Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 06 - Alien Bodies by Lawrence Miles

Author:Lawrence Miles
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Alien Bodies by Lawrence Miles, Fiction
ISBN: 9780563405771
Publisher: BBC Books
Published: 1997-11-14T08:00:00+00:00

Qixotl made his way across to the TV. Someone else was already standing in front of the screen, drink in hand. The Professional was young, dressed in the obligatory black suit, with an unconvincing frown on his face. Another Gabrielidean, Qixotl judged.

The TV station – Dronid only had the one – was running a news bulletin. Qixotl watched a piece of footage that had presumably been taken by one of the surveillance satellites the off-worlders had put into orbit. Half a dozen spaceships were moving through the vacuum in close formation. The craft were plain black cuboids, utterly smooth and featureless, but you knew, you just knew, that at a moment’s notice they could open up their gunports and reveal a whole host of nasty weapons systems.

‘Gabrielidean warships,’ Qixotl murmured.

The Professional turned to face him. The man would have looked worried, if his facial software had been subtle enough.

‘The Time Lords,’ he said. ‘They’re coming for us, aren’t they?’

‘Yeah, right,’ said Qixotl. He tried his best to sound cynical about the whole thing.

23:49; five cans down, wobbly enough to knock over furniture without noticing it, but sober enough to deny being drunk in any way, shape, or form.

‘And that’s not all,’ Mr Gabriel said, on the other side of the table.

Qixotl picked up a couple of the empty cans in front of him. All of a sudden, he had the irresistible urge to balance them on top of one other. ‘Go on.’

‘You want to know what else the rumours say? The rumours say the Doctor’s involved.’

Qixotl had made a three-can tower in record time, but the word “Doctor” made his hand shake, so it all came tumbling down. ‘Doctor? Like, the Doctor Doctor?’ Qixotl threw his hands up in despair, and very nearly poked himself in the eye. ‘OK, that’s it, show’s over. The Doctor’s involved. Whoever the Time Lords are fighting, they don’t stand a chance.’

‘Yeah? When did I say the Doctor’s working for the Time Lords? Sure, the story says he’s coming here to fight for Gallifrey, but a couple of the pundits are saying he’s gone over to the enemy. They’re saying he’s had it with the way the High Council’s treated him over the years.’

Qixotl belched. ‘Good luck to whoever he’s going up against, that’s all I’m saying.’

‘Yeah. I’ve heard the stories. You know Mr Abel, works for the InCorporate? He says he winged the Doctor with a microwave knife one time, and the guy just walked away from it. I mean, a microwave knife. We’re talking serious tissue damage here.’

‘Tell me about it. Last time I saw the Doctor, there was a whole flotilla of Antiridean organ-eaters on his tail, and he got off without a scratch. Jammy sod.’

Mr Gabriel’s face software went into surprise overdrive. ‘You’ve met the Doctor?’

‘Couple of times. We didn’t get on, y’know?’ One by one, Qixotl picked up and shook the cans on the table, but they all seemed to be empty, for some reason. ‘And I’m telling you, he’s a force of nature.

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