into view, as if pushed from behind. It reached the edge of the ledge, sand and dust drifting down into the Jaftee amphitheatre as it paused – before continuing to slide out and over.
It teetered on the brink – and then, almost in slow motion, it tipped and plummeted to the ground with a huge crash, a cloud of dust, and a rain of chippings that Donna could feel pattering against her skin. None of the Jaftee seemed hurt – they’d all been over on her side of the chamber. But it set them off screaming and chattering and wailing, running this way and that. They jumped up and down, trying to see what had happened.
‘Quick!’ hissed Donna, taking advantage of the distraction. ‘Come on!’
And with that, she bounded across the platform to the pile of religious knick-knacks. Ogmunee was right behind her, but Mesanth seemed frozen into immobility by the falling block of stone.
‘Mesanth!’ bellowed Donna, rolling her eyes. ‘
Move!
’
But the Jaftee had seen them, and, forgetting about the mysterious falling stone, began to scamper towards them again, Enchikka standing there looking like he might explode with the excitement of it all.
Mesanth, trying his best not to panic, was doing
exactly
that: shivering and shaking, he was frozen to the spot, scared to stay, scared to move.
‘The thing,’ urged Donna. ‘Get it out! Come on!’
She pointed to his shoulder belt, which seemed to galvanise him, giving him something to think about other than the encroaching Jaftee. He flapped about, pulling it from its pouch, as he suddenly sprang along the ground. The weird, dancey way he ran seemed to throw the Jaftee for a moment – and it was
just
enough.
As he reached Donna and Ogmunee, up against the mountain of icons and costumes and tat, he squeezed the augmenter in his three-fingered hand.
And as Donna felt the familiar tingle of the transmat, she glanced up at the ledge from where the stone block had fallen.
Peeking over were a familiar pair of eyes and a
very
familiar shock of hair. She grinned – and then everything flared white.
DISAPPOINTED THOUGH HE was that he hadn’t been able to examine the segment, the Doctor could at least take comfort in the fact that Donna was alive and well. Better than well, if her performance as the Ginger Goddess was anything to go by. He grinned at the recollection, but reminded himself that until he had her back and by his side it wasn’t really a laughing matter.
Boonie, for his part, was just glad that the three of them hadn’t been spotted. He’d started to have a go at the Doctor for risking revealing his involvement, until Li’ian had pointed out that, without the distraction that he’d engineered, the third segment could well have gone up in smoke. She had a smart head on her shoulders, thought the Doctor, and it was clear that she had more influence on Boonie’s plans and strategy than Boonie would probably admit.
The Cult’s ship had wasted no time in leaving Karris, and
The Sword of Justice
had no difficulty in following it, thanks to the Doctor’s work on the sensors.
The Doctor had yawned hugely, stretched like a cat, and said he thought he’d have a little nap before they arrived at their next port of call, wherever that was.
Li’ian disappeared to do whatever it was that Li’ian did and Boonie got into a deep conversation with Kellique, so the Doctor asked Mother if she could show him back to his room since he’d quite forgotten where it was.
Of course, the Doctor didn’t need a nap, and he knew full well where his room was. But he wanted a quiet chat with Mother. In private.
‘You’d think,’ said the Doctor to Mother – although he suspected he wouldn’t get a reply, ‘that Boonie’d be grateful to me, wouldn’t you? I mean – super-boosting the sensors
and
the transmat. You’d pay a fortune to get that done normally.’
Mother said nothing, walking silently ahead of him.
‘And I couldn’t help noticing your response to the dead
It teetered on the brink – and then, almost in slow motion, it tipped and plummeted to the ground with a huge crash, a cloud of dust, and a rain of chippings that Donna could feel pattering against her skin. None of the Jaftee seemed hurt – they’d all been over on her side of the chamber. But it set them off screaming and chattering and wailing, running this way and that. They jumped up and down, trying to see what had happened.
‘Quick!’ hissed Donna, taking advantage of the distraction. ‘Come on!’
And with that, she bounded across the platform to the pile of religious knick-knacks. Ogmunee was right behind her, but Mesanth seemed frozen into immobility by the falling block of stone.
‘Mesanth!’ bellowed Donna, rolling her eyes. ‘
Move!
’
But the Jaftee had seen them, and, forgetting about the mysterious falling stone, began to scamper towards them again, Enchikka standing there looking like he might explode with the excitement of it all.
Mesanth, trying his best not to panic, was doing
exactly
that: shivering and shaking, he was frozen to the spot, scared to stay, scared to move.
‘The thing,’ urged Donna. ‘Get it out! Come on!’
She pointed to his shoulder belt, which seemed to galvanise him, giving him something to think about other than the encroaching Jaftee. He flapped about, pulling it from its pouch, as he suddenly sprang along the ground. The weird, dancey way he ran seemed to throw the Jaftee for a moment – and it was
just
enough.
As he reached Donna and Ogmunee, up against the mountain of icons and costumes and tat, he squeezed the augmenter in his three-fingered hand.
And as Donna felt the familiar tingle of the transmat, she glanced up at the ledge from where the stone block had fallen.
Peeking over were a familiar pair of eyes and a
very
familiar shock of hair. She grinned – and then everything flared white.
DISAPPOINTED THOUGH HE was that he hadn’t been able to examine the segment, the Doctor could at least take comfort in the fact that Donna was alive and well. Better than well, if her performance as the Ginger Goddess was anything to go by. He grinned at the recollection, but reminded himself that until he had her back and by his side it wasn’t really a laughing matter.
Boonie, for his part, was just glad that the three of them hadn’t been spotted. He’d started to have a go at the Doctor for risking revealing his involvement, until Li’ian had pointed out that, without the distraction that he’d engineered, the third segment could well have gone up in smoke. She had a smart head on her shoulders, thought the Doctor, and it was clear that she had more influence on Boonie’s plans and strategy than Boonie would probably admit.
The Cult’s ship had wasted no time in leaving Karris, and
The Sword of Justice
had no difficulty in following it, thanks to the Doctor’s work on the sensors.
The Doctor had yawned hugely, stretched like a cat, and said he thought he’d have a little nap before they arrived at their next port of call, wherever that was.
Li’ian disappeared to do whatever it was that Li’ian did and Boonie got into a deep conversation with Kellique, so the Doctor asked Mother if she could show him back to his room since he’d quite forgotten where it was.
Of course, the Doctor didn’t need a nap, and he knew full well where his room was. But he wanted a quiet chat with Mother. In private.
‘You’d think,’ said the Doctor to Mother – although he suspected he wouldn’t get a reply, ‘that Boonie’d be grateful to me, wouldn’t you? I mean – super-boosting the sensors
and
the transmat. You’d pay a fortune to get that done normally.’
Mother said nothing, walking silently ahead of him.
‘And I couldn’t help noticing your response to the dead
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