Read Online Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction by Nigel Robinson - Free Book Online
Authors: Nigel Robinson
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the
Malvern Hills
reappeared and the sequence began again. The Doctor turned off the scanner.
‘Well, what was all that about?’ asked Ian, not really expecting an answer from anyone.
The Doctor trained two steely eyes on the figure of the schoolmaster. ‘Don’t you know?’ he asked accusingly. ‘I thought you might be able to tell me.’
Ian shook his head. ‘Why me?’
The Doctor allowed himself a self-congratulatory chuckle. ‘You won’t confuse me, you know, no matter how hard you try.’
Ian was beginning to get annoyed. ‘Just what exactly are you getting at, Doctor?’ he demanded to know. The Doctor snorted contemptuously and turned away from Ian. He put a protective arm around his granddaughter.
Barbara crossed over to the Doctor and Susan. ‘Look, why don’t we try and open the doors and see for ourselves?’ she said.
The Doctor dismissed her suggestion. ‘What is inside my Ship, madam, is more important at the moment!’
‘ Inside? ’
‘But you’ve only just told us that the only people inside are ourselves,’ protested Ian. ‘You said that nothing could get inside the Ship.’
Precisely!’ said the Doctor. ‘Nothing can penetrate my Ship, and all the controls are functioning perfectly. Ergo the fault must lie with one of us!’
‘Just what are you trying to say, Doctor?’ asked Ian warily.
The Doctor pointed a long accusing finger at the two schoolteachers. ‘You two are the cause of this disaster! You sabotaged my Ship!’
Barbara tensed and held Ian’s arm. ‘No, Doctor, you know that’s not true...’ she said.
‘You knocked me and Susan unconscious!’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ cried Barbara, rising to the defensive. ‘We were all knocked out!’
‘Grandfather, she is right,’ said Susan slowly. ‘When I came to, Mr Chesterton was still unconscious.’
The Doctor dismissed Susan’s comment curtly. ‘A charade! They attacked us!’
‘Absolute nonsense!’ protested Ian.
‘And while we were lying helpless on the floor you tampered with the controls!’
‘You looked at everything yourself and you couldn’t find anything wrong with them!’ Ian reminded him. exasperated at the old man’s sheer obstinacy. ‘You and I checked every single piece of equipment on board the Ship.’
The Doctor seemed taken aback fora moment but he refused to listen to Ian’s reasoning. ‘No, sir, we did not check everything. I programmed the Fault Locator— you checked everything!’
Barbara tried to reason with the Doctor. ‘But why would we interfere with the controls? What possible reason could we have?’
The answer was obvious to the Doctor. ‘Blackmail! You intend to try and force me to return you to
England
!’
‘Oh, don’t be so stupid!’ said Barbara.
‘I am convinced of it,’ said the Doctor. ‘You both forced your way on board my Ship, intruded upon the lives of my granddaughter and myself; but you were never prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. So now you intend to hold Susan and me prisoner until we agree to take you back to the twentieth-century.’
Barbara was usually slow to anger but this time the Doctor had gone much too far. She shrugged Ian off as he tried to restrain her and she marched up to the Doctor.
‘How dare you!’ she exploded furiously. ‘Do you realise, you stupid old man, that you’d have died in the
Cave
of
Skulls
if Ian and I hadn’t helped you to escape!’
The Doctor pooh-poohed the notion; he had no wish to be reminded of any debt he might hold to these two humans. But Barbara had not finished.
‘And what about all we went through on Skaro against the Daleks? Not just for us but for you and Susan too—and all because you tricked us into going down to the
Dalek
City
in the first place!
‘ Accuse us! You ought to go down on your hands and knees and thank us!’ She shook her head in despair. ‘But oh no, gratitude is the last thing you’ll ever have. You think you’re so superior, so much
Malvern Hills
reappeared and the sequence began again. The Doctor turned off the scanner.
‘Well, what was all that about?’ asked Ian, not really expecting an answer from anyone.
The Doctor trained two steely eyes on the figure of the schoolmaster. ‘Don’t you know?’ he asked accusingly. ‘I thought you might be able to tell me.’
Ian shook his head. ‘Why me?’
The Doctor allowed himself a self-congratulatory chuckle. ‘You won’t confuse me, you know, no matter how hard you try.’
Ian was beginning to get annoyed. ‘Just what exactly are you getting at, Doctor?’ he demanded to know. The Doctor snorted contemptuously and turned away from Ian. He put a protective arm around his granddaughter.
Barbara crossed over to the Doctor and Susan. ‘Look, why don’t we try and open the doors and see for ourselves?’ she said.
The Doctor dismissed her suggestion. ‘What is inside my Ship, madam, is more important at the moment!’
‘ Inside? ’
‘But you’ve only just told us that the only people inside are ourselves,’ protested Ian. ‘You said that nothing could get inside the Ship.’
Precisely!’ said the Doctor. ‘Nothing can penetrate my Ship, and all the controls are functioning perfectly. Ergo the fault must lie with one of us!’
‘Just what are you trying to say, Doctor?’ asked Ian warily.
The Doctor pointed a long accusing finger at the two schoolteachers. ‘You two are the cause of this disaster! You sabotaged my Ship!’
Barbara tensed and held Ian’s arm. ‘No, Doctor, you know that’s not true...’ she said.
‘You knocked me and Susan unconscious!’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ cried Barbara, rising to the defensive. ‘We were all knocked out!’
‘Grandfather, she is right,’ said Susan slowly. ‘When I came to, Mr Chesterton was still unconscious.’
The Doctor dismissed Susan’s comment curtly. ‘A charade! They attacked us!’
‘Absolute nonsense!’ protested Ian.
‘And while we were lying helpless on the floor you tampered with the controls!’
‘You looked at everything yourself and you couldn’t find anything wrong with them!’ Ian reminded him. exasperated at the old man’s sheer obstinacy. ‘You and I checked every single piece of equipment on board the Ship.’
The Doctor seemed taken aback fora moment but he refused to listen to Ian’s reasoning. ‘No, sir, we did not check everything. I programmed the Fault Locator— you checked everything!’
Barbara tried to reason with the Doctor. ‘But why would we interfere with the controls? What possible reason could we have?’
The answer was obvious to the Doctor. ‘Blackmail! You intend to try and force me to return you to
England
!’
‘Oh, don’t be so stupid!’ said Barbara.
‘I am convinced of it,’ said the Doctor. ‘You both forced your way on board my Ship, intruded upon the lives of my granddaughter and myself; but you were never prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. So now you intend to hold Susan and me prisoner until we agree to take you back to the twentieth-century.’
Barbara was usually slow to anger but this time the Doctor had gone much too far. She shrugged Ian off as he tried to restrain her and she marched up to the Doctor.
‘How dare you!’ she exploded furiously. ‘Do you realise, you stupid old man, that you’d have died in the
Cave
of
Skulls
if Ian and I hadn’t helped you to escape!’
The Doctor pooh-poohed the notion; he had no wish to be reminded of any debt he might hold to these two humans. But Barbara had not finished.
‘And what about all we went through on Skaro against the Daleks? Not just for us but for you and Susan too—and all because you tricked us into going down to the
Dalek
City
in the first place!
‘ Accuse us! You ought to go down on your hands and knees and thank us!’ She shook her head in despair. ‘But oh no, gratitude is the last thing you’ll ever have. You think you’re so superior, so much
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