Doctor Who - The 8th Doctor - 30 - Parallel 59 by Natalie Dallaire;Stephen Cole

Author:Natalie Dallaire;Stephen Cole
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Doctor Who (Fictitious Character), Fiction
ISBN: 9780563555902
Publisher: BBC Pubns
Published: 2000-02-14T08:00:00+00:00

‘We’re leaving. Now!’ the Doctor insisted, bundling Compassion down to the hole in the fence. She felt the netting pulling at her hair as she scrambled through into the rough long grass on the other side, Jessen close behind her.

‘How far to the transport?’

the Doctor asked as the others scrambled

through.

‘Half a kilometre,’ Tod said. ‘Maybe less.’

The Doctor’s face fell. ‘We’d better move fast.’

‘With him?’ Compassion gestured at the man leaning heavily against Slatin.

‘How are you doing, Makkersvil?’ the Doctor asked.

‘We should leave him, you know,’ Compassion said flatly. ‘I know you won’t, but we really should.’

The Doctor smiled faintly at her, then turned back to Makkersvil. ‘And I don’t want to hear any noble self-sacrificial cries of “go on without me” from you, OK?’

Makkersvil looked appalled. ‘Don’t worry, you won’t!’ With a grunt of effort, Slatin scooped him back into her arms. ‘Thank you,’ Makkersvil said, and she smiled.

‘Let’s just move it, shall we?’ Tod muttered, hefting another grenade.

‘Try to throw it as far behind the fence as you can,’ the Doctor said. ‘Blow a bigger hole in it and they’ll get to us even faster. Don’t you think?’

Tod was still swearing at him when the grenade went off, lighting up the adumbral sky behind them.

∗ ∗ ∗

196

Terma sat in Narkompros’s old chair in Strategy One, watching patiently as an engineer fixed the wiring in the video screen. His prerecorded message, outlining the tragic death of Head Narkompros but urging the Facility staff to do all they could for the Project’s success in tribute to his memory, was playing over the loudspeaker system. He would linger here respectfully until it had played out, then make his presence felt as Head Terma, touring his Facility.

The engineer stepped away from the screen as Parallel 59’s proud emblem cut abruptly into existence. ‘Should be all right now, Head Terma,’ he reported.

‘Not before time. Get out.’

The engineer left hurriedly and Terma lounged back in his chair and addressed the silent screen. ‘Everything is now proceeding perfectly,’ he announced grandly. ‘That my ascendance to executive power –’ No, too wordy –

‘That my new appointment coincides with the Project’s unexpected reversal in fortune is no mere chance. Narkompros was a sick man neglecting his duties.

Now I am Head of Facility One, I shall sweep away needless officialdom. I shall remove inept and inefficient workers. . . ’ He laughed, ‘. . . possibly settling a few old scores at the same time. I shall of course then replace them with a hand-picked staff whose ideals mirror my own, ready for the full activa-tion of the Project whenever I decide the political situation is most expedient.

And then. . . ’

Sighing contentedly he spun round in his chair, turning his back on the display. The only problem now outstanding was the destruction of the intruders in the launch bay. He’d taken charge of capturing the terrorist spies himself, appointing Havdar as his adjutant since Dam was wounded, unconscious, and Jessen was not responding to any calls.

It didn’t matter. Both Dam and Jessen would be replaced in his new order, because they’d failed him.

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.