Doctor Who_ The Visitation - Eric Saward [37]
The TARDIS hovered over London. On the scanner-screen the Doctor and his party stared at a view of the medieval city beneath them. Suddenly a thin white line appeared and began to travel vertically across the screen.
'Doctor. Will you please tell us why you're doing this?' said Tegan, feeling completely frustrated by his refusal to explain his plan.
'Walt and see!'
Quickly the Doctor pressed several switches on the console and the TARDIS
repositioned itself in the night sky. The view on the screen was now of old London Bridge and the surrounding area.
The Doctor operated a lever and the scan-line appeared again and slowly travelled across the screen. As it scanned Southwark, the line wobbled slightly, the distortion growing greater as it reached London Bridge.
Suddenly, as the line hit a point on the north side of the Thames, it folded into a triangle and started to flash over a fixed point.
'That's it!' The Doctor was delighted.
Tegan frowned. 'Well, what is it?'
'The Terileptil base!'
Adric checked a dial on the console. 'There's certainly something there.'
The Doctor operated the lever and the section of London was rescanned. This time the blip was larger.
'Absolutely no doubt,' he said.
Tegan was beginning to fume. 'Please tell me what you've found.'
'An electrical emission from a piece of highly sophisticated equipment,' the Doctor said, smiling. 'Not something you would expect to find on seventeenth-century Earth!'
He operated the TARDIS's controls and the time machine materialised near the miller's horse as a clock in the distance struck midnight.
Quickly the Doctor and party emerged into the street, Mace still clutching his musket.
'That's an old friend,' said Nyssa pointing at the wagon.
'Indeed,' muttered the Doctor, crossing to it.
The horse snorted, as though in greeting.
'But where are the Terileptils?' mused Adric. 'They could be anywhere.'
The Doctor pointed at the bakery. 'A miller's wagon outside a bakery,' he said, looking at the boy. 'Where else could the driver be. Come on.'
The party cautiously moved to the darkened entrance and the Doctor tried the door. It was not locked. Silently he eased it open and the group entered, to be greeted by a wall of heat from the ovens. Mace cocked his musket.
'Where are they?' whispered Nyssa.
The Doctor shrugged, looking around. 'We need a torch!' he said.
Instantly Mace rummaged inside his tunic and removed a tinder box. In less time than it takes to light a modern match, he had opened the box, struck steel against flint and ignited a small amount of tinder. Quickly he moved to one of the ovens, and lit a bunch of rush tapers. But as he handed the burning torch to the Doctor, Adric walked into a small stool, sending it crashing across the floor. The party froze, listening.
Silence.
Mace returned the tinder box to his tunic and picked up his musket. As he did so, the Doctor noticed the small door at the back of the oven room, and silently walked over to it.
'Do we go in there?' whispered Tegan, pointing at the door.
The Doctor nodded.
Mace raised his musket to the firing position as the Doctor took a deep breath and quickly pushed it open.
Seated at a desk in the middle of the room was the Terileptil Leader, pen in hand, writing.
'Good evening,' said the Doctor, as jauntily as his apprehension would allow.
'Welcome, Doctor,' the Leader said calmly, placing his pen on the table and rising.
The Doctor moved a little way into the room, Mace at his shoulder.
'You appear to be expecting me,' said the Doctor.
'I was expecting my android. But if you've brought the TARDIS here, so be it.' The Leader's pleasantness was beginning to make the Doctor feel distinctly uneasy. 'Please come in,' he said, beckoning with a webbed hand.
'But first put away your gun.'
'You jest, sir!' said the actor indignantly.
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