"On Earth?" she whispers.
We nod, almost fondly. "Where everything began."
Potty sounds surprised we should sound so tender. "I thought you were running from the Earth?"
"Maybe you"ll prove that to me, one day" we remember Denni saying that last day at the Academy. we remember Denni saying that last day at the Academy.
"I guess it"ll always be my home," we answer.
It"s not just a line. We"re not Elite, not the best, we"ve always known that. We"ve just survived. Maybe we"ve survived so much, for so long, that we"ve outgrown the questions we were trying to answer in the first place .We look out on that window of timeless, endless s.p.a.ce like we"re understanding distance for the first time.
"I"d give anything to see the Earth right now," Polly murmurs.
"I"d give anything to take you there," we say, without even thinking.
Then we place both hands on her shoulders. Not afraid.
She tenses under our touch.
"I always wanted to reach out and touch the stars," she says, like it"s something she wouldn"t want broadcast. But the real intimacy is gone from her voice, and she"s self-conscious as she reaches out her hand to the gla.s.s.
She freezes for a moment.
When she pulls it back she"s holding three bright, round gemstones in her palm.
"The navigational crystals," we realise. "They have to be.
Hidden where a bunch of soldiers would never think of looking." We spin her around, feel a smile stretching back our cheeks further than we"ve ever known. "Polly, you"ve done it!
You"ve done done it!" it!"
We both start to laugh as we stare down at the crystals cupped in her palms.
"Doctor," she says, and she shuts her eyes. "Doctor, can you hear me?"
We wait for his ponderous old voice to start up. There"s only silence.
"Hidden in the stars," Polly whispers, eyes still closed, smiling to herself.
We watch her as she nods and c.o.c.ks her head to one side...
The Doctor"s talking to her, he must be. Her eyes open at last and she seems surprised we"ve not been included in the conversation. When she tells us what was said - about keeping the news off the network, about how we shouldn"t trust Tovel, and Roba and Frog... it sounds like the Doctor has taken charge of us all.
"It doesn"t feel right, keeping this some sort of secret," we say. "You heard Haunt. We"re supposed to work together. A team. If we don"t trust each other..."
We tail off. Trust. Trust. How can we even say this? We"ve lied to everyone from the moment we joined the Academy. How can we even say this? We"ve lied to everyone from the moment we joined the Academy.
"The Doctor wouldn"t have told us to keep it secret if he didn"t think it important," Polly insists. "We should go straight to the control room like he asks."
We nod uncertainly. But her faith in him is absolute. Could she ever feel that much faith in us? We feel sick.
To witness these events from Polly"s viewpoint, select section 12 on page 217 page 217 To switch to Ben"s viewpoint, select section 10 on page 214 To switch to Creben"s viewpoint, select section 15 on page 223 To switch to Tovel"s viewpoint, select section 23 on page 235
25.
Ben
We can"t hear the footsteps of the others anymore. Polly and Shade have been swallowed up by the tunnel opposite. Hope they find the holy grail quick. Something tells me Tovel don"t have too long.
Hold up, he"s looking at his paws again. They look like they"d fit round our neck a treat. Nice one.
We have a quick butchers at the world according to Tovel.
It"s getting a bit misty. You can"t be optimistic with a misty optic, our old mum used to say. And she never even wore gla.s.ses, daft cow.
What we wouldn"t give to see her now.
"You all right, mate?" we say, keeping the noise down. Tovel keeps looking at us like he don"t really see us. "Tovel?"
"I"m a good pilot," he says suddenly. His voice, which used to sound quite posh compared to the others, is getting rougher. Like he"s not working his tongue so well. He"s like an old man suddenly, going downhill fast. We hope he isn"t noticing all this kind of stuff as he goes. "Did you hear Haunt say that?"
"Yeah, course," we say. We can"t remember to be honest.
Tovel shakes his head, like he can work loose the Schirr patches, send them flying off like bits of blancmange. ""Turn this thing around," she said. Do you remember back in the control room? "Turn this thing around before.. She never finished."
He stops still. Looks like he might lay an egg. Finally, he just takes a big, deep breath: "And I couldn"t finish it for her either."
We don"t know what to say. What can we say to that?
"That"s because you were turning into a ruddy monster, mate?" The Doctor would have something clever to say, we reckon, but no chance of reaching him.
"It ain"t over yet," we say finally.
In a whole load of ways we wish it was. But you"ve got to keep plugging away, ain"t you? Go the distance. Jeez, now we"re quoting our old man.
Tovel don"t say nothing. We don"t even know if he"s heard us. His eyes, piggy under his big brows, have sort of glazed over. He don"t look too steady on his big pins. Then he falls.
We yell his name, try to pull him back up. Feel how clammy, how dead dead all this new skin on him feels to the touch. We can"t shift him. all this new skin on him feels to the touch. We can"t shift him.
Time to close our eyes and tap the ruby slippers. "What do I do?" we yell with our head. Nothing comes back to us. Try again. "Tovel"s collapsed. He"s not right. I can"t move him."
The Doctor"s there. His voice is crackly like an old record.
"You"re very faint, Ben."
"So are you. Listen, Tovel"s fainted, or something."
A pause. Has he gone, or - "He"s fighting against the infection, my boy. You can"t help him."
"So what do I do?"
"Go on alone," the Doctor says, like it"s no big deal. "But take Tovel"s communicator. You may need it."
"What if he he needs it? He"s helpless ain"t he?" needs it? He"s helpless ain"t he?"
"Don"t argue my boy. We have to find the life-support systems, and find the navigational crystals. We"re doomed if we do not. You are able bodied and Tovel is not. You must leave him."
We know the Doctor"s right. Even before he"s finished his spiel we crouch beside Tovel and slip off his little bracelet. It takes some doing, his wrist has swollen up and the communicator doesn"t come easily. Tovel doesn"t even notice, just stares into s.p.a.ce. The lights are on but n.o.body"s home anymore.
We get back up, put on the wrist thing. "Be lucky, Tovel," we mutter. "We"ll soon have you moved back in."
Then we"re off, on our own again.
We don"t know why but we"re thinking about Haunt.
Switch to Haunt"s viewpoint. Select section 9 on page 209
26.
Shade
Polly bouncing along beside us, we set off back the way we came.
Then a voice presses down on our senses. Seductive and sibilant, proud and gloating. A Schirr voice, powerful, it"s like it"s trying to crush our thoughts into the ground.
Polly"s staring round, wide-eyed. We grab hold of her, pull her on down the tunnel.
We can"t just stop here when she"s got our one and only chance of escape in her hand. We have to keep moving, moving - moving -
To witness these events from Polly"s viewpoint, select section 19 on page 229 select section 19 on page 229
To switch to Creben"s viewpoint, select section 15 on page 223 To switch to Ben"s viewpoint, select section 10 on page 214 To switch to Tovel"s viewpoint, select section 23 on page 235
Or you may withdraw from the neural net - but only after experiencing Frog"s perspective. Select section 27 on page 241 experiencing Frog"s perspective. Select section 27 on page 241
27.
Frog
We hear something. Something soft, a whirring kind of noise.