Doctor Who: New Series Adventures [043] - The Coming Of The Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock

Author:Michael Moorcock
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9781846079832
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 2010-10-14T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Luxury Class

APART FROM MRS BANNING-CANNON'S occasional complaint about the

choir practising in the common rooms of the spacebus and

a bit of an argy-bargy between W.G. Grace and her chums,

who had accused one of the other players - Pavli-Pavli - of

licking their arrow flights during a friendly on the faded

artificial green provided by the bus, the journey was largely

without incident. Poseidon had experienced an horrendous

space tornado and was out of bounds to civilians.

Amy was sure Frank/Freddie Force and Co had been given

the slip, but the Doctor wasn't quite so optimistic. 'Once he's

after you, that one, he becomes a bloodhound. If I didn't

know better, I'd say he had somehow attached himself to our

hull and Lady Peggy had made them all invisible.'

'You're not serious?' Sitting next to him, Amy stirred her

kashions. She would have been glad to have a bit more variety

in her diet, wholesome as the food was.

They were feathering down against the huge, glowing

world of Pangloss. They would not actually land but had

arranged to meet the Gargantua here. As they swung round

into Pangloss's night side they spotted the mighty liner lying

along the line of the planet's twin rings, hardly visible at first

until their own reflected light suddenly struck her and made

her blaze like a star, all silver and rubies in the depths of

night

'Wow,' said Amy. 'Whenever I start to get blase, something

like that happens. Is she the Gargantua? Gosh, she's the size

of Earth!'

The Doctor smiled. 'Aren't you glad you didn't miss the

chance to go aboard her? Even if it's only for a few days.

I'm surprised she's here ahead of us. She wasn't supposed

to arrive until tomorrow, I thought I must have got the

schedules wrong.'

'It'll be good to take a shower,' Amy said, 'without

worrying about seventy miners queuing to use it after you.

Did you say they have showers en suite?'

'I think the A-class cabins have two,' he told her. But

that's only for the family apartments. Mr and Mrs Banning-

Cannon and their daughter are in one of those.'

'On a different deck to ours I hope.' She smiled.

'At least one removed. Probably twenty or so. I think it

says somewhere on our tickets.' He consulted his pocket-V,

then put it away, grinning. 'They're on Deck Four and we're

on Deck Hundred and Two!'

'Result!'

'Yes, that's six decks away from the B-Cs.'

'Six?' She shook her head. 'You're a whizz at maths, Doctor,

but even I know that four from a hundred and two makes a

ninety-eight''

'Think about it,' he said. T h e ship's a huge tube. She has a

hundred and ten decks.'

'Oh!' she felt like an idiot 'So the poshest deck is next to

the lowest economy?'

'Not exactly.' He seemed puzzled. Something about

the massive planet had intrigued him. Then he turned his

attention back, watching as their tender swept gracefully

around the golden ship while she drifted into dock.

Her wonderful nouveau baroque stylings made Amy gasp

in delight.

'They're the G-class. The most up-to-date ships in the

galaxy. Safe, luxurious even on the cheapest decks. Nothing

spared. Planets bought and sold to pay for them,' the Doctor

told her. 'There are five of them in all. Commissioned by

Meng and Ecker.

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