Doctor Who_ The Twin Dilemma - Eric Saward [26]
Peri shivered again as a tiny avalanche of grit and pebbles cascaded down a nearby rock face. Cautiously she looked up and saw the Doctor, perched on top of a hillock, scanning the horizon like an Apache warrior.
Since leaving the TARDIS, the Doctor had abandoned his Sherlock Holmes persona, been Hern the Hunter for five minutes, someone called Musk, who Peri gathered was considered to be the greatest explorer in the known universe, and something resembling a country squire on a brisk walk around his estate.
The light continued to fade.
Suddenly there was a loud shout and Peri thought the Doctor had fallen. Frantically her eyes searched the rock face for his broken body, but saw that he was still on his rocky summit, this time statue-like, pointing westward into the fast disappearing sun.
Peri followed the direction in which the finger was pointing, but could see nothing but more rocky outcrops.
With the speed and agility of a practised mountain goat, the Time Lord bounded down from his observation point and set off across the bleak landscape, intent on stalking whatever he had seen.
Brushing the grey surface dust from her clothes, Peri followed.
Although only walking, the Doctor seemed to be covering the ground at an enormous speed. Peri's efforts to catch him up were not helped by the impractical high-heeled boots she was wearing, which were constantly snagged by the uneven terrain.
As the Doctor disappeared around the edge of an outcrop of rock, Peri became a little panicky. She knew that to lose him now could cost her life. Desperately she broke into a run, thoughts of sprained or broken ankles vanished from her mind.
As she rounded the outcrop herself, Peri saw the now stationary Time Lord silhouetted against the receding sun. He seemed transfixed by something ahead of him. It wasn't until Peri drew alongside the Doctor that she saw the enormous freighter half hidden in a ravine. To one side, on higher ground, was the dome they had seen from the TARDIS.
Again, without speaking, the Doctor moved off, but to his companion's surprise, neither towards the ship or dome, but to a point mid-way between.
Peri tottered after him, again cursing her foolish footwear. She wanted to cry out and ask the Doctor for help, but she doubted he would hear her as he had now started to scratch at a pile of rocks, like a dog searching for a buried bone.
Quickly, he demolished the pile and Peri could see there was a metal trap door set into the ground. How the Doctor knew it was there Peri would never know, but what was beneath it she was about to find out.
Brushing the last of the grey dust from a small panel set into the trap door, the Doctor felt round its edge and seemed to flick something. Instantly the tiny panel popped open and the Time Lord pressed a sequence of buttons housed in the cavity beneath it.
Slowly, stiffly, painfully, the heavy metal sheet slid back on rusty runners to reveal a dimly lit passage below.
This time the Doctor waited for his companion, helping her descend the steps into what she could now see was some sort of service duct.
Cautiously, she looked around at the heavy pipes and cables mounted on the walls. If the Doctor had bothered to tell her, she would have learnt that it was a supply tunnel between the dome and the landing pad.
Instead, the Doctor ran off towards the dome, Peri following, her high heeled boots echoing on the concrete floor.
If the Doctor had also bothered to mention the ducting was also a walkway, Peri might have advised caution. Instead, all she could do was scream as Noma and Drak stepped from an alcove, handguns levelled ready to fire.
Surprised, Azmael looked up as the heavy, reinforced door that separated the ducting from the main area of the dome slid open, and the Doctor and Peri were bundled in.
'Hi,' said Peri with a large grin, trying to appear like a