappeared. Out at sea a wall of angry grey cloud boiled and writhed, 184
churning the water in its path. She suddenly remembered a science lesson – a video about hurricanes. This was the eye of the storm. The hurricane wasn’t over. It was only half over.
Soon the winds would build again, blowing from the other direction as the second half of the storm washed over them. Only, this time, they had no shelter.
‘I take it from your expression that things are not good.’
Ace shook her head. ‘You don’t know the half of it. Come on.’
Gently she manoeuvred Rajiid to his feet, trying to support his arm as best she could.
Around the curve of the beach they could see the colony, dark and grey behind the storm shutters, tiny against the wall of cloud advancing towards them.
‘It’s a long way, Ace.’ Rajiid looked at her with concern. ‘I’m only going to slow you down.’
‘As if I’m going to let you.’
Ace pulled off her belt and strapped Rajiid’s arm tight to his chest, ignoring his yelps of pain. As spots of rain began to speckle the sand, she pushed him forward and the two of them started to run across the beach.
185
Chapter Twenty-One
When the Krill broke through on to the upper levels of the ship the Cythosi were still struggling to set up defences. The creatures came crawling up the lift shafts, their claws digging at the walls, slicing through the doors. The assault was met by a hastily erected plasma cannon which sent them screaming and burning back down the shaft.
Mottrack was awed. Some Krill had managed to keep their foot-and handholds through the blast. Some even kept coming. The cannon fired again, and again.
A vicious spiked claw lanced through a wall next to Mottrack’s head. More claws followed it. He lurched away, spraying the wall with blaster fire. The Krill burst out into the path of his gun.
‘Fall back!’ Mottrack shouted.
A second cannon was in position, further back up the corridor. As Mottrack’s men retreated towards it, the Krill sprang forward, leaping on to them, claws