Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [89]
'Help me... to the... main console,' Balaak rasped.
Tuval did as Balaak asked, the two of them shuffling through the putrid remains of their dead comrades. Once at the console, Balaak all but fell against it with a gasp of pain, and weakly began manipulating the controls.
'Our plans... may be in ruins... but we can still take our revenge... on this loathsome planet.'
An ovular screen fizzed into life, showing a red-tinged view of the swamp area in which a number of Skarasen could be seen and heard snarling and splashing.
'What are you going to do, Commander?' asked Tuval.
'I will release... the Skarasen... into the city.'
'But they are not yet fully grown, Commander'
'They will still be more than a match... for the humans,' Balaak gurgled gloatingly.
The Zygon warlord twisted a control, and a rushing sound crackled from the speakers, filling the room. On the screen the water level in the swamp area began noticeably to fall.
***
Beneath the Thames, the Zygon ship raised itself up on its spindly legs. A flap, like the mouth of a crab, opened in its base, and within seconds dozens of Skarasen were pouring out of it. Like a shoal of giant fish, they congregated for a moment, their bodies flashing silver. Then, as though reacting to some prearranged signal, they darted away, their powerful limbs propelling them in different directions.
***
Slumped over the main console, Balaak watched the Skarasen go, blistered face alive with savage glee. Then the Zygon warlord turned, and, withTuval's help, limped over to a control unit set in its own alcove.This unit was shaped like a giant gnarled heart, held suspended by thick transparent tubes that ran out of the floor and up through the ceiling. Balaak's rasping breath reverberated around the control centre as it began to twist nodular growths that served as controls.
'What are you doing, Commander?' asked Tuval, alarmed. 'I am setting...
the self-destructor unit.'
'But our ship... 'Tuval protested weakly.
'Now that we have... the Doctor's time craft... it is of no further use to us... It pains me to abandon... our fallen comrades... but we must be ruthless.Tuval... It is imperative... that we leave none of our technology behind... for the humans to find.'
'Of course, Commander,' said Tuval, casting a glance at the Doctor. He was still lying motionless, his eyes closed. He looked as if he was truly dead, or at least unconscious.
The self-destructor unit began to burble quietly, and dark fluid appeared in the pipes jutting up through the floor and slowly began to rise towards the unit itself. 'It is done,' said Balaak weakly. The Zygon warlord turned with an effort and hobbled over to the TARDIS,Tuval in attendance. Pausing by the half-open TARDIS door, Balaak placed a pustulating, claw-like hand on the machine's battered blue exterior. 'Is it safe to enter?'
'Yes, Commander.'
Suddenly Balaak swayed as though about to collapse.'Help me, Tuval.'
The words were not uttered plaintively, but as an order that Balaak fully expected to be obeyed. Sure enough, Tuval rushed forward to take the Zygon commander's liquefying right arm, and together the two of them shuffled into the TARDIS.
'How much did you learn... about the workings of the machine?' Balaak hissed, seemingly oblivious to the Gothic majesty of the console room.
'Only a little, Commander,' muttered Tuval doubtfully.
Balaak waved a dismissive claw. 'No matter. We are... Zygons. We will learn... quickly. Close... the doors,Tuval.'
After lowering Balaak carefully into the chair in the middle of the floor,Tuval crossed gingerly to the central dais, stepped up on to it, and examined the console with an air of authority that masked an ignorance bordering on panic. The Zygon scientist tried to recall how the Doctor had opened and closed the doors earlier. Finally