Doctor Who: Target - Novelisations [026] - Full Circle by Andrew Smith

Author:Andrew Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426201502
Publisher: Target Books
Published: 1983-05-14T22:00:00+00:00

7

‘A Little Patience Goes a Long Way’

Adric, Varsh, Tylos and Keara stood around the control console of the TARDIS, staring in awe at the time column as it rose and fell, bright lights winking within it.

‘What’s happening?’ Tylos whispered.

‘I don’t know,’ Adric replied. After a moment’s consideration, he ventured, ‘We seem to be travelling.’

Keara grabbed Varsh’s arm protectively and buried her head in his shoulder. ‘Varsh… do something,’ she pleaded. ‘I’m frightened.’

‘Adric?’ Varsh called to his brother. ‘You’re the clever one. Where are we going?’

‘How should I know?’ Adric snapped, as afraid as any of them. ‘Romana set the co-ordinates. We could be going anywhere.’

‘Anywhere…’ Keara repeated to herself.

K9’s body remained where the Marshmen had left it, in the centre of the cave floor. From his dark interior, a spider appeared, crawling out through the opening at his neck, pausing to assess its environment. It dropped to the floor, landing squarely on its eight legs, and started to cross to where the other spiders enveloped the body of Romana. On the way, it passed the remains of the spider that had bitten her. It lay on its back, dead, unmoving, beginning to decay.

It had served its purpose.

Login and the Doctor walked the corridors of the starliner at a brisk pace initiated by Login. The Doctor had noted that the man seemed somehow nervous, preoccupied with some inner worry. He knew the best thing to do was to leave the matter for Login to raise himself, if he wanted to raise it.

‘Don’t feel too badly,’ said the Doctor, to start some kind of a conversation. ‘There aren’t many door mechanisms that can resist a sonic screwdriver… in expert hands.’

Login gave a snort. ‘Any method of breaching the starliner is of grave concern.’

‘Isn’t that a bit paranoid?’ the Doctor considered.

‘Cautious, Doctor.’

A moment later, Login found himself suddenly alone. Looking back along the passageway, he saw the Doctor had stopped next to a wall power-point where a maintenance crew were carrying out an equipment installation. From one of the citizens the Doctor had taken the piece of equipment that had just been removed and was looking at it closely. With a look of disappointment, he returned it and then caught up with Login. ‘Sorry. Thought it might have been an image translator. I need one for my ship, you see.’

‘Ah,’ was Login’s only comment as they walked on.

‘Tell me, Login,’ the Doctor went on, ‘why are your maintenance men replacing a perfectly good optronic relay?’

Login gave the Doctor a look that showed he was genuinely bewildered, but he shrugged the matter off. ‘I was installed as a Decider only recently, Doctor. I know little of these matters myself, for the time being. But I know the manuals are thorough in their requirements.’

‘At this rate it could be years before the preparations are complete.’

Login laughed. ‘Generations, Doctor. We have no illusions about that.’

‘Generations?’ The Doctor was amazed.

‘There is always something to be perfected.’ And again he spoke in that way the Doctor had found characteristic of all starliner citizens, as if reciting a memorised phrase.

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