Doctor Who_ Transit - Ben Aaronovitch [79]
The Doctor decided that the best way down would be to climb down on to the rear of the crashed dustkart where it was only two metres below the rim. They could enter via the aft airlock and check the inside on the way down.
Kadiatu held the Doctor's hand as he cautiously put his weight on the dustkart's rear bulkhead. Her other hand gripped the duralloy piton she'd shot into the flaky agglomerate of the rim. She'd use the suit override to lock both gloves in position; if the dustkart went, she wasn't planning to go with it.
It seemed solid enough, perhaps it was wedged on a rockpile underneath. When the Doctor had the airlock open she unlocked the gloves and followed him in.
There was less damage in the rear cabin than she'd expected; most of the stored equipment had stayed in its racks. They used the storage bins to slide down the floor in stages. Kadiatu checked the suit locker. Either only two had been installed or there was a suit missing.
The windscreen in the cab had fractured but not broken. Brown liquid was splashed against the glaze, pooling along the join with the dashboard. Some of the controls were dented, some showed scorch marks. A fine haze hung at waist height, smoke particulates lazily settling in the one-third gravity.
'I hope she's not hurt,' said the Doctor.
Chance would be a fine thing, thought Kadiatu but kept it to herself. The laser torch was a comforting weight against her thigh.
The Doctor crouched down, using a seatback as a brace, and dipped his finger in the brown liquid. 'Flavoured semi-frozen dairy product,' he said. 'Probably chocolate. She was drink-driving, no wonder she crashed.'
Rather than climb back up the dorsal airlock they depressurised the cab and dropped out of the side hatch. The floor of the pit was ankle-deep in dust; to one side directly under their own dustkart was the entrance to a tunnel. They didn't bother searching for tracks.
It was clearly artificial with melted-looking concave walls. Patterns had been scored into the surface, complex geometric shaped overlaid with exuberant curves and spirals.
'Virility symbols,' said the Doctor. 'The young males scratch them to attract females.'
'What kind of young males?'
'Males with scales,' said the Doctor. 'Green ones.'
'This is a Greenie's nest, isn't it?'
'A military nest too,' said the Doctor, 'judging by the density of the symbols. See that one with the triangles - ' 'Nearby is Nxi, born of the third clutch, thought by many to be a mighty warrior. '' '
'I'll bet,' said Kadiatu.
'Benny must have known about this nest,' said the Doctor. 'It's too much of a coincidence that she headed straight here.
'How did she know? No one's ever discovered an intact nest since the war.'
'Remember. Bernice is an archaeologist and ahead of the times,' said the Doctor. 'Four centuries ahead to be precise.'
'Do we go after her?'
'We don't have much choice, do we?' The Doctor activated the halogen spot mounted on the shoulder of his suit. The illuminated tunnel curved to the right and down. Every square centimetre was covered in alien graffiti.
'A vast maze of underground tunnels,' said the Doctor sourly. 'What a surprise.'
Acturus Station (Stunnel Terminus)
The floozies congregated in front of the Stunnel gateway, all except Dogface, who sent a drone with an Alsatian face. The slick bronze surface of the gateway was showing a noticeable clockwise rotation.
'How long?' asked the Dogface drone.
'Six to eight hours,' said Lambada.
'Shit,' said Credit Card.
'I never liked this Stunnel business,' said Old Sam. 'It isn't right, pissing about with things you don't know about.'
'It's a bit late to say that now,' said Credit Card.
'No one asked me about it before.'
'We don't make the mess,' said Lambada, 'we just clean up afterwards.'
'The gateway can't be initiated from the other side. Only from here,' said Credit Card. 'Who's going to be that stupid?'
'You mean apart from