'That's all that's left. Where is the will?'
47
***
'Danger, Mistress. Danger!'
K9 retracted his sensor from the operations port and backed away from Andred's desk.
Leela turned the chair to see a Chancellery guard captain standing in the office doorway. There were two other guards with him.
'Stay there,' she muttered to K9.
'Lady Leelandredloomsagwinaechegesima?' the captain said formally.
She stood and walked round the desk. 'Leela is enough.'
As he stepped into the room, she saw that it was Jomdek.
'I am here to place you under arrest,' he announced.
'For what crime?'
'For using false security clearance codes to access classified information and bio-extracts from the Citadel security systems.'
'Those are the Castel an's codes,' protested Leela.
'But they are not yours, madam. Does Castellan Andred know you've been using them?'
'He is not here,' she snapped.
'Then the charge is treason.'
'I want to see the Castellan.'
'He wil be informed.' Jomdek started towards her, but she darted back round the desk to where K9 was waiting.
'These are traitors,' she whispered. 'Get the information we have found to Andred.'
'Danger!' warned the robot dog and extended the gun barrel from his nose.
A guard with a ceremonial impulse staser came round the side of the desk.
'No, K9!' shouted Leela, too late. A thin beam of hard light stabbed from K9's gun and the guard's staser was knocked from his hand. He fell back clutching his smoking glove.
Before K9 could turn round in the tight space, Captain Jomdek rounded the other end of the desk. A wild bolt from his gun scorched Leela's arm and hit K9 squarely on the flank. The robot lurched sideways into the desk, gave a squeal of protest and stopped dead. Smoke whisped out of his joints.
Leela grabbed at her companion, but the second guard pulled her roughly up. She angrily elbowed him in the stomach. As he sprawled across the floor, she turned to Jomdek. 'Traitor! You cannot arrest me without the Castellan's orders.'
Jomdek raised an eyebrow. 'There are higher authorities than the Chancellor and her Castellan,' he said.
'When Andred learns of this, he will have you stripped of your rank and publicly dishonoured.'
'As long as he isn't found guilty too,' said Jomdek. 'Bring the alien,' he instructed the guards and walked out of the office.
The guards looked at Leela and then at each other. She looked down at the lifeless K9.
'Follow,' she snapped at the guards and walked out with them trailing behind.
***
Chris Cwej forced open his eyes and stared woozily at the dark overhead. The air was close and stale. The floor was hard under him. Hard enough to make him think that he might be awake for once. Or was he just lurching from one nightmare to another? No change there, asleep or awake. Maybe his life was a string of bad dreams. A string that someone was pulling tighter so that the dreams were bunching up - no telling one from the next. A string on which to walk the high wire.
Whoa, thought Chris. We're getting dangerously philosophical here.
There was something soft under his head that tickled. He sat up and found that it was the Doctor's pul over, neatly folded into a pil ow.
No sign of the Doctor himself.
Chris's skin itched. He looked down at his clothes. He was covered in dust. He sneezed loudly and heard something squeak and scuttle behind him.
A small occasional table, startled by the sneeze, had frozen in mid-perambulation. It swayed towards him a little as if it was curious. Chris sneezed again and the table scuttled for cover in the dark on its spindly legs.
'Damn,' muttered Chris. 'Still here.' He scratched his bare arms, trying to shift the gritty dust. Sometimes it wasn't worth having a bath.
If this was Gallifrey, he wasn't impressed. The place had gone to seed long ago. Six hundred and seventy-three years ago to be exact. Or so he had been told.
Nearby was the eye-shaped mirror hung with shreds of torn web. The Doctor's oil lamp sat high on
47
***
'Danger, Mistress. Danger!'
K9 retracted his sensor from the operations port and backed away from Andred's desk.
Leela turned the chair to see a Chancellery guard captain standing in the office doorway. There were two other guards with him.
'Stay there,' she muttered to K9.
'Lady Leelandredloomsagwinaechegesima?' the captain said formally.
She stood and walked round the desk. 'Leela is enough.'
As he stepped into the room, she saw that it was Jomdek.
'I am here to place you under arrest,' he announced.
'For what crime?'
'For using false security clearance codes to access classified information and bio-extracts from the Citadel security systems.'
'Those are the Castel an's codes,' protested Leela.
'But they are not yours, madam. Does Castellan Andred know you've been using them?'
'He is not here,' she snapped.
'Then the charge is treason.'
'I want to see the Castellan.'
'He wil be informed.' Jomdek started towards her, but she darted back round the desk to where K9 was waiting.
'These are traitors,' she whispered. 'Get the information we have found to Andred.'
'Danger!' warned the robot dog and extended the gun barrel from his nose.
A guard with a ceremonial impulse staser came round the side of the desk.
'No, K9!' shouted Leela, too late. A thin beam of hard light stabbed from K9's gun and the guard's staser was knocked from his hand. He fell back clutching his smoking glove.
Before K9 could turn round in the tight space, Captain Jomdek rounded the other end of the desk. A wild bolt from his gun scorched Leela's arm and hit K9 squarely on the flank. The robot lurched sideways into the desk, gave a squeal of protest and stopped dead. Smoke whisped out of his joints.
Leela grabbed at her companion, but the second guard pulled her roughly up. She angrily elbowed him in the stomach. As he sprawled across the floor, she turned to Jomdek. 'Traitor! You cannot arrest me without the Castellan's orders.'
Jomdek raised an eyebrow. 'There are higher authorities than the Chancellor and her Castellan,' he said.
'When Andred learns of this, he will have you stripped of your rank and publicly dishonoured.'
'As long as he isn't found guilty too,' said Jomdek. 'Bring the alien,' he instructed the guards and walked out of the office.
The guards looked at Leela and then at each other. She looked down at the lifeless K9.
'Follow,' she snapped at the guards and walked out with them trailing behind.
***
Chris Cwej forced open his eyes and stared woozily at the dark overhead. The air was close and stale. The floor was hard under him. Hard enough to make him think that he might be awake for once. Or was he just lurching from one nightmare to another? No change there, asleep or awake. Maybe his life was a string of bad dreams. A string that someone was pulling tighter so that the dreams were bunching up - no telling one from the next. A string on which to walk the high wire.
Whoa, thought Chris. We're getting dangerously philosophical here.
There was something soft under his head that tickled. He sat up and found that it was the Doctor's pul over, neatly folded into a pil ow.
No sign of the Doctor himself.
Chris's skin itched. He looked down at his clothes. He was covered in dust. He sneezed loudly and heard something squeak and scuttle behind him.
A small occasional table, startled by the sneeze, had frozen in mid-perambulation. It swayed towards him a little as if it was curious. Chris sneezed again and the table scuttled for cover in the dark on its spindly legs.
'Damn,' muttered Chris. 'Still here.' He scratched his bare arms, trying to shift the gritty dust. Sometimes it wasn't worth having a bath.
If this was Gallifrey, he wasn't impressed. The place had gone to seed long ago. Six hundred and seventy-three years ago to be exact. Or so he had been told.
Nearby was the eye-shaped mirror hung with shreds of torn web. The Doctor's oil lamp sat high on
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