Doctor Who - Target Novelisations - 092 - The Caves of Androzani by Terrance Dicks

Author:Terrance Dicks [Dicks, Terrance]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Science Fiction, Doctor Who (Fictitious Character)
ISBN: 9780426199595
Publisher: Target
Published: 1985-03-31T07:00:00+00:00

* * *

Although there is only one cure for spectrox toxaemia, it is possible to counteract the effects, at least for a while.

Salateen was in the process of shooting a powerful stimulant into the unconscious Peri’s bloodstream.

They were in General Chellak’s private quarters; the tiny bedroom and bathroom adjoining the General’s office was one of the privileges of rank.

The injection-gun gave a faint pop, and there was a brief glow on Peri’s wound. She came suddenly back to consciousness. She looked around her, struggling to take in her surroundings. ‘What’s happening?’ she muttered.

‘Where am I?’

Salateen clapped his hand over her mouth. ‘Sssh!’ He looked anxiously at the thin wall dividing them from the office.

In the office Chellak was concluding a briefing session with his aide – the android Major Salateen. The information content of the briefing had been carefully chosen to deceive Sharaz Jek.

‘No further orders, Major,’ concluded General Chellak.

But the android’s keen ears had caught the suppressed muttering from the adjoining room. It turned slowly, staring at the wall. Its x-ray vision penetrated the thin partition, showing Peri stretched out on the bunk, with Salateen beside her, his hand still over her mouth.

‘I said no further orders,’ repeated Chellak.

‘Very good, sir,’ said the android Salateen. It stared at the wall for a moment longer, then turned, looking impassively at the General.

Now that he knew the truth, Chellak wondered how he could ever have been deceived. To cover his nervousness he snapped, ‘Well, was there anything else?’

‘The magma pressure is still increasing,’ said the android levelly.

Chellak shrugged. ‘It’s been high before without anything happening. I’m sure the engineers will give us ample warning if there’s a mud burst on the way.’

‘There should be time to get the barriers down sir. But a sudden burst could wipe out our forward patrols.’

‘That’s a calculated risk, Major. We cannot suspend all forward operations because sometime during the next month there might be a mud burst.’

The android’s mouth twitched in the half-smile that was so typical of Salateen. ‘No, sir, of course not.’

Chellak sat marvelling at Sharaz Jek’s skill. The android saluted and left the office.

Chellak turned and hurried into his quarters. ‘That android suspects something.’

Salateen nodded uneasily, ‘They can detect human body heat even through a wall,’ he said – unaware that the android’s x-ray vision had already uncovered their secret.

Chellak said, ‘We’ll have to get it off the base somehow, that’s the only thing for it!’ He glanced down at Peri. ‘How do you feel?’

Peri felt sick and dizzy and her body was racked with shooting pains. ‘Awful. Not that you care.’

Chellak tilted her head back, raising an eyelid with his thumb. He studied the eyeball for a moment, then turned away. ‘I don’t think she’ll be any use to us.’

‘I’ll give her another injection in an hour, sir,’ said Salateen. ‘She’ll make it.’

They might have been talking about a sick horse, thought Peri, or a broken-down car. ‘You two are all heart,’

she muttered.

Chellak glared down at her. ‘If you weren’t dying anyway, I’d probably have you shot.

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