Doctor Who_ The Infinity Doctors - Lance Parkin [122]
She’d forgotten about the Magistrate. He had gone up after the last one, the older man with the staff. After that he would start looking for the room where the defence controls were. Larna had seen which door they had used. She hurried after them, through and along a short, dimly lit corridor. There was silence… no, she could hear someone moving around.
This was the first time she’d ever done this, the first time that she’d ever walked down a corridor without knowing what was at the other end. She’d spent her entire life in the perfectly regulated environment of the Capitol, she knew every room and alcove. Here… here there could be a room full of the lion things that she’d seen from the Station, or defence robots that didn’t show up on scans.
Twenty yards along was a brick archway. The sound was coming from that room. Lama tensed, peeking around the corner.
‘Come in, my dear, it’s all over.’ The Magistrate was at a backlit control panel. The old man was slumped in one corner, bruises over his face and a Z-cap stuffed in his mouth. The walls of this small room were inset with ledges and alcoves, these were packed with various ancient looking artefacts from any number of planets.
The Magistrate noticed that her Suit wasn’t working.
‘Trouble?’
‘I got them all, the Doctor’s safe in the medical unit.’
He returned to the controls. ‘Do you have your computer?’
She took her place beside him, unclipped the terminal from her belt, placed it over an interface socket, and dialled the activator. Gallifreyan equipment was generally able to decipher other technology, and this was no exception. The unreadable text on the display rapidly resolved into Gallifreyan script.
‘It’s advanced,’ she said. ‘Normally I’d just link it up to the Matrix, but if we do that, there’s a chance that the Needle People could infiltrate.’
‘They’ve all been dealt with,’ the Magistrate reminded her.
‘The ones we know about, and we don’t know how smart their computers are.’
He nodded thoughtfully.
Even just using portable equipment, the alien computer couldn’t keep its secrets.
The Magistrate peered at the display. ‘This controls the defences for the whole Needle,’ he said disbelievingly. ‘Well, Hedin predicted that this was where we would find the control system.’
She adjusted a few of the dials. ‘This is the only controller.
The entire defence system is automated, channelled through this box.’
‘Sensible enough when there’s a small population here,’
he said coolly. ‘It would be prudent to leave back-ups hidden around the place, but they’ll need priming and programming.
Can you reroute all defences through that box?’
She nodded, tapping the control that did it.
‘Defence grid now controlled from here. All defensive systems dropping to standby mode.’
‘Good. May I?’ The Magistrate moved her aside and then took a stubby black tube from his belt. He pointed it at the wall panel, which cracked, then burst into a shower of sparks.
‘That should help us,’ he said. He took her computer from her.
‘We should get the Doctor back to the Station. Go back to the TARDIS and get him inside. I’ll finish up here.’ He handed her the TARDIS key.
‘I don’t want to go alone –’ Larna began, but swallowed the words before the Magistrate heard her.
He smiled, trying to put her at ease. ‘Take this,’ he suggested, handing over the weapon he had used to destroy the control panel. ‘You won’t need it, but if it makes you feel safer…’
The gun was heavier than it looked. Larna checked she was able to find the trigger and then clipped it to her belt.
The build-up of energy around the Needle was reaching a climax. Bolts, like lightning, began flickering across the surface. They caused no damage, or noise. Silently, they surged along the length of the Needle, radiating outward.
Something was happening.
Something was coming.
The Magistrate was on his knees, gasping for breath. The flagstones were wet, cold water was seeping through the skin of his Suit.
‘Will you serve me?’ a calm voice asked.
‘Never!