Doctor Who_ The Twin Dilemma - Eric Saward [34]
The twins stared at Azmael as though he were mad. 'Have you any idea what would happen if anything were to go wrong?"
'1 am assured that nothing will,' said Azmael rather stiffly.
'And what is supposed to be our part in this ridiculous plan?'
'We already have the technology to move the planets. What we require from you is the mathematical delicacy that will stabilise them once they are in their new orbit.'
'And what if we refuse to help?'
'Then 1 shall kill you.'
The statement was casual, unforced and the twins knew he meant it. For the first time in their dual existence they had been threatened with death. Instead of feeling hurt and outraged, they understood the pain that Azmael must be suffering. Moving the outer planets into the same orbit as Jaconda's was for him one way of trying to save his people from starvation. He was desperate to succeed. And they accepted it.
They were also aware that the scheme was a lunatic one.
Carefully, they considered what they should do. Somehow they had to stop him. The thought of dying heroically, however glamorous it may appear to the onlooker, did not appeal to them.
To aimlessly throw away their lives by not cooperating would be pointless. Neither would it stop Mestor or Azmael. They would simply go ahead without them. Alive, they had power to control events. But how?
It was possible that Azmael would respond to reasoned, logical argument and the reality of events. As Mestor started to move the first planet and the impossibility of his task became obvious, Azmael would be forced to do something. After all, to die from another planet crashing into your own is as permanent as dying from starvation.
At least, that's how they reasoned.
On the other hand, Mestor was something else. The twins wondered how much he cared about anything. If things started to go wrong, he might insist that they continue irrespective of the consequence. As he had the power to back his insistence, they could all finish up dead and with the Jacondan corner of the universe in chaos.
The twins decided they would have to play the situation by ear.
Trying to make too many plans was foolish. But first they would have to gain the confidence of Azmael.
'All right...' they said as one voice. 'We'll cooperate.'
Azmael smiled. 'Your decision pleases me. Thank you.'
Then in spite of their good intentions (or was it a subconscious reaction to make their sudden conversion credible?) Romulus muttered, 'We still think you're mad.'
'Quite mad ...' Remus chipped in.
'Neurotic, psychotic ...'
'And despotic.'
Azmael nodded. 'You could be right. We'll just have to wait and see.'
What was referred to as Azmael's palace was, in fact, a massive citadel. It was said that parts of it were over two thousand years old, but such had been its piecemeal development that any architectual or historical value it may have once had had long since been lost. Instead, its collected buildings gracelessly sprawled down from the top of the mountain on which the original structure had been built.
Peri and Hugo were not destined to see this view of the citadel, as the Doctor had decided to materialise in one of its maze of forgotten corridors.
As the trio stepped from the TARDIS into a dingy, dank corridor, Peri heard herself saying indignantly, 'This is the seediest stately home I've ever seen.'
'You didn't expect me to materialise in the throne room?' was the sharp retort.
Peri didn't answer. Nowadays she didn't know what to expect from the Doctor. Although he seemed to have stabilised since his earlier erratic outbursts, there was still something odd and remote about him.
As they moved off along the passageway, going they knew not where, it had occurred to Hugo that if the twins were on Jaconda, he could still fulfill his mission and rescue them, thereby also saving his own career.