Doctor Who - Decalog 3 - Consequences by Edited by Andy Lane & Justin Richards

Author:Edited by Andy Lane & Justin Richards [Lane, Edited by Andy & Richards, Justin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Fegovy

By Gareth Roberts

Miss Monodine hobbled onto the small, cluttered bridge of the Phaethon, supporting her broad-beamed bulk with her stick, whispering crossly and shaking

her head. Her gaze settled on a half-empty bottle of rye and a tumbler rest-

ing on the navigation panel and she made a fearsome, disapproving noise, a

sort of volcanic rumble, at the back of her throat. ‘Willchook!’ she bellowed.

‘Willchook!’

The pilot’s chair whipped round guiltily. Its occupant’s eyes were wide with

fear, but he knew better than to scurry away and he sat still, transfixed, as she advanced. ‘I told you,’ she said, drawing out each word, ‘no drink, not on this trip.’ He bowed his head, and her ire grew. ‘How dare you just sit there! Are

you man or mouse?’ She raised the flat of her hand and batted him about the

head in rhythm with her admonishment. ‘This is not a joyride, Willchook!’

Now satisfied – she liked to start the day with an act of violence and it was

often difficult to find a suitable excuse – she pulled back. Her hand was pink and it stung. She brought it up to her lips and kissed herself better.

Willchook spoke. ‘But Miss Monodine,’ he spluttered, ‘there is simply noth-

ing out here.’ He waved a hand in the direction of the forward scan display.

The way ahead was unremittingly black and blank. ‘No traffic, no planetary

systems, no debris.’

She hissed. ‘Idiot. Do you imagine we’re the only ones to have been sum-

moned by this Fegovy? There might be any number of other bidders. I ordered

you to keep a constant watch!’ She felt anger returning.

‘I’ve been on watch for eighteen hours,’ he said drowsily, with a longing

look at the bunk built into the bridge’s wall. ‘And there’s nothing but void. I was bored.’

Miss Monodine landed him another slap, brutally, under the chin. ‘I’ll give

you bored. You’re a drunk, Willchook. I wonder why I picked you.’

‘I’m cheap, Miss Monodine,’ he muttered.

141

Her face flushed beetroot-red. ‘Shut up! Shut up!’ She lunged for the

whisky bottle and raised it menacingly over his head. ‘I told you never to

speak of money in front of me!’ She threw the bottle into a corner, where it

sparked a small electrical fire, then reached out and grabbed his jaw, clamping it with her raw fingers. ‘When I was a child,’ she rumbled, ‘I watched my father flay a man that crossed him. He peeled off the fellow’s skin from head to toe’ –

at this point in the telling she increased the force of her squeeze – ‘and forced him to carry it, over his shoulder, out into the vacuum. If I didn’t need a pilot, I’d do much the same to you!’ She released him with a shove that sent him

crashing into the navigation panel. ‘From now, you keep a clear head!’

She expected more apologies, but something had caught Willchook’s eye, a

light flashing on the forward scan display. He raised a finger. ‘That’s impossible. Something’s registering.’

Miss Monodine squinted at the display. ‘Too small for a ship.’

Willchook shrugged. ‘Could be a nipper.’

She cuffed him once more.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.