the navigation computer.
'The Wayfarer 's an old military vessel,' explained Scrum. 'She saw action in the First Dalek Incursion – there are still dents in her secondary hull where she was hit by a neutronic missile that failed to detonate.'
The Doctor whistled. 'She's a tough old bird, I'll give you that.'
'She was decommissioned and turned into a merchant ship,' Scrum continued as the Doctor began to work on the controls. 'Bowman had her reconditioned when he took her over. Her engines and flight controls have been completely replaced, much of it with stuff that isn't available on the commercial market. The Wayfarer may not be perfect, and she may be in need of repairs, but to us she's more than a ship, Doctor. She's home.'
'Reminds me of the TARDIS,' said the Doctor sadly.
'TARDIS?'
'My own ship. I left it on the planet Hurala.' The Doctor stared into space for a few seconds, lost in thought. Then he sniffed and gave Scrum a smile. 'Look, I couldn't help but notice that the Wayfarer 's engines were a bit rattley. It's probably just a loose regulator valve in the coolant pumps. I can fix it if you like.'
'Will you have time?'
'Course. It'll take a couple of hours for this old thing to get to Arkheon.'
'But what about the navigation? The coordinates?'
'All done.' The Doctor waved a hand at the flight controls. 'And I've set the autopilot. Straight past the Pleiades, left at the Blue Star Worlds. Like I said, can't miss it.'
'And the Daleks?'
'Oh, don't worry about them. They'll be using satnav. Probably going the wrong way round the Crab Nebula already.'
Scrum grinned. 'You remind me of Stella. No matter how bad things got, she was always able to cheer you up. She had a knack of saying just the right thing, you know?'
'I think I do.'
'And, for what it's worth...' Scrum added quietly, 'she would never have let Bowman do what he did to that Dalek. Stella was... better than that. She was someone you could rely on to do the right thing. And she could stand up for herself. I didn't like what was happening in that cargo hold, Doctor, but I was too weak to stop it. I was more scared of Bowman than the Dalek. But Stella would have stood up to him.'
'And Bowman would have listened to her?'
Scrum thought for a moment. 'Yes, I think he would.'
'I didn't know her for long, but she certainly seemed very special,' the Doctor agreed. 'You must really miss her.'
Scrum heaved a sigh. 'More than you can imagine.'
'Perhaps.'
In the cargo hold, Bowman and Cuttin' Edge were clearing out the remains of the Dalek. Bowman, wearing a pair of heavy, padded gauntlets from an old spacesuit, was scooping the remains of the Dalek mutant into a waste sack. His mouth was downturned, his nostrils pinched. The creature stank to high heaven.
Cuttin' Edge was detaching the empty casing and mechanisms from the cargo lifter, flinging bits of armour plate and lumps of wiring across the hold into a pile in the corner. Every so often he would throw a piece of the Dalek with more force than was necessary, accompanied by some very earthy language.
'Hey,' said Bowman. 'What's got into you?'
Cuttin' Edge paused, breathing hard. 'It was askin' for trouble,' he spat. 'Scum of the universe.'
Bowman straightened up. 'Say again?'
'We did the right thing,' Cuttin' Edge said. 'Didn't we?'
'Course,' said Bowman. 'It's warfare. You knew that; the Dalek knew it too.'
Cuttin' Edge wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. 'I know that. But I only ever shot 'em up before. I never... did that. Not close up. It felt... it felt kinda wrong. An' the way the Doctor was goin' on... I just felt confused .'
Bowman sealed the bag and carried it across the hold. He dumped it on the floor alongside the jumble of machinery. 'Sometimes tough decisions have to be made. It's easy to take the moral high ground. The politicians and the civilians can do that. But
'The Wayfarer 's an old military vessel,' explained Scrum. 'She saw action in the First Dalek Incursion – there are still dents in her secondary hull where she was hit by a neutronic missile that failed to detonate.'
The Doctor whistled. 'She's a tough old bird, I'll give you that.'
'She was decommissioned and turned into a merchant ship,' Scrum continued as the Doctor began to work on the controls. 'Bowman had her reconditioned when he took her over. Her engines and flight controls have been completely replaced, much of it with stuff that isn't available on the commercial market. The Wayfarer may not be perfect, and she may be in need of repairs, but to us she's more than a ship, Doctor. She's home.'
'Reminds me of the TARDIS,' said the Doctor sadly.
'TARDIS?'
'My own ship. I left it on the planet Hurala.' The Doctor stared into space for a few seconds, lost in thought. Then he sniffed and gave Scrum a smile. 'Look, I couldn't help but notice that the Wayfarer 's engines were a bit rattley. It's probably just a loose regulator valve in the coolant pumps. I can fix it if you like.'
'Will you have time?'
'Course. It'll take a couple of hours for this old thing to get to Arkheon.'
'But what about the navigation? The coordinates?'
'All done.' The Doctor waved a hand at the flight controls. 'And I've set the autopilot. Straight past the Pleiades, left at the Blue Star Worlds. Like I said, can't miss it.'
'And the Daleks?'
'Oh, don't worry about them. They'll be using satnav. Probably going the wrong way round the Crab Nebula already.'
Scrum grinned. 'You remind me of Stella. No matter how bad things got, she was always able to cheer you up. She had a knack of saying just the right thing, you know?'
'I think I do.'
'And, for what it's worth...' Scrum added quietly, 'she would never have let Bowman do what he did to that Dalek. Stella was... better than that. She was someone you could rely on to do the right thing. And she could stand up for herself. I didn't like what was happening in that cargo hold, Doctor, but I was too weak to stop it. I was more scared of Bowman than the Dalek. But Stella would have stood up to him.'
'And Bowman would have listened to her?'
Scrum thought for a moment. 'Yes, I think he would.'
'I didn't know her for long, but she certainly seemed very special,' the Doctor agreed. 'You must really miss her.'
Scrum heaved a sigh. 'More than you can imagine.'
'Perhaps.'
In the cargo hold, Bowman and Cuttin' Edge were clearing out the remains of the Dalek. Bowman, wearing a pair of heavy, padded gauntlets from an old spacesuit, was scooping the remains of the Dalek mutant into a waste sack. His mouth was downturned, his nostrils pinched. The creature stank to high heaven.
Cuttin' Edge was detaching the empty casing and mechanisms from the cargo lifter, flinging bits of armour plate and lumps of wiring across the hold into a pile in the corner. Every so often he would throw a piece of the Dalek with more force than was necessary, accompanied by some very earthy language.
'Hey,' said Bowman. 'What's got into you?'
Cuttin' Edge paused, breathing hard. 'It was askin' for trouble,' he spat. 'Scum of the universe.'
Bowman straightened up. 'Say again?'
'We did the right thing,' Cuttin' Edge said. 'Didn't we?'
'Course,' said Bowman. 'It's warfare. You knew that; the Dalek knew it too.'
Cuttin' Edge wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. 'I know that. But I only ever shot 'em up before. I never... did that. Not close up. It felt... it felt kinda wrong. An' the way the Doctor was goin' on... I just felt confused .'
Bowman sealed the bag and carried it across the hold. He dumped it on the floor alongside the jumble of machinery. 'Sometimes tough decisions have to be made. It's easy to take the moral high ground. The politicians and the civilians can do that. But
Similar Books
