Doctor Who: Target - Novelisations [128] - Time and the Rani by Pip Baker & Jane Baker

Author:Pip Baker & Jane Baker
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426203315
Publisher: Target Books
Published: 1988-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

12

‘You Know, Don’t You!’

‘Charles Darwin… Za Panato… Louis Pasteur… Albert Einstein,’ recited Mel, reading the labels on the cabinets.

‘Names which mean nothing to us,’ said Beyus.

‘Geniuses. Every one of them. The Rani’s brought together the most creative minds and the most powerful matter in the universe. The scope of her imagination is breathtaking,’ stated the Doctor.

‘You sound as though you admire her.’ The anguish from his daughter’s death gave Beyus’s reproof a tinge of bitterness.

‘A murderess,’ cried Faroon. ‘Sarn was not her first victim. There have been many.’

‘Not admiration,’ apologised the Doctor. ‘Fascination. And sadness. If only the Rani could have directed her exceptional talents for good!’

‘The fascination’s mutual,’ called Mel, indicating the label on the vacant cabinet. ‘She’s reserved this for you!’

A rare moment: the Doctor’s resilience stayed in neutral! He gulped, then tried, unconvincingly, to shrug off the panic he felt.

‘What –’ He moistened his lips. ‘What is it I can contribute that these other geniuses can’t?’

Accompanied by Mel, Faroon and Beyus, he beat a retreat into the lab.

‘You’re a Time Lord,’ suggested Mel.

‘With a unique conceptual understanding of the properties of time…’

Ignoring the planet and its asteroid flickering on the monitor screen, he made for the spherical chamber.

‘Do you have any idea what’s in there?’ he asked Beyus.

Beyus was at the exit, keeping watch for the Rani. ‘No. She’s never permitted me to see.’

‘Pity. Why have you – um – er – assisted?’

‘Collaborated is the word you are avoiding. I’ve no choice – She’s coming!’

Stampede!

In the general scramble, the Doctor bundled Mel into the arcade. ‘Look after Mel!’

‘I’ll take her with me,’ volunteered Faroon.

‘Doctor, you can’t stay!’

‘Go, Mel! Go!’

Slamming the door to the arcade, he scampered to the machine, adopting a bravura show of nonchalance as the Rani entered.

Disaster! He had omitted to switch off the monitor!

‘Let me see,’ he blustered. ‘Yes. Yes. That’s polyethersulphone.’ He took possession of the amber sheet as a diversion. ‘Excellent. How clever of you, Mel. Where did you find it?’

‘Storeroom,’ came the flat reply. She had not missed the flickering screen. ‘Why’s the monitor on?’

‘On? Is it? The monitor? I was just trying to jog my memory. No luck though. Hold the other end, Mel!’

She held the plastic sheet… but her keen eyes were not on the Doctor tightening the casing clips. They were on the scorched stool. ‘Turned pyromaniac, too, have you?’

‘Pyro – er – yes. Soldering what-d’you-call-it slipped. You’re not concentrating, Mel! Hold the sheet still. I’ll have to manoeuvre it into position.’

‘You’re rather adept at manoeuvring, aren’t you, Doctor?’

A flutter of uncertainty from him. ‘Ah well, where there’s a will there’s a Tom, Dick and Harry.’ He fastened the last clip. ‘QED.’

‘Do I take it the machine’s now operational?’

‘No, no, no, no! There’s information I simply must have before I make the final delicate adjustments.’

‘Such as?’

‘Ideally, what’s in that spherical chamber.’

‘Less ideally?’

‘The identity of this rather interesting substance.’ He dipped his knuckle into the goo in the crystal tank.

‘The information’s essential, is it?’

‘Crucial.’

‘So if I told you its chemical composition, I could do this –’ She stabbed the starter button.

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.