More Short Trips by Stephen Cole

Author:Stephen Cole [Cole, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Doctor Who
Published: 2012-08-03T05:18:51+00:00

'We can't do this,' said Mel. 'The batteries won't last.'

'We can run,' said Oliver.

'We don't even know if -' Mel stopped speaking. Her head was

making connections. Electricity - sparks - detonators -

Now she knew why the Germans ought to have had guards here.

Boxes with red crosses on them.

Explosives.

'Oliver,' she asked. 'How much do you know about blowing things

up?'

In the church, Luther watched the Doctor. He watched that face,

turning to the strange light of the device that Grüber called an

Exclusion Generator but might in fact be anything, might as well be

magic. He watched the Doctor's eyes light up in sympathy with it,

watched the curt nod of understanding.

'The crystalline lightwanderer survives on traces of solar energy in

deep space. It's a cold, cold creature. Running energy through it as you

are doing will make it a killer. It will disrupt the matter around it, and

the more power you put through it, the more disruption you'll get. On

the scale you're planning the stress on the Earth's crust alone will send

out a shock wave that will flatten the rest of the planet. And you'll leave

a hole a hundred miles deep. Magma will pour out - dust and ash will

fill the atmosphere - everything will die. Everything. And it will kill the

lightwanderer too.'

The Doctor was all but shouting, his face contorted. His words

echoed from the stone recesses of the church. Herz and Franz stood

silent, their eyes averted. Franz had a hand on the pistol at his hip.

Crouched by the machine, a pad of scribbled calculations in his

hand, Grüber was nodding in time with the Doctor's words, like a

bulky puppet. The blue crystalline light etched lines into his face and

neck.

He spoke, his jaw moving crudely, as if it were wooden. 'You see? It

is as I said.' But he only seemed excited, amazed at the great

possibilities offered by his device. As if it were truly his. Did he care

what it did? His eyes were turned to the light from the central crystal,

but where the Doctor's face had been illuminated with sympathy,

Grüber's burned with the cold flame of obsession.

I have to do something here, thought Luther. His mouth was dry, as

if he were about to go into battle. I am the officer in charge.

But what should he do?

Without warning, Herz kicked the Doctor. It was fast, fierce, like a

snake striking. It connected with the abdomen. The Doctor winced,

and his breath whistled from his throat, but he made no sound.

'Stop that!' snapped Luther.

Herz looked at him. 'The prisoner made an attempt to undermine

our morale,' he said. 'We cannot allow him to tell these lies.'

'It's the truth!' wheezed the Doctor.

Herz kicked him again.

'That's enough, Lieutenant!' Luther walked up to Herz, whispered,

'We may need this man.'

'For what?' The Doctor's voice was choked and glottal. 'What do

you need me for, if you're going to destroy the world?'

'That isn't going to happen!' snapped Luther. 'Herr Grüber,

recalibrate the Exclusion Generator for a radius of twenty-five

kilometres. That will be demonstration enough.'

Silence, except for the Doctor's ragged breathing.

Then Herz spoke quietly. 'Herr Oberleutnant, you have disobeyed

the direct orders of the Fuhrer.

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.