Doctor Who_ Placebo Effect Part 22

The athletes, pills in hand - or, in the case of the Werelox, already swallowed - muttered their appreciation and wandered away.

The Werelox leader stopped and snarled, shoving his furry muzzle right up close to Mason's face. 'What about the Foamasi? They won't like you dealing on their pitch, you know?'

'Don't worry about the Foamasi. I'm not planning to make a habit of this.

After today, the Foamasi can distribute these drugs wherever and whenever they want. All I need is this day. I'll sort it out with them.'

The Werelox leader frowned, then bared his canine teeth.'We'll be back,' he growled and then followed the others.

'Oh yes, you'll be back,' Mason muttered. 'You just might not be quite yourself by then.'

Like the Wirrrn, the Farads were an insectoid race from the Dermaptera sector of Alpha Centauri. To many among the Federation, they were known as the 'earwigs' due to their physical similarity to the tiny creatures of Earth.

But the a.n.a.logy was reasonably sound, if somewhat Federally incorrect, as the Farads were experts at surveillance and many were employed in the Federation research centres and, particularly at the moment on Micawber's World, among the holovid crews. They were experts in sound. As a highly telepathic and sensitive race, they made for excellent audio technicians.

However, like so many Federation races, they had their secrets. Prime among theirs was that they were open to psychic storms - tiny ripples in the ether that wouldn't be noticed by all but the most powerful human telepaths were like force-twelve hurricanes to their sensitive minds. For the most part, Farads had ensured that they never entered into deals or contracts that exposed them to potentially dangerous situations.

Of course, the Farad leaders had not foreseen the presence of the Wirrrn on Micawber's World so when the Wirrrn Queen sent her command out to Miles Mason, the Farads picked it up too.

And it wiped their minds clean in less than a second. Every Farad on Micawber's World, all those in orbiting satellite holovid relay stations and a large number on neighbouring worlds died instantly, their brains simply shutting down their bodies in a futile effort to weather the psychic storm that invaded their heads.

If the Wirrrn Queen had known about this, she would have greeted the news with indifference - a weak race not worth absorbing.

But to the Pakhars, Lurmans, Shistavanens and others who operated the holocrews, the sudden wave of instant deaths was something of a shock.

Reverend Lukas was on his bed in his room at the Mirage hotel, sitting cross-legged, head bowed, hands tightly clasped together, eyes closed.

He was meditating - a daily occurrence that would have no sinister appearance if it weren't for the fact that Eldritch and Marcus were effectively standing guard, staring dead ahead but clearly prepared to stop anyone from going near their master.

Just outside, in the corridor, Phillipa and Jolyon wanted to talk to him, to tell him some exciting news.

'Don't bother right now,' Max Girard warned them as they greeted each other by the door. Max and Veronique had been getting supplies for the evening meal, and Max was carrying bags of fresh fruit and vegetables.'He's meditating.'

Phillipa nodded but Jolyon was too excited to care.'I'm sure he won't mind being interrupted this once. We have such good news.'

'What is it?' asked Veronique, hanging on to Max's arm as she always did.

'We've elected to get married. Officially,' said Jolyon. 'We want Reverend Lukas to join us in matrimony as soon as possible.

Veronique looked at Max. 'See! I knew they'd decide first.

Typical.' She laughed at Max's astonished face and then moved over to hug Phillipa.'I'm really happy for you.'

'You won't... you know, leave the Church?' Max was frowning.

'Of course not,' said Jolyon. 'This is our life. But imagine: as a married couple we could start our own caravan. Meet up with you and Reverend Lukas whenever possible but, of course, it will give us two lines of communication to the ma.s.ses.'

Max nodded, then gripped Jolyon's hand and shook it.'Well, my blessings to you both. It's good news.'

Without waiting, Jolyon waved his hand over the door sensor and it opened. He began to walk in, but Marcus and Eldritch turned as one and put their hands up to stop him. Neither of them spoke. They rarely did.

And then the unexpected happened.

Reverend Lukas screamed and clutched at his temples, pitching forward on to the floor.

Eldritch and Marcus were beside him in a second. Jolyon stood by the door, feeling useless, while Max, Veronique and Phillipa stared over his shoulder.

Marcus eased Reverend Lukas up, while Eldritch brushed his black robe down.

Reverend Lukas was staring at his flock. A beatific smile on his face. He slowly raised his hands and then his eyes upwards.

'The G.o.ddess has spoken to me,' he shouted. 'She is here. We have come home!'

The group by the door looked at each other in confusion.

Eldritch and Marcus resumed their alert patrol between them and Reverend Lukas.

'She has touched my mind,' he said, quieter now. 'She has called me.' He now looked at the others. 'No, she has called us. All of us.'

'Reverend Father? Are you all right?'

'Yes, Max. Yes, I am absolutely fine. Everything we have sought, everything we have hoped and prayed for has come home at last.

The G.o.ddess is here.' Reverend Lukas moved forward, Eldritch and Marcus standing aside as he pa.s.sed them. He put his hands out to the other four and they all reached forward to touch him. 'If ever there have been doubts in your minds, my children, let them go now. The G.o.ddess is here.Waiting for us. And we shall go to her.'

Without waiting for a reply, he pushed through them and into the corridor.

After a few seconds, Max, Veronique and Phillipa followed him. Jolyon Tuck shot one last look back into the room, where Marcus and Eldritch stood impa.s.sively.

'Are you coming?' he asked tentatively. Neither of them responded.'OK,' he said, then ran after the others.

The news of his impending nuptials would clearly have to wait.

One of the Reverend Lukas's fellow Church members was currently cowering in a dark cavern, terrified for his life. Facing him, seemingly looking straight down on him, was the Wirrrn Queen.

Kyle and Sam had followed Torin around a variety of routes and tunnels until finally the journalist had stopped dead.

'What's up?' Sam had asked, but Torin did not answer.

'You're worse than the Doctor at times, you know. He frequently stands still, says nothing, points a finger at just anything and then a.s.sumes I've understood something important.' She clearly thought about this. 'Actually, it is usually pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but the way his attention wanders from one minute to the next, well, it's obviously important to him.'

'The Doctor?' asked Torin.

'Yes. What about the Doctor anyway?'

Chalfont then began scratching at his left hand, still wrapped in his jacket.

'Nothing. I think it's this way.' He'd indicated with his shrouded hand that they should go right, so Kyle and Sam had followed.

Within moments they were in a large cavern that glowed orange as dusky light pulsated through the mucus web covering the walls.

And facing them was Kyle's worst nightmare. 'G.o.ddess, protect me,' he breathed.

Sam reached out grab his hand. They took strength from each other but for Torin there seemed to be no respite.

'She knows the Doctor,' he breathed quietly. At first Kyle a.s.sumed Torin was talking to him, but when the head of the creature moved, Kyle knew there was a connection between them.

Torin, his back to Kyle and Sam, let the jacket drop to the floor and Kyle registered the vast amount of mucus surrounding it. His shirt had split and most of the journalist's arm was now pulsating with a greeny-brown light.

'What is it?' breathed Sam.

"The most perfect species in the universe,' muttered Torin hoa.r.s.ely.'It... we are life.We are death.We are the beginning and the end, all together. All species will become us.' He turned to the two youngsters and they saw that his face was now oozing the mucus. One eye had already been covered and replaced by a similar protruding amber oval like the one on the monster hanging above. He started to crouch slightly. 'We welcome you into the Hive Mind,' he gasped at them.'You and all your type.We have travelled far, travelled over millennia to be here. To grow, to absorb, to further ourselves. You will become like us.' Torin's clothing split open revealing an entire body covered in the browny-green larval mutation. As they watched, fascinated, it crept up his neck and down over his hair, completely burying his face as it met across his cheek. The amber eye then moved to the centre of the face, the limbs retracted and Torin Chalfont, or whatever he was now, dropped to the floor, just a misshapen rectangular blob of mucus.

Then it suddenly reared up and displayed hundreds of tiny suckers on what Kyle now took to be its belly, and started shuffling towards them...

The Doctor was sitting on the upturned crate next to the PMD-come-scanner, watching the outside of the building.

Towards the door, Klein and Fenton were playing cards, Carruthers was cooking and McCarrick was cleaning his blaster.

And Clarke was sitting just a few feet away from him, watching him like a hawk.

'Really, Mr Clarke,' he said quietly. 'I'm not going to cause trouble. There's no point. I wanted to be here with you, remember?'

Clarke ignored him.

There was a tapping at the door.

'It's Quartermaster-Sergeant Dallion and Ms Sox,' the Doctor reported, peering at the PMD screen. 'How disappointing, I was expecting more.'

Fenton let the two women in, and Ms Sox immediately crossed to the Doctor.

'Are you all right?'

'Me? Yes, why shouldn't I be? Nice of you to ask. though.' He looked across to Dallion. 'Shortly we should be receiving a few more visitors. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of inviting a council of war here today.'

'This place was supposed to be secret,' muttered Klein.

'It was. Until Commandant Ritchie told me where to find you. And I told everyone else.' He switched off the PMD lash-up.

'Except me,' said Ms Sox. 'Not trusted?'

'Oh no, not that at all,' said the Doctor, as if apologising for not inviting her to a party.'No, I have suspicions about various people you know, and thought the churchyard would be a better place to discuss such things than your office. A chance to talk in an electronic-device-free zone, as it were.

Sadly, Sergeant Dallion didn't trust me enough. We'll have to talk here and hope no one untoward overhears.' He indicated for everyone to gather around in a circle. At a nod from Dallion, they did so, Ms Sox squatting next to McCarrick.

The Doctor took a pocket watch from his waistcoat, held up his hand and then started counting down.'Five, four, three -'

There was a tapping on the door. The Doctor frowned at the watch.

Dallion moved over and gently eased the door open. If seeing her former Commandant, Ritchie, standing there wasn't surprise enough, the fact that a Foamasi with a set of caterpillar tracks instead of lower legs was with him actually caused an eyebrow to rise noticeably.

'Is there a Doctor in the house?' quipped the Foamasi.

'Do come in, gentlemen.' The Doctor held out his arms welcomingly.

'Everyone, you know Commandant Ritchie, your guardian angel if you like.

But you're probably not familiar with the Foamasi Amba.s.sador, representing the Foamasi Government (of which he is the only member), commonly known as Green Fingers.' He looked at Green Fingers.'Do excuse me for not giving you your formal name, but I'm not sure I could p.r.o.nounce it, even if I knew it.'

Green Fingers waved a clawed hand courteously.'Green Fingers will do, Doctor.'

The Doctor crossed back into the circle, letting it re-form around him with its new members. 'All right, let us go over what we know. Firstly, Commandant Ritchie. You were faced with the disappearance of some of your agents.

You were also facing pressure from Earth to make sure the Olympic Games went without a hitch. On top of that, someone else was aware of what went on in the tunnels and was blackmailing you for information. I imagine that was members of the Dark Peaks Foamasi Lodge. Correct?'

Ritchie was looking pale. 'Well... I...'

'Correct?' snapped the Doctor.

'Yes,' Ritchie said. 'Yes.'

'So you sent Sergeant Dallion and her gang here undercover to try to sort things out. This meant that if they succeeded, everything was fine. If they died, you were blameless.'

Ritchie clearly wanted to die right now. He was desperately not wanting to look anyone here in the eye.'Yes,'he muttered quietly.

'Good,' said the Doctor. "That fits.' He looked at Green Fingers. 'Query One: why were the Dark Peaks Lodge interested in the tunnels?'

Green Fingers waved his hands up. 'I have no idea, Doctor. As I said, the Lodge are not supposed to be operating here at all.'

'But they are, Amba.s.sador. Which gave Mr Ritchie here his problem. But we can sort that out for him later.' The Doctor looked at Ms Sox. 'Query Two: You, Ms Sox, are a dark horse indeed.You and Mr Carrington arranged for the SSS to be brought in, correct?'

'Yes.'

'Why?'

Ms Sox shrugged. 'I needed someone else to do official security work while I did my own. We knew that someone had infiltrated one of our a.s.sociated pharmaceutical groups. We also knew that one of the scientists the SSS were bringing up from Earth a Dr Mason, was seen meeting someone who had no security clearance whatsoever - being delayed by that someone.

And that someone was alien - at least to Dr Mason. You see, for basic surveillance work, freelancers have their uses. I wanted to see if there was a connection between this Dr Mason and the infiltration with our company on Ganymede.'

'Query Three: any idea who the spy was on Ganymede?'