Doctor Who_ The Doomsday Weapon - Malcolm Hulke [36]
And at this point Winton staggered in clutching his wounded shoulder. He slumped down onto a chair and immediately told his story about the way in which he escaped from the bomb. Because of his state of exhaustion, the wall-map was taken down and brought over to him so that he could point to the ruins where he and Jo had been chained to the explosive charge. 'But your wasting your time going there,' said Winton. 'My guess is they'll have moved her somewhere else by now.'
'Why should they?' said Ashe, 'if they think you are dead?'
Winton didn't answer the logic of that. He rushed on to his next point instead. 'I've got a better idea. We'll take over their spaceship and send them packing!' There was a murmur of approval from the colonists. But Ashe spoke up against the idea. 'We're not going to start a war, Winton.'
Winton looked up at Ashe. 'Look, I've been chained to a bomb, hunted, and shot at. As far as I'm concerned, the war's already started!'
'We must wait for the Adjudicator,' said Ashe.
'Remember what that IMC miner told me - the Adjudicator will be fixed,' said Winton. He went on, 'We'll take over their spaceship, make them release Jo, and send them back to Earth.'
'I absolutely forbid it,' said Ashe.
Winton summoned up the strength to struggle to his feet. 'We've listened to you for long enough, Ashe.'
'I'm the elected leader of this colony,' Ashe said. 'It says in our Constitution, to which you agreed, that although we run the colony on democratic lines, in a state of emergency the leader has the authority to act as he thinks best.'
'Then my best is better than your best,' retorted Winton. He turned his back on Ashe and said to the onlooking colonists, 'We'll attack in force in the morning!'
The male colonists gathered round Winton, to discuss the attack. Ashe found himself pushed out of the way. He turned to the Doctor. 'What can I do?'
The Doctor pushed his way through the crowd of colonists to Winton. 'You said one of the IMC men helped you. Where can he be found?'
Winton said, 'His name's Caldwell . He's got a tent pitched in the north sector.'
The Doctor looked at the map to check what was meant by the 'north sector', then quickly hurried out into the oncoming night.
The Doctor found Caldwell in the IMC tent. He was testing rock samples, using an instrument about the size of a fountain-pen that bleeped furiously every time it was pointed at a duralinium vein.
'Working out your future bonuses?' asked the Doctor from the doorway to the tent.
Caldwell looked up, surprised. 'Sort of. What do you want?'
'Your help,' said the Doctor.
Caldwell turned back to his work. 'I'm an IMC man,' he said quietly.
'Do you know that Captain Dent has got my companion, Jo Grant, chained to a bomb?' said the Doctor.
'That's just to scare you into keeping quiet,' said Caldwell . He went on working, or pretending to work. To the Doctor it was obvious that Caldwell 's conscience was bothering him.
'Tomorrow morning,' said the Doctor, 'the colonists are going to attack your spaceship. I believe that might provoke Captain Dent to press the button.'
Now Caldwell stopped working and looked up. 'If those idiots attack the IMC ship,' he said, 'the guards will mow them down. You'd better stop that attack before it happens.'
'I don't know that I can,' said the Doctor, 'although I'm going to try. But there's something you can do.'
'What?' asked Caldwell .
'Release Jo,' said the Doctor, 'before the attack starts.'
Caldwell looked from the Doctor back to the bits of precious rock. He stared at the rock samples for some time. Then he drew a long breath. 'Why do you have to pick on me?' he said, still staring at the lumps of rock.
'Because,' said the Doctor, 'I believe that at heart you're really a good man.'
Caldwell continued to look at the rocks on the table top. Then, finally, he said, 'I'll do what I can. But you'd better stop that attack, Doctor. It won't be a battle. It'll be a slaughter.'