Doctor Who_ The Bodysnatchers - Mark Morris [91]
She watched him for a bit longer, and then said, 'Is it my imagination or are we in trouble?'
He didn't pause in his task, but he did answer her. He spoke quickly, in little more than a mutter; she had to lean forward to hear him above the burbling shriek filling the bridge.
'This is the self-destructor unit, which Balaak activated before abandoning ship in myTARDIS. It works by feeding a volatile and highly toxic substance through the ship's veins. This effectively causes the ship to have a massive coronary, which sets off a series of chain reactions that eventually result in complete disintegration.'
'The words "Oh my God, we're all going to die" spring to mind,' said Sam, trying to sound more composed than she felt. 'Is there anything you can do?'
'Well, I can't reverse the process, but I think I can buy us a little time.'
'How?'
'In effect, by giving the ship an emergency heart bypass. In the short term, this will divert the toxin away from the most vital areas and keep the vessel operative. Aha!'
'What?'
'I think that's it. Listen.'
The Doctor raised his eyes to the ceiling and pointed above his head, as though the sound could be seen and tasted as well as heard. Sure enough, the burbling shriek, which had been rising to a crescendo, now seemed to have lost a little of its edge.
'You've done it,' said Sam.
'Only temporarily, but at least it gives us a fighting chance. Come on!'
'Where?' she asked, but he was already halfway across the control room.
Forcing her still-wobbly legs into action, she hurried after him. For the next ten minutes, she followed his flying coat-tails along the burrow-like corridors of the Zygon ship. She felt like Alice desperately trying to keep the white rabbit in sight. However, despite her frustration, it was a relief to leave the appalling stench of decaying Zygons behind for a while.
Eventually they came to a place she recognised.
'We need to wake them up,' the Doctor said, hurrying across the cell chamber to the row of alcoves against the wall.
'How?' asked Sam, diverting her eyes from the pulsing cowls covering each of the prisoners' faces and trying not to remember the sensation of one of them sliding across her own face like a giant slug.
The Doctor suddenly halted and turned to her. There was apology in his eyes and voice.'I know you want to help, Sam, but I honestly don't have the time to explain everything. Just this once I'm afraid you're going to have to leave it up to me.'
She nodded, tried to look mature.'Sure, I understand. I can live with that. If there's nothing I can do -'
'No, actually, there is something. As these people wake up, they're going to be frightened, confused. I want you to talk to them, reassure them, try to calm them down if needs be. Emmeline and her father will need particularly careful handling. Although the Emmeline that appeared at Litefoot's house was a Zygon, I believe that much of the initial story we were told was true.This means that Emmeline thinks her father killed her mother, whereas Nathaniel Seers, poor chap, doesn't even know that his wife is dead.' He frowned.'Come to think of it, your job is infinitely more difficult than mine.
Perhaps it's unfair of me to -'
'I can handle it,' Sam said firmly.
The Doctor looked at her steadily for a moment. 'All right, if you're sure.'Then he turned to the first of the alcoves in which stood a pot-bellied man whose thick ginger side whiskers frothed from beneath the Zygon cowl.
The Doctor's fingers danced over the crystalline panel beside the cubicle, then he turned to the knot of trumpet-like