Menagerie - Martin Day [79]
'And what will the rest of you do?' asked Captain Oiquaquil.
'We'll try to ensure that you don't have to deal with these Mecrim creatures,' said the Doctor. 'Zoe, Raitak, Reisaz. I realize this will be very hard for you all, but you're the only people here with any experience of fighting the Mecrim. I'd like you to accompany me to the underground city's military bunker to see if we can find a way of stopping these creatures.'
'We are quite happy to go with you, Doctor,' said Reisaz, sounding more brave than she expected.
'Thank you,' said the Doctor. 'Now, Defrabax, Jamie and my little friend the scout. I want you to warn the Dugraqs and the Rocarbies about the Mecrim. If we don't succeed, the underground races will be attacked first.'
'Our people have feared the worst for some time,' said the Dugraq. 'We are prepared. Let us hope we can be as successful in battle as we have always endeavoured to be in peace.'
'I'm not sure that the Rocarbies will listen to me now,'
said Defrabax, blowing his nose on a handkerchief. 'But I will try.' He stared at the Doctor levelly. 'Just don't damage my homunculus.'
'Your homunculus is in safe hands,' said the Doctor.
'Now, I think Zaitabor's little tunnel will serve us all well.' He pointed towards the gallery over their heads. 'No need for all that tedious messing about with Kuabris suits.'
The others followed the Doctor to the foot of the wall, staring up the rockface for ways of scaling it.
Oiquaquil turned to his men and called out some orders.
Some ran to the remaining knights, huddled in one corner, and then escorted them up the stairs and back into the castle.
Another group of guards marched back down the little tunnel and towards the city itself.
Oiquaquil shouted across the cavern at the Doctor's group. 'Doctor?'
'Yes, Captain?'
'Good luck.'
Deep in the nest of the Taculbain the people sat down before their Queen like children before a teacher. Her body ached from her lengthy imprisonment but that was as nothing to the sadness she felt. As she looked at them disappointment welled up within her like blood from a wound.
'Did we not realize that the surface-dweller's intentions were evil?' she asked at last. 'One cunning enough to imprison us should not have been trusted.'
'We wanted to be reunited, our Queen,' said one of the Taculbain towards the front, his eyes averted in reverence.
'The thought of us in chains was more than we could bear!'
The Queen's mandibles champed with fury. 'But to release such creatures from their justifiable imprisonment!'
'We had no thought as to the result of our actions,'
chirruped the creature. 'The man merely said that he would be missed if absent from the castle for too long. He told us what to do, we obeyed!'
The Queen flexed her aching limbs, trying to find a comfortable position. 'But we are old! Although pleased to be back with us, our body is weary. Did we not realize that the transformation will soon be upon us? That one of us might be the next Queen?'
'We could not take that risk,' said the minion. 'Without our eggs our numbers will dwindle and —'
'What have we always said about our status in this place?
We fear the massive numbers of the Rocarbies, and are thankful that they consider us immortal gods. We knew that one day they would discover that we are simple creatures, just as they, and that we had to prepare for the conflict by increasing our own numbers. We do see the logic in what we have done — but it seems we have raised to life creatures who are an infinitely greater threat than the Rocarbies!'
'We are preparing to defend our nest,' said another Taculbain. 'Soldier food is being distributed. The dead surface-dwellers will play their part in our defence.'
The Queen raised an arm tenderly towards the speaker.
'Yes, we know. We have done well, given the circumstances. And let us never forget that this is what happens when we meddle with surface-dwellers or allow