Hand on the main power control, Tala suddenly collapsed, jamming the lever fully forward with the weight of her body. Controls locked, the Minyan patrol vessel sped straight for the blazing heart of the spiral nebula.
Chapter Three.
The Intruders The sudden dip and lurch of the s.p.a.ce ship sent the Doctor and Leela to the floor in a heap. Even K9 shot forwards, b.u.mping his nose against the metal wall.
The ship steadied and the Doctor picked himself up.
"You all right, K9?"
"Affirmative."
Leela got to her feet-a little put out that the Doctor seemed more worried about K9 than he was about her.
"What happened?"
"Trouble," said the Doctor laconically. "Blast that door open, K9!"
K9 swivelled to face the door, and the muzzle of his blaster protruded from beneath his nose. But nothing happened. Apparently the sudden jolt had affected him after all.
"Blaster malfunction," said K9. "Blaster malfunction, blaster malfunction, blaster malfunction..."
The Doctor bent over him. "One of the circuits must have jammed."
Leela strode swiftly over to the nearest wall-rack and selected one of the strangely shaped weapons. It was a kind of giant blaster, with a built-in square shield between b.u.t.t and nozzle, so that whoever was using it had cover from the weapons of his enemies.
The firing mechanism was unfamiliar, but Leela had a natural instinct for any kind of weapon. She flicked off the safety-catch, trained the shield gun on the doorway arid fired.
There was a sudden roar of power and the door disintegrated in a shower of molten metal. Leela flicked back the safety-catch and looked down at the shield gun in awe. "What is this thing?"
"It"s a Lieberman maser," said the Doctor grimly. "Fires charged particles along a laser beam. Don"t ever play with strange weapons, Leela."
"No, Doctor," said Leela obediently. But she tightened her grip on the shield gun. If there was going to be trouble, this was just the kind of weapon she needed.
"And if you must carry it, switch the safety-catch off!"
"Yes, Doctor." Leela switched off the safety-catch, so that the weapon was ready for firing. The Doctor stepped through the smoking hole that had once been a door, and set off along the corridor beyond. Leela and K9 followed.
The Doctor turned, a finger to his lips. "Sssh!" he said urgently.
"Sssh!" repeated Leela.
K9 c.o.c.ked his head. "Sssh? Query Sssh! Please amplify instruction!"
"Shut up and be quiet, K9," whispered the Doctor.
"Come on!"
Herrick grabbed the unconscious Tala and carried her to a couch at the side of the control room, Jackson and Orfe were trying to bring the ship back on course.
"She"s levelled out," said Jackson hopefully.
"There"s nothing on rudders, sir. We"re jammed on maximum power."
"Do what you can, Orfe. Can you shut down drive?"
Orfe nodded and soon the throb of the ion-drive faded.
"It still won"t reduce her speed, sir. She"s already reached maximum velocity."
Jackson looked up at the big forward viewing-port. It was entirely filled by the glowing spiral nebula. The ship was heading straight towards it at frightening speed. "What about using reverse thrust?"
"No good, sir. We"d just tear the ship in two."
Jackson sat very still for a moment. "Right. Give her all the power you can on port, main and auxiliaries. Shut down all starboard propulsion units."
"Yes, sir! "
Jackson stared at the fiery circle in the viewing-port.
"Unless we manage to veer off before we hit the gravity field that thing will suck us down like a whirlpool."
Herrick was still trying to revive the unconscious Tala.
"How is she?"
"Not too good, Captain. She"s gone past her regen point.
Deliberately, just like the others."
Jackson sighed. There was a specific optimum point for regeneration, and to go beyond it was a form of attempted suicide. In the long years of the mission, several of his crew had deliberately chosen this way out.
"None of us likes it, Herrick, but the Quest is the Quest.
Do you think you can save her?"
"Anything I can do?"
Herrick and Orfe whirled round. In the doorway stood a tall, strangely dressed man. "How do you do?"
Jackson stared unbelievingly at him. "Who are you?"
"I"m the Doctor."
"How did you get in here?"
"Through the door, of course."
Herrick lunged forward, reaching for his blaster. "He"s one of them-he"s a Time Lord!"
Leela appeared behind the Doctor, shield gun in hand.
"Stop!"
Herrick froze. "I told you, sir. I told you they were on board!"
Leela was concentrating on Herrick. Her instincts told her he was the most dangerous of the group. She didn"t notice Orfe moving quietly over to something that looked like a tripod-mounted spotlight. He swung it to cover her and touched a control...
There was a beam of light, a soft electronic chime, and immediately Leela felt the most extraordinary sensation flooding over her.
Leela had been trained as a warrior, and the softer side of her nature had been repressed from a very early age. But it was still there, and now she felt the extraordinary upsurge of love and tenderness. She gave Orfe a smile of melting affection. "Thank you," she said softly.
Herrick sprang forward and s.n.a.t.c.hed the shield gun from Leela"s unresisting hands. He jumped back, bringing the gun up to cover the two intruders. "Get back, both of you. Back against that wall!"
The Doctor obeyed. Leela followed, still smiling happily.
"I"ll wipe "em out now, shall I, sir? Just one quick blast..."
"Calmly, Herrick. Wait for the word of command."
Jackson studied the Doctor thoughtfully. "You say you want to help us?"
"Certainly, if I can."
" Are Are you a Time Lord?" you a Time Lord?"
The Doctor hesitated. The Minyans had no reason to love his people. But it would be impossible to conceal the truth for long. How else could they have arrived on board, if not in a TARDIS? "Yes," he said slowly. "I"m a Time Lord."
Herrick"s hands tightened on the shield gun. "Then why did you lie to us, say you were a doctor? I"m going to deal with you now!"
As he raised the shield gun, Jackson snapped, "Orfe!"
Orfe swivelled the device, there was a beam of light and a chime-and Herrick stepped back, lowering the gun.
"Thank you, Orfe." He smiled at the Doctor. "Sorry, friend."
"That"s all right, old chap." The Doctor looked down at Tala. "What happened to her?"
Jackson said, "She pa.s.sed the regen point and collapsed.
We know what to do."
"Well if you know what to do, why don"t you do it?"
"Herrick, take Tala to regen-now!"
"Yes, sir." Herrick swung Tala"s limp body over his shoulder and carried her away.
The Doctor heard a soft voice at his side. "Doctor!"
Leela was gazing across the control room at Orfe with a smile on her face that could only be described as soppy.
"His name is Orfe, Doctor."
"Yes, that"s right."
Leela sighed. "What a beautiful name!"
Jackson snapped, "Orfe, come and look after her, then get back to your post."
"Yes, sir." Orfe came over to Leela, took her by the arm and led her away unresisting.
The Doctor shook his head unbelievingly. "Well, well, well! So you did develop the pacifier after all?"
"Very few though, and too late. That"s one of the prototype models. Takes enormous power, and can only be used in the ship."
"How long does the effect last?"
"It depends." Jackson glanced across at Leela who was sitting meekly on one of the side couches, gazing adoringly at Orfe. "Is she a primitive?"
The Doctor smiled, thinking of Leela when she was her normal self. "Oh, yes. Very!"
"Well, it could take several hours then." Jackson led the Doctor towards the command deck. "You say you"re a scientist, a doctor?"
"That"s right."
"Of medicine?"
"Of practically everything," said the Doctor modestly.
"Crystallocybernetics?"
"My dear chap, one of my particular specialities. What"s the problem?"
Jackson nodded towards the blazing nebula that filled the screen. "That is!" He pointed to the main control console. "And this-it"s jammed, and worn out."