Doctor Who_ The Twin Dilemma - Eric Saward [18]
It wasn't until the fighter crashed and exploded that his mind slipped back into gear.
Picking himself up from where he had been blown, the Doctor looked eagerly around. Some distance away he could see a burning wreck and was puzzled as to how it had got there. Peri, who had thrown herself flat on the ground the instant the fighter had appeared, also scrambled to her feet.
Without a word, the Doctor leapt forward towards the wreck.
Suddenly he wanted to be a hero. A ship had crashed. Lives were in danger. He must go to the rescue. With mightly bounds, he dashed across the rough terrain with Peri in pursuit.
As they approached the fighter, there was a small explosion sending up a column of flame and black smoke. This seemed to delight and excite the Doctor even more. In his mind this was real danger. Peri wished he still wanted to be a hermit.
As they arrived, they saw the body of Hugo lying near the wreck.
Fortunately he had been thrown clear before his ship had burst into flames. Quickly the Doctor felt for the young man's pulse. It was still there, weak, but still pumping.
With effortless ease, and much to Peri's amazement, the Doctor scooped up the unconscious pilot and ran back to the TARDIS.
While Peri searched for the medical kit, the Doctor examined Hugo for broken bones. Apart from the odd cut, a little bruising and a few burns, he seemed otherwise undamaged.
As Peri carried the medical kit into the console room, the TARDIS
shuddered slightly. The wreckage of the fighter had given up and exploded.
Peri noticed that once more the Doctor's expression had changed and wondered who he thought he was now. Christian Barnard?
Pasteur? Alexander Fleming? Madame Curie? Whoever he fancied himself to be, Peri hoped he had stopped being a hero and had forgotten about being a hermit.
As the Doctor dressed Hugo's wounds, the young man started to regain consciousness. The children...' he muttered, 'my ship ... my squadron!'
Suddenly Hugo's eyes were wide open. With unexpected speed, he pulled out a small gun from a holster at his waist. Using both hands to steady it, he pointed it at the Doctor. 'Murderer!' he screamed.
'You destroyed my whole command!'
Quickly, the Doctor snatched the gun and simultaneously chopped Hugo across the side of the neck. Instantly the pilot was rendered unconscious.
'He was going to kill me.' The Doctor's voice was squeaky with a mixture of outrage and fear.
'Poor guy... Think what he must have suffered.'
That is quite beside the point. For all you seem to care, I could be lying dead at your feet this very moment.'
'But you're not. You're safe, Doc.' She stressed the word Doc, knowing how much he hated the diminutive. 'The point is, can you save him?
The Doctor folded his arms and turned away. Such was his petulance that Peri expected him to mince out of the console room.
Instead, he said, 'You never cease to amaze me. You are asking me to revive a man who had every intention of terminating my life.'
'That's right.'
Peri leant forward, tugged at a plastic tag attached to the tunic of Hugo's jacket until it was free and held it up for the Doctor to read: Lieutenant Hugo Long, Intergalactic Task Force, 'A' Squadron.
'Oh ...' said the Doctor at last. 'A policeman.'
'That's right. Now get to work and make him well again!'
Reluctantly the Doctor bent down and continued his ministration.
The Time Lord was puzzled. He was aware that he was having lapses of memory, but couldn't understand why Peri was being so aggressive. Come to that, he couldn't remember why they had come to Titan Three. Perhaps the two things were linked.
In fact, the more the Doctor thought about the general situation, the more confused he became. Why had Hugo accused him of destroying his squadron? And who were the children he seemed so concerned about? Come to that, what was Hugo doing so far from his home planet? He couldn't imagine that Titan Three was part of his