Doctor Who: Deceit by Peter Darvill-Evans

Author:Peter Darvill-Evans
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction:Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426203872
Publisher: Doctor Who Books
Published: 1993-06-15T10:00:00+00:00

‘That’s right, Agent,’ Daak said. ‘And sitting on a wrecked pod that’s going to blow up if it doesn’t blow away first is just way too safe for me. Let’s get out of here and into something really dangerous.’

Ace dropped to a crouch. ‘Down, everyone;’ she urged, and pointed up the slope. ‘Is that dangerous enough for you?’

Ten figures had appeared at the summit of the ridge. They were moving with difficulty, perhaps hampered by their long black cloaks, but they were coming downhill fast. East one was carrying a gun.

‘My guess is: not friendly,’ Defries said, unholstering her blaster. ‘Get down that rope, all of you. I’ll cover.’

‘Rats scurrying down the anchor chain of a beached ship.’

‘What?’ Britta lifted her head from Lacuna’s shoulder.

Lacuna pointed to one of the screens. ‘We have found them, pretty one. They are on the doomed planet below. See them, swinging in the wind?’

Britta leant forward. On the screen, three tiny shapes were climbing down a thread. A fourth was crouched on the silvery carapace of the wreck above them. ‘Are you going to attack them now?’ Britta asked. She found the prospect strangely exciting.

‘Soon. We must take care not to harm the one that Pool wants.’

The picture dissolved and was replaced by an image of the three climbers: almost at the end of the knotted rope, a slim man in black combat clothes, hanging with the agility of a spider, keen eyes scanning the gulley for cover; above him a young woman, similarly dressed, eyes bright with excitement, talking and gesticulating; and above her a giant of a man, his body barely covered by his torn clothing, waving a bizarre weapon, grinning like a wolf.

‘The one in the middle. The girl,’ Lacuna said.

The picture zoomed closer. The young woman’s face filled the screen.

She’s not really pretty, Britta thought. Not like me. Her mouth’s too wide. Her hair’s very straight and just an ordinary brown. I suppose it’s practical, tied back like that. And look at her shouting at those poor men. She’s obviously the bossy sort.

But she looks as if she knows what she’s doing.

‘Isn’t she magnificent, little Britta?’ Lacuna was gazing at the screen. ‘Fit, strong, capable, clever. Look at her: she’s enjoying the danger. I can feel her excitement. The others have it too: the thin one and the other woman are experiencing a desire, a sensual thrill, and the big man is full of wild rage. But this woman has some of both of these feelings, as well as more fear than the others, and even the fear excites her. And above all of these emotions, there is a hunger to know the result of the conflict. It’s as if she is conducting an experiment, with herself as one of the ingredients. She needs to know what’s going to happen next. Fascinating. A remarkable woman.’

Britta said nothing.

Now all of the screens were showing the site of the pod’s crash-landing. The pictures, Britta realized, were the views seen by the Counsellors as they scrambled down the slope towards the wrecked craft.

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