Menagerie - Martin Day [68]
'Defrabax plans to bring peace and prosperity to the city,'
said the android blandly.
'Exactly,' said the Doctor. 'Defrabax will be very angry if he finds that you've brought the entire power station on-line without making all the relevant checks.'
The android walked towards the thick metal door at the far end of the room. The Dugraq trotted behind them, deep in thought.
'This is the test room door,' said the android. He pointed to the rectangular slot where the key was supposed to fit.
'Let's see what we can do with this lock,' said the Doctor.
He made the android stretch out its broad hands and emptied into them the contents of his many pockets. The Dugraq's whiskers bristled with inquisitive interest. 'What are these things?'
'Sweets,' said the Doctor. 'Some prize marbles — no, please don't ask for an explanation now, we haven't the time. Compass. Tea bag — Darjeeling, perhaps? Pencil.
Paper clip. Stray marble. Another pencil. Eight-track cassette — still looking for something to play it on.
Screwdriver. A shopping list — the handwriting looks like Robert Burns'. I wonder if he's still waiting for his freedom and whisky?'
'Hurry, Doctor,' said the Dugraq, interest giving way to impatience.
'Aha!' exclaimed the Doctor. He withdrew a small bulb-like device with a silver thread attached. 'Found this on the floor of the TARDIS some time ago. I don't think it's essential, but it should help me open this door.'
'I used the medical emergency override codes to open all the other doors,' explained the android. 'Without the key I have been unable to open this one.'
'No matter,' said the Doctor. He reached into the slot, prized off the cover plate and gently tugged out what looked like a coiled stretch of white human hair. Then with the little device he'd found in his pockets he touched a number of wires experimentally. Occasionally the bulb would light up and the Doctor would smile. After some minutes of this delicate work the Doctor began to mumble to himself darkly.
'Oh, I could stand here all day trying to do it this way,' he said eventually. 'Let's try brute force.' And with that he took a pencil from the android's palm and shoved it into the thin wires, touching as many as possible.
There was a loud flash and the Doctor was hurled across the room. The Dugraq ran to his side, and shook him by the shoulders.
After what seemed like an age the Doctor's eyes flicked open. 'Oh, good gracious me,' he said. 'That gave me quite a turn.'
There was a further loud bang from the lock and the door slowly elevated into the ceiling. Beyond was a small room dominated by a huge glass window looking down towards the reactor core.
The computer systems were up and running and the Doctor began to tap doubtfully at a small keyboard. 'No, that's not right. I wanted . . . Ah, here we are.' The top half of the screen was split into two alternating real-time video camera sequences, showing the state of the reactor. Even the Dugraq could tell that things were in a pretty bad way. The bottom half presented a number of simple graphs. Each had a large splash of red encroaching over the screen. 'Oh my giddy aunt,' said the Doctor. 'We've got less time than I thought.'
'I can only contact Defrabax in an emergency,' said the implacable android.
'Well, I think this counts as an emergency, don't you?'
said the Doctor.
Zoe and the twins edged around the walls towards the still-open door of the furnace. The creature was tracking them from a distance, but for the moment had not come any closer. Perhaps it had been injured by Diseaeda's attack —
or by the station worker's torch — but Zoe felt that their luck could not last much longer.
Just as they were almost within reach of the huge metal shutters the creature sprang into the air. The twins threw themselves to one side but a fist of razor-sharp talons clamped around Zoe's thigh and twisted her savagely to the ground. As her head thumped against the floor she saw sparks and