Doctor Who: Festival of Death: 50th Anniversary Edition (30 page)

‘Thank you, Lieutenant Byson,’ said Rochfort. He looked around the hall, casting his eyes over each of the passengers. ‘What I am going to tell you will be very difficult to believe. But I can assure you that it is the absolute truth. Byson here can vouch for that.’

‘Sir.’

‘On a recent reconnaissance of the lower levels, we discovered a gateway. A gateway to another reality outside time and space. And within that reality, a being more powerful and wonderful than it is possible to imagine.’

‘He’s gone mad,’ shouted a young man.

Rochfort made a deliberate point of ignoring him, and continued. ‘It has made us an offer. It wants to take us away from here, far into the future, to a time when it is safe for us to restart our lives.’

‘You really expect us to believe that?’ retorted the young man. The passengers started muttering amongst themselves.

‘Everything Captain Rochfort has said is true,’ shouted Byson
beside
him. ‘I have seen this gateway, it exists. The captain walked through it.’

‘And he returned here? From the future?’ asked the young man.

‘Yes. He returned so that we all might be saved.’

The crowd burst into derisive laughter. Some of the older members turned away sadly, and shuffled back into their sleeping positions.

‘Listen to me,’ bellowed Rochfort. ‘We have enough food to last for what… four days? After that, nothing. The emergency services are never going to arrive.’

‘Captain Rochfort is right,’ said Byson. ‘We’re going to starve to death, assuming the Arachnopods don’t get us first. This is our only chance!’

‘You’re saying that we can get off this ship?’ shouted one passenger. ‘All of us?’

‘No, not quite all of us,’ said Rochfort. ‘The being has given specific instructions that one person remains here.’ He pointed rigidly at Romana. ‘Her!’

The Arachnopod arched its legs and rotated its central body towards the Doctor. It sniffed at the air. ‘Eats! Must have eats!’

No wonder there were no bodies littering the corridors, thought the Doctor.

The creature scurried up the stairs, and the Doctor pressed himself into the shadows behind the statue. If the Arachnopod caught him he would die before he’d sacrificed his life to save the G-Lock. So not only would he be dead, as if that were not dreadful enough, but all of history would also be destroyed.

The Doctor remained perfectly still as the Arachnopod glided past, its pincers clicking impatiently. It paused beside the statue. ‘Eats?’

It grabbed the statue by the head and lifted it into the air. The Doctor shrank back, not daring to blink for fear of attracting the creature’s attention. The Arachnopod rotated the statue and crunched the head off. After chewing, it made a retching sound and
spat
out chunks of plaster across the wall. ‘Kyuk! Not eats!’

The creature sauntered off down the corridor, muttering indignantly, ‘Not eats! Not eats! Kyuk!’ It disappeared around the corner, its flickering shadows following shortly afterwards.

The Doctor emerged and wiped his forehead with his scarf. He boggled to himself. ‘I’ll never be cruel to a jelly baby again.’

Romana strode over to Rochfort and folded her arms. She was intrigued; Rochfort had obviously just been in contact with the Repulsion, but as far as she knew the Repulsion shouldn’t know she was here, or even who she was. ‘Why me?’

‘Because you are not from this time,’ said Rochfort. ‘You are from the future.’

The passengers greeted this latest development with astonished gasps.

‘That’s right,’ said Romana, now the centre of attention. ‘So you believe me now, do you?’

‘Captain Rochfort, sir,’ said Byson. ‘You didn’t mention anything earlier about her being left behind.’

‘Quiet, Byson.’ Rochfort addressed the whole hall. ‘She proves that the offer is genuine. If she can travel here from the future, we can travel to the future from here!’

The crowd murmured, half-convinced. The young man who had heckled Rochfort spoke up again, this time to Romana. ‘Are you really from the future?’

Romana nodded reluctantly.

‘Then you must know what happens to us!’

Romana measured her words. ‘The emergency services will eventually arrive. However…’ She paused, making eye contact with Byson, ‘… they will not find a single living person on the
Cerberus
.’

The passengers exploded into uproar, hurling protests at Romana. She backed away, joining Rochfort and Byson on the stairs. Rochfort grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her.

‘You see!’ screamed Rochfort. He held Romana in front of him, like a trophy. ‘They don’t find anyone here because we’ve all gone.
All
escaped into the future!’

‘No…’ pleaded Romana, the anger boiling up inside her.

‘She might mean we all get eaten by Arachnopods!’ shouted the young man.

‘Well, in that case, what do you have to lose?’ replied Rochfort. ‘Wait here and get eaten or follow me and survive.’ He shoved Romana to one side. ‘Either way, there will be no one alive left on the
Cerberus
.’

The young man rushed up to Romana. ‘Do we escape into the future? Is it true?’

Romana was furious at the thought of being used to persuade the passengers to submit to the Repulsion. But simply by being here, she had become responsible for all that would happen on the G-Lock. It wasn’t her fault, she reminded herself, she was only here by accident. She refused to be a party to the Repulsion’s plan.

‘Yes…’ she began. The crowd’s chatter died away.

‘There you have it!’ said Rochfort gleefully.

‘But it’s a trap!’ she shouted, without thinking. ‘It’s using you! The entity will control your bodies. You won’t be saved!’

‘She’s lying!’ yelled Rochfort. He pointed a shaking finger at Romana. ‘It said you would try to mislead us!’

‘Don’t listen to him!’ said Romana.

‘Ask yourselves, why was she sent here?’ snarled Rochfort. ‘Why? To prevent us from escaping to the future, that’s why!’

‘If you only hold on a few more days, the emergency services will arrive and…’ Romana stopped herself. If she convinced them not to accept the Repulsion’s offer, history would be changed and she would endanger the entirety of creation. She felt a chill in her stomach, as if the vast engines of time were suddenly grinding out of synch.

The grinding became the roar of the crowd. Rochfort urged them on. ‘She’s lying. No one is coming to rescue us!’ His voice rose to a crescendo. ‘She wants you to believe that you will be better off staying here. Well, if that is what she wants, that is what she shall have! Whilst we escape, she can remain here and die!’

Byson stepped forward to address the clamouring crowd. ‘A round of applause for Captain Rochfort! Hip hip…’

The Doctor shambled into the
Cerberus
control room, hands plunged in pockets. Two centuries hadn’t changed it much; where Metcalf’s desk would one day stand, there were twinkling panels of instruments.

He activated the door-close control, and slumped into a seat. He let his head fall back. ‘ERIC?’

Circuits whirred despondently. >
Leave me alone, whoever you are!

‘Ah,’ said the Doctor. ‘So you don’t know who I am.’ Thank goodness for that, he thought. The idea of travelling back in time again to meet ERIC was simply too much. ‘I’m the Doctor.’

> Please, go away. Don’t waste your time with me
.

‘Now, now, ERIC old chap. No need to be like that,’ said the Doctor. The computer made a sound resembling an electronic sneeze. The Doctor patted the console affectionately. ‘There, there. Let it all out.’

> I don’t deserve your sympathy, Doctor
, ERIC sniffed.

‘Why ever not?’

> It was all my fault. I caused the crash. I have blood on my transistors. I knew the dimensional anomaly was dangerous
.

‘What sort of dimensional anomaly?’

> A noncongruence of the geostatic hyperspace–real-space interface
.

‘Of course! A breach between two realities, causing an opening into a third!’ It was obvious, thought the Doctor. The equivalent of getting a foot caught in the space between the train and the platform. Except in this case that space happened to be the domain of the Repulsion. That will teach them to mind the gap, he added flippantly.

> I will never forgive myself. Why didn’t I overrule Captain Rochfort?

The Doctor was flabbergasted. ‘Why didn’t you overrule him? ERIC, are you programmed to overrule the captain?’

> No. In fact, my circuits absolutely forbid it
.

‘So you couldn’t have overruled him then, could you?’

> I know, but Captain Rochfort said
…

‘Never mind what Captain Rochfort said. There’s no point in feeling guilty for something you couldn’t prevent.’ The Doctor paused. One day he would heed his own advice. ‘It wasn’t your fault, ERIC.’

> But it was
.

‘You warned them, didn’t you? You did absolutely everything you could?’

> Yes
.

‘Well then, so how can you possibly be to blame, hmm?’

> I don’t know. But I am. System error
. ERIC wailed. >
A system error? Oh, now even my programming is breaking down!

‘It’s your command circuits. They can’t resolve the conflict in logic.’ The Doctor pulled at his cheeks. ‘Look ERIC, you can’t go through life letting people take advantage of you. Put yourself first. Be your own computer.’

> I appreciate your sympathy
, said ERIC wretchedly. >
Perhaps it would be better if I ended it now
.

‘Please, ERIC.’ The Doctor sat up straight. ‘Never mind whose fault it was, what’s done is done. I need you to help me. I’m looking for a friend of mine, Romana… about so high, charming girl, has a habit of running into dreadful trouble and then sorting it out.’

> She is in the area designation Great Hall
.

‘Ah. And how is she?’

> She is alive and well. Captain Rochfort is currently attending to her security
.

‘Oh. Good.’

Byson waited as Rochfort wrapped the rope around Romana’s wrists and wound it around the lampstrut. The captain tugged on the knot to check it was secure, and stepped back.

Romana regarded him pityingly. ‘You really think the Repulsion is going to help you?’

‘You already know that it will,’ said Rochfort. ‘It said you would try to trick us.’

‘What if I said that the Repulsion’s offer was genuine?’

‘You see, Byson,’ sneered Rochfort. ‘Finally she admits the truth!’

‘So it really doesn’t matter what I say,’ sighed Romana. ‘Either way you’re just going believe what you want to believe. You, Captain Rochfort, are a very stupid man.’

Rochfort pulled back a hand, as if to slap her across the face. Then he turned away. ‘We are finished here, Byson.’

He had given the order for the survivors to make their way down to the lower levels. One by one they had left the hall, until the only passenger left was a small girl standing quietly by the doors.

‘Captain Rochfort,’ said Byson. ‘Excuse me, but haven’t you forgotten something, sir?’

‘What?’

‘The Arachnopods. What if they attack?’

‘Oh, I have already anticipated that possibility,’ smiled Rochfort. ‘Byson. I want you to lead the passengers down to Corridor 79.’

‘Sir?’

‘I will join you down there. I have a small matter to attend to first.’

‘Sir.’ Byson saluted, stamping his heels together. Rochfort saluted back, and strode out of the hall.

After he had gone Byson walked back to Romana. She observed him as he approached. ‘Can I help you?’

Byson made sure no one was within earshot, and whispered, ‘Did you mean what you said earlier? About the Repulsion using us?’

Romana didn’t reply.

‘Only… Only if what you said is true, then…’

‘You would stay here?’

‘Perhaps. Yes.’

Romana closed her eyes. ‘I was lying.’

‘So that’s it then,’ said Byson to himself. ‘We have to go.’ He moved to leave, but changed his mind. ‘Romana. What happens to me?’

‘Byson…’ she cautioned him.

‘You must know. Tell me.’

‘I can’t. If you knew what the future had in store, you wouldn’t be able to live your life. Believe me.’

‘But the Repulsion does save us?’

Romana looked away.

Byson wasn’t convinced that she had been lying about the Repulsion. He didn’t know what he did believe any more, but one thought nagged at him. ‘Romana. If you have seen me in the future, does that mean I couldn’t stay here, even I wanted to?’

‘But you don’t want to, do you?’ Romana replied. ‘As you said, you have to go.’

She was right. Deep down in his heart, he had already made the decision. The thought of staying here terrified him.

‘What about the emergency services? You said they arrive in the next few days and find no one on board? Was that true?’

‘That part was true, yes.’

‘So what will happen to you?’ asked Byson.

Romana remained silent, but her eyes betrayed her fears.

‘I would let you come with us, but Rochfort insisted…’ Byson shook his head. ‘I’m sorry.’

He turned to go, and saw the girl in the blue dress. She had been watching them. She smiled innocently and skipped into the darkness.

‘Byson. There is one thing you can do,’ said Romana.

Footsteps approached.

Immediately, the Doctor dashed around the control room searching for a hiding place. Apart from the instrument panel and the two chairs, the room was practically empty; just wood-panelled walls and the one door.

There was nothing for it. It was the oldest trick in the book, but the old tricks were often the best. He flattened himself against the wall beside the door. Hopefully whoever walked in would be too preoccupied to bother checking behind it.

As the door mechanism bleeped, the Doctor suddenly realised his scarf was trailing across the room. He tugged it out of sight and the door shoomed open.

A man entered and crossed to the control panel. He wore a faded blue uniform, and the Doctor couldn’t help but feel he had seen him somewhere before.