Doctor Who_ Divided Loyalties Part 2

Paladopous started tapping at his console, muttering to himself, and Oakwood settled back in his chair, grinning.

Nothing better to do today, Niki. Might as well work on the mad commander's pet project.'

If Paladopous thought Oakwood mad, he sensibly kept quiet. Instead, he concentrated on his new task.

Commander,' Townsend was frowning over to Oakwood.

Have you noticed something odd about Dymok?'

Oakwood instantly tapped away at a keypad, linking his operations console with hers. He looked at the same readings as Townsend, and likewise began frowning.

Niki,' he said sharply, forget that now.'

With a sigh, Paladopous glanced over at Townsend's workstation and took in what had alarmed his colleagues.

There's nothing there,' he said. It's just... stopped'

Paladopous was referring to the steady stream of readings that emanated from the planet recording their movement, their planetary transmissions, their everyday life.

Is something blocking the signals?' This was the first moment of action Oakwood had seen since getting to the station, and already he had a sense of dread trickling down his back, along with a dribble of sweat. Around him, the bridge crew were rapidly trying everything they could to re-establish contact. Townsend's fingers ricocheted over her keypad with expertise, tying in every possible malfunction, cross-checking all their on-board sensors. Paladopous was going over the alignment of their exterior satellites, while everyone else noisily did their jobs. After only a few seconds Oakwood suddenly yelled out.

Shut up, everyone.' The crew froze. Thank you. Yes, we have a potential situation, but we'd all get a clearer idea of what that situation is if we did our work quietly and efficiently, OK? Carry on.'

Everyone did, but at a lower pitch - and the communications officer cut off the chatter from the rest of Little Boy II, Little Boy II, confining himself to his own earpiece. confining himself to his own earpiece.

Oakwood waved Townsend closer. Well?'

Everything's fine, Kris. The station's as good as it was four minutes back. It's the planet that has stopped. It's like it was switched off or something.'

Oakwood nodded, and hit the station-wide intercom.

Attention everybody. Note that we lost contact with Dymok at 08.47. Everyone is to go through their records and search for anything unusual - s.p.a.ce phenomena, equipment failure, anything at or around that time. Report to CPO Townsend any findings you have within fifteen minutes.' He cut himself off.

Niki, Sarah, in my quarters in twenty minutes, OK?'

They nodded and he stood up, exited the bridge and headed back to his private room, mentally writing the message he was about to send back to Earth. Every fibre in his being told him to wait, to ensure that he had all the relevant information, each segment of the puzzle before alarming Earth. And yet, deep down he knew that he had as much information as he was likely to get. He had a crew who knew their jobs. Fifteen minutes or fifteen seconds, they were good enough to tell him everything instantly, as a matter of course.

Nothing unusual had happened at 08.47 except that Dymok had, to all intents and purposes, died on him.

And somewhere in the back of his head he felt the irrational tickle of fear and guilt.

Fear that something somewhere was powerful enough to wipe Dymok out.

And guilt that it had happened on his watch.

4.

Of All the Things We've Made

It's not Heathrow, is it?'

No'

It's not even Earth, is it?'

No.'

Twentieth century?'

No'

Do you actually know where we are? Or when?'

The Doctor was staring at the TARDIS scanner-screen rather intently. Not, Tegan suspected, because he gave a flying fig what was on it, but simply because he didn't want to meet her gaze. Which, she knew, was accusatory, unforgiving and non-conciliatory. She felt her lips purse in what her father had once, rather charmlessly, referred to as her cat's-a.r.s.e pout'.

So?'

The Doctor sighed, straightened up, and moved back from the TARDIS console. Its flas.h.i.+ng lights, little levers and computer screens were all blinking out of time with each other like an epileptic disco.

You know, Tegan, it would be far easier to concentrate on getting you home if I didn't feel that every time I failed you were going to try and sue me.'

Tegan snorted. Well, if you didn't... hadn't failed quite so often, maybe I'd be more forgiving!'

Adric, who was sitting cross-legged by the TARDIS double doors that led to whatever was outside and munching on a bright red apple, looked up from the book he was reading as if noticing them for the first time. Tegan hated that look - superiority and arrogance from someone who thought green and yellow pyjamas were the height of cool fas.h.i.+on.

Of course,' he said, presumably thinking he was being reasonable, if you stopped arguing with the Doctor, we wouldn't be so keen to be rid of you and we all might start enjoying our trip around this universe.'

He then dismissed them and returned to his book.

Tegan wasn't sure whether to ignore him or kick seven bells out of him. It wasn't her fault that the Doctor had failed to get her home. Back to the job she wanted to do, flying in aircraft not in mobile police boxes. And it wasn't her fault that her temper got the better of her now and again. And it certainly wasn't her fault that she was living with three aliens from alarmingly different backgrounds, none of whom she understood. She was, if she was brutally honest, rather frightened of her companions. They were all basket cases and she was locked up with them!

Take the Doctor, for instance. When she first met him, he was about fifteen years older than he was now, with curly brown hair and a commanding personality that everyone was in awe of, including her. Then, after an accident he changed, literally before her eyes, into a younger, blond man who liked cricket and looked only five or six years older than she was.

Then there was Nyssa. Hey, there was a cla.s.sic example of damage. She was what, seventeen? Eighteen maybe? Her parents were dead. Her stepmother was dead. Her entire world had been consumed, obliterated and she was the only survivor, anywhere. And what did she do? Shrug it off, wallow in scientific books to learn more about something called Telebiogenesis' which she claimed to be ignorant of. Hardly what most teenage girls did. When Tegan had been eighteen, it was music, R-rated movies and boys - poor Nyssa should be dreaming of movie stars, calling friends, going to the clubs.

h.e.l.l, grieving wouldn't be a bad thing either. It couldn't be healthy hiding away her emotions after all that had happened.

Then there was Adric. King-size brat and arrogant adolescent, with his posturing and posing. Oh yes, mathematical genius he might be, but here's another teenaged boy with too much brain and not enough exercise. So what does he do? He masters the art of the sarcastic, but unfunny, retort, is lazy and workshy and, above all, forgets to bathe regularly. Both she and Nyssa had suggested that the Doctor should have a man-to-man chat with him about how his body was changing as he went through his teenage years, and should offer to give him some deodorant, but the Doctor had suddenly mumbled something like been there, done that centuries ago, no thanks' and headed off somewhere else. As far as Tegan's sense of smell could tell even the TARDIS automatic-cleaning atmosphere couldn't stop Adric's armpits ponging. With a sigh Tegan realised that Adric was right, however, about one thing. Picking arguments with the Doctor got neither of them anywhere and just created a bad atmosphere.

She was about to apologise, she really was, when with an exaggerated sigh the Doctor tugged his cream hat from his cricketing coat pocket, unfurled it and jammed it on his head.

Well,' he said darkly, anyone who wants to join me outside is welcome to do so.' He looked straight at Tegan. We might as well find out just how far from Heathrow 1981 we actually are.'

Doctor..?' Tegan started to say, but he just rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

Not now, Tegan, please. You have made your point.' And then, fixing her with a steely stare - the sort of stare that reminded her that he was nearly a thousand years old rather than about thirty; the eyes shrieked of an old and wise man, trapped inside a young man's body, never getting the automatic respect and reverence he deserved - the Doctor casually flicked back the red-topped lever that opened the TARDIS doors.

At which point Adric squealed like a young puppy as the doors moved inwards, pus.h.i.+ng him to one side and sending book and half-gnawed apple in different directions.

Owww!' he whined.

That'll teach you to sit in stupid places,' Tegan heard herself say, automatically taking her angst and annoyance out on the boy.

Adric, naturally, took the comment as he did everything else - water off a duck's back.

Nyssa came into the TARDIS console room. The brown corduroy trousers she'd dug out of the TARDIS wardrobe matched her Traken jacket (even her hair was always immaculate and styled) and both looked as if they'd come straight from the shop. How did did she do that? she do that?

Oh. Have we landed somewhere?'

Immediately the Doctor's mood changed - and he beamed at his young protegee. Yes, Nyssa,' he said. And I think you might find this quite interesting.'

Ignoring Adric and Tegan, Nyssa strode towards the Doctor and together they left the s.h.i.+p.

With a last withering look at Adric, Tegan scurried out after them. Hey! Wait for me...' she yelled indignantly.

The Doctor was standing, one hand in his pocket, gesticulating with the other, and using his hat, now furled up again, as a pointer to show the particular marks and design points of the frankly dull, grey room they were in.

The Doctor and Nyssa had a rapport that Tegan never understood and was more than a little envious of. In many ways, Nyssa was like a young, female version of the Doctor.

They shared a love of science, of exploration and knowledge. They also shared an amazing ability to get lost, locked up, shot at and generally tumble into trouble wherever the TARDIS took them.

It amazed Tegan how quickly she had got used to the idea that it was the s.h.i.+p that actually guided them rather than the Doctor, who seemed content to ramble around the twelve (at least) galaxies at the mercy of the TARDIS's apparent whims.

Tegan was aware that Adric was at her shoulder, equally bemused by the room, his little snub nose almost twitching as he feigned disinterest when really he was just as curious as the other two - albeit through an innate need to be nosy rather than because of any genuine intellectual advancement he might achieve.

It's big,' he said pointlessly.

Any suggestions as to where we are, hmmm?' The Doctor looked down at Adric as a schoolmaster might look at a particularly dense pupil.

A s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p?' offered Tegan, as encouragingly as she could. If they could get past the recent argument...

Possibly, possibly,' the Doctor nodded, bringing her back into the field trip. He gave a couple of jumps into the air, to check the gravity. But there's no feeling of movement.'

There is,' said Adric. But it's slower, more constant.'

A s.p.a.ce station,' Tegan offered up. It's going around very slowly, creating an artificial gravity. Or something.' She realised the others were looking at her. She'd got it wrong again.

Spot on,' beamed the Doctor, pointing at her with his hat.

Top of the cla.s.s, Ms Jovanka.'

It's from Earth,' Nyssa said dryly. As usual.' She was standing by a doorway. A sign in red and green displayed OPEN and CLOSE in English.

Oh good..' murmured the Doctor, and Tegan wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. I wonder where we are?'

Adric, impatient and pragmatic as ever, waddled towards the door and pressed the green OPEN panel. The door silently slid back.

Adric!' cried the Doctor.

What?'

With a sigh, the Doctor took Adric by the shoulders and eased him to one side. He looked through the door, left and right, before turning back to the boy. How many times must I tell you not to just open doors, hmmm?' He shook his head.

Anything could have been out here.'

But it wasn't,' was Adric's answer, there's no one here.'

Hardly the point..?' started the Doctor before wandering out into the brightly lit corridor with identical grey metallic walls. He stuck his head back around the door of the room where his companions stood. Well? Coming or not?'

Tegan shook her head, taking up the rear as Nyssa and Adric duly followed him into the depths of the s.p.a.ce station.

Hey, at least she'd known it was a s.p.a.ce station. Things must be improving.

Commander Oakwood folded his arms, rested his feet on a chair opposite the one he was sitting on and let his head lean back against the rest.

Breakfast was barely over and they had a crisis. First one, admittedly, but a biggie. He still wondered about telling Earth but thought it better to wait until he had more facts. Or more possibilities, maybes and perhapses, so that he could at least antic.i.p.ate Earth's questions and have answers, even if they weren't exactly the solutions that would be wanted.

There was a buzz on the door.

Yup?' He didn't move or open his eyes. Important to let everyone know he was as calm as ever.